Page 45 of Now Until Forever
Eliana wanted to retort back to him about that, because no way was she fine. But she wasn’t injured apart from a nagging headache and a couple of bruises. He was the one who’d been dosed with whatever made everyone on the street go crazy. “Make it make sense.”
“You saw a man die. That’s never easy.”
“And the Shrine will clean it up like it never happened. Is that it?”
Tony gripped the wheel. “You’re determined to pick a fight, but I’m the last person who is your enemy.”
Her phone rang through the car speakers, andMaizieshowed up on the dash screen. She reached to hit the button to answer it.
Tony made a small noise in his throat. “Don’t mention me. Say nothing about what happened.” He grabbed her wrist.
Eliana was about to order him to let go of her when he did. “You’re not seriously?—”
“Don’t mention anything about it. Understood?”
This conversation isn’t over.Eliana had wanted to say that, but now wasn’t the time. People had died today. “Hey, Maze.”
Maizie didn’t speak right away. “Yes, honey,” she whispered. “But only one.” Then louder, she said, “Hey, Sis. How are you?”
“I’ve been better.” Elaina sighed. “You didn’t call me just to shoot the breeze, did you?” She glanced over at Tony and saw an odd expression on his face. It looked a lot like grief, which didn’t make any sense given he had no problem with what’d happened in the vault. He’d walked her out a back entrance, up a tiny stairwell, and parked her in Sylvia’s office, where she’d waited an hour for him to come back.
“No, but I want to know how you are.” A few seconds later, Maizie said, “Ellie?”
Eliana looked at the dash screen. “I’m here.”
Tony pulled onto a busy road with two lanes of traffic in both directions.
“Long story, but I’ll try to get through it quick. I’m almost to where I’m going.” She took a breath, and even though Tony glanced at her, she wasn’t going to go against what he’d said. She waved a hand to alleviate his concern. “Okay, I was at work whenthis all happened, so it’s just what I heard from people, or what was on the news on the TV in the museum break room.”
Tony gripped the wheel and braked, nothing but red lights in front of her and dark sky above.
“Sounds ominous. Is that maybe why Carlos isn’t answering his phone?”
“Yes.” Eliana shifted in her seat. “There were a bunch of…I guess they were attacks today. Someone tossed canisters of this gas out of their car window all over town. Maybe multiple someones.” She’d read all about it on her phone from Sylvia’s office. “About eight different locations, mostly crowded with people. A city park. Outside the museum. Even in a high school parking lot just as classes were letting out. The gas made people go crazy and start fighting each other.”
Who knew what the death toll was now. Last she’d heard there were two deceased and seven in critical condition.
She wanted to add the young man from the vault, but Tony and Sylvia had both told her that the police had far too much to worry about without them adding that.
As if that wasn’t blatantly suspicious.
“Wow,” Maizie said. “I heard something on the news, but I was leaving the office, so I didn’t catch what it was.”
“Thankfully, it’s not happening there.” Eliana didn’t want to think about the girls, Maizie’s twin daughters, being hurt. “Carlos responded because he was on shift. He’s still stuck at the hospital, but it was way past time he could clock out, so he called his sergeant, then me. I went to his precinct, got his truck keys and his duffel bag—which smells, by the way—and I’m driving to go pick him up.”
She had to sound as normal as she could, or Maizie would ask what else was wrong. Eliana would cave and tell her sister about the man sitting beside her, and what’d happened to them today.
“That’s nice of you.” Maizie’s remark almost sounded like a question.
“Today was crazy for sure.” Eliana didn’t explain to Maizie that she needed to see Carlos for herself, just so she’d know if he was okay. “Were you trying to call Carlos, or something?”
“He sent me an email, officially. Now I’m officially responding.”
“I can pass on whatever it is.” Unlessofficiallymeant she wasn’t supposed to know. Kind of like the fate of those young people. She cleared her throat, deciding to focus on the reason Maizie was calling and not everything she was dealing with. “I was with him at the resort community where he thinks Luci was. I saw the dresses and the cups, and I know who the Reverence Sisters are.”
“Maybe you think you know, but?—”
“I know, Maze. I’m not a sheltered kid who has no idea what’s going on in the world. I saw a dead body the other day.”
