Eternal (Shadow Falls: After Dark #2)(100)

Hanging up with Marla, Della called her mom.

It rang twice and her mom finally answered. “Hi, Della.”

Her mom’s voice didn’t sound right.

“Hi, Mom.”

“I told Marla to call you,” her mom said. “Did she forget?”

“No, she called,” Della said and tried to figure out a good reason for her to have visited her aunt.

“Look, Mom, I know you guys are upset—”

“I’m sorry I didn’t call you back,” her mom said. “We’ve been busy.”

Della held tight to her cell. Her mom never beat around the bush. When there was a problem, she put it out there. And fast. So did that mean the problem wasn’t that aunt Miao had spoken to her dad about Della’s visit?

Relief filled her chest, but the next second, fear chased it away. If whatever was wrong at home wasn’t about her, then what was it about?

“Mom, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing … Della.” Her mom’s voice broke. Was her mom crying?

Hell, yes, she was.

“Mom, what’s wrong? Just tell me what it is.”

“I’m sorry, hon. This isn’t something you need to worry about, okay? Chances are it’s nothing.”

“Are you sick or something, Mom?” Della recalled one of her friends’ mom finding out she had breast cancer. “Did you find a lump or something in your br**sts?”

“No.”

“Dad? Is he—?” Her heart gripped.

“Nobody’s sick. And you’re just going to have to accept that I can’t talk about things now.”

“Mom, that scares me. If something is wrong, I need to know.”

“Not now, sweetheart. You just concentrate on you.” She paused. “I’ve got to go now. I love you,” she said.

Tears filled Della’s eyes. “I love you, too.”

Then her mom hung up. Della sat down beside the tree and gave in. She cried about whatever was wrong at home. She cried because it felt like forever since her mom had told her she loved her. She cried because she didn’t think she could save Natasha and Liam—and they would never get that apartment. All that love they shared would die with them.

She cried because she missed Chase.

After a good minute of letting herself go, she wiped her cheeks. She called Marla back and told her Mom wouldn’t talk, but she made Marla promise she’d call her if she figured out what was wrong.

“Hang in there, okay?” she told her sister.

“I will,” Marla said and she sounded alone.

“Why don’t you go see your friend Mickie?” Della asked. “Get out of the house and enjoy yourself.”

“I am,” Marla said. “Her mom is picking me up in an hour.”

“Good. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. No smoking, alcohol, or sex. French kissing’s okay, even if it is gross.”

Marla laughed and then said, “I miss you.”

The swell of emotion hit tight. “I miss you, too.”

Della hung up, the ache lingering in the pit of her stomach, and stared at the phone. The temptation hit. Don’t do it. Don’t do it.

She did it.

She hit dial.

“What’s wrong?” Chase answered on the first ring.

“Why would you ask that?” she asked, holding her voice steady, remembering her mom’s voice breaking up.

“Because you should be visiting with your family right now.”

“Yeah, well … something came up.”

“They didn’t show?” he asked, sounding offended.

“No, but it doesn’t matter.”

“Sorry,” he said and then, “Shit, did your aunt tell your dad you went to see her?”

“No. I thought it was that, but … I spoke with my mom and it seems like it’s something else. I’m sure it’s no big deal.”

So why did it feel like it was?

“I was just thinking about Natasha and Liam,” she said.

“Me, too. I’ve been searching the Internet for tattoos like they had. If I find the artist who did it, I thought it might lead us to them.”

“That’s a good idea,” Della said. “Why didn’t I think of that? I should get Derek to do it, too. He’s good working with the Internet.”

“Maybe he’ll have better luck than I did,” Chase said, sounding disappointed.

Della leaned back against the tree. “You know the first time I saw the tattoo, it reminded me of … something. Like I’ve seen the emblem before.”

“But you don’t remember where?”

“No.”

There was a moment of silence and she knew they were both fearing the worst.

“I did a rough sketch of the tattoo,” Chase said. “Do you want me to take a picture of it and send it to you so you can shoot it to Derek?”

“Yeah, that would be good.”

A bird landed in the tree to her right. Della looked at it. “A red-headed woodpecker just landed,” she told him, remembering him pointing one out yesterday on his porch.

He chuckled. “I’m making a birder out of you.”

“Not on your life,” she said, but she watched the bird gripping the bark of the tree and make knocking sounds with its beak. What was it that Miranda had said? Oh, yeah, watching birds lightens up your aura.