Every Precious Thing

siblings, she shot worried glances in Logan’s direction, as if she’d bolt if he so much as moved an inch in her direction. She was all survival and fear and determination.

Finally, Diana pulled back and said something to her sister that Logan couldn’t make out. Sara asked a few questions, each time looking at Logan. Finally, the three siblings walked over to him.

“Sara, this is Logan Harper,” Diana said.

Logan held out his hand, but Sara didn’t take it. “You say you’re a friend of Alan’s but I don’t know you.”

“No. I never said that. I said I’m here because of Alan. I am a friend of his lawyer, Callie Johnson.”

“Callie? You know her?”

“I’ve known Callie all my life. She used to babysit me.”

This odd detail seemed to soften Sara a bit. “I don’t understand how you’re involved.”

“She asked me to help,” he said. He gave her a quick version of how Alan had been looking for her, had enlisted Callie’s help, and how she had found out that Sara didn’t exist.

“I still don’t understand why they involved you,” she said.

“Because I’m a friend, and she knew she could trust me.”

She looked at him, clearly not satisfied with his response.

He shrugged. “And I know how to get things done.”

“Like what?” Sara asked, growing tense again. “What needs to be done about me?”

Logan paused. “At first, I think Alan just wanted to know what happened to you, for himself, and also for Emily, so when she grows up she’d understand why her mom went away.”

“You said ‘at first.’”

“When they realized you weren’t who you said you were, Alan became concerned.”

Richard jutted out his chin. “He thinks she cheated on him or something?”

Logan could see that Sara didn’t believe that at all. “No,” he said. “He became concerned that your sister was in trouble, and he wanted to help. He is her husband, after all.”

“Oh, and you’re that help?” Richard scoffed.

Sara touched her brother’s arm. Richard’s previous tough demeanor cracked a little, and he whispered to her, “Sorry.”

She looked at Logan. “I am in trouble, but there’s nothing Alan or you can do. The fewer people involved, the better.”

“But Alan’s your husband. Emily’s your daughter,” Logan said. “They’re your family.”

“Don’t you see? They’re the reason I had to leave. The people after me, they don’t want me. They want…”

“Emily,” Logan said, knowing that was what she was going to tell him.

She nodded.

“But why?” he asked.

She took a moment, then said, “Because they believe she’s their property.”

“What do you mean, ‘property’?”

She looked at the ground. “Go back to Alan, tell him…tell him that I love them both, but it’s better if they just forget me.”

Logan was about to ask another question, but Diana cut him off. “Okay. I’ve brought you to her. You’ve talked. Now you can go back to her husband and set his mind at ease.”

“Exactly how am I supposed to do that when you haven’t told me why Sara’s on the run?”

Ignoring his question, she said, “We’re done. We’ll drive you out and drop you off in Tusayan.”

She put an arm around Sara, and started walking back to the cabin. Richard followed them.

“Dev’s still got your phone,” Logan said, joining them.

“I’ll get a new one.”

The intensity of the rain began to ease.

“Where will you go?” he asked.

“Better if you didn’t know.”

“You’re making a mistake.”

“What mistake?”

“You all can’t run forever.”

Diana looked back at him. “We don’t need to run forever. Just…long enough.”

CHAPTER FIFTY

When Dev paid the entrance fee to the park, he was given a map and told the best place to start out was Grand Canyon Village. From there, the ranger said he could get pretty much anywhere using the free shuttle bus system.

Dev didn’t care about park transportation. He just wanted somewhere with a lot of cars where he could leave the El Camino, then walk a little ways away and watch without being observed. The village turned out to be perfect for this. It was a mixture of rustic-looking motels, restaurants, tourist shops, and tiny cabins for the seasonal workers.

He found a spot in a parking lot next to a gift shop called Hopi House. On the other side of the building was a wide sidewalk, then the canyon itself. Dev had been to the park a few times when he was younger, but the intensity of the view and the sheer scale of the canyon were just as breathtaking now as they had been then.

He was able to find a spot along the walkway near the rim of the canyon from where he could still see Logan’s truck. The place was crawling with tourists, so there was no chance he’d be spotted.

As he settled in to wait for Dr. Paskota to drive by, he noticed gray clouds moving in and threatening to blot out the otherwise blue sky. Looking around, he saw that several of the other canyon visitors were carrying umbrellas. He didn’t have one, but was getting the feeling it was something he might need very soon.

Just inside the back entrance to Hopi House, he saw a display of umbrellas. He checked the road, saw no sign of the woman, and dashed inside. He made a quick purchase, and was back out in less than a minute. He was confident that even if she had driven by while he was inside, she would have still been around, trying to figure out where Logan and Dev had gone.

Five minutes after he exited Hopi House, it began to rain, proving his timing had been good. It was a light rain at first, but then it got heavier and heavier. As the intensity grew, lightning started striking closer and closer. Park rangers quickly moved along the walkway, advising everyone to find cover inside one of the buildings. Dev joined the crowd on the covered porch of the El Tovar Hotel.

An hour passed with no sign of the gray sedan. He thought the woman must have been cautious. Maybe she’d even parked somewhere else and was watching the El Camino on foot just like Dev was.

Doing nothing to draw attention to himself, Dev looked around and indentified all the locations someone could covertly watch the truck from. Then, keeping his exposure to the open sky to a minimum, he visited each one by one. No Dr. Paskota, not even one of the men who’d been with her.

Confused, Dev looked out at the road that led toward the entrance.

Where the hell are you?

CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

Once they were back in the car and had reached the partially blacktopped road, Logan called Dev.

“Hey,” Dev answered. “Everything okay?

“Well, I guess. Yeah,” Logan said.