Shelby put the plastic cover over the empty plate, then swung the table out of her way. Hospital food. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t her own cooking.
They’d taken her to Snoqualmie Valley Hospital and kept her for observation the rest of the night and all morning. Now she just wanted to go home. The doctor had promised it would be this afternoon, if she continued to do well.
Unfortunately, there was no more home to go to. At least not one that was habitable.
But the damage wasn’t as bad as it could have been. The diner’s kitchen was a total loss, and the rest of the restaurant had extensive damage. But other than some smoke, the apartment was untouched.
According to Addy, she’d already been awake, heard something and gone to investigate. Ryan had admitted to having a nightmare and waking up just before the alarm sounded.
Shelby had slept through everything, including Addy’s attempt to wake her, as well as Ryan’s first two attempts. She’d always been a heavy sleeper, but last night had been ridiculous. Maybe she needed to rethink her chamomile tea habit. It was supposed to relax her, not make her comatose.
But she wasn’t complaining about how things had turned out. It could have been so much worse. Any of them could have died or been seriously hurt. Instead, they’d all gotten out. Over the past few hours, she’d thanked God several times. She wasn’t even sure He’d had anything to do with it, but last night’s conversation with Ryan had gotten her thinking. Maybe she shouldn’t have listened to her dad all these years.
A child’s voice drifted to her from down the hall. Moments later, Ryan stepped into the room holding Chloe, Addy trailing behind.
They’d all spent the night in the waiting room nearby, napping on chairs. Ryan had refused to go home, hovering until the nurse had run him out of her room. Although Addy had offered to take Chloe to Barry’s and stay with her there, Ryan hadn’t been willing to let the little girl out of his sight.
Shelby smiled at them. “How was lunch?” She’d sent them out to eat when hospital staff had wheeled her own food in.
Ryan nodded. “It was good. We ate in the hospital cafe.”
Chloe stretched out her arms. “Be-be.”
Shelby lifted the sheet and patted the spot beside her. “You want to get in bed with Aunt Shelby?”
As Addy eased into the chair near the foot of the bed, Ryan lowered Chloe to the mattress. Right away, she reached for the control that adjusted the back of the bed.
Ryan sat in the chair he’d pulled up next to her in the early morning hours. “Any word about them sending you home?”
“Not yet.” The motor beneath the bed hummed, and Chloe giggled as the back fully reclined. “The doctor promised me it would be this afternoon as long as I’m doing well. And I think I am.” Her throat felt scratchy, and she still coughed occasionally, but she wasn’t having any problems breathing.
“What then?” Addy asked.
The bed reversed direction until Shelby was again sitting up.
Ryan nodded. “I’m waiting for a call back, but I think I have that worked out.”
The back of the bed started its downward movement again, and Shelby took the control. “Okay, this is perfect. You’re making Aunt Shelby seasick.”
Chloe pointed to the red call button just out of her reach.
“Not that one. We don’t want to bother the nurses.” She grinned up at Ryan. “How do people handle twins?”
“That’s a good question.”
“So tell me about this place you think we can use.”
Before he could respond, the ringtone sounded on his phone. He frowned at the screen. “I don’t recognize the number.”
During the conversation that followed, his responses didn’t give anything away. But his expressions did. The caller didn’t have good news. When Ryan finished, his mouth was set in a frown, and his eyes were stormy.
Shelby’s chest tightened. “What’s wrong?”
“That was the fire investigator. Everything’s in the early stages, but there’s evidence of possible arson. They wanted to warn us, considering everything that’s happened.”
The lunch Shelby had eaten seemed to congeal in her stomach. “How did they get in?”
“They don’t know yet. One of the windows in the kitchen was broken. It appears to have blown outward, but they’re still investigating.”
Shelby swallowed hard, gaze fixed on the thin, white blanket covering her legs. Something had snagged it. A thread was pulled partially through, its end resting in a lopsided S shape. It gave her something to focus on, to keep her mind from shattering into a thousand jagged pieces.
She’d been shot at and verbally threatened. Someone had tried to kidnap her niece, planted a bomb on her car and sabotaged her deck. This time they tried to destroy her home and her business.
She hoped Ryan planned to take her far away. Somewhere warm and sunny. Florida, maybe. Somewhere she could forget about the trauma she’d experienced and everything she’d lost in the past month.
Ryan put his hand over hers and squeezed. “We’ll get through this.”
He’d said that before. She lifted her gaze. When her eyes met his, understanding and compassion shot straight to her heart. How did he do that? How did he know what she was thinking without her saying a word?
Longing bombarded her, along with a desire to lean on him, to have him wrap his arms around her and be her strength.
From age twelve forward, she’d bolstered everyone else. Mia had needed and depended on her for everything. When Aunt Bea got sick, Shelby had been the one to get her to doctors’ appointments, take care of the household chores and keep the diner running. As Aunt Bea’s condition deteriorated, Shelby had taken on increasingly more responsibility for her care.
She’d spent most of her life serving others. Now she was just tired.
Addy cleared her throat, the sound jarring in the silence. “Instead of making goo-goo eyes at each other, we need to come up with a game plan.”
Heat crept up Shelby’s cheeks, a combination of annoyance and embarrassment. Addy had warned her about Ryan. Even without the warnings, she wasn’t under any delusions. If Addy couldn’t spark his interest, Shelby didn’t stand a chance.
“The only game plan right now is to get Shelby and Chloe away from North Bend.” Ryan’s voice was tight. He probably didn’t appreciate Addy’s comment, either.
When his phone rang again, he looked at the screen and smiled. “Our housing arrangements.”
This call was even shorter than the other one. Less than a minute after answering, Ryan clipped the phone back at his side.
“It’s set. My aunt has a vacation home near Snoqualmie Pass, up on the west summit. She keeps a key hidden outside. We’ll leave the hospital, pick up a few supplies and head straight there.”
Addy held up both hands. “Wait. Did you say your aunt?”
Shelby nodded. “My thoughts exactly. I don’t want any member of your family knowing where we are.”
“This is my mom’s sister. She couldn’t stand my dad when my mom was married to him. And my mom hasn’t had contact with him since they divorced, other than times she had to when I was a kid. My aunt is the last person you’d have to worry about.”
Shelby nodded, then frowned at Ryan. “Your father told me if I fought him for custody, I’d have every bit of the equity in the diner encumbered before I got to first base. He didn’t tell me he planned to burn it down.”
Ryan pursed his lips. “That move surprised me. My father doesn’t care about you or Addy, and he certainly doesn’t care about me. But I can’t imagine him doing anything that would put Chloe in danger. Even though she’s not Randall’s child, he still wants to raise her badly enough to pay for the privilege. I think he figured with three adults in the apartment, someone would wake up and make sure she got out. But your diner would be destroyed.”
Two soft raps sounded at the door, and Shelby watched the doctor she’d seen that morning walk into the room. “How are you feeling?”
“Fine. Ready to get out of here.”
He picked up the chart and skimmed the notes the nurse had made. “Any more coughing?”
“Not much.”
“Shortness of breath?”
“None.”
“Then I don’t see any reason to keep you here.”
She heaved a sigh of relief.
“Call my office if you have any problems.” He made some notes, returned the clipboard to its place and walked from the room.
Addy rose and moved to stand next to Ryan. When Chloe lifted her arms, Addy took her then stood and rotated back and forth. “So you’re headed to Ryan’s aunt’s place.”
Ryan nodded. “Yeah.”
“Are you sure it’s safe?”
“Safer than staying in North Bend. No one will know where we are.”
“Except your aunt.” Suspicion laced her tone. Why did Addy always have to try to antagonize Ryan?
“Who is completely trustworthy.”
“If you say so.” She shrugged. “Can I go along to help with Chloe?”
Shelby shook her head. “It’s probably not necessary. I think two of us can manage one little girl.”
She’d welcome any break she could get from the ever-present tension between Addy and Ryan. After witnessing it for almost three weeks, she placed ninety-nine percent of the blame with Addy. Maybe a hundred. Addy wasn’t the first woman to be spurned. She needed to get over it.
Addy shrugged again. “I don’t mind. But if you don’t need me, I’ll stay with Barry for the time being.”
“Sounds good.” Ryan’s response was a little too eager.
Addy scowled at him. Shelby did, too. Yeah, one percent of the blame on Ryan.
An hour later, they were driving through the hospital parking lot in Ryan’s Equinox, Chloe strapped into the car seat in the back. Addy had exited some time ago, sucking all the stress from the room when she left.
As Ryan turned onto Frontier Avenue, Shelby glanced in the side mirror. A Snoqualmie police cruiser pulled out behind them, something Ryan had arranged as soon as the hospital had completed her release paperwork.
He braked at the 99th Street stop sign. “We’ll pick up necessities in North Bend.”
Shelby nodded. The stop in North Bend would involve a short jaunt off the interstate. Then they’d get back on and continue another twenty-five miles or so east, to get to the pass.
Ryan stepped on the gas and navigated the corner. One more turn put them headed toward the interstate. The hospital was a couple blocks off I-90.
“We’ll hit Safeway for food. We also need to grab some clothes. Sweatsuits would be warm and comfortable. Any suggestions?”
“There’s a Vanity Fair at the outlet mall.”
“Good.”
The light ahead turned red, and Ryan braked to a stop. On the left, a small green sign said Freeway Entrance.
Ryan glanced over at her. “I believe I saw an Ace Hardware, too.”
“Yeah, over on Main. What do we need at Ace?”
“A snow shovel. The roads will be plowed, but I’d rather pull the Equinox into the garage.”
Shelby watched the police vehicle follow them up the ramp. “What about them?” She tilted her head toward the mirror.
“They’ll wait. I don’t even have a toothbrush.”
“That’s the one thing I do have.”
He lifted a brow. “You grabbed your toothbrush on the way out of a burning building?”
“No, you did. I keep a travel one in my purse, along with a sample-size tube of toothpaste.”
“Always prepared.”
“Sometimes.” She stared out the windshield. Snow-capped mountains lined the horizon, the foothills of the Cascades. A gentle curve to the right brought Mount Si into view. “Tell me what your aunt’s place is like.”
“A-frame with a loft. Two bedrooms downstairs, one up. Rustic but really nice.”
When Ryan pulled into a parking spot in front of Vanity Fair a few minutes later, the police vehicle continued down the row. It would either circle or find an advantageous place to wait. Although its presence was a relief, it was a vivid reminder that the danger was far from over.
Ryan snatched a cart that someone had left in front of the store. As he settled Chloe into the basket, his phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen and his jaw tightened. “Weather alert. There’s a storm moving in, so we need to make this fast.”
She nodded. He didn’t have to explain. She’d lived in North Bend long enough to know that in bad weather, the Snoqualmie Pass area got dangerous quickly.
He wheeled the cart through the wood-and-glass door that Shelby held open. Moving past racks of clothing, they tossed items into the basket. Chloe sat swinging her feet and pointing, strings of nonsense words flowing from her mouth. If she was asking for anything, she wasn’t upset about not getting it.
As they reached the front again, a police officer nodded at them from a short distance away. Good. An officer in the cruiser and one in the store. And Ryan at her side. It was the safest she’d felt in weeks.
When they walked from the store, the officer followed them out. The sky was the same steel-gray it had been when they left the hospital, but during the time they’d been shopping, a misty rain had started to fall.
While Shelby strapped Chloe into her car seat, Ryan tossed their purchases into the back, then returned the shopping cart. A quick stop at Ace garnered the snow shovel. After stocking up on food, they were back on I-90 headed toward the pass. The mist turned to rain, then flurries. By the time they exited onto Alpental, the wind had picked up, sending snow slashing against the windshield.
Shelby gripped the door handle, fear drawing her shoulders tight. Next to her, Ryan maintained a white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel. She flipped down the visor. Chloe sat framed in the mirror, clutching her seal and carrying on a one-sided conversation. She was the only relaxed one in the vehicle.
Ryan made a right onto Ober Strasse and began the final steep climb. Guye Peak was straight ahead, its snow-covered top scraping the sky. Snowbanks six feet high lined both sides of the road, edges cut vertical by the plow. If not for the A-frame minishelters protecting them, the fire hydrants would be inaccessible.
Ryan steered the vehicle between the walls of snow. Steep-roofed homes rose from a rolling blanket of white that extended in all directions. Driveways were empty, structures vacant. It was too early for the tourists looking to enjoy the mild summers.
Ryan stopped at the end of a driveway. The house stood before them, nestled against towering pines, its soaring front facade all glass. A porch wrapped three sides.
Shelby released the door grip one finger at a time, inhaling the air of tranquility that blanketed the scene. It was a place where people came to relax, to bond with and enjoy their loved ones.
She closed her eyes, trying to imagine something she’d never experienced as a child—a family that supported and encouraged one another, that appreciated each other and made time for fun. With Ryan beside her and Chloe in the back seat, the image seemed close enough to grab. A mother, father and child, embarking on a family vacation.
She opened her eyes and heaved a sigh. Her dream was nice, but there were two big problems.
Ryan had signed up for the father role in Chloe’s life. He hadn’t signed up for any role in hers.
And this was no vacation.
Not as long as someone was trying to kill her.
Ryan stepped from the bedroom Shelby shared with his niece and silently shut the door. Outside the large panes of glass, snow covered the deck and rose halfway up the lower windows, whipped against the house by hours of ferocious winds.
When they’d arrived yesterday afternoon, Shelby had gathered their meager belongings and taken Chloe inside while he’d shoveled the driveway enough to access the garage. Then they’d watched as the snow grew heavier and the winds increased, building to a mournful wail. Now they were snowed in. At least temporarily. Already, plows would be working to clear the pass, reaching the streets branching off I-90 before the day’s end.
Ryan found Shelby in the kitchen, cleaning up their lunch mess, which consisted of a couple of plates, knives and sandwich crumbs.
She cast him a smile over one shoulder. “Did she put up any fuss?”
“Not a bit. When I left the room, she was lying on her side, thumb in her mouth, staring at her seal.”
Shelby rinsed a dish and put it on a towel she’d spread out on the granite countertop. “I’m glad Addy thought to grab it.”
Ryan nodded. The Pack ’N Play his aunt kept on hand was a lifesaver, too.
He picked up a dish towel and dried what Shelby had washed. Although they’d bought some food items at Safeway, a small locked closet at the end of the counter contained canned and dry goods. His aunt had told him where she kept the key and said to help themselves.
Once they’d returned the dishes to their place in the cupboard, Ryan led Shelby back to the living room. A fireplace stood against one wall, built-in bookcases flanking either side. If it was up to him, he’d have already raided the stack of wood in the shed and had a roaring fire going. But announcing their position with smoke billowing into the sky wouldn’t be wise.
The bank of exposed windows across the front made him uneasy enough. Once the plow finished clearing the snow, giving the outside world access again, he’d consider keeping the three of them closed up in the master bedroom. Although not as spacious and comfortable as the living room, it had a small sitting area with a couch and television.
He moved to the entertainment center that housed the big-screen TV. “How about a DVD while Chloe sleeps?” He grinned. “Something that isn’t for kids.”
She sat on the couch, returning his smile. “Life changes when you go from ‘single’ to ‘single with child.’”
He agreed. But Shelby seemed to be adjusting well. Much better than he’d have anticipated earlier in the month. He opened one of the glass doors. “Romantic comedy? Sci-fi? Action-adventure?”
“I’m good with anything.”
“We’ve got plenty of options. My aunt has been accumulating movies since she bought this place. It gives people something to do when the weather’s bad.”
He pulled a DVD from the shelf. “She does vacation rentals but keeps some weeks blocked out for friends and family. I knew she wouldn’t mind us staying, but I had to make sure no one else had it booked.”
“Are you guys close?”
“Not like you and your Aunt Bea were. We’re not estranged. I just haven’t gotten to spend a lot of time with her.”
He removed another DVD and added it to what he held. “My dad had primary custody so I spent a lot more time with him than my mom and her family.”
“Usually it’s the other way around.”
He turned and leaned against the entertainment center. “My dad had the money for the better lawyers.”
“Did your mom ever remarry?”
“Nope. I think ten years with my dad scared her off men permanently.”
“Having met your dad, I can understand that.”
He pulled a third DVD from the cabinet and approached Shelby. “How about one of these?”
He’d just handed her the small stack when his cell phone rang. Kyle Gordon’s name was displayed on the screen. Ryan’s pulse picked up speed. Maybe he had information about the case.
Yeah, right. Even if Kyle had information, he wasn’t about to share it. They’d already been down that road.
But he couldn’t keep the hope out of his greeting, anyway.
“You watching the news?” Kyle’s gruff voice came through the phone, no-nonsense, all business.
“No, why?”
“Your dad’s just been arrested.”
The words slammed into him, knocking the breath from his lungs. Relief swept through him, guilt on its tail. Rejoicing over his dad’s downfall seemed wrong.
“Turns out Mia Adair was right. There really was something going on at the club.”
“What?”
“Your dad was involved in a human-trafficking ring—teenage girls. Some were runaways here in the US. Others were brought in from other countries. A few of them ended up working in his clubs.”
“As dancers?”
“And more.”
Ryan sank onto the couch, the ham-and-cheese sandwich he’d eaten churning in his gut. For most of his life, he’d placed too high of a value on women to be all right with his dad’s activities. This was worse than he’d imagined.
Shelby looked over at him, eyebrows raised in question. He’d talk to her later. He had to finish absorbing the information himself before he could relay it to her.
Most of the women who worked in his dad’s clubs were like Mia and Addy had been. They did what they did by choice. Maybe they didn’t feel they had any other options. But they weren’t held captive, forced to do things they didn’t want to do. They finished their shifts and went home.
Kyle continued. “Mia had taken some pictures, kept them in some kind of cloud storage. We don’t know what she was planning to do with them. Maybe blackmail your father.”
Or try to secure a future with Randall. It wouldn’t have worked. His brother was too selfish to sacrifice his own freedom for his father’s, even if the prison he was avoiding was nothing more than marriage.
“So what’s happening with his clubs?”
“The Seattle one is shut down permanently. The other locations are closed until investigations can be completed.” Kyle heaved a sigh. “Sorry to lay all this on you, bro. But it looks like the stuff you and your friends have been going through might finally be over. With the evidence Adair captured, it’s no wonder your dad had her killed to keep his activities secret.”
When Ryan finished the call, he dropped his phone into his lap.
Shelby’s eyes were still on him. “Good news or bad?”
He shook his head. “My dad’s a bigger creep than I thought.” He leaned forward, forearms resting on his knees, hands clasped between. “He’s been involved in trafficking young girls.”
Ryan didn’t know any of them, hadn’t seen Mia’s pictures. But that didn’t stop the images from forming in his mind, based on ads he’d seen exposing the evils of trafficking. Teenage girls sitting on a concrete floor, arms and legs shackled. They all had the face of his little sister, Rachel. Or Chloe a decade or so from now.
The sandwich congealed and threatened to reappear. He swallowed hard. “Mia found out and took pictures. My dad had her killed to keep her quiet. And just in case, he tried to take you out, too.” He closed his eyes. “My father has brought pain to so many people.”
Somehow he’d find a way to restore a small portion of what his father had destroyed. If he ever got access to the old man’s money, he’d see to it that each of those girls received something for the trauma they’d experienced. And Shelby...
She rested a hand on his back, then moved it in slow circles. “It’s over. He won’t be able to hurt anyone else.” Her touch was comforting through the fabric of his sweatshirt. “What he’s become has nothing to do with you. You couldn’t have prevented any of this.”
He straightened and turned toward her.
She let her hand fall to the couch between them. “Those girls will begin the healing process. I’ll work on rebuilding the diner. And you can return to your life and not have to babysit me anymore.” She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes.
Was she telling him she didn’t need him anymore? Wouldn’t want him hanging around? A void opened up inside him. “As far as babysitting jobs go, I don’t think I’m ready to give this one up.”
Her smile faded, and her gaze locked with his. Her lips were parted, her chest rising and falling with shallow breaths. The air between them was heavy with emotion.
What was she feeling? Was she half as drawn to him as he was to her?
He leaned toward her. She narrowed the gap between them a little more. He dipped his head and moved closer.
She turned away, drawing in a shaky breath. “With your dad in prison, is there any chance your stepmom will try to take Chloe?”
Ryan sighed. He’d misread her signals. “My dad is the one who calls the shots. Without his influence, my stepmom won’t have the means or incentive to pursue it further.”
Shelby entwined her fingers, the small stack of DVDs beneath. “When she called, begging me to let her see Chloe, I could feel her sorrow through the phone. She’s still grieving her daughter and granddaughter, and now she’s lost Chloe.”
Warmth filled his chest, mixed with a sense of longing that was almost painful. The more he’d learned about Shelby over the past few weeks, the more he’d come to admire her. No, not just admire. Love.
He could no longer deny it. He’d fallen in love with her. In spite of all the reasons he’d cited for remaining just friends, his heart hadn’t listened.
Shelby skimmed the backs of the movies she held, apparently oblivious to the tug-of-war going on inside him. She handed him the third one. “I’m in the mood for action-adventure, now that my own is over.” Her gaze shifted to the cold fireplace. “Does this mean we can build a fire?”
“Absolutely.” He rose and slid the phone into his pocket. After retrieving the empty bucket sitting on the stone hearth, he headed toward the back door. A few minutes alone in the cold would give him an opportunity to clear his thoughts and rein in his emotions. “I’ll be back in a few minutes with a bucket of wood.”
When he stepped outside, the distant rumble of snowplows reached him. They were probably still on the interstate, working their way in his direction. He wasn’t in a hurry. He could think of worse circumstances than being snowed in with Shelby.
As he walked toward the shed, a rolling blanket of white glistened in the sunlight, stretching all the way to the trees. Somewhere beneath was a mulched path. He knew it was there, because he and his mom had visited in the summertime.
He trudged through the snow, sinking to midcalf. Without rubber boots, he was going to need the fire to dry out his tennis shoes and sweatpants. His socks were going to get soggy fast, too.
A padlock hung from the hasp holding the shed door shut. It was dummy locked, something else he remembered from prior visits. The firewood was available to anyone who knew where to look for it. When he stepped back into the house a few minutes later, his bucket held large and medium-size logs, as well as small bits to use for kindling.
Soon he had a roaring fire going. As the opening credits played, flames popped and sizzled nearby, filling the room with the scent of burning logs. It transported him back to those not-nearly-frequent-enough get-togethers with his mom’s side of the family, as well as the few times he’d been able to escape with Kyle without his father finding out.
By the time the closing credits rolled on the screen, the fire had burned down to ash with a few smoldering embers.
“I’ll bring in more wood, enough to last us through the evening.” Darkness was still several hours away, and Shelby seemed to be enjoying the fire, too.
When he stepped outside, the distant roar of a motor drifted to him. It was a different sound from the plows, which were closer now. Maybe someone was cutting up logs for firewood.
Inside the shed, he placed the metal bucket on the floor and arranged several logs. After depositing them in the flat, wrought-iron basket on the hearth, he stepped back outside. The roar was closer. Now it sounded more like a snowmobile engine than a chain saw. Apparently, someone was vacationing nearby after all.
He’d just finished filling the bucket a second time when his cell phone rang. This time it wasn’t Kyle. The caller identified himself as Detective Harrington from Seattle PD, the lead on Mia’s case.
“I’m calling to give you an update on the Mia Adair murder. I tried calling her sister, but it went to voice mail. I left a message.”
He leaned against the opening to the shed. “I can relay what you tell me. I’m with her.”
“I thought that might be the case.” There seemed to be a smile behind the words. Everyone working the case knew about the threats and that he’d been staying at Shelby’s to protect the women and Chloe. Kyle probably had everyone he worked with rooting for something to develop between him and Shelby.
Harrington’s tone grew serious again. “Your dad’s been arrested.”
“I heard. It’s on the news.” He wouldn’t risk getting his friend in trouble.
The detective relayed pretty much the same information that Kyle had given him.
“There’s something else. It may not mean anything, but it’s something you and Ms. Adair should know.”
Uneasiness chipped away at the peace he’d felt for the past two hours.
“We checked out the background of everyone Mia Adair had been close to.”
The snowmobile drew closer. “Including me?”
“Including you. Nothing raised any red flags. But something doesn’t gel with Adelaide Sorenson.”
Addy. “What?”
“One of the Snoqualmie officers made a comment in his report about Ms. Sorenson wanting to take the child to her parents’ farm in Idaho, and the child’s aunt refused.”
“So?” That had happened several times.
“Ms. Sorenson’s mother is a waitress at a diner in LA. She’s never lived outside the city. And she was a single parent, didn’t marry her child’s father. Adelaide lived with her until she got an apartment at age eighteen. She moved to several locations in LA, until relocating to Seattle. Trudy Sorenson has never lived outside California, and until coming to Seattle five years ago, neither had Adelaide.” He paused, as if for emphasis. “There is no farm in Idaho.”
The snowmobile was even louder, moving toward one of the houses on the summit. The roar of its engine clashed with the alarms blaring in his head.
Why would Addy lie about something like that? Had she been planning to take Chloe and disappear? If so, why not just take her and run?
Because she was being watched too closely, confined within the four walls of the diner unless she stepped out alone.
The snowmobile was close now. In fact, it sounded like it was right in front of his aunt’s house. The engine died and silence descended, heavy and ominous.
“I have to go.” He pushed himself away from the doorjamb. “Someone just arrived on a snowmobile.”
He was already at a full run when he slid the phone into his pocket and drew his weapon. As he reached for the doorknob, a familiar sound sent ice through his veins—the telltale click of the hammer being pulled back on a pistol.
“Drop it. Raise your hands.”
Barry stepped around the side of the house, a SIG in his hand. “I said drop it.”
Ryan stood frozen, confusion swirling through his mind. When he’d asked Barry if he had a gun, panic had flashed in his eyes. He’d said guns made him uneasy. Now he looked anything but. His hand was steady, his eyes cold.
Pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place. The shot fired at Shelby the night of Mia’s murder, the man with the weapon on the streets of North Bend.
Guns didn’t make Barry nervous. The flash of panic was because Barry was afraid Ryan suspected him.
More pieces fell into place. The man would do anything for Addy. Even the homemade bomb made sense, constructed by an admitted science geek.
“I’m not telling you again.” Barry spat out each word. “Go ahead, give me an excuse to shoot you.”
Ryan released his weapon. It landed silently, cradled in a thick blanket of white.
“Open the door and walk inside, hands up.”
Ryan did as told, the despair settling over him, colder and heavier than anything last night’s storm had dropped. He’d mentioned the snowmobile to Detective Harrington. But he hadn’t asked the man to call for help.
When they’d been in North Bend, law enforcement had driven by regularly to check on them. That wasn’t going to happen. Up here, no one would come.
He and Shelby were cut off from the rest of the world.
Completely alone.