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But I wasn’t going to do that yet. If I ran now, I had only two choices: straight uphill or back through the open parking lot. Neither of those was a good option. I needed him to drop his guard, at least a little.

Golden sunlight dappled the Douglas firs and aspens. We passed a faded map behind a thick layer of plexiglass. Bison Falls, it read above the map. To the side was a warning about the dangers of wet rocks and casual footwear. My brows pinched.

Wait—he was seriously taking me to the falls? He’d told Miguel exactly where we were going?

Clay was either a genius or a complete idiot.

“Keep going.” Clay pushed at my back.

I fell to the ground.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake. I didn’t push you that hard,” he muttered.

No, he hadn’t. I pulled up a handful of grass and as I pushed to my feet, then brushed off my knees. “I wasn’t expecting it. I’m feeling light-headed. Do you have any snacks?”

He gave me a baleful stare. “No. Walk.”

The thick forest swallowed us whole. Two hundred feet in, and I couldn’t see the lodge behind us anymore. The ascent was sharp and steep. I leaned into it, digging my toes into the soft dirt and reaching for rocks and trees to keep my balance. The wider branches were sturdier, but I aimed for the thinner ones and bent them in my hands. Sooner or later, Seb would realize I was missing and come looking for me. I wanted to make it as easy as possible for him to find me.

Clay panted behind me, and maybe he was right, maybe I was a bitch, because the sound of his labored breath spurred me to go faster even though my lungs burned and my thighs ached. If I was going to suffer, then I was going to make him suffer with me.

“Wait,” he wheezed, but I pretended I didn’t hear him and moved faster.

Suddenly my collar pulled tight against my throat, choking the air from my lungs, as he grabbed my shirt from behind. My eyes bulged, and I flailed my arms for balance. What was it Tamilee had told me to do? It didn’t matter. He had a gun.

He threw me to the ground. “Fucking bitch,” he spat.

I gasped for breath, rubbing my throat, and coughed hard. Fear moved through my veins like ice, but there was anger, too. What the hell did he expect from me? He decided to take me up a goddamn mountain at gunpoint, and I was supposed to, what? Let him?

“Everyone thinks you’re so great, don’t they? But they don’t know you like I do.”

“You don’t know me.” I wrapped my arms around myself, hoping it was true. Because the alternative was that he did know me, and that somehow, I had done something terrible to him.

He laughed. “Of course I know you. You’re my sister.”

34

SEB

The door was swinging open on its hinges.

It punched the breath right out of me. I was back on that fucking beach, looking for survivors. I was back in the garage, waiting for the phone call. My knees buckled, and I had to press my hands to my thighs and count the goddamn ants on the ground to keep from dry heaving.

My phone buzzed. Mateo. I straightened and answered.

“Is she there?” Worry clouded his voice. “Did you find her?”

“She’s gone. He has her.” I knew it was true even before I entered the cabin, but her missing boots and coat confirmed it. “There’s no sign of a forced entry. She let the fucker in.”

“It might not be Clay. We didn’t get a look at his hand, and he wasn’t wearing the hoodie.”

“It’s him.”

“Yeah.” Mateo blew out a harsh breath. “I know.”

“Gather the team. Talk to the ranch hands. They might know where he would take her.”

“On it. We’re going to find her, Seb.”