ALASKAN RESCUER

When someone tries to grab Summer Dawson on a secluded mountain path, she escapes—but soon discovers she’s a serial killer’s latest target. Her brother’s friend, ex-cop Clay Hitchcock, promises she won’t become the next victim, though, even if it means putting himself at risk. Clay thought he was done with law enforcement, but after finding Summer running for her life off a mountain trail, he’s back in cop mode. Determined to protect her, Clay shadows the brave, beautiful mountain runner. Now if they want to stay alive, Clay and Summer must work together to bring down the crazed killer lurking in the wilderness.

SARAH VARLAND lives near the mountains in Alaska, where she loves writing, hiking, kayaking and spending time with her family. She’s happily married to her college sweetheart, John, and is the mom of two active and adorable boys, Joshua and Timothy, as well as another baby in heaven. Sarah has been writing almost since she could hold a pencil and especially loves writing romantic suspense, where she gets to combine her love for happily-ever-afters, inspired by her own, with her love for suspense, inspired by her dad, who has spent a career in law enforcement. You can find Sarah online through her blog, espressoinalatteworld.blogspot.com.

Also by Sarah Varland

Treasure Point Secrets

Tundra Threat

Cold Case Witness

Silent Night Shadows

Perilous Homecoming

Mountain Refuge

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk.

Mountain Refuge

Sarah Varland

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-08062-0

MOUNTAIN REFUGE

© 2018 Sarah Varland

Published in Great Britain 2018

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

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Version: 2020-03-02

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“What happened out there, Summer?” Clay demanded.

He kept his gaze steady on her. “Can you go over it for me so you’re ready with the details the police will need?”

“Who are you?”

“I told you. Clay Hitchcock, and I’m your brother’s friend.”

She shook her head. “I mean, who are you and why are you asking me questions like that?”

“I’m just someone who wants to help.” That was the truth now. He may have the heart of a cop, the mind of a cop, but he was a civilian. His choice, yes, but it was still taking some getting used to.

Her eyes narrowed but she took his answer. Not, Clay noticed, because he had done anything to convince her that he was trustworthy. No, the only reason she was willing to entertain trusting him at all was the fact that her brother liked him.

He made a mental note about her character—family was important.

Not that he necessarily needed to make notes about Summer Dawson’s character.

Still, his old habit of analyzing people, observing things about them, died hard. He might not have a badge, but he was still a cop inside.

Dear Reader,

Welcome to Alaska! While I love Georgia, where I was born and where I’ve set many of my stories, Alaska is my favorite state and I had so much fun setting a book in areas that are familiar to me. While Moose Haven is purely imaginary, if you ever find yourself in Alaska and can make it to the town of Seward, which is near Moose Haven in this story, I think you’ll find it’s pretty similar. I’m looking forward to returning to Moose Haven soon for Tyler Dawson’s story.

Writing about Clay Hitchcock was so fun for me because he’s been with me for five books now. When he first had a small side character part in my debut novel, Treasure Point Secrets, I knew I liked him. Summer was such a fun contrast to him and I enjoyed imagining their story.

Both main characters in this story struggled with some amount of guilt: Clay for feeling like he let down his fellow officers in Georgia; and Summer for the way her past actions had impacted her family. Guilt is a powerful thing, but God’s forgiveness is stronger. They both also struggled with grief, and Summer especially wrestled with how her grief had taken some of the fullness out of her life. I loved writing the hints in this book to Summer about how Jesus wants us to have an abundant life because those words are so true for us who are real people. Grief is difficult to work through, but I believe God still wants us to live abundantly, to be thankful for our lives and to hold on to hope.

Along those lines, in this story, I finally came right out and touched on the subject of miscarriage. If, like me, you’re one of the women who has lost a baby and needs someone to talk to, please know that I would be happy to chat by email. Also know that you are not alone. And that God is still love, and still faithful.

Hearing from readers is one of my favorite parts of writing and I’d love to hear from you! You can get in touch through email at sarahvarland@gmail.com, or find me on Facebook at Facebook.com/sarahvarlandauthor.

Sarah Varland

Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast.

—Hebrews 6:19

To Elizabeth, my editor. I often think that the books should have both of our names on them for how much what you do impacts the story for the better. I love working with you, look forward to your comments and smile when I read an edited section we added to the book and can’t remember if I wrote the addition or if you did. I had no idea when I started writing how much polish an amazing editor like you brings to a manuscript. Thank you for every single book.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Introduction

Dear Reader

Bible Verse

Dedication

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

SEVEN

EIGHT

NINE

TEN

ELEVEN

TWELVE

THIRTEEN

FOURTEEN

FIFTEEN

SIXTEEN

SEVENTEEN

EIGHTEEN

NINETEEN

Extract

ONE

Summer Dawson was alone on a mountain when she heard the first out-of-place sound, felt the first inklings that something might be wrong, that danger might be close.

She’d been running uphill, relishing the burning in her legs and lungs that reminded her that she was alive, when something rustling in the bushes made her pause and listen.

Summer had stilled immediately and stood now, listening to the sounds she’d grown up with. The Alaskan mountain was full of life, even at ten o’clock at night as daylight was starting to fade. She should have started this run hours earlier, and usually did. Her busy schedule working at the lodge didn’t leave a lot of time for training, but mountain running was important to her, her outlet, her dream she didn’t like to talk about.

A dream she’d mostly given up on.

But still, she ran the mountains because it was what she’d always done.

Today’s run, like every Tuesday, was supposed to be up Hope Mountain, across Lupine Pass, then down Cook Mountain, where her sister, Kate, would be waiting for her. From there, they’d drive back to Summer’s car at the Hope Mountain Trailhead. Neither would talk about why Summer trained so hard when she didn’t compete anymore, not even at nearby Mount Marathon, but they did the same routine every week. Like clockwork.

Until now. A shiver ran through her, followed by goose bumps down her bare arms. She untied the jacket she always wore around her waist, put it on and hoped it was just the cold and the later-than-usual night that had her spooked. Much as she tried though, Summer couldn’t deny that something about the rustle in the bushes had her on edge. Her hand went to the bear spray attached to the belt she always wore when she ran. The Kenai Peninsula was known for its large brown bears. Summer had seen more than one in her time in the woods but never too close. So far she’d escaped any encounters like that.

Hesitantly she moved forward again slowly, not wanting to run lest she awaken a bear’s predatory instinct if one did have her in its line of vision.

Then she heard nothing. Just the normal sounds. She exhaled, picked up her pace slightly and removed her hand from the bear spray.

And then something had her, from behind, hands on her arms, rough, pulling, jerking her off the trail. She heard a faint jingle, like car keys on a key chain maybe. That was the sound she’d heard earlier—that’s why she’d been spooked. She opened her mouth and screamed, but the deep humorless laughter behind her reminded her how futile it was. This wasn’t a well-used trail except on weekends. No one would hear her screams.

“There’s no use fighting. You’re going to die today.”

Summer tensed her arms, tried to wrestle out of his grip, but he was too strong, even as he released her with one arm and then threw the other one all the way across her to pull her up against him, his hand heavy, her heart thudding in her chest.

Dying wasn’t an option. Not for Summer. Not when for the last three years she felt like she’d barely lived. She’d gone through the motions, fulfilled obligations, even climbed mountains...

But she hadn’t really lived. She wasn’t ready yet, wasn’t done.

No. Dying was not an option. She stilled slightly, hoping she could lull him into complacency, somehow trick him into loosening his grip so she could escape. Instead he held her against him even tighter, drew a knife with the other hand—he was left-handed, she should remember that—and ran it slowly up her arm. There was nothing remarkable about the knife except that it was large, four or five inches. Shiny. Sharp against her skin as he pressed just hard enough to leave the smallest of scratches.

“This is how it begins.”

Something in the words sickened her, terrified her. Please, God. She didn’t remember the last time she’d prayed. For now that was all she could muster.

Noise in the bushes startled them both. She felt her captor shift and assumed he was looking at the noise. She moved her head like she was too, but lowered her chin in the process. Took a breath and slammed her head back as hard as she could.

He yelled in pain, and when he loosened his grip slightly, she rammed an elbow into his ribs.

And then she was free.

Summer didn’t stop to look back to see if he was pursuing—she just started running. She was free, she was alive and she had another chance to live like it.

She wasn’t going to mess this up.

* * *

Clay Hitchcock pulled into the parking lot at the Moose Haven Lodge, hoping his fresh start wouldn’t turn out to be a disaster. He was already later than he’d meant to be. A glance at the dash reminded him of that. It was 11:00 p.m. If Tyler hadn’t assured him any time before midnight was fine he’d feel awful. As it was, Clay just felt tired. He jerked the key from the ignition, exhaled and got out.

Tyler Dawson, the friend who had gotten him this job, ran from the lodge. “I need your help.”

“What’s wrong?”

“My sister should have been back from a hike an hour ago.”

“And she’s not?” Cop senses died hard apparently, because Clay’s instincts heightened, ready for action as if he was back in his old life.

“No. We’re spreading out. If I give you directions, can you drive around a certain area?”

“Of course.” Clay might be new here, but he did most of his growing up in the swamps and woods of coastal Georgia. Back roads were somewhere he felt comfortable.

“Here.”

Tyler handed him a ripped strip of paper, like they’d written out a list of places to search and divided them up. Not bad for civilians running an informal search. Speaking of which... “You’ve called the police, right?”

“Yes. But we’re a small town with a small department. There are only three Moose Haven officers and one of them is out on maternity leave. So that leaves two.”

Clay winced, knowing from his own police experience that the chances of both even being able to join the search were slim.

“They’re both searching because one of them is my brother.”

Clay whistled low. “Are you going out too?” He hadn’t seen any other cars in the lot when he’d pulled up and had wondered if the lodge was empty this late at night.

“My truck’s around back. Call me if you see anything and I’ll let everyone else know.”

Clay nodded, climbed back into his truck and drove away.

The woods alongside the roads he drove looked nothing like the tall Georgia pines he was used to investigating among, but the situation was familiar to him. He’d been involved in a search or two during his time at the Treasure Point Police Department, but even though he’d only been officially without a badge for two months now, it felt like a lifetime ago.

Unless Clay let himself actually remember it, hang on to that part of his life. And then it felt like yesterday. But he didn’t want that. Couldn’t take that.

He pulled out of the parking lot and looked at the note Tyler had given him. Howard’s Landing Road was the first road, followed by a list of other locations and directions from place to place. He pulled the first road up on his phone’s map setting and pressed the gas.

He realized as he drove that he hadn’t asked which sister was missing. Tyler had two. Kate and Summer, if he remembered their names correctly from hearing Tyler mention them in the past. Who was lost? What had happened?

God, we could use some help.

The words came easily. People had let him down in his lifetime, more in the last few months than usual, but God never had. More now than ever, Clay clung to that faith. Having walked away from everything else consistent in his life, God was all he had.

And this job, thanks to Tyler. Which wasn’t off to the best start. What had happened to whichever Dawson sister was missing?

He continued praying silently as he drove, even as years of law enforcement thoughts crowded his mind, pushed out any hope of peace he had been clinging to. Odds weren’t good that she was unharmed.

Clay hoped, whichever sister it was, she could take care of herself.

And hoped even more that God would take care of her.

* * *

Summer Dawson’s feet pounded the dirt beneath them as she rounded another corner in the thick spruce forest, desperately struggling to stay ahead of whoever was behind her, whoever this man was who wanted her dead. She could still hear his footfalls, the rocks in the trail scattering behind her, and knew he wasn’t far behind.

If only she knew how long she’d be running. She was in good shape, leading hikes at her family’s lodge for so many years had seen to that, not to mention her training regimen—but she’d already been out for several hours. Fatigue wouldn’t take long to set in, and Summer didn’t know where she was—she’d had to divert from the path she knew after she’d rounded one of the corners and he had been there waiting.

Summer hadn’t had time to react, hadn’t had time to assess the situation or use any of the self-defense training or survival skills she possessed. In the moment when she’d needed all of that most, all she’d been able to do was scream. Finally she’d hit him hard enough to be able to run.

But first he’d been able to talk to her, say things she wouldn’t soon forget. First, he’d been able to run a knife up her arm and promise her that death wouldn’t come quickly.

Summer wondered if, when she stopped, when she’d gotten away and didn’t have to run anymore, if she’d feel the cold blade against her skin like it was still there. Somehow she suspected she would.

Determination renewed, she pushed herself harder. She was less than ten miles from her family’s lodge, she was fairly certain about that much. Summer didn’t recognize the trail she was on right now, but it had to connect eventually to one she was familiar with, didn’t it?

As she ran, Summer went over her would-be killer’s description in her mind to make sure the details were cemented in her memory and to distract her from the burning in her lungs. He wore a mask. Black Carhartt stocking cap. She hadn’t noticed much more than that, his features—the ones she’d been able to see—weren’t etched into her mind the way the glimmering silver of the knife was.

Were it not for the noise in the bushes distracting him, Summer would probably be dead right now, bleeding out on the floor of the forest where she’d so often come to feel alive again. The irony wasn’t lost on her. No, it cut deep inside, the pain so strong she almost couldn’t bear it.

She’d felt safe here. And now that had been stolen from her.

Just like life had stolen so many things from her over the past three years.

She couldn’t think about any of that right now, all she could afford to focus on was running, the fall of her feet, pushing harder, faster, as her lungs screamed for air. She silently chastised them. Better to be burning and in pain than dead.

Please, God... She’d prayed more tonight than she had since the night three years ago when everything had changed.

Summer didn’t even know what she was praying for at this point. But she knew she needed all the help she could get.

She heard a twig snap behind her. Legs screaming, lungs burning, she sped up even more, one last sprint, that’s all she had in her.

The woods grew lighter. Was that...?

There was a dirt road in front of her. A beautiful road that hopefully led to town. And people.

Still running, she whipped her phone out and used her voice-to-text feature to send a message to her siblings. Help. She wasn’t willing to chance it by taking the time to say anything else, but she needed help. One of her brothers was a police officer in Moose Haven—she didn’t know if they could GPS track her or anything, but it might be the only chance she had.

She emerged from the woods and ran into the road.

And almost ran straight into the path of a red pickup truck not fifty yards away, driving straight toward her.

Summer froze when she saw it, took only a second to make up her mind and then ran toward it, waving her arms. This couldn’t be her attacker—he wouldn’t have had time to get a truck to come after her, not when she’d heard his footsteps behind her only minutes before. It could be a getaway car, driven by another criminal, but it was a measured risk on Summer’s part—it was more likely the driver was someone who could help her. Besides, she couldn’t outrun a pickup, and if the driver of it wanted her dead, he’d just run her over while she sprinted down the road. Better to take a chance, maybe get out alive. Still, her heart pounded a crazy rhythm in her chest. How had her night gone from enjoying her usual route to this—running for her life? The driver stopped when she reached him, and she threw the door open.

“Drive.”

Amazingly, he didn’t ask questions. He just floored it down the road, eating up the gravel and throwing up dust.

TWO

Clay’s world felt like it had gone from zero to sixty in less than ten seconds. He didn’t know why he was so surprised he’d found Tyler’s sister—at least he was pretty sure that was who he had found—because he’d prayed for that very thing. Still, seeing her dart into the road, clearly running from something, and jumping into his truck like she trusted him to protect her, it was overwhelming.

“Are you Summer Dawson?” he asked as he drove. He glanced down at his search directions and planned a quick route back to the lodge.

He caught her frown out of the corner of his eye. “Why?” she asked.

“Your brother has people out looking for you and I’m supposed to call if I find you.”

“Which brother?”

“Tyler.” Clearly he’d overestimated the amount of trust she’d have in a stranger. She needed to get out of her situation badly enough to jump in the truck, but now that she was momentarily safe, she was trying to keep herself that way by being guarded. Clay understood, but needed a way to convince her he wasn’t a threat.

“My phone is on the dashboard. You can call Tyler from it if you want—you’ll see that I have his number. He’ll also confirm who I am if you ask him to. I’m Clay Hitchcock and I’m guiding at the lodge this summer.”

She reached for the phone and pressed the screen a few times. Calling Tyler, he assumed.

“It’s Summer. I’m safe and I’m with Clay, your friend?”

He didn’t miss how that last part was a question. When he’d found out she was missing, he’d assumed that in this remote area of Alaska, she’d had a bad encounter with a wild animal or had issues with the terrain. The darker possibilities of meeting a human who wanted to cause her harm had crossed his mind, but he hadn’t thought they deserved a great deal of consideration up here in this small, picturesque Alaska town and had written them off as paranoia. Now he wasn’t sure. She was too upset, too skittish and hesitant to trust to have been running from an animal.

He stole a quick look at her and thought her frown had eased slightly. Good. With that tension on her side out of the way, he could focus on getting whatever information he could out of her about her encounter. He knew law enforcement would want to talk to her as soon as they got to the lodge, but it wasn’t uncommon for the edge of a person’s memory to fade the longer they were out of a traumatic situation. Maybe talking about it now would help cement some of the details in her memory.

“I’m okay for now, Tyler. I’ll be okay, alright?”

Not a very convincing voice she was using, and Clay didn’t blame her. Whatever happened had clearly been extremely traumatic for her to get in the car with a stranger when she was so shaken up.

“Alright, bye.” She finished the conversation and set the phone down and looked back at him.

Clay kept his eyes on the road, though he could feel hers on him. After so many years in law enforcement, he was more used to being the one doing the assessing than the one being measured. Her stare disconcerted him.

“What happened out there, Summer? Can you go over it for me?”

“Who are you?”

“I told you, my name is Clay Hitchcock, and I’m your brother’s friend.”

“I mean, who are you and why are you asking me questions like that?”

“I’m just someone who wants to help.” That was the truth now. He may have the heart of a cop, the mind of a cop, but he was a civilian now. His choice, yes, but it was still taking some getting used to.

Her eyes narrowed but she took his answer. Not, Clay noticed, because he had done anything to convince her that he was trustworthy. No, the only reason she was willing to entertain trusting him at all was the fact that her brother liked him.

He made a mental note about her character—family was important.

Not that he necessarily needed to make notes about Summer Dawson’s character. After tonight they might only see each other in passing. Clay didn’t remember what she did at the lodge, but with as many warnings as Tyler had given him not to think about dating one of his sisters, especially Summer, Clay felt it was safe to assume he wouldn’t be assigned to any task that would lead them to cross paths often. But his old habit of analyzing people, observing things about them, died hard. He might not have a badge, but he was still a cop inside.

Maybe this was what the chief had tried to warn him about when he urged Clay to consider what he was doing by leaving the force in Treasure Point. But Clay hadn’t listened, couldn’t have. He’d needed to get out of there.

Out of that whole line of work.

He stole a glance at Summer. Much as he wanted to drive her back to the lodge and accept the no-trespassing sign she’d clearly placed in front of the details about whatever had just happened, he couldn’t. Despite himself.

Clay let out a breath. “How do I get to the Moose Haven Police Department?”

“What?” The edges of her tone were sharp from fear or surprise, it was hard to say which—the two were often so intertwined.

“You’re running from something,” he explained, keeping his voice calm like he usually did when he was talking to a victim. “I’m assuming if it were an animal you wouldn’t be so jumpy now that you’re in a car and safe. I’d like to know what happened, but I don’t need to. However, if I’m right about why you’re running, the police do need to know.”

* * *

Why hadn’t Summer paid more attention when Tyler had talked about who he was hiring for work this season?

As this man, Clay, looked at her, she got the impression he knew her somehow better than he should. From Tyler? Or was he just that talented at reading people?

Summer didn’t know, but she wasn’t accustomed to such perceptive scrutiny, and didn’t like it. She made herself not break his gaze though, saying without saying anything that she wasn’t intimidated by him. Because she wasn’t. He may be seeing her at her worst right now, but Clay needed to know she was no damsel in distress, no pushover.

Still, he had a point about going to the police. “Fine,” she relented. “Turn left.”

He did so. Then said “thank you” so quietly she thought maybe she’d imagined it. Now it was her turn to study him. Strong, solidly built, definitely attractive. And yet, he didn’t seem pushy. Seemed steady, calm.

Actually he reminded her in some ways of her older brother Noah. He was the police chief of Moose Haven now, and at thirty was the youngest person to ever hold that role.

Clay had the same kind of bearing.

“You’re a cop, aren’t you?”

Clay glanced over, surprise on his face. She’d phrased it as a question but her tone had shown her certainty. He didn’t confirm or deny her suspicions. Summer kept going.

“What are you doing in Moose Haven, really?” she asked without waiting for him to answer. His silence was confirmation enough. Summer shivered. Had he been fired from some police department, was that why he’d needed a new job? She’d heard stories about dirty cops, obviously, though she preferred to think they were the exception rather than the rule. Still, Clay’s appearance right after she’d been attacked did feel a little coincidental...

Her brothers would have confidently called it “God’s provision.” Such phrases hadn’t slipped off Summer’s own tongue comfortably for years.

“I’m working at the lodge, I told you.”

“But you’re not like the usual workers. You’re different.” The words slipped out before she could analyze them, decide if they could be read into at all. Summer left them hanging there, and didn’t know what to make of it when Clay didn’t comment.

They pulled into the parking lot of the small Moose Haven Police Department without any more conversation between them. Summer exited the car as fast as she could and headed toward the double doors at the front of the station.

Not until she heard a car door slam behind her and then footsteps catching up did it occur to her that Clay might be coming inside.

She mustered up the strongest, most take-charge voice she could find. “Listen, thanks for the ride, but I’m good. I can take it from here.”

Was that a slight smile? “I’m sure you can,” he agreed as he reached for one of the front doors and held it open for her. Summer frowned a bit before entering the building ahead of him. “But they’re going to want to talk to me too.”

“Why?”

“Because like I told you in the car, I suspect you’re running from someone, not something. In that case, this is a crime or a potential crime and they’re going to want to know where I was, how I found you, if I noticed anything. It’s standard procedure.”

It might have been, but Summer feeling like this certainly wasn’t. She was already shaken up from the whole ordeal and now she just felt embarrassed by the way she’d treated Clay suspiciously, even after Tyler had managed to mostly convince her that he was one of the good guys.

“Fine.” She didn’t have anything else to say and ignored the tugs inside her heart urging her to apologize to Clay. She’d deal with those impulses later, but for now she wanted to stay focused on reporting what happened. It had been too long since she’d felt ready to move on with her life after what had happened in the past. Tonight she felt ready and she didn’t want this to slow her down.

He followed her into the building.

“Summer.”

Noah saw her before she saw him and swept her into a tight hug. Tyler was always the more demonstrative of her two brothers, so having Noah act this way surprised her. She hugged him back and tried not to shudder under the impact of realizing how deeply Noah had been worried. Her family had been her rock through all her troubles—she hated the thought of making them scared for her again.

“Come into my office.” He looked in Clay’s direction. “You too. Clay Hitchcock?”

Clay nodded and Noah gave him an approving smile. Any fears Summer had about him being on the wrong side of the law dissipated. To get past one of her brothers was difficult enough, but to get past both would be nearly impossible. Clay must be who he said he was.

Which left her really no reason to dislike him other than that she was still shaken up by him seeing her in such a vulnerable state—a state that had made her treat him rudely. It wasn’t his fault she’d been attacked, wasn’t his fault she’d learned several years ago that vulnerability with men was dangerous and to be avoided at all costs.

They went into Noah’s office and sat down in the uncomfortable wooden framed chairs in front of Noah’s desk. Noah went behind the desk, looking very officer-like and Summer felt a burst of pride in her brother. At least she knew he would do everything to find whomever had tried to attack her. The man who’d attacked her had really picked the wrong family to mess with.

“Why don’t you tell me what happened?”

Summer did so, remembering all the details, which surprised her and the men also, judging by the looks on their faces. She even remembered to tell them that her attacker was left-handed.

“Not something that necessarily helps figure out who did it but it could help you narrow down a suspect list,” Clay said so quietly Summer almost didn’t hear. She was more convinced than ever that this was a job he was used to doing and surprised herself by hoping she’d get a chance to talk to him about it later. It didn’t have anything to do with him, really, or how attractive he was in his quiet way. She was curious. That was all.

She swallowed hard.

“It’ll be okay, Summer.”

Noah thankfully mistook her expression for worry about the case, which it should have been, not angst over how tangled up her emotions felt from being rescued by this man, whether she wanted to be the type that needed rescuing or not.

“I hope so.” She hoped everything would be okay.

“What did you notice?” Noah turned his attention to Clay, and Summer let herself relax a little. She hadn’t meant to close her eyes, but when she heard the words safe house and her eyes popped open she realized she must have been nodding off. Her adrenaline was crashing, no doubt.

“What?”

“I think we need to take you to a safe house.” Noah’s words were firm and Summer widened her eyes even further, then started shaking her head.

“You can’t be serious.”

“Someone is after you.”

“Someone was after me,” she corrected. “I got away. That’s the end of it...isn’t it?”

“Why would she need a safe house?” Clay asked Noah. It didn’t seem like he thought it was necessary, either. Good, maybe her brother was overreacting. Although, was it Summer’s imagination or did she see something in Noah’s expression? Something that implied a bigger issue he wasn’t telling her?

“I have reason to believe it would be a good idea.” Noah stood his ground.

Summer shivered. “Why don’t you tell me what that reason is?”

Noah shook his head. “Summer, listen, you’d go away for just a few weeks, okay? We will do our best to get this solved...”

A few weeks of isolation during her favorite season, missing mountain running, her hikes with the tourists, time with her family... For what? Yeah, this man was dangerous—she definitely knew that. The police department would need to catch him before he harmed anyone else. But this had been a crime of opportunity. As long as she didn’t make herself an easy target, there was no reason to believe this man would come after her again... Was there?

Not to mention, the thought of leaving town and going somewhere by herself made her seriously uneasy. She shivered at the memory of how alone and vulnerable she’d been when she’d run from her would-be killer. All she wanted right now was to go home and surround herself in comfort, familiarity and her siblings’ love until she felt safe again. The idea of leaving her support network behind felt chilling and wrong.

“I’m not going to a safe house, Noah. You’re going to have to figure something else out.”

A few beats of silence passed.

“Let me see what else I can work out,” Noah said slowly. “Summer, would you mind stepping outside with Officer Lee?”

She looked at her brother, looked at Clay and frowned a little, then looked back at Noah.

Then she nodded, stepped outside of the room with the other officer and shut the door. And hoped she might find an unlikely ally in Clay, that he’d be able to convince Noah to drop the safe house idea. Anything had to be better than that.

* * *

“You want me to do what?” Clay said on the off chance he might have heard wrong.

Noah repeated himself. “I’m going to have Tyler assign you to do everything Summer does at the lodge so you can follow her around, serve as a bodyguard and keep her safe.”

Clay scrambled for words, managing to say, “You don’t even know me.” Had he really moved four thousand miles away from the only home he’d ever known for a fresh start only to be pulled back into the job he’d left behind?

“I know you’re a good man. You come highly recommended by your friends in Georgia and by the police chief of the department where you used to work. We do a pretty extensive background check for people who work at the lodge. Alaska’s a good place for people who are running from something, and summer employment especially can attract those types. I like to know who’s working for my family. So I know a lot about you. And I know you’re more than qualified for the job I want you to do.”

Clay exhaled.

Noah kept his gaze on him steady. The man didn’t seem easily phased, or easily dissuaded—a good quality in law enforcement. Something they had in common, at least according to people Clay had worked with before who had said the same thing about him.

“I want to shoot straight with you,” Noah continued. “I’m not completely comfortable with turning this protection detail over to you. Nothing against you, but she’s my sister and I don’t want to trust anyone but myself to keep her safe. But I can’t devote all my time to that and still do my job. And if I’m not doing my job, then the Moose Haven PD suffers and this guy might be able to keep operating longer with one less agency searching for him.”

“But why me? Surely you’ve got other resources.”

“Limited. You know how it goes in a small town. There’s no proof that there’s an ongoing threat against her and I only have a few officers. State troopers don’t have a lot of manpower to spare down here, either—state cutbacks.”

It had been months since anyone had counted on Clay for anything. Sixty days, almost exactly, since he’d officially worked his last shift in a police department. He met Noah’s eyes, noting that the other man’s look was serious, heavy with expectation. And Clay knew he was going to have to tell him no.

“Don’t you think it’s likely that this was a onetime thing—just Summer being in the wrong place at the wrong time? Our guy might have no idea who Summer is or where to find her even if he wanted to attack again. And protective details weren’t what I signed up for. I came to help Tyler around the lodge.” But the excuse sounded weak even to his ears. Clay winced at his own words.

Noah took them in stride. “Tyler won’t mind. He wants Summer safe too. And...it may not be a onetime thing.”

“What do you mean?” He heard something in the other man’s tone. There was more to this story than overprotective brother syndrome.

“Anchorage Police Department has had a serial killer around the city for the last month and a half or so. Summer fits the age range, the general description—female, between ages twenty-five and early thirties, fit. I’m not entirely sure this isn’t related to that.”

“You think she was deliberately targeted by a serial killer—that he knew where to find her.”

Noah grimaced. “It had barely crossed my mind as a possibility down here in Moose Haven until today. I knew about it, of course—it’s been in the news and I try to keep track. But he hadn’t left the Anchorage area, to our knowledge.”

“What makes you think he has now?”

“Just the general similarities...gut instinct mostly, I guess.”

“So are the troopers going to come investigate?” Clay had researched a bit about the local law enforcement agencies before he’d moved to Alaska, because even though he knew leaving the job behind with his old life was the best course of action, he couldn’t quite give up the idea of returning to it one day.

“No. Not enough similarities for them.”

“From what Summer told you, it sounds like a similar MO though?”

“Yes. I can show you the files for details, though it’s not pretty.”

“What’s missing?”

“He usually kills in pairs. Not together necessarily, but two women in a short time span. Every time, it’s been that way.” Noah stood, paced toward the small window in his office, then returned to face Clay. “Listen, like I told the trooper I spoke to on the phone a few minutes ago, I just have a bad feeling about this.”

“Better safe than sorry,” Clay said without thinking, without realizing that he was essentially agreeing with Noah that Summer needed protection. Was all but offering to do it.

“How many women have been killed?”

“Six.”

“Any survivors?”

“Not until Summer.”

Six women dead. Clay would not let Summer be number seven. He exhaled. Nodded firmly.

“I’ll do it.”

THREE

The fire in the fireplace in the front room of the lodge danced and crackled, the only sound in the quiet. Summer walked toward it, enjoying the warmth. It might be summer, but nighttime in Alaska always carried a chill. It was past one in the morning now, and the sky was darkening into the twilight that would last for another two or three hours until the sun fully rose again. Summer shivered. From the darkness? From the cold? She didn’t know, but she was more chilled than usual today, with the events of earlier on her mind.

She’d hoped telling the police about it would soften the details of the attack in her memory, but so far it hadn’t worked. If anything, saying everything out loud had pushed the memories deeper into her psyche, on some track that repeated over and over, replaying like a bad movie.

She wasn’t eager to go to sleep tonight. Summer felt the chances of reliving the attack in her dreams was too great a risk to take. She’d rather be tired.

She moved to the couch and picked up her sketchbook and a few pencils.

“You draw?”

She didn’t turn as Clay’s footsteps came closer. Emotions danced around inside her mind as she worked to settle on which one was strongest. Embarrassment, yes, that was it. Not only had she thrown herself into his path like some sort of damsel in distress, a role Summer wasn’t used to playing and refused to play, but she’d been standoffish and prickly, something that also wasn’t like her. Even Kate had said something to her about it earlier and Kate wasn’t the warmest of people when you didn’t know her.

She probably couldn’t put off the necessary apology any longer, as it appeared Clay wasn’t going away.

“I do.” She set the pencils in her lap and shifted her weight a little so she’d be face-to-face with Clay, who stood near the couch, just on the edge of the room. “Are you going to sit?”

“Didn’t know if you wanted company.”

“Does what I want matter at this point?”

“You’re still here at the lodge instead of in that safe house your brother picked out, aren’t you?” His voice gave away what he thought about that.

Hadn’t Clay backed her up earlier on the fact that a safe house wasn’t necessary? His tone now seemed to indicate something had changed. What had that conversation between him and her brother been about?

“For now. And look, I’m sorry that messes up what you thought you’d be doing.” Noah had informed her that Clay would basically be her bodyguard for the foreseeable future. She knew it wasn’t Clay’s fault, that he was just doing this because her brothers had asked him to, but the resentment was hard to repress. “It’s not what I was expecting, either—I don’t want my life arranged for me.” She’d spent too much time and energy crafting five-year plans to have them yanked away because of an attack that could have just been random. So far there was no proof anyone would come after her a second time. Summer was hoping, even thinking of praying, that it was a onetime thing.

“I don’t mind.”

Such a quiet, calm answer. Summer didn’t know what to do with that.

She exhaled. “Look, I’m sorry. About now and about earlier. You’re not seeing my best side at the moment.”

“Situations like this don’t tend to bring those out in people.”

“You’ve seen them before.”

He didn’t answer immediately. Just walked around the coffee table to the other end of the couch where she sat and took a seat. “I have.”

“Tyler trusts you. That makes sense, you’re his friend. But Noah trusts you too. You didn’t answer me before, but I was right with my guess, wasn’t I? You’re law enforcement, aren’t you?”

“No.”

“But you were.” His reaction to the question had made her even more sure, but it was more than that. It was the way he’d reacted when she’d first jumped in his truck—not overly riled but instantly understanding the seriousness of the situation. It was the way he’d listened as she told her story, the way he didn’t seem overly excited by anything but at the same time seemed like he never fully relaxed, was always aware of their surroundings and ready to do his part to neutralize any threat.

“I was.”

Summer liked that about him, the way he didn’t give more answer than he had to at first but didn’t attempt to dance around a direct question, either. A straight question deserved a straight answer. It seemed Clay agreed. A mark in his favor.

“I don’t suppose you’d tell me...”

“Not at the moment.”

The tone of his voice didn’t change a bit, his expression didn’t flinch. But the subject was clearly closed. Interesting. She was curious, not because she necessarily doubted his ability to protect her, although maybe there was a little of that. But she also just wanted to know.

“What do you think about the guy who’s after me?” Somehow Summer felt that if she was quiet, he’d be the one asking the questions and she wanted to avoid that for now. As long as she was asking the questions, she was the one in control.

“We don’t know enough yet to make any kind of guesses.” He took a sip from the mug she hadn’t noticed him carrying in with him. Coffee, she’d guess. Her siblings liked the stuff. Summer preferred tea—had gotten hooked on it one summer she’d spent in Europe mountain running and climbing.

“What do we know?”

“I’m not part of the investigation, Summer. I’m just looking out for you.”

“Surely they’ve talked to you about why that’s necessary.”

“They have.”

She let those words hang in the air for a minute while she considered them. “But you aren’t telling me.”

“Because right now, all we have are theories. They won’t help you. They’ll just drive you crazy thinking about the possibilities. I will tell you everything I know the second I think that’s what is best for you.”

Summer felt her shoulders tighten, the first hint of a frown on her face. He’d met her hours earlier. Who was he to decide what was best for her? She opened her mouth, ready to let him have it. Before she could say anything to him, she heard something. A doorknob being rattled? But everyone was inside already. They weren’t waiting for anyone.

She stopped and sat up straight. “What was that?”

Clay was already on his feet, reaching out for her hand, and she took it, the fight she’d been meaning to pick just seconds before mostly forgotten. The doorknob wasn’t making noise anymore, but in the seconds that had followed the initial rattling, there’d been a loud clatter, a small crash like one of the small tables on the porch had been knocked over.

Someone was outside.

“Go after him!” Summer urged.

“I can’t. I have to stay with you.” Clay had his phone out. “Noah, I think there’s an intruder on the deck. Okay. Yes. That’s what I thought.”

He hung up. “This way.” He pulled her toward the staircase that led to the upstairs guest rooms and some of the family’s bedrooms. Two of those were upstairs—Summer’s and Kate’s—and Noah’s and Tyler’s were in another hallway off the main floor.

“You have to go after him,” she protested even as she followed him. “He found me, he knows where I am. He’s come after me twice now and it’s just going to keep happening unless we face it and do something about it.”

Clay whirled to face her. “This is what needs to be done right now, Summer. You need to be kept safe and you need to stop questioning the people trying to make that happen.”

She didn’t say anything else. Just continued up the stairs and entered her own room when he motioned her inside. It was more of a suite than a room, and the door opened into an area with a small couch, a coffee table and a drawing desk. Off that was the bedroom and bathroom.

She stopped just inside the door. “What now?”

“Sit down and wait.”

Summer did it, fighting frustration. And maybe...

Was that fear?

Out of all her siblings, Summer considered herself one of the most fearless. Noah and Tyler weren’t overly afraid by any means, but they didn’t seek out danger the way she and Kate always had. Noah becoming the police chief had actually surprised the rest of them, but he’d explained that he’d rather face danger every day if it meant he was doing something to protect the rest of the town from it. Kate was an adventurer like Summer, but she acknowledged danger, didn’t mind staring it in the face. Summer? Summer didn’t usually notice danger. Her favorite place in the world was up on top of a ridgeline, running on it as her heart pounded, adrenaline rushing through her body, and dancing over rocks at what always felt like the tippy-top of the world.

There was no room for fear.

So this wasn’t a feeling she was used to. Then again, she also wasn’t used to losing her sense of control. Sure, there was a point in the run downhill when you had to lose a bit of your control and hope you didn’t end up hitting the small, loose rocks of the scree too many times and getting too scraped up. But even then, it was a voluntary surrender of control, for the sake of the race, the run, the exhilaration.

This was control that someone was trying to take from her. Summer balked at that.

“I’m not going to keep running. I hope he knows that. I hope he knows—”

“Shh.” Clay had moved to the window and was looking out, watching what was going on outside.

“What’s going on?”

“Noah and Tyler are both out there. A trooper car just pulled up and a woman got out.”

“Erynn. She works with Noah sometimes.” Her brother’s opposite in so many ways. Watching the two of them interact was a favorite amusement for most of the people who knew them. “No sign of anyone...who shouldn’t be here?” It was two in the morning but even as far south as Moose Haven, there would still be workable daylight—sort of a dark twilight—at this time of night in early summer.

“Not that I can see. They’re coming inside now. We’ll wait here. Noah knows where to find us.”

“He sent you up here?” In the moment she hadn’t even thought to wonder how he knew exactly where her room was.

Clay nodded. “He thought it was the most secure place for us to get to. And he’s right. It’d be almost impossible for someone to get in here undetected.”

“Almost?”

“Can’t promise anything with 100 percent certainty,” he said with a shrug, like he was used to people taking his control away. But then again, Summer guessed he was. She doubted there was ever a “normal” day for someone in law enforcement. Noah hadn’t had to deal with as much since Moose Haven was usually a relatively quiet town—hunting violations and speeding tickets were usually the craziest things her brother dealt with, as far as Summer knew. Until this. Until today.

Someone knocked on the door. “It’s me.” Noah’s voice.

Clay unlocked it and Noah came in, followed by Tyler and Kate.

“He was here.”

Summer had never heard Noah’s voice like this. Hard. Angry.

“How do you know?” Clay asked.

Noah glanced at Summer. Shook his head slightly, like doing so would make her not aware of the fact that he was trying to communicate without her noticing.

“I can handle it, Noah.”

“You don’t need to know,” Noah insisted, Tyler and even Kate nodding. She’d have to give her sister a hard time later. The two of them had always stuck together as kids whenever their brothers turned bossy or overprotective. Boys against girls and all that.

“I think she does,” Clay said.

Summer swung her gaze to her unlikely ally, eyebrows raised, sure her surprise must be showing on her face.

“You’ve read the reports,” Noah said to Clay as if she wasn’t even there. She decided to let it go for now and just listen.

“I have. And I think it’s unfair to keep so much from her when it’s her life that’s in danger. We’re asking a lot of her to do what people say without understanding the situation, especially people like me who she doesn’t know or have any reason to trust.”

More than the usual amount of pause dragged out. Clay stood firm, Summer noticed, his posture giving no indication that he was backing down. She’d never thought she’d see someone willing to stand up to both her brothers, but here Clay was taking them on, plus Kate.

It was...nice.

“Alright.” Noah looked to Summer. “You want to know?”

She wanted to go to sleep, wake up and realize it had all been a dream. With that not being an option... “Yes, I want to know.”

“He was here.”

“Who is he? You keep talking about him like he’s someone else. Someone...specific. Do you have a suspect?”

“Not a name.”

“But...?”

“I have reason to believe it may be the serial killer who’s been killing women in Anchorage.”

Summer’s mind couldn’t process, wouldn’t wrap around what her brother had just said. “You think...?”

“The MO is incredibly similar.”

“Surely if that were true I’d need more security than just Clay, right? No offense, Clay, it’s just that I’ve seen the news articles about that killer. People haven’t stood a chance against him.” She waited for their answers.

No one said anything.

Until Clay finally spoke. “The problem is,” he began, and for the first time Summer admitted to herself that the slow Southern accent calmed her, maybe just a little bit. It was easy to listen to him talk when she wasn’t feeling her independence threatened with everything he said. “The MO doesn’t fit perfectly. So we’re waiting to see if this is just our suspicion or if it’s founded.”

“Our suspicion?” Noah asked Clay. Summer wasn’t sure what to make of that. Had Clay disagreed at first?

Clay nodded. “I don’t feel good about this.”

Noah’s face seemed to indicate that he agreed. “We’ll investigate more outside tomorrow. For tonight I’ll stay up and keep watch.”

“I don’t think I can sleep,” Summer said.

“You can and you need to.” Tyler pulled her into a hug. “Take care of yourself.”

Summer hugged him back. It was possible she had the best brothers in the world. “I’ll try.” She offered a small smile.

“Good night.” Kate smiled at her, but didn’t offer a hug. She wasn’t the huggiest of people, even with those she loved, so Summer didn’t mind.

She smiled back. “Good night.”

And then her siblings dispersed, leaving only her and Clay.

She turned to face him, not sure what to say. At first, she’d disliked him because she’d been embarrassed. Then it had been convenient to ignore him because she hadn’t wanted his presence infringing on her independence, one of the things Summer held the most dear these days.

Now...

Summer wasn’t sure. But she owed him a thank-you for convincing her siblings to see reason and to keep her in the loop.

“Thanks for getting him to talk to me,” she offered softly, sighing after she did so. “I’m not the youngest, Kate is. But for whatever reason if someone needs extra care, they always assume it’s me.”

“Siblings are well-meaning but I hear they can be smothering.”

“You have siblings?”

Clay shook his head. “I’ve got a friend who’s about as close as you can get, but no, not really. Must have been nice growing up with friends around all the time.”

Summer couldn’t argue with that.

“Listen, they are right though—you need to sleep.”

“I can’t sleep up here.” So far from everyone else, with no easy escape route. At least downstairs had multiple routes to the outside. Here in her room it was the door or the window. She felt trapped and exposed at the same time.

“It’s the safest place for you, Summer. Like I said earlier, it’s all tucked back here so that you’re almost impossible to get to.”

She wouldn’t sleep a wink. But if he was going to push the issue, she’d sit up and read all night.

“Alright,” Summer said without further fight.

Clay moved toward the door. “I’ll be right outside in the hall.” Then he turned toward her, his eyes focused and thoughtful. “You aren’t planning to even try to sleep, are you?”

“Not even a little.”

He laughed. A real, actual laugh. “May as well head downstairs, then. Maybe you’ll nod off on the couch.”

Summer followed him down the stairs, his laughter echoing in her mind, almost pushing away the niggling fears that reminded her that someone wanted her dead.

Almost.

But not quite.

* * *

Clay didn’t know what had gotten into him earlier, snapping at Summer when she’d tried to tell him to go after the guy. He could count on one hand the number of times in his adult life he’d lost his temper. He had his own struggles, wouldn’t say he was 100 percent the man he wanted to be, but temper wasn’t usually one of his issues. It disconcerted him that fear for Summer’s safety, combined with him being upset over her persistent stubbornness, had made him lose it like that.

He looked over at her stretched out across the couch, eyes closed. Clay had tried to convince her that her room was actually safer, tucked away and on the second floor, but she hadn’t listened, just like she hadn’t listened to her brother when he’d brought up the idea of the safe house earlier.

She was stubborn. On one hand, the stubborn ones usually survived when they were attacked, something Summer had already proved true in her first and hopefully only encounter with the attacker. On the other, the stubborn ones were bad about taking precautions and following advice—something Summer had also proven. She clearly wasn’t going to listen to anyone, even when it would be wise, if it went against what she thought.

Clay exhaled.

This wasn’t what he’d wanted from his fresh start in Alaska. He’d known Tyler’s brother was in law enforcement, but he hadn’t expected to have any part in it himself. Not that he blamed them for asking for his help. It was the logical choice, Clay just wasn’t sure he was ready for it, wasn’t sure he trusted himself to have the instincts he used to have, before he’d started to doubt himself.

But he owed it to his friend to try to keep his sister safe.

And doing that, he was seeing now, also probably meant he couldn’t keep his distance, not even emotionally. The Dawson family needed as many people as they could get on their side convincing Summer to listen to whatever recommendations law enforcement made—and he wouldn’t be able to do that unless they were something resembling friends.

He glanced at her again while she slept.

It wasn’t that being Summer’s friend would be unpleasant. He admired her strength, her spunk, was intrigued by her and thought she was beautiful. Maybe those things were the problem. He had to think of her as a friend only, nothing more, because it was all she could possibly be. He wasn’t staying in Alaska long. He was friends with her brother. Reasons to keep his caring on a friend level and not allow it to go any further ran through his mind like facts on a ticker board.

The biggest one was that he wasn’t an emotional kind of guy. He kept emotions out of his work life and he’d been a good cop, the possible exception being that last case that even his chief insisted he couldn’t have seen coming. Besides that, he’d always done a good job keeping a cool head, staying logical and by the book. Letting himself get any closer to Summer might not allow him to detach the way he needed to in order to keep his focus sharp, keep his senses on alert.

Something he desperately needed to do. Because tonight he felt in his own gut the sinking feeling Noah had seemed to feel in his. Something about this ongoing menace toward Summer felt weightier, more heavy with evil than a random attack. Clay was almost sure Summer was the target of a serial killer. One who had been successful six times so far. Who would feel he’d been robbed of his seventh victim and would likely keep coming back until he could kill her too.

And it would be up to Clay to stop him.

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