Chapter 9

chapter

nine

Rylan caught up with Izzy just as she reached the edge of the cabin’s clearing. She was moving fast, her boots crunching over the frosty ground, her shoulders stiff with anger.

“Izzy, wait!” he called, his voice sharper than he intended.

She spun on her heel to face him, her eyes blazing with fury. “What, Rylan? Come to throw more accusations my way? Or maybe tell me how I’ve screwed up again?”

He stopped short, breathing hard, and clenched his fists. “I didn’t mean?—”

“Yes, you did,” she snapped, cutting him off. “You meant every word back there. You don’t trust me, and honestly, I don’t blame you. But that doesn’t give you the right to tear me down every chance you get.”

Her words hit him like a punch to the gut, but he forced himself to stand his ground. “This isn’t about trust?—”

“Bullshit,” she hissed, stepping closer. Her voice dropped, laced with bitterness. “This is about you not being able to see past your own anger. You think I don’t know what I did to you? To the team? I live with that guilt every damn day.”

Rylan’s jaw tightened, the memory of that morning flashing through his mind like a neon sign he couldn’t turn off. “Guilt doesn’t fix anything, Izzy.”

“No, it doesn’t,” she shot back. “But you know what else doesn’t fix anything? Drowning yourself in a bottle every night.”

His breath caught, and for a moment, he couldn’t speak. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb with me,” she said, her voice trembling now. “You were drunk this morning, weren’t you? Or at least very hungover. Does your team know you’re drinking again?”

Rylan’s hands curled into fists, his prosthetic hand making an audible whirr as it tightened. It was the only answer he gave, but it was enough.

“I didn’t think so.” She took another step closer. “You think you’re the only one who’s hurting? You think you’re the only one who has to cope? Newsflash, Rylan: you’re not. But you don’t get to numb yourself and then turn around and judge me.”

The air between them crackled with tension, the anger giving way to something heavier, something they’d both been avoiding. He could feel it—the pull between them, as undeniable as gravity. Her chest rose and fell with quick breaths, her cheeks flushed, her lips slightly parted.

For one reckless moment, Rylan thought about closing the distance between them, about silencing her with the kiss they’d both been denying for too long. It would be good. He knew that with a bone-deep certainty that flooded his veins with heat. But it would also be a mistake.

A mistake he couldn’t afford to make.

A colossal, delicious, devastating mistake he desperately wanted to make.

He leaned down, his breath mingling with hers, and the heat of their anger morphed into a different kind of heat entirely. Izzy’s eyes widened, her pupils dilating, but she didn’t pull away. Instead, she tilted her chin up, a silent dare, a challenge he couldn’t resist.

With a low growl that was equal parts frustration and annoyance, he closed the distance between their lips. The kiss more a collision than a caress. Her hands fisted in his jacket, pulling him closer even as she pushed back against him. It was a battle, a fight for dominance, for control, for absolution. A clash of teeth and tongues and desperate, dueling breaths. He gripped her hips, yanking her flush against him as he devoured her mouth with a hunger that bordered on violence. She met him with equal ferocity, her fingers digging into his shoulders, nails biting through the fabric of his jacket.

Rylan nipped at her bottom lip, drawing a gasp from her that shot straight to his cock. She retaliated by licking into his mouth, her tongue stroking against his in a blatant provocation that made him want to strip her bare and fuck her right there in the woods.

He walked her backward until her shoulders hit the rough bark of a towering redwood, the impact jarring them both. It should’ve stopped him, should’ve shocked some reason into him.

But it didn’t.

He tangled one hand in her hair, tugging just hard enough to make her moan into his mouth. The sound was like gasoline on the fire raging inside him, and he deepened the kiss, pouring all his frustration, all of his anger, all his pent-up desire, into the slide of his lips against hers. She arched into him, her breasts pressing against his chest, hips rocking into his. The friction was maddening, stoking the flames higher. He wedged a thigh between her legs, earning a gasp as he ground against her core.

Just as his hand was sliding under her shirt, moving up her ribs to cup breast, the crunch of tires on gravel doused the heat between them like a bucket of ice water.

Rylan jerked back, breathing hard.

Izzy stared up at him, her eyes dark and dazed, lips swollen from his kiss. “What the hell was that?”

“Fuck.” He paced away from her, putting some much-needed distance between them. His body was still molten, thrumming with need. “A mistake. One that won’t happen again.”

Izzy’s face shuttered, the heat in her eyes replaced by a cold, hard glint. She pushed off the tree, tugging her clothes back into place. ”Right. Of course. Wouldn’t want to sully yourself with the likes of me.”

She pushed off the tree and stalked past him, heading for the source of the interruption. Rylan cursed under his breath and followed, his long strides easily catching up to her.

As they emerged from the tree line, they were greeted by the sight of three SUVs rolling up the long driveway, kicking up dust.

“Expecting company?” Izzy asked, a brittle edge to her voice.

“Yes. Ash.”

She whirled on him. “What? I told you?—”

“If you want to find those kids, we need the sheriff’s department and their resources. Zak called him.”

“And you didn’t think to consult me on that decision?”

“It wasn’t mine to make,” Rylan said, his tone flat. “And you stormed off before Zak could. But for the record, I agree with him. If those kids were just lost in the woods, that would be one thing, but they were abducted. We’re a search and rescue team, Iz. Not investigators.“

She stared at him for a long moment, the muscle in her jaw ticking. Then she turned on her heel and marched toward the approaching vehicles. No doubt she planned to march right up to Ash and start making demands of her former boss… which Rylan kind of wanted to see. Izzy may be as stubborn as a mule, but Ash was as grumpy as one and downright scary sometimes.

As they drew closer, he realized it wasn’t Ash and a posse of deputies. For one thing, the Lost County Sheriff’s Department vehicles were all dark green, and these were shiny black, gleaming like beetles under the weak morning sunlight. The first SUV rolled to a stop just feet from where they stood, its tinted windows concealing whoever was inside.

Izzy froze mid-step, her shoulders going rigid. Rylan moved to her side, instincts screaming at him that something was very, very wrong as the SUV door swung open, and a man stepped out.

Attorney General Thomas Parker.

Monica Holt’s boss.

What the fuck was he doing here?

Parker adjusted the cuff of his suit jacket as he scanned the grounds and cabin, his gaze eventually landing on Rylan and Izzy. His salt-and-pepper hair gleamed almost as brightly as his polished black shoes as he strode toward them. He was a tall man, with broad shoulders and a bland, practiced politician’s smile that never quite reached his cold blue eyes.

A veritable wall of bodyguards flanked him, all dressed in dark suits and wearing matching earpieces, their eyes hidden behind mirrored sunglasses. They spread out in practiced formation as if expecting an ambush.

“Deputy Delgado. Mr. Cross,” he greeted, his voice smooth as silk. “Or, no, I forgot you’re no longer a deputy. Do you go by Miss Delgado now?”

Rylan felt her coil at his side and set his hand on shoulder to keep her from going for the man’s throat.

But although her eyes narrowed to slits, she didn’t rise to the obvious bait. “What can I do for you, Mr. Attorney General?”

The attorney general spread his hands, his smile never faltering. “I’m here to check on my employee, of course. When I heard about Monica’s children going missing, I was deeply concerned.”

Rylan’s bullshit detector pinged like crazy. Every word out of Parker’s mouth sounded rehearsed, calculated. This was the attorney general of California, not some small-town politician. He had an army of lackeys to handle things like this. For him to show up personally, with a security detail no less? Something stank to high heaven. “How do you already know about Monica’s children?”

Parker nodded toward one of his bodyguards. “My security team picked up police chatter about fifteen minutes go.” He scanned the lot again, his gaze briefly settling on Zak and the rest of the team as they filed out of the cabin. “But it looks like we beat Sheriff Rawlings here. Something needs to be done about this sheriff’s slow response times. It’s unacceptable.”

Rylan’s gut twisted. Ash’s department would have faster response times if he hadn’t needed to fire half his deputies for corruption after the previous sheriff’s crimes came to light. “And you just happened to be in the area?”

The politician’s smile turning faintly condescending. “I travel frequently, Mr. Cross. All over the state. But, if you’re asking why I’m here, specifically, I have friends in this area and own a vacation home nearby. It’s not unusual for me to be here.”

Before Rylan could respond, another vehicle pulled into the now-crowded driveway—a familiar Tahoe flanked by a dark green police cruiser with the Lost County Sheriff’s Department emblem on the door. Ash Rawlings slid from behind the wheel of his Tahoe, his trademark scowl firmly in place as he took in the scene before him.

“Sheriff Rawlings,” Parker said, spreading his hands in mock welcome. “You made it. What a surprise.”

Ash’s gaze locked with Parker’s, and the air crackled with tension. “Tom,” he greeted, his voice flat. “What brings you all the way out here? Awful long way from Sacramento.”

Parker’s smile remained firmly in place, but his eyes hardened. “As I was just explaining to Mr. Cross and Miss Delgado, I’m here to check on my employee. Monica’s children are missing. That warrants my personal attention, don’t you think?”

Ash’s jaw tightened, his gaze flicking to Izzy before returning to the attorney general. “We’ll handle it. This is my jurisdiction.”

“Of course it is.” Parker’s tone dripped with condescension. “And I’m sure you’ll do a thorough job, just like you did with that nasty business with your predecessor.”

Ash’s hands curled into fists at his sides and a muscle ticked in his jaw like he was grinding his teeth. He was fast reaching the fraying end of his temper.

Ash took a step forward, his voice low and dangerous. “I know what you’re implying, Tom. And I suggest you watch your mouth. This is my county, my case. I won’t have you interfering.”

Rylan’s eyes narrowed as he watched the tense exchange between Ash and Parker. The attorney general’s barbs were clearly designed to get under the sheriff’s skin, and from the looks of it, they were working.

Rylan stepped forward, putting himself between the two men. “I’m sure we all have the same goal here— finding those kids and bringing them home safe. Why don’t we focus on that?”

Parker clasped his hands behind his back, unperturbed. “Yes, of course. I simply wanted to offer the full resources of my office to assist in your investigation.”

Ash all but snarled. “We don’t need the Attorney General’s office getting involved.”

Parker’s smile turned razor-sharp. “Forgive me, Sheriff, but given your department’s track record, I think a little oversight might be in order. Wouldn’t want any more… missteps.”

“I assure you, there will be no missteps in this investigation,” Ash gritted out. “My department has this under control.”

The bodyguards stiffened, their hands hovering near their weapons. Parker held up a hand, signaling them to stand down. “Then I won’t take up any more of your time,” he said, his tone clipped. “But do keep me updated. My office is invested in Monica’s well-being.”

Without waiting for a response, Parker turned and climbed back into his SUV. His convoy followed suit, the vehicles retreating into the trees as quickly as they’d appeared.

Ash watched them go, visibly trying to rein in his temper. “That man’s so fucking dirty,” he said finally, turning to Rylan and Izzy. “I just can’t prove it.”

“You think he’s involved?” Rylan asked.

“I think he knows more than he’s letting on,” Ash said. He leveled a hard look at Izzy. “And so do you. Why the fuck didn’t you come to me first?”

“You fired me,” she reminded, unflinching. “Threw me to the wolves.:

“I didn’t throw you to the wolves, Delgado. You jumped into the den all on your own,” he growled. “You broke protocol, put lives at risk. I couldn’t keep you around just because I happen to like you. Not after spending the last year cleaning my house of corruption. And especially not with that fucker”—he motioned toward the retreating SUVs—“breathing down my neck, waiting for me to make a wrong move.“

“I made a mistake. I know that, and I’ve been busting my ass to make it right. To be better.” Her voice broke slightly. “But if I had brought this to your attention this morning after Monica contacted me, would you have helped?”

Ash actually looked wounded for a split-second before his scowl returned. “There are kids missing. Of course I would have. Despite what people think of me, I’m not that much of an asshole.”

She shook her head and some of the defiance drained out of her. “Except you wouldn’t have believed me. Not at first. I knew going to you would waste time, so I went to Rylan. Because I knew he would believe me.”

Rylan’s heart squeezed at her words, but he kept his expression neutral. Despite everything that had happened between them, despite the anger and betrayal still simmering in his veins, she’d trusted him with this. Trusted that he would have her back when, until a couple hours ago, he hadn’t even known he had it in him to stand up for her.

Ash’s gaze flicked between them, assessing. After a long, tense moment, the sheriff sighed and rubbed a hand over his beard. “We’re going to find those kids, but we’re doing it my way. By the book. No vigilante bullshit. Which means you”—he pointed at Izzy—”are going to have to come down to the station to give a formal statement.”

Izzy’s shoulders stiffened. “I’m not leaving here until?—“

“It’s not a request, Delgado.”