CHAPTER 17
Kori stoodat the edge of the parking lot and stared at Wyatt’s truck.
Both tires she could see from this viewpoint sagged against the gravel. The rubber was split open in long, jagged cuts.
Her stomach dropped.
Someone had done this. This hadn’t been bad luck. This hadn’t been an accident caused by the cold or a hidden nail on the road.
Someone had been here. Someone had waited until Jake left. Then they’d sent Wyatt a clear message.
Wyatt paced away from her and made a couple of phone calls. As he did, Kori watched the woods, trying to think like a prosecutor instead of a sister.
This was a deliberate act of vandalism.
Actually, this wasn’t just vandalism.
This had been done to send a message.
Someone didn’t want them to find Mackenzie. But why?
Still on the phone, Wyatt crouched beside his truck and ran a gloved hand along the tire, studying the damage. “Someone used a knife to do this. The cuts are clean.”
He straightened and scanned the snow around the truck. A set of footprints led from the woods to Wyatt’s truck and then back to the woods.
She shivered, and her gaze drifted across the lot.
Mackenzie’s Subaru still sat where they’d found it earlier that morning. Seeing it again made her chest tighten.
Her sister had made it to the trail. She’d hiked at least five miles. Then she’d left her backpack. Why would Mackenzie do that?
Unless she hadn’t had any other choice.
Kori pressed her eyes closed, unable to handle the thought.
Either way, Mackenzie hadn’t made it back to her vehicle.
Wyatt slipped his phone into his pocket and turned toward her. “Micah’s on his way. They’re sending another ranger with a truck for us also.”
“At least there’s that.”
Thunder padded over and sat beside him, watching the woods as if he understood the tension.
Wyatt grabbed a bottle from his pack and poured some water into Thunder’s collapsible bowl. The dog drank quickly before lifting his head and sniffing the air.
They waited in the lot. Now that Kori had stopped walking, the cold began to creep through her layers of clothing, and she shivered.
Wyatt observed her through narrowed eyes. “Do you want to sit in my truck?”
She glanced at it. At the slashed tires. Then she shook her head. “No, I’d rather wait out here. Believe it or not, I’m too antsy to sit right now.”
“Drink some more water. And I have another protein bar if you need one.”
“I’m fine, but thank you.”
However, her mind wouldn’t stop racing.
What was going on out there in the woods? Where was her sister right now?
