Chapter 103
Elliott managed a small smile and then leaned a little closer to me. “This isn’t over yet, though, Cass. Your sister might be out there hunting down other demons, but eventually, we will have to find Giovani and figure out what’s going on with Laura. If she did that on purpose, well, then….”
“She needs to pay,” I finished for him. “Absolutely. Do you think there’s a chance she meant to hit Cadence?” My voice nearly cracked at the end of the question, it went up so high.
“I don’t know,” he said quickly. “But… the fact that she used to date Aaron makes me think there’s a possibility.”
“What?” I almost flew out of my chair. “Just how many ex-girlfriends does this man have? And are they all nuts?”
“I know,” he agreed, putting his hands out as if to tell me to calm down. “I don’t know that it was on purpose.”
“Why didn’t she shoot Eliza then?” I asked. “She’s his current girlfriend.”
“Actually, they broke up,” he said, and I raised both eyebrows at him, “but I see your point. And Eliza wasn’t there. Your sister refused to ever work with her again after… after Christmas.”
“Good,” I muttered. I had a feeling that was probably the case.
“For that matter, Eliza is being transferred to California.”
“What?” I asked again. The shocks just kept coming. “Really? Why?”
“I think Aaron is just as sick of her as the rest of us. So… hopefully, she’ll go out there, and none of us will ever have to see her again.”
“Do you think that will be the case?” I asked, not sure how realistic that might be since it seemed like they did do a bit of traveling and working with teams in other areas.
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “Maybe wishful thinking. Something tells me she’ll find a way to worm her way back in. I don’t think she’s gotten over Aaron just yet.”
I shook my head, biting my tongue. I know the man is gorgeous, but I was not so impressed with him as a human being, or whatever the heck he was.
“Anyway, I need to head back, see if I can help Christian with that bullet or help track any of our missing persons. I just wanted to talk to you face to face.”
“Thank you,” I said, looking him in the eye. “I can’t tell you how much it means to me that you keep coming out here to check on me. And I really loved the Valentine’s gift, too.”
He smiled, and it seemed like a bit of the weight was lifted from his shoulders momentarily. “I’m glad you did. I hope this didn’t ruin your Valentine’s Day.”
The thought that not getting anything from Liam was what had ruined my day entered my mind, but I didn’t say it out loud. “No, Cadence is okay; that’s what’s most important. I’m sure she won’t let what happened with Jack go, but you said that’s not really him, right? And she knows that?”
“She’s been told, but I think you’re right. It will be hard for her to keep from blaming herself for what happened to him.”
I really didn’t want to hear that. I brushed my hair back off my forehead and took a deep breath.
Elliott pulled himself out of the chair, and I followed suit. “You’ve gotta pretend like you’re all happy now,” he reminded me. “Your parents won’t believe you if you’re not.”
“Great,” I mumbled, not sure I could pull it off. Suddenly, I felt a wave of joy wash over me, and even though I didn’t forget anything he’d said to me, my steps were a little lighter.
My mom was in the kitchen when we walked in. “Everything okay?” she asked.
I saw all of my roses on the counter, next to another bouquet, which I assumed were hers from Dad. Her worried tone let me know Elliott hadn’t done anything to make her feel better, but I was smiling like an idiot. “Great,“ I said. “Cadence is going to have such an adventure.”
Mom breathed a sigh of relief, and her smile morphed to match my own. I figured that meant Elliott had taken pity on her. “She is, isn’t she?” Mom agreed. “Elliott, can you stay for dinner?”
“’Fraid not,” he said, walking backward toward the door between the kitchen and the dining room, “but it smells delicious. I’ll be back in a week or two, though, I promise.”
“Well, you better be,” Mom shouted at him as he pushed through the door.
I ran to catch up and fell into stride with him as he turned around. “Thanks again for everything,” I said as we approached the front door.
“You bet,” he replied. With one hand on the doorknob, he looked back at me. “It’ll all work out, Cass. I’ve seen a lot of sh—stuff in my life, and I will be the first to tell you that it really does all come out in the wash.”
I nodded, not quite sure what that meant, but if he seemed confident everything was going to be okay, then I would be, too. I threw myself at him, and he let go of the door and wrapped his arms around me, kissing me on the top of my head. “See you, lil girl,” he said, and I managed to pry my arms off of him.
“Bye,” I said, watching him disappear out the door and then moving the curtain so I could stare at him as he walked down the walkway and over to his bike like a normal human being. He waved at me and then started the engine. I kept watching until I couldn’t hear the motor anymore. I knew that he wasn’t really a superhero, not like Superman or Batman or any of those other guys, but he was pretty special to me. Right then, he was the only person in the world who trusted me enough to tell me the truth, and I respected that.
Dropping the curtain, I turned and leaned against the door. While I could still feel the lingering effects of his “joy bomb,” it was fading fast, and I hoped I could fool my parents over dinner. Would they know how disturbing I had found Elliott’s story of what went down with my sister?
I hung my coat by the door and grabbed my backpack, thinking maybe my homework would distract me. While it was tempting to call Lucy and Emma, I wanted to keep this information to myself for now. They really only needed to know that Jack was gone and my sister had struck out on her own. The details I could keep to myself. For now, I wanted Elliott’s trust in me to be founded, so I vowed to keep the secret for the time being. Something told me the wash he mentioned was only about mid-cycle, and there was a lot more that was about to come out, though I had no idea why I felt that way.
