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48
Lucas
Rain pelts my SUV as I drive the winding mountain road toward the cabin belonging to Simone’s family. The windshield wipers are working overtime on double speed. Even then it’s difficult to see the slick road through the deluge.
“You’ll keep us posted?” Troy asks the person on the other end of the phone line. He’s sitting in the front passenger seat. Kellan is in the back seat. Garrett stayed with Emily and Zara in case Simone changed her mind about the cabin and is headed home. We have no reason to believe Simone is in danger, but we also don’t plan to assume she’s safe.
Troy ends the call. “Rose is conscious. The cops have no idea yet who broke into her house and why. They couldn’t even tell me if anything was taken, but whoever broke in ransacked the place.”
“Which means they also have no idea if the attack was linked to the hit-and-run.” I tighten my grip on the steering wheel, my blood turning to lava, thirsty to burn anything in its path.
A heavy dose of anger is also directed at myself. I’m the one who drove Simone away this afternoon.
Not Zara.
Me.
“You think the two are related?” Kellan’s eyes make contact with mine in the rearview mirror.
“I find it hard to believe Rose is involved in a hit-and-run and a home break and entry, all within two and half months of each other,” I say. “Rose isn’t a magnet for those kinds of things.”
“So whoever did this wants her dead? And if so, why?”
I glance at Kellan in the rearview mirror. “I’m not sure if they do want her dead. If they did, she wouldn’t still be alive. They would’ve made sure she wasn’t just unconscious.”
“I don’t know about that,” Troy says. “If they were planning to kill her, they might have been scared off when her neighbor went over to check on her. Rose told the cops the man who attacked her wore a mask.”
Forty minutes later, I steer down the single-lane road to the cabin. Simone’s car is parked in front of the cabin. As is a black SUV that I don’t recognize.
My muscles tense and anger flares inside me like a gasoline-doused campfire. “Who the fuck does that SUV belong to?”
It could be Avery’s vehicle, but that lead feeling in my gut tells me it’s not. The owner could be anyone, but after what happened to Rose, I only imagine one person.
Jasper’s frantically scratching the cabin door to be let in. There’s no way Simone would’ve left him outside, especially during a storm. “Fuck. Something’s wrong here.”
Memories from a lifetime ago resurface, of all the times I was here, but I don’t have a moment to appreciate them.
I reverse my SUV and park it behind a thick grove of trees. The narrow stretch of road isn’t visible from the cabin. If Simone is in danger, we need the upper hand, the element of surprise. If we were spotted, the SUV’s owner might assume we’d turned down the wrong road and then realized our mistake.
I turn off the engine. “I’ll check the cabin and see what I can find. You two want to search the SUV to see who it belongs to?”
My brothers nod, and we climb out of the vehicle, taking care not to make a sound or movement that will betray our location.
We’re wearing dark jeans and dark T-shirts. Not the best clothing for camouflage, but with the storm nailing the area, we’re less noticeable than if we’d been wearing light colors. I retired from the military over six years ago, but my Marine training pumps through my body as though I never left. Pumps through my body with a heavy dose of adrenaline.
Keeping to the cover of the trees, I approach the cabin, stealth my best friend. Jasper continues scratching the door, his whimpers breaking through the wind.
I get into position near the house. The sky lights up with a flash, giving me a brief view of the living room. No one is inside the room as far as I can tell.
Shit, where is she?
I creep up the porch steps, the loud crack of thunder masking my footfalls.
Jasper turns to me and barks. His small body shortens the distance between us. I crouch and press my finger to my lips. “Shhh. You need to be quiet.” My voice is low, the command not enough to silence the excited puppy.
In the Marines, I wouldn’t have gone on patrol without a weapon. I feel naked now. Helpless. I have nothing to protect Simone and myself with other than my bare hands. Bare hands that have been trained to kill.
Especially if the element of surprise is on my side.
