I’ve sat across the table from killers.
This world is full of darkness, and sometimes we have to go there in order to spread light. In this place, I’m not here to spread light, but I am here to find the truth. But maybe, once this is over, we’ll have enough evidence to shut this place down, too.
To force these monsters to scatter into the light, hopefully bringing some of them to justice as we do.
Which brings my thoughts back to Paul.
Did I even know the man I married?
Was anything he told me true?
“Please wait here,” she says as we reach the lobby. “I will have our Director of Member Flight Affairs meet you. She can answer your questions in better detail and take you on that tour of our airstrip and hangars.”
“Great, thank you, Charlise,” Shawn replies smoothly. As she leaves, he wraps both arms around me and pulls me against his chest. “You’re trembling,” he whispers in my ear, keeping his voice low enough that no one can hear him.
“Why was he in this place?” I whisper back. “Was I not enough? Was that why he was here?” Is it possible he wasn’t murdered? That he did have an accident?
“You’re more than enough,” Shawn growls in my ear. “And like I said, we don’t have all the pieces. You have to stop trying to put them together until we do.”
I bury my face in his chest to compose myself. Inhaling deeply, I savor the scent of his aftershave, letting the pine scent fill my lungs and soothe my nerves.
God, be with us, please. Guide our steps, and lead us to the truth. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
“Mr. and Mrs. Andrews?” a soft, feminine voice greets as soon as I’ve finished my private prayer.
Forcing a smile onto my face, I turn to face her. The petite brunette looks to be only in her early twenties, but the heaviness in her blue gaze speaks of a woman who has seen far more than her fair share of horrors.
There’s a familiarity about her, though I’m certain we’ve never met.
She pales slightly when she sees us, but color returns to her cheeks mere seconds later, and I can’t help but wonder if I imagined it. “I’m Lauren, the Director of Member Flight Affairs here at Velocity Ridge Airfield.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Shawn says as he reaches forward to offer her his hand. “Shep and Rebecca Andrews.”
She turns to me and smiles sharply. “Yes. Well, shall we go, then? I’ve been told you wish to see the airfield and the hangars?”
“We want to make sure the security is present, as well as the amenities in the actual hangars themselves.”
“Of course.” Her smile is cold as she turns. “This way.” We stroll out the front doors we entered through to find a white Mercedes SUV waiting outside. I expect our hostess to climb inside that; instead, she veers off to the left and opens the door on a black utility vehicle with the airfield’s logo—a tall mountain peak with clouds in a ring beneath it—painted on the side.
Shawn opens my door for me and lets me climb into the back, then walks around to get into the front seat. As he does, I do what I can to steady my racing heart.
“Ready?” she asks.
“Yes,” Shawn replies.
Lauren smiles coldly again and pulls away from the curb. She remains silent as the club fades from view, and she veers onto a paved road on the right.
She stops about a half mile from a row of large hangars, most with private planes tucked away inside, then shuts off the engine. Turning, that fake smile is completely gone. “You shouldn’t be here,” she tells me.
“What?” My stomach flips.
Shawn glares at her. “What are you implying?”
“I’m not implying anything,” she snaps. “Now, I don’t know who you are,” she adds, pointing to Shawn. “But you’re Beckett Wallace, and you’renotsupposed to be here.”
My blood runs cold.
“How do you know who she is?” Shawn asks. I can see the fight prepped on his face.
