Finders Keepers (21 page)

“That’s really quite fascinating.
 
Where did your parents…”
 
Her father didn’t get a chance to finish because Sarah jumped up from the table, bumping Manny and causing him to choke on the mouthful of stuffing.
 
The cause of the startle was a red cell phone buzzing like an injured cricket on her hip.
 
Suddenly Gibbs and Sky both with the same amount of haste pushed back from the table.
 
Ellie could see Gibbs’ phone lighting up in his pocket and whirring on vibrate.
 
Already in Sky’s hand was his own cell phone.
 
Gibbs checked his text message and then looked between Sky and Sarah with an arched eyebrow.

“Excuse us, Mr. and Mrs. Brown, it’s our mom.
 
It seems she needs us right now.
 
It’s been lovely, thank you very much.”
 
He placed his napkin next to his plate.
 
Before leaving the table, however, he flipped the phone so Ellie caught sight of the message.
 
She had an idea that he meant for her to see it, but it was done so expertly, no one else noticed.

New info.
 
Meet at house.

Gibbs leaned over Ellie as if to wish her a private goodbye.
 
“A deal is a deal.
 
I will pick you up tomorrow at seven."
 
His tone was solemn.
 
He knew she knew—there was no use pretending anymore.
 
Yet, he hesitated, and then brushed his lips against her cheek.

Sarah took off immediately, followed by Gibbs.
 
Ellie followed them out of the dining room and watched them both take off in opposite directions.
 
Gibbs trotted out the back door and Sarah dashed out the front.
 
From behind someone put arms around Ellie and grabbed her.

           
Sky towed her along behind him, surreptitiously checking all around him and in the rooms they passed for anyone who might be watching their departure.
 
Then he ducked into the hall coat closet and pulled her in after him.
 
Coats and jackets were shoved to the brackets, hangars clanging noisily, and still there was so little space her body was pressed right up against his.
 
Sky’s face was so close to hers that their noses nearly touched.
 
His head was bent due to the height of the bar above it.
 
For a few seconds all Ellie could hear was the sound of his breath and her own heart thudding irregularly.
  

Where he held onto her hand, he slipped his fingers between hers until they were woven together.
 
He wanted to kiss her, she could tell.
 
A knot formed in her stomach, resembling sudden indigestion in spite of the little she ate at dinner.
 
She turned away from him before he could follow through with his intentions.
   

 
“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“That I was a misunderstood fairytale creature and could also transform into a bird?
 
And not just any bird, but the crow you let sleep next to you in your bed?
 
Somehow I couldn’t imagine that pickup line working with you.”

His lips found her cheekbone and she trembled.
 
Her stomach was really hurting now.
 
He tightened his hold on her.
 
“I would have stayed Pinstripe forever if it meant being with you.”
 
He cupped her chin and turned her face toward his again.
 
“There’s no time.
 
I have to go.”

Desperate, she stalled.
 
"What's going on?
 
Will I see you again?"
 

“I love you, Ellie, but you don't belong in my world nor me in yours.
 
I will make sure none of us ever bother you again, especially Gibbs.”

 
This time his lips did find their mark.
 
The pain in her stomach seared sharper than a hot knife.
 
Then what’s the point in kissing me?
 
She wanted to shout that at him as he left, but she didn't, because the question wasn’t for Sky.
 

***

           
“Seriously, if that dragged on any longer… You know I’ve kissed her a few times, I could give you some tips.”

           
Sky glared daggers at his brother.
 
“So we know for sure that Zak is playing both sides.”

           
“As we suspected.”

           
“And that Sarah is involved.”

           
Gibbs’ frown deepened.
 
“That surprised me.
 
I thought for sure this revolved exclusively around Lola’s father.
 
It was his thug that attacked Ellie at the park.
 
But I can’t make the connection between Sarah and
Jalx
.
 
And to think I was going to just let her go.
 
Good thing she stuck with Ellie or we would never have known.
 
Now we are back to square one.
 
Who are they working for?”
 

           
Sky stooped his shoulders.
 
He wasn’t sure how much he cared anymore.
 
Even if they eliminated the threat, he would never see Ellie again.
 
Keeping Gibbs and the rest of the gang away meant that he had to stay away as well.
 
Gibbs slapped him on the back.

           
“Come on Skyward.”
 
It was Gibbs’ childhood nickname for him.
 
“I didn’t know this would happen, and when it did, I was more stunned to realize that you’d grown up than the fact that you’d fallen for a human girl.
 
I’ve been protecting you since you were five.
 
You’re my baby brother.”
 
His semi-jovial face darkened.
 
“Our father should have been here guiding you through this transition.
 
I have no idea what he would say.”
 

They’d been walking in the dark along the highway toward the town’s cemetery.
 
There were secret entrances all over
Colverville
to the goblin city and Sky and Gibbs were careful to avoid using the same ones too frequently.
 
The swirling iron gate precipitating the entrance into the cemetery shown black in the light of the full moon and beyond that could be seen the outlines of headstones and monuments set in orderly rows and columns.

“I didn’t tell Ellie about Lola."
 
He hadn’t meant to say that to Gibbs.

"Does Ellie care about you?"

"I know she loves me."

Gibbs moved to the right of the gate where it closed and locked into a stone wall.
 
He fingered the crack which revealed the loose stone.
 
“She’s in danger only as long as you’re in danger.
 
Solve that problem first then make your decision about Ellie.
 
Or better yet, give her the chance to make it.”
 
If Sky noticed Gibbs’ voice was uneven, he attributed it only to the fact that Gibbs was jimmying the stone out of the wall.
 
Gibbs suddenly lashed out and punched the wall.
 
Blood dripped from his skinned knuckles as some of the mortar crumbled and fell.
 

***

           
She fidgeted.
 
Fidgeted while everyone else finished the dinner.
 
Fidgeted while she was supposed to be clearing the table—no one was about to let her wash dishes.
 
And then when everyone else was in the kitchen cleaning up, Ellie sat on the couch staring at the blank, black screen of their television and fidgeted some more.
 
Sky’s secret was beyond unbelievable.
 
There was no way she should even be taking him seriously.
 
Maybe if she got a good night’s rest, she’d even realize how foolish she’d been to believe in goblins.
 
He was gone, supposedly never to return, and a logical mind would have been relieved.
 
Instead, her insides were tumbling around haphazardly.
 
Sky.
 
Goblin.
 
Pinstripe.
 
It’d been like a word on the tip of her tongue for a long time.

           
Gibbs.

           
And they were all in danger.
 
In the middle of war.

Ellie ran her fingers through her shoulder length hair several times.
 
Pulling her legs up under her, she sat cross legged and picked at the piping on the arm of the couch.
 
Then she started trying to tuck her too long bangs behind an ear.
 
Not quite long enough, they continued to fall over one eye.
 

           
The promise is what pinned her down and kept her from leaping off the couch.
 
She’d promised Sky to stay put, stay safe, and stay out of it.
 
It’s not a promise she would have worried two bits about keeping, except she hadn’t just promised Sky.
 
She’d promised Pinstripe.
 
And her loyalty to him was unquestionable.
 

           
Then there was that small, cold part of her that wasn’t sure she wanted to be involved any further anyway.
 
The thought of returning underground paralyzed her.
 
If she closed her eyes she could see
Xaneth’s
thin, papery face and feel his hot, foul breath on her so clearly that her heart threatened to stop.
 
Then there was Dodge holding a knife.
 
The cold, wet fear dripped down her back and she shuddered.
 
Maybe it was best if the goblins just left her out of this.

           
But what if she never saw Gibbs again?
 

           
Long brown arms touched Ellie’s shoulders and slid down her arms.
 
Her body tensed against the intimacy of the touch.
 
Manny’s chin landed on Ellie’s head and she looked up to find a sympathetic smile on his lips.
 

           
“You deserve better.
 
You deserve perfect.”

           
Manny’s dark chocolate brown eyes held hers and she melted a little inside of them.
 
This was the boy who she’d sat next to at lunch for the last four years.
 
They took the same honors classes and he gave her a ride home just as often as Taylor did.
 
She was one of the few rare friends his mother knew well.
 
They were even physics lab partners.
 
He’d flirted with her for four long years in spite of all his many girlfriends, making her heart pound and her mouth go dry and her longing for him increase every second of every day.
 
What if he were right?
 
Did it matter that she was #17 on the list as long as the list ended at 17?
 
She didn’t even know if Gibbs had a list.
 

           
His tall length made it possible for him to lean over the front of her until his face was upside down in front of hers.
 
He’s going to kiss me.
 
She didn’t have a chance to wonder about the right or wrong of it.
 
His lips brushed hers gently and then when she didn’t pull away, he pressed his lips against hers firmly.
 
Three kisses and three kissers all in one day.
 
It was like a dating
gameshow
and the host was now in her head.
 
Now that you’ve tried them all out, Ellie Brown, please use the cards to score them.
 
1 is for the worst and 10 for the best
.
 
Ellie opened her eyes and pulled away abruptly, bumping her head into Manny’s stomach.
 
For such a smoking body, she couldn’t help but notice his abs were a little soft.
 
Like a parent of an out of control child, Ellie clamped down on her runaway, non-rational, hormone induced thoughts.
 
She needed space to think.
 
Before he could try again she wiggled out under his arms and scrambled around backwards to face him.