Alone (Bone Secrets, #4)(87)

“They will know where her call came from. We’ll trace them through their system.” He tipped the phone away from his ear and gestured to Ray. “Dr. Peres placed a nine-one-one call about the car being washed off the road. See if they got a reading on her location.”

“What is going on?” Katy nearly yelled. “Is Trinity all right?”

“We’re going to find out, Ms. Morris.”

Mason mentally crossed his fingers.





“Are you sure you’re okay?” Victoria asked again. She didn’t like the amount of blood that was soaking through Jason’s jeans below his knees. He’d climbed out of her SUV in slow motion, moving gingerly, trying not to bump his legs on the truck door. Seth came around the front of the vehicle, stopped next to Victoria, and squinted at Jason’s pants in the dim light.

“Wow. You’re really bleeding.”

Jason swallowed hard and looked at the front door of the little house. They’d stopped in front of an old A-frame cabin that looked straight out of a campground from the 1950s. Victoria could make out some smaller outbuildings scattered around the forested property, but this was the only one with lights on inside. The entire area was dark. The rain clouds and firs shadowed the area, creating an atmosphere of midnight when in reality, the sun had set only an hour ago. The cabin was built on a slightly elevated piece of ground, avoiding the possibility of flooding like the low area they’d crossed minutes before. The Coast Range sloped up behind the cabin, giving the impression that it grew out of the back of the residence.

Victoria followed Jason’s gaze to the cabin. “Are you sure someone’s home?”

“Yes, I talked to him earlier.”

“Maybe you should be the one to knock. Although I think he’s expecting me, too. Is your grandfather Cecil Adams?” Victoria asked.

Jason met her gaze, and she didn’t like the level of alarm in his eyes. “Yes, why are you seeing him?”

“Supposedly he’s got some old documentation of church records. Possibly some adoption references. I’m trying to verify my birth parents.” Victoria watched his face carefully. Why was the teen so alarmed? “Does that sound like something he’d have?”

“I don’t really know.” Jason looked away, picking at his jeans.

Why is he lying to me?

“Did your grandfather belong to a church that burned down a long time ago?” Seth asked, his brows nearly touching each other as he studied the young man. Seth sees it, too.

“Beats me.” Jason bent to examine the bloody denim around his knee.

Victoria turned toward the house as the squeak of hinges caught her attention. She turned in time to see a flash from a shotgun muzzle and was deafened by the immediate roar.

Seth tackled her from behind, crushing her into the mud.


Seth saw the old man step out the door with his double-barreled shotgun pointed in their direction. The boom sounded in his ears as he rushed at Victoria, hitting her in the shoulders and landing on top of her, covering her head with his hands. Trinity cried out, as Jason pushed her aside, knocking her down.

“Nonno! Stop it! It’s me!” the teen yelled at the old man.

“Jason?” the man asked.

“Damn it, Nonno! What are you doing? You knew I was coming.”

“Don’t swear at me, boy! I expected you and the girl. Who else is with you?”

Seth studied the white-bearded old man from his position on Victoria’s back. He was squinting in the dim light, and Seth suspected he’d shot over their heads, not directly at them. “Mr. Adams?” Seth asked.

The gun moved toward Seth. “Who wants to know?”

“My name is Seth. Victoria Peres is with me. I think you were going to show us some paperwork in your barn?” The old man was silent, and Seth wondered if he’d forgotten about their meeting already. Was he sane? At the worst he had one round left in the shotgun. Judging by his stiff movements, it’d take a few moments to reload. “Are you going to put away that gun?”

“Are you armed?” Mr. Adams asked.

“No,” said Seth, immediately wishing he’d kept his mouth shut. But the old man lowered the gun a little, pointing it behind them instead of directly at them. Seth exhaled and Victoria squirmed underneath him.

“Get off of me,” she hissed.

He moved. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay. But my wrist cracked when we went down.” Pain rang in her voice. She pushed up with her right hand, tucking her left close to her chest. Mud covered the front of her clothing and one side of her face.

He wiped at her face with his sleeve. “What do you mean, cracked?” Dread tightened his chest.

“I’m not sure. I heard it and I can feel it.” She looked at the old man by the front door and raised her voice. “Mr. Adams, you said you were okay with us coming out tonight, right?”

“Lady, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Victoria caught her breath. “I just talked to you on the phone. Less than an hour ago. You have some old church records we were going to look at.”

The old man stared at her, squinting in the poor light. “What’d he say your name was?”

“Victoria Peres.” The twin barrels returned to point directly at her.