Chapter Twenty-Four Ella
Chapter Twenty-Four
Ella
“El, it’s me.”
Rhia’s voice fills the cabin, cutting straight through the quiet.
“Surprise, I’m here. But I have no idea how to find the track up the mountain. So I’ll just wait in this bakery shop for you. Call me.”
The message ends.
For a moment, Claudette and I are silent.
The fire crackles softly in the corner. Outside, the wind nudges at the trees, a low, persistent sound like something testing its footing.
This has to be a trap.
My grip tightens around the phone. Somehow, Tiero got hold of this number and is using Rhia to draw me out and away from people who would try to stop him.
I look up. Claudette is grinning at me.
“Rhia is here,” she says, clapping her hands together. “Oh goodie. I really want to meet her. Let’s go.”
“No.” I lift my hand, palm out, stopping her mid-step. “No. This isn’t happening.”
Her smile falters. “What do you mean?”
“How could this be Rhia?” My voice sounds tight, even to my own ears. “This is a trap.”
Claudette frowns. “Why wouldn’t it be Rhia?”
Isn’t it obvious?
“Because she knows she’s being watched,” I say. “She knows Tiero keeps tabs on anyone connected to me. She wouldn’t risk leading him straight here.”
I start pacing, the walls closing in just enough to make it hard to breathe.
“After Tiero kidnapped me, he had someone send daily messages to Rhia,” I continue. “They sounded exactly like me. Same tone. Same words I would use. It took her a while to realize something was wrong. We could never talk on the phone, never sync up. That’s not like us. At all.”
I stop and look at Claudette.
“So if he managed to fool her, what makes you think he couldn’t do it to me?” I swallow. “Cloning a voice isn’t that hard anymore.”
Claudette tilts her head, considering. “I don’t get any icky vibes,” she says slowly.
“But you’re not always right,” I shoot back, sharper than I mean to.
She does not bristle. She just watches me.
How can she not see how dangerous this is? How high the stakes are?
If Tiero is behind this, he’s not improvising. He’s setting a trap and waiting for me to step into it willingly.
“And if it really is Rhia?” Claudette says gently, interrupting my spiral.
Hope surges with the question. I squash it.
“I want it to be her,” I admit. “God, I really do. And yes, she can be reckless. But not about this. Not when it comes to me. She wouldn’t risk exposing my location.”
Claudette crosses her arms. “Then let’s call her back and ask a few questions.”
“They could be using something that makes her sound like Rhia,” I insist.
She steps closer, her voice calm and grounded.
“Call her and listen carefully to what she says. Ask her something only Rhia would know.”
I hesitate, the phone heavy in my hand.
“Just call her,” Claudette repeats.
She’s right. If there was even a chance that this is Rhia…
My heart jumps a little, and I don’t even try to squash the excitement bubbling up at the thought of seeing my best friend.
I hit redial and lift the phone to my ear, then think better of it and set it on the table, switching to speaker so Claudette can hear too.
We listen to it ring once… twice.
“El?” Rhia’s familiar voice answers.
“Before you say anything, I have a question.”
I scramble my brain for something only Rhia would know and voice the first thing that pops into my head.
“When Marco turned up unexpectedly on our Scotland trip, where were we?”
“At breakfast with Lex and Eero,” she replies without hesitation. “The day after you won the speed-stacking competition, and after Eero gave you Knox as the winner’s prize that morning.”
I let out the breath I was holding. Only Rhia would know all of that. She’s always had a frighteningly good memory for details.
“And the douche convinced you to go away with him to rekindle your relationship,” she adds, as if to prove my point, “only for you to find out he was a cheating asshole who broke your heart.”
“Who or what is Knox?” Claudette mouths, saving me from having to relive the breakup with Marco, but before I can answer, Rhia speaks again.
“If you want, I can also say out loud what happened with Eero the night before, but I suspect Claude is there too, and you might not want her to know.”
I turn beet-red, even after all this time.
Claudette angles her head toward me, one eyebrow lifting. “What did you get up to with this Eero?” she asks. “His name sounds so…” she pauses for a moment, “Nordic. I have all sorts of images forming in my mind now.”
Rhia laughs. “Hey there, girl. And yes, he was like a Viking god. And he had dimples. But before we get carried away with those delicious memories, here is a question for you. How did Lex propose?”
I am speechless for a second.
“Oh my god, Rhi. Lex proposed?” My hand flies to my mouth in excitement. “He beat you to it? That is so fricking exciting.”
I can almost feel her smile through the line.
“No, he didn’t propose, but you passed the test,” she says. “Only you and Zoe know that I’m the one planning to pop the question. He’s not going to beat me to it. I doubt he’s even thinking about it.”
Convinced now that it really is Rhia on the other end of the line, I ask, “How are you here?”
“It’s a longer story,” she says. “Are you coming to get me, or are you giving me instructions on how to find you? On second thought, just get down off that mountain. Your directions would probably get me lost.”
“Ha. Always bagging out my sense of direction.”
“What sense of direction?” she teases, and I huff. “Remind me, Claude, to tell you the story of El and me going to a wedding in Scotland.”
“Hey,” I cut in. “If it weren’t for my teeny-tiny mistake, you wouldn’t have met Lex again.”
“Hmm, true,” she says. “It’s a really good thing you can’t navigate.”
“It will take us about an hour to get to you,” Claudette chimes in, taking my hand and tugging me toward the door. “Enjoy a cup of coffee and try their éclairs. They’re to die for.”
“I will. See you soon,” Rhia says happily.
“I can’t wait to see you,” I tell my bestie. Then I pause, because I need to know. “And you’re sure Tiero didn’t follow you?”
Her tone shifts, the lightness fading.
“Yes. I made sure. I know what’s at stake.”