Page 46 of Love & Heart Braking

Did that mean they’d give me his dead body? “He’s alive?”

The earth guardian’s eyes flickered. “Yes.”

I could guess Jaeke wasn’t in great shape then. I gritted my teeth.

“The cupid will only be released after you meet the daemon to ensure that you come alone,” he said next.

Dang. “Sure. That’s fine. When will that be?”

“You will be sent instructions at the time.” Acribus took over. “And if you don’t come alone…”

Then Jaeke will get it.

The deal was as good as I could have hoped for.

I smiled. “Pleasure doing business with you.”

10

I listened on tenterhooks even though I did this for people all day and every day.

On the other end of the phone, the man’s chair creaked. Was he at the station right now? He sighed. “I asked Evania out a long time ago. Things were awkward for a good while after. I’m not eager to make her uncomfortable again.”

The chief of law enforcement needed a little nudge. “Five years is a long time, Rion. And it sounds like you still have feelings for her.”

“I do.”

“Are you actively dating?” I asked.

“No.”

Knew it. “It sounds like Evania is pretty lodged in your heart, if you don’t mind me saying.”

“She has a complicated past, and it’s not easy for her to love again.”

I’d assured Evania that I wouldn’t divulge her part in this already. “Sure. I have her questionnaire answers here, and I know a bit about what you mean. The difference being that she came into Yearning Hearts to start dating again. Whatever she felt five years ago, she’s taking a step toward finding love now.”

“We have a good friendship. I can’t risk it.”

The guy was stubborn. Time to pull out the power tools. “I see this situation all the time, so I’m going to ask you two questions, Rion. If your answer is yes to either, then maybe friendship is all you’re meant to have with Evania. If the answers are no. Then my experience in this industry has shown that you’d be wise to take the leap.”

We’d only spoken for a few minutes, but I already liked the chief of police. Of course, I’d been predisposed to like him after speaking with Devereaux and Evania. He was a straight-shooter and was giving up his valuable time to have a conversation about dating. Both were big ticks in my book.

He cleared his throat. “Deal.”

“If you saw Evania with another man, would you be okay with that?”

Silence.

I pressed on. “If another five years were to pass and Evania and you got together then, would you be okay with the lost five years that you could have been with her?”

A pause. “Devereaux told me you were persuasive. Don’t suppose you want to question a few hardened perps for me?”

I laughed. “I’m only persuasive when my gut tells me someone is about to make a mistake.”

“Which is a nice way of saying I’m about to screw things up.”

“Yes.”

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