Max paused. “Are you sure you’re okay? You don’t sound like yourself.”
She paused again before adding, “I’m not feeling great for some reason. It’s probably just everything catching up with me.”
Max frowned at her words. “What kind of not great?”
“Nothing major. Just . . . groggy, I guess. A little shaky and nauseous.” She let out a small breath. “I’m sure it’s just the stress of everything catching up with me.”
“Maybe.” Something in his chest tightened. “You should take it easy. Get some rest.”
“I will. I just need to finish a few things here first.”
Max glanced out the window, calculating that he was still about thirty minutes away from her. “You want the deputy totake you back to Refuge Cove? At least until all of this settles down?”
“I was thinking about that. I might head over in a little bit. I just want to wrap things up here.”
“Okay. Call me if anything feels off. Don’t wait.”
“I won’t.”
Before he could say anything else, his phone beeped.
Max glanced at the screen and saw it was an unknown number. “I’ve got another call coming in. Can I call you back later?”
“Of course.”
“I’ll check in soon.” He ended the call and stared at the screen a second before answering. “Hello?”
For a beat, there was nothing but static.
Then a faint voice asked, “Is this Max?”
He straightened, the voice strangely familiar. Or was he imagining things?
He sucked in a breath before asking, “Lyndee?”
A shaky breath came through the line. “Yes, it’s me. I?—”
The signal crackled.
Max’s grip tightened around the phone as his pulse spiked. “Lyndee, where are you?”
CHAPTER 34
More static crackledthrough the line, then Lyndee’s voice came back. “Max, I—I got away.”
Max’s grip tightened on the phone. “You escaped?”
“Yes.” The word came out shaky. “I’m in a cabin. I don’t know where. I just ran until I found it. No one was here, but they did have a landline phone. I’m afraid Kenny will find me. He’ll be so mad . . .”
Max hit the speaker button and held the phone out so Sheriff Sutherland could hear.
Sheriff Sutherland was already reaching for his radio, his focus sharpening. “Keep her talking.”
“Lyndee, listen to me,” Max said. “You’re doing great. Stay on the line. Can you look around? Tell me anything you see that might help us find you?”
“I don’t—I don’t know.” Her voice caught. “This place is pretty small. There’s a deer head over a small fireplace.”
“You don’t see any mail with an address on it, do you?”
