I refused to look at him as I dragged the heavy weight off the bed, letting it bang on the floor. But then, before I could take the handle, the vibration of my phone cut sharply through the silence.
For a split second, my pulse leapt with a different kind of dread, but when I pulled it from my bag and saw my sister’s name flashing across the screen. That quiet dread quickly shifted into guilt. Six missed calls.
Six…fuck!
Of course, she would panic.
I didn’t know what to do, as I didn’t want to get Sabrina involved in any of this, and if I answered, he would then know that I had a sister. Someone who could potentially be used as leverage to get to me, once Bo followed through with his plan.
I swallowed hard when he finally decided for me.
“Answer the phone, Eliza,” he ordered gently.
“Hey,” I said after accepting the call, hating how my voice came out strained.
“Oh, thank the Goddess!” she breathed instantly, the relief in her voice so genuine it twisted something inside me.
“I’ve been trying to get hold of you all morning. Where have you been?”
“I’m sorry,” I replied, forcing lightness into my tone as I turned slightly away from the bedroom doorway. It was a pointless gesture, really, but it felt instinctive, as though I could somehow shield her voice from the man standing behind me.
“Work has been insane. What’s up?” I asked, trying to force myself to relax enough to sound normal and like I usually would when speaking to my sister.
“What’s up?!” she repeated incredulously.
“You said you’d tell me everything. I have been waiting to hear how it went. What happened? You can’t just drop a bomb about that club and then disappear on me.”
A sound escaped me that hovered somewhere between a laugh and a sigh. It didn’t sound convincing, even to my own ears. But then I flinched as, behind me, I felt him move.
I risked a glance over my shoulder and immediately regretted it. He had stepped further into the room, his gaze slowly travelling over the scattered evidence of my hurried packing and then upward to the collection I had long ago stopped noticing as unusual.
Frogs.
Ceramic, glass, carved wood. A frog-shaped lamp perched on my dresser. Tiny lily-pad coasters stacked beside my jewelry box.
He didn’t comment, which somehow only made it worse.
“So? Come on, spill the herbal tea,” my sister pressed, and I had to suppress a groan.
“The presentation went well,” I said, keeping my voice steady, and there was a sharp intake of breath on the other end.
“Presentation? Wait, what do you mean presentation? I thought they took you off that account. I thought you were done with it. Lily-pad, what is going on?” I closed my eyes briefly and mentally shoutedshitin my head!
“It’s a long story. They put me back on it at the last minute. I had to present yesterday. That’s why I’ve been swamped,” I told her, stealing a glance at the cause of why, who was clearly listening even as he continued to take in the minute details of my private space.
“Oh my Goddess, that’s amazing!” she burst out.
“That’s huge. See? I told you they’d realize they were idiots without you. That’s so good.”
“Erh yeah, it’s great,” I forced out, although it was anything but.
“Seriously, that’s it? Erh it’s great…? Jeez, could you sound any happier?” she asked sarcastically, and my throat tightened.
I forced a soft laugh, the sound hollow and brittle in my own ears.
“No, I am. It’s great. Just… I’m exhausted,” I said, rubbing a hand at the back of my tense neck, and, for once, it wasn’t a lie.
“You’ve been weird ever since you went to that club,” she said, suspicion creeping gently into her tone.
