Page 12

CHAPTER

ELEVEN

PRESENT DAY

Logan had fallen asleep on Morgan’s couch, the journal clutched to his chest.

Her entries had been a lot for him to process.

All of this was.

He wished more than anything that Morgan had felt comfortable telling him about the bad feeling she had. Maybe he shouldn’t have been so guarded. If he’d opened up more then maybe Morgan would have also opened up more and shared her worries.

More guilt pounded him.

He knew the feeling would keep battering him until they had some answers. And what was this secret she’d mentioned?

As the morning light began to trickle in through the windows, he pushed himself up. He’d probably only gotten two or three hours of sleep at the most. Thankfully, he was used to getting by with just a little rest.

He had a lot to do today. He’d moved finding Morgan to the top of his list of duties. None of his other cases were as urgent.

He sat up and ran a hand over his face. He needed to check in with people and see if there were any updates. He also wanted to call one of his former colleagues from Denver and get any updates on the Iron Brotherhood.

He grabbed his phone and blinked, trying to bring his gaze into focus.

He saw that David had emailed him the rest of that security footage from the award ceremony. Perfect. Logan planned on reviewing that.

Reeves had been able to pinpoint the GPS location of Morgan’s car also. That would be the first thing Logan checked out, though he had no hopes he’d find Morgan with the car. Still, he needed to check it out.

He also wanted to follow up on the man they’d found hanging in the woods. He needed to know if there were any connections between this man and Morgan.

Was the hanging victim a random person taken off the streets? Someone who’d been chosen to be made an example of? Or was he picked for a reason?

Logan needed to figure out all those things. He intended on asking Duke and Andi for their help. He knew this search would move much quicker with their assistance. Plus, three heads were better than one.

He cleaned himself up and then hurried out to his SUV.

But when he stepped outside, he froze.

Something had been left on his windshield.

He glanced around, looking for any signs that the person who’d left this was still here.

He saw nothing. No footprints or tracks. If either had been there, someone had covered them up.

Then he slowly walked toward his SUV.

A paper had been left under his windshield wiper.

Tugging on some gloves, he pulled the paper from his SUV, flinging the snow from atop it.

It was a photo, he realized.

A photo of Morgan’s cabin.

From last night.

With Logan’s SUV parked out front.

His throat burned.

The killer had been watching him.

Now this guy was taunting him, letting Logan know he didn’t have the upper hand.

His jaw clenched.

Whatever sick game this guy was playing, Logan didn’t like it.

Logan stopped to pick up Duke and Andi.

He’d wanted to go straight to Morgan’s car. Then he’d thought better of it.

Having someone with him would be wise just in case he needed backup.

He’d been so guarded and private, and that was part of what had gotten Morgan into this situation. If finding her meant he needed to change his way of thinking and operating, then he would. He’d be more transparent. He’d keep fewer secrets.

Duke had said he’d drive over to Andi’s apartment, and Logan had agreed to meet them there.

His friends climbed into his SUV and handed him a cup of coffee from a shop down the street.

He wondered if Andi had doctored up her own drink.

She was known for taking cheap coffee and making it taste fancy by mixing simple items from convenience stores into the liquid.

He only drank his black, so he’d never tried any of her masterpieces.

He held the cup up and nodded, grateful for some caffeine. “Thanks. I need this.”

“We thought you might.” Andi snapped her seatbelt in place. “I’ve been talking to all the ride-share companies in the area. None of them went to the lodge on the night of the award ceremony. I just wanted to let you know.”

“Thanks for looking into that.”

“Any updates on your end?” Andi asked.

He started by telling them about the picture that had been left on his SUV for him.

He hesitated before adding. “And I found a journal Morgan was keeping. She indicated someone might have been watching her during one of her trips.”

Andi’s eyebrows flew up. “What? When?”

“She started writing about it in January.”

“How many trips has she gone on in those three months?” Andi asked.

“She does one or two a month.” He took a sip of his coffee, the warm liquid bringing him a moment of comfort. “But that one in January took multiple weeks because she was recording the sound of ice breaking.”

“Why would this guy grab her at the award ceremony?” Duke asked. “There had to be plenty of other opportunities to do so when she was alone. Grabbing her there where he could have been caught . . . it was risky.”

“You’re right.” Logan had thought of that already, but he didn’t have a good answer. “It seems like this guy is playing a twisted game—a game I don’t like.”

He glanced at the GPS again. They were only five miles away from Morgan’s car.

His heart pounded like a war drum in his ears. He had no idea what he might find. But he hated where all this was going.

It was painfully clear this wasn’t a case of miscommunication or Morgan spontaneously going out of town.

She’d been taken.