The evening air was cold against her damp skin and hair. The sky was a deep indigo, the last remnants of daylight fading fast.
That’s when she spotted Biscuit—near the back of the property—running toward the woods.
Panic raced through her.
“Biscuit!” she shouted. “Biscuit, come!”
But he didn’t stop.
He disappeared into the trees.
Without thinking, Millie stepped into the boots she’d left near the door and bolted after him.
Caleb entered Sheriff Sutherland’s office, his jaw tight and his mind still buzzing from the confrontation outside.
Then he stopped short.
His breath caught.
Valentina sat in a chair across from the sheriff’s desk, her face streaked with tears, her hands trembling as she held Pippa in her lap.
“What—?” Caleb started.
“We found her.” Sutherland gestured to the chair beside Valentina. “Sit down, Caleb. You need to hear this.”
Caleb moved slowly, his eyes never leaving Valentina’s face.
Tears had carved clean paths through the dust on her cheeks. Her lower lip trembled. She sat hunched in the chair, arms wrapped around herself like she was holding the pieces together.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, her voice hoarse. “I’m so sorry.”
“We picked her up at a diner outside town,” Sutherland explained. “She was trying to hitch a ride to Miami.”
Caleb sat, his muscles coiled tight. “Start talking.”
Valentina wiped at her eyes, her hands shaking. “I got a ride from your house—Uber. They dropped me off about twenty minutes away. That was all I could afford.”
“We found the box you left in the woods,” Caleb told her. “There was money in it. Why didn’t you grab that?”
“I knew I couldn’t get out there without being caught. I was going to come back later if I could. I really hadn’t thought that far ahead.”
“Why did you run?” Caleb asked.
“I’m in hiding. But not just from the man I thought I loved. He was—” Her voice broke. “He was part of a gang. A deadly one. I didn’t know. Not at first.”
Caleb’s jaw clenched. “What gang?”
“Los Espectros. They traffic drugs. Weapons. People.” She swallowed hard. “I saw things I wasn’t supposed to see. So I went to the police. Agreed to testify.”
“Witness protection,” Caleb said, dull realization stretching through him.
“Yes. But my handler was killed three weeks ago. Shot in his car outside a grocery store.” Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks. “I knew they’d found me. So I ran.”
Pieces clicked together in Caleb’s mind—but he still had more questions. “Why didn’t you tell us? Why the fake ID? Why lie?”
“Because I didn’t know who to trust!” Her voice rose, desperate. “I thought maybe—maybe the Refuge would be safe. Remote. Anonymous. But then when things started happening there, I panicked. I thought my location had been discovered.”
Another thought hit him. “Wait—was your picture on the news about a month or so ago?”
