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A rustling sound came from my left, so distant I almost missed it. I stopped in my tracks. There it was again, same direction.
“Audrey!”
She didn’t answer, but I headed toward the sound. If it was Max, he might be able to find her faster than I could.
I raced through the trees, kicking up pine needles and dust, ignoring the scratches on my arms. The woods thinned, finally opening onto a sunbaked meadow filled with dry, brown grasses.
“Max?”
Three turkey vultures took off from the midst of the grass, their big wings flapping. They didn’t go far, just rose into the air and circled, waiting for me to get away from their meal.
That meant there was something dead over there. I couldn’t imagine Max rolling in an animal carcass that was being eaten by carrion birds, but he also had no sense of his own mortality, so maybe big birds wouldn’t have scared him.
I jogged over to where the birds had taken flight. The remains of something—not big enough to be a deer but larger than Max—lay in the grass. It was so picked apart and dried out, it didn’t look like much of anything. Definitely not fresh.
And no Max.
Fuck.
I checked the sun and the time on my phone to orient myself. I was pretty sure I knew how to get back. Worst case scenario, if I kept going, I’d hit the river. Then it would be a matter of following the water until I found a trail or the waterfall.
But where the hell was Audrey? How far had I gone wrong?
At this point, she could have been anywhere. My instincts weren’t enough to take me in the right direction and I hadn’t seen any signs that I could follow. Not that I was an expert; I easily could have missed them.
I figured I was probably closer to the river than home. My phone didn’t have a signal, but if I got to a hiking trail, I’d find a spot where it would work. I could keep searching and call my brothers to get out here and help.
There was nothing else to do but keep pushing through and hope we were both on a wild dog chase we’d laugh about later.
Because the alternative was unthinkable.
Ignoring the heat and discomfort of dehydration, I started off again, heading for the river. I kept my phone out, checking it in between yelling Audrey’s name, ready to call whoever would answer as soon as my phone connected again.
My sense of urgency grew with every step. She was in danger. I didn’t know how I knew, but it wasn’t my imagination gone wild. I wasn’t jumping to the worst-case scenario.
I knew.
My heart pounded in my chest and blood rushed in my ears. A wasp buzzed past and thankfully I had enough presence of mind to look out for the hive. I circled wide around it, cursing the damn things for being in my way.
Finally, I heard the rush of water. I wasn’t sure what part of the river I was hitting, but at least I’d found it.
Maybe Audrey had too. She’d know to follow it downstream.
Hoping against hope that I’d see her in the distance, I crashed through the trees and stopped near the bank.
Still swollen from the spring melt, the river rushed by in a mass of white foam and blue-green water. I looked up and down but I didn’t see anyone. No Audrey. No Max.
No stalker.
With a deep breath of resolve, I started downstream toward the falls.
CHAPTER39
Audrey
“You?”I asked.
Hayden’s expression was unreadable. If he was the stalker, his face showed none of the malevolence I’d have expected from a man who’d gutted a helpless animal and smeared its blood on my door. He just watched me, silent and passive, holding the leash in his hands.
