Shadow of the Day (Wolf Moon Sequel)

Chapter 36: Second Fiddle

Ivy

"Are you okay? You sounded really weird the other night," I said, staring at Joe curiously over my cup of tea. His usually twitchy self seemed a little calmer and quieter. He didn't tremble as much. I wondered what had changed. Dom had texted me to say Joe was fine but it hadn't eased my mind.

"I'm good," he nodded, sipping from his coffee. "There was just something important to tell your sister but that crisis is over now."

"Did it even begin?" I asked, puzzled. What crisis was that? The only thing that had Lila in a tizzy lately was Devin.

"Yes but it didn't get very far," he said, smiling a slightly yellow toothed smile. He still smelled of smoke and it was still gross but at least the longer he was here the more accustomed to it I became.

"And what was this crisis? That whole 'following in his footsteps' thing didn't make any sense."

"Those were his words not mine," he said. On 'his" he twitched, left hand jerking and nearly spilling coffee down his shirt.

"Who is he?" I prodded. Joe suddenly began to tremble as much as he used to.

"Nobody important," he said, not meeting my eyes.

I scrutinized him. "Are you talking about Devin?"

He gasped when I said the name. "What? How did you-?"

"My sister knew him. His brother anyways. Said he was a bad guy. So it was a little concerning to know you were friends with someone not very nice," I said, cutting straight to the point. I was tired of beating around the bush.

"I didn't have much of a choice. He helped me find you. I owed him. He wasn't a friend of mine," he said, but his eyes darted worriedly around the corners of the kitchen, as if Devin could hear him.

"He helped you find me?" I asked, stunned.

Joe looked like he wanted to run out of the room. "I...uh...yes. I had been looking for you without any luck and then...well Devin found me and told me where to find you. But he also said that I would owe him."

"And what did you owe him?" I frowned.

Joe shook his head. "I don't know. He said to stay close for when he needed a favor. But hes gone so I guess I'll never know." He didn't sound certain.

"How did Devin know where to find me?"

He really looked like he regretted mentioning it at all now.

"Come on, tell me. If he's gone now what does it matter if you tell me the truth?" I said impatiently.

"He said he heard about it from his brother. That his brother knew you and your sister quite well," he said slowly.

"I never knew Caleb. I never even met him. How did he even know I existed?" I asked, genuinely puzzled. Unless Lila mentioned him to me, which I doubted, how else would he know?

"I don't know. He didn't give many details. That's all he told me," he said, his face begging me to stop pestering him with questions. It was like Joe was the criminal and I was the police interrogating him.

I sat back in my chair, studying him. Although he seemed more nervous during this conversation than he had when he first came in, he seemed truthful. The phone rang and we both jumped. I sighed and got up to answer it in the living room. Lila passed by and headed into the kitchen when she saw I had answered it. She had been hanging out in her room, but the door had been wide open. Very unusual. Probably wanted to make sure Joe didn't try anything funny while also attempting to give me my privacy.