Never Tell Them, N.L. Hinkens [unputdownable books txt] 📗

it over, she frowned at the photo. Was this Ray’s wife? She looked so young. She read the name, repeating it under her breath, disbelieving what she was seeing. Katie Lambert. Of course! She recognized that face now. An icy chill crept slowly up her spine. The air in the car had suddenly turned deathly cold.

She clapped a hand to her mouth, her eyes riveted on the headshot of the young woman. What was Ray doing with Katie Lambert’s driver’s license? A strangled scream escaped her lips as the horror of it descended on her. The newspaper article! He’d claimed he didn’t know anything about the story. Was he lying? Had he abducted Katie? Was the whole memory loss thing a sham? And then another sickening thought struck. She had driven him out here. Could she be tried as an accessory to the crime? She shook her head free of the thought. She needed to pull herself together and think rationally.

Shaking, she dropped the license into the cup holder in the console, trying to make sense of it. It must have fallen out of Ray’s backpack—there was no other way it could possibly have ended up in her car. She shoved her stack of drawings haphazardly into her portfolio and tossed it into the back before scrambling across to the driver’s seat. She had to get out of here. She needed to go straight to the police. This was no longer about Henry. Ray must have had something to do with Katie Lambert’s disappearance. At the very least, he knew something about it. Maybe that was why he was here. He might be keeping her holed up in a shack on the mountain. His brother could be in on it with him. Sonia let out a despairing groan. Katie might have gone without food and water while Ray was in the hospital. What if she’d died of thirst? No wonder he’d been so insistent on coming up here in the pouring rain.

Fumbling with the key in the ignition, she yanked it to the right, inhaling a sharp breath at the clicking sound that resulted. No! This couldn’t be happening. Desperation mounted inside her. She turned the key again, hoping for a miracle, but to no avail. Her scalp prickled with fear. She must have left it in the accessory position when she’d switched the engine off. A sick feeling surged up her throat as the enormity of her predicament sank in. Ray was due back any time. He’d already been gone over three hours. She had to get out of here before he returned. She darted a fearful glance around at her unfamiliar surroundings, relieved to see no sign of him. After zipping up her coat, she threw up her hood and reached for her purse. As soon as she got a cell signal, she would call 911. They might have to comb every inch of the woods to find Ray, but they would catch him in the end. He had no way off this mountain now that the battery in her car was dead.

Her thoughts tumbled over one another as she clambered out of her car and into the rain. Trembling with a mixture of cold and fear, she locked the door and dropped the keys in her coat pocket. With a final searching look around, she took off down the rough road leading out of the campground parking lot. The forest that had earlier been her source of inspiration and calm had morphed into a potential death trap. At any minute, Ray might appear from behind a tree. One look at her, and he would know she’d discovered his secret. And then what? Would he try to abduct her too, or strangle her on the spot?

Her mother had been right all along not to trust him. He was unhinged. There was no telling what he had in mind. Perhaps he’d lured her here because he suspected she knew too much already. He might be planning to return to the car with a gun and force her to accompany him to his brother’s cabin—if it even belonged to his brother. What if he’d killed Tom, and their father? She had no idea what he was capable of. Maybe his disjointed memories were more accurate than he realized. She moaned as she quickened her pace, thrashing through the damp undergrowth. He might actually be a serial killer. She knew she wasn’t thinking straight, but then monsters didn’t think straight either. They did the unthinkable, especially to those naive enough to lend a stranger a helping hand.

She’d only been underway five minutes or less, when she heard the distinctive sound of a twig snapping like a firecracker behind her. She froze, turning her head slowly to scan her surroundings. Her heart was pulsing so hard in her chest it felt like it might burst. Scarcely daring to breathe, she crept as quietly as possible off the dirt road and slipped behind the trunk of a tree. Minutes ticked by, but she heard nothing more to indicate she was being followed, only the sound of her ragged breathing. Maybe it had been an animal moving through the brush. She peered cautiously out from behind the rough, corrugated bark of the tree, before continuing down the mountain. This time she elected to weave her way among the trees that lined the dirt road rather than remain exposed. Her purse strap kept slipping off her shoulders and she berated herself for not bringing something more practical. But then, she hadn’t been planning on fleeing down the mountain. Her Vans weren’t the best option for hiking in either, but at least she wasn’t wearing heels.

Just when the tension in her shoulders had begun to dissipate, she picked up on a rustling sound a short distance behind her. The hairs on the back of her neck tingled. Someone, or something, was definitely following her. Adrenalin surged through her as she struggled with a split second-decision—hide again,