Head lowered, she hurried to the building the old man had entered. The door opened, and a short, older woman wearing a bubble coat and sporting a cap of curly white hair shuffled out. A pup on a leash yapped excitedly, darting between her legs. “Patience, Pixie,” she soothed the tiny poodle.
“Hello? Excuse me,” Ely called out, running up the steps, and the woman glanced back. Her lined, round face broke into a smile. “Yes, dear?”
“I’m looking for someone who lives in this building.” She nodded at the brownstone. “An older man, this tall…” She lifted her hand to her chest. “Quite slender. Has gray hair and pale blue eyes. Uses a cane for walking.”
“Honey, most of us old folks use a cane to keep upright and mobile. But if you’re asking after Amos…” Her mouth turned down, gray eyes darkening. “The dear man passed away two nights ago.”
“What?No,” she whispered, her last hope fragmenting.
“He wasn’t well. His heart, honey,” she said, patting Ely’s arm. Then she scooped up her energetic pup and carefully made her way down the steps.
Ely leaned against the railing as her world crumbled around her.
You could speak to Aba.
It wasn’t like the thought hadn’t pounded in the back of her mind since she left Nate. But face the man—a demon—who’d given up his soul to save the human child Nate had been? While she’d left him with strangers to protect her own hide? Tears crowded her eyes.
You don’t know it’s him. Your guards could have accidentally killed him if a scuffle arose.
It was why she’d left him with the couple, to keep him safe… How had Nate ended up alone in an alley, dying from a gunshot wound?
With no choice, she swiped her watery eyes and headed back to the lane to dematerialize, ready to accept the consequences of whatever Aba revealed. Then she stopped and groaned. She couldn’t go to the garage, not when Nate could be there at this part of the day. She wasn’t ready to face him, especially after the way she’d run from him.
Ely sagged against a nearby building, pressing a hand to her heaving stomach.What do I do?
Her cell beeped, and she jerked upright.
Vae, she was going to be a wreck before evening. She fumbled out her phone from her jacket pocket. At Nate’s name, her heart clipped painfully as if it would escape her chest.
Just two words.U ok?
She closed her wet eyes.How can I be when I might be the cause of your eternal torment?
Unable to swallow past the lump choking her, she typed back,I am, now that you texted.
A heart emoji was his response.
She bit her lip and prayed he still felt the same way, if what she suspected turned out to be true.
* * *
The night was colder than she expected. Light flakes of snow floated to the ground. Ely stood in the shadows of the alley adjacent to the garage and scanned the place. She couldn’t sense Nate about, but Aba was.
The traffic drew to a halt at the red light. She hurried past the idling cars to the garage and rounded the side of the building to the back. Dim lights cast a soft glow in the silent workshop, shut down for the night.
She bypassed the parked vehicles, knocked on the open door, then stepped into the small living room. Aba appeared from the kitchen, a mug of coffee in his hand. He stopped short. “Ely?”
She nodded, shutting the door behind her.
“Nate’s not here,” he said.
“I know.” She rubbed her damp palms down her jeans. “I’m sorry to appear without warning, but if you have a moment, may I speak with you about something?”
Those dark eyes studied her for a second before he inclined his head. “Of course.”
He indicated the couch, but she shook her head, too agitated to sit. “It’s about Nate.”
His friendly mien vanished. “What about him?” Cold now.
