Op Nahual.
Chapter Thirteen
Hallie
“No! Abso-fucking-lutely not!” Avery paced the full length of the living room with one hand on his hip and the other running through his cropped blond hair.
“Ayve, I know you’re upset, b—”
“Upset!”he exclaimed, throwing both arms wide and whirling on me. “Yeah, I’m fucking upset. You literally just got back from Mexico, broken and an emotional wreck, and now you’re telling me you’re going to Cape Town for the foreseeable future. What part of that plan sounds like a fucking stellar idea, Hallie?”
“The part where I get answers about my mom,” I bit back, lifting my chin and standing my ground.
An exasperated growl left his chest. “Hells, it’s too soon after what you’ve just been through.”
“It’s not! I need to shift my focus.”
“By burying your head in another issue?”
“Yeah!”
He huffed, paced, then swung in my direction. “Wait a week, and I’ll come with you.”
I admired his concern, but he wouldn’t change my mind. “I’m going in two days, Ayve. Whether you support me or not.”
His expression softened and he let out a heavy sigh. “Babe, I’ve supported you from the moment she went missing. I know how much this means to you, but I’m afraid you’re using one high-stress situation to ignore the other. Please, just wait until I’m done with this course, then I can come. Someone needs to go with you.”
“I won’t be alone—the girls at work have my back.” The little white lie slid out effortlessly, and I ignored the pang of unease it gave me. “Besides, I’ve already booked my flights.”
Avery’s face paled. A sharp cuss left his mouth and he ran both hands over his head again. “I don’t like being backed into a corner, Hells.”
“Neither do I. And I sure as hell don’t like being controlled.”
“Contro—” he cut off and grumbled something under his breath, then set his piercing blue glare on me. “Do you not remember what that letter said?”
The gravity of his question stole my breath and left me fighting to keep each inhale and exhale even. I reached for the counter for support. The letter in question was from Mom, and a constant niggle in the back of my mind.
“Ayve, please don’t.”
He pinched his fingers together and came at me, punctuating the air as he enunciated each syllable.“Do not try to find me;those were the exact words, Hallie. Do. Not. Try. To. Find. Me. Which part of that screamscome and find me?”
I backhanded his poised fingers from the air and got in his face. “And what if she was forced to write it, huh? I don’t believe she would simply cut me off for no reason, then disappear for years. Because that’s how long it’s taken to find her, Ayve. Literally years, and she’s in the last place I expected to find her. After vowing to never set foot in South Africa again, you have to admit that her being there doesn’t sit right.”
His lips pursed into a firm line and the corners of his eyes narrowed. “I agree with that, but not you going alone.”
“I’ll be fine, I promise.”
He reached for my hands and threaded our fingers together. “Hallie, have you considered that she went back to your father and just didn’t want you to know about it?”
“Not a fucking chance. She hated him for taking me from her.” I went to tug away but he held firm. A whirl of unease circulated in my stomach. “She fought to get me back. Formonths. Until a government chaperone collected me from the house and took me to the airport.”
“A government chaperone?” Avery was no fool, and I saw the slivers of disbelief in dusky blue irises. He gave it to me straight. “Through the eyes of a child, yes, your mom fought for you. But there would have been things seven-year-old you wouldn’t have noticed, Hells. Something isn’t adding up.”
I disentangled my fingers from his and set my hands on my hips. “No shit, Sherlock. That’s exactly why I’m going: to get answers.”
“Hal—”
“No.” I snapped up a hand. “I scoured the globe with piss-weak resources until I started working for Claire. Even with her geek team, it took over a year of searching to find Mom. Why the fuck would I simply go—” I brushed my hands together, “—my job here is done.”