Page 80 of Sheltered By Love

Felicity pulls a face and mouths sorry at me. I don’t have time to reassure her, a few stragglers from the town hall are roaming around like drunken zombies, and I don’t want to play dodgems with them.

The second the diesel light disappears, I press my foot on the accelerator and make my way back to the main street, then on towards Ocean Grove.

“We’ll be there in two minutes,” I say before I end the call.

Felicity’s quiet as we drive in Levi’s rust bucket, and I can’t think about what to say to her until we reach the park.

In the moonlight, she’s covered in a ghostly glow making her skin look like breakable porcelain.

“We’ll park the truck, make sure no one is around, then I’ll follow you back to the house, okay?”

She’s worrying her lip, but she nods. “We couldn’t walk together?”

I shake my head, pull open Levi’s glove box, and locate the Sig I gave him. “If I’m seen it could blow it all.”

Her eyes stay locked on the gun in my hands. “And you think these people are dangerous?”

I don’t want to scare her any more than I need to. “We need to book it. Just walk at the pace you usually do, and don’t check behind.”

Her lips press downward, but she just sighs as she opens Levi’s door, and jumps out.

I hang back as she pushes her bag over her shoulder. My tongue is glued to the back of my throat but I somehow manage to move it.

“Thanks. For bidding. Don’t know what possessed you, but I owe you big time. And I can give you the three grand. You don’t need to pay for it.”

Her eyes drift over me, then she smiles coyly. “I’ll settle for a dishwasher,” she says.

Felicity

As Zane’s footsteps recede, mine seem overloud as I walk down the tree-lined street.

My breathing is too fast, and a million thoughts are traveling through my mind.

It’s cooler than when I left home, and while the fresh air was welcome after the crowded town hall, a chill is running down my spine.

I wrap my arms around myself and carry on walking, wishing I’d brought a warmer coat and not just a sweater.

Maybe, one day, I’ll get used to the weather here, but until that day comes, I need to start planning better.

A cry from behind a tree startles me enough to let out a little yelp. Seeing a streak of black shoot across the road does little to calm me down.

Up until this point I’d felt safe walking at night. But even knowing Zane’s behind me, it’s difficult not to run as fast as I can back to the safety of my house.

I take a few calming breaths and speed up a fraction, reasoning a slight increase would be normal under the circumstances.

There’s no traffic about, most of my neighbors are behind locked doors, watching television, and every car or truck is parked up.

As I approach the house, I dig my keys out of my pocket, open and close the gate, and try not to sprint to the front door.

Shadows are leaping out at me as I fumble with the keys then somehow manage to get the door open.

It slams behind me, and I press my back against the wood, trying to catch my breath and calm down.

Garrett is waiting in the darkened hallway and nearly gives me a heart attack.

I toss the keys into the bowl on the hall table and release a shaky breath. “What do I do now?”

“What you usually do. I’ve got my people running the plates we saw. Zane will be back soon. I’ll need to head back to the office.”

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