I spun around, but he had gone. The absence of his presence made the goose bumps on the back of my neck fade, but I felt cold. How did he get out? The window by the desk sat open and I could hear the faint babbling of birds outside. Walking over, I peered across the front lawn. I didn't see a sign of him anywhere.
"Where'd he go?" Ty asked.
"I don't know." I said. "I don't see him anywhere." I didn't like this. "Let's get of here."
I didn't need to ask twice. We sped out of the study, down the front hallway, and swung the main door wide. Several sparrows flapped and chirped as they startled off into the air, but that didn't give us pause. My hands landed on the CRV with a flush of relief. My fingers couldn't work fast enough as I fiddled with the door handle.
"Hurry, Charlotte," Ty said from the passenger side, jumping and fidgeting. "I locked mine."
"What?" I asked. The door budged open and I slipped inside. Leaning over, I popped hers ajar. "Who do you thinks going to steal this thing out here?"
Ty slipped into the warn seat. "Who'd have thought we'd be running from red haired dudes?"
"Good point."
Gunning the engine, we took off down the small overgrown path that Liam and his friends called a road. Once the shrubbery faded into the main single lane highway heading back towards civilization, I sighed. "What was that?" I asked.
"Did you get the book?" Ty asked.
"Yeah, here." I handed it to her. "I can't even think about that right now. My head is spinning."
"Yeah, whose idea was that anyway?"
I glared at her. "Amusing, Ty."
"Okay, so it was kind of a bad idea."
"Kind of?"
Ty shrugged, flopping back into her seat. "At least we got the book."
"Yeah," I said. I really didn't want to think about this anymore, not now. My head hurt. I also realized we left Liam's front door open. The idea of him knowing we broke into his house, made me feel like the worst person in the world. I wanted to get home.
Ty had drifted into a strange quietness by the time I turned onto my long hilly driveway, but as soon as the house came into view, she gasped. Sitting in front of my garage sat a beautiful black Ford Mustang.
"Wow, nice car," Ty said.
I parked and shut off the engine, afraid to look.
"Is that Liam talking to your dad?" Ty asked. "What's he doing here?"
"I don't know," I said, the words barely passing my lips.
Dad looked up from his conversation with a grin, and waved at me to come over. Liam turned from Dad and his gaze met mine. Panic gripped my chest. Did he know we broke into his house? No, there was no way he would, unless that guy called him. It seemed unlikely considering the time frame involved. Both Liam and Dad smiled at us. I needed to relax.
"Hide the book," I said, forcing a wave back to them as I hopped down from the car. I swallowed hard.
"Liam?" I asked as I approached him. "What are you doing here?"
He flashed one of his ridiculous grins and for a moment I almost forgot what I had been doing. Flustered, I forced myself to focus. Despite saving my life and saying he loved me; some serious details had been omitted from the picture. If he hadn't murdered those people, then he knew who did. The words of the crazy guy at Liam's house haunted me too. Had Liam been looking for me? What if he had been the one following me all along?
"This young man's been waiting for you, Charlotte," Dad said, with a pat on my back. He grabbed my shoulder giving it a hug with his palm. I wobbled, embarrassed. Liam chuckled.
"I missed you," Liam said, the sincerity unmissed.
"Liam..." My glaze flicked in my father's direction.
Dad wrestled my shoulder again. "You kids go have some fun," he said. "Liam seems like a good guy. Just make sure you're back by dinner. Your mother's supposed to be calling."
I looked at Dad with disbelief. Where was I? I didn't know how Liam pulled that off, but impressed didn't come close. "Thanks, Dad. I'll be back for the call."
"Okay then, have fun you two." Dad tossed a quick look of warning to Liam, before disappearing into the house. The door clicked shut, and my body relaxed.
"How did you do that?" I asked.
"I have my ways," he said with a small teasing grin. He closed the distance between us, and my breath caught in my throat. His warm fingers slipped into mine and he brought them to his cheek. My heart pounded in my ears.
"Hey guys," Ty hollered over from the CVR. "Do you think I can get a ride?"
My face burned and I moved back from Liam. "Of course. Right, Liam?"
"Sure," he said.
As we sped down the road in Liam's mustang, Ty had become a ghost of her normal bouncy self in the back seat. "Ty?" I asked. "Are you all right back there?"
Hearing only a tight small grunt, I turned around to face her. "What's wrong?" I asked, when I saw the fear on her face. Both her hands gripped the seat next to her as she stared at the back of Liam's head. I followed her gaze, but saw nothing weird. 'What is it?' I mouthed. She wouldn't answer. She just shook her head back and forth.
Liam pulled into a small shopping plaza in the center of town. A conglomerate of chain restaurants, and stores surrounded us from every angle. Weaving his way through the parking lot, Liam stopped in front of a small restaurant at the far end.
"I hope you like Chinese," he said.
"What?" I asked.
"I ordered take out. Thought we could have a picnic."
I couldn't help but smile. Liam seemed to take my expression as a yes and got out. "I'll be right back."
Liam disappeared inside the building, and I turned back to Ty. "What's going on?" I asked. Ty relaxed a little, but I caught her stealing a glance to the outside. "He's gone, Ty."
She nodded. "Sorry, it's nothing. It's just, I don't know." She leaned forward on the back of my seat and whispered. "He's a werewolf! I mean, in theory I was fine with this, but we are sitting in a werewolf's car!"
"Shh," I said. "Look, I know this isn't normal, but Liam wouldn't do anything to hurt you or me. I know that."
"But he doesn't know that I know. What if he finds out? What he wolfs out on me?"
"I don't think that's going to happen." My voice surprised me with its defensiveness. "Liam wouldn't do that. He's a good guy. You're my friend and he says he loves me."
There, I said it.
Ty's jaw dropped. "What? You didn't tell me that. Are you crazy? You don't even know if he had something to do with those killings? He's not even really a teenager." Her chest rose and fell with quick jerks.
"Look, relax. I know that, okay. Don't hyperventilate on me. I know what I'm doing." I hoped.
"Do you love him?" she asked.
My words caught in my throat. "I don't know. It's complicated. The way he makes me feel scares me, Ty." I wanted to tell her how it felt almost primal, as if he had the key so some hibernating force lying dormant in me, but it terrified me too much. I couldn't think that way. I wouldn't. "I like him," I said. "I do. There's just too many unknowns right now."
Ty nodded in understanding, looking a little relieved. "Look, I'm sorry for over reacting about the whole werewolf thing," she said, rolling her eyes. "It's just a little huge. I'm trying to wrap my brain around it. I trust your judgment of wolf boy."
"Thanks." I smirked over the back of the seat. "Don't worry. Everything's going to be fine. He won't hurt us."
The door opened and we both jumped.
"What's going on?" Liam asked.
"Nothing," Ty and I said at once. I sunk back down in my seat, fixing my belt. "Food smells good," I said with a small grin.
"Delicious," Ty said.
I worked my best poker face as I felt Liam's mind work over us like an x-ray machine. "Were you talking about me?" he asked.
"Not at all," Ty and I said at the same time. My face burned.
"Hmm, I see," Liam said, giving us a curious look as he started the car. "What were you talking about?"
"Just how lucky I am to have a guy like you buy my lunch," I said, teasing. I gave him a peck on the cheek. "Thanks for the food. It smells really good."
His eyes flashed gold from under his messy hair and whispered in my ear. "The food's not the only thing that smells incredible."
My heart rate soared and my body trembled.
"Still in the car," Ty said.
Liam licked his lip as he sat back up with a grin, and then pulled into reverse.
Ty's house appeared in record time, and as I watched her descend inside with the album in her backpack, I knew our investigation would have to wait.
"I wanted to make sure you were okay about yesterday," Liam said.
His words made my stomach turn. I spent most of the morning trying not to think about the horrific scene at the gas station. The earlier diversion had in its own way been at least helpful in that aspect. Now, with the image of yesterday afternoon laid out in my mind, I wanted to huddle into a ball.
"I'm okay," I said, lying.
"That's what I thought," He said, nodding.
I couldn't blame him for being worried. I was not okay. Liam took a turn into a small wooded picnic area. Markers for camping stood to the left of us, and I realized this place looked familiar.
"This isn't...?"
A broad grin broke across Liam's concerned expression, and my jaw dropped. "The one and only. I can't help it. I love this place. It's where I met you," he said with a chuckle. I didn't know if I wanted to kiss him or scream. "We're using a different entrance though. There's mostly hiking and picnicking up here."
"Oh nice," I said. The way he looked at me burned through me. I tried to keep my focus out the windshield. It drove me crazy.
"Charlotte..."
His voice made my blood pressure soar and I gripped the seat, refusing to look. Could he hear the frantic rhythm in my chest? Did he know how my body responded to him? I caught his reflection in the window, his lips had parted, his eyes wolf.
He knew. Of course he did. He had the senses of an animal. Embarrassment flushed over me. He recognized how I felt all along, even from the first night in the woods. Every jump in my pulse, every time my breath caught, or my temperature rose, he sensed it. No wonder he was so smug. I couldn't hide anything from him.
"Hey." His fingers brushed across my jaw line and tilted my chin up. Golden hues swallowed me. "Let's go eat." Dropping his touch with a wink, he grabbed the Chinese food, and slipped outside.
My entire body crumbled against the black leather seat. Slowly I let the air enter and exit my lungs. I needed to stay together.
When Liam had the food laid out on the grass, he waved me over.
"I hope you're hungry. I got a little of everything," he said. Reaching his arm out, he pulled me down into his lap. My temperature climbed. I couldn't help but melt into his chest, hard with lean muscle. He felt warm and safe.
His fingers caressed the back of my hair and he sighed. "Liam?" I asked.
"Mm," he said. I felt his cheek on my head and then his fingers fell as his nose replaced them, brushing up through my hair. "Charlotte," he said with low groan.
I shivered, knowing the animal part of him. I could feel it, so close to the surface, and despite all logic, I found it exciting.
I wanted the wolf.
My back arched against him, and my fingers tangled in his messy strands. Lips brushed across my jaw line, and I reciprocated, tasting his salty skin.
"Charlotte," he said, again. Taking my cheeks in his hand, he crushed his lips to mine.
Heat exploded up my backbone and down every limb of my body. I had never felt so alive. Everything started to tingle and then something inside me began to scratch and claw to surface. It scared me, yet I couldn't stop the sensation of this 'otherness' climbing the walls of my skin. The tips of my fingers itched and burned, and I grabbed onto Liam's back, digging them into his shirt.
His chest rumbled against mine and he pushed my lips apart. I felt a dropping sensation as something inside me began to pull away, allowing a part of me, hidden and subconscious, to emerge. Everything burned. I felt dizzy, and then a flush of light pressed through my line of vision.
The forest and picnic tables sprang to life. Each knot and vein of the trees stood out, defined, and vivid to the last detail. With almost microscopic precision I could discern the innate textures of a hummingbird as it flew overhead.
Trembling with this new awareness, I glanced down at Liam's shoulder as he continued to kiss my jaw. Quivering movements wrestled under his skin and then his ears shifted, rising further up his hairline. Adrenaline pulsing, I wanted more.
I gasped for air, meeting Liam's gaze, and then his body froze.
Panic from our first kiss hit me. He dropped his arms from my body and moved back. The hint of tears began to sting. I wouldn't cry.
"What?" I asked. What did I do? "Liam?"
"Your eyes," he whispered.
"What about them?" I rubbed them hard, blinking, in hopes any signs of my upset wouldn't show.
"Don't," Liam said. Taking my wrists in his hands, he pulled them down from my face. He cocked his head to the side, staring. It made me nervous.
"Liam," I said. "Please stop looking at me like that."
"It's true," he whispered.
"What's true?"
"I mean, I knew it was true, but to see it." He shook his head with a smile. "I don't know how you did it, Charlotte. You're incredible."
"How I did what?" I realized I grabbed a wad of grass in my hand and I let it go. "You're not making any sense."
"Shh," he whispered, placing two fingers on my lips. My body relaxed, even the sharpened vision went normal. "It's nothing," Liam said with a smile. He dropped his hand, and replaced it with a kiss.