Page 48

Me.

The first attacker grabs her from behind. She strikes him with her head, but a third man moves in. He hits her.

She collapses.

The three men drag her into the sedan.

“Stop there,” Taylor says.

The manager freezes the image.

A man stands beside the open rear door, holding Hayley beneath her arms. Blood pours from his nose.

Sage appears in the office doorway.

I spin toward her.

“I told you to stay in the vehicle.”

“I saw him.”

Her face has gone white.

Will is directly behind her. “She watched through the window. She recognized one of them.”

Sage points at the screen.

“That’s Greg.”

The room goes silent.

I look at the man who pretended to care about my daughter, lured her into a warehouse, and sold her for five thousand dollars.

Now he has Hayley.

“Are you certain?” Sheriff Vega asks.

“I’ll never forget his face.”

She steps closer to the monitor.

“Can you give us his full name?”

“Greg Maddox.”

The sheriff turns to one of her deputies. “Run it.”

Sage’s attention shifts to the date and time stamp in the corner of the footage.

“Go back.”

The motel manager rewinds the video.

“Further back,” she says. “Before they arrived.”

The parking lot appears empty except for Hayley’s car.

A second vehicle enters the frame.