Page 55 of A Shade Too Far
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The meeting wrappedup soon after. Emmett remained with Tatiana, while Naveen left for a call with the security team to go through more of Torres’s business affairs in hopes of getting more answers.
I squinted against the bright sunshine, almost missing the helmet that Laurent tossed me.
“Can we take the bike to go see these guys?” he said.
“Not really. They’re in Los Angeles, which is why I—”
Laurent blanched.
I stepped closer because he looked seriously ill.
His expression became distant, his eyes rolled up but flicking from side to side like he was doing calculations. His shoulders tensed, then he nodded. “Get us on the first flight out. There is no time to waste.”
I waved a finger around his face. “What was all that about?”
He spoke over me, his long strides to the motorcycle forcing me to half jog. “We’ll go business class. I will pay for both tickets.”
“No, that’s not—”
“Yes.”
I grabbed his arm. “Stop. We’re not going business class.”
“I cannot go any other way,” he growled.
I was about to make a crack about His Majesty not sitting with the great unwashed, until I noticed he was white-knuckling his helmet straps. “Are you scared of flying?”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” He looked down his nose at me haughtily, then his gaze dropped to the twisted straps in his hold. “I just—I don’t do well being locked in cages.”
I squeezed his hand, hating plane rides as well. “We’re not flying. We’re not driving, we’re not taking a train.”
He planted his hands on his hips. “You’re not going without me.”
The truth was that I didn’t want to face the Wise Brothers on my own, but things were getting too tangled up between Laurent and me. The Kefitzat Haderech was the one space that was mine. Not co-owned with Eli or shared with Sadie. But if I took Laurent, he’d fill it with his presence, like he’d done with my home and my car.
However, Tatiana was his family, so my desire to set boundaries for myself didn’t trump his to do everything he could to ensure she stayed alive.
“I am losing patience, Miriam,” he said. “Do you really not want me there?”
Sighing, I put my helmet on. “I do. Let’s head back to your place and go from there.”
He frowned but nodded.
The ride back to Hotel Terminus wasn’t so much a freeing rush as a slow build of dread, but I talked myself down. Laurent hadn’t forced himself into any part of my world, I kept inviting him. Badgering him to partner up. I wasn’t married to the guy, hell, we didn’t even technically work together. If I had to step away from spending time together and sort my head out, then he’d respect that.
I’d wanted to get my divided house in line, which meant bringing all aspects of my life and loyalties into alignment. Some parts would admittedly take more work but shoring up the foundation between Laurent and myself involved a relatively simple first step.
One that wouldn’t force him to suffer through a flight. The Kefitzat Haderech had nothing to do with territories or boundaries. It was simply an expedient means to an end.
Feeling better, I strode confidently into his place and positioned myself in the center of a slanted shadow. “Do you trust me?”
Now that I’d made up my mind to take him, I wanted to see the look on his face when we stepped into the Kefitzat Haderech. It was one thing to hear about magic and quite another to see it firsthand. Might as well dazzle him.
“I did until you asked me with that strange gleam in your eyes.” But when I held out my hand, he took it, his callused fingers folding tightly over mine.
I pushed through the shadows, bringing us into the dimly lit cave.
