“Ha ha.” I punched him in the shoulder, happy he could joke about it. “Do you want to visit your mom while we’re here?”
Their relationship was complex, but his mom was alive and kicking. I would give a lot to spend another second with mine, so it fell to me to nudge him at times. Even if I had to force the words out between clenched teeth.
“That’s cruel.” Aware of how much effort it cost me to make the offer, he pretended to consider me. “I’m seeing a whole new side of you.”
“Wait until after we’re married.” I rested my head on his shoulder. “Then you’ll see the real me.”
“Oh?”
“I’ll stop shaving my legs, start eating cookies in bed, and never wear pants.”
“The horror.”
“That’s just the start. I have big plans. Think cereal in bed, popcorn in bed, hamburgers in bed.”
“It sounds like the real you enjoys numerous activities in bed.”
“Oh, she does.”
I got a laugh out of him that banished the specter of Boaz, and that made me feel like I was getting the hang of this relationship thing.
We rode the elevator up and stepped out onto Bull Street in time to admire the sun sparking color on the horizon.
“Let’s go home.” I tossed the keys in the air and caught them on my palm. “Maybe, if you’re a good boy, I’ll let you drive.”
A shadowy hand snatched the keys on my third toss and flung them to Linus.
“Cletus.” I tugged on his tattered cowl. “That’s cheating.” I spun on Linus. “Did you put him up to that?”
A low moan chastised me, and I harrumphed at the wraith. He was definitely sassier these days.
Linus’s eyes twinkled when he said, “I would never.”
I let them get away with double-teaming me, all to see that happiness brighten his smile.
Woolly threw on lights when she spotted us, her fixtures dialed up as high as they would go, and the frantic swish of her curtains hurried us into the house. The old girl was worried, and her anxiety was spilling over into me. Her wards sang when we crossed them, snug and secure, but my heart pounded all the same.
Something was wrong. Something had happened. Something…
Eva stood in the living room wearing one of her recital costumes, a glittery leotard and a sequined tutu from her last Silver Belles recital. A familiar clutch I never thought I would see again was tucked under one arm, and silver kitten heels too big for her feet made her wobble in place.
The oxygen punched out of my lungs, and I couldn’t get it back.
“By accepting my gifts, you have given me the pleasure of caring for you. I wish to show you that it can always be this way between us.” He delivered the line with enough sincerity to impress the orator in me. “Tonight I will be the most envied man in the room.” His smile grew sharp. “I can hardly wait.”
Volkov had told me that on the night I was reinstated as the Woolworth heiress.
And now Eva wore those shoes and carried that clutch. All that was missing was the gown.
I wanted to rush over, scoop her out of those heels and toss them and the bag in the trash where they belonged, but I couldn’t get my arms or legs to move. I couldn’t unglue my tongue from the roof of my mouth. I couldn’t do more than stand and stare and force myself to push oxygen in and out of my lungs.
“What do you think?” She turned a careful circle so she didn’t fall. “I’m a frost princess.”
Caught in a tug of war between her physical and mental ages, Eva was easily convinced to play dress-up with her mother and me whenever we prepared for social events. That included revisiting old costumes.
“Where did you get the purse?” Linus admired her ensemble, stepping in when it became obvious I was experiencing technical difficulties. “It’s lovely.”
“I found a box on the front porch with my name on it.” She beamed up at him. “Do you like it?” She stuck out one foot. “It came with matching shoes.”
The flush on her cheeks painted her crush on Linus for all to see.
I had been wrong about her not being interested in the opposite sex. The problem was she already had a crush. That’s why she didn’t pay boys her age any attention.
Goddess help us.
“You look beautiful.” He approached her when it became obvious my legs still were made of Jell-O. “Did you keep the box? Or the note?”
“They’re in my room.” A flicker of hesitation dimmed her exuberance. “Did I…?” She looked to me now. “Did I do something wrong?”
“No,” Linus was quick to reassure her. “Of course not.”
Woolly gave me a mental nudge, a hard one, and I finally snapped out of it.
Leaving Linus with Eva, I jogged into the kitchen for gallon freezer bags to collect evidence in.
“Let’s walk you home, Eva-Diva.” I put a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll explain everything there, okay?”
“Okay.” She glued herself to Linus’s side. “Mom won’t be mad, will she?”
“None of this is your fault.” I nudged them out the door ahead of me. “Be there in a sec.”
After they hit the lawn, I gazed up at the foyer chandelier. “Did you notice anyone on the grounds?”
The front doorknob clicked out a quick no.
“Did we receive any more deliveries?”
Again, no.
“Eva showed up on her own, dressed like this, and waited on us?”
The door opened and then shut in an affirmative. Woolly wasn’t great with telling time, but she pushed a series of images at me that left me certain Eva hadn’t been there more than fifteen or twenty minutes.
“Help us keep an eye on her?”
The door cracked open then shut firmer this time.
“We’ll be back in a few.” I patted the doorframe on my way out. “Hold down the fort.”
Jogging across the lawn, I caught up to Linus, who carried a barefoot Eva piggyback.
We filled the walk with chatter about her next dance recital, and she offered to show me some of her new grappling moves. By the time we reached the Kinase den, she had wormed off his back to run in the grass.
Hood and Lethe met us on the lawn, their expressions tight, and Eva shrank in Linus’s shadow.
In her excitement, she must have forgotten to ask permission before visiting us.
“You,” Lethe snapped. “Go to your room.”
“Mom, I—”
“The pack is on lockdown.” Lethe held firm. “That means you don’t leave these grounds without my say so, and you don’t cross the property line without an escort.”
“I just wanted to show Linus my pretty shoes,” she screamed. “He’s my best friend.”
An arrow through the heart would have hurt me less than hearing her admit that, and from the expression on Hood’s face, he was bleeding out too. Lethe, however, kept her pain masked.
“Go to your room,” she repeated. “I’ll be up to talk to you shortly.”
Red-faced, Eva flew into the house with sobs ringing behind her.
Lethe jolted when the door slammed, and buried her face in her hands. That didn’t stop me from seeing the tear roll off her chin, and I was glad when Hood folded her into his arms to give her a moment to regain her composure.