Lone Wolfe Protector by Kaylie Newell

is just down the hall from ours, isn’t it?” The woman, whose name was Vera, leaned forward and gazed at Maggie. She couldn’t have been a day younger than eighty, but her sharp gray eyes missed nothing.
    “It is. I think we share a bathroom.”
    “Yes, we do. I heard someone walking down the hall early this morning. I suppose that was you.”
    “I hope I didn’t wake you up.”
    Vera shook her head, her delicate earrings winking in the firelight. “Oh, no. I was having trouble sleeping.” She leaned closer and Maggie could now see a curious silver ring around her irises. It gave them the appearance of glowing in the dimly lit room. “I was hearing things,” she said quietly. “Things outside the hotel.”
    “What kinds of things?”
    “Twigs breaking, scratching…”
    Maggie shifted, uneasy.
    “I hear things most people can’t.” Vera sat back, her orange lips tilting slightly. “I can almost feel them, if that makes sense.”
    “Ahh,” Maggie said, and for the first time wondered if the kindly woman across from her wasn’t playing with a full deck.
    “Oh, I know it sounds strange. Most people think I’m crazy. That’s okay.”
    “I don’t…I didn’t…”
    “It’s all right. Most of the time I keep my mouth shut. My husband hates it when I tell people like this, and mostly I don’t. Not anymore. But you…” Her eyes narrowed. “I think you might feel things, too.”
    Maggie didn’t know what to say. Feel things? What things? She looked at Vera, drawn in by her strange eyes.
    “Let me ask you this,” the other woman said. “Did you see anything last night?”
    “I’m sorry?”
    “When you were looking out the window?”
    A tingle crept up Maggie’s neck. How in the world could she know about that?
    “I told you,” Vera said. “I feel things.”
    Apparently she can read minds, too . Maggie laughed nervously.
    “Did you? See anything?” Vera asked again.
    “I did.” The room seemed chillier, even with the crackling fire. “I saw some sort of animal by the fence. But it was too dark to make out what it was. Did you see it, too?”
    “I didn’t have to see it. I knew it was there. That’s what was keeping me awake.”
    Vera’s response was oddly casual. Weird. This was the kind of conversation someone should be having in a whacked-out dream after a spicy meal. Not in broad daylight with a retired history teacher.
    “Ready, darling?”
    Maggie looked up to see an older gentleman crossing the room toward them.
    “Bud, come meet Maggie Sullivan. We’ve been having a nice chat.”
    Bud took her hand and gave a formal bow. “Miss Sullivan, charmed.”
    She liked these two. Boring, they were not. “It’s nice to meet you.”
    “I hope my wife hasn’t been keeping you hostage. She does like to talk about these old places.”
    Vera shot Maggie a look. Clearly, she wanted to keep this particular conversation between the girls.
    “Oh, no. I’ve been enjoying it.”
    He helped his wife to her feet. “We really should get going, my love.”
    “Yes, we should.” Vera smiled down at Maggie. “We’re on our way to California to visit our son and his family. We have a new grandbaby as of last month.”
    “Congratulations. I hope you have a nice trip. It was wonderful meeting you both.”
    “Likewise, dear.”
    With Bud safely out of earshot, Vera bent close. “You be careful, you hear? Especially at night.”
    Before Maggie could respond, she had already gone, leaving a perfume scented trail in her wake.

Chapter Twelve
    The sounds were coming from the dining room. A shout of some sort, and then a crash against the wall.
    Maggie had been sitting in the parlor watching the fire fade to embers when she heard it.
    She jumped and scooted to the edge of her chair.
    “I’ll kill him!” a male voice boomed. “I’ll fucking kill him!”
    Maggie rose and walked hesitantly toward the dining area.
    “No! No, don’t tell me to calm down.” This voice was the loudest,