Page 7 of The Unknown Colton
“Lakin—”
“I know,” she said before he could bring up the serial killer again. “I’m always aware of my surroundings, and I’m very cautious. I’ll be fine.”
Parker still looked worried, but he nodded begrudgingly.
She understood his concern. Her own worries didn’t end when she stepped outside into the cool afternoon air.
What would Parker do when she wasn’t here to help him? She felt a twinge of guilt that she wanted to leave. RTA was family, and she felt like she was betraying them. But if she had help with her new venture, she would be able to train her replacement. If she had Troy…
She needed to talk to him. Really talk. Of course, usually after these long stretches apart, talking was the last thing they did. First she ran to him and leaped into his arms, then wrapped hers around his neck and pulled his head down for her kisses. Just thinking about his mouth against hers, his strong arms holding her, had her flesh tingling and heating up.
Her legs weakened a bit, and she nearly stumbled as she walked toward her cabin. It was farthest from the office and close to the woods. She’d chosenit because she liked the solitude of being farther away from the other cabins, especially when Troy was home from the oil rigs.
But now…
She shivered at the isolation as she passed the last unoccupied cabin. She’d parked her SUV at her cabin when she came back from Roasters that morning, but she wished now that she’d parked at the office.
No. She spent entirely too much time at her desk and liked to walk outside as much as she could, whenever she could. While she liked to be outside for the fresh air, she wasn’t into the extreme outdoor adventures her family business offered. She preferred her cabin and her soft bed to a tent and a sleeping bag. And the farthest she liked to hike was to her cabin from the office.
That was a moot point now. After what she’d done, she wasn’t going to get much time outside, especially if she couldn’t convince Troy to help her with her new venture. Maybe she shouldn’t be worried about him helping her; maybe she should be worried that he might break up with her over making such a big decision without discussing it with him.
But she’d tried.
He was the one who was out of touch for weeks, sometimes months, at a time. And that was getting old.
Especially now with a killer on the loose. Being alone so much was unnerving. Maybe Parker wasright; maybe she should stay with Mom and Dad until the killer was caught.
Eli would catch him. Her big brother was the best agent with the Alaska Bureau of Investigations. And this case was personal to him. She knew why; it reminded him of how he and Dad had found Aunt Caroline all those years ago. Dressed up with a fake engagement ring on her finger, the young model had only been seventeen. She hadn’t been anyone’s fiancée, but an obsessed fan had thought she was his. He’d taken her life, her parents’ lives and his own. And Dad and Eli, when he was just six or seven years old, had found their bodies.
That was why Dad and Uncle Ryan had moved from San Diego and started over in Shelby, where no one knew what had happened. For nearly thirty years, there had been no reminders of that horrible time.
But now…
It was as if that dead killer was starting over, too.
Lakin wondered if Eli was having nightmares again like he occasionally had as a kid. His nightmares had helped her feel better about the ones she had, like she wasn’t so weak and messed up. Because Eli definitely wasn’t. She wasn’t even sure he remembered having them, but he and their father had been extra comforting when she had hers.
She hadn’t had a nightmare in years, though. Probably because her memories of the time before Mom and Dad adopted her had faded. She shivered again,wondering why she’d started thinking about those fleeting flashes of a face or voices…
What could her old memories have to do with the current murders? Nothing.
Maybe she was just looking for something to think about besides her tenuous relationship with Troy. They spent so much time apart, and whenever she tried to talk about the future, he either ignored her like he had the past few weeks or he insisted they needed to wait until he saved more money.
Lakin was getting tired of waiting. While she had no intention of buying herself an engagement ring, especially with the Fiancée Killer on the loose, she had bought herself something else. And she wasn’t a damn bit sorry. She wanted Troy to share her dreams, but if he wasn’t ready, it didn’t matter. She wasn’t putting her dreams on hold anymore, not even for him.
The thought made her sick again, and she was glad she was drawing closer to her cabin. She’d had some sleepless nights lately as she lay awake, listening for any suspicious sounds, for someone trying to get into her place.
The killer was making her paranoid, and she hated it. Hated feeling like she did now, chilled all of a sudden. Maybe the cabins she’d passed weren’t all empty. Maybe someone had chosen to skip their adventure tour or had returned early.
Or maybe…
Maybe it wasn’t a guest. Maybe someone reallywas following her and scrutinizing her every move. She shivered, trying to shake off the paranoia. But she glanced back over her shoulder nonetheless.
The wind wriggled some tree branches, but nothing else moved behind her.
Definitely paranoid.
Smiling at herself, she let the tension drain away and slowed her approach to her cabin. She wouldn’t be living here much longer if she had her way, so she took a moment to study the little wood structure tucked into a stand of pine trees. She and Troy had had so many magical moments in this place that she would miss it.
