Page 32 of Beckett

It didn’t take long to load her things. She had almost nothing. A few clothes, that useless sleeping bag—no pillow. She had some deodorant, that almost-empty container of peanut butter. I packed it all in her backpack. It all fit.

When everything was loaded, I climbed back into the cab. She grabbed the backpack and clutched it to herself, leaning as far against the passenger door as possible.

I stared out the windshield into the darkness in front of me with no idea what to say. What to do.

“Where’s your car?” I finally asked.

“Parked by the old logging road. I walk in every night.”

Of course she did. Couldn’t risk anyone seeing her car here after hours. Couldn’t risk questions. She’d left every afternoon then snuck her way back on the property to that fucking shed.

The temperature in this cold snap was still falling. By tomorrow afternoon, everything would be back to normal fall temps, but right now, Montana was being a frigid little bitch. By dawn, Audra might have been in real trouble.

The silence stretched out between us. “If you just take me to my car, you never have to see me again. I’ll get out of town.”

That was enough to get me to put the truck in drive.

“Are you taking me to the police?” Her voice came out small, frightened.

The way she kept asking that, I should. Sheriff Lachlan Calloway had been one of my best friends since childhood. He would expect me to bring her in.

She had been trespassing and was being paid cash by Lark. The chances Audra had done something illegal and was on the run—Todd’s sister or not—were pretty damned high.

“Please, just take me to my car.” I could barely hear her over the crunching gravel and blasting heater.

I didn’t answer. Mostly because I didn’t know what the fuck I was going to do.

But less than a minute later, I made my choice. I didn’t take her to her car or head into Garnet Bend.

Silence permeated the cab as I drove the short distance to Lark’s house. Motion sensors triggered the porch light as we pulled up. The house stood empty—Lark wouldn’t be back for another week.

“I— I—” Audra shook her head as I killed the engine.

“Let’s go. You’re staying here tonight. It’s safe, warm, and Lark would kick my ass if I did anything but put you here tonight.”

Audra followed silently, backpack clutched against her chest, her movements slow and mechanical like she was still half trapped in whatever nightmare had held her. Her breathing hadn’t quite evened out yet—I could hear the slight hitch in it as we walked to the door.

I unlocked it, the click of the dead bolt loud in the quiet night. Lark had given me keys a couple of years ago, trusting me to handle emergencies. This qualified.

The house smelled like Lark—lavender and dog shampoo and something indefinably warm. I flipped on lights, heading straight for Lark’s bedroom.

“Beckett…” Audra’s voice was barely a whisper, more air than sound.

“Bathroom’s through there.” I took her backpack from her and set her bag on the bed.

She stood frozen in the doorway, arms wrapped tight around herself, looking utterly lost. Her eyes tracked my movements, but there was a vacant quality to them—like she was seeing through me to something else.

“Tomorrow,” I said. “We’ll sort all this shit out tomorrow. But tonight, you sleep here. Safe. Warm. That’s all.”

She stared at me, nodding almost vacantly.

“Just get in the bed and sleep,” I said. “We’ll talk in the morning.”

I pulled the bedroom door behind me and stood there staring at it for a long minute. There was no fucking way I was sleeping tonight, but at least I knew Audra was safe and warm.

Chapter 10

Beckett