Page 48 of Property of Quake

She absently reaches for Stella to pet her and nods. “Yeah.”

We join some of Quake’s brothers, and I’m happy to note that they no longer feel the need to serve a huge spread just to make sure there’s something Melissa and I like to eat.

The rest of the day passes much like they all do since we arrived at the clubhouse. Melissa and I spend time outside, playing with Stella so she gets her exercise, and then we move back to Quake’s suite while he works on ‘club business’.

The first time he told me he had to do that, I asked questions and got no answers. I was hurt but quickly realized it wasn’t because he didn’t want to share with me, he simply couldn’t.

I don’t like secrets, but I dislike lies even more so I count myself lucky that he’s not making stuff up just to placate me.

The afternoon passes while I help Melissa work on some of her school work. When it became apparent that we were going to be here for longer than anticipated, Quake had one of the prospects go to Sacred Haven and gather all of her school supplies so I could continue her home-school curriculum.

We finish her math lesson, and then I let her watch some TV. She’s on her second episode of some cartoon, her eyelids drooping, when Quake strides through the door.

He’s moving quickly, purposefully, and his hard expression puts me on full alert. I cross the room to him, somehow sensing that whatever is going on, Melissa doesn’t need to hear it.

“What happened?” I ask.

He looks over my shoulder as if making sure the little girl is occupied. Seemingly satisfied, he settles his eyes on mine.

“We need to talk.”

“Okay.”

“Not here,” he says before going to Melissa. “Hey, sweetheart, how are ya doing?”

She shrugs. “I’m okay.”

“That’s good. Um, Whitney and I need to talk for a minute. Will you be okay here with Stella if we leave you alone for a few minutes?”

“You won’t go far?” she counters.

“We’ll just be in the hall, I promise.”

We. Not me, not Quake, but… we.

Somewhere along the way, we became one, at least as far as Melissa is concerned.

Quake grabs my hand and tugs me into the hallway, making sure the door is shut before exhaling heavily.

“What is going on?” I demand. “You’re scaring me.”

“We found something.”

My ears perk up. “About what happened to Melissa?”

He shakes his head, killing my hope. “No. But…” Quake runs a hand through his hair. “Okay, so, normally, I wouldn’t be able to tell you all of this, but Lyric gave me the green light.”

“Why?”

He hesitates. “Because you’re a nun?” he teases, but the joke falls flat.

“Gee, thanks. Now tell me the truth.”

“Fine. There might be a connection to Sacred Haven.”

“What?” I shake my head. “Just spell it all out for me because you’re not making any sense.”

“Right. A little over a week ago, one of our prospects, Keith, had a girl here for a party. She looked really fucking young, and that didn’t sit right with any of us. I was tasked with trying to figure out who she is, her age, and anything else about Keith that I could.”