Page 78 of Shadow of Hope
“Sounds like you’re familiar with these sites,” Ava said.
“No real first-hand knowledge. I only know what our DNA expert, Emory, has told us, and that you can either choose to have the matches viewable by others or not.”
“You think she might be willing to give me a call and walk me through the pitfalls?” Micha asked.
“I’m sure of it. I’ll ask and then have her text you to set up a time.”
“Perfect. Thanks, Sierra. We owe you for sure. And a special thanks for working so late to handle this for us.”
“No worries. Like I said, I’ve been in Ava’s shoes, and I’ll do whatever you need to find your guy.”
Micha ended the call and stowed his phone. “As much as I would like to take care of uploading the DNA now, I think it’s best if we leave it alone until after we talk to Emory.”
“Me too,” Ava said.
Colin narrowed his gaze. “I’m sure I can figure it out without screwing up, but yeah, what would it hurt to be extra careful? If we found a connection right now, we wouldn’t contact that person before daybreak anyway.”
“Not that I don’t trust your skills, Colin.” Ava smiled at him. “But I’m thankful to have an expert in this area weigh in so we don’t make a mistake and alert the wrong person.”
“Exactly.” Micha looked at his watch. “Nearly three. I’ll take first watch. You all should get some shuteye.”
“There are two bedrooms, but it’ll be cold in there until the fire heats the place up,” she said. “Which, if my memory serves me right, will take several hours.”
Dev frowned. “Might be better for all of us to bunk in here.”
She didn’t like the thought of trying to sleep with Micha watching her, but she liked it better than being cold. “Danny has a bunch of sleeping bags and blow-up beds for when his nieces and nephews came to stay with him.”
“Perfect.” Micha gave a tight smile. “We could use those. Lead the way, and I’ll help you get it all out.”
She headed for the large linen closet situated at the end of the hallway between the bedrooms. She pulled open the door, releasing the scent of the cedar-lined walls. Micha reached over her shoulder and grabbed the inflatable beds. She took out four sleeping bags by their restraining cords and spun, thinking he’d gone back down the hall, but he stood behind her.
He smiled at her. “Your cabin and property are pretty sweet.”
“It’s great. I still can’t believe Danny left it to me instead of his siblings or their kids.”
“Did you spend a lot of time here?”
“Not sure what a lot is, but more than the others did. When I aged out of foster care and got my life together, I reconnected with my grandparents and Danny’s family. We hit it off, and since I grew up without family, I was all for as much family time as I could get. Not his siblings. They were all too busy with their lives and children, so I made a point of coming here as much as I could.”
“I hope you’re able to enjoy the place when all of this is over.” He shifted the beds in his arms, then turned to leave. “I’m looking forward to getting a better look at the exits and river in the daylight.”
He’d told her to relax, and she wanted to, but how could she when a comment like that one reminded her of the very real and present danger surrounding her?
16
Nearing ten a.m., Micha followed the narrow path toward the sound of rushing water to scope out a river escape should the need arise. He’d hoped to get that DNA report uploaded before now, but Emory was in court until noon. So he’d moved on to plan B. Checking out escape routes.
In the pouring rain, which meant spiders on the move. Ground dwellers seeking higher ground and warmer places like the cabin to wait out the storm. They came inside after a storm looking for prey as well. Spiders could also hide behind shutters, downspouts, and other protected areas, like the boathouse he would likely step into soon.
He’d become quite the expert on their behavior to avoid them. Now that Ava knew about his phobia, he really wanted to get control of it. He didn’t know how. He’d tried everything over the years except therapy. Maybe that’s what he needed, but the tough guy—as he thought of himself—running to a therapist because a little spider scared him didn’t sit well with him.
Enough. Forget about them and do your job.
As he’d seen on the maps program, the driveway led in two directions, both connecting with local roads. They’d parked the vehicles in such a manner that they could choose the first one and go west. The second one to head east. All depended on the direction where the threat originated. A solid escape if needed, but having a third option was even better.
He wore their only set of rain gear, the camo vinyl helping with the deluge, but not keeping him dry. Despite tying the hood closed, rain oozed inside, soaking the neckline of his shirt. Thankfully, dry clothing waited for him in the cabin, but right now he was wet and cold in the forty-degree temperatures.
He marched down a hill, his feet sloshing in standing water, until the river spread out before him, the swollen body of water angry and fast moving. Ava had said, and satellite photos had confirmed, that this portion of the river was narrow and slow moving, but not this morning. The river had crested the banks, and the current moved at a swift and deadly pace, plunging over rocks and wiping out everything in its path. Water rose on the boat house, reaching a level maybe too precarious to extract the boat.
