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TWELVE

FARRON

POSSIBILITIES

Day 464

All three men look at me with varying expressions of horror. I let out a heavy sigh, a wave of discomfort prickling over my skin. It’s hard to pinpoint which part of this moment makes me feel more uneasy—speaking the truth about those horrifying days and recounting the paralyzing fear I experienced, the way I froze when faced with the worst moments of my life, or the pity I now see in their eyes.

A warm hand suddenly wraps around my wrist, and I look up to find Kenji standing beside me. His gaze follows my hand, and I glance down in surprise to see my fingers frantically picking and scratching at the skin of my palm, raw and irritated. Great. Heat floods my face as embarrassment creeps up my neck. I flash Kenji a sheepish, half-hearted grin and quickly withdraw my hand, but he doesn’t return the smile. Instead, he steps back a few paces, giving me space, though his presence remains close enough to offer comfort.

I clear my throat, the sound too loud in the silence that follows. “So…” I start, trying to push past the awkwardness I feel. “I don’t know that those men I ran into back then have anything to do with the shed. I have no idea how many were in that group, where they’re located, or if they’re still around. It’s been more than a year, so maybe my fear is completely ridiculous and unjustified, but?—”

“I don’t know that unjustified is the right word,” Kenji says, interrupting me. His hands follow along with his words for Theo, just like they did when I was speaking, even if the movements are awkward with the sling and he ends up relying mainly on his right hand. “From what you heard, it sounds like they were a real group with some sort of real hierarchy… Rolling Hills is not exactly easy to find—the only reason we were able to get here is because of the directions from Ray.”

“You don’t think Ray could have had anything to do with this, do you?” Adrian asks. It’s a fair question, I suppose, given the situation, even if my immediate reaction is to bristle at his words. I frown, thinking it over, trying to choose my words carefully.

“I don’t think so,” I answer honestly. “I mean, it’s been a few months since we saw them here, but last I know it’s still just Ray and his daughter, Mara.” My eyes flick to each of the men, gauging their reactions. They nod, confirming what I already knew. “The two of them wouldn’t have any reason to steal anything. They both know that they’re always welcome here and that if they ever need anything from us, it’s theirs.”

“I figured,” Adrian admits, his palm coming up to rub the back of his neck. “We got a very good impression from the short amount of time we spent with the two of them, but we had to ask.”

I shut my eyes and nod, rubbing at my temples, trying to stave off the headache that’s beginning to form at the base of my skull. “I just can’t see a reason as to why anyone in Rolling Hills would break the door to the shed and steal things. Everyone here has more than enough, and if they ever ran out of everything, they know to come to me. It’s illogical to steal things that already belong to the community.”

“Which leads back to outsiders,” Theo signs, his expression grim.

“Yeah. Outsiders.” The word tastes bitter in my mouth. I rub my hands together, the raw skin on my palm protesting the pressure. Anxiety bubbles up in my chest again, and I feel my heartbeat thudding painfully in my palm. With a shaky exhale, I open my eyes and look at the three of them. “I have to tell you guys the truth here—I’m scared shitless. If outsiders are behind this, which seems like the most likely possibility right now… it means they’ve been watching us. They’ve learned our routines and gotten past our defenses enough times to get into the shed. And if they can do that, then Rolling Hills might not be the safe place we thought it was anymore,” I admit, my voice breaking on the last word.

“We will make Rolling Hills a safe place, Princess,” Kenji tells me, stepping forward and reaching out to run his fingers through my hair. In my peripheral I see Adrian taking over with interpreting. “It was always a possibility that other people could stumble upon this place, right?” I nod, knowing it’s true.

“So then we come up with a plan,” Adrian chimes in. “I’m sure you already have at least one brewing in that gorgeous head of yours.”

My teeth gnaw at my lower lip, and I give them a slow nod, my brain moving faster than my mouth ever could. I take a moment to gather my thoughts before speaking. “At a minimum, we need some immediate precautions. No one should be going anywhere alone, at least for now. It’s safer if we’re in pairs or groups. We should also increase the number of perimeter checks every day to make sure no one’s slipping through. We’re not quite at the point where we need to have people on constant watch, but we might need to think about that in the future.”

“That’s good, Star,” Theo tells me, shooting me a sweet smile. “Those are good places for us to start.”

I give him a grateful look, continuing on. “We’ll also need to set up more traps outside the perimeter and probably need to start doing some patrols out there, just to make sure there’s no one hiding right outside the fence line where we’re not checking…” I trail off, my mind listing out everything else I think we need to do. “Those are the big things for now. I need to make a longer list for later. More important right now is getting everyone together. Adrian, Kenji—can the two of you make sure everyone knows I’m calling a town hall in an hour? You may also want to enlist some of the guys to help you set up the chairs in the Alden barn.”

Both men nod in agreement, and Kenji steps closer. He tilts my chin up, looking into my eyes with an intensity that feels almost too much. After a long moment, he presses a soft kiss to my forehead before stepping back. Before I can fully process the feeling of his lips on my skin, Adrian is there, his arms wrapping around me and pulling me close. His lips meet mine in a slow, soft kiss that lingers for just a beat too long before he finally pulls back. “Everything will be okay, Sunshine,” he reassures me, his voice low and tender.

After they both exit through the back door, I’m left alone with Theo in the quiet of the kitchen. I look up at him, fingerspelling, “O-K?”

“I’m fine. I’m more worried about you,” Theo replies, stepping closer and enveloping me in a warm hug. I rest my forehead against his chest, taking in a deep breath of his familiar sandalwood and oakmoss.

I feel tired suddenly, whether it’s from the situation with the shed or from opening up about those men, I’m not sure. I wish I could have a coffee right now to wake me up, but I’m not sure if the caffeine would help with my nerves. I also wish I could drown myself in some whiskey right now, but then I wouldn’t be any goddamn help, and I have a job to do. I need to focus.

Theo breaks into my thoughts as he steps away and reaches for a notebook on the table, one of the many scattered across the house. He scribbles a quick note before handing it to me.

“What do you need from me, Star?”

“Will you come with me back to the shed? I need to go through everything and figure out what inventory is missing.” I scribble back. He reads the note and tilts his chin down in agreement.

Theo nods, his soft smile reassuring, and we head for the back door, the cold air of the late afternoon greeting us as we step outside. We make our way to the shed, the familiar creak of the old wood as we enter through the open door frame, past the door barely hanging onto the hinges, sending a shiver through me. The space feels different now, haunted with the knowledge that someone, someone unknown , had been here before us. I scan the cluttered shelves, trying not to let the nerves creep up again.

I take a deep breath, stepping in further. “Let’s see what’s gone,” I mutter more to myself than to Theo, who stays by the door, allowing me the space to gather my thoughts and work. I cross the room, my eyes scanning every shelf and crate, mentally ticking off what’s supposed to be there.

The clipboard hanging on the wall catches my eye. I reach for it, the metal cool against my fingers as I pull it off the hook. As I scan the inventory list, my eyes dart from shelf to shelf, doing a rough check of the items to see if there’s anything that draws my attention. Theo stands close, quietly watching me work. He’s not hovering, just present, which somehow makes everything feel a little less heavy.

I start with the larger items—shelves filled with tools, boxes of supplies—but then I move on to the smaller, more valuable things: the medical equipment, the stash of emergency rations, the first aid kits. As I go down the list, I feel my stomach drop. Some of it’s gone. Not a lot, but enough to make me pause. My mind runs over the possibilities—who, what, when—and I can’t shake the suspicion that someone’s been here long enough to plan this. Despite the mess they made in here, it doesn’t look like they grabbed things at random.

I set the clipboard down on the counter and rub my hands over my face. “Shit,” I whisper under my breath. Theo steps forward, his gaze serious, but his touch is gentle as he places a hand on my shoulder. I know he wants to comfort me, and as much as I want to brush him off and deal with this on my own like I have everything else, I take the chance to lean on him.

I take a deep breath, writing down a note and making sure to meet his eyes as I pass it over. “We need to take an inventory of everything that’s here now. Everything. You organize and count the cans of food and the hygiene tools over to that side, I’ll work on the medicine and the tools.”

We work in silence for a while, the only sounds are the scratching of pens and the occasional shuffle of items being moved around. Then, something important catches my attention, and I let out a frustrated groan. I bang my head softly against the wall—once, then a second time. Theo’s beside me before I even realize it, a concerned look on his face. “Star?”

I hold out my hand for his notebook, flipping to a fresh page before quickly writing a note, my frustration clear in my scrawl. “ Remember that surprise? I had one of those apothecary drawers in my office that wasn’t being used, so I cleared some space in the shed for it. I figured you could store some plants in it—at least until we can get a greenhouse built or something. I figure we can make it work for now. But it’s gone . So, I guess we’ll just have to wait until we can do a greenhouse.”

Theo reads the note, and at first, his brow furrows in confusion, but by the time he’s finished, his expression has shifted. His eyes light up behind his wire-rimmed glasses, and a crooked grin pulls at his lips. He pulls me into his arms, his mouth capturing mine in a heated kiss. His tongue traces the seam of my lips, and I open for him, giving in to the sweetness of him.

When we break apart, both of us breathing heavily, Theo’s glasses are askew, and the grin on his face matches the one I can’t suppress. “Thank you,” he signs to me.

I roll my eyes, a small laugh escaping despite everything. “For what?”

“For thinking of me,” he says, as if the answer should have been obvious. He leans in, pressing another kiss to my lips before he steals back the notebook and returns to counting the inventory as though nothing had interrupted him at all. I shake my head at him, going back to my own work. I focus on my list, which is starting to paint a picture, even if I don’t know what that picture means just yet.