“I, um…I…” How was I going to tell him that I was standing right in front of Dominic Dane’s house?
“They told me you were at the office. You left right away,” he continued, thankfully.
“Yeah, I just needed to drop something off with—”
“Yes—I know. That’s what I’m calling about,” the Chief said. He always sounded angry, so I wasn’t exactly sure if he really was pissed off right now or just being his normal self.
“Oh,” I said, confused for a moment. I thought he’d be calling about the report I sent this morning. I probably screwed it up, considering how exhausted I’d been, and the little time I’d had to work on it, but…
“Yeah. Robison told me about the potion. I need to speak to your mother.”
Narrowing my brows, I shook my head as if he could see me. “About what?”
“The damn potion, De Ver,” he said, suddenly sounding exhausted. “It works. It’s a fucking miracle. I want her on the team.”
Laughter burst out of me before I could control myself.
“De Ver.” My mouth clamped shut right away. “Not a joke. Text me her number.”
“Actually, Chief, my mom’s a pixie and she lives in Everer. Right now, she’s fast asleep because she was up all night creating that formula for me,” I said, still smiling.
“Right,” the Chief muttered. “Pixies and their islands. I’ll still want to talk to her tomorrow.”
“How about you let me talk to her first? Because if you call her, it’s gonna be a no.”
“What? Why not? It’s the ODP. And we need her. None of those fuckers from the Research crew could have come up with that thing so fast.”
My heart all but burst with pride. I could hardly believe my own ears.
“I know that, but she’s very determined. Very pixie-like. So let me talk to her first, see how she feels, and then I’ll give you her number. How about that?”
“No,” the Chief said. “I need her here by next week.”
“Oh, well, then it’s a no. I’ll save you time—she will never leave Everer.”
“But—”
“Chief, trust me, okay? Let me talk to her. She’s my mom—I know her better. Just trust me.”
A second of silence. “Fine,” he muttered, and the line went dead.
Still, I couldn’t stop smiling when I put my phone back in my purse. The Chief wanted my mom to work for the ODP.
Oh, God, she was going to hate me for even mentioning it. I was going to have to treadverycarefully if she was even going to listen to me. She hated everything not pixie. Every place that wasn’t an isolated island full of plants and pixies. And she wasnevergoing to leave home, but she could still do work through the phone, just like she did with me today, and every other time I’d needed her help before. It would work perfectly.
Ifshe said yes.
And I already couldn’t wait to talk to her about it, but right now, another thing the Chief said came to my mind as I walked up the stairs to the door.It works. It’s a fucking miracle.
Which meant that bottle I had in my purse could very well work for…
Derek opened the door, a huge smile on his face, even before I had the chance to knock.
“Teddy!” He moved fast and put an arm around my shoulders, slamming me to his chest in a hug.
“Oh,” I breathed, surprised and a bit uncomfortable, but he let me go right away.
“What are you up to? Have you come for dinner?” he said, moving up to his tiptoes then back on his heels again. His brilliant green eyes roamed around my face like they were looking for something hidden there.