Page 70 of Seeking Evil

“Over there.” She and Dawn headed toward them and lowered themselves to the damp earth.

“I sure hope we find a house soon. The longer we’re out in the open like this the more our chances are of being captured again. Henry or his partner knows we escaped. They’ll keep looking for us. Our time is running out.”

Dawn shivered. “We can’t let that happen. There’s got to be someplace we can go. I know Wyoming is remote, but there’s a town nearby. You’d think there’d be houses out here somewhere.”

She was losing hope. Sierra understood. Hers had been fading for a while. Her analytical brain wanted to go over everything they had gone through. Everything they knew about Henry and his partner.

“You said he called his partner T, right?”

Dawn opened her eyes and looked her way. “That’s right.”

Dawn hadn’t mentioned this before. “What did T say?”

“T became furious and stormed out.”

“Wait, did you see T’s face?” If Dawn could identify T this would be huge.

Dawn shook her head. “No, T wore a mask and didn’t talk. When T stormed from the basement I could hear them, or I should say Henry, arguing with T. I couldn’t make out what T was saying.”

T had made sure Dawn couldn’t identify him. Why had Henry been so reckless?

Sierra shook her head. “I don’t understand any of this. We’re missing something.”

Dawn leaned her head against Sierra’s shoulder. “If we make it out of here, I’m going to appreciate my life more. My fiancé. My kids I teach.” Her voice sounded wobbly. “It’s so easy to take things for granted. You see them all the time, and you just naturally assume you’ll get the chance to continue to see them. But you may not.”

Sierra knew what she meant. She’d been so intent on bulldozing forward with her and Zeke’s relationship that she hadn’t considered what he needed.

“Come on. We won’t solve any of this sitting under a tree. Let’s finish this.” Sierra stood and held out her hand. She and Dawn had formed a friendship out of necessity. But she had a feeling after everything they’d gone through, their friendship would be around for a long time.

Dawn rose unsteadily. “I can’t wait to have pizza again.”

Sierra laughed. “Me too. And chicken-fried steak. There’s this place near where I live that makes the best chicken-fried steak. I’ll take you there once we’re safe.”

“I love chicken-fried steak. Speaking of steaks, there’s a place in Oklahoma that makes the best rib eyes. We’re going there, too.” They were both laughing.

“Absolutely. I’ll gain so much weight no one will recognize me, but it will be worth it.”

“Yes, it will.” Dawn’s expression sobered as their reality sank in. “And I won’t ever take anyone for granted again.”

“And I’m not going to bully my boyfriend into doing what I want anymore.”

And she was going to tell Zeke how important he was to her the second she saw him again.

“Wait, do you see that?” Dawn stopped.

Sierra looked toward where she pointed. “That’s a light. On a house. We did it.” She clasped Dawn’s arm, and the two jumped up and down.

“Wait, what if it’s his home?” Dawn’s question shattered the euphoria and brought reality crashing down around her.

“You’re right. We have to be careful.”

Whoever the house belonged to was awake even though it was still early. The hairs on the back of Sierra’s neck stood up. Maybe it was someone going to work at a ranch or a factory job. There could be a simple explanation.

As they neared the property, a dog barked somewhere in the distance, and Sierra froze.

“What should we do?” Dawn asked nervously. “What if it’s him?”

“Stay back here. Let me check. Maybe I can see in the window.”

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