Joslyn exited the vehicle to open the backdoor while waving her over, and Emily sprinted toward her car and immediately climbed inside.
“There was someone in your apartment!” she exclaimed the moment she'd caught her breath. “But then they broke into mine and chased me outside.”
Climbing into the backseat behind her, Joslyn asked incredulously, “What?”
Still worried the intruder would come back, Emily urged Conner, “Just drive, okay? I'll explain every—I still have my phone.”
Looking down at her hand, she realized the device was still clutched tight in her fingers—and more importantly, the video was still recording. But her hand was shaking so much she didn't trust herself to save it properly, handing it to Joslyn while Conner backed out of the driveway with haste.
“S-save that for me. I'm afraid I'll accidentally delete it.”
Doing as requested, Joslyn asked, “Was this recording the entire time?”
Emily nodded, and only then did she take note of her physical condition. Blood was dribbling down her left leg from the scrape on her knee, her left arm was aching, and her knuckles were cut in various places.
As if she'd just noticed the same thing, Joslyn suddenly pointed out, “You're bleeding! Conner, drive us to the hospital.”
“No!” Emily rushed out. Not only were the cuts minor, she was scared of doctors and hospitals. “I-I don't need that, I'm just scratched up from falling.”
Joslyn eyed her knowingly. “Are you still afraid of hospitals?”
“Does it matter? Seriously, I'm okay.”
Relenting with a sigh, Joslyn directed her husband, “Let's go to Caleb's, and we can call Doc Bellinger if push comes to shove.”
“Who's Doc Bellinger?”
“Private practice doctor, and a close friend,” Joslyn explained while calling the police on Conner's phone.
It wasn't long before she was handing it over to Emily, saying the dispatch wanted to ask her precisely what had happened. Still addled, she explained everything the best she could, from the sounds in her neighbor's apartment, to the incident in her bedroom and her escape.
When she was done, Emily handed her friend's phone back, then looked down at her own. “I wonder if I got that guy's face on video or not. It was probably too dark to see, though.”
“We can always watch and check,” Joslyn qualified. “Why were you recording anyway?”
“I was having trouble sleeping, so I wanted to send my dad a video telling him how things were going so far,” Emily explained, continuing to add the way she'd started the recording, but never spoke because she was hearing strange sounds.
Nodding, Joslyn took the phone and pressed play, holding the device where they could both see it. When it started, Emily was looking straight at the camera, but soon canted her head to the left at a sound that the microphone hadn't picked up.
That's when Joslyn gasped. “There! Someone's at the window!”
Emily clamped a hand over her mouth, the sight of a silhouette sending ice through her veins. He was there the whole time!
“Can you see his face?” Conner asked.
“No, it's just a shadow,” Joslyn answered, and continued watching the recording.
When Emily finally looked back at the camera, the man drew in closer, and she recalled that moment being when she'd heard a thump which prompted her to look back. Surely enough, the video followed suit, and she watched herself scream and take off through the house.
At that point, the images went crazy with nothing but blurs and random lines streaking shakily across the screen. But the audio wasn't hard to hear, continuing on until Emily was outside.
That's when Joslyn paused it, knowing the rest of the story, and Emily slouched back against the seat with her eyes closing.
“You okay?” her friend asked, slipping an arm around her shoulders.
“I don't know,” Emily groaned. “I just … I'm wishing this wasn't my first night in Arkin City.”
“So do I, Em. So do I.”
She squeezed Joslyn's hand, knowing this wasn't the welcome she wanted her to have. But Emily was sure she'd get over it. Eventually. After a few shots of hard liquor, a good night of sleep, and the purchase of a gun.
A person could overcome anything after that.
But for now, she waited as Conner turned onto the street where his garage was located, and passed the parking lot entrance to turn onto an unpaved road further down that led through the trees surrounding the business. It was a long stretch, and not well illuminated, making it even harder for Emily to see without her glasses.
She was also starting to realize it was cold, but that was due to her lack of clothing. A tank top and plaid shorts weren't exactly insulating, after all, and the thought prompted her to ask, “Do you think Caleb might have some clothes I could borrow?”
Joslyn considered it, then asked Conner, “Wait, don't I have a suitcase with some clothes in the trunk?”
“You mean from our beach trip? Yeah.”
Nodding, Joslyn mentioned, “I accidentally left a bag of clothes in the car after we got back.”
“Hey, your mistake is my fortune,” Emily returned, then squinted when a bright, motion sensor flood light randomly turned on up ahead.
It was anchored to the side of what she assumed was Caleb's home, a two-story, log cabin style abode with a two car garage. As Conner pulled around to the front, he parked next to an enclosed porch and turned off the car.
“Conner, could you grab my sandals from the trunk? Emily's not wearing any shoes, and I don't want her stepping on anything.”
“Sure thing,” he agreed, climbing out to do as requested.
In the meantime, Emily glanced at the house again, finding it difficult to see clearly without her glasses, even with the flood light on. Yet it looked like a nice place from what she could see, secluded by trees and bigger than one person needed.
But Conner distracted her when he opened the car door and handed over Joslyn's sandals. Emily slipped them on to find that they were too big, but fit well enough to walk in without trouble, and she followed Conner to the front door.
Just as they entered the enclosed porch, a light came on inside, and the sound of excited yelping could be heard getting closer to the other side of the entryway.
“Calm down, Nacho,” came Caleb's voice from inside.
“Nacho?” Emily asked.
With an amused smile, Conner explained, “He decided to keep the puppy.”
At the same time, the front door opened while Caleb stated, “I thought I heard a car pulling up, and then Nacho went crazy—oh.”
He stopped in surprise the moment his gaze landed on Emily, sweeping over her body and the various cuts she'd sustained.
“What the hell happened?”
“Someone broke into our duplex,” Conner answered in short.
“Shit,” Caleb remarked, backing up without question to let them all inside. “Uh, Emily, right? You okay?”
“As good as can be expected,” she muttered.
“She fell and got a little banged up,” Joslyn informed him, then handed her bag of clothes to Emily and pointed toward an archway to the right of the front door. “There's a hall at the back of the dining room, and you'll find a bathroom at the very end. Caleb, do you have any first aid supplies?”
“Uh, I think there's some bandages and stuff under the sink.”
Hearing this, Emily thanked them, and carried the bag in the direction Joslyn pointed out, carefully making her way down the darkened corridor. Thankfully, the bathroom wasn't hard to locate, and she turned on the lights to see that it was a small space without much clutter.
Shutting the door, Emily sat on the toilet and placed Joslyn's bag on the floor, but didn't immediately go through its contents, or even search the cabinet under the sink for any medical supplies. Instead, she drew her uninjured leg up and draped her arms over her knee to bury her face against them, needing the moment to collect her thoughts.
She'd never been the victim of such a blatant attack, nor had she imagined just how terrifying it would actually be. Growing up, her brother had bullied her, and even his friends had harassed her, incidents she'd fought hard to overcome. But none of that compared to the break-in at the duplex just now, which had her feeling even more helpless than when she was a child—and it really pissed her off.
Here she was, reunited with her best friend, starting a new job, and looking forward to the experiences her move would provide. Then, some asshole decides to break into her apartment and put a serious kink in her enthusiasm.
Emily considered herself an optimist by nature, but that would knock the wind out of anyone's sails.
Unless I decide not to let it.
Chapter 4
“Son of a bitch.”
Caleb's angered comment came while watching Emily's video with Conner. When they'd first related what happened, he'd been pissed, but actually seeing that asshole in Emily's apartment before he'd taken off after her pushed him into the realm of furious.
It made Caleb wish he'd opted to stay at his twin's place that evening instead of returning home, even if the love seat was too small. But sadly, what was done was done, and any scent the intruder left in the duplex would be easy enough for the lupines on the police force to acquire when they investigated the scene.
Unless this incident was related to the case discussed at the pack meeting. Fuck, I hope not.
But no matter how disconcerting the thought was, Caleb knew it was best to consider all options, and asked his twin, “This guy was in your apartment first?”
“Yeah, and he was making enough noise that Emily banged on the wall because she was trying to sleep. Apparently, it drew his attention.”
Caleb nodded, pointing out, “I hate to say it, but there's a chance this is related to what Cade was talking about earlier.”
Conner groaned as if that was the absolute last thing he wanted to hear. “I'd already thought of that, I just didn't wanna say it out loud.”
Joslyn parted her lips to respond, but the sound of footsteps drew their attention just a moment before Emily returned. Because she was an uninformed human, her presence made it impossible to talk about lupine affairs, prompting Joslyn to change the subject instead.
“Hey, how are you feeling?”
“I've got a headache, and my arm hurts,” she admitted. “Does anyone have any painkillers?”
“Yeah, there's some in my purse in the car,” Joslyn answered. “I left a message with Doc Bellinger, too, so he might call to schedule a check up.”
Caleb thought he saw Emily cringe in response to Joslyn's information, but a knock came to the door before more could be said.
Turning to open it, Caleb was greeted by Josh Beaufort, the same lupine detective Cade said was keeping an eye open for incidents related to the missing person's case. But his number was on the speed dial of every wolf in the Arkin City Pack anyway, just in case of an emergency that needed care a human officer couldn't—or shouldn't—provide.
The same could be said for his partner, Daphne Monroe, who was standing right next to him. But while Josh was a lupine, Daphne was a human who knew the truth about their pack and the supernatural.
She smiled while Josh greeted him, and Caleb invited them in.
“Conner, Joslyn,” Josh started, then focused his gaze on Emily, adding, “and you must be their new neighbor?”
Emily nodded while Joslyn remarked, “Yeah, and if you wanna talk to her, come out to the car with us. I need to grab my purse.”
“Sure,” Josh agreed, allowing the women to leave.
Daphne volunteered to talk with the twins inside, and Caleb held the door until everyone was on their way to their destination, then shut it before asking the detective, “Do you guys know anything about what's happened yet?”
“Not yet, but we've got two officers at the duplex now. Both are human, so they won't pick up any scents, but Josh and I are gonna go check it out when we're done here. So Conner, go ahead and give me your statement.”
Nodding, his twin offered a thorough explanation of the events from his perspective, ending the story by mentioning the video they'd just watched.
“Video?” Daphne asked. “That could be useful. Does Emily have it?”
“Joslyn does, and she'll probably show it to Josh.”
While they discussed it, Caleb found himself looking through the front window, watching his sister-in-law and her friend talking with Josh—and his gaze quickly fixated on the blonde.
He'd avoided Emily at the garage earlier, and had fought to keep himself from sporadically wondering about her during the day. But now, after watching her video, hearing her scream, and seeing her injured from falling? He was more angry and concerned than he knew he would've been normally, and had a profound urge to go to her and offer comfort.
As soon as Caleb realized it, he stepped back from the window to listen as Daphne mentioned, “This whole thing makes me think of the case Hunter's Moon is investigating, and I think it'd be best if you guys found somewhere else to stay for now, just to be safe.”
“That's a good idea,” Caleb agreed, informing Conner, “You can sleep here.”
“You don't have room for both of us, remember? Your guest room's missing a wall. And a bed.”
“Oh, right,” Caleb muttered, coming up with a new plan. “Okay, I'll take the couch and you guys can sleep in my bed.”
“What about Emily?”
“Shit,” he cussed, having forgotten she'd need a place to stay now, too.
So Conner suggested a plan of his own. “How about this; Joslyn and I will stay at Sara's for tonight, Emily can stay here, and we'll make more permanent arrangements tomorrow.”
Caleb wasn't sure he liked the sound of that. Emily was already setting off warning bells, and he didn't want to make matters worse by spending too long in her presence. Still, it was only for a night, and he'd rather let her stay with him in safety and worry about his instincts later than turn her away.
So he reluctantly nodded in agreement—and Conner took notice.
“What's wrong?”
“Nothing, just worried about what happened,” he lied, deciding not to admit that Emily's scent had captured his instinctive interests if only because Conner wouldn't fully understand the problem. His twin still believed he and Fiona merely split, and Caleb had tried his best to make it seem as if he'd let her go willingly instead of allowing anyone think there was bad blood between them.
But over the past three years, Conner had caught onto the fact that his twin grieved her parting, particularly when he continually avoided getting to know any human, no matter how interesting they'd seemed. Still, and until that day, it wasn't difficult to ignore them considering no human since Fiona had captured his attention strongly enough to make him forget everything else.
But Emily's scent alone did precisely that the moment she walked through the door with Joslyn and Josh.
“Daph,” the detective started, still standing in the doorway. “I just got a report from the unit. They said Conner's place is a mess, but Emily's looks pretty untouched, and the intruder is long gone.”
Daphne nodded, then mentioned the video, asking, “Did you watch it?”
“Yeah, Emily's letting me take her phone to see if we can't get anything more from it. So there's not much left for us to do here, and I'd like to have a look at the duplex personally.”
Everyone except Emily knew that meant Josh wanted to sniff around, and his partner sounded ready to get going when she walked to the door and stated, “Sounds like a plan.”
The two detectives bid them a goodnight with the promise to get news to them as soon as possible, though Josh added to Conner and Joslyn, “You two should come with us, see if anything's missing.”
“Yeah, we'll swing by in a minute.”
With a nod, Josh left, and Conner took that moment to inform Joslyn and Emily of the sleeping arrangements he'd cooked up. Both ladies a
greed with the plan, and Joslyn promised to pick up a few things for her friend to bring by in the morning.
“Works for me,” Emily returned, leaning in for a tight hug.
“Caleb has our numbers on a cork board next to the fridge, so if you need me, just pick up the phone, okay?”
“Okay, and don't worry, I'll be fine,” she promised, releasing Joslyn with a reassuring smile.
Yet, the moment they'd said goodbye, and the front door was closed, Emily grumbled and leaned against the counter of the kitchen's bar.
“You okay?” Caleb inquired, despite knowing fully well she wasn't.
“I don't know,” she muttered, turning her gaze up to ask, “you wouldn't happen to have a beer, would you?”
“I've got some whiskey in the cabinet.”
“That works,” she qualified, examining the band aides on her knuckles—and Caleb couldn't stop staring.
Damn it all, why did the sight of her injuries make him so angry? Sure, his instincts were going, but he barely knew her, and all he could think about was going to the duplex, getting her attacker's scent, and tracking that asshole down.
“Caleb?”
Emily's question snapped him out of his stupor, and in realizing he'd just stood there staring, he apologized. “Right, sorry.”
Immediately, Caleb went to a short liquor cabinet standing by the sectional couch in his living room to grab a bottle and a snifter, then returned to the counter. On the way, he noticed a peculiar smirk on Emily's face as she hoisted herself onto one of the stools.
“What?” he asked curiously.
“Is this weighing on your mind?”
Pouring the drink, Caleb nodded. “Yeah, mostly just glad no one was hurt. Well, badly.”
“Yeah, I'm glad Joslyn and Conner were out when it happened,” she remarked, lifting her glass to down the contents. Then, after a brief cringe, she asked, “But are you sure you're okay with me staying here?”
Not one damned bit. Caleb pushed the impulsive thought away and answered casually, “Sure, I got room. I just hope you don't mind the couch. I've been storing some building supplies in the guestroom, so there's no bed in there right now.”
Hunter's Moon Page 5