“Burke Scott—you scared the daylights outta me,” she gasped, pressing a hand to her chest.
“I know.” His voice was tight as he squeezed her arm. Rosie nosed the doorway, keyed and urgent. Time was leaking away.
Emma’s gaze flicked from the blue lights to his face to Rosie. Her color drained. “What’s happened?”
“It’s Darcy. She’s gone. Left the cottage—disappeared. Rosie was locked in a bedroom.”
Emma’s mouth opened, then closed. She looked away.
Burke’s chest constricted. “Em. Please.”
She glanced down the hall as if checking for shadows, then lowered her voice. “Come in.”
Rosie padded ahead the moment they crossed the threshold, nails ticking against the old wood floors. At the kitchen table, she stopped—chest thrust forward, head high, body rigid in a classic alert.Here. Right here.
Burke’s throat tightened. Darcy sat here. Just hours ago.
The shepherd broke and circled once, then trotted into the living room. Nose to the rug, she halted at the couch, sat tall, ears pricked, tail stiff. Another alert—sure as a beacon.
“I know, girl. I know,” Burke murmured. Rosie was drawing her trail clear, every pause another mark of where Darcy had been.
Inside, Emma eased onto the worn couch, blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Burke stood, restless.
“If you know something, I’m begging you. We don’t have time. I think she’s been taken.”
Emma stared at the floor, hands trembling. “She trusted me. She asked me not to tell. I kept her secret.”
“What secret?”
Emma lifted her eyes, tears brimming. “Because she was running. From a man. Her husband.”
Time seemed to stop. “She’s… married?”
The word hit like a hammer.
Emma nodded slowly. “Was. Maybe still is. I don’t know the legalities. But the bond—” She broke off. “It was never love. It was prison. Jason West. A builder. Rich. Well-known out in Colorado. And cruel.”
Burke’s fists clenched. “He hurt her?”
“Yes.” Emma’s voice cracked. “Emotionally. Physically. She showed me the scars. She said if he ever found her again, he wouldn’t let her go.”
Memories slammed into him—Darcy’s flinches, the way she stiffened at raised voices.
“She was afraid,” he whispered.
“She was terrified,” Emma said. “But she was also starting to heal. She had met someone and was beginning to recover.”
Burke looked away, chest aching.
Emma hesitated, studying him. Then her eyes widened. He saw the realization hit. Her hand flew to her mouth. “Oh my goodness… it’s you. You’re the man she told me about—the one who made her feel safe. The new man in her life.”
Burke froze.
Emma’s voice trembled. “You love her.”
His chest cracked open, the weight of it nearly buckling him.
Emma drew a shuddering breath. “I was trying to protect her. But if she’s gone… if he found her again—this secret won’t keep her safe. Only you can.”
