She found Damon at his locker, jamming things into his messenger bag—all of his things, as if he had no intention of coming back.
“See you tomorrow?” she asked, leaning in the doorway to block it.
“No.”
“You want to tell me about it?”
“No.”
“You don’t think that after ten years of partnership, we maybe deserve an explanation?”
Damon bowed his head for a moment. Cassie could almost feel the war within him and she wondered what it was about.
Then he closed his locker with his usual care and turned to face her, his features composed again. His eyes, though, his eyes were haunted. “Natasha is not my girlfriend. She’s my mother and she was diagnosed with cancer. I spent every Friday night with her.”
“Oh, Damon, I’m so sorry. You should have told us...”
He lifted a hand to silence her. “It doesn’t matter anymore. She’s dead.”
Cassie was so shocked that it took her a few moments to find the words. How could he have been going through this without telling them? Without even mentioning it? She didn’t think the others knew either. She cringed inside as she recalled Kyle teasing him. “What can we do to help?”
“Nothing. It’s over.” Damon took a deep breath and she watched him stand a little straighter than he had before. “I can work the nights at the club now, or if you’d all rather, I can leave the partnership. Just let me know what you decide.”
He would have stepped past her but Cassie didn’t move. “You can’t just leave. We’re partners.”
Damon’s gaze flicked to hers. “Fine. Give me a schedule and a list of your expectations. I’ll fulfill them all.” He gave her a dark look and she moved out of the doorway, feeling helpless as she watched him stride away.
“When’s the funeral, Damon?” she called after him, thinking that attending it was one thing they could all do for him.
“There isn’t going to be one,” he said without turning back, and Cassie was shocked to silence again.
She felt Ty come to stand behind her. “So?”
“Natasha was his mom. She just died of cancer.”
“What?” Ty demanded. “He never told us?”
“She’s been in the hospital. He went there Friday nights to visit her. His mom is Natasha.”
Ty swore and shoved a hand through his hair. “Why wouldn’t he tell us?”
Cassie turned to Ty. “He’s not going to have a funeral either. What can we do?”
Ty frowned, his gaze trailing after Damon. He was thoughtful and concerned, and Cassie waited for his conclusion. “Nothing, I guess,” he said finally. “Especially if that’s what he wants.”
“It feels wrong.” She glanced after Damon, but he was gone.
“It is wrong, but pushing ourselves on Damon will only backfire. Maybe that was what his mom wanted.” He looked down at Cassie and she saw that they were both equally shocked.
“He said it was up to us if he remained a partner.”
“Of course, he’s remaining a partner.” Ty was impatient with the possibility of Damon leaving F5F. “Privacy is one thing, but this partnership is another. He’s just dealing with a lot and not thinking straight.”
“I think so, too. He looked devastated, Ty.”
“Wouldn’t you be?” He didn’t wait for an answer but Cassie nodded. “Actually, this gives me a good reason to call him later. Let’s decide about hiring Hunter or someone else, and work on the details for Chynna’s start.”
“I did some mock-ups for a Valentine’s Day launch,” Cassie offered. “It’s on a Wednesday this year, which isn’t perfect, but I thought we might open the dance club that night for a special event.” She sighed. “Kyle said it’s the tattoos she does on the full moon that have the love magic, but unfortunately there isn’t a full moon in February at all this year.”
“Kyle and Theo are still on the line. Let’s make some plans.” Ty gestured and Cassie headed back to the conference room, noting that both of them glanced to the foyer with concern for Damon.
“He needs us to need him,” she whispered.
Ty nodded. “We do. I’m afraid the tough part is going to be convincing him of that.”
Haley stood in front of the house where she knew Damon lived, gathering her nerve. She’d waited until Wednesday and her day off but she couldn’t stand it anymore. The nurses in oncology had told her about Natasha’s passing. She’d had a good cry and sent some more prayers after Damon’s mom. She’d hoped Damon might call her, but he hadn’t. She had a feeling that he would close himself off from the world, which was just about the worst possible choice.
He could be having nightmares.
He could be experiencing his PTSD in full glory again.
He was alone and he shouldn’t be.
Even though she expected him to be hostile, she had to try to help. She stepped up and rang the doorbell. It echoed through the house, but there was no other sound. No footsteps inside. The curtains didn’t move and no one looked out. She couldn’t see any lights on.
Of course, with his military training, Damon would be able to be more still and more quiet than normal humans. Would he have to come out for food? For all she knew, he had enough rations in the cellar to survive Armageddon. Would he leave the house to go to work? He did seem to be committed to F5F.
Maybe he was staying downtown at the club.
The nurses had told her that there wasn’t going to be a funeral for Natasha. Haley thought that was a really bad sign of Damon’s emotional state. It was impossible to ignore the fact that his mom was gone, and she wasn’t going to let him try.
She expected a fight and she was ready for one.
It was funny but just a few short weeks ago, she would have left him to his misery, knowing that he didn’t want her interference. It turned out that taking a chance or two had given Haley the need to speak up, and to be more active about facilitating change.
Even if it meant offering help where help wasn’t wanted.
She rang the bell again.
Nothing.
She went around the back of the house and knocked on the kitchen door. There was no curtain on the window in this door, and she could see that the kitchen was meticulously clean.
As if no one lived there at all.
Or as if Damon did.
Haley went back to the front door to ring the bell one last time, only to find Damon striding down the walkway to the house. He was frowning at the pavement, looking as if he was in bad mood, and he stopped cold when he saw her. There was a flicker in his eyes, but she didn’t have time to decide if it was annoyance or relief before it disappeared and he was impossible to read again.
“Lost?” he asked. His tone was less than welcoming and she figured resistance was starting immediately.
“You got a ride with Joe from the hospital one night. He told me where you lived.”
“Spy network?”
“He likes to tease me. I didn’t intend to ever come here.”
“But you did.” Damon didn’t move past her, didn’t unlock the door, didn’t take any chance of her coming inside. He stood eight feet away from her, his expression wary, and she wondered if he was afraid to come closer. “What did I say to change your mind?”