Lost & Found (Possessed 3)

“Jake!” she yelled, running to him and wrapping her arms firmly around his neck as he held her.

“Missed you too, kiddo.” He laughed at her exuberance.

“I’m so sorry you were hurt.” Her heart was in her throat.

“Nah, Pepper. Comes with helping loved ones. You can’t blame yourself for that dipshit’s choices. He was the evil one, not you.” It was like he read her mind.

“She needs to eat,” Tami supplied helpfully.

“Shut up, big mouth.”

“What? You do. Yeesh. But it can’t be red, crunch, or boil. That’s a sure-fire way to never get her to eat again. Learnt that one the hard way,” Tami muttered.

“Dammit, Tami, shut up.” She was getting seriously angry now.

“What?” Nick growled, obviously catching on to something.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped back from Jake. Looking between Nick and Ace, she told them, “It brings it all back,” her words were low, “to the cave.”

She couldn’t watch as they processed her words. If they understood what she was saying, she worried they’d think her some kind of freak to even think of those things.

“Baby, come here.” Ace pulled her to him before she could move. “I can’t say I get what you’re thinking, but you have to know we’re here for you. Whatever it is, we will help. There are no conditions to our love for you.”

She heard all his words, but only one stuck. “Love?”

“All-encompassing, obsessive, love,” Nick confirmed as he took his place at her back. Squished between them. Right where she belonged.

The wind howled through the main fireplace as Pepper quietly pulled on her boots and coat. Nick and Ace had gone to bed hours ago, but she hadn’t been able to sleep. Watching out the window seat, she stared at the space where she’d first seen Alex as everything went to hell.

Jake had taken Tami home with him so she didn’t have to sleep on the floor since there wasn’t more than basic furniture yet. At first, Pepper had been nervous about her men having expectations she wasn’t ready for as they climbed into bed that night. She shouldn’t have been shocked when all they wanted to do was hold her and assure themselves she was real and actually back with them.

When she’d go

tten too restless to stay in bed without waking them, she and Roxie had taken refuge in their seat by the window.

It occurred to her that in order to move forward with her life, to have the love and happiness she craved, she needed closure. And so, the idea to go where her old nightmare ended and the new one began was born.

Gripping a flashlight in one hand and the switch blade Jake had given her in the other, they set out to find peace. Most of the snow she’d watched fall had melted away to nothing more than wet puddles as spring-like weather began to make itself known. The further they walked, the less sure she was they were even going in the right direction.

When Roxie ran ahead of her, she followed, hoping the dog remembered the way when Pepper wasn’t so sure herself. As soon as they reached the incline, she knew they were on the right path. The hike seemed steeper than the last time she ran it. Could be that this go around, she wasn’t running for her life.

Reaching the first platform of caves, she stopped, frozen, afraid to go further, but not willing to go back. Her eyes roamed the trees hiding more caverns and wild animals. Suddenly, she felt incredibly stupid for coming out so late and all by herself to find peace.

Her gaze landed back on Roxie sitting at the open mouth of a cave. Pointing the flashlight towards the dog, she slowly walked forward. Her steps faltered when she saw the dark stain glaring at her on the rock floor.

Alex’s screams still echoed in the enclosed space as she walked around the remains of their horrific encounter. Seeing the cave with fresh eyes, she didn’t know how she had survived. How the cougar's lust for blood hadn’t made them turn on her. She remembered the space being bigger, deeper. More ominous. However, it couldn’t be more than twenty feet all the way around. Sitting in the same spot against the back wall as she did that fateful night, Roxie at her side, everything came back as if it were happening again.

His threats as he spotted her.

The evil in his eyes. Menace pouring from him like cologne.

Things could have been so different that day. If only she’d stayed and waited for Nick and Ace to come back after that first explosion. She could have taken every hit he delivered upon her. She could have stuck through it. He could still be alive if fear hadn’t controlled her.

Being logical was something she prided herself on; unfortunately, that day, she lacked any logic or wisdom. Fight or flight had been in control.

Closing her eyes, Pepper tried to remember every moment of that day, every tiny detail she missed then but might remember now. She had to understand why he wanted her so badly. As far as she’d been told, there was no evidence to even suggest he was obsessed with her. Nothing leading investigators to believe she was a victim in a long line of women he’d tortured.

She was it.