“Dana.” Malory took her hand, but Dana broke free, pushed off the steps.
“I dont know if Im still in love—more or less—with himhim , or with the him that I fell for all that time ago. You know, like this memory of him. This image, and its no more than an illusion now. But Ive got to find out, dont I?”
“Yeah.”Zoe unwrapped the brownies shed brought along and held one out to Dana. “You need to find out.”
“And if I am in love with him, I can get over it.” She took a huge bite of brownie. “I got over it before. If Im not in love with him, then everything gets back to normal or as back to normal as possible until I find the key.”
“What about his feelings?” Malory asked her. “Arent they a factor?”
“He had it his way once. This time around its my way.” She rolled her shoulders, pleased that the weight seemed to shrug off with the statement. “Lets paint our porch.”
* * *
WHILE they broke out brushes and rollers, Jordan relayed Danas experience to Flynn and Brad.
They sat in Flynns living room, set up as an informal think tank. Jordan paced as he spoke, and Flynns dog, Moe, watched every movement in hopes that Jordan might detour to the kitchen, and cookies.
Now and again, if Jordans direction veered closer to the doorway, Moes big black tail would thump in anticipation. So far it hadnt netted him any treats, but it did get him a few rubs on the back with Flynns foot.
“Why the hell didnt you bring her back here?” Flynn demanded.
“I guess I could have. If Id knocked her unconscious and hog-tied her. This is Dana were talking about.”
“Okay, okay, point taken. You couldve told me all this last night.”
“I couldve—and youd have rushed over there. Which wouldve annoyed her. Youd have tried to make her come here, which would have meant the two of you wouldve ended up fighting. I just figured shed had enough for one night. Added to that, I wanted to tell you both about it at once, when Malory wasnt around.”
“Now that we do know,” Brad put in, “what do we do about it?”
“There you go.” Jordan walked back to the couch, and burst Moes cookie fantasy by sitting down on the crate that served as coffee table. “We cant get her, or any of them, out of this. Even if we could, I dont know if we should. Theres a lot at stake.”
“Three souls,” Brad murmured. “I dont think Ive adjusted to that yet. Even knowing what happened with Malory, it doesnt compute in my head. But Ill go along with this. We cant get them out of it. So the question comes down to two parts. What can we do to keep them safe, and how do we help them find the key?”
“We make sure none of them is alone any more than necessary,” Flynn began. “Even though we know that he got to Malory when she was with Dana andZoe , its a precaution we ought to take.”
“She wont move in here, Flynn. I offered to move out, and she still wouldnt go for it.” Absently Jordan rubbed his chin, reminding himself that he hadnt shaved. “But one of us could move into her place. At least stay there with her at night.”
“Oh, yeah, shell go for that.” Sarcasm dripped from Flynns voice. “The minute I say Im going to sleep at her place, shell get her back up, or just brain me with the handiest blunt instrument. And she sure as hell isnt going to let you move in with her. Or Brad either.”
“I was thinking of Moe.”
The annoyance on Flynns face changed to bafflement. “Moe?”
At the sound of his name, Moe leaped up happily, knocking magazines off the crate with the enthusiastic sweep of his tail before trying to climb into Flynns lap.
“You said Moe sensed Kane, or danger at least, when you went into the building where hed separated Malory from Dana andZoe .”
“Yeah.” Remembering it, Flynn robbed Moes big head. “And he charged up those stairs ready to rip out throats. Didnt you, you wild thing?”
“So, he could be a sort of early-warning system. And if he carried on the way you said he did before, he would alert the neighbors. Potentially, he could keep Dana grounded.”
“Its a good idea,” Brad agreed, and began to pick a few of Moes hairs off his trousers. “But just how are you going to talk Dana into taking Moe as a roommate?”
“I can cover that,” Flynn said smugly. “Ill tell her Im moving in at her place, and well have the expected argument. Ill give in, then ask her if she wont at least compromise by taking Moe so I can sleep at night. Shell feel sorry for me and agree so she doesnt come off as bitchy.”
“Ive always admired your sneaky, serpentine methods,” Brad commented.
“Justgotta keep your eye on the goal. Which brings us back to the key.”