Page 41
“What if the person who did this to you is still lurking in the shadows?” he asks.
Or worse, within your reach.
We’re mere inches away from one another and my gaze meets his unusually cold eyes, not knowing what to say but only nodding at his comment.
“Come on, let’s go have some dinner.” He grips me tightly by the hand and I have no choice but to follow.
“So earlier, there was this sound, like a gunshot. Is there anything I should know?” I dive right into questioning him. His head swivels to the left without notice, raising a hand to quiet Misty and I. Intently, he listens to the forest. I should be feeling more fearful. Should lean into my fight or flight. But as his menacing stature leans closer to me, then, those eyes meet mine, I am aware of promising safety.
Kieran appears more of a predator than anything else that could be lurking in the forest.
“It was an animal,” he replies, clipped.
“What was in that lake?” I dare to ask as he tugs once more on my hand to usher me along. My gaze flickers to the periphery of the trees surrounding the lake, quickly catching the swift movement of a person ducking into the shadows. Someone is following us.
“Bodies,” Kieran deadpans.
I halt in my tracks. The tension in our joined hands pulls him back to me. A smirk flourishes across his lips, and it’s enough to bring a different hunger forth. Heat pools in my core.
“I’m kidding.” He flashes a smile. “It’s a dumping lake. Some locals come up here to dump all kinds of weird stuff.”
We keep walking.
I glance behind me to the spot where I saw the figure duck into the shadows. I’m surprised to see familiar angles of a face draped in shadow, staring back at me. Kieran doesn’t seem to notice, and if he does, he’s ignoring it. I, on the other hand, am disarmed. It’s the Sheriff. Misty doesn’t seem to pay attention to him, which makes me question my sanity.
Kieran’s gaze darts to me skeptically. “You okay?”
My mouth hangs open for a moment before I reel my thoughts in. “Are you sure they’re not dumping dead bodies?” I keep my stride a few steps behind Kieran’s, peripherally keeping track of the Sheriff. A faint tug of his mouth is all I can make out as we move away from his hidden position.
Don’t tell Kieran.
A trail of darkness looms ahead of us and our combined lighting does nothing to abate the creeping dread but we keep a steady stride toward the house, and when I look back, the Sheriff is gone. Or he’s watching us. There is definitely something watching us. I glance over at Misty, making sure she keeps to the trail with us.
“I’m sure.” Kieran says with finality. I leave the subject behind as our pace kicks up and before I know it the trail widens and dumps us right back at the rear of the estates.
“So what exactly did that man shoot?” I stop on the third stair leading up to the patio. Mangled bushes and weeds hug this part of the exterior. The stones lining the patio held thick black stains that looked like they’d been there for ages.
If this place were attended to regularly it could have been much more astounding in look.
“You mean Winston?” Kieran’s voice brings me back to him.
“Yes, him.” I cross my arms against my chest.
His eyes flicker with uncertainty as he glances back at the woods. “Just an animal, nothing more.”
“Oh.” I uncross my arms. “Was it dangerous?” For all I know, they could be the type of people to shoot wild animals on sight. Or humans for sport. Thinking about it, I had seen no animals. Not even a bird. Only Misty.
Kieran’s gaze flashes toward me, darkening with something I can’t decipher. “Yes,” he replies. “Now come on, we should head inside. The temperatures are expected to plunge this evening. And like I said, being out in the dark is not safe for you.”
When weren’t the temperatures plunging? If it got any colder, we might all freeze to our deaths.
Misty bounds into the house, skidding to a halt in the kitchen before running into the dining room. An adoring giggle escapes my lips and I follow behind.
We were definitely going to scope that lake out in the morning; there is no chance in hell Kieran doesn’t know what the locals dump there. This is his land.
NINETEEN
The Moon
