Page 9 of Lure

“All done. Do you need me to get you a bra?” He handed me a fresh wipe. I’d already pulled out a t-shirt, but I made sure my hands were as clean as I could get them.

“No, thank you. One upside to my tits. I don’t bounce that much.” I tugged the shirt on. It was dark too. Even the perceived sensation of something on my skin had me shuddering.

When I would have reached for the bra, Alphabet touched my arm lightly. “I’ll get it, put it in the bag with my stuff. Go back up front and get some more water for us and for Goblin?”

I tried not to let my relief show, because yeah, the last thing I wanted to do was touch the items again. Frankly, we could burn them. I wasn’t sure you could get that much blood out in the wash. Especially not what was on him.

“On it.” The water cooler was tucked under the back bench seat. Weird van, but someone had restocked it. So I opened a bottle and filled the bowl hanging off the pack on the front passenger seat. Goblin trotted over as I set it down and he slurped down the water.

I opened a bottle for Alphabet as he closed the backdoors then came up to where we were. Once he was in arms reach, he shut the flashlight off again. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust and I found myself staring upward again. The scattering of stars across the sky were really beautiful.

“Do they look different from different parts of the world?”

“I don’t think so,” he answered in an equally quiet voice. Only the sound of Goblin lapping up his water filled the air aroundus. “I guess it might look different depending on the time of the year, but I never really noticed it. Just… like looking at them.”

I did too. There was something peaceful about them. They were all so far away and seemed small, but we were the small ones really. “Think this is what it would be like to have a time machine?”

His soft snort made the corners of my lips twitch. “Maybe. Their light could have taken thousands of years to get here. We could be seeing those stars and the Milky Way how it appeared when dinosaurs roamed the Earth.”

“That’s—unsettling.”

“But cool,” he intoned, then took a long drink of his water. “Still got Goblin’s bottle?” I passed it to him without question. He crouched and emptied the rest of the bottle out for the dog. “What do you think?”

“About how long it took the light to get here?”

“Sure,” he answered. Maybe he hadn’t meant that.

“I don’t know what to think. Not really. I mean they’re gorgeous and looking up at this now… I never want to move from here. I want to see this forever, but that’s not how time works or life for that matter.”

“True, but if you like the stars, Gracie. We will find you more stars. There’s a couple of good spots at base where we get some excellent views of them. If you want, I’ll show you when we’re back.”

“AB?”

“Don’t ask me to let you go, Gracie. Not yet. Not while you’re not safe.” The length of his sigh wore at me. “I know you weren’t safe back there and that’s on me. But I’m not letting that happen again. Once we get this solved, find out the threat and eliminate it… then you can go home.”

“We don’t even know what the threat is,” I said. “Other than human traffickers, I can’t imagine that’s a short list. Then there’s Amorette…”

“I haven’t forgotten her.” Nothing about his words sounded like a lie. But a good lie wouldn’t. That’s what made them a good lie. “Like I said earlier, you need to learn to trust us. Trust takes time.”

“Even if I tell you no and say just drop me off somewhere, that’s not an option, is it?” I’d ask every single one of them if I had to.

“You already know the answer.” He crouched again and came up with Goblin’s bowl. “Want to ride in the front with me now that you’re awake?”

“Sure,” I said. What other answer was there? Sit in the back and sulk like a child? I mean, the idea had merit, but at the moment, my head hurt too damn much for that.

With a light nudge, he moved me aside and removed the pack from the passenger seat. He moved to the back and stored it, then got Goblin up into the back at his command. The panel door slid shut after him.

I stared up at the stars while he got us ready. They really were beautiful. I’d never cared for camping when we were growing up. Maybe I needed to add that to my list of hobbies.

Am would probably laugh, then worry I needed therapy if I brought it up. The idea of her laugh made me smile. Definitely needed to tease her with it now. Just to find out.

I missed her.

The driver’s side door slammed shut. It was time to go. Lowering my gaze, I stared out into the darkness. This felt like a weird metaphor for my life. There were bright, unexpected moments, but everything else was shrouded in darkness.

Alphabet didn’t hurry me along. I gave myself one last look at the stars, then I climbed into the passenger seat and pulled on the seat belt.

“So what are the rules?” I asked, summoning up some humor.

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