Chapter 47
Eric
“He knew I’d run,” she whispered. “He knew exactly where I’d go.”
I stood beside her. “Not anymore. You’re not alone out here.”
For a moment she didn’t breathe. Then she gave a small, shaky nod and stepped closer to me, just needing the contact to anchor herself. We walked again, slower now, listening. Watching. The storm pressed around us like a living thing.Finally, a beam of light cut through the trees ahead.
“Eric!” Becket’s voice carried sharp and relieved through the wind.
“Over here!”
Harmony sagged with relief so intense her knees dipped. I caught her waist before she fell and guided her up the ridge incline. Dad reached us first, snow in his brows, expression carved from pure fear.
“Harmony.” His voice cracked. “Are you hurt?”
She shook her head, but Dad still swept her into his arms, a strong, fatherly hold that made her eyes slam shut, her breath shuddering against his shoulder.
Becket reached me next. “What happened?”
“There was someone in the cabin,” I said. “Tall. Fast. He went for her.”
“He moved like he knew the terrain,” Becket added. “Like someone trained. I’ve been tracking his steps.”
The man hadn’t come to kill Harmony. He’d come to contain her, maybe take her. Or take her back to someone. Harmony pulled away from Dad slowly, her focus foggy, tired. She was shaking again like her body was in shock.
Dad cupped her cheek gently. “We’re taking you home.”
But Harmony flinched, barely, but enough I saw it.
Not at Dad. At the word home. Home didn’t feel safe to her right now.
Not when someone knew her patterns. Not when someone had been inside her father’s house and inside her head.
I stepped toward her and lifted her chin with two fingers.
Her eyes met mine, wide, wet, and holding the fear she tried so hard to control.
“You’re safe now,” I said softly.
Her throat bobbed. “I know. I just… Eric, I saw him behind you. I thought—”
“I’m here. We’re both okay.” I brushed my thumb across her cheek. “Look at me. I’m right here,” I repeated a second time, allowing my words to penetrate.
Her breath broke, a tiny sob escaping before she could swallow it. She didn’t crumble. But she leaned into me like her body finally gave permission to feel everything she’d been holding back. Becket cleared his throat and angled his flashlight toward the trail.
“We need to move. Storm’s getting worse.”
Dad nodded. “Eric, you take her. Stay close.”
I wrapped my arm around Harmony’s waist and guided her down the path. Her head rested briefly against my shoulder; her voice barely audible above the wind.
“He wasn’t trying to kill me.” She trembled. “He was trying to take me.”
A surge of rage mixed with fear rushed through me.
“Then he’ll have to go through all of us,” I said. “And he won’t touch you again.”
But Harmony’s next words twisted everything, “It didn’t feel random.” She swallowed hard. “It felt like he knew me.”
My steps faltered.
Becket looked at her with a sharp focus. Dad did too. But no one spoke.
“We’re getting you home,” I whispered, brushing a kiss to her temple. But as we descended the ridge, the wind curled around us like it knew a secret and it whispered the truth I didn’t want to believe. She wasn’t safe yet.