Page 18 of When the Silence Breaks

“Can you tell me what it is now?”

He didn’t answer but instead opened the door. Turned on the porch lights. She got a better glimpse of the beautiful log cabin—real logs and not those fake ones. The well-kept property. Flowers—fall flowers—lots and lots of mums.

“I’m coming.” Sarah made her way to the porch and then entered the house. The lights were on in the comfy living room. Total bachelor pad, with the dark leather furniture.

He stood in the kitchen drinking from a soda can. “You want one?”

“Sure.”

“That’s your word, isn’t it?”

“What word?”

“‘Sure.’ Everything is ‘sure’ with you.”

Sure.“I guess.” She closed the distance, and he offered her a Dr Pepper or a Sprite. She took the Dr Pepper for the caffeine.

Exhaustion weighed on her. This had been a long day. She drank the soda and, not for the first time, took in just how broad his shoulders were. His biceps. Not like a bodybuilder. No. Like a rock climber. His intense eyes were striking, and she struggled to look away when he glanced at her—held her gaze. It was as if she hadn’t stared at his picture far too many times, wondering about the man, Ryder Goodwin. Maybe she didn’t really needhimin particular to guide her, did she? Except, deep inside, she had already trusted him. Already depended on and counted on him to be the guy to get her where she needed to go. She had already made up her mind. Then he’d shown up—twice now—and presented himself as the hero.

But he didn’t need to know any of her thoughts on the matter.

After she took another swig of Dr Pepper, she said, “What did you want to show me?”

And please let it not be his collection of MREs rated by flavor, or vintage pocketknives. She’d seen enough of those with names and even backstories. Or worse still, homemade jerky. If he offered her venison-cheddar-turmeric bites, she might get hives.

Still, she was curious and followed him out the back door to a shop. She shoved the apprehension away. Her trusty Sig was at her ankle. She’d been trained to operate in any number of dangerous situations. Facing off with a former Navy SEAL wasn’t exactly something she wanted to unpack tonight.

Lord,please help me. Can I trust this guy?Had she lost her mind? Her ability to read dangerous situations?

Sure. His history told of his heroics. Now she was answering her own questions.

In the shop, Ryder turned on the light and slid a wooden crate out from under a tool bench. He lifted the lid and tossed it aside.

Inside the box...

“What is it?” Sarah held her breath.

“Proof, maybe—I don’t know—that at least part of that plane in question crashed on the mountain.”

Eyes wide—because she was stunned, really—she looked up at him. “But you said it didn’t crash on the mountain. You lied to me?”

“I didn’t know you. And I can’t be sure of anything. I found this ... three weeks ago.”

She stared at the piece of metal. Read the lettering.Could it be?Then she lifted her gaze. He held hers as if willing her to understand.

Was this confirmation? Did she evenneedconfirmation? Maybe she didn’t have to search. He’d found something already. “Can you take me to the place where you found this?”

Ryder gave her a look she couldn’t quite read. “I told one person,” he said. “Oneperson, and then you show up. So now would be a good time for you to tell me what’s really going on.”

As if murder wasn’t enough.

Eight

With a thoughtful expression, Sarah rubbed her arms. Deciding if she could trust him? He didn’t blame her. He was still trying to decide if he could trusther. Or rather, if he should even consider it. She’d brought trouble with her the moment she entered the Mercy Ridge sphere, and it hadn’t let up. In fact, if anything, it seemed to be getting worse. Of course, he didn’t literally blame her for the mudslide, but she had distress written all over her face.

The truth would be nice, but that wouldn’t be easy to uncover with this one.

Add in that she believed her brother was murdered and this downed decades-old warplane could somehow be related? The giant information gap couldn’t be ignored. He wouldn’t bother pushing for details, except he needed to understand the big picture, the numerous factors—all of it that could help him prepare for what they could face. That is, if he chose to accept this challenge. Underneath it all, he sensed a looming threat. Possibly big. Life and death. Yeah, big. A very big, real, and present threat floating around her.