Page 102 of Beneath the Blue Moon

***Ethan***

I pick up my cell phone without even looking at the name on

the screen.

“Hello.”

“Uncle Ethan, it’s Anna.”

“Anna. What—”

“You need to get home. Casey needs you.”

“What? What happened?” Silence. “Hello? Anna?”

She’s gone. What the hell is going on? I dial Casey’s

number and get no answer. Same thing when I try Clara. Even the house phone

goes unanswered. Fuck! What now? Charlie looks up as I pass him on the

way out.

“What’s up, boss?”

“Cryptic call from Anna about Casey. I’m going to check on

her.”

“You need me?”

“No. Stay here. I’ll call as soon as I know what’s going on.”

As I hop in the truck, my anxiety starts to get the better

of me. Anna. Why didn’t I think of her sooner? After all, she was one of the

last people to speak with Casey that night. She knows something. Now she says

Casey needs me. Holy Christ. I press down on the accelerator and pray I won’t

be too late. Why did I relieve Sam and Brad? I was foolish to think she’d be

safe at the house.

I notice Clara’s car is gone as I pull into the driveway. I

can’t believe she left Casey alone. She better have a damn good explanation.

Taking the stairs two at a time, I hurry to our room.

“Casey?”

I turn the handle but the door is locked, so I lean against

it, breaking the lock. Stepping inside the empty bedroom, I look around

cautiously.

“Casey?” I check the bathroom, but it, too, is locked. “Casey,

open the door.”

A tortured sob comes from inside, and I push against the

door. I die a million horrible deaths when I see her sitting in the tub, the

blade of a knife pressed to her wrist. My heart pounds in my ears and my mouth

goes dry.

“Please… Put the knife down.”

“No, stay back!”

“Casey, don’t do this.”

“Why? I have nothing to live for.”

“You have me. We have each other.”

“No….”

She closes her eyes, and I use the opportunity to move

forward and snatch the knife from her fingers.

“No!” she screams.

I toss the knife aside and lift her out of the tub, crushing

her against my chest. She was doing so well. What the hell caused this?

“It’s okay, sweetheart.”

“No! Just let me die!”

She struggles against me, pummeling my chest with her fists

as I take her to the bedroom. I sit her down on the bed and grab her upper arms,

holding her in place.

“You listen to me and listen good, Casey Bryan. I am not

letting you go. If you’re going to take your life, you might as well take mine,

too, because I cannot and will not live without you.”

“You’ll get over me.”

I release her arms, sit back on my heels, and remove my gun

from its holster.

“What are you doing?” she exclaims.

“If you want to do it, go ahead.” Uncertainty fills her eyes

and she glances in the direction of the bathroom. I flip the safety and put the

gun to my head, staring her in the eyes. “Just know that the moment you do, I

pull this trigger.”

Her eyes open wide in fear and she scrambles to the floor,

kneeling before me. She throws her arms around my waist and buries her face in

my chest.

“Ethan, no! Please don’t!”

“I will.”

“Okay, okay. I promise I won’t just… put the gun away. Please.”

I flip the safety again and place the gun back in the holster.

Horrified, she stares at me, tears streaming down her cheeks. I swear I have

never known fear until this woman came into my life.

“Don’t you dare leave me, Casey. You are not allowed

to remove yourself from my life.”

“I won’t, I won’t. I promise!”

“Casey?”

I turn and see Clara stumbling in, blood plastered to a

wound on her head. What the hell? I’m on my feet and at her side to catch her

before she falls.

“Clara!” Casey shrieks. “Oh, my God, what happened?”

She rushes over, helping me get Clara onto the bed. I reach

for my phone and dial Charlie’s number.

“Get your ass over here now!” I shout into the phone when he

answers.

What the fuck is going on here today? Casey races to the

bathroom, returning with the first aid kit.

“It doesn’t look too serious. I just need to clean the

blood. Get me a bowl or something with some water.”

While I’m in the kitchen, Charlie storms in like a mouse

with a cat on its tail.

“What’s going on?” he asks, urgency in his tone.

“You tell me! I come home to find Casey in the bathtub with

a knife to her wrist, and then Clara staggers in with her head bashed in.”

“What the hell?”

“Exactly. Find Anna. Bring her to me.”

“Anna?”

“She knows something, and I’m going to find out what.”

Back in the bedroom, I find Casey cooing to Clara. At least

she has something to keep her busy. Clara will be fine in a few hours, but I

don’t need to tell her that. I watch as she carefully cleans the wound and

bandages it.

“It’s superficial, but I think we should take her to the

hospital.”

“I’m fine. I don’t need a hospital.”

“Clara! Oh, thank God.”

“What happened?” I ask, helping her up.

“I got a call about… a patient.” She glances nervously at

Casey, so I know it’s wolf-related. “Anyway, since Anna was here, I figured I’d

just run out, take care of it and come back. When I got to the house, there was

no one there. I turned to go back to my car, and something knocked me from

behind.”

How could someone have snuck up on her? No one can sneak up

on a wolf. She would have smelled him long before he got too close. It had to

be some kind of weapon, or maybe a trap.

“Casey, stay with her. I’ll be right back.”

I get downstairs in time to see Charlie walking in with

Anna. She’s wringing her hands, looking nervous and frightened.

“Anna.”