Page 11 of No Control
Duke sniffs the ground and inhales the damn bar like he hasn’t eaten in week—and then he sits, tilting his head as a means of asking for more.
“That was too easy,” I chuckle in a whisper as I grab another piece, this time offering it to him from my hand. He takes it, and once he’s done wolfing it down, I’m able to pet the top of his head. The dog relaxes, sniffing all over the bottom half of my jeans while I pat down his back, feeling the silky long hair. He’s definitely a strange mix, but I’m not one to judge a book by its cover.
And he’s nice enough.
It’s not something I’d normally do, but I’ll let her bring him along, I guess.
“Duke!” a voice calls out, catching my attention—and Duke’s. I glance up to see Lydia peering off the porch into the night. “Where are you? It’s cold out here.”
“You better go,” I whisper, stepping back from the dog. He follows me, and my shoulders drop. “Go on.” I try to wave him off, but he only starts wagging his tail harder.
“Duke, don’t make me come looking for you,” Lydia groans into the stillness of the night. “Come on.” She whistles one last time, and when the dog still doesn’t come, she heads off the back porch.
Shit.
five
Lydia
Where is he?
I squint into the darkness, my eyes still adjusting from my phone screen to the blackness surrounding my backyard. “Duke!” I call my dog’s name again, wrapping my arms tighter around my body. My thin cardigan isn’t enough for the chilly evening, and my slippers hardly keep my feet warm. “Come on, boy, it’s cold out here.”
It’s unlike him to take off, and I worked hard to teach him to recall. Besides, he hates the cold. I trudge to the edge of the woods and hesitate. Despite loving to hike through the trees in the daylight, there’s something about the pitch-black forest that turns me off at night.
I freeze as I hear a twig snap to my right, and whip my head in the direction, my heart kicking up a notch in my chest. Breathing in slowly, I can’t make out anything in the shadows.
I should’ve brought my gun.
It’s a silly thought, though I do own enough for a small arsenal. Living in the middle of nowhere, it’s nice to have my own sort of security. And besides, I do occasionally enjoy hunting—but they’re no help when they’re locked in a safe inside the house.
Crunching leaves echo through the night, and I have the sobering realization that I’m lingering in the open, the light from the electric pole shining directly on me. If there’s anything sinister in the dark cover of the trees, I might as well be parading right to my death.
And that trips my heart into a panic.
I start to back up as the sounds grow, sending my head into a spiral of fear. I nearly trip over a pot of dead flowers when Duke emerges from the trees, excitedly wagging his tail at me.
“You scared me!” I run my fingers over my face, letting out a sharp breath. “Jeez.” I shudder as I glance toward the darkness behind him. I don’t know why I’m on edge—other than just the stress of the evening. My phone buzzes as I turn to head back to the house, and I glance down to see Mason’s face light up the screen.
Nope.
I reject the call and stomp up the porch steps, rolling my eyes. He’s called multiple times, and I’ve answered none of them—which won’t change. It’s over between us. Of that, I’m sure. Six years down the drain.
But good riddance.
I’m sure the heartbreak will set in eventually, but right now, I’m over it. Duke and I pad across the old wooden deck, but as I reach for the sliding glass door, I freeze. The hair on the back of my neck stands to attention as a chill runs down my spine. Alarm bells ring through my head, my breath picking up. I glance over my shoulder, bracing to see something.
Or someone.
But there’s nothing in the eerie orange glow of the pole light.
I do my best to shove my fear to the side as I slide the door open, the warmth beckoning me in with promises of safety. “I think I’m going crazy,” I mutter under my breath as I close the door behind me, flipping the lock. I grab the metal bar I cut to fit in the track, working as a secondary lock on the door, and jam it in the space.
Mason always said it was overkill, and the intrusive thought of him makes me frown. I pull out my phone, scrolling to Emma’s name. Normally, I would just text her, but tonight?
The silence in my house is deafening.
“Hello?” she answers on the third ring, her voice groggy.
