Legend’s askance look would have been comical at any other time, but right now I was worried about Rach.
“Yes, I do. Are youalright?”
“Oh, babe, I’m fine. Seriously. More than fine, but he said he had a message and he wanted to leave it with me in case I spoke to you.”
The tension vibrating around the guys stretched even tauter if possible. It was making it hard to take a deeper breath. “In case you spoke to her?” Bones repeated the phrasing in a cool, deliberate voice.
“Yes,” Rachel said. “Another reason I hesitated. Felt—targeted considering we’ve just been talking about setting you up with new headshots and building out your package.”
We had.
“Have you talked to anyone about that?” AB asked, no accusation, just straightforward inquiry and he had his tablet up and on.
“Nothing you don’t already know about,” Rachel said. “But… before you interrupt again. I’m not the only photographer he approached.”
Voodoo slid his arms around me. All the warmth of the day had fled and ice seemed to run in my veins. “He said that?”
“Yes, and me being a suspicious bitch, I called a few of them today. He has indeed approached a few photographers, in the U.S., in Italy, and here in France.” Rachel huffed out a breath. “Left a message for you with all of them.”
“So, fishing expedition.” Legend folded his arms.
“I’m not speculating on him or his motives,” Rachel continued. “To be clear, he did not ask me if I was in touch with you, did not ask for a number to call you on, or indicate in any way he wanted me to give him your information. All he wanted was for me to give you a messageifI talked to you and to please only give it to you.”
My pulse thudded in my ears.
“What message?” My voice wasn’t steady anymore. It cracked at the edges.
Rachel took another breath.
“He gave me a phone number,” she said softly. “And told me to give it to you… because it was about Amorette.”
The night went silent.
The fire popped. A marshmallow fell off someone’s stick into the flames. Goblin whined once, low.
I couldn’t breathe.
“What is his name?”
Rachel whispered, like she knew I was breaking apart. “Grace, he just said ‘a friend’. When I said that wasn’t good enough, he would only give me one name. Matias.”
Bones swore under his breath. Voodoo muttered “holy shit” like a prayer. Legend shot to his feet. AB’s eyes went sharp—calculating, scanning, already moving through possibilities.
Matias.
That name didn’t mean anything to me.
“Grace?” Rachel’s voice cracked. “You there?”
I tried to speak and nothing came out. My throat wouldn’t move. My eyes burned so violently I had to blink just to see.
Voodoo’s arms came around me, steady and warm and unshakable.
“I’m here,” I croaked. “I’m… here.”
“I don’t know what this means,” Rachel rushed out. “I don’t know if it’s real. But if someone had information about someone I loved, even if they turned out to be a quack, I’d want to know. So I’m telling you.”
“Thank you,” I whispered.
