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“You’re not going to say more than that, are you?”
“Nope.” He shoveled in the last bite and hopped up, stalked comfortably to the sink, and rinsed his plate.
Humans were starting to hit the beach. The bark of an excited dog. Chatter radiating in the open window. Daylight was peeking over the horizon, glowing brighter with each passing minute.
Eryn watched him curiously.
The corner of his lips twitched up, loving the hell out of every second, knowing she wasn’t going to pry—because she didn’t like it when people pried—but she was dying to ask more.
Chew, chew, swallow. She didn’t ask the words screaming behind her munching poker face.
He hand-washed his dish and the pan while she ate, then set the clean dishes on a towel next to the sink. As he moved to grab a coffee cup, he dented his knee into the dishwasher. Oh yeah. Handy contraption. Adair couldn’t tease him for living in the dark ages anymore.
He poured a massive cup of coffee, then held up the pot to offer a warmup.
Eryn swallowed her bite. “No thanks. I am off to sleep.” Gesturing with her fork, she pursed her lips before asking, “Surely you had a long night protecting that serial killer, and need some sleep?”
“Probably.” Fatigue was a distant thought after the satisfying breakfast. “I told you about my night. How was yours?” He leaned against the counter, so she knew she didn’t need to rush through breakfast.
With a light shrug, she pondered over her next bite. “Busy.”
Cradling the mug in his hands, he waited, hoping for a morsel of something helpful.
As the morning light brightened, the dark circles under her eyes deepened. Must have been a busy night. He didn’t rush her, but used the old sitting quietly trick. It paid off. “A group of hikers strayed from the trail and… two were damn lucky they made it far enough to reach me.”
“Animal attack?”
One side of her mouth lifted, and she tilted a nose-scrunching look at him. “It was probably a serial killer. Lots of blood.”
Shock struck him right in the belly, and he hiccupped a laugh. “I’m not sure which is more messed up: that I came home covered in blood, or that you’re joking about it being your patients’ blood.”
“I couldn’t help it.” She shrugged and fell into a softer smile. “In all seriousness, the two that made it to me survived, barely, so they weren’t coherent enough to say what happened. They’ll be in the ICU for at least a day or two.”
Fuck. Not helpful, and she wasn’t much of a storyteller. “What happened to the ones that didn’t make it to you?”
“You’ll have to ask Lexi.”
One banshee wouldn’t have killed a handful of hikers in Lost Beach, then watched a man bleed out in Astoria that same night. Something bigger was out there.
“I’m sorry, Eryn. I’m not trying to push. Honestly, I was planning to do some hiking, so you know, good to know if there’s some wild animal I should keep clear of.”
“It’s never a good idea to go hiking alone.”
“They weren’t alone.” He folded his arms across his chest. “Would you go hiking around here, after what you saw?”
“No.”
5
Big and bad and intimidating as hell. He was all of that on the outside. Inside? Eryn was beginning to think he was introverted and wickedly funny and a total sweetheart. And maybe a serial killer.
Vann drained his second cup of coffee. “After a nap, what will you do with your afternoon?”
Go hiking. Ha. Nope. Couldn’t have him thinking she was the serial killer. “I have the next few days off, so I thought I’d go for a drive and explore a little. You?”
He poured another cup and looked around the empty kitchen, the great room, the deck. “Apparently, I need to invest in small appliances to smother my countertop. A blender, maybe an InstaPot, CrockPot, one of those things you make paninis with. Anything else I need in here, so when I get around to bringing a date here, she won’t think I’m useless in the kitchen?”
She snorted a laugh and backed up a few steps. “Seating, perhaps?”
