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“Are we in danger?”
Gabriel snorted. “When are we not in danger?” He paused. “I have no idea. Nothing has happened since the fires.”
Hunter snuck into Nick’s room to find clean jeans from his bag, trying to be as silent as possible. He probably didn’t need to bother. Nick was practically unconscious, an arm hanging down over the side of the bed. The entire second floor felt thick with sleep. A quick glance at the clock revealed it wasn’t even six in the morning.
The shower felt even better than the rain had, but questions were burning the inside of his brain, so he rushed.
James was eating Cookie Crisp straight from the box when Hunter walked past the family room. He’d wrapped himself in the comforter.
Hunter wondered what it would be like to feel so comfortable in his surroundings. He couldn’t remember ever feeling that way, even around his own family.
He heard hushed voices from the kitchen, and that didn’t mean anything until Michael’s words registered.
“This is the first time I’ve considered leaving town.”
Leaving town. Hunter hesitated in the hallway.
Gabriel said something in response, but Hunter couldn’t catch the words.
Then Michael said, “I don’t know. What do you think?”
Hunter could feel Gabriel’s surprise from here. Hunter strained to hear him. “I think this is the first time we all have a reason to stay.” He paused. “You’re dating a girl who left her kid with you, Michael.”
“Exactly. I’m putting them at risk.”
“There’s no pentagram on the door.”
“Yet.”
Gabriel paused. “You sound like you’ve been thinking about this for a while.”
“Only all night.” A tapping sound that Hunter couldn’t make sense of. Then a heavy sigh. “Money would be tight for a while, but we could make it work.”
“When?”
“A week if we had to.”
A week! Hunter held his breath.
“Do you know where we’d go?”
Michael’s voice was muffled, as if he was moving away. Hunter only picked out random phrases. “. . . go to the bank. We need . . . quiet so he doesn’t hear us.”
So he doesn’t hear us.
Exclamation points flared in Hunter’s head. He eased forward to hear the rest.
The floor creaked.
The conversation in the kitchen came to an abrupt stop.
But he wasn’t stupid. That vise grip had closed on his chest again. He’d never been welcome here, not really. Expecting anything else was downright lunacy.
Hunter walked into the kitchen easily, as if that creak in the floor was completely innocuous and he hadn’t heard a word. Gabriel and Michael were at the table, and he expected them to look guilty, but they just looked tired. Three mugs of coffee sat on the table. One was untouched, but a carton of half-and-half sat there, along with a bowl of sugar. And Hunter’s cell phone. The light was flashing.
At least it gave him an excuse not to look at them. He wasn’t sure he could keep the feeling of betrayal off his face. Hunter dropped into a chair and glanced at the screen.
Kate.
