Pulling her phone out of the back pocket of her jeans, Luna shoves a screenshot at me.
“Could this be your Aila?”
A low growl rumbles in my chest.I despise sentimental jargon.“The woman was never ‘my Aila,’ Luna.Stop trying to pair me off with someone.I’ll always be a hunter at heart.”
Is that a smirk I see on her face?“Whoa, Theron.I’m just calling it like I see it.You haven’t been the same since that time you went back to La Pas and found the woman gone.”
Yep, I’m definitely snarling.“You misread the situation.I was pissed because I couldn't find a trace of her anywhere.She must have lied to me about her name.”
Luna sees the point I’m trying to make.“Okay, so there are no Aila, Ayla, or Aylah O’Haras online, but those Gaelic names are a bitch when it comes to spelling.”Shoving the phone at me again, she insists I check.
Grabbing the phone, I look at the image.
A mature woman with russet hair grins at the camera.She has two mature women on either side of her.Crammed together to fit onto the screen, they pose and smile.Lots of makeup, plenty of varnish, dye, and spray I’m guessing.Clothes fitting tight enough to reveal the curves.Three women, out having fun, leaning casually against an old truck.
I try handing the phone back to Luna.“Mid-forties, no wedding band, luxury label handbags.Those women probably hunt better than I can.”
A few sniggers let me know the other Riders are listening.
Not bothering to take the bait, Luna pushes the phone back at me.“Look at the person in the truck.”
Is my heart skipping a beat?Behind the window of the passenger seat, a young woman stares at the windscreen lost in thought.Her profile is almost obscured by a thick mane of chestnut hair.She seems disconnected from the three women standing outside leaning against the door as they take their photos.Patiently waiting for them to finish what they are doing, the young woman with chestnut hair is lost in her own dream world.
I give the phone back to Luna in thoughtful silence.
Jaecar chuckles at the void in our conversation.“Cat got your tongue, Hunter?”
Satisfied, Luna crawls to the sliding panel that hides our lair in the brewery.
“The ferry arrives this evening, Theron.”
“Wait!”So many questions are firing in my mind.“Is there any way you can get more pictures of her?I mean, that can’t be the only image.Not if that really is Amelia O’Hara’s daughter.There's got to be more, no?”
Slithering outside, Luna is nonchalant about my curious torment.
“You would think so, wouldn’t you?But no.Amelia O’Hara doesn’t even claim to have a daughter on any of her online profiles.The only proof I have that there really is a daughter is because she made the booking like that: ‘for my daughter and me.’That’s all.”
The panel clicks shut.I hear Luna’s Samoyed dog, Muohta, following its mistress to the blacked-out bedroom in the inn where Luna sometimes spends the day.
“Your Aila,” Jaecar mocks me out of the darkness.“How sweet.”
I have nothing to say back to him.I have begun a countdown to this evening in my head.
ChapterThree
Aila
The ferryman has to be a hundred years old, but that doesn’t stop my mother’s charm offensive.Gripping the helping hand he holds out to her, she jumps onto the deck while I pay off the taxi driver.
“What a darling little boat!Hi there.I’m Amelia O’Hara.We came all the way from Winnipeg, can you believe it?We’re booked in for the whole summer.”
“Monty Hubble, ma’am.Pleased to meet you.”
He goes to put Mom’s suitcase on one of the wooden pallets where it will be safe from any bilge water, so it’s my mom who helps me climb aboard.“Cute little setup, isn’t it?”She’s in a good mood.“Where’s everyone else?I was told the inn can sleep up to twenty-five?”
Monty fiddles with the ignition and pushes the start button.The outboard motor burps into action.He answers after negotiating a route heading north from Buffalo Point Marina, shouting over the noise of the motor.
“Yep, you’ll be the first to arrive.Next batch comes the following week.Can I have a look at your passports, please?We’ll be crossing international waters soon.”
