Page 57 of Summer Ride

“There’s someone…” She pointed towards the stairs.

Without hesitation, he rushed over to the glass doors and flipped on the massive floodlights, lighting up the entire backyard. Then he moved to the top of the stairs and looked down.

It was then that she realized that they were both still very naked. When Carter started heading down the stairs she yelled, “Stop, wait.” She rushed over to stop him. “You’re naked and…”

He rushed over and quickly pulled on his clothes and slipped on his flipflops. She wrapped the blanket around herself and held it to her body like a shield. “Go inside. Lock the doors. I’ll be right back.” He disappeared down the stairs.

She wanted to argue with him. To tell him not to go. It could be dangerous. It could be… Axel.

“Kara, get inside,” Carter called from the bottom of the stairs. His tone had her rushing through the glass doors. She shut and locked them behind her quickly.

She stood in the darkness, too afraid to turn on the inside lights. If she did, she would only see her own image staring back at her in the doors.

Instead, she scanned the darkness beyond as she counted her heartbeats.

It seemed like hours later when Carter finally came into view. He was using his cell phone’s light to search the yard. He was over where she’d first seen the light, and her worry doubled. When he made his way back up the outside stairs, she unlocked the door.

“Well?” she asked as he stepped in and locked the door behind him.

He shook his head. “I didn’t see anyone. There were tracks, but we could have made them on our walk.” He wrapped his arms around her. “What did you see?”

“A beam of light. It started from the corner of the pool deck and went to the base of the stairs. I even heard the wood creak as someone stepped on the bottom stair.” She held onto him.

“Well, whoever it is, they’re gone now. A lot of times people will see a place like this and think that it’s empty and try to squat. All the lights were off before,” he said into her hair. “I think we scared them away with your scream and the bright spotlights.”

“You don’t think…” she started, but the rest of the question froze in her chest.

“No, I don’t think it was Axel. He has no idea where we are,” he said softly. “We’re safe.” He kissed the top of her head again. “Come on, let’s head on into bed.”

She stopped by the fridge and grabbed a bottled water while he grabbed a container of fruit for a snack.

“Think you can shut down?” he asked as they sat up in bed nibbling on the watermelon.

She snuggled tight against his chest. “Maybe.” She reached over and flipped on the television and searched until she found a channel with cartoons.

Hearing Carter chuckle, she shrugged. “I wasn’t allowed to watch them as a kid. They soothe me now when I’m anxious.”

“Hey, I like Tom and Jerry. I just didn’t think that watching a mouse hit a cat over the head with a hammer could be soothing.”

She smiled and then snuggled back against his chest as he set the empty container on the nightstand.

“Should we call someone?” she asked a moment later.

“The cops?” he asked. She nodded. “No, I doubt whoever it was will be back. They for sure got spooked off by your scream. I know it took a few years off my life,” he joked as he rubbed her shoulder and arm. “Shut down. I’ll have a better look in the morning. I set the security alarm, we’re safe.”

With Carter around, she knew it was true. For the first time in her life, she didn’t have to be scared and alone.

Chapter Eighteen

The following morning Carter walked around the entire building and searched for any signs that someone had been out there the night before. Other than the footprints in the sand, which they could have made themselves, he didn’t see any clues.

He wondered briefly if Kara had been dreaming about the incident, since she was half asleep, but it was so far out of character for her that he dismissed it almost immediately.

He did, however, send a text message to Brett asking for an update on the search for Axel.

Brett’s response only made his frustration grow. There was no news. Nothing. The man was a ghost.

He’d managed to kidnap an eleven-year-old from a state park, check into a motel without the clerk being able to positively identify him, and leave Abigail cut so badly that, to his knowledge, she was still in the hospital.