Shadow of the Day (Wolf Moon Sequel)

Chapter 51: Caution

Lila POV

Devin had her. Ivy had called my dad to say she was staying with Joe tonight, that they had stuff to talk about and she wanted to stay with Joe for a little while and get to know him better. It was late when she called, both Dad and I sitting in the living room waiting for some kind of response, both of us worried and panicking, but no one more than me. 

To Dad, it was his daughter wanting to get to know her biological father better after a few hours of no contact with us. Worrying, suspicious, but not much he could do. Ivy sounded fine on the phone, her normal self, and he chastised her for not letting him know earlier and making us worry. She was apologetic and said it was a spur of the moment decision and tomorrow she'd swing by to pick up some stuff after school, and seemed her normal self when she chirped out a 'goodnight' and 'I love you'. 

And what could Dad do with that? Deny her? He didn't want to keep them apart, get in the way of Ivy's wishes, even though I could see how it weighed on him when he hung up, how he hated the whole situation. Ivy was slipping away from us and it was getting harder and harder to ignore, but it was such an impossible line to walk in between not pushing her further away and holding her too tight.

"We should get to bed," Dad said, forcing a smile after they hung up. "It's late and you have school tomorrow."

Who cared about school? I didn't. The house felt cold and empty without Ivy in it, the strain of her absence tugging on us both. Even the living room we were sitting in, usually so cozy with the lights on and its plethora of warm blankets and comfy couches, felt chilled.

"Okay, goodnight," I said, pecking his cheek with a murmured 'love you' before I headed for the stairs, fury spinning inside me like a storm. 

"Lila?" 

I froze. Fixed my face into something neutral, kind. Nothing as feral as I felt. 

"Keep an eye on your sister tomorrow," he said as he rose from the couch, tone light but with the undercurrent of worry. The doubts and suspicion I'd been feeling since Joe showed up were there on his face, even if there wasn't much he could do about it. Demand she come home and make things worse? Push her further away? Better to keep things open between us. "If she doesn't show up, let me know."

"I will," I said with a sharp nod. We couldn't call the police, at least not yet. Ivy was there of her own choice as far as we could tell, she was with her father, she had told us everything, except for where Joe lived. A fact I hadn't missed. For tonight however, our hands were technically tied. 

Mine weren't, as long as I didn't mind getting them dirty. This went beyond laws and reason. Devin's game was one that required something more effective than a cop.

I headed upstairs and closed my door, Wyatt already waiting for me on my bed. I had called him earlier when Ivy hadn't been responding, so he already knew the situation, and judging by his face he was already caught up on our phone call with Ivy.

"What's the plan?" he asked, pushing off from my bed, face a somber mask. 

"Find where Devin is hiding," I said curtly, digging through my closet for a warm dark hoodie and a pair of boots I kept stashed in case of late night sneaking out. 

"I have an idea of where to look," he said, already crossing to the window while I jammed my feet into my boots and yanked the zipper up so hard I nearly broke it. 

"You do?" 

So far, Devin had been exceptionally adept at hiding where he was living. We'd gone searching but finding his trail was impossible and keeping up with him as he drove even worse; he knew how to lose us, going so far as to ditch whatever car he was using and stealing another to confuse us.