Sweet Peril (21 page)

“Can’t stay long. Just wanted to see my little girl on her graduation day.” Dad nodded a greeting at the twins and they slunk back against the two barstools at the counter.

My heart rate was still rapid when he came forward and embraced me.

“Thanks for coming,” I whispered into his black T-shirt. I breathed in his clean, zesty scent and didn’t want to let him go.

“I came to give you a gift.”

I looked up at him with expectancy.

“But not yet,” he said.

I made a face.

Patti came toward the door with a platter of chicken in her
hands, a bottle of BBQ sauce and grilling utensils under her arm, and a pack of matches between her teeth.

Dad and I both moved to take something from her at the same time. He held up a hand toward me and said, “I got it.” He took the platter and she removed the matches from her mouth.

“I can do it,” she insisted.

He grinned as I opened the door for them. “Yeah,” he said over his shoulder. “I know you can.” And together they left for the commons area to be domesticated. Weird.

The twins and I stood there in silence. They were like mannequins.

“You know you guys don’t have to be afr—” Ginger smacked a hand over my mouth and glared at me. I shut up and moved away, walking to the couch through the balloons. The twins followed me and sat down.

“We’re just not used to it,” Marna whispered.

“I know, but he’s on our side. We can talk,” I assured them. “So, what’s up with you two? You’re really flight attendants?”

Marna’s eyes danced. “I prefer
sky muffins
.” She giggled. “Astaroth wouldn’t allow us to—”

Ginger elbowed her and they shared a frightened glance.

“It’s okay,” I said. “Really. You can say whatever you want. We’re safe.”

Ginger crossed her arms and legs. Marna swallowed hard and nodded at me with her gray doe eyes. “Okay,” she began. “Er, well, he wouldn’t allow us to move to the United States or apply to classes at uni, so we came up with this idea and he bought it.”

“But only after he suggested we become a stripping duet,” Ginger grumbled.

“At a high end club, of course,” Marna added with a wink. “Anyhow, when we promised to make married men join the mile-high club, he was sold.”

“But only on a trial run,” Ginger specified.

I had no idea what the mile-high club was, and I wasn’t about to ask.

Marna charged ahead. “Yes. We’re basically in a probation period to see how it goes. Astaroth pulled strings with the airline so we’ll always fly together. We’re on an eight-hour layover right now, so we’ve got to head back to Atlanta in a bit.”

Seeing Marna there on my couch and knowing they’d secured a tiny piece of temporary freedom caused a surge of happiness to rise up in me.

“I’m excited for you guys,” I said. “Promise me you’ll call anytime you’re in this area, okay?”

Marna promised and we sat there chatting until Patti and Dad came back up with the empty platter.

“Chicken’s on the grill!” Patti announced from the sink.

I smiled until Dad cleared his throat and said, “I’ve gotta get going.”

“But you just got here!” I said.

“You’re not staying to eat?” Patti asked.

He shook his head. “Sorry, girls. No time. I just came to visit for a minute and give Anna her present.”

I stood and faced Dad, while he scratched his goatee.

“You ready for it?” he asked.

I nodded, nervous. “What is it?”

“Your next assignment.”

My heart jumped and I held my breath.

“You’ve told the girls everything, right?” He inclined his head toward the twins, who didn’t move a muscle.

“Yeah, they know everything,” I said.

“Well, good. Now you’re off to California to tell the last of your Neph pals. Happy graduation. And happy birthday next week.”

California
. The word blinked and shouted in my mind.

My heart rapid fired as he presented an itinerary sheet from his back pocket, smacking it into the palm of my hand.
Do not smile. Do not react
. I curled my fingers around the paper, dancing, leaping on the inside.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

Patti turned off the water and stared at me, joy thinly veiled across her face. “You’re going to California?”

When I nodded she raced into the living room, hands still wet, and threw her arms around me. “Finally!”

“All right, all right,” Dad said. He tapped his temple and eyed me. “Head in the game, girl.”

I nodded, holding back nervous, happy laughter as Patti let me go and practically danced her way into the kitchen to finish up. My head was light with a buzzing sensation.

“Nice call on learning sign language, by the way,” Dad said, looking at the twins and me. “Don’t let any of the Dukes or spirits see you using it, though. Any signs between Neph have been put to a stop in the past. I’ve got the daughter of Sonellion and the son of Mammon learning, too,” he said to me.

“Awesome, thanks, Dad.”

“Yep. We’ve got our annual summit coming up next week in Vegas, Dukes only, so that’s when you’ll go to California. I’ve got to head out now, but I wanted to give you this in person.”

He tweaked my chin and I grabbed his hand. I never felt like I got enough time with him. And I wanted to ask him about a Neph being plagued with multiple temptations.

“Can I call you later today?” I asked.

“Yep.” Dad kissed my temple and hulked to the door, boots clanking. He turned back to the three of us one last time before leaving.

“Head in the game, girls,” he repeated. He sent Patti a wink and she shook her head. Then he was gone.

Marna and Ginger made no noise, but they slumped with relief at his absence. I plopped down on the couch with them. My heart hummed and throbbed at the thought of California.

Ginger glanced toward Patti in the kitchen, then whispered to me, “Your mum actually likes Kai?”

“Yeah. She loves him.”

This seemed to surprise Ginger. She stared at Patti with wonder in her eyes.

When I looked at Marna, she wore a pinched expression as she stared at the carpet. “What’s wrong?” I asked.

Without looking up she cleared her throat and paused. “Nothing.” She gave me an award-winning smile.

“Well, I don’t know about you girls,” Patti called out, “but I’m starving. You wanna help me throw everything together before I go check on the chicken?”

The twins shared uncertain expressions.

“Sure, we’ll help,” I answered for them. “What do you need us to do?”

“All right, how about you and Marna make the salad, and Ginger can help me bake this cake.”

Their eyes filled with horror.

“You mean like chopping things?” Marna whispered.

“Yeah. It’s not hard. We’ll do it together.” At my prompting they stood but made no move toward the kitchen with me.

“I’m not sure you ought to trust me with a knife,” Marna said.

“Or me with baked goods,” Ginger added. I’d never seen her so unsure of herself. If it were just me making the request, she’d tell me to go screw myself, but neither girl seemed to know how to act around Patti. They fidgeted and glanced at the kitchen.

Patti came over and took Ginger by the arm.

“You’ll both be fine,” Patti insisted. “It’ll be fun!”

The seriousness of the twins in the kitchen was comical. They took each step of their jobs with slow, attentive detail, checking and double-checking the measurements while Patti ran out to flip the chicken. Somewhere halfway through, the girls loosened up and we started chatting. Patti put Ginger at ease in a way I’d never seen her. At one point we were all laughing and I realized I’d never seen Ginger laugh in a carefree way, only the mean kind of amusement brought on at someone else’s expense. Usually mine. Ginger caught me looking and straightened, smile disappearing. Patti watched with her keen, wise eyes. She wasn’t missing the significance of any gesture here.

When she returned from getting the chicken off the grill, Ginger said, “Oh, that smells divine, Miss Patti.”

Who was this complimenting girl? Patti smiled and thanked her.

Ginger was so proud of the cake when it was finished that she took several pictures of it with her phone. She even wanted a picture of her and Patti holding the cake together, which nearly made Patti burst with motherly affection. I couldn’t even manage to feel jealous as Patti heaped nurture on Ginger. It was so sweet it made my eyes sting. Marna kept sending fond glances at her sister.

“I did that part right there all by myself,” Ginger said to Marna, pointing to the frosting trim. “Brilliant, isn’t it?”

“Bang-up job, Gin.” Marna squeezed her sister around the shoulder.

The four of us had a surprisingly wonderful time together. And through it all, my skin buzzed every time I thought about the upcoming trip to California.

I was sad when it was time for the twins to leave. I walked them out to their rental car after they received big hugs from Patti.

As we stood on the sidewalk, Ginger poked her sister in the shoulder. “You need to tell her.”

The scathing look Marna shot Ginger was something I’d never seen from her. The fluttery feelings I’d been experiencing during dinner quickly turned to a sour feeling.

“Tell me what?” I asked.

The sisters shared a knowing look. Then Marna and I held each other’s eyes in silence until I knew. I just
knew
.

My voice shook when I whispered, “You told him, didn’t you?”

“No!” Marna said, and her voice shook, too. “Not directly. He asked me and . . . and . . . I told him no! But . . .”

Ginger turned her attention to me. “You should know Marna is the worst liar in history. Most people probably wouldn’t even notice, but Kai and I poked fun at her growing up ’cause she always pauses before she tells a lie—as if she’s working out the story in her head before she tells it.”

Oh, no.
He knows
. I covered my mouth, feeling sick.

“I’m so sorry, Anna,” Marna whispered.

“What did he say?” I demanded.

She cleared her throat, a dainty sound. “He wouldn’t let me explain the circumstances. He just kept saying he had to go.”

“Tell her everything,” Ginger prompted.

“There’s more?” I asked. I felt sick.

Marna’s eyes bugged out at her sister.

“What?” Ginger asked. “She should know what she’s walking into.”

“Yes, I should.” I crossed my arms just like Ginger, less out of anger and more to try and comfort myself with the good, tight grip.

Marna looked miserable when she mumbled, “He rang me from a bar where he was with his bandmates and some other people from the studio—”

“The other Anna was there, wasn’t she?” I asked. My voice came out sounding a little vicious, and Ginger raised her sculpted eyebrows at me as if impressed.

“Yeah,” Marna said. “She was trying to get people to come
back to her place, and Kai agreed, then told me he had to go and he’d be fine. But he wasn’t fine. He was a bleedin’ mess.”

“So what happened?” I could feel and hear my blood pounding in my ears.

Marna shook her head to show she didn’t know, and Ginger spoke up.

“The bastard probably finally gave in and hooked up. No doubt he was thinking of you when he was all
Oh, Anna
—”

“Gin! Not. Helping!”

But Ginger didn’t stop. “I wonder if he was angry and rough, or sweet and—”

“Shut up!” I screamed at her and she pressed her smiling lips together, then I turned on Marna. “Were you ever going to tell me?”

“Of course! But I was scared. I was waiting until I knew you were going to see him.”

I had to fix this. “What’s his number?” I asked her.

“I don’t know, honestly. He’s changed it again.”

I let out a frustrated sound.

“I would’ve given you Kai’s number this whole time if you would’ve just asked me,” Ginger said.

Marna and I looked at her, shocked.

“You would have?” I asked, doubtful.

She shrugged one shoulder and examined her thumbnail. “He never told
me
not to. Only Marna.”

We continued to stare at her until she huffed a big breath.

“Look. He’s a complete arse, but I’ve never seen him like this. I’ve never seen him want anything or anyone, truly, until you. It’s almost like he’s being more self-destructive without
you than he’d be with you. So, yeah, I would’ve given you the asshat’s number. To drive him mad if nothing else. But I don’t have the new digits either.”

Marna and I looked at each other but didn’t dare to speak.

“Oh,” I said. I had no clue what else to say to that.

Ginger pulled out her phone and looked at the time. “We have to go,” she said to Marna.

“Good luck in California.” Marna embraced me good-bye. “I’m sorry,” she said again as she straightened.

I swallowed hard. “Thanks.”

Ginger surprised me by leaning in for a quick hug of her own. Realizing what she’d done, she cleared her throat and pulled away, looking me in the eye.

“Give Blake a message for me, would you?”

“Okay,” I agreed.

With a wicked flutter of her eyelashes, she leaned forward. I froze with shock at the feel of her small, soft lips on my own. When Ginger’s hips pressed against mine and her tongue flicked at my closed lips I gave a little squeak and jumped away, bringing a hand to my mouth.

Ginger smirked and cocked her head. “Best not to relay that message in front of Kai, I imagine.”

Marna swiped her sister’s shoulder with the back of her hand. “You’re such a cow!”

Ginger laughed and they left, exchanging sibling banter. Marna sent me an apologetic glance over her shoulder and I sputtered a nervous sound before stiffly turning back to the apartment and shaking it off.

That was one message I would not be delivering.

I sat on the concrete steps for a minute, wishing there was an Off button to my brain. I didn’t want to think about any of it. Ten minutes ago I’d been excited at the prospect of seeing Kaidan. Now, not so much. I sighed and pushed myself to standing.

When I got back up to the apartment, Patti pointed to my purse.

“Your phone’s been going off like crazy.”