She’d have to be back to the homestead at first light to let her chickens out, so she would know the whole experience had a shelf life. That would make her feel better about it all.
It was all set.
So I went ahead and spent a little more time with the guys, feeling a little guilty for being away for so long, then requested to use the SUV again.
“Just for the night,” I clarified.
“Why can’t you just bring your bike?” Sway asked, brows drawing together.
“None of your business, that’s why,” Slash was quick to say, tossing me the keys. “You might want to look into getting a car if it’s going to be like this for a long time, though,” he said.
“Yeah, I’ll get on that,” I agreed, nodding.
Normally, the one SUV did the charm for all of us. But as the club was going to keep expanding, having a few more enclosed vehicles in our fleet would probably be a good idea.
I double-checked to make sure I had what I’d need for the night, and made my way back.
The whole time, I couldn’t shake this weird sensation around my neck, something that had me constantly reaching up to tug at my collar like it was too tight, despite it being an old, worn-in shirt.
Uneasy, that was what the feeling was.
About what?
Going to see Morgaine?
After not being able to think about shit else since leaving her just a few hours ago?
That made no sense.
It wasn’t until I parked and made the walk to the house that I finally started to suspect it had nothing at all to do with my own feelings about Morgaine, but about her in general.
It wasn’t until I was walking up to the house and found one of her chickens roosting on the top of her water tank, though, that the panic gripped my system.
She never would have left the chickens out.
She loved them like kids.
She literally watched out the window until the sun was down low enough, then went out to make sure they were in the coop, then locked them up for the night.
No way, no fucking way, would she leave them out if everything was okay.
What the fuck was going on?
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Morgaine
Is it possible to be so distracted by dick that you forgot about the creepy vibes you’d been having for almost a week?
Apparently, yes, yes, it was.
Because I forgot all about it until Crow left.
See, I guess there was one benefit to having a man around. Aside from the abundant orgasms, of course.
They made you feel safe.
I didn’t have to worry about things that went bump in the night because I wasn’t alone anymore, because I had someone around to investigate if that felt necessary.
As such, it just all went to the back of my mind.
Though, yeah, my mind was, you know, mostly on Crow and his body and what it did to mine.
Stupid.
So fucking stupid.
Because if I hadn’t been so damn distracted, I would have remembered all the weird stuff piling up. The noises. The broken glass. The missing crow earring.
Maybe I would have even told Crow about it, let him ease my mind about it, or tell me that, yeah, it was something I needed to be worrying about.
Or, at the very least, I would have started to bring my phone with me everywhere I went.
There was nothing I could do, though, when it was sitting on the bed in the loft, plugged into the solar bank to charge, and there was a crash behind me as I stood at the kitchen counter, stuffing a rice and herb bag for the cramps that I knew were going to crimp my style with Crow in a couple of days.
Again, I think I’d been lulled into a feeling of safety, of security, from being with Crow for a few days. Because my instincts were sluggish, my reactions slow.
If this was the me from four or five days ago, I’d have had several knives in my hands within seconds.
As it was, though, I felt someone grab a handful of my hair before I could even wrap my head around what was going on.
The pain exploded across my scalp, stealing my breath. Not that it mattered. I couldn’t scream. No one would hear me. No one would come.
I was all alone.
Like I always wanted to be.
I guess I just never envisioned a future where alone meant danger instead of safety.
In my mind, danger was in the people. And the people were in town, blissfully oblivious to my presence, to my very existence.
No one was supposed to know where to find me, to know they could sneak in, and try to harm me.
But that was exactly what was happening.
My hand went back behind me, grabbing my hair higher up to ease the pain across my scalp as I tried to grab for the knife not far away. It wasn’t dipped in anything debilitating, but it could sure create some good holes in a person.