Chapter 35 Good dare
COURTNEY
“Slept well?”
Tyler's eyes groggily opened, squinting them for a while to get used to the light.
Unfortunately, my journey back to the house from the club lasted about an hour as there was no cab at that ungodly hour.
“You smell horrible, Aunt Courtney”, Tyler groaned, turning his face to the other side.
My jaws hung open in horror, not knowing whether to be horrified at myself or the distasteful words coming out of a child's mouth.
“Well too bad your game pad smells so horribly since I touched it, and you can't play with it anymore”, I finally said, seizing his pad while he jumped off the bed, offering a bunch of apologies.
I quickly shushed him to avoid waking Leah up and got into my bedroom before saying another word.
“I’m thinking of putting you both in another school as soon as possible, so which around the area would you prefer?” I asked, folding my arms across my chest.
He was quick to frown, obviously in disagreement, probably because of the trauma from their previous school.
“Listen, you don't have to be scared of—
“What makes you think they wouldn't come after us?” He cut in, and my eyes widened gradually as the last words I said to Lucas the night before started coming back to me.
“Where did you go last night, by the way?”, he asked again, giving me a suspicious look. “You definitely smelt like something my mum would disapprove of”.
“If only you knew how—” my lips slammed shut as I felt like hitting my head against a wall. What was wrong with me? For fuck’s sake I was about to argue with a kid?
My pupils roamed around the room in guilt, unable to meet his eyes for any reason. Oh boy! This kid would be the death of me if Zora didn't come fast.
“Well, I wasn't there for any disapproving reason” I replied, opening my wardrobe and pondered on the look I was going to serve today.
“Sure, she'd be proud to know the lengths you're going just to find her”
My head snapped backwards, searching for any trace of sarcasm in his eyes but there was none of that except a blank stare. “How did you know that?” I fired, not knowing exactly why it riled me up so much.
Just to make it worse, he only shrugged his shoulders, giving me an expectant look. I threw my arms up in the air, breathing out a hopeless sigh as I gave in to his silent demands. She was his mum afterall and he deserved to know what was happening.
“He asked for thirty-six million just to tell me where he saw her, and I don't have that kind of money. I'm sorry kiddo” I said, fiddling with my fingers.
“Whatever. He could be lying, you know. If he was so certain, why didn't he give you a clue then?” He asked in his usual tone.
My gaze dropped to the floor, recalling the man's last words from last night. ‘Werewolves cost that much for a reason darling’.
“I… I think he did, Tyler. His description was somewhat very accurate” I defended, scratching the side of my neck in an awkward manner. “And sweetie…” I lightly squeezed his shoulders reassuringly. “Your mother is a really strong lady. I know she's going to make it somehow and get back to you both”.
For the first time since Zora's abduction, his eyes grew teary, which felt like one of the rarest times he allowed himself to be a kid again. Not just a brother who had a sister to always watch out for.
“You promise?”
My phone vibrated
I instinctively opened my phone to see who it was, and a sly grin crept up my cheeks.
“I'll do you one better”, I raised my eyebrows, “how about we find your mom together?”
He blinked once as if slipping the tears back into his eyes, and fist bumped me in agreement.
Two hours later, Tyler and I sat at a cafe shop, wearing the matching glasses we'd purchased on the way and slowly sipping their signature juice.
Leah was left at the estaurant to please herself while I reached out to a few of the workers I trusted to keep an eye on her as well.
“Her waterworks wouldn't be a good look for this mission”, he'd said, waving his wrists dismissively while I tried not to smile.
As for the mission he was talking about, it turns out Zora had been seen by a few people who'd all reached out to me between last night and this morning.
Unwilling to be put in last night's situation for a second time by letting a stranger pick the location, I'd chosen this place and given each of them a specific time.
Soon, a red-haired woman in some ceremonial gown arrived, claiming to have a lead. However, half way through the questioning, she finally admitted to being drunk that day and was ‘sorry’ for wasting my time.
The second arrived and was a guy this time. He truly confirmed seeing Zora in the next city, coming out of a car in a white dress, suggesting she ran away just like ninety percent of everyone's conclusions.
“Asshole!” I cursed at his retreating figure after emptying my cup of coffee on him.
By the third down to the fifth, I barely paid any attention, knowing the person they saw was definitely not Zora.
“Miss? Miss? Are you listening? Twenty million is all I need, and I'd tell you exactly where she is”.
I raised my eyes to her face and took a quick glance at her, easily guessing she was a mother. “Do you have a kid?” I asked still.
She nodded, blinking in confusion.
“My best friend is a mother as well”, I started, my voice bare of any emotion, “And they watched their mother being taken away on her wedding day”.
I noticed the sorrowful gleam in her eyes as she could not take her eyes off Tyler, who tried hard not to squirm.
“Now let me ask you a question”, I asked, leaning forward on the table. “Have you ever tried to imagine what your child would go through if you got kidnapped in the blink of an eye and you knew no one could save you, except yourself?”
Her lips trembled, clearly horrified at the thought.
So I continued, “Just so you know, these kids are going through it right now — and you’d forever be one of the greedy and selfish people who only wanted to make some fortune out of their misfortune”
Without another word, I held Tyler hands as we stood and made our way out of the cafe in silence.
I really shouldn't have given him something to hope for.
“Breakfast is ready!” I yelled from the kitchen
Two lazy footsteps made their way to the kitchen with a long face.
“It’s bacon and eggs today again, right?” Leah asked, taking her seat at the table while Tyler followed suit, looking indifferent.
“Don’t tell me you have a problem with it." I replied, serving into their plate.
As if on cue. The doorbell rang
The three of us looked at each other wearing a frown as we weren't expecting anyone, at least not today.
Besides, no one knew of this place. I made sure to be careful.
Making my way towards the door cautiously, my heart couldn't help but pound erratically.
Ever since the thought of anyone coming for Leah and Tyler had crossed my mind, I'd become scared of taking them outside the house at all.
I opened the door wearily, shock replacing my features almost immediately.
“Lucas?”
Shock and relief spread throughout my face at the same time while the kids ran past me to hug him, saying lots of things at the same time.
“What a nice surprise” I murmured, heading back to the kitchen, and brought out a plate. “Care for some bacon and eggs?” I yelled, already serving some in his plate.
“Oh no, no. Who wants something more fancy for breakfast?” He asked the kids in return, and they both screamed happily, and went with Lucas without so much as a goodbye.
My phone rang, disrupting the silence.
I picked up the vibrating phone from the counter, surprised to see a call from my private investigator.
“Hello?” I said into the phone.
“We've just recovered a picture of one of Zora's abductors from some CCTV cameras. I'm emailing it now” he announced.
I hurriedly tapped the mail open to see the picture.
The man stared right at the camera like he was daring anyone to find him.
Zora's abductor! His face became clearer in my head.
Well, who didn't like a good dare?