“I’m calling the police!” she yelled at Joel, who staggered off her front steps, swearing, and hurried away in a hunched-over position, cupping his crotch.
As she sat there waiting for the police, another man stepped through the gap in the hedges and hurried down the pathway. He was tall, very handsome, and broad-shouldered, and for some reason he reminded her of Cliff. The face didn’t look the same, but he had the same build and moved the same way – with a feral, confident grace.
She pulled the door open.
“Can I help you?” she asked.
The man looked at Taylor, his gaze instantly locking on to her arm, where she was rubbing the bruises that Joel had left.
“I’m Truman. Cliff sent me. Are you okay?”
“I don’t know how to answer that question.” She looked around her empty apartment in despair. “I’m fine. I’m just waiting for the police to get here – I need to report a burglary. A very, very thorough burglary. Dang, they even took the cruddy curtains – my landlord is going to have a hissy. And also my ex-boyfriend’s a crazy stalker.”
“It might be better if you didn’t talk to the police,” Truman said. “We do have a few people on the police department, but you know the rules. It’s better not to attract attention. Talk to Cliff before you do anything like that. Also, Cliff has all your belongings. He had them moved to his house this morning, since you’re going to be living with him.” He glanced at his watch. “You’re supposed to be there at noon. He sent me to pick you up.”
Taylor was so astonished and furious at that, she didn’t even know what to say.
She felt as if she were Alice after falling down the rabbit hole. People were saying and doing things that made no sense. They were speaking English, but what they said was ridiculous.
“I’m waiting for the police,” she said stubbornly. “And no. I’m not going to move in with Cliff.”
“Oookay.” Truman looked at her as ifshewere the crazy one. “I thought you were supposed to be his… Never mind. You’re going to have to discuss that with Cliff.”
A police car pulled up out front, and Truman glanced at it with annoyance. Taylor had the sudden impression that if the cops hadn’t arrived just then, Truman might not have taken no for an answer. Or was she being paranoid after what had just happened with Joel?
Truman reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out a folded-up piece of paper.
“This is a map to Cliff’s house. It’s in Hidden Hills. Obviously, don’t share this map with anyone. I wouldn’t normally have to tell one of us that, but you don’t seem to have learned all the rules. We need to talk more about that when you arrive. Just get rid of the police – tell them that you made a mistake– and then come to our property. If your ex is bothering you, it’s Cliff’s responsibility now.”
And with that, he headed out the back door at the same time the police rapped on the front door. As if he didn’t want to be there when they arrived.
Taylor let the officer in and filled out a complaint against Joel. She didn’t mention the burglary; instead she told the officer she was just getting ready to move.
The officer suggested that wherever she moved to, she should get an alarm system and pepper spray.
After he left, she typed a text message to Chantelle with a picture of the map on it. “This is where Cliff’s house is. I have to go talk to him about something. I know that’s vague; I’ll explain later.”
Her finger hovered over the send button, and she wondered again if she was overreacting. Did she really need to tell Chantelle where she was going?
No, something really was off. Something was weird. Cliff was a very public figure, a billionaire, and she didn’t think he was some kind of crazy serial killer, but something was rotten in the state of Denmark. She pressed the send button and headed out.
It was about a three-hour drive to get to Hidden Hills, which was northeast of Bismarck. She had tried to research it online, using her phone, since her laptop was gone along with all her other possessions. There was no listing for it. Maybe it was more of a private estate rather than a town, she thought to herself as she drove.
The tree line got thicker and thicker as she approached, following the directions she’d been given. The forest was so dense she felt as if she were driving through some primeval land that civilization had forgotten.
Finally she came to a pair of massive iron gates, which swung open as her car approached. She could see the red eyes of security cameras winking at her, and she had no doubt that there was plenty of hidden security as well. Now the trees closed over the top of the road, like a canopy. There were thick vines stretching from treetop to treetop, and it was like driving through a green tunnel.
The gates close behind her with a loud clang.
A short while later, the canopy opened up into a small town. There were businesses on either side of the road, and globed street lamps with baskets of fresh flowers hanging from them. There were benches on the sidewalk. There were people strolling down the sidewalks, men and women and children. It all looked normal, but her senses were on high alert.
Suddenly, before she could stop, a little boy shot out from behind a bench and ran in front of her car. To her horror, she felt the thud as her car hit the child.
She slammed on the brakes with a shriek, turned the car off, and hurried out.
Oddly enough, there was no child there. A large wolf club was sprawled on the ground, panting, looking stunned and shaking its head. She didn’t see any blood. She’d been going pretty slowly, maybe fifteen miles an hour, but still…
She looked under the car. The boy was nowhere to be seen. The little boy had vanished, and in his place was a wolf.
