“I know,” Richard replies, his voice heavy with regret. “I let her believe it because the truth would put her in their crosshairs too.”
“I need to see everything,” I say, stepping forward to examine the documents more closely. “If what you’re saying is true—”
Richard’s eyes lock onto Caleb’s, unflinching. “Every word is true,” he says, his voice dropping to a whisper. “On my life.”
My phone starts to ring, and I glance at the screen. It’s Mia. I swipe the screen and step away to take the call.
“Hello?” I say, stepping away from the two men.
“Lana, it’s Mia.” Her voice sounds urgent. “You need to get back to Jake’s house right now.”
My pulse quickens. “What’s going on? Are you okay?”
“We’re fine, but we found something in the east field—something big. Kane thinks it might be the main cache, but there are markings we can’t decipher. We need that cipher key you mentioned finding.”
I glance back at Richard and Caleb, who are still examining the documents spread across the table. Richard is pointing to something, speaking in a low, intense voice.
“We’re pretty far out,” I tell her, keeping my voice down. “Someone slashed our tires.”
“What?” Mia gasps. “Who would—”
“It’s complicated. I’ll explain when we get there.” I hesitate, uncertain whether to mention Richard. If what he’s told us is true, we could use his help. But if he’s lying... “We’ll figure out transportation and head back as soon as possible.”
“Hurry,” she urges. “And Lana? Be careful.”
The call ends, and I stand frozen for a moment, trying to process everything. Part of me wants to trust Richard—his documents seem authentic, and his story makes a disturbing amount of sense. But another part remembers how he tracked us through the woods, disabled our vehicle.
I move back to where Caleb and Richard are hunched over the portfolio.
“Caleb,” I interrupt, touching his arm lightly. “Can I speak with you outside for a moment?”
He looks up, instantly alert to the tension in my voice. “Of course.”
Richard watches us with wary eyes as we move toward the door. Scout follows at my heels, still keeping himself between Richard and us.
The porch is small, barely large enough for both of us to stand comfortably. The cold air bites at my exposed skin after the warmth of the cabin.
“Mia just called,” I say without preamble, keeping my voice low. “They found something in the east field—something big. They think it might be the main cache, but they need the cipher key we just found.”
Caleb’s expression turns serious. “We need to get back.”
“But what about Richard?” I glance toward the cabin door. “Do we tell him? Bring him with us? I don’t know if we can trust him yet.”
Caleb considers this for a moment, his breath forming clouds in the cold air. “His story checks out so far. The documents look authentic. And if NTM is involved, we could use all the help we can get.”
“But he slashed our tires,” I remind him. “That’s not exactly trustworthy behavior.”
“True.” He rubs his jaw, thinking. “But if he’s right about NTM having people in these woods, he might have done us a favor by forcing us off the trail.”
I bite my lip, weighing our options. “I think we should tell him. If he’s genuine, his knowledge could help us. If he’s not...” I trail off.
“If he’s not, better to keep him close where we can watch him,” Caleb finishes.
I nod. “Exactly.”
“Okay,” he agrees. “We’ll tell him. But we stay vigilant, and Scout stays between him and us at all times.”
We return to the cabin, where Richard is carefully returning documents to the portfolio. He looks up expectantly as we enter.
