The way the woman shakes her head tells me she’s tired of pretending she’s not shit scared of me.I gotta take into account those “family friendly” online reviews that bring all the spigots here for my brothers to feed on.
“Of course he’s on the ATV.He wanted to do some off-roading.”
“You’re Kelly, right?Piers told me about you last night.Really romantic the way you guys hooked up.He sure sounds smitten.”
Instantly, she’s all smiles.Flicking back her blonde curls, she blinks her eyes while her body language relaxes.
“He said that?Yes, I suppose it was.My boyfriend and I broke up.Left me and the kids with no one to keep us company during the vacation, so…”
I swear if it were possible for me to fall asleep while standing up that’s what I would be doing right now.Modern humans can be so boring sometimes with their tendency to overshare.
Keep nodding.Show that you’re listening with your body.Zzzzz…
Maybe I was too quick to judge Aila for not sharing every little detail about her past with me.
“Well, please let us know if there is anything we can do to make your stay more enjoyable, Kelly.And I’m sorry about the interruption.”
Back away while you can.Give a sweet wave goodbye.
And I’m free.
I may as well make a pass at Mikey’s and Fallon’s house while I’m here.It might be the fastest way of finding Piers.Revving down the shady lane leading to their house, I see tire tracks in the sand.Good.I’m on the right scent.
Mikey comes out onto the porch when he hears me cut the engine.He knows the Riders never remove our helmets.
“Who do… Hunter.”Mikey smiles and waves.I turned my back to him so that he could see which Rider he was dealing with.“You guys sure caught a live one.”
“He come by here?”
“Sure thing.It weren’t sneaky or anything.Could hear that quadbike of his from a mile off.Did Piers find Miss Aila and Miss Amelia?I gave him directions to Ben’s farm.”
Shit.I’m back on my bike as fast as humanly possible.I thought Mister Moneybags Future Politician picked up what I was laying down.I’m arranging the NDA signatures, not him.If Aila and Piers are going to have a reunion, I want to be there when it happens.
“Thanks, Mikey.”Touching my hand to my helmet, I back my bike around and away.
I’m a little late to the party, but I have no trouble cutting across the island, using the backtracks to reach Ben’s farm first.It’s about time I brought Amelia up to speed anyway.
On the crest of the hill, I idle the Harley’s engine as I think things through.
Should I wait until nightfall?I can’t go into Ben’s house with my helmet on and start demanding that Amelia pull the drapes closed.A quick glance to the west tells me the sun has about an hour before it sinks beneath the tree line.
But I must know what Piers Jordan is doing riding his flashy quadbike all over Landslide.Fuck that shit about him doing some off-roading.Guys like Piers don’t ride rough.
It must have looked so innocent for him to carry his new girlfriend and her two brats to the jetty and then tell her he’s off to explore the interior.
Only he wasn’t.He stopped at the first house he came to and asked where he could find Aila…
I’ll leave my Harley in the forest and go down to Ben’s farm on foot.It’ll be quieter and more discrete.Sidling through the trees, I feel my fangs slide out.
The hunter has come out to play.I’m not hungry or sexually stimulated, but sometimes the monster in me just likes to show itself.Here, all alone in the forest, I am free to let the feral side of me run wild.
Approaching the boundary fence, there’s a sign.
“Trespassers Will Be Prosecuted.”
Ben put that sign up five years ago after Luna went all in with opening up the chalet inn to tourists.Old bear traps are strategically set all over Ben’s farm from when his daddy tried to catch whatever was drinking his cattle dry so long ago.
No truck in the driveway.Have Amelia and Ben already headed down to the inn for a drink?
