Woman in Shadow by Carrie Stuart Parks

Author:Carrie Stuart Parks
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published: 2021-07-13T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

The sun dropped low. Roy sat hunched in a chair, bent over, head in his hands. Bram and Wyatt kept their weapons out and stared at each other. Liam mopped up his spilled beer, found another can of brew, then settled near the dining room. I stayed next to Cookie, pressing the ice pack to her head. Her color looked better, and her breathing was less labored.

My neck itched like crazy, but I held off scratching, knowing once I started, I wouldn’t be able to stop.

Wyatt relaxed slightly. “There’s still four members of the regular staff unaccounted for, plus Angie and the three guests. And we need to move those bodies. Bear, wolves, cougars—”

“We get the drift.” Bram looked at me.

My chest tightened and heat flushed my face. Bram saw me as a delicate invalid. Even without knowing I was a coward, he’d discovered my prosthesis, seen the PTSD episodes.

I just wanted to get back to Clan Firinn. Back to safety.

Bram glanced out the window. “We’ll need to locate everyone one way or the other. They could be injured, like Cookie. And we need to secure an area for the night. We don’t know if this person is armed, and there are too many ways to get into this room.”

A log popped in the fireplace.

I jerked, then listened. Only the slight crackle of the fire. “Do you hear that?”

“I don’t hear anything,” Bram said.

“Right. The hum of the generator is gone.”

Roy shook himself slightly and looked up. “It’s probably out of fuel. Unless we can get to the generator, the fresh food won’t keep.”

“And no way will the beer stay cold.” Liam stood and headed for the kitchen.

Cookie stirred and opened her eyes. “Darby? I . . . I thought you left.”

“I’m here now.” I gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “Do you remember what happened to you?”

Her eyebrows knitted together for a moment. “I couldn’t find my staff. Told Roy, then started for the staff housing . . . I heard a horse walking on the road . . . someone behind me, I turned . . . then nothing.”

“The horse on the road would have been us,” Bram said. “So the killer took off before he could . . . finish with Cookie.”

I caught Bram’s attention. “How long do you think those two men had been dead?” I whispered.

“Not long. Why?”

Liam sauntered into the dining room, fresh can of beer in hand.

I looked at Liam, then back at Bram.

He nodded. “Maybe.”

Wyatt shifted his rifle from hand to hand. “We gotta get out of here. We’re sitting ducks, just waiting.”

“Roy, how many firearms do you have?” Bram asked.

“Several rifles, a shotgun, two pistols . . .”

“Where are they?” Bram asked.

“Oh.” If possible, Roy’s face had gone paler.

“Oh, what?” Bram moved to the older man and sat in a chair next to him. “What?”

“I didn’t register this earlier. I can’t concentrate—”

I reached over and squeezed the man’s arm. “What is it, Roy?” I said softly.

“The guns were shut up in my office with the radio.

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