Page 14 of Mountain Murder

She’d hurt all of them out of her selfishness.

She moved through the halls on autopilot. Not really hearing the announcements over the PA system or feeling the return smiles she gave the staff. Instead, she memorized the faces of Battle Mountain PD’s officers as she passed. The weight on their shoulders, the clipped responses, and silent nods. They were hurting. All of them.

But this case wasn’t finished. It wasn’t even close.

Her fingers cramped as she offered the pre-packaged meals she’d bought for them, one by one. They took the mushy turkey sandwiches and bagged chips with juice boxes in turn with weak thank yous and downcast gazes, but that small gesture wasn’t enough to make her believe she could pay them back for what they’d done. What they might lose.

The tray became lighter as she unloaded more meals. Until there was only one left. Pushing back into Lance’s room, she couldn’t help but admire the sweep of his eyelashes cast over his cheeks, or the way his chest moved as he breathed. For the first time, he looked at peace. In sleep, the pain of his past and the constant threat of danger couldn’t reach him. No pain. No regret. Absolutely perfect.

All he’d wanted when he came to Battle Mountain was to become worthy of his family. To know whether or not he was truly corrupted and broken and fix what he’d done. But the truth was, he hadn’t ever been any of those things. He was brave, caring, instinctual. He’d made himself a barrier between her and the outside world, protected her physically, mentally, and emotionally.

But there had to be a point where he couldn’t fight her battles for her. He had to fight his own. Because everyone was responsible for their own recovery, for their own healing. She would give him that chance. And she’d give it to herself.

Audrey set the tray on the side table beside his bed as quietly as she could manage and collected his truck keys. His hair had gotten in his face as he slept, and she brushed it back, careful not to wake him. She could still taste him. That mixture of peppermint toothpaste and something specific to him on the back of her tongue. Like gingerbread. Which didn’t logically make sense, but nothing about them did.

He was a former soldier suffering from PTSD. She was a former trauma therapist too burned out to help him. But they’d somehow come together, revitalizing that inner purpose she believed she’d lost. To help those who couldn’t or didn’t know how to help themselves. She kissed his forehead and slipped toward the door. “Thank you. For everything.”

Lance didn’t stir, a miracle considering the symptoms he dealt with on a daily basis, and she liked to think he finally felt safe enough to let himself relax. It wouldn’t last long, but she’d let him have this time.

Without her, to aggravate his need to keep fighting.

She attempted a smile for the officers posted outside Lance’s door, but she couldn’t hold it. She slipped Lance’s keys into her pocket, out of sight. “He’s just resting. I’m going to take a walk.”

“Mind if I join you?” The female officer broke her position with a glance at her partner, and Audrey’s nerves shot through the roof. “I could use some fresh air.”

“No. That’s okay.” She swiped her clammy hands down the sides of her thighs. She didn’t condone lying. She wasn’t good at it, but it was the only way she could face this. To make it right. “I think I’d rather be alone for a little while.”

“There’s a killer on the loose, ma’am.” The second officer stepped forward. “We’re under orders not to let you or Mr. Whitcher out of our sight for safety reasons.”

“I know that. I just… I need…” She didn’t know what she needed other than to be as far from this place as possible. To contain the violence and death and danger to herself instead of the officers sworn to protect her and the man who never should’ve stepped between her and a killer. Audrey glanced down the hallway, to the glass double doors at the end of the hall.

“I’ll keep my distance.” The female officer secured one hand around Audrey’s forearm, honing her awareness into something encouraging and understanding.

Her breath eased out of her, and for the first time in…ever, Audrey caught a reflection of the same emptiness she tried to hide away from the people around her. Only this officer’s didn’t seem as deep or dark. She glanced at the woman’s partner. “Keep an eye on him. If I’m not here when Lance wakes up, he’ll push himself to find me.”

She slipped free of Vachs’ hold, trying to control her legs’ desperation to flee for the door. One foot in front of the other. Not charging ahead. Any sign she was about to flee would trigger a foot chase she couldn’t win. She passed a women’s restroom, and her gut assured her it was the only way out. “I’m just going to use the restroom.”

“All right. I just need to clear it first.” The female officer did exactly as Audrey hoped, shoving inside.

Audrey didn’t waste a single moment after the heavy door closed. Pumping her legs as hard as she could, she shoved through the doors at the end of the hall, senses on high alert she’d been spotted. Rain pecked against her face, neck, and arms as she headed for Lance’s truck. Right where she’d left it after the ambulance had transported him to the clinic.

Safe inside, she watched those double doors. She could still go back. She could let Battle Mountain PD and Lance fight this battle, but would she ever be able to move on? The answer was already there. She shoved the key into the ignition and brought the engine to life.

There was only one place she would get answers.

Only one place she could earn her right to heal.

Jake Dugan hadn’t tried to kill her. But someone else blamed her for their pain. Audrey headed to the opposite side of town. The wipers struggled to keep up with the pound of rain warping her vision through the windshield, but she’d traveled these roads enough throughout her life here she didn’t need to see them clearly.

The apartment building solidified out the passenger side window, and she shoved the truck into Park. Right where it all began. There had to be something here. She didn’t bother trying to beat the rain, taking her time as she shouldered out of the truck and followed the sidewalk to the nearest set of stairs. Climbing to the third floor, she clutched onto the keys harder with every step gained. And faced off with the same door she had a year ago.

Already open.

Audrey pushed it wider and crossed the threshold. It shouldn’t have looked the same after so much time. There should’ve been another tenant that had moved in the months since she’d been here. The hairs at the back of her neck stood on end. As though her nervous system was trying to tell her she wasn’t alone. Her voice shook more than she meant it to. “You’re here, aren’t you?”

“Close the door.” A silhouette peeled away from the shadows of the front room. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

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