XXXII

The moment Director Holbrook’s funeral service was finished and the guests had been released to the celebration on the grounds outside of the Holbrook’s palatial estate, Elodie faded into the throngs of people who’d shown up to pay their respects. Each shieldless person she passed was another barrier between her and her mother and the desperation that dripped from each jewel Gwen had adorned herself with. She’d tried to dress Elodie up the same way, opening her jewelry case and telling her daughter to choose absolutely anything. People would be watching, and she needed to make the right impression.

Elodie ran her fingertips along the delicate strand of pearls around her neck as she plucked a cup off the beverage table and took a sip. Lemon-flavored seltzer bubbled across her tongue. The light and cheery drink fit the sunny day and the distance that made Mt. Hood’s snowcapped peak look less frigid and daunting.

Elodie found an empty cocktail table and set her drink down on the pastel tablecloth as she scanned the crowd. The number of citizens who had come to the funeral and who were staying for the celebration was shocking, especially since it was tradition to go without the Violet Shield to all funeral festivities as a symbol of unity and closeness with the deceased. All public events were streamed live through VR. Every single person in Westfall could be there without actually being there. Elodie herself would be at home with her headset on in the comfort of her sweats if her mother hadn’t made such a big deal about her attendance. Staying home to spite Gwen had most definitely crossed Elodie’s mind.

Now that Elodie actually thought about it, so many people had shown up not because they too had terrible mothers, although that might be true, but because Director Holbrook had been so important. As the head of the Key Corp MediCenter, he’d effectively run the city of Westfall, and no one wanted to be thought of as disrespecting their commander in chief. Especially since the next MediCenter director was guaranteed to be in attendance.

If Elodie gambled, she would have bet on Dr. Scott or her daughter Blair. They’d been seated at the service, front and center, practically on thrones. They’d also been the first to exit, followed by a flood of MediCenter scientists and doctors who would need the next director on their side. Elodie might not have a bunch of letters after her name, or need funding for a project, but she did need answers to a question that wouldn’t stop gnawing at her. What had the Key done to Aubrey?

Out of the corner of her eye, Elodie caught the sizzling flash of Key Corp–red stilettos amidst a sea of black. She followed the long legs up to an impeccably tailored, high-necked dress, a mane of curls, and—

Elodie sucked in a breath and nearly knocked over her drink as the woman turned toward her. It was Blair Scott. And she wasn’t alone. Dr. Cath Scott stood next to her, smiling and waving as the group around them continued to dissipate.

Elodie smoothed down her pleated skirt and tucked her hair behind her ears. As soon as the last few people walked away from Dr. and Ms. Scott, Elodie would have her chance.

But before she could take it, her gaze landed on Aiden, fast approaching in a black suit and those clunky boots, his brows pinched and a line of worry creasing his forehead.

“You have that look,” she said as he got closer. “The look that says, ‘I’m about to tell you something you don’t want to hear.’” It was the same expression he’d worn when he’d told her about Aubrey. Elodie’s stomach clenched. “I don’t understand how you were able to keep the huge secret you kept with such a crappy poker face,” she playfully chimed through the apprehension tightening her throat.

Then again, Thea Fujimoto had kept the same secret from her family without raising even the slightest suspicions. There was no way Astrid knew. If she found out, maybe she wouldn’t tell the Council, but she’d at least tell Elodie. Astrid could never keep that huge of a secret, the kind that lived and breathed and eventually consumed its jailer. Elodie knew how it felt to hold such a secret. She now kept two.

Aiden unbuttoned his suitcoat and rested his hands on his waist. The tailored black suit expertly fit his lean form and made him look older than his nearly eighteen years. “It’s nothing bad,” he paused. “At least, I don’t think you’ll think it is.” He dug the crusty toe of his boot into the finely manicured lawn. Those dirty things had to be attached to his feet.

Elodie spotted Blair’s red heels coming their way with Cath Scott at her side. Elodie held up her hand to Aiden. “I know it’s a funeral,” she said, “but there are people here who can help us figure out what really happened to Aubrey.” Elodie chewed her bottom lip. “This might be my only opportunity to talk to them.”

And I have to do it before I lose my nerve.

Aiden surged in front of her. “Elodie, wait, I—”

She didn’t wait for him to finish. Instead, she pushed away from the cocktail table and marched squarely in the path of Cath and Blair Scott.

You’re braver than you think. You’re braver than you think. You’re braver than you think.

Cath cocked her head, but never lost her pleasant smile as Elodie planted herself in front of the duo.

For once, Elodie’s legs and arms and face were all doing exactly what they were supposed to. “Hello, Dr. Scott, Ms. Scott. I’m Elodie Benavidez, Lead Nurse in the downtown MediCenter’s Long-Term Care Unit.”

Blair’s lips thinned and she blinked at Elodie long and slow.

Elodie held her head with pride. Wallflower no more. She deserved answers. She deserved to talk to these women.

Blair pressed the back of her hand against her mouth as she yawned.

And Elodie deserved to talk to them no matter how annoyed or bored Blair Scott seemed. “I wanted to let you know how much I appreciate what you do. I love my job, and it’s because of your unit’s expertise, Dr. Scott, that I’m there.” She’d decided, in the seconds it had taken her to intercept Cath and Blair, that she should start off slow. There was no reason to cause a scene or make a bad first impression.

Elodie’s stomach flip-flopped. She was beginning to sound like her mother.

Aiden’s earthy scent encircled them as he shuffled up behind Elodie. Cath glanced past Elodie’s shoulder at him, her eyebrows arching and eyes brightening. “Miss Benavidez,” she said, shining her smile back on Elodie, “meeting you is an absolute bright spot in my otherwise gloomy day.”

Elodie blanched and shifted from one foot to the other. “Oh, yes, I’m so sorry about Director Holbrook. He was a good man.” She hadn’t known Holbrook, or even ever met him, but it seemed like the right thing to say. Especially because Cath, unlike the majority of the people in attendance, actually seemed saddened by the loss—the complete opposite of Elodie’s own mother, who had practiced her Lines of Bereavement during the thirty-minute ride to the Holbrook estate.

A bot whirred by carrying drinks, and Blair leaned over and plucked a cup of sparkling orange liquid off the tray. “Ellie, I have to say, I am loving how bold you are.” Her lips curled from behind the rim of the glass.

Elodie felt Aiden stiffen behind her. “Blair,” he growled in warning.

Elodie’s eyes went wide. “You can’t call her Blair,” she whispered sharply over her shoulder.

Blair cocked her hip. “Oh, Denny can call me just about anything. Can’t you, Denny?” she teased.

Denny? Elodie’s eyes ping ponged between Aiden and Blair. They had the same thick lashes, round eyes, and full cheekbones. Their lips were the same, too, the corners upturned in a constant state of mischief, although on Blair it felt a bit more like contempt. They looked so much alike, with their dark skin and tight curls. How had she not seen it before?

And how could Aiden not tell her that the women in his life were two of the most powerful people in Westfall?

With a sigh, Cath clasped her hands. “This isn’t the play yard, you two.” She offered a polite grin to the passersby gawking at the iconic Scott duo before casting that sunbeam of a smile back on Elodie. “I do hope I see you again soon, Miss Benavidez. Aiden doesn’t bring enough friends around.” She waved her goodbyes and headed over to a nearby cluster of beckoning attendees.

Blair tapped a taloned finger on her glass, her nailbed raw and red. “That would be because I”—she pressed her palm against the high neck of her perfect dress—“his dear sister, am Aiden’s best and only friend.”

Shock muzzled Elodie, sizzling against her tongue.

Aiden rolled his eyes and, with a smirk Elodie assumed only little brothers could pull off, said, “Good thing I feel sorry enough for you to be your best and only too.”

A warm smile played around Blair’s lips like a bee around a bloom. “Well.” She sucked in a breath and it was gone so quickly it might not have been there at all. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m off to find some munchies that won’t make me bloat. I’m famished, but there’s not an inch of extra room in this dress.” Blair waved goodbye, her fingers twitching like spider’s legs.

Elodie felt Aiden’s gaze pressing against her, but she couldn’t stop staring at the empty space the formidable Scott women had left in their wake.

He cleared his throat. “That’s what I was about to tell you.”

And if he had, maybe Elodie would have had the wherewithal to ask the Scott women her questions, instead of standing there like lawn furniture.

Aiden shifted uncomfortably. “What can I say? I have a successful family.” He forced a chuckle and shoved his hands into his pant pockets.

“Anything else you think you should share?” Elodie threw out.

“El!” The familiar voice smacked against her back.

She stiffened. She’d completely forgotten to look for Rhett.

“There you are.” Her fiancé’s golden eyes beamed down at her, so much less hollow against the bright navy of his suit. “I was looking all over for you before the service, and then I ran into some of the guys, and your mom, and . . .” He trailed off, his steady gaze flicking to Aiden. “Who’s this?”

Aiden’s lips pursed. “Aiden. Aiden Scott.” Had he taken a step closer to Elodie?

Rhett rocked onto the balls of his feet. “Scott? Like, Blair Scott’s little brother?”

Aiden’s chin tilted toward the sky. “Exactly like.” If only he’d been so forthcoming with Elodie . . .

Another bot whizzed by. Elodie wished she could grab on and ride away from these men and this service and her unanswered questions—away from Westfall. “But Aiden was just leaving,” she said, “so—”

“I’m Major Rhett Owens.” He rocked to his heels and back to the balls of his feet. “Elodie’s fiancé.”

Elodie’s teeth dug into her bottom lip. If she was lucky, the subduction-zone earthquake the Pacific Northwest had been waiting for would happen right at this moment and the ground would split and swallow her whole.

Aiden let out a strangled sort of grunt. “Fiancé ?” His brows arched toward his mohawk. “Huh.”

Rhett slipped on his most smug grin. “Actually, El, Gwendolyn was talking about showing you some flowers she saw during the procession. Something about table settings . . .”

Oh, great. Her mother and Rhett were now on a Gwendolyn basis, the name her mother reserved for special relationships. Whatever that meant.

Rhett shrugged dramatically. “It’s best to leave all that decorating nonsense to the ladies. Am I right?” He waggled a brow in Aiden’s direction.

Elodie could have puked all over her new shoes.

Aiden went rigid. “I didn’t realize you were engaged.”

She clamped her chattering teeth as she searched for an explanation.

Luckily, Elodie didn’t need her voice when Major Owens was around. “The Key came to me with the suggested match,” he began, rubbing his hands together. “I thought about it, and, at the time, said to myself, ‘Rhett, you’re nineteen, she’s almost sixteen. Good genetics, okay connections. She can’t marry until her eighteenth birthday, but you should lock it down. Can’t let her turn into an old maid.’”

Aiden’s lips twisted and he glanced down at her, wide eyed, before turning his attention back to Rhett. “An old maid? Oh, gosh, no. Wouldn’t want that.”

Elodie tamped her hysteria with a sharp clap of her hands. “Rhett, I am really thirsty. Would you mind getting me a drink?”

Rhett aimed and fired a pair of finger guns in her direction. “You got it, babe.” He bobbed his wide chin in Aiden’s direction before heading off to find a drink, and, if Elodie was lucky, a different group to entertain.

“So, El,” Aiden said, as he mimicked Rhett’s rocking motion. “Anything else you think you should share?”

There was nothing to share about Rhett and her. Elodie grimaced. Just thinking of them together was awkward. She couldn’t talk about this with Aiden. She could barely talk about it with Astrid. She needed an out.

“The fair started today,” she blurted.

Aiden stopped rocking and tilted his head.

Elodie seized the moment of his confused silence. “To celebrate the Key and their success against Cerberus.” She waved a hand toward the mass of people still meandering about the Holbrook estate. “Nearly everyone is here, so the lines should be short.”

Aiden’s brow twisted. “What does that have to do with the fact that you’re engaged and didn’t tell me?”

Elodie’s stomach tumbled. “Let’s go,” she said, wringing her hands. “Let’s just leave all of this and go.”

Aiden studied her a moment before shrugging. “You know I’m always down for an adventure.”

It had taken a lot for Rhett to forgive her for sneaking out of her house the night before, even though he had been called away to a clandestine work meeting. Guilt had led Elodie to make promise after promise. She promised him that he mattered. She promised she cared. She promised he was the sun and she the small planet orbiting.

Her promises were empty. Her promises were lies.

Now Aiden was behind her, his heavy boots crushing the grass, and for the first time, she couldn’t care less how Major Rhett Owens felt.