Chapter 25

CHAPTER 25

“ C aleb, are you there? I need to talk to you.” Juniper’s knuckles were white as she gripped the radio.

When there was no response, she lowered her device back into her lap.

Andi and Duke had come back, found her in her office, and told her what they’d found. Panic had fluttered through her gaze, and her face had gone pale.

“I don’t know why he isn’t responding,” she murmured as she leaned against her desk. “It’s not like him. Even when he’s acting like a jerk, he’s still usually pretty good at communicating.”

“You said you saw him walking back to his cabin earlier, right?” Andi grabbed a paper cup and got some water from the dispenser in Juniper’s office. She handed the drink to Juniper.

“That’s right. He said he needed to be by himself a while. That’s what he does.” Juniper took a sip of the water before running her hand over her face. “But he usually hangs out at his cabin. I don’t know where else he would be.”

“Is it like him to leave the camp without saying something?” Duke asked.

“He doesn’t have a vehicle here so it would be hard for him to actually leave the property unless he went with someone else. I suppose he could have walked into the woods to have some alone time, but that doesn’t seem like him either.” Juniper frowned.

“What about the fake blood?” Andi asked. “Do you know anything about that?”

“Caleb did mention once that he has an older brother who works special effects on some low budget films. I didn’t even think anything about it until just now. Caleb hasn’t seen his brother in years so . . . I don’t know. I didn’t put it together. I have no idea why Caleb would leave a fake bloody hand on your door, though.”

“Any guesses as to what might be going on?” Duke continued to press.

“I don’t know what to say.” Juniper ran a hand through her hair, tension seizing her expression. “I only know I’m fielding a lot of questions from guests about what’s going on, and I’m trying my best to get through this. Probably 75 percent of the people staying here are leaving and asking for refunds. This is creeping them out, I guess.”

“That’s understandable.” Andi squeezed her arm. “But I also know this situation has to be hard on you.”

Juniper pressed her eyes closed as if fighting discouragement. “We need to have the majority of our cabins booked in order to make ends meet. Running this place isn’t cheap. That’s why I’ve been so thankful our bookings have been so consistent. But now with these things happening, it’s going to cause bad press . . . and I don’t know if we’ll survive that.”

“We’re going to keep looking for answers,” Duke assured her. “But first, we need to find Caleb.”

“If I hear from him, I’ll let you know. The rest of the guys on his team—who are also his roommates—should be out on the trails with guests. I’ll check with them when they get back.” She glanced at her radio as it crackled, and someone asked for her. “But right now, I have another guest who wants to leave. I should probably head to the front desk so I can handle this.”

“You do that,” Andi said. “We’ll stay in touch with you as well.”

Andi and Duke wandered away from the lodge. She wouldn’t want to be in Juniper’s position right now. She knew it wasn’t easy.

But she needed to stay focused on finding Caleb. If he didn’t have a car, then he couldn’t have left the area unless he either caught a ride or he borrowed someone’s car—with or without their permission.

“I’d like to go back to Caleb’s cabin one more time,” she murmured to Duke.

“Then let’s go.”

The sun had sunk again, barely lingering on the edge of the horizon and creating an early twilight for them. The breeze was still brisk and cold. More than cold. It was freezing and attacked any exposed skin.

Andi tugged her coat closer around her face as they walked.

When they reached the cabin this time, they didn’t go inside.

Instead, they paced the outside of the place. The snow was deep and soft near the edges of the building, and they sank down to their knees—which made walking incredibly hard.

When they finally got to the back of the cabin, they both paused.

Andi’s eyes widened when she saw the tracks stretching there.

Not only one set of footprints but two.

Had Caleb somehow escaped and disappeared into the woods?

Duke knelt beside the prints, examining them closer.

“What is it?” Andi could tell by the look on his face that he found something.

“I’m looking at the pattern of these footprints. Based on these tracks right here,” he pointed to the set on the left, “one of these people didn’t leave willingly.”

“What?” The word came out as a gasp. “How can you tell?”

“If you ask me, this person was taken away kicking and screaming. You can tell by the unevenness of the steps. By the drag marks. By how the indentions seem deeper and more erratic in places.”

Andi glanced up and locked her gaze with his. “So what you’re telling me is that you think Caleb took someone and ran?”

He twisted his head. “Or someone took Caleb and ran. It could go either way.”

Duke and Andi followed the tracks into the forest, careful not to disturb any evidence.

Duke paused by a tree and stared at something on the white snow.

Andi followed his gaze and gasped. “Is that . . . ?”

He leaned toward it. “Blood—and it’s fresh.”

“Someone is in trouble,” she murmured. “I don’t like this.”

“Me neither.”

Someone had been hurt. He didn’t know if the injury had been caused by someone else or by the consequences of walking through the forest. A branch could have cut someone’s skin.

But he was leaning toward the former.

Foul play was involved with Caleb’s disappearance. Duke just wasn’t sure what side of things Caleb was on.

He had no loyalty toward Caleb. But Duke knew if something happened to the man, it would be another loss for Juniper.

She’d already lost so many people.

He and Andi continued through the forest, following the trail of blood. They paused about a half a mile into their trek.

“We can go farther, but I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Duke told Andi. “Let’s get back to the camp. We need to call Gibson with the update.”

“Definitely.”

If Duke had his way, he’d whisk Andi away from here to somewhere safe.

But that wasn’t a realistic option. Danger seemed to follow them wherever they went.

Besides, Andi wasn’t one to run from conflict or danger, and that was one of the things he loved about her.

However, there was a killer lurking on these grounds. And Duke wasn’t sure what it would take to stop this guy. Duke only knew he had to catch him before there were any more victims.