Page 113 of Once a Villain
“How can you be sure?”
Mum pulled back and tucked Joan’s hair behind her ear. “I’ve watched you your whole life, my beloved Joan. You always make the right choice in the end—even when it’s hard.”
Joan walked back slowly into the hall. Mum headed up the stairs—she needed to speak to her Ali friend. Joan guessed she was going to call them.
Mum had implied that there were other people in the house, and Joan could faintly hear footsteps on the levels above. No one else had come in, though. Maybe this was another way Mum was trying to keep them safe—by limiting who knew that they were here.
Nick took a step toward her as she came in, and Joan’s throat tightened as his eyes swept over her— Even after everything that had happened, he was concerned about her well-being. Aaron clearly was too. They both knew what it was like to speak to someone you’d thought you’d lost forever.
But, at the same time, Joan’s stomach churned. Despite what she’d said to Mum, she wasn’t even sure there was still a choice to make. At the pub, and in the van, she’d felt like she’d lost them both... and as soon as they all had a chance to talk properly, that would surely be confirmed.
“My mother thinks we’re wrong about the timeline,” she said aloud.
“Maybe we are,” Nick said. “But I don’t believe so.” He went over to the side table, and Joan was hit with déjà vu as he poured three glasses of water—just like in the vision they’dseen. He gestured at a set of overstuffed chairs around a low table. “Let’s sit down. I don’t know about you two, but I’m exhausted.”
Helookedexhausted—dead on his feet. The bruises from the arena were beginning to bloom.
The unfinished conversation was waiting for them, and the tension of it made Joan’s heart stutter.
She sank into the chair. It was so comfortable that tiredness washed over her too. She hadn’t slept much last night. None of them had.
“You know... ,” Nick said. Joan braced herself, but he only said, “We should have figured out our counterparts’ plan. I think that’s where we went wrong in the arena. If we get another chance at Eleanor, wehaveto figure out what they were going to do.”
There was a pause before Aaron spoke. He’d been anticipating something different from Nick too. “My bet is that they had no idea about the correct course either. They probably would have failed, like we did.”
“There’s something about that ring, though... ,” Joan said. She thought again of the jolt she’d felt when she’d touched it. She’d slipped it from Nick’s neck, and he’d woken, as if from death.
“I wish we’d figured out the cipher inside it,” Nick said. “If we’d solved it, we might have stood a chance at the stadium. I think it was the key to it all. A road map of what to do.”
“Uh...” Joan hesitated. In the whirlwind of Nick coming back to life, she’d forgotten that there was something they still needed to tell him.
Aaron had opened his mouth as if to say something too. “A road map?” he said. “A road map of what to do?” He blurted out a half-hysterical laugh. And then he was really laughing, gasping with it, his beautiful face crinkling.
“What’s so funny?” Nick said to Aaron, clearly bewildered.
“Oh my God, tell him,” Aaron gasped to Joan. “No, no,showhim! Show him the road map! Show him what we were supposed to do to stop Eleanor!”
“Are you telling me you solved the cipher?” Nick said.
Aaron wasstilllaughing. “Joan found a book we’d overlooked in, uh—” He stopped himself before sayingin my bed. He coughed. “She found it in the house.”
“It wasn’t about Eleanor,” Joan said to Nick. “It wasn’t about the plan at all.” She took the slip of paper from her pocket, and then hesitated. “It says—”
“No,showhim,” Aaron said. His voice was still shaky from laughing.
Nick blinked at him owlishly. He really did look exhausted.
Joan handed over the slip of paper with her handwritten letters. She had no idea what Nick would think of it.
It seemed to take a long time for Nick to read it.Aaron my love. Evere myne. Evere thyne. Nicholas.Joan saw his eyes flick to the start of the message and then back again.
“Well, are you going to react?” Aaron asked after a minute. He’d stopped laughing, but the shake of it still lingered in his voice. He was starting to look wary.
“Give me a second. I’m taking it in.”
“It’s one line!”
“I’ve had a big day!” Nick said defensively.
