Page 33 of Glimmer in the Darkness

“Spearfishing?” She couldn’t help the teasing tone.

“Just saying, you should never go into the woods without a good knife.”

“I’ll keep that in mind for next time. This time, I presume you have one?” When he nodded, opening his mouth as if to continue the lecture, she said. “Do we need food?”

He took her backpack and stowed it in the Jeep. “I got everything we need.” He slammed the tailgate shut. “Ready?”

“I guess.”

“Don’t sound so enthusiastic.”

He rounded to the driver’s seat and climbed in.

When they’d dated, he’d always opened her door for her. Silly that she’d think of that now, but there it was.

When she was settled, he opened an Ayasha trail map and pressed it against the dash so they could both see. “Here’s the trailhead.” He pointed to the map. “Any idea where you’ve already explored?”

She’d never been very good with maps. Or directions. She traced the trail. There was just the one. She pointed to where she thought she’d gone.

“You’ve barely scratched the surface.” He folded the map and angled to face her. “Just… How do you know it was Ayasha, not Coventry or another mountain?”

“I know the difference.”

“I’m just saying… I don’t know what happened that day. If you drove over—”

“I didn’t own a car.”

“But you’re saying you and Hallie were taken. Were you put in a car?”

“No. I took your sister for a walk. She said she wanted to go on the mountain, so we went that way. It’s something you and I did with her a lot. I didn’t think your parents would mind.”

James pressed his lips together but said nothing.

“We were on the trail, not very far up. It was deserted.”

“It was cold.”

“But sunny, and Hallie’d been cooped up—”

“It’s fine. You took her for a walk. Then what?”

“She was running ahead, and I… I fell behind. I wasn’t… I thought we were alone. I thought we were safe there.”

“And then, what? Someone snatched you?”

“Her. He snatched her, and I followed, screaming for help. Screaming at him to put her down. But he didn’t. Just kept going.”

“Did he have a weapon or something? Why did you stay with him? Why not run away?”

“He had a gun. And then…” He’d had Hallie. If Cassidy had run, he might have hurt her. Even if she could have gotten away, how could she abandon Hallie to save herself?

James didn’t want to hear the story, and, truth was, she didn’t want to get into that now. Not with him staring at her with his narrowed eyes, his suspicion. And what if he took the information as an invitation to ask more questions? She wasn’t prepared for that.

James watched her, waiting for her to continue.

Cassidy pulled her thoughts back to James and his original question. “We never got off Ayasha.”

He paused, seemed to be waiting for more. “How long was the walk?”