Page 49 of Silver Secrets

“We found her.”

She reached for the glass of water she’d left out that morning before work, and forced herself to take a drink. “The missing girl?”

“Yes. I’m so sorry, Sloane. There is no easy way to say it, so I’m just going to tell you. It’s him. He’s back.”

The glass fell out of her hand, water splashing her bare feet before a thousand shards of glass scattered on the floor around her. Sloane bent over, wrapping her arms across her stomach as dread washed over her like a tidal wave.

“Sloane? Are you still there?”

“I’m here,” she choked out. “How do you know? How do you know it’s him?”

“He left a picture with the body this time.”

Shit. They hadn’t found the girl alive.

And it was all her fault. If she had been able to identify him, if she’d been able to collect evidence before she ran, if she’d been able to lead them back to the cave, something would have helped. But she didn’t. Another girl was dead because of her.

“What picture?”

“It doesn’t matter. We know it’s him.”

“Don’t tell me it doesn’t matter, Kimi! This is my life! He’s going to come for me, isn’t he? Everything about this is so messed up.” She slid down the cabinets until glass crunched beneath her bottom.

“I know. Look, I don’t want to upset you, but if you want to know, I’ll tell you.”

“I want to know. I want to know everything. Anything you can tell me, please.”

“Are you sitting down?”

“Yes.”

There was silence.

“Kimi? Tell me.”

“It was a picture of you. In the cave.”

Her heart slammed in her chest as her stomach heaved. She scrambled to her feet, slamming her hand over her mouth until she was over the sink. Sloane barely felt the sting of glass pressing into her bare feet as her stomach emptied.

“I’m coming there, Sloane. We’re going to figure out the next step, together. Just like we did last time. Okay?”

“Okay.” Sloane ran her hand over her mouth, sinking down to the floor once more. Her whole body felt numb, but something in the back of her mind was shouting at her to move. To go to Gage.

“I’m about to go into a meeting, but I need to know. Do you have someone you can call now? Someone you trust?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Call them. Tell them, or don’t. That’s up to you. But you need to at least let them know you are in danger. It’s probably best if you don’t stay at your house at all, but if you have to, don’t stay alone.”

“Okay.”

“I see the man I’m meeting with, so I have to run. I’ll be in touch.”

She stared at her phone for so long that it turned off, the screen going as blank as her mind. There was a reason she’d gone home between clients, but she couldn’t seem to place why. And when she forced herself to stand, to try and put one foot in front of the other to move, the overwhelming sense of someone watching her froze her to the spot.

It was all in her imagination, just like in the woods. He wouldn’t just go from killing someone in Virginia to coming after her in Texas. If he even knew where she was. Kimi had said they would figure things out together, but that didn’t stop Sloane’s mind from trying to cover every possible path in one split second.

Would she have to leave Silver Springs? Would she have to change her name and start all over again? Would he make a mistake? Could they catch him after all this time? Why was he still obsessed with her?

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