Page 7

CHAPTER

SIX

Logan resisted the urge to turn on his police lights and siren as he hurried back to Morgan’s place. He had to be rational and not overreact.

When he finally pulled up to her cabin, disappointment bit deep.

Her car still wasn’t here, He’d known that would be the case, but he’d still had a smidgen of hope. Andi and Duke would have notified him of any updates.

He met his two friends outside. They’d been waiting in Duke’s SUV, just as he’d asked.

“Sorry.” Duke climbed out, his feet crunching on the ice. “But it’s been quiet here.”

Disappointment pressed on him. “Thanks for doing this. I’m sorry to have wasted your time.”

“It wasn’t a waste,” Andi assured him. “We’re available to help you do anything else you might need.”

Logan considered the offer. Usually, he liked to think of himself as a one-man show. But if there was anyone he could trust, he knew it was Andi and Duke. They’d proven themselves time and time again.

“Maybe give me a second set of eyes inside,” he said. “I’m not trying to overstep, but I have a key to her place in case of emergencies.”

“Makes sense to me,” Andi said. “Morgan seems the type to be levelheaded about these things.”

She usually was. Logan gave an affirming nod.

He unlocked her door and went inside. As he did, his thoughts continued to wander back to that journal he’d seen.

Could whatever had been written on those pages provide the answers he needed? Could some type of secret Morgan was harboring clue him in on where she might be now? Or was the dead body hanging from the tree Morgan had previously photographed a sign? A threat? A message?

Maybe. But Logan would only read the journal as a last resort.

Logan checked the place out again, more thoroughly this time.

Then he joined Duke and Andi back in the living room.

“You have reason to believe Morgan’s in trouble, don’t you?” Duke stood in the center of the room, bristling as if expecting the worst.

Logan’s jaw tightened when he heard the words spoken aloud. “I’m trying not to overreact, but I do. I have plenty of enemies from my past who could have taken Morgan to avenge me. And I’ve also made plenty of people mad with the state police after that fiasco with Victor Goodman.”

Victor Goodman had been a shrewd businessman who’d manipulated people in power in order to get what he wanted. Even Logan’s former captain had been in the man’s pockets.

An internal investigation had been launched, and eventually Captain Durden had been fired.

But Durden had his fair share of loyal followers. Some of Logan’s colleagues were bent on making life as difficult as possible for Logan in retaliation for getting the captain in trouble. They believed Logan had framed him.

“What are you going to do now?” Andi peered up at him as she stood in the living room.

“I’m going to trace Morgan’s cell phone. I need to try to track her car as well. It’s a newer model, so it should be equipped with GPS. I’d also like to check the security footage from the award ceremony.”

Andi’s eyes widened. “You think Morgan has been missing for four days?”

“I think it’s a possibility. Considering the fact she seemed shaken after getting a text at there, I need to turn over every stone. As far as I know, the award ceremony is her last known location.”

They stepped toward the door, ready to spring into action.

Before stepping outside, Andi paused. “We’ll see what we can find out from people who were at the award ceremony and let you know if something comes up. And Gibson . . . we’re praying for you in this whole situation.”

“I appreciate that,” he said. “Morgan can use all the prayers she can get.”

His phone buzzed, and he glanced at the screen. Someone had texted him from an unknown number.

His eyes narrowed as he clicked on it.

His breath caught when he realized it was a photo.

A photo that looked like an exact replica of Morgan’s photo.

Except in this one, a man hung from the tree.

The very man they’d discovered earlier.

Logan’s gut clinched.

It was just as he feared.

This murder wasn’t a coincidence.

That area where the man had been killed had been chosen on purpose.

Whatever was going on . . . it was connected with Morgan.

Logan’s throat swelled as his worst fears were confirmed.

Danger had found Morgan.

He’d never told her the complete truth—that he’d been there and watched her brother die, that his attempt to save Bobby had been too little, too late.

Five years of carrying that burden, of keeping her at arm’s length because he didn’t deserve her forgiveness.

Now she was missing. Now someone else had her.

“Not again,” he whispered to his reflection. “Not this time.”

Resolve hardened inside him. This time, he wouldn’t fail.