Page 47 of Cowboy Mountain Man

I stop breathing. Another photograph. Closer this time. The rope has pulled her head to one side. Her eyes look wide.

Camera card. South end of the clearing. Come alone.

I stand so quickly the chair scrapes.

Harlan is already turning in the hallway. “What?”

I hold out the phone. He reads the messages. His face goes very still.

Alden comes inside.

Harlan passes him the phone.

“They’ve got June,” I say.

“We’ll get her.”

His voice is low and certain. Then my phone rings in Alden’s hand. Same number. Harlan takes it. He answers on speaker. “Who is this?”

A man laughs softly. “Put the girl on.”

“You’re talking to me.”

“I don’t have time for you, Mercer.”

At the sound of Harlan’s name, cold moves down my spine. They know him. They know his home. Of course they know the trail.

Harlan looks at Alden, who has already taken out his own phone. “The sheriff has copies,” Harlan says. “You’re wasting your time.”

The room goes silent.

Then Daniel’s voice comes through. “Maybe. But she can tell him she made a mistake.”

“No,” I say.

Harlan’s eyes find mine.

The man hears me. “There she is.”

I grip the edge of the table. “Let the horse go.”

“Bring me the card.”

“You already have the camera.”

“And you left it empty.”

“You broke into a house and set it on fire.”

“And I’m having a bad morning, sweetheart. Don’t make it worse.”

I hate that word in his mouth.

Harlan steps closer. I can feel him restraining himself. “You hurt that animal,” he says, “and this gets a lot worse for you.”

“Then send the girl.”

The call ends.