Page 58 of Danger Close
“And it seems like Cobra was on your side.” She had a sly tone to her voice as she waggled her brows. “When I woke up and saw his Audi was still there, you coulda knocked me over with a feather. What’s going on with you two?”
I pretended to be distracted by some tulle and lace, turning away from Charlotte. I didn’t know the answer to her question, and I thought that maybe it was best not to speak of it.
“I will wear blue, I think.” The over-laden walls of dresses were organized like a rainbow from one side to the other, with beautiful white and cream wedding dresses down the middle. The effect was quite stunning and satisfied something inside me.
Cobra used to like me in blue. I was wearing a blue dress the night of our first date in the rain.
“Why not red?” Charlotte asked, pulling on a nearby dress, holding up the skirt to put the fabric by my skin. “You would look really good in burgundy.”
“I’m not in the wedding party.”
“You’re the mother of the bride.” She looked at me like I’d insulted the entire procedure.
“But not actually invited.” I shrugged, trying not to sound bitter about my daughter’s decision.
She should choose who she wanted to invite to her wedding. I would not have invited my parents, had I ever had a real wedding. I doubt they knew that I had married at all, much less had a child.
Trinity chose her father. Only by some miracle, and by his bumbling good intentions, was I even here.
Charlotte stepped up to the rack beside me.
“Whatever might be going on with you and Trinity…” she began, then her eyes darted to the side as if she was thinking of exactly how she wanted to word her sentiment. “It’s really nothing compared to the hell you’ll receive from Daria Savchenko if youdon’tpick the right color.”
“Who is that Daria person anyway? You all talk about her like she’s some dictator—”
“She is.” Charlotte gave me a knowing look. “She’s a sweet girl, really. She’s just a lot. All the time.”
Charlotte let out a small laugh. “She and Kai got close working together. When he came home, she joined him—”
None of that sounded good. It soundedromantic.A red flag for an affair.
“And then Trinity and her just got along like a house on fire, so now she’s one of us.”
I said nothing, not wanting to accidentally speak ill of someone she might have chosen to love.
“Poor kid.” Charlotte continued idly. “All her teasing and bravado hides a deep, dark wound.”
Chapter 24
She Has a Name For You
Cobra
It was a brisk day, and I was in a mood.
The television over the diner’s counter played at a low volume. It was a news segment about disappearances across the country. Most were immigrants. Many had green cards, several were in the process of naturalizing, and others were undocumented. Families wept on the screen, unsure about the fate of their loved ones.
“Something is rotten in the state of Denmark,” Beaufort mused, spearing into his meat loaf. “Or in this case, the state of our Union.”
I swallowed. “President Lau is going to lose the election, isn’t he?”
Was I just getting old? I remembered when my mother retired, and she had nothing but the news to keep her company. The way she saw the world warped, the more she consumed until she was convinced the world was a dangerous place, and we were all going to hell in a handbasket.
Things felt bleak. Like everything was getting darker by the day. Strange disappearances, higher crime rates, and hate disguised as political rhetoric was everywhere, becoming more visceral by the day.
Or was my lens colored by the darkness Teri was going through?
She had slept in my arms last night. That part was brilliant.
