Free Hunted by T.M. Bledsoe Page B

then,” Lanie said, disconnecting and looking at her dad.  “Devyn and Johnna are coming over.”
    Sam tried not to smile too widely.  “Good.  That’s settled.  You can even have Finn and Brady come over in the evenings if you want to.”
    Lanie nodded her answer.  Ordinarily, she wouldn’t want to have a lot of people hanging around the house.  This was her sanctuary, after all, but in this case, it seemed the more the merrier.  Or at least, the more the less chance that a possible murderer would be coming for her.  Though, there was still that little piece of her that could not believe that young man had done anything to Stacy or anyone else.  Her gut simply would not allow her to believe that ruggedly handsome person was…capable…of doing anything so horrid.
    Then again, she was only seventeen and a half, so her gut was not that experienced.  She absolutely could be wrong.
    “Alright, then.  I have to go back out and finish what I was doing,” Sam stated, stepping up to Lanie and giving her another hard hug.  “Stay inside the rest of the day, clear?  Do not leave the house.”
    “I won’t,” she promised.
    “I’ll be here for a while longer to keep an eye on her,” Gretchen put in.
    “Good,” Sam said, smiling at the woman.  “But, you can go on home when her friends get here.  I’m sure Hank’s wondering where you are.”  He turned back to Lanie, giving her a soft smile.  “Be sure to lock the doors tonight before you go to bed.  Alright?”
    Hearing that statement made Lanie want to burst into tears.  Never, in nearly eighteen years, had her father told her to remember to lock the doors.  It was just one more reminder that nothing would ever be the same in Fells Pointe.
    “Call me and let me know you’re okay,” Sam said, heading for the door.  “Love you, squirt.”
    “Love you, too,” she called after him.  But, then she suddenly hurried after her dad and put herself in front of him, throwing her arms around him and giving him a hard hug.
    “Squirt?  What’s wrong?” he asked, sounding confused as he hugged her back.
    “Nothing,” she said thickly, breathing in his clean, familiar scent.
    She’d learned that every time someone left you, it might be the last time and she wanted to make sure her dad left her knowing that she loved him.  She hadn’t gotten that chance with her mom and she meant to never repeat that mistake.
    “You sure?” he asked, moving back to look down at her.
    She nodded at him, unable to put her thoughts into words.
    “Okay.  I’ll see you later,” he said, extricating himself and continuing on out of the kitchen.  “Remember to lock the doors!” he called back at her.
    Once he was gone, Lanie stood for a moment, trying to pull herself together all the while keenly aware of her aunt’s gaze boring into her.
    “Are you really okay, Lanie?” Gretchen asked her in a disbelieving tone. 
    “Yeah.  I’m good,” she said, keeping her back to her aunt. 
    She was good, not counting the fact that she’d come face to face with a probable killer, had been raked over the coals by her father, now had to have a house full of babysitters, and had just watched her dad leave to go in search of someone who had slit a girl’s throat.  Life was suddenly upside down, but she was good.  She was good.
    “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather stay with me?” Gretchen asked.  “You might feel safer.”
    “I’ll come stay with you if I get scared,” Lanie lied, trying to appease her aunt.
    It seemed to work, because the subject was dropped and Gretchen went back to doing whatever it was she found to do in the kitchen, leaving Lanie to exit the room with a grateful sigh.  Once she was out of the kitchen, she pointed herself toward her room, where she shut the door and flopped down on her bed, feeling the strong urge to bury her face in her pillow and weep. 
    She’d never felt so unsettled and off balance in her entire life.  She felt as