Page 26 of The Unknown Colton
But Harrison didn’t answer him, just disconnected the call.
“What the hell was that about?”
Troy texted Mitch:I take it you contacted the oil company. I just got an interesting call.
Mitch texted back:Don’t talk to them again. Let me handle everything.
Gladly.
The last thing Troy wanted to deal with was work when he was home. He didn’t even want to think about it. He wanted to focus only on Lakin, especially now with that weird man accosting her and claiming to be her father.
And the break-in…
They had to be related, more so than she probably was to the man. But the woman in the picture was clearly her biological mother, so he understood why she’d been so shaken. And why she would want to learn more.
He just didn’t want anyone hurting her. Not Jasper Whitlaw, not her biological mother, the intruder, that serial killer or even himself.
But it was too late for him. He’d already hurt her. Now he had to do everything he could to make it up to her. Like keeping her safe.
However, after an uneventful day sitting outside the RTA office, he’d begun to think he was just paranoid.
But when she drove from the office to her parents’house, he wasn’t the only one following her. Another truck was between his SUV and hers. It followed every turn she made. When she parked in her parents’ driveway, the truck pulled up to the curb across the street from her childhood home.
Somebody was following her. Someone besides him.
Troy wanted that person to know he’d seen them. He edged away from the curb and started down the street to where they’d parked. He wanted to see who this person was. He wanted to know who was following Lakin.
But when he got close to the truck, the old vehicle pulled away from the curb and sped off down the street. Undeterred, Troy followed.
Despite its rusty condition and worn-looking tires, the truck was fast. Puffs of black smoke from the exhaust clouded Troy’s vision, so he couldn’t see the license plate nor could he tell what make or model it was. He pressed harder on the accelerator and held tight to the steering wheel as they rounded the road’s sharp curves out of town, toward the mountains.
The driver had to know the area or was just a damn good driver. They barely kicked up any gravel on the side of the road whereas Troy’s tires dropped off the asphalt a few times and spewed gravel up behind him. He eased up on the accelerator, slowing down for the next sharp curve. But when he rounded it, he didn’t see any sign of the truck he’d been following.
Had it gotten that far ahead of him?
He continued on, driving more slowly, checking the side of the road. But as the road wound higher into the mountains, there was less room on either side. On the right was the side of mountain; on the left, a steep drop.
“Where did you go?” Troy muttered. He came around another curve, and there it was, in the center of the road, blocking his way.
He tapped his brakes and tightened his grasp on the steering wheel, swerving so he wouldn’t hit the rusted-out truck. His tires dropped off the asphalt, sending gravel and rocks tumbling down the side of the mountain. He jerked the wheel the other way, trying to correct, trying to stop himself from driving right off the mountain.
But it was too late.
* * *
After learning that the serial killer had claimed another victim, Will had been anxious to see Lakin and make sure that she was all right. But her visit hadn’t reassured him at all.
“She’ll be okay,” Sasha assured him. “Our little girl is tough.”
Abandoned at three, she’d had to be tough, but she’d never gotten bitter or resentful. She was such a loving, forgiving person. So beautiful outside and in, like Caroline.
His niece, Kansas, looked more like his late little sister, but something about Lakin reminded him more of the girl who’d never aged beyond seventeenbecause of an obsessed stalker. Caroline had drawn people to her with her beauty and her spirit, and Lakin had that same spirit. Her smile lit up a room. He remembered the first time they’d seen her, and his boys, older than her and rough-and-tumble, had been immediately drawn to her. They’d fallen for her as hard as he and Sasha had.
As hard as Troy Amos had.
He sighed. “I would feel better if Troy was staying with her.”
“He did last night, and even though Lakin wants some space, he won’t be far away from her,” Sasha said. “Troy Amos is proud, but the man is no fool. He knows Lakin is the love of his life.”
