by H. D. Gordon
Despite me being as admittedly kickass in most ways as I was, to this address I could only let out a small giggle before gaining mind over myself, thanks to a nudge from Sam.
She saved me by saying, “Hey, Caleb.”
His blue eyes met hers and he offered her a bow as well. As he did so, I had ample time to admire the perfect fit of his suit, and the way he carried himself in it only enhanced its appeal.
“Hello, Samantha,” he said. “I’m glad you could come.”
“I brought your computer,” she said, handing over the device in the black carrying case she’d been holding. “I got into the files.”
Caleb’s demeanor was suddenly a touch more rigid, though I doubt I would have even noticed without the change in his aura. My brows pulled down a bit as I observed this.
He took the computer bag and tucked it under his arm. “Anything interesting inside?” he asked with some caution.
“Nothing that made any sense to me,” Sam answered, and shrugged. “But it might mean something to you. It was just a bunch of numbers and some symbol I’ve never seen.”
Caleb nodded slowly. “Thank you, Sam. I’m going to go put this up somewhere.” His eyes fell back on me. “Would you save a dance for me, Aria?”
I told him that I would, and our gazes followed him as he disappeared into the crowd.
Sam gripped my arm as soon as he was gone. “He’s so in love with you!” she whispered.
“I don’t know about that,” I replied. “But there’s definitely something going on that we don’t know about.”
Sam grew wary again. Wisely, she said, “And we don’t have things going on that he doesn’t know about? You can read auras, right? What do your spidey senses tell you about Caleb?”
I gave an agreeable nod. “That he’s a good guy, just maybe more complicated than this lifestyle might assume.”
“All the better,” Sam grinned. “Oh, he’s coming back. I’m going to occupy myself. See ya later.”
She slipped away before I could stop her, and sure enough, Caleb approached me only a moment later. He held out a hand to me, his other tucked behind his back in an old school gentlemanlike manner that I was not immune to. It would be a lie to say my heart didn’t give a flutter.
I placed my hand in his and allowed him to lead me to the dance floor, closer to where the orchestra was playing, and could only inhale the clean scent of him as he pulled me closer, placing a hand on my hip and smiling down at me from his taller height.
Biting my lip, I told myself to be cool.
“Do I make you nervous?” he asked me, his voice low and intimate, and I found that I could only hold his gaze for a few moments at a time.
I saw no point in lying. “Yes,” I said.
“Good.”
“Good?”
Caleb nodded. “That way I’m not alone in my feelings.”
Glancing around, I felt even more heat fill my cheeks as I realized many in the party were watching us. “People are staring,” I said.
He shrugged. “Let them.”
“Don’t you have dance partners at all these events?”
“I guess I could if I wanted. More likely they’re staring at you because of your radiance in that dress.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Are you trying to woo me?”
This made him chuckle. “Is it working?”
I couldn’t help a small smile. “Maybe.”
His handsome face grew serious as he stared down at me. He seemed to be unable to avert his gaze, and my stomach was twisting and turning with the thought.
“You’re different from anyone I’ve ever met,” he said.
Before I could respond to this, the song ended, and we came to a stop. I couldn’t come up with a response, but Caleb filled the silence that followed as the musicians picked up a new rhythm. “Can I introduce you to my father?” he asked.
I nodded, all the thoughts that had been plaguing me since that morning having melted away, as if drowned in the deep blue of his eyes. “I’d be honored,” I said.
He led me over to the front of the room, where a small group of people was gathered around Dr. Christian Cross. They all held champagne glasses along with an air that made approaching them more nerve-wracking than I’d anticipated, and when Dr. Cross’s eyes fell upon me, I felt the gaze like a touch.
“Father,” Caleb said, bowing slightly. “May I introduce Aria Fae?”
Dr. Cross’s attention was on us fully now, along with the rest of the privileged standing amongst him. He took my hand and kissed the back of it, and for some reason, a chill ran up my spine.
“A pleasure, Miss Fae,” he said, though his aura said nothing more of mild interest. “You must be quite the young lady to tempt my Caleb. He’s the pickiest of young men.”
“Thank you,” I said.
Then my heart stopped dead in my chest, because Dr. Cross turned around and introduced one of the gentlemen he’d been conversing with when we’d approached, and I’ll be a monkey’s uncle if it weren’t the man whose image had spent the last eighteen hours or so haunting me.
A monkey’s uncle I was not, because Dyson the Wolf Halfling, it was.
CHAPTER 47
A million thoughts shot through my head in the space between a spilt second, and it was a wonder I was able to compose myself as quickly as I did.
First, I feared he must recognize my scent, as I knew a Wolf nose was even stronger than mine, but then I remembered that Sam had spritzed me liberally with perfume before we’d left. I’d complained as she’d done it, feigning a cough and reminding her that my senses were far too delicate for that, but now I was thankful. Thanks to this borrowed scent, I could tell by Dyson’s aura that he no more recognized me as the girl he’d almost killed the night before than former President George Washington would have recognized Clark Kent.
But I could do nothing against the way my pulse picked up pace, and it took considerable effort to calm myself, lest he grow suspicious of my pounding heart. It was all I could do not to rip my hand away when Dyson took it into his own and kissed the back of it.
If I’d ever been grateful for my training with the Peace Brokers, I was grateful for it now. Had I not been through such rigorous study at remaining calm, cool, and collected under tremendous pressure, I surely would’ve given myself away.
Letting him touch me, watching his large fingers so gingerly take my own, and looking into the dark eyes that only a handful of hours earlier had been the last image I’d thought I’d ever see, took all the strength of composure that I owned.
“This is Mr. Gracie,” Caleb’s father introduced.
“It’s a pleasure, Miss Fae,” said the man who’d almost killed me. “If our Caleb likes you, you must be a special girl.”
I could manage nothing more than a forced smile and a small incline of my head. Much to my appreciation, Caleb led me away from the group after a few more exchanged pleasantries, of which I heard none. I was too busy trying to grab a hold of my thoughts, and what’s more, I could feel those dark eyes following me, travelling over the curves of my body, and suddenly I felt a bit less comfortable in my dress.
I was so distracted that I realized only once we got there that Caleb had led me out to a private balcony that overlooked the expansive grounds. He turned to me with some concern. “Are you okay? You look a little pale.”
I had to swallow twice before my voice worked. “I… yeah, I’m fine. Crowds just make me a little nervous.” I gripped the railing of the balcony, letting the night air cool my overly hot cheeks. Unable to resist, I turned toward Caleb. “How do Mr. Gracie and your father know each other?”
Caleb looked at me a moment, the question a surprise, but thankfully not raising a particular suspicion. He shrugged, ran a hand through his stylishly quaffed hair. “Mr. Gracie and my father have been friends as long as I can remember. He’s practically like an uncle to me.”
I had no idea how to absorb this information, so I merely nodded.
“Do you know him?” Caleb asked.
I shook my head, and hoped not too eagerly. “No, I just… they seemed really close.”
It was a lame excuse for my inquiry, but Caleb seemed willing to accept it. “Thank you for coming tonight,” he said, and moved a bit closer to me, our arms almost brushing as he stood beside me at the railing, staring out at the lush green lawn beyond. “I was afraid you wouldn’t show.”
“Well, I definitely didn’t anticipate all the night’s… entertainments.”
Caleb laughed. “It’s really a bit too gaudy for my tastes, the parties, the false airs. It’s not all that people make it out to be.”
Even with all that there was to be thought of, it was impossible not to pay Caleb some mind. He was too handsome, too open toward me to ignore.
“You say that like a truly privileged young man,” I said. And then, rather abruptly, “I need to check on Sam.”
“Right,” he said, offering his hand to me. “Back to Sam.” I was not blind to the disappointment that touched his aura, but my head was spinning too fast to be as coy as I may have wanted.
We found her and Caleb went to grab us some drinks while I spoke to her. By the look on her face, I didn’t have to speak aloud the reason for seeking her out. She must’ve noticed Dyson, or rather, Mr. Gracie, with Caleb’s father. Taking her hand and forcing myself to appear natural, I pulled her outside the ballroom and we found an exit on the side of the house, stepping out into the night air.
“Dude,” Sam exclaimed, once we were alone.
I warned her with a look. “Keep your voice down, Sam,” I whispered. “We’re apparently in enemy territory.”
Sam pulled out a cigarette, giving a slight nod. Sticking one in the corner of her mouth, she mumbled, “See how handy these cancer sticks come in? Nothing weird going on over here. Just having a smoke, thinking about the turn of events.”
I couldn’t bring myself to share in her nervous jest; my hand was still sweating where Mr. Gracie had held it. When I didn’t respond, she said, “We should probably leave, don’t you think?”
There was a mixture of emotions mirrored in her aura just then. Part of her was terrified, and wanted to run from the encounter, but there was another part of her that wanted, rather desperately, to investigate further. This part, I knew, stemmed from the lasting grief of losing her mother, from the thrill and the sense of justice that had come with our interesting nighttime activities.
Before I could make up my mind about what to say to this (something told me my choice right here would seal an envelope of some sort, and must not be spoken hastily) Caleb found us. Sam and I plastered smiles over our faces.
“There you are,” he said, handing me a champagne glass. The second glass he was carrying he held out to Sam.
We took the glasses, but I raised a brow, making Caleb chuckle. “It’s cider,” he said. “My father wouldn’t allow there be under aged drinking at these things. I’d never hear the end of it.” He grinned at me, those dimples appearing in his cheeks like magic. “Plus, I like ladies who have their wits about them.”
“You are so hot,” Sam blurted, and then snapped her mouth shut. “I mean… uh… it’s so hot out here… Aren’t you guys kind of hot?” Her cheeks went as red as apples and I couldn’t help but feel sympathy for her. She was as hopeless as I was at the art of flirting.
For all his manners, Caleb only gave a half smile and agreed that the evening was warm. Certain recent events had aroused my suspicions of him, but there was no denying that his family’s wealth and breeding had done him well.
“Are you guys enjoying the party?” he asked into the semi-awkward silence that followed.
“We were just getting ready to head out, actually,” Sam said.
I looked at her a bit too sharply, and her brow furrowed in response. We both managed to smooth our expressions rather quickly, and luckily, Caleb was too distracted to notice.
“I was hoping you’d stay a while,” he said to me, his blue eyes seeming to stare right through me. “I’m happy to have a car take Miss Shy home, if she’d like to go.”
The world seemed to draw in its breath while I took the tiny time that followed to consider an answer. I looked to Sam, but she’d averted her eyes, and her aura showed that this was my decision. Somehow, without sharing any words between us, I knew that the choice went beyond spending more time with Caleb Cross. Even if I did just want to get to know him, that choice alone had been off the table from the moment I’d learned of his father’s relations with a certain Mr. Gracie, or Dyson, as I’d formerly known him. Now, spending more time with Caleb Cross would mean digging a bit further along the tunnel Sam and I had started. It would mean reentering that volatile and dark, but alluring place.
And Sam was leaving it up to me, wouldn’t even, in fact, meet my gaze over the matter.
With a deep breath and a slight flip of the stomach, I accepted the hand Caleb had offered me, a smile forming on my lips that I hoped didn’t betray the uneasiness behind my eyes.
“I’ll stay with you a while longer,” I said.
And so it was.
CHAPTER 48
“Promise you’ll text me as soon as you get home,” I said, eyeing the Lincoln Towncar that awaited Sam.
The driver, a gray-haired gentleman in a suit and driver’s hat, waited unobtrusively aside, the open door of the backseat ready to receive its passenger.
“I’ll be just fine, Aria,” she promised. “My house is like ten minutes from here by car.” Her voice lowered and her eyes darted around. “I’m less worried about Alfred over there abducting me than I am about leaving you here with… the people who are here.”
I pulled her into a hug, whispering into her ear. “Just a little reconnaissance,” I said. “That’s all.”
She pulled back, meeting my eyes. Pushing her glasses up her nose, she said, “Alright, but please, be careful… You’re my best friend. I don’t want to lose you.”
It’s a touch embarrassing to admit that though I’d always managed to make amiable acquaintances wherever I went, I’d had very few real friends in my life, and not a single ‘best friend’. My throat grew a little tight at the words, but I managed a smile that was genuine.
“No worries,” I promised, shooing her toward the car. “Go home. Text me. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
With a look that told me she still wasn’t thrilled with this, Sam folded herself into the rear of the Lincoln, her shiny heels and hem disappearing behind tinted windows as the old driver tipped his hat to me and walked with old-person slowness to the other side.
I watched the car pull away, standing under the gentle lighting of the stately drive. The party inside was still going strong, but people were beginning to head out in ones and twos.
“Thank you for staying,” Caleb said behind me, placing a gentle hand on my elbow.
I turned and offered him a smile, reminding myself that his handsome face could be hiding secrets of a terrible sort, but wanting to give him the benefit of the doubt. Wasn’t it more likely that his father was the real villain here, and that Caleb had nothing to do with, nor any knowledge of, Dr. Cross’s presumed treachery?
Well, I thought, I was going to find out.
“Have I told you how beautiful you look this evening, Aria Fae?”
A slight heat rose to my cheeks. In all the splendor of the massive house at our backs and the manicured lawn before us, the clinking of glasses and the steady but soft music of the band floating out from inside, it was hard to not want to just let myself enjoy it.
“I always like to hear it,” I replied.
Caleb was standing before me now, looking down at me from his taller height. His thick hair was styled in its usual way, his blue eyes as deep as the sea. There was no way to deny how handsome he was, how stately and with such propriety he carried himself in his suit.
Of course his father would be a super villain, I thought. Caleb Cross was too perfect for there not to be some devastat
ing drawback.
“You look absolutely stunning,” he told me, his voice but a whisper.
I took a deep breath, commanding myself not to be wooed, and failing. It didn’t help that his cologne smelled so good, his teeth were so straight, and his aura as true to the words as the truth can be applied.
Sighing, I said, “You’re rather beautiful yourself.”
He smiled, his cheeks dimpled. “But you’re not sure of me yet.”
It was not a question, but I shook my head anyway.
Caleb studied me for a moment, as if trying to come to some sort of decision. At last, he offered me his arm. “Can I show you something?”
I slipped my arm through his, and he led me inside the house, but instead of returning to the ballroom or the balcony he’d taken me to earlier, he led me up a wide, curving staircase to the second floor.
“I feel like now’s a good time to remind you of my excellent right hook,” I said.
He laughed, but there was a tension to his shoulders, a darkness to his mood, and I held my peace while he led me down a hallway to a set of large double doors. Placing his hand on one of the knobs, he turned toward me, apprehensive.
“I know it’s kind of a weird request, but could you leave your cellphone out here?” he asked. “Sometimes it messes with the machinery.”
I hesitated, but curiosity got the better of me, and I nodded. “Just let me text Sam real quick.”
I sent a message to Sam and she replied back within seconds to tell me that she was just a couple blocks from home. Satisfied, I turned my attention back to Caleb and the mystery that was behind the two double doors.
He took his cellphone out of his pocket and placed it on a small round table outside the doors, and I followed suit. Caleb went back to the doors, pausing again, and I could see in his aura as well as on his face that he still was unsure about admitting me.
For all that had taken place, the thoughts flying through my head about what could possibly be waiting on the other side would have been funny if not for the seriousness of the situation. Part of me thought Dyson would be waiting on the other side, ready to choke the life out of me, or maybe there would be a lab with test tubes full of embryos, or a chamber stocked with Black Magic and stacked hundred dollar bills.
