Heedless (The Hellbound Brotherhood #4) - Shannon McKenna Page 0,82
It emanated looming disaster, but in the center, a big hole was torn through it, like an exit point from a cave that let the light spill in. Outside the darkness was a blaze of color, luring the viewer out. Flowers, plants, animals. Life. Hope.
Two small figures were silhouetted in front of that opening, running toward it. Their long shadows stretched out behind them to merge with the darkness.
It was huge. By far the biggest painting she had ever done. And thank God she had something to work on. She’d be a basket case if she didn’t have a project. The only time she could breathe at all was when she was painting something.
Or rather, painting was the only time she could breathe when Nate wasn’t here to help her. Nate had his own wicked, delicious ways of making her calm down.
Just thinking of them brought a dreamy smile to her face.
The doorbell made Elisa spring up into the air, panicked. Shit. Who…?
The security system in the building was state-of-the-art, and all entrances were guarded by professionals, and still that doomsday feeling was so hard to shake. Her mind just couldn’t convince her body to relax. But a glance through the peephole showed that Demi and Eric stood outside, and panic was swiftly replaced by joy.
She threw the door open and hugged Demi hard, then gave Eric the same treatment “When did you guys get back?”
“Just this morning,” Eric told her. “We crashed last night in a hotel near the airport and took off at the crack of dawn.”
“Right,” Demi said, looking up at him ruefully. “Because this guy can’t seem to sleep past five AM, no matter what I do to him all night long.”
“Come in, come in.” Elisa dragged Demi into apartment by the hand. Demi looked great, glowing with a freshly acquired tan, some brand new freckles, and the soft-focus all-over sparkle of being madly in love and utterly sexually satiated. Eric gave off more or less the same blissed-out vibe, in masculine form.
So it was all good. The honeymoon had rocked. Yay.
“We spent all our time lolling on the beach and swimming,” Demi admitted. “Which was great, but the sky fell while we were gone, and we missed it!”
“I’m really sorry I wasn’t here to help when you needed it,” Eric said.
“I’m glad you were both well away,” Elisa said fervently. “And I’m also glad that I can finally be straight with you about everything. It bothered the hell out of me that I had to lie to you all the time. I hate being dishonest with a friend.”
“You were just trying to protect us,” Demi assured her. “Forget about it.”
“Good thing Nate was with you when that bastard finally found you,” Eric said.
“Oh hey, I’ve got something for you,” Demi said. “Eric? Show her.” Eric hoisted up a large planter with a luxuriant fern plant bursting out of it.
“It’s a housewarming present,” Demi told her. “I’m so excited that you’re my neighbor now, and right upstairs from Anton and Fi’s apartment, too. So excellent.”
“Yeah, it’s wonderful,” Elisa agreed. “If I have to be under a security umbrella, at least I have fabulous company there.”
“God, yes. Kimball knows that hurting you would hurt us. So we’ll be in each other’s pockets until we’ve sorted this out. And in my pocket is my favorite place for you to be. All the best people, right at my fingertips. It’s my dream come true.”
“Me, too,” Elisa admitted. “I’ve never felt so at home anyplace as I feel here.”
Eric turned away and gave them some space for tearful laughter and long hugs. They went on at some length. After they got the sniffling under control, Elisa turned to see Eric standing, transfixed, in front of her painting.
Demi joined him, and looked at it herself for several minutes before turning back to look at Elisa. “I should have known, from the chalk drawings,” she said.
“Known what?” Elisa asked.
“This is your thing.” Demi gestured at the painting, her tone matter-of-fact. “Your big thing. Your sacred thing. Your future does not include running a restaurant and a catering company with me. This is your work now.”
“I loved working with you,” Elisa told her. “It was a great experience.”
Demi’s eyes were wet again. “I loved it, too. But even if that part of it’s over, I’m just glad that you’ll be near me. I was so afraid you were going to want to go