Kerr shrugged. “Fine. She's a lovely woman. Everyone had nothing but nice things to say when I asked. Her boss spoke highly of her even when she'd only been there for a month or so. They were sad to see her go.”
“Wait, she's not working?”
Kerr raised an eyebrow at me. “How did you not know she wasn't working? Do you know anything about her? You guys live under the same roof. You should know this about her.”
No, which is how I wanted it. But now I was questioning if that was smart. Everyone else seemed to know more about her than I did.
Kerr shook his head. “She quit because she wasn't going to commute anymore. She was part of a garden club, which she had to leave. She gave up her apartment, and all her items are in storage. She quite literally gave up her life to be here.”
I swallowed, feeling like a bomb had been dropped into my stomach. Nina had said those exact words to me. You already yanked me from my home. I had exactly done that, but I hadn't stopped it. I couldn't deny it; I hadn't done anything to make her comfortable here.
“You're letting your past cloud your judgment.”
I narrowed my eyes at Kerr. “You don't get it.”
“Just because I was younger than you doesn't mean I didn't get raised with the same father.”
We both fell quiet, and I leaned back. I ran a hand down my face, trying to remain calm. I was angry because Kerr had a point.
“So, how's married life?” Natalia asked as she looked across the table at me and Kerr. Our quiet discussion between us suddenly ended as Natalia leaned forward. “I haven't heard much about her yet.”
Dave patted her arm, giving her a smile. “Maybe if you left the library, you would know more.”
She scuffed and elbowed him. “Oh, shut up. We've been doing an inventory of everything. It takes time. But once it's over, I would love to take her out to lunch.”
I didn't know what to say to that.
“I'm sure she'd like that,” I said, forcing a tight smile. I had purposely kept Nina on a long leash away from me, but the time frame for that was running out. People were going to want to know more about her.
“Is that your phone ringing?” Dave pointed towards my phone next to my drink.
I looked down at my phone and scowled, seeing it was Jay. “Aw shit.” I grabbed it. “I'll be right back.”
I answered it and headed for the side door to step outside. The door shut behind me, and I paused. “Hello?”
“Hey, I just wanted to give you a heads up. We had the darkness stop by our town today.”
My stomach dipped. “Shit, it's back already? Wasn't it just there two days ago?”
“Yeah, no one was injured, but it seems to be moving around quickly. Have you guys figured out anything about the kid and the man?”
I shook my head and pinched my eyes. “No, I have Natalia doing inventory at the library to see if she can see anything, but she's not found anything. Kerr is going to have a meeting with the teacher whom he spoke with. We are hoping something gives soon. Have the other guys found anything new?”
“No, no one found anything. We figured you would have the information since your pack was the oldest. The darkness has been traveling between all of the packs. There is no pattern, no understanding of what its plan is.”
“Has Natalia found anything?”
I shook my head. “We have a large library.”
We kept extensive information about history in the pack. I was even surprised we had nothing, but that just meant whatever happened didn't happen here.
“Where was it headed?”
“It was heading in the direction of Henrik's pack, but I had already called him. He's on alert, but it keeps heading straight. It goes to you next, which is why I figured I would call and let you know.”
“Thanks,” I sighed.
“So, how are things with Nina? My wife said you guys were doing well.”
