Apollo (Luna Lodge #5)(36)

Jenna blinked at her a few times and frowned.

"If you hurt them … " she said in a deadly whisper.

Val shook her head vigorously. "It's not like that," she said quietly. "I didn't hurt anyone."

She frowned. That wasn't exactly true either.

Jenna glared at her, and she could feel the suspicion cutting into her like a knife.

Her eyes welled up with tears.

"Apollo," she said.

"Did you … ?" The question hung in the air between them.

She nodded.

"I can't do this," Val whispered. "I'm not a family person. I wouldn't know how to be if I tried. I'm not normal."

Jenna crossed her arms. Her frown grew deeper. "And he is?"

Val knew this, but doubt about her own worth still ate at her.

"He could have a normal family," she said.

Jenna raised a brow. "We are talking about the same Apollo, right?"

She tried to laugh, but it came out more as a choked sound.

He had said it. His words still rattled around in her brain. She was it. What if they were each other's only chance? Was she willing to never see him again?

Tears dripped onto the table, and she grabbed a napkin.

"Come back with me," Jenna said quietly. "It's cold feet. These men can be so intense it's a wonder that more women don't run off."

This time Val did laugh. They were intense. Hopefully, he would understand. She didn't know what she was offering him, but whatever it was, she didn't want to leave his side.

Jenna stood and walked to the counter to pay. Val followed, grateful that they were the only ones in the place.

She stared up at the news. Nothing new. Sunshine tomorrow. Maybe a new flavor. A new game on the market. The picture distorted, causing the show to flash off and on. 

Val turned to the old woman behind the counter.

"You should really think about getting cable," she said.

The woman blinked several times and then looked up at the TV. When she looked back, her eyes had an odd look about them. She had no feelings to read, and that alone made Val shiver.

"Looks fine to me," the woman said. The woman's brown eyes stayed fixed on her, and she shivered.

Val tugged on Jenna's arm as she gathered the change she was given. Not waiting for her to say anything, Val pulled her outside.

"What the hell?" Jenna frowned at her.

Val glanced down the street. The feeling of unease was growing. Her number one rule was trust your gut.

"Get in the car," Val said quickly.

A few people glanced their way, and she could feel their distorted anger. Something was wrong with these people.

Jenna frowned. "What's up?"

Val shook her head and pushed her to the car. "We need to get out of here right now," she whispered.

Jenna rushed to her side of the car and hopped in. Val was just as quick on the other side.

Jenna put the key in, and the car started right up.

Val nearly jumped out of her seat when the waitress knocked on her window.

"Drive!" Val yelled. Her eyes fixed on the glassy-eyed woman. The woman's face contorted in rage.

Jenna stepped on the gas, and they sped through town. People stopped to stare at them, but she didn't care. There was something seriously wrong with the place.

"Wanna tell me what the hell just happened?" Jenna yelled as they crossed over the city line back onto the country road.

Val shook her head. "I don't know what's going on with those people, but it might have something to do with the TV."

She pulled her backpack off and yanked a small tablet from the bag.

"What's wrong with the TV?" Jenna asked.

Val scrolled along the screen and pulled up pictures from the cameras at Luna Lodge.

"Motherfuckers," she said and looked out at the road.

Val looked over to Jenna, who was still driving like a bat out of hell. "There was a hack of the system at the lodge. Well, except it wasn't just a hack. Whoever did this was hooked into the main system. They could see everything that was happening there."

"What?" Jenna said. Panic rose in her voice. "Who?"

Val shook her head and started going through system documents. All she had to do was find the line they were operating on. It was so simple, and yet no one would even think to look. It should have struck her when she was pulling the odd wire from the cameras, but she just assumed it was a mistake. No one used that sort of wire on security cameras, that is, unless they wanted to share their feed.

"Fuck," she groaned and pulled up the feed from the cameras still in the old system. She fast forwarded through the material. Maybe it was nothing, but she had to know.

"What?" Jenna asked. Her voice shook as she spoke.

Val was nearly to the last twenty minutes of the feed before she saw what she hoped she wouldn't.