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“Lincoln.”
“Huh?” Loren blinked in confusion, coming face to face with a scowling Naomi.
“Lincolnfreed the slaves,” the blond snapped before scribbling the answer down on a piece of notebook paper. That’s right, Loren recalled. They were studying for a final, reviewing a study guide. “If I’m forced to come all the way out here every damn night, the least you could do is pay fucking attention.”
Loren didn’t waste her breath explaining that she hadn’t asked for Naomi, in particular, to deliver her work in the first place. Instead, like they had every minute since the blond had shown up, her eyes darted to the kitchen window.
Night had already fallen, and it was raining again. There was no sign of that battered pick-up truck, or an impossibly tall man wearing mud-stained jeans, pulling into the driveway.
How long would he stay away, this time?
Until midnight?
Morning?
Would he even come back at all…
“Hey!”
Loren jumped as a pair of pink-tipped fingernails were snapped right in front of her face.
“I’m calling it quits tonight,” Naomi declared, gathering her books. “I’ll just come back tomorrow.”
Mentally, Loren kicked herself for giving the blond another reason to stick around. Maybe she should have taken McGoven up on his offer to have the school replace her with someone else? Before she could latch onto the thought, Naomi was already marching through the front door without so much as a “ta-ta.”
Loren shrugged and went back to staring from the window, watching as Naomi struggled to her car through the rain. The minutes passed by like seconds, until a furious Naomi reemerged, heading straight for the house.
Loren barely made it to the entryway before the blond barged inside.
“My car won’t start,” she hissed. “Is there a phone?”
“I don’t know,” Loren admitted. “This isn’t my house.”
“Fine,” Naomi snarled, “I guess I’ll just have towalkhome, then. Let me borrow this—”
Before Loren could reply, she snatched a blue windbreaker from the coat hook by the door.
“Wait! That’s mine.”
“So?” Naomi tossed back, raising a blond eyebrow. “It’s raining out. Unless youwantme to get soaking wet and catch fucking pneumonia?”
Loren bit her lip.It’s mine,a part of her hissed. Not just hers, but Officer McGoven’s.
Still, she wasn’t exactly inclined to invite Naomi in to wait out the storm, either. Heart heavy, she just watched the blond drag the zipper up beneath her chin and walk out into the rain.
“Wait,” she called reluctantly. “Maybe you should wait?” It was a long way back into town.
“Not on your life,” Naomi tossed back, letting the front door slam after her.
Loren stayed near the door, convinced the blond would return any minute, and demand McGoven gives her a ride. When a cry finally pierced the hum of the storm, she sighed and prepared to open the door.
“I told you, you should have—”
Naomi wasn’t standing on the porch—or anywhere in sight, for that matter. Still, Loren could sense her nearby. Then her nostrils flared, picking up a scent through the rain. Something sharp. Familiar. Blood? Her brain identified it hesitantly. Maybe Naomi had fallen and hurt herself?
She was already racing onto the porch when she heard the scream.
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