“Do you get visitors out here?” I ask. “Like, does much of the town know where it is?”
“Not really,” Kit mutters. “Why do you ask?”
“Just curious,” I reply. “I might want to grab my phone in a sec, just to tell the others where I am. We left kind of suddenly.”
“I texted the council members,” he says, his voice tense. “You don’t have to do that.”
“Maybe not, but I’d still like to tell Misha and Kate personally.”
As we go through the front door, Kit walks out into the main drive and spins in a little circle, his nose high.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“Just checking for any strange scent. The manor was purposefully built here so it could be easily defended.”
“So, your ancestors were worried about being attacked?”
“The Range wasn’t always peaceful, Lexa.”
I hadn’t known that—I don’t know much history at all—but the way he’s looking at me, it’s as if I should know exactly what he’s talking about.
Why is he getting weird?
He keeps staring at me. I stare back, frowning at him.
“Should we go over to the dock?” I ask, gesturing towards it.
He nods. I reach for his hand, but he ignores me.
“The deck has a complete view of the surrounding area,” he says. “Only the north and east slopes have thick cover, and the lake separates us from them. No one can get to the manor without being seen.”
Kit gives me another hard, searching look, and a spark of nervousness flares in my guts. I’m not sure if I want to shrink away from him or angrily confront him, but I know if he doesn’t cool off, I’m going to explode, one way or the other.
What the hell is going on? We both felt so comfortable when we first got here. Now I say I want my phone so I can text the girls, and he’s getting pissed with me?
We walk up the dock, a cold wind whipping across the lake to stroke me with freezing cold claws. I keep my arms wrapped around myself, feeling more miserable by the second.
I was ready to tell him everything—again—and beg for his help, but now I’m even more scared than I was before.
I wonder if I can disappear into the manor and live there without anyone ever finding me. The place is certainly big enough.
It’s preferable to try to run into the mountains, only to freeze to death.
Kit stops at the end of the dock, his head high. He has his nose to the wind again, and his eyes search every horizon.
“Can we get back soon?” I ask. “It’s getting cloudy and super cold.”
“Want to get your phone, do you?” he asks softly.
“Well, yeah. That and a few other things. I could use a warm drink, too.”
Kit turns around to look at me, his lips twisted downwards as if he’s fighting against a torrent of words. His eyes are hard, and he slowly clenches his fists. I take a very slow step back.
“Kit, what’s wrong?” I ask.
He shakes his head, and his face crumples a little.
“Okay,” I say. “I’m going back to the car to get my phone. If you want to stay out here, then—”
