Chapter 51
Nala had never been to King Street Station before, and she never intended to come back.
“You’re gonna smother me,” she mumbled, while Varen held onto her as if she were a bird about to fly away. “I’m serious!”
Finally, Varen pulled away, her hands resting on Nala's arms.
Don’t look so glum. Varen was about to lose yet another lover.
Don’t put that thought in my head. From Varen’s point of view, her girlfriend was about to go into hiding half a country away.
Who knew when she would have the chance to see Nala again?
The fact she was returning to Portland to rendezvous with Lucian and figure out their next plan was bad enough.
“You got everything you need? You got enough money?”
“No way. Five thousand in cash ain’t enough. You better make it ten.”
“Well… that’s a lot to carry in cash…”
“I’m joking.” She kissed Varen’s cheek and gave her one last hug.
“We should pull off this Band-Aid right now. My train leaves in forty-five minutes. You know how security is…”
Nala wasn’t in a hurry to leave Varen’s side.
Quite the contrary. She was a big fan of staying curled up in her arms and never thinking about anything ever again.
Too bad she didn’t live in that kind of reality right now.
She would be lucky to see Varen again in…
“Nala.” Varen’s hands squeezed her, nearly shaking her where she stood. “I’m gonna put a stop to this madness. I swear. You won’t be gone for long. I swear it.”
Nala pressed her face against Varen’s chest, inhaling her familiar scent. “I know you will. I love you, Ven.”
“I love you too, darling. Don’t ever forget that.”
Nala stepped back, giving her a coy look. “How could I? I doubt you say that often.”
“Hmph. Still cheeky.”
“It’s how I want you to remember me.”
Varen kissed her, powering into Nala as she rocked them both back and forth.
Nala almost forgot what she was doing. Why can’t I stay here and be with her?
She had no job to go back to. No family.
No friends, really. She had come to the Pacific Northwest with one objective.
Falling in love had not been on the docket, yet here she was.
“I’ve gotta go.” Nala turned toward the waiting area. “I’ll see you later!”
It was the hardest thing she ever had to do, and when she spared Varen a glance…
that look on her face nearly killed Nala.
It was the look of a woman who wanted to believe her but had enough life experience to tell her that she was probably full of shit.
After what happened to Desirée, she probably doesn’t trust a single “see you later.”
Nala would prove her wrong.
She was lucky that her girlfriend couldn’t see her in the waiting area.
To be on the safe side, Nala pulled on a brand new sweatshirt, tucking her long hair into the hood and hunching down so Varen would never guess it was her.
Why would she do something like this? Because Nala had no intention of getting on the Empire Builder and heading toward Chicago, where she was due, in about two days, to switch to a train to Indianapolis.
Instead, she was taking a much shorter train. To Portland.
The sun was already threatening to go down by the time she arrived in Portland and switched to the MAX light rail. She was heading out to the ‘burbs, with nothing but some texts from Lucian she had forwarded from Varen’s phone to guide her.
She had no idea what she would find out in Hillsboro.
She had never been out this far west in the metro area before, and seeing the suburban sprawl almost sent chills down her spine.
God, I could never live out here. As she swapped to a bus and started a long walk down a longer street…
she was glad she did not live out in the middle of this nowhere.
The house was small. Smaller than any multi-millionaire couple had the right to live in. Do they really live here? Nala caught sight of a black van rounding the block. She almost ignored it, until it slowed down next to her, the driver stepping on the gas when she noticed him.
Well, this place was weird.
Nala straightened her hair and clothes before knocking on the door. Then she rang the doorbell. Then she knocked again. When a minute went by, she saw a curtain slightly open and a familiar face peer through. Within the next ten seconds, Maggie answered the door.
“What do you want?”
She was the most no-funny business Nala had ever seen. Under the weight of that heavy glare, Nala almost felt like she was about to be crushed.
“I need to talk to you.”
“About what?”
Nala did not miss the black van circling the block again. Nor did she miss Maggie glancing at it.
“About what happened that night at the hotel.”
Maggie finally lowered her guard. “Is Varen with you?”
“She doesn’t even know I’m here. She thinks I’m on a train to Chicago.”
“Okay. You get ten minutes. You’ll be lucky if I tell you anything.”
Nala had long suspected something about Jay and Maggie. Until she walked in and saw the sparse furniture, a complete lack of photos, and a pair of paranoia-inducing binoculars on the windowsill... yeah, her suspicions were not that crazy.
Nala told Maggie her plan. Every so often, the other woman asked her a pertinent question, poking holes in her plan and buffing them up with her ideas. There were times when Maggie insisted that Nala was completely crazy, but did not discourage her.
“You might die.”
“I don’t care, honestly.”
“Wouldn’t Varen care?”
Nala sighed. “Of course she would, but I can’t think about that. What’s going on here is more important than my own life.”
“If you can pull this off…” Maggie shook her head. “Well, you’ve got serious balls, kid.”
“Bigger than Jay’s?”
Maggie’s eyebrows crawled up her face. “I honestly wouldn’t know.”
“I figured as much.”
“You’re not going dressed like that, though, are you?” Maggie quickly changed subjects by bringing up the jeans and sweatshirt on Nala’s person. “Even I want to laugh.”
“Nope.” Nala swung her backpack around and opened the top zipper, revealing the black dress she wore the night she role-played with Varen. “Can I change in your bathroom?”
Maggie gestured to the room in question. “Make it quick.”
Oh, Nala did. She had places she needed to be at after sundown.
“Well, don’t you look like the pretty birdie?” Maggie grinned at her when she emerged from the bathroom. Hair down. Dress tight. Boots clanking against the floorboards. All Nala was missing was her fake pair of wings. “Good for you. That’s exactly what he’ll want to see.”
Nala handed the other woman the manila envelope full of printed emails. “Just in case.”
Contrary to what Nala ever expected from someone of Maggie’s disposition, the tall, unbothered woman pulled Nala into an embrace and held her tight. Maggie patted Nala’s back a few times before releasing her, the sweet scent of a floral perfume lingering between them.
“Good luck,” Maggie said. “It’s gonna be a long night for you.”
Nala pulled on her jacket to fend off the Portland chill. “Thanks. And…” she braved saying what was on her mind all this time. “I’m sorry about your son.”
Maggie didn’t say anything, not that Nala gave her time to do so. She was out the door and down the street long before the other woman had the chance to react.
Nala shuffled down the sidewalk in her boots, boosting herself up in the hopes that she could feel more empowered before she got on the bus.
The one thing not helping, however, was that damned van making another lap around the neighborhood.
This time the driver did not dawdle and give Nala the chance to see who it was.
Considering the time, Nala decided to forego the bus and instead hailed the first taxi she saw. I’ll have to get one eventually, anyway. When she showed the driver the address she wanted to go to, he looked at her as if she were crazy. “Don’t worry,” she said. “I’ve got an invitation.”
“You better, ‘cause I don’t feel like getting booted off the property for your mistake. I get in trouble for that, you know.”
“Don’t worry! I’m expected.”
The taxi pulled away from the Portland suburbs. The next stop: the West Hills.
There was a small kerfuffle outside the gate to Ravenwood’s property.
The security guard was ready to raise hell to the taxi driver before Nala brought up her “invitation” on her cell phone and showed it to the man.
He looked her over, taking in her outfit and the smile on her face.
“All right, but he’s not expecting anybody. Don’t be surprised if you have to wait.”
“Oh, of course.”
The taxi was waved through. Nala was not surprised when a security patrol car followed them down the driveway, but the driver sure was.
“What kind of mischief are you into?” The driver waved his hand. “No, wait, I don’t wanna know. I don’t wanna be an accomplice.”
Nala counted out some of the bills Varen gave her. “I’ll make sure you’re tipped well for your trouble.”
“Honestly, I better be!”
The taxi pulled up to the main entrance. The driver was not wont to get out, but he didn’t have to – the surly old butler was there to meet Nala, offering to open her door for her.
“Miss Nightingale!” the butler bellowed in the foyer.
Nala stepped in behind him, hearing the doors close and the chill instantly leave her skin.
Although still cold, she did not resist when a maid offered to take her coat.
She wanted to make sure that Xan saw exactly what he expected when he turned the corner of the stairs.
She only had to wait a few seconds.
Years later, Nala would wonder where she found the courage.
Here Ravenwood was, leering at her, the piece of prey who marched willingly into his cage.
Nala knew that the moment those doors latched shut, she had signed herself up for God knew what.
I know what he’s done to Desirée. He could do the same thing to me.
Nevertheless, she had to keep her smile on her face and look as demure as a falling snowflake. I cannot be as fragile, though.
“Ah, Nightingale…” Ravenwood began his descent. “So nice of you to finally swing by. You’ve been expected for a long time. Come, come… there are drinks upstairs.”
Nala wasn’t going to drink a damn thing. Unfortunately, she still had to follow him upstairs and hope she wasn’t surprise attacked by an assassin under house arrest.