Page 24 of Tangled Past
Maya’s breath faltered. “My mother . . . Maybe she was the other person here with me?”
“It would make sense that she was with you, but there wasn’t anyone else in the barn that night. Just you and myfather,” Asa told her. “All I know for certain is, my father wouldn’t bring a child into danger without reason. He must’ve believed someone was coming after you and the person with you, possibly your mother, or that someone already had.”
Maya closed her eyes, pressing her palm to her temple. “I can’t remember. I can’t see her face. I only get shadows.”
“That’s normal,” Rachel whispered.
But Maya wasn’t hearing Rachel. She was sinking deeper into the memory, her voice barely above a whisper.
“He said something,” she murmured. “Before Asa came. He said something to me. The killer. I can’t . . .” She gasped. “It’s like the sound cuts out before the words come.”
Asa’s stomach twisted. “I followed my father here that night,” he said, his voice hoarse. “I wasn’t supposed to, but I heard something. A crack like a gunshot. I ran after him. I didn’t see the killer’s face, but I heard his voice.”
Maya lifted her head, eyes locking onto him. “What did he say?”
Asa’s hands curled at his sides, the memory still sharp and metallic after twenty-five years.
“He told me, ‘You never saw this, kid. You take three steps back. You run home. You lock the door, and you forget you ever came here.’”
Maya shivered. “I remember him saying something too, before you came.” She shook her head. “I can’t get it back.”
“You will,” Asa said. “But not here. Not with him possibly watching.”
JT’s voice cut through the tension. “Time to go. Will wants you two back inside the vehicle.”
Asa agreed.
The air inside the barn felt wrong—heavy, oppressive. Like the past was crowding too close.
He placed his hand on Maya’s back, guiding her toward the door. She hesitated.
“Asa?”
“Yeah?”
“If I remember faster, doesn’t that mean he’ll come faster, too?”
Asa stepped close enough that her breath mingled with his. “It doesn’t matter,” he said, his voice fierce. “He won’t touch you. Not while I’m breathing.”
She nodded, swallowing a shaky breath.
Outside, the world felt colder. Sharper.
Maya hugged his jacket tighter. “I can’t believe he was right here.”
“I know.” Asa’s eyes hardened. He turned toward the trees, the snow-blurred path, the place where shadows hid everything and nothing. Asa made himself a silent promise as the wind howled through the pines. If the man who stole his father’s life thought he could finish what he started . . .
He had no idea who he was dealing with now.
