Chapter 11
Turner
What the hell is going on?
With shaking hands, I hit the ground floor, my ears ringing as Gunner jumps at me, knocking some sense into my mind. Rage without known reason sears through my veins. I feel so angry. Why am I so angry? When did I come inside? I stop as I suck in a sharp breath, taking in the open front door—and the gun in my hand. Where’s the threat? Wasn’t I outside?
Wait.
Where’s Emersyn?
“Oh no,” I mumble, my hands shaking as my mind briefly flashing to her standing in my older brother’s dusty room—the room I don’t go in. “No, no, no.” My eyes flicker back to the door.
Did Emersyn made a run for it?
Gunner bays so fucking loud that it pierces the rest of my insanity.
“What?!” I exasperate at him. “What am I supposed to do?” But he won’t stop jumping at me, barking incessantly and running for the door, then back to me. I shake my head at him, frustrated. But after a few more times, I give in, knowing I have to face what I’ve done.
She’s probably still alive. Maybe. Hopefully not. I’ll have to explain now.
She doesn’t know what she did, but she fucked up. That room is full of all the things that broke me. It started with my younger brother dying in action, then my parents dying in a car accident, and then… Thomas. Fuck. I swallow the grief tugging at me as I charge through the snow, ready to make peace with this shitty situation. I hate being reminded that I’ve buried every single one of my family members.
But only one was done by my own hand.
And Gunner is all I have left of him.
“Oh fuck,” I groan, as I spot a flashlight amidst the clearing night. I never made it far in my search when I saw Tommy’s room light come on.
Gunner’s bark grows increasingly panicked, and I give him the track command. He’s hesitant, but obeys, just like always.
Who the fuck is out here?
I move in silence, giving Gunner space to trail and committing myself to the task at hand rather than my short blackout. My dog falls into silence, tearing through the chest deep snow on his body.
I’ll find you, Em. And then I’ll fix this.
I trudge through the snow, following my dog, but with every passing moment, I grow more concerned about the third human out in this snow. The beams of a flashlight have faded, meaning that someone is concealing themselves in the dark.
Maybe SAR?
I’m not sure if searchers would come looking for her right at the break. I think about her running out here in the cold, terrified. I feel sick with remorse, and sick that I’ll have to tell her that I don’t remember it.
Why am I like this? I want to fucking scream. Why?
Suddenly, I stop, standing in the snow. Maybe I should just let this happen. Whoever is out here, is probably better than me.
But… what if they’re not?
That sends me forward again. All I want is to put her by the fire and tell her that I’m sorry for what I did—but it’ll probably happen again.
Fuck, I hate me right now. She didn’t know.
She didn’t know not to go in that room.
This is my fault.
My boots crunch quietly through the snow, and then I spot the headlights of a Jeep parked on the other side of my gate. I grit my teeth and raise my rifle. I can’t help it. With the crosshair on the headlight, I fire, killing the light. I repeat for the second and the fog lights.
Then, I listen, my keen ear picking up hushed whispers and…
The name Adam.
An ugly dose of envy pours through my veins. “Find him,” I growl to Gunner, and he kicks into high gear, baying out into the night in an eerie low hum. My pulse throbs in the side of my head, and I’ve now got tunnel vision on Em’s ex-boyfriend. He had balls to show up here and I suddenly have someone new to blame.
And a trespasser.