Invited

Twenty-Four - Wicken

"All right, what are you thinking? I gave you rather specific instruc-
tions. I'm disappointed you weren't able to follow them, but I'm willing to listen to your reasoning," Layla said. We were up in her office which was adjacent to her bedroom. I could see the large canopy bed through the double doors separating the two rooms. Her office was cozy. A desk sat in front of a star-filled window overlooking space. In a nearby corner was a set of comfortable maroon chairs.

We sat there, our legs were touching, and I hated every second of it. I figured if I let her feel me up a little, maybe it would soften her and I'd be saved from getting eaten, dismembered, or tortured.

Taking in a slow, cleansing breath, I managed a nod. "I ran into some trouble and had to improvise. Getting Timber alone was almost near impossible. He had people around him the entire time up until he went to the conference." Not a lie, but I'd conveniently left out the part where I'd fallen asleep. She didn't need to know everything. "I wasn't sure where the conference was being held, so I followed his girlfriend around hoping maybe she'd lead me to him. Thing is, she was attacked by another woman with a gun. I couldn't let her get killed. The only way I could think of to get out of there without either of us getting hurt was to teleport. So I did."

I sighed. "I know I didn't get Timber, and that messes with your plans. But he loves her a lot. He'll do anything to get her back, so it's not like she's useless to what you want to accomplish."

Layla tapped her chin with one of her long fingernails, nodding. "Good to know you can think on your toes and find back-up plans when you're put under fire. Yes, we can use this to our advantage. In fact, this could prove to be even better."

"How so?" I asked.

"Timber's desperation over the loss of his girlfriend will be far more motivating than Paul losing Timber," she explained. "There was always the possibility that Timber would be deemed expendable and a replacement could be found, you see. True love, however, is a lot harder to let go of. Even if Paul does not act, Timber will, and his emotions will make him careless."

I nodded, understanding, bile rising from my stomach. In my trying to be noble and do the right thing, I'd just made everything infinitely worse.