“You can’t, nobody can.” Her words were muffled and sounded thick with tears. He hated that she was in there crying and he couldn’t get to her. He could break the door down, and thought seriously about it, but that would just draw people up here, and she would hate that.
“You are not running away!” He banged a fist on the door again but she didn’t reply.
Buddy’s claws clacked on the floor, signaling his approach. He pressed his face into Noah’s leg. He bent at the waist and gave him a hug. “You look after your lady for me, Buddy, and don’t let her out of your sight, okay?”
The dog made the noise Mrs. C had told Noah was now called “wuffling”.
Because he needed to get back to the Howler and Lani couldn’t leave as the road was closed, he left. But he’d be watching her for signs that she was preparing to run. He’d get Mrs. C on the case. Somehow, he needed to get Lani to open up to him. He had to help her, because she couldn’t keep running indefinitely, and because he had to admit, if only to himself, he cared for this woman. He wasn’t sure how deep those feelings ran or what he wanted to do about them, but he could no longer deny they were there.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Two days had passed since the festival, and Lani was still here in Lake Howling. Mrs. C had hurt her back and taken to her bed, according to Hank, which meant Lani couldn’t leave because there would be no one to run the Howlery or bake and decorate the cakes.
Flipping over, she looked at her cellphone, which told her it was 2:00 a.m. A cold, wet nose pressed into her neck.
“It’s okay, Buddy, I just can’t sleep.” She wrapped an arm around the dog and hugged him closer. Bandit was pressed into her belly. Lani had never had pets, and now realized what she’d been missing out on. In a matter of a few weeks they’d become important to her. So important, she let them sleep on the bottom of her bed. Not easy considering Buddy’s size, and often she woke with numb feet because he was lying across them.
“We will need to leave soon though, boy.” She pressed her face into his fur.
She’d monitored newspapers and current affairs bulletins, but there had been no pictures of her. Noah’s story had been good, but thankfully there had been no footage of her.
He’d kept his distance, and Lani was pleased about that. He disturbed her, and that disturbance had climbed to another level now that he knew things about her. Noah had no concrete facts except that she was on the run from danger. She knew he couldn’t find anything out about her because she’d changed her name, but still, it was unsettling.
He knew she wasn’t who she appeared to be… or was she? Lani had almost forgotten the person she’d been before her parents died, and then he’d come into her life.
She heard a loud bang downstairs and then muffled voices. One thing having someone wanting you dead had taught her was to always be prepared. Slipping out of bed, she quickly pulled on the clean clothes she laid out each night. Until she came to Howling, her clothes had never been unpacked. But she still kept the things that were important to her existence in her backpack beside the bed.
She heard another bang. Pulling on her cap, she grabbed her backpack and went down the stairs, heart thumping. Stopping to grab the skillet Mrs. C cooked Hank’s grilled cheese sandwiches on, Lani opened the door slowly. Just enough to see outside. Leaving off the lights allowed her to see better.
“What the fuck, Tex. Look where you’re walking.”
She knew that voice. Lani lowered the skillet to the bench. Opening the door wider, she slipped out, shutting Buddy in behind her. She found three men behind Noah’s car.
“What are you doing out here at this hour?”
“Christ!” Ethan grabbed his chest as he leapt a foot in the air. “Hell, Lani, you scared the crap out of me.”
Brad, Noah, and Ethan all wore dark colors. Tex had black stripes like a linebacker on both cheeks.
“Sorry, but you were making enough noise to wake up the entire town.”
“That’s all on him,” Noah said, nodding at Tex. “Because he hasn’t had his eight hours, he can’t function like a normal adult.”
“I’m normal, just tired.”
“But what are you all doing out here dressed like that?”
“Nothing. Go back to bed, Lani,” Noah said, not meeting her eyes.
“Are you going to commit a crime or something?”
“Or something,” Brad muttered. “I can’t believe I let them talk me into this.”
“Yes, you can, this is about our future, and the fact Noah is giving us free drinks for the next month, plus a meal on the house,” Tex added.
“Will you two shut up and get in the car.” Noah sounded frustrated.
“Where are you going?”
