The Malinois immediately shifted into a position at her left side, head level with her knee. He knew the mission. He’dperformed it hundreds of times. Before with the military. This past year at her side, where they’d worked multiple murder cases together. There was no one she’d rather have work on the Wax case with her than Shadow.
Ears flicked forward to catch every sound. His steps matched hers perfectly as if they shared the same rhythm. His tail was low, body taut with alert focus—not relaxed, not playful, but a soldier waiting for the next order.
Ava felt the weight of that steadiness. Whatever storm waited ahead, she and Shadow would face it together.
She followed Vaughn into the deep snow piled along the roadside.
He waited for her and Shadow to traverse the snow and catch up just inside the woods. Once she reached him, a wilderness filled with fir and spruce trees enveloped them. Here, the trees grew so close together that it seemed as if their branches created one large umbrella, blotting out the afternoon light and creating an eerie feel.
Vaughn switched on his flashlight. Ava retrieved hers and did the same. The lights revealed a treacherous path ahead.
Unlike the easier hiking paths most visitors coming to the mountains would take, this trail would challenge even an experienced guide like Caleb. There were rocky ridges that climbed through the trees, presenting their own challenges. Places on either side of the path where the ground seemed to drop off. A narrow walkway where one false move could prove fatal.
Despite the thick growth covering the way, snow had accumulated all around in the woods, muting their footsteps and the world around them. It gave Ava the feeling of watching some old silent horror movie unfold.
The spot between her shoulders tingled as she glanced around at the semi-darkness half expecting Wax to appear between the trees and claim her once more.
“You okay, Agent?” Vaughn asked. Ava realized she’d stopped walking some distance behind him. Vaughn had turned and was eyeing her carefully.
Ava shook off the uneasy feeling with difficulty. “I’m fine.”
The deputy appeared doubtful but continued.
She and Shadow picked their way over hidden dangers such as downed tree branches and slippery rocks coated in ice-encrusted snow. Old stumps where the forest service had cut down dead trees cluttered the landscape.
Why had Wax chosen this spot?
Ava thought about the past victims. They were all found in somewhat remote areas but places where hikers frequented. Wax knew they’d be found eventually.
But this spot? Even the road leading up to it was off the beaten path. Why was Emily up here in the first place? It wasn’t the best road to travel, especially when the weather rolled in.
Even though she lived in Colorado, after what happened to her here, Ava rarely ventured out into the snowy world she’d once loved. Before Wax, when she lived in Montana, Ava skied, rock-climbed, and hiked in the mountains, regardless of the time of year. It was during one of her isolated hikes that she met Caleb. They both enjoyed hiking and camping along little-used trails.
Up ahead, floodlights appeared through the dense environment to help workers see better. Headlamps bounced around in the space as well giving light to the emergency workers.
Ava’s breaths came in short bursts as she neared the crime scene. On the flight here and the drive up the mountain, she’dtold herself she was ready for this. She’d healed. Was stronger now.
Yet being back in the same area where her nightmare had begun served as a brutal reminder that she wasn’t anywhere close to ready to face what was coming.
Her thoughts worked overtime going over the facts of the case. Before her capture, Ava believed she’d decoded one of Wax’s cryptic messages to reveal a location. Her partner had agreed to go along with her hunch and neither had notified command.
And she’d come face to face with Wax. He’d taken her by surprise inside the old church. All she could make out was a man in what appeared to be some priest’s robe wearing a grotesque wax mask that hid his face.
Before she had time to draw her weapon, he was on her. A sharp prick against her neck confirmed what she already knew. Wax used a ketamine-based compound to incapacitate all his victims.
Wax taunted her with her passion to solve the case. He seemed pleased by it. He’d got in her face, wearing that awful mask, and told her the encrypted note had been meant to draw her out. Wax took pleasure in telling her exactly what he’d done to kill her partner and reminding her that no one was coming for her. It was time for her to fulfill her purpose and join him in his.
“No.” The word slipped from her cold lips.
Vaughn turned. “Did you say something?”
Shadow nudged at her leg, sensing she was spiraling.
Ava counted to ten in her head before answering. “Nothing. Let’s keep going.”
She let the past go as she listened to Shadow’s slow and steady breathing as he got into working rhythm. His presence was a kind of comfort all its own.
The dog leaned his shoulder into her thigh again and Ava smiled despite the panic knocking at the door. Shadow knew her. In a way, they were different sides of the same coin.
