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FINDING

ASHER

“D id you see Diya? I missed her call, and I tried to call her, but she isn’t answering her phone.” Layne said, looking around, her eyes concerned. The food trucks had left, and the asylum was quiet again. Unnaturally quiet.

“She said she’d be at the cottage,” I said, moving toward Diya’s place.

When we reached the cottage, Layne pushed the door open and froze.

“Fuck. What the hell are you doing here, you bastard?”

Jonah stood there, pale, sweaty, hands raised above.

“What did you do to Diya? If you have harmed even a hair in her head, I’ll bury you.”

“Doctor Sharma’s not here. I-I have been waiting for her.”

“Where’s Millie? What the fuck did you do?” I growled, lunging at him.

“No-nothing. She’s sleeping in the bedroom.”

I slammed him against the wall as Layne opened the door to the bedroom.

“She’s here, and she’s sleeping,” Layne said, giving me a nod. “She looks fine, Asher.”

“I came here because I knew Doctor Sharma would help us. Help Millie. It’s not me, Asher.”

“Shut the fuck up. You killed Riley.”

“No. I didn’t kill anyone,” Jonah said, shaking his head.

“Why did you kidnap Millie then?” I clenched my fist, inching to hit him again, and again until he was dead.

“They would have killed her too.”

“What?” I asked, frowning. “Who—you know who did it?”

“It’s Holland. He-he’s the one,” Jonah said, his voice cracking. He looked like he was ready to break down.

“I don’t believe you.”

“No, no, trust me, Asher. It’s him. Holland and Ellis. I have proof.”

What the fuck was he talking about?

Layne gasped. “Fucking bitch,” she snapped, slamming her hand against the wall. “God, Asher. Where the hell did they take her?”

Jonah fumbled with his phone, hands still trembling. “Look—just look at this. I found it in his study. When I was five, I-I saw him kill our dog. She was Vincent's, and we loved her. I was so afraid to say a word… I was afraid he'd kill me too,” Jonah whispered, his voice quivering.

My chest tightened when I looked at the picture. The man stood in a mask next to Riley. There was no life in her eyes. Only mad desperation.

“I know Doctor Sharma was looking into it as well. I saw her… at Holland’s party. That’s why I came here. I knew she’d help Millie.”

My heart dropped. “Jesus Christ.”

Layne turned to me, eyes burning. “Fuck, Asher. We need to find her. Now.”

Layne looked shaken, her usual mask of confidence crumbling as she looked at me, eyes begging.

My heart stilled.

“Let’s go,” I said.

Jonah winced. “You have to hurry. They’ll kill her,” he whispered. “He’s… he’s mad.”

“Layne, your phone.”

She handed me the phone, before walking into Diya’s room. I texted Vincent about Millie and Jonah.

When Layne came out of Diya’s room, she was carrying a bag. “She’ll need them,” Layne said.

“This way,” I said, motioning her toward the back of Hollowhaven where I had hidden my motorcycle.

“Yours?”

Nodding, I handed her a helmet. “This will be faster.”

My fingers shook as I put on my own helmet. I… I couldn’t lose her. If I lost her, I would burn this fucking town down, consequences be damned.

The streets, usually quiet at this hour, were flooded with people as I rushed past them. Civilians, officers, firefighters, and volunteers with flashlights in hand, calling out Millie’s name.

The wail of sirens echoed in the distance as patrol cars roamed the roads, their spotlights cutting through the darkness.

I drove through a thicket of trees until the hunting cabin came into view. It stood eerily alone, swallowed by the silence of the woods.

Before I’d even cut the engine, Layne was jumping down. She threw off her helmet and bolted toward the cabin.

She kicked the door open. “Damn it. She’s not here, Asher,” she said, spinning around, breath ragged.

We stepped outside, shouting for Diya, our voices swallowed by walls of trees.

“What if she is…” Layne didn’t finish. Her voice cracked, and when I looked over, her eyes were glassy.

“No,” I said quickly, shaking my head, trying to push the fear away. “No, you know her. Diya won’t die. She doesn’t give up.”

Layne bit down on her trembling lip as we pushed deeper into the trees. Shadows had started to stretch across the forest floor, even though it wasn’t evening yet.

Layne stopped short, gasping.

“Asher, look here.”

I hurried over just as she bent down and picked something shiny from the ground.

“It’s hers,” Layne said, handing me the anklet. It was the one she was wearing this morning.

I looked around, studying our surroundings. There were no cabins, no buildings out here. Nothing but woods and silence.

But this place was old. I’d heard rumors about bomb shelters in Duskwood Park.

If you were a pair of serial killers looking for the perfect hiding spot to torture and kill…

“I don’t see anything else,” Layne said, scanning the area.

“It has to be underground,” I muttered, eyes sweeping the forest floor. “Start looking for anything—hatch, vent, disturbed ground, anything that doesn’t fit.”

I tucked the anklet in my pocket, jaw tight.

“We find Diya,” I said, my voice low, “and then we bury that bastard alive.”