My eyes focused and then refocused on the pictures that I saw on the wall. There were pictures of Nate’s cabin, of Nate, of me, and of Nate’s Jeep. I closed my eyes for a second and then opened them and looked again. Was it possible my mind was playing a trick on me? Who could be at this cabin?
Suddenly, I didn’t feel safe at all. I turned around in fear. Every muscle in my body felt like it was tingling and my hands felt like they weren’t even attached to my body. I needed to get out of there.
Quickly, I ran back down the path the way I had come. I jumped over bushes and moved quickly around trees. I kept looking back expecting to see someone chasing me, but there was no one there. Faster and faster I ran, hoping that I would find Nate’s trail and be able to get myself back to the cabin. After running for at least twenty minutes, I finally came to a split in the trail and turned right onto the path that looked like it was Nate’s. I wasn’t sure though. I had no confidence at all that I was going the right way, but I knew I needed to keep moving. I had to tell Nate about what I saw. We had to get out of there as soon as possible.
The adrenaline rushed through my body and was the only thing that kept my legs moving forward. My surroundings
started to look more familiar to me and I picked up the pace and ran faster the closer I got to the cabin. I still glanced back to make sure there was no one there, but I stayed focused on getting to the cabin. It had to be near noon by then and I was sure that Nate would be worried sick about me.
I blasted through the front door to find Nate sprawled out on the couch and reading through his intel material.
“They’re coming for me, Nate. They have been watching us. They’re in a cabin up that way and they have photos of us. We need to leave right now,” I said as I ran to my room and started to pack my things.
Nate followed me to my room and leaned against the door in a relaxed way as I hurriedly threw my things into the suitcase.
“What are you talking about, Ana? Are you all right?”
“Nate, grab your things. Get that moneybox and anything else you need. We have to get out of here.”
My frantic words fell flat on Nate though, and I started to get angry. Did he seriously think that I was so useless that I couldn’t even tell what had been in that cabin? I had seen the pictures myself. I knew what I was talking about. Stephano had sent men for me and they were going to kill me, and probably Nate too.
“Where was this cabin? I haven’t seen any cabins within three miles of here.”
“It was out by the grasslands. I ran past the end of your trail, and then when I started to walk back, I got lost. Then I looked up and saw the cabin. I went up there to see if someone could give me directions, and when I looked in the window, I saw pictures of us on the wall.”
Now Nate seemed to take notice of what I had said and paid attention. His eyes zeroed in on me and he moved into the room.
“What exactly did you see?”
“I saw about a dozen pictures on the wall and a map of the woods. They had a picture of your Jeep and a close up of the license plate. They had a picture of me working out in the garden and a close up of you in your shed working out.”
“Ana, are you sure what you saw was real?”
The question would have infuriated me if I hadn’t thought it myself. I wasn’t sure. But only because the night the raccoon pillaged through the garbage, I had felt like it was so real. I didn’t trust my own mind at all, and as much as I wanted to think everything I had seen was real, I couldn’t be one hundred percent.
“I think it was. I’m sorry. I really do, but after the other night I don’t know.”
“What color were the curtains? You said you had to look through a window. What color were the curtains?”
“They were blue.”
“Okay, finish packing as quickly as possible. It will take me three minutes to grab the essentials, and we will leave. Don’t go outside the door until I am ready. Just pack your things and wait right here.”
I had no idea why the color of the curtains seemed to matter to Nate, but I was happy he believed me and we were leaving. I grabbed all my things and threw them into the suitcase and then stood in the hallway as I waited for Nate.
He had a black pack under his bed that was already packed with things, but then he went into his closet and grabbed a second bag that he filled with items, including the cashbox that he had on the floor. I also saw him grab what looked like a gun out of his nightstand. He flung both black duffel bags over one shoulder and we headed toward the front door.
Nate took a minute to look out each direction from the house before he went out to the Jeep and dropped it right up to the front door. I closed the door to the house and locked it before I rushed to his Jeep and got in.
My heart was pounding with the excitement of what we were doing. I couldn’t help but think that it was entirely possible that we were being followed though. But I knew I was in good hands with Nate. Even if my own paranoia wasn’t letting me see what was going on in a clear light, I knew Nate could see what to do.
“Are we going to Jordan’s house?” I asked as we pulled onto the main road.
“No, if they are following us, we can’t go anywhere near Chase and Jordan. It’s not safe. I’ll buy a burner phone and get a message to Chase through his assistant though.”
The way Nate talked was incredible. He was calm and seemed like he knew exactly what to do. I wished I could think so clearly in times of stress. But for me, stress often brought about such confusion that I didn’t do anything but freeze. This happened to me long before everything went down with Stephano. I just was never really able to handle stressful situations.
I always longed to be one of those people who could be a private investigator or a security officer like Nate was. I loved watching spy movies and imagining what it would be like to run and escape the evil guys. I just lacked the skills and confidence to ever do such a job. Nate was right about one thing: I was just a skinny blonde who didn’t know what she was doing and it wasn’t likely I could save myself, and certainly not anyone else.