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“I’m not questioning you, Max, but you must choose.”
I couldn’t handle what he was telling me. As I walked back into the cabin, I braced for her anger. I found her in the kitchen, staring out the window.
“I like it here,” she said in such a melancholy fashion. “This is very much you, Max. The apartment in the city, the arrogance you toss around like a huge chip is on your shoulder is a mask. You’re hiding from the world and I want to know why.”
“I have to go, Kathleen. There’s been an issue in the community and the people look to me.”
“As their leader?” she asked without looking in my direction.
“Yes. I won’t be long. When I return, we will talk. Fair enough?”
She remained where she was for a full minute before tipping her head in my direction. “I’ll be here, Max. Why? Because I care about you. In fact, for some crazy reason, I’ve fallen in love with you. Just do me a favor and don’t get yourself killed.”
I’d spent my life hoping that I would find happiness, work my only solace. Hearing her words made me realize that Gregor was right. I should have let her go.
If I wasn’t careful, she could pay the ultimate price.
CHAPTER12
Kathleen
Love.
Had I actually meant that I was falling in love or was I simply trying to garner information? I clenched my hand around the glass of whiskey, hearing the rumble of an engine. I didn’t want Max to go. I needed to know the truth about what the hell was really going on. I didn’t require my cop instincts to heighten the trickles of apprehension I’d felt since arriving.
My heart raced.
My skin was clammy.
My pulse skyrocketing.
Shit. I was in love with a man I barely knew, although everything about him was comforting, protective, and he allowed me to feel so alive. Groaning, I rubbed my forehead and walked into the living room, moving toward the window and peering out. Max hadn’t taken his truck. Interesting. Whoever had arrived had issued an urgent need. What the hell wasn’t he telling me? What little I’d overheard during his father’s visit had been unnerving. The city council hadn’t approved some action. What could it be? And why did Max seem so distraught? Damn it, the questions that raced through my mind were unnerving.
Max had been entirely far too disturbed that I’d found the very old book. While a part of me wanted to curl up on the sofa and try to figure out why he’d been so perturbed, I knew what must be done. The cop in me screamed that what answers I needed had nothing to do with some odd script from what had to be a rather disturbed individual who actually believed in monsters sent from hell.
What could I do instead? I could still see the headlights as the visitor backed out of the driveway. Max’s truck. Was it possible he’d left the keys behind? I half tossed my drink on the table, racing first into the kitchen then up the stairs to what had to be the bedroom where he’d changed clothes. There was no sign of them.
Think. Think!
He hadn’t taken the time to put on the coat he’d worn when we arrived. I flew down the stairs, realizing that I had no knowledge of Roselake and given the darkness that was encroaching, I could easily get lost. I found his coat, slapping at the pockets. When my hand wrapped around a set of keys, I wasted no time, flying out the front door and toward his truck.
But not before grabbing my weapon.
I hated the fact I felt it necessary to carry a gun, but no matter how much trust I’d gained with regard to Max, I wasn’t a stupid woman. There were still dangers surrounding us, the killer obviously dead set on tracking me down. The fucker had another think coming. I had no issue putting a bullet between his eyes.
My fingers fumbled, actually dropping the damn set of keys on the floorboard. Jesus. I was some freaking amateur. “Calm down.” I counted to ten as I eased the key into the ignition, exhilarated when the engine turned over then jerked the gear into reverse, the tires churning up the gravel as I turned around.
As I flew down the driveway, I said a silent prayer that I wasn’t making a huge mistake. There would be no decent way of explaining my actions to him. Max was a private man, whatever horrors or heartache he’d experienced in the past keeping him on edge and trusting almost no one. When I reached the end of the gravel path, the road appeared to be dark, no sign of a vehicle of any kind.
How could they have gotten away that fast? I rolled down the window, listening. Praying. This was my single chance of finding out the truth. There was nothing at first, merely the sound of the light breeze whipping through the trees. I craned my neck, smiling. The rumble I heard was the distinct sound of an older engine. I took a chance and headed in the direction of the noise, driving way too fast until I was able to see taillights in the distance. I slowed my speed and decided to see where this adventure would take me.
Adventure.
I felt like I was driving into a time bomb, a vault of ugly secrets that I likely didn’t want to learn. A terrible feeling remained in the pit of my stomach, a knowing that what I would learn could alter the course of my life.
What I hadn’t expected was for them to leave the Roselake city limits. I didn’t know a single thing about the area surrounding the city, had never been to the remote location. I’d seen on a map that there was another village of some kind, but I’d never met anyone who’d ever been there.
I kept an even pace behind them, only allowing for a brief line of sight. When the driver made a turnoff, I waited before easing the truck down the narrow road. After a few seconds, I was certain I’d lost them. Frustrated, I picked up speed, almost giving myself away. The remote area was heavily wooded, the pine trees overbearing, the barely two-lane road narrowing even more. Whoever the driver was had parked in front of a fairly large house and both he and Max exited the vehicle.
