Page 105 of The Fighter
Khan gave me a sharp glance and I felt like he was doing an x-ray of my mind, seeing every secret I was holding from him. In an attempt to smooth things out, I made it worse by rambling:
“Well, she found the file as you know and I told her to stop. She has stopped. It’s not a priority any longer, what with Magni injured and all.” My nerves flared up. Dina had died, and so had her husband and his friend. I didn’t want Raven and me to be next, and even though Raven didn’t seem to understand the significance of Khan’s bloodline or lack thereof, I did.
“Huh.” Khan rolled his thumbs. “Tell Raven to come and see me. I want to know what she found.”
“She really didn’t find much.”
“Just have her bring her notes. Maybe Pearl and I can help figure out what happened.” He tapped his right temple. “I am a genius, after all.”
“Are you bragging again?” The sound of Pearl’s voice made us turn to see her approach.
Khan opened his arm to hug her. “Not bragging, just stating facts. I just told Leo that we’d like to go over Raven’s findings in Dina’s case.”
Pearl snaked her arm around Khan’s waist and leaned against him. “Of course. We’re always happy to help.”
“It’s just that Raven has abandoned the case. After all, it was because of her research that Magni and I crashed that day.”
Pearl frowned. “Nonsense. Is that what Raven is telling herself?”
“Yes. She feels very guilty.”
“She didn’t ask either of you to fly through a thunderstorm, and she certainly didn’t cause the breakdown of the drone. You were two grown men rushing to assist two women who never asked for your help in the first place. For her to feel guilty about that is pointless and wrong.”
I just stood there, not sure how to respond.
“Anyway, we can’t stop the world because of Magni’s injuries. He too will need the world to go on and to find his new place in it.” Pearl turned to Khan. “We should include him in Raven’s findings.”
Khan frowned. “But he’s not feeling well.”
Pearl didn’t back down. “Which is why we’ll give him something that will distract him for a short while.”
Solo cleared his throat. “Magni can’t get out of bed yet.”
With Solo being more than seven feet tall, Pearl looked up at the giant man. “Then we’ll all go to him. I want Magni to be present. It’s not like he has anything better to do in his room.” With her regal grace, Pearl turned to me. “How long do you think Raven needs before she can go over her findings with us?”
“Ehm, I’m not sure.” On the inside I was scrambling to find a way out of it.
Solo looked thoughtful. “You know, Pearl, I think it’s a good call to include Magni. You’re right, he does need something to take his mind off his own misery. This might do it.” Solo walked to the staircase. “Let me go and check in with him and see if he’s awake. Leo, will you get a hold of Raven and tell her?”
Before I had a chance to protest louder, Pearl smiled and said, “We should make it a family event. That way we can all surround Magni without focusing on him. It will give him a sense of connection without suffocating him.”
It took me a few seconds to find my voice. “When you say family event, what do you mean exactly?”
Solo kept ascending the stairs while Pearl addressed Khan. “I would say everyone should be invited, but maybe not the children. What do you think?”
He nodded. “No children.”
“I’ll tell Mila and Erika then.” Pearl raised her voice when she spoke to Solo, who was already at the top of the stairs. “Solo will you let Laura know?”
“Will do.”
Pearl planted a quick kiss on Khan’s cheek before she walked off too. “I’ll just ask the cook to send up some cake and drinks.”
Khan and I were the only ones left in the foyer when he patted my shoulder again. “You’d better get a hold of Raven, she has a case to present.”
My heart was racing as I searched for Raven and found her coming down from the third floor.
“I’m sorry you had to wait for me, but the kids wouldn’t let me go.” She pointed her thumb over her shoulder. “I just passed Solo and he said something about seeing us in a minute. What was that about?”
