Page 37

“No, sir. I don’t. I’m sorry. Falling Oaks is a safe town. Never thought I needed them.”

“Do you have any description of this person?” Pierce asks, looking at Raewyn. “Do you remember what either of them looked like?”

“Not really. I was so scared, that I don’t remember much. I think one had dark hair and a beard. The other one is kind of fuzzy, but I think he was older.”

“What made you think that?” I ask as Pierce pulls out his notepad to take notes.

She thinks about it for a moment, then says, “Greying hair.” She nods. “Yes, that’s why I thought there was an age difference.”

I nod as I look at Pierce and check what he’s writing down. It’s not much. Barely anything. Not that I blame him. We have nothing to go off because all we have are descriptions that could fit thousands of people. We don’t even know where to begin looking for them. The village is roughly forty minutes from here and about an hour from the city. They could have come from Dallas, somewhere in the opposite direction, or even a smaller town. Basically, we have nothing.

“Do you remember any distinguishing marks?” Pierce asks.

“No, I’m sorry.”

“What about anything that would signify where they’re from.”

“No,” she says.

“Accents?”

“No,” she says firmly, and then she starts crying again.

Trinity puts her arm around her, hugging her.

Pierce and I sit there, silent. It gets slightly awkward, because this time, we pushed her too hard. Normally I don’t care when I push someone to the point of breaking. I didn’t want to do that to her, and I’m mad at myself for doing it.

“I think we’re done with the questions,” Pierce says, putting his notebook away.

“I think that’s a good idea,” Trinity says.

“We would like to stay a while though,” I add. She gives me a strange look. “Just to make sure she’s okay.”

“Not too long,” Pierce adds quickly. “And we won’t be in the way, or say anything. We can just sit here.”

Trinity gives us a knowing smile. “Well, if you have time for lunch, it’s about that time.”

“Lunch would be great,” I say before Pierce can tell her no.

The look he gives me tells me he was about to.

“All right then,” Trinity says, then whispers something to Raewyn that we can’t hear. She nods, and then Trinity gets up. “Soup and sandwiches okay with you boys?”

“Of course,” Pierce says.

“Yes, ma’am.”

She nods, then goes into the kitchen, pulling open the fridge to take out a large pot and puts it on the stove to heat up.

Pierce and I sit there, staring at Raewyn whose gaze is on the floor with a lost look in her eyes.

I am not the kind of guy who comforts people. Though Pierce is the better of us, I don’t think I’ve seen him comfort someone either. We don’t get put in those situations. Usually we’re doing the opposite and are the reason people are upset—and usually for good reason.

Right now, it’s not good though. Because we don’t know what to do.

And now that things are settled, and I know she’s safe, her scent is back to normal. Sweet oranges fill the air around me, calling to me and every primal instinct in my body. I want to pull her into my arms, hold her close and never let her go. Promise her that everything will be okay, and we will figure everything out. It’s strange, because I’ve never had these feelings before. It’s only ever been Pierce and me, and things with us are different. But I don’t hate it though. It all feels like it’s where I’m supposed to be.

“Can we, uh, talk about the other thing?” Raewyn asks after some time of us sitting in silence.