was clearly on high alert. He was rigid in his seat as he drove the truck down Main Street, his eyes flickering along the sidewalks, watching every passerby, narrowing at every car.
Kent’s death didn’t hit the state news, but it got a spread in the town’s tiny newspaper. HEAD OF LOCAL HISTORICAL SOCIETY DEAD IN AN APPARENT SUICIDE was the headline on their website. Suicide.
“No,” Leon said firmly, when I read the headline aloud. “That man was too self-righteous to ever end it himself. His killers just knew how to cover their tracks.”
We stopped at Inaya’s apartment first to pick up Cheesecake. He purred in my arms, rubbing against my chin as Inaya leaned against her doorframe and said worriedly, “I haven’t been able to get a hold of Victoria at all. Jeremiah said she went to stay with her grandparents, and I know I should just give her time, but…” She chewed at a pink-polished nail. “It’s just so awful, Rae. I never thought Kent was struggling like that. His poor family.”
My natural inclination was to agree with her. But Kent being dead meant he wasn’t trying to kill me. So while I put on a sympathetic face as I hugged her good-bye, all I could really think was, Thank God he’s dead — thank whatever God is on my side.
The cabin was cold when we walked in. After just a few days without a human inhabiting it, the place already felt a little less friendly. It was strange, after spending so much time in old abandoned places, I knew the feel of them, the scent of them, the way the air felt stiller in them. It hadn’t taken long at all for the cabin to start feeling like that.
I turned on all the lights, despite the gloomy daylight outside, lit a few candles, and watered my window of neglected succulent plants. Leon sat on the couch with Cheesecake — who couldn’t seem to leave him alone — scratching the kitty’s head as his brows knit tighter and tighter with some unspoken question growing in his mind.
“It still doesn’t feel right, does it?” I said, having run out of useless tasks to keep me occupied.
He shook his head. “The danger isn’t over, Rae. Kent was an obvious threat, but the God still lives. It still has its servants. This isn’t over.”
My hands knotted at the edge of my sweater, my nails digging into my palms even through the fabric. “Let’s go to the store. I need stress snacks.”
The grocery market was just off Main Street, its flickering neon Food Mart sign dwarfed by the pines around it. Leon parked near the door, and gripped my arm before I could hop out of the truck, taking a long, slow look around the parking lot. Satisfied, he released his grip and said, “I’ll keep an eye on the door. You’ll be safe.”
His protectiveness made the fear knotted in my gut begin to unravel. I leaned across the seat, knotting my fingers into his blond hair as I kissed him — his lips first soft with surprise, then vicious as he dragged me over to him, his tongue pressing into my mouth with possessive hunger. The tender piercings he’d given me pressed against his chest and I whimpered into his mouth, his grip tightening and his claws digging into me at my noise.
“Don’t tempt me to bend you over the truck bed and fuck you,” he growled, smirking at me as I caught my breath.
“I’m already tempting you,” I said, a chill of excitement going up my back when his eyes flashed gold.
“You’d better get your ass in there,” he growled. “Or the only snack you’re getting is my cum down your throat.”
As much as I wanted that, I did really want snacks too. He smacked my ass as I crawled over him and out of the truck, and I was still smiling as I walked inside, the bells on the glass door jingling behind me.
“Welcome to Food Mart,” the checker called, boredom on his face as he glanced up briefly from his phone. I think I shared a class with him, but I probably shared a class with most twenty-somethings in this town. I grabbed a basket and headed straight for the chip aisle, grabbing Fritos and a can of bean dip before heading to the cookies. Chocolate chip or peanut butter...chocolate chip or…
In my peripheral vision, I could see that someone was standing at the far end of the aisle.