Page 106 of In Too Deep
Meg picked it up, her breath catching.
It was another note card from the canyon’s gift shop.That distinctive cream cardstock.The watercolor canyon design on the front.
Just like the others.
Her hands started to shake as she opened it.Bold green letters, the same handwriting that had haunted her for weeks.
THIS ISN’T OVER.
The room tilted.She grabbed the edge of the desk, her heart slamming against her ribs.
This couldn’t be happening.
Ryan was dead.She’d seen his body—blood spreading, chest still, eyes empty.The cave had collapsed.He couldn’t have survived.
But the card was real, solid in her trembling hands.
The clinic was empty, Sarah gone.Everyone else scattered across the canyon.
Meg’s breath came faster, shorter, the edges of her vision starting to blur.
No.
Not now.
She couldn’t have a panic attack now.
Deep breath in.One, two, three, four.
Out.One, two, three, four.
She needed to get out of here.Get to her car.Get to Noah, to Liam, to anyone who could help.She needed to show them the card—all the cards she’d been collecting, hiding, pretending didn’t matter.
Her phone.
She should call someone.911.The ranger station.Liam.
But her hands were shaking so badly she could barely grip her keys.
When had the note arrived?How had it gotten into her purse?Were they in this building?Watching her right now?
She had to get out of here.
She’d call from the car.Once she was moving.Once she was safe.
Meg forced herself to move out the front door and locked it behind her, the click of the deadbolt impossibly loud in the quiet evening.The parking lot stretched before her, her car waiting near the back.
Just fifty feet.
She could make it fifty feet.
Meg started across the pavement, her keys clutched in one hand, her other reaching for her phone.The sun was setting, casting long shadows across the lot.
Everything looked normal.
Peaceful.Beautiful, even.
But her heart wouldn’t stop racing.
