Page 124 of Wish You Were Mine

He signed out.

“Are you sure we should go in?” Summer asked.

I pushed the door open wider. “If we stay out here, we risk getting hypothermia. We need to get warm.”

I walked inside, and to my surprise, the cabin didn’t smell musty. A bench ran along two walls, with a table in the corner and a fireplace in the center of the space. A kitchen counter took up the third wall. A chill skated down my spine at the sight of several rows of cans and dehydrated meals arranged on top.

They weren’t dusty. Someone had been here recently.

I rounded the corner and held up my hand to stop Summer. There, in front of a bunk bed, stood a crib with a familiar, blue plush bear inside.

57

ASHER

Summer gasped. “Is that…?”

“Yeah.” I wrapped my arms around her, burying her face in my shoulder so she couldn’t see the crib anymore. “It doesn’t mean the kidnapper was here though.”

Assuming there was a kidnapper. Connor hadn’t said. But he had mentioned the police investigating the scene, which surely meant it had been an abduction. If she’d somehow miraculously gotten out of that highchair and wandered off without leaving a trace, they wouldn’t bother collecting evidence.

Besides, if no one had taken her, then how would the bear have gotten here?

Her scoff was muffled by the napkins and my jacket. “Oh yeah?”

“It could be from anyone with a baby,” I said, hoping to calm her. After the Ute’s engine dying and the fallen trees blocking the road, the last thing she needed was another thing to worry about.

She drew back enough to look me in the eye. “People don’t just bring babies to hunting cabins in the middle of winter. Besides, that’s Marcy’s bear. I’ve seen it before.”

“She got it from Destiny Fibers. I’m sure other people have identical ones.” I didn’t address her previous comment because, honestly, I couldn’t. Based on the disturbance outside, the food stores, and the presence of the bear and the crib, this probably was the kidnappers' hideout.

“They aren’t here now,” I continued. “We checked, remember? The tree on the road will stop anyone from driving up, so we should be able to see them coming if they return, but there’s every chance they left town when Marcy was found.”

She worried her lip between her teeth, clearly not finding any of this remotely comforting. “I hope you’re right.”

I went over to the bunk beds and pulled a fleece blanket off one. I had the nasty feeling the kidnapper had used it, but that didn’t matter as much as caring for Summer did. I wrapped the blanket around her shoulders and guided her to the edge of the bunk. She looked small and frightened as she dabbed at her bloody nose. The flow seemed to have slowed.

I used the radio to contact Connor again.

“We found a crib in the cabin,” I told him. “There’s also enough food to supply someone for a couple of weeks if not longer, and a blue bear that looks a lot like Marcy’s.”

“Shit.”

I hesitated. “I don’t suppose they arrested anyone?”

I was guessing he’d have said as much earlier if they had, but it paid to be sure.

“No,” Connor replied. “Marcy was found alone, left on the hood of a car around the back of the information center. Unfortunately, no one saw who dropped her off, but they must have known the center was being used to coordinate the search so someone would find her before she became ill.”

“Damn.” I was glad Marcy was fine, but it would have been easier if an arrest had been made.

“Be careful out there.” Connor’s tone was serious. “Is there anything you can use as a weapon?”

“I’ll find something, and I’ll let you know if anything changes.”

“You do that.”

I propped the radio up on the kitchen counter and did a quick sweep of the cabin. There were no guns, but there was a woodshed outside, so presumably there would be something that could be used to cut wood. That might make a good weapon.

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