Page 50 of Glass Wings
“Miss Hailey, is that you?” a man’s voice came from behind her. Hadley whipped her head around to see the security guard who checked her into the party last night on the sidewalk. “I almost didn’t recognize you without all the . . . frills.”
“Who is this?” Hector jumped right into the conversation, a little more into the man’s pulled-back ponytail than he should have been.
“Real subtle, Hector,” Hadley said, hushed while clenching her teeth as she watched her friend undressing him with his eyes.
“Amis, you can call me Amis,” he held his hand out to Hector, who shook it. Hadley realized that she couldn’t tell which male initiated the lingering skin contact.
She raised an eyebrow at the two and crossed her arms over her chest, cocking her head a little, and smiled.
“This is Hector,” Hadley blurted out, regretting not giving him an alias. Hadley’s nerves came flooding back and got the best of her as she fidgeted with her hair, feeling stuck between her obligation and the choice she was about to make. She was about to go home, she was about to leave.
“Well, I was just walking down to Sheng’s house. I park a few blocks away to secure the neighborhood. I work as a private bodyguard for my employer and I believe you, Miss Hailey, are on the visitor list today. I’d be happy to escort you up.” Amis held an elbow to her, urging her to accept the invitation.
Hadley bit her lip and sighed, closing her eyes before accepting and closing the car door behind her.
“Keep your phone close,” she said, passing Hector, who smiled using only the right corner of his mouth and replied with a head bob. She was going to kill him.
Hadley wrapped her free arm around the opposite side of her rib cage, hugging herself as she walked arm-in-arm with the overly stiff bodyguard. He was dressed in all black, the same uniform she remembered him wearing last night. Despite the long sleeves, he didn’t seem hot or sweaty. His skin had a beautiful golden hue. It was a complexion not uncommon in this area, since popular forms of entertainment were river tubing or hiking. Not that Hadley did any of those things. She tried to stay away from mountain lions and rapids when thinking of ways to entertain herself.
“Do you go to the river a lot?”
“What?” he asked, laughing.
“Oh, it’s nothing, never mind.”
Amis turned his head to make eye contact with her, noticing she was also studying him. He smiled at her, and it was dazzling, nearly inhuman. Her heart dropped. Something about that beautiful smilemade her forget to breathe, her intuition yelling, not wanting to be ignored.
Run. You should run.
She wished Grant was there; his weird, overbearing personality was good at keeping her both distracted and confident. She loved Hector, but she promised herself right then and there that she would never cut Grant out again. He was a true teammate with something like this. If there was a next time, of course. Of course, there wouldn’t need to be a next time.
This is the last one. Get in, get out.
The two had made their way through the extravagant driveway, through the stone slab path in the front yard, and up to the large double doors. Instead of opening the door or knocking, Amis moved to the right side of the door and bent down, popping out a part of the siding like a secret drawer.
Hadley watched, stunned, as an electronic keyboard slid out. She listened to Amis enter a six-digit code, and the clicks on the pad were quick and rhythmic. The keyboard slid back into the wall, and the sound of a powerful lock clicking inside the door echoed in Hadley’s ears.
“That’s normal.” Hadley looked at Amis with wide eyes. He grabbed the large carved door handle and pulled on it, using most of his body weight, until the door groaned and opened.
“After you, Hailey.” Amis gestured for her to step inside.
Hadley’s heart beat heavily in her chest as she entered the familiar entry room with the pentagram in the ceiling. She stared up at it and Amis noticed her lingering.
“I’ve heard it’s actually a secret portal to another world.” Amis looked at her, his expression dead serious, before cracking a smile at her confusion. He put his hand on her back and guided her towards the furthest hallway across from her. “Sheng usually does his backyard time during this part of the day, so I’ll just take you out there.”
The last time she had been down this hallway, her feet were killing her in those ridiculous heels. They emerged into the kitchen, her sanctuary of the night. It was now empty and clean, pots andpans hung above stoves, and countertops shinned incredibly. The sun poured in from the surrounding windows, reflecting copper hues on the otherwise sterile white walls. On the other side of the counter, where Sheng and Hadley had eaten their BLTs together, was a set of French doors leading out to the yard.
Hadley noticed that one of the doors was propped open as if the air conditioning bill did not exist in this new world of mansions and sex parties. Her penny-pinching mother would have had a heart attack if she had seen that. Hadley smiled to herself at the thought, and her heart ached, wishing she was here.
Shame flooded her a moment later. Her mom would have had to be so disappointed in her. She would never have allowed her to be in a situation like this. She would have figured something out. She would have protected Hadley from her own desperation.
What the fuck am I doing?
Hadley stepped out onto a brick patio. The white chalky substance in between each brick was so bright that it almost looked like it was painted on. She was underneath an awning that was attached to the back of the house, and there were arches in front of her to pass through to enter the rest of the yard. A large stone fireplace surrounded by a few couches and chairs was a dedicated centerpiece before leaving the awnings, though when she did, she wasn’t sure if she had stepped into a fairy tale.
Large green trees and lush grass surrounded the brick patio. Bushes of blue flowers planted in a pattern against trimmed square hedges gave the feeling that she was in an ethereal garden, leading to a quaint area with an outdoor grill and patio set adorned by colorful cushions and tablecloth.
To the left, the space opened up expansively. Amis indicated to Hadley that she should walk in that direction and left her, going back inside the house. Hadley walked on the perfectly trimmed lawn until she reached a series of circular stones forming a path to a garden area in front of her.
