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It’d been him.
It’d been him.
It had to have been.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
“I want surveillance cameras added to each field.”
The man had the nerve to chuckle, peering over at me like I was insane. “You won’t be able to track everything, sir. It’s probably nothin’, anyway. People do weird, sick shit just for the hell of it. We can all keep out an extra eye.”
He had no idea what was at stake.
No clue of the demon that had descended.
My hands curled into fists, so full of fury that I had to stuff them into my pockets. “Just get it done. I need to get back to the house.”
“Of course, sir, whatever you want. Might take a few days.”
“Let them know the urgency. I’ll pay whatever they need to get them out here sooner.”
I turned to the men who still loitered around the remains. “Nate, you’re on watch here. Make sure no one comes or goes until the Sheriff gets here. The rest of you get back to work.”
He dipped the brim of his hat. “Yes, sir. You mind if I sit back by the trees? Might be a bit for the Sheriff to make it out this way.”
“That’s fine.” I turned my attention to Manny. “I need to get back to the house.”
He nodded, and we both rushed back to his truck and jumped in. He whipped it around and gunned it as we took to the trail.
“Please hurry.”
“Of course.”
Dust whipped behind us.
A billowing storm.
Convoluted chaos.
Fear and hate and the violence that fought for release.
The sickness was so thick by the time he pulled back up in front of the house that I thought I would puke. Because on the drive, I’d come to the conclusion of what I had to do.
It was going to be the most painful thing I’d ever done.
But there was no other choice.
I flew out of the cab, not saying anything to him as I slammed the door shut behind me and immediately headed in the direction of Evelyn and Paisley who were still sharing their picnic on the grass.
Mossy eyes flared, strikes of emeralds that flashed as I stormed their way.
Panic thundered beneath my footsteps.
“What happened?” she whispered, the words raw.
“Get up.” I could barely force it out around the agony that threatened to drop me to my knees.
A frown marked her brow. “What?”
“Get up.”
“What’s happening?”
“Come with me.”
Each blunt command tore me to shreds.
I turned on my heel and started back in the direction of the house, and Paisley got up and clamored behind me, tugging Evelyn along by the hand. “What’s going on, Caleb? Talk to me.”
“Inside.” I opened the door and thundered upstairs. My heart crashed in my chest as I turned left down the hall.
“Evelyn, please go to your room and shut the door,” I instructed, each word barbs as I forced them from my throat.
Confusion and fear rippled through her innocence, and I fucking abhorred that I was the one to cause it.
But I had no choice.
No other choice than this.
I’d been careless in thinking he wouldn’t come here. Thinking I would be the one to hunt him down in Seattle. A fool to believe this place a haven that couldn’t be touched.
After everything? It was me who was the reckless one.
Evelyn slowly moved toward her room as if it were difficult for her to walk through the sludge of apprehension that dripped from the walls and oozed across the floor. She peeked back for one moment before she slipped into her room and clicked the door shut behind her.
The second she did, I turned and went into Paisley’s room. The room where I’d shared the bed with her for the last ten days because we wanted to be as close to Evelyn as possible.
I went directly for the duffle bag I knew she kept stowed under the bed.
“Caleb, what is going on? Please tell me what’s happening.” Alarm filled her voice.
I dragged out her bag and threw it onto the bed. “You’re fired.”
She jerked back, slammed so hard with what I said, I might as well have struck her. “What?”
Pain sheared through me. Hot razors across my flesh. I ground my teeth. “I said, you’re fired, Ms. Dae. Pack your things and get off my property.”
I had to get her out of here. Out of my life and away from the danger that I had dragged to her door.
“You can’t just fire me. Not when we’ve been…” She trailed off, unable to bring herself to say it. She kept blinking through the bewilderment, trying to catch up to the turn of events.
Events that had come from out of nowhere.
But I should have felt them coming all along.
I should have known he would come here.
That it wasn’t safe.
That my life wasn’t safe, and I refused to cost one more person I cared about their safety.
