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“Okay.”

“Great. See you at dinner, Tank. Dahlia,” he adds with a nod, then heads for the door, whistling as he walks.

Ryker glares after him, though I’m not sure what the animosity is for. Because Zane invited me to dinner? Or because he felt pressured to help me?

“Look, if you don’t want to help⁠—”

“I already said I would,” Ryker interrupts. “I need to grab my things. Then we’ll head to my place so I can shower and change before dinner.” Without waiting for me to respond, he starts toward the back right side of the gym, where the entrance to the bathrooms is.

I wrap my arms around myself as he walks away. There’s not a doubt in my mind that I can trust him. Even if I can’t explain it, even if I can’t remember well enough to know who put me in that river—it was Ryker who pulled me out.

And my discernment is screaming that him finding me was no coincidence.

God put him there to save me.

Now I just have to keep the faith that we will find answers before it’s too late.

Chapter 8

Ryker

My cabin was never meant to impress anyone.

Tucked away from town, settled at the edge of Stormy Falls Wildlife Preserve, the old vacation place sat abandoned for over a decade before I bought it. Even now, after all the repairs and long nights I spent working on it, it still feels temporary.

Which is why having Dahlia here has me in knots.

Or at least that’s what I’m telling myself.

She was silent the entire drive out here, and while I’ve been grateful for the opportunity to process the fact that I went against my better judgment and agreed to help her, the conversation would have been a nice way to settle my own nerves.

“So, I guess I should ask, are you going to kill me?” she jokes, a nervous smile on her face.

“Would I tell you if I was going to?”

“Fair enough.” She unclips her seatbelt and climbs out.

I unlock the door and punch in the alarm code, then step aside so Dahlia can head in first.

All while I try not to obsess over what she thinks about my space. It shouldn’t matter. Not logically. But a part of me really wants her approval.

Which is ridiculous.

The cabin is functional. It’s neat, so I can always tell if someone was here when I wasn’t, small enough that—aside from the bathroom—there aren’t any places for an enemy to hide, and the tree line out back offers plenty of cover should I need to disappear from view.

I never planned to stay in Stormwatch Landing long, so anything above that functional line never really mattered.

Zane stayed for his family.

Sawyer stayed for Anastasia.

Garrison made a home here.

Weston grew up on the ranch he now co-owns with his mother-in-law.

But me? This was never meant to be permanent. I just haven’t found the strength to do what I should have done a long time ago and leave. Before my past catches up and robs me of what peace I’ve managed to find.

She moves farther inside, and I shut the door, then toss my keys onto the counter.