Hell and High Water by Charlotte E. English

Author:Charlotte E. English [English, Charlotte E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: urban fantasy, humorous fantasy, female ensemble cast
Publisher: Frouse Books
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve: Tai

I’d called Phélan again before Fi, Daix and I ever got as far as my cellar hideaway. Honestly, the plan to use myself as Fionn-shaped bait had been circling in my mind for a while.

I still wasn’t sure I was ready to relinquish it altogether. But Daix’s plan had merit, too.

Either way, I needed to pick Phélan’s brains.

The man had the sense not to shadow me, this time — or at least, not to let me know that he had. He did what I’d expected him to do. He went to my house.

I knew he was there from the moment I opened the front door. I’ve never been able to decide whether or not I’m imagining things, when it comes to Phélan. He has an impact on things people have no business messing with, like atmosphere, and shadows, and the precise quality of the silence.

Atmosphere: subtly tense.

Shadows: deeper than they ought to be, like holes in the world.

Silence: profound.

I closed and locked the door behind me, and dropped my keys on a nearby shelf. ‘Hi, Phélan.’

‘Tai.’ The word emerged from the depths of the darkness. Phélan didn’t.

I switched on the light.

He was standing — no, lurking — at the rear of my living room, leaning against the wall in a pose of deceptive casualness. He didn’t move, but he did squint against the sudden light.

‘Sorry,’ I said, stepping out of my shoes. ‘But I really don’t need you being dark and shadowy all over my personal space.’

‘Still finding that devastatingly attractive?’

‘Still finding it incredibly annoying.’

‘That’s what I said.’

‘You do know those things aren’t meant to be the same, right?’

He shrugged. ‘If it works.’

‘It doesn’t work. I mean, it’s pretty much the textbook definition of an unhealthy relationship.’

‘Since no part of this has ever been a relationship, I shall go right on being dark and shadowy.’

‘I knew there was a reason I didn’t talk to you for a decade. Or eight.’

Phélan’s mouth tightened.

‘That being so,’ I continued, ‘why exactly did you give me your number?’

I’d come home one day, several years ago, to find a note on my pillow. My fucking pillow. It had nothing on it save somebody’s mobile phone number, hastily scrawled in black ink. I didn’t need to recognise Phélan’s writing to know it was his.

‘And by the way,’ I added, ‘if you were actively trying to be as creepy as possible you couldn’t have done a better job.’

‘That’s fair,’ he said, surprisingly serious.

‘So? What the hell were you doing.’

‘I wanted you to know I was looking out for you.’

‘By breaking into my room and leaving your contact details in my actual bed.’

‘I… yes.’

‘There’s a term for that kind of thing.’

‘Don’t say stalker.’

‘That’s the one.’

‘I haven’t been stalking you.’

‘Except for the pillow-note thing. Oh, and following me to the club tonight.’

‘Looking out for you.’

‘That’s not how you do that.’

He shrugged. ‘Okay, answer me this then: why did you save my number?’

‘Because… I happen to be an idiot.’

He grinned, which was annoying, because my traitorous heart performed a somersault on the spot.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.