Page 51 of The Chosen Two

He takes it from me and knits his brow as he reads the names. “I have absolutely no idea.”

I shove past him and start heading to the library. “Well, we have to go figure it out then.”

Forget the Jinn. Forget the shadows. I need to somehow find out more about who these bitches are.

***

George cracks the egg against the hot skillet and waits for the yolk to droop out of its shell. I cannot believe he’s insisted on making breakfast before we find out who these women are.

“You realize my husband is already on his way out there with whatever these things are, right? Are you enjoying this?” I’m standing before him, tapping my fingers on the counter and my foot on the floor while staring him down.

He looks up with just his eyes and glares at me across the island. “I need something in my stomach so I can tolerate your particular brand of unhinged this morning.”

“You have got to be fucking kidding me! Fine! Do you at least have a pot of coffee made?” He tilts his head, considering something. “It’s a simple question, George.”

He pauses in his motion, evaluating my posture and demeanor. “I’m trying to decide if I want to caffeinate you or not…”

“Go to hell.” I push off my counter stool and walk to his fancy silver coffee maker. I peer inside and see it’s full, so I open the cabinet he pulled mugs from before and help myself to one. Thankfully, even though he is much more fit than I am, he also indulges in half and half, so I can prep my cup the way I prefer it. I’ve poured, lightened, and drank my first cup before his eggs are on the plate. I roll my eyes and make another cup.

I’m pacing his kitchen while he tries to eat. The fork is halfway to his mouth when he pauses to watch me, his eyes look how I imagine they would if he was watching a tennis match. “Can you, just, sit down, please. Our research keeps going in circles. I need you to back up and slow down. Did you do the Jinn test? How did that go?”

I continue pacing. “Yeah he passed. Or failed. I don’t know which is which. But he’s not a Jinn. He didn’t freak out when he smelled the kitsune.”

He thinks while he chews and speak only after he’s swallowed down his bite of eggs. “That definitely a good sign, although it’s far from concrete since it wasn’t a wolf and it was a magical being. But I think we can put that aside for now at least. So what else is going on?”

I stop in front of him and put my hands on the back of the chair opposite him so I can ground myself while I speak. “Okay, so last night Jake was sweet again. He was like he used to be. It was like always. And then this morning, his boss called and sent Jake back to Vegas.” I point to my note he has next to his plate, having already forgotten the names. “The group is Callie, Mel, Cleo, and Erin. Those are the same names I heard the shadows mention, I think. And Mel doesn’t want to use Jake’s firm, but Callie does. And they have to be something, right? And, doing somethingtoJake? I mean, to make him act that way?”

He looks at me as he finishes his eggs. “Let’s go to the library and see what we can find.”

About. Damn. Time.

Surrounded by books once again, I pour over the giant index in the mammoth volume of docent journals while George looks up the names I gave him. The deepening silence tells us we’re both coming up empty.

“Arggggggggg! This is hopeless. And my husband is out there with these psychopaths right now.” I rub my weary eyes.

George walks to an island in the middle of the room that has cabinets under a marble slab. Opening a drawer, he pulls out a laptop and returns to the table where he was working. “Let’s try this a different way. What’s the name of this music group?”

Wow. I don’t know if I’m more mad at myself for not thinking to look the group up before now or for never even bothering to ask what the name of the group is. “Uh, I have no idea.”

He steeples his fingertips around the bridge of his nose and presses the pads of his pointer fingers into the inner corners of his eyes, trying to find patience for me that just isn’t coming today. He sits back in his chair and looks at me. I’m sure he is wondering what I can expect of him if I don’t have anything to even use as a jumping off point for research.

“Don’t look at me like that! Aren’t you supposed to be my guide? So, guide me. What am I looking for?”

He stands so forcefully that his heavy chair flips backward as he yells, “I have no idea what you’re looking for!”

I finally stop pacing and look at him, surprised and impressed that he had that in him. “Okay, can I use that for a minute?” I point to his laptop.

“Be my guest.”

I move toward the table carefully. I pick up the chair and look at his back as he walks to one of the only windows at the far end of the aisle where the tables and counters are all in a line.

Once seated, I look at the search bar in the browser window he has opened. I lightly tap my fingers against the keys not only to activate them but also to get my brain and finger tips connected and awake. I think about potential keywords: Girl group, Las Vegas, Callie. I tap the return key. I read, “Callie and the Celestials.”

He walks back, but his legs are long so it doesn’t take many strides until he’s leaning down behind me, looking over my shoulder. “What did you say?”

“Callie and the Celestials? That’s the band. They’re beautiful. And young. I think I may be sick…” I stand up and pace again. As soon as I see her shiny apricot hair in its edgy shaggy style, I know. He definitely slept with her.

“You have got to be kidding me…”

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