Chapter 6
Six
A n alarm was going off somewhere in the distance. No. Not distance. Right next to her head.
Sloane’s arm reached out from under her warm comforter and slapped aimlessly at her phone. The blaring music was a dramatic reminder for that particular Saturday morning: she wasn’t getting to sleep in. No. She had to get her ass up and go run through Silver Springs with her friends.
It’s for a great cause. It’s for a great cause.
Yeah. No amount of repeating those words seemed to give her the motivation to leave her bed. However, the promise of the last blueberry lemon muffin she’d picked up in Bell Ridge earlier that week was exactly the motivation she needed.
She shuffled to the kitchen a few minutes later, knowing full well that she should have forced herself to shower and get dressed before diving into the treat. But again, she couldn’t find the energy to care. Mornings were the worst. She’d been a night owl for as long as she could remember. But nights were also torture once the sun went down…
Sloane forced her body to stop the shiver running through her shoulders. There was no time for those memories. She needed to be in town early but completely forgot to confirm what time Lily would be expecting her, and what time Mae would be there to pick her up.
The bite of muffin was absolutely to die for. Wiping crumbs from the corner of her mouth, Sloane grabbed her phone. A quick text to Mae would probably solve the timing mystery.
Before she could pull up her messages, the phone vibrated in her hands.
Her eyes darted up to the caller ID, and her mind went blank.
KL Rescue and Crew.
Her breath froze in her chest. The code name she’d put in her contacts fourteen years ago and hoped to never hear from again shocked her as it illuminated her screen. How long had it been since she’d heard from her?
The third ring buzzed through her body and Sloane snapped out of her stupor. She nearly dropped the phone trying to accept the call.
“Why are you calling me? What’s going on?”
Sloane tried to play it cool. The FBI agent who saved her ass in the weeks following her escape wasn’t supposed to call. Not unless he was back. Not unless they thought he was a threat again.
“Sloane. Where are you right now?”
Her voice sounded the same as the day she found Sloane running through the woods. God. Sloane looked at the ceiling, willing the tears in her eyes to go away.
“I’m home.” Alone. Her eyes darted around her kitchen, looking for any sign that someone had been in there. “He’s back?”
“No.”
Her stomach swooped. “I can tell you’re lying, Kimi.”
“The truth is, we don’t know.”
Sloane’s legs gave out and she crashed to the floor. “Tell me.”
“There’s a missing college student in Virginia. Five-five, a hundred and twenty pounds, strawberry blonde hair.”
“Her eyes?”
“One green, one blue.”
A sob sat heavy in Sloane’s chest. Her contacts were sitting on her bathroom sink and the loss of their safety ricocheted through her chest.
“She looks like me.”
“Yes. And I think you know I wouldn’t be calling if that was the only matching parameter.”
Sloane pulled in a sharp breath to clear the spots dancing at the edge of her vision. “What else?”
“All accounts of her last being seen state that she was walking home from an event on campus. With her boyfriend.”
Sloane nodded robotically. “And he’s dead.”
The line stayed quiet for a moment before Kimi said what Sloane had known right from the beginning. “I shouldn’t be telling you this… but I want you to be on alert. He was stabbed eight times before his throat was cut.”
Her stomach cramped. “Davis.”
“Yes. It looks exactly like what happened to Davis Martinez.”
“Is there a cave system? Could this be a copycat? How could he get completely across the country without anyone knowing? Have there been other cases and you just haven’t told me? Why are you telling me now?” Her voice raised an octave over the questions, her lungs aching with every breath she’d taken.
“Sloane, slow down. Is there someone you can call? Someone you trust to be with you right now?”
“No. That was the number one rule when I got my new identity. No one could know. No one could know my real name, or know what happened to me. I’ve never told anyone, Kimi. Not a single soul. You said it had to be that way. So I’m alone in this. Still.”
“It did. And you are safe because you followed those rules. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about this. I’m breaking about six different statutes right now just by calling you, but I want you to be safe. What you went through…”
“I’m fine. I’ve been on my own this whole time.”
“Are you still seeing clients?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t take on anyone new until we have concrete evidence of what’s happening here. And it might be best to start meeting your current clients online.”
It was all so ridiculous. He hadn’t been active in over a decade. Sloane was the last… well, she had gotten away. Started over. Built a life she was proud of. There was no way that she was going to stop her practice. That was the only thing that gave her purpose. A reason to get up every day. Without that, Sloane knew she would fall apart.
“Virginia is over a thousand miles away from where I am, Kimi. I’m not going to put my life on hold just because something looks like it could be him. It’s been over a decade. There’s no reason to suspect this is the same guy or that he’s looking for me. My case was out in the public. It was on national news! Someone could be copying him.”
“I just want you to be smart, Sloane.”
“I’ll take the same precautions I’ve been taking.” She tapped her finer against the pendant hanging around her neck. “Please call me when you find her. If you find her.”
“I will. Stay safe.”
“You too.”
* * *
A text pinged through on her phone. Sloane blinked, releasing the tight hold she had on the news article in her hand.
Mae:
Hey, Girl! I’ll be at your house in five! Hope you’re ready for this fun run!
Shit. Sloane looked at her phone. How the hell had two hours gone by without her even noticing? She’d completely forgotten to charge her phone after Kimi called. There was practically no use bringing it with her to the race, but she still tucked it into her back pocket as she rushed to put all the news clippings and journals back into their box. She was sliding it under her bed just as she heard a knock at her door.
“Sloane? Come on! We’re going to be late for registration, and you know Lily will kick our asses if that’s the case! I walked all the way here! My ass hurts too much already!”
“Coming!” Sloane yelled as she walked to the door. She didn’t miss the way Mae’s face fell when she saw Sloane wasn’t ready.
“What’s going on? You’re not going to the race?”
“No! I am. I just lost track of time doing some research for a patient. You can come in. Give me five minutes?”
“Okay, but you have to be the one to apologize to Lily and get us back on her good side.”
“I’ll promise her some pie at Dolly’s or a babysitting session so she and Gunner can get their freak on without having to listen for the baby.” Sloane took off down the hall to Mae’s laughter.
Twenty minutes later they were standing in front of a very disgruntled Lily.
“I’m sorry we’re late. It was all my fault.”
Lily waved her hand at them. “It’s fine! The guys just misplaced a big box of registration forms so I’m running around a little frazzled.”
Gunner slid up behind her, Sage strapped to his chest in a baby carrier. “You go get ready to race with the girls. I’ll make sure everyone is registered and out on the course by the time that gun goes off.”
“Are you sure?”
“Stop being so?—”
“Stubborn. I know.” Lily pressed a kiss to her husband’s cheek. “Alright, ladies, let’s go before I start missing these two too much and decide I don’t want to leave.”
Mae made a fake gagging sound, and Lily laughed as her arm hooked through Sloane’s. They walked for a few minutes around the other tents, but Sloane felt Lily’s eyes lingering on her face the entire time.
“You going to tell me what’s wrong?” Her friend finally asked.
“What?” Sloane’s head snapped up, only then realizing that Mae wasn’t with them. “Where did Mae go?”
“She went off to help Stone with something.” Lily’s eyes rolled.
“I’m pretty sure everyone knows what those two are up to at this point.”
“Everyone except Hawk. I think that’s her main worry.”
Sloane shook her head. “But I don’t want to talk about Mae right now. I know something is bothering you. Spill.”
“I can’t. It’s about a… client. I got lost in the research this morning and didn’t keep track of time. I know how important this is to you, Lily. And I’m sorry.”
“Oh, knock it off! I don’t care that you were a few minutes late. I care that you seem to be drawing back into yourself. The Sloane I first met when I got here was less reserved than you’ve been lately. I just want to know if I can help.”
“I’m fine. I promise.”
Hawk’s voice boomed from a nearby bullhorn. “Ladies and Gentleman, please make your way over to the starting line! Our charity race to raise money for the new health clinic in town will be starting in five minutes!”
Lily laughed. “I need to make sure Gunner takes that away from him after the run begins. I’m almost certain he’ll use it in one way or another to flirt with someone here.”
* * *
“Courtney, did you end up messaging Elias to come?”
She nodded, taking a sip from her water bottle. “I did. He said he’d be here, but I didn’t see him around.”
The women were standing at the back of the pack, waiting for the start of the race. Fortunately, the guys weren’t racing. Sloane had a feeling she'd pass out if they were setting the pace.
“Was there any other messaging going on or was it strictly… boring?”
Sloane snorted.
“I mean, there was some flirtatious back and forth. I really like him, but I think he’s holding back. I can’t tell if it’s a me thing, or a him thing.”
“Okay, so we really need him to show up to suss out the situation. I love this so much. I’m gonna need you to spill all the details and we can figure out how to play this.”
“Mae! Maybe Courtney doesn’t want to share all the details with us?—”
The race gun went off, startling the hell out of Sloane. She jolted back, her hand flying to cover her heart.
“Oh, right. I’m doing that no-filter thing. Sorry, Courtney.” Apparently none of her other friends had been taken by surprise. She used the slow jogging pace of the race starting to calm her already overworked heart down.
“No, it’s fine! I love having friends to talk this all over with. It’s been lonely coming back to Silver Springs now that my family isn’t here.”
“Oh, you grew up here?” Mae asked. “How did I not know that? I thought you were a transplant like all of us!”
“Yeah, I did. There was an accident and… Well, it was hard for my parents to stay once my brother died. We were ten years apart but god, he was such a cute kid.”
“What happened, if you don’t mind me asking?” Lily placed a hand on Courtney’s arm.
“A woman ran a red light driving her daughter to school. It wasn’t a secret in town that the family was bad news. The mom was under the influence and drove right through the intersection my brother was crossing. In an instant, he was gone.”
“Oh my god, Court. I’m so sorry. I had no idea.”
She shrugged. “It’s not something I talk about a lot. I worked through it in therapy after it happened and I’m on the other side of the grief. My parents had the whole community backing them, and they continued to support us through the trial. My parents couldn’t handle being here after that, but I’ve always felt like this was home, even after he died.”
“Will your parents come visit you?”
“No, probably not. But I kind of like it that way. After Adrian died, they were suffocating me. I went to college and they’d just show up on random weekends. It was weird though. They were always so proud of me until he passed. And then it was like I could never live up to their expectations. I was mortified and constantly worried they’d pop up when I was making out with someone. I’d never live that down.”
Mae giggled. “I knew I liked you, Court.”
“I was definitely wild in college. We probably all were, weren’t we?”
“I can’t see Sloane spending time at a rave. In the antique book section of the library, with her face buried in stinky old papers, yes. Letting some frat boy suck alcohol out of her belly button, absolutely not.”
“I’m sure Sloane had a great time at college,” Lily smiled.
“Mae’s right.” Sloane shook her head. “I was very studious. And I wouldn’t change that.”
She’d been plenty wild and crazy her freshman year, but her friends didn’t need to know that. And they couldn’t know how sophomore year changed everything.
“Well, it was hell for me when my parents would pop up. And it was hell when I had to go to visit them in Colorado every time school let out.”
“Is that where they relocated to?”
“Yeah, to Boulder. I actually have to fly out there next week. It’s their anniversary and the perfect daughter who can never do anything right needs to be there, of course.”
“Yikes, that sounds really tough,” Lily said. “But I get it, in a way. My parents have basically disowned me. They’ve never even met Sage. We don’t talk to them at all.”
“It’s really tough when there are strains in those important relationships.”
“Oh my god, you guys! I just had the best idea. Elias should go with you, Court! Imagine bringing home one of the top foresters in the nation. Your parents would probably fall all over him.”
“How do you know he’s one of the top in the nation?”
“Ellie’s always going on about it during class.” Mae smiled. “She told me he’s working on some new industry-changing algorithm. I don’t understand that stuff at all, but I did tell Ellie that Elias should talk to Gage. Two computer nerds are better than one when it comes to that stuff, I imagine.”
“Ow, ow, ow.” Sloane’s head whipped towards Courtney as she started to limp. “Can we slow down for a minute? I think I pulled something.”
“We haven’t even gone a mile, Court. What could you have possibly pulled?” Mae laughed.
“I got injured playing rugby in college. It hates me every now and again. Apparently the hate is going to be strong today. Ouch!” Sloane watched as she winced when she put pressure on her left leg.
“You played rugby in college? What a badass! Lily, you okay if we take a break?”
“Eh, I’m good with walking for a bit,” Lily slowed, her hands going to her hips.
“Sloane?”
“Yeah, I can walk.” Truth be told, for as much mental griping as she did when she first rolled out of bed, Sloane wanted to run. She hadn’t been putting as much effort into keeping up her training, especially with leaving self-defense class early. But that needed to change. The race was a good excuse to get in some cardio.
“Alright, well, it’s a little early, but I guess now is as good a time as any!” Mae giggled as she unzipped her waist pack. “I brought a little treat to get us through.”
“Is that a flask? Oh my God, Mae, you’re incredible!” Courtney reached her hand out towards Mae and flapped her fingers like a small child seeking a treat. “Hand it over.”
Mae pulled off the top of the flask, taking a generous sip before handing it to Courtney, who sipped and sputtered, laughing as her eyes went wide. “Is that straight tequila?”
“Yup.”
“Mae!” Lily scolded.
“Live on the edge, Lily!”
“I can’t. I’m nursing Sage, and I didn’t bring my pump so I could pump and dump.”
“Lame. I thought you were wanting to wean her soon anyway? Why not start today!”
Sloane noticed the way her friend’s face fell and quickly rose to her defense. “I don’t think wanting to feed her baby is lame, Mae.”
“I didn’t mean it in a bad way, Lily. You’re freaking wonder woman to me, are you kidding? I’m so sorry.” Mae’s hand landed on Lily’s arm. “I honestly just meant to be silly.”
Lily waved her off. “It’s fine. I’m just feeling sensitive today. Probably all the stress from organizing this thing and wanting it to be perfect for Gunner and the guys, and Jake, too. It will be so nice to have a clinic here in the community. We won’t have to run Sage over to Bell Ridge every time she needs to be seen.”
“Or…” Mae raised her eyebrows and looked at Lily’s hand, which was resting against her stomach. “Maybe you’re feeling emotional for another reason?”
“No. No. We’re having fun practicing, but we have to hold off on another baby for now. My doctor thinks it’s best to push it until Sage is at least two.”
“How are you feeling about that?” Sloane asked.
Courtney’s giggle distracted her from Lily.
“What?”
“That was just a very therapist thing to ask.”
The girls all laughed. She wasn’t wrong. Sloane felt most comfortable when she was able to provide support. It was the easiest way to avoid talking about herself.
“Well, if I’m being honest, I feel scared to let Gunner down. He is such an amazing dad, and I know he’s really looking forward to being there for the whole pregnancy this time. I’m just…”
“Worried about preeclampsia coming back?” Sloane asked. Lily was open about the health scare she had right after Sage was born. She had been lucky that Gunner was there to see the symptoms and get her help.
“Terrified of it. And I responded well to the treatment. I mean, it was postpartum, so it was only my life that was in danger. I can’t imagine how scary it will be when it’s me and the baby.”
“First, it is still terrifying that your life was in danger, and it doesn’t make it any less of a traumatic thing to have gone through just because you’d already given birth to Sage,” Sloane offered. “And second, there’s nothing that says it will happen if you get pregnant again.”
Lily shrugged. “I know. It might not. I just don’t know how to tell Gunner that I’m scared. He’s so all-in. It’s hard not to just fall right in line with his excitement.”
“I think you have to be honest with him. He seems like the most no-nonsense guy, at least from what I’ve seen in class.” Courtney rubbed at her hip as a few runners made their way past the group. “And it’s obvious that you and Sage are the most important things in the whole world to him. I’ve only ever seen the guy smile when he’s looking at you, or holding Sage.”
“He really is the best. You’re right. I need to just put on my big girl pants and talk to him about it.”
“I have no doubt the grumpy ass will bend over backwards to make sure you’re okay. Or maybe he’ll stop bending you over backwards…”
“Mae! God, you are the worst. Why do I put up with you?”
“Because I’m actually the best, and you know it!” Mae’s arm wrapped around Lily’s shoulder and pulled her in for a hug.
“Oh, Sloane. I’ve been meaning to ask, do you have those blankets ready to drop off at the shelter? We’re running low and you mentioned wanting to donate some.” Courtney side-stepped around Lily and Mae, letting her voice drop so they were the only two in the conversation.
Her stomach fell when she realized that she had completely forgotten about the promise she made to Ellie. “Yes! I’m sorry it slipped my mind. I meant to bring them with me for you to take today and just got distracted. I’ll figure out when I can stop over to the shelter and drop them off. Hopefully sometime this week.”
“You know, you could always give them to Gage to drop off. Seems like you two are spending more time together lately.” Courtney’s eyebrows wiggled on her forehead.
“Wait, what? What’s this about Gage and Sloane spending time together?” Mae giggled.
“Gunner told me he saved you from that aggressive client the other night after I left,” Lily said. “I was so worried, I was trying to convince Gunner to go check on you, but Gage came back and said you were okay and on your way home.”
“It was nice of him. But I wouldn’t say that constitutes spending time together. He was just following up with me because you left work upset.”
“But you were with him when Cookie passed,” Courtney added.
“You were?” Mae asked.
“I was. But that wasn’t something planned. I just wanted to drop off a thank you gift for having my back with my client. And then he told me what was going on with Cookie, and I stayed.”
“You stayed the night with Gage?” Lily’s eyes were comically wide.
“No. I stayed until she passed, and then I left.”
“If you left right after,” Courtney giggled. “Why are you so red in the face all of a sudden?”
“Oh my god, you guys! There isn’t anything going on between us.”
Her mind was all over the place as she looked down at her feet, praying her friends would change the subject.
“Sloane, is that your phone going off?” Lily’s soft question jolted her out of her isolated thoughts.
“What? Shit, yes. I didn’t think I had any battery left. Sorry, one second.” Sloane looked at the caller ID, immediately recognizing one of her clients calling. “I’m sorry, guys. This is a client. I need a minute to check in with them.”
“Should we stay?” Mae’s worried gaze met hers.
Sloane looked around, and her heart rate spiked. She’d been working overtime to stay distracted by fully paying attention to her friends that she’d missed them walking into the woods. They were through the front half of the race. In the end, her need to help her client won out.
“No. You guys go ahead. I’ll just catch up in a few minutes. Don’t have too much fun without me.”
* * *
“The girls just crossed.” Nash pointed towards the finish line, where Lily, Mae, and Courtney were giggling as they walked towards the tent.
“We did it!” Court laughed.
“You sure did. Here, I’m the official medal hander-outer.” Hawk grabbed three finisher medals off the table and placed them over the women’s head. A growl ripped through the air as Hawk’s hands lingered at Lily’s neck.
“Easy, Reap. I’m not feeling up your woman. Just didn’t want the twisted ribbon to bother her.”
“I’ll fucking fix it, you prick.” Gunner mumbled as he walked over to his wife.
“You know,” she giggled as she stood on her tiptoes to kiss him. “You need to put twenty dollars in the swear jar. Hi, baby girl. Did you miss Mommy?”
Sage babbled and Gage’s heart clenched. His best friend had found such happiness with Lily and Sage. God, he was happy for them. His eyes wandered through the crowd, looking for the woman who had been taking up more and more space in his mind lately. When he didn’t spot her, Gage turned back to his friends.
“Where’s Sloane? I thought she was running with you guys?”
“Running is a very generous description of what we did,” Mae laughed.
“Who was it that brought out her flask the minute we entered the woods?” Courtney asked.
“I’m not the one who was looking forward to actually running this course.” Mae’s head tilted towards Lily.
“Yeah, well, I had a baby a few months ago. I’m not back to running form just yet.”
“Ladies, back on track please.” Gunner smiled down at his wife. “Is Sloane okay?”
“She got a call from a client,” Lily shrugged. “You know how she is about confidentiality. She told us to go ahead, and that she would catch up or meet us back here once she finished.”
“Okay. Why don’t you guys head over to Dolly’s. The band’s going to start playing and it’ll look good if some of us are there to thank the participants and sponsors.”
“That’s a great idea, handsome. Can you come with us?” Lily asked.
“Yeah, sweetheart. I think so. Why don’t you take Sage because even though she’s had every snack you packed for her and then some, I think she’s ready to nurse. Her headphones are in the diaper bag if it gets too loud, and I’ll come up after I make sure the guys are all set here.”
Gunner handed Sage over to Lily.
“Perfect. See you guys up there soon!”
“Behave yourselves.” Gunner patted his wife’s ass as she walked away.
“Never.” Lily winked over her shoulder.
“Stubborn woman,” he grumbled.
“Christ. What kind of weird foreplay was that and why am I kind of turned on from it?” Hawk asked.
“Shut the fuck up. Don’t ever talk about my wife and being turned on again, unless you want to eat your teeth for supper.”
“Supper. How old are you, Reap? Eighty-five? Maybe all that weird foreplay is what it takes for you to get it up. You know they have medicine for that now, right?”
Gage turned, letting his friends’ bickering fade into the background. How long ago had Sloane taken the call? There were a few runners still unaccounted for, but the girls really had been near the back of the pack to begin with. Something in his chest began to ache.
“You good, Track?”
“Yeah. How many people are left?”
“Maybe a dozen or so.”
“Okay. I’ll start packing up our booth while you guys finish signing everyone out.”
Gage walked back to the Montgomery Defense booth, where Stone was sitting with a blank stare on his face.
“You good?” Gage asked.
“What? Oh, yeah. Just thinking over some things.”
“Some things like what?”
“I dunno. I’ve been toying with the idea of going back to school. For medical stuff.”
“You miss it?”
“Yeah. I like being able to help people. And this community outreach stuff is great, don’t get me wrong, but I was talking with Jake after the race started and there’s just so much this town needs with access to healthcare. It’s something I could do and really make a difference.”
“That’s really great, Doc. I think it’s a no-brainer.”
“Hmm. It’s something to think about. I don’t like the idea of leaving the team.”
Gage nodded, that weird feeling in his chest growing.
“Let’s start boxing up our shit. I’m sure someone’s going to need to babysit Hawk at Dolly’s.”
Late afternoon was settling in, and most of the sponsors had their tents torn down and their tables packed away. All that remained was the Montgomery Defense table, with a few scattered metals for the last few participants. It had been at least another hour since Lily, Courtney, and Mae made it back. There was no reason why Sloane shouldn’t have also…
“Alright, that was the last runner. What a great turnout!” Nash crossed off the name of the last runner as they walked over the finish line.
Gage’s stomach lurched. “That can’t be the last participant.”
“What? Why not?”
“Sloane never came back.”
“She didn’t?” Mae’s eyes wandered along the path. She’d found her way back to the tent with slices of pie for the guys who hadn’t made it up to Dolly’s yet. Gage had set his slice aside, waiting for Sloane to show up. He was hoping to ask her to sit with him while they shared it. Extremely cheesy? Sure. But he was still hoping it would work. “We left her a long time ago. I just assumed she finished and went home without saying goodbye. You know how she can be.”
“Check the lists again. I’ve been waiting for her this whole time. She didn’t come out of those woods.” He pulled his cell phone out and tried to dial her number. Shit! It went straight to voicemail.
“Where did you guys leave her?” Gage looked at his watch.
“About halfway through the woods.” Mae nibbled on her thumbnail. “Do you think something bad happened to her? We should go back on the trail.”
“Slow down, Mae. Can you remember if Sloane was wearing her necklace this morning?”
“The one she’s always got on?”
Gage nodded.
“Yeah, I’m sure she was. I’ve never been with her when she isn’t wearing it.”
“Okay. Good.” Gage opened the app on his phone and went through the steps of bringing up the tracking for the device he’d installed in her necklace. He hoped they’d be able to see that she was home and then he could breathe easier.
Until the program loaded and he realized her necklace wasn’t at her house. Which meant Sloane wasn’t at home either. It was pinging nearly a quarter of a mile off the trail she should have been walking back on. The fucking device only updated her location every couple of minutes, which meant they needed to move it if they didn’t want to lose her deeper into the woods.
“Is she home, Gage?” Stone asked.
“No. Grab your medical bag. She’s still in the woods, and I’ve got a bad feeling about it.”
* * *
“I feel better, Dr. Donovan. I’m sorry to contact you outside office hours.”
“I’m here for you, Geo. I want you to have the resources necessary to face your PTSD head on. But?—”
“I know. If things get bad, I can’t wait for you to pick up the phone. I’ve got to get myself help.”
“Good. I’ll see you this week at our normal time, unless you need me before then. I can move some appointments around to fit you in.”
“No need. I’m good now. Clear headed. Sorry to bother you on the weekend.”
“It’s no bother. I’m glad you called.”
“See you Tuesday.”
Her phone beeped just as she tried to say goodbye. Shit. Pulling her cell away from her ear, she saw the shutdown logo. Her battery had lasted just long enough for the call. That was good for Geo, but maybe not so good for her.
Sloane slid her phone into her pocket and groaned. She hadn’t realized how far off the path she’d wandered, but looking around, she had no idea where she even was. All the trees looked the same. Barren, but coming back to life after an unusually cold winter. They’d had some warm weather recently, but it still looked like they’d be getting a later than normal spring.
How had she walked so far? She couldn’t even hear people in the distance. She’d wandered, completely unaware of her surroundings. That’s how people got hurt.
Another unseasonably cold gust of wind raised the hair on the back of Sloane’s neck. She picked up her pace, desperate to get back to town.
“Shit!” Sloane’s foot caught on some sort of root and the world pitched, her arms flinging out in front of her in a whirl to try and catch herself before she slammed face-first into the ground. It worked. Well, at least she protected her face. The crunch in her left wrist as it landed on a rock made her scream out in pain.
Her leg burned. The shorts she was wearing provided no coverage further down her legs, and as soon as she collided with the debris scattered on the ground, she knew it would tear up her skin. But the searing pain down her leg wasn’t the worst of it.
Sloane grabbed her wrist, holding it gingerly against her chest as the pain throbbed up her arm and into her chest. She couldn’t bring herself to look at it. The pain, surrounded by the forest, was already triggering her. It was important to keep her mind in the present if she wanted to get back to Silver Springs while the sun was still high in the sky. It pained her to think of how her body would react if she was out in the woods at night.
How could she have been so distracted? So reckless?
She’d screamed loudly, but no one had come. No one had heard her. God, it might be worse than she thought. She had to have been walking, even though it was a slow pace, the entire time she was on the phone call.
Her uninjured hand slid up her chest until it landed on her necklace. If her phone hadn’t died, she would have been able to call Gage and ask him to locate her through the tracker hidden inside it. She was religious about charging it. Unlike her damn phone. Sloane glanced at her watch. Enough time had passed since the girls left that she felt confident all her friends would be at Dolly’s, enjoying the post-race party. Would they notice she never showed up? Her stomach soured as she realized they would probably think she wasn’t feeling social and just headed home.
Think. Think, Sloane. You’ve done this before. You can get yourself home again.
She knew the sun traveled east to west during the day, so she had a rough notion of which way was North based on the sun’s location in the sky. She could trudge along that path for as long as possible. It was bound to lead her back to the trail, or into town via a road at some point. Hoisting herself up off the ground, her leg and wrist throbbed as she moved to get her hike underway. She ground down on her teeth, the pressure just one way to take her mind off the pain. At least, with her wrist, she could hold it close to her chest. But her leg was another story. Peeking down, Sloane saw blood dripping into her shoe.
She blinked, fighting the panic bubbling in her mind. Her body picked up the pace while she screamed at herself to get away. To run. To find someone for help.
A branch broke behind her, and Sloane held back a sob. He was watching her. She could feel it. But where? And how the hell was she supposed to get away with a throbbing leg full of torn flesh and debris? If she couldn’t get away, how was she supposed to find the strength to fight him?
Her ankles and wrists throbbed from being rubbed raw where she was shackled to the wall. She couldn’t stop the shaking that tore through her entire body as she ran to get away from the place where he was watching her from. There was nothing else she could do.
He’s chasing you. Run.
He’s chasing you!
RUN!