Then, with a rasping gasp, she continued. “I took care of his mama for a year, a full year…”
She wouldn’t look at me as she continued. He was married. He was unhappy. They shouldn’t have done what they did, but it was the last night.
“The night she died, no one was there for him. His wife never came.” Her voice grew hoarse. “I was crying. He was crying. They came and took the body, and I went to him.”
Another pause. Her eyes closed. Another tear fell down.
“I’ll never regret it. It was one night. His wife came the next day, and we acted like nothing happened.”
That hadn’t been all of it. There’d been more, but those were the words I couldn’t get out of my head.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. Kash.
Where are you? Marie said you’re at my house, but cameras aren’t showing you.
Shit.
And wait—he had cameras on me?
Took a wrong turn about 823 turns ago. This house is freaking huge. I’m in a mall. An empty and deserted mall. Everyone’s at the Gap.
Kash: What?
Me: I’m lost.
Kash: You’re lost?
Me: Yes.
Kash: Where?
Me: In the house.
Kash: What house?
Me: The big kahuna.
Kash: Did you ask for help?
I grinned.
Me: Why would I do that?
Kash: So you’re not lost.
Even through the phone, I could feel his irritation.
I was loving it. More foreplay.
Me: What if I’m just lost in life? No one to help me with that one.
Kash: What the hell
I paused. He’d stopped midtext. That wasn’t a good sign, until my phone rang in my hand.
Double shit.
I answered, not even looking. I knew who it was. And before he could snipe at me first, I started in. “You need to understand that a girl in my position, with my background, there’s not much I have.”
He growled, “What are you talking about?”
“You see that you don’t see. I don’t have much here, on my end. I’m not that kid who saw too much, et cetera, growing up, but I did see one or two too many guys come in our home. I saw a couple that treated her right. I saw a few who didn’t, and I learned how I wanted to be, growing up.
“Now, I can’t say I know what morals Peter Francis may have, but I feel I can say with almost an eighty percent certainty that I got my morals and values from living with my mother. Chrissy tried. She really did. She’s a hard worker. She was in her third year of nursing when she got pregnant with me. Took a year off to have me, then went right back. She finished while she worked, and I don’t think she could’ve got more than five hours of sleep a week.”
I was starting to ramble, but he was quiet. He was listening. No one was around, so I was going with it.
“So you see, when I’m here and I’m being told that I’m a lie, and I’m being told I should go back home, and I’m being told everyone would be better off without me, well … wandering a bit in a gigantic house is not that big of a deal. Not enough for you to call me with a growl in your voice, because I have integrity. And if you don’t mind, I’m going to keep the last bit of it I have, and I’ll find my way out of this house eventually without asking for help.”
I didn’t give him a chance to reply. I hung up, and I powered off the phone for good measure. Sticking it back in my pocket, I turned—only to reel backward.
I didn’t know for sure, but since she was exquisite and had a sunlight-wheat color to her blond hair, which was swept up and pinned to the top of her head, I assumed that I was staring at Quinn Francis. She had clear cornflower-blue eyes, the same teardrop shape as Cyclone. High cheekbones that swept out, a chin that molded down to complete a heart-shaped face, and the plushest lips I’d seen in person.
She was stunning.
There were no other words, and she was gazing at me, not a whiff of anger, suspicion, or even warmth. There was confusion, as if she wasn’t sure if I was real or not.
The image was completed by a soft-hue pink dress that had a scoop neckline, a layer of white lace, and a hemline that fitted just above her knees; the rest was the same hue of pink tulle that fell to the floor. There was no jewelry anywhere, even on her hands. My heart ached because I knew that my mother had kept up with Peter Francis, and if this was who my father had married, then my mother had compared herself to this woman. And there was no comparison. My mother would have won, hands down, for the mere fact that she was Chrissy Hayes, and no one could compete against Chrissy Hayes.
I readied myself, figuring she’d overheard me, and I waited to see what she’d say.
Her mouth parted. She was studying me up and down, all over, and damn it, I knew I was going to break first.
“I’m only here for … you know.” She knew, right? How could she not? I jerked my gaze to the floor. It was so much easier this way. “And, uh, as soon as they catch ’em, the Arcane people, I’ll go. I’m not here to upset anyone or disturb nothing.” And I couldn’t talk, either. Proper grammar be damned. “I was trying to find Kash’s villa again and I got lost.”
She continued to stare at me. Not a wrinkle marred her face, until thirty seconds later she pointed behind her. “Walk until the T, turn right, and keep going. There’s a back door by the pool. You can skirt around the fence and hook onto the sidewalk that goes past the golf course. Keep straight and Kash’s villa will be in front of you.”
Of course. That was easy enough. Chances of getting lost were 100 percent, but I was going with it.
“What’s your name, dear?”
She didn’t know my name? I considered lying, because integrity, but I heard myself answering the truth.
“Bailey.” And because no one could compare to my mother, I added, “Chrissy Hayes is my mother.”
I slipped away after that, but I wasn’t sure if I imagined that soft gasp from her or not.
I didn’t stick around to check.
FIFTEEN
I was frothing at the mouth. Literal drool was sliding out.
Getting back to Kash’s place, finding it empty, and finding a desktop left on the kitchen table was a eureka moment for me. My hands were almost shaking from the anticipation of my own little office put in place in my bedroom, and knowing I could disappear in mere moments.
I had to set everything up first.
Finding a small table in the basement, I hauled that sucker up two flights of stairs. The chair was next, which was a bit of a struggle. I was tired from the desk. The chair, easier, but it had wheels. That meant back twisting, and the last time I had worked out was never. Once I had both those in place, the table and chair pushed up against one of the corners, the computer was third. That was just placing and plugging. I’d deal with a Wi-Fi connection, but that was the last and final moments before hackerdom.
Necessities. I needed them.
Headphones, preferably a headset with a thirty-six-inch cord. They were the cheapest on the market, but they were the best sellers for a reason. The fancy ones stopped working after six months or so. Then snacks and drinks. A normal all-dayer/nighter, I’d want coffee or energy drinks. Energy drinks were preferred, but after raiding Kash’s kitchen, I saw he wasn’t a fan of the stuff. That was something I needed to note to ask for later. Until then, coffee. Lots and lots of coffee.