Chapter 32
Smoke rolled between the trees in heavy, choking waves, carrying the acrid scent of burning timber and melting plastic.
Ash drifted lazily through the air as flames started climbing through the roof, the heat making the air ripple and shimmer in the distance.
For a moment, all they could hear was the roar of the fire. Kara noticed movement at the door.
“Do you see that?” she whispered.
“I do.”
A figure stumbled out of the doorway, a bottle hanging loosely from his fingers. Behind him, flames crawled along the walls, throwing orange light across his face.
“You should've listened,” he shouted, staring into the fire. “None of this would've happened if you'd just listened.”
Kara froze as Colin's hand closed around her wrist.
“We were supposed to bury it all. That's what we were told. Get rid of it all. Make it look like an accident.” The man took another drink. “Now look, I have to burn down my huntin’ cabin.”
“No,” she gasped.
Colin looked from the man to Kara.
“What?”
“Uncle Richard.”
The name barely made it past her lips. Him being here, of all places, just watching this cabin burn to the ground. Something about the scene felt wrong.
He laughed bitterly.
“And then your girl just had to start diggin’ this up again. You were supposed to make sure nobody would find the damned thing,” he said. “I would kill you if you weren't already dead.”
He swayed on his feet, apparently unaware they were only a few yards away.
“She’s a ringer for Maryann, Georgie,” he mumbled. There was something dark and almost wistful passing across his face. “I should’ve let Maryann go when I had the chance.”
Kara stared at him, her pulse pounding.
Colin leaned toward her. “We have to go.”
She shook her head. Not yet. She needed to hear what came next.
“Now her ghost has come to haunt me.” His gaze hardened. “I’ll reunite them.”
She looked at Colin, and he gave the smallest shake of his head.
Richard took another swig.
A loud crack split through the building when he jerked around. A part of the ceiling collapsed behind him, sending a shower of sparks onto the floor.
“What the hell…” he muttered as he climbed into the parked car as though the disaster behind him was nothing more than a minor inconvenience. “I’m too old for this shit.”
The heat immediately wrapped around them as smoke rolled toward them. Ash began settling across the ground like gray snow.
“Now.” Colin grabbed Kara's hand.
She didn't argue this time. They both turned and ran. Behind them, Richard shouted something as he skidded off, but the roar of the fire swallowed his words. Kara stumbled through the thickening smoke that chased after them, coughing as it burned her lungs. She couldn’t have been more frustrated with herself.
Mad Max was dangerous. She cursed under her breath, thinking they should have listened to Elias. Once again, she had led Colin straight into the chaos. She had them run toward the danger.
Was he here to destroy evidence? Is that why he set the fire? And why had he mentioned her mom?
It was all too much. Her head began to throb as the questions spiraled through her mind, each one leading to another. She felt herself slipping, struggling to make sense of what was happening.
Kara no longer knew what to believe. Every possibility was more disturbing than the last.
She couldn’t believe how completely unsympathetic he was. Uncle Richard had gone on living his normal life after murdering two people, and that's only what she was sure of. Vargas had called him George’s hitman.
A chill ran through her despite the intense heat radiating from the burning building.
When the truth came to light, her aunt’s and cousin's lives would be ruined, though that hardly bothered her.
By the time they reached the cabin, Kara's legs were trembling from exhaustion.
Colin shut the door behind them, then leaned against it, breathing hard. Kara moved toward the kitchen, still coughing as she reached for a glass of water. Her hands shook badly enough that Colin took it from her and filled it himself.
“Sit down.”
She obeyed.
Dropping into one of the chairs. Kara knew Colin well enough to recognize when he was angry and well enough to recognize when he was scared. Part of her wanted to reach over and touch his arm, to reassure him that she was okay.
She had spent so much time chasing answers that she'd barely stopped to consider what would happen if the answers fought back.
“We need to talk.”
“I'm tired, Colin.”
“So am I.”
“Then maybe we should talk tomorrow.”
“No.”
Something in his voice made her pause. He turned toward her.
“You need to stop.”
Kara stared at him. For a second, she wasn't sure she'd heard him correctly.
“Stop what?”
“This.” He gestured vaguely toward the road, the woods, the cabin, everything that had consumed the last few days.
“Putting yourself in situations you have no business being in.”
“You don't get to tell me when I'm done.”
She had spent years telling herself she could handle whatever came her way.
She had built an entire life around being independent, around not needing anyone to save her.
Maybe that was why Colin's concern irritated her so much.
Beneath the rising anger, it was something she didn't want to acknowledge. She liked knowing he cared.
“I do when you're putting yourself in danger. You almost got killed.”
“I can handle myself.” She folded her arms across her chest. “And so did you.”
“You’re walking straight into danger like you're invincible.
You hear about something dangerous, and you go after it.
Someone tells you to back off, and you push harder.
You find one more lead, one more name, one more piece of information, and suddenly you're willing to put yourself in front of a bullet to get it.”
“Someone had to find out what really happened.”
“Why does it have to be you?”
“Because it's my fault!” she cried out. She knew how it looked.
To him, perhaps it seemed as though she had made everything about herself, but how could he not understand?
This was about her. How could he expect her to simply walk away when she finally had the chance to uncover the truth?
She had to do this for herself, if nothing else.
“So that gives you the right to get yourself killed!?" His voice was rough.
That made her flinch. She felt herself losing her grip as Colin’s anger stirred uncomfortable memories she’d rather forget.
“I know what I'm doing,” Kara replied, regaining her grip on reality.
“No, you don't,” Colin’s voice wasn't loud anymore.
“You came back here with a thousand unanswered questions, and you've thrown yourself into the middle of something you don't understand. These people are dangerous, Kara.”
She didn't answer. Because he was right.
Even now, even after the fear of seeing Richard, remembering the sound of the gunshots and the realization that someone wanted them dead, there was a part of her that wanted to know what came next.
Kara couldn't walk away. Not when she was so close, and she could help.
“I can't stop,” she said quietly.
Colin stared at her.
“Why?”
“What happened years ago isn't going to change. But the truth might change what I do with it.”
Kara felt her anger beginning to crack. She hated that he could still do this. Still look at her and somehow make her question things she'd spent years convincing herself were certain.
“You know what I think? I think you still see me as that girl.”
His expression changed.
“What girl?”
“The girl who couldn't handle things. The girl who needed you to watch over her. The girl you think made the wrong choice and needs someone to come along and fix everything.”
“That's not what I think. I’m worried because you keep putting yourself in danger.”
Colin looked away.
Kara could see the frustration building in him. She knew she was being stubborn.
For so long, she had felt like other people got to decide things for her. Where she belonged. What she should know. What she was capable of.
She had spent years rebuilding herself into someone who didn't need permission. And now Colin was standing in front of her, asking her to stop.
It felt like being pulled backward.
“I am not helpless,” she said.
“I know.”
“I think you're reckless.”
She scoffed.
“And I think you're controlling.”
“Maybe I am.”
The admission caught her off guard.
“Every time something happens, you get closer to the people responsible. You don't know who you're dealing with. You don't know how far they'll go.”
She had been treating the truth like something waiting patiently for her to uncover it. But the truth wasn't passive. Someone was actively hiding it. She had become part of the problem. Still, she couldn't stop.
“I'm scared too.”
His expression softened. It was almost imperceptible, but she saw it.
“I don't want to die. But I'm not going to run.”
“I didn't ask you to run.”
“You told me to stop.”
“I want you to stop throwing yourself into danger. Let me help you.”
Those four words did something to her. Maybe more than she wanted to admit. She’d forgotten what it felt like to let someone stand beside her.
But Colin wasn't just anyone. If she let him in, she wasn't sure she'd be able to keep the past where it belonged. Her heart stumbled.
He was silent for a moment. “Just don't make me stand there and watch you get yourself killed.”
She suddenly remembered who he'd been years ago. The one who had looked at her like she was the only person in the world worth looking at. She had loved that boy. Some part of her still did.
“I'll be careful,” she said.
Colin exhaled slowly. “That isn't a promise.”
“It’s the best one you're getting.”
Despite himself, the corner of his mouth lifted.
Kara almost smiled. Then she remembered why they were standing there.
Neither of them said anything else.
Kara wondered about her mother after witnessing Uncle Richard’s drunken rant.
Could he have known more about her mother’s death?
She couldn’t begin to process the possibility, so neither could Zoe. Kara locked it away. That was a can of worms she didn’t want to open. It was another set of questions she had yet to uncover.
Yet, with everything finally coming to the surface, Kara couldn’t help but feel a small sense of satisfaction. She was getting closer. She could feel it.
Now, she just had to bring it all home.
She needed to contact Vargas. She had to tell her about the fire, the admissions Richard made, and just maybe the truth about her mother would finally come to light.