Grounded (20 page)

Reluctantly approving the reflection, her eyes scanned down the hall again. Her time with Mason earlier in the day ruined, she’d taken to getting ready. Patrick would be expecting her in only twenty minutes and the knot in her stomach grew worse. The door to the hall was quiet and the air was still, but Avery knew Mason would be lingering just out of sight. She may have been mad at the harpie, but she hoped he’d come through for her.

The phone stuffed in Avery’s pocket buzzed and she wiggled out the device. Flipping open the screen, she scanned the letters. Nate had texted her back.

“Flight 74, arriving Portland 7PM.” It said.

Quickly running the numbers through her head, Avery nodded to herself. Nate had managed to track Leela’s flight using the information on his credit card. Leela would be arriving within the hour and finding her at the airport would be easier than finding her in the city. She put the phone away, took one last breath, and approached Patrick’s door.

Her knuckles didn’t meet the wood before the door opened. Grinning brightly, Patrick greeted her from the other side. Since earlier, he’d brushed his hair back with a glob of gel, and he’d left the style spiky and purposely disarrayed. He’d also adorned some type of musky cologne that smelt far too strong and threatened to make Avery’s throat close up.

Swatting at the air, she greeted him in return.

“So what was your plan for this date?”

“Sweep you off your feet and make sure you enjoy yourself.” He said.

She certainly didn’t like the way he hit the accent on the word enjoy. Knowing Mason wasn’t out of ear shot, Avery didn’t worry about it. And even if Mason may not have known how to use the Willow magic, Avery certainly did.

“We should be out of here. Get some fresh air.” He went on.

Avery’s eyes scanned the lines of his face and watched his posture. Nothing about his body language spoke danger.

“Lead the way.” She said after a second and stepped aside to leave the hallway clear. He offered her an arm and she reluctantly took it. Together they headed down the hallway and for the exit doors.

“I’m glad you showed up. I thought you’d be too prudish, worried about your boyfriend and all that. I figured you’d try to find a way out of it.”

Even though she’d once considered that, Avery took offense to it anyways. Propping her chin up, she complained. “You put me on one track don’t you? I do have different segments to my personality.”

Patrick’s expression changed a bit, mirroring something like surprise. Keeping his composure, he countered her statement.

“You put me in a box too, don’t you?” Patrick said.

Mean and violent? Yes probably, but Avery wouldn’t apologize for it. Patrick had tried to kill her before and his reasoning behind it didn’t quite matter. Keeping their relationship moving in the right direction, Avery forced a smile and shyly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

“I’m sorry. Consider this our starting over.” She thought about batting her eyelashes like Leela always managed to but wouldn’t risk that the gesture would turn out forced. Instead, she just squeezed his arm.

“Deal, girlie.” He agreed genuinely.

He walked in front and held open the door. Once outside, Avery’s eyes immediately scanned the world. It was quiet and calm. The sky was overcast and atmosphere damp, but rain seemed at least a few hours away still. Deeming it safe, she allowed him to lead her outside.

“It’s better than being trapped inside all the bloody time. I’m not afraid of anything enough to stay inside that long.” He boasted when the metal door swung shut with a clack behind them.

Patrick had been right about one thing. The fresh air was a good treatment but it made her miss the moist woodsy smell of Mayweather.

“Is there somewhere you intended to go in particular?” She quizzed, careful to keep the dirt off of her strappy shoes.

“Just wait up, I’m here to impress after all.”

“Okay, okay. Not doubting you.” But she could at least wonder what he was up to. Outside was one thing but going far away from Samuel’s compound was just dangerous.

They crossed around the building’s side and reached another door that led outside the outer walls of the compound.

Just outside the door was a garden. Though not as spectacular as the ones Avery had seen in the past, the sight of deep green and brown came as a welcome break from the grey muddy mess inside. A few seats sat around a tiny, man-made pond. Potted plants grew sparsely around the place, far too early in spring to bloom in color. Surrounding the tiny pond, there was a packed thicket of medium sized trees. The night helped conceal its full size but it was not quite big enough to be considered a forest.

“Romantic, huh?” He quipped, gesturing to the place.

Avery tried to smile but only managed to smirk.

“Better than a bedroom.” She said to herself and followed him to the benches, her sandals crunching over the twig covered ground.

He dropped into the metal bench and patted the seat next to him. Patrick hadn’t left much room for her to sit and she reluctantly found herself tucked up close against him. His arm immediately went around her shoulders and squeezed.

Patrick was warm and his feathers soft, but the embrace didn’t feel great. Rather, Avery found herself drawing away from it. She didn’t want to wait longer to go through the pleasantries.

“I have a favor to ask you, Patrick.” Avery started. She caught his hand and squeezed, willing it to appear affectionate. “Do you remember Leela?”

Patrick perked up and even though typically one-minded, his eyes did a surprisingly careful calculation of her face.

“Leela?” He asked for clarification.

“My human friend. You met her while at Mayweather.”

He nodded.

“So what’s the favor?” He asked next, leaning forward until their faces were just mere inches apart.

“Um.” She swallowed thickly. This close and this intimate with Patrick, she struggled to remember how to speak. “She’s-- she’s...”

Avery let out a breath. Patrick’s hand had crept up her back and lightly played with the tips of her curls.

“Yes?” He prompted.

“She’s coming to Portland trying to find me. I can’t leave here. I need someone... I need someone to find her on my behalf before she gets lost in the city. Or before she gets hurt...” It was difficult but Avery finally got her shaky point across. She never stopped being aware of exactly how close Patrick was.

“You want me to find her for you?” He asked.

She nodded.

“And I imagine you’ll know of a place to start to looking?”

“I do.” She whispered.

Suddenly a smile crept up on his lips.

“You know it’s very very dangerous out there right now. Who knows who I might run into?” Patrick crooned.

Avery cursed herself mentally. She wasn’t sure where he was going with this but she already knew he was manipulating the situation in his favor. Avery lacked the real choice to fight it though. She pushed forward.

“You just said that you weren’t afraid of anything. You can’t be afraid of a little thing like this.”

She answered.

“So I’m not afraid. But it is a risk. So I’m just wondering if this risk is worth it.” He shifted closer until his cheek brushed hers. The butterfly sensation sent chills down her spine. Clenching her fists in her lap, she kept her reaction in check.

“So, will you do it?” She asked more impatiently.

He moved his face again, this time tracing his lips down to her earlobe. Every tiny movement he made had Avery’s body involuntarily reacting. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to ignore it. Patrick was a playboy, and jerk off or not, he was good. And she was embarrassed. Mason had to be watching this and it didn’t take Avery to know that he’d be angry.

“I think so. For you.” Patrick whispered into her ear.

He kissed her then, on the side of her face, below her hair. The trail of light kisses moved, just to the hollow of her neck. Something about the attention was just too much. She broke away.

“Why are you fighting me? Are you still thinking about Mason?” He asked.

“No way. I’m not with Mason but…” She didn’t know how to word herself so she didn’t. She simply snapped her mouth shut and stared at the floor.

“That’s a shame.” He said surprisingly quietly. “You’re hung up on a guy that’s inevitably going to leave you.”

Taken aback, Avery thrashed to break away from him. Before she could conjure a proper response, Patrick spoke again.

“He’s going back to the harpie court after this. You know that right? And the new Prince can’t have a human as a girlfriend.”

Patrick’s words landed hard. Avery averted her face. Patrick’s hand snaked out and touched her shoulder. She wanted to slap him away but he only squeezed in some reassuring manner.

“I’m not the nicest person in the world but I wouldn’t treat you the way he treats you. You know he still talks to Adalyn. He’s never stopped and likely, they’ll be together after you’re long gone.”

“He told me it wasn’t about Adalyn.” Avery countered but her voice still waivered.

“Avery, don’t be stupid. Did he really fight when you broke it off with him? Did he ever try to mend that bridge? And best of all, where is he right now?”

“He’s--” Avery went to defend him immediately but couldn’t bring herself too. She looked around finding herself unable to feel the magic in Mason’s body. Maybe he wasn’t as close as he’d implicated he’d be.

“He’s with Adalyn now. I know it.”

Avery wiped her cheeks only to find the back of her hand wet. Great, now she was crying. Spiting her faulty reactions, she took a deep breath. Determined to keep her voice straight, she answered.

“Don’t act so sweet. You tried to kill me yourself.” She pointed out.

Patrick actually made a guilty face.

“I told you I was doing Adalyn a favor.”

“Why do you owe Adalyn so much?” Avery suddenly asked, reckless questioning fueled by mixed emotions. “Who are you?”

Patrick went quiet. Avery was too afraid to steal a glimpse at his face. Instead, she focused on composing herself. Patrick finally did speak.

“I just came out of a bad place. Worse than you could probably imagine. I didn’t know anyone really but that day, I happened to meet Adalyn. She took me in like a lost puppy. She straightened things out for me. I owe her so much for that. So when she asked me to get rid of a human, what do you think I’d say?”

His fingers reached out and caught her chin. Their eyes connected and suddenly Avery’s breath was stolen from her.

Then Patrick leaned forward and kissed her. It lingered for a few moments before Avery pulled back. Maybe she was being horrible, buying into Patrick’s words about Mason leaving her. Maybe Patrick was right and Avery should be moving on. But that was the last thing she needed to think at that moment. Avery’s thoughts shifted back to Leela.

“You’ll need to hurry or we’ll lose her in Portland.” She reminded him.

The moment dying quickly, Patrick followed her to a stand but he paced toward the pond. His wings twitched and opened, stirring up a cold gust of wind.

“Where is she then?”

“She’s arriving at the Portland Airport at seven PM.” Avery instructed. “I’m sure you’ll recognize her but you can call me.”

Suddenly, movement caught her eye. Avery followed it instantly. A flash darted through the thick brush, behind the hanging moss and low branches of the trees. She double took at the woods. She hadn’t imagined the shadowy figure but it had gone still and in doing so, had disappeared into the darkness. Swallowing, she scanned the remaining area. It was probably Mason but the unease crept up Avery’s spine in a raking wave of coldness.

Patrick still stood in the same spot, oblivious and caught up in preening his reflection off of the murky pond water. He was still talking but it took a full minute for Avery to even tune back in to what he was saying.

“I’ll pick her up, drag her back here, and dump her off. Then we can plan the next date.” Patrick had whirled to face her. If Avery had paled, she wasn’t sure.

“Okay. Please. Please find her.” She said.

Patrick’s wings snapped open and he began to flap. Dust stirred and the pond water sloshed. Patrick took off only a moment later, doing half a twirl in the air to slow off his flight moves. Only after he disappeared into the grey sky did Avery take her eyes off him. Next she set her sights on the forest.

“Mason is that you?” She headed for the tree line, waiting for the familiar face to surface. He’d probably be pissed but Avery still needed to see him.

“Mason.” She called again when she reached the tree line edge.

It had gotten darker and the shadows between the trees had gotten thicker. The wind howled through the branches and the wood cried out from the force. Avery blinked but couldn’t see much. Her hand blindly sought out the nearest tree and she fingered the bark.

The feeling of unease had returned full fledge and Avery found her stomach churning. Mason hadn’t answered her. No one had. But she was sure she’d seen someone in the woods. Swallowing thickly, she backed up. Her shoes snapped a twig below her and the sharp sound made her jump. Skin crawling, she didn’t hesitate anymore. Turning on her heel, she ran for the entrance door.

Suddenly the woods shifted. Twigs snapped and branches creaked loudly. The sounds too loud to be normal, Avery hurried more. She didn’t turn around.

She opened the door, charged inside, and slammed the metal shut behind her.

Heart pounding in her chest, she closed her eyes and waited for the moment to pass.