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Without telling Hunter?
Gabriel had kicked Hunter in the stomach last night, had laid into him with true fury.
No. They wouldn’t have told him.
“Finally got Internet,” said Kate. “Local news says the mom went to the grocery store, leaving Noah at home.” She whistled low, through her teeth. “When she got back, he was gone and there was a pentagram on the door.”
“Silver?” said Hunter, his voice grim.
“Maybe,” said Kate. “He’s not responding to my texts now.”
Hunter froze. “Did you tell him about what happened yesterday?”
“Yes.”
“So he knows Calla is still alive?”
“He said he’s had no indication that her death was not final, and the word of one child is not enough to distract him from his mission.”
Hunter tried to remember that moment during the carnival. He’d seen Calla fall, had seen the blood pour from her shoulder. Fire had caught at her clothes.
And then he’d run.
Focus. Keep thinking.
There hadn’t been any more fires. But Noah had been so assured that Calla was still alive—but his mom, Calla’s aunt, had seemed stressed when Hunter saw her. Even the news report talked about Calla’s death in the carnival fire. If Calla was alive, she was hiding, or she was gone.
No, she wouldn’t have left town. Not with her army of kids.
But where would she be hiding? She was a popular student, captain of the girls’ volleyball team. She obviously couldn’t go to school, and she was way too eye-catching to move around town without being noticed.
“Where should we go?” said Kate.
Hunter blew out a long breath and ran a hand back through his hair. “Who’s more likely to help us?” he said. “The Merricks or Silver?”
“I’ve got a better question,” said Kate. “Who’s less likely to kill us?”
The Merrick house it was.
Hunter knew something was wrong the instant he pulled into the driveway.
No SUV. No work truck. No vehicles at all.
He pulled the parking brake but didn’t cut the engine.
“What’s wrong?” said Kate.
“No cars.”
They’d pulled off the highway to put the top back on the jeep, and just now, the interior of the car was ice cold.
He didn’t think it was him this time.
The longer they waited here, the more he was going to feel like a sitting duck. His father’s lessons were rattling around in his head, telling him he should have parked somewhere else and approached the house under cover.
Kate’s breath was fogging on the window.
Hunter yanked the keys out of the ignition and unlocked the glove box.
