Page 84 of Still Missing You

“Hey,” I say softly.

“Hunter,” he croaks.

Relief hits me all over again. “Try not to move too much. You’re okay.”

He smiles faintly. “Yeah, guess I am.”

I huff out a shaky breath and look down at our joined hands. “You scared the hell out of me.”

“Sorry,” he says.

“Don’t apologize,” I mutter.

Silence settles between us, and he squeezes my hand weakly. I almost lost him. The thought cracks something open inside me.

“I love you,” I blurt out, the words rough, unpolished, but real. “I should have said it sooner. I should have...” My voice falters. “I was scared, and I let that ruin everything.”

His eyes soften. “It’s okay.”

“I didn’t want to lose you again,” I continue.

I look down at our joined hands.

“I thought keeping my distance would hurt less in the end.”

I shake my head. “It was stupid. I couldn’t stop myself from loving you if I tried, and not having you at all is so much worse.”

His grip tightens slightly, but I push on. I need him to know what he means to me. “I want this,” I say. “I want us. For real this time. No pretending. No running. If you’re still willing to try.”

For a second, he just looks at me, then a slow smile lights his face. The sight nearly undoes me. “Yeah,” he says. “I want to try again.”

Relief floods through me. My chest feels like it might burst. I lean down, pressing my forehead lightly against his.

“Good,” I whisper. “Because I’m not letting you go. Not again.”

After a moment, I pull back slightly. A faint frown clouds his features. With my free hand, I reach out and smooth away the line between his brows. “What is it?”

“Is Jim dead?”

I nod. “Linc and I found him in the basement at the inn. He had videos of the men he’d taken. He must have been watching them when he died.”

“Nancy said she poisoned him. She found the videos, and I guess was trying to cover up his crimes in case she was implicated.”

I snort. “She should have just called the police and saved us all a lot of trouble.”

“I think I met him years ago, the night I ran away.” Dylan’s voice is still raspy but gaining strength. “My car had broken down at the time, and he stopped and offered me a ride. Instead, he robbed me, then tried to throw me in his trunk. I managed to get away and hide in the woods.”

Cold dread washes through me. Maybe it’s just an overreaction after everything we’d gone through, but the idea that Dylan might have been taken, disappearing from my life forever, made my darkest fears real, stealing my breath.

“I didn’t recognize him. Not after all this time, but he still had my watch on his wrist. The one he stole from me that night on the road, and I knew he was the same man.”

“Easy,” I say, rubbing the back of his hand with my thumb. Panic threaded his tone, sending his words tumbling from his lips. “He’s gone now. He can’t hurt you or anyone else.”

His throat jumps, and he nods. “Yeah, but I hate to think how many men he killed over those years.”

“He’s been killing longer than that.” I explain what Linc uncovered about Jim and Matthew, about his documentary, and his certainty that Jim was responsible for men disappearing in the area at the same time.

“How is Matthew?” Dylan frowns again. “I didn’t even think to ask. Everything’s still kind of fuzzy.”