He sounded unsure, like he didn’t really believe his own words. The break-in? She could write that off as a petty thief looking for an expensive laptop. But thatandthe shove toward the fire?
Coincidence? Or were the two connected? She was definitelyleaning toward connected. And circling back to the one-word question—why? Okay, two one-word questions. Why and who?
They stood there in silence, the firepit crackling behind them, the snow still clinging to Maya’s ruined sleeve.
“Security is here,” Gideon said, sliding an arm around her shoulders. “I’ve got your pretzel. That just added more stress to the situation, so I’m assuming you still want it?”
“Absolutely. I might need two.”
He motioned to the table where a white bag containing her pretzel sat. “You can eat it and talk to them, then I’ll take you back to your cabin and help you clean it up so you can get some sleep.”
Maya let out a shaky breath, nodding as they walked back toward the warmth of the lodge.
One thing was for sure.
The more she thought about it and played the incident over in her mind, the more her gut said it wasn’t an accident.
Security was very concerned about the break-in and the firepit incident. The two officers who responded introduced themselves as Officers Lila Hawthorne and Ethan Childers. They sat inside the lodge while they talked. Lila wrote everything down while Ethan did most of the questioning.
“He had gloves on,” Gideon said. “A ski mask, hoodie, black jeans, black and tan boots.”
Ethan raised a brow. “Pretty observant, are you?”
“I’m trained to be.”
“Army?”
“Yes.”
A new glint of respect entered the officer’s gaze, and Gideon appreciated it. “Special ops?”
Gideon smiled. “Yes.”
The man nodded. “Me too.”
They shook hands. “Always nice to meet a brother.”
“Hooah.” He cleared his throat.
Gideon was actually impressed at the depth they went into with their questions.
Lila finally shut her notebook and looked at Maya, who’d finished off half the pretzel while she talked. “We’ll see if we can get some footage from the cameras. There are two angles aimed right at the firepit. We’d also like to take a look at your cabin, if that’s all right?”
“Of course.”
Ethan stood. “I’m going to check the door time stamp and see if it was opened shortly before you got there. I’ll request the firepit footage as well, then I’ll catch up to you.”
“Thanks.”
Gideon led the way with Maya beside him. She held her arm against her stomach. “You sure your arm is okay?”
She shot him a wry smile. “I think I’d know if it wasn’t.”
He laughed. “Yeah, I guess so.”
The lighthearted moment dissipated when they entered her cabin. It was just as they’d left it.
Trashed. Maya stared at it, shocked once again. “Who would do this? Why?”
