Jolyon and Tucker are planning on talking to you and Mason.
Serena's words bounced around Eva's head.
Tucker wants me there for him. I wasn't sure if it was a good idea or not but I do now want to be there. I just... when it happens I'm going to have to let them do it and sit there quietly but I want you to remember that I'm there for you and that I've known about it for a while but I believe in you and Mason. Okay?
It was hard to concentrate on her work, the numbers swimming before her in their tiny handwritten columns, a distraction from the real concerns of her life.
...I believe in you and Mason.
Eva shook her head, as if she could physically shake free of the thoughts, and got up from her desk. The words remained, circling round and round.
Jolyon and Tucker are planning on talking to you and Mason.
About what? No matter how Eva played it, she couldn't work it out. If Tucker was involved it couldn't be about the Muse... could it?
She frowned and looked out her office window at the waterfront. The usual hustle and bustle of the docks was in full swing. Ships being loaded and unloaded, crates being hefted by strong men with pulley systems and carts, foremen pacing up and down gangplanks, their loud shouts a pleasant soundtrack to her workday.
Eva looked towards the buildings that lined the waterfront, and then she froze. It was hard to miss the nine foot tall troll standing with his back to the buildings, side arm prominently displayed, his front tusks jutting around the blunt end of a cigar. Eva laughed softly as she watched passersby cutting a wide berth around him. Peatters. Ghost's head of security.
He smiled when he saw her coming out of the Yransea warehouse and heading towards him. He shifted from his lean and looked down at her. "Hoi Eva."
"Hey Peatters." She smiled easily, even as the massive troll bent down, wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off her feet for a hug. She laughed as she returned the embrace, her feet dangling. "Alright, babe, put me down." She glanced over her shoulder towards the warehouse as her feet touched back on the ground. With a hand on his arm she started to walk him down a shadowed side street. "What brings you to my part of town?"
The troll reached into a jacket pocket and pulled free a large-size envelope. "Da boss wanted me to give this to you."
Eva turned the envelope over and pulled it open. A handful of photographs slid out. Her brow furrowed as she oriented them in her hands.
The photos were of Tucker. Coming in and out of an apartment building on a variety of days. She couldn't tell how much time apart the photos were taken, but Tucker's clothes and appearance changed from shot to shot. But the building was the same, familiar somehow, and she wasn't sure why. A maple tree to one side changed colors and fell bare. Eva stared at the tree. The maple tree. Her mouth went dry. The photos trembled in her hands. She took a deep shaky breath.
It was the maple tree across from her apartment. Tucker was going into the apartment building that faced hers and Mason's.
Beneath the last photo was a note.
I'm not the only one watching you, babe.
G.
Serena's words bounced around Eva's head.
Tucker wants me there for him. I wasn't sure if it was a good idea or not but I do now want to be there. I just... when it happens I'm going to have to let them do it and sit there quietly but I want you to remember that I'm there for you and that I've known about it for a while but I believe in you and Mason. Okay?
It was hard to concentrate on her work, the numbers swimming before her in their tiny handwritten columns, a distraction from the real concerns of her life.
...I believe in you and Mason.
Eva shook her head, as if she could physically shake free of the thoughts, and got up from her desk. The words remained, circling round and round.
Jolyon and Tucker are planning on talking to you and Mason.
About what? No matter how Eva played it, she couldn't work it out. If Tucker was involved it couldn't be about the Muse... could it?
She frowned and looked out her office window at the waterfront. The usual hustle and bustle of the docks was in full swing. Ships being loaded and unloaded, crates being hefted by strong men with pulley systems and carts, foremen pacing up and down gangplanks, their loud shouts a pleasant soundtrack to her workday.
Eva looked towards the buildings that lined the waterfront, and then she froze. It was hard to miss the nine foot tall troll standing with his back to the buildings, side arm prominently displayed, his front tusks jutting around the blunt end of a cigar. Eva laughed softly as she watched passersby cutting a wide berth around him. Peatters. Ghost's head of security.
He smiled when he saw her coming out of the Yransea warehouse and heading towards him. He shifted from his lean and looked down at her. "Hoi Eva."
"Hey Peatters." She smiled easily, even as the massive troll bent down, wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off her feet for a hug. She laughed as she returned the embrace, her feet dangling. "Alright, babe, put me down." She glanced over her shoulder towards the warehouse as her feet touched back on the ground. With a hand on his arm she started to walk him down a shadowed side street. "What brings you to my part of town?"
The troll reached into a jacket pocket and pulled free a large-size envelope. "Da boss wanted me to give this to you."
Eva turned the envelope over and pulled it open. A handful of photographs slid out. Her brow furrowed as she oriented them in her hands.
The photos were of Tucker. Coming in and out of an apartment building on a variety of days. She couldn't tell how much time apart the photos were taken, but Tucker's clothes and appearance changed from shot to shot. But the building was the same, familiar somehow, and she wasn't sure why. A maple tree to one side changed colors and fell bare. Eva stared at the tree. The maple tree. Her mouth went dry. The photos trembled in her hands. She took a deep shaky breath.
It was the maple tree across from her apartment. Tucker was going into the apartment building that faced hers and Mason's.
Beneath the last photo was a note.
I'm not the only one watching you, babe.
G.