at any moment. Even if no one came to help her, Cady’s balance was improving as she stood upright. Every second she delayed a physical confrontation, her chances of survival increased.
“You’re not Shannon.”
“No, and that’s why you have to die.” The woman reached into her pocket and pulled out a gun. She aimed it at Cady. “Move away from the truck.”
Cady took a tentative side step. Her legs were shaky, but they held.
“All the way to the railing.” The blonde woman jerked the gun’s barrel toward the river.
Cady stared at her. Her eyes had adjusted to the dimness, and her brain was finally waking up enough to add two plus two. If this blonde woman wasn’t Shannon, there was only one person she could be. “You’re Shannon’s sister, aren’t you? The one everyone thinks is dead.”
“Shut up!”
Cady took that as a yes. “You killed your sister.”
“She was a pain.” Holly sounded bored. “Now climb up on the railing.”
“Why?” Cady peered over the side. Thirty feet below, the water churned black in the night.
“Because you’re going to jump.”
Cady assessed her chances. The bridge wasn’t high enough that dying in the fall was a sure thing. Once she climbed up on that railing, she was willing to bet Holly was going to shoot her. After all, she needed to make sure Cady was dead.
Fuck that.
Cady would not make it so easy.
“Go on. Climb,” Holly said.
Cady raised one foot toward the railing, then pivoted on the ball of her other foot and dived at Holly’s feet. The impact with the pavement rang like a giant bell in her head, and Cady’s vision dimmed.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Matt took the turns on two wheels. Panic scrambled for a foothold in his chest. He breathed his way through it. He had to find his sister. Rain pattered on the windshield, and he switched on the wipers.
In the passenger seat, Bree pulled out her phone when it rang. “It’s Collins.” She answered. The call lasted for twenty seconds. “Thanks.” She lowered her phone. “Collins had no luck with the ERs. No one meeting Cady’s description was brought in today.”
Matt hadn’t believed that scenario anyway. If Cady had gotten hurt, she would have called a family member.
“What if they aren’t at the bridge?” Matt would have no idea where else to look for Cady.
“Then we keep looking until we find them. My deputies are actively looking for Shannon’s vehicle.”
He didn’t respond. How long would Holly keep Cady alive? The only way to guarantee her silence was to kill her.
Matt slowed as he navigated the downhill switchbacks of Dead Horse Road that led to the bridge. A half mile from the bridge, he killed the headlights. The combination of dangerous terrain, darkness, and rain forced him to slow the vehicle. Sweat broke out on his palms as he navigated the last few turns in the dark. When they emerged from the woods, he stopped the car at the crest of the hill. The bridge loomed in the dark.
Bree exhaled hard. She took her binoculars from her glove box and looked through them. “I see a compact SUV.” She adjusted the binoculars. “Looks like Shannon’s Ford Escape is parked in the middle of the bridge.” She used her radio to call for backup, instructing two of the responding deputies to approach from the opposite side of the bridge. “We’ll box her in. She won’t get away.”
“ETA on backup?” Matt took the binoculars and aimed them on the vehicle.
“Six minutes. We won’t wait.”
He squinted through the binoculars, but rain and darkness obscured his view. “I can’t tell if anyone is in the vehicle.”
“What about on the bridge?”
“It’s too dark.” He lowered the binoculars. “But where else would they be?” Matt wouldn’t consider the possibility that Cady was already dead and in the river. “I’m going in.”
Bree extended an upturned palm for the binoculars. “Let’s go.”
He handed them to her, she turned off the dome light, and they slipped out of the vehicle. Matt lifted Brody from the vehicle and kept him on a short leash. Bree met them at the back of the SUV. She opened the hatch slowly and quietly.
Rain came down in a steady drizzle. The sound would help cover their movement and approach, but it also reduced visibility. He patted the flashlight in his pocket. The hackles on the back of Brody’s neck stood up, and the dog growled softly in the direction of the bridge.
Matt handed Bree a black nylon windbreaker with the word SHERIFF printed on the back.