Caleb glanced toward the ambulance where Millie sat, still wrapped in blankets, still looking small and shaken.
But alive.
Safe.
And free.
“Thank you,” Caleb said. “For everything.”
“Just doing my job.” The sheriff tipped his hat. “We’ll be around for a while collecting evidence.”
“Let us know if you need anything.”
“Will do.”
As Sutherland walked away, Caleb stood for a moment with the organized chaos buzzing around him.
Deputies cataloging evidence. Paramedics packing up their equipment. Search dogs being loaded back into vehicles.
One ambulance had already left, but another remained on standby—standard procedure after a violent incident in case anyone needed medical attention.
The machinery of justice, grinding forward.
Then his gaze locked with Millie’s.
He crossed the clearing toward her, ready to do whatever came next.
chapter
fifty-one
Millie waitedas Caleb closed the distance between them and paused in front of her. She could clearly see the concern in his gaze and the tension across his chest.
He stepped closer and lowered his voice to an almost intimate level. “You okay?”
She nodded slowly. “Thanks to you.”
“I’m glad I got there when I did.”
They stared at each other a moment, unspoken conversations lingering between them.
But instead of having them here and now, he touched her arm. “It’s cold out here. Let’s get you inside. We can talk more later.”
She nodded in agreement.
Millie stepped through the side door, Caleb close behind her, and she had to blink against the bright lights in the kitchen. Everything looked the same—the clean counters, the neatly arranged barstools, the coffee maker still half-full from earlier.
Like nothing had happened.
Like she hadn’t just faced her worst fears in the woods behind the property.
The disconnect made her dizzy.
“Millie!” Naomi rushed from the couch and pulled her into a fierce hug. “I was so worried. When Max told me what was happening?—”
“I’m okay,” Millie insisted, though her voice came out hoarse and unconvincing.
Naomi pulled back, her hands gripping Millie’s shoulders as she searched her face. Her gaze lingered on the bruises already darkening on Millie’s throat.
