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“You’re mom? Who is that?” Kathrine just couldn’t stop asking questions. She felt a little stupid but she wanted to know it all.
“Sofia. You call her, Agnus. I call her mom. She’s been my mom for nearly a hundred years. My real mom died when I was small. Dad and Agnus raised me and let me go on with my life til I was about fifty. I wanted kids and grandkids. They told me to live my life then change to be like them and they were right. I don’t regret my time with Carl one bit but after he died, I was ready.” It became even harder to hate Kelly, though Kathrine still hadn’t managed to hate her. Not only was she nice, she was part of Kathrine’s family. Being Charles’s daughter made her at least a cousin.
“Agnus is Versi, that little…” Kathrine feigned anger.
Hailey laughed and so did Kelly. John just sat there looking left out. At least Kathrine was no longer the baby and she found a little confidence in that.
“She didn’t want to intimidate you or overwhelm you I guess. You know mom, she’s a stickler for the rules but a real softy like dad when you get to know her,” Kelly said when she was done laughing. “She felt it would be better for you to learn from Castriana.”
“She really doesn’t hate you does she?” Kathrine turned her gaze to Hailey.
“No, she has every reason to hate me but not Agnus. The woman has a heart of gold.” Hailey looked sad now. Hailey had helped her brother find Agnus. It was her fault that Agnus lost her child. She could never make up for that.
“Don’t look so down, Cass,” Kelly said. “Mom doesn’t blame you anymore. She knows you’re brother forced you to do it. Just like all the other things your brother made you do. You didn’t have a choice.”
Hailey hadn’t heard that nick name in a long while. The last person who called her that was Sarah, many centuries ago. It was long before she had betrayed Agnus and ended her friendship with Sarah.
“Sorry, you don’t like Cass do you?” Kelly asked. She could see the anguish on Hailey’s face.
“No, it reminds me of how much I hurt your mom,” Hailey said as she wiped a tear from her eye.
“I’ll just stick with Hailey then,” Kelly said apologetically. “One more thing, I need to give Sarah credit. I’m not the smart one here. Sarah told me everything that was going on with you and with Hailey through my dad. Apparently this was all her idea. This is the reason I know so much about you. Sarah realized that you had outgrown her training and you needed to learn by doing, so she told my dad to send me.”
“Sarah knew about Hailey?” Was the first thought that came to Kathrine’s mind. She had no problem with Sarah setting up an elaborate scheme to get her out on her own. In fact, she had suspected Sarah had a hand in this. As smart as Kelly was, only Sarah could have planned all of this.
“Yes, she knew,” Kelly smiled at Hailey and Kathrine wondered, was Kelly attracted to Hailey? She figured she would be at least a little jealous but she wasn’t. What a weird family she had. She wasn’t comfortable letting Hailey go to a complete stranger but a cousin was a different story. In all honesty, Kathrine would rather see Hailey with Kelly. Kelly was a kind and beautiful woman, Hailey deserved someone like that. Either way, Kelly wasn’t saying and Kathrine wasn’t going to ask.
“We better get going,” John interrupted. “I know where they will be tonight, after that I’m not sure.”
“They?” Kathrine asked.
“Paul and Elyon will be at a warehouse near the boat tonight. I’m not sure what they are doing but it doesn’t sound good,” John finished.
“You think Paul can handle your brother?” Kathrine asked Hailey.
“Yes, but a little extra help wouldn’t hurt. My brother is sneaky. One on one Paul would win and Elyon knows this. He must have some plan or he would never challenge Paul,” Hailey explained.
After their meal they all got ready then left the hotel and took the car Kathrine had rented to the docks. It was nearly dark when they arrived and John led them through a few alleys until they eventually reached the warehouse. It looked abandoned. There were no lights and it looked like it hadn’t been used in years.
Kathrine could swear she saw the hooded man yet again. He appeared in a doorway to another warehouse and then disappeared just as quickly. She was really beginning to think she was making him up. Kathrine had a bad feeling about this and it wasn’t just her mysterious stalker. She couldn’t quite put her finger on what was making her so anxious. John had told her that the place would be abandoned, that Elyon was doing something in secret but something nagged at Kathrine’s brain. Something seemed off.
John opened the door slowly and peered inside. He motioned for them to follow and slipped quietly behind the door. Kelly was next, followed by Hailey then Kathrine. Kathrine kept searching the alley and adjacent buildings, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. Was the hooded man part of this or just a figment of her imagination? She backed through the door eyeing the warehouse across from them. The door was wide open and she could swear she saw someone moving in the shadows. Being a cat Versi had improved her vision at night some but not enough to see in the pitch black that filled the other warehouse.
