Page 27 of Immortal Unveiled

Kim pointed to the letter. “Something from a storage facility on the outskirts of town. It says overdue here.” Possibly a clever ploy by a business to get somebody to sign up for something.

“A storage facility?” Manus stepped closer. “Did your mother use one?”

“Not that I know of.”

“Open it.”

Kim ripped the envelope open and pulled out the single sheet. “It’s an account statement. Annual fee overdue,” she read the heading. “If we don’t receive your payment within thirty days of the date of this letter, the contents of your rented storage unit #136 will be auctioned off.”

Manus reached for the letter and scanned it. “That letter is four weeks old.” Their eyes met. “We’d better check this out before whatever your mother stored there is gone forever.”

“I agree,” Kim said and reached for her handbag. Then she stopped herself. “How are we gonna get a look inside? I mean, I haven’t found a key for it.”

“Don’t worry. Just take this letter, a copy of your mother’s death certificate, and your ID with you, and the staff there will have to unlock for us.”

“Smart thinking.” She was glad she had somebody by her side who did this for a living and kept a cool head. “I’m just surprised that Mom never mentioned a storage unit to me. I can’t imagine what she would be storing there.”

“We’ll find out soon enough,” Manus said confidently. “We’ll take my car. I’m parked right outside.”

“Great. Give me a minute to grab what we need.”

~ ~ ~

Moments later, Manus was pulling away from the curb with Kim sitting in the passenger seat of his car. He’d punched the coordinates for the storage facility into the navigation system and followed the directions. It meant he could concentrate on Kim. He didn’t want to accidentally say something he didn’t want her to know, so he had to keep his guard up. Forty-five minutes in the car together was a long time. A lot of things could slip out if he wasn’t careful.

“So, you started packing up your mother’s house, I noticed,” Manus started, wanting to keep the conversation away from the investigation itself. “You told your neighbor you’re planning on selling it. It’s a shame. It’s got a lot of character.”

Kim nodded. “It does. I wish I didn’t have to pack it all up. I don’t even know where to start. My mother kept a lot of stuff.”

“Did you grow up in that house?”

“Not really. I was already fourteen when Mom and I moved there.”

“And your dad?”

She cast him a long sideways look. “I don’t have a father.”

He met her gaze. “So, you don’t get on.”

She shook her long dark locks. “No, I don’t have one. Mom was a single mother. My biological father was a guy she had a one-night stand with. She didn’t even know his last name.”

“Oh.”

Kim shrugged. “I didn’t judge her for it. I didn’t miss having a father. Though right now, it would help to have one, you know, to share the grief.”

He understood that need. “It’s hard going through it on your own.”

“And you? You mentioned you lost a parent too?”

Manus gripped the steering wheel tighter. “I lost both of them on the same day.”

“Oh no! I’m so sorry.” She let out a soft breath. “Was it a car accident?”

“House fire.” It was a lie. It wasn’t the fire that had killed them, nor the massive explosion that had ripped apart their home. Still, it was the only explanation he could give her. Telling her the truth would mean exposing his people’s secrets. “It was an inferno. It was the most terrible thing I’ve ever had to watch.” He let out a bitter chuckle. “Guess at least I didn’t have to go through all their belongings to decide what to keep.”

“The house burned to the ground?” Kim asked, her voice filled with sadness.

“Down to the foundation.”

“And you were there when it happened?”

“I got there too late. I couldn’t get them out…” He pushed back the memory of the flames burning away his shirt, the heat entering his nostrils, the smoke obscuring his vision.

“I’m so sorry, Manus. I feel really selfish now.”

He turned his head. “Selfish, why?”

“Because I’m complaining about how much work it is to pack up my mother’s house when you never got the chance to go through your parents’ belongings and save those things that have a special meaning for you.”

“They’re just things,” Manus said, surprised at how understanding Kim was, and how willing he was to share things with her he’d never shared with any of his fellow Stealth Guardians. “I still have my memories of them. No fire can destroy those.”

For a moment they locked eyes, silent in their shared grief.

“They are worth more than anything in the world,” she murmured softly. “I hope they’ll never fade. That you’ll always remember them happy and full of love for you.”

Manus smiled. “I hope you can do the same.”