“What is it? Do you see him?” Sonia whispered.
Finn knelt and gestured to something on the ground in front of him. Sonia leaned over his shoulder, her eyes widening when she caught a glimpse of what he was pointing at.
“Tripwire,” he said in a grim tone. “It must trigger some kind of primitive alarm system.”
Sonia sucked in a sharp breath. ”I can’t believe you spotted it!”
He threw her a bemused look. ”Bet you’re glad I do this kind of thing for a living now, huh? I’ve been scanning our environment every step of the way. The stakes are a lot higher when it’s IED’s you’re trying to avoid.”
“Finn,” Sonia stammered. ”I know I made it hard for you to choose between the military and your family. Even though things didn’t work out between us, I want you to know I appreciate what you do every day for our country.”
A flicker of sadness crossed his face before he turned away. ”Make sure you don’t touch the wire when you step over it.”
Gingerly, they made their way up to the cabin. Finn peered through a filthy window. ”He’s not in the main living area. Looks like there’s another smaller room. Wait here.”
Sonia darted several nervous glances into the trees while Finn crept around the perimeter of the cabin. She let out a relieved sigh when he reappeared a few minutes later.
“Ray’s not here,” he said. “We should go inside and search the place anyway. Maybe we’ll find something to prove Katie Lambert was here.”
Sonia pressed her lips together, reluctant to delay their return any longer. ”What if he’s watching us from the cover of the trees—waiting on us to go inside? What if it’s a trap? He set up a tripwire, after all.”
“He’s not here. I would know if he’d been following us,” Finn said. He padded quietly over to the front door and nudged it slowly inward, sweeping the room with the barrel of his gun. “It’s clear,” he confirmed, motioning for Sonia to follow him.
She stepped inside, blinking around the shadowy interior. The cabin was surprisingly orderly, a pair of boots lined up neatly by the fireplace, kitchen utensils dangling from hooks in perfect symmetry, a blanket meticulously folded and hanging over the back of a chair. The minimalistic interior was a far cry from Celia’s cluttered house where he was currently living. She held her breath as Finn tiptoed across the floor and cracked open the door to the smaller room. ”He’s not in here.” He lowered his weapon. “No sign of the girl either.”
”Maybe he took her somewhere,” Sonia said. She couldn’t bring herself to voice her worst fear—that he’d taken her into the woods to dispose of her.
“I’ll take a look around outside and see if I can find any recent footprints,” Finn said.
“Be careful,” Sonia warned him, wrapping her arms around herself as he disappeared out the door.
She glanced around the cabin with an air of apprehension. Despite Finn’s reassurance that Ray wasn’t here, she could feel an ominous presence. Maybe there was some kind of hiding spot in the cabin that Finn had overlooked. Frowning, she picked up one of the boots by the fireplace and examined it more closely. They were too big to be Ray’s. He wasn’t a large man, a good six inches shorter than Finn. Her mind went back to the day Ray had told her about finding his way to his brother’s cabin, and the burly stranger who had helped him, a mountain man called Buck. Was it possible they were at the wrong cabin?
The minute Finn reappeared, she blurted out her suspicions. “Finn, take a look at these boots, they’re size thirteen. I’m fairly sure Ray’s feet are smaller than that. I think we’re at the wrong cabin. This might be his neighbor’s place. He told me about this mountain man who gave him directions. He called himself—“
“Buck,” Finn said, his lips curling into a smile. “I know who he is.”
29
“How do you … “ Sonia’s voice trailed off at the strange look in Finn’s eyes. A swirling mass of confusion invaded her head, muddying her thoughts. “I … don’t understand. How do you know Buck?”
Finn threw back his head and laughed, a caustic laugh that dragged a sack of memories back to the surface she’d sooner forget. The ridicule, the intimidation, the threats like low-lying clouds constantly hanging over her head.
”Sonia, Sonia, Sonia. Ever the trusting, helpful, kindhearted woman to everyone around her.” His cold eyes raked her face. ”Except me. You didn’t extend the same kindness to me when you shoved those divorce papers under my nose, did you?”
“Stop it, Finn! This isn’t about us. Ray’s still out there somewhere, and he might have Katie with him. Maybe Buck can help us track him down. How do you know him anyway? Is he military?”
Finn laughed again in an overly casual manner that didn’t jive with the danger they were in. “He was—up until his dishonorable discharge six years ago when he lost his benefits and moved up into the mountains.”
Sonia frowned. “I don’t remember you mentioning anyone called Buck being discharged from the army.”
Finn folded his arms in front of his chest, studying her like she was a petulant child. “Sonia, my love. I am Buck.”
“What … what are you talking about?” Sonia stumbled backward, her legs wobbling beneath her.
Finn gestured around him with a jerk of his chin “How do you like the place?” His lips curled into a cunning smile. “I fixed it up with you in mind.”
Sonia retreated another couple of steps, her thoughts colliding with her senses in an explosion of terror. “But you … you were on a mission last month. That’s why you couldn’t call Jessica on her birthday.”
Finn let out an amused snort. “I was on a mission of sorts. I was hunting.”
“You mean … you haven’t been overseas all this time?” Sonia asked in a breathless whisper.
Finn chuckled,
