“The hospital? Why?”
“Because we need to know if he bit that guy.”
“Oh, shit.”
I nodded. “Exactly. This could get really ugly and hard to contain if Fonthill is unraveling.”
Aren turned off the light and pulled me into his arms. Listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat and the way his thumb stroked my back were comforting. But despite all that, I couldn’t shut my brain off.
I couldn’t stop thinking about Brightwood Academy.
Once Aren’s breathing slowed and he drifted off to sleep, I slid out of bed and fired up my laptop. It took a little while, but through some focused searches, I located a few graduates of Brightwood who had vanished. Two had been “abducted” in grade school, and six as young women at college. Those odds were skewed for such a small school.
Why hadn’t anyone working the cases ever tied that thread together?
Maybe they were “encouraged” not to…
I rubbed my forehead, struggling to connect the dots. Maybe it would make more sense after I had some sleep. I started to close the laptop but stopped.
Money had led to Fonthill making it into NYPD, but who was really behind making that happen: the government or Nero? My fingers flew over the keyboard. Searching old news stories about Fonthill’s dismissal from the force, I finally found what I was looking for. He had become an officer a month before my parents were killed. My fingertips tingled. I was getting closer.
If Nero had been watching my sister at Brightwood, if they wanted her, they would’ve needed to get custody without any interference from the legal system. My last name was different from hers, and I wasn’t living at home anymore. They wouldn’t have realized she had an older sibling. Just as I’d thought, they’d never known I had a younger one.
A chill shot down my spine.
Then I pulled my sister out of their school and moved away.
Had they been searching for her ever since?
Sebastian came into my life shortly after Nadya started college. It couldn’t have been coincidence. I pulled up her college webpage and started scanning for donors there. It was like searching for a guppy in the Great Lakes. If Nero had a connection to her university, it was well hidden. But if they did, they could have gotten my address and my name off her college application.
Sebastian showed up in my life to get me out of the way.
“Dammit,” I mumbled.
Could it have all been a setup to grab Nadya?
Other than my sister, I didn’t have anything else that connected me to Nero. Maybe Sebastian had been sniffing around my address for my sister and couldn’t find our connection. When he discovered I had weapons training and no family it made me the perfect mark to become a killer for his father.
I ground my teeth together to keep from screaming and waking Aren.
I glanced up and found him staring at me anyway. “Can’t sleep?”
Shaking my head, I closed my laptop. “Too many loose ends.” I got up and grabbed a towel from the bathroom. “A couple yoga poses should help me get a grip. I’m too off-balance to sleep.”
To my surprise, Aren got out of bed. He brought over another towel, and then went to his suitcase and pulled out his laptop. I raised a questioning brow, and he smiled while his laptop booted up.
“If I’m going to do yoga in the middle of the night, you’ll have to endure some music.”
“I didn’t mean to wake you.” I shook my head, kneeling on my towel. “You don’t have to get up too.”
He was clicking through files on his laptop. “You’re not alone anymore, remember?” He peered at me over his computer screen. “We’re in this together.”
I couldn’t hold back a little smile. Hearing him say “we” was nice, but seeing him walking over to me, in a hotel robe and nothing else, to do a couple of yoga poses that didn’t come easy to him, melted my heart. He set the laptop down beside us, and Elvis erupted from the speakers with “A Little Less Conversation.”
“My playlist is on shuffle.” I must’ve made a face, because he started to smile. “Too fast for soothing yoga?”
“That’s all right. It’s late for yoga too, so why not go all out?”
Draped in our white robes, we moved in unison, our breathing eventually as one, too. He even managed not to groan when we shifted into half-tortoise pose. We made it through three postures before the anxiety started lifting from my shoulders. Aren didn’t complain; he just followed my lead.
While we meditated, Elvis belted out “Jailhouse Rock” followed by “Hound Dog.” Hearing Elvis, I remembered Aren telling me he liked it because it reminded him of his mother.
I turned my head toward him as we lay down on our backs. “Tell me about your mom.”
Aren met my eyes. “I wish I remembered her better. We were pretty young when she passed away.” He stared up at the ceiling. “She loved us, though. And I remember her hugs.” A sad smile pulled at his lips. “When I started school, I came home one day and told her she spelled my name wrong. She told me about Elvis and how the spelling meant I was special like he was.” He met my eyes again and grinned. “I was sure that meant she loved me the most, but I never said anything to my brother.”
He reached for my hand, his fingers weaving with mine. “What about your mother?”
I took a long, slow breath. How long had it been since I talked about my parents out loud?
“She was beautiful. I remember watching her do things around the house and wishing I could be pretty like my mom. Her family immigrated to the U.S. when she was a teenager, so she always had a Russian accent. When Nadya was about three, she asked me why I talked different than our mom.” I shook my head, surprised at how easy it was to talk to him. “My mom took charge no matter what life threw at us. We always felt safe with her.”
He gave my hand a squeeze and smiled. “I guess we were both lucky.”
I shrugged. “We still lost them.”
“Not really.” He kissed my hand and placed it over his heart. “They’re still right here. With us.” His laptop whirled, shuffling to the next song. The moment the music started, Aren tugged at my arm. “Dance with me.”
I shook my head as he got to his feet. “I don’t dance.”
His smile made me warm all over. How could I refuse him anything? I stood up, wondering when I got to be so soft.
“There’s no one here but you and me.” His lips caressed mine, further knocking down my defenses. Our eyes met, and he took my hand in his as he rested his other one at the small of my back. “Just follow my lead.”
Sure enough, not only could he lead, but it seemed like I could actually waltz while I was in his arms. Elvis poured his heart out, about fools rushing in as the belt on my robe loosened. His warm chest pressed against mine, and he held me even closer. My eyes drifted shut, and I lost myself in moving with him, enjoying the way his breath brushed over my ear.
Then I started to realize he was actually singing, soft and low along with the music. The deep baritone of his voice made my body weak, but I was afraid to say anything. I didn’t want to break the spell we seemed to be under.
“Take my hand… Take my whole life too…” He hummed the rest of the line, and I smiled against his chest. As the song slowed, and Elvis hit the final chorus, Aren drew back. My heavy eyelids lifted, and I found him staring directly into my soul. When the final chord rang out he whispered, “I love you.”
He kissed me before I could say a word. Thank God because if he hadn’t I might have cried. I was no expert with love. I’d been fooled into believing it was flowers, gifts, and romantic lines of poetry. But here in Aren’s arms, dancing alone in our room in nothing but terrycloth bathrobes felt better than any long-stemmed roses and diamond earrings ever had.
Our tongues mingled together, and I savored the taste of his lips as I slid my hands inside his robe, pulling it open. He hummed into the kiss and slowly pulled back, resting his forehead against mine.
“I’m not sorry,” he whispered. “It just slipped out.”
“Was it honest?” I held my breath.
