Dorian's hand grabbed mine.
"I can see that our new responsibilities are finally asleep," Dorian whispered. He was alone. "Care to chat with Lance for a moment in the forest?"
I smirked as we snuck away from the camp. "My husband might have a problem with that, Lance."
He said nothing as he pulled me hard against him. Our lips met, and fireworks exploded in my mind. It was glorious. I ran my hands through his hair, desperate for his touch. It was so unfair to be deprived of this because of our guests. We kissed passionately, with no prying civilian eyes to watch us.
I broke away for a breath. "I missed you. I was so worried."
He cupped my face and smiled at me. "I could never be apart from you for long; you know that." He leaned down and placed a kiss on my forehead. "How was Bryce?"
"Good, tired, a little embarrassed," I said, not wanting to talk too much about what Bryce had confided in me. It was his story to tell, after all. I stared up into Dorian's glacial eyes, visible even in the darkness. He was like a cat.
We had things we needed to talk about. The people he’d brought along were going to be an issue. I feared it would be out of our hands. If the Bureau found out that we had civilians and didn’t try to call in for a rescue, it could pose a problem for our company.
"I think we may have to call in backup tomorrow,” I said.
"Do you think it's necessary?" Dorian asked gently. “I know you must be… disappointed by how things turned out.”
"Honestly, I wish it wasn't," I said, frustrated by our prospects.
He opened his mouth to reply, but it was cut off by the sound of a bloodcurdling, girlish scream. We looked at one another and immediately raced back to the campsite.
Jennifer was twirling around in circles, tears streaming down her face. "The voices," she babbled wildly. "The voices. Oh, God, it said something was coming for us. It's on its way." Johnny was desperately trying to calm her down, but she gave a frightful wail into her hands.
Icy fear ran through me. What was coming for us?
Sike snatched up the scanner from where I’d left it. He sucked in a sharp breath as his eyes landed on the device. Oh no. The screen lit up with a glowing green light.
"What is it?" I asked, fearing that I already knew the answer.
"The monster is back," Sike said grimly. "It's heading straight for us."
Jennifer let out another sob. In the distance, a faint, familiar wail replied.
21
Roxy
The wind hit my face as evening came. I grunted a complaint, feeling the sting of the icy blast on my cuts. Winter was cruel. Diving into a bush left me with plenty of scrapes on my face, although Sylas had already disinfected them. The smell of ointment hit my nostrils, and I wrinkled my nose.
"You're a glutton for punishment," Holt said with a shake of his head and a laugh. We were standing on the edge of town, hours after the creature’s attack. The Bureau soldiers who were already stationed here fanned out with the rest of the Hellraisers. I blew warm air onto my hands as I reached for the scanner. My gloves were too clunky to use when operating this device, and I would take the cold over being slow any day.
I shrugged. "I can't miss the action." It was simple, but it was true. I was sore all over and patched up, but I needed to be part of this. It drove me more than any cup of coffee or adrenaline could. Some might say obsessive, but I prefer “dedicated.” "We need to keep an eye on the borders, and I won't sleep anyway if I know you guys are out here."
We weren't in the Leftovers, but on the boundaries of it. I had a feeling that the monster was gone for the moment, but various small creatures chirped in the late evening as the sun fell. There were more monsters than the beast in the forest, monsters that seemed to awaken right around sunset, judging from the low sounds. I studied the scanner's screen, but there were no big blips on the way.
"We have to keep this town safe," I muttered, glancing back down the road to where the town sat nearby. There were lights on in some of the houses. The old Bureau soldiers had told the residents to only use one light or a lantern if possible, to avoid drawing attention to themselves. I was glad to see only one small light coming from each of the houses I could see in the distance. Good. Although these people were stubborn to stay behind and live like this, at least they were following the rules. It was more than I could say for a certain member of my own team, but he was off scouting with the twins. I had changed my mind about putting them together, since the twins had been on relatively good behavior recently. They would need to learn to work together at some point, and a low-stakes patrol seemed like a good way to test the waters. I was sure—and secretly delighted—to imagine that they were ragging on him mercilessly.
"We'll keep them safe," Holt said as he stared at the town. It was not lost on me that he’d attached himself to my side when I’d insisted on taking part in the patrol. A subtle look had passed among all the Hellraisers when I announced that I was coming out with them. They wanted someone by my side, after everything that had happened.
A headache brewed at the back
