Page 15 of If You're Reading This

He continued studying the scene.

Then it hit him.

His heart began to beat faster.

He stepped back for a better look, to confirm his imagination wasn’t deceiving him.

It wasn’t.

He’d seen this area before.

He’d seen this exact tree, in fact. The tree that had a strange growth on the side of it—one that looked like a heart.

Morgan had featured this very birch tree in one of her photographs.

CHAPTER

FIVE

The blood drainedfrom Logan’s face.

He pulled out his phone, hit several things on the screen, and then shook his head.

Andi shifted, the icy ground beneath her feet crunching under the pressure of her weight. “Gibson?”

He stared at the tree another moment before his gaze snapped back to meet hers. “Morgan has photographed this exact spot. This exact tree.”

He held up his phone to show them Morgan’s image.

Andi gasped. “The similarities can’t be a coincidence.”

Whoever had done this had wanted to lure them out here.

Duke’s hands went to his hips. “What aren’t you telling us, Gibson? I can’t help but think there’s more to the story.”

Logan let out a long breath, one laden with burdens and heavy thoughts. “I haven’t heard from Morgan since the award ceremony, so I went by to see her today. She wasn’t home. I realize she could be off doing something, and she doesn’t have to tell me whenever she goes somewhere. But something doesn’t feel right. Plus, I found a footprint—a man’s—inside her cabin. I’m not convinced it belonged to a secret friend.”

Andi looked curious as if she knew there was more to this story. But he was confident she wouldn’t push him to share information. She knew he was private, and he’d tell them what he wanted in his own time.

It was obvious Duke and Andi knew Logan cared about Morgan. They probably guessed something had happened between them at the award celebration. Had probably sensed the tension after Logan had gone outside with Morgan.

Instead of explaining further, Logan asked, “When you talked to Morgan at the award ceremony, did she say anything of note? Can you walk me through everything?”

Andi shifted as she thought a moment. “When Morgan stormed inside from the back deck, she was clearly upset about something. She went straight into the bathroom, and I followed to check on her. I found her leaning against the sink with tears in her eyes and her hands shaking. She didn’t say what was wrong. She only called herself a fool.”

Logan’s gut clenched. That was all because of him.

Their chemistry was like a science experiment that could either solve the world’s problems or combust and ruin everything within a sixty-mile radius.

“Anything else you can think of?” Logan prodded.

“She did seem jumpy that night,” Andi added. “Even before she rushed back inside. At first, I figured it was because so many people were there to see her photographs. I thought maybe she was overwhelmed or something. Events like that have to cause a lot of pressure.”

“But what if it wasn’t that?” Logan’s jaw hardened. “What if something else had been bothering her?”

Andi suddenly stilled as if she remembered something important. “In the middle of our conversation, Morgan got a text message. Shereallyseemed rattled after that. She excusedherself and told me to give everyone her apologies, but that she wasn’t feeling well and needed to leave.”

“That’s all she said?” Logan clarified.