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“Good idea,” Jaz said. “Just be careful. The boss will be mighty miffed if you endanger yourselves—and we had more than enough of his foul moods when he and Mia split.”
Mia being my nemesis—the wolf he’d loved and lost.
I handed her my coat and put on hers. “We’ll be careful. Thanks, Jaz.”
She grinned. “Repay me with a brownie, and we’ll be good.”
“Done.”
We headed out. I told Belle to wait at the top of the stairs, then tugged on the hood and went to retrieve the ranger vehicle. I started it up and switched on the headlights but didn’t immediately throw it into gear. Instead, I leaned on the wheel and scanned the night, looking for my parent or anyone else who might be a little too interested in what I was doing.
The moon was bright and my eyesight once again wolf sharp, but there was nothing that tweaked my instincts. If someone was out there, they were far enough back that they weren’t within range of my senses—both my vastly improved regular ones and the magical.
I drove around the back of the hotel and pulled up next to the stairs. Belle jumped in and slid down the seat, out of immediate sight. I drove back onto the road, splitting my attention equally between where I was going and the rearview mirror. I couldn’t see anything or anyone following us.
After a couple of kilometers, I said, “I think it’s safe now.”
Belle immediately sat up and pulled on the seat belt. “Are we still going to see Katie?”
I shook my head. “Neither of us can afford to be down on energy tomorrow night.”
She snorted. “Like us being at full power is going to be of any use anyway.”
“We won’t be alone, and neither of them will do anything too radical in front of witnesses.”
“Are you sure of that?”
“Yes.” I just wasn’t sure of anything else.
“Clayton won’t leave it at just a discussion. We both know that.”
“Which is maybe why my father is here. He’s had close to thirteen years to reflect on his behavior—perhaps he’s going to make amends.”
Belle’s laugh was short, sharp, and filled with disbelief. “We’re talking about your father here—you know, the man who spent the first sixteen years of your life making you feel like a worthless piece of shit. If he’s here, then it’s for some other reason than making things right.”
I half smiled. It was either that or cry, and tears weren’t going to do anyone any good right now. “Stranger things have happened.”
“Yes, but even this reservation can’t produce that sort of miracle.”
“That is possibly true.” I paused. “I wonder if he came alone, or if Mom’s here as well?”
“A question that will undoubtedly be answered tomorrow night. Where are we staying?”
“I don’t know. You want to check out Google and find somewhere?”
“There’s not going to be much in the way of choices at this hour.” She pulled out her phone and started searching. “Do you want to avoid Castle Rock?”
I hesitated, then shook my head. “As long as we can park off street; the last thing we need is the gossips wondering why a ranger vehicle is parked outside a hotel all night.”
She rang a couple of places and eventually found a room in an old lodge in the heart of Castle Rock. Thankfully, the manager didn’t know us, and he certainly didn’t ask any questions—he just showed us the room and wished us a good night.
While Belle rang Monty, I sent a text to Aiden, telling him about the change to our sleeping arrangements, and then a second one to Ashworth, updating them on events and asking him and Eli to be there tomorrow night. There was immediate and utter support from the two of them, and that only made the trepidation worse. So many things could go wrong; so many people could get hurt—people I cared about. People I loved.
As much as I believed neither my father nor Clayton would do anything drastic with such an audience, I’d been wrong before.
I just had to hope this wasn’t going to be one of those times.
We got up early, had a massive breakfast of bacon, eggs, hash browns, and toast to fortify ourselves for the day ahead, and then returned home. The spells around the café were intact, and there was no sign of anyone keeping watch.
