Page 106 of Locke 2

“Are you alright in there?” His voice was tinged with concern. “If you don’t respond, I’m going to have to call for some assistance.”

I took a moment to collect myself. Nick was at my door. He was talking to me. If I lowered the window, he was going to know it was me. I couldn’t even lie to his ex-wife, how was I going to lie about why I was here, in the middle of nowhere, a street away from his cabin?

I looked down at the keys in my hand. For a split second, I thought of driving out of here, but then I’d be leaving Jem behind.

I couldn’t do that.

He did have my phone though. Except the reception was rubbish and this whole thing was a stupid mistake. We were both so obsessed with finding Lenny, with doing something right in light of our traumas, that we didn’t consider how bad it could get.

Calm down, I reasoned.It’s just Nick at the door. He said he’d call for assistance. That doesn’t sound like someone who is going to march you out to your death.

I nodded. All points had led to Arthur Ambrose. For all I knew, Locke might have gotten the answers we needed to find Lenny.

“I’m waiting for my friend,” I said through the door.

“What’s that?” he asked, leaning closer to the window.

I shut my eyes and took a deep breath. Immediately, I turned completely in Nick’s direction and wiped the fog from the window, allowing his light to shine on me. His eyes found mine, and instantly they brightened with recognition.

“Kari?” he said, shocked.

“Nick?” I returned, feigning surprise.

“What are you doing here?” His flashlight swung around, pointing at the cabin in front of him.

“We got lost.” The less I said, the better. I needed to appear in distress. I made my eyes water. “I’m really scared. My friend…he hasn’t come back to the car, and I can’t just leave—”

“Slow down,” he cut in. “Take a deep breath, alright? Are you okay?”

Tears ran down my face. I tried to nod, but I made my shoulders shake.

“Don’t cry,” he said. “Kari, can you open the door for me, so I know you’re okay?”

I continued to “sob.” I had no intention of unlocking the door.

“Kari, please open up. You’re frightening me.”

I ignored his request the second time. I really needed Jem to show up right now.

“I have to wait for him,” I tried to say through overexaggerated breaths. “I can’t leave him.”

“Kari, I have to call for assistance if you don’t open the door. You don’t look well.”

How could he call for assistance if there was no reception? Or did he have a satellite phone that he stored at his cabin for emergencies? He was a skilled mountain man. Of course he would be prepared in all things, and yet I still didn’t want to open the door.

After a few moments waiting for my response, he walked around the car, the light leaving me. I sat up straight and peered around, searching for him. He’d turned the flashlight off, but I heard the crunch of his footsteps rounding the car. My face burned, my whole body tensed tightly, as I listened to his every move. Sounds came at the backdoor and my heart lurched. Was he trying to see if they were open? I grabbed for the knife Jem left me. Unsheathed, it was on the seat next to me. I gripped the handle tight and hid the blade under my purse as I continued to watch him.

He was doing something.

I didn’t know what.

The not knowing petrified me.

“Please, Jem…Please…”

But Jem was nowhere to be seen, and the minutes continued to tick by. I was either in the midst of the friendliest doctor who genuinely wanted to help me, or I was caught in the clutches of a monster, trying to lure me into his den.

I stopped hearing footsteps.

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