Page 15 of Outside the Veil
“Too cold for me,” Diego mumbled as he retreated, his hand shaking on the doorknob and an undeniable warmth spreading from his groin.
He paused by the phone, picked it up and went to his desk. His fingers dialed Mitch’s cell before he could stop them. Heart speeding, he disconnected. Dialed again. Hung up after half a ring.
“Damn it.”
After staring at the phone as if it might bite him, he called his agent instead.
“Miriam? It’s Diego. How are we doing?”
“Hey, sweetie! Not bad, not bad. Slow going but I’ve had a nibble or two.”
“Nothing, huh?”
A gusty exhalation told him Miriam had plopped down in her chair. “I did warn you, hon. Market’s flooded with dragon books. No one wants to look at one right now.”
“But not from the dragon’s POV. You even said—”
“I know, I know. And I love your work and you know I believe in you. But we’d have a better chance if you had something else to hang your hat on first. Write me something really new and different. Something that’ll catch their greedy little eyes and make dollar signs dance around their heads. Then when we have a contract and their attention, your dragon’ll get a hearing.”
“Right.” Diego slumped in his chair. His blank computer screen glared at him. Soft splashes reached him from the bathroom. At least someone was enjoying himself.
“You are working, Diego. Tell me you are.”
“I’m… Things have been bad lately. I’ve been busy and…it’s…”
“What’s that man of yours done to you now?”
“Nothing.” Diego swallowed hard, the hollow chasm threatening again. “He’s left me.”
“Oh, sweetie, damn. I’m sorry.” Miriam’s voice softened for an instant before returning to brisk and forceful. “You’re better off without that jerk anyway. Go out and find yourself some luscious hottie. Have him screw your brains out and clear your head.”
Diego let out a sharp bark of laughter. “You know you ruin the whole maternal thing when you say things like that.”
“Sure. But I made you laugh. Seriously, I think you need to get away for a little while. Get out of the city, away from all the distractions and the reminders. The offer still stands.”
“I’m a city boy. How would I survive in some cabin in Moosejaw?”
“New Brunswick, hon. Big difference. There’s plumbing and power. It’s not like you’d be roughing it up there. I even had a dish put up last summer, so you’d still be connected and everything. Tell me you’ll think about it.”
“I’ll think about it.” Diego leaned back in his chair and frowned at the bathroom door. The splashes had become constant, as if Finn were trying to swim in the tub. “I better go, Miriam.”
Diego strode across to the bathroom and cringed at the slosh of water on the tiles. More tired than angry, he stuck his head around the door.
“Finn, do you think you could—”
He expected the small pools on the floor, not much of a shock. But the head poking up over the tub’s rim stopped him cold. Round and covered in sleek, black fur, much smaller than human, the head ducked and reappeared. Two white-less eyes peered at him, long whiskers twitched. Rat? Dog?Otter.
He slammed the door and collapsed against the wall in the hallway. The damned hallucinations were starting already.
“Finn!”
A rush of falling water, light, hurried footsteps and Finn knelt beside him, rivulets cascading from his hair. “What ails you? Have you fallen ill?”
“I’m…I think I’m starting a seizure.”
“Hush, now.” Finn took Diego’s head between his hands, long thumbs stroking his cheeks. “You aren’t.”
Diego gazed into those black eyes, so close, so sure, and nearly believed him. “No, I am. I’m seeing things.”
