Total pages in book: 146
Estimated words: 143842 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 719(@200wpm)___ 575(@250wpm)___ 479(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 143842 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 719(@200wpm)___ 575(@250wpm)___ 479(@300wpm)
“I need to talk to Ezra.”
She glanced around like she was looking for a threat before the terror was rolling off her tongue. “Ezra just got word from the station about what happened at Cambrey Pines yesterday. Is Cody hurt? Why didn’t you call us?”
Guilt climbed up my throat, and in a bout of disquiet, I twisted my fingers. “Cody insisted that we didn’t call. He wanted to be the one to tell everyone himself.”
He’d known they were going to be distraught, just like it was clear Savannah was right then.
She blew out a sigh. “Well, the second Ezra heard about it, he was in his truck and heading to Cody’s house.”
Distress buzzed in my being.
“What is it?” she pressed.
“I really needed to talk to him. In private.”
A frown pulled across her face. “Are you in trouble?”
I wavered, attention dropping to the ground because I’d carried this secret with me for so long.
Welcome to the family you didn’t know you had.
The memory of what she’d whispered to me as she’d hugged me as we’d been leaving the ranch on Saturday twisted through my mind, and my heart thudded.
Because I trusted her, and it was time I stopped hiding.
Stopped hiding in plain sight.
“I am, and I need Ezra’s help, but I need to do it without Cody knowing because I don’t want him getting more involved than he’s already been. I can’t cause him any more danger than I already have.”
She looked over my shoulder like Ezra might appear there. “He left twenty minutes ago. You probably passed him on the road as soon as you left.”
Anxiety billowed. “Okay, well…can you call him and let him know I need to talk to him? Cody is at my house. Tell him to check in with Cody, and not to leave until I get there. I’ll talk to him outside.”
“Of course.” She hesitated then reached for me, taking my hand. “Is there anything I can do to help? I hate this, Hailey. Hate that I can feel the fear rolling off you.”
My head shook. “It’s just time I stood for what’s right, and I’m going to need Ezra’s help to do that.”
She breathed out the worry. “Okay. But I’m here. Whatever you need.”
I squeezed her hand back. “Your friendship is enough. I’m so grateful for it. For all of you. For making my daughter and me feel like we belong.”
“That’s because you do.”
Footsteps pounded from within the house, the clamor growing louder with each eager thud.
Olivia was suddenly pushing back in front of Savannah, an eager smile on her face. She rocked back on her heels as she handed me a piece of paper that was folded into a small square and had a bunch of pink tape and heart stickers all over it.
To my new best friend Maddie was scrawled in the middle.
“Would you please give this to Maddie, Miss Hailey?”
My heart clutched as I accepted it. “Absolutely.”
“Go on and get your hands washed for breakfast,” Savannah told her, though I knew she was making an excuse to get me alone.
“Okay, Mommy! Bye, Miss Hailey.”
“Bye,” I whispered, and she ran back into the house.
I looked up at Savannah. Care and worry vibrated from her.
“I’ll text Ezra right now and let him know you’re on your way.”
“Thank you.”
Throwing her arms around me, she hugged me tight. “Always and anything, Hailey. Just…be careful and text me later.”
“I will.”
She nodded against me, reluctant to let me go.
I finally turned and jogged back down the sidewalk that cut through the middle of their yard to my Durango that was parked at the curb.
I was quick to hop in, started it, and whipped a U-turn in the middle of the street. I wound back out of the neighborhood and hit the road that led back to Hendrickson.
My heart was lodged in my throat as I traveled.
The beat of my heart palpable there.
Anticipation and dread thick.
The forest grew up on all sides.
Dense and deep.
The rays of the rising sun blipped through the leaves of the trees, flashing above me as I drove beneath.
I wound through the desolate woods, anxiety gripping me in a vise as I raced to get back to my house.
Suddenly, I was hit with that sense again. The creepy vibe that slithered over my skin as I took the curves of the deserted, winding road.
Alarm pooled and sweat slicked my flesh.
On instinct, I glanced in the rearview mirror.
The car behind me had come from out of nowhere, trailing me at a distance.
Flashes of metallic black and the glimmering of glass striking in the rays that speared through the leaves.
The same car that had freaked me out all those weeks ago.
The same car Pruitt had been driving when he’d followed us to the gas station this last weekend.
Panic surged, my throat closing off, and I pushed down on the accelerator.