Deception (Infidelity #3)(49)
I tried to imagine what she was saying. “Wear what?”
“Jewelry, Lennox. Maybe our connection is bad?”
Or maybe I was busy daydreaming about Charli’s reddened ass and wasn’t listening. “That must be it,” I said. “What kind of jewelry?”
“Necklace. It’s even waterproof. She can shower in it. Though I’d recommend she take it off to swim.”
Or bathe?
Deloris went on as I tried to keep at bay the images of Charli submerged in a tub of bubbles, “…and with this, you can pinpoint her location even if the GPS locator on her phone is turned off. As she probably told you, we weren’t the only ones who could see the GPS signal on her phone. So could her parents. They know she’s here, that she’s at your house in Rye.”
I took a deep breath. Charli had told me that and about Oren too. Unfortunately, my father’s knowledge of our near brush with death wasn’t due to a picture on the Internet; it was because of me. I called him and ranted about the shooting, certain there were family ties. During my tirade, I’d told him that Charli and I were in Westchester.
“Yes,” I said, “Charli told me. She also said you spoke to her stepfather.”
“Yes, interesting man.”
“I hear more of a story?”
“Another day perhaps,” Deloris said. “My plate is overflowing.”
“I like the jewelry idea,” I admitted. “Did she agree?”
“In principle. I don’t have the necklace yet, but I hope she’ll be all right with it.”
“Find out about Chelsea. If we blew it and she can’t be with Davis, get her out of Infidelity. You got Charli out. Get Chelsea out too. I don’t care if she’s expecting the job. Get her something else that pays as well. I’ve been uncomfortable about involving her from the beginning. I can’t imagine what Charli would say. Chelsea is her best friend.”
“Let me work on it. I’ll keep you posted. And tomorrow, after Alex is back in the city, I’ll fly to DC and install the GPS software on your phone and Isaac’s. With the way things have been going, I’m not even trusting our network to send you the links. After I put the app on your phones, you’ll both have access to her whereabouts.” She paused. “Are you still okay with Isaac?”
I didn’t need to consider my answer. “Yes. Jerrod is one thing, but Isaac’s been with me almost as long as you have.” I hesitated. “You don’t have reason to suspect him?”
“No, I don’t, but after Jerrod, I’m watching everyone.”
I KNEW IT was my imagination. Nox’s home in Rye wasn’t Montague Manor. There weren’t shadows lurking behind locked doors. And yet after finishing dinner and retiring to the room Silvia referred to as mine, the one where Nox had brought me earlier in the day, I had the strange sensation of being surrounded by knowing spirits. They were the ghosts of occupants past.
Not literal ghosts. There weren’t white floating figures swirling about the room; nevertheless, I felt a strange combination of safety and danger—a reassuring calm in the interior stillness while an alarm wailed beyond the walls.
All day I’d longed to go outside, to feel the sun on my skin. Now it seemed as if the heavens had opened, purging the sins from the air as the roar of the wind howled beyond the wooden blinds. Though my childish imagination could make it into more, it was simply a late summer storm. Very common as warm days clashed with cooler nights. Winds raged and torrents of rain peppered the windows, the latter’s crash loud enough to mimic a spray of ricocheting bullets.
Stop it!
Not a good image.
Washing my face and brushing my teeth, I prepared for bed and contemplated the ups and downs of the day. When I woke this morning, I had no idea what to expect in my relationship with Nox. Was it done or at least paused? I had been nervous and confused, unsure of how I felt or where we stood.
As I changed into something more comfortable, that feeling seemed like it occurred a lifetime ago—before we thwarted death, before we consummated our new declarations of love, and most importantly, before I learned more about my mystery man. He’d been that—a mystery—in Del Mar, and now, the more I knew about him and saw the man behind the mask, the more of an enigma he became.
It was as if every answer was wrapped in a hundred questions.
The best part about being here in his home was getting to know Silvia. She was the only family Nox seemed to claim. Though they weren’t related, I remembered the day he’d told me that he understood how Chelsea and I were as close as sisters. He’d said he didn’t have siblings, but that some bonds were stronger than blood. I had the feeling that included Silvia.
As the day progressed, Silvia and I became better acquainted. She willingly shared how she’d worked for the Demetris since she was very young. By the way she spoke of Nox’s mother, I got the feeling that they had been close. When she spoke of her youth, Silvia said that she began working too young, not even finishing school until Angelina stepped in. After Silvia’s father died, earning money was the most important thing to her mother. If that meant selling her teenage daughter off as domestic help, she did it.
The Demetris weren’t her first employers. At thirteen she’d gone to work for a wealthy family member of Angelina’s. As I listened to her stories, I began to construct a family history, one that Nox had yet to share.