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“No,” Elliott looked down, suddenly very interested in his food.

“But Phoenix did?”

“Apparently so, yes.”

“Do you know if they were close?”

There was concern in his voice when he said, “They had to have been.” There was something that sounded like resistance or a warning in his tone.

Astrid looked down at her food, suddenly not feeling particularly hungry. “What makes you think they had to be close?”

“Because of the curse.”

Her head whipped up. “What do you mean, the curse?”

Elliott sighed, then put his fork down. He waved for a waiter and asked for boxes for the food.

After the waiter left, he looked at Astrid and said, “Because your brother is dead. That means that Phoenix and your brother were probably close. That’s why he left. He doesn’t want to talk about it.”

Astrid looked at her food, not hearing anything else he had to say.

The food was boxed up, but she was too consumed by her own thoughts to notice. At some point, she became aware that Elliott was staring at her.

Without a thought, she stood up and ran to the edge of the deck. For the second time in her life, she shifted in public, then ran off toward the small body of water. Once she reached it, Astrid dove into the water and fled from prying eyes. In the comfort of the water, she began to cry, her body moving with the flow of the water.

Chapter 5

A Rash Decision

Not sure if Elliott was following her, Astrid refused to come up for air. She didn’t have gills, but she was able to use the water to pull air toward her. It wasn’t exactly comfortable, but it was better than having to face someone while she was trying to process what she just learned.

The farther she went, the more questions Astrid had about what Phoenix knew about her brother. How much had he known about her that first time when he approached her? Was he trying to use her to learn more for his company? Did he feel guilty about what happened to her and her brother?

It was only when she reached home that Astrid realized she had left all of her stuff in Phoenix’s car. She stood on the stoop, staring at her door, trying to figure out what to do. One of those computers had a lot of sensitive information on it.

He had to know that when he left without me, he still had my stuff. Was that a part of his plan? Get me to leave my stuff in his car, then leave me with Elliott so that he could see what I know? If not, why did he leave like he did? More importantly, how am I –

She stepped up onto the porch while she thought about what she should do. Some movement beside her side caught her attention. She hadn’t yet set up the furniture. Yet, there it was. The table and chairs neatly arranged, and a few rocking chairs with a table between them. Hidden on one of the chairs pushed under the table was her bag.

Well… shit. He knows where I live.

She pinched the bridge of her nose.

I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel about that.

Her immediate thoughts were again to attribute ulterior motives to him returning her stuff. But even though he wasn’t exactly the most open person, Astrid couldn’t point to anythingPhoenix had done that would indicate that he was doing anything to benefit himself. He had been in the area for longer, had more time to research things, and probably had a lot more resources. Astrid couldn’t imagine one thing that he needed her for.

A lifetime of mistrust because of some horrible experiences as a child. Maybe I should stop acting like he’s trying to use me in some way and just accept that there are some people out there who just care.

She exhaled loudly. “That’s going to be a tall order.”

Pulling out her phone, she messaged him.

Thank you for returning my stuff. And thank you for your help. Let me know what you need from me, and I’ll see what I can do.

PS: Please apologize to Elliott for me.

After shoving the phone back into her pocket, Astrid picked up her bags and went inside. She headed back to her office and set up the devices to start trying to piece together what she had found with some of the information that her brother had left for her.