Wolfhunter River by Caine Rachel

Author:Caine, Rachel
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3, mobi
ISBN: 9781503902305
Published: 2019-04-22T16:00:00+00:00

10

GWEN

Sam readily agrees that we should all take the trip together, and check out of the room while we’re at it; he seems a little too eager, to be honest, but like him, I find the motel oppressive. Connor’s found a place called Wolfhunter River Lodge that’s closer to the forest; it sounds nice, and looks comfortable.

The pictures don’t lie. It sits about five miles outside of Wolfhunter, and it’s a modest-size rustic place with big rooms, a breathtaking view of the forest from the windows, and a cheerful proprietor who seems happy to have us. Once we get to our adjoining rooms, Sam pulls me aside for a quick conversation.

“I’m taking Lanny with me to this interview,” I tell him, first thing. “Trust me. I think it’s important, or I wouldn’t do it. Right now, Lanny needs to feel useful.”

Sam doesn’t like it, I can tell, but he lets that go in favor of something else. “Give me your phone.”

I do, baffled, and he hands me a brand-new one. I look at it with a frown. Another disposable cell. “What’s this?”

“Time to change out,” he says. “I might be a little paranoid about the documentary crew, but we haven’t changed numbers in a while. Trust me?”

“Of course. The kids too?”

“Yeah, I already swapped theirs. I preprogrammed in the numbers they might want to call, plus both of these numbers. You’ve got mine, Connor, Lanny, Kez, Prester, Javier, Mike, and your mom already in there.”

“I should probably put in Sparks and Fairweather,” I tell him. “Just in case.”

He hands my phone back, and I add them into my contacts list. Then I hand the old one back. “You’ll get rid of them?” I say. He nods. “Sam . . . what’s wrong?”

“Not now,” he says. He glances down at the phone he’s holding. “We’ll talk about it tonight.”

I check the time. He’s right; I need to grab Lanny and get moving if we’re going to get to the jail on time. Assuming Sparks’s directions are accurate. I knock on the connecting door, and Lanny opens it. She’s reapplied her makeup, and she looks much more together than before. “Time to go?”

“If you’re ready.”

“I’m ready.” She glances backward and drops her volume. “Connor apologized, by the way.”

“He didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. Not that badly, anyway.”

“I know.” She sighs. “He’s like hugging a tumbleweed, Mom.”

“So are you.”

She grins, and I can’t help but smile back. “It’s a family trait,” she says. “You’re more barbed wire though.”

“Damn right,” I say, and hold up a fist for a bump. She rolls her eyes. “Not cool anymore?”

“Let’s just go,” she says. “Connor says Sam’s taking him for a walk in the woods.”

“You’re sure you don’t want to go with them instead . . . ?”

“Duh. I put on makeup, didn’t I?”

She’s right, half a mile in this heat would melt that carefully applied shadow and eyeliner into a streaky, sweaty mess. “Then let’s go.”

I second-guess myself through the entire drive to the county lockup.

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