Divided (Elena Ronen, Private Investigator)

by Jennifer Sights

  “I’m going to be honest with you, Courtney. Your mother hired me to find you. She’s worried sick about you.”

  “You can’t make me go back home. I’m nineteen. That makes me legally an adult.”

  “I know, and I”m not going to make you. But you should at least call your mom and let her know you’re okay.”

  “Why should I? I hate her, and she hates me.”

  I grabbed her arm without thinking. “You don’t know how lucky you are to have a mother who loves you as much as she does. Don’t you ever let me hear you say you hate her again.”

  “What the hell? Get your hands off me,” Courtney snarled.

  “I would give anything to have my mother alive. Anything. And here you are, mother alive and worried about you, acting like an ungrateful little snot.” I let her go, and she just stared at me.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

  “Don’t apologize to me. Apologize to your mother.”

  Courtney stood up, walked to Samuel and said something to him, then left. I hoped she was going outside to call her mom, and that I hadn’t made a gigantic mess of things with her.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  It had been several days since I had been home, so Vittorio took me there when we left The Chapel.

  He walked me to the door, where we stood awkwardly for several moments. I felt like a teenager on her first date, wondering if she should kiss the boy, or wait for him to kiss her, or to run inside before anything could happen.

  “I know my place isn’t fancy, but, would you like to stay here tonight? I mean, you don’t have to if you don’t want to…” I trailed off.

  He pulled me close to him. “Mio amore, it will take time for me to trust you completely again, and for the hurt to go away, but I still long to feel you close to me.”

  Once inside, I realized just how uncomfortable this must be for Vittorio. For one thing, he had nothing to change into, and while his outfit was stunning, I was willing to bet it wasn’t the most comfortable thing to wear.

  “I have some workout shorts that might fit you, if you want to try them, and a large t-shirt.”

  “Thank you,” he said.

  I searched through my dresser and found the shorts. “The bathroom’s right around the corner.”

  He took the shorts without a word.

  I changed into a red silk nightgown and lay in bed, waiting for Vittorio, tired, but too tense to think about sleep. I opened my eyes when I felt him in the doorway. My shorts barely fit him and looked as if they would tear at the seams. He knelt by the foot of the bed and laid a kiss on my ankle. My body tingled as he moved up my leg, gently planting kisses the entire way. He stopped at the hem of my nightgown and moved to my other leg, working his way up. Next, he kissed my fingertips, hand, and arm, ending at my neck, drawing a soft moan from me. Still, he continued, across my chest, always staying just at at the line of my nightgown, teasing. My heart raced and my breath came fast. When he finally kissed my lips, I put my arms around him, pulling him to me. I wrapped my legs around his waist, using my eyes to wordlessly beg him for more. He stopped and gazed into my eyes. “What do you want?”

  “You,” I breathed and pulled him to me again. My hands explored the muscles of his back, dipped below the waistline of the shorts, then back up. My body ached for him. I gently let my power go to him and felt his answer.

  We knelt on the bed; he pulled my nightgown over my head, and I pushed the shorts down. I cried out as he pressed against me.

  When he entered me, it was unlike anything I had ever felt. Our powers truly became one, as did our bodies. I felt his emotions, the years of pain, the abandonment from his parents, his gratitude to Dr. Fondazione, his brotherly love for Samuel, the hurt my betrayal caused him, and on top of it all, the pureness of his love for me. Tears came to my eyes.

  I felt his power tug at my soul, but it was not the tearing away he described. It was gentle, exploring, loving. I welcomed it in, invited it to find all it could about me. It hesitated, cautious about what it would find. There were no more lies, though, and my soul told the power as much, as it swept through me. I let it see my regret and sorrow, and love.

  The misty green and amber of our power surrounded us, encasing us in protective, healing warmth.

  When we finished, Vittorio collapsed on top of me. The weight of his body on mine was magnificent. I never wanted him to move. I held him, gently kissing his neck and shoulder because I loved the feel of his skin against my lips. Our powers lingered, swirling around us in an almost tangible mist until they faded.

  “That was incredible,” I whispered.

  Vittorio propped himself on one elbow to look into my eyes. “Yes, mio amore, it was better than I ever could have dreamed.” He rolled onto his back, and I lay my head on his chest, knowing the healing had begun.

  “I’m going to make some coffee and see what I can scrounge up for breakfast. What do you like?” I asked when we woke the next morning.

  “You,” Vittorio said, kissing my back.

  I sighed happily. “You’ve already had me.”

  “In that case, you decide.”

  Kevin walked in as I was frying bacon and scrambling eggs. I wasn’t much of a cook, but breakfast I could handle. “Breakfast and your fancy robe. What’s the special occasion? Have you finally decided you view me as more than a brother-type?”

  “Keep dreaming. I’m a new woman, Kevin.” We heard the shower turn on upstairs.

  “Oh, I think I get it.” He went to look out the front window to see Vittorio’s car parked out front. “He’s upstairs, huh?”

  “Yep.” I smiled.

  “Okay, then, I’ll be on my way. Wouldn’t want to ruin your lovers’ breakfast.”

  “You might have to rethink coming and going as you please. It might get a bit awkward.”

  “I always imagined my first threesome being with two girls, but maybe if you get me drunk enough…” He wiggled his eyebrows up and down.

  “Go away, Kevin,” I said, playfully pushing him toward the door. “I’ll come by later.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  When we finished training for the day, Vittorio offered to make dinner. “I appreciate it, but I don’t have much food in the house. I don’t cook much, so frozen dinners are about the extent of what I have, aside from breakfast stuff. Feel free to scrounge in the fridge, but I doubt you’ll find much of use in there.”

  “I could go to the grocery store.” His eyes sparkled.

  “Oh, right. I’m going to stay here, though. I want to fill Kevin in on what’s going on with the coven. For one, he stopped by while you were in the shower this morning. And since he lives right next door, I think he deserves to know in case it gets ugly.”

  “Why don’t you invite him over for dinner? I would like to get to know him better, and I think he was a little put off the last time we met,” Vittorio said as he scanned my nearly-empty cabinets.

  I wrapped my arms around him from behind. “Thank you, Vittorio.”

  “For what?”

  “For including Kevin. For understanding how important he is to me. For last night. For loving me.”

  He turned to embrace me. “Mio amore, you do not have to thank me for those things. But if you do, I should thank you for last night, as well. I saw how strongly you regret what you did. Seeing that helped to begin healing the hurt.”

  After a few minutes, I forced myself to pull away. “Okay, well, I’ll be here waiting for you. I love you.”

  When Vittorio left, I went to talk to Kevin. “Wanna come over for dinner?”

  “Not if you’re cooking,” he said, eyes never leaving his favorite shoot ‘em up video game on the TV.

  “I’m not, so you’ll be safe. Vittorio is going to cook.” I went to the kitchen to get a beer for Kevin. Maybe it would convince him to say yes.

  “What’s he going to cook? All you have is frozen dinners.”

  “He’s at the grocery store right now. And I didn’t a
sk what he’s making.”

  “As long as you two don’t go all wonky on me again.” He popped open the beer and took a long drink.

  “We won’t. I have much better control now.”

  “Sure you do. That’s not how it sounded last night.”

  “You heard us?” I covered my face.

  “The place is old; it doesn’t have the thickest walls.” He glanced at me briefly with a raised eyebrow.

  “Oh, god,” I said into my hands, still covering my face.

  “Don’t worry, I won’t make fun of you. Much.” He poked my side.

  “Maybe you should have dinner by yourself tonight.” I stood to leave.

  “I already accepted, so you can’t take it back now.”

  “Oh, fine. So listen, I need to talk to you.”

  “Not about last night, I hope.” Kevin made a gagging noise.

  “Of course not. You know I told you about kind of being the cause of that power struggle in the coven?”

  He nodded, still playing his game.

  I took the controller from his hands and paused it. “Well, it took a turn for the worse. They’re trying to force Vittorio out. They probably want me far away, too.” I told him about my battle with Elizabeth.

  “Jesus, Elena, you have to get out of here. What’s wrong with you, playing house, while your life is in danger?”

  “Calm down, Kevin. I didn’t say anything about my life being in danger. I’m perfectly safe for now, and Vittorio will protect me. And Kevin, this has nothing to do with you. If things get ugly, I want you to stay out of it. I don’t want you to get hurt because of me.”

  “Yeah, right, like I’m going to leave you alone to fight the bad guys.” He reached for the controller, his signal this conversation was over.

  I held it out of reach. “I can fight them more effectively than you can.”

  “So what? I’m not going to abandon you.”

  “It’s safer that way.”

  “I don’t care.” I stared at Kevin for a minute before accepting he would not agree to stay out of this.

  “Fine.” I glared some more before completely giving up.

  “Did you at least tell him the truth about yourself?”

  “Yes.” I tossed the controller on his couch before leaving. Hiding my fear behind anger was one of my better talents.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  After meditating to calm my anger at Kevin’s stubbornness, I decided to clean the kitchen. It wasn’t dirty, but the thought of dinner with the two men in my life brought on a serious case of nerves. Kevin could be extremely antagonistic when he wanted to be, and I hoped he’d be on his best behavior.

  The phone ringing startled me. It was Ms. Carmen.

  “Elena, what did you say to my daughter?”

  “Why? Is something wrong?” I worried Courtney had complained about me grabbing her arm and telling her off.

  “No, she came home!” I heard the smile in her voice.

  “That’s wonderful news!”

  “She said she’d stay if I stop yelling at her about her new look and friends.”

  I wanted to tell her she had nothing to worry about, but it would be a lie. I didn’t know Miriam, but Elizabeth was trouble, and not a good role model for a young girl. “Ms. Carmen, I learned a little more about the coven Courtney mentioned, and I don’t think it’s anything for you to worry about. Your daughter isn’t even involved with it.” Technically, that was the truth; Clavius wouldn’t let her in. Yet.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Pretty sure. She might just be going through a phase.” That was as far as I was willing to stretch the truth in order to comfort Ms. Carmen. I’d done the job she hired me for. She wasn’t paying me to play therapist.

  “Well, if you say so. I’m just glad to have her home and know she’s safe. Thank you so much.”

  “You’re welcome. If I can ever be of assistance with anything else, you know my number.”

  Unease washed through my body as I hung up the phone. Courtney was stubborn. Why had she gone home so easily? My words may have caused her to rethink her hatred of her mother, but I doubted they would have caused such a sudden change and convince her to go back home. Something wasn’t right.

  “You are thinking too hard, mio amore,” Vittorio said.

  I dropped my cell phone.

  “Did I startle you?” He set grocery bags on the counter.

  “I didn’t hear you come in.”

  “What has you so deep in thought?”

  I told him of my conversation with Ms. Carmen while helping him unpack the groceries.

  “It does seem odd, but try not to worry. You can be very persuasive when you want to be.”

  “Is that so?” I asked, then kissed him.

  “A late dinner, then?” Vittorio said, lips just above my neck, his breath sending shivers down my spine.

  Vittorio made fabulous tortellini for dinner. To my surprise, Kevin accepted a glass of wine with dinner and said he liked it. “I’ve usually only had cheap stuff from a box at parties. Guess I’ve never had good wine before,” he explained.

  “I am pleased you like it,” Vittorio said. “Elena made sure I picked up some beer for you as well.”

  “Thanks, I appreciate that.” Kevin finished the glass and poured some more for all of us. “So Elena said you graduated college when you were twenty. That’s pretty quick.”

  “Yes. Once I was released from the hospital, I was determined not to lose any more time. I studied almost constantly and took a heavy course load.”

  “I’m impressed man. I hated school.”

  “It is not for everyone. But I wanted to prove to myself that I could do something worthwhile. My parents, then my doctors, had made me feel so worthless, and even at that young age I realized how short life is. Maybe it was because of what I’d been through that brought me to that realization. I didn’t really know how to do that, so I just studied as hard as I could. My parents wouldn’t answer my calls or letters to see that I was truly better, but at least I proved it to myself.”

  “Why business?”

  “As much as I admired Julian for what he did and how he’d helped me, medicine didn’t interest me. As I said, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do specifically, and business seemed to be the most versatile course of study. Between that and Julian teaching me how to control my power, how to be a good man, I think I’ve done well. I hope I have, at least.”

  “Well, seeing how well you treat Elena, and how well you’ve done in your job, I’d have to agree with you,” Kevin said, taking another bite of tortellini.

  “How did you get into working on cars?”

  “My dad is a mechanic. I spent as much time as my mom would let me at his shop, watching and helping when he’d let me. She hated it - both of us coming home to dinner covered in grease. Every weekend he’d take me to little local car shows, or we’d be working on his old ’57 Chevy. Mom always tried to get me to read more, encouraged me to find something else to do with my life, but I was good with cars. I loved it. I never wanted to do anything else.”

  “That is great that you found your passion at such a young age.”

  “I’d like to open my own shop someday. I don’t want to work for someone else my whole life. That’s why I live in this dump. I could afford a nicer place, but who cares? I’d rather save my money. Plus I can keep an eye on Elena here.”

  “You never told me you wanted your own shop!” I said.

  “Yeah, well, I thought you’d laugh at me,” Kevin said, looking down at the table.

  “Why on earth would I do that?”

  “I don't know, so many small businesses fail.”

  “I know a thing or two about business,” Vittorio said. “I would be happy to help you if you want.”

  “That would be great man, thanks!”

  When we finished the rest of the wine, Kevin helped me clear the dishes. “I may not understand this power stuff, but Vittorio’s okay. He has m
y seal of approval.”

  “Thanks Kevin,” I said, then we returned to the living room.

  “I’m going to head home, have to be up early for work tomorrow,” Kevin said. “Thanks again for offering to help, Vittorio.”

  “Anything for a friend of Elena’s.”

  Vittorio reached out to shake Kevin’s hand, then Kevin pulled him into a one-armed man hug. I tried to suppress a laugh at Vittorio’s awkwardness.

  “Kevin is a good man. I am glad you have had him to take care of you,” Vittorio said as we went up to the bedroom.

  “Me too,” I said, falling into bed. It was early, but the night had been my equivalent of bringing the boyfriend home to meet the parents. I fell asleep almost as soon as I was in bed.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  The next day, we went back to Vittorio’s for more training. His study looked like something straight out of an exclusive 19th century men’s club in a movie. The walls were lined with floor to ceiling bookshelves, all filled with books; most of the books looked old. A large mahogany desk sat toward the back of the room and was covered with books and papers.

  “I hold the position of the La Guardia, the Guardian in my coven, which is the second highest ranking. Traditionally, La Guardia was also responsible for the safety of the Sacerdotessa, though that is mainly a ceremonial role now We are led by the Sacerdotessa, and Sacerdote, who represent the Goddess and God in rituals.”

  “Why all the Italian words?”

  “My coven was started by Italian immigrants here in Boston in what is now Little Italy. They kept many of the Old Ways when they moved to this country.”

  “Is there a female second in command?” I asked, trying hard to commit all this to memory.

  “It is not second in command, exactly, but yes. Dama D’onore, The Maiden assists the Sacerdotessa during rituals and maintains the altar. Elizabeth holds that position, and she is now afraid of losing it to you. She was the woman in the group the other night.”