Page 125 of See How They Hide

Riley was scared, but not like before. Because there was a greater good to be had.

Liberating Havenwood.

It was time to make a stand. It was time to tell her mother that nothing—nothingshe could do to her or anyone else would send Riley down the same dark path.

Riley didn’t want to kill her mother, but there was no doubt in her mind that Calliope would force her to.

Just like she forced Riley to kill her horse.

Riley hadn’t known where Havenwood was in the state of Colorado, but now that she was on the edge of paradise, she remembered every inch of the land she’d been born on.

And she ran as fast as she dared down the mountain.

47

North of Havenwood

The cabin was exactly where Riley said it would be.

Forest ranger Toby Strong had led the four of them—Kara, Michael, Sloane, and Dean—along the fire road and down a narrow trail to the cabin. Though they were dressed for the cold, Kara was still freezing by the time they arrived. The sun was up, the sky was blue, the mountain was beautiful, but the cold seeped into her bones, reminding her of her years with her grams—when running around in the cold didn’t bother her nearly as much.

Toby was an older ranger, he had to be near sixty, but he was sure-footed and in good shape. He knew Havenwood, had met several of the people, including Thalia years ago, but mostly the people kept to themselves. “I didn’t know they hurt anyone. The few times I’ve been down to the valley, they were hospitable and friendly.”

Kara was surprised they tolerated the stranger, but maybe they understood that if something happened to the forest ranger, another would replace him. And another. They were legally on the land, so perhaps they didn’t fear him.

Dean was talking to Catherine for a second time, but Kara was studying the map with Michael and Sloane. Michael said quietly to Sloane, “Are you good partnering with Dean?”

She nodded.

“I know it’s a lot of pressure, considering he’s not a field agent.”

“I got him,” she said. “In the Marines I was tasked with babysitting journalists and politicians—I can keep him alive.”

Michael cracked a smile, the first since Matt was kidnapped.

“Then it’s you and me, KQ,” he said to Kara.

Dean came back into the cabin. “Riley snuck out the bathroom window. Catherine thinks she believes her mother will kill Matt if she senses a trap. She blames herself. Catherine said there’s a lot more to unpack in Riley’s past, things she didn’t share before, but that there were hints in her art. So we now have Matt as our priority, and finding Riley before she does anything she can’t come back from.”

Damn! Kara thought Riley trusted them. They’d been together most of the week, and Kara saw Riley relax, listen, talk. Why run now? What had changed?

“The plan is still the same,” Dean said. “We don’t leave this cabin until SWAT is in position. They need thirty minutes. They’ll come in on my call. I’m hoping it doesn’t come to that.”

“We need to go in now,” Kara said. “Riley knows this mountain. She’ll be in Havenwood before us, and that means one more hostage for Calliope, and no reason to keep Matt alive.”

Dean looked indecisive. Not a good look on their team leader.

“I’ll find Riley,” Kara said. “You rescue Matt.”

Saying it pained her, but it was their best option.

“Riley will listen to me. I’m small, fast, good on my feet. I’ve studied these maps over and over.” To make her point, she drew attention to the map she and Michael had been looking at most recently. “Here,” she said, “is the forest station. Here—” she dragged her finger down the road “—is Havenwood. Riley isn’t going to walk on the road, but she has to stay close to it because if she goes too far south, it’s too steep, and too far north is out of the way. So I think she’ll stick low through here...” As she spoke she looked at the area. “Toby, what’s this here?”

“It’s a small creek. Most of it is still frozen over.”

“It runs along the road?”

He nodded.

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