The question snapped Amorette out of her haze. She nodded her head in the affirmative. “I like Chinese food.”
“Good.” Her dad reached out a hand and patted her shoulder twice. “I like Chinese food, too.”
Amorette forced a smile for his sake. Whoever said time and distance didn’t matter with family, they had never met her family. “Can I ask a question?”
“Of course.” Her dad’s fingers returned to his lap. For the first time, Amorette noticed his fingers fidgeting with his phone. A nervous tick, perhaps.
She took a breath. “Why did you leave? Did I do something wrong?”
Silence hung thick in the air. Leah and Lucas sent matching glares toward Amorette. She could imagine what they were thinking. Amorette was always the culprit in their eyes. Leah leaned over to her brother and whispered something in his ear. Lucas snorted and nodded his head.
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Amorette’s father answered. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you the reason.”
“There are a lot of things I didn’t think I would believe, but... sometimes the unbelievable is the only thing that makes sense.”
If she didn’t believe a few impossible things, Amorette knew her current situation would overwhelm and incapacitate her. The impossible became probable when she saw it with her own eyes.
Her father sighed. “Why did it have to be my daughter, of all people?”
Amorette almost missed his mumbled question. He said it so low that, had she not been listening, Amorette wouldn’t have understood. The comment still made no sense, but she was bound and determined to figure it out now.
“Why did what have to be me?”
“It’s better if you don’t know.” Her father shook his head. “Maybe you shouldn’t have appeared here tonight. Your mother would be ashamed of my actions.”
“What actions?” On impulse, Amorette reached out to wrap her fingers around her father’s hands. “Please, daddy? Please tell me why you left me here all alone. Why couldn’t you stay?”
Her father’s eyes met hers, and this time she read the agony in their depths. “Because you’re not safe if I’m near you.”
EADRIC LOOKED FROM one side of the table to the other. He didn’t like eating with these two buffoons as it was, but especially not when neither would make eye contact with him. And not when the most important resident of the mansion, beside Eadric himself, was nowhere to be seen.
With a huff, Eadric folded his arms. “Where is she?”
“Out.” Hunter mimicked Eadric’s posture.
A nice attempt, but he didn’t have the experiences and natural presence Eadric carried. On the other hand, Eadric knew he was less likely to receive any information from Hunter.
Eadric turned his attention to Doon instead. “Out? Where? With whom?”
“Well, you see, I don’t exactly know... that...” Doon winced and reached for his water. “She took a driver.”
“That’s a lie.” Eadric arched a brow at Doon. “None of the cars are gone. Try again. Where is she and how did she escape the house?”
“Okay, in my defense she’s sneaky.” Doon folded his hands on the table in a pleading motion. “Also in my defense, I was legitimately working when she left the house. Hunter was the one who saw her go.”
“Hey, you can’t throw me under the bus like that!” Hunter gaped at Doon.
“Too late, already did.” Doon shrugged. “It’s not like he’s going to throw you out. You’re one of the only things keeping her here in the first place. He’s not gonna chance her running away again.”
“And yet, here we are, discussing her escape.” Eadric lifted his eyes heavenward. If he had known these two would let her go so easily, he would have kept her closer to himself. A mistake he wouldn’t repeat in the future. “Perhaps one of you has an idea where she went?”
Doon shook his head.
Hunter shrugged his shoulders.
Eadric stood to his feet and planted his fingertips against the tabletop. “One of you is going to tell me what you saw and heard.”
“But I didn’t see or hear anything!” Doon pouted.
Hunter remained silent.
“Fine.” Eadric lifted his chin in preparation to change the subject, but a chime on his phone interrupted him. He slid the device from his pocket and frowned at the unfamiliar number on the text.
Upon opening it, he found one picture and a simple message, neither of which warmed his heart.
The picture featured Amorette, all alone walking down a sidewalk.
The message stated one word. Sloppy.
“You’re both fools.” Eadric pushed away from the table and searched his phone for a seldom-used application. “Doon, call Collins. I’ll text him an address when I have it. Hunter... next time, don’t interfere and keep the woman inside.”
“What’s wrong?” Hunter shot to his own feet.
Eadric shook his head. “Stay out of it and don’t go anywhere. I’ll be back soon.”
As far as Eadric was concerned, the app couldn’t load fast enough. He was inside his vehicle before it beeped at him.
Eadric zoomed in on the area marked on the map. At least he had a general idea of her location now.
He tapped a finger to the screen as if she could hear his scolding. “Don’t move.”
The fool woman didn’t even know the danger that lurked behind her. How could she run off like that? How could the dogs allow her out of the yard? They nearly killed her before. Why did they suddenly love her?
A thousand reasons she should have known to stay put all spiraled through Eadric’s already crowded mind.
A drive that should have taken him thirty minutes lasted only fifteen.
Eadric parked his SUV at the end of the block and climbed out. The app on his phone dinged again, alerting him to Amorette’s close proximity. Good. There was no time to waste. Not when Codex had eyes on her. Eadric jogged a few paces down the sidewalk, consulting his phone every few steps.
“You’re looking for the girl, then?”
Eadric stopped and glanced sideways.
An old woman, covered in scarves with her head down, pointed a long finger to a house down the street. “She’s there. Asked me to send you her way.”
Well, at least Amorette wasn’t a complete idiot. He didn’t understand why she chose an old scarf woman, of all people. Did it really matter?
Eadric shoved his phone into the inside pocket of his coat. His feet ate up the pavement.
If Codex already had eyes on her, it was a matter of time before they made a move. He needed to be faster. She wasn’t safe here. They knew where she lived. Besides, last time she came home, she left with injuries.
As much as he wanted to barge through the front door unannounced, Eadric didn’t. Manners had been instilled in him since birth. He couldn’t break down a door without definite proof that she was in danger. So, despite his panic, Eadric knocked.
A thin woman who clearly cared too much about her appearance answered the door. Eadric recognized her from surveillance pictures and video. The step-mother. He didn’t spare her a word or another glance.
With a single brush of his arm, Eadric stepped past her and flicked a glance around the room. If this was the living room, Amorette’s room must be... He turned left and started down the hall.
“You can’t barge in here! I’ll call the police!” The step-mother screeched.
Eadric didn’t particularly care what she did, as long as Amorette was somewhere in this house. He flung open her bedroom door and breathed a sigh of relief.
The step-siblings looked over their shoulders from where they had the poor woman cornered on the other side of the bed.
Eadric clenched his teeth and stormed into the room. He shoved them aside.
His fingers wrapped around Amorette’s wrist and tugged. “Let’s go.”
Amorette allowed him to lead her past the step-siblings before she tugged back. “Just a second.”
Eadr
ic stopped, but only to face her. Amorette’s big eyes stared up at him from where she stood a fraction of an inch away from his chest.
“You don’t understand what’s going on here. We have to leave.”
“I need to grab the end of my stuff.” She jerked her chin toward the bed.
Eadric inhaled through his nose and let her snake out of his grasp. “Quickly.”
Amorette rushed to the bed. Her fingers flew over the zipper of the suitcase. All the while, the step-siblings stared open-mouthed from the corner. Eadric spared them one glare before he returned his attention to Amorette.
The suitcase clunked against the floor. Amorette wheeled it to his side.
Eadric tucked her hand in his and herded her toward the door.
“Wait!”
“What’s going on? Who is he anyway?”
The step-siblings' outbursts tumbled over each other in an attempt to be heard first. None of their questions mattered to Eadric. He pulled the door open again, only to stop dead in his tracks.
Amorette stumbled to a stop beside him. “Dad?”
“Is this him?” A man, almost as tall as Eadric, ran an assessing gaze over the couple. He paid special attention to Eadric.
Eadric narrowed his eyes at Amorette. “How much did you tell him?”
Amorette shook her head, her eyes wide as if she didn’t have a clue what her dad meant either.
“Why did it have to be you?” Her father scrubbed a hand over his face. “It could have been anyone but you. You should give them what they want, don’t drag my daughter into this.”
“How do you know about what we’re in the middle of?”
It seemed too coincidental to Eadric. Why would Amorette’s father have any idea what was going on? What was all this, that he reacted in such a way?
“She was safe!” Amorette’s father shoved his fingers back through his hair. “She was safe and oblivious and content. Why did you drag her down into this mess?”
Eadric took a single step in front of Amorette. He didn’t think her father would hurt her, but the man seemed volatile. The conversation turned in a strange direction, too. Almost as if Amorette’s father knew more than he let on.
Eadric knew, more than most, that danger could come from anywhere, in any form. Even from beloved or trusted friends.
“From what I’ve heard,” Eadric chose his words carefully, enunciated each one, “you haven’t been near your daughter for most of her life. Why would you choose to interfere now?”
“Because she’s my daughter!” The man spat. “Because my absence kept her safe, but your undue entrance into her life put her in harm’s way.” Amorette’s father reached out to wrap his fingers around the lapels of Eadric’s coat. “Let her go. Let her go now, while you still can. It isn’t too late to save her.”
“What do you mean by that?” Eadric knit his brow in sheer confusion.
Amorette peeked around his shoulder. “Dad?”
“I’m begging you. Save her.” Amorette’s father tugged on Eadric’s coat.
Eadric narrowed his gaze. This wasn’t a delusional man. His eyes remained clear and focused. Only his fingers shook. So why did he beg for mercy for his daughter?
Eadric blinked as realization set in. “Did you call them?”
“Just let her go. Go on living the way you are. Don’t pull her into this.”
“Did you call them?” Eadric raised his free hand to shake the man’s shoulder. “How long ago? Are they here? How much time do we have?”
The man’s face went stark white. “I’m sorry.” His head dropped against Eadric’s chest. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t have a choice. It’s the only way to save her.”
No. No way. In all the realms of possibilities, Eadric never expected something like this.
What a cruel twist of fate to put an immortal’s love into a Codex family. He could only imagine the living Hell they went through.
“What’s going on?” Amorette’s innocent question snapped Eadric back to reality.
Eadric brushed her father aside and wrapped his fingers tight around Amorette’s.
“Get out of this house before they find you,” he ordered Amorette’s father.
Eadric didn’t give Amorette the option to say no. If her dad already called Codex, and they had eyes on Amorette before that, then they were out of time.
“Where are we going?” Amorette used her shoulder to support her suitcase as she hiked it off the ground.
Eadric reached out to grab it himself. “Is there a back door? There must be, right? All houses have one.”
“In the kitchen.”
Eadric took her surprisingly heavy suitcase out of her hand. They needed speed, and burdening her with the object wouldn’t help them.
The step-mother spewed insults and threats as they passed. Eadric ignored them all.
First things first, he had to get Amorette out of there.
He dove through the kitchen and out the back door. A street lamp flickered in the dark evening.
“This way.” Eadric tugged Amorette behind him down the alleyway. Everything seemed too quiet, right down to the buzz of insects crawling along short stone walls.
Either he managed to render Amorette speechless, or she sensed the gravity of the situation. She hardly made a sound, save for the tap of her shoes against the ground.
A blinding light from behind them cast their shadows before them like ghouls.
Eadric tightened his grip on her hand.
Amorette threaded her fingers through his.
Eadric looked down at her to find her looking back at him, trust shining in her expressive eyes. There existed only one option.
“Run.”
Eadric’s boots and Amorette’s sneakers pounded against the pavement. Their fingers locked together, neither willing to let go lest they lose their balance or fall behind.
The alley exit raced toward them. Eadric yanked Amorette around the corner. Stone erupted from the fence-line beside them. A loud crack echoed in the air.
Amorette screamed at the same time Eadric turned his body to cover her.
Stinging needles prickled Eadric’s face and shoulder. He lifted his head to gauge their destination. If they could get to his vehicle, they had a chance. Just a few measly blocks. He tightened his grip once more around Amorette’s hand.
Each step forward presented its own risk. Each alley or doorway they passed could hold any number of insurgents.
Eadric kept Amorette close to his side, using his own body as a shield against more bullets or attacks of other kinds. He could take it, survive it. Amorette had less chance to live.
For the first time in his life, Eadric saw his cursed existence as a blessing instead.
The duo reached the SUV to the tune of another loud crack. The back window on the passenger side splintered around the slug.
Eadric opened the driver’s side and hefted Amorette inside. Her suitcase followed, tossed into the backseat. Eadric slammed his door shut and fired the engine.
Whap! A pair of palms hit the driver’s side window.
Amorette screamed again and cowered in her seat.
“Help me too! Take me with you!” Amorette’s father tapped his hands against the window again. “Please! They’ll think I know something. Take me too.”
Another bullet hit the side of the SUV, narrowly missing the man’s abdomen.
Eadric glanced back at the woman in his passenger seat.
He knew very well what Codex would do to a failed member. He heard the stories for centuries. His cold heart could leave the man behind to die, but Amorette would never forgive him if he did.
Eadric unlocked the doors. “Get in. Hurry.”
In the split second that the back door opened, a shot sailed through the door and buried itself in the opposite window.
Eadric pealed away from the curb before Amorette’s father closed the door. He had questions, that man had answers. If he were to keep Amorette safe, he needed all of them.
>
First, they needed to get to safety.
[Episode 12]
Two Paths Diverged
“WHO ARE THEY?” AMORETTE turned to look out the back window for the fourteenth time. “Are they following us?” She didn’t need to know who they were to know they most certainly meant harm.
“Even if they are, they won’t catch us.” Eadric reached a hand into the middle console.
“You’re bleeding.”
Amorette reached shaking fingers to his cheek. Rough granite scratched her fingers beneath the sheen of crimson blood.
Eadric gently pushed her wrist away from his face. “We can deal with it later.” He tucked a blue-tooth headset over his ear and tapped the middle button. “Call Collins.”
Amorette pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. So many questions presented themselves, especially after her father’s non-answer earlier. How did his presence put her in danger?
Amorette shot a look over her shoulder, but her father didn’t notice. His gaze focused out the window.
What happened to make him so fearful? Why did Eadric bring him along when they didn’t like each other? Her brain hurt from trying to deduce.
“Collins.” Eadric’s voice broke the silence. “I need the team at my house ASAP. No. No, it’s fine. We’re ten minutes out. Yes, lock-down. I’ll tell him when we get there. Put someone on the boy, too.” He pulled the blue-tooth away from his ear and tossed it back in the console.
Amorette waited a second before she asked. “Is someone trying to kill me?”
“It’s more likely that they’re trying to kill me.” The tick in Eadric’s jaw alerted Amorette to the fact that he may be lying. On the other hand, she saw the same tick when he got angry or annoyed.
“Am I going to die?” It made no sense, but neither did most of the things happening these days.
“Absolutely not.”
“Are you going to die?” Amorette didn’t know why the thought made her heart stop.
Eadric shook his head. “No.”
She could ask so many more questions but now didn’t seem like a good time. Amorette looked forward. If she didn’t look back, she wouldn’t think about the people chasing them. If she looked forward, she could worry instead about the speed with which Eadric drove.
Codex Page 17
