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"They're here. They're fine. And they're freaked out. I'm sending Joanne up first."

Sharon crouched down beside me where I'd apparently sunk to my knees. "Honey, it's okay. They're fine."

I shook my head. Relief and grief all mixed together in an oppressive concoction. I felt my ghosts around me, but they felt more distant than ever before, like they were slipping away from me. Maybe that was a good thing, but at the moment it terrified me. Was I losing them to the happiness I found in Lost Creek? Was I replacing them with new friends? Friends who survived?

Sharon rubbed my back and made shushing noises. "Clearly there's something else going on. Feel those feelings."

I was vaguely aware of her directing everyone to leave us alone and focus on the rescue. Somewhere in the distance I heard Joanne's voice babbling away, then Mack's. It wasn't until Scottie's arms wrapped around me that I realized everyone was safe and I'd ignored it all.

"Hey Kid. We're good now, okay?"

I leaned into him, so much like Jackson but different. I let him hold me while I got my shit together.

"There she is." His big hand kept rubbing my back.

I looked up. "Thank you."

He gave me a soft smile. "No problem. I had a feeling our disappearance might have triggered some feelings for you."

"You would be correct." I wiped my tears away. "How is everyone?"

He helped me stand up then wrapped Mack in his arms. "Well, physically we're fine, but I can't believe we just used a fucking Sammy book to hide from a stalker."

Joanne smirked. "What's even better is that it was Scottie who remembered the mine from the book."

He rolled his eyes. "I remember everything I read. Never thought it'd be useful."

"Watch your mouth, Scottie Shaw." Sharon warned with a smile.

"No disrespect, but they're kids’ books." He shrugged. "I panicked when that dude started following me."

"What exactly happened?" Maeve asked.

Scottie groaned. "George showed up at the bar and said lunch was canceled. Then he told me he saw some guy creeping around the offices, so I went up there to check things out for myself. I realized right away I was being followed. So when I got to the office I locked the door and closed the blinds. This guy started banging and screaming almost immediately."

Mack shuddered. "He said he would kill us if we didn't tell him where Marley was. Scottie remembered the mine and we went out the back door, into the woods, and then slid down the shaft."

"And now I'm pretty sure we're all going to die from lung fungus or something," Joanne whined. "Has anyone been down there in the last fifty years? The air was stale and gross. I think I can feel it growing in my lungs already. Is there a cure?"

"Dr. McFadden is waiting at my house to give you all a once over," Sharon assured her. "And I know Travis will murder us all if we don't give him an update soon."

Scottie kept an arm looped over Mack and me as we walked back to the parking lot. “So Travis and Huk are hunting this asshole?”

“They are.” And I wouldn’t be able to take a full breath until they were back.

Scottie chuckled. “Don’t worry, Kiddo. That dude issoscrewed.”

Forty

Jackson

Light the house on fire for all I care

Luckily it hadn’t rainedin a week. Tracking these idiots was like following breadcrumbs. Really fucking big breadcrumbs. Once we knew their movement patterns it was just a matter of paying attention.

Travis vibrated as much as he walked, and I was well aware that I might have bigger problems on my hands than simply finding these men—because there were definitely two tracks we were following—who thought it was okay to threaten Marley. If Travis got any inclination they’d hurt Joanne, he’d lose it.

I didn’t need murder charges coming down on us.