Page 91 of Blade

It seemed morbid at the very least.

But I’d have to hear how Henley saw it before I could figure out how I should try to see it. He always had a very interesting outlook.

“Great.” He must’ve realized I was sincere because his smile brightened as he looked around. “Oh, we only found you because Gladice over at the Dollar General remembered you guys buying brownie mix. She’s really nosy but I made sure she understood your safety was involved.”

So?

There was definitely something he was leaving out based on the way his wiggling had decreased significantly.

“So you’ve got about twenty-four hours before she forgets that part and starts chatting away.” Shrugging, the officer looked resigned to that fact. “I’d wrap things up if I were you and sneak out of town. It was great to meet you, though. I’m really glad I’m a terrible shot and only got Bucky.”

Huh?

Waving, he turned and headed back to his vehicle before I could process what he’d said. Who was Bucky? Had he actually shot someone? Was Bucky a person? How was he a police officer if he couldn’t accurately shoot a gun?

As more questions kept firing through my head, Henley finally eased around the corner as the officer drove off. “That was weird on a variety of levels.”

“Agreed, my mate.” Had the locals always been strange? “I can’t decide if everyone has gotten more insane over the years or if I just hadn’t seen it before.”

“Is both an option?” Looking as confused as I felt, Henley checked on a few things on the side of the trailer before cominginside. “Were we really followed by some drunk local who was pissed he hadn’t killed you in your trapped form?”

“That’s what I heard as well.” People had definitely gotten more insane. I was going to blame it on social media like they did about everything else these days. “I think getting some space from town is a good idea.”

“Eventually they’ll get used to the idea of you being…well…you again and we won’t have to worry about this.” Frowning, Henley looked around the trailer and I could see a new to-do list forming in his head. “Maybe he’ll just end up in jail for a few years and that’ll make it easier.”

I wasn’t sure what to say, so I shrugged and focused on the present. “Hopefully. For now, though, we’ve got the shopping we needed to done, the trailer is ready to go except for emptying the tank before we leave, and you picked out the ATM we’re going to use as we leave the area.”

The plan was to drive an hour south to get money, then double back to eventually head west. He hoped that would confuse anyone watching us long enough for us to put some space between us and Bladenboro.

“Yes.” Taking a deep breath, he let it out slowly before stepping closer to me. He might not think he was stressed but I could feel him relax against me as I hugged him tight. “Serena texted me on the way back from the bathroom. Your stuff is ready and she wants to walk through the finances one more time to make sure you understand everything.”

While our biggest worries were about safety and the future, Serena’s main fears were about how I felt and how her managing my finances looked.

“Nothing she’s done says she’s untrustworthy, but I think it’s going to take time for her to believe it.” Having that spell hanging over us had affected her life more than I thought she realized. “It might be selfish but I’d much rather focus on our lifeand where we’re going rather than constantly watching the stock market and the local economy.”

She was doing an amazing job of managing the money, but from what I could see, it was nearly a full-time job.

“I think that’s reasonable and we’ll be able to watch it as we travel.” Henley shrugged as he stepped back. “And even if she’s skimming a bit, she’s doing it really well and isn’t taking too much.”

He had the strangest outlook on life.

“Then we won’t worry about it unless the funds start disappearing dramatically.” Taking his perspective on the situation made it easier. “We’re taken care of and she’s doing a lot of work.”

Work that she was being compensated for, but it didn’t look like nearly enough.

“We just need to do some research on how much what she’s doing usually costs.” Frowning, Henley cocked his head. “I’ve never looked into that or had that much money.”

We were both operating without enough information but we could fix that over time.

“It’s another thing to research and then we’ll see how much of a raise she needs.” I couldn’t do anything about her punishing herself in the past, but I wanted to make sure she wasn’t still doing it. “She seems like the type to martyr herself rather than steal.”

“People make dumb decisions on a regular basis, so we’ll see which kind she makes.” Straightening, he smiled. “Let’s go talk to her and then we’ll wrap things up.”

My mate was excited to leave for a variety of reasons but I was pretty sure feeling unsafe in the area was top on his list even if he kept downplaying that one. His anxiety had been just a bit too high over the past few days and he was having nightmares ona regular basis. “You’ve promised to show me the country but so far it’s just talk.”

I could feel his stress climbing higher the longer we stayed, but he’d been doing his best to hide it from me. However, after being followed the other day, even I knew it was time to go. I wanted my relaxed, content mate back and that meant we had to put some distance between us and his family and the local hunters and whoever else decided to come find us.

“Don’t tempt me.” Nearly bouncing, he started buzzing around the kitchen, putting things away. “I like going and we’ll end up on Mars if we’re not careful.”