Hopefully that would be enough time to catch the rotten bastard who’d killed Minnie and left that dead crow on Ellie’s bed and the feathers in her yard.
And to find the missing little girl.
Ellie stepped from the shower, her damp hair falling around her shoulders. His pulse jumped as she gave him a tired but tender smile.
She walked toward him, then cupped his face in her hands and pressed her lips to his. He melted inside.
He still had that nagging feeling that one day she’d realize he wasn’t the man she thought.
Things had been going so well between them and he didn’t want to rock the boat. But he had one last secret.
Only it wasn’t just his to keep—or tell.
It involved someone else she loved.
And how he became a ranger.
They fell in bed together and with her in his arms, he forgot for a moment about secrets and lies and deception.
SIXTY-SEVEN
Dalton
Dana Jo stumbled up to the front door of her mama’s house, still shaken from the flashback she’d had in the car. She’d almost run off the road like she had the day of her assault.
Her headache was stinging behind her eyes now, the pain zigzagging all the way to her brain and the back of her skull and even down her neck. She reached for the doorknob, but the door squeaked open.
Her mother never left it unlocked. Even during the day.
Fear began to churn in her stomach. “Mom?” she called out as she entered.
The wood floor creaked as she took another step. “Mom? Are you here?”
Suddenly panic shot through her, and she rushed through the living room and kitchen, searching and calling out again, her voice shrill with fear. “Mom!”
Seeing she wasn’t there, she shot up the stairs, hoping her mother was putting Lou Lou to bed. But when she reached the top of the landing, her mother was lying on the floor. Blood pooled from the back of her head and her face was bluewith bruising. One bloody hand was stretched out toward the staircase as if she’d been reaching for something.
Terrified, Dana Jo dropped to her knees and felt for a pulse. She held her breath as she waited, looking all around and listening for sounds of an intruder. Seconds ticked by. The house was quiet, except for her erratic breathing.Dear God, please…
Finally she felt a pulse.
Had her mother fallen? Had a heart attack?
She’d left her phone in her purse downstairs, but she had to check on Lou Lou first.
Lou Lou’s bedroom door stood ajar, the window open, freezing air blowing into the room. Lou Lou’s doll was on the floor, her comforter rumpled and half hanging off the bed.
A scream lodged in her throat.
Lou Lou was gone!
She pushed up to run back downstairs and grab her phone but breathing sounded behind her and a shadow hovered over her. God help her. Her mother’s attacker was still here.
Dana Jo screamed, but suddenly the man grabbed her around the neck, shoved a rag over her mouth and pressed it so hard she couldn’t breathe. Seconds later, her vision blurred, the room spun and she collapsed into the darkness.
SIXTY-EIGHT
DAY FOUR
