Devin watched as the cliff materialized in front of them as a void, as nothing but darkness and air.
Darkness and air that they barreled toward.
Sienna screamed beside Devin and reached for the dash, bracing herself for the impact—or lack thereof.
Devin jerked the steering wheel to the left, and the car drifted.
Devin held his breath.
Waited.
Anticipated.
Finally, the wheels gained traction—only mere inches from the ledge. Just inches beyond that, the earth ended and anything crossing its path would tumble down hundreds of feet.
It could have been a certain death.
Instead, the SUV turned against the rocky road.
Devin released the air in his lungs as the tires gained traction again. Pressing the accelerator, he sped down a service road running alongside the cliff.
He glanced over at Sienna and saw her pale face. Saw her clutching the armrest. Saw her frozen, hardly even breathing as she stared straight ahead with wide, fear-stricken eyes.
As soon as Colby wailed again, her stupor cracked, and she turned toward the boy. She sounded stiff as she said, “It’s going to be okay, sweetie.”
Devin glanced in the rearview mirror. The car pursuing them had turned, chasing after him.
He watched as the driver cluelessly charged toward the cliff.
A flash of red lit against the underbrush.
Brake lights.
He vaguely saw the outline of the car. The vehicle still appeared on land—but barely. It had stopped face-first on the rocky ledge.
His heart rate slowed. That would slow this guy down for a while. He’d have to carefully maneuver the vehicle out—which would buy Devin some much-needed time.
Devin continued down the road until turning right back onto the street he’d originally been traveling on. But instead of heading in the same direction, he decided to take the longer way around—just to ensure this guy didn’t get a clue about where he was going.
“What are you doing?” Sienna asked. Fear laced her voice—and maybe a touch of weariness.
“I’m just taking an alternate route. I don’t want to lead this guy to the cabin.”
“This place…could he look it up under your name?”
Good. She was thinking things through. That was what they needed right now—to keep a cool ahead. “It’s in my uncle’s name—on my mom’s side. This guy shouldn’t find it. If he does, it’s going to take some time. We’ll be safe there for tonight, at least.”
Colby wailed in the back again.
Devin saw the tension across Sienna’s face. Not being able to hold the child now was killing her. She angled her body toward the back seat and extended her hand. The boy latched on to her finger instead.
Devin wished he could stop and let Sienna hold Colby now, but they couldn’t risk the interruption. No, right now they needed to get as far away as possible. Time was of the essence, especially until they were safe and out of sight.
Thankfully, the cabin was only a couple miles from here.
Devin’s knuckles were white as he gripped the steering wheel. There was more going on here than he’d ever assumed, and he didn’t like any of it. There were too many unknowns. Too much danger. Too much at stake.
Namely, Colby. By default, Sienna as well. The lengths this guy was going to showed desperation and determination.
Finally, Devin reached his old family cabin. It was set off far from the road, nestled in a fortress of tall trees and mountains. The nine-hundred-square-foot log home with the broad porch was a welcome sight.
The place brought back a flash of memories—some warm, others grief stricken. He didn’t have time to dwell on the past now, though. No, right now was about survival.
He pulled the car around to the back, just in case their pursuer drove past. He wanted to make it as difficult as possible for anyone to locate them, and he’d take every precaution necessary.
“This is it?” Sienna asked, staring out the window.
“This is it. Let’s get Colby out of here.”
She nodded and scrambled into action. A few minutes later, she had Colby in her arms and bounced him up and down while murmuring in the boy’s ear. The child calmed down as soon as she held him.
The sight of them together made his heart ache and brought back memories—memories that were always too close to the surface. He shoved them aside, not having time to deal with them now—even if they wanted to batter him into submission.
Still, Devin would feel better once they were inside and they had some answers. He grabbed the few bags they’d had time to pack and ushered the two people he’d vowed to protect into the cabin.
* * *
Sienna breathed a sigh of relief as Colby finally closed his eyes. His breathing evened out, signaling he’d fallen asleep. After arriving at the cabin, she’d held him in her arms, singing soft songs and rocking him in a stiff wooden rocking chair in the corner of a dark guest bedroom.
She’d thought the boy would never go to sleep—and she couldn’t blame him after the events of this evening. She wasn’t sure she would be able to sleep, either, with everything on her mind.
When she was sure Colby was out, Sienna carefully placed the child in a bed that Devin had shoved against the wall. She pulled a blanket up over him and placed several pillows on the edge of the bed, just so he wouldn’t roll off.
When she was satisfied Colby was safe and secure, she stepped out of the bedroom. The rest of the cabin was still bathed in darkness as well, but her eyes had mostly adjusted. She spotted Devin standing guard by the front window, his face a mere silhouette.
Her gaze scanned the rest of the cabin. She hadn’t had time to look much when she’d arrived.
It was small—a great room with three bedrooms branching out around the perimeter. In typical cabin fashion, leather furniture decorated the space, along with plaid curtains and three stuffed deer heads on the wall. The place smelled partly like dust and partly like a pine forest.
Under other circumstances, Sienna might actually enjoy being here in nature.
But not knowing what she did—knowing what was at stake and the lengths the unknown man would go to to get what he wanted.
She shivered as a chill washed over her.
“I would start a fire, but I don’t want to draw attention to the cabin,” Devin said, turning away from the window and stepping toward him.
“Probably smart.” She lowered herself on the couch across from him.
“Here’s a blanket.” He picked up one folded beside him and handed it to her. “It should stave off the cold some.”
She took the fleece from him and wrapped it over her shoulders. “You think we’ll be safe here?”
Devin frowned—not the most reassuring reaction she could hope for. But at least the man was being honest and realistic. He sat down on the couch across from her.
“For tonight, at least,” he said.
“That man will keep trying to find us.” Sienna’s voice trembled as she remembered the terror she’d felt earlier. Flashbacks hit her. Flashbacks of facing down the intruder. Having a gun held at her head. It would take her a long time to move past that and not panic at every creak in the night that she heard.
“I know.”
“I just don’t understand why.” She was thinking aloud, she supposed. It was just that nothing made sense. But she didn’t expect Devin to have answers.
Frankly, she was surprised he was even involved. Not only was Devin involved, he was deeply involved at this point. He could have lost his life just as easily as her and Colby when that car was chasing them earlier.
“Nothing else came to mind now that some of the initial shock has worn off?” Devin leaned forward with his elbows propped against his legs.
“I’m not sure the initial shock has worn off.” She pulled the blanket closer—not because she needed to feel warm. No, because she needed to feel safe. “And, no. Nothing else has come to mind. I’m clueless about all of this. Clueless about where Anita is and why she’s not answering her phone. Who that man was. Why he would want Colby.”
“I know the police are working on it. Hopefully they’ll figure out some answers soon and everything will return to normal.”
That was right. Maybe in the morning this nightmare would be over and Sienna could resume her life. Go back to teaching her precious little kindergarteners. Taking walks in the park with Colby. Watching her favorite movies as she drifted off to sleep.
For some reason, she doubted that was true, though. Her gut told her this ordeal was a long way from being finished. And, even when it was, her life would never be quite the same.
Hopefully, her gut was wrong.
Just then, her phone rang. She felt the blood drain from her face as she shuffled through her purse to find the device.
“I don’t recognize the number,” she muttered, glancing up at Devin.
Devin crossed the space between them and lowered himself beside her. He glanced at the screen. “Answer anyway. Put it on speaker.”
Sienna’s hands trembled as she accepted the call. “Hello?”
“I’m coming for you,” a man whispered. “Next time, you’re going to die.”
The words echoed in the room until a sick feeling began to churn in Sienna’s stomach.
What did those words—that threat—even mean? And who was this man who was coming for Sienna?