A tight laugh. “I think someone needs a clean pair of underwear, that’s for sure. You know how he is. Being a wolf, he’s not going to bark a warning. He seems to have smelled an intruder and come charging from the woods. I heard a yelp and a flurry of activity, as if the person was running. I called Nero back. I couldn’t tell whether that yelp was a man or a woman, and if it could be a woman in trouble, maybe hearing another woman’s voice would bring her back. But whoever it was, they just kept going. I called Nero inside and waited until after breakfast. Then I packed a bag and here we are.”
“Did your visitor leave anything behind?”
“Honestly, I was too spooked to check.” Her jaw sets. “I’m done here. That really was the last straw. I know you guys don’t pose any threat, and I’ve been telling myself I’m still safe, but I’m not. I’m really not.”
Back in Haven’s Rock, I get Lilith settled at our place for now. She’ll have a room in the family quarters tonight—we have plenty of space there. But I really want to get a look at her cabin,and that means we don’t have time to properly introduce her to everyone. Considering that we’re on lockdown, people are going to freak out if they see a stranger in their midst, even if it’s a pleasant-looking woman. Well, pleasant-looking woman with a wolf. Yeah, that’s going to take some explaining.
So for now, she can rest in our chalet. While I show her around, Dalton goes into town to tell Anders and a few others that she’s here. He’ll also pop in to check on Rory, so I’ll resist the urge to do that myself. Otherwise, it’ll be an hour before I’m ready to go.
We need to get to Lilith’s place, and then, if we have time, we need to spy on the miners. My baby must wait. For now, I use a few minutes to pump-and-dump and change the leak pads in my bra.
Twenty minutes after we arrived, we’re off again. This time, we’re moving faster, aware of both lost time and added tasks. We head straight for Lilith’s little cabin.
I start by popping my head inside. I want to see whether anyone came by after she left. There’s some signs of disturbance, but on closer inspection, it’s just the chaos caused by a speedy packing. Her food stores are all neatly stacked, and that’s the first thing an intruder would go for.
I join Dalton outside. He’s pacing around the perimeter. Storm is doing the same, with her nose to the ground. We hadn’t asked her to find a trail, but she can tell Dalton is in search mode, so she is, too. She seems to be following something, but she’s calm and only casually focused, which I could interpret to mean it’s not Gretchen—her former target.
I start my own search. When I see a footprint, I am pleased by the fact that I recognize it as my own. I’ve been distracted enough in the past year that it can sometimes take a minute tofigure that out. I also find three more that seem as if they came from a woman’s boot, but I had the foresight to take a photo of Lilith’s tread, and this matches.
And then I find another print. It’s in the woods, maybe ten feet from the side of her cabin. A wide boot tread a couple of inches longer than my own. I call Dalton over, and he sets his boot beside it. The mark is about a size larger.
“Likely male,” I say. “When I saw Gretchen, she was wearing women’s hikers. Average size. We’ve also seen what seems to be her footprints, and that’s not it.”
I hunker down. Dalton watches silently, letting me work it through. “Not Haven’s Rock standard issue.” I pull out my phone and search for two photos. Then I compare them to the one on the ground. “It doesn’t match the footwear from the miners or the guards. Of course, we’ve seen that they can sometimes bring their own, so that’s not proof positive this isn’t one of their guys.”
Dalton grumbles under his breath.
I straighten. “Yep, I don’t like that answer either. We know Gretchen might be out here. We know the miners and guards definitely are. What we don’t need is an unknown third party.”
I look around. “I’m considering the usefulness of having someone—well, a couple of someones—stake out the cabin tonight.”
He nods slowly, taking a moment to think. “In case our stalker comes back. Maybe Will and Kendra?”
“That’d be a good team.”
“I’d say Will and me, and but with everything that’s going on, I don’t think you want me leaving you alone with Rory.”
I shrug. “I might lose a little sleep, but I’d bounce back. My bigger concern would be having you awake all night, when Ihave a feeling we aren’t resolving this today. Better to put Kendra on it. They can sleep here in shifts. We have enough militia to fill in for the lockdown.”
“That’s what we’ll do then. Anything else you need to see here?”
I shake my head. “We still have time to get a look at the mining operation.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Both of our settlements have a section of land that’s off-limits to the other side. We get extra, having bargained for the mountain that straddles the north end of both of our areas. Everything outside those sections is neutral territory.
The mining operation is obviously on their side. We even have a very good idea where to find it. For one thing, we’d known where Mark’s initial claim was. For another, we have—as I said—spied from a distance, having been up the mountain with binoculars. Also, in passing their land, we’ve heard noise that indicates we’re right about the general vicinity of the operation.
What we’re about to do now, though, is trespass. We do not want to be caught breaking that trust, because we can’t afford to open ourselves up to retaliation.
I don’t think the camp’s guards would storm Haven’s Rock. They don’t need to. They just need to open some gentle inquiries about this little town that seems to have popped up on territorial land. Yes, technically, we’re in violation of more laws than I care to count.
Worse, though, we aren’t just walking around their backyard. We’re pressing our noses to their window.
So we are careful. We’d considered leaving Storm behind. She’s not exactly good at sneaking. But what’s going to be more suspicious if we’re caught? A couple and their dog? Or a couple who are always with their dog… but apparently left her behind today. We’ve decided that if we are spotted, we’ll blame it on Storm.
She bolted after something. I don’t know what happened. She’s never like that. I’m so sorry. From now on, we’ll leash her when we’re near your territory.
