17. Chapter 17
Chapter 17
Tessa sighed in relief as she pulled through the gate and parked in front of the large house. She turned to Evelyn and Lily, who were both gaping at it.
“I know it’s big, but the people here are really nice.” She had texted Megan that they were on their way when they got into Tessa’s car.
Evelyn got out of the car, and Lily clambered out of her seat and slipped her hand into Tessa’s. Holding her little hand warmed Tessa’s heart. This girl was precious. They walked up the steps and the door opened. Marcus came out to greet them.
“Evelyn and Lily, this is Marcus, one of my friends. He makes sure everyone is safe here.”
“It’s good to meet you both. Do you need me to grab bags?”
“Yes, they’re in the trunk. Can you also bring Lily’s backpack too.”
“Okay. The others should be out in a moment.”
As if in answer to his words, Eric, Megan, and Sienna joined them on the front steps, and Tessa introduced them all.
Megan smiled at them. “It’s wonderful to meet you. We’re glad you’ve come to stay with us for a while.”
“Thank you for having us,” Evelyn said.
“Let’s get you all inside.” Sienna gestured for them to come into the house.
Evelyn and Lily took in the two-story foyer with the staircase. Tessa remembered the first time she came to the large house and how overwhelming it could be. She squeezed Lily’s hand, and the little girl smiled up at her.
Sienna spoke up. “We have rooms for you both. They’re next door to each other since we thought you two would want to be close. Our cook, Marilyn, wants to know what kind of food you like. She also is an awesome baker and can make any dessert you like.”
Lily’s eyes lit up. Tessa chuckled at her excitement. A girl after her own heart…or was it stomach? “Oh Lily, you are in for a treat. Marilyn makes the best desserts. Knowing her, she might have some cookies already made for you.”
Lily smiled and then looked around the room.
“What are you looking for, sweetheart? I can take you to the kitchen if you want a treat.”
Lily shook her head. She pointed at Megan.
“That’s Megan. She’s my best friend.”
Lily pointed to her again and then brought her arms together across her middle and rocked them back and forth. Tessa didn’t need Evelyn to explain what she meant since it was self-evident, and it made goose bumps run up Tessa’s arms.
But Evelyn chimed in since no one responded. “She’s asking where your baby is.”
Tessa shook her head. “I didn’t tell her, Megan.”
Megan nodded and then smiled at Lily. “Bella is taking a nap right now. You can meet her later.”
Lily smiled and then signed something.
Evelyn chuckled. “She just asked about cookies.”
“Why don’t I take you to the kitchen?” Sienna volunteered. “Marilyn can get you set up with a snack and find out what you both like to eat. Then we’ll show you your rooms later.”
Evelyn reached for Lily’s hand. “That sounds great. Let’s go meet Marilyn.”
Once Sienna led them away, Tessa followed Eric, Megan, and Marcus to the office. They all gaped at her for a moment.
“I know. She’s a wonderful little girl with a powerful gift.”
Eric and Marcus exchanged looks as they all sat. “Start from the beginning on her power. You really didn’t go into details last night on the phone.”
Tessa explained about the drawings that Evelyn had described as well as the two drawings that Lily made of Tessa and Ben before Lily had met them. “She has the oracle mark on her shoulder. I haven’t seen the marks on her back, but Evelyn confirmed that she has them.”
“Where do you think she came from?” Megan asked her husband.
Eric shook his head. “I don’t have a clue.”
“We’ll have to be careful asking around about her,” Marcus said. “Another clan could try to claim her if they know about her powers.”
“It makes sense that she is from another clan though, right? I mean, you would know about anyone who had died in your clan. Especially someone who left behind a little girl? Plus when John talked to us about the legend, he made it sound as if one oracle is born to each clan. I can’t imagine that your clan would hit the magical oracle lottery on that.” Although Tessa didn’t want someone trying to take advantage of Lily, so she agreed they needed to be cautious.
“I don’t know what to believe anymore,” Eric said.
Tessa knew how he felt. “Well, I didn’t tell her about Bella, and I don’t know how she would have known about her unless it was part of her oracle powers. There were no toys or things for a baby in the entry hall. Maybe she can sense her? Everything else she has told us through her drawings.”
Megan had her hands clasped together. “Do you think as an oracle Bella won’t be able to talk?”
Tessa put an arm around her. “Megs, Bella might not be saying actual words yet, but she is talking. We don’t know what Lily went through before Mia brought her to Evelyn. It could be physical, or it could be emotional.”
Eric leaned forward. “I was going to suggest having Dr. Murphy come check her over, but I think that should be sooner rather than later.”
“Agreed,” Marcus said. “Give me a minute to call him to see when he’s available.” Marcus called him quickly and relayed that Dr. Murphy agreed to be over in a couple hours.
“You didn’t tell him much,” Tessa said.
“He doesn’t need to know anything until he gets here. I want to talk to him about keeping this confidential.”
“He’s the clan doctor. He’s under a doctor/dragon confidentiality agreement, right?” Tessa smiled.
Eric smirked at her. “That’s not a thing. But you’re right. We don’t need to worry about Ian. What about the PI you were working with? Do we need to worry about him?”
“No,” Tessa said. “He dropped us off at my apartment so that we could come here. He got called by another client and had to go see them about something. I’m going to call him later to see when he can start searching for Mia again.”
“So what does he think of all this? And what did you tell him?” Eric asked.
She sat up a little straighter. “I didn’t tell him about dragons if that’s what you’re asking me. But I couldn’t deny Lily’s power since he saw it firsthand.”
“And he didn’t freak out about it?” Megan asked.
“Oh, I think he was struggling with believing it, but it doesn’t take long to fall under Lily’s spell. She took a real liking to Ben.”
“What’s his full name, and what else can you tell us about him? I’ll have Jonas do some digging,” Marcus said.
She sighed. “Good luck with that. I checked him out myself. He has no social media presence. Said in his line of business he sees firsthand how that can be used against him. His name is Ben Wells. And he doesn’t have a PI license. I already checked.”
Marcus crossed his arms. “What the hell?”
She plowed on. “He moved here from Mississippi, and they don’t have PI licenses there. He’s in the process of getting his license, but he has to take a test.”
Marcus frowned. “Do you know where he lives?”
“Has to be Nashville, but I don’t know his exact address. I can text him and grill him for you if you want.”
“Give me the number, and I’ll have Jonas do some digging.”
“Or we can ask John about him,” Eric said.
Tessa shook her head. “If we tell him I’ve been working with Ben, he might tell Ben to stop me from helping with the investigation, especially when he finds out I lied to him.”
“I think Eric is right,” Megan said. “We can ask John questions about the investigation without telling him that you have been helping. Get some more information on Ben.”
“I’m surprised Ben hasn’t told him about you already if he’s been reporting in regularly,” Marcus said.
“Maybe he has since he dropped us off. I guess we won’t know until we talk to John,” Tessa agreed even though her stomach was rolling.
Megan walked over to the desk and dialed John’s number on the office phone.
“Hello, Megan.”
“John. Good to hear your voice. I wanted to hear how things were going on your end with your PI.”
“Unfortunately I ran into a problem with that.”
Megan looked at Tessa before continuing. “What do you mean?”
“The investigator I was going to hire is finishing up another case. He isn’t going to start searching for Mia until he’s free.”
Tessa interrupted him. “Ben must have finished up early.”
“Who’s Ben?” John asked.
Tessa’s stomach dropped. “Ben Wells, your PI,” she choked out.
“I don’t know anyone by that name.”
Tessa stood on the back deck of the clan house, staring at the valley. She was trying to pull enough air into her tight chest to stop herself from hyperventilating and was failing spectacularly.
All because of the man she had spent the last few days with. Someone she thought she could finally relate to. Someone who passed the tests she lobbed at him. Someone who acted like he cared for a little girl in trouble. But none of that mattered.
Ben Wells was a liar.
And possibly worse. How could this have happened? Once John had announced that he didn’t know Ben, they all started to talk at once. When the walls closed in, Tessa had to get out of the room.
She had mucked everything up. And that was a hard pill to swallow. She always plowed ahead, consequences be damned, when it came to protecting the people she loved. And it was a short list. Her mom, who could very much take care of herself. And Megan, whom she loved like a sister, and now Megan’s daughter. And with Megan becoming part of the clan, Tessa had barged her way in and considered them her family now as well. She wasn’t sure if they felt the same, especially after today.
She heard the door behind her open and wondered who was coming outside.
When her best friend stepped beside her, Tessa wanted to cry. She would much rather have Marcus or Eric chewing her out than Megan coming out here to…what exactly? Tell her it was okay that she had trusted a man who was a liar and probably worse? Who endangered the clan. “Are they all done growling?”
“Yes. John reached out to his PI and confirmed that Ben Wells is not working for him. Marcus is having Jonas check Ben’s phone number.”
She wanted to grab her friend’s hand. Instead she clenched her fists. “What a cluster, Megs. I was the one who approached him. Here’s what I don’t understand. What was the point of him going along with my incorrect assumption?”
“You said he had a paper that said, ‘Find Mia White.’ Maybe he thought you could lead him to her?”
She shrugged but felt far from nonchalant. “Possibly. But for what reason? So many questions. If he works for the bad guys, why didn’t he hurt us? Why did he let us go? He willingly dropped us off at my apartment. He was the one who suggested it.”
“Marcus thought of that too. He’s checking your car and the suitcases for trackers.”
Tessa’s legs started to shake so hard she sat on the foot of the lounge chair. “That seems convoluted to me. If he is after Mia, why didn’t he just take Lily with him? She could be used to draw Mia out of hiding.”
Megan sat next to her. “All good questions. I wish I had the answers. We don’t know why he’s looking for Mia. Maybe others had the same idea we did and wanted to use Mia to help with the curse. Mia told Evelyn that she had taken Lily to keep her safe. Maybe Ben works for the people who had Lily to begin with.”
Tessa’s stomach threatened to rebel, and she took a deep breath. Even with all the lies, she couldn’t see Ben hurting that little girl. But what did she know? She couldn’t trust herself anymore, and she had spent years honing her BS monitor to keep the men away who tried to control her or simply underestimated her. She’d sworn she would never let that happen again. And she had been duped in the worst way. This wasn’t about her—this was about protecting a little girl. And the clan who would probably boot her out, and she wouldn’t blame them.
The back door opened, and Evelyn and Lily stepped out onto the deck.
“Sorry to interrupt, but Lily has been asking for you.”
Tessa held out her hand. “Is something wrong, sweetheart?”
Lily walked over and slipped her hand into Tessa’s. She reached up with her other hand and ran it over Tessa’s head, petting her. Tessa glanced at Evelyn for some clue as to what was happening.
Evelyn’s expression softened. “Lily likes me to do that when she’s upset.”
Tessa blinked back tears and gathered the little girl into her arms, breathing in her berry scent. She would do anything to protect her, Bella, and the clan from Ben Wells and whatever he was planning. It was her responsibility to make things right again.