Page 45 of Bound By Truth (An Island Bound Novel)

One feeble light cast a dim glow, but the rest of the street was in darkness. Everyone tucked up in their beds, asleep, like she should be in the wee hours of the morning.

Her journalistic mind began to mull things over. What if she did a little bit of investigating on her own? It couldn’t hurt, could it? No, she shook her head, she’d given up on all that ten years ago. It’d all seemed so unimportant and petty after she lost the only truly significant thing in her life. Jen had tried so many times to talk her back into writing more articles, doing some freelancing for The Advertiser. But Sierra wasn’t interested, she’d shoved that part of her life into a small compartment and that’s where it’d stayed. Sure, she still did the occasional piece for The Islander, but they were fluffy pieces, nothing with any real grit or relevance. But that itch behind her eyes, that small buzz of excitement running through her was so familiar, it made her want to grab a piece of paper and start writing things down. Putting the puzzle pieces together. That was what she’d been so good at, after all. It wasn’t the story she was after. No, she was well past selling herself out for a story. If she found anything, anything at all that even smelled slightly like Evan might be involved then she’d call the Sarge straight away. It was about the chase, matching wits with a foe. And winning.

Evan owned the small one-bedroom flat attached at the back of the shop. It’d come as a package when he bought the business. But Sierra knew he also owned a property over near Hog Bay, around twenty minutes away. He’d told her once he was going to build on it soon, when he’d gained a bit more capital from the shop. He was proud of his property, had big plans for it, but at the moment, it only sported a couple of run-down sheds.

Sierra had never been there, but his descriptions had been pretty detailed. She thought she might be able to find it. Would Kylie lend her her car? Normally, Kylie walked to work. And the boys rode their bikes to school, unless it was raining, and then Kylie would drive them. Sierra searched the dark sky. No clouds covered the stars tonight. The forecast was for a clear, but cold, day tomorrow.

A plan began to form in Sierra’s head.

The terrible lethargy was still there, her heart still hurting from the truth of Reed’s declaration. But now she had something else to think about, something else to distract her. It wasn’t a remedy for her problem, it was a diversion and nothing more. But anything that helped her forget what Reed had done, to help bury those memories back down deep, where they belonged, was a good thing.

She’d ask to borrow Kylie’s car tomorrow. Rental cars were in high demand on the island from the single rental company, and Sierra might have to wait days for one to become available. Kylie would understand. Sierra bit her bottom lip. Should she tell Kylie where she was going? Yes, she didn’t want to lie to her friend, and if anything did happen to her—which was highly unlikely—then at least someone would know where she was. She might be stupid enough to go off on some half-baked plan, but she wasn’t stupid enough to do it without telling someone. Kylie might take a little convincing, but she would argue that if she found anything, anything at all, she’d let the police know.

She still hadn’t turned her phone back on. Wasn’t sure she was ready to look at all of Reed’s texts that would be there waiting for her. Would he be asking for forgiveness? Because if he was, she wasn’t going to grant it. Or would he be worried about her? Especially since he wanted to protect her from the stalker, and she knew he’d probably be feeling helpless and frustrated with her lack of communication.

Should she at least send him a text to let him know she was okay? A guilty conscience warred with grief and betrayal inside her head. Maybe she’d get Kylie to send him a message tomorrow. That way, she wouldn’t have to talk to him, but she could also assuage her guilt. Sierra wasn’t sure she ever wanted to talk to Reed again.

She went back to the couch and lay down. There were still a few hours before daylight, and she might be able to catch a bit of sleep before she had to get up for the day. Now that she had a plan in place, her churning mind was quieter. It felt good to have something solid to do.

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