It was old and weathered and sat back from the road like it had been forgotten.
A farmhouse.
The windows were dark with no signs of life.
Hadley’s stomach sank. “Kendra . . . whose place is this?”
Kendra tilted her head as an almost amused look flickered across her face. “You mean Max has never brought you here?”
Confusion cut through the fear for a split second. “Why would Max bring me here?”
Kendra’s lips curved into a small, knowing smirk. “Maybe he doesn’t like you as much as you think he does.”
The words didn’t make sense, but Hadley didn’t have time to process them.
“You don’t have to do this.” Hadley forced calm into her tone even as her heart raced. “Whatever you’ve been through. Whatever happened to you—this isn’t the answer. It’s not too late. You can still stop.”
Kendra didn’t respond right away. Her gaze stayed fixed on Hadley, steady and unreadable.
Then she stepped closer and nudged the gun forward. “Walk.”
Hadley hesitated only a fraction of a second before moving. Snow crunched beneath her shoes as she made her way toward the house, every step feeling heavier than the last.
“There’s nothing and no one that’s going to stand in the way of Max and me being together,” Kendra said from behind her. “He’s my soulmate. He just doesn’t realize it yet.”
The words settled over Hadley like a weight.
Kendra was unhinged.
The realization came with terrifying clarity.
This wasn’t about logic. This wasn’t something Hadley could reason her way out of.
Kendra fully believed that what she was doing was justified.
Hadley’s pulse quickened as she reached the porch steps. The wood creaked beneath her weight as she climbed them. Her mind raced, searching for any opening, any chance to get away.
There wasn’t one.
Not with the gun trained on her back.
She reached the door.
Kendra shoved her forward. “Inside.”
Hadley stumbled, catching herself just before she hit the frame. She opened the door, and then she stepped into the darkness beyond.
CHAPTER 41
Max and SheriffSutherland stood at the dining room table.
It had been cleared, and a large map was now spread flat across its surface. Roads, backroads, forest lines, and—most important right now—railroad tracks crisscrossed the area in thin, dark lines.
Max stepped closer, his gaze locking onto the map.
Sheriff Sutherland tapped one section. “I’ve got a call in to the regional Rail Operations Center. I’m trying to see where a train just passed through. If we can narrow down the timing, we can narrow down a location.”
Max leaned over the table, both hands pressing into the wood as he stared at the map.
