Chapter 57
57
P ari refused to go shopping the next day. Guilt assailed her the prior evening, and all sorts of scenarios began running through her head. Melvale was not only from another planet, but another culture entirely. What if his kind did weird things to humans? What if he wanted her just so he could feed her to Q, but the deal was she had to go willingly?
Pari kept to herself most of the day, and Melvale blessedly left her alone. Instead, he busied himself straightening up her apartment and helping Uncle Al fix the wrought iron fence around the front yard areas. In the afternoon he disappeared entirely, and Pari was shocked at how far her heart sank at the thought he might have left.
She was really going to have to work on her abandonment issues. One more thing to talk to Dr. Merrill about. Speaking of which, her next appointment was tomorrow, the day of their party!
“What’s the matter?” Kitty asked as she entered Pari’s bedroom.
“Nothing. I just have something I need to do tomorrow.” She stared at the floor. “Melvale isn’t back yet?”
“No, he had Kwaku and Zara take him somewhere.”
“Somewhen, you mean?” Pari stared at Kitty. “How do you do it? I mean, you seem to know everyone well. How do you deal with it all?”
Kitty sat next to her and took a deep breath. “I’ve been Shona’s best friend for years. Everything happened to her, not me. I was just along for the ride.” She made a face. “I take that back, I was more than riding along.” She heaved a sigh. “What happened to Shona affected me too. Shona was almost killed by… by someone close to me. I thought of them as family at the time. But they weren’t, not really.”
Pari looked at her in confusion. “So someone stabbed you in the back, is that it?”
Kitty nodded as she took on a far-off look. “Yeah, something like that.” She made a show of studying her fingernails. “I need a manicure.”
“There’s a place up Franklin a few blocks,” Pari said. She stared at the floor. “Is Melvale… nice?”
Kitty laughed. “What do you mean? Of course he is. He’s the best!”
Pari looked at her and Kitty’s face fell a second time.
“Wow,” Kitty breathed. “You’re afraid of him.”
She swallowed hard. “Wouldn’t you be if you were me? I get kidnapped, locked up with this gorgeous guy who isn’t exactly from around here, and who starts coming on to me but… not.” She shook her head in disbelief. “And he wants to date me?!”
“Hey,” Kitty said and took one of her hands. “You need to stop it.”
Pari gaped at her.
“No, really. Open your eyes, Pari. Stop getting hung up on why this is happening to you and start believing that something good can and is happening.”
Pari opened her mouth to talk then snapped it shut. What did she know?
“I get it,” Kitty said. “You’re terrified this isn’t going to work out, that it’s all too good to be true, but these people, these Muirarans, are real. And in the time I’ve known them, I’ve found them to be kind, generous, loyal, loving, and yeah, they’re also a bunch of bad asses, but they’re that way to protect you and me. Please don’t push Melvale away. He’s my friend, and the last thing I want to see is for him to get hurt.”
Pari’s eyes rounded to saucers. She’d been so wrapped up in her own issues, she never once thought about Melvale being hurt by her actions.
She stared at the wall in front of them, mouth agape. “I… I’m sorry.”
“For what?” Kitty asked.
“For being a selfish idiot.”
Kitty sighed. “You’ll get it, don’t worry. I know you’ve been through some stuff, and you know what? You survived it. Now let Melvale help you. Trust me, he’s a great friend.” She nudged Pari with her elbow. “And he could be more if you’d let him.”
Pari nodded as Kitty’s words sank in. “Thanks. I needed a good slap.”
Kitty laughed. “I don’t know if I’d call that a slap. Maybe just a dose of reality. What’s happened to you over the last couple of weeks has been terrifying, fantastic, wonderful, out of this world stuff. And if you let him, Melvale can take you on the adventure of a lifetime. Let him be for you all the things your heart has wished for.”
Pari teared up and quickly wiped her eyes. “How does e-everyone seem to know what to s-say to me?”
Kitty wrapped an arm around her. “Because we’ve all been there. Melvale and his people, they’re no different than us in a lot of ways. They love and love big. It’s one of the things that makes them so dreamy. But they have faults like we do, and they can get messed up just like we can.”
Pari half-cried, half-laughed. “Really? I thought I was the queen of being messed up.”
“But you’re so much better than you were say… a couple of years ago. Right?” Kitty let her arm drop and waited for her answer.
Pari looked at her and slowly nodded. “You’re right. I am.” She wiped her nose with her hand, not having anything else. “Thanks, Kitty.” She smiled. “You should think about becoming a therapist.”
Kitty laughed. “I used to be in pre-med. My parents are both doctors and wanted me to follow in their footsteps but that’s not for me.”
“What do you do then?” Pari asked, curious.
Kitty smiled. “I’m a romance novelist.”
Pari grinned. “Wow, that’s so cool.”
Kitty nodded. “Yeah, it is.”
“What are you ladies doing?”
Both jumped as Melvale entered the room.
Pari, a hand to her chest, breathed a sigh of relief. “You startled us.”
“Apologies, Kitten. Now, since you didn’t want to go shopping, I brought some shoes for you to try on.”
Kitty rolled her eyes. “You are so lucky to have this guy.” She hopped up. “I want to see them.” She hurried out of the room.
Melvale grinned. “Too bad, wrong size for her.”
Pari rolled her eyes. “You’re terrible.”
“No, just a good judge of shoe size. Shall we?” He offered her a hand.
Pari thought of everything Kitty said. She was right, Pari needed to believe in what was happening, believe that all Melvale’s actions were genuine. “You’re going to spoil me.”
He bent to her. “That’s the idea, Kitten.” He straightened and crooked a finger at her. “Come along. It’s shoe time!”
She laughed. “You are so weird.”
“I do try,” he said with a grin.
Pari took his hand, and they headed into the other room.
“Mr. Vance,” Dr. Charles said as he took in his henchman. “What the devil happened to you?”
Mr. Vance limped into the doctor’s office. His arm was in a sling, his head was bandaged, and he was using a crutch to walk. “ He did, sir.”
Dr. Charles left his chair and came around the desk. “Tell me everything.”
“We had just arrived in the area to begin watching for Miss Lindir. We’d just parked the vans up the block from her building and gotten out when he came out of nowhere!”
Dr. Charles’ eyebrows shot up. “Do tell?”
Mr. Vance gulped. “He picked us off one by one fast as lightning! As far as I know, I’m the only man that survived.”
Dr. Charles’ lips pressed into a firm line. “Bodies?”
“None, sir. The men just… disappeared. Gone!” Mr. Vance limped to a chair by the desk and sank onto it. “What are we going to do?”
Dr. Charles blew out a breath. “Seems my prize is upset.” He slowly turned to him. “Which begs the question, why are you still alive?”
Mr. Vance shrugged. “He tossed me around like I was a rag doll. I saw him bite several of the men before he threw them into the trees. He moved so fast; we could barely see him. He was just a blur!”
“Trees?” Dr. Charles said, intrigued.
“Yes sir, some of the bigger ones on the block up from the girl’s apartment.”
“And who is watching for her now?”
Mr. Vance gulped. “No one, sir.”
Dr. Charles planted his hands on the armrests of the chair. “Get me that girl! Make no mistake, he let you go. My prize is sending a message. Well, I’m going to send a message of my own.” He straightened and paced to the other side of the room and back. “Watch her uncles’ places of business. Watch the neighborhood. Either she already returned or will at some point. Why else would he be there?”
Mr. Vance grimaced as he tried to stand. “I don’t know sir.”
Dr. Charles pinched the bridge of his nose. “She’s the easier target. We get our hands on her, he’ll come after her like before.”
“What about taking the uncles?”
“I’m not sure my prize is attuned to them like he is her.” He turned to Mr. Vance. “I think it’s time I had a long talk with our associate.”
Mr. Vance shuddered. “How, sir?”
Dr. Charles scowled. “Our associate is scheduled to check in at any time. I have no idea where she’s been these last few weeks, but I’m positive there are portals she’s not telling us about. For all I know, she’s gone to check on them.”
“Why not wring the information from her?”
“Because she possesses a weapon unlike anything I’ve ever seen, Mr. Vance. That fiend threatens me with it almost every time we speak.” He went behind his desk and sat. “Assemble a new team. Get back out there and get me Miss Lindir.”
“But sir, he’s bound to be with her. We’ll never get close enough…”
“He can’t be with her every moment of the day, now, can he?” Dr. Charles steepled his fingers. “No, he’ll get careless eventually. Then when he comes after her, we’ll trap him like we did before. After I speak with our associate, I’ll know how to spring a better trap. And if one of those doesn’t work, then we’ll at least have some leverage. Then I suppose we’ll have to stash Miss Lindir away someplace where he can’t find her.”
Mr. Vance tried to stand straight but couldn’t manage it. “Shall we try to find out what happened to the last team?”
“Yes. Now get going.”
Mr. Vance limped toward the door.
“He may have hidden them…”
Mr. Vance turned around. “Sir?”
“Your men. Our associate mentioned something about the ways Muirarans are trained. I don’t think they like killing. But that could change in an instant, which is why we must examine some of them and learn all we can. We haven’t come this far to stop our work now.”
Mr. Vance gave him a jerky nod. It looked like it hurt. Dr. Charles didn’t care. “Mr. Vance…”
He turned again. “Yes, sir?”
“Have a bottle of brandy sent down. I’m going to need a good stiff drink before I meet with our associate. I want to be prepared.”
Mr. Vance shuddered again. “Understood, sir.”