But this is not what Stone does. He rises, crosses over to the creature, and pets it.
My knees go weak, but I straighten, locking them tight. This isn’t sweet. This is terrifying. He’s not acting like Stone—he’s acting like someone who cares about things.
This is not the Stone Maddox of five minutes ago. That Stone Maddox would rather shoot out his own eye than pet that lambicorn.
“If you’ll excuse me, I need to make a quick phone call.” I poke the air for emphasis. “Don’t go anywhere.”
He picks up the lambi and nuzzles his face against it like it’s his favorite stuffed teddy from childhood. “How could I go anywhere when this cutie is here?”
This is all wrong. I dash from the trailer so fast my shoe nearly pops off. Outside, I dial Cristina’s number. My stomach is in knots. I’m sweating. Pressure builds in my fingers.
In front of me, a ley line flashes red. I exhale slowly.
Calm down, Coco.
Cristina answers five rings after my near cardiac arrest. “So, how’d it go? Nothing, right? That’s what I was afraid of. Well, we tried.”
“No,” I whisper-shriek. “It’s much worse than nothing happening.”
“What do you mean?”
My insides curl up and die, just like I want to. “I’m in deep trouble.”
“Why?”
“He’s lost his memory.”
She gasps. “What?” I hear the sound of a car honking, and Cristina yells, “Sorry!”
“Don’t have an accident,” I tell her, cringing.
“How can I not? Let me pull over.” When her voice comes back on the line, it’s crisp, and the background muffle of being on Bluetooth is gone. “He has amnesia?”
“Yes. No. I don’t know.” I ball up a fist and press it to my eye, inhaling and exhaling deeply, trying to calm my electrified nerve endings. “Yes. I think so. He can’t remember who he is.”
“We’re in deep shit.”
“I know! What do we do?”
“Don’t panic.”
“It’s too late for that.”
The trailer door opens and Stone appears with the lambicorn tucked under one arm. “Hey, I think this little guy’s starving. Should we get it some milk?”
“Yes, we will,” I say, forcing brightness in my voice. “Let me just finish this call.”
“Okay.” He pauses and surveys the empty construction site. “Where are we?”
I sway on my feet but catch myself from falling. “I’ll tell you all about it. Give me just a minute.”
“Hey, I ate some of that pastry on the desk.”
“No! Don’t eat that!”
“Too late. It’s gone. Had a weird aftertaste.”
It feels like my body is collapsing in on itself. “I’ll be inside in just a minute and we’ll get all of this sorted out.”
