Across the Vanishing Sky (Starlight Grove, #1)(130)

Everything hurt. Like I’d been shot with countless miniature bullets that had embedded themselves beneath my skin. But also like I’d run two marathons back-to-back. And I was not a runner.

The ATV bumped along a trail that didn’t seem all that established, thankfully not going too fast. But every divot and ridge sent a fresh wave of pain through my system.

Breathe, Brae. Think.

I gave myself simple commands, knowing I needed to take stock of everything around me. My hands were bound in front of my face, the plastic zip ties digging into my skin, and I could feel something similar around my ankles. My memory of being put on the ATV was fuzzy. But one thing wasn’t.

Travis.

I bit the inside of my cheek so hard I tasted blood. Travis was one of the few people willing to help me from the beginning. Kind. Caring. Dedicated to his job. I’d baked him fucking cookies.

My mind swirled, trying to put the pieces together. Was he part of the marijuana growing outfit? Something else? Something darker?

Nausea rolled through me, and I did my best not to empty the meager contents of my stomach along the dirt trail. My gaze flicked up to the man I thought I’d known. I couldn’t see his face, but maybe that was for the best. It would’ve been a stranger’s anyway.

Taking a deep breath, I threw all my weight toward the rear of the ATV, hoping the force would be enough to toss me clear off the vehicle and over the wheels—and just maybe enough to break the zip ties around my ankles.

Instead, I came up against different restraints. Ropes. Travis had tied me to the rack on the back of the ATV.

A low chuckle came from in front of me. It was hard to tell if it was even a laugh over the sound of the engine, but Travis’s gaze flicked over his shoulder. And the look on his face…it was pure glee.

“You know, I had a feeling you’d be a fighter. That’s gonna make it so much more fun. I’ve been gettin’ a little tired of the lack of challenge lately. Haven’t had a nice competitor since your bestie. But she lost that fight pretty damn quick.”

The nausea was back, almost painful in its ferocity. Nova. He was the one. He took her.

I told myself to breathe, but it didn’t do any good. My breaths tripped and tangled. Nova.

Her name played over and over in my mind. Tears burned my eyes as a sob clogged my throat, but I did everything I could to shove them down.

“How?” I croaked. I wasn’t even sure he’d be able to hear me over the engine. But he did.

“Come on, Brae. You’re smarter than that. I’ve been keeping tabs on you since the moment you moved to Starlight Grove. Having access to law enforcement databases and software, I could triangulate your cell phone’s location anytime. And your boy toy taught me a few tricks without even knowing it.”

Dex’s hacking and computer prowess. It had put ideas in an already-twisted mind.

Travis slowed the ATV, the sound of the engine easing a bit. “Honestly, I should thank you. I knew I’d take you. I just needed an opportunity. Miller being an even dumber fuck made it all the more perfect. I get to blame his death and your disappearance on the pot ring. I was just waiting for someone to find out and get Miller’s ass fired, but dead is better. Maybe I’ll even run for sheriff.”

My breaths came faster as I tried to play out possibilities in my mind. Dex would be at the trailhead by now. He would be looking for me. But I wasn’t sure there’d be enough clues to point him in my direction.

The ATV slowed as an old but well-maintained cabin came into view. I remembered Cora mentioning that Travis lived in one of the few cabins on National Forest land that had been grandfathered in to still having inhabitants. Was this where he had Nova? How? Cora, Roger, Travis’s friends and family—they would’ve known.

But Travis didn’t stop at the house. He drove past it a hundred yards—maybe more—and then he slowed. The building looked like a large shed. The kind you’d maybe keep snow equipment or gardening gear in. Big enough to fit the ATV, but Travis shut off the engine and hopped off instead.

He rounded the vehicle so he was standing near my head, that damn grin still on his face. And then he pulled something from his pocket. The handle was black metal, but a gleaming silver blade popped from the housing when he pressed a button. “Welcome home, Brae.”

I railed against the ropes, trying in vain to get free. Tears leaked from my eyes, though not from grief or even fear. From frustration.

Travis gripped me by the hair, lifting one of the tears with his thumb and licking it. “The taste of fear. There’s nothing like it.” His gaze narrowed on my face as he showed me the blade. “Tell me you’ll be a good girl.”

That nausea was back, but I forced myself to nod. In three quick flicks of his knife, Travis was hauling me to my feet. The zip ties around my wrists were still in place, but the ones around my ankles were gone. I rolled one foot and then the other, trying to revive the blood flow.

Travis gripped my hair again, pulling it so tightly I had to bite back a scream. “You even think about running, and I’ll gut you like a prized buck. Alive or dead, you’ll serve the same purpose for me. But alive would be so much more fun.”

Icy tendrils of fear wrapped around me, but I did everything I could to battle them back. I thought of Owen, Dex, and the family I was building in Starlight Grove. Breathe, Brae.