Page 82 of Nora's Kraken

I want Nora’s forever.

Not that I can tell her that. Nora isn’t ready to give everything I want from her. It’s not fair of me to assume she would be, or even to put that option on the table before I’m reasonably sure I know what the answer will be.

Still, it doesn’t stop me from wanting it as I turn away from the windows and cross back to my desk. It doesn’t stop me from pulling out my phone and hovering my thumb over her name in my contacts list for a moment before thinking better of it.

I put the phone face-down on my desk and turn back to my computer to sort through some high-priority emails, losing myself in the work for a few minutes before a persistent tug in the center of my chest has me reaching back for my phone.

Deciding that caution can wait tonight, I dial her number, listening to it ring for a few seconds before going to voicemail.

It shouldn’t make me uneasy. She could be on the phone with one of her friends, or making one of her infrequent calls home to her mom. Or maybe she’s still at work, busy and staying past the end of her shift, and screened my call.

There’s a reasonable explanation for it, I’m sure, and I put my phone back down and turn my attention to the work in front of me. It’s what I’ve been doing on the nights we don’t spend together. Staying late, getting as much off my plate as I can, so when I’m with her we can spend as much uninterrupted time together as possible.

It’s what I should be doing now, but I still can’t concentrate. My eyes keep darting to the phone, half-certain Nora’s about to call me back.

She doesn’t, and when I try her again a few minutes later, it goes straight to voicemail.

All my unease coalesces into a restlessness that has me grabbing for my jacket and heading to the elevator.

It’s just a short walk to Tandbroz, and though I have no idea if she’ll see it as an invasion of her space or and overstep of the boundaries we’ve been forging this week, no part of me can stop myself from hitting the button to take me down to the lobby.

No, the further I descend, the more my chest aches, and the more certain I become that something isn’t right. And it won’t be right until I find her, see her, reassure myself she’s okay.

All those thoughts hound me as the elevator glides to a stop and I cross quickly through the lobby and head out into the cold Seattle night.

31

Nora

“What are you doing here, Daniel?”

I surprise myself a little with how calm and steady my voice is. As if my heart wasn’t pounding so hard in my chest it’s threatening to crack my ribs. As if my lungs didn’t feel like they’ve lost about ninety percent of their capacity to hold air.

His smile widens, and it’s like the last three years haven’t even happened. I know that smile. Soft and deceptive, it usually showed up right before he delivered a scathing comment or casually devastating criticism.

“I’m here to see you, Nora. I want us to talk.”

“You need to leave,” I tell him, moving out from under the bus stop shelter and trying to walk away. I don’t know where I’m going, other than back toward Tandbroz, somewhere safe.

I don’t even make it three steps before his hand closes around my upper arm.

“Not until we talk.”

Even through the layers of my jacket and the sweater beneath, my skin crawls at his touch. It crawls even more when I glance up from beneath my hood and meet his gaze.

His light green eyes never had much of a soul in them, but tonight they’re especially empty. He stares down at me with nothing, absolutely nothing in his expression that would suggest how deranged it is for him to be here right now. His face is blank, totally calm.

It’s a calm that chills me to my bones.

“A lot has changed since you left,” he says casually. “I’ve been assigned to two new committees in the House. One in particular that might be of interest to you.”

I bite down hard, stubbornly setting my jaw and refusing to engage with this bullshit.

“The Paranormal Oversight Committee has some interesting issues on the table right now,” he continues. “Ones that concern some of your new friends, I think.”

The rolling in my stomach turns into cartwheels. Elias told me all about what’s been going on—changes to the laws, how it’s starting to affect his company. Still, I try to keep my face as blank and neutral as possible.

Enough. Enough of this.

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