Page 123 of Veil of Silence

“You have.” His tone wasn’t unkind, but it didn’t invite an argument. “Now we cover the rear approach. If anyone tries to leave the property this way, we stop them.”

Cross was the one they needed to stop. Christian and Preston were the ones who might need help.

Nora turned toward her window. Beyond the glass, the trees stood close together. The first weak light of dawn had begun to seep between them, turning the black trunks charcoal. Mist hovered near the ground, and water dripped steadily from the leaves. Red and gold leaves clung to the muddy road, plastered there by the earlier rain.

She pictured the boy she’d believed was Christian sitting across from her at the kitchen table. His careful answers. His awkward attempts to fit himself into a family history that wasn’t his.

But not everything had been an act.

He’d known about the songs they used to sing. He had the same scar on his forearm. He remembered Mom’s cinnamon rolls.

Somehow, he’d carried pieces of Christian’s life with him.

The DNA report said he wasn’t her brother, but it didn’t tell her who he was, how he had known those things, or why Cross had taken him.

Maybe coming here would answer one of those questions.

The road dipped, then curved toward the creek. One night her family stayed at the farmhouse, the tour bus had gotten stuck near this bend. Her father had spent nearly an hour wedging boards beneath one of the rear tires while the Dalton children watched from the bank.

A chill moved through Nora that had nothing to do with the damp air. Zander had known this place. Maybe better than she had.

A dull red glint flashed between the trees ahead, caught by their headlights. Then it disappeared.

“Stop.” Nora straightened. “Stop the car.”

Harris braked. “What is it?”

She pointed through the trees.

At first, Nora saw only a dark shape between the trunks. But as the headlights shifted, the outline sharpened.

An SUV sat off the road beneath a canopy of branches.

A gray SUV.

The vehicle had been backed into the brush as if someone wanted it hidden from anyone passing on the main road. Mud coated the lower panels, and no lights glowed inside.

Nora’s breath caught. Cross had abandoned his cruiser back on the main road and transferred to another vehicle.

“Could that be the vehicle he used?”

Deputy Harris shifted into Park and killed the headlights. Nora lowered her window an inch, needing to hear anything that happened outside.

Harris glanced at her. “Stay here.”

“What if Christian and Preston are inside?”

“I’ll check.” He shut off the engine and drew his weapon as he opened the door. Then he leaned back toward her. “Keep your head down and lock the doors behind me. Do not follow me. Is that clear?”

Nora nodded, although every instinct demanded she do the opposite.

The door closed, leaving her in the dim predawn light.

She locked the doors and watched Harris move toward the SUV, using the trees for cover. He spoke quietly into the radio, reporting their location and the vehicle’s description. Static whispered from the receiver at his shoulder before a voice answered too softly for Nora to understand.

Harris circled toward the rear of the gray SUV. He paused to inspect the license plate, then continued along the driver’s side before disappearing behind the vehicle.

Nora strained to see through the mist. She couldn’t make out movement inside, but one of the rear doors appeared slightly open.