The air in Cedar City had that peculiar chill that seemed to sink into your bones, the kind of chill that made the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. Tommy padded beside me, tail low, sniffing every corner, every lamppost, his instincts alert. The town itself seemed calm, even polite. But quiet towns, I knew, were always the most dangerous. Secrets had a way of festering where the streets were empty and the trees whispered nothing but lies.I had a list of twelve girls. I didn't know anything about them but from my guess,they shouldn't be different from the other four. Twelve brilliant, extraordinary girls. Twelve girls who had vanished, and the world didn’t even know it. Their cases weren’t in the files. The sheriff hadn’t mentioned them. No news coverage. Nothing. It was deliberate. And from the way people looked at me in this town, I suspected everyone I had spoken to knew more than they admitted.Our first stop was the Larson residence. The house looked ordinary: a small

The dream shattered me awake.I came up gasping, my chest tight, sweat soaking the sheets. My heart slammed against my ribs like it was trying to escape. For a few seconds, I didn’t know where I was. The cabin ceiling swam above me, shadows stretching and shrinking as my breathing slowed.“Fuck,” I muttered..The argument with Jesse still rang in my ears, sharp and angry, like it had just happened..“Fuck you, Andy.”“Everything doesn’t have to go your way.”I could still see his face in my head,red with anger, hurt hiding behind it. I sat up slowly and swung my legs over the edge of the bed. The wooden floor was cold under my feet. I welcomed it. It reminded me I was awake. Alive.That night in New York never left me. No matter how far I ran, no matter how quiet the place, it always followed. The explosion. The sound before it, the deep, hollow boom that swallowed everything else. Metal screaming. Glass raining down. Fire and smoke everywhere.And the silence afterward.We’d been ar

I went back to the cabin early the next morning.I had stayed the night at the clinic with Tommy, sitting on a stiff chair beside his cage, listening to the steady beep of machines and the occasional bark from another injured animal. I barely slept. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the knife again. I heard Tommy’s cry. I felt the weight of his body hitting the floor.By morning, the vet assured me Tommy was stable. He would heal, but he needed rest and care. I left him there reluctantly, rubbing his head through the bars of the cage and promising I’d be back.“I’m sorry, buddy,” I whispered. “I should’ve protected you better.”He licked my fingers weakly, trusting me anyway. That hurt more than the stab wound ever could.I drove back to the cabin with a tight chest and a heavy mind. I didn’t want to slow down now. If anything, this attack only made one thing clearer,I was running out of time. The faster I finished this case, the faster I could get out of this hell hole called Ced

I woke up before the sun.The cabin was quiet in that uneasy way that made every sound feel louder than it should. Tommy wasn't back yet.I rolled out of bed and sat there for a moment, rubbing my face.Since coming to this goddamn place, I hadn’t exercised once. No running. No push-ups. Nothing. Just coffee, tension, and bad sleep.My body felt stiff. My head felt worse.If I didn’t move soon, I was going to start thinking in circles. And circles weren’t helping anyone.I pulled on my running shoes and stepped outside.The air was cold enough to sting my lungs. Good. It grounded me. I jogged down the quiet road, my breath puffing out in short bursts. The town was barely awake. No cars. No voices. Just the sound of my footsteps hitting the pavement.As I ran, my mind kept drifting back to the symbol.The town logo. The bracelet. The way it had always been there.But the letters ICE still weren't clear to me yet.I didn’t even know if ICE was real, or something my mind wanted to see.I

My phone started ringing just as I was entering my cabin.I stared at the screen for a long second before answering.Jesse.Of course it was.I exhaled slowly and picked up.“What?”There was silence on the other end. Not the calm kind. The kind that crackles right before lightning hits.“Do you have any idea,” Jesse finally said, his voice tight, controlled, “how unprofessional you’re being right now?”I leaned back in my chair and rubbed my temple.“Good evening to you too.”“Don’t do that,” he snapped. “Don’t fucking do that.”“Do what?”“Act like this is some casual check-in,” he said. “You’re on an active investigation, Andrew. An active case. We sent you there to get a case settled, and you haven’t called me once.”I glanced around the cabin. The broken door. The place looked so empty and dry.“I’ve been busy,” I said.“Busy? Busy ignoring me and calling the captain instead?” His voice rose. Every update. Every report. I hear things secondhand like I’m some outsider.”“Well,” I