Page 29 of Watch Me Burn
“A little heated?” Maren scoffs. “That piece of shit threatened you.”
Karen looks over at her and then back at me as she crosses her arms. “Wait a minute. Let’s back up a minute. He threatened you?”
“A little. But Damien handled it. He threw him out.”
“And what was Damien Wolfe doing here?”
“I invited him to dinner. What does that have to do with anything?”
“I just didn’t realize you were that close.”
“It was dinner. Neighbors can have dinner together.”
Suspicion clouds Karen's features. “Why didn’t you tell me about this?”
“Honestly? Because it slipped my mind?”
Damien kissed me, and that wiped away any memory of much else, except the visit from my wolf later.
Maren snorts from the couch, and I shoot her another warning glare. As usual, it has no effect on her.
“Don’t you have something to do?”
“I am.” She holds up Flower. “I’m socializing with our resident rabbits.”
Now it’s my turn to snort, but I hold back.
Karen leans forward in her chair, her expression stern. “Luna, this is exactly the kind of escalating behavior that can lead to serious violence. You should have called me immediately.”
“I know, I know.” I rub my forehead, tension coiling at the base of my skull. “I just… Damien seemed to handle it, and I thought that was the end of it.”
“Do you think these could be from him?” Karen taps her pen against the box.
I lean back in my chair, considering, before I shake my head. “He’s clearly still angry about our breakup and the restraining order. But this…” I gesture at the destroyed flowers. “This seems more elaborate than his usual style. Caleb’s more of a show-up-drunk-and-yell-at-you-then-threaten-you kind of guy, not a send-mutilated-flowers-through-a-third-party type.”
“But you can’t be sure.”
“No. I can’t be sure.”
Karen closes the box and picks it up, slipping it into a large evidence bag before tossing her gloves in the trash. “I’m taking this to have it processed for fingerprints. We’ll see what we can find. Email me that security footage, and I’ll have forensics take a look. Run the kid’s face through facial rec.” She looks at me, her expression stern. “Luna, if Caleb contacts you again—if anyone contacts you in a way that makes you uncomfortable—you call me. No more letting Damien Wolfe or anyone else handle it for you.”
“I will.” But I wonder how much my promises mean these days. I’ve assured Karen several times that I’d reach out if something unusual happens, but there’s so much unusual in my life, I’d be calling her constantly if I followed through with my promise.
After she leaves, I feel drained. I walk over to the couch and sink beside Maren. She hands me Honey. The rabbit’s warm, solid weight against my chest is just what I need.
“I’m so over all this crazy,” she murmurs as I let my head drop onto her shoulder. “First, your may or may not be stalker, then the dead bodies, then Caleb, all these mysterious donations and payoffs, and now this.”
“When you say it like that, itsounds like a lot.”
Humor seems safer than acknowledging the weight of everything she just catalogued. Less brutal than letting it all crash down on me at once.
“It’s more shit than on the soap operas Estella watches.” She pushes to her feet, shifting Flower over her shoulder before taking Honey from me. I stretch out sideways on the sofa, letting my head rest on the arm. The warmth left over from Maren’s body seeps into my every muscle.
“I’ll take these ladies back to their cage. You stay put. Decompress for a bit.” Maren pauses at the door and turns back. “I want a greasy cheeseburger and fries for dinner. I’ll go to Nancy’s. And I’m staying here tonight. What do you want from the diner?”
Her words hit me like a gift I didn’t know I needed. I hadn’t wanted to ask, but the thought of being alone tonight makes my stomach clench. My wolf will find his way around Maren’s presence, but he never stays until morning.
“Get me a spinach salad with chicken and a side of fries, please.”
