Destiny's Revenge (Destiny Series - Book 2) by Straight, Nancy (management books to read .TXT) 📕

in an effort to catch myself and keep from falling. Peanut had given no advance warning of anyone’s arrival, and I didn’t expect to look into a face, any face. The inaccessibility of the house and the land it sat on had been one of the reasons I chose this remote little house. I had been under the false assumption that any intruder, friend or foe, would give themselves away before they got anywhere near me. Wrong again.

I sucked in air hard as soon as my lungs would allow and blew the air out through a rush of words, “What in the heck are you doing here?”

He smiled wryly, knowing he had completely caught me off guard. It may not have been smugness about sneaking up on me, it may have just been stifled laughter at the ass I had just made out of myself when he appeared out of nowhere. He had a friendly look and said, “Well, I wasn’t just passing through, so you could say I’m here for my thirty dollars, if that makes you feel any better.”

I stood steadfast, with my mind racing in every direction. Peanut, who was always right at my side, was nowhere around. I was miles from a neighbor, so screaming wasn’t an option. I was standing in the doorway, my Glock nowhere within reach. Cycling through all the potential weapons that were within five feet - I came up empty. Vulnerable, that’s how I felt. Mike’s words hardly registered as self-preservation thoughts flooded my mind.

Mike leaned in a few inches, asking, “Are you going to invite me in, or should we have this conversation in your doorway?” He wasn’t threatening at all. To my relief my body sensed no danger whatsoever, although that sense had proved unreliable yesterday at Joe’s house. This was just silly. Renswa had told me that Mike was on the Council; maybe he had some words of advice that weren’t masked as some sort of stupid riddle. That would be a welcomed change.

Without a word, I stepped to the side, holding the door open for him to enter. His response was jovial. “Thanks, I was worried I wouldn’t be able to find you.” His eyes darted around the room and found Peanut standing in the living room entryway. “Well, hi, Peanut, how are you, boy?” Peanut jumped on Mike with a paw on each shoulder looking him square in the eye. Mike was definitely a dog person. I had always heard animals have a sense for people, and Peanut seemed to think Mike was an okay guy. Mike eased Peanut back onto the floor but continued scratching his ears, then told him, “Peanut, go run the perimeter. Make sure your scent is near all the entry ways. Go on, boy.”

As if Peanut had miraculously learned human speech, he trotted over to the door, hit the screen door latch with his nose and was gone in a flash. Puzzled by Peanut’s lack of protectiveness all of the sudden, I couldn’t help but ask, “Who are you?”

“We met about a week ago, remember? I was the one who stopped Peanut from becoming a hood ornament on someone’s car on the interstate. You do remember?”

“Of course, I remember. You didn’t really come here for your thirty dollars, right?”

“No, but I couldn’t think of anything clever to say when you startled me. I had just gotten to the door when you opened it.”

“I startled you? How did you even find me?”

That smug grin reappeared. I could see he was wrestling with just what to say to me. I had all the time in the world and just let the question hang in the air, knowing he would have to answer it. He stepped to the window to look in the yard as if he were surveying Peanut’s progress.

“Leaving his scent at all of the obvious entries of the perimeter should deter most animals from coming close to the house. It isn’t a failsafe measure, but Peanut is a pretty big dog. Predators will know he’s close and may avoid the area entirely. You’d better have a pretty big bowl of water ready for him when he gets back. As big as this place is, he’ll dehydrate himself trying to keep his scent fresh.”

“You didn’t answer my question: how did you find me?”

Still watching Peanut’s progress, he absently answered, “It wouldn’t be a bad idea to install some security lights, too. It isn’t a huge deterrent, but if anything tries to sneak up on you at night, at least you’ll know what you’re dealing with.”

It registered that he used the word “anything” instead of “anyone.” Goose bumps shivered over my arms as that settled in. I’ve never been a huge fan of talking in circles. I stared at him, well - glared is maybe more accurate. I sensed no danger, but I didn’t need any special sense for being annoyed. His avoidance of my simple question irritated the crap out of me. I refused to ask it a third time.

Mike lost interest in Peanut’s mission and pulled a chair out from the table to sit down. His demeanor was friendly; he looked as though he were going to answer my question when he asked, “How open is your mind?”

Great, he is just like Rewsna. I might as well go take a nap because he’s going to be about as helpful as boobs on a bull. “Wide open sunshine, will you answer my question now?”

Mike smiled and until this moment I hadn’t noticed his perfect teeth. I had noticed before that he was attractive, but for some reason I could now see the symmetry of his face. Mike’s nose was perfectly proportioned to his face, his eyes were an odd gray-blue combination, and his smile warmed the room.

“I’ll tell you how I found you, but there’s a pretty fair shot you won’t believe me. I don’t mean you any harm, and, as hard as this is to believe, it’s the truth.” He looked