🗝️Detective Ryker Viltarin must uncover dark secrets before he loses not only his heart but also his life.🗝️
You're on your own, far from home
The wind is blowing in the top of the pines
A gloomy sky where the sun never shines
Deep...
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"Eve, it's me - Ryker," Ray said, raising his hands quickly and stepping back. He wanted to give her a moment because she might not recognize him immediately in the darkness. Meanwhile, the rumble of thunder mingled with the howl of the storm.
A cool breeze brushed his legs and drew his attention away from Eve. Only now did he feel the wetness under his feet, which drew his eyes almost magnetically to the ground. His gaze followed the shimmering, watery tracks to the back door, which dangled on its hinges. Behind it, the rain drummed. But what worried him was inside the house: small puddles had formed on the floorboards.
Were they shoe prints?
"Ray?" Eve whimpered as he bent down and reached out for the print. Even without looking up, he could recognize the fear and panic in her much higher-pitched voice. And he immediately understood why: the prints on the floor were undoubtedly fresh. They could hardly be more than a few minutes old. Otherwise, the heat in the house would have dried them long ago. Ray's gaze fell on the front door. Whoever had been here had obviously been disturbed. Only... With what?
"Yeah, it's just me," he raised his voice reassuringly and got heavily to his feet. His gaze slid from the tracks back to the trembling, frightened young mother standing before him in the night kitchen. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you,« he continued softly, carefully taking a step closer.
His throat felt dry as he slowly and deliberately raised his hands to place them on the frightened woman's shoulders. He immediately felt her tense up. But she didn't back away from him, at least not yet. Still, it hurt. Just a few hours ago, she would probably have thrown herself into his arms for support. Now, she didn't even look at him properly - as if she didn't know whether she would have to point the gun at him after all. She no longer trusted him. And that hit him like a shot straight to the heart.
"Evelyn. Please, I don't want to hurt you. I just want to help," he pleaded, rubbing her cold upper arms. "You were screaming, what happened?"
It was apparent he didn't mean the marks on the floor and the thudding of the slamming door. Those things might have been frightening, but the way Eve screamed, he realized something else must have happened. Something that had shaken her enough to make her drop the jug. It was a miracle that the scream hadn't woken Liam up.
