Page 11

Rhodes

I was still debating whether or not to call the police when I pulled Bessie back into my parking space behind the service building. The entire gang of entitled pricks I’d checked in early today were already waiting by the locked door, arms crossed, feet tapping, and lips pursed in impatience. It was the type of pose only the rich could pull off, and I immediately disliked them.

‘What seems to be the problem, folks?’ I asked in my best customer service voice. The one that said what the customer wanted to hear, but really meant fuck off, you prick.

‘We have been waiting for over an hour, Mister Rhodes. We need access to the facilities at all hours, not just when you deign to grace us with your presence. I suggest you open this door before I sue you out of home and country,’ the elder gentleman threatened, and I was so going to enjoy watching him fall off his high horse.

‘And you thought this was something I needed to come handle after I’d already gone home for the night, did you?’ I asked, hiding my derision behind a sickly sweet voice.

‘How are we expected to survive the night without use of the facilities, sir?’ a younger woman asked, her lips so large that they flapped about whenever she spoke. Or moved. Or breathed.

‘Perhaps you could start by following the signs and entering the correct door. The bathroom facilities are open twenty-four-seven, which I informed you of while you checked in. May I also remind you that contacting me out of hours is for emergencies only ,’ I deadpanned.

The younger married couple with the group chose that moment to exit the shower room, hair still wet from their showers. They noticed the pile-up in front of the closed main entrance and changed directions to see what was going on.

‘Is something the matter?’ the man asked.

‘No, sweetheart. Everything is fine. Just a misunderstanding,’ the older woman responded with a huff, her voice terse. No one blinked an eye, so I assumed that was just her normal voice. Poor guy, stuck with parents like that. I’d watched the whole debacle when they’d ambushed that Chance guy, and all the pieces fell into place. With a family like that, no wonder he was such a grump. He had every fucking right to be.

‘All right,’ the younger man said, unsure where to put himself until his wife stepped forward.

‘Why don’t you get a hot shower and wash off the day, Mallory?’ she suggested, expertly manoeuvring the tense older woman in a way that didn’t demean her uppity attitude while working to calm her. What a woman. Her husband was a lucky man.

‘Yes. I do feel quite awful after a day spent travelling and setting up that tent. Florence, darling, let’s wash off the day’s grime so we can be fresh and rested tomorrow. Calvin, honey, you too. You worked up quite the sweat today.’

I watched as the trio headed into the shower room without any towels or toiletries, and decided it was best to leave before they demand I supply those, too. What a waste of my damn time, especially when it should have been spent trying to find that Kali girl. I couldn’t believe how quickly she’d disappeared into the trees, and I wondered way she came from. I was worried about her.

I turned to the remaining duo, anxiety thrumming through my veins. ‘You’ll have to excuse me. A woman was wandering the woods, and she stumbled upon my house. She seemed pretty lost and confused, so I need to call the cops.’

‘Oh, god, I hope she’s okay,’ the woman said, genuine concern drawing her features into a frown.

‘A woman? What did she look like?’ asked the man, and it struck me as a bit of an odd question to ask. Unless…

‘Do you know someone who’s gone missing?’

He shook his head, something indecipherable flashing behind his eyes before he quickly masked it. He cleared his throat and looked away, like he was suddenly sad. But there was something about the action that seemed a little too practised to me, like he was putting on an act.

‘No. I just thought if we had her description, we could keep an eye out for her,’ he explained, and I couldn’t fault his logic, even if there was something I felt like he was withholding.

‘Oh, sure. She was tall, maybe about five-eight, five-nine. Platinum blonde hair that she wore long and loose. And she had these big blue eyes, super pretty, but also kind of haunted like she’d been through some shit.’

The man’s face paled at the description, but his wife didn’t seem to notice. Instead, she gave me a knowing smirk. ‘Of course. And what was she wearing? Just so we can keep a lookout for you.’

I didn’t correct her assumption. If I were being honest with myself, then I could admit that Kali had captivated me, but this wasn’t about searching for a woman for any other reason than legitimate concern for her safety, so I gave a quick description of what I remembered of her clothes.

‘She was wearing black leggings and a pink tank top. Beyond that, I don’t remember much. She was gone before I could see too much of her, and she was mostly shadowed by the trees.’

‘Well, if we see here, we’ll let you know,’ she winked, but her husband was already walking off, lost in thought. She shot me an apologetic look before he gaze travelled back to her husband, expression dropping into something sad. ‘Please excuse him. He knew someone who went missing a long time ago.’

‘Oh, I’m sorry.’ That was probably what I was sensing from him before, and now I felt bad. ‘I didn’t mean to drag up bad memories.’

Her smile didn’t reach her eyes as she bid me goodnight, then jogged to catch up with her husband.

I climbed back inside Bessie and called the police.

∞∞∞

I left the police station the next day more frustrated than not. They weren’t going to send out an officer or begin a search party when it could have been just a trespasser who was more than likely long gone, though they had logged the incident as such, but they were at least going to search through the missing persons database with her first name and description in mind.

I supposed that was all they could really do, anyway. I’d played my part, now it was time for them to step up.

Was it bad of me to hope she came back, not just for her safety and wellbeing, but because I wanted to see her again?

All I could see whenever I closed my eyes was her haunted, icy blue ones, gazing at me with open surprise like she couldn’t quite believe I was noticing her. But I didn’t understand how anyone could overlook someone so gorgeous. Her features were unique, everything about her shining with a light that gave off the impression she was pure. Except for those damn shadows in her eyes. I hated them. I wanted to know who put them there, because a woman like her deserved so much better.

A woman like her … what was I thinking? I didn’t even know her, let alone well enough to make that conclusion. For all I knew, she could’ve been a serial killer. I doubted it, though. She had the perfect opportunity to kill me, and she hadn’t. Fuck… I hoped she hadn’t escaped from one.

Now that the thought had come to me, it settled in with a chilling permanence. I had more questions than answers, and my mind was running scenario after scenario about what had happened to her, why she had shown up on my property. None of them were good.

I decided to head back to my house before making my way to the campsite, just for one more look to see if she would show up again. Maybe she’d never even left? I knew that was wishful thinking, but something was calling me to her. She had found her way to my house, and I did not believe in coincidences. Especially when she’d seemed as shocked as me to be there.

However, to get to my house, I had to drive through the campsite, and I was flagged down by none other than the paranormal investigators. Thankfully, the other group were nowhere to be seen, so I pulled Bessie to a stop in front of them. I didn’t get out, though, instead choosing to roll the window down to save time. Hopefully, whatever they needed wouldn’t take too long, or I could handle it when I got back.

‘Rhodes,’ the surly guy, Chance, greeted, still sullen. Perhaps even more than yesterday.

I had a bad feeling about this…

‘Hey, do you folks need something?’

‘We were just wondering if we could chat with you about something? When you have a minute to spare, of course,’ Ashe asked, shooting a nervous glance towards her thin-lipped wife. I wasn’t sure I wanted to get involved in whatever their dispute was, and I hoped they weren’t trying to rope me into it.

‘Uh, what about?’

‘Just what you said yesterday. To my brother. About the woman,’ he answered.

‘He told you about that, huh?’

‘Dakota told us about it, gave us the description in case we ran into her,’ Ashe informed me.

‘Dakota is…’ I prompted.

‘My brother’s wife,’ Chance replied, though something in his tone said he hated that fact. I wondered what the story was there, but decided to let it go since it was none of my business.

‘Right. Little red-headed lady. She seems nice. Tell her thanks for passing on the message.’

‘Sure thing, but about that chat?’ Ashe pushed.

I sighed, impatience urging me to end this interaction so I could see for myself if Kali was back or not. ‘I have something I need to do first, but I’ll be back soon. I don’t know what your plans are today, but you can find me in my office later.’

‘We’ll be there,’ Chance said, ending the conversation by stepping back to let me drive off.

Both groups were odd in their own ways, and normally, I would have been eager for the change of pace. After Kali showed up, however, my mind was more focused on her. She was taking up residence inside my head, even though our meeting was so brief and cut short. I couldn’t explain it, but I realised I didn’t want to.

I didn’t have much time left on this earth, and going with the flow was my only real option now. That said, I was definitely willing to allow Kali to hoard my attention.

Lady Luck must have been on my side, because I caught a flash of white darting through the trees as I pulled up my driveway. I immediately turned Bessie off and jumped out, heading straight for the section of trees where I’d just seen her.

But when I got there, there was no sign of her.

‘Kali!’ I shouted, but got no response. ‘Kali, wait!’

I picked my way through the underbrush, holding onto the trunks where I could. I didn’t spend much time this way since these trees marked the border between my property and the next, and I suddenly wondered if perhaps she was a new owner. I’d never met the guy who lived there, but perhaps Kali was his daughter? Niece? Fuck, please, anything but his wife.

Then…

There.

‘Kali, hold on a second,’ I called out, rushing as fast as I could to reach her without tripping on a root and falling on my face. I preferred to exude suaveness.

Much to my delight, she stayed put, eyeing me critically as I approached. She was still cast in shadows from the trees, and I wondered if that was purposeful or merely coincidental. The mystery of her only grew.

‘Hey,’ I said, panting slightly as I stopped a few feet from where she stood. Something told me if I got any closer, she might spook and run off again, and that was the last thing I wanted.

‘Hi,’ she said back, almost timidly. I said ‘almost’ because her chin was raised and there was a challenge in her gaze. For me, or for herself? I was eager to find out.

‘You ran off pretty quick yesterday. I was worried.’

‘I had to go.’

I hummed, not knowing how to respond to that without prying. ‘You never answered my question,’ I said instead, and almost wanted to face-palm when she cocked her head at me in confusion.

‘What question?’

‘Are you okay?’

She let out a humourless laugh that told me she was anything but, but a quick scan of her showed no physical signs of injury or abuse. That meant her struggles were internal. I knew a lot about those.

‘Define okay ,’ she finally responded.

‘Do you need help?’

She smiled, but it was small, brimming with sadness. Yet at the same time, her eyes flashed with a fire that I felt might have scorched me if it were aimed my way. ‘Yes, but I doubt you can help me.’

‘Well, I can’t try if you don’t give me the chance,’ I prompted, but she merely shook her head, her shoulders slumping in defeat while simultaneously looking ready to burn down the world. She was quite the enigma, wasn’t she?

‘I would love your help, Rhodes, but I fear it’s too dangerous. I’m not selfish enough to drag you into it. You’re young and have your whole life ahead of you.’

I frowned, my concern for her ratcheting up to new heights. ‘Kali, if I can help you in any way, I want to.’

Her expression softened, something akin to caring flashing through her eyes. A dangerous emotion when it came to me, since I wasn’t going to be easy to care about. Not when my end was fast approaching.

‘You can help me by being my friend,’ she offered, a hopeful glint sparking in her eyes.

I was more than willing to accept. ‘I’d love that. If that’s what you want, I could be your friend.’

She took on a faraway look, like she was caught in a memory. It didn’t seem like a good one, though. ‘I haven’t had a friend in a long time,’ she admitted, and my heart squeezed painfully inside my chest.

‘Me neither. But, I have to warn you, I’m probably not the best choice for a friend,’ I confessed.

‘How so?’

‘Because…’ I paused, unsure if I was actually about to say it out loud or not. This would be the first time I would admit it with words, putting it out there into the universe. There was a finality to it that scared me, like some part of me didn’t want to admit it yet. I may have accepted my lot in life, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t still mourning what could have been. But watching Kali’s expressive eyes, seeing how she wore her heart on her sleeve. Her concern for me was just as powerful as mine was for her, despite being strangers, and I knew she was safe to admit my condition. I wanted at least one person to know, to remember me fondly after I was gone.

‘I’m dying,’ I told her, and her breath hitched. It drew my attention down to her chest, and then the bountiful mounds of her breasts as they rose higher into the air. Beautiful. But I was a gentleman, so I forced my gaze back to hers.

‘Why do you say that?’ she asked, trying to hold back her reaction. I saw it anyway, the confusion, the compassion. No pity, though. I appreciated that.

The words spilled from my mouth like verbal diarrhoea at her question, like she’d just given me permission to unload everything that had been on my mind since I’d found out a few days ago. ‘I have cancer. A brain tumour. Glioblastoma. It’s inoperable, and I’ve declined treatment. Wouldn’t have helped, anyway. I’ve got about three months left to live, if that. So, if you want to let me in on your dangerous situation, I’m not fussed about putting myself at risk, not when I’m already dying.’

‘That’s…’ she began, fighting to find the right words. There were none, but everyone still tried. Her eyes darted to the side, but I saw nothing but shadows. She sighed, her defeat evident in the way her body practically caved in on itself.

‘This danger goes beyond death, Rhodes. I’m sorry, but I can’t.’

And then she was practically merging with the shadows, disappearing before my very eyes like a spectre in the night. I didn’t bother looking for her again. I had the feeling that she would only let me find her when she wanted to be found, and I was surprisingly okay with that. Not because I couldn’t see her whenever I wanted, but because I knew she would return, and it would be her choice.

And that meant something. Something important. Something worthwhile.

I gave the woods one last lingering look before making my way back to Bessie. I had another conversation waiting for me.