Page 66 of He Sees You
"Your car. He must have been looking for you, saw it parked here." I'm already dressed, mind calculating options. "He's alone. That's good."
"Good? He's here to arrest you."
"He's here to find you. There's a difference." I hand her her jacket. "Go out the back. Circle around to your car. Tell him you were walking, needed air, got lost in the dark."
"He won't believe that."
"He will if the alternative is believing you were here with me."
She kisses me hard, desperate. "This isn't over."
"No. It's just beginning."
She slips out the back as Sterling's knock echoes through the cabin.
I wait thirty seconds, then answer, looking appropriately disheveled as if woken from sleep.
"Sheriff. It's late."
"Lockwood." His hand rests on his weapon. "Is my daughter here?"
"Your daughter?" I blink, confused. "Why would she be here?"
"Her car's parked down the road."
"Lots of people park there for night hikes. The trailhead's popular."
He tries to look past me into the cabin. "You won't mind if I look around?"
"Do you have a warrant?"
His jaw tightens. "No."
"Then yes, I mind." I lean against the doorframe. "But if you're worried about Celeste, you might want to check the trails. Easy to get turned around in the dark."
He stares at me for a long moment, and I can see him calculating.
His daughter's strange behavior.
The way she defended me.
"Stay away from her," he says finally.
"Or what? You'll protect her like you protected all those women from Jake?"
The color drains from his face. "What did you just say?"
"I said goodnight, Sheriff."
I close the door in his face, listening as he stands there for a full minute before his footsteps retreat.
Through the window, I watch him find Celeste by her car, playing the part of the lost walker perfectly.
He hugs her, relief evident in every line of his body.
But over his shoulder, she looks back at my cabin.
Even from here, I can see the promise in her eyes.
