Page 26 of Dark Shadows

He ended the call and stared out the window.

Cree had never been wrong. Her visions had cracked open cases others couldn’t touch.

But this felt different.

Personal.

One wrong move here and it wouldn’t just cost the case.

The stepdad. The homecoming queen. The shrink.

Everyone was a suspect until he said otherwise.

That missing report still nagged at him. Official files didn’t vanish. Someone had buried it, just like that body.

Savanah was tough, but not unbreakable.

Getting close to her was a risk he was willing to take.

It stirred something he hadn’t felt in years.

The case came first.

But he’d see where this thing with Savanah was going. He wouldn’t walk away without trying, even after they solved the case. He just had to keep them both alive in the meantime.

12

Mason knocked lightly on the connecting door. The sound echoed through the quiet motel room.

“Just a minute,” Savanah called, her voice groggy and muffled.

When she opened the door, her hair tumbled over her shoulders in a wild mess of waves. Her eyes were bloodshot, her expression half-asleep.

He held up a steaming cup. “Peace offering.”

She eyed him warily but took it. “If that’s black, we’re going to have a problem.”

“Didn’t know how you take it,” he said. “Figured I’d gamble.”

She took a sip then grimaced. “You lost.”

A smile tugged at his mouth. “I’ll find creamer while you get ready.”

She turned to the mirror, running a hand through her tangled hair. “It’s barely seven. I’ve had maybe an hour of sleep.”

“I know,” he said, leaning against the wall. “Unfortunately, killers aren’t big on beauty rest. He struck again.”

She handed the cup back, gagging slightly. “Great. If we give him a week, then the town will literally be a ghost town.”

He nodded. “Locals are already crawling the scene. We need to beat the chaos.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Are we sure it’s even connected? Maybe small-town boredom is kicking in.”

“It’s ours,” he said. No hesitation. No doubt.

She arched a brow. “How do you know?”

He hesitated. “There was another message. This one also had your name on it.”