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ChapterTwenty-Four
Damon turned off his brights as another car came into sight. He flicked them back on after it passed. If only Ariana had been able to give him a street name for the turnoff, but she and her new friend hadn’t seen one.
His stomach did acrobatics every time he thought about Maya. What if she was in on this whole thing? She could be leading Ari straight to their neighbor who was already holding someone else.
Though if that were the case, she was doing a really bad job. Ariana was driving down every turnoff, not finding Ryan or anywhere he might be holding a victim.
Hopefully Maya was the real deal. He wouldn’t feel better until he met her.
Though if his wife believed her, she was probably fine.
He couldn’t help worrying. He’d been raised by a serial killer, after all.
Damon called Ariana again. “Can you think of anything that was near the dirt road? There are numerous forks on this road. And without any overhead lights, it’s hard to even see them.”
“Maya and I are going to head back,” Ari said. “We can’t find anything. Most of the roads have locked gates. I’d find a way around if I knew for sure it was where Ryan went, but we have no way of knowing.”
“Do you want to meet up? I saw a diner not too far from the freeway exit.”
Muffled talking sounded in his ear. “Yeah, that sounds great. We’re both hungry.”
“I’ll see you there.”
“What’s the name of the diner?”
“I don’t remember,” he said. “But it’s the only place to eat between here and the freeway.”
“Okay. I’m sure we’ll find it. See you in a few.”
They ended the call, and Damon turned around and drove under the speed limit. Didn’t see Ariana’s car behind him.
Maybe he was on the wrong road. That would explain why he couldn’t find the turnoff. Or maybe Ariana was so far down one that she hadn’t reached him yet.
Damon made his way back to the diner. There were four cars in the parking lot, and none of them were Ariana’s. He parked underneath the one overhead light — something he made a habit of with a car like his that always drew attention. Parking in the dark was asking for trouble.
He waited a full ten minutes before calling Ariana again.
“Almost there,” she answered.
“I was beginning to think one of us was lost.”
“No, we wanted to go down one last road. There’s a lake, and someone was boating on it. At this hour, can you believe it? So, we had to check it out.”
“Was it Ryan?”
“Just a fisherman. He spoke to us, and he must’ve been hungry for human interaction because he wouldn’t stop talking. We — I see the diner. And your car. See you in a minute.”
Relief flooded him.
She parked next to him, and he rushed out to squeeze her. “I was so worried about you.”
“I wouldn’t do anything risky.”
He lifted a brow.
“Well, nothing too risky.”
“That sounds about right.”
