Page 14 of Wilde's End
“What’s going on?” Kennedy asks around a yawn, arms crossed over his bare chest as he leans back into the kitchen counter.
“Someone was in our house.”
Hart jerks to a stop in the doorway. “Thishouse?”
I nod quickly. “He said his name is Wilde and claimed it’s his town. It also sounded like he’s not the only one who lives here.”
Kennedy, mouth gaping, points at the floor. “Likeherehere?”
“Bullshit,” Hartwell spits. “We’ve been all through these houses, and there’s nothing in any of them.”
That’s a good point. “I’m only repeating what he said. He also threatened us to leave.”
Somehow, Kennedy’s mouth drops further, but Hart’s expression doesn’t change.
“I’ll grab my stuff, then.”
“Hart—” Kennedy looks lost. “We can’t go.”
“He sort of implied he’d kill us if we didn’t,” I add.
“Killus?”
Through the hurried and confusing visit, I remember his mutteredI’m not a murderer.“Actually, maybe not him.” With how sudden and unexpected it all was, my memory is hazy. “He mentioned there was someone or something called Lynx that would.”
“Like the big cat?”
“I don’tknow.” Through my confusion, frustration bleeds out. “I woke up, there was some mountain man in my room, and he started making demands at me. Sorry if I didn’t catch all the details.”
“It sounds simple to me,” Hart says. “Let’s pack our shit and go.”
“But … but …” Kennedy looks from his twin to me and back again. “Wecan’t.”
“Oh, we definitely can,” Hart points out.
“Hudson?”
I can’t meet Kennedy’s eyes. I’m too tired and worked up to make a decision I’ll trust. I don’t want Wilde to know his threats worked, but I’m not all that eager to be a sitting duck. On the flip side, without this town, we’re fucked. Our business is tied up in this place, and I’m not sure that my willpower can handle returning home a failure. It’s only been a week. If I can’t do this, I can’t do anything, so what’s the point of continuing to try? I might as well?—
“Sure.” Hart leans against the doorframe and studies us. “This is definitely the kind of decision that needs thinking about. Take your time.”
I ignore the snide tone and pace to the other side of the room, muscles agitated and restless. “It didn’t sound like something we have to do immediately. I say we secure the house, get some sleep, and talk about it in the morning.”
“Well, thank you for waking us up, freaking us out, and then trapping us here for a bit longer. That plan makes perfect sense.”
Some days, I want to throttle Hart. “Excuse me for being freaked-out myself.” My hands flex into fists and loosen again. I’m not known for my patience, but I’m not known for running scared either. The deep, stubborn part of my center is adamant about digging my heels in and showing this asshole that I’m not afraid of him, even if he did pin me to the bed with next to no effort. I can’t say that didn’t fuck with my head, didn’t make me feel vulnerable and powerless, but there’s one of him and three of us. The odds are on our side.
Well … I eye Hart.Twoof us. And Kennedy is big enough that he could probably take Wilde on his own.
I swallow all of that back as I set a withering glare on Hartwell. “Help us secure the house.”
“Why? This place would go up like tinder. If someone wanted to kill us, that’s all they’d need to do.” With that cheerful note, he spins on his heel, and a moment later, I hear him on the stairs again.
“I hope you don’t like being a twin,” I tell Kennedy, glaring at the place Hart was. “Because I’m going to kick his ass one day.”
Kennedy sighs and pushes away from the counter. “Let’s get moving. There were boards over the windows when we got here. We’ll put them back up.”
I’m apprehensive about going outside to dig them out of thejunk pile, but thankfully, the street is as deserted as it normally is. We make fast work of securing the house, and it’s not until I collapse back into bed that I really let the tension take hold. I can still feel him in my room.
