roads around the lake are dirt, especially on the south side where we’re going.”
Monty turned to stare at him. “Super. Let’s add that to the list. Woods, darkness, ice, no one will know where we are except a woman who won’t return our phone calls and a man who might or might not figure out where we’ve gone. A man who could ruin our careers. Who told us not to do this. Good.” He slumped down in his seat. “Now dirt. We better find this Walker guy, rescue Alex if she needs it, and save the world. Unless we can pull that off, those jobs at McDonald’s are looking pretty good. Maybe I can be a fry guy.”
Logan was certain they were doing the right thing, but he understood the point behind what Monty was saying. They needed a win here. But first they had to find Alex. Logan hadn’t mentioned she was gone in the message he’d left Harrison. At least he could keep her out of it if the situation went south.
He tried to tell himself he would do the same thing if Monty had gone off on his own, and he believed he would. But something about Alex had wriggled itself into his mind. She was an exemplary agent, but she was also fragile. He hadn’t worked closely with her before this assignment, but he’d been around her enough to know the way she was acting was new. It seemed to have started after she went to Wichita. Something was clearly wrong—something beyond what she’d told him about her past.
He suddenly realized she reminded him of someone. His great-uncle Jasper, who served in Vietnam. Alex had the same look in her eyes he’d had. His wife told Logan’s mother Jasper had PTSD. Jasper saw a counselor several times, but two years ago, he’d taken a gun into the bathroom and killed himself.
A chill went through Logan that had nothing to do with temperature. The car was warm enough now. Was Alex going through PTSD from her experiences with her aunt? She certainly had been through more than most children should ever endure. A father who left and a depressed mother who killed herself, leaving Alex to find her body. And then she was thrust into the home of a strange aunt who allowed Alex to be the adult while she spent her time espousing crazy teachings. It would be almost impossible for anyone. And finding that aunt standing over your bed with a knife? The more Logan thought about that, the more bizarre it sounded. No teenager should feel she had to hide a gun under her pillow to protect herself.
Logan sighed to himself. He should have seen it sooner. Put the pieces together. He was trained in analyzing people’s behaviors. Why hadn’t he seen PTSD as a possibility? Was it because he had feelings for Alex? Although he had no intention of acting on them, he finally admitted to himself that he did. He was attracted to her. But to be honest, he wasn’t sure if his attraction was romantic or merely a desire to rescue her from herself. Damsel-in-distress syndrome.
They were almost there when Logan pulled into the small parking lot of a convenience store, not far from the entrance to the lake according to his GPS. They were almost out of gas. The guy who owned the car hadn’t mentioned he was low. Thankfully, Logan noticed it before they got too far into the woods surrounding the lake.
“I want to go inside to see if there’s a map of the area,” he told Monty. He took out his wallet and handed Monty his debit card. “Do you mind getting some gas? Just fill it up.”
Monty waved away Logan’s card. “Nah. Alex has put herself at risk to find a serial killer, and you’ve put your career on the line for the same reason. I should at least buy gas. That’s my contribution to your heroic efforts. Besides, if this blows up on us, I plan to blame it all on you.”
“Gee, thanks. Not sure they’ll believe that, though.”
Monty shrugged. “I intend to tell them you forced me into this car. I tried to get away, but you threatened to make me eat snails.”
Logan laughed. “I happen to like escargot.”
“You really are weird, man. You know that?”
“Yeah. I do. Thanks for the gas. I’ll be right back.”
As Logan carefully made his way across the slippery lot to the door of the small building, he couldn’t