AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The night is frosty and clear. The crisp air feels invigorating. I’ve been indoors too much lately. As soon as this is over and we’re safe, I’m going to show Calli how wonderful a bonfire feels on cold nights. A walk around my house and barn reveals nothing. Everything is quiet.
I’m glad to have Lee here as some back up for tonight, another set of eyes and ears. The predicted shutdown storm will be a welcome thing as well if it materializes. It doesn’t take much to make our road impassable and it’s unlikely anyone is going to be out here fucking around in an ice storm. It buys us a few days to get ahold of Lee’s connection and put some security in place.
When I return to the house, Lee has hooked up my old gaming system and turned on some music. “All clear?” he asks, without looking away from the screen.
“All clear.”
“Grab a few hours of sleep. I’ll keep an eye on things and wake you when I’m ready to crash. I slept half the day anyway.”
“Alright. Thanks.” I’m not sure whether I’ll be able to sleep, but crawling into bed with Calli sounds too inviting.
He puts the cap on the bottle of whiskey and holds it out to me to put away. When I grasp the bottle, he holds onto it,looking me in the eye. “You haven’t lost your chance. Don’t fuck it up.”
CHAPTER 30
CALLIOPE
Despite the stress of yesterday,I slept well. Arlow’s body wrapped around mine always seems to have that effect. “Hey,” I call, joining him on the couch. “Is Lee gone?”
“He left this morning.”
“Any new chaos I should know about?” I ask, stealing a sip of his coffee.
“How about some good news for once? Our internet is back on.”
“Really?” I grab my phone to see the WIFI is connected again. “About time.”
“I want to talk to you about the next few weeks. I’m going to hire private security. Lee knows some reliable people.”
“Bodyguards?” His concern is warranted but I’m not going to have a guy following me around.
“No, just someone to keep an eye on things, especially while we sleep or if we aren’t at home. We can’t watch every second, even with cameras.”
“Okay. Is that happening today?”
He shakes his head and gestures to the television. “The predictions for the storm keep getting worse. It’s going to shift between ice, snow, and a mix of the two. Our road will likely endup impassable for a day or two at least.” The look he gives me says I’m not going to like what he has to say next. “I reserved us a hotel room for the next few days. Just until we can get some security in place. I’m not going to take the chance of him showing up while we’re trapped.”
Sighing, I sit back. “Riding out a winter storm with a possible madman lurking around does sound like stupid horror movie behavior, I guess. But we can’t leave your place unguarded. He burnt your hives. What if he burns the house or the barn?”
“I can keep an eye through the cameras if the power stays on.”
“And if it doesn’t?”
“I’ll risk it. I won’t risk you getting hurt if we stay.”
“Us.”
“What?” He cocks his head to look at me.
“We won’t riskusgetting hurt if we stay.” His eyes soften as I run my hand through his hair. “I need you to be safe too. What time do you want to leave?”
“Right before dark. The storm isn’t coming until near dawn, and I want to install cameras at your cabin and make sure the trail cams are back online. Plus get the generator out in case we return to a power outage.”
“Okay, I can help. Just tell me what to do.”
A grin grows on his face. “You could make that chili and cornbread we didn’t get yesterday.”
“And cinnamon rolls.”
