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“He’s okay, Newt. He was just having a bad dream,” I said. “Like you do, sometimes.”
“But he wasn’t sleeping,” Newt said quietly as he wrapped his arms around my waist.
“I know, buddy. But sometimes grown-ups get different kinds of nightmares than kids.”
Newt seemed to accept the explanation. To Maddox, who’d become more alert, Newt said, “Isaac helps me get rid of the monsters, too. He’s really good at that.”
Maddox’s eyes went from Newt to me. “I can see that,” he said softly. His voice sounded shaky, but he seemed looser than before.
“Are you… are you okay?” I asked. “Can I get you something? Some water or something? I can go back in there—”
I pointed to the building, but Maddox quickly said, “No, I’m okay. Thanks.” He shifted awkwardly back and forth, then straightened. “I need to be going.”
“What?” I asked in surprise. “Don’t you want to wait for your brother?”
He didn’t answer me. Instead, he said to Newt, “Thank you for what you did for Loki in there, Newt. You were really brave.”
Newt beamed at the compliment. “You’re welcome, Mad.”
I wasn’t sure, but Maddox seemed to briefly smile at the nickname. When his eyes shifted to me, I felt my insides drop out. Now that the initial concern had passed, that thing was there again. That constant flicker beneath my skin that told me this man was dangerous to me.
But not in the normal way.
No, in a whole other way that wasn’t entirely unwelcome.
Maddox held my gaze for a moment, then he turned and walked away. He didn’t head for any of the cars parked in the lot. Instead, he walked toward the back of the property. I’d seen that section of the building when we’d arrived and there was no parking lot back there. I hadn’t seen any cars parked on the street, either.
So where was he going?
Rather than return inside, Newt and I stayed by the truck while he regaled me with the story of how he’d saved Loki, as if I hadn’t been there to witness the whole thing. While we waited for the others, a few people approached us, but their interest was in Loki. I watched as my little brother explained to people how gentle Loki was and that they could pet him if they wanted. By the time Dallas, Nolan, and Sawyer came out, Newt had become a self-proclaimed expert on wolves.
Dallas frantically began typing on his phone when they reached us, but I put my hand over his phone to stop him, because I knew what he wanted to know.
“He left,” I said. I pointed to the back of the building. “That way.”
“What? On foot?” Sawyer asked.
I nodded.
“Weird,” the vet murmured.
“Why is that weird?” Nolan asked.
“Because he got a ride here with Deputy Miller. I just assumed he’d leave with him.”
I hadn’t seen the deputy leave, but with the two police vehicles still parked in the lot, I had to assume the deputy was inside with the council members. Probably still being yelled at by Sheriff Tulley.
God, I hoped the jerk got what was coming to him.
“Okay, maybe he’s back at the center,” Nolan read from Dallas’s phone. To Sawyer, Nolan said, “Do you need a ride?”
Sawyer shook his head. “No, I’ve got my car. I’ve got an injured deer I want to check on over in Greene County. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”
We said our goodbyes and piled into Dallas’s truck. I tried to listen in on Newt’s retelling of the evening’s events, but I was too distracted. As we pulled out of the parking lot and turned right and drove past the back of the town hall building, my eyes fell on the single set of footprints marring the perfectly fallen snow. I kept my eyes out for Maddox the entire drive back to the center, but I knew he wouldn’t be there.
And I was right.
But the question that kept me up most of the night long after Newt had fallen asleep next to me was, where the hell was he?
Right after that came another question that equally had no answer.
Why do I care so much?
Chapter Five
Maddox
There was something about the sound of snow crunching beneath my boots that soothed me in a way that little else could. It was different than when you were walking on sand. Even walking in the deepest snow felt easier than walking on uneven sand.
Of course, that probably had more to do with the fact that walking on snow meant the likelihood of coming under sniper fire was unlikely. I supposed that feeling would have been different if my unit had been tasked to follow our enemy into the mountainous regions of the Middle East where snow was more common. So, there was that particular silver lining in coming back to Pelican Bay.
Because it was about as different from the hot, dry desert that had become my home… and my hell… for the past several years as you could get.
