Page 77 of Hunter or Hunted

“Yeah, I was gonna talk to you about that actually.” My breath clouded before my face, hopefully disguising the lie I’d planned on keeping. “Me and Sebastian found this cat when we were in Missouri. He was helpless, hungry, matted up, and, well, I couldn’t leave him like that.”

“So you got a cat?” Rhiannon leaned against the rear door of my car. “How’s Honey feel about it?”

“She adores him,” I said. “She loves all cats, really. Cats don’t usually feel the same way.”

Chuckling, she shrugged. “Just make sure he’s up to date on his vaccines and everything. I’m sure Sebastian’s already handling that.”

“Yeah, he checked him out this afternoon.” I tightened Honey’s leash as a car rolled by. “If I need to put down another pet deposit or anything⁠—”

“I know you take care of your animals.” She waved me off. “No. I just saw Sebastian a little while ago when he picked up Lizzie. Thought I’d swing by and ask how the funeral went.”

“It went.” I chewed on my bottom lip. “It was sad. Frustrating. I met all the reasons she came here, and I get it. I get how she wound up where she was.”

“Yeah. Same story most of us have. Generations and generations of pain.” Rhiannon’s gaze wandered into the trees. She reached into her pocket and came out with a pack of cigarettes. Without so much as looking my way, she sparked it and said, “I know, I know. They’ll kill me.”

No matter my surprise, I said, “I’m not judging.”

“Thirty damn years off these things, and one bad week.” She took in a long drag and shut her eyes. On the exhale, she opened them. “I’m not buying another pack, but god damn, I’ve missed nicotine.”

I chuckled. “Luckily, never was a vice of mine. All those pictures of tar-filled lungs in school turned me off.”

“Yeah, I need to take a look at those again.” She flicked the ash to the packed snow below our feet. “I’m assuming Simone told you already.”

“She did, yeah,” I said. “She’s freaked out. They’re staying with me tonight.”

“Don’t tell her this.” Rhiannon kept her voice low, glancing past the curtains. “But I’m freaked out too.”

Snowflakes danced through the air. I lifted my hood to keep some warmth inside, but I’d only tossed on a jacket light enough to run in and out of the car. If I’d known I was gonna be chit-chatting, I would’ve worn a coat to protect my tightening tendons from this icy wind. “You think she’ll get in again?”

“There are too many gaps in the fence to confidently say she won’t,” Rhiannon said. “Honestly, I don’t want either of them going anywhere alone. I want Simone to get a gun too.”

I laughed.

Rhiannon didn’t. Her eyes came to mine. “That bitch’s gonna be a problem. She’s gonna do some real damage. If Simone hadn’t already opened the salon, if she weren’t so adamant about staying here, I’d transfer her to another facility.”

My heart jumped into my throat. “You think Angela’s that bad?”

“I don’t know.” Rhiannon took another drag. “I’m not worried about her theories. For all I care, her son’s rotting in a shallow grave somewhere, and the world’s a better place for it.” She waved the smoke away. “But she’s relentless. The shit she said, the implication... She’s out to hurt Simone. By any and all means necessary.”

A touch of relief fell through my body at that first bit. At least we were on the same page about David. “She’s willing to get a restraining order now, though.”

“Yeah, and we all know how much those count for,” Rhiannon said. She pressed her lips together and shook her head. “Anyway. We’re under light lockdown.”

“Simone explained,” I said. “It was a good call.”

She nodded, distant gaze falling on me again. “Good. And you look good, by the way. Lighter.”

“Really?” Snorting, I brushed some hair behind my ear. “I’ve barely slept.”

“Really.” She surveyed me a moment longer. “You think the funeral was good for you? Gave you some closure?”

“Some, yeah.” Deciding to kill Evan gave me more. “I do feel better. I don’t know if it was saying goodbye, or if it was getting out of town, or if it was because I talked to her little sister.” I considered telling her about the situation between Ava and Evan but decided it was better suited for our next session. “I think I got through to her. I think after we talked, she saw that there was more to life than what her small town told her there was.”

“That’s what I like to hear.” Rhiannon managed a smile. “I was thinking about something. And feel free to tell me to shut up.”

“I would never.” Although, icicles were practically dangling off my nostrils. Even my forehead burned with each whoosh of the cold wind. If I didn’t wanna risk frostbite, I may need to do just that soon.

“I think you’re like me,” she said. “You like helping others. Sometimes to your detriment, but still. It’s how you heal. Helping Delilah, that was helping you, wasn’t it? Before all this?”