CHAPTER TWELVE
Nova
THE WIND SWIRLED AROUND ME WITH A LITTLE MORE BITE than it normally had, and I was glad I’d worn a sweatshirt. But damn, it was beautiful here—the kind of beauty that reminded you of all the life you had left to live.
The sun made the dark green of the forest glow in a way that reminded me of Kol’s eyes, all that green and gold.
As I stood at the top of a steep drop-off, my fingers tightened around the handlebars.
I watched two mountain bikers navigating a course that looked like a roller coaster through the wild woods.
The one in a bright-orange shirt hit some sort of mound and went flying.
I wanted that. I needed it.
The article flashed in my mind. Nova Monroe Seeks Solace with Fellow Victims. Photos of me splashed across a stupid blog and the website for a paper out of Redding.
Energy hummed through me, though not the good kind. The kind that made me feel like I wanted to claw my skin off. I’d gone cliff jumping right after seeing it, but it hadn’t worked.
My face—still a little too pale. My cheeks—still a little too hollow. My eyes—still far too haunted.
It was as if the photo Reese Gatlin had snapped told the truth while I was living a lie. So when I went to jump off the cliff the way I always did, it didn’t do the job like it normally would. There was no relief. No certainty that I was alive, that I was breathing.
I needed more.
The second figure, in a flame-printed shirt, coasted over a part of the trail that sent his bike practically sideways. I had no clue how he didn’t fall straight on his head.
This was probably a mistake. Stupid. But I was desperate. And if I didn’t get some sort of release, I wasn’t sure I would make it through the day without breaking.
“Supernova?”
I jolted at the sound of my nickname, twisting on the bike that, while it could be considered fit for mountain trails, had seen far better days. As I turned, surprise flared as I took in Maverick. He was fully kitted out, looking like some ninja biker.
He wore an all-black material that skimmed over his form. Skulls decorated his gloves, and sunglasses in a metallic orange covered half his face.
He tipped those glasses up and took me in as if needing to make sure it was really me. “What are you doing out here?”
My shoulders instantly stiffened, as if I were about to be reported to the teacher. “I wanted to try mountain biking.”
Mav’s jaw slackened slightly. “You wanted to try mountain biking,” he parroted.
“Yes. Is there something wrong with that?” I snapped.
“Not a damn thing. But you’re sitting at the top of an advanced trail that’s going to dump you on your ass for sure.”
My chin jutted out in defiance, but I caught a rider out of the corner of my eye going through a harrowing series of obstacles, and that defiance slid out of me, leaving behind nothing but defeat—defeat and that anxious, muscle-twitching energy that needed an outlet. “I need something.”
Maverick frowned. “What do you mean?”
A wave of dizziness hit, telling me the anxiety was getting worse. “I need to breathe,” I croaked.
It only took a second for understanding to dawn for Mav. “Follow me,” he clipped.
He was already stepping down on one pedal, riding back toward the parking lot as I followed him. But instead of going there, he made a sharp left turn into some trees and onto another path. He stopped just shy of a different trail’s start.
I hadn’t seen this one right off, since it was protected by the trees. But it looked like one of those terrifying water slides that shot you straight down, then spat you out.
“This is called ‘the Slingshot,’” Mav informed me.
“How is it better than the other one?” I choked out, my muscles still tight around my throat.
“This is a straight shot, and there’s a long, flat tail at the end for you to slow. It’ll give you the dose of adrenaline you need, but it’s a hell of a lot safer than the Gauntlet because there’s not as much to navigate.”
I nodded slowly, adjusting my helmet. “What do I need to do?”
“Bent knees, bent elbows so you can adjust your weight forward or back. But mostly, you’ll want to stay centered over your bike. Do not slam on your brakes. You’ll go flying. Feathering touches to slow down. Take your time at the bottom. I’ll follow behind you.”
I played Maverick’s instructions over and over in my head. Bent knees. Bent elbows. Centered weight. Feather the brakes.
I was sure Mav expected me to ask more, to see if it was okay to go. But I didn’t. The anxiety was riding me too hard. So I simply shoved off.
It only took three pedal pumps to send me tipping over the top of the hill. For a second, I hung there, as if my body had no weight at all. And then, I flew.
The wind whipped against me as I hovered over the bike seat. It was like a harsh slap and a brutal wake-up call all at once. And it was everything.
The wind and the shock forced the air from my lungs. Forced me to breathe. But more, I felt my heartbeat. The rushing thrum of my pulse. And it all led to one simple piece of knowledge.
I was alive.
I held on to it with a vicious force. And suddenly, I could hear Kol’s voice in my head again.
“You’re alive. You’re breathing.”
I let it play over and over as I flew down the slope. It was beauty and force and living out loud.
Hitting the bottom of the incline, my bike shot out down the path, giving me a whole new understanding of why the trail was called the Slingshot. But it wasn’t long before I started to slow. I feathered the brakes, just as Maverick had instructed, until I came to a stop.
And I was still breathing.
I pulled my bike over to the side, watching as Mav guided his bike far more smoothly than I had. He came to a stop in a move that sent dirt flying and grinned at me. “How’d it feel?”
“Amazing,” I told him honestly.
“Hell yeah. Nothing like a little adrenaline dump to get the day started.”
I studied the youngest Archer brother for a moment. “How’d you know?”
His dark brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“You knew this would help. How? Most people think it’s weird.” Okay, that wasn’t exactly true. Brae thought it was weird. The little she knew. “Or unhealthy.”
Mav shrugged, tipping his sunglasses up again. “Seems a hell of a lot healthier than medicating with drugs, alcohol, sex, or the million other things people reach for.”
He had a point there.
“Sometimes, the world gets too loud,” Mav said softly. “This helps. And it reminds me that I’m still here.”
My mouth thinned—not in irritation but in understanding. This sort of thing called to us in similar ways. And I was grateful I had someone who didn’t think I was a freak for needing this.
“Nova?” a voice called.
I turned to see a woman approaching the trail on horseback—a woman I recognized. Aster had her blond hair pulled back into a low bun and a flat-brimmed cowboy hat shielding her face from the sun. “Hi,” I called, surprise lighting the word.
She beamed at me. “I recognized the hair.”
My long, nearly black hair was woven into a braid that went halfway down my back. “It’s a giveaway.” I climbed off my bike, leaning it against a tree and crossing to Aster and her horse. “And who’s this sweet creature?”
“This is Daisy. And she loves to come watch the bikers.”
She was beautiful, covered in a patchwork of large brown and white spots.
“Can I say hello?” I asked.
“She’d love that,” Aster said with a smile.
“What about me, Ice Queen?” Mav cut in. “No hello?”
“Didn’t notice you there, Satan. Maybe because you’re in your home environment—the dirt,” Aster shot back.
Maverick’s lips twitched. “Come on, now. It’s fun to get a little dirty once in a while. Live a little.”
Aster’s pale-blue eyes narrowed on him. “Our ideas of fun aren’t the same.”
My gaze ping-ponged between the two of them as I thought about stroking Daisy’s cheek but decided against it. I’d never seen either of them this combative with anyone.
A hint of confusion lit in Maverick’s eyes, but he covered it quickly. “That’s a shame. Might be good for you to remove the stick from your ass every once in a while.”
Aster gaped at him for a moment and then quickly shut her mouth, turning back to me. “Shoot me a text if you ever want to go riding. The horses can always use the exercise.”
“I’ve never ridden before,” I admitted. Growing up in coastal Rhode Island with parents who were more focused on money for booze than food didn’t exactly give me the opportunity for lessons.
“Not a problem,” Aster assured me. “We’ve got plenty of good horses to learn from.”
I studied the horse, a sense of peace gliding over me. “I’d love that.”
“Good. I need to head back to the ranch, but we’ll set it up.” Aster’s gaze flicked to Mav, her armor in place. “Satan.”
“Ice Queen,” he clipped.
Jesus.
Aster turned her horse and encouraged it into a faster gait, taking off for the forest beyond.
I turned back to Maverick. “What’s the story between you two?”
Mav shrugged, shooting me a grin that was as fake as that orange cheese that shot out of a can. “Some people just hate me because I’m so damn attractive.”
I stared back at him for a long moment. And for the briefest flash, I swore I saw sadness in those dark-hazel eyes.
“Come on, Supernova. You want your first real mountain biking lesson?” he asked.
I knew he was searching for a change of topic, but I gave it to him anyway. Because I knew what it was like to have things you didn’t want to talk about. “Show me the ropes, trail king.”
“Now that’s the kind of respect I’m talking about.”
I let out a laugh that sounded a little more like a snort. “You need help.”
He waggled his eyebrows at me. “I could be into the nurse thing.”
“I’m talking about the kind of help that reduces your ego.”
Mav waved me off. “Naw, I’m perfect as is.”
I just shook my head as I followed him toward the switchbacks that would lead us back up the mountainside.
We spent the next two hours covering the basics and doing some practice rides on the beginner paths. I even managed a ride down a trail that was rated a blue square, which meant it was more difficult, but Mav insisted I needed a little more practice before hitting a black diamond.
By the time we walked our bikes back to the parking lot, my whole body hurt. I might’ve pushed it a bit too much, but the relief that came from having tired muscles instead of anxious, twitchy ones was worth it.
“Thank you,” I said, casting a glance Maverick’s way. “You were probably coming to work out on that double black diamond trail, and you spent the day on the equivalent of a bunny slope.”
“I don’t mind,” he assured me. “Honestly, it’s good to go back to the basics once in a while.
And I’m glad I could help.” He opened his mouth to say something else, then stopped.
Then started again. “I know you went through hell. If there’s anything I can do to make things easier on you, that feels good. ”
Normally, I would have hated someone bringing that up.
Especially now. But I found I didn’t mind it as much here.
Because Mav was talking about how this all made him feel.
And I got that. What had happened to me, and to so many others, had marked a community—the people who knew the victims and the killer.
“I’m glad, then. And I will let you give me more death-defying lessons.”
Mav barked out a laugh. “Just don’t tell Brae. That little badass scares me.”
One corner of my mouth kicked up. He was right to be scared.
My footsteps slowed as we approached Brae’s SUV that she’d let me borrow for the day. There was an envelope on the windshield. One of those legal-sized ones. And there was no name on it. But as I took in the five or so other vehicles in the lot, I noticed that none of them had an envelope.
Before I could let anxiety grab hold again, I snatched it up and opened it. It wasn’t sealed, but there were countless things inside. Newspaper clippings and blog printouts.
I started flipping through them, my anger mounting as I did.
Nova Monroe Missing for Nine Months.
Woman Disappears on a Hike with Friend. Police Have No Answers.
My stomach twisted at the next one.
House of Horrors Found in the Northern California Mountains. Woman Kept Chained.
A flash of something streaked across my mind.
Memory or imagination, I wasn’t sure. I pulled at the chain in the wall as hard as I could.
My fingers cramped, and I could tell that one of my nails had broken down the center, but I didn’t care.
I had to get out. Away. Then a deep laugh sounded.
Through a speaker? “You’ll never escape. You belong to me now.”
I blinked away the mental snapshots and the echo of the voice, but my hands trembled as I kept flipping through the articles and printouts. All covering my case, the other missing persons cases, Travis.
And finally, a piece of blank computer paper with block writing.
NEVER FORGET.
“Super—what the fuck?” Mav growled, peeking over my shoulder.
I tried to shove all the articles back into the envelope but failed. Instead, I scooped them into a pile and searched for my anger again. Because I knew exactly who’d done this. “It’s nothing.”
“That’s not nothing,” he argued.
“It’s that goddamned reporter. He thinks I owe him something because he wrote a few articles and uses the word thus.”
Maverick studied me for a long moment, not showing any signs of humor at my attempt at a joke. “You’re probably right, but why don’t you let me bag it just in case?”
I frowned. “Bag it?”
He beeped the locks on his SUV on the other side of the parking lot. “Put it in an evidence bag. That way, if anything else weird happens, we have it. Even if it is him, we should keep evidence in case you want to file a restraining order.”
I frowned at him. “Why do you have evidence bags?”
Mav’s gaze flicked to the side and then back to me. “You know, arson cases and stuff.”
“Oh. Yeah, sure.” It wasn’t like I wanted to keep the stuff. And it did make sense that Mav would have things that allowed him to store evidence since he worked as both a smokejumper and a firefighter and medic for the Starlight Grove Fire Department.
He jogged over to his vehicle and then back, holding open a bag with EVIDENCE in big, black letters at the top. “Slide it all in here.”
I dropped the envelope and stack of clippings in. “Hey, do me a favor and don’t tell Brae about this. Dex either. Because he’ll tell her, and she’ll freak. I just can’t …”
Maverick sent me a sympathetic smile. “I won’t. I get it. Just do me a favor and keep an extra sharp eye out.”
“Of course.” But it was just a pretentious reporter or maybe a sick prank. It had to be.