Chapter Thirty-One
Milo
“Am I codependent?” I asked my brother on Wednesday evening when he came to pick up Carter. He’d needed to work late, so Carter and I had closed up the store and eaten pizza while we debated the relative strength of Superman and the Hulk.
Maverick lifted his hands up and down like he was weighing the possibility. “I don’t think it’s codependent to miss your girl when you’ve been apart all day, bro.”
Carter finished his final slice of pizza and chimed in, “Besides, Aunt Eden misses you when you’re apart. I can tell.”
“You can? How?” I demanded.
“When she comes over, her eyes light up. Instead of brownish, they turn gold like in the dragon painting. Yours don’t really turn silver, though. They look darker, like…wet stone.”
Maverick and I stared at his son for a beat before I said, “Thanks, buddy.”
Carter grinned. “So are you two going to get married?”
“Right, time for you to go home,” I replied.
They both laughed as Carter grabbed his backpack and stuck his paper plate in the trash can under the counter. Before they left, though, Maverick grabbed me by the back of my neck and dropped his forehead to mine.
“So happy for you, baby brother.”
I inhaled sharply at the emotion thickening his voice. “Thanks, man.”
He gave me a squeeze before letting go, then waited for Carter to reach him. That was when he turned and added, “I’ve seen the way she lights up around you, too. You got this, Milo.”
Even as I stared out into the dark after them, that assurance glowed inside me, a physical warmth that spread slowly from the center of my chest outward until my limbs were lit with it.
If Eden had been there, I’d have poured it into a kiss, watching for that light even my cynical oldest brother could see.
The reason for leaving the stores together each evening didn’t thrill me, but having that opportunity to reunite was definitely a sweet moment no matter how boring or hectic our days had been.
And when Addie and Monique walked Eden to my door that night, I saw it happen firsthand.
Eden hugged them both and bid them goodnight, then turned to me.
Her expression grew soft, lips curving slightly upward as she reached out to slip her arms around my waist. In the darkness, her eyes were almost black, but the street lamp in front of the building made them twinkle with golden sparks, just like Carter said.
“Hi,” she murmured.
I dipped my head to kiss one corner of her mouth, then the other. “Hi. How’d it go?”
“Good, I think. Everyone seems to be happy with the arrangement, so I think Addie will keep it going. Someone bought my last Valentine’s robe.” She practically purred as she snuggled into my chest. “You’re always so warm.”
“Let’s get out of the cold then,” I replied, bundling her away from the building to get to my car.
“What a great parking spot,” she murmured as she buckled her seatbelt.
I leveled a stern look in her direction. “Isn’t it?”
Her laughter rang out as we pulled away from the curb, and I soaked in the sound. Carter’s earnest reassurance echoed in my head, followed by Maverick’s sincere confirmation.
She lights up around you.
Hell, yes, she did.
Thursday was more of the same, though Rafael came in for the afternoon to help with inventory.
I stayed open an extra hour as a test run, a joint effort to keep myself busy during Eden’s event and to see if any after-work shoppers might take advantage, but the store stayed pretty empty after sunset.
Just as I crossed the store to lock up, though, a middle-aged woman waved frantically at me through the glass. She was wearing a long skirt and carrying one of those huge purses that made me think of Mary Poppins.
“Please, could you just give me five minutes? I need a gift for a birthday this weekend,” she begged when I opened the door for her.
“Sure, take your time. Is there anything I can help you find?”
“Oh, no, I’ll just take a look around. Please do whatever you need to do. I’ll be as quick as I can.”
I smiled at her and moved to the other side of the store to tidy the displays while she browsed. Eden’s self-defense seminar wouldn’t be over for another hour, so all I had waiting for me after this shopper finished up was the book I’d left on the counter.
“Pardon me,” the woman called, “would you take a look at this for me? I think there’s a scratch on his face.”
“Of course.” When I reached her side, I peered down at the action figures in front of her. “I think that’s part of the design, but I can look in back for another—”
Something heavy bashed against the side of my head and pain exploded outward until I felt myself falling behind the display of Star Wars characters she’d been looking at.
My vision went hazy for a minute before the woman’s shoes came into focus, and all I could think was that they looked like the kind of old lady sneakers my first grade teacher always wore.
A thunk sounded as she dropped the weapon she’d used to strike me, one of the pewter dragon statues Eden had admired the day of the window incident. It landed on the carpet close enough to my head to make me flinch, especially when I saw one of its folded wings smeared with blood.
“Why…” I whispered, blinking hard at the dragon beside me.
It fizzled in and out of focus. My limbs had turned heavy and uncoordinated, like lead weights were keeping me there on the floor. Even if I could get them to cooperate, I doubted I’d be able to sit up without dizziness overwhelming me.
“Because you’re peddling the Devil’s goods, Mr. Davies. This place must be purified.”
The words wormed their way through my fuzzy thoughts. “Purified.”
“Yes,” she said harshly, her feet moving out of sight for a moment before she returned with that enormous purse, which she set down beside me.
A carpet bag. That was what they were called.
From inside, she withdrew a red can, then she moved away again. “You think these are innocent games, but you’re opening up young minds to the darkness, Mr. Davies. Ruining families. Offering a game like that, hosting demon playtime for teenagers.”
“Game like what?” I rasped, trying to follow her words.
“Wizards and demons, Mr. Davies. Trying to lure children into Satan’s trap. Innocent children. This town has no idea the evils you’re unleashed. I tried to stop you, again and again, but you just wouldn’t listen.”
None of it made any sense, but the smell of gasoline abruptly halted my attempt to follow her thought processes. If she set fire to the store, it would spread straight toward Eden’s shop.
I’d never make it to her in time, not if I couldn’t get my ass up off the floor.
“No, please. You don’t have to do this,” I begged.
The words sounded clumsy and thick, my voice weak under the steady glug of the gas can.
Wetness dripped from my temple toward my ear.
With an enormous effort, I managed to roll from my side to my back, then my muscles rebelled and I lay there, staring up at the dirty ceiling tiles overhead and wondering, if I lived through this, would there even be enough of them left to be cleaned.
“Of course, I have to. Someone has to. ‘Let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness,’” she intoned.
I opened my mouth to argue that thou shalt not kill seemed a little higher on the biblical priority list, but before I could force the words past my lips, the room started to spin before my eyes.
Then, slowly, everything faded to black.