Page 132 of Shadows of Obsession

Daniel had been on the verge of abandoning the tracking programs entirely. The monthly fees were eating into his dwindling savings, and the lack of results had been driving him to the edge of madness. But his persistence, his absolute refusal to give up, had finally paid off. I knew it. I knew she couldn't hide forever.

His eyes darted across the information displayed on the screen, drinking in every detail with the desperate thirst of a man who had been wandering in the desert. Anna's Airbnb account, dormant since that last ping in Cedar Rapids, the one that had led him on a wild goose chase across Iowa, had been accessed again.

And there, like a beacon of hope cutting through the darkness of his failures, was a location ping.

Wyoming.

Somewhere in Wyoming, Anna had logged into her account.HisAnna. The woman who had run from him, who had abandoned everything they had built together, who thought she could just disappear and start a new life without him.

Found you.

Daniel started to rise, his chair scraping loudly against the stained carpet, ready to rush out and throw his meager belongings into his car. He would drive all night if he had to, trying to reach her before she slipped away again, like smoke through his fingers.

But he caught himself, forcing his racing mind to slow, to think strategically instead of emotionally. His hand clenched on the edge ofthe table, knuckles white with the effort of restraint. No.Don't be stupid. You need more than a general location. You need precision.

Begrudgingly, he sank back into the chair, adrenaline still coursing through his veins, making it nearly impossible to sit still. He delved deeper into the data, the skills that had served him well back when he had a real job, parse the account activity with methodical thoroughness.

As he examined the details, realization struck. Anna hadn't just logged in to make a reservation, like she had before in Cedar Rapids. No. This was different. Her account had been upgraded to a professional one, the type used for managing rental listings.

She wasn't traveling. She was hosting.

Intrigue, and something darker, spiked his heartbeat as he copied the associated address with trembling fingers and pasted it into Airbnb's main search function.

The results left him stunned.

Anna's profile page featured professional-quality photos of a sprawling horse ranch straight out of a Western movie. The property was massive. Acres of fenced pasture dotted with horses, a large barn freshly painted red, and multiple outbuildings. The listings advertised three quaint vacation cabins nestled in the heart of the property, each one cozy and inviting, dripping with rustic charm.

The descriptions boasted breathtaking views of the ranch's daily operations and promised activities such as riding lessons and trail rides. Photos showed horses in paddocks, a riding ring, and trails disappearing into forests of pine and aspen.

She's running a business. She thought she could build a life without him.

Daniel leaned forward, elbows on the table, fingers drumming an erratic rhythm against the worn wood as he scrolled through image after image. The urgency to rush out and find her immediately faded slightly, replaced by something colder, more calculating.

If she was managing these rentals, she was likely to stay put. She had invested time and energy into this venture. He could see it in the careful staging of the photos, the detailed descriptions, the obvious care that had gone into preparing the cabins. She wasn't going to abandon it and run.Not this time.

She thinks she's safe. She thinks she's far enough away.

But the ranch's size and population posed a challenge he couldn't ignore. Even in the photos, there was evidence of other people, ranch hands in the background, multiple vehicles near the main house, infrastructure that suggested this was a fully functioning operation with employees.

He couldn't just show up unannounced without drawing attention. He had learned that lesson the hard way at the horse show, trying to blend in while desperately searching had only made him more obvious, more suspicious. He needed a better plan. Needed to be smarter.

As he continued scrolling, Daniel's gaze landed on an image that made his breath catch, spiking his pulse with something equal parts longing and rage.

Anna herself.

She was in the background of one of the barn photos, probably unaware she had even been captured. She was leading a horse, her blonde hair pulled into a ponytail, wearing jeans and a tank top that revealed arms stronger, more toned than he remembered. She was smiling, laughing at something someone off-camera had said.

She looked… happy. Healthy. Free.

Like she'd moved on. Like she'd forgotten him entirely.How dare she.

Daniel's resolve hardened. His jaw clenched until his teeth ached. He would find a way to infiltrate the ranch undetected. He would get close to her again. And this time, he wouldn't let her slip away. This time, she would understand that she belonged to him, that she had always belonged to him, that there was no escape.

But he needed a solid plan. Rushing in blindly had proven ineffective, the horse show had taught him that. Kansas had taught him that. Every failed attempt had been a lesson. And he had adapted.

Strategic. I need to be strategic.

Daniel stood, pacing the narrow confines of the motel room like a caged animal. The walls felt too close, the air too stale, his thoughts too loud. He needed to move, to think, to formulate an approach that would get him onto that ranch without raising alarms.