Page 85 of Dawn Caravan
Ben backed out of the caravan, and Tenzin blew the door shut with a flick of her tiny hand.
22
“Where are you?” Chloe was practically yelling at him. “You were supposed to be in Rome two days ago. Do not do this to me again, Ben! Do I need to send Gavin after you?”
Ben put a hand over her mouth on the screen, but that just made the screen wobble. He pulled his hand away. “Chloe—”
“She told you not to go without Gavin, but did you listen? No! ‘She’s being dramatic, Chloe. She likes the attention.’ Do I need to call Giovanni?”
He rolled his eyes. “Of course you don’t.”
She held her hand up to her forehead. “Because I’ve had it up to here with both of you! It’s been two fucking years! The two of you love each other, and I know you have issues, but you refuse to talk. You just passive-aggressively lash out at everyone around you, and I’m sick—”
“Chloe!”
“What?”
Ben couldn’t remember the last time she’d been this pissed off. “Tenzin is here. We’re stuck in this very small camp together for three weeks. So your wish has been granted. We’ll either figure things out or we’ll kill each other. Happy?”
“I’m honestly fine with either outcome at this point.” She sat back and crossed her arms over her chest. “Sick of it.”
“Up to here.” He held his fingers to his forehead. “I got it. I’m fine. She’s fine. Neither of us is in any danger, and we’re still working with Radu.”
“But the icon—”
“I can’t tell you all the details, but think of the icon as a kind of dry run. Now we’re working on the real deal.”
“The real deal? And you can’t tell me anything?”
“I can’t tell you what we’re after, but I can ask you to look into some names for me.”
Chloe pulled out a notebook. “You’re going to figure things out with Tenzin?”
“Yes. I can’t promise you it’s going to work out the way you want it to, but—”
“I don’t really care— No, that’s a lie. I want our happy family back in New York. I want my friends back. I want both of you to be happy. But I’m a big girl and I realize I don’t always get what I want.” She picked up a pen. “What do you need?”
He stared at her, the girl who’d been his first friend in high school, his first girlfriend, his first love, and then one of his best friends. “Chloe?”
“What?” She looked tired.
“I’m sorry we put you in the middle of our shit. I really love you and appreciate everything you do.”
She blinked hard. “You were gone for twoyears. And I know you glossed over a lot of the hard parts during that time. I don’t know if you’ve talked to Gavin or if you’ve talked with anyone—”
“I have. I promise.”
She nodded. “I love you both. I want you to be happy, and I just don’t understand…” She cleared her throat. “I don’t understand why you think you’re so different now, when to me you’re still the Ben Vecchio I always knew. You have fangs now, but you’re still you.”
“Thanks for saying that.” He didn’t feel the same. Not even close.
A tear slipped down Chloe’s cheek. “None of us could stand living without you. Is that so wrong?”
“No.”
“Okay.” She swiped at her eyes. “Give me names and as much background as you have and I’ll start searching.”
“Thanks.”
