Rellik(38)

His hands wrapped around my wrists and pulled me to my feet as I yelped in shock, my eyes flying open and staring into his. The vibrant blue of calm waters was now dark like a raging storm. They were vacant. The compassion he’d shown earlier drowned in the murkiness of his past.

“Then there was you,” he whispered in a hushed tone as his eyes searched mine. “It was…fate.”

“It wasn’t fate. You lied to me.” I shook my head, hoping I would somehow wake myself from the nightmare I had walked right into.

“You sought me out. You wanted to find me, Ella. Why? If you knew about my past, why were you looking for me?”

“So you don’t have it all figured out?”

“You might want to be careful with who you confide in. Maric is one of my oldest friends. Ella Leighton has no past, no identity past a few months ago. You get paid under the table, you paid rent in cash, when you paid it at all. The utilities were all in the landlord’s name. It’s like you’re a ghost. Like you’re her ghost.”

“I needed to find out the truth.”

“The truth about what?” His grip tightened when I didn’t respond. “About what?” His voice rose with anger.

“Hey? What’s going on over there?” A stranger’s voice broke through our conversation. He reluctantly let go of me, tears in my eyes, answers on the tip of my tongue.

“Ella.” His eyes searched mine, but I shook my head fractionally before I took off, weaving between cars and across the main road. He wouldn’t be stupid enough to chase after me in broad daylight with witnesses. I had no idea where I was even going. My apartment was no longer safe. I wasn’t any closer to finding out the truth, but part of me knew that regardless of intent, Rellik was at least partially responsible for the torture I’d suffered for years.





Connection

Chapter 18—Rellik

Connection: a relationship in which a person is linked or associated with something else

I couldn’t see straight. The ache of having to stand there and watch her walk away was more than I had anticipated. I clenched my jaw as I reluctantly made my way across the now-lit parking lot to my room. Banging my fist on the door, I bit out a curse when I realized I didn’t have my key card and would have to go to the office.

I walked along the narrow sidewalk to the main entrance and pulled open the door, the air conditioning reminding me that I had left in such a hurry, I forgot to put on a shirt.

The woman behind the desk blushed as my eyes met hers, and she immediately looked down to her computer, a smirk on her face.

“Can I help you with something, sir?”

“I locked myself out of my room. I need a key card.”

“Certainly. What is your room number?”

“One nineteen.”

“You’re checking out today? Would you like a copy of your bill?”

“Nah. I didn’t order any room service. Should be pretty straightforward.” I was leaving early today to get a room closer to my mom’s house. I didn’t want to assume they’d want me to stay with open arms, and I wasn’t sure I could handle the memories. It had been years since I’d seen her.

“You’re right. Only made one phone call.” She held out a plastic key card, and I took it as I thought over what she’d said.

“Actually, I think I’ll take the bill. Tax purposes.”

“Sure. No problem.” With a smile she clicked Print, and the papers began to shoot out of the printer next to her. I tried to hide my excitement as I took them from her hand. Maybe Ella wasn’t as good at covering her trail as she’d thought.

I left the office, the sun blinding and already unbearably hot, to make my way back to my room. The guys wouldn’t be up for a few hours, sleeping away their hangovers. I wasn’t as lucky. I’d had two hours of sleep if I was lucky, and I didn’t see any more in my future for a long time.

I had to find the connection between Ella and my past. The fact that she bore such a striking resemblance to Katie only fucked up my head more. That couldn’t be explained away and must have had a direct correlation to how she fit in to the story.

I slipped inside my room, scanning Ella’s possessions, which still lay where she’d left them, like she had stepped out for some fresh air and hadn’t run off in fear of me discovering the truth. My eyes fell to the paper in my hand, and I studied the local number. Who would she have called? She claimed to have nowhere else to go, no other place to stay. Was that just to get closer to me? Couldn’t have been. The look in her eyes when she discovered my name was genuine. She hadn’t known who I really was. You couldn’t fake that kind of betrayal. But why the fear? If she’d been tracking me, she should have known exactly what I’d been accused of in the past. Ella had shown little self-preservation in the short time I’d known her. She had too much pride, so it all could be explained away, but it didn’t sit right with me. At least now I had a few leads.