Bred in the Bone (Widow's Island #4)(12)

Maybe.

It won’t bring Sam back.

But it would make Cate feel a lot better.

The plane circled Blaine Harbor, and Cate peered out the window. The dark clouds were low, turning the water gray. Boats filled a good-sized marina, and a small grid of streets formed the attached town. It looked peaceful and incapable of hiding the man who’d hurt Samantha.

He’s not in the city.

She looked to the east, wondering exactly where the property was. The county sheriff had told her boss Travis lived less than a half hour outside of town. Tension vibrated inside her bones. She wanted results. Now.

After a surprisingly smooth landing, the plane taxied them to a dock. Henry slapped Adam on the shoulder, delight in his eyes. Cate grimaced. She’d been too tied in knots to enjoy the flight. They climbed out at the dock, each carrying a duffel, where two uniformed Whatcom County officers waited.

“Special Agent Wilde?” one deputy asked, looking at Henry.

Henry grinned and pointed at Cate, clearly enjoying the surprise in the young man’s eyes. Cate tried not to roll hers as she held out her hand. “I’m Wilde.”

The deputy shook it and then everyone else’s. “Sergeant Gunderson and Deputy McClure. We’ll take you out to the Underwood property.” He pointed to a county SUV.

Cate’s stomach did a small spin as the dock swayed, and she turned to Adam, who had just stepped out of his plane. “Thanks, Adam. It was a smooth ride.” Her breath showed in the icy air.

Gratitude lit up his face. “You’re welcome.”

“You’re hanging around, right?”

“Yep. Gonna find a diner or something to chill at for a while. I’ll be here when you’re ready to go back.”

Cate took off after the others and caught up at the SUV, where Henry held her door open. “You okay?” he asked, concern in his eyes.

“I’m good. My stomach didn’t care for the takeoff and has been bothering me ever since.”

“I’m having a bit of that too. I’ve never been in a plane that small.”

Cate refocused on the reason they were there. Travis Underwood.

“Let’s get this done.”



“We had a car do a drive-by last night,” Gunderson said as he drove. “It was too dark, so he didn’t turn down the drive. According to the neighbors, it appears abandoned and a bit of a shithole.”

That wasn’t what Cate wanted to hear. I will find him.

Henry tightened his hand on hers. He understood.

They drove east on a winding two-lane highway and took several turnoffs until Cate had completely lost track of where they were.

“You just missed the entrance,” McClure suddenly said as he twisted to look behind them.

Gunderson made an awkward U-turn, and Cate strained her eyes to see a driveway among the brush and trees.

Two tire-width tracks led from the road and disappeared in the trees. On the sides of the tracks were two narrow posts with small red reflectors that blended into the brush.

“That’s the driveway?” asked Henry.

“Yep.” Gunderson turned, and the SUV lurched down the uneven tracks.

“This looks like no one has driven it in years,” said Tessa as branches snapped against the sides of the vehicle.

Loud chimes sounded outside, and Gunderson hit the brakes. “What was that?” he asked, looking wildly from side to side.

“I think you just hit a trip wire,” said Henry.

Cate scanned her side of the woods for threats and opened her door. Behind the vehicle she found a low wire that had snapped as they drove through it. She peered into the trees. The chimes had stopped.

What are we driving into?

McClure appeared and scowled at the wire. “Someone wants to know when people come.”

“It’s rusted,” Cate pointed out. “It could have been here for years.”

“You got a vest?” he asked, his eyes serious.

“We both do,” said Tessa from the other side of the SUV. She opened the rear hatch and unzipped her duffel. Cate did the same, and each strapped on their vests. She and Tessa had discussed the possibility of Travis putting up a fight when the deputies took him in, so the women had planned ahead. McClure dug a vest out of a stack of equipment and handed it to Henry.

“I brought a medical kit in case I have to stitch up one of you,” Henry joked as he strapped it on, but his gaze was sober. “Please don’t make me use it.”

“You don’t know anything about Travis Underwood?” Gunderson asked, eyeing Cate and Tessa, caution hovering around him.

The trip wire had woken them to dozens of potential dangers.

“Not really. His mother said he lives off the grid and was obsessed with conspiracy theories,” Cate said. “But she hadn’t heard from him in a few years.”

“Conspiracy theorists, eh?” Gunderson said as he and McClure exchanged a look. “We’ve got a few of those along with several preppers and sovereign citizens out here. Usually keep to themselves. Can get testy if poked, though.”

“You’re not here to poke,” Cate said. “You’ve got a warrant for his arrest, and it doesn’t matter if he gets testy about it. He’s coming in.”

“McClure and I will knock on the door. You three will stay with the vehicle.”