Grayslake: Furrever Yours(4)

She led the girl to the far end of the parking lot, glancing behind her to make sure that they hadn’t been followed, and then stopped. The girl stood there barefoot in her hospital pajamas, hugging herself and looking small and vulnerable.

“That man who was looking for you – is he the one who hurt you?” she demanded of the girl.

“No,” the girl said, shaking her head, and Heather felt a wave of relief. The thought of Knox doing something like this…it made her physically ill.

But still. The girl had been terrified when she’d heard his voice. “Then why are you running from him?”

The girl hesitated, then stared at the ground and mumbled, “He’s friends with them.”

That hit Heather like a hammer blow. Knox was friends with someone who’d beaten this skinny young girl to within an inch of her life? How could that be? She’d seen him deal with a few domestic violence cases, and he’d been furious – at the perpetrator. In fact, one time he’d grabbed a man by his collar, dragged him away from his cowering wife’s hospital room, and threatened to break every bone in his body if he ever came near the woman again. The man had fled Grayslake and he hadn’t been heard from since.

“That…that doesn’t seem like Knox,” she protested.

“I swear, he is friends with them,” the girl said, looking at Heather with huge, scared eyes. “Please don’t let them get me. They’ll kill me. I have nobody else to turn to.” Then she looked around, her eyes wide and fearful, and took a couple of steps back. “He’ll find me out here. He’ll scent me.”

Normally that would have sounded crazy – but this was a girl who’d turned into a wolf when she was unconscious. And Knox’s habit of sniffing at the air when he thought nobody was looking suddenly made a lot more sense.

Could he turn into a wolf too?

Heather made a snap decision. She was about to do something crazy – but this whole night had been crazy.

“I’m Heather,” she said. “I’m a nurse’s aide. What’s your name?”

“Margaret.”

“Do you know this area?”

“No, I’m not from Georgia.” She didn’t sound like a southerner; she had more of a northeastern accent, Heather thought.

“Sugar Creek is less than a quarter mile from here, due south.” She pointed in the direction of the creek that gave the nearby county its name. “If you ran in the water, would that throw him off the scent?”

The girl nodded. “Yes, it would. I can shift and get there fast. You know about us?” she said hesitantly. “Not many humans do.”

“A little,” Heather lied. “Knox is one of you?”

“Yes.” Margaret glanced fearfully at the hospital.

“Okay. Once you you’re sure you’ve shaken Knox off your trail, go to my house and wait for me. My house is at 1372 Green Street, three miles from here. It’s one mile off of Route 27, which is the main road through town, and you’ll have to find it yourself, I’m afraid. It’s that way.” She pointed in the direction of her house. Then she pulled out her keys and detached her house key, and handed it to the girl. “My house key. You can go hide out there. I won’t be home for a little while – I work ’til 6 a.m. Do you think you can find your way there?”

“Yes. I can cover a lot of ground in wolf form. Thank you,” the girl breathed, nodding. She quickly stripped her clothes off, and shifted back into wolf form as Heather watched in fascination. Then she grabbed the pajamas off the ground and ran into the woods.

Heather dashed back inside. She’d been off the floor too long.

As she hurried to make her rounds, Amelia waved at her and trotted over. “Hey, remember that assault victim? Have you seen her? She’s not in her room, she’s not in the bathroom, and nobody can find her. It’s weird. She didn’t go out through the ambulance bay either, and all the other doors you need a code to open.”

“No, I was just looking for her too,” Heather said. “I’ve looked all over – I even went out back. I didn’t see her anywhere.”

“Did she say anything about where she might go?” Knox asked from right behind her, making her jump.

Her heart thudded in her chest as she turned to look at him. He’s a wolf, she thought as she met his gaze. He’s a human being who can literally turn into a wolf.

“She didn’t talk to me, because she was unconscious the whole time she was here,” she told him coolly. Her body was doing that thing it always did when he got close to her – she could feel a dampness in her panties, and her mouth went dry. But now she was angry at herself for reacting that way to him. Was Margaret telling the truth? Was he friends with an abuser?