“I hear you.” He limped over to the door. “Lock up behind me.”
“Trust me, that’s my plan. Do you need a shoulder to lean on to get back to your car?”
A pair of crutches would be better, considering how far away he was parked, but he shook his head. “You’d have to walk back alone, and I’d rather know you’re safe here. I’ll call you with any news.”
“You should get your ankle checked out.”
“I’ll think about it tomorrow.” After a search of the woods. He leaned down and claimed a quick kiss. “Be careful driving.”
“Always.” She reached out and took his hand. Squeezed. “You be careful too. I don’t have good feelings about whatever is going on here.”
Neither did he.
“I always watch my back. Talk to you soon.”
He exited, waited until he heard the bolt slide into place, then hobbled down the path toward the driveway.
The long walk back to his patrol car wasn’t going to be fun.
Worse yet, he had little to show for his injury.
The ideal outcome tonight would have been to get the guy in custody, grill him to see if he knew anything about Micah’s death, and find out what he was doing on the property for hours at a stretch.
But if nothing else, their suspicions about clandestine activity had been validated.
The challenge now was to figure out how to identify the nocturnal visitor who’d disrupted the peaceful ambiance of Natalie’s place and determine whether his crimes were far more serious than mere trespassing.
STEVEN CLOSED HIS BATHROOM DOOR,yanked off his skimask, and muttered a string of obscenities that would shockhis dear cousin.
Tonight had been a disaster.
An utter, absolute, complete disaster.
And Cara was to blame, if the light that had come on in her cottage after the chase was any indication.
She must have seen his flashlight and alerted the sheriff to his presence. It couldn’t have been Natalie. She’d gone to bed at nine thirty. And as she’d always told him, most nights she slept like a log as soon as her head hit the pillow—leaving her none the wiser about his late-night forays.
But what in blazes was Cara doing here, anyway? According to his cousin, she’d planned to leave early this week to go back to Cape. That’s why he’d come for a long weekend again. It gave him an extra night to search in the cave. And her car hadn’t been parked in front earlier.
So when had she come back?Whyhad she come back?
It didn’t matter at this point, though.
He’d been seen.
Luckily he’d had the foresight to start covering his features, just in case he stumbled across anyone.
Nevertheless, the ski mask hadn’t protected his face as he’d sprinted through the woods two hours ago, the sheriff in hot pursuit until he’d given up chase for unknown reasons.
Steven leaned closer to the mirror and examined the cut onhis forehead, courtesy of a branch that had grazed his temple as he ran through the dense thicket.
How was he going to explain that to Natalie tomorrow? Or the sheriff, if he showed up?
No, not if. When.
Hewouldshow up, no question about it.
Brad pulled a clean washcloth from the stash under the vanity, dampened it, and dabbed at the ragged edges of the cut. As blood soaked into the cloth, his stomach began to churn.
