Page 16 of Bonded Ever After

“Nothing,” I say, avoiding his gaze.

He doesn’t touch me, but with the intensity of his gaze he might as well have. “Tell me.”

I sigh. “You’re not going to like it.”

“Ferone?” he asks angrily.

I shake my head.

“Then what?”

Letting out a slow breath, I say, “I’m breaking into the science center today. There’s something about this place that’s connected to my mother’s death. This will be my only chance to go in before people start working in it, so I’m going to steal a key card from one of the scientists, meet Veric in the alley on the other side, and explore the building.”

His brows have lifted so high that they’ve disappeared into his hair. “Why Veric?”

“His dad died in this building too, and he suspects the fire wasn’t an accident either. He’s going to help me.”

He’s quiet for so long that I think he might not say anything when he says, “Okay, let’s go. If we’re going to do this, we should do it when it’s crowded and busy, so Security won’t notice us sneaking around. The later it gets, the more the crowd will disperse.”

I stare at him in confusion. “Wait, you want to go with me?”

He smiles at me. “There’s a new rule. We’re a team. Here or Neverwood, it doesn’t matter.”

“Seriously?”

He glances at my stomach like he really wants to touch me, but he doesn’t. “We’re a family.” That’s all he says, but the words sound important. Powerful.

I step away from him, feeling uncertain. He’d treated me like crap. He’d said awful things. I couldn’t just pretend none of that happened, no matter how much I wanted to, but I also needed to pick my battles.

“It’s okay,” he says softly. “I know it’ll take time to fix things between us. Let’s just focus on your goal for tonight.”

We separately slip back into the crowd. I make my way to where the scientists are standing near the stage. These ten men and two women will be in charge of whatever they’ll be doing in this building. I scan all of them, then see one man with his key card clipped to the pocket of his lab coat. The man who’s currently running this science center, so his key should open everything.

Bingo!

Making my way to him, I plaster on my best smile. “Dr. Masters!”

The man is maybe ten years older than me, but he already has a bit of a combover. His glasses are far too large for his face. He’s wearing a checkered shirt and yellow pants beneath his lab coat, and he swings his body toward me as I stride up to him.

Instantly, his cheeks heat. “Elora Walker, to what do I owe the honor?”

I keep that smile pasted on. “I just wanted to say how excited I am for the new science building to open.”

“Oh?” he asks, but there’s something strange in his voice. He looks away from me and at the ground.

Trying not to be thrown off by his strange reaction, I say, “Yes, I just think what you scientists do is so important to the community. I’m not sure what your specialty is exactly, but I’m sure you’ll be in there saving lives and making Paradise Falls all the better.”

His gaze remains locked on the ground. “Yes, of course.” He swallows so hard that it’s visible.

Now or never.I cross the distance between us and pull him into a hug. His whole body stiffens, and I slip my hand into his lab coat pocket, unclip the key card, and shove it into my own pocket. “I just can never thank you enough for what you’re doing for my people.”

I pull away from him, smiling broadly.

He finally looks at me with dark eyes full of confusion. “You’re completely different than I thought you were.”

What a weird thing to say.“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

He looks embarrassed, almost guilty too. “It’s a good thing. I guess. Or maybe not. I don’t know.”

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