Page 53 of Found By You
I didn’t know, but I hadn’t been willing to risk her life to stay and find out.
I wanted to call Damon or Noah or any of my family and talk all of this through with them, but I didn’t want to disturb her peace.
When we arrived at my home, the moon hung low over the water. I parked close to the front door, not wanting Sky to walk far in her condition. I did a double take when I noticed another car in the driveway, but relaxed when I saw it was Damon’s police cruiser.
“Hey,” I said softly, touching her shoulder. “We’re home.”
She stirred, blinking slowly as consciousness returned. “My head.” She winced, pressing her palm against her temple. “It feels like someone’s driving nails into my skull.”
“Let’s get you inside.” I helped her from the car, supporting much of her weight as we made our way to the front door.
Damon opened the front door. “Took you long enough,” he said, flipping on the outside light.
Sky tensed beside me before recognizing my brother.
“You okay?” he asked.
I guided her to the kitchen counter, settling her on one of the barstools. “She’s in pain. Maybe we should take her to the hospital.”
“No,” she said. “I’m staying here.”
Concern tightened my chest as I noticed how pale she still looked, her freckles standing out starkly against her ashen complexion.
I looked at Damon and asked, “What are you doing here?” My voice came out more defensive than I intended.
“Waiting for you,” he replied, his expression serious in the dim light. “You’ve been off the grid for hours. I was worried.”
I filled a glass with water, made some toast, and found some ibuprofen. I handed all of it to Sky. “It’s been quite a day.”
Damon cocked an eyebrow and sat on a kitchen stool. “Tell me.”
For the next thirty minutes, we debriefed Damon on everything; Pete’s Trucking, the visit to Fremont Canyon, and most importantly, Sky’s memory flash after hearing the gunshots.
“There was a shooter in the canyon?”
I shrugged. “We never saw anyone, but we got out of there.”
Damon frowned. “You should have called it in.”
I shrugged. “We had to get out of there.”
Damon looked between me and Sky, then focused on Sky.
“So you witnessed a murder, but you don’t remember who the victim was? Or who pulled the trigger?”
She shook her head, grimacing at the movement. “I only remember flashes. Someone lying there … blood everywhere … and someone telling me to run.” Her voice cracked. “Then I was trying to get away.”
Damon exchanged a look with me that spoke volumes. This was bigger than we’d thought. Someone violent was potentially looking for Sky, perhaps the same person who’d fired from the boat that night at our parents’ house. The realization settled like a cold weight in my stomach.
“I’ll pull the full report on the climbing accident,” Damon said, standing. His chair scraped against the hardwood floor, the sound harsh in the quiet kitchen. “I’m also going to call Casper police and tell them you heard shots earlier. And I’ll let Noah know all of this.” He headed for the door, then paused with his hand on the knob. “Be careful, both of you.”
The door clicked shut behind him, leaving us in a silence that felt heavier than before. Through the window, I could see his taillights receding down the driveway.
After he left, I made myself a sandwich. “Want one?” I asked Sky.
She leaned over the counter but shook her head. “No thanks.”
The kitchen was quiet.
