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“That scares me even more. If I fucked this up…”
“By what? Telling your truth? Maddox filled me in, and yes, having been in the Crimson Ring is a big thing to hide, but I think that your reasoning for it is solid. We all have secrets; some of them are just sharper than others. He might feel hurt by what he learned, but that hurt will scab and soothe over. He’ll heal, and he’ll understand.”
The party started to spill out of the house. More and more people began to gather around the pool, dancing and drinking. I looked over my shoulder at the exact moment three people jumped into the air and dropped into the pool, all three completely naked.
It felt like they were all part of a foreign film I couldn’t quite understand, even when looking at the subtitles. This night couldn’t have gone any worse. It was exactly what I wanted to avoid. It was why I didn’t tell Maddox from the beginning. I was scared of something like this happening. I hated having to watch Maddox walk away from me like that. The abandonment… it was visceral. It caused a hundred different thoughts to slam into my brain, knocking the wind right out of me.
And then there was the question of who was actually behind this. It couldn’t have been Amelia, not with how I had last seen her. She likely only had weeks left, if that. So it had to be someone else, someone who could have picked up on the scent. But who? Could I have somehow left a trail? Maybe they worked some kind of tracking magic on us while we were in the Center Of Betterment.
That had to be it. There was no other logical explanation for it. Certainly not one that led to me.
“Come on,” Claire said, grabbing my hand. “Let’s go back to the castle. See what the damage is.”
“I think I’m just going to pick up Lily and go home. Give everyone some space.”
“You sure?” Claire asked. She rubbed my elbow, offering me a warm and gentle smile. “If you want, I can come over, and we can watch some silly reality crap shows.”
That warmed my heart. “I think I’m going straight to bed, but thank you. I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me.”
She took me into another tight hug. Her perfume—rose and spice—filled my nose.
We separated when my phone dinged with a notification. I assumed it was a text from Maddox, so I pulled it out of my pocket, seeing an email pop up instead.
An email from Peter Grant, titled “Severance Package.”
I tapped the email open and read the first few lines.
“I regret to give you this information this way, but I have no other choice. I have to let you go, effective immediately. After your choices with the Moriarty case, I’ve come to?—”
The rest of the words were a blur. As if my heart couldn’t plummet any further. And it actually really couldn’t. I didn’t feel much except numb shock at the email. Just another cherry dropped on this shit pie that happened to be my life.
A dry, pathetic laugh escaped me. I looked to Claire, feeling as if this foreign film was coming to a swift end.
“Are you hiring by any chance?”
Chapter 26
Code Yellow
Maddox
I flew without a destination in mind. Just let the wind beat against my face, fill my nose, lift my wings. I kept my gaze on the horizon, watching as the sky slowly shifted from ocean blue to cotton candy pink to bruised purple to finally an inky black. I flew over home-covered hills and traffic-filled streets. I wanted to keep flying until I reached the end of the world. It would take me a while, but I had time.
It was the only thing I had.
The paintings were stolen. My horde room desecrated. The man I was falling in love with potentially behind it all.
From one moment to the next, everything in my life caught fire and turned to dust. I was having the time of my life with Caleb at the party. I never wanted the night to end. I wanted to tell him how I was falling for him, how he was one of the only people I ever found myself in love with.
And then he took me to the yard. He told me everything. The truth hit me like a slap across the face. I was hurt and betrayed. I was about to spill my entire heart out onto the ground for him, and he told me that he’d been involved with the cult we were trying to stop. He knew about my trust issues. He understood I didn’t let people in very easily. And this? This was the very reason why I put my guards up. Because even those you least suspected had the power to pour gasoline all over you and light a fucking match.
