“No, we didn’t,” I say. “We found Blake’s body, and we’ve been looking for you ever since.”
“You’ve beenhuntingme,” she spits. “That man of yours. Hunting me and—”
“Step away from her.” Dalton’s voice comes from the trees to our right.
She spins, and while I can’t see Dalton, she must, because her eyes go wide with terror. Rage flashes, and she feints his way. Then she turns and runs.
CHAPTER TWENTY
I scramble to my feet and give chase, with Dalton and Storm behind me. We barrel through the thick forest, heading northeast until we reach a foothill, where Gretchen scrambles up and whips rocks back down. When one hits me in the leg—my bad one again—I yelp and lose my footing. Dalton catches me. I start going after her again, but he holds me back.
“What are we doing when we catch her?” he says.
“Finding out what the hell is going on.”
I try to wrench away, but he tightens his grip and lowers his voice. “We can’t take her to Haven’s Rock.”
“We’ll find another solution.”
“What? Leave her in the forest with a tent and tell her to make camp? Presume she won’t follow us?”
“She thinks we killed Blake.”
“Which doesn’t mean sheisn’tthe killer.”
I open my mouth to argue, when the truth of his words hits, and my cheeks heat. I should be the one making that observation. I should be the one holding back, thinking this through, even as I feel like a terrible person for not rushing to her aid.
“Right,” I mumble. “Hormones.”
He pulls me into a hug and kisses the top of my head. “You don’t need to have an excuse for wanting to help someone, Casey.”
“Still blaming hormones.” I give myself a shake. “Yes, I hate seeing her run off when she might be in danger. I also hate seeing her run off when she mightbethe danger. Blaming us for killing him sets up her story, if she needs it.”
“But she might also be telling the truth.”
I exhale a long breath. “That whoever killed him is now hunting her. Yes. But we can’t run her down and forcibly confine her for her own good.” I lower my voice. “She got close to Haven’s Rock. Too close. I think she saw Will and Kendra.”
“Which doesn’t mesh with her crazy-mountain-man and mail-order-bride rant.” He tilts his head. “Do they still do that? I’ve heard of it in Old West histories.”
I make a face. “It does still happen, in a much more modern way, usually online. One of the best-known origins for the women is the Philippines.”
“Ah.” He nods his understanding. My mother was half Chinese, and half Filipino. “So clearly an average white guy with a hot Asian wife bought her online.”
“Did you just call me a ‘hot Asian wife’?”
“Never.”
I shake my head. “But yes, if she saw Will and Kendra—which I really think she did—then clearly we’re not what she expected.”
He lifts a finger. “Kendra is Indigenous. Didn’t one of our new residents mistake her for April? He heard that your sister was the doctor and presumed it was Kendra.”
“Ugh. Yes. So clearly we’re running a whole town of crazy mountain men and their mail-order brides.” I rub my face. “Okay, so we let Gretchen keep running.”
“For now. We can’t have her hanging around until she stumbles into town. We’ll stay in lockdown and increase patrols for the night. Skip sending Will and Kendra to Lilith’s place. Tomorrow, we’ll track Gretchen and see if another night out there convinces her to talk to us.”
We declare our day at an end. By the time we’re back to Haven’s Rock, it’s late afternoon and we’re exhausted. Our workday started early and was so jam-packed that it feels like it should be midnight. We need to give Gretchen time to decide she’s safe. Or, after another night out there, decide she’snotsafe and agree to talk to us.
First order of business is getting Lilith settled. Well, no, before that comes a combined late meal and baby time. Then Dalton stays with Lilith and Rory while I head into town to tell people we have a guest. I’m getting better at delegating this sort of thing, so I corner a few people and have them pass on the word. We say that Lilith is local to the area. We’ve known her since before the town opened. She’s safe—as is her, um, Siberian husky. She needs a place to stay temporarily, and so she’ll be in the family residence.
