*CUPID'S MATCH BOOK 2* FIRST DRAFT
Lila receives an ominous Valentine's Day card.
Cupid & Cal are keeping a dark secret.
Fate is being interfered with.
And a sadistic, and extremely powerful banished cupid is intent on stealing Lila's heart. Literal...
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The three of us share a look as the white, metal gates slowly open.
Charon is missing?
Cupid frowns, his blue green eyes darkened by the night. Then he turns his head to look at the house ahead.
"What do you think?" he says.
"Going inside doesn't seem sensible..." says Cal.
Cupid nods.
"Probably some kind of trap." He looks thoughtful a moment, then he raises his eyebrows and takes a step forward. "Well, shall we go then?"
He starts to walk toward the beach house.
I pause a moment, then, with the comfort that even if it is a trap Cupid doesn't seem too concerned, I head after him. Behind me Cal lingers in the gateway. I hear him exhale sharply through his nose. Then moments later he falls into step beside us as we pass the pool and reach the door.
"This really isn't a good idea..." he says as Cupid pushes the buzzer in the door frame.
There's a beeping sound, and the door swings open. A girl in jeans and a white top stands in the doorway. She's holding a duster in her hand, and her dark hair is scraped into a knot on top of her head. She looks at us suspiciously a moment, her dark eyes narrowing.
"You're Charon's friends?" she says. Cupid nods. "Cupid, Lila, and Cal, right?"
My stomach clenches at her words.
How does she know who we are?
This certainly points toward this being a trap...
Beside me Cupid frowns and Cal's muscles tense. He shoots a sideways look at Cupid before focusing back on the girl in front of us.
"He said you'd come," she says.
Cal narrows his eyes, his jawline hard.
"Who said we'd come?"
"The guy who paid to keep me cleaning the house while Charon is gone," she says.
"Who has been paying you?"
She shakes her head.
"I don't know who he is. He just told me you'd come, and when you did it was OK to let you in."
She shrugs and turns, disappearing inside the house. We pause in the open doorway.
"Valentine?" Cal whispers out of the corner of his mouth.
Cupid nods, a dark look creeping onto his face.
"He knew we'd come here. Which means we're on the right track."
"But it also means this could be a trap," hisses Cal.
I frown.
I think of the message Valentine sent me - using Cal's life thread as leverage. I have a feeling he has us all exactly where he wants us. He doesn't need to trap us any further.
