Chapter 7 #2
I’m in a panic as I haphazardly shove clothes and essentials into my suitcase. The hotel room feels smaller, more suffocating with each passing moment. Why did I think I was safe here? Why did I let my guard down? I was actually starting to believe it would all work out.
But that’s over now. I have to run. That’s what I do best.
Asher Rowan is in Concordia now, and it’s only a matter of time before he discovers I’m still breathing.
My instincts scream for me to run like I always have.
I’ve become an expert at staying a step ahead of the monsters chasing me.
Nothing’s changed, even if the monster this time happens to be more human than the rest.
When I’m all packed up and ready to go, I open the door. Harper’s standing there on the other side.
“Ah!” I exclaim. “Jeez. Don’t you knock?”
“Was about to,” he replies, and yes, his hand is still raised. “Are you going somewhere?”
I drop the bag in my hand and keep the door closed as much as possible.
“Uh, just popping down to the store to get some—” My mind races.
I was supposed to vanish before he realized I was gone.
The beauty of disappearing into the night—or even the middle of the afternoon—is that explanations aren’t needed.
But now I’m caught, so I blurt out the first thing that comes to mind. “—cheese.”
“Is that so?” Harper raises an eyebrow. “Cheese?”
I nod, forcing myself to meet his gaze. “Yeah, I love… cheese.”
“Wow, learn something new every day.”
As a detective, Harper’s probably heard every lie and excuse in the world, but still, ‘cheese’ might be a new one. The bastard looks almost amused, a humor in his eyes that wasn’t there before. Damn it, I’m not sure if I hate him or myself more for finding it attractive.
He sums up the situation. “You just saw the last man you ever expected in your hotel and now you’re in urgent need of cheese?”
“Yes,” I say, committing to my ridiculous lie. “It’s comforting. Comfort cheese. That’s totally a thing.”
“Are you sure that you weren’t about to run?” he asks.
I shift uncomfortably, still not letting him in. Too late to change my story now. My only options are to come clean… or dig myself deeper.
“Yep, cheese. I’m in desperate need of… cheese. Fancy cheese.”
“Fancy cheese?”
“Yep.” I start listing off names. “Brie, Camembert, Roquefort, those are some delicious cheeses that I love to indulge in. What, you don’t think I have a taste for the finer things in life?”
Harper smirks. “Well, now that you mention it—”
“That was a rhetorical question!”
“No such thing for a detective,” he points out. “So, how did you say you made a living?”
“I didn’t...”
So this is what an interrogation feels like. The silence extends as Harper stares, unwavering, waiting for an answer. A silent battle of wills ensues. I meet his gaze, refusing to blink.
“Say it then,” he prompts.
“Well, I do lots of things, anything really,” I say. “Sometimes I play music and busk.”
“And that income lets you purchase specialty cheeses?” Harper asks, one eyebrow raised skeptically.
Okay. As much as I’d like to go to my deathbed still insisting that I was just running a quick errand, it’s hopeless. I’m not fooling anyone and I feel more ridiculous every time someone says cheese. Enough is enough.
I sigh. “Totally busted, aren’t I?”
“Yeah,” Harper confirms.
I step aside with another heavy sigh, letting him into the room.
Harper enters, his eyes immediately scanning the disaster zone that is my hotel room.
The bed’s a mess and everything that couldn’t fit into one bag is strewn across the room.
My backpack sits by the door, stuffed with essentials.
My trusty guitar leans against the wall, still in her case, but positioned for a quick grab-and-go.
Harper looks it all over, expression guarded as he leans against the dresser. The longer he looks at all the evidence that I was about bolt, the more I wonder if I should have kept up the whole cheese ruse.
“Were you even gonna say goodbye?” he asks quietly.
The question hits harder than I expect. I hadn’t thought about goodbyes. I never do. When you’re always running, you don’t get attached, you don’t leave notes, you just... go. But the hurt in his eyes makes my chest tighten.
“Rowan’s your boss. It’s complicated. Isn’t it better if you don’t know?”
“Complicated doesn’t bother me.”
“He’s after me,” I explain. “I don’t know why, and at this point, I don’t even care. All I know is that I can’t let him catch me.”
Harper crosses his arms, his jaw tightening. “And then what? You just keep running?”
I shrug. “Why not? I’ve done it before.” Leaving everything behind and starting over has never caused me any grief before. I barely know Harper, so this time shouldn’t be any different.
So why do I feel so guilty?
“Have you considered that you don’t have to be alone anymore?
” Harper pushes off the dresser, closing the distance between us.
Close enough that I catch the faint scent of his aftershave.
“You could stop running and actually build a life for once. One with friends and stability and more than this.” He gestures around at the cheap, impersonal hotel room and my half-packed belongings.
“Always looking over your shoulder, always one step ahead of whatever’s chasing you. ”
Of course it would be amazing to stay in one place and put down roots and have a life.
Once I started figuring out this supernatural stuff, I actually thought I could have that.
Maybe a small apartment with actual furniture I picked out, a plant I’d struggle to keep alive, and people who’d notice if I disappeared.
But when I went in search of family and a place to belong, I found Rowan instead.
Is having Harper in my life really gonna change anything? Do I want him to?
“What about this?” Harper walks over to the nightstand and picks up the enchanted music box he won for me at the carnival. I’d almost forgotten about it in my panic to leave. “If you are leaving, at least take it with you as a reminder.”
“A reminder of what?” I ask quietly.
He’s standing too close and his eyes don’t leave mine as he answers, “That someone cares if you disappear.”
The simple box suddenly feels so heavy when he places it in my hands.
“You do?” I ask, staring down at the box wondering what tune would play now if I opened it. “The end of the night after the carnival didn’t go so well.”
He huffs out what might be a laugh. “Dodger, you’re packing up and running for your life.”
That extremely obvious statement has me lifting my head to glare at him. “Yeah, I know.”
“That’s why I didn’t…” He looks down at his hands, clearing his throat. “Figured there were other priorities.”
Like Asher Rowan’s creepy evilness hanging over my head. Or figuring out my powers. Yeah, this is so not the time to prioritize my love life, but Harper… he makes things confusing. Does this mean he does want to kiss me? Do I still want to kiss him?
“All I can tell you,” he continues, “is that I’d like it if you stick around.”
Damn it. Who am I kidding? There’s no point getting locked into a stupid lie like my cheese excuse again, not when the truth is so obvious. I think I’d like to stick around too.
Well, with one exception.
“Look, I can’t stay here,” I start.
Harper’s expression shifts, pain flashing across his features before he schools it into something more neutral. His shoulders tense as he steps aside, clearing my path to the door.
“Well, I can’t stop you,” he says tightly.
I clutch the music box tighter and shake my head. “I mean, not in the hotel,” I clarify quickly. “Rowan knows you’re here, and it’s too risky.”
Harper blinks, processing my words. “Oh. Right.”
“I need somewhere else to stay. Somewhere Rowan wouldn’t think to look.”
“For now, we can switch rooms again. I’ll work on something for tomorrow,” he promises. He clears his throat, shoulders slowly loosening as it sinks in that I’m not leaving after all.
I keep telling myself I don’t want a mate. It was the last thing on my mind, even after cheese. But somehow, I find it hard to say no to Ethan Harper. The thought of never seeing him again… I’m not ready for that.