Aria

 

 

 

“I’ll make tea,” Evaleen’s mom said as she scurried off farther into Edgar’s townhouse.

When we mentioned we had run into Grace at Wake Up Joe’s, Edgar told us to come home with him as he lived a few blocks away. We explained as much as we could about Alex’s mom and everything that’s been going on as we made our way through the zigzag streets to his place.

He was surprised but mentioned there was someone from his past, a man that took advantage of his family, that suddenly reappeared. He wanted to show us this guy’s picture to see if he looked familiar. Based on what we told him about Alex’s mom, he wondered if she was involved.

Now we sat on his blue velvet couch being catered to by Evaleen’s mom.

“Doesn’t Evaleen have her own place?” I asked because why would her mom be here in the middle of the day without Evaleen.

Edgar walked to the other side of his silver and glass coffee table and sat on the cream leather chair. His posture told me relaxed but there was uncertainty in his voice. “They are in the process of finding another apartment. I told them I had plenty of room and they could stay with me until they found something.”

But everything changed once he added a wink. It was funny the way that wink seemed to reassure me more than his explanation.

“About that picture of . . . what was his name?” I asked.

“His real name is Damien but he has gone by the name Shane, too. Here, I have it behind this picture.” Edgar got up and removed a folded piece of paper from behind a silver framed photograph of an older woman who I assumed was his mother and a slightly older version of Edgar, which was probably his brother.

Unfolding the paper, I realized it was a different picture. He placed it in my open palm. Something cold and clammy broke out over my skin as I gestured to it. “Is that Damien?” I pointed to one of the three men in the picture.

“No. That’s one of his thugs. I don’t know who that is. This is Damien.” He indicated one of the men staring straight into the camera. It was creepy. I knew criminals—even well-paid ones—and he looked like a criminal.

Alex glanced at the picture but shrugged his shoulder, “I don’t recognize anyone.”

“That’s the guy who was reading a book at the coffee shop. The one Grace was staring at,” I said and pointed to one of the thugs in the picture, the one that wasn’t Damien.

Alex leaned toward the picture to get a better look but Edgar took back the photograph and studied it.

“What would he want with you? I know why he would be interested in Eva—” Edgar said but stopped himself. His eyes flared for a moment before his usual laid-back expression surfaced.

“What?” Alex asked.

“Nothing. Obviously, your mom is involved in all this. But why?” Edgar said before folding the picture back up and tucking it behind the frame on the mantle. His fingers gently grazed the edge of the frame as he stared at the people surrounded by silver before turning back to us.

“She must have hired him to watch me. Watch us.” Alex turned to me and grabbed my hand, giving me a weak smile. No matter what was happening, his touch did something to me. A peaceful, happy calm came over me.

Evaleen’s mom came back with a tray filled with a white porcelain teapot and matching teacups on saucers.

“Wow, you go all out for tea,” I said as I admired the simple beauty on the tray.

“It’s Evaleen’s. We took a trip to Scotland once a few years ago. She bought it while she was there,” Mrs. Bechmann said as she tucked some blond hair kissed with silver behind her ear after placing the tray on the table.

As she poured out the tea into several cups, I couldn’t help but be captivated by her warm expression. She was strikingly beautiful—like her daughter—with those sharp, high-class features. But where Evaleen tried to mask her beauty with restrictive chignons and no makeup, her mother’s loose hair and soft expression made her seem approachable, almost inviting.

At that moment, I was jealous of Evaleen. She had always been strong and I wished I had her breathtaking good looks, and it was obvious that her mother loved her. I don’t think I would ever know what that felt like.

“If that’s true, you two aren’t safe,” Edgar said as he took the filled teacup Mrs. Bechmann offered before sitting back on the leather chair. He was comfortable but from what I had seen of Edgar, he was comfortable everywhere.

I glanced over at Alex. I knew that look. He wasn’t comfortable. When I first met him, I thought that meant he was trying to be intimidating with his clenched jaw and fists. But now that I had gotten to know him, that posture said more to me than any of his words could. His bright, startling gray eyes lifted to mine and I knew there was no going back.

Alex’s plan to trick his mom into thinking we were only working on the mural together and nothing more wasn’t working. To the point she was hiring strange thugs to follow us. We had made the decision to stop trying to find the bugs we knew would be replanted in both our places. I thought when we had a pretend fight while I was painting his mural a few weeks back, she would think I was only in his life to complete the painting and that would be it.

But now I was getting scared. How can I fight a woman who has all the money in the world to make me go away? Perhaps even leave me to die in a dark room, alone, like my sister. The more I got to know Mrs. Hawthorne, the more I knew she was capable of the absolute worst. Heat traveled up my neck and burned my ears as the reality of the situation settled in.

“That’s why I want to leave, Aria. Go far away from here,” Alex said and took a sip of the tea he got from Evaleen’s mom.

Maybe Alex was right. We should run away. I couldn’t think of a way we could fight his mother. I glanced at Evaleen’s mom and grinned. Maybe if I were Evaleen I could fight his mom. That woman was smart, in a good way. Unfortunately, Mrs. Hawthorne was smart in an extremely bad way.

“Here you go, Aria. Evaleen was so right about you.” Mrs. Bechmann handed over the tea to me. She looked up in my eyes as she smiled.

“Right about what?”

“She said there weren’t many people in this world who she trusted. She counted me and Edgar.” Evaleen’s mom pointed at Edgar who blushed and tried to hide it behind a teacup to his lips. “But she said if something happened, as long as she had you by her side she would feel safe. She called you kick-ass.”

“You got all that just from only knowing me for a few minutes?” That was nice of her mom to say but she didn’t know me.

“I see the wall behind your eyes, dear. It’s the same wall I see behind my daughter’s eyes. I wish it wasn’t there, but I know that wall served a purpose. I have a feeling that wall has made you strong in the past but maybe now,” she glanced over at Alex before turning her attention back to me, “now is the time to tear it down. It takes strength to rip it apart. And I know you have that power inside you or my daughter never would have mentioned it to me.”

My faced burned from her words. I tried to smile but I knew it was achingly desolate. Therefore, I turned my attention to the warm tea, seeking comfort in the murky waters.

“What about here, Edgar? You have that spare bedroom . . .” Mrs. Bechmann offered.

“What about here?” Edgar asked and I glanced up at him to find his usual expression consumed in confusion.

“You said she isn’t safe and I know this has something to do with Damien, so why not here?” Mrs. Bechmann said as she inched closer to me gently placing her hand on my shoulder.

As Evaleen’s mom’s words hit Edgar, his usual calm and temporary confusion changed drastically. I snorted and tried my best to cover it up with a cough.

“Oh, I couldn’t do that. You already have two people staying with you. I really don’t want to be the odd woman out.” I tried to give Edgar a way out.

It was clear he didn’t mind Evaleen’s mom staying with him, and knowing what I knew about Evaleen’s feelings and Edgar’s history with women, I knew he really didn’t mind Evaleen staying with him, either. But me? I might be a little more than he could handle.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” both men said at the same time.

“It’s just with, uh . . .” Edgar’s eyes searched the room in desperate need for an excuse.

Alex’s eyes, on the other hand, were laser focused on Edgar, narrowing with each word Edgar said. It was strange watching this quiet, artistic man turn protective of me. As he kept his eyes on Edgar, Alex scooted toward me on the couch, placing his hand possessively on my knee.

Was it wrong that my thighs and heart warmed at the gesture? I think, from any other man, I would have rolled my eyes and maybe even been insulted. But Alex had consistently been beaten back and controlled by his mother. I believed he finally gained his confidence to stand up for what he wanted and desired.

Edgar snapped his fingers. “Henrik’s place.”

“This Henrik is a man?” Alex said through gritted teeth.

“Yes.” Edgar smiled widely at Alex.

Evaleen told me many things about Edgar and having spent the last half hour with him, I see that everything she said was true. A smile from him could melt dried up, frigid panties. But it seemed to be having the opposite effect on Alex.

“She wouldn’t be staying with him. Henrik is selling his condo. Maybe he would let her stay there until someone buys it. I could ask.”

The grip on my knee loosened.

“No need. I’ll buy it. Aria can live there,” Alex said as my mouth, and every mouth that wasn’t Alex’s, dropped open.