Page 108 of Ordinary Secrets

When I come back out, Arella is in the same spot, still working. In my palm is her diamond necklace. Sadly, I found it still in its box, where it doesn’t belong.

Standing behind her, I hook the diamond around her neck, then gently pull her long waves out of the loop.

“Trey . . .” she says uneasily.

I knew she’d protest. “I want you to wear it, babe.”

“But I didn’t agree to the Paris thing.”

“Doesn’t matter. I got this for you, and it’s yours whether you agree to the Paris thing or not.”

“I’m never going to agree though.”

Those words tear at me. They hold so much conviction. Gracefully, I flip my legs over the back of the couch and plop at her side. I take her laptop and set it onto the coffee table. Then I squeeze her hands in mine. “Could you at least think about it? Please?”

I hate how quickly she shakes her head. “There’s nothing to think about. I’m not moving to Paris.”

I swallow the dry lump in my throat. “Baby, I swear, with anyone else, I wouldn’t give a damn. But it’s you. Ireallyneed you to come with me.”

“If you can help me understand why, I’ll consider it.”

I want to tell her everything. I really do, but I need to get her somewhere safe before I tell her that there are people out there who possess powers she doesn’t know exist, and that I’m one of them. And that for some strange reason I still don’t know, she’s immune to those powers. And that my uncle wants me to bringher to him so he can perform deadly tests on her because I’m doing a shit job at solving the mystery myself. In Paris, she can get mad at me for as long as she wants, but at least she’ll be away from Victor.

I sigh heavily. “I promise you, baby. I’ll explain everything in Paris.”

She yanks her hands out of mine, only to toss them into the air. “This is ridiculous. No, I can’t wait until we’re on another continent to hear why you’ve shipped me away from home. I want to know why now.”

Don’t get me wrong. I love seeing the side of her that’s strong, defiant, and stands up for herself, but does she really have to choosenowfor it to come out?

With a huff, she folds her arms together. “You know, Liz told me that you like to run when the going gets tough. Whatever happened, Trey, you can’t just run from it and drag me with you.”

“Why the hell is Liz telling you shit like that?”

“It’s not shit if it’s true.” That’s the first time Arella’s ever sworn in front of me. It sounds odd coming from her. “Liz told me what happened after Elliott passed away. About how you ran off to some cabin in Colorado for a month. Did something happen, Trey? Did you get into legal trouble or something? What’s making you want to run again?”

“This isn’t the same as what happened with Elliott.” I choke up a little. It still hurts to say his name. “This is about you and me.”

“Then why areyouthe only one who’s clued in on the details?”

“I told you. I’ll tell you once we get to Paris. Once we’re safe.”

“Safe from what?”

My eyes fall to my hands. “I can’t say.”

She groans and gets to her feet. “This conversation is getting us nowhere. If you want to move to Paris so bad, then why don’t you just go yourself?”

The words leave my mouth before I can stop them. “Because I wouldn’t be able to breathe without you.”

33

TREY

A yellow SunriseDaycare T-shirt and the angel-wings necklace—that’s what Arella wore when she left for work earlier. It’s her first day back to work since the spider incident. No matter what I said to encourage her to stay, she wasn’t having it.

When she said she needed to work so she could make rent, I offered her triple the money. She still wasn’t having it. Leave it to me to find the most difficult woman in the world to fall for. Any other person would have accepted that offer in a heartbeat. Not Arella. I guess I got my wish when I told Liz that I wanted someone to want me for something other than my money.

The only reason I didn’t keep pushing Arella to stay was because she told me that Nathan used to use money to control her. He’d make her dependent on him and his daddy’s money as a way to hold power over her. That’s nowhere near why I’m offering her money, but I can understand why she feels the need to make her own. So, that’s why I’m heading to work today—alone.

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