Into the Fading Twilight (Starlight Grove, #2) (25)

The woman’s gaze flicked to the bar, where I could feel Wylder’s wrath pouring out of his expression. She paled slightly.

The guy across the table snickered. “Guess your big mouth is finally coming back to bite you, Beth.”

“Shut up, Deacon,” she hissed, snatching the lemonade from Piper.

Our youngest waitress strode back to us, a huge grin splitting her face. I answered it with one of my own. “The student becomes the teacher.”

Piper’s eyes sparkled. “I learned from the best.”

“I’m going to take that break.” Cora made a beeline for the back hallway.

Piper’s smile fell. “Did I fuck up?”

“No,” Wylder said quickly. “She’s just going through a lot. I’m going to check on her.”

“Can I?” I asked, cutting in.

He looked back at me, uncertainty in his expression.

“Please,” I said softly. “I need to say some things. If they don’t help, I’ll steer clear of her from now on.”

What I didn’t say was that steering clear would mean finding a new job. But I knew Wylder would understand. He was the most empathetic person I’d ever met.

“Okay,” he agreed. “Let me know if you need anything.”

I nodded and started for the back hallway. The bar was only about a third full, so I knew Piper and Aidan could handle the tables for now—though it would pick up again when happy hour hit in about forty-five minutes.

Making my way down the quiet hall, I stopped in front of Wylder’s office door. I took a second to steady myself, remembering how it felt to have my bare feet pressed to the earth, my palm against the tree trunk. I breathed.

And then I twisted the knob to the office door and stepped inside.

Cora’s head snapped up the second the door opened. Tears glistened in her eyes, and her face had gone pale.

Shit.

I quickly closed the door and moved deeper into the room. Cora sat on the leather couch Wylder had shoved up against the wall, but I didn’t want to corner her, so I opted to balance on the side of the desk.

“Hey,” I said softly.

Cora’s gaze immediately dropped to her hands.

“That woman was a bitch.”

Nothing.

“No, that’s an insult to female dogs. She was an asshole.”

More silence.

I took a deep breath. “No one believes what she was saying.”

A tear fell from Cora’s eye, splashing on her joined hands. “Yes, they do,” she said, so quietly I could barely hear her.

Even though her words were barely audible, I felt the pain in them. “None of what happened is your fault.”

That was what I’d wanted to say to Cora for months. Ever since I overheard Wylder talking to Dex at an Archer family dinner about how much she was struggling.

Cora still didn’t look at me. “I should’ve known. I went to that cabin more times than I can count. I walked that land. I probably stepped on the places he buried people. People I helped search for.”

Flashes of something coursed through me. Hands tightening around my throat. Lungs burning. “No one’s looking for you.”

I shoved it all down. It didn’t matter whether it was a memory or my imagination.

“If you’d known, you would’ve stopped it,” I croaked.

Cora’s head lifted, finally meeting my gaze. There was so much pain in hers. “He tortured you. Almost killed you. He kept you in a goddamned hole for over a year.”

I fought off the images that wanted to surface. “But you didn’t. This isn’t your fault. And if my working here is too hard, I can find another job.”

Cora’s jaw went slack, but she quickly recovered. “No. Please, don’t. That would make it all worse.”

I let out a long breath. “We can’t let him win.”

Defiance lit up Cora’s features, giving life to just how beautiful she was. “You’re right.” She rubbed her palms over her jeans-clad thighs. “But I have no idea how or where to start.”

“We start together. When the assholes show, we’ve got a united front. And I’m not afraid to pour a lemonade over someone’s head.”

A soft laugh escaped her. “Why am I not surprised?” As the laughter died, Cora studied me for a moment. “How are you doing it?”

I understood what she was asking: How was I facing all the people who knew things about me I never wanted a soul to know? “I already lost a year of my life. I won’t let him take anything else.”

Cora nodded slowly, sending her light-brown hair sweeping over her shoulders. “You should come to a Compass meeting.”

My brows pulled together. I was familiar with the organization’s name, thanks to Brae. It was a nonprofit support group for the loved ones of missing persons.

“I don’t know anyone who’s missing,” I said gently.

Cora shook her head. “It’s more than that. We also help those who are still looking for their family or friends. It might give you a little purpose. And it might help to be around people who get it, in a way.”

I knew from my interviews with law enforcement that Cora’s mother had disappeared when she was in high school. And it was her involvement in the group that had given Travis his in. He’d gone to meetings, gotten updates from Cora, and all to get information about the families he’d torn apart. It was like a drug for him.