The Fate of the Muse - By Derrolyn Anderson Page 0,98
around, and kneeling in my seat, grabbed for my surfboard and flipped it up over the back of the convertible into the path of the pursuing car. On impact with the street, the board shattered into several pieces, bouncing off the pavement and flying up into their windshield. Their car swerved, losing control for a split second before smashing into a fire hydrant. The last thing I saw was a stream of water flying high into the sky, the black sedan hopelessly disabled on the sidewalk.
Cruz turned into an alley, and Evie’s car started making a horrible scraping sound. We limped along for a while, finally pulling over and getting out. Cruz checked the front end, while I looked up and down the street suspiciously.
“I’m afraid we shredded a tire,” he said, “We’re on foot from now on.”
I was still shaking from the whole ordeal, and I rushed over to embrace him, “Thank you.”
“Where do we go from here?” he asked.
We were just down the street from Bill’s coffeeshop, and I reached in the car to scoop up my bag, “I know a place.”
We hurried down the street, ducking into the alley behind the stores. Cruz followed along, unquestioning, until we reached the stairs leading to my studio.
“Where are we going?” his voice was higher than normal.
I clambered up the stairs, motioning for him to follow, letting us into the loft, closing the door and locking it behind us. “This is my art studio,” I explained, “Nobody knows about it but Ethan.”
“How long have you had it?” he asked, looking around inquisitively.
“Only a few weeks,” I said, going over to check out the window. “I’m renting it from Bill. It’s right over top of his place.”
Cruz walked over to stand by me, looking down at the street, “We should call Evie.”
I shook my head, “I was warned that her friend Olivia is working with Edwards… and she’s using her to watch me.” I met his eyes, “I could put Evie in real danger.”
“So call Boris then.”
I paused for a moment, and then smiled up at Cruz. I was surprised at how I’d overlooked the obvious. Boris knew all about the council; not only would he believe me, but he’d never do anything to hurt Evie. I grabbed my phone and called him.
Boris listened carefully as I explained my suspicions about Olivia to him. He made a little angry sound when I told him how Cruz’s boyfriend Brad was really a member of the Edwards family, and how we had just escaped a harrowing car chase through Santa Cruz.
“Tell him I’m sorry about the car,” whispered Cruz.
“Stay vere you are,” Boris told me, “I’m on ze vay.”
I hung up the phone, going limp with relief. The formidable Boris was coming to help, and I was confident that he’d know what to do.
I sighed, “Do you want a cup of tea?”
We sat down on the couch together, and the reality of the situation began to sink in. Now they were willing to grab me in broad daylight, and they didn’t seem to care if Cruz knew. I wondered what had changed, thinking that it could only be the fact that I had stumbled onto Barbara Watson’s family connections. But the election was a done deal; that bell couldn’t be un-rung, and no-one would ever believe me about the congressman’s death. I wondered why they would even consider me a threat.
“Marina, why didn’t you ever call the police?”
“There was no proof, and they threatened–” I stopped myself.
Cruz looked confused, “That car… You think that was Brad’s dad?”
“I’m sure it was someone that works for him… or for his aunt.”
“Why would his aunt have anything to do with this? I thought she was an environmentalist!”
I just looked at him sadly, hating every second of the conversation, wishing I could avoid causing him any pain. I wanted to be with Ethan so badly it hurt.
He studied my face gravely, no doubt remembering how traumatized I’d been when I returned from my last stay at the Edwards mansion, “Marina… What did they do to you?”
I paused for a moment, and started talking, “It was these two big thugs that worked for Edwards– they caught me when I went looking for Lorelei. I thought she was in trouble–”
“I remember,” Cruz whispered.
I went on, “They took me to the Edwards house, down that hall from the garage. There were two locked rooms on either side… windowless… with no way out… like jail cells.”