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“Ithasbeen forever,” I agreed.
Nadia had been my best friend since grade school, and she hadn’t changed a bit in the years I’d been gone. I’d had to leave after my mom had died, and I’d moved to a small town in Montana where my dad had made a living for himself.
Nadia still looked exactly the same, from her chocolate brown hair and hazel eyes to her round cheeks and quirky dress sense.
We walked into the bistro and ordered coffee from the counter.
“You look amazing,” she said. “You’re so thin!”
“I’m not,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I just got taller, so my fat rolls had to stretch out.”
“You’ve never had fat rolls,” Nadia laughed. “You’ve always been hot.”
“Thanks,” I said with a grin. “You look exactly the same.”
“Is that a good thing?”
“Can’t add to perfection, right?”
“You’re ridiculous,” Nadia giggled. “Shit, I’ve missed you. Talking on the phone is not the same as having you here. You have no idea how glad I am you decided to come back.”
We collected our coffees and walked to a table outside in the sun, sitting down. I closed my eyes and tilted my face toward the light. I’d missed being here, so close to the ocean, with the tang of salt in the air.
“I would have come sooner,” I said. “I didn’t think I’d have to restart my life from scratch.”
“Your dad is a total dick,” Nadia said hotly. “I can’t believe him! I don’t know what I would have done if I found out he took all my cash.”
I shrugged. “There wasn’t much to do at the time but get a job and earn the money I needed. Which is what I did. Now, I’m ready to get my revenge.”
Nadia frowned. “What do you mean, get your revenge?”
“I took something,” I said.
“What?”
I hesitated before I took out my phone and pulled up the photo I’d taken.
“What is it?” Nadia asked. “It doesn’t look like a normal amulet.”
I traced my eyebrow with a finger. “It’s not. It’s some source of power for him. He’s doing something shady, putting the power he’s getting in this thing so no one will pick up how powerful he’s getting. No one knows he’s a threat.Wasa threat. Without this, he’s just himself.”
Nadia eyed me. “Oaklee, this isn’t just a game.”
“I know it’s not,” I said.
“Where is it?”
“I hid it just after I got here,” I said. “I’m not stupid. I won’t have it on me. If he finds me with it… I don’t want to think about that. If hedoesget his hands on me, he can’t kill me, because then he’ll never find it. Call it life insurance.”
“Shit, Oak, this is serious,” Nadia said, her eyes wide. “What if he finds it? Doesn’t all that power give off some kind of signature?”
I shook my head. “Not one that he’ll be able to trace; I took care of it.”
“How?”
I put my phone away again. “I can’t tell you that.”
Nadia widened her eyes looking shocked, confused… “This is really dangerous. If it’s such a big deal, you know he’s going to come after you, and if he does—”
