River’s End

Liv, in the then and the now. And he just can’t stop.”
    He caught a movement, a bit of color, shifted his gaze. And watched Sam Tanner step out of the forest. Noah got to his feet, gripped a hand on Olivia’s arm to pull her up beside him.
    “Go into the lodge, find my father. Then stay there.”
    She saw him. too, just al the moment when he spotted them, when he stopped short on the far edge oi the parking lot. They stared at each other in the windy silence, as they had once stared at each other across a bloody floor.
    Then he turned and walked quickly toward the trees.
    “Go find my father.” Noah repeated and in a quick movement, unsnapped her knife sheath from her belt. “Tell him what happened here. Then stay.” He turned, took her hard by the shoulders. “Do you hear me. Liv? You stay inside. With my mother. Call your aunt at the house. Tell her to stay put. with the doors locked.”
    “What? Aunt Jamie?”
    “She got here just as I was leaving. Do it now.”
    She shook herself to break out of the fog, then watched in dull horror as Noah strapped her knife to his own belt. “No, you’re not going after him.”
    He simply gave her one steel-edged look, then turned her in the direction of the lodge. “Go inside now.”
    “You won’t find him.” She shouted it, snatching at Noah’s arm as he strode away. “You don’t know what he’s capable of if you do.”
    “He doesn’t know what I’m capable of either. Goddamn it.” He whirled on her, fury hardening his face. “Love isn’t enough. You have to trust me. Go get your cop, and let’s deal with this.”
    With no choice, Olivia watched him sprint to the trees and vanish. Noah had to rely on his senses. His hearing, straining to catch the rustling of brush. To the left? The right? Straight ahead. As he moved deeper, the false green twilight fell so that he strained his eyes, waiting to see a movement, the subtle sway of a low branch, the vibration of a thickly tangled vine.
    He was younger, faster, but the forest itself could cloak prey as well as hunter. He moved deeper, keeping his breathing slow and even so the soft sound of it wouldn’t distract him. As he walked, his boots treading silently on the cushion of moss, he could hear the low rumble of thunder.
    A storm was brewing.
    “There’s no point in running, Tanner,” he called out as he closed his hand over the hilt of Olivia’s knife. It never occurred to him to wonder if he could use it. “It’s already over. You’ll never get to her. You’ll never touch her.”
    His own voice echoed back to him, cold and still, and was followed by the strident call of a bird and the rush of wind through high branches.
    Instinct had him winding in the direction of the house, into the thick beauty of the ripe summer forest, past the gleaming white river of deadly mushrooms, around the delicate sea of fanning ferns.
    Rain began to hiss through the canopy and slither in thin trickies to the greedy green ground.
    “She’s your own daughter. What good will it do you? What point is there in hurting her now?”
    “None.” Sam stepped out from the bulk of a fir. The gun in his trembling hand gleamed dull silver. “There was never a point. Never a reason. I thought you knew.”
    Olivia hit the doors of the lobby and burst inside. She looked frantically right and left. Guests were milling around or parked on the sofas and chairs. The hum of conversation roared in her ears.
    She didn’t know where to find Frank. The dining room, the library, his own suite, one of the terraces. The lodge was a honeycomb of rooms and carefully arranged spaces where guests could loiter at their leisure.
    Noah was already in the forest. She couldn’t take the time.
    She spun on her heel, raced to the front desk. “Mark.”
    She grabbed the young desk clerk, dragged him toward the door leading to the back rooms. “My grandparents, have you seen them?”
    “An hour or so ago. They came through with some people. What’s the matter? What’s the problem?”
    “Listen to me.” Panic was trying to claw through control. “Listen carefully, it’s important. I need you to find Frank Brady. He’s a guest here. I need you to find him as quickly as you can. You tell him . . . Are you listening to me?”
    “Yeah.” His Adam’s apple bobbed. “Sure. Frank Brady.”
    “You find him. and you find him fast. You tell him that Sam Tanner went into the forest. The east side. Lowland Trail. Have you got