The intruders hadn't found anything. He'd heard their frustration. Which meant whatever had been in this drawer was gone before they arrived.
He crouched beside the nightstand, studying the outline. His pulse kicked up as the pieces fell into place. Cara took something. She’d had more time to search than he did.
She knew how to pick locks. How to move silently and search a room. How to escape under pressure without hesitation. How to lie.
Gabe straightened slowly, his jaw tight with anger and something that felt uncomfortably like betrayal.
She was hiding something big enough to break into a crime scene for.
Big enough to lie to federal law enforcement.
Big enough to run.
He shoved his hand in his pocket, gripping his car keys.No. He was here now. Searching the room was the smart play.
Then he’d tackle Cara Sweet. Literally, if he had to.
9
The Subaru’sengine roared to life. Cara threw it into reverse, her headlights sweeping across the dark pines as she backed out of the turnout. Gravel sprayed. Her hands gripped the steering wheel hard enough to make her knuckles ache.
She didn't look back.
Highway 101 stretched black and empty ahead of her. No moon. No stars. Just the twin beams of her headlights carving through absolute darkness and the occasional reflective marker along the shoulder.
Her breath came too fast. Too shallow. Like she'd just sprinted a mile instead of climbing through a motel window.
Breathe. Just breathe. You're fine. You got out.
She checked her rearview mirror for the fifteenth time. Still nothing but darkness. No headlights. No pursuit. Just the forest pressing in from both sides like it wanted to swallow the road whole.
Her phone sat in the cup holder, dark and silent. No missed calls. No texts. No evidence anyone had noticed she'd left Haven Cove after midnight to commit a felony.
The notepad pressed against her ribs through her jacket pocket.
Lord, I know I just broke about six laws. But I'm trying to help. That counts for something, right?
The prayer felt desperate. Bargaining with the Lord was becoming a bad habit.
She spent the entire drive back to town with her shoulders tensed, trying to prepare herself for the sight of Gabe Sawyer’s headlights in her rearview mirror. All she saw was mist.
Not that it made her feel any better.
Haven Cove finally appeared through the trees. Dark. Quiet. Peaceful in the way small towns were at one in the morning when normal people were asleep in their beds.
She parked in the alley behind the bakery and killed the engine. Sat there for a moment, listening to the tick of cooling metal and her own ragged breathing.
Her legs shook when she climbed out.
She took the back stairs two at a time, fumbled with her keys, and finally got the door open. Locked it behind her. Threw the deadbolt. Added the chain for good measure.
Then stood there in the darkness of her apartment, back pressed against the door, trying to remember how to breathe normally.
The silence was deafening after the roar of the highway. After the terror of the closet. After Gabe's whispered warning against her ear and the solid warmth of his chest at her back.
She turned on the lamp beside the couch. Just one. Enough to see by without advertising to the whole town that she was awake at this hour.
Her hands were still shaking.
