“How did you know her?”
He shook his head, amusement in his voice. “You see so many faces in your lifetime that it’s not always easy to remember the ones who have aged. Her last name is different, but not much else. I was surprised she remembered me. Well, she doesn’t actually know who I am, but her uncertainty was enough to give me pause. I looked different back then. Didn’t have the beard and dressed with the times.”
“If you’re about to tell me that you and Betty got it on, I’m not sure I want the details.”
“No,” he said on a long sigh. “Betty wasn’t like that. She was a spirited lass with dreams about becoming an activist. She was always marching for something. Just a short little lass with fiery hair, a nice set of knockers, and a loud opinion.”
I snorted. “Not much has changed. Did you love her?”
“Don’t be daft. I was involved in a lot of nefarious activities back then, which I’m sure you can already guess, and I used to sit in that diner late at night and have a cup of coffee. Sometimes she’d invite herself to my table and stir up a conversation. I didn’t think all these years later she’d still be there. The last I saw of her, she was betrothed to a lad who’d just joined the army. Such a tragic waste.”
“Of what? It sounds like she’s lived a full life.”
Christian regarded me for a moment. “You don’t think working in the same diner after fifty years is tragic? She could have done something more with her life than having babies and serving pie.”
“She did. Betty’s a lighthouse. Maybe she didn’t become a social activist or whatever you saw in her, but she fed me and helped me out when things were bleak. I’m sure she didn’t just sit with you because of your charming personality. She has a way of spotting lost souls. People like you are beyond her help, but she matters. People likehermatter. Without their compassion, where would the rest of us be?”
“You shouldn’t get attached to mortals.”
“Humans have treated me better than any of our kind ever has. I’m sick of Breed looking down their noses at them.”
He stood up straight, his breath fogging the air between us. “It’s easier that way. You’re too green to know what life can do to an immortal. How many people can you stand to watch go through sickness and disease, only to fade away and become nothing more than a headstone? You haven’t a clue how many people I’ve watched go mad because they couldn’t let go of the human world. Better that you forget this nonsense with seeing your father. It will only destroy you.”
“He’s myfather!”
Christian’s lips peeled back. “But that’s not your place anymore! You don’t belong there. Do you think saying good-bye makes it any easier? You have an opportunity to do something with your life. Don’t be like Betty. Don’t give it up for love. You can’t be with your father anymore. You can’t visit every Sunday and talk over tea about the latest football game, pretending that everything’s normal before you head back to Keystone and plan an assassination. It doesn’t work that way. Let him go.”
The moment I felt the tear roll down my cheek, I hated myself for showing my emotions. “You made me a promise.”
“Aye. And I’ll keep that promise,” he said, taking a step back. “Even if it means losing you as a partner. Do you think I didn’t contemplate returning to Ireland to see if my sister was looked after? Nature has to take its course. You can’t interfere. Even after I scrub your father’s memory, it won’t remove the emotions. They’ll linger, and if he’s gotten over your disappearance and death, he might end up reliving those feelings all over again without knowing why.”
When Christian returned inside, my heart sank. What if he was right? What if visiting my father ended up being the catalyst that turned him back to the bottle? What right did I have to erase the peace he’d probably found after five years?
Even still, I couldn’t back out.
I needed to see him.
I needed to know.
Chapter 6
“That wasthe worst breakfast in God’s creation,” Wyatt remarked from his office chair.
Ignoring his complaint, I stared at my file on the floor in front of me.
“I thought the jam was marvelous,” Gem said from the beanbag chair.
Wyatt’s laugh ended with a snort. “That’s because it was the only thing she didn’t burn. Toast I get. And I’ll even forgive bacon. But how do you burn eggs?”
“Will you two pipe down so I can concentrate?” Shepherd grumbled. He’d taken over the sofa and surrounded himself with papers.
Since Wyatt had a lot of territory to cover with recent black market offers, he’d printed them all out for us to review while he monitored the new listings in search of a baby. The whole team was present except for Claude and Christian.
It was official. One of Viktor’s contacts with the higher authority had hired Keystone to take on the case of the murdered woman and stolen child, so Viktor gave us the green light to begin as soon as possible. The team had put away their side projects to focus solely on the case.
“Is Claude still out?” I asked.
Viktor crossed his legs from his chair in the corner. “He believes the fates will deliver us the killer on a silver platter.”
