“He watched Lauren. He’s watching Sara.” His gaze shifted to the window. “Now he’s watching you.”
She nodded once. “He wanted me to find this. To know he walked right in.”
“No forced entry,” Scout said. “He used the keypad. Or he watched you long enough to learn it.”
A quiet chill moved between them.
Tallulah crept from under the sofa, tail puffed.
“He’s escalating,” Scout said. “Coming in here—it’s bold.”
“It’s personal,” she finished.
“I’m not running,” she said. “I’m not leaving.”
“Tessa—”
“If I leave tonight, he wins the first round.”
He held her gaze.
“Fine,” he said. “But you’re not alone up here.”
Not command. Not suggestion.
A line drawn.
He keyed his radio. “Sheriff, it’s Wilson. Cabin’s clear but compromised. Request Hensley for overnight perimeter.”
“Copy,” Burke replied.
Tessa’s phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
I told you to leave this alone.
Her grip tightened.
Scout’s hand flexed once at his side. Controlled. Contained.
“Show me.”
She angled the screen toward him. He stepped closer—close enough that she felt the heat of him through the cold room.
Fog pressed against the glass, erasing the world beyond the porch.
“It’s a message,” Scout said.
“Yeah.” Her voice barely shifted. “That he’s closer than we want to believe.”
The wind shifted.
The basement door eased open behind them—an inch. No more.
Neither moved.
Tessa kept her eyes on the empty space where her notes had been.
