“Where were you today?” he asks.

I clear my throat. “At work.”

Silence for a moment, until—

“I see.”

No blow up. No shouts of anger. I’m not sure if this empty stoicism is any better.

“I worked at Bridger Ranch. As usual. Dr. Davis is thrilled to have me. She needs me. She’s swamped, with the other vet out.”

I’m not sure why I’m explaining myself. I want to work at Bridger Ranch, so I’ll work there.

“I see,” Dad echoes. A pause, and then, “Jonathan Bridger was not a good man.”

And it begins.

“I know that’s what you think.”

“That’s what I know, Carly.” He rises and comes around the table to sit next to me. “This will be difficult for you to hear.”

“Whatever you say won’t change my mind about working there. Or about Austin.”

He shakes his head and takes a fortifying breath. “You can’t say that. Not until I tell you the truth.”

“I can say that, Daddy. I understand Mr. Bridger cheated you, but the brothers will make that right. I’m sure he cheated others, too. He probably broke the law. He probably did any number of things, but that was the father. Not the sons.”

“Carly,” Dad says, “have you ever wondered why you were abducted?”

I jerk in my chair. I spent a lot of the past two years asking myself that question, and I’ve finally come to terms that it doesn’t matter because I can’t change it. I can’t erase the past. I can only move forward.

So I sure didn’t expect it to come up in this conversation.

“I’ve been trying to figure it out since you disappeared, and a week ago, I finally got some relevant information.”

I gulp. “Just say it, Daddy. Please.”

“I’ve been working with an FBI agent since you went missing. Not much has come up since you returned, but we still talk. Last week, he called with some information that finally came across his desk.”

“And…?” I whisper the word, unable to get it to come out any louder.

“He found the document naming all the individuals who visited Derek Wolfe’s island. It was classified, but he got his hands on it two years after the fact. Most of them were fake names, including one the agent thought I’d be interested in.” Dad pauses, threads his fingers through his graying hair. “It was an alias used by Jonathan Bridger.”

A rock lands in my gut, and nausea begins the slow ascent up my throat.

“You don’t mean…”

He nods once. “Jonathan Bridger had a connection to the place, Carly. He’s most likely the reason you were taken.”

22

AUSTIN

I slept the whole flight to Seattle. For once, I was a passenger instead of a pilot. I admit, the Bridger jet is fancy and very convenient. The seats are plush and ridiculously comfortable. Maybe I’ve just worked too hard lately trying to be a cowboy. Our latest fun was getting wet and filthy breaking up that dam that Vance is having a coronary about. It was a great time after screwing his daughter this morning.