Page 30 of Veil of Death and Shadow

“Fine.” I offered a small smile as I tried to calm my racing heart. “Do you—who was that guy?”

His brows bent in question.

I gestured back in the direction I’d just come vaulting, as if that offered something helpful. “Upstairs, just now.” I gestured awkwardly above my head. “Had a hood on.”

Aidan shook his head, lips pursed as he studied me. “I haven’t seen a man. Mary just left to get help with the body, but there’s no way they’re back already.” He took a step towards me, his hand lifted as if poised to touch my forehead, before he took a step back. He cleared his throat, his gaze dropping from mine. “Mareena, are you—are you sure you’re feeling okay?”

Aidan asked me to dinner a few weeks ago—an invitation I politely rejected, but things had been a bit stiff between us since. I’d turned him down as kindly as I could, told him that I wasn’t in a place to get serious with anyone.

Which was true. I just didn’t fully explain to him why.

It wasn’t like I could explain that I said no for his sake, not mine.

I actually really liked Aidan. He was smart, cute, kind—genuinely just a good guy all around.

But he also made it clear that he wasn’t interested in something casual—a one-off fling.

This community needed him. Frank needed him.

Which meant that he was off limits, as far as I was concerned.

In another world, things might have been different. But until we lived in that other world, they couldn’t be. Aidan and I could be casual friends, friendly acquaintances, nothing deeper than that.

I nodded, then tensed as my brain caught up with the rest of what he’d just said. “The body?”

“Yeah,” Aidan took a deep breath and ran his hand through his golden waves, “Mrs. Pederson died a few minutes ago. She’s been circling the drain for days. It’s sad, but I guess—I don’t know, at least she’s at peace now, you know?”

My stomach sank as I realized that I’d feltherdeath coming, that it washerdeath I’d sensed. Not Frank’s And then it sank further with guilt when I thought of how grateful I was that Frank was still alive, that we hadn’t lost him yet.

He winced, misinterpreting my expression. “I’m sorry, I hope that’s not too crass. I didn’t realize you were upstairs all this time, or I would have told you. You two weren’t close, were you?”

I shook my head.

I’d only known Mrs. Pederson for the month or so that she’d been admitted here, and she’d been unconscious for most of that time.

“Did she have a family? Did they know—” I let the question trail off.

Was it possible that man had been her grandson or some distant relative?

Aidan shook his head, his eyes softening. Like Jo, he was in dire need of a few nights off. The skin beneath his eyes was practically bruised from lack of sleep. “No. She was brought in by a few folks who found her sleeping down by the canal. We haven’t been able to track anyone down since. From the bits we did get out of her, it sounds like most of her family has long passed on.”

I nodded, both of us quiet in the heaviness of the moment, unsure what to say.

“Do you—” My voice cracked as I met Aidan’s crystal stare. “You mentioned that she’s at peace. You don’t think that Frank—” I cleared my throat, pausing as I calculated how long it had been since he’d last been awake. Almost four weeks. The longest he’d been under yet. “You don’t think he’s in pain, do you?”

Aidan set his hand on my shoulder, and I tried not to flinch under the weight of it.

I knew, on a practical level, that whatever bad omen I carried wasn’t contagious by touch, but that didn’t stop the rumination from cycling through my thoughts relentlessly.

That something bad would happen.

That I was wrong. A contaminant.

“I can’t say for certain whether or not he’s in pain, but I don’t think that he is, if that helps at all.” He squeezed my shoulder, and I took a step back, wishing immediately that I could ease the flash of hurt in his expression as he let his hand fall back to his side. “He’s lucky to have you, Mareena.” He cleared his throat. “We all are, actually.”

I swallowed the sudden urge to laugh.

Lucky.

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