Page 130 of Thief of Night
Red steered her along. “We can talk later.”
In the main room of the building, Charlie was given back her bag, her coat, and her phone. She was allowed to go into a public bathroom, which she used gratefully, then washed her hands three times with antibacterial soap until she felt clean.
Her reflection in the mirror looked haunted. It bothered her more than she thought it would that she cast no shadow.
Outside, Red was leaning against the wall, hands in pockets, talking to two people in suits and another officer. The woman sported a designer briefcase, gray pinstripes, and sensible heels; the man was in black with several folders tucked under one arm; and the officer looked as though maybe he was there to escort them. No one turned at her approach until Red did.
“Ready to go?” he asked her. Even at Solaluna he’d seemed less of a stranger. Here, he was playing his role to the hilt, so much so that it didn’t seem like a role.
“Sure,” Charlie said, although she had no idea where they were going.
Outside, snow had fallen, coating the ground in white. The silver Porsche was parked in the spot reserved for the chief of police.
It was hard to even comprehend the arrogance and privilege that came with staggering wealth.
“Remy Carver, I presume,” she said.
He winced, which was a relief.
“It was the only way,” he told her.
“They just turned over a prisoner on the say-so of one twentysomething rich boy?”
“For people like me, there aren’t many rules, but no, it wasn’t quite that simple,” he said, shaking his head. “The state was worried I would pursue alawsuit for their wrongfully declaring me a dead murderer, so I gave them a written letter stating that I held them blameless. And they gave me you.”
Red deserved his fortune, deserved it every bit as much as Remy and Adeline. But he would never have chosen this way of getting it. He would never have traded his freedom for cash. No, he’d traded his life for hers.
“You can’t do this all for me,” Charlie cautioned him.
He left her, walking toward the driver’s side. “It’s done.”
Charlie got into the car, a wave of tiredness washing over her. In the cup on the passenger side rested a coffee from Dunkin’. The aroma of it filled the car, banishing the expensive smell of leather.
“You bought me a coffee,” Charlie said.
“I did,” he replied. “I might never get my memories back, but I know your coffee order.”
She took a sip, warming her hands on the cup. “So what happens next?”
“I take you home,” he told her. “To the new apartment.”
“And you?” Charlie asked, but she already knew the answer.
“I’m going home too. To the mansion.”
Charlie nodded. His life was in Adeline’s hands. Not only did she know his secret, but now she had legal control of him. His lawyers were really her lawyers.
Red had his old life back. His monstrous life, where he was treated like a monster.
She thought of him, coming to her like a sky god in the woods, the hushed ice-covered night all around them. Thought of him looking at her in confusion and pain as he told her that his feelings for her were unlike anything he’d ever felt before.
“I can get you out of this,” Charlie told him. She’d gotten him away from the Cabals twice. She could find a way.
“Stop trying to save me,” he told her. “It’s my turn to save you.”
There was nothing else she had to give him and so there was no way to keep him. When he dropped her off at her too-fancy apartment and she leaned over to kiss his soft mouth, it felt like goodbye.
Christmas came and Charlie went to her mother’s place, offering no explanation for Vince’s absence. None of them talked about him. Charlie’s mother tried to get her alone to discuss the confession, but Charlie stuck to the couch and the appetizer tray, even pushing Bob to teach her how to play Magic: The Gathering to keep from getting pulled into the conversation she was steadfastly avoiding.
