Into the Night(32)

Her gaze slid back to the photos. “I know.”

“Always tell people...make sure you triple-check your route. And be at your campsite before dark. Hiking in the dark can be downright deadly.”

There were a few other things out there that could be deadly, too.

“Can you take us out on the trail that most of these missing men used?” Bowen asked. “Our research has already shown us that they generally set out on one particular path.”

Zack rubbed the back of his neck. “Setting out on the path is one thing...staying on the path is another. A few steps off, and then you’re lost. You don’t come back.”

No, you didn’t.

Especially not when you had help.

“Let me make sure my post is covered, and then I’ll take you all out.” He turned and headed back to the small brown building. “I’ll pull up the permits on the computer.”

Macey glanced up at the sky. It was just after one p.m. If the hikers had gone out too far, they wouldn’t be able to follow their full path. “There’s no way a search team can check the entire national park.”

“No, but we’re not hitting the whole park.” Bowen had moved to her side. The ranger was a few feet away. “If these men were all heading for the same campsite—or hell, even if just five or six of them had the same campsite in mind—that’s where we need to go. I want to check it out. And I want to see if any particular visitor has gone to that site again and again over the years.”

A visitor who could just be their killer.

*

CURTIS TWISTED HIS HANDS. Was he still bleeding? The rope had cut into his wrists, slicing deep into his skin. He didn’t think that he could feel his fingertips any longer.

He rasped out a breath. He was so fucking thirsty. So—

The door opened, a long slow crack of sound. His head lifted up and he blinked against the light that spilled through that doorway. The light fell around the man there—the man who wore the black ski mask.

“Didn’t think I’d just leave you, did you?”

Actually, that was exactly what he’d thought. That the bastard had left him to rot.

Laughter rolled as the man stepped into the old cabin. And then he was right in front of Curtis. He lifted a water bottle and held it gripped in his gloved hands. The guy always wore gloves. Always had himself covered.

Maybe...maybe that means he will let me go. Since I haven’t seen his face, maybe he’s planning to let me go. He knew hope always came to the desperate.

The guy slowly untwisted the bottle cap and then he held that water near Curtis’s mouth. Curtis twisted and jerked his head forward, but he couldn’t get to the water. The son of a bitch held it just out of his reach.

“You want it badly, don’t you? So badly. I bet you’d do just about anything...for a drink.”

Wild, frantic, Curtis could only nod.

That taunting laughter came again. “You’re not the first, and you won’t be the last.”

What was that supposed to even mean?

But the water was pouring down, finally hitting his mouth because the guy in the ski mask had brought it closer to Curtis. He opened his mouth wide, greedily gulping the water down his parched throat. Curtis took and he took and the water hit his face and his shirt and he hated the waste. I want it all.

“Even brought a special treat for you.” The guy tossed aside the now-empty bottle. It bounced on the floor. His captor pulled out a sandwich bag. A fucking sandwich! “Have some...”

Curtis tore into the sandwich. His tongue was swollen, though, and his throat was still dry even though he’d had the water, so he almost choked on the bread.

“That’s right, eat up. Because I’ve got big plans for you.”

Curtis had big plans, too. He was going to escape. He was going to get to his pack. And he was going to drive his knife right into the bastard’s throat.

*

“THIS ISN’T A COME-ON...”

Bowen glanced up at Zack’s words and saw that the ranger was staring at Macey. Staring a bit too hard at her.

“But I swear,” Zack continued as he moved around the counter at the ranger station and slid to Macey’s side, “I’ve seen your face before.” His head tilted as he studied her. “Those eyes of yours are pretty unforgettable.”

Bowen narrowed his own eyes.

“Have we met?” Zack pressed.

Macey’s gaze jerked toward Bowen.

He wondered what his expression looked like. We’re on a murder investigation, and that’s totally a fucking come-on. The ranger needed to get his shit in check.

“We haven’t met,” Macey replied. “Sorry.” Her gaze slid back to his computer. “Those files almost ready?”

“Printing now.” But Bowen saw that the guy didn’t take his stare off Macey. “I know I’ve seen you before. Those eyes...they are really something.” Then he laughed, seeming to catch himself. “Though I’m guessing you get told that all the time.”

Once more, her gaze darted to Bowen. This time, Zack followed her stare.

Bowen crossed his arms over his chest. Move away from her, asshole. Move. Away.

But the ranger didn’t get the hint. He turned back to Macey. “Are you sure—” he began.

“A few years ago, my face was splashed in every paper along the East Coast. I was the only victim to get away from Daniel Haddox. He came after me—” her voice was flat, almost brittle “—because of my ‘unforgettable’ eyes.”