Leaning his head against the wall, he inhaled deeply and forced himself to be calm and logical as he puzzled over who knew what and the implications of each bit of knowledge. How many people did he need to find and silence? Together Aldrich, Greyson, and Melody each had possession of a plethora of truths, half-truths, and misconceptions. Out of the three, Melody knew the most; she just wasn’t aware of it yet. In a way, that made her the most dangerous to the safety of his kind. How she reacted, when the pieces of the puzzle fell together, would determine her fate.
Beside him, Melody stirred and pressed closer to him. The simple gesture made his heart beat faster. In her sleep she still trusted him, but how she would feel once she was awake might be a different story. When she’d first seen him at her apartment building, she hadn’t been pleased, no doubt still feeling the sting of their parting words. And, even though she called out his name when he had charged into this room, it was probably due more to surprise than any actual joy at his presence.
Loathe to disturb her, but knowing they had an hour at best before Aldrich returned, he gently shook her awake. He needed to figure out if she was really an innocent in all of this, explain about the transformation, formulate a plan to get out of here in one piece and then deal with those who knew more than they should.
“Melody? You have to wake up. We need to talk.”
“Hmm? Ryne?” She blinked at him sleepily, her brow slowly furrowing as awareness returned. Ryne could tell, by the expression on her face, the moment she realized where she was. Pushing herself upright, she brushed her hair from her face and looked around at her surroundings. “What the hell is going on? Why are you here? And why am I here?”
Ryne helped her up sit up, steadying her until she found her balance. “Well, it’s complicated.”
“Complicated?” She glowered at him. “And, why do I suspect that the complications are mostly your fault?”
Her tone of voice irritated him and he snapped back at her. “Well, some of it is, though strictly speaking, your presence is what started everything.”
“Me? I didn’t do anything!”
“Yes, you did. You kept insisting on interviewing me.”
“So? It’s a perfectly reasonable request!”
“Which I chose to decline. You should have just gone away.” Ryne chose to take a hard line with her. If he pushed enough, he might get to the truth behind her presence in Stump River and Smythston.
“Gone away! After chasing you half way across the continent? I don’t think so! There was too much money involved.”
Ryne pounced on her statement. “Ah-ha! So now we have your real motive. You said the interview was for a course you were taking. That you were just interested in my art. But that’s not the whole truth, is it? You’re in this with Aldrich!”
Melody huffed and looked away.
He pressed his advantage. “I’m right, aren’t I? That’s why you won’t look at me. You lied about the interview. What was the real reason you were trying to find me?” He grabbed her shoulder, forcing her to face him.
She compressed her lips before sighing and giving in. “All right. I’ll tell you, especially since it appears Aldrich was lying to me or has gone off his rocker or something.”
Ryne settled back and crossed his arms. He kept his eyes carefully trained on her so he could gauge the truth of what she was about to tell him.
“This rich guy named Greyson wants information on you—I was never really told exactly why; they just hinted that it might be for an article in an art magazine and that he was this big collector who liked your work. Anyway, Aldrich was in charge of interviewing people for the job and somehow got hold of my name. I was surprised I was hired because he didn’t seem to like me, and I’m still just a student. But, for whatever reason, I was offered the job. It paid a small fortune; enough that I could quit working and go back to school full time, so I took the assignment.”
Ryne narrowed his eyes, considering the information. It seemed too simple. “If that’s the case, then why didn’t you just tell me?”
“Because secrecy was one of the conditions of the job.” She shook her head. “I know, I know; it sounds suspicious, and I did wonder, but the money was too good to pass up. And then, when you didn’t want an interview, Aldrich started to threaten that Greyson would sue me for the return of all the money, even what I’d already spent tracking you down.” Melody rubbed her hands up and down her arms as she stared about the small room. “It was just an interview with a nature photographer, for heaven’s sake. Nothing that earth shattering. I figured it was easy money; what could possibly go wrong?” She snorted inelegantly. “Now look at the mess I’m in!”