Page 38 of Haunted By the Shadow of Death

I nodded. I’d gladly go anywhere that offered answers at this point.

Chapter Fifteen

Kicks was sitting on the couch in the middle of the afternoon. I tried not to stare, but there was something altogether odd about the whole situation. I glanced outside again and could see the rest of the pack going about their day, still building and working. Was he not feeling well and didn’t want to tell me?

There was a soft knock at the door before Evangeline let herself in.

“Hey, came over to see if you want to get tea with me and the ladies?”

She had a smile fixed on her face like a bad actor who was trying to follow a script. It wasn’t that Evangeline didn’t smile, but not quite this wide or forced—or prolonged. It stank of a setup, even to my inferior nose.

“That sounds like a great idea. You should go. I’ll be here when Charlie gets back from school,” Kicks said.

I glared at him. “What are you two doing? Whispering in the corner on how to get me out of the house?”

Evangeline shot an accusing look at Kicks. “I told you it was a stupid idea. That she wasn’t just going to jump up and say, ‘Yippee, let’s go.’”

“The more you get out of the house and let them see you, the sooner they might get over it,” Kicks said to me, ignoring Evangeline’s glare.

“It’s not going to work.” I could feel the tension in the pack every time I was near. They wanted to run from me, and no one could blame them. Even if I hadn’t killed Zetti, her death had something to do with me. We all knew it, even as some of us pretended it didn’t.

“If it doesn’t, we’ll deal with it then, but at least try,” Kicks replied.

Fine. Haunt them all with my presence until he came to terms with it. After he’d tried to bully them all into accepting me, I felt as if I owed him that. Plus, what if he was right? Maybe it could work? If it didn’t, it would make it easier in the end, when I did have to leave, to prove I’d exhausted all possibilities. I still had no idea where I would go, if I should take Charlie with me or whether he’d be better off here. The idea of leaving him behind made me willing to try anything.

“Deal with it how?” Evangeline asked, losing that forced smile as her eyes ping-ponged between Kicks and me. “What does that mean? You two are talking about leaving?”

“We’re not talking about leaving permanently,” Kicks stated, as if he’d chiseled the words into granite.

That might’ve been technically true. He hadn’t put that option on the table. I had. Either way, his words seemed to smooth out the worried lines on Evangeline’s face as she nodded.

If I did go, I wasn’t taking Kicks with me, no matter what he thought. This was his home and I wouldn’t take that from him. Plus, Charlie would need him.

Either way, it looked like I was going to tea.

“Do they know I’m coming?” I said, trying to draw her attention to a different topic.

“Not exactly. I hinted, but I thought it would be best to leave it vague. You know, until I was sure you’d come.”

And so they didn’t go running for the hills when they found out. Everyone would suddenly be backed up with work or not feeling so well if they knew I was coming. I’d probably be lucky if they didn’t poison me.

“Let me go and get changed.” I’d at least look good before they all ran from me.

My jeans weren’t too shabby, but I put on nicer boots and a sweater that I’d gotten recently from the stash Evangeline gave me. It was enough to not be insulting to them, as if I’d made some sort of effort.

I walked back into the living room as Evangeline was nodding to Kicks and saying, “I’ll make sure.”

He’d clearly given her a list of instructions as to a curfew or babysitting detail. I wasn’t sure which, and I was okay not knowing. It didn’t matter anyway. He thought he was managing me with this situation, but in truth, I was managing him.

“Let’s go.” I stretched out as big a smile as I could paint on. It probably looked as fake as hers. “You have to do me a favor,” I said to Evangeline. “Just to be on the safe side, don’t touch me, okay?”

“To be honest, I wasn’t really planning on it.” She giggled. It was probably a nervous giggle, but it made me laugh as well, until we were both giggling.

I walked out of the cabin beside her and could feel my hackles rising as soon as I did. People were watching me, probably wondering what I was doing out and about at this time of day. The only time they saw me was when I walked Charlie to school.

The only good thing about their giving me a wide berth was I could talk a little more freely.

“What was Kicks’ previous mate like?” Of all the things I should’ve asked her about, like strategic questions about the terrain around here or how far to the main road if you walked… No, I asked about this.

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