Page 161 of Dream House
“And?” I prompt, not liking the idea of the two of them being outside in the front after midnight on Halloween.
“And two guys who’d been hanging out at The Bouchanniere across the street stopped to talk to us.”
I definitely don’t like the feeling of dread her tone gives me.
“And?”
“And they asked if the girl who’d just gone inside was Nina Lemoine.”
Oh shit.
“Wh-What did you say?”
Pen looks at me like I’ve lost my mind. “Well, of course I said no—”
“Was it Kaleb? Dark hair? Did he have a goatee?”
“No. No.” Pen shakes her head like she’s already been through this. And of course she has. I was just too checked out yesterday to hear about it. “We don’t know who it was. I described both guys to Nina—who turned as white as a ghost—and she’s already pretty white—” Pen mutters. “She showed me a picture of Kaleb, and neither one was him. We’re sure of that. But she couldn’t say who they were based on me and Livy’s descriptions.”
I swallow. “Did they look—Do you think—”
“Do I think they know Kaleb Douche-ette? Yes, I do,” she snaps.
In spite of the alarm I’m feeling, I crack a smile. Kaleb’s last name isDoucet,and we all know it.“Douche-ette?Did you come up with that?”
Pen avoids my eyes, but she’s unable to hide her grin. “Livy mighta said something,” she hedges.
I want to enjoy the pun, but the significance of this sinks in. If those guys were friends of his, and they recognized Nina, then Kaleb knows where she lives.
We haven’t seen any sign of him since that scary day. There’s a warrant for his arrest and a bench warrant now too, since he missed the hearing for Nina’s protective order. Needless to say, the judge made it permanent.
Nina’s starting her new job this weekend, waiting tables at Central Pizza, so we’ve kind of allowed ourselves to put the threat of Kaleb Doucet out of our minds. At least, I have.
I wince. “How’s she doing?”
Pen gives me a no nonsense look. “Freaked. Understandably. Talking about moving.”
My eyes fly open wide.“What?!Nina can’t move! This is her home. We are her family. He can’t take that from her.”
My best friend looks at me with amusement. “Yes,Braveheart,I told her that. So did Livy, and, though I don’t know exactly what was said, I’m sure Tyler had some words on the subject.”
I tuck my chin. “Did I miss something else?”
She shrugs. “Not sure. But you can bet he hasn’t left her side since Saturday night.”
I snort. “You say that like he’d left her sidebeforeSaturday night.”
We share a grin, but hers fades first.
“Livy and I think a house-wide security meeting is in order.”
I nod, but I can’t begin to wrap my head around what we should do. Install a security system? Add motion sensing lights to the front door? The door off the living room? Probably all of the above.
But in the meantime, we have to be exceptionally careful. I frown.
“Does Lark know? About these guys, I mean?”
This takes Pen off guard. “Come to think of it, I’m not sure.” She swipes a finger through the dregs of batter in my mixing bowl and sticks it in her mouth. “I’ll make sure Livy tells him.”
