“It took me twelve years to unearth Calista Drache’s fear. The thought that keeps her up at night, the motivation that keeps her from opening that suitcase.”
Violet eyes are trained on my face, watching my reaction carefully.
“Being forced to live in someone else’s shadow is no easy feat. Particularly when your identity has been carved into something you no longer recognize.”
He glances down at the tattoo on his arm, “The Dragon’s daughter is the only title she has ever known. A powerful label, but one that has tied her down for so many years, she is afraid of what she’ll find once it’s gone.”
I don’t belong here.
Calista’s words ring through my head, the one time I chose not to fucking listen.
“Why are you telling me this.”
“It occurred to me that I could never have full control of Wolf Hollow with Calista still in residence. She is too familiar with my methods, too involved with my processing system for the break to ever be complete.”
He sighs, “And I find myself feeling unsettled at the thought of an old friend rattling around a mansion all by herself. Her methods are far too unhinged already, I would hate to see how drastic they become should she not find a sliver of happiness in this world.”
“Huh.” Squinting at the face beside me, I try to look past the perfectly styled white hair, “That almost sounds sincere.”
A chuckle flows out of his mouth, “You can be amusing when you are not emotional, Christopher Deville.”
“Love to hear it.”
“Now, are you going to take the ticket or should I get a refund? I am a busy man, you know.”
“I already have a ticket.”
He raises a brow, looking condescending as fuck.
“Which is why I did not say it was for you.”
My heart picks up speed, thundering and racing with the answer that’s been in front of my nose this entire time.
“Just tell me one thing.”
He lets out an exasperated sigh, “Make it quick.”
“Why did you choose Marlin?”
I shift in my seat, noticing his eyes drifting again. Wandering and landing on the petite redhead who looks back at him expectedly.
Melody St. James.
“There was a movie I saw when I was younger. An animated series about a couple of clownfish. Premise was quite simple, really, there was a father and a son. The son got lost, so the father swam across the entire ocean to find him.”
Marlin looks through a bar full of people and smiles at the only one who matters.
“I thought it sounded like a father worth remembering.”
“Fair enough.” Snatching the plane ticket, I drown the rest of my drink and pull the keys from my pocket, “I gotta run, but thanks for the drink.”
“Should you be driving?”
We both look at the bartender.
“He’s fine.” Swilling a glass under the faucet, the guy shrugs, “Looked like he was going to be here a while so I watered them down.”
That fucker.
