Dearly departed, p.6
Dearly Departed, page 6
I laughed, my loneliness lifting. “I’d like that. Thanks.”
Sebastian poofed in next to me with a tip of his hat. “It’s a pleasure to see you smiling. Did I miss anything good?”
“Paris was telling us about her hot brother and how she can fight like a badass!” Reggie explained. “And Doris made an appearance.”
“I just had the most terrifying thought,” Sebastian offered. “What if Doris died and became a Countryside ghost?”
We all shuddered.
“Why you gotta bring us down like that, mano?” Reggie complained. “Well, Paris, now you’ll have to show us pics of this hot brother.” He made a gimme motion with his hand. “Let’s go.”
Rolling my eyes, I opened my phone’s photo album and navigated to my favorites. “I only have two, for security reasons, and I shouldn’t even have these.” I held up a photo of us.
“You’re my favorite human,” he told me. “Don’t tell Mina. No, wait, tell Mina. It’s fine.”
Clint let out a low whistle, “Good genes run in your family.”
“Yeah, except for my food allergies.”
Belphegor scoffed. “Shit like allergies isn’t what matters. The right people know it and want you around no matter what.”
Amber smiled, as if she were a proud mother. “Damn straight.”
The demon stared at her. “Language.”
I covered my mouth with my hand. When I finally composed myself, I turned to Amber. “Okay. What do I need from the craft store if I’m going to start crocheting?”
I jotted down the list Amber gave and for the first time in a while, I felt like I was in the right place at the right time. Maybe things would be more tolerable if I just kept trudging through the hard days. Especially if I could stop seeing Eliza’s broken body behind my closed eyes.
Chapter Six
Eliza
Daisy’s eyes were closed as she shoveled in the last bite of her dinner. I glanced at Jake, who was watching her, too, his fingers tapping soundlessly on the table. A few weeks ago, it was like she had slammed two energy drinks in a row. I forced my jaw to unclench. Adding dental bills to my worries wouldn’t help.
“Mom, can I go to bed?” she whined.
“Finish your juice first,” I commanded, “and then pack your backpack and pick out your clothes for tomorrow. Give your tummy some time to settle. Then you can go to bed.”
She let out a groan but picked up her glass. “It tastes weird.”
“It will make you feel better. Just drink it really fast, okay?”
She leaned her head back on the chair and looked up at the ceiling. “Do I haaaaave to?”
“Do you want to feel better?”
“Fiiiiine.” She sat up straight, grabbed the glass, and finished it in two gulps and made a face. She slammed her water next.
I smiled at her. “Great job. Now you are excused from the table. I’ll clean up.”
Jake held up his hand for a high-five. “Way to go, munchkin.”
Daisy slapped his hand, slipped off her seat, and headed for her bedroom. My brother dropped his hand and turned to face me. “I’m still really pissed at you.”
I swallowed down the pain of his words. “I know. You have every right to be.”
“You’re such a hypocrite. You refuse to talk to our parents for the exact thing you did to me.” He pressed his finger into the table. “I’m trying as hard as you to keep her safe.”
“I know.”
“What else haven’t you told me about her?”
“Nothing!” I promised, grabbing his arm. “It wasn’t a big thing at first. Outside of the funeral, it had just been changing channels and floating books. I knew I had to deal with it, but I…” I squeezed his arm, trying to figure out how to say the words without hurting.
The words came out slowly, as if I were extracting them. “I was overwhelmed with things and I didn’t want to deal with it. So I didn’t until I was forced to.”
He rested his hand on top of mine and squeezed. “I get it. I checked out after Poppy died. And I didn’t have a kid.” He leaned back in his chair and shifted his permanently injured leg. I was happy to see he wasn’t wincing anymore. “So, what are we going to do?”
I picked up my phone and turned it end over end. “I’m going to put Daisy to bed then call Raine and Loren.”
He nodded. “Glad you’re listening to me. I’m usually right.”
I rolled my eyes. “Sure, like that time when Joe Buell told you no one would suspect that your water bottle—”
“Yeah, yeah, I said usually, not always.”
“To be fair, if you hadn’t flipped over the front of the bleachers and ripped your pants, you may have gotten away with it.”
“Hadn’t really thought about being drunk, just getting drunk.” He stood and balanced himself with his cane. “Let me know how the call goes?”
“Of course.”
He headed to Daisy’s room as I cleared the table, trying not to think about calling two people I didn’t know. Sure, Jake and Paris knew them, but opening up to strangers was terrifying. Daisy’s laugh bubbled into the kitchen and I paused, realizing I hadn’t heard the sound in several days. I would do anything for my daughter, including making a call.
Jake walked through the kitchen on his way out the door. “Poppy wants you over this weekend for a movie night.”
“Okay.”
He hit my ankle lightly with his cane. “We’re good. Just don’t lie to me again.”
I nodded and followed him to the door, then locked it behind him and armed the alarm. By the time I circled back to Daisy’s room, she was fast asleep. I turned off her light and closed her door.
Deep breath. Time to adult. I opened a new text message.
Me: Hi Raine, it’s Jake Robinson’s sister, Eliza. Do you have time to chat?
I cringed. Chat? Who says chat anymore? Why didn’t I just say talk? I pinched the bridge of my nose. I was overthinking this.
Raine: Definitely. Loren is with me if you’d like to do a video call. Jake mentioned you may need to speak with both of us
I nearly groaned. Video calls made me so anxious. I straightened my shoulders and grabbed my laptop. Anything for my daughter.
*
I leaned back against my headboard, processing Raine’s story about giving up her powers to save not only Loren, but all of Hayvenwood. She was a beautiful woman, with white skin and long ice blonde hair that faded into a deep blue at the end. Loren, twice her size with skin tanned from years in the desert and a buzzed head, was protective of her, even over video. He was constantly touching her, soothing her, as she leaned into his shoulder.
Paris used to constantly touch me, something I hadn’t noticed until she was no longer around. It had made the voices in my head so quiet, and I’d felt treasured, precious to her. Now that I had to sit across from her every day, the throbbing emptiness inside my chest only grew worse.
“Losing my power was like losing a piece of myself,” Raine admitted, then laughed a little. “I mean, I guess that’s what it is. An internal amputation.” She pressed a hand to her chest. “For a long time, I felt hollow.”
“Do you regret it?” I asked.
She smiled sadly but shook her head no. “How can I regret something that saved so many lives? And now I can touch Lucian freely without my magic interfering,” she explained, using Loren’s birthname. “I miss it, every day. But I don’t regret it.”
She looked down at her hand entwined with her husband’s. “I think if someone had taken my power, it would’ve been much worse. It was hard making peace with who I am without it, even though I would make the same choice a hundred times over.”
I slowly released a breath, trying to steady my emotions. “What if your power was hurting you?”
“I would’ve wanted to go down with the ship. I almost did. Removing magic is not always a successful endeavor, even if by choice.”
I pressed my fingers to my forehead as I tried not to think about losing Daisy. Emotions which felt too big for my body swirled inside my chest before settling. “Looks like that leaves only one option,” I managed. “Loren, can you help me track down Ben’s family and my biological father? I need to find out what kind of witch Daisy is.”
Loren nodded. “Tell me everything you know.”
Chapter Seven
Paris
Returning to R&D with its white tiled floors and blue doors was like visiting high school after graduation. A sense of nostalgia mixed with the need to see if anyone remembered me. I somehow still wanted to stake my claim on this place, despite no longer being part of it.
It had been an incredible job, one with great memories. When my old manager retired and my team was reassigned to work with a micromanaging bully, I knew it was time to get out. As if by magic, an active agent position opened, and Dallas put my name in before I’d even made up my mind to apply. Since he was an active agent, his recommendation landed me an interview. He helped me train every day for two weeks, and I passed the introductory test with flying colors. They hired me the same day.
I’d never once doubted I made the right move until I was assigned to Eliza. I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye, still surprised she’d agreed to come with me. We’d decided yesterday to start properly investigating this case against Jim’s orders, and she hadn’t changed her mind. Not that she often did.
She studied the hallway with interest, peering into any windows that we passed. The space between us was heavy with unspoken words. I missed when our conversation flowed freely instead of through a minefield. My pinky twitched, desperate to reach out and wrap around hers. I closed my hands into fists to prevent me from doing something embarrassing.
With a deep breath, I knocked on the door of my old dragon of a manager’s office. Miriam, a grumpy woman in her forties with a white lab coat and hair pulled back in a tight bun, opened the door with an even tighter smile. “Ms. Evans. What brings you back here?” She glanced at Eliza. “And this is?”
“Ms. Monroe, this is Eliza Robinson, my partner. We’re here on official case business.”
Miriam’s expression didn’t change, but she turned back to Eliza. “Any relationship to Jake Robinson?”
“He’s my brother,” Eliza confirmed.
My old boss nodded once. “One of the best. Shame he retired.”
Eliza opened her mouth to retort, but I placed a hand on her arm. Touching between us had virtually been nonexistent unless absolutely required since our split, and this felt like breaking a dozen rules. She tensed and I squeezed her arm once before letting go, a plea for her to keep her mouth closed. Arguing with this woman would mean not getting what we needed. She made Eliza’s grudges look like kid’s play.
“May we come in?” I asked, pulling out my more congenial voice. I fisted my hand, trying to hold on to the warmth of Eliza’s skin.
Miriam eyed me wearily, then nodded. “You have five minutes. If you need longer, you can call and schedule—”
“Five minutes is more than enough time,” I assured her, following her into her office. It was little more than a desk stacked with organizational containers and three chairs. While the top was cluttered with multiple inboxes and outboxes, along with a metal framed filing system, it was spotless. No doubt she could locate something in precisely fifteen seconds. Even micromanaging had its perks.
She took a seat, then stared at us until we sat. Realizing she wasn’t going to offer even the briefest of small talk, I began. “We’re on a confidential case that requires tracking sensitive materials. I think it would be an excellent opportunity to test RD131-T.”
Miriam folded her hands in front of her on the desk, and I knew this was going to turn out exactly as I expected. She’d ask probing questions starting with “tell me about your case.” I’d explain I’m unable to answer, she’d say something about having a higher security level than me and therefore she needed to know the details of the case first, I’d stand my ground, she’d pull the “they’re only a prototype, and therefore unreliable,” card and I’d leave the office empty-handed.
I knew the RD131-T were accurate. I’d been the one who built them.
“So, Ms. Evans. Tell me about your case.”
My stomach dropped and my shoulders drooped. There it was.
“As much as I love small talk,” Eliza said—I nearly laughed because she hated small talk more than she hated me—then reached into her suit coat pocket and pulled out a folded sheet of paper. “This is from Jim.”
My mouth fell open. She’d managed to get Jim to sign a release form?
Eliza glanced at me out of the corner of her eye, and I knew. This was a forgery. Miriam looked nearly as shocked as me. She ran her finger down the page, combing through every detail. She looked up, then back at the form. I could practically see the questions bottlenecking in her throat as she rolled her tongue around her mouth, then swallowed hard.
Without a word, she stood and walked over to her closet along the side of the office. It was built flush with the wall, the only noticeable feature being a keycard reader. She swiped her card and a panel popped forward and slid open. She located a closed box and swiped her card again.
She reached in and removed a hard case, about the size of a thousand-piece puzzle, cradling it as if it were her first born child. Miriam always wanted the upper hand, which is why most conversations with her were like a tennis game. “Will these be returned?” she volleyed.
“The plan is recovery,” I lobbed.
“What if they’re destroyed?” she backhanded.
“I left detailed schematics, three different prototypes, and a how-to video as demanded by you before I changed positions.” It’s not my fault if you don’t have decent lab techs. While my thoughts remained unspoken, they were as loud as a shout.
She tilted her head left and then right, the top of her ears turning red. “I expect a renewal form or a return in two weeks, as stated on the initial release.”
I nodded once, then extended my hands. She hesitated then handed me the box, her fingers curling around the edge for a moment before releasing.
Match. “Thanks for all your help,” I chirped.
Eliza bit down hard on her lip, presumably to keep from smiling, and widened her eyes. I tilted my head to the door and then walked out. She followed close behind.
We were dead silent until we got into the elevator. As soon as the doors slid shut, Eliza barked out a laugh. The sound was so unfamiliar, my entire body went weightless, or maybe that was just the elevator jerking to life. I turned to face her.
“No wonder you left. Was she always so charming?”
“Even more, sometimes. I think she might be half-troll or something. They are hoarders by nature, and she hides all her treasure behind locked cabinets.” I shifted on my feet and stared at our hazy reflection in the door. Her shoulder was only a few inches away from mine. In another world, I could lean into her, rest my head on her shoulder, tilt my chin up until she pressed a soft kiss to my lips.
I averted my eyes and smiled. “I can’t believe you forged a form so accurately it fooled her.”
“I do write letters for a living.” She gestured to the case. “What’s our loot?”
“I’ll show you in our office.”
She hesitated then said, “You stood up to her.”
“People often mistake my quiet for weakness. I just pick my battles.” That was a lie. I let most of my battles pick me. Part of the reason being an agent was so appealing was my desire to be more confident.
When Eliza didn’t respond, I glanced over at her. She stared at the elevator buttons as if they would give her an explanation to an unasked question.
The elevator dinged and the doors slid open. Four people walked in as we tried to step out, creating chaos as the doors tried to close with us still inside. Eliza barked “move” and they finally scattered, allowing us to escape. When we reached the office door, I swiped my keycard and held open the door. Eliza walked inside and I followed, locking it behind me.
The sound echoed in the tiny space. If this were the before, she’d push me up against the door, kiss me until I couldn’t feel my legs, smile against my mouth, and tell me she missed me. Instead, she walked to her desk, grabbed her chair, and wheeled it opposite mine.
This sixty-four square foot office wasn’t made for two desks, let alone two exes. Every inch was crammed full of paperwork, office furniture, and memories of secret kisses and soft moans. I straightened my sweater and stared at my plastic Ficus tree in the corner, which was trying its hardest to lift the mood.
Eliza reached out and touched a petal of my fake orchid. “This is new.”
Why did her knowing that feel like a knife between the ribs? “Yeah.” I sat, annoyed when her warm cinnamon scent wrapped around me. I set the case on my desk and lifted the lid to reveal twenty-four trackers that looked like clear bandages. “Trackers.”
Pride swelled in my chest as I scooped one up. The fingernail-sized, nearly translucent devices were attached to a base that was used to charge and program them. Each charge could last twenty-eight days when in sleep mode, a week in active mode.
“Once charged and programed, we remove the base and attach the business end to an object or person. They’re water-resistant for up to three hours submerged at fifteen feet, have a range of thirty miles, and are virtually undetectable.”
Eliza sat in the seat across from my desk, and I set a tracker in front of her. She stared at me, an unrecognizable expression on her face. “What?” I asked.
She blinked then shook her head. “I can tell you made these by the way your face lights up.”
I smiled and laughed awkwardly. “Yeah, I guess you could call them a passion project. They took years but Miriam never gave me the green light to do rigorous testing.”
She frowned, touching the edge of the base and leaning close to examine the device. “Why wouldn’t they greenlight this? This would be immeasurably helpful.”
