“Give me three weeks,” he said, oblivious to what I’d just witnessed. “Stay. Give me a chance. Get to know me. If you can’t accept me after three weeks, I will help you go wherever you want to keep you safe from whatever you’re running from.”
I pulled away at his words, and he let me go. Taking a step back, I put space between us. Did he really not know? He watched me calmly, his expression not revealing his thoughts. I looked down at the floor, my mind working quickly.
Blake’s teeth elongated. So did Emmitt’s. Emmitt had shown me more, though. Could they be different? No. I didn’t believe in that much of a coincidence. How could two people do the same thing and not be the same?
If I didn’t believe in coincidence, then meeting Emmitt at the diner had been a setup. But how could it? I’d driven randomly. Granted, they’d tracked my car, but how could they know where I’d stop. And, Emmitt had been halfway through his meal.
I remembered the way he’d looked at me. He’d frozen in surprise as much as I had. I started thinking of the things he’d done since we’d met. He’d helped us run, found us a place to sleep, offered us a place to stay, bought us toothbrushes, watched movies with me, played with the boys, built a swing set, and made me feel safe. None of that matched with what I knew of Blake and his men. They wouldn’t have done anything remotely nice like Emmitt had. I told Frank to stuff himself and ended up pinned to a wall. I kicked and elbowed Emmitt, and his only response was to hold me gently while he had begged me to listen.
I peeked up at Emmitt’s solemn face. Perhaps, if there were a lot of them out there, he really didn’t know Blake. Though part of me worried that there might be an untold number of them in existence, I also realized that abundance might work to my advantage. Emmitt could truly be the help I needed. Could I learn something useful from him? Learn what I was up against?
Before I grew too hopeful, the memory of the last premonition swamped me, and my insides twitched as if I’d consumed too much caffeine. If I stayed, would that be my fate? To be with Emmitt?
“What are you?” I asked, afraid of the answer.
He smiled slightly, maybe nervously. “The most common name would be werewolf, but we’re not the ones from legend. Not really.”
Werewolf. I recalled those men as they sat at the dinner table, ate, and eyed me hungrily. The details of my past four years scared me.
Emmitt continued a quiet litany of his characteristics unaware of my train of thought.
“We change when we want to, mostly as a defense, not because of the moon. We eat like everyone else. Pancakes rank as my favorite food in case you haven’t noticed. We’re the same as humans, but enhanced. I hear better, see better, can move faster, am stronger, and heal rapidly. And I’m not an organ donor for obvious reasons.”
I blinked as I remembered I’d noted that fact when I’d looked at his driver’s license. Did he see everything? He watched me closely, now.
I hated not knowing what to do. A premonition about his alliance, or lack thereof, to Blake would have been better than the soap opera I’d witnessed.
Behind me, I heard Aden softly call my name.
“It’s supposed to rain today,” Emmitt said quietly. “I pulled a few more games from the basement if you want me to bring them up.”
I shook my head. I wanted nothing from any of them, not now, maybe not ever. He gave me one last look then left, closing the door softly.
Rubbing my puffy eyes, I contemplated the closed door. Did the premonition change my determination to leave? No. Maybe. The way he acted confused me. I sighed and turned to look at Aden who hovered in the hallway.
“I’m hungry. Can we go by Jim’s?” he asked hopefully.
“Not today, buddy. Let’s eat breakfast up here.” So I can plan a way out for all of us.
Liam stumbled into the kitchen as I poured cereal into two bowls. While they crunched, I dressed and cautiously slipped through the French doors onto the porch.
Rain fell lightly on the roof. Dry under its protection, I leaned over the railing to look for my truck. It sat next to Nana’s car. So tempting, yet not. Emmitt’s secret terrified me, but he didn’t. Why did he have to be one of them? I was either living in the safest place or the second most dangerous. If they truly didn’t know about Blake, who better to help me? Emmitt’s litany of strengths rang in my ears. And if they did know about Blake, or were working with him, this was still better than Richard’s house.
Still looking at the truck, I frowned. Jim should have taken it to work already.
“I wouldn’t have told you,” Jim said softly, walking around the corner of the house.
Startled, I whirled to face him. He wore a sad smile. Seeing him didn’t send a shock of fear through me as it should have. It was hard to fear someone who always teased or laughed.