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Regardless of what he’d told Hatch, Dante had made a half-hearted effort to see if Dani would agree to go into hiding, but she’d flat-out refused. Dante wasn’t forcing the issue. Especially since he didn’t want to leave Cooper Springs, either.
Morrison left along with the fake convoy. His departure made Dante uneasy. As odd as he was, Morrison was a great person to have on your side. And the fact that Dani liked him was a plus.
“I’m hard to miss,” he’d said. “They see me hanging around and they’ll know you’re still here.”
He was right, but Dante didn’t have to like it.
Instead of going back to the rental, Lani had offered them the keys to a house she and Forrest owned.
“It’s not fancy in any way. It was our grandmother’s. But we turn the heat on in the winter and make sure the raccoons haven’t moved inside, leave random lights on so assholes don’t break in. It’s a roof over your head and most folks in town have forgotten we own it. There’s sheets and blankets for the beds and the appliances work. I won’t be offended if you change your mind.” She shrugged, leaving the decision to them.
There was a story there and by the quirk of André’s eyebrows, he didn’t know it either.
“There’s an alley, and you can park in the carport.”
Dante accepted the keys and the directions from Lani, who was taking the night shift at the station to make sure Woods didn’t disappear because fucking Trent had yet to surface. Then, under the cover of darkness, the three of them drove across the sleepy town, eventually finding themselves in a time capsule.
“This is creepy, Zio. I think it’s haunted.”
Dante’s skin crawled. There was something about this house that was not right. He didn’t exactly believe in ghosts, but this place made him reconsider.
“I think you should just come to my house. We can barricade the hell out of it.” André said, glancing around at the faded orange carpet and the warped pictures hanging on the walls.
“A double-blind?” Dante asked.
He did not want to stay there. Dani was looking at him with hope in her eyes. Even the dog was quiet, huddled against her legs.
“That’s what I’m thinking,” agreed André. “I want to know what the fuck happened here.”
“You feel it too?”
“Hell yeah. And I don’t want to stay a second longer.”
Decision made, they left the same way they’d arrived. Out the backdoor—locking it behind them—and leaving the house exactly as they’d found it. They hadn’t made it past the living room.
“You’re sure this is a good idea?” André asked. “We don’t know what we could be walking into at my place. But maybe whoever it is hasn’t found my home address? I was only targeted at the station and out by Evison’s place.”
“There’s only one way to find out,” Dante said through clenched teeth. “When we get there, Dani, you stay in the car with Luna. André and I will check the house and make sure it’s all clear.”
“We don’t have to do this, Dante. We can drive into Aberdeen and stash you in a Motel 6.”
“Dani? What do you want?”
“I want this over with. I want a normal life. I’m tired of being scared all the time, and I don’t think I’ll be less scared at a hotel.”
“Okay, my place it is.”
“I want to know what the story is behind that house.”
“Or maybe you don’t.”
“Maybe I don’t.”
“I’ll let Lani know we’ve changed our minds. She said she wouldn’t be offended.”
While Dani and Luna had waited in the car, André and Dante had made sure no one was hiding out, ready to ambush them inside the house. There’d been no sign of a break-in or tampering, no footprints in the grass, so they all congregated in the living room.
“Dani, how about you and Luna take the spare room?” André said. “Sorry I haven’t spent a lot of time making it into a guest room or anything. That’s what happens when you don’t have family to show up unexpectedly.”
