Me:
Sounds good. Thanks, Rina.
I have no clue what happened between her and Arlo, but it’s also not my place to tell Rina his business. Maybe when this is all said and done, this will be a wake-up call for both of them.
I pace around Oakley’s small apartment after putting my phone in my pocket.
It takes me five more minutes of pacing to say fuck it.
Maybe I can help, maybe I can catch Tennison unsuspecting, or at the very least, check out the cabin to see if it shows sign of usage.
Is this a stupid idea? Absolutely.
Will Oakley and Arlo probably kill me when they find out? Undoubtedly.
But I can’t just sit here doing nothing. What if I can help or find something they missed? I have to try if it means James coming back to me sooner and, most importantly, safe.
Decision made, I make sure I have my phone and keys, and then head out. The cabin is hard to find, and I have doubts that the crew will actually find it without help.
Yeah, this is the right thing to do.
Famous last words.
Chapter 28
Oakley
The adrenaline is pumping just like in the old days. It’s nostalgic, in a way, and I would like it more if Tennison wasn’t the cause of everything.
Instead, I’m worried. So fucking worried. Too much can go wrong, and we’ll have very little control over things.
It’s funny how everything always boils down to control.
The plan, if you even want to call it that, is to send me on the trails. I’m going to head toward the cabin but not get too close, and hope that Tennison is just lurking around. We’ve been in touch with Lennox, making sure he stays clear of the area we think Tennison is in, but we haven’t heard from him since. The bulk of the Task Force is patrolling the rest of the park. It’s helping us narrow down things, and it’s looking more and more likely that Willow was right about the cabin.
Willow.Just thinking her name is making me second-guess what the boys have deemed the Tennison Trap.
Is this really worth the risk? Of course, I want to catch this asshole. Of course, I want to lock him up for good before he destroys more lives. But having Willow in my life makes me want—no, need—to be less reckless.
Hell, I don’t want to be reckless at all. I want to curl up in bed with my little troublemaker as she writes her next great novel. I want to cook forher, take care of her when she is too caught up in work. Fuck, I already miss her.
But I know I need to do this. I’ll never be able to fully move on, fully heal unless this job is done.
The rest of the guys are planning to hang back on the edges of the park, hoping that we don’t tip off Tennison but being close enough that if shit hits the fan, they’ll be there.
This might be the most open-ended plan I’ve ever worked, but we don’t have anything better and we’re out of time.
Willow’s directions to the cabin were very detailed, so we know exactly where to go and where the trails go around it. We pull up to the entrance closest to town, and I sit in the car for a second while everyone else jumps out.
“You ready to do this?” Woodcroft’s voice shatters my thoughts as he climbs in next to me. I feel wrung out and high-strung all at the same time. My nerves feel too sensitive for my body, like my skin is too tight.
“No. Fuck no,” I huff out.
“So, it would probably be shitty to ask if you want to come back, huh?”
“Yeah, not happening. I’m not built for this shit anymore.”
“I’m happy for you, you know,” he says quietly.
