Page 23 of Property of Crypt Keeper

With a heavy sigh, I hoped that the last few days were all part of the nightmare I'd just awoken from, and not the strange reality that my life had become. I ran a shaking hand over my face. Fuck.

“I’m hungry,” a belligerent voice demanded in my ear, and I jumped.

“Fucking hell!” I shouted, forgetting she was there. “Didn’t your parents teach you to knock?”

“I did. You didn’t answer,” she huffed. “I thought you were dead.”

Though it was said in a child’s petulant tone, my wolf’s ears picked up the slight tremor in her words. The slight racing of her small heart. I glanced over and into the golden eyes of the kid I’d been saddled with.

Shit. Her parents were dead. I wasn’t even sure if she knew. The woman who dropped her off hadn’t said, and Hack insanely hadn’t been able to find her. It was like she’d dropped off the face of the earth.

This was also the worst time for me to have a kid tagging along with me anywhere. I’d been having the strange sensation that I was being followed for months. There hadn't been anything concrete, but my inner wolf had been restless and watchful. Now I knew about Katalina, and it all made sense.

Yet I had a feeling that if Katalina disappeared for too long, others would come looking for her.

The first night, the kid stayed with Mako and Lyra. But I guess last night, she tried to bite Lyra when she thought she was taking her food. Mako said it might be best if she were with me. Best? I thought it was a terrible idea.

I sighed. “Okay, I’m getting up.”

I’d already kicked off my covers, so I rolled out of bed and grabbed a clean shirt that wasn’t soaked. She was right on my heels until I went into the bathroom. Then she stopped in her tracks and waited.

“You can go sit in the kitchen,” I told her as I shut the door. My wolf hearing could pick up her breathing. She was waiting. Whatever.

After pissing, I pulled off the dirty shirt, washed my hands, and turned my back to the mirror. When I glanced over my shoulder, I saw exactly what I was afraid I’d see. What appeared to be the same markings as what had appeared on Katalina.

Fuck.

I’d have to deal with that later. As I shuffled to the kitchen, her feet padded on the floor behind me.

“Pancakes, eggs, and sausage, okay?” I asked her.

Quiet and watchful, she nodded.

“Okay, get me the eggs and milk,” I told her as I pointed to the fridge. Then I grabbed a bowl and the rest of the things I needed from the cupboards. When I turned, it was to see her struggling with both the gallon of milk and the eggs.

“I didn’t mean both at once,” I explained as I saved the egg carton right before it slipped to the ground, then took the milk. “Sit.”

“I wanna help,” she insisted.

Glancing down, I saw her big, sad, golden eyes looking up at me and sighed. “Fine. Get a chair.”

A huge grin filled her face, and she raced to do as I instructed. She helped me through every step. “My mom lets me help her make stuff.”

“Oh?” She said “lets,” not “used to let.” Did that mean she didn’t know?

“Yeah.” She was quiet as she stirred the pancakes. Then she asked in a small voice, “When is my mom coming to get me?”

Well, shit. And there was my answer.

“Umm, I’m not sure. What did your aunt tell you?” I hedged, trying to buy some time with my answer.

“Rita?”

“Your aunt’s name was Rita?” I asked. Hack assumed she had given us a false last name when she came because he couldn’t find any information about her.

He only found information about the parents through the kid’s birth certificate and social. There was no record of the father having a sister of any kind.

The death of the girl’s parents was found in a police report that described what they assumed was a mugging gone wrong. There was no tangible evidence at the scene. Case essentially closed. I wasn’t sure how a seemingly young couple found with their heads completely removed from their bodies was a “mugging gone wrong,” but whatever. Everything about this situation was weird.