Nora and Henry exchanged a look. Henry nodded.

Chris tensed as Nora leaned forward and paused to search for words. She pressed her lips together and held Gianna’s gaze. “I told you we’d canvassed the other cabins. Our teams found another murdered man. He was in one of the cabins closest to where you were staying.”

Chris’s heart stopped. Another one?

“What?” Gianna sounded like she was choking. Chris saw her hands quiver, and she moved them under the table. “Who was it? Was there a fire?”

“No fire,” said Henry. “This guy had two shots in the head just like the guy in your cabin. But his were through his forehead.”

“Then this might not be about me,” argued Gianna. “Something was going on up in the Cascades, and Violet and I got caught in the middle. You might be missing something if you’re focusing solely on me.”

“I think the medallion and the break-in at your home say this is about you,” argued Nora. “As soon as we identify these two victims, I think we’ll have a clear picture of what’s happening.”

“How old was the other guy? Was there any identification or vehicles at the cabin?” The questions spilled out of Gianna’s mouth, and Nora held up a hand.

“I can tell you he looks to be in his early thirties or late twenties, with a stocky build. He appears to be Hispanic. Any vehicle tracks are gone under the snow.”

Gianna stared out the window, and Chris knew she was searching her memory for a face.

“I don’t know,” she said slowly, tilting her head as she looked at the investigators. “I honestly can’t give you any help off that description. I’ll take a look when he arrives at the morgue.”

“Three dead,” commented Chris.

“Was nearly five,” stated Gianna. She shuddered, but looked determined, not scared.

Nora met her gaze. “You need to be careful.”

Chris straightened in his seat as Gianna blinked at the detective. “Of course,” said Gianna.

“More careful than usual.” Henry leaned on his arms, looking sternly at Gianna. “We both think someone tried to kill you. They did a lousy job and it makes us wonder if they’ll be back to try again.”

“Violet,” whispered Gianna. The color drained from her face.

“She’s with Michael,” Chris interjected. “There’s no one I’d rather have watching my kid. And we had the same theory this morning. He’s already on high alert for anything odd around your daughter.”

Gianna looked at him. “You two talked about us?”

Sensing he was on shaky ground, Chris chose his words carefully. “After seeing the break-in at your house, Michael and I decided that someone might come looking for the two of you. We agreed that one of us will be with both of you at all times.”

“You didn’t tell me that.” Annoyance and gratitude flickered through her dark eyes.

“I was going to talk to you about it.”

“Are you armed?” Nora asked, giving Chris a careful look.

“I have a concealed carry permit. Michael does, too.”

She nodded, still holding his gaze.

“We shouldn’t be staying in Michael’s home,” Gianna stated firmly. “I don’t want anything to happen to him and Jamie. We’ll find a different place to stay.”

“We’ll come up with something,” said Chris.

But no chance in hell would he let them go somewhere on their own.

Each time Michael passed through his family room, Violet was curled up in a corner of the couch with Oro as her lightning-fast thumbs tapped out texts on her phone. She’d spent most of the previous hours talking with Jamie. He was glad there’d been no school that day because he suspected she’d want to attend with Jamie. And there was no way in hell he would let Violet head to a place with children if someone was targeting her or her mother. Here he could protect her.

When asked what she’d like to do, Violet claimed she was happy to simply rest. She hadn’t put her phone down at all as a TV movie played, another post-apocalyptic teen film where the female lead discovered she was the source of secret powers to save her people. Michael couldn’t keep them straight.

“Everything all right?” he asked.

An automatic smile appeared. “Yes, thank you. I appreciate you letting us stay here.”

Michael grabbed the ottoman, slid it over in front of Violet, and took a seat. Since he’d met her, a depressed aura had hovered around Violet, and it connected with him in a very personal place. He sensed there was a fun-loving girl under her quiet exterior. He’d seen a spark in her yesterday, but she seemed to hide it most of the time.

He wanted to know why.

He put his elbows on his knees and waited until she met his gaze. She blinked nervously. “Is something wrong?” she asked.

“No. But I have the sense that you need to talk to someone. A person who’s not your mom or a friend three thousand miles away.”

She set her phone facedown on the couch. Either she didn’t want to be disturbed during their talk, or she didn’t want him to see texts pop up. He took a hard look at her face, searching for her true feelings.

“Which of your friends did you tell about the fire?” he asked kindly.

Violet ran a hand over Oro’s golden fur and his tongue appeared. Michael swore the dog smiled.

“I told Marie and Grace. They’re my closest friends.”