Chapter Seven
Asa’s world narrowed to just her.
Maya’s eyes widened, glassy with shock, her breath thin and uneven. Every protective instinct in him roared to life. For a moment, he didn’t even hear the crackle of the fireplace or the murmur of JT and Rachel.
Just the sound of Maya’s voice repeating inside his skull—
I was there . . . I saw it happen.
He tightened his grip on her elbow to steady her. “Maya, look at me.”
She lifted her gaze. Fear swam in the depths, but something else flickered there, too.
Recognition.
Truth clawing its way back from the dark.
Asa’s heartbeat hammered. “What do you remember?”
She swallowed hard, her throat working before she finally spoke.
“There was a chime in the barn.” Her shaky hand touched her temple.
“It was blowing in the wind from the open barn door. There was someone else there with me before your father.” Her frown deepened as she tried to pull the information out.
“Something happened, and then your father showed up. He warned me to stay hidden. Then there were voices. Two. One was your father’s, and the other belonged to the man who shot him. They were arguing.”
Her knees wobbled again. Asa eased her into the nearest chair before she could fall.
“Don’t push the memories,” Rachel said from close by. “Just breathe. Let your mind settle. They’ll come.”
“I didn’t see his face,” she whispered, her gaze finding Asa. “The man who shot your father. At least I don’t think I saw his face.”
But she wasn’t certain.
A sharp, invisible dagger slid between Asa’s ribs. He wanted a name. A face. Anything. But he forced himself to stay calm for her sake. “It’s okay,” he murmured. “You remembered something real. That’s more than we had before.”
JT rested his hand on the back of a nearby chair and kept his voice low. “This is critical, Maya. Memory triggers can be unpredictable, but chimes, smells, sounds—they’re powerful. If one trigger brought this much back, there may be more.”
Maya nodded, her hands were clenched so tight her knuckles had gone white.
“Do you feel like the memory is gone again?” Asa asked softly. “Or is it still there, just out of reach?”
She didn’t answer right away, then she whispered, “It’s back behind a door I’ve locked away for years, but I can feel it pressing to get out again.”
The certainty in her voice stirred something fierce in Asa’s chest. Determination. Anger. Hope.
Rachel pushed off the chair. “This may be the start of the wall cracking, but it’s going to be confusing. Emotional. Even terrifying. Do not try to force anything.”
Asa nodded. “She’s right. We take this one step at a time.”
Maya drew in a shaky breath, her eyes flicking toward the front windows as if expecting to see someone watching.
Asa followed her gaze and only saw an empty sidewalk, winter-gray light, nothing out of place. Still, he couldn’t relax because he knew too well that danger didn’t always show its face right away. “Do you feel safe to talk more here?”
Her fingers curled into the blanket Rachel had draped over her lap. “I . . . I don’t know.”
He moved a little closer, lowering his voice so only she could hear. “I’m not leaving you alone. Not now. You don’t have to be afraid to say what you remember.”
Her breath caught—not in fear this time, but something quieter, almost fragile.
“Maya,” Asa said gently. “My dad wasn’t the only one in that barn with you.
We don’t know what the shooter wanted except to kill Raymond and probably hide whatever he’d been up to.
Yet for some reason, he spared you, and we do know he’s still out there.
And I have no doubt he was at your cottage last night. ”
The truth hung between them like a spray of cold water.
“We need to bring Chief Kelly in on these latest happenings,” JT said as he paced nearby. “If the man from that night is still watching Maya, then he’s afraid of what her hidden memories might reveal.”
Asa covered Maya’s cold hands with his. “You’re safe.”
She met his eyes. “Am I?”
He didn’t blink. “Yes. Because I won’t let anyone hurt you again.”
“I want to go back,” she said in a whisper of a voice.
The room stilled.
Rachel frowned. “Back where?”
“To the barn.”
Asa straightened. “Maya, that’s not a good idea.”
“I need to,” she said, shaking her head. “If the chime brought back a memory . . . maybe something else will as well. A smell. A sound. The angle of the light. I don’t know.” She rubbed her eyes. “I have to try.”
Asa exchanged a glance with JT, who remained quiet, letting Asa take the lead.
He crouched next to her, level with her eyes. “Listen to me. That place is going to hurt. It’s going to shock you, and it might wake things up you’re not ready for.”
She didn’t look away. “You coming back to town looking for answers has made me realize something. I’m tired of running from things I don’t remember. I’m tired of being afraid of shadows I can’t name.” Her voice broke on the last word.
Asa exhaled slowly. “If you go . . . I go with you.”
Her chin lifted. “Good.”
JT nodded. Whether good or bad, the decision was made. “We’ll call in reinforcements. Declan, Eli, and Chief Kelly.”
Asa rose to his full height, his jaw tightening. “If the man from that night is watching her, he’s not going to like this.”
JT shrugged, his face grim. “Good. Let him sweat.”
Asa didn’t react. His world had already narrowed back to Maya. She was remembering, and that meant the killer’s identity was closer than ever.
◆◆◆
He watched her through the falling snow behind the pines that bordered Main Street. The storm threw curtains of white across the parked cars and shuttered storefronts, but he’d followed her movements the way he always had—patiently, deliberately, secretly.
She was remembering. Not everything. Not the whole truth. Not yet, but enough to make him nervous.
He’d watched her for years from a distance, half expecting those memories to come back sooner, yet they’d remained buried until now, until his return.
He shifted the weight in his coat pocket, his thumb brushing the cold metal of the weapon. He wouldn’t let her ruin what he’d built for himself.
Those secrets had to stay buried.
No matter what.