“Of course I invited him,” Evianna says with a hint of indignation to her voice. “Good night, Noah. We’re running late. I’ll see you in the morning.”
With her fingers digging into my elbow, she hurries us out of the building and right to the car Clive has idling at the curb.
I don’t say anything until the door closes and Evianna flops back against the seat with a sigh.
“What party?”
“Alfie’s release party. I thought I mentioned—”
Taking off my glasses, I arch a brow. “No. You weren’t planning on going alone, were you?”
“God, no.” She reaches for my hand, and the emotion in her voice has me linking my fingers with hers. “I just…I didn’t want to think about it. About the release. About what might happen after—”
“It’s all right, darlin’.” Bringing her hand to my lips, I kiss her palm, then the pulse point of her wrist. Fuck. She smells like heaven, and there isn’t a single reason she should want me, but dammit if I’m not going to do everything I can to keep her by my side. “I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions. Do you mind if we go one place before we head back to the hotel? There’s something I want to show you.”
The ride to Cambridge takes less than twenty minutes with Clive behind the wheel. The man knows more shortcuts than anyone I’ve ever met—besides Ripper. Evianna doesn’t say much as she sits too far away in the Lincoln Town Car. Clive should have opted for a coupe. Something to force us to sit close enough our thighs would touch and I could wrap my arm around her.
Her fingers start to warm in mine, and I lean over. “You’re worrying me, Evianna. What happened at the office today?”
“You didn’t talk to Wren?”
“I talked to Wren half the day.” What the hell is going on? And why didn’t Wren tell me? Making a mental note to send my favorite hacker a text later, I scoot as close as the seatbelt will allow. “Tell me.”
“Someone executed a remote shutdown command that turned my Alfie unit off half an hour before you brought me home the other night. The unit was offline for fifteen minutes.”
“You knew something like that had happened, though.”
Her fingers tighten on mine. “Dax, I didn’t put a remote shutdown subroutine in Alfie’s code. But it’s more than that. The only way someone could access the unit at all, would be from our offices. Someone at Beacon Hill—someone who’s not Kyle, since he was long gone by then—is behind this whole thing.”
26
Dax
The arboretum Visitor’s Center is bustling this close to sunset, and the cacophony of voices is almost too much. “Look for signs for the Lilac Exhibit,” I say as Evianna takes my arm and guides me out the door to the garden path.
“To the left. But…Dax…? Should we be out here…in the open like this?”
“Clive isn’t far. You won’t see him, but if anyone comes near us, he’ll be here in under a minute.” A breeze brings the scent of hundreds of flowers swirling around us, and I breathe deeply. “I used to come here. Before I joined the army. Before…Hell.”
She presses closer to me, through another turn and down a winding path. “I never knew about this place. I’ve lived in Boston for three years, and outside of a couple of baseball games and one Duck Boat ride, I’ve never really…done anything. It’s beautiful.”
Water burbles to my right, and I stop. “Let’s go down by the water. There used to be benches. Are they still there?”
“Yes. But…Dax? I…don’t understand.”
Taking her arm, I gesture towards the small lake that smells like it’s still surrounded by lilacs. A hint of the evening sun slashes through the surrounding trees, highlighting the deep chestnut of her hair.
Our feet crunch over gravel, and when my cane finds the corner of the bench, I fold it up and tuck it in my pocket before guiding us both down onto the warm marble. “I had so many memories of this place. Before. But—” my voice cracks, and I clear my throat as Evianna links our fingers, “—they’re fading. Some things you never forget. The blue of the sky. A red rose. Chinese food takeout boxes. Mickey Mouse. But this place? Every year was different. Every flower unique. I can’t see them anymore. All I have is the scent. The sweetness of the lilacs. The freesia. The lilies. I need you, Evianna. Tell me what you see?”
She doesn’t speak for so long, I start to worry. “Darlin’?”
“The lake is a deep blue. Like…a sapphire. Or…a blue jay. Tiny little ripples all over the surface. And…ducks. Three of them. A mama and two babies.”
My throat tightens, and I grip the corner of the bench hard enough for the marble to bite into my fingers.
“At the edge of the lake, the lilacs… They’re like a carpet. Most of them are bluish purple. But some of them are bright pink. And the closest ones are pure white.” The awe in her voice makes my eyes burn.
But when she stands, hooks her arm through mine, and takes a few tentative steps towards the lake, I resist. My last memories of this place are of a steep grassy knoll, and without being able to see, I don’t trust myself.
