Page 63 of Awry
I hit a few buttons on the screen, transferring the cash.
Harlee carefully folds the flyer and tucks it in her woven tote bag, then retrieves her phone and a set of keys from within it.She’s smug.And still staring at Cayley with her chin tilted up defiantly.“I’ll need a name for the transfer of ownership papers.”
“The name I paid with will be fine,” I say.
Her phone buzzes, and Harlee finally breaks the second— or maybe third— staring contest with the quietly seething Cayley to look down at the screen and confirm that my payment has gone through.Her smugness evaporates.“Gage?Zaya Gage.You are … you’re a Gage …”
“Yep.”Cayley snatches the keys from the mage’s hand, glaring at me.“I’ll drive.Wherever you want to go.”
“I need to pay for lunch.”
“It’s been covered.”
I glance back over my shoulder, noting that Tasmin has been watching the little drama by her bulletin board with amusement.“Thank you.”
“Don’t be a stranger.”Tasmin smiles back at me kindly, as if she knows me.Again.
That reaction, that weird familiarity coming at me from multiple directions is getting a little … off-putting.Not wrong exactly.Just … uncomfortable?No.That isn’t what I’m feeling.It aches, yes, but it’s more that …
I feel like my soul is aching … even missing … something …
I shove the sensation away, pretending — even if only to myself — that it’s all wrapped up in being recently dead.Even if I already know it isn’t.I’m not a fan of lying to myself, but occasionally I need to just keep moving, and feigning ignorance is the easiest way to do so right now.
I nod at Tasmin, hopefully making it clear I’m not making any promises with the simple gesture.
Cayley holds the diner door open for me, now completely ignoring her ex-lover.
Harlee’s face is flushed, and not just with anger.Something more has transpired between her and Cayley while I’ve been internally bemoaning the aching of my soul.
The mage trails us out onto the sidewalk.“I have things in the car.”
“I’ll get one of the boys to drop anything that doesn’t belong to the car back to you,” Cayley says, opening the passenger door for me.
“One of the boys?”Harlee snarks back.She’s not perky at all now.
Cayley ignores her ex’s jab, waiting until I climb into the car to shut the door behind me.The tan leather seats are soft and just worn enough to be comfortable but not overly damaged.
Thankfully, the window is already open a smidge, so I don’t miss the final exchange between the ex-lovers.Not that I would ever actively eavesdrop otherwise.Never.Ahem.
“Cay,” I hear the mage murmur as the kitsune shifter crosses around the front of the vehicle.
“No,” Cayley says.“You wanted to hurt me, Harls?Good attempt.”
“You’re the one who —”
“You’re the one who tossed me aside like a piece of shit.”Cayley opens the driver’s-side door and slides in.She starts and shifts the vehicle into gear before she even gets her seatbelt on.
“Destination?”she snarls at me.
“About two hours down the coast,” I say.“At least I think it’s that far.It’s been a while since I’ve visited.”
And I’m not actually visiting this time.I live there.If I want to stay.
Though I’m not actually certain I have a choice about that anymore.
The property ismore, contains more, than simply a house, outbuildings, forest, fields, and sprawling beachfront.As the Conduit, any choice … any and all personal choices … might very much be a thing of the past for me.
“I know it,” Cayley says.
