Since she wasn’t at the main house and her car was in front, she had to be on the property.
But where?
Had she decided to take a hike around the lake on this beautiful day?
She’d said she’d given those up after he’d expressed concern about her wandering around alone, but what if she’d changed her mind?
What if she’d run into Steven?
He tamped down a surge of panic.
It shouldn’t matter if they’d met up. The man would have no reason to hurt her.
Yet he’d had no apparent reason to hurt Micah, either.
And Micah was dead.
Pulse kicking into high gear, he texted Larry with a request for backup before jogging back toward the main house. It wouldn’t hurt to have his chief deputy on hand in case this went south.
As he drew close, Natalie came out onto the galérie. “Is everything all right?”
“Cara’s not in the cottage. I’m going to see if I can find her. Do me a favor and bolt all the doors while I’m gone.”
Her eyebrows rose. “What if Steven comes back?”
“Talk to him through a window. Ask him to wait outside.”
Natalie blinked. “Why?”
“It would be safer.”
“I’m not afraid of Steven.”
“Trust me on this, Natalie.” He began backing up. “If I’m wrong, I’ll apologize to both of you later. But if I’m not, at least you’ll be secure until I get back.” He swiveled around and took off at a fast trot.
He couldn’t make Natalie follow his instructions. All he could do was hope she listened to him.
Because if Steven had somehow realized that the risk of exposure for whatever he was up to had escalated, no one would be safe.
Including the cousin who’d never shown him anything but kindness and love.
“STEVEN ... IDON’T UNDERSTANDwhat’s going on.” Cara pushed aside a branch as they ascended the trail to the cliff.Maybe if she could get him to talk, she could buy herself a few more minutes.
“You don’t have to understand.”
His reply was a bit garbled, but she got the gist.
He didn’t want to talk.
She surveyed the path ahead.
They were halfway to the top of the cliff, and the clock was ticking down fast.
It couldn’t hurt to try again to engage him. What did she have to lose?
“Look ... you don’t have to do whatever you’re planning to do.” She stopped and pivoted toward him. “I don’t know anything about whatever you’ve got going on.”
“You know about the bracelet. And I pulled a gun on you. Your sheriff friend wouldn’t be happy about that.”
