Page 124 of The Knights of Gaia

“Hi.” I tapped Storm on the shoulder. “I’m Savannah, a friend of Rane’s.”

He set Rane down gently, wrapping his arm around her as he turned to face me. “And yet she’s never mentioned you.” His tone was amused, but not hostile.

“We’re new friends,” I told him. “I’ve been helping Rane investigate the death of the Emerald Elm.”

“If you’re helping Rane, then you’re good by me.” He squeezed her closer to him, kissing her deeply.

And Rane practically melted into a puddle at his feet. Yep, I was definitely on my own here. She was far too lovestruck. Why would a strong, capable individual like Rane voluntarily surrender her free will like that? It was just baffling.

“So you wouldn’t mind helping us out then?” I asked Storm.

“With what?” He stopped smooching with Rane just long enough to blink at me in confusion.

Ok, so it wasn’t just Rane. He was just as lovestruck as she was. And a lovestruck person was capable of terrible things.

“We’re trying to figure out who killed the tree,” I reminded him—actually, remindedbothof them.

“Right.” At least Rane had the decency to stop giggling into Storm’s ear.

Storm gave her one last kiss, then turned to me with a smile. “So, how can I help Rane?”

“You can help Rane by telling the truth,” I told him.

“The truth about what?”

“About what you did to that tree.”

His smile faded. “I had nothing to do with that. Rane loves that tree. I’d never hurt anything or anyone she loves.”

“Not even if killing that tree meant her parents would disown her? And then you could finally run away with her?”

“No.” His shoulders tensed. “Not even then.”

“Rane’s mother saw you stalking around outside the shop last night. She chased you away with a shovel.”

His eyes narrowed with suspicion. “You know an awful lot. How long did you say you and Rane have been friends?”

“I didn’t say, but actually, I just met her today.”

Storm’s scowl deepened.

“And I know so much because I have a nasty habit of not minding my own business.”

“Yeah, I’m starting to see that.”

But I wasn’t embarrassed. This was just who I was. And Rane had asked me to figure out who’d killed her tree. Maybe she wouldn’t have done that if she’d known the trail led to Storm.

“So, care to explain what you were doing here last night?” I asked him.

“Surveillance.”

“Surveillance?” I repeated. “What kind of surveillance?”

“On Rane’s creepy Alchemist neighbors.” He glanced at her. “Sorry, I didn’t tell you, baby. But I wanted to have proof first.”

“Proof of what?” I asked him.

He kept his eyes on Rane. “That your neighbors killed the tree.”

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