My heart stopped. I looked at Paige, who had already stood up, her hand instinctively hovering over the files on the table. Before she could speak, the magnetic lock gave a sharp, metallic clack, and the door swung open.
Sheriff Stephan stepped in, but he wasn't alone. Behind him, looking pale and windswept as if she’d run all the way up the mountain herself, was Jasmine.
I stood up so abruptly the plastic chair scraped harshly against the floor. The wool blanket slid from my shoulders, pooling at my feet like a shed skin. For a long, breathless minute, the room went silent. We just stared at each other. Jasmine’s eyes were red-rimmed, her face etched with a terror that mirrored my own, searching my features as if to ensure I was real and not a ghost.
The distance between us felt like a
