Chapter 12
“She likes him,” I said to Eliza.
Beside me, Eliza shrugged. “What’s not to like? He’s cute, and he scared off a demon. Which means he already knows the world we live in. Makes him better boyfriend material than most of the guys at her school, I bet.”
“Boyfriend?” I heard my voice rising into squeaky tones.
She shrugged again. “Well, duh.”
“Hmm.”
I turned my attention back to Allie, who was completely oblivious to the fact that Eliza had left, much less the fact that I was watching her. Instead, she was deep in conversation with the boy—Jared, I reminded myself.
I was about to turn back to Eliza and demand every tiny detail about the boy— because I assumed that the three of them had rehashed him in detail last night before Allie came home—but Stuart joined us.
“Eric wasn’t here,” he said without preamble.
Eliza and I exchanged confused glances. “So?” Eliza asked, before I could say that very thing.
Stuart’s attention was on me as he answered. “He can come into the sanctuary, can’t he?”
“Really, Stuart?” I heard the irritation in my voice and tried to dial it back, but I wasn’t entirely successful. “You were there, remember? The demon’s out of him.”
“But are we sure about that?” It was quick, but I saw his eyes shift towards Allie and then back to me.
I crossed my arms over my chest, my temper rising. “Yes.” My voice was icy. “Of course I’m sure. You saw him walk through the Vatican, remember? If he can walk there, I think he can manage St. Mary’s.”
He exhaled, his shoulders sagging a bit in the process. Then he ran his fingers through his hair, something I knew he did out of habit when he was frustrated. “I’m sorry. Honestly, I’m sorry. It’s just that I’m—”
“Worried about Allie? Do you think I didn’t notice the way you were looking at her?”
“So you’re not worried at all?”
I started to say that I absolutely was not worried, but I caught myself. No more secrets, right? “A little,” I admitted. “But what mother wouldn’t be?”
“She’s fine,” Eliza said loyally. “She walked all over the Vatican. She took communion there. What more do you want?”
“Exactly,” I said, both to myself and to Stuart. “No writhing. No head spinning. No vomiting bile. She’s Allie, Stuart. She’s our daughter.”
“Right,” he said as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his slacks. “Right. Of course, she is. I’m sorry.”
The words were perfect. But he didn’t look at me as he said them. I wanted to blame him for being worried. To lash out in anger, but how could I? I was worried too. For that matter, so was Allie herself.
“You guys,” Eliza said, drawing out the word. “Come on, already. Allie’s fine. For that matter, Allie’s probably more than fine. I mean, she’s got to have serious bonus points for closing the gate to hell, right?”
She looked between me and Stuart. “So if anything happened to her down there, it was on the good side. That was the whole point, wasn’t it?
Behind what she is, I mean. Those Church dudes messed with Eric because they were trying to breed someone who could win over the demons, right?
And she did win. So yay for the crazy breeding folks. Or am I wrong?”
“I hope you’re right,” I said. “And I believe in my heart that you are.” But how was I supposed to know if my faith was justified?
Eliza rolled her eyes. “Does she know you guys are being so weird about all this?”
“We’re not being weird,” I said. “We’re just aware. And so is Allie. She’s worried. Didn’t you know that?”
“Yeah. I did,” Eliza said. “We talked a little bit about it yesterday when Mindy wasn’t around. And I told her what I’m telling you. Don’t worry about it. She’s a cool kid. She’s going to be fine.”
My smile felt watery as I put my arms around Eliza and gave her a quick hug. “If I haven’t said it recently, I want you to know that I’m glad you’re in my life. And I’m glad I didn’t kill you when I met you in Rome.”
“Yeah, well, same goes.”
For a moment we all stood in silence, remembering those early days when she’d both longed to get to know me, but also was secretly betraying me in the hopes of saving her mother, the aunt I’d never known.
It hadn’t worked out for my aunt, but at least I now had a cousin. An actual family member who shared my blood. It was a new feeling, but a nice one.
Beside me, Eliza cleared her throat. “Um, listen, I should probably get back down to San Diego today.”
Cold shock crashed through my body. “What?” I realized then that I’d assumed she was going to move to San Diablo permanently. It was probably a foolish assumption, since she’d grown up in San Diego. Her family might be gone now, but surely she had friends she wanted to get back to.
Even so, I didn’t want her to go, for her sake as well as for mine and Allie’s. “Do you think you should be alone right now?”
“Oh, no. I’m okay. Really. And I’m not moving back there. I mean, if it’s okay with you, I was, you know, thinking about moving to San Diablo.”
I exhaled, surprised by the intensity of my relief.
“Of course, that’s okay. I was hoping you would. So why do you need to go today?”
Her cheeks flushed a bit, and I wondered if there was a boy. I was about to ask, but then she said, “It’s just that I have stuff. I might have some stuff in my mom’s boxes that you would want. Sentimental stuff and maybe demon-hunting stuff. She was tracking your mom after all.”
“I’ll happily look through anything you have.” I’d grown up an orphan, and now I was eagerly clinging to any piece of my history that crossed my path.
“I’ve got to get some of my stuff, too. I’ve been wearing the same clothes since I left for Rome. I thought I’d check the bus schedule and head down today.”
“Are you sure? I don’t like the idea of you out there on your own. Why don’t we go shopping today for new clothes? For that matter, you could probably put together a whole wardrobe between me and Allie.”
“Yeah, but I really want my own things. And this isn’t about me, right? I mean the one who is new? Does anyone really believe they mean new to town? It’s Allie, right? It has to be.”
“All the more reason to have you here.”
She nodded. “I get that you’re worried. But it’s not like there’s ever a good time.
There will always be demons, right? And it’s not like you’re going to let her go wandering around on her own.
I mean, she usually has Mindy with her, and now it looks like she may have someone else watching her back… .”
She said the last with a glance toward the playscape, and I grimaced. I had no idea what this guy’s story was, although I couldn’t deny that he had come to her rescue once. That alone makes me want to trust him. But then again, maybe that was all part of his game.
“I’m not staying away forever. A week, if that. I need to get my stuff and contact my mom’s friends. And I need to see about selling the house. All that stuff. Father Corletti’s getting me a death certificate, and we’re saying she had a heart attack. I can’t tell them the truth.”
She sniffed, then looked at me with tear-filled eyes. “I’m going to arrange some sort of memorial service for sometime next week. Can you guys come down? And then maybe I can follow you back in my car?”
“Of course,” I said gently. “Of course, we’ll be there for you.”
“I might miss Timmy’s birthday party,” she said. “I don’t want to, but—”
“I get it. You have things to take care of.” Now I was kicking myself for not having already helped her to deal with that, but having met her in Rome, already seeming so independent, I’d let myself forget how she’d come to be alone in the first place.
“And as for Timmy, he won’t have a clue.
Give him a hug and a candy bar when you come back, and you two will be more than squared away. ”
She laughed at that. “Right. Okay. Well, I’ll tell Allie I’m heading out and then get on my way.”
“Not by bus, you aren’t,” Stuart said. “I’ll drive you.” He looked at me. “I’ll take Eliza to San Diego, then stay overnight in Los Angeles. The firm’s got an office there, and I’ve been meaning to go take care of a few things anyway. A few meetings, then I’ll head back home.”
“Really?” I asked. As a rule, Stuart hates road trips.
“Totally not a problem,” he said.
“That will work great,” Eliza said, then turned to look at me. “I can send Stuart back with a few boxes of my mom’s, too. Family stuff that you and Allie can look through if you want. Or you can wait until I get back. Whatever.”
“Okay,” I said, still uncomfortable about her not being here. But she was right. She had a life to go back to. One to wrap up so that she could move here, and the sooner the better. Now that I had found my cousin, I wanted her where I could watch out for her. “When are you two leaving?”
Eliza shrugged.
“Might as well go as soon as we can,” Stuart said. “It’s a five hour drive.”
“Okay by me,” Eliza agreed. “I just need to say bye to Allie and tell her I’ll be back.”
“And you have a car down there, right? One you left the airport?”
She nodded. She’d flown to Rome from San Diego, but had changed her return to come back with us into the coastal airport that services the area around San Diablo and Santa Barbara, transferring through LAX.
Stuart turned to face me. “This means I’ll need you at the mansion on Monday for a delivery. Is that okay? Bernie will be out of town, too.”
“Sure,” I said. “I can do that.” The truth is, I wanted to go back. I’d been right there when Lilith had wreaked havoc on the place. Now, I wanted a reminder of just how dangerous that bitch of a demon truly was.
“So it’s all settled?” Stuart asked.
“Sure,” I said, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that Stuart had another agenda. That maybe, just maybe, he was avoiding Allie. A fear that seemed more likely when Allie came over with Jared beside her, and instead of smiling in greeting, my husband glanced down as if examining his shoes.
Thankfully, Allie didn’t seem to notice. Instead, she was all lit up with what I’d recently come to learn was her I’ve met a cute boy glow.