Page 79 of Watch Your Back (Ariana Jones)

“There’s an old warehouse not too far from the freeway entrance. It’s behind some trees, so it’s easy to miss.”

“How are you so familiar with it then?”

“Charles and I have gone hiking out that way several times,” he said. “We even talked about the faded painting on the side of it. I think it was the name of the old business, but he’s convinced it was—”

“I don’t need the whole story,” she said. “If there’s a chance Rita’s out that way, I want to look. She may be bloodied and barely hanging on to life. Every moment counts. Let’s go.”

“Okay, but I can’t make any guarantees. The police might not let us anywhere near there.”

“But you said there’s woods there. We can go in at a different place. Trees make great cover.”

“Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked. “Her shirt was found bloody. We could be walking into anything.”

“Rita would do this for me. I don’t care what I see. If it’s bad, I’ll go to therapy. It isn’t like it would be the first time. I’ll need it anyway if my friend’s husband…” Her voice trailed off, and she couldn’t finish the sentence.

Damon wrapped his arms around her, and she accepted his comfort. The thought of finding Rita dead was more than disturbing, but she had to do something. So much time had already passed.

Hopefully, they would be able to find the truth. If Mitch took her, then he needed to face the consequences. Same thing if it was Boone. It could be either one of them, despite Boone’s alibi. He had too many reasons to want his wife out of the picture. He could easily be holding NDAs over other people’s heads too.

Ariana pulled away from Damon’s hold. “Let’s go. I can’t wait another moment.”

“I’ll grab some water bottles. We’re going to get thirsty hiking through the woods.”

“And I’m going to make sure my phone’s battery is charged. We might need pictures.”

“Or to call someone,” he said. “Mine’s charging now, so we can use that if yours is low.”

They went in separate directions. Ariana found her phone in the kitchen, and realized she was hungry. She warmed up some leftovers. They needed to be at the top of their game while they were searching.

When Damon came into the kitchen with an armload of bottled waters, she offered him food. “Good thinking. Who knows how long we’ll be out there?”

By the time they walked out the front door, nearly an hour had gone by since they decided to head toward the woods.

Thankfully Damon drove, because her mind ran crazy. Not only thoughts of what could’ve happened to Rita, but also flashbacks to her own traumas. If only she could forget. But she probably never would, and events like this would only keep bringing them to the forefront of her mind.

She needed to stop trying to protect herself. Part of moving to the gated community had been to insulate herself from crime.

So much for that.

Damon parked the car on the side of a quiet road, across from a thick forest.

She remembered running in the dark from a predator. Hiding behind trees. Trying not to breathe. A child needing to outwit an adult.

“You ready?” Damon asked.

Ariana drew a deep breath. She was safe now, had been for years.

“We can go back if you’ve changed your mind,” he said.

“No. I need to do this.”

“Okay. Let’s go.” He got out of the car and grabbed his backpack full of water and other emergency supplies.

She threw hers over her shoulders. It was lighter than his, not holding as much stuff. Just enough to get her through the night if they got separated.

They were nothing if not prepared.

He remote locked the car and studied the edge of the woods.

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