As I drove Nora to school, I kept checking the rearview mirror, scanning for unfamiliar vehicles or faces. The school parking lot seemed ordinary enough—harried parents dropping off children, teachers greeting students at the entrance.
I knelt to Nora’s level before she went inside. “Remember what we talked about? You stay with your teacher or the playground monitors at all times. No wandering off.”
She rolled her eyes with the supreme confidenceof a child who believes nothing bad could ever happen to her. “I know, Mom.”
“And if anyone you don’t know tries to talk to you—”
“Scream really loud and find a grown-up I trust,” she recited. “Can I go now? Emily’s waiting.”
I hugged her tightly, probably too tightly, from the way she squirmed. “I love you.”
“Love you too,” she mumbled, already distracted by the prospect of seeing her friends.
I watched until she disappeared inside the building, then sat in my car for several minutes, trying to calm my racing heart. The confession to Jake had left me feeling oddly lighter, as if sharing the burden had somehow made it more bearable. But it had also made everything more real.
Chapter 7
Jake
Ipulled my truck off the highway and into the hardware store parking lot, trying to ignore the headache pounding behind my eyes. Four hours of sleep on Ella’s couch wasn’t nearly enough, especially after what she’d confessed. The image of her sitting across from me at the kitchen table, hands trembling around her coffee mug as she admitted to bombing a yacht, that her family is the Irish mob— kept replaying in my mind.
I couldn’t judge her, not after everything I’d done.
The hardware store was already bustling with ranchers and contractors loading up supplies before the workday. I nodded to a few familiar faces and headed straight for the security section. I loaded my cart with motion sensors, two night-vision trail cameras, door alarms, and extra batteries. The cashier raised an eyebrow at my purchases but didn’t comment.
Back in the truck, I called Caleb. He answered onthe third ring, his voice rough with sleep.
“You still at the house?” I asked.
“Yeah. Everything’s quiet here.”
“Good. I’m heading back now with some security equipment. Keep an eye on things.”
“Will do,” he said, then hesitated. “Listen, Jake—”
“We’ll talk later,” I cut him off, not wanting to get into it on the phone. “Just stay put.”
I hung up and sat for a moment, gripping the steering wheel. The truth was, I didn’t trust Caleb completely. Not yet. His sudden reappearance after years of silence, the mysterious injury to his hand, the way he’d shown up at the bakery introducing himself to Ella and asking her a ton of questions—it all felt off.
But he was still my brother. And right now, I needed all the help I could get.
I started the engine and pulled back onto the highway. The mountains loomed in the distance, snow-capped and indifferent to the human drama playing out below. I’d always found comfort in their permanence, the way they remained unchanged while everything else fell apart.
My phone buzzed with a text from an unknown number. I glanced down.
“WATCHING YOU.”
I tossed the phone onto the passenger seat, myjaw clenching. Someone was playing games, and I was getting really tired of it.
When I pulled into my driveway twenty minutes later, Caleb was waiting on the porch, a mug of coffee in his uninjured hand.
“You look like shit,” he said as I climbed out of the truck.
“Feel like it too.” I grabbed the bags from the backseat. “Any calls?”
“Just Dave checking in about the south fence. Said he’d handle it.”
I nodded, relieved that at least one thing was going right. Dave was the closest thing to reliable I’d found in this valley.
