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She cringed at how angry she sounded, but it was too late to take it back. It was out there now.
She set the t-shirt aside and pulled out the picture frame. She caught her breath and blinked back the tears as Wes scraped his chair closer and made a soft sound that was almost a purr as he stared at the picture with her.
“Is that your mom and dad?” he asked.
“Yeah. This picture used to be on my dad’s desk in his home office. Mom is eight months pregnant with me.” She traced her finger over her mother’s stomach as Daisy slid off Cooper’s lap and sat on the other side of Eleanor.
“They look happy,” she said.
“They do,” Eleanor said. She studied her mom’s face, that thousand-watt smile that Eleanor missed so much beaming out. Her mother had one hand on her belly and the other arm slung around her father’s waist. Her father, usually so solemn, also had a giant smile and his arm was around her mother’s shoulder. They looked impossibly young and impossibly happy.
“This was my favourite picture of them. Probably because it’s one of the very few where my dad looks happy and… present. You know? Like, he’s right there with my mom, not off in his head thinking about work.”
“It’s a wonderful picture,” Daisy said quietly.
Eleanor set the picture aside and peeked into the box. The only other item was a small cardboard storage box, the kind you might get at a dollar store. She took off the lid and stared at the pressed rose inside before carefully lifting it out.
“Does the rose mean anything to you?” Wes asked.
She shook her head and set it aside before taking out the key under the pressed flower.
She turned it over and over in her hand. The light above the table made it gleam dully.
“Does the key look familiar to you?” Daisy asked.
“No, I’ve never seen it before,” she said.
“It’s a bus station locker key,” Wes said.
“Really?” Eleanor studied the number etched at the top of the key.
“How many bus stations are there in Emerton?” Wes said.
“I don’t know an exact number, but it’s a big city, so... a lot?” Eleanor said.
“So, obviously, the guy is after the key,” Cooper said. “Any idea what might be in the locker?”
“I don’t have a clue,” Eleanor said. “I guess I’m making a road trip to Emerton tomorrow.”
“Like hell you are,” Wes said. “It’s way too dangerous. Whatever is in that locker, the human was willing to kill you for it.”
“Which is why I need to find it,” Eleanor said. “I can’t have men trying to kill me every freaking day. I’ll find whatever is in the locker and hand it over to...”
“Who exactly would you hand it over to? You don’t even know what it is. It could be a bomb, for all you know,” Wes said.
“A bomb?” Eleanor said. Despite her exhaustion, she couldn’t help but tease him. “Take it down a notch, Wesley. My dad was a biochemist, not James Bond.”
“The point is you don’t know what you’re walking into. What if this guy knows he’s looking for a bus station key? What if he has other men planted at the bus stations in Emerton, just waiting for you to show up in case he can’t get the key from you?”
“Man, you’ve put a lot of thought into this,” Eleanor said. “Probably why you’re so good at saving people’s asses.” She glanced at Cooper. “You should give him a raise.”
“Noted,” Cooper said with a grin. “He is right, though. Checking out a bunch of different bus stations on your own is dangerous.”
“I’ll watch for suspicious looking men in aviator glasses,” Eleanor said. “They probably got a group discount on them.”
“This isn’t a joke, Eleanor,” Wes said.
“You think I don’t know that?” She turned on him, anger sparking its way through her body like wildfire. “I almost died today, Wes. You almost died today. Trust me. I know this isn’t a fucking joke. But I drive people around for fucking peanuts most of the time, and I have bills and rent, and I can’t afford to hire a security consultant to search a bunch of bus stations for a parcel my dead father left in a locker that may or may not be a fucking bomb!”
