Page 13 of Silent Shadows

“Miles,” he cuts in, and I can hear the smirk in his voice. “It’s sand. And secrets. That’s it.”

Jax snorts.

“You coming back anytime soon?” Taylor asks.

“Depends,” Owen says. “You find your big hairy friend yet?”

“Working on it,” I reply.

“Mm-hmm.” Another pause, and I pick up on his shift in tone.

“I’m going to take this to my bunk,” I say, taking it off speaker. Once I’m out of earshot, I ask, “What’s up?”

“Just… Don’t burn them out.”

I frown. “What?”

“Your team,” he says. “Don’t run them into the ground chasing something you can’t prove. You’ve got other cases. You’re in Ohio, right? I heard of a crazy Moth Man sighting near Columbus recently. We also haven’t checked in on Frogman in a minute. Just don’t let Bigfoot be the hill to die on.”

My chest tightens.

“We’re not⁠—”

“I’m just saying,” he cuts in. “Know when to pivot.”

I glance toward the front of the RV where the crew is crowded around a map. Owen knows what this one means to me, and how I don’t want to let it go. Not when we’re nearing the twentieth anniversary of my parents’ deaths.

“I know what I’m doing,” I say.

“Never said you didn’t,” Owen replies. “Just said don’t forget they’re following you, not the thing.”

The line crackles.

“Gotta go,” he adds. “Try not to get eaten.”

“You first,” I smile, thinking of him surrounded by men in black suits and sunglasses.

The call drops.

Silence settles around me for a second before another wave of hushed, speculative chatter drifts through the RV. I rejoin the group, sitting to look at the map.

Taylor exhales, sitting upside down on the bench, legs thrown over the backrest like gravity is optional. “He’s still Owen.”

“He’s pragmatic,” Maya says.

“He’s annoying,” Jax adds.

I don’t say anything, his words echoing in my head.

Don’t burn them out.

Don’t forget they’re following you, not the thing.

I shake it off, turning back to the map.

“Well, I think we should move,” I say, with more certainty than I feel. “Four Corners. New terrain. Something different.”

Taylor grins. “Knew you were gonna say that.”