Plus, I didn’t want to get into the details with Jarrett right now. He’d cancel all of our appointments and I didn’t want to do that to our clients. But he end doing it anyway.
He ****** in his breath. “ Did you finally hear from your mother?”
“We haven’t spoken,” I said softly.
Richard knew my mother had left, but didn’t know why.
“Sophia, you sound weird. Are you crying?” He asked, his voice deepening.
“I’m okay.”
“No, no, no..... something is wrong. I can feel it. I’ll be right there.”
I frowned. “ No, seriously, I’m fine and well talk later. I promise.”
“You sure? I can be there in less than two minutes.” I promise, we’ll talk later.” Okay. If you insist. I’m really worried about you, Jarrett.”
“ Okay. Do you have the list of targets for tonight? I emailed the info to you earlier.”
“ Yeah. I’ve got them. Oh, and I also spoke to Patrick Strom and to him that I could fit him wife in as well tonight. “
“ Of course I do. It might have to wait until after Thomas leaves, though. I hope you don’t mind.”
“ Who is Thomas?” I asked.
“ He’s an old friend from Vegas and in fact..... should be arriving any minute.”
Something in his tone made me believe that Thomas was more than casual friend.
“Good idea. You probably don’t want to walk in on us when we’re....in deep conversation, said Racheal, chuckling devilishly.
I snorted. “ Okay. Have fun molesting each other. I’ll talk to you later. Especially with Mr. Strom. Does she want to keep that *******?”
“Of course.”
Thomas sighed. “ I guess I saw that coming.”
“Me, too. Oh, “ I glanced at the time again, “I’d better get going. I’ll talk to you soon.”
“ Go and make us some money.”
“ Your turn tomorrow, right?”
He snorted. “Of course. I wouldn’t make you do this two night in a row.”
His voice grew soft. “ You do trust that I have your back, don’t you?”
“Of course I do. Without you, I’d be in bad shape.”
“ Me, too, Christopher. Me, too, “ he replied, his tone almost sad.
Smiling, I hung up the phone and turned back to Lillian, who was watching me closely.
“ So, you’re really going to ignore my warnings?” he asked.
“No, of course I’m not going to ignore them.
I will prospect the all matter issue. I will keep my eyes open. I am going to keep my eyes open but I like I said before I’m not going into hiding.”
He let out and exasperated sigh. “Fine.”
I open my eyebrows, surprised that he was backing down now so easily. We stared each other for a few seconds and then he walked over to my patio. I guess I should be going then.
You can stay here if you want, I said suddenly not wanting him to leave. I mean, if you need a place to crash for a few days.....
He unlocked the sliding glass door and pulled it open. Why I couldn’t smell the chlorine from the pool and imagined the both of us skinny-dipping under the moonlight. “ Are you sure? “ Think of the possibilities.”
“I can’t. I have other immortals to find.
To warm them about your father and see if they’ll stand against him. “
“ My sister?”
“Wasn’t Unfortunately, I don’t know who or where they are. I’ve only heard of India and rumors has it.....she’s gone underground.”
“Do you think she knows of Mustard plans to steal all of our powers?” I asked, wondering what India was like and if she knew about me.
“I wouldn’t imagine that’s the reason she’s made herself scarce.”
“So, this guy, my father, he has a lot of enemies?” I asked, my stomach knotting up now as he prepared to leave. Than I suddenly didn’t feel so very brave.
“Yes, but he also has a lot of followers. Taking him down isn’t going to be easy. Yeah, hell, I don’t know if it’s even possible, but I’m not going to sit back and watch him destroy any more lives without trying to do something about it. “
My stupid phone began to vibrate.
“ I’m sorry, “ I said, turning around to reach for it again. “ It’s probably one of my clients.”
“Stay safe, Sophia, “ he replied softly.
When I turned back around, Emilio was gone.
Sighing, I walked over and locked the patio door, then went upstairs to prepare for the evening. After cramming myself into a little black and red dress that barely concealed my assets, and tall strappy heels, I thought about my mother and her obsession with shoes. Seriously she’d owned more pairs than even Lillian, who had an entire room dedicated to stilettos.
And now she was gone.
Fighting off another wave of
tears, I stepped into the bathroom,
picked up a tube of candy-apple red lipstick, and applied it to my lips.
Standing up straight, I smirked at my reflection. “ Mission
accomplished, I look like a **** , “ I mumble, throwing the lipstick down on the counter.
But normally, I enjoyed dressing like a *****, especially in New York.
The truth was, I’d been trying to abstain from ***, which was very challenging for someone who was part succubus.