There was no way I could face them now—especially Raleigh.
I took a step back, as if distancing myself would make the idea go away. “I can’t.”
Fox’s intense gaze wandered over me. His eyes were always calculating, analyzing everything around him. “It’s the easiest solution.”
“I can’t stay there.”
The frustration was evident in the tight set of his jaw, but he didn’t argue.
He looked back at Emersyn, like she was the more reasonable one. “Stay with her for now,” he said. “Keep the door locked. I’m going to talk to my brother and come up with a plan. I’ll be back soon.”
Emersyn stepped closer to my side. “Okay.”
He looked at me one last time. Then he turned, my laptop in hand, and exited the little cabin.
Emersyn was close behind him, locking the doorknob and the dead bolt. When she spun back around, she adjusted her glasses. “Well, that was an interesting turn of events.”
I wasn’t sure how to process everything. My default was to push it all down and pretend like it didn’t exist, but that was becoming harder to do. I was coming face-to-face with my past in a way I never expected.
I unfolded my arms from my chest, keeping my hands balled into tight fists so she wouldn’t see the absolute wreck my nail beds were.
“I’m so sorry about all of this.” I shook my head, trying to keep my voice steady. “This was not what I was expecting.”
“Ember Hollow holds a lot of secrets.” Emersyn shrugged. “Lucky for you, secrets are my specialty.” She grabbed my wrist and pulled me toward the small couch.
I eased down onto it, and she took a seat beside me.
“I also can relate to the…family drama.” Her cool tone held a sharpness as she said the last two words. I studied her face. Emersyn hadn’t shared much about her past with me, but she had been through an unimaginable event not long ago with the Shadow Stalker.
I took a breath. “Sorry,” I murmured. “This must all seem so…ridiculous. I should be focusing on the job I was sent here to do. That’s what’s important—”
She cut me off by waving a hand. “Don’t.” She gave me a stern glare. “Don’t downplay your feelings. If there’s one thing I’ve learned these past few months, it’s that emotions will always demand to be felt. What you’re feeling is valid, Skye. You just found out your mother could have been murdered. That isn’t ridiculous. The truth is important.”
My eyes burned. I wanted to thank her, but I couldn’t speak through the lump in my throat.
She gave me an encouraging smile. “As for the documentary, I can help with that. I can help with a lot of things. Use me.”
I wanted to hug her. She was a literal angel.
I will not cry. I will not cry.
“Tell me what I can do for you,” she continued, leaning closer. “Tell me exactly what you need.”
I cleared my throat. “I feel lost without my computer. My life was on that thing.”
Her nose wrinkled. “Do you have hard copiesof anything?”
I had some I’d had Brandon get for me from the police department. But it wasn’t a whole lot of help.
“There’s a little bit I have, but not a lot.” I shrugged. “Honestly, most of my time has been spent trying to identify Jane Doe.”
Emersyn glanced at the table that was covered in all my work stuff.
“Give me what you’ve got,” she said. “It can give me a place to start. I’m pretty good at digging through public records, and I’ve got people who owe me favors.” She winked at me.
Giving her a small, relieved smile, I stood and returned to the table. I sifted through some of the files, finding some I thought would be most useful, and passed them to her. “Thank you. Seriously. You’ve been so…helpful. I owe you endless favors.”
She inspected the files. “It’s not a problem.” Her voice softened as she looked up at me. “And you don’t owe me anything.”
