28. Chapter 28
The adrenaline is pumping just like in the old days. It’s nostalgic, in a way, and I would like it more if Tennison wasn’t the cause of everything.
Instead, I’m worried. So fucking worried. Too much can go wrong, and we’ll have very little control over things.
It’s funny how everything always boils down to control.
The plan, if you even want to call it that, is to send me on the trails. I’m going to head toward the cabin but not get too close, and hope that Tennison is just lurking around. We’ve been in touch with Lennox, making sure he stays clear of the area we think Tennison is in, but we haven’t heard from him since. The bulk of the Task Force is patrolling the rest of the park. It’s helping us narrow down things, and it’s looking more and more likely that Willow was right about the cabin.
Willow. Just thinking her name is making me second-guess what the boys have deemed the Tennison Trap.
Is this really worth the risk? Of course, I want to catch this asshole. Of course, I want to lock him up for good before he destroys more lives. But having Willow in my life makes me want—no, need—to be less reckless.
Hell, I don’t want to be reckless at all. I want to curl up in bed with my little troublemaker as she writes her next great novel. I want to cook for her, take care of her when she is too caught up in work. Fuck, I already miss her.
But I know I need to do this. I’ll never be able to fully move on, fully heal unless this job is done.
The rest of the guys are planning to hang back on the edges of the park, hoping that we don’t tip off Tennison but being close enough that if shit hits the fan, they’ll be there.
This might be the most open-ended plan I’ve ever worked, but we don’t have anything better and we’re out of time.
Willow’s directions to the cabin were very detailed, so we know exactly where to go and where the trails go around it. We pull up to the entrance closest to town, and I sit in the car for a second while everyone else jumps out.
“You ready to do this?” Woodcroft’s voice shatters my thoughts as he climbs in next to me. I feel wrung out and high-strung all at the same time. My nerves feel too sensitive for my body, like my skin is too tight.
“No. Fuck no,” I huff out.
“So, it would probably be shitty to ask if you want to come back, huh?”
“Yeah, not happening. I’m not built for this shit anymore.”
“I’m happy for you, you know,” he says quietly.
“Yeah?” I look over at him.
“Yeah. I don’t know a ton about Willow, but she’s seems perfect for you, and she’s saving our ass on this half-cocked plan we’ve come up with.”
“She’s an author and writes thrillers. This entire case is right up her alley.” I chuckle at the fact she couldn’t stop herself from attempting to help. It’s in her curious nature.
“Badass. Well, let’s get this fucker, so you can go tell her all the gory details.” He slaps my back and disembarks the back seat.
I take one last deep breath and clamber out.
It’s time to finish this.
I’ve been walking on the trail for about twenty minutes, and so far, nothing. I’m making a ton of noise in the hopes it draws attention. Hell, even anyone in the park noticing me could help, although Lennox said he would try to steer people in the opposite direction when we initially talked.
I’m about to round the corner when I spot something on the trail.
A piece of fabric.
No, part of a uniform. I lean down and pick it up, realizing it’s a park ranger’s shirt.
Lennox.
I search for a clue to solidify my suspicion, but it just looks like a standard uniform. I tap the earpiece the Task Force set me up with.
“I found a ranger’s uniform.”
“Lennox?” Arlo asks.
“I don’t know for sure, but most likely. Has anyone heard from him recently?”
“No. I just tried to call him too.” Arlo’s tone sounds rigid, and I know he’s thinking the same thing I am.
“Try him again,” I urge.
“I am. Hold on.”
I pace, waiting for a response and when it comes, all I feel is panic.
“No answer. I’m coming to you,” Arlo says quickly.
I pace where I’m at, and within two minutes, Arlo is walking toward me. He yanks the shirt out of my hand and holds it up. There are a few cuts in the shirt that I missed initially.
“Shit,” I curse.
“We need to go to the cabin. If he has Lennox…” Arlo trails off, not even wanting to say it.
And I can’t blame him. Lennox has become one of my closest friends, and I won’t even allow myself the possibility of anything bad happening.
We both walk frantically in the direction of that cabin, but I pause when my phone rings.
Unknown Caller.
“This is Oakley,” I answer, wondering if it’s one of the guys on the Task Force and they have information.
“I think I have something of yours.”
I stop in my tracks. That voice. It haunts every nightmare I still have. It’s a voice that I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to unhear as I lie awake at night.
I see Arlo out of the corner of my eye, walking back to me to see what’s up.
“What...” I gulp. “What do you want?” I can hear the shake in my voice, and I try my damndest to lock it down. Show no weakness.
I can’t show weakness. Not if Lennox is in trouble.
“I think it’s time we end this little charade. I thought I would get your attention a lot sooner than I have, and it’s become rather … tiresome.”
“Why did you need to get my attention?” I ask, trying to bide time. I can feel my breathing growing faster, though, and I know I have limited time before a full-on panic attack hits me square in the chest.
“Oh, my dear Oakley, don’t you get it? You’re the closest thing to my equal. You’ve always been the only one who gets close to me; you just were never quite there. And then you left. The fun lessened substantially, and I wasn’t prepared for that.” He sounds genuinely confused, and I almost laugh. How anyone could consider what he does fun is mind-boggling.
“How can I get him back?” I ask as Arlo tries to pull my phone from my ear. He already pulled his out and frantically texted what I assumed was the whole team.
“You know me better than that. You’ll get him back when I deem it so. Until then… Come and find me.” His manic laughter cuts off as he hangs up, and I fall to my knees as I hyperventilate.
“Fuck. Fuck, are you okay? That was him, wasn’t it? Shit, where is he? The team is on the way. What the fuck?” Arlo talks aimlessly as he kneels next to me.
“I—” My voice croaks as I attempt to clear it and breathe through the shortness of beath. “We need to go to the cabin. He won’t give up Lennox, but maybe” — I gasp, hunching over — “I can trade for him.”
“No. No! That’s not what we’re fucking doing. Just wait for backup, and we’ll figure it out.”
“No time.” I take one last deep breath, pushing everything down before standing up and walking down the path that will lead to the cabin.
“Oakley!” I hear Arlo yell behind me, but I ignore him.
Tennison is right. It’s time we finish this.
No matter what it costs me.
“Oakley, Jesus! Just wait.” Arlo’s voice is getting closer, but I don’t stop.
His hand on my shoulder finally stops me, but I’m pissed.
“Just let me fucking go. This is on me; no one else needs to get involved. If I can trade myself for Lennox, then I’ll do it, and I’ll take this poison from Bluebell Falls so no one else gets hurt.”
“Do you fucking hear yourself? How fucking selfish of you. Do you not think you’re a part of this town and maybe that’s why I give a shit? Do you not think that maybe I’ve been trying to be a friend to you this whole time?” He shoves me in anger.
We’re two angry bulls going head to head, and I know deep down that he’s right, but I can’t see past the haze, past Tennison and finally ending this once and for all.
“And what about Willow?” he asks softly.
It’s the one thing he could say that gets through.
Willow.
“Fuck, man. She’ll never forgive me if something happens to Lennox. Hell, I won’t forgive myself.”
“I know. But I needed two minutes to kill before you went charging in there so backup was a little closer. We’ll figure this out together. And whatever comes, we’ll handle it. You’re a Bluebell Falls resident now, and that means something, okay?”
“Okay,” I whisper.
“Let’s go catch this fucker,” Arlo says with force as we both start walking at a clipped pace.
Arlo double-checks the directions Willow gave us, then heads down an open spot in the trees.
About twenty feet in, we can finally see the outline of a building, and we both start sprinting. It takes us less than two minutes to reach the front door, and I’m trying so hard to keep my shit together.
It’s like this immense sense of doom has fallen over me, and I’m fucking scared.
Scared for me. Scared for Lennox. Scared about what’s to come.
And I have no control over any of it.
Arlo steps up on the porch silently, and I join him, knowing we’re out of time. Reaching out, I grip the door handle in my hand. I can feel myself shaking, feel the dread, but I push it down, like I always used to. And then, I open the door.
Arlo and I enter the cabin one after the other and take a cursory look around, checking for Tennison. But it’s hard to see past the man stripped and tied to a chair in the middle of the room.
Lennox.
Bound by rope, with multiple deep cuts down every part of his body I can see.
“Fuck,” Arlo curses quietly.
“So lovely of you to join in the fun.” Tennison walks out from a shadowed corner with a sinister grin on his face and his knife in one hand as he twirls it around.