by Melissa Aden
His eyes glowed from the reflection of headlights in the rearview mirror. My response was slightly delayed from temporarily drowning in the illuminated jade pools of his eyes.
“By whom?”
“I don’t know. Probably some of Divaldo’s men,” he shrugged.
“Why aren’t you worried right now?”
“I’ve been trained to drive in just about any weather condition, including snow, and it’s coming down pretty heavily now. Chances are the person driving behind me hasn’t.”
I turned in my seat to look behind us. “Why are we being followed?”
“I’m carrying precious cargo,” he smiled. “But don’t worry, I’m taking it someplace very safe. Since you’ve officially chosen to serve Dio, I’m sure Divaldo wants you dead now more than ever.”
“And here I thought everything would be sugar plums and gum drops after I chose Dio.”
“No, but it certainly beats the alternative.”
I sighed, reminded of the past month. “I couldn’t agree more.”
“I’m sorry,” Everett said. “That came off sounding insensitive. I know what you went through this past month wasn’t pretty. I got a taste of something similar after Benson disappeared.”
“Mia and Maddy mentioned that. They said it was hard to watch.”
“Yeah, I think I have a little more empathy for them after experiencing their side this time around, but it’s not fun from either perspective.”
“I’m just glad it’s over now.”
Everett’s eyes grew sad. “I was so worried about you,” he whispered.
I felt like I could cry. Over the past month, I’d been so convinced that no one cared when people like Everett, Mia, Victory and Maddy had been rooting for me all along. “I’m sorry I put you through it.”
Everett shook his head. “I wasn’t fishing for an apology.”
“No, but you deserve one. You tried to warn me and—” I didn’t know how to tell him how bad it had been, how I had almost died tonight… twice.
His past experience obviously gave him sensitivity for such situations that I lacked with him, for he said, “You don’t have to explain a thing.”
“I know. It’s just that… you’ve always been right, and I’ve been the stubborn fool who has to repeatedly figure things out for herself. I finally trust you and know that I should listen to what you say. I’m just sorry I didn’t learn my lesson sooner. I could have saved myself — and others — a lot of time and heartache.”
Everett was silent, giving me the space to reflect on the past few months. I remained in deep thought until I realized something with a laugh.
“What?” Everett asked.
“I had already grasped that choosing Dio was the right thing for me to do, but what really sealed the deal was Hagen’s song and dance tonight about ruling the world and razing anyone who got in our way.”
“He said that?”
“Yeah. It’s funny that Divaldo’s tactic to drive me away from Dio is what drove me to Dio.”
“Now that’s what I call an epic fail,” Everett chuckled, then growing serious. “I’m sorry you had to go through that alone. I wanted to help you so badly, but I couldn’t until you’d decided.”
“I bet that was hard.”
“It was torture,” he quietly admitted.
“Well, I have decided, so now what?”
“For tonight, we lay low. As the saying goes, don’t worry about tomorrow, for today has enough worries of its own. Rest in knowing you’ll be okay. Dio will help you and so will I.”
“So you’re not quitting on me?” I asked.
“Well, I should disclose our relationship to Dio and Sal. I don’t know how they will react, but I’ll see what I can do.”
“Our relationship, huh?” Everett looked at me and smiled. “Good. I only want you,” I said, aware of the double meaning.
“I know,” he said, grabbing my hand and entwining his fingers through mine.
Unfamiliar with how to move within the heat radiating between us, I blurted the first thing that came to my mind. “I like your car. It’s really nice.” I mentally kicked myself. I could tell Everett’s car was very expensive, but still.
“Thanks. Tonight’s the first night I’ve taken her out for a spin.”
“Great night to test drive the new car!” I teased. “Do you not see it blizzarding out there?”
Everett chuckled. “You know, I thought I was patient, but judging from a few things that have happened tonight, patience is not a virtue I seem to posses.”
“So the car’s new?” I asked, ignoring his meaningful glance.
“Sort of. It was a present from my dad. He gave it to me right before school started. Said it was as an early Christmas present.”
I searched my memory, trying to place where I’d heard that before. “Your mom. She got a new car from your dad, too, didn’t she?”
“Yeah! She drove you to Brightman in it,” he said, remembering. “Dad got her the Lexus she’d been eyeing. I guess it’s supposed to make up for him not being around much lately. After Benson disappeared, he sort of dropped off the face of the earth.” He made no attempt to hide the tension and hurt in his voice.
I proceeded with caution. “Why hasn’t he been around?”
“He’s embarrassed Benson went missing.”
“Embarrassed?” I didn’t understand.
“Benson went… missing… after doing something he shouldn’t have. Dad took it pretty hard, claiming it hurt our family’s reputation.”
Sensing Everett’s apprehension, I decided to return the favor and exercise some newfound sensitivity, changing the subject. “Why haven’t you driven your car until now?”
He laughed to himself. “Being deemed a murderer by the Brightman student body is enough of a low-profile-killer, wouldn’t you say?”
“I see. What kind of car is this?”
“An Audi R8. I saw it in an action movie a while back and raved about it to my dad. When I returned from Portland, I was stunned to find it parked in the driveway when I got home.”
“Nice homecoming present.”
“I’d rather have my dad back,” Everett said sourly.
“You miss him a lot?” It was more of a statement than a question. Pain tainted his features, but it quickly dissipated, like it had never been there at all. “I saw that.”
“Saw what?”
“The pain in your eyes just now. You do it all the time: a brief emotion permeates your entire face, then you immediately suppress it,” I explained. “You don’t have to hide your emotions when you’re with me. Of course, if you don’t want to talk about it, I respect that.”
“No, you’re right. I promise to be more open and honest if you do the same.”
“Deal.” I held his gaze, but the moment was short-lived as I realized we were going into the oncoming lane. “Look at the road!”
“Sorry,” he said, fishtailing. “So I’m impatient and easily distracted. You truly bring out the best in me.” He grinned.
“Keep your cheekiness to a minimum. We’re still being followed and I, unlike you, am not so calm about it. In fact, you should have your hand back,” I said, placing it on the steering wheel.
Everett watched the rearview mirror. “They’re having trouble staying on the road. The temperature’s dropping and it’s getting slick. Got your seatbelt on?”
“Yes. Why?”
“I’m going to lose them. Hold on.”
I braced myself as the car accelerated. The vehicle behind us followed close behind. With one deft move, Everett pinned me to my seat with one arm and turned the steering wheel hard to the right with the other. The car careened off the road and into a snow bank with a loud thud. I screamed, thinking we’d crashed. Snow covered the cars windows and I couldn’t see a thing, but we were still moving.
The snow blew off the car’s windows little by little, revealing we were on a country road. It was like another world with flat, snow-covered fie
lds spread out before us as far as the eye could see.
“Sorry. I should have given you more warning. Are you okay?” Everett asked, removing his arm from across my shoulders.
“Mmm-hmm,” I mustered.
“We lost them.”
“Yay!” I mocked, still shaken.
Everett smiled. “I’m taking you someplace special to me.”
“Where?” He gave me his telltale look and I rolled my eyes. “You and your silly surprises. What about the pact we just made?”
Knowing Everett wouldn’t budge, I sighed, studying our surroundings. We were in the middle of nowhere. It snowed hard but the full moon revealed the path ahead. The scenery was magical and mysterious, like a snowy fairytale land, and carried a whimsy that reminded me of the feeling I’d had at the nightclub earlier in the night: anything was possible. Judging from how the evening had progressed, this was, in fact, true.
And then, as if from thin air, a large, cream-colored building appeared. The light from within it cast pretty colors on the snow below through huge pink and purple stained glass windows, adding to the fantastical feeling I was already experiencing.
“It’s gorgeous!” I exhaled.
“Wait until your inside,” Everett said, pulling to a stop in front of the building. He turned off the engine and hopped out.
“Everett,” I called before he’d shut his door. He leaned back in. “I only have Mia’s heels to wear,” I explained, holding them up for him to see. “Do you have a spare pair of shoes I can slide on? I don’t want to ruin her shoes in the snow.”
He smiled. “No problem.” He walked over and opened the passenger door. A gust of freezing air invaded the cozy car and I shivered. Everett zipped me into his coat before swooping me up in his arms.
“What are you doing?” I laughed, self-consciously pulling at the hem of my dress as he effortlessly carried me to the glass door.
“The key is in my jacket’s right pocket. Do you mind?” he asked. I nodded and fished it out. With minor struggle, I unlocked the front door, and Everett pushed it open with his foot.
He was right. The inside of the building was even more beautiful than the outside. The ceiling had to be at least fifty feet high and was decorated with ten art deco paintings of gold, bronze, and cream with a huge cylindrical chandelier hanging from the center of each. The walls were made of the same beautiful cream stone as the building’s exterior, and the stained glass of the huge windows were set in art deco starburst designs. The floor echoed the same starburst as the windows, yet in gold and cream marble. It baffled me to find such a rare jewel hidden away in a random country field.
Everett gently set me down and I shivered from the smooth coldness of the marble under my feet. We stood face to face for a time — eyes locked and magnetism visceral. I was intoxicated with longing for him to kiss me. But once again, the moment passed as he pulled away.
“Come on.” He smiled, his warm hand engulfing mine.
I walked through the large room with my head tilted back so I could study the ceiling. “I can’t get over this place. It’s breathtaking.” I paused below a particularly stunning painting.
“It’s my secret layer,” Everett said. I laughed before realizing he wasn’t joking. “It used to be a train station. PORTAL purchased it shortly after it closed in the 70s when train travel winded down. Benson and I used to work here from time to time, or we’d just come here to get away. It was like a tree house of sorts for us.”
“Some tree house! Why doesn’t PORTAL do more with it? They should turn this place into a museum or something. It seems well preserved. It probably wouldn’t take much to get it up to code.”
“Oh, it is up to code,” Everett corrected me. “But we can’t have the public here because there’s an active portal downstairs.”
“Really? I asked, immediately reminded of the portal within the hill. “May I see it?”
“No. This one’s a little… dangerous. I’d rather you not go near it.” He nervously looked around. “In fact, we should keep moving.”
Grabbing my hand, he pulled me the rest of the way, my feet slapping against the marble floor. We made our way to the far side of the Main Waiting Room, where, just ahead, an old café was. My mind wandered, wondering what his plan had to do with an ancient café, but before we reached it, we abruptly turned through a doorway, climbing a narrow stairway leading to a door.
“This is it,” Everett said. Reaching under his shirt, he pulled out a necklace attached to a large gold key that looked tarnished and worn from long years of use. Unlocking the door, he ushered me in.
The room was a large rectangle — as wide as the entire building, but not very long. Windows lined the two longest walls, the left side displaying an endless stretch of moonlit fields and the right side featuring the same stained glass as the entrance.
The marble floor was covered in various expensive-looking rugs and two large brown leather couches sat with their backs against the wall of stained glass. On the far side of the room, a heavy, ornate mahogany desk and lots of computer and electrical equipment sat, and to the right of it, a row of lockers lined the wall from ceiling to floor. Opposite the desk was a little kitchen with a sink, stovetop, microwave, dishwasher and mini refrigerator.
“Wow! This place is great,” I marveled.
“Thanks,” Everett said. “It used to be a rec room for the station employees. Want something to eat or drink?” He clicked on various lamps, making his way to the kitchen.
“Sure.” Everett pulled two grape sodas from the refrigerator. “Yay! Your favorite!” I cheered.
He smiled. “Since Mia’s dad bought the company, she’s hooked me up,” he said, opening the bottles. He handed me a soda, produced a bag of microwave popcorn from a locker and stuck it in the microwave. “You look cold.”
I nodded. “It’s what I get for letting Mia dress me.” I opened the coat to show Everett my damp dress.
His eyes bulged. “Ooo! Do that again,” he teased.
“Stop it!” I playfully hit his arm hoping he didn’t notice my flushed face.
He opened another locker, producing a sweat suit. “Put these on. They’ll be huge on you, but at least they’re warm and dry.”
“Thanks,” I said, accepting the clothes.
I padded over to one of the leather couches and plopped down, not believing how my fortune had changed. Never would I have believed the night would turn out as it had.
“Heads up!” Everett called.
I turned just in time to catch a pair of thick black socks. I pulled them on my cold, numb feet before carefully wedging the sweatpants on under my dress. I pulled the sweatshirt over my head. It smelled like fabric softener with the subtlest trace of Everett’s cologne. Unzipping my dress underneath the sweatshirt, I managed to shimmy out of it without exposing any skin.
Neatly draping my wet clothes across the back of the couch to dry, I turned to thank Everett for the sweats to find him examining his bare back in a long mirror on the back of a locker door. Seeing his well-muscled chest and stomach caught me off guard, but more shocking were the small cuts peppering his skin.
Up close the cuts were even worse, glittering pieces of glass apparent in some. “Does it hurt?” I asked, fingering a cut on his back.
He gasped. “Only slightly,” he winced.
“Do you have a first aid kit?”
“It’s not a big deal. I’ll be fine.”
“You most certainly will not. There’s glass in your back.” I boldly took his face in my hands. “You’ve taken good care of me these past few months. Let me take care of you for once.”
“Fine,” he relented, seeming uncomfortable.
He found a kit and I proceeded to doctor his wounds. As I cared for him, I was astonished by the overwhelming emotions that bubbled up — the need to help him, nurture him, dare I say, even love him. My feelings for him went much deeper than lust, and for the first time, I felt ready to embrace them, to get lost in them.
/> I was no longer afraid of the electricity we generated together. A little jolt never hurt anybody. I wanted to get zapped.
Chapter 40
Redemption
I couldn’t believe Sophie had come back to me. It was all I could do not to pinch myself. Being with her now was like a dream, only it was real.
I played the night over in my head. I’d opened my big mouth and admitted to Mia that I missed Sophie, and next thing I knew, she was telling me to meet her at the nightclub tonight, citing an emergency. I should have known that she’d plot and plan in an attempt to get Sophie and me to reconcile. Everything clicked as I spotted Mia pulling Sophie down the stairs at the club, but I was too smitten to be angry.
As always, Sophie looked breathtakingly beautiful. Heads turned as she passed through the crowd on her way towards me. She was totally unsuspecting of how gorgeous she looked and the way she commanded the room. How she timidly hid behind Mia told me that much.
I mustered the courage to approach her and couldn’t believe it when she didn’t flinch away as I hugged her and kissed her cheek. Though a little tentative, I was happy for the chance to talk to Sophie, to make sure she was alright.
My only connection to her over the past month had been the dreams we’d shared. I hadn’t witnessed her day to day life, but the dreams alone were enough to drive a person mad, leaving me sick with concern for her. I woke many times in a panic, my only option to invoke Dio’s intervention. I doubted my petitioning had done much good, but Sophie now seemed fine enough.
The moment was perfect until Evan’s text came. He was working the front door since so many PORTAL agents were in attendance and Hagen had unexpectedly showed and gotten in before he could stop him. I was forced to tear myself from Sophie’s side to check things out. I looked everywhere for Hagen, but didn’t find him. Had Evan been mistaken? I gave up my search to find him pressed against Sophie on the dance floor.
Confusion, rage, terror, and jealousy ensued. I was a wreck, nauseated by the spectacle of their entangled dance.
Then the thought came to me: This night, she must choose. I knew it wasn’t my own thought, and was familiar with the tone of it well. Sophie had denounced Dio, breaking all ties with him. So I was doomed to helplessly watch, able to do nothing while Hagen cast his spell on her.