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She shook her head, but Donovan only grinned wider. “Come on, it’s just a disc throw. Nothing scary.”
Her heart pounded in her chest as she considered the invitation. She glanced over at Rylan who was watching her with those pretty, too-knowing eyes.
“Only if you want to,” he said gently.
She looked back at Donovan who was waving the Frisbee in the air as all the dogs clustered around him in anticipation. A part of her yearned to join the fun—to be part of something again beyond her own small, isolated world.
And why was she so afraid of these men? They were not the ones who had violated her. Her fear of them was irrational, but then again, was fear ever rational?
With a deep breath, she pushed herself off the porch steps and slowly walked towards Donovan. The men cheered, Pierce whistled, and Rylan thumped his prosthetic arm on the porch railing encouragingly.
God, why was she so nervous? She wiped her suddenly damp palms on her pant leg. It was a game of Frisbee in her own front yard.
“Here.” Donovan passed her the brightly colored disc, his smile warm. “Give it a good toss. Let’s tire these pups out.”
She took the Frisbee from him, feeling the smooth plastic under her fingers. Rebel gave an eager whine and Spirit let out a series of low yips of anticipation. Zelda tap-danced with excitement and Ranger watched the Frisbee with the intense stare of a hunter locked on prey.
With one last glance back at Rylan, who was watching her with unmasked approval, Veronica flung the disc as far as she could.
The dogs were off in an instant, their muscular bodies sleek blurs against the verdant lawn as they raced after the Frisbee. Donovan clapped her on the back and said something that was drowned out by Zak and Sawyer’s competing cheers. She turned to Rylan who still leaned on the porch railing. He raised his soda can in a silent toast and gestured for her to continue.
Her heart pounded in her chest, not with fear or anxiety, but with something akin to exhilaration. It filled her veins and painted a genuine smile on her face for the first time in what felt like forever. A chorus of cheers and claps erupted from the men around her each time she threw the disc and watched it spiral across the clear blue sky. It reminded her of the freedom she once known, pushing through the clouds and soaring above everything else. A feeling she’d forgotten. A feeling she desperately missed.
With every throw, and every burst of laughter from the men she’d once considered threats, Veronica felt herself shedding the past. The trauma wasn’t gone—and it probably would never truly disappear—but it felt lighter somehow. It was as if she had finally given herself permission to move beyond it, to reach for something more than just survival and solitude.
And she felt... wonderfully, miraculously normal.
chapter twenty-four
The drive to The Mad Dog was a short one. When Connelly pulled into the gravel parking lot, the afternoon sun painted long shadows across the ground.
Inside, Cal and Alexis were already huddled at a corner booth, their heads bowed together in serious conversation.
“Connelly,” Alexis greeted him with a warm smile as he slid into the booth across from them. “Thank you for coming.”
He leaned back against the worn leather of the seat. “What’s this all about?”
Cal and Alexis shared a glance, then Cal pulled a copy of The Shadows Within out of the briefcase on the floor by his seat. He slid it across the table.
“The Shadow Stalker,” Alexis said.
Connelly stared at them, his jaw hanging open. Were they joking? They looked really fucking serious to be joking. He slowly reached out and picked up the book. “The Shadow Stalker is an urban legend that I turned into a horror villain. He’s not real.”
“Yes, he is,” Alexis said solemnly. “I know he is. He held me captive.”
Of course Connelly was aware of what happened to her. Everyone in town knew. She’d been abducted from in front of her motel and held prisoner in a bunker on the mountain for weeks before being set free and hunted like a deer.
“I thought Ash caught him? Wasn’t it the same guy who killed Dr. Firestone?” He looked at Cal, a lightbulb going off. “Aren’t you his lawyer?”
“Jaxon Thorne is not a killer,” Cal said without a shred of doubt in his voice.
“Well...” Alexis touched the thin pink scar circling her throat. The move seemed almost involuntary. “At least, we know for a fact he’s not The Shadow Stalker.”
“But didn’t he confess?”
“He recanted,” Cal said.
“Bet the sheriff was thrilled about that.”
