Page 43 of Love Me Fearless

“How are things going?” I add a layer of kindling and light the paper. Bright orange flames leap to life, crawling up the lengths to lick at the kindling.

“Slow. Everett and I were in her room again yesterday.” He shakes his head, as if to clear an unwelcome memory. “Still haven’t located her phone. But we found clues that she was crushing on some guy she met online. Most likely the same person with that burner.”

My gut hollows. The local headlines this morning reported this online acquaintance along with a plea for information about him.

From the creek, Curren gives an excited squeal, his chubby cheeks rosy. Jesse chases down the little wooden boat he carved for them before it can get swept into the main current.

“There’s a boyfriend too,” Zach says over the crackle of the fire. “They had been camp counselors together last summer, then it turned long distance when he went off to college.”

“Were they still together?”

Zach shakes his head. “He dumped her over Christmas break. Apparently, he’d strung her along while sleeping with half the volleyball team.”

Anger flares hot in my chest. If this kid wanted to fuck around, then have the decency to break things off with his girl before he did. “Where’s he now?”

“He gave his statement last night. With a lawyer.”

That this kid lawyered up just to give a statement means not only does he have the means to do so, but he might have something to hide.

“Any chance the burner phone guy is the ex?”

“We’re working every angle,” Zach replies, sounding exhausted.

I think about Marin’s family going through so much while theywait for answers. Could a predator have targeted her? Maybe because of this breakup over the holidays, she was extra vulnerable, and feeling insecure, even lonely?

I add more kindling to the fire, my frustration and anger at whoever is responsible for Marin’s death turning my insides to knots.

“Beth didn’t say much about her interview.” I feed the fire with bigger sections of kindling. “Anything useful?”

“Along with the others, it’s very useful. Helps establish a timeline.”

“Did she know who this creep with the burner was?”

“No.”

The relief washing through me comes laced with guilt that my baby sister is safe while Marin’s family is suffering the most painful loss.

“Any chance whoever killed Marin might feel like doing it again?” Finding Ava’s door ajar still has me spooked.

Zach stares into the fire for an instant, his expression grim. “Let’s hope not.”

“If there is anything I can do to help, let me know?” I ask Zach.

“You’ve already done a lot.” He shakes his head. “Not just rappelling down there, but you stayed with Marin and helped us get her back to her family.” He eyes me, his sharp eyes tense. “Is that the kind of stuff you do for the military?”

I swallow the swell of emotion working its way up my throat. “It’s part of the gig, yeah.”

His cheeks puff with a hard exhale. “What do you do to get shit out of your head?”

I add two logs to the growing fire. “A ten-mile run usually does it.” Or an all-nighter with an eager participant, though if last night is any indication, that option is no longer reliable.

Fuck.

Zach gives me a look. “That’s your idea of self-care?”

“Hey, it’s better than a bottle of Jack Daniels.” I sit back on myheels and watch the fire, the heat warming my face. “Talking about it helps too, with someone you trust.”

Zach’s gaze lifts to Sofie who is playing with Curren in the water, and his face stills. “Yeah.”

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