Haunting Shadows (Book 2)

Chapter 34

“Who’s the girl?” Izzy asked as she sat down on the chair in front of Andreas’ desk, her eyes narrowed as she leaned forward.

Andreas sighed as he closed the book he was studying and focused all his attention on the girl. He had almost forgotten just how forward she could be. “Her name is Leita, and she is no concern of yours.”

Izzy sat back in the chair, putting her feet onto it as she continued to stare at him. “She is living here with us, isn’t she? At least for the time being. I have a right to know who she is, don’t I? She could be dangerous.”

Andreas closed his eyes and pulled his fingers through his hair before returning his gaze to the girl. One night and she had already made herself at home. He admired that about her, even though he realized she was going to be a handful.

“She will pose no threat to you, I have made sure of that.”

“What happened to Lana?”

Andreas suck in a ragged breath, surprised at how that question pained him to hear. Izzy didn’t know about Lana’s execution, nor his inability to save her.

“She’s gone and she’s not coming back,” he stated, his voice thick.

Izzy trained her narrowed eyes on him. “She left with Kalen?”

“She left of her own accord.”

Izzy’s nose wrinkled. “Why?”

Andreas tried to keep the onslaught of emotions he was experiencing at bay. He didn’t want to have this conversation with Izzy. Not now, not ever. So he settled for telling her a simple, “I don’t know.”

“But you two seemed so close? I mean, she was obviously dating Kalen, but there was something between you. I sensed the tension. Did you make her angry?” He was trying really hard to keep a grip on his patience.

“Why do you assume that I had been the one to do something wrong?” Andreas challenged, an attempt – weak at best – to change the subject.

The girl shrugged. “She was just always so kind to me. Hard to imagine that she would do anything to upset you… especially since I saw the way you looked at her.”

“At who?” Leita asked as she entered the room. Andreas cursed under his breath. So much for his secret office. His eyes moved past Leita and briefly stopped on the stain that served as the only reminder of the day Lana had saved his life. Could that only have been weeks ago? That one time it had been a good thing his office wasn’t as secretive as he had hoped, but now faced with two interrogates?

“No one.”

“Lana,” Andreas and Izzy said at the same time, respectively. He faced Izzy with a look of betrayal and she glared at him in response. Why couldn’t this girl just be afraid of him like everyone else was?

Leita’s ears perked up as her eyebrows raised. There went Andreas’ chance to change the subject. “And who might this Lana be to garner suck affection from you?”

Andreas rose from his seat and walked out of the room. He ignored both females when they called after him and flashed himself out of his house the moment they started to close the distance between them. He felt secure that Leita had taken his threat about harming Izzy to heart and decided to pay Gynae a visit. He need to take his frustration out on someone and he had a strong suspicion that he would find Raphael there.

He found himself standing in front of a little inn, the name drawing his attention. Something inside the inn was beckoning him, asking him to go closer, but he quickly dismissed the feeling. One thing he had learned from Raphael over the period of time they had been playing cat and mouse was that Raphael avoided inns. That would not be where he would find his enemy. And so he kept walking, letting his instincts guide the way. He didn’t know where he was going or if he’d even find Raphael, but even if this trip ended up being fruitless, at least he was able to clear his head and avoid telling Izzy about Lana’s death, and telling Leita anything about Lana period.