Read Online Solatium (Emanations, an urban fantasy series Book 2) by Becca Mills - Free Book Online Page B

to have any empathy for the ape. She was horrified by and terrified of him from start to finish.
    I’d just extracted the DVD and gone to the bathroom to brush my teeth when my phone rang.
    My brand new phone.
    It had to be one of the guys — no one else had the number yet. But they never called me so late.
    I touched the screen to answer. “Hello?”
    “Well hello, Miss Ryder, how are you this evening?”
    The voice was female. I stood there for several seconds, quite at a loss. Then it clicked.
    “Miss Sturluson?”
    “That’s right, my dear. How are you?”
    What the hell?
    I sat down on the side of the tub, shocked and befuddled.
    “I’m fine, thank you. And you?”
    “I’m doing just fine. Thanks for asking.”
    I let the silence stretch for a few seconds, trying to figure out how to proceed. Nothing really came to mind.
    “Miss Sturluson, it’s certainly nice to hear from you, but I’m not sure why you’re calling. Is there something I can do for you?”
    “Now, I’m sure you’ve been told not to make offers like that to people like me. Haven’t you, Miss Ryder?”
    God, what was wrong with me? The grandma voice was so good that I’d been in talking-to-a-human mode. You don’t offer to do things for Seconds.
    “Yes ma’am, I have. What is it you want?”
    “Oh, not much. I was concerned after what happened this morning. I wanted to make sure you were all right.”
    Every hair on my body seemed to stand straight up at once.
    “Was that you?”
    “Good heavens, no! I would never do such a thing. Honestly, it’s hard not to feel offended at the suggestion, Miss Ryder.”
    “Then how do you know about it?”
    “I have my ways.”
    “You have a spy in Lord Cordus’s household?”
    “A spy?” She laughed. “Such a quaint term — so Cold War, don’t you think? Such a silly concept, really, as though loyalties were black and white, and so forth.”
    A lot of words, I noticed, but no “no.”
    I was getting over my initial surprise at the call and was starting to feel angry. Clearly, Sturluson was playing at something. I didn’t like it. I was still smarting from the last time someone played me.
    “I appreciate your concern, but really, I’m fine.” I put a wrapping-things-up note into my voice. “Thank you for calling, Miss Sturluson.”
    “Just a moment, young lady. I didn’t say that was the only reason I was calling.”
    “Okay. What else?”
    “To be frank, my dear, I think you need some advice on dealing with what you encountered this morning. I believe I’m the only person who can give you that advice.”
    “I’m happy to take down any advice you have to offer and pass it along to Mr. Yellin.”
    “Leave him out of this,” she said, sounding momentarily cold. Then she laughed. “At any rate, this isn’t something to discuss over the phone, Miss Ryder. You’ll need to come to me, so I can make sure of my own protections.”
    I almost laughed. She must think I was born yesterday.
    “Miss Sturluson, I’m not going to come to your house alone in the middle of the night. Especially not after the experience I had this morning.”
    “You’ll be safe with me. I give you my word of honor.”
    “Thank you, but it’s not possible.”
    Her voice took on a dangerous undertone. “Miss Ryder, I hope you’re not calling me a liar.”
    “Not in the least, ma’am.”
    Rather than trying to explain myself, I just let it hang there. Sturluson was presenting this as something I needed from her, but I was pretty sure she actually needed something from me. I couldn’t imagine what that might be, and I figured I wouldn’t like it when I found out, but I had a feeling I was going to find out whether I wanted to or not, so there was no reason to let her dictate the terms.
    After a long pause, she said, “I suppose it’d be all right if you brought a friend.”
    “How about two friends?”
    “Yes, yes, fine,” she said, annoyed.
    “Okay. No guarantees, but let me speak to my