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CHAPTER FIFTEEN

A ddie tried to tell herself the cabins were on her way back to the office. The truth was, she was nowhere near the highway route she’d take downtown.

Instead, she’d turned onto the freeway that ran east.

The conversation she’d had with Thea Ackerman’s aunt at the retirement home had been a bust. The woman had declined quickly after her niece was murdered. She was unlikely to recover. Still, they’d had a nice conversation. Addie had asked her plenty of questions but hadn’t learned anything to help her investigation.

Eight miles later she saw a bright sign for Second Chances Rental Cabins.

Addie hit her turn signal and got off the freeway.

She stopped at the bottom of the off ramp. Instead of checking the way was clear and turning, her foot didn’t move off the brake.

She stared across the street at the on ramp to get back on the freeway—in the wrong direction. She’d end up heading toward eastern Washington, farther away from Benson.

Who knew where she would end up?

A car behind her honked, long and loud. Addie hit the gas and turned toward the rentals. The car sped up and overtook her.

She didn’t look to see if they flipped her off. Otherwise she’d be tempted to pull them over just for being a turd—if this car had lights and sirens, which it did not. Yet. Or she could call the license plate into the police. Not exactly the professional impression she wanted to give the cops about her.

Addie didn’t overthink about where she was going. The signs were nice. She liked the idea of second chances. Was this what she thought it was?

Years ago, after their abduction, they’d been brought out here. Locked in cabins the killer had retrofitted with all kinds of terrifying things she still had nightmares about. Had someone seriously turned the whole place into a resort of vacation rental cabins?

Why anyone would want to sleep in a killer’s playground, she had no idea.

Everyone who lived in town knew where it went down. There had been so many people there when she and Jake were rescued. Cops. Feds. Reporters. Spectators. Her mom. What kind of person knowingly stayed here now?

Maybe they were super cheap to rent, and people ignored the history. The owner might have burned them all down and rebuilt them from scratch.

The other option was curious people. The morbid, and those obsessed with true crime. Probably looking for a leftover artifact they could keep as a souvenir. Or they wanted a selfie where a murder had taken place.

All kinds of reasons for all kinds of people.

As Addie pulled under the wooden sign over the road, she realized she did have a reason for coming here. Even if it was only to prove that she could.

Jacob might have lived here ever since, but it didn’t mean he hid any less than she did from their history. They’d survived something horrific. Still, sometimes she felt like she carried it with her everywhere she went. A backpack she couldn’t seem to set down. One that weighed on her shoulders and pulled her down.

Addie pulled up in front of the cabin with an Office sign above the door. She got out and looked around.

The temperature had dropped, so she buttoned her coat. No point letting everyone who saw her know exactly who it was. If they knew the town, they’d put it together, and she’d get into a conversation about how she felt being here.

The only person she wanted to talk about that with had just invited her to dinner.

Worst part? She wanted to go with him.

She also had a whole lot of work to get back to.

Addie looked around at the serene cabins and the peaceful landscape.

Why did you come here?

Sometimes it was as though she worked up a profile on herself. She probed to find the reasoning behind a word or action. A way to bring understanding.

Usually there was none.

“Good afternoon.” Tall and blonde, a young woman emerged from the house and came down the porch steps.

A long-haired German shepherd followed her.

The woman was sorority beautiful. She wore jeans, a denim jacket, and Timberland boots. In her hands she held a pair of suede working gloves. “Are you looking to check in?”

The question was probing. She probably didn’t have an open cabin, given the cars beside almost all of them, and wasn’t sure why Addie had shown up out of the blue.

Addie tried not to look at the cabin at the far end of the parking area. “I was just in the area, and it’s been a while. I haven’t seen this place since it was fixed up.”

“Oh, great. Well, you’re welcome to look around as long as you don’t disturb any of the residents. If you’d like to see inside the cabins, there’s a portfolio of photos on the website. I can give you a card with the address and my email. Just in case you have any questions.”

“All the cabins are currently occupied?”

The woman nodded. “I’m Lyric Thompson.” She shook Addie’s hand. “And yes, we’re currently full. Next open booking isn’t for three weeks.”

“That’s okay.” She waved the woman off. “I’m Adelyn Franklin.”

Lyric blinked bright blue eyes.

“Yeah, that’s me. Addie is fine.”

The name Lyric suited the woman. She seemed tough but given how striking her looks she could be mistaken for fragile. Or something to be shined and put on a shelf by the kind of guy who had a woman on his arm only for the way she looked.

Maybe that was why she lived out here.

“Addie. Well, it’s nice to meet you.” Lyric shifted. “I hope it’s okay with you that this place was repurposed. It wasn’t fun seeing it the way it was, but I gutted everything. It should look nothing like it did inside. I’m hoping if you did decide to stay here it wouldn’t bring back any bad memories.”

“I hope it wouldn’t as well.” Addie finally let her gaze flit over the cabin at the end. It had been painted lavender. Lyric was correct, it looked nothing like what it resembled the last time she was here.

Snow had been shoveled to the edges of the parking lot. Brown now given how long it had been since it fell. The place looked rustic. Plenty of floral design. A gazebo. Swings for kids in a play area. A bridge over the creek. There was likely a profusion of flowers everywhere in summer, all wild like the land around this place.

“It looks great.”

“Thanks. Took a lot of work, but I wanted to take something…” Lyric paused. “To make beauty out of ashes.”

Addie nodded. “It’s lovely. You did the right thing.”

“Thanks. It’s great to hear you say that.” Lyric flushed pink. “All the cabins back onto the land, so you can sit on the porches and watch the deer roam in the morning. I’ve even seen a couple of badgers late at night. We have wolves, and a guest saw a brown bear once, but I’ve never seen it.”

Addie smiled. “How long have you lived here?”

Lyric shrugged. “Almost seven years. This place has been up and running about five.”

“Thanks for letting me intrude. I won’t take up any more of your time.” Addie started to head for her car. “If you’re downtown and you want to grab a cup of coffee, I’m in the police station. Go in the main doors but hang a right instead of left. The sign says, FBI.”

Lyric gave her a blinding smile. “I’d like that.”

Addie shook the woman’s hand, looked once more at the cabin, and headed for her car.

She pulled out. Found the freeway. Headed back toward Benson and the office, and the pile of work. The death. The evidence. Suspects. Theories. Profiles.

Things she buried in the same place she’d buried memories of that time. The last few days she’d spent with Jake before they’d decided in the aftermath, they couldn’t be around each other anymore. She didn’t want to think about the role her mom had played in that.

The man who’d asked her to dinner had forgotten that they’d both screamed. Scarred and bandaged. In pain, physical and emotional. Psychological. They’d taken that pain out on each other.

Not the right time to decide something so life changing as never seeing each other again. But the fact remained that in the heat of the moment they’d agreed they would never see each other again. Because her mom thought that was for the best.

Now it seemed like he thought she might be his only ally.

Or he still had feelings for her.

She had to admit what she’d had with him was a once in a lifetime thing. Just the way he’d said it. She felt it as well, and there was no point denying that. Then, and now, he’d been everything to her.

Could they make beauty out of those ashes the way Lyric had?

Life had taken them in two different directions so that now they were so far apart there was no way to bridge the gap.

But if they could?

There was no way to know unless they put their hearts on the line and tried.

As she drove, she studied the scenery. Jagged mountainsides. She spotted four deer wading the river beside the freeway. Life moved on. She didn’t have to dwell on the aftermath of when it abruptly ended. Not every day of her life. She could consider the living instead. The wonder of creation. The way things seemed to keep moving. Even in the stillness she could find signs of life.

Until reality intruded and she realized the white pickup behind her was far too close.

Addie kept both hands on the wheel and followed her lane around the curve. She dug her phone from her purse but quickly saw she had no signal.

Probably the mountains on either side. It would be spotty until she reached city limits, which would happen in about fifteen minutes.

The truck did nothing as each second ticked past with the rhythm of the trees.

Addie got to town limits. Since nothing happened, she didn’t call for a patrol car to escort her back to the office. She had planned to call Sarah and get some dinner. A milkshake sounded good after visiting the cabins, and that middle of the night meal hadn’t happened yet. Their schedules hadn’t aligned, but it hadn’t been more than two days since their phone conversation.

The half her attention she had on the rearview noticed he moved. Addie held the wheel and watched the rearview.

He was getting closer.

She was still two exits from the one that would take her downtown. She reached for her phone. The pickup slammed into the back of her car.

Addie squealed. The car swerved and she dropped the phone on the floor of the passenger side. Out of reach. Far enough it might as well be in another galaxy for all it was useful to her.

Her car shuddered. Addie gripped the wheel with both hands again and held on. He came around her left side. She spotted him in the side mirror and drifted right. He kept coming closer.

Addie tried to stay in her lane.

Right before the exit he side swiped her. A nudge, but she fought to keep control of her car.

The exit coming up was on the outskirts of town but was her best bet finding aid right now. If this guy planned to push this, she either had to turn the tables somehow or get to a spot where she’d have help. A police or fire station. Something.

She took the turn at the last second.

As she careened down the off ramp, she spotted him swerve into the lane behind her.

Addie ignored the light and took the corner with a wince. Someone honked at her, but anyone watching would see the pickup in pursuit.

She waited for a lifeline. A spot she could pull into.

The pickup overtook two cars and narrowly avoided a collision with a semi coming the other direction.

He raced up behind her and nudged again.

Addie changed lanes.

He came behind her again—another bump.

Her head slammed back against the headrest. She hissed out a breath. In front of her, she saw a sign.

“Jacob Wilson Photography.”

Like a sign from the heavens, Addie veered toward it and turned at the last second into a cracked parking lot. Potholes of iced-over rain. She bumped into one and winced as her undercarriage scraped the asphalt.

She threw the car in park as soon as she could and raced to the door with her purse. Addie dug inside as she went. She’d left her phone in the car and the door open. She drew her weapon at the door and spun to watch for the truck.