Twenty-Three

The cabin door flew open, and Paige stormed out. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“We need to talk,” I said. I took a stance with my legs wide. She wasn’t going to push me around this time.

“Tell me you didn’t drive here.” Paige looked around as if she half expected to see a car parked on the trail behind me.

“You don’t need to worry about it.” At least I hoped she didn’t. I’d left Drew’s car outside the park on the street and hiked in, just in case there were security cameras hiding in the trees or in the parking lot. And, despite risking heat stroke, I’d worn my hoodie to hide my face until I was well down the trail. I figured I had less than an hour before Drew had lunch. I didn’t think she’d notice her keys missing before then.

“I said I would call you,” Paige said. “You shouldn’t have come here.” She looked behind me again, and I heard the crack of a branch.

I spun to look over my shoulder. Someone had been there right before me. Someone I’d just missed. “Who’s out there?”

“No one.”

I turned back to her. When she stepped away from the shadows near the cabin door, I saw her face and gasped. I pointed to the giant black eye, the dark purple bruise spreading across her face. “Jesus, what happened?”

Paige lightly touched her face, blinking rapidly. “This? Nothing.”

“Are you kidding me?”

She thrust a hip out, striking a pose, as if daring me to look at her. “Not bad, huh?” She turned her head from side to side. “You told me I’d better prepare to be found. This will look suitably tragic in the photos.”

“You did that to yourself?” The idea repulsed me.

She nodded, but her glance slid past me. I turned to look again, but couldn’t see anything. I traced the outline of the trees, searching for anything out of place. A few branches waved in the wind. “Was someone here? Did they—” I motioned to her eye.

Paige shook slightly, but I couldn’t tell if it was from the cold or if she was afraid. “Who would be out here?”

“You tell me.” Was someone else involved—someone who wasn’t too happy with how things were going?

Paige took a few steps down and sat on the bottom riser. She patted the wood for me to join her. “Don’t freak out. I hit myself. You shouldn’t be surprised. I told you I was in one hundred percent.” Her voice hinted at the contrast between us, that she was doing her part but I wasn’t doing mine.

“Why are you doing all of this?” I asked. I waved my arm around toward the cabin and her face. “You don’t need the money. What did your dad do to piss you off?”

“Why does it matter?”

“It matters to me.”

Paige picked up a stick and drew in the dirt at her bare feet. “Parent stuff. The usual.” She broke the stick over her knee. “How pathetic is that? Even my problems are ordinary and unoriginal. No wonder he’s disappointed in me. I figured if I went missing, maybe it would remind my dad that he did love me.” She smiled sadly. “You know how it is. You never really appreciate anything until it’s gone. Think of the ransom as, like, a late fee, for not telling me he loved me enough.”

“Promise me that this whole thing isn’t about a boy. No guy is worth it.”

Paige’s eyes narrowed. “Ryan said something to you.”

I pulled the gold bracelet out of my pocket, and she snatched it from me, inspecting it carefully. “He wanted me to give that to you,” I said.

“I hope you weren’t so stupid that you told him what we’re doing.”

I ground my back teeth together. “I’m not stupid.”

Paige snorted. “You certainly aren’t smart enough to follow directions. Every time you come out here, you risk getting us caught.” She tossed the bracelet from hand to hand.

“Ryan thinks you might be doing this to get him into trouble.” I took a deep breath. “You’re not, are you?”

“Aw, did you fall for those deep blue eyes of his too? You rushed out here to protect him from big bad me?” She laughed. “Damn, he’s good.” She shoved the bracelet into her pocket, and I could see there was grime under her fingernails. “No. I didn’t do this to get Ryan in trouble.” She looked up at me. “Not that I’d mind if it did. Jesus, it’s hot. Who thought it would get this hot in May?” Paige lifted the bottom of her shirt and waved it up and down to make a breeze. “The first thing I’m going to do when I get back home is have a Diet Coke in a glass with about a thousand ice cubes.”

My jaw creaked with tension, but I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of asking her to say more.

“My dad tried to make me break up with Ryan, you know. He was all ‘his reputation hurts your reputation, blah blah blah.’” She snorted. “What he meant is that it hurt his reputation. Can’t have a senator’s daughter dating one of the common people.”

“Or maybe he was worried. It’s possible, you know. Or is that why you went out with Ryan?” I asked. “To piss off your dad?”

Paige threw her head back and laughed. “Yeah. That was part of it. You should have seen his face the first time Ryan came over.” Her mouth pulled into a sexy pout. “And besides, Ryan wasn’t terrible in bed either.” She laughed at my expression. “Who knew you were such a prude?”

“You have to come back,” I said. “This is getting crazy.”

“Yeah. Maybe.” She poked my foot with her stick. “You worry too much. Trust me.”

“It’s not you, it’s everyone else I don’t trust. If this comes out—”

She stood and brushed the dust off the back of her shorts. “Give it a rest. We’ll do it your way. You want me to admit you’re right. Fine. You win. Give them a vision tomorrow morning about the cabin.”

The feeling of relief was so strong my bones turned to liquid. I felt as if I could pour in between the pine needles on the ground and disappear, but I also wondered what had made her change her mind. If someone had been out here, someone who was willing to hurt her, she might realize how dangerous all of this could be.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

She thrust her chin in the air. “No one scares me. But whatever you do, don’t tell Ryan anything,” Paige warned me. “He might seem nice, but like most men, he can’t be trusted.”