My intuition stirs, and the Voices mutter, I have no idea how the fuck I’m going to fit this in around everything else, but it looks like our first job back isn’t going to be the Blue Fucker case at all, but this one.
To be honest, we don’t have any leads for the Blue Fucker right now anyway, and until we do, we’re stuck. We may as well work on another case while we’re waiting for leads.
“Yeah, we will get the she-wolves and shut it down for good,” I reply to Rana.
“We will?” Coen asks curiously, the others all watching me closely as well.
I nod, “Yep.”
They just shrug, and that’s the end of that. I love that they trust me enough to just go with it. I’m sure that we will have a discussion about it, but for now, they’re just trusting me and my instincts. It feels really good.
Rana smiles, “Thank you. You know it’s not just she-wolves though? There are males as well. They didn’t discriminate. If they could make money off you, then they would. It was as simple as that.”
“Fuck,” River growls. “We’re absolutely looking into this.”
“Can I write it all down for you?” Rana asks. “I don’t want to forget anything, and I’m likely to if I only talk about it.”
I nod, “Absolutely. Whatever is easiest for you.”
“Mom will have left a cell phone for you in the cabin, so as soon as you’re ready and it’s all done, send us a message and we can start,” Evander says. He smiles as he adds, “Obviously, you don’t have to wait until then to message.”
She nods, “Thank you. I have a feeling that everything is going to suddenly hit me at some point, and if I’m being completely honest, I’m not entirely sure how I’m going to deal with it all.”
“Yeah, that’s most likely going to happen. If you need to talk at any point, please call or message me, even if it’s just for a distraction. We’re supposed to be off work for the rest of the week, but I’m not sure that’s happening anymore. I will try to answer when you call, but if I can’t, I’ll send you a message, okay?” I say with a worried frown.
I wish I could promise her that I’m going to answer the phone, but I can’t. My life isn’t like that.
She smiles and nods, “I’m going to be fine. Better than fine, actually. It’s the first time that I ever remember being free.”
“I hate that this is the first time, and you’re the same age as me,” I frown. “How old are you?”
She shrugs, her nose wrinkling slightly as she replies, “Thirty-something.”
The guys all chuckle, and Rana looks at them curiously.
Reed smiles, “Neith says exactly the same thing when someone asks her how old she is.”
Rana grins, “Oh, okay. I was confused for a moment.”
“Just so you know, Calia and Eamon are absolutely lovely. They took me in when I was five. If you can’t get hold of me for whatever reason, then you can absolutely talk to them and they will be able to help you,” I tell her.
I’m just trying to make sure that she has as much information as possible and isn’t going to worry about anything.
As we drive through the town, I start to point out all the things that she’s going to need to know, and Van slows down so that we don’t miss anything. It would have been nice to show her the town properly, but it’s so late that everything is closed.
I’m also not sure that she’s up to meeting new people just yet. It’s probably best that she settles into the cabin before she socializes.
I really hope that she’s going to be happy here, at least for a little while. I’m not sure if this will be the place where she stays, but if she did decide to stay here forever, Calia and Eamon wouldn’t mind in the slightest, the cabin would automatically become hers, and there are plenty of jobs that she could do around town.
If she wanted to, she could live a quiet life here.
“We’re here,” Van grins, as we pull off the road and start to drive up a long, bumpy track.
The cabin is completely surrounded on all sides by trees, and it’s incredibly peaceful up here. No one comes up this way unless they’re comingto visit the cabin or heading past it into the mountains. The mountains on this side of the compound are pretty treacherous, so most people like going to the ones on the other side.
It’s the perfect place to steer clear of people, and yet not too far from town. I love it here, I always have. But then again, I’ve always loved to be alone.
The cabin itself is small, with an open plan downstairs, a small kitchen, and a huge fireplace, which is more than capable of heating the place. Upstairs, it has one bedroom and an adjoining bathroom. It’s the perfect amount of space for one person.
