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“There’s always a back door, Zia. Know your exits.” He gave me one more once-over look and held the office door open for me. “Eyes left,” he ordered quietly when I turned my head toward the raised voices.
The back door was almost invisible. It was a glorified hatch that didn’t even swing open. It must have been for some farming use when this place used to be an actual barn for farming and not a fighting ring.
The hatch made me wonder what else had been hiding in plain sight. Vance opened it halfway, and I ducked through the opening. When I straightened, he was blocking the view, his face hidden.
“See you, Vance.” I’d be lying if I didn’t say my voice was shaky.
“Not if you’re lucky, kid.”
Ten minutes later, I saw the bus approach. I’d had a nervous wait, but as the bus pulled up, I heard the gunshot from inside the barn. I hesitated, but I took the advice from my unlikely ally this overcast morning.
I pushed aside what I’d seen and heard and got on the bus. Settling in a seat at the back, away from curious stares, I closed my eyes and put the town and the night’s events behind me.
In the next place, I’d be more careful.
CHAPTER 12
Kezia
Baywater Creek was much like the town I left behind. And the one before that. And the one before that. In fact, when I first got off the bus, I’d trudged out to the town sign to make sure I hadn’t been asleep on the bus for so long that I’d circled back on myself.
I wasn’t mistaken, though. The town—population of two thousand four hundred and three, plus me—was indeed a different town from the one I had left.
But everything was the same.
The only difference was that this town had a high school, and as far as I could tell, there was no bay or creek anywhere.
As I walked through the town, I felt the familiar sense of uncertainty as I tried to blend in and not bring attention to myself—a lot easier to do with dark hair than my natural white-blonde. Wearing Vance’s T-shirt, sweatpants, and my own torn hoodie, I was actually surprised by how much attention I wasn’t getting.
First things first, I needed a place to stay, a place to work if there was any, and then somewhere to earn real money. Working was fine, but I needed to make quick cash so I could split at the last moment if needed.
It wasn’t ideal, but a night being chased by dirt bikes and hunted had reaffirmed that I needed money to be flexible. I also needed that money to be accessible, but the idea of walking around with a few thousand dollars on me at a time wasn’t sitting easy with me either.
If I got mugged, I would lose everything.
My go-to places for simple work with few questions asked were bars. I’m not saying bars were shady, but they had a higher staff turnover, especially the menial tasks, than other places. They also didn’t mind if you preferred lurking in the kitchen washing dishes rather than being out hunting for tips in the front of the bar.
Once I had the job and a place to stay set up, then I’d see what Baywater Creek offered for night-time entertainment of the illegal sort.
Before I did any of that, I knew I had to change clothes. I’d gotten rid of my bruises and scars soon after arriving here. A rather uncomfortable shift behind a shed to my wolf form had me healed and energized quickly.
Passing a few stores, I found a general store that offered hiking supplies and a wide range of outdoor clothing. I liked the hiking boots these stores sold. They also had a good variety of hoodies, and if I was truly lucky, they sold basic T-shirts in packs.
Twenty minutes later, I had new boots, jeans, a pair of heavy-duty hiking pants, a new black hoodie, and two thermal T-shirts, all carried in my new backpack.
I found another clothing shop three stores down, past the gun store and bookstore. Two bras and a pack of underwear later, I pushed my new purchases into my backpack, along with a face cleanser, disposable toothbrush, and toothpaste.
Now, I looked less like a runaway and more like a hiker following the trails through the Rockies.
“You find everything, sugar?” the woman who rang up my stuff asked me with a wide smile.
“Yeah, I did. Thanks.” I returned her smile with a more hesitant one of my own.
“You visiting?”
“Maybe,” I told her reluctantly. “I’ll see how my luck goes. Thank you.” I gave her a small wave as I left and avoided any more questions.
I’d figured this out in the second town I came across. Give them a story that was believable but not alarming. Initially, I’d foolishly implied that I was running from someone, and more people than I wanted paid attention.
