Page 70 of Facade

Heath snorted and rolled his eyes. “Poor witch, my ass. Nadine is five years older than me, and wasn’t exactly a paragon of virtue, herself. There was a reason I felt provoked to sneak critters into her room. It never worked anyway. Between the two of us, she is by far the more terrifying.

“Nadine knew exactly how to make me confess to all my transgressions. That’s why I brought this up today. If you aren’t comfortable being honest with Nadine, I’ll have to avoid them, and my parents. She gave me her patented ‘You’d better confess right now, you cheeky brat, or I’ll turn you into a toad’ look, which still has the power to scare me witless. I almost caved.”

Jace could picture it, and found it hilarious. Clarke was laughing again. “What did you do?” Clarke asked.

“What any sensible person would,” Heath replied. “I ran like a coward, and I’m not ashamed to admit it. Even Daisy the raccoon was giving me the evil eye. She’s almost as good at it as Nadine. With Roger and Brady reinforcing the intimidating females, I was outnumbered, and guaranteed to lose. Retreat was a better option than betrayal.”

Heath’s dramatic rendition of the supposedly traumatizing family lunch was further embellished with comical facial expressions and hand gestures. Jace and Clarke were both in stitches. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d laughed that much.

When they drove back to the dorms a couple of hours later, Jace was more relaxed than he’d been in weeks. Clarke seemed to be in a better state of mind as well.

“Oh, that was so much fun,” Clarke said when Jace parked behind the powered dorm. “I knew Heath had a good sense of humor, but I didn’t expect to feel so at ease with him immediately. Especially with the current situation, and Dad still missing.”

“He’s your mate for a reason,” Jace pointed out. “The way I see it, I’m your anchor, your steady foundation. I’ll always be your knight, fighting battles you don’t want to engage in, and have your back.

“Heath brings levity that keeps us from breaking under pressure, and helps us see the good in life even when bad things happen. It’s a different kind of security than what I provide, but just as valuable.”

“Huh, that makes sense,” Clarke said after pondering it. “And number three? What will he bring?”

“Since we haven’t met him, I have no idea. But it will be important, and he’ll fit in with the rest of us.”

Clarke unfastened her seatbelt, and opened the door. “I’d better go in. I love you, Jace.”

“Love you too, Primrose,” he said.

They gazed at each other longingly before Clarke climbed out of Jace’s truck, and closed the door. He still hadn’t kissed her yet. But Jace wanted that moment to be private, just between the two of them.

Sneaking away from Heath in his own house while he was cooking would be rude as hell. The ideal opportunity hadn’t presented itself. One way or another, they would manage.

As usual, Jace and Clarke ran together before classes Monday morning. He enjoyed sharing that with her, and it was even nicer today. Some of the ever-present stress had left both of them.

They still worried about Charlie, but were feeling more positive. The successful exercise with her power gave them hope. Heath’s humor, and having a sanctuary off campus helped immensely.

The morning went by smoothly. He hoped Russell would agree to talk to Clarke on her terms, but didn’t know the librarian well enough to guess. Since he taught four classes, Jace didn’t have shifts in the library.

He worked one lunch period, whereas Ray and Lane had two. Jace was walking to the cafeteria when his phone chimed. It was Clarke in the group chat, saying that Russell had agreed to meet her in the guesthouse at seven.

He and Heath both replied with smiley faces. They had picked seven for the meeting, so Jace and Clark would have time to get to Heath’s and be waiting after the students returned to the dorms for the night.

Since he anticipated hearing Clarke’s conversation and getting a sense of Russell’s personality, the rest of the day seemed to drag. After classes, Jace fended off two ambush attempts by his students, who were increasingly aggravated at their failure to take him down.

Then he made his rounds of the dorm, and ate dinner quickly. When the students returned from the cafeteria, Jace jogged to the powered dorm, texting Clarke that he was on his way.

They were taking her car, which Clarke would park in the driveway of the guesthouse. She was stepping outside when he arrived.

It was a quiet drive, but not tense. Clarke seemed more thoughtful than anything else

“Obviously, Russell agreed to meet, but what was his mood?” Jace asked. “Was he annoyed with your conditions, or the clandestine location?”

“He actually seemed relieved,” Clarke replied. “Russell said once that I’m a mystery, and he likes to solve mysteries, but hasn’t figured me out. I think he knows I’m hiding something big, so wasn’t surprised that I won’t discuss it in public.”

“Well, hopefully, Russell will devote himself to solving the rest of our mysteries, and be better at it than we are,” Jace commented.

“Yes, that,” Clarke agreed fervently as she parked.

It wasn’t full dark yet, but the porch light was on. Jace walked around the side to enter the garage, while Clarke entered the house through the front door. They had given themselves a fifteen-minute cushion, in case Russell was early.

Heath was sitting on a folding chair near the door that led into the house. A second one waited for Jace. Heath’s wand was out, presumably to cast a spell that would enable him to hear the conversation easily. Clarke peeked through the open door to wave at Heath before returning to the front of the house.