She sat back and curled her legs under her. “I’m not going to pretend I don’t know who you are. You wouldn’t have come here to see Sam without first investigating me. You know I own this resort and the fishing camps, and the property around the lake. Sam works for me all year round. I employ another couple as well as security guards, full-time. Everyone else is temporary.”
“I only discovered my son was here a short time ago. I came quickly, afraid he would move on. We’ve not been on good terms for years, and this is the first opportunity I’ve had to really talk to him. It wasn’t smart of me to come at night.”
“Why did you?”
“I thought he would be embarrassed for you to know who his father is.” Marco shrugged. “I’m not embarrassed, but we parted on very bad terms.”
Stella nodded. “I can see why you would do that. Did you tell him your reason?”
He sighed. “No. We got off on the wrong foot immediately.”
“I watched from the window. He definitely wasn’t happy with any of you.” She looked at Lucio. She was going to make certain Raine knew all about his downfall and how Sam had taken his gun.
The monitor for Search and Rescue went off and Stella’s breath froze in her lungs. “Sam.” She whispered his name and jumped up, feeling the color drain from her face. “Raine,” she called, taking two steps toward the kitchen. The door was wide open and Raine came into view, her expression compassionate. Stella couldn’t move.
“I’m sorry, honey, Search and Rescue was called to Mount Whitney.”
Stella bit hard on the end of her thumb. “Sam? Vienna? Has either of them checked in with you?” She could barely breathe.
Raine shook her head. “Not yet. You know Sam. Nothing is going to happen to him and he won’t let anything happen to Vienna.”
“What the hell’s going on with my son?” Marco demanded.
Stella whirled around. Marco was on his feet. She’d all but forgotten Sam’s father. Bailey growled low in his throat at the tone, warning the man to stay put. Lucio had his gaze on the dog, one hand inside his jacket. Stella signaled to Bailey to stand down.
“Sam’s on Whitney today with our friend Vienna,” Raine said smoothly, covering for Stella, who couldn’t look at either man. “Vienna is head of Search and Rescue and Sam is part of that organization. I believe they were up there to try to improve the ability to rescue on the mountain. A call just went out for rescuers. Both are good climbers and hikers. They know what they’re doing. More and more hikers are trying to make that summit and they don’t know what they’re doing, so experienced climbers like Vienna and Sam have to help them.”
Raine was just talking, saying whatever came to mind in order to give Stella time to pull herself together. Her cell vibrated and she all but yanked it out of her back pocket to stare down at the one word that meant everything in that moment. Safe.
Her legs threatened to go out from under her. She looked up at his father, blinking back tears. “He’s safe. It wasn’t him.”
Raine stepped all the way out of the kitchen, her blue eyes sympathetic. “Two hikers went off. Vienna has called for the sheriff.”
Stella shook her head. “That can’t be. They were going to stop them at Trail Crest.”
“Stella …” Raine began gently.
“I know. I know. I’m grateful it wasn’t Sam or Vienna. I just need a minute. I feel like I can’t breathe.” She couldn’t stay there, cooped up in her living room, afraid she’d cry her eyes out or say something she shouldn’t in front of total strangers. “If you’ll excuse me.”
Adrenaline poured through her body, until she wanted to run to get rid of the energy making her shake. She turned toward the front door. “Bailey, with me.” She could only hope Raine would forgive her for leaving her with two strangers as she went out the door with her dog beside her. She got as far as the porch. It was very cold, and although she was in jeans and a sweater, she wasn’t dressed for outdoors.
Leaning against the railing, she covered her face with her hands. The serial killer had won after all. After all their careful planning, he’d still managed to murder two innocent people who only wanted to summit Mount Whitney and take in the sunrise. How could they have missed them? Vienna and Sam had been at Trail Crest. Right there. Waiting for the couple. What could have gone wrong?
Bailey shoved his large head against her hip and she automatically dropped one hand down to rub his ears.
“Stella?”
She nearly jumped out of her skin. She should have known the dog was warning her that she was no longer alone. She whirled around to face Sam’s father. He looked at her with concern.