as faded as its sig that led her there in the first place. A large concrete car park out front looked as though it could accommodate more cars than there were rooms in the hotel. Brenna parked near the back (always a good idea to get the extra exercise when driving long distance) and emerged in scorching heat. Leaving her air-conditioned car and stepping outside was like getting into a hot bath, except you didn’t feel clean. She longed for a cool breeze as she footed it to the door, regretting parking so far away. All she could hear was the steady clomp of her (too hot) boots and the relentless racket from nearby crickets.
When she made it to the door she froze. A cockroach crawled out from under the door. She tried hard not to let out a screech and shrank against the wall, waiting for the bug to scurry past. She shook away her fear and pushed the heavy glass door and entered the building. The inside was much better looking than the outside with a fresh coat of cream-colored paint on the walls. Tasteful art had been arranged at regular intervals, showing flower-laden landscapes, or idyllic sea views. The best part about being inside was the temperature. A man slept behind a wooden desk beside a large staircase. He slouched in an armchair with a baseball cap pulled firmly down over his eyes. An open doorway with Café written above it in bright red letters just as the sign on the highway had promised caught her attention. The smell of fresh coffee beckoned her growling stomach. Her nose followed the delicious scent. A cabinet full of pastries and sandwiches greeted her as did a pretty teenaged girl who beamed a smile at her.
“What can I get ya?” the smiling girl asked as her high ponytail bobbed along with her bouncy head.
“I’ll have a chicken and brie sandwich, a large cappuccino with a piece of chocolate cake thank you,” Brenna said. Then she looked at the girl’s slim waistline. “Actually, scratch the cake and give me one of those sultana scones.” She walked to a fridge containing soft drinks, orange juices, energy drinks, and water and took a carbonated orange drink to the counter for later. The bubbly attendant bagged her items and added the prices in her head as the store was missing an electric till.
“That’s eleven-fifty, no wait, twelve…fourteen-fifty,” the attendant’s face grew red and she looked away from Brenna. Brenna gave her a twenty, telling her to keep the change. She left the hotel with a full stomach and a lighter purse.
A loud ringing sound surprised Brenna and she dropped a white paper bag containing the leftover sultana scone onto the car park ground. The cellular phone Hector had given her was screaming from her within her handbag. She knelt on the ground and prepared to struggle with her handbag for the phone but was surprised to find the phone sitting on top of everything else vibrating like mad. She pulled it out and pressed a couple of buttons until she pressed the correct one and put it up to her ear.
“Hello?” Brenna bent down to pick up the scone and juggled the phone and her handbag.
“Miss Ravenwood? This is Mr. Hector,” Hector’s raspy voice leaked out of the small phone and drilled Brenna’s ear.
“What can I do for you, Mr. Hector?” Brenna rolled her eyes, wondering what the creep wanted now.
“I was wondering if you had made your decision yet.”
“You’re kidding, right? I haven’t even arrived in Oakwood yet.”
“I’m going to call you in two days. You don’t want to know me if you say no, Miss Ravenwood.” Hector hung up the phone, leaving Brenna listening to a dull beep. To be honest it sounded more pleasant than Hector had. She shook her head and threw the phone into her bag, after briefly thinking about leaving it to melt on the searing concrete.
As Brenna walked the rest of the way to her car, she noticed a tall, striking man staring at her from the dusty road. He had long raven black hair and a large white dog stood by his side. She rubbed her eyes. It looked like a wolf. That couldn’t be a real wolf, could it? She couldn’t avoid the man’s piercing stare as he looked into her eyes. She averted her gaze from the man’s dark eyes and fumbled in her bag for her keys. Her cheeks flushed as her car