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CHAPTER SIX

J acob always parked in the same spot at the grocery store. It took a whole blink before he realized someone had parked a white compact in the spot. His spot. He hit the brakes and swerved, missing the Hyundai by an inch. He yanked hard on the wheel and rattled into the neighboring space.

He stared hard at the car beside his, trying to decide if it was okay to be mad or if he should learn how to deviate from his routine sometimes.

He could do something different if he wanted to.

If he wanted.

Jacob pocketed his wallet and headed into the store. The carts were all wet after spending hours in the rain before they were collected by some high school kid earning a few extra bucks for gas money so he could take his girl to the lookout point and try his luck.

Not that Jacob had ever done that.

Except that thought brought up memories with Addie. The before of their relationship.

He pushed the cart down the first aisle and allowed himself the indulgence of remembering a few evenings with Adelyn Franklin where they’d gone a little further than they should have. Sure, he’d been raised Christian—they both had. He just thought he knew better, which pretty much all teens did. They’d thought they could do whatever with no consequences.

Except in their case it led to the two of them being abducted by a crazed killer.

Not great for keeping his head on straight about what God did to punish those who didn’t follow his law. Instead of being hyper-religious, Jacob’s counselor had steered him toward not absorbing warped ideas about following the rules or feeling responsible for what happened.

God had grace. He gave it to Jacob.

It was up to Jacob to show it to himself when needed.

He might not have done anything to deserve what happened, but processing all that had taken some time. He’d rather forget about what happened and focus on now. Think about the good. Didn’t mean that was the right thing to do exactly, but it kept him sane all these years.

He liked his ordered life. His routine.

Jacob wasn’t going to lose it just because someone parked in his preferred space.

The store was nearly empty this time of night—the way he liked it. Still, two employees who were barely adults whispered to each other over the broccoli. One glanced at Jacob.

He shoved the cart toward the onions.

“…probably killed her.”

Jacob twisted around to where both stared at him. Long enough Jacob spotted a shift right before they glanced at each other.

“Is there something you want to say to me?”

Those pimply faces were about to dissolve in fear. He saw one lip quiver.

Jacob rolled his eyes and went back to his shopping. Soon as he got home, he would call Hank and ask if there was a reason for that whole thing. Maybe the town was talking about him. Or someone had seen what happened with Celia’s boyfriend.

He didn’t even know that guy’s name, but maybe he should visit the sheriff’s office and tell them what he knew about Celia. Which, admittedly, wasn’t much. Still, her boyfriend could have hurt her.

If it weren’t for the police chief and the captain, he would have. Lachlan was probably the person who told all those true crime authors how that killer tormented the town. Maybe he thought there was something Jacob never told. As for Captain McCauley? Jacob didn’t know what was in that guy’s head.

It was like they’d already decided he was?—

Jacob stopped. Surely not.

He dragged the cart back three feet and glanced down the dry goods aisle.

Blinked.

Adelyn Franklin.

Addie looked up from the box of brownie mix in her hand as if she could feel his attention on her. She blinked just like he had.

All of it rushed back in an instant. The cabin. The terror. Those insects crawling over every inch of everything. Music pounded so loud they couldn’t hear each other, not even shouting as loud as possible.

Hours.

It had lasted for hours.

Pitch-black. Then bright white. Silence, then more hours of deafening music. Until he wanted to scratch his ears off. Until the weapon the killer left on the dresser started to look like a viable option.

Jacob sucked in a breath through his nose. That’s not who you are.

He bent forward over the basket of his cart and took a long inhale, followed by a slow exhale. In his mind he pictured the experience. As he blew out, he forced the image to move farther away. As though he could control it, push it away, get it as far from him as possible.

A light touch registered. Her hand on his arm. “Are you okay?”

Jacob opened his eyes and stared at his hand. Her clean fingers. Tidy nails. Some kind of pale polish.

He took a couple more breaths to gather his composure and lifted his gaze to her.

“You okay, Jake?”

Jake . He’d always been Jake with her. He said nothing.

“I can’t believe it’s you.” She shook her head. The darkness he lived with was there in her eyes. She wasn’t immune to it.

Their connection. He could feel it in her hand on his arm and in her attention. The warmth of her gaze did something that’d never happened with anyone else. Not before her. Not since. This woman understood him in a way no one else would.

She gave him a nervous smile. “Of all the people to run into at the?—”

He spun around, slid his arms around her waist, and tugged her to him.

At the last second her eyes widened. He realized kissing her right now was a bad idea. Instead of acting and not thinking it through, he pulled her into a hug that felt so familiar his knees nearly gave out. Their cheeks touched.

There was still the option to kiss her for a moment, like a question left unanswered. Rather than push his luck, he slid his head alongside hers and held her close.

He found his eyes had shut.

Felt her sigh in his arms. Heard her breathy, “Well.”

He wasn’t sure what that meant, but she didn’t push him away. Yell at him. Slap him. All of which she probably would have if he’d laid his lips on hers. Fifteen years, and he realized he’d grabbed her. Said nothing.

“Adelyn.” Her name was a groan from his lips.

Neither of them made a move to exit the hug.

“Jake.”

Fifteen years ago she’d hated to be called the shortened version of her name, while he’d loved being “Jake.” But neither had realized how quickly things could go bad.

She shifted. Jacob let go of her, his cheeks flamed. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have ambush-hugged you.”

“It’s different when it’s you.” She glanced aside, a slight smile on her face, and he heard a muttered, “Always was.”

Jacob shifted. He didn’t know what to say to that. He settled on, “How are you?”

They’d gone their separate ways, seeing each other only once after he was released from the hospital. She’d stayed under observation for longer. The last time they’d seen each other had been a disaster, what with her mom being there and all. Not knowing what to say to each other.

For so much of their relationship, they’d settled on a physical release rather than talking. He could argue they were just teens who didn’t know better. Or that proved how futile it was that they hadn’t had a foundation to stand on when things got real.

It also wasn’t something they could change now. He’d had to process it as part of his moving on from their shared trauma, but no one could erase the choices they made.

Fifteen years later, they’d never even spoken once since the hospital. Both of them laid low. Then she left town, and they’d lived separate lives.

Addie winced. “I’m…okay.”

“Yeah?”

She nodded. “I’ll be in town for a while.” She rolled her eyes, looking a lot like the teen he’d known and been smitten with. “A work thing.” She shrugged, but he didn’t believe it was at all casual.

“It’s good to see you.”

“You, too. Seriously.” She reached out again and lay a hand on his arm. “I didn’t mean to cause you distress. It is really nice to see a familiar face.”

Jacob nodded. “Nice to see an ally.” At least, it seemed like that might be the case still. Truth was, he had no idea if she’d be on his side or not.

She frowned at that but didn’t ask him to explain.

“It was unexpected, seeing you.” His voice remained soft. “But that doesn’t mean bad.”

She nodded. “I agree.”

A handful of questions sat on the tip of his tongue, but none emerged.

“I have to get a couple of things.” She motioned down the aisle. “Walk with me?”

Jacob turned his cart even though he only bought smoked paprika and olive oil in this aisle. He got plenty of exercise at home but didn’t need to do extra to account for additional calories. And what reason did he have to celebrate anything? There was never cause for cake. Not even on his birthday.

He had enough issues. Indulgence wasn’t one of them, at least not with food. Indulging in more than a hug with Addie? The desire for that had caught him unaware. Now he couldn’t get his equilibrium.

It had him off guard to such an extent he didn’t know what to do now. Or what to say.

“You still live in town?” She picked up the box of brownie mix and set it in her cart. When she looked at him, he nodded.

She’d matured since high school. Duh. Good thing he’d kept that thought to himself. He didn’t need to say idiotic things out loud.

“What do you do for work?”

Jacob eyed her. “How do you know I do anything? Maybe I’m a bum.”

Her mouth twitched, but it seemed like she didn’t know if she should laugh. She looked down at his shoes and back up. “I’m not thinking ‘bum.’”

“I’m a photographer.”

“Really?”

He shrugged. It was mostly true, and he couldn’t help thinking about his new book. He needed a subject that captivated him.

Who captivated him the way Addie did? No one, if he was honest.

Not one single subject had ever moved him like her. But then, maybe that wasn’t the nature of how things should be in his work. He might be chasing an idea.

A dream.

Nothing more.

“Your mom had a camera, didn’t she?”

“She gave me my first one in middle school. I didn’t use it much.” Not when his parents used it as a point of contention. “She got it out of the closet again, right after…” He didn’t finish. “It helped.”

“Good.”

“They moved to Florida a few years ago.” He’d never been, and they’d given up calling. Jacob had no desire to be dragged into their battle. “And you’re FBI now? I thought Russ mentioned that.”

“You know my uncle?”

Jacob shrugged. “We have mutual friends. We talk sometimes.”

He knew enough to know she hadn’t been in town in the last couple of years. He didn’t blame her since he lived in a penthouse apartment and only came out when he had to. Their lives weren’t so different in that respect. Except that she had left and built a career for herself.

They chatted and walked the aisles. He didn’t know half of what he threw in there but hoped it made sense. He should pull the list from his pocket. Only then he’d have to go back through the store and get what he’d missed. That meant Addie would go through the checkout, and he’d lose her.

They headed for the door together. Pushed carts across the lot to where they’d parked. She headed for his space, at the far end of the middle row under the light that had broken months ago—maybe longer.

“So you’re the one.”

She glanced over. “What does that mean?”

“Nothing.” She would think he was crazy, going on about “his” parking space.

Addie turned to him. “Is this it?”

Jacob frowned. “Do you want it to be?”

After everything, he’d feel weird asking her out to coffee. Or dinner. Would she come to his apartment?

Addie beeped the locks on her car. The trunk opened on its own. They both loaded their groceries—his on the passenger seat and footwell, bags of he didn’t know what. Random things he’d tossed in the car while they talked about nothing in particular. Winding through aisles.

He didn’t even care.

A car stopped on the street, idling in a random spot. It didn’t pull into the parking lot. Jacob turned back to her. “Addie?”

He probably would’ve told her it was good to see her.

She crossed to him and lifted on her toes, though there was about a half-inch difference in their heights. “Want to give me your cell number?”

Jacob hesitated. Maybe it was better not to get tangled up with each other again. What if they got to know each other again and she didn’t like what she discovered?

Something crossed her expression, disappointment or hurt. He couldn’t pin down what it meant. He figured she was building a profile on him in her head. Maybe she didn’t do that with everyone, just dangerous killers. “Never mind. Maybe that’s a bad idea.”

“I’m sure we’ll see each other around.” Jacob headed for his driver’s door.

If something was going to develop, it was better to let that happen naturally. Right?

Addie pushed her cart across to the return corral. One that was farther away than the one he’d used. Like she needed all that space from him.

Jacob gripped the steering wheel and watched her, as entranced as he’d always been by her. Sure, she was different now. He was as well. They weren’t anything like the kids they’d been. And yet there would always be something about her.

The car at the curb pulled in. Addie turned and headed back for her car.

An engine revved.

Addie froze. It picked up speed. Jacob laid a hand on his horn and kept it there. The car drove directly at her.

Jacob shoved out his door too late.