Parahuman (Parahuman Series) (31 page)

    Not
having the time to contemplate what he had just discovered Devan shook himself
out of his astonished stupor. Stealing back toward the door he snuck a peek
outside to see that Laney still had the two distracted. The police officer was
actually taking the opportunity to question her on anything suspicious she
might have heard or come across that day.

     Devan
slipped out the building and into the back yard with only Laney the wiser. Examining
the ground he could see the trail left behind by the wolves and their
parcel...it led into the woods. The urge to pursue the tracks was tremendous
but he had Laney to consider. With a deep breath of disappointment he was back
in the jeep waiting when she returned.  

     “Did
you find out anything?” She asked breathlessly, jumping into the jeep.

     “Not
really.” There was no hesitation on his part in telling her this lie. “The
place was completely destroyed and the wolf gone; nothing more to really go
on.” 

     He
started the engine and headed out of town; reaching the maximum speed limit as
quickly as he could. He needed to get her home so he could follow those tracks.

     Her
face dropped in disappointment. “You didn’t detect anything with that super
sniffer of yours. I mean if you can smell my nervousness…” She trailed off
expectantly. 

     “I
can only go on those scents I’m familiar with.” Devan explained, smiling
unconsciously at her reference to his nose. He liked that she felt comfortable
enough to refer to his nose as a super sniffer. “There’s a multitude of smells
that I can’t account for, I can’t say which ones I should be suspicious of.”

    
“Ohh…well…that makes sense.” She frowned, falling into deep thought.

     Devan
felt no guilt in not informing Laney of what he had found. Finding that a wolf
pack had broken into the clinic, trashed it, and had then confiscated the body
of their dead pack member was disturbing in the extreme, and something he did
not feel comfortable in burdening Laney with.

     It
was something he would need to talk to Brett about immediately. Animals acting
out of character, behaving more intelligent than your typical animal; he needed
to be informed about it.

     The
silence was broken by an excited exclamation from Laney.

    
“Maybe the wolves
were
part of some special experiment and the people
involved snuck in and stole the animal so they wouldn’t be blamed for
anything?”

     Devan
winced at her word phrasing. The last thing he wanted to hear in the same
sentence together were animal and experiment.   

     “That
did cross my mind,” he admitted quietly. Devan hoped desperately that it was a
simple matter of animal tagging. With his high-speed computerized mind he had a
dozen possibilities of what might have happened, and the worst of those were nowhere
he wanted to go.

     “But
in all probability it was some kids messing around and the wolf will turn back
up in a couple of days.” Devan lied smoothly.

     “I can
actually see that being the case,” she snorted. “We do have our share of
borderline miscreants around here. It must be from the short supply of
entertainment.”

     Devan
relaxed as she accepted his ordinary explanation of what might have transpired.
No need for her sleep to be disturbed tonight. 

     He
yawned long and hard. She took the bait.

    “You
have to be tired,” Laney responded.

    
“Yeah, I think the day is finally catching up with me.” She wasn’t wrong in her
assessment. Even though his yawn had been forged he was fairly tired.

    
“You’re going to go home and get some sleep this time, right?”

     Her
concern for his well being caused a pang in his chest; to have someone who
cared whether he got enough sleep was…nice.  

    
“Definitely.” He gave her a strained smile hoping to offset his guilt…it didn’t
help. She had been remarkably accepting of what he was; seemed to really want
to be friends and to help him out any way she could, and here he was building a
wall. 

     He
pulled down Laney’s driveway with a heavy heart. 

     “Is
everything okay?” Laney asked.

     Devan
sighed inwardly at her perceptiveness. He’d already discerned that she was a
difficult person to mislead.

     “Just
tired.” Devan stifled another intentional yawn hoping to distract her.

     As he
curved around the driveway in front of her house Devan rolled down the window
because the atmosphere in the jeep had become heavy from both their emotions;
his from having to deceive her, and hers had the scent of nervousness and the
other heady flavor of pheromones which in turn set his off. All of them
combined were playing havoc with his instincts.  

     She
turned toward him in her seat as he halted the jeep. “Devan; I wanted to thank
you for your trust today. It had to take a lot for you to step out of your
comfort zone and reveal so much of yourself, and I just want to let you know
that you won’t regret it.” 

     Even
though her edgy posture was at odds with her words Devan knew she was telling
the truth. This made him feel worse in not revealing what he’d found out, but
it also made him feel defensive toward his actions. She wasn’t part of their
life; to believe she was would only endanger her more. And with what he had
just discovered at the vet’s it only made him more convinced that she shouldn’t
be drawn in any further.

    
“Laney, I’ll always be thankful for what you did and how readily you accepted
me, but I believe your active presence in my life could be detrimental to you
life.” Devan endeavored to keep his voice neutral and detached.

     She
frowned at his words, confusion spreading across her face. “Where is this
coming from?” The tension that had been radiating off of her altered
drastically; it was still there but different in its composition.

    Hardening
his face and his heart he pushed forward with what needed to be said. “I can
try to pretend that I’m normal and that we can be friends without it causing
you any danger, but it would be a lie, and I don’t want to lie to you or put
you in danger.” Both of which came easily in his life.

    
“Shouldn’t that be my choice to make?” Her eyes gazed up at him as though
attempting to see past the hard, detached surface. It was making what he had to
do more difficult and he longed to put his glasses back on; his safeguard
against the world.

     “We
each have to make our choices, but when they conflict with each other sometimes
acquiesce is the way to go.” Devan had to shift his gaze away from hers into
the distance so his resolve wouldn’t fail.

     Her chin
lifted in obstinacy. “I agree, so you should just forget about pushing me
away.”

     His
gaze returned, aggravated at her stubbornness. “That’s not what I meant.”  

     “I
don’t think you mean anything you’re saying. You’re not used to confiding in people,
or dealing with relationships at all, so you’re retreating in defense.” Her
face was suffused with hurt and anger.

     The
hurt on her face felt like a punch in the gut and her words tweaked his
consciousness at the truth of them, but he was also trying to protect her.

     “I do
mean what I’m saying when I tell you the danger you’re putting yourself in.” Devan
stated forcefully. 

     “I
heard you the first time you said it and I didn’t run away then; what makes you
think I will this time?” She shot back just as aggressively. 

     Devan
gripped the steering wheel tightly, the urge to bang his head against it
overwhelming.    

     Shocked,
he forced his hands to loosen their grip staggered at the emotions coursing
through him. The multitude of feelings he experienced in her presence were
uncontrollable, and extreme in their variety; another reason for distance.  

     Devan
did the first thing that came to his mind—prevaricate. It was cowardly, but he
was desperate. “You’re dad’s staring at us through the window, I think he
probably wants you to go in.” 

     She
swung around in her seat to look at the house. “Where? I don’t see him.” She
twisted back to him in suspicion.

     “He’s
in one of the second story windows. The lights off, that’s why you aren’t able
to see him.” Devan wasn’t lying to her this time. Nick really was observing us
from a window and his expression was quite severe. “He doesn’t look happy,” he
reported.

     Her
attention returned to the house in consideration…but only for a second, then
her gaze swung back to him in frustration. “We
will
finish this
tomorrow.” 

     He
raised his eyebrows at the warning in her voice. She was like a kitten trying
to be a tiger.

    
“Laney…” he began. That was all he got out before she interrupted.

    
“Don’t even say it,” she threatened angrily, pointing a finger at him with her
eyes spitting fire.

     Did
she guess that he was about to cancel the plans she’d made for them tomorrow?
And how the finger was supposed to intimidate him he wasn’t sure. Devan ignored
it as well as the weaker part of his nature that wanted to keep her near. He
had no right.

     “I
don’t think it would be a good idea for us to get together tomorrow.” He forced
out; doing his best to keep his voice composed and free from the misery he was
feeling.  

     The
anger drained out of her face, and the hurt that was left behind just hit him
harder. He swallowed painfully.

     “What
about it is not a good idea?” She clipped out sharply, her posture stiff.

     Deep
down Devan knew he was doing the right thing even though each word was forced
out excruciatingly from his larynx. “Laney, I’ve enjoyed getting to know you
but our association with each other only puts the both of us in danger. You in
danger from The Company, and me in danger of being put in a situation where the
police or others will find out who I am.”

     Laney
shook her head, her eyes upset. “I think Jarrod finally realizes that he can’t
keep harassing you, and just because the two of us are friends it doesn’t mean
we’ll put each other in danger.”

     Devan
really wished that were true, but what if it wasn’t and he did put her in
danger—the very thought caused a stabbing pain to shoot through his entire
body. It was incomprehensible to him how vital it was that he kept her safe.
That she had become so important to him in such a short time was incredible. He
hadn’t thought it was possible for him, particularly him, to feel that way
about someone. 

     This
situation with the wolves had him worried enough to where he wanted her far
from it, so he started to list plausible reasons she could not argue with.

     “I
could see from his face tonight that he’s not done.” Devan couldn’t be positive
of that, people were if anything unpredictable, but the looks Jarrod was
throwing them tonight conveyed he was still unhappy. “That, plus the situation
with the wolf, has generated far too much attention, and I told you that was
something I need to avoid. I think it would be best if we halted any future
plans at the moment.” He threw in the last part as a compromise.

    
Laney’s expression had tightened considerably during his speech and her eyes
were narrowed and appraising. “Well if that’s what you think is best right now,
I mean I don’t want to put either you or Brett in any danger, or make you feel
uncomfortable in any way.” 

     The
last part of her sentence seemed to be more drawn out than the rest. Devan
wasn’t sure if she was trying to infer something with them. He
was
feeling
uncomfortable because he was saying things that he didn’t really want to. Did
she realize that?

    
Thankfully, Laney’s father decided he had waited long enough for her to exit
the vehicle of her own accord. The porch light flickered off and then on again.
Nick opened the door and stood in the door frame with his arms folded across his
chest in a formidable way. Devan’s body slumped in relief, and dejection. He
was thankful that he no longer needed to go through the agony of pushing her
away, but he was in misery that she would be going. 

    
“Looks like he’s not going to wait any longer, you had better go.” Devan said.
The porch light had him averting his face completely from Laney, but also
squinting so Nick wouldn’t catch the reflection of light in his eyes.

     She
didn’t say anything more, just stepped from the vehicle and quietly shut the
door. 

     Devan
threw the car into drive and drove away. Nearing the end of the drive he looked
in the review mirror and saw her in the entryway of the home. Even though he
was two hundred feet away he could see the pinched look of confused sadness on
her face before her father blocked his view by stepping inside and shutting the
door.

     Devan
tore his gaze from the closed door and focused his eyes forward. Turning left he
headed back toward town. He needed to discuss what he’d found out with Brett.