Then he spotted a T-shirt on the floor of the den. A green T-shirt that looked like the one Timmy had been wearing when Dugan had snatched him.
His breath stalled in his chest as he knelt to examine it. Dammit.
No...
Blood dotted the shirt and a note had been pinned to the sleeve.
Say goodbye to your son, McGregor. I won.
Chapter Nineteen
Miles doubled over as pain and denial ripped through him. No...Timmy could not be dead.
He couldn’t be.
A loud groan punctuated the air, and somewhere on a distant level he realized it had come from him. His chest heaved for air, the room swirled with an icy darkness that beckoned and bile rose to his throat.
He thought he was going to vomit and pushed to his feet, staggered outside and hung his head over the side of the concrete walkway. Dragging in a huge gulp of air, he fought the nausea.
Then he felt Jordan’s hand on his back. Her fingers slowly rubbing the base of his neck.
“Miles, Timmy...he may still be out there. Dugan could just be toying with you.”
He spun toward her, his heart beating frantically, panic paralyzing him. Tears must have leaked from his eyes because she lifted one hand and wiped at his cheeks.
For a moment he was so dizzy he couldn’t see.
She gripped his jaw with her hands and kissed him gently. “Listen to what I said. Dugan is sick. He may just be tormenting you. Otherwise, where’s Timmy’s body?”
Her words made him buckle over again, and she caught him and wrapped her arms around him. Pain wrenched him so deeply it cut at his soul.
“I know you’re scared,” Jordan said firmly. “But pull it together, Miles. We need to search the house. He could have tied Timmy up somewhere and left him here.” She jerked his face up. “Don’t give up, do you hear me? Let’s look around in case he’s here. If he is, he needs us to find him.”
Her stern voice shattered the panicked terror overwhelming him, and he nodded. Dragging in a breath, he jumped into motion and began to search the compound.
They used his flashlight and crept through the big block house, combing room to room, checking closets and storage units and even searching for a trap or secret door. But an hour later Miles knew the place was empty.
There were two smaller buildings, one a garage where some old tools had been stored, the second a space that looked as if it had been used as a drug lab. The scent of chemicals still lingered behind.
Finally Miles gave in to defeat. “He’s not here.” He scanned the property. “Unless he’s out there somewhere.”
Jordan shuddered, but shook her head. “We won’t stop looking, Miles. Call the local police and ask them to organize a search team. We can’t possibly search the area by ourselves.”
Miles agreed, phoned Sanchez and filled him in.
“It will be impossible to get a search team there at this hour,” Sanchez said. “But I will have men there at dawn.”
Miles wanted to lay into him and order men to come out now, but it was pitch-dark and they had miles to cover where Dugan could have left Timmy. If they waited until morning, they could get a chopper and cover more ground.
He just hoped Dugan had lied, and that it wouldn’t be too late.
That he hadn’t hurt Timmy or left him out in the elements alone to die.
His phone buzzed, and he snapped it open.
“Miles, it’s Blackpaw.”
“Please tell me you have good news,” he said gruffly.
A long sigh echoed back. “I’m afraid not.”
Miles braced himself. “Then what?”
“It’s about Belsa.”
“You found him?”
“Not exactly. But one of Marie’s neighbors saw Ables’s photo on the news, and guess what?”
He cursed. He was in no mood for games. “Just tell me, dammit.”
“Belsa and Ables are the same man.”
Miles gritted his teeth. God...Marie had had no idea she’d been dating Dugan’s half brother. That he’d probably stalked her, even introduced himself to her and his son, so he could be close to them to help his brother.
So had he killed Marie or had Dugan?
* * *
JORDAN’S HEART POUNDED as Miles relayed the news about Belsa.
He was so upset, Jordan took his arm and pulled him toward the Jeep. “Get in, I’ll drive.”
Miles shook his head in protest, but she shoved him into the passenger side and he was so weary and in such a fog that he let her.
She checked the GPS and found a motel the next city over and headed to it.
Jordan wanted to alleviate Miles’s pain, but the truth was she had experienced the same blinding, terrible grief after losing her little brother, and that type of shock robbed you of your breath and senses.
But Timmy wasn’t dead. She wouldn’t believe it until they found his body.