“Great,” I say. I'm not interested in the long details of how Lily made that happen, at least right now, but I'm thankful for her all the same. “You're awesome. Riley and I need to take you out to dinner. With cash, of course.” I nudge him in the side, poking him through his leather jacket.
“Hey,” he says.
Lily sighs. “We have so much to do. We haven't even looked for newcomers to this town yet. I'm just getting started on that.”
My heart leaps. That means there's hope we can at least gauge which direction Dad traveled in. He wouldn't have stayed so close to Moon's Peak and not reached out, would he? Mom has been more worth his time than I've been, and—
Lily frowns at me.
“Olivia.” Riley takes my shoulders and massages.
I'm opening and closing my fists. I relax my hands, swallowing as the pressure rises in my chest. So some of my issues were coming from me and my lack of control after all. I can't blame everything on the killer, and that's disappointing. I must keep working on it.
“Yes. Dinner,” I say. “It won't hurt to have me and Riley just plain look around town, too.”
* * * * *
It's Riley's idea to eat at that same seaside restaurant we visited back on our first proper date. He eats some food, because he still can, but I can tell it's not satisfying him the way blood does. Empty calories, so they say. I have a plate of fish and so does Lily, finishing it quickly. Her huge laptop bag sits on the booth beside her, and she opens her computer and gets to work before her plate is even clean.
The restaurant is cozy and warm, with white string lights and nautical decorations everywhere, but there's nothing suspicious happening here or any sign of people other than the sleepy locals. The others in the place tonight are older couples and a frazzled family with small children.
As dinner settles, Lily types a few more things into her laptop, and I know she's moving on to finding Dad. Or Dominic. Or the other Beaumonts. Lily rubs her temples and I want to tell her to stop and take a break, or she's going to burn out.
“We still need some clothes to get us through, however long we're here,” I say.
“I'd give it the weekend.” Riley throws some bills down on the table and rises. “We can't stay gone from the mansion for long.”
We walk out into the night, and I face the side street we’re on. It’s a row of tightly packed brick stores, some with lights on inside. I hate that I'm leaving Mom for the weekend with zero explanation. She'll worry, but Riley has a point. I have to disappear for now or the Originator might go after her to get to me. I put nothing past this killer.
How evil is this killer, anyway? Would he be capable of hurting Mom?
After almost making me kill my bestie, I know the answer is yes.
“So we need a couple sets of new clothes and underwear,” I say. “Any stores out here?”
Riley motions across the narrow street. “There are a few shops, but they're for old ladies. The classy one is downtown, two streets over.”
Lily runs back downtown to deposit her laptop at the hotel. I'm looking forward to a relaxing night out.
“You got more cash?” I ask Riley.
He nods with a grin. “I've come prepared. After I took Dominic's blood, I took a bunch out of my account just in case we had to hit the road, and just in case the Beaumonts sent assassins after me.” He reaches into his tight jeans pocket and produces a bulging wallet.
“Holy shit,” I say. “Good idea. Nobody can track that.”
Riley tucks the wallet away, and leans against the restaurant corner, watching a single car roll past. I do the same, letting my senses expand, and I can see the glow from downtown, just two blocks away from us and hugging the coast. The lights reflect off the water on this clear night and form an aura above the town that's beautiful. I can't believe regular people can't see it.
And then I hear Lily's footfalls.
She's bolting back towards us.
Riley seems to pick that up when I do, because he peels himself from the building. “Lily's seen something.”
“Or she's just super cold?” I ask, breath spiraling in front of my face.
Lily bolts around the next building, a fishing supply place, and reaches us before we can run to join her.
“Lily?” I ask. She still has her laptop bag under her arm. That means she didn't make it back to the hotel. “Did you see something?”
My friend pants and catches her breath. “Yes. Riley, you won't like this, but I just saw your cousin hanging around the clothing store we were going to hit. Addie. And I'm pretty sure she's stalking the worker inside. If we want to save his life, we had better hurry.”
CHAPTER NINE
Addie Beaumont is here?
The total bitch who threatened me for even looking at Riley?
My sense of power rises so much I can smell the concrete. Snippets of a phone conversation float from downtown, and it's a guy talking about closing up in fifteen minutes. It's a slow night and his boss said he could walk home. And yes, he took inventory.
“Addie?” Riley spits, losing his grace. “She's evil.”
“Well, it was a girl with purple-streaked hair,” Lily says, motioning us towards downtown. “We both know she likes to shop for clothes. And kill.”
I look to Riley, thinking of Addie’s long fingernails and her threatening posture. Her staring at the Derp House. I can't shake the cell phone conversation I just heard. It sounds like a young man, someone Addie might view as prey, and if he's about to close up and walk home, we—
Riley’s eyes widen, and I
