Authors: Apryl Baker
My eyes land on the feast arriving and my mouth waters. Dear God, we have cheeseburgers and cheese fries topped with bacon. Heaven.
“I’m rather fond of cheese fries and thought a burger would be something you’d feel comfortable eating.”
“You like cheese fries?” I ask. Zeke looks more like a fine diner, not a junk food person.
“Cheese fries and Papa John’s pepperoni and bacon pizza are my weaknesses,” he confides with a wink. “Just don’t tell Mrs. Banks. She thinks I adore her pizza above all others. She might actually decide to quit if she ever found out I sneak out and order it on the weekends when she’s off.”
I find myself smiling. He seems so…normal, not the arrogant dangerous man
I’d previously met. Maybe that’s just a façade he puts on around other people? It’s weird. I take a bite of the bacon cheeseburger and nearly moan as the taste hits my tongue. It’s the absolute best burger I’ve ever had and I consider myself a burger connoisseur.
“Mrs. Banks will be pleased.” Montgomery laughs and sets a glass of ice and a can of Coke beside my plate. “She hoped you’d like it, Miss Mattie.”
“I think she can be assured of that.” Zeke laughs as I shovel more burger in my mouth, not caring if I look like some ill-mannered buffoon. It’s awesome sauce!
“Not a fan of burgers?” Zeke asks Nancy, who ignored the junk food and opted for the salad.
“I’m a vegetarian,” she replies.
“I do apologize. Had I known, I’d have made sure to have had more options for you.”
Nancy waves it off as she always does. “No worries. As long as you keep Mattie well fed, that’s all that matters.”
“I heard you had the quite the adventure yesterday, Mattie,” Zeke says as he pops a fry into his mouth.
“
I
certainly wouldn’t call it an adventure.” Nancy warns him with her eyes. She’s been so upset over learning I’d stumbled upon a grave site for murdered girls. This, after everything else that’s happened to me. She even blessed out Dan and it wasn’t his fault Mary and I got sick and needed to stop.
“No, I don’t suppose I would, either,” Zeke sighs. “It was the only thing I could find to describe a situation she shouldn’t have been in to begin with. You do seem to get into trouble around the Richards boy, don’t you?”
My eyes go wide. Zeke doesn’t like Dan at all. I can hear it in his voice and see it on his face. It was his mother, after all, who is partly responsible for my kidnapping, but that doesn’t mean he should blame Dan for his mother’s actions. Dan’s off limits to him.
“Usually, it’s Dan that gets into trouble around
me
. He didn’t do anything yesterday to land us in that situation, either. I got sick and he pulled over so I could rest. Wasn’t his fault we landed on a serial killer’s burial ground.”
“Mattie’s right about that,” Nancy confirms. “She usually ropes Dan into unusual situations. He’s a very respectable young man who spends his time trying to do the right thing. If it weren’t for him, you and Mattie wouldn’t be together now. He forced his mother to tell him your name.”
You go, Nancy! Tell him!
“Furthermore, if you have any ideas of trying to keep them apart, you’d best think again. Dan is as much her family as you are, probably more so right now. You’ll do Mattie more harm than good by forcing Dan out of her life. Trust me when I say I personally would fight you tooth and nail on that and you
want
me
in your corner, Mr. Crane. Think carefully before you say anything more.”
Zeke’s eyebrows hit his hairline and disappeared. I don’t think anyone has ever spoken to him like that. He looks so shocked I want to giggle, but
I suppress it when Nancy sends me her death glare.
“And if you did try that,” I pipe in
, “when I turn eighteen, that’d be the last you see of me. I won’t lose Dan for anyone. Not even you.”
Zeke’s eyes travel from one to the other of us. This is definitely a new situation for him. I don’t think he’s ever been outnumbered by females before.
“I was merely making an idle observation,” he says at last. “I didn’t mean to imply I’d try to force anyone out of Mattie’s life. I’m working hard to fit into
hers
.”
I have the distinct impression he’d whisk me away on the next flight out if he could.
“Speaking of which, I brought all the paperwork you need to sign with me.” Nancy pulls her briefcase out and starts to rummage through it. “We still need to discuss several things, one specifically being Mattie’s name.”
“My name?” I pause with a fry midway to my mouth. “What about my name?”
“Your legal name is Emma Rose Crane,” Nancy replies and pulls out papers. “You’ve been Mattie for a long time, though. We need to discuss what your father would be willing to do in regards to your name.”
Not be Mattie Hathaway anymore? The very thought makes me want to hurl up all the food I’ve just consumed.
They’re trying to strip everything away, or at least that’s how it feels. My name is all I have left of my mom. They can’t take that from me. They can’t! I
am
Mattie Hathaway, it’s who I’ve always been, who I’ll always be. No one can take that from me, no matter what any stupid piece of paper says.
“Do we
really
need to discuss this now?” Zeke asks, watching me. I’m sure every emotion I’m feeling is plain on my face.
“Unfortunately, yes, we do,” Nancy says,
her voice firm. “The sooner we get the legalities out the way, the sooner you two can work on more important things.”
“
Somnum
.”
Montgomery catches Nancy before her face hits the plate. I stare. What the heck did he just do?
Zeke said one word and boom, down she went. Whoa. He may look all relaxed and casual, but he’s still the dangerous animal I’d met earlier.
“She’s perfectly fine,” Zeke assures me. “She’s simply asleep.”
I’m up and moving before I even realize it. Zeke follows me inside with Montgomery carrying Nancy. He lays her on the couch. I’m standing behind the cushy arm chair, with the door at my back.
“I swear to you, Mattie, I won’t hurt you or your social worker. We simply need to talk privately and can’t do that if Mrs. Moriarity is here. Putting her to sleep was the easiest option.”
“Wake her up.”
“Not until we talk,” he says patiently. “I don’t want to frighten you
—”
“Could’ve fooled me,” I interrupt, my sarcasm rearing its head. I tend to get snarky when I’m scared
, and right now, I’m terrified.
My phone rings. It’s Eli.
Zeke frowns at the phone. “We need to talk, Mattie.”
I ignore my father and answer. “Hello?”
“What’s wrong?” Eli barks into my ear. “I can feel how scared you are right now.”
“My father just knocked out Nancy,” I say, watching Zeke.
“He hit her?” Eli explodes.
“No, he didn’t hit her,” I tell him. “He…put her to sleep somehow.”
“You’re
alone
with him?” I can hear steel in Eli’s voice, pissed that he’s not here. “I want you out of there right now, Mattie.”
“Dan’s outside. Can you text him to come upstairs for me, please?”
“Hilda—”
“Just ask Dan to come upstairs,” I interrupt. Despite being afraid, I do need to talk to my father. If Dan’s here, I’ll feel better, but then again, Zeke could just knock him out
, too.
“Fine, but I don’t like it. You read what was in your Dad’s file. He’s dangerous, Mattie.”
“I know,” I say softly, feeling slightly guilty at the lie. “That’s why I want Dan. See you soon.” I hang up on him before he can protest further.
Zeke takes a step towards me and I take a step backwards. Someone starts to pound on the door in the entryway. Zeke nods to Montgomery and then Dan comes striding inside, taking in Nancy on the couch and me behind the chair.
“Did you drug her?” Dan asks, his voice deceptively soft.
“No,” Zeke replies, his voice just as soft. “She
’ll be fine. I need to speak with my daughter, though.”
“Not without me
, you won’t,” Dan tells him. “I know all about Mattie’s…abilities, so there’s nothing you can say that she won’t tell me, anyway.”
“That’s true
.” I nod. “I tell him everything.”
Zeke sighs and then frowns when my stomach decides to finally protest my abrupt departure from filling it up. “You’re still hungry, Mattie.
Montgomery? Can you have Mrs. Banks make her another plate and bring one for the boy as well?”
“Of course, sir.”
“You got up here fast,” I whisper.
“I was already on my way up,” he says. “I had one of your hinky feelings.”
I nod. Eli said Dan and I shared a sort of guardian bond, but it was one I’d forged myself. It isn’t as strong as the Guardian Angel bond, but it
is
strong enough for him to know when I’m scared out of mind. I wonder if Eli told him about that.
“Are you okay?” Dan asks, his eyes straying back to Nancy
, lying pale and unmoving on the couch.
“I would never harm my daughter,” Zeke says, affronted.
“I’ve read your file, Mr. Crane,” Dan says, his voice hard. “Can you blame me for being worried?”
Zeke’s eyes go from aggravated to ice in less than two seconds. “You’ve read everything, I take it,” he says flatly. “Mattie? You too?”
I edge closer to Dan at the look in my father’s eyes, which only makes Zeke more upset. “I didn’t read it,” I confess.
“You didn’t read it?” Dan turns stormy eyes on me. He’s pissed. “The Crane family has a long history of criminal activity, even if none of it was ever proven. The police, the US Marshall’s office, and the FBI have tried for decades to bring them down.”
Well, that explains my rap sheet. At least I come by my criminal tendencies honestly, even if I
am
trying to break that habit.
“Mattie, my family has done a lot of things over the years to get ahead. I won’t apologize for that. It’s who we are. You share some of that ruthlessness. I
have
read your file. You’re tenacious and smart, like the rest of us. The Cranes take care of one another, and we would move mountains for our family. I won’t hurt you. I swear it.”
“
Even if hurting me means getting what you ultimately want?” I ask softly and play my trump card. “Would you sacrifice me if it meant obtaining your endgame?”
He sighs. “Let’s go to my office where we can sit down. There’s a small table there where you can finish your meal.”
A sick feeling starts in the pit of my stomach. He didn’t answer me. Dan wraps an arm around me. I lean into him as we follow Zeke, feeling tension radiating from Dan and it feeds my nervousness.
We both know something isn’t right here. The question is
, just how wrong is it?
Zeke’s office is very sleek and modern, a mixture of black and chrome. One wall is nothing but books.
Those are showcase pieces, though. None of them look worn. They’re all brand new, which tells me Zeke has probably never cracked one open. The massive black desk dominates the room. There are papers everywhere on it.
This
he uses regularly.
Dan and I are shown to the table in one corner while Montgomery sets fresh food and drinks in front of us. Zeke takes a seat across from us and accepts a glass of wine.
“Please eat,” Zeke urges. “I need a moment to process your question, Mattie. I didn’t expect it.”
Despite my nerves, my stomach wins out and I dig into my brand new burger. I’ve always been able to eat even in the worst situations
, much to my own disgust. Dan just shakes his head at me. “You don’t eat yours, I will,” I tell him between mouthfuls. “It’s sooo good!”
Zeke laughs. “You have your mother’s appetite. I never understood how such a tiny woman could eat so much. The first time I took her to dinner, she inhaled an entire serving of gumbo in less than five minutes and smiled unashamedly. Watching her eat was a mixture of horror and awe.”
“How did you meet her?” I ask, curious.
“At a café on Bourbon Street in New Orleans,” he says. “She was sitting, reading a newspaper and I was fascinated by her delicate features. I introduced myself and she was gracious enough to invite me to sit with her.”
“The two of you were happy then? Before I was…well, before?”
Zeke stares at me for a long while before finally answering. “I hoped you and I could get to know one another better before getting to these kind
s of questions.”
That doesn’t bode well.