“I’ll try to find a more recent photo for you.”
“Maybe she left the boyfriend behind, too.” Especially if he’d almost cost her her license. “I’ll do a sweep over your coordinates tomorrow morning and keep you updated with anything new.”
“Things start up here at eight,” I informed him.
Callum preferred to gather footage either at dusk, when his drone could be mistaken for some kind of bat, or at dawn, when few would be up and looking at the sky.
“I’ll be gone before then. Also, there’s another storm cell coming through tonight. Hope your shelter is sufficient.”
The closest Callum came to a warning.
“Thank—”
The line went dead.
I replaced the phone in my heel and headed toward the Sanctuary.
When the outhouse peeked through the trees, I started counting the tents I’d marked between the Sanctuary and bathrooms. When I saw the third, I dipped back into the forest and walked south, paralleling the slope of the highway.
Thirty yards brought me back to the empty clearing. In the opposite corner, I crouched and examined the recently trod packed dirt and crushedleaves. Rising, I carefully followed their trail into denser woods, a mix of lodgepole pine and spruce. Ahead, something white and unmistakably unnatural caught my attention.
A camper, the nameTiffenscripted onto the side. A luxury RV, and this one was at least as big as my 33FB, though not towable.
There was no way that thing took the same path to get here that we did.
Veering to the right, I circled the motor home from the safety of the trees, taking note of the license plate still attached to the back; I memorized the number to send to Callum later.
As I backtracked to the other side of the camper, I saw the clear, flat path the RV had taken to this plateau—a direct shot from the road. Maybe a ten- to fifteen-minute drive.
The door to the RV swung open, and I stopped instantly as Maxwell stepped out, a cell phone pinned to her ear. I wedged against the nearest tree and stilled to listen.
“Another one? I thought we decided only one per session.” Her exasperation carried like a cloud of dust.
One what? And what agreement?
A branch snapped near me and Maxwell spun around.Shit. Was that—I looked over my shoulder and saw Matthew coming from the Sanctuary. Neither of them saw me.
Maxwell went back to her call, and the security guard’s pace increased when he heard her worry.
“Will it be better, my darling?”
Darling.I went on alert.Was she talking to James?
Matthew continued closer until she held up a finger to stop him.
“I know. You’re right.” Her head lowered in defeat. “There are a few prospects. I will need a little more time to find the very best for the Garden.”
Garden?I didn’t get the feeling that Maxwell had a green thumb. Not from her luxury camper, nor her soft, tanned hands.
She ended the call and lashed out at her right-hand man. “Yes, Matthew?”
“Do you want to stay here tonight, Julia?”
Where else—
“No. I want to go back to the Garden tonight and see Adam.”Adam. Not James. And again, this garden.
Shit.I added the key words to my mental list of more questions for Callum.
