“We will,” Emmalyn called out just before she closed the bathroom door.
A few seconds later Everly heard the sound of the shower running. She glanced slowly over her shoulder and out of the large picture windows that ran the length of the living room and gave a beautiful view of their backyard and the woods beyond. Everly ignored the slight shiver that worked its way up her spine and got to her feet. She approached the window right behind the sofa, seemingly relaxed with her coffee cup in hand. She took a sip of her coffee as she looked out into the heavily wooded view, allowing her eyes to roam all the best hiding spots as she assessed them each. As a shifter, even a Fox shifter, it was a matter of pride to let anyone or anything you came across know you weren’t afraid. You would meet them toe-to-toe without hesitation. And if someone were foolish enough to venture into a clan of shifters in an attempt to intimidate one of them, it was even more important to let them see there would be no backing down, not from any of them.
As she stood there, theoretically drawing her line in the sand, she realized her actions might seem ridiculous to some, especially since Emmalyn had made her comment about being stalked so lightheartedly, almost as a joke. The problem was, there was no sense of humor in Emmalyn’s statement, and the fact that Everly herself had felt like she was being watched lately, too, added fuel to the fire. Maybe it wasn’t her imagination after all. Maybe there was some truth to what she’d chalked up to an overactive imagination. And that’d be okay, they’d dealt with threats before; this one, if there was one, would be no different.
Everly winked, just slightly canted her head and lifted her coffee cup in recognition of anyone who might be watching, or to the cardinals flitting back and forth in the trees just at the tree line on the other side of her backyard, whichever the casemay be. “If you’re out there… Game on, motherfucker,” she said quietly.
~~~
Lying on the ground near the edge of the woods, covered with leaves and debris, a silent, perfectly still individual watched the woman who was mother to one person on his radar. He had no interest in the small redhead, who seemed to taunt him, trying to let him know she knew he was there. She was no more than an afterthought. His target, the whole reason he was lying on this miserable fucking ground, tolerating rotting vegetation, mosquitoes, centipedes and anything else that might crawl past or over his body as he laid perfectly still for hours on end, was the fucking cunt that had cost him everything. He’d worked for years to make his home his castle, so-to-speak. Years and years of planning and execution to accumulate his collection. To decorate his home just so with all his favorite pieces, only to have the selfish cunt figure out exactly who he was. Then to add insult to injury, she figured out where he was, and sent those she worked with to destroy him and all he held dear.
Luckily for him, he’d anticipated a need to make a quick escape and had factored in a secret escape plan when he’d built his home. He snarled as he lay there, thinking about the single moment in time that caused him to consider making his escape, versus saving his collection. He’d had no choice but to disappear. The moment he accessed the secret panel in the basement leading to an underground tunnel that would lead him away from his home and his treasured collectibles, flames would consume his home, and his collection. With the help of the accelerant he’d installed above all their cages, there would be no trace left of them, or him as he collapsed the tunnel behindhimself as he moved through it. This female, Emmalyn, she’d been the reason for him having to destroy all he’d built. He took a deep shaky breath, his eyes glued to the windows along the back of the home he’d been watching for days. It would all be okay, he promised himself. “It’s okay,” he whispered, his voice raspy. He’d have to start all over, now. But that would be okay. This bitch, Emmalyn… she would be the first in his new collection. And she would learn to serve him well, willingly even, or he’d take every single woman in her family to keep her company. He’d even put their cages close enough they could whimper and cry together. Or perhaps they’d rage at her, for being the reason they were all part of the collection beside her.
~~~
Emmalyn leaned back in the passenger seat of Daisy’s jeep, her arms stretched overhead, her eyes closed as the wind blew her hair around and music poured from the radio as they drove down the two-lane highway on their way to town.
Daisy looked over at her cousin, seeming to relax for a change. “That looks good on you.”
“Hmm?”
“Relaxation. You’re even stretching your arms, taking in the wind and closing your eyes. Haven’t seen this side of you in a while.”
“It’s nice to let go every once in a while, even if it’s just for a few moments. Besides, you got this. You’re a safe driver, I don’t need to micromanage it.” Emmalyn opened her eyes and sat up. “You are a good driver aren’t you? Do I need to micromanage.”
Daisy smirked at Emmalyn as she allowed the right wheels of the car to drive over the edge of the road, throwing up dust and twigs in the jeep’s wake.
“Seriously?” Emmalyn asked.
“Yep. Question my driving again and I’ll go so far as the ditch itself.”
“Fine! You are the driver with no equal,” Emmalyn said, laughing.
“And don’t you forget it,” Daisy said, grinning as her eyes never quite left the road.
“So, what are we doing? Going to look for any place that might work for your art school, or going to look at a particular place for your art school?”
“Both. I have one or two in mind, but I also want to just look around and see what might be available.”
“And I’m hungry. I’m thinking lunch, too.”
“Oh, thank God. I’m starving, and the pot of coffee I had is doing a number on my stomach.”
“You didn’t eat anything at all?”
“Nope. Just caffeine.”
“Okay, grab something for you to munch on, then we’ll go look at places for my new business.”
“I’m really excited for you, Daisy. I think it’s such a great idea. You’re going to make such an impact on these kids’ lives. And having it not be actually part of the school is a really good thing I think.”
“Yeah, I think if it was part of school, they’d look at it as just another boring class. But if it’s separate, its own thing, then it might speak to the creativity in them. Any who are interested will realize they won’t be censored. They’ll be free to create whatever it is that lives in their imagination. If I don’t have a particular medium they want to use, I’ll get it. I think nothing is more important than nurturing the creative part of the mind,” Daisy said.
“You’re right. It helps the rest of the mind grow and expand.”
“Exactly. You silence the creative spirit, you silence all but practicality. Nothing but practicality is boring.”
“Is that what happened to Brandt?” Emmalyn asked.
