He stops immediately. “What is it?”
“That truck,” I murmur, nodding just enough. “That’s the one that was outside my cabin.”
He follows my gaze, eyes sharpening, posture changing in a way that’s subtle but unmistakable. The easy calm drains out of him, replaced by a coldness.
“You sure?”
“Yes.”
He studies it for a long second longer than comfort allows.
“Okay,” he says, too measured. “We’re not going to stare.”
My pulse thuds. “Is that bad?”
“No,” he says. “Just not useful.”
He angles his body slightly closer to mine as we start walking again, his presence suddenly heavier at my side.
“Did you see anyone?”
“No. Just… it was there. Idling too long.”
His jaw tightens.
“All right,” he says. “Thank you for telling me. We’ll deal with this. All of us.”
CHAPTER TEN
Zane
I don’t say too much rightaway.
The truck sits in my head as a loose nail you don’t notice until it cuts you. Could be nothing. Could be someone passing through. But nothing that idles twice in the same place without reason ever turns out to be nothing.
So yeah. I take it seriously.
Just in case.
I don’t push it at first.
I just watch her.
The way her eyes flick to the window when we get back inside The Hollow. The way she doesn’t set her bag down because she might need to move again fast. She’s trying to stay agreeable, trying not to make waves.
That’s the part that worries me.
“Aurora,” I say. “We’re gonna grab your things from the cabin.”
Her head snaps up. “Wait… what?”
“Just essentials,” I add. “Clothes. Toiletries. Stuff you’ll need if you stay here a bit longer.”
Her shoulders tense immediately. “I agreed to one night.”
I nod. “I know.”
“One,” she repeats, firmer now. “Not moving in. I don’t want to impose, and I definitely don’t want this turning into…” she gestures vaguely between us, the bar, the situation, “a whole thing.”
