“Maybe it was because my parents were human before they were turned, but they made sure we experienced a more human life. My brother, Ian, went to college. He didn’t graduate, but he enjoyed it.”
Declan absorbed this fascinating bit of information. He’d talked with Vicky, and he liked her, but he’d never known much about her background.
When Willow’s finger brushed his erection, he felt the pleasure that flickered through her before her mouth curved into a sensual smile. Her breathing became more shallow as she teasingly brushed her fingers over the rigid length of him.
He went to cup her cheek and draw her closer for a kiss, but a couple of loud bangs jerked him back to reality. When he turned away, his body tensed as he prepared to kill anything coming at them. Instead of an enemy, he saw only Gus standing by the porch with his hands in his pockets. Glancing around, he discovered the bangs had come from the neighbors slamming their car doors. Their children squealed as they sprinted away from the car and toward their home.
“Hi, Gus!” the woman called as she waved.
“Hello, MoMo!” he called back.
The woman cast them a curious glance before removing a few bags from the trunk and following her children inside.
“We should go,” Willow said.
She pulled her hand away from his thigh. What had she been thinking? She hadn’t been thinking; that was the problem. Her body was reacting all on its own, and it had been very close to unbuttoning his jeans and sliding his dick free. She might have screwed him right in the cab of the truck and not realized what she was doing until it was over.
“Declan,” she said when he remained unmoving. “We have to go.”
“Give me a second,” he said through his teeth. When she frowned questioningly at him, he elaborated. “Walking’s a little difficult right now.”
He felt her amusement before she bit her bottom lip to keep from smiling. The expression on her face was so endearing he couldn’t resist briefly cupping her cheek before releasing her.
He still wasn’t confident in his ability to walk, but he had to get out of this truck and put some distance between them. Pushing the door open, he stepped outside and turned to take her hand so he could help her from the vehicle.
Willow almost didn’t take his hand. She’d never had someone offer to do such a thing for her, and she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself, but he wasn’t doing it because he doubted her ability to do things on her own. He was doing it because, at heart, he was a gentleman.
When she stood beside him, he released her hand. Willow stretched her back as she turned to survey the neighborhood. A couple of people were outside, puttering around their yards, but most of the driveways and yards were empty. Gus waited for them by the front door; the perplexed look on his face made the lines around his eyes and mouth more visible.
“Everything okay?” he asked as they approached.
“Yes,” Willow said, though he had to have seen at least some of what passed between her and Declan in the truck. She cursed the blush creeping into her cheeks. “We were admiring the neighborhood.”
“It’s a good place to live and raise a family,” Gus said. “Everyone here is friendly, and we all help each other out.”
She didn’t doubt that. He opened the door and gestured for her to enter.
“Go on in,” he said with a smile.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Willow stepped into a small, cozy living room that matched the cheerfulness of the outside of the house. In the room to her right, sunflowers sat in vases on each end of the blue, gingham couch. Photos lined the mantle of the red brick fireplace; she recognized the young hunter they met at the camp and Gus.
In most of the pictures, an attractive, plump woman with an endearing smile and a pretty girl joined them. As the people in the photos aged, the girl became more sullen until she had the pursed lips of a teenager who was not happy to be in the family photo. The girl’s dyed, jet-black hair clashed with the fairer hair of the rest of her family.
The house smelled of lemon and fresh-baked cookies, but beneath that, she detected the aroma of cats. Then she spotted three felines lounging in the sun spilling through the front windows. The cats didn’t bother to lift their heads to look at them, but one flicked its tail to let them know it wasn’t thrilled about the noise.
“The phone is in the kitchen,” Gus said.
He pulled off his hat to reveal his disheveled, gray-streaked blond hair. He hung the hat on the coatrack by the door before leading them past a set of stairs on her left and down the hall. More family photos decorated the hallway wall. In these photos, the sullen teen was a happy, vibrant young girl with blonde hair and a radiant smile. As they walked, Willow heard a distant rattling clink and realized it was the garage door opening.
The kitchen was everything she’d imagined it would be with its bright yellow paint, blue curtains over the sink, and ivy plants hanging from hooks in the corners. A small table sat in a corner near the door leading into what she assumed was the garage. Four chairs surrounded the table. Across from the door leading into the garage was another one with glass windows revealing a small side yard.
Before Gus could lead them to the phone hanging on the wall near the fridge, the garage door opened. A plump woman with chin-length blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes entered. Over her shoulder, Willow spotted a brand-new truck and a Mini Cooper in the garage before the door closed.
“Hi, dear,” the woman greeted and then looked up from the aluminum tray in her hands. She came to an abrupt halt when she spotted Willow and Declan. She stared questioningly at them before focusing on her husband. “I wasn’t expecting you home already.”
“Well, a funny thing happened in the woods today.” Gus gestured at them while he smiled at his wife. “I found some more strays for us to adopt.”
When the woman frowned at him in confusion, Gus laughed. “Willow, Declan, this is my wife, Cheryl. Honey, these two got lost in the woods and wandered all the way here from Maine.”
The woman’s mouth fell open, and she looked like Willow could push her over with one finger. She was suddenly glad for her ruined clothes. She imagined she didn’t look so hot, but she didn’t look as bad as a human would after being lost for three weeks. The condition of their clothes would help distract from that.
“That can’t be possible,” Cheryl said.
Gus shrugged. “I wouldn’t have thought so either, but here they are.”
“It was a stupid thing,” Declan said to Cheryl with a smile that, despite her reservations about their story, caused Cheryl to smile in return. “We just have to use your phone to call our friends, and then we’ll be out of your hair.”
Cheryl set her tray on the table. “You poor things! You must be starving!”
“We offered them some food at the camp, but they weren’t hungry,” Gus said.
“Not hungry?” Cheryl asked in disbelief. “How can you not be hungry?”
“We did have supplies with us for a while,” Willow said.
“You had enough supplies to last three weeks for a one-day hiking trip?” Gus asked.
“I always like to be prepared,” Willow said. “Plus, we may not be the best with directions, but Declan and I know how to hunt.”
The secretive smile she sent him and the amused gleam in her eyes did nothing to ease Declan’s growing unease about being inside this human dwelling. Though everything was normal-sized, he felt like a giant in a land built for munchkins, and it was too confining.
“Do you still have your guns?” Gus asked.
For the first time, Willow sensed unease from Gus as he shifted and his gaze darted to his wife before going to the phone. Willow was getting tired of the endless questions, and as much as she hated to play with the minds of humans, she was seriously considering it to calm him and put an end to their curiosity.
“No guns,” she said, and Gus visibly relaxed. “I’m good at making traps.”
Gus’s face
lit up. “That’s a good thing to know.”
Two chairs scraped against the tile floor as Cheryl pulled them away from the table. “Even if you’re not starving, you must be exhausted. Sit and relax. My clothes won’t fit you, dear, but my daughter’s clothes might. I’ll get some for you.”
“Oh, thank you,” Willow said.
She settled onto one of the chairs while Declan remained standing beside her.
“You must want a shower too,” Cheryl said.
“I would love one,” Willow breathed.
“Come with me then, and I’ll get you those clothes.”
“We should call home first,” she said.
“Oh, of course,” Cheryl said.
“Do you want me to call?” she asked Declan; she was a little concerned he might break the phone.
“No. I’ll do it.”
“Feel free,” Gus said and waved at the phone.
Declan lifted the phone off its cradle and held it to his ear. He hit a couple of buttons before clicking his finger against the receiver. However, the action did nothing as there was still no dial tone. His jaw clenched as he listened to the silence coming over the line.
“It’s not working,” he said.
“What?” Gus asked. “Let me see it.”
Declan placed the phone into Gus’s outstretched hand. Gus stepped closer and pushed down on the button before letting it release. He punched a few buttons before clicking the receiver again.
“Damn,” he muttered before hanging up and turning to Cheryl. “Was it working this morning?”
“Yes,” she said. “My sister called; we talked for at least an hour.”
“Why isn’t it working now?” Willow asked.
“There’s no reason to worry,” Gus said. “We lose service about five times a year. Usually, it’s during a storm.”
“We did have that storm roll through a couple of days ago,” Cheryl said.
“And there was a lot of wind with it. A tree was probably damaged during the storm and fell onto the wires today. I’m sure they’ll fix it soon, but I’ll run over to the Berk’s and see if their phone is working. They’ll let you use theirs if it is,” Gus said.
“A cell phone wouldn’t work at the camp, but would it work here?” Willow asked.
“No. If you drive a couple of towns over, you can get service,” Cheryl said. “There are some people in town who have them, but most of us don’t. The people who have them work in other towns or they use them when they’re on vacation.”
“It would be nice if we could get coverage here, but I don’t think that’s going to happen anytime soon. I’ll head over to the Berk’s now,” Gus said.
He strode across the kitchen and opened the back door. He forgot to shut the door before descending the stairs and jogging across the side yard to the home next door.
“That man,” Cheryl muttered as she walked over to close the door. “Are you sure I can’t get either of you something?”
“No, thank you,” Declan said.
“I’ll take a glass of water,” Willow said so they didn’t continue to seem so odd.
“Coming right up.”
Declan kept his attention on the door Gus exited through while Cheryl bustled around the kitchen, and the clock on the wall slowly ticked away the seconds. Cheryl and Willow talked while Declan watched for any sign of something wrong in this small town.
Everything looked peaceful outside, and he didn’t think a Savage could have tracked them this far without making their presence known, but he wasn’t going to rule anything out. He hadn’t lived this long by being foolish. He edged closer to Willow as Gus jogged back toward the house, up the stairs, and entered the kitchen.
“The Berk’s phone is down too,” Gus said as he wiped his feet on the mat inside the kitchen door. “I checked with the Winslow’s before coming back, and they don’t have any service either.”
“The phone company better give us a discount when the bills roll out,” Cheryl muttered.
“What about the internet?” Willow asked. “I can send a message to our friends.”
“If the phones are down, the internet probably is too, but I’ll check,” Cheryl said.
She hurried from the room and returned a few minutes later with a laptop she set on the table and opened. Willow tried not to drum her fingers on the table as she watched Cheryl navigate to a browser, and then a spinning circle appeared on the screen. A box popped onto the screen a minute later to tell them there was no internet connection.
Willow’s palm flattened on the table, and Declan rested his hand on her shoulder. She relaxed a little under his touch, but she bit back a scream of frustration. They were so close to her family, yet they were still so far away.
“How long does it usually take to fix?” Declan asked.
He wanted out of this town. The people were friendly, but he wouldn’t relax until Willow was safely back inside the compound.
“Somebody will drive out of town to file a complaint with the company,” Gus said. “It usually takes a day or two after that.”
“Until then, you’re welcome to stay here,” Cheryl said.
“Oh no,” Willow protested. “We couldn’t impose any further on you. We’ve walked this far; we can walk until we find a phone.”
“I can’t let you do that,” Gus said. “I’ll give you a ride into the next town. They have a payphone you can use.”
Declan felt like he’d stepped back into the eighties, but he might hug that payphone when they saw it.
“You don’t have to do that,” Willow protested.
“Of course I do. Besides, I might as well be the one who calls the phone company.”
“Before you go,” Cheryl said, “I’ll get you some of my daughter’s clothes, and you can clean up.”
Willow was ready to get out of this town and back to her home, but she was tired of the blood and dirt coating her, and really tired of her smell. They were going into another town, it would still be hours before anyone could pick them up, and they couldn’t hang out there looking and smelling like they’d rolled in garbage for a week.
“That would be wonderful,” Willow said. “Do you think we have the time for that?” she asked him.
Declan opened his mouth to tell her no, they needed to get out of this town so she could be safely ensconced behind the walls of the compound again, but the words died in his throat. He sensed her excitement and couldn’t deny her something that would make her happy.
He didn’t like the fact the phones were down, but Cheryl and Gus didn’t find it odd, and there hadn’t been any sign of a Savage for days. Besides, once Willow was safely within the compound, she would only leave again. She was a member of the Alliance; that meant she would always be in danger.
“Of course we do,” he said, and she beamed at him.
“I’m afraid I don’t have anything that will fit you,” Gus said to Declan. “And neither will Junior.”
Gus and Junior were a good eight inches shorter than him. “Thanks anyway,” Declan said.
He wouldn’t mind a shower and some clean clothes, but while his clothes were dirty and rumpled, they weren’t as bad Willow’s. Her time in the pine tree and amid the sap had caused everything to stick to her.
“Follow me, dear,” Cheryl said.
Willow smiled at him before following Cheryl out of the room.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Declan stood at the bottom of the stairs as he gazed up them to the hallway at the top. Cheryl took Willow up there twenty minutes ago and returned nineteen minutes ago. Willow remained behind to shower and change.
Gus and Cheryl sat in the living room—Gus in his recliner and Cheryl on the couch. He flipped through the TV channels while Cheryl told him about the preparations for the bake sale next week at the library.
“Karen insists on bringing her lemon squares,” Cheryl said.
“Uh-huh,” Gus replied with the bored tone of a man who’d endured many inane conversations with his
wife over the years.
“Her lemon squares are awful, Gus, and you know it.”
“Worst I’ve ever had.”
Declan knew these were the mundane things humans dealt with every day. They had no idea about the war raging outside their doors or that their lives hung in the balance. If the Alliance was successful, they would never know.
However, while Gus was used to these conversations, Declan wanted to bang his head against the wall. When the water turned off upstairs, Declan glanced into the living room before taking the steps two at a time to the top of the stairs.
The humans didn’t notice his departure as Gus was seated with his back to him, and Cheryl was focused on the blanket she knitted. When he arrived at the top of the stairs, he took in the pictures hanging on the walls and the sun streaming through the window at the end of the hall.
His boots didn’t make a sound on the carpeted floor as he strode to the window and peered out at the neighborhood. One of the neighbors was mowing their lawn while another swung on a porch swing and read a book.
It was all so quaint and unnerving. This was the human world. Yes, he’d moved about the fringes of the human world his whole life; he’d been to dances and balls, in their clubs and buildings. He’d watched them evolve and create and destroy for centuries, but he’d never stood in the middle of suburbia and observed their simple lives.
It was all so… so… strange. Yet something was comforting about it all. He could almost picture himself pushing that mower while Willow sat and read. They’d both be going out of their minds with boredom after a week, but it would be a peaceful week.
He stared at it for a minute more before pacing away from the window and down the hall to stand outside of the bathroom. Leaning against the wall across from the door, he crossed his arms over his chest while he waited. He was eager to get out of here.
He tried not to picture Willow naked while he listened to her moving about the room. However, he would have a better chance of sprouting wings and flying to the moon than he did of not imagining water running down her supple body.
Bound by Torment (The Alliance Series Book 5) Page 12