“Off?”
She nods. “Yes. But I wasn’t really paying attention. I had my earbuds in. I was jogging in place at an intersection when …” She closes her eyes. “… when this van stopped right next to me, and—” Her eyes snap open again and go wide. “Oh god, I think I was kidnapped. Do you have a phone? I need to call the police.”
A circuit breaker blows in my head. The police.Gunn.My gaze rips toward the thicket of trees in search of the man, but he’s not there. All I see are branches and shadow. I spin a one-eighty toward the pile of boulders at the top of the road where I passed Officer Holston driving in. But he isn’t there, either. There’s just road, rocks, and sky. And absolutely nothing else.
What the fuck is happening?
“Are you okay?”
Startled, I turn back to the woman. “Yeah, fine.”
“Your phone?” she prompts again with her voice trembling.
“Oh, right.” I dig the burner from my pocket and tap the screen. Nothing happens. It’s dead. “Shit,” I mutter, showing her.
Her face crumbles. “I need to call my family. They have to be worried sick.”
“We’ll find a phone, I promise. What’s your name? You still haven’t told me.”
Her eyes glaze over again, like she’s having trouble remembering. “Elizabeth—Liz Gleason.”
“Liz, who was with you in the van?”
“Men with masks on.”
“How many?”
“I—I don’t remember.” She breathes faster, a tear cutting over her cheek. “All I know is I was pulled into the van and someone stuck a … a needle in my arm. And then I woke up here. That’s it.”
She’s shaking now, rocking in place. I won’t be able to push her much further. If I do, she’ll shut down completely. But Idohave to push some, because this woman is literally the only link I have left to Avery.
“Where do you live, Liz? Is your house close?”
She sniffs. “I don’t know. I live near the golf course.”
The golf course?I scour my memory of the town and come up with nothing. I don’t think Ouray has a golf course. If it does, I haven’t seen it.
My eyes narrow. “Which golf course?”
“Redlands.”
A question takes shape in my head, and my stomach drops at what I think might be the answer. “Where is Redlands Golf Course?”
“It’s off High Desert Road, right next to Ocotillo. It’s—”
“No, which city?”
She pauses, frowns. “Grand Junction.”
The name tumbles through my head like a boulder.Grand Junction.Grand Junction is nearly two hours away. This woman isn’t even from here. Oh fuck.
“What?” Liz asks, taking note of the changein my expression.
“You’re in Ouray.”
Her eyebrows rise.“Ouray?”
“Yes.” I rock back on my heels. “I need you to think very carefully. Do you remember anything else? Anything at all from the moment they took you until now?”
