Chapter Twelve
Lily hated when plans changed. Abriella knew this better than anyone else. She had a feeling she was one of very few people who ever got to see this truly unsettled side of the one usually labeled the calmest of their friend group. All she could do was give Lily the space and silence to work through her thoughts and adapt to the change.
The generic, impersonal email they had all received thanking them for their assistance and asking them all to stop coming to the oversight committee meetings had thrown them both off balance. The fact that it came after Caleb’s all-points bulletin about dinner at the Cohen-Williams household at the time previously allotted for the committee threw them off even more. Lily’s biggest obstacle? She hadn”t had time to bake dessert.
“Should we stop at a bakery or… store?” Lily suddenly broke the silence that had consumed the vehicle as Abriella drove them toward Elias’ neighborhood.
“If you wish, cari?a. I promise, no one will be upset with you for not bringing anything, though.” Abriella upturned her palm in an invitation for Lily to grab her hand.
“I always bring something,” Lily stressed, immediately clasping Abriella”s hand between both of hers before drawing it to her lap. “Always. It doesn”t feel right.”
“I will stop at Dunkin. Donuts are always delicious.”
They fell quiet again, but Lily seemed no more relaxed than before. She worried her lower lip with her teeth and shifted her weight around so often, Abriella could feel the tension thick in the air. With a squeeze to Lily’s hand, she voiced the question that had been circulating in her head ever since the afternoon with the picture incident.
“Lil, is this about more than baking treats?”
“No. Yes. Maybe.” Lily inhaled, held her breath, and then slowly released it through pursed lips. “Yes. I”m sorry. Between the stuff I told you about from the CDC, Theo’s stalker, their breakup, and now this… I don”t like it. It makes me feel itchy all over but I can”t scratch it. My brain is even itchy.”
“Si. Itchy brain is perfect to explain how I feel. Nothing has been settled for so long now. For me, it is like being in the middle of action but I don”t know the directive of the operation.” Abriella sped up through a yellow light and then braked as the entrance to Dunkin came into view. “It”s like sleeping with one eye open and constantly looking over my shoulder all day.”
“Exactly. Except I don”t know what I”m looking for. It”s right there, just out of view. I can feel it.” Lily reluctantly released Abriella’s hand and unbuckled her seatbelt. “Do you want anything else while I”m inside?”
“No, unless there are extra chocolate glazed. Get half a dozen of those for the house.” Abriella shifted her eyes and flashed a disarming smile at Lily’s deadpan expression. “What? They are my favorite. No self control.”
“You”re lucky your job makes you stay fit. I”d worry about your cholesterol and blood sugar otherwise.” Lily popped the door open and slid out, ducking down briefly before she continued speaking. “Thank you. I feel slightly less itchy having talked about it.”
Abriella sank back in the driver’s seat to watch her girlfriend cross the parking lot and enter the store. She was glad they lifted the moratorium on work talk. It was short lived, but it appeared the consequences from it were still there. If she had known putting that boundary in place would cause such a build up, she never would have agreed to the terms. At least they were starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. She sent up a silent prayer of thanks that it hadn”t gotten as bad as things had gotten for Theo and Connor.
The urge to text him struck as she finished her prayer. Connor had been doing better and better every day. They saw less of him as he busied himself with his new security details, working out, therapy, and the running club he refused to call a support group. Honestly, the difference was night and day. He still struggled—most nights he wept himself to sleep. It was knowledge she would take to her grave. Despite the pain, he was able to keep his eyes on the prize and put in the work. The pride she had in her best friend was renewed now that he’d stopped letting his demons sabotage the good things he had in life.
Abriella: u comin 2nite?
Abriella: bringing donuts
Abriella: where r u?
She tapped her fingers on the steering wheel and waited for a reply. He had thirty seconds before she”d start blowing his phone up. Maybe she needed to look into therapy for her codependency issues when it came to her best friend.
Connor: I”m on my way. Just got off work.
Abriella: good
Abriella: luv u
Abriella: drive safe
Connor: 3
She smiled and reached out to take the stack of boxes from Lily as soon as she got the door open. Only once she was settled in her seat with the belt fastened did she hand them back.
“Connor’s coming. I texted him.”
“Of course he’s coming. Theo is going to be there.” Lily deadpanned at Abriella as if it was the most obvious thing. Perhaps it was.
“Si… dios mio, I hope they work this out soon.” She got them back on the road and headed toward Elias’ before continuing. “I love him to death but I want our living room back.”
“Oh stop it. You know you”re full of it.” Lily shook her head with a laugh. “I enjoy watching you two together. Besides, Theo needs time. They’ll be fine. It just takes time.”
“You are so sure of it. How are you so sure of it?” Abriella glanced toward Lil and back toward the road in a flash.
“Because you talk to Connor. I talk to Theo. We both know they are madly in love with one another. Right now, they”re lost souls trapped in one another’s orbit. Gravity will pull them back together soon enough. Once the hurt is healed.” She shrugged, calmly expressing herself as though it should be obvious.
She mulled over everything Lily had said for the remainder of the drive, and even more so during the first hour of their impromptu dinner gathering. She paid keen attention to Connor and Theo because of it. Lily was right. They kept orbiting one another, stealing glances and sharing smiles when they thought the other wasn”t looking. It was borderline ridiculous. She mentally kicked herself for using the word ridiculous, and desperately worked to avoid pushing the two of them into a closet before locking the door.
Unfortunately, the casual gathering couldn”t remain that. As much as no one seemed eager to bring up the reason they were all here, it had to happen eventually. It was Caleb who broke the barrier with a colorful and creative rant that included something about rhinestones and farm tools. Abriella smothered a laugh at the Caleb Classic version of an icebreaker before sobering up as the real conversation began.
“With all due respect to the fact that she is your mother, Theo… but she”s honestly losing her mind.” Elias leaned back in his seat at the kitchen island and craned his neck to see into the living room. The kids had broken into loud cheering. Elias was wary. Abriella knew those kids; he had every right to be cautious.
“You don”t have to censor yourself on my account.” Theo shrugged and glanced toward Connor before lowering his eyes back to his plate. “I”ve always thought her priorities were shit. She hasn”t changed in that regard.”
“Show of hands, who is actually upset over the loss of the committee.” Luke glanced around the table with a curious expression.
Everyone squirmed. No one raised their hand. Lily almost did, but reconsidered at the last minute with a furrowed brow.
“I think I”ll miss the information from it, but as an entity, it wasn”t particularly beneficial or effective.” Lily picked at a cuticle before glancing up. “I think the lack of information is really the root of everything we”re struggling with.”
Murmurs of assent rippled around the table. Connor in particular looked consumed by the clouds that had darkened his eyes so often up until recently. Abriella kicked his ankle to snap him out of it. He responded with a kick of his own.
“So, the fuck are we gonna do now?” Taz chimed in from his seat beside Luke.
“We could… gather our own information? Compile everything we have. Maybe without all the politics, we can do our own investigation stuff.” Theo pushed his plate away and crossed his arms over the edge of the table. Abriella and Connor both clocked how little he had eaten and exchanged a silent glance as Theo continued to talk.
“Elias, Cay, and Lil all have a finger on the pulse of the White House. Cay and El have ears in the Senate too. Taz, Luke, Abs… you guys are working it from the official angle. Connor and I are freelance right now. We can be out in the cold snooping where you guys can”t.”
“Out in the cold,” Elias repeated with a chuckle. “Jesus, you make it sound like the Soviet Cold War era.”
“Not altogether inaccurate, to be fair.” Connor reached across the table and nudged Theo’s plate back toward him. “And I reckon I ain”t the only one concerned about who got the nuclear codes and the football in hand.”
Abriella paused as a chill trickled down her spine. She hadn”t once thought about the fact that Adelaide Montgomery was the one in charge of the big red button that could send them into World War III. Everything she’d seen and heard about the woman made that realization an incredibly unsettling one.
“Wow. Buzzkill. Way to go, muscle jock.” Taz pitched a napkin across the table and snickered as it bounced off Connor’s forehead. “Goal! Or touchdown. Or whatever sport term. I don”t fucking know.”
“Be nice to the muscle, baby. We”ll need their brawn to save our delicate, delicious little peaches when the world goes to shit.” Caleb tousled Taz’ hair, earning him a withering scowl. “Back to icky serious things, though… it”s not a terrible plan. We’ve been three steps behind the action for over a year. Maybe if we start proactively working all our angles, without the bullshit noise, we might get somewhere.”
Abriella glanced toward Luke and gave an imperceptible nod that he returned. “I am going to meet with Director Robins. She”s new, but she’s good people, si? I think she would be happy with us working from a new angle. My guys are getting frustrated too.”
“Reckon it might be worth mentioning that the Director of the Secret Service might be keen to help too. He”s steamed as I am over Locke, Fields, and Adelaide.” Connor stretched in his seat, his arms lifting over his head with a groan.
“Muy bien. It”s better than nothing. Shit is so loco, I don”t know that we will ever get answers, but I don”t want to stop trying.” Abriella’s gaze caught on Theo’s poorly hidden smile across the table. She leaned back enough to peer underneath it and found Connor’s feet tangled with his. They definitely needed to be locked in a closet if this shit didn”t get worked out in the next week or so.
The evening wound down as they finished their food and fought over donuts. By the time they were all helping clean up, everyone was drowsy, sated, and overall more relaxed than when they first arrived. They were no closer to answers, but sometimes, just having a plan was enough to take the edge off. Connor walked Abriella and Lily to the door but stayed back as they moved to depart. He glanced over his shoulder briefly before returning his attention to them with a cheeky smile.
“I”m gonna hang back a bit. Give y’all some time alone at home, eh?”
Lily’s face instantly turned an alarming shade of red and brought a boisterous laugh to Abriella’s lips. She pushed Connor”s chest and shook her head. “You”re just jealous because you”re not getting any. Go fix that, cabròn.”
“Shush. I”m working the long game here.” Connor shrugged one shoulder and glanced over his shoulder again. “Gotta play my cards right.”
“Long game, si? Unless it ends with a ring on his finger, you do not talk about long games.” Abriella rose up onto her tiptoes to kiss Connor”s cheek. “Vamos. Go play your game. I”m taking my mami home to do the real thing.”
Connor choked on thin air and proceeded to get blotchy red with blush. Abriella escaped while she had the win. She made sure Lily’s hand was clasped tight in hers as she jogged them out of the house and toward the sidewalk. Wins necessitated celebrations, and she knew exactly how she wanted to celebrate that night.