Alaskan Mountain Pursuit Elizabeth Goddard (best short novels .TXT) 📖

way.” He pulled her toward the staircase that led to the upstairs guest rooms and some of the family’s bedrooms. Two of those were upstairs—Summer’s and Kate’s—and Noah’s and Tyler’s were in another hallway off the main floor.

“You have to go after him,” she protested even as she followed him. “He found me, he knows where I am. He’s come after me twice now and it’s just going to keep happening unless we face it and do something about it.”

Clay whirled to face her. “This is what needs to be done right now, Summer. You need to be kept safe and you need to stop questioning the people trying to make that happen.”

She didn’t say anything else. Just continued up the stairs and entered her own room when he motioned her inside. It was more of a suite than a room, and the door opened into an area with a small couch, a coffee table and a drawing desk. Off that was the bedroom and bathroom.

She stopped just inside the door. “What now?”

“Sit down and wait.”

Summer did it, fighting frustration. And maybe...

Was that fear?

Out of all her siblings, Summer considered herself one of the most fearless. Noah and Tyler weren’t overly afraid by any means, but they didn’t seek out danger the way she and Kate always had. Noah becoming the police chief had actually surprised the rest of them, but he’d explained that he’d rather face danger every day if it meant he was doing something to protect the rest of the town from it. Kate was an adventurer like Summer, but she acknowledged danger, didn’t mind staring it in the face. Summer? Summer didn’t usually notice danger. Her favorite place in the world was up on top of a ridgeline, running on it as her heart pounded, adrenaline rushing through her body, and dancing over rocks at what always felt like the tippy-top of the world.

There was no room for fear.

So this wasn’t a feeling she was used to. Then again, she also wasn’t used to losing her sense of control. Sure, there was a point in the run downhill when you had to lose a bit of your control and hope you didn’t end up hitting the small, loose rocks of the scree too many times and getting too scraped up. But even then, it was a voluntary surrender of control, for the sake of the race, the run, the exhilaration.

This was control that someone was trying to take from her. Summer balked at that.

“I’m not going to keep running. I hope he knows that. I hope he knows—”

“Shh.” Clay had moved to the window and was looking out, watching what was going on outside.

“What’s going on?”

“Noah and Tyler are both out there. A trooper car just pulled up and a woman got out.”

“Erynn. She works with Noah sometimes.” Her brother’s opposite in so many ways. Watching the two of them interact was a favorite amusement for most of the people who knew them. “No sign of anyone...who shouldn’t be here?” It was two in the morning but even as far south as Moose Haven, there would still be workable daylight—sort of a dark twilight—at this time of night in early summer.

“Not that I can see. They’re coming inside now. We’ll wait here. Noah knows where to find us.”

“He sent you up here?” In the moment she hadn’t even thought to wonder how he knew exactly where her room was.

Clay nodded. “He thought it was the most secure place for us to get to. And he’s right. It’d be almost impossible for someone to get in here undetected.”

“Almost?”

“Can’t promise anything with 100 percent certainty,” he said with a shrug, like he was used to people taking his control away. But then again, Summer guessed he was. She doubted there was ever a “normal” day for someone in law enforcement. Noah hadn’t had to deal with as much since Moose Haven was usually a relatively quiet town—hunting violations and speeding tickets were usually the craziest things her brother dealt with, as far as Summer knew. Until this. Until today.

Someone knocked on the door. “It’s me.” Noah’s voice.

Clay unlocked it and Noah came in, followed by Tyler and Kate.

“He was here.”

Summer had never heard Noah’s voice like this. Hard. Angry.

“How do you know?” Clay asked.

Noah glanced at Summer. Shook his head slightly, like doing so would make her not aware of the fact that he was trying to communicate without her noticing.

“I can handle it, Noah.”

“You don’t need to know,” Noah insisted, Tyler and even Kate nodding. She’d have to give her sister a hard time later. The two of them had always stuck together as kids whenever their brothers turned bossy or overprotective. Boys against girls and all that.

“I think she does,” Clay said.

Summer swung her gaze to her unlikely ally, eyebrows raised, sure her surprise must be showing on her face.

“You’ve read the reports,” Noah said to Clay as if she wasn’t even there. She decided to let it go for now and just listen.

“I have. And I think it’s unfair to keep so much from her when it’s her life that’s in danger. We’re asking a lot of her to do what people say without understanding the situation, especially people like me who she doesn’t know or have any reason to trust.”

More than the usual amount of pause dragged out. Clay stood firm, Summer noticed, his posture giving no indication that he was backing down. She’d never thought she’d see someone willing to stand up to both her brothers, but here Clay was taking them on, plus Kate.

It was...nice.

“Alright.” Noah looked to Summer. “You want to know?”

She wanted to go to sleep, wake up and realize it had all been a dream. With that not being an option... “Yes, I want to know.”

“He was here.”

“Who is he? You keep talking about him like he’s someone else. Someone...specific. Do you have a suspect?”

“Not a name.”

“But...?”

“I have reason to believe it may be the serial killer who’s been