Page 168 of Sugar & Shadows

My mind flashed to warrants, caution tape, more sealed evidence, and a complete loss of this lead.

“Not yet. Give me a little time to think.” If this got into the wrong hands, if people were compromised, we’d lose this chance forever.

“Where are you? Isn’t there a blizzard coming?”

“Just headed home,” I lied, my mind spinning. I had a flashlight in my glove box and pepper spray on my key chain. If someone had been there yesterday, there was no time to lose.

Adrenaline was taking over. My heart pounded as my brain pushed all reason and logic out of the way.

“Track down every McManus family member. Going way back,” I said. “Who’s left. Who might go up there. Who would have claim to that land. Anything.”

“Got it. Drive safe.”

Meg hung up, and I accelerated. The time we had to figure this out was limited. I couldn’t wait for a warrant or daylight or a plan. Not if the evidence had been left there and had survived for almost a year.

My mind drifted to Gabe. He was expecting me. But it was still early and it wasn’t far. Probably another couple of miles. I could go, take a quick peek, and head out. I wouldn’t do anything reckless. I just needed to see the ridge so I could shift all the pieces into place in my mind. Just one look. And then I’d go straight to his house.

But I needed more information first. I couldn’t drag him into this murder coverup rabbit hole with me. It was bad enough that he was going to ask his constituents to raise their taxes for the new events at the same time he was being recalled.

I slowed, watching the map on my GPS. The logging road had to be close. Eventually, I found a break in the tree line, so I pulled over, shifted into four-wheel drive, and turned onto it.

It was like teleporting to the middle of nowhere. There was no pavement. No signs. No highway sounds. Just the crunch of snow under my tires.

My high beams barely gave me a few feet of illumination, but I made my way. The road was bumpy and narrow, though it widened at random intervals. As I drove around fallen tree limbs and rocks, I wished I’d had Meg send me a map. But I couldn’t turn back now.

Minutes felt like hours as I crawled along, scanning my surroundings. Eventually, I came upon another break in the tree line. This one was much smaller. I’d have missed it if I hadn’t been driving slowly. But there was something up there.

My adrenaline surged. Had Will been up here? Had he seen something? Hidden something?

A dim glow in my rearview mirror caught my attention, and my muscles locked up. It quickly intensified, growing brighter with every second. It was a vehicle. Between the glare of the lights and the falling snow, I couldn’t make out what kind, but it was rapidly approaching.

Slowing further, I adjusted my rearview mirror, straining to see. It could be nothing. Maybe a plow.

But it was coming closer, and it was moving quickly. The knot in my stomach tightened.

I accelerated a bit to maintain distance between myself and it. The road narrowed again, and the ditch on either side was deep, so as the vehicle caught up and followed to closely, I couldn’t pull over to get out of its way.

It was driving too close, too fast.

My SUV lost traction, and my body shook with panic. Ahead, the road curved sharply, the embankment piled high with snow where the mountain road dropped away into darkness.

My heart thundered and my trembling was nearly violent now, so I almost didn’t notice the bump. The vehicle hadn’t so much hit me as it had pushed. The move was deliberate.

My breath caught. Oh no.

I gripped the steering wheel, pain surging through my wrists, only to realize I had no control of the car. It slid and crunched, and as metal met ice and rock, a strange scraping sound made me wince. I turned the wheel, frantic to change direction, but the vehicle continued on its trajectory, and I careened off the icy embankment into the deep snow.

As my SUV lurched and slammed, all I could think about was the baby. I was desperate to protect her, but my body was jostled, and my right elbow came down hard, banging against the center console. Pain shot up my arm as a sharp ache radiated through my temple. My ears rang as I peered outside the windows. The G-Wagon sat at an angle, half buried in deep snow between skeletal trees.

Blindly, I reached for my phone, but there was no signal. My vision blurred and my fingers went numb. I needed help. I needed to call Gabe. Or Meg. Or my mom.

Gabe would be worried soon if he didn’t hear from me. He was probably already checking his phone, wondering where I was. But I hadn’t told him, or told anyone, where I was going. I was stuck, scared, and freezing.

And alone now that the other vehicle’s lights were fading in the distance.

Chapter 45

Gabe