Read Online Strange Fates (Nyx Fortuna) by Marlene Perez - Free Book Online Page A

distract me from my plan, and Elizabeth could be much more than a distraction.
    “I need a break,” I said. I stood and went down the hall to the bathroom, where I splashed cold water on my face.
    When I went back into the living room, Elizabeth was gone, so I headed for the guest room.
    I bumped into someone standing in the hall and reached out to steady her. Elizabeth.
    “I thought you went to bed,” I said.
    “I needed to check on something.” She didn’t move away from me. We were so close I could smell the alcohol on her breath.
    We stood there, in the dark, where it was quiet, except for the sound of our breath mingling. I wanted to kiss her more than anything. Instead, I realized I was holding her and took a step back.
    “Good night,” I said.
    “Good night,” she replied.
    A pair of men’s pajamas was folded neatly on the bed. I took off my jeans and slid into the cotton bottoms. A fellow could get used to this kind of life, but I needed to keep my distance from her. I needed to find my mother’s charms, take care of the aunties, and get out of Minneapolis. I needed to get away from Elizabeth.

Chapter Eight
    The next morning, the weather finally cleared up. When I came down to the kitchen, Jenny was drinking a Bloody Mary. The smell of vodka was strong so I sat at the opposite end of the counter in my borrowed pajama bottoms. The house was warm so I hadn’t bothered with a T-shirt. Besides, I bet it pissed Jenny off that I was walking around shirtless. She’d taken an immediate dislike to me, which was more than reciprocated.
    “A little early, isn’t it?”
    “That’s rich coming from you,” she snapped.
    Elizabeth walked in wearing a maroon sweater and a plaid skirt. Complete posh schoolgirl outfit, even down to the pearls studs decorating her earlobes and the headband in her hair.
    I poured a bowl of Wheaties and offered it to her, but she shook her head. “You look different,” I said. “Like a schoolgirl.”
    “I am a schoolgirl,” she said. She laughed at the look of horror on my face.
    “Scared you, didn’t I?” She chuckled. “I’m completely legal. I’m in college.”
    I was perplexed by the many faces she’d shown me. Who was the real Elizabeth?
    “I have a class in approximately twenty minutes,” she continued. “What are you going to do today?”
    “I’ve got stuff to do,” I said. I was going to hit the streets to look for my mother’s charms. I needed to check my messages. I’d never heard from the guy I was supposed to meet at the Red Dragon. It worried me that someone else had bought the charm from him before I could. Or worse.
    “You could come with me,” she suggested.
    I shook my head. “I’m done with school,” I said.
    “Dropout,” I heard Jenny mutter.
    I ignored her. “I could use a ride to my car.”
    I wouldn’t be surprised if Gaston was already trolling the city looking for me. The guy had the nose of a bloodhound when it came to me. He’d sniffed out my hiding spot more times than I wanted to admit. He and my aunts would figure out I was here soon enough, but I wanted it to be a surprise. The kind they’d never forget.
    I grabbed my stuff and walked out to Elizabeth’s sports car. She slid into the driver’s seat and started the car. “Where to?” she asked.
    “It’s just a couple of blocks away,” I said.
    “You promise you’ll call me?” she asked.
    She grabbed my phone and programmed her number into it. It was the kind of phone you could use a couple of times and toss, but it freaked me out to have her number stored there.
    “Don’t you have to get to class?”
    She made a face at me but headed the car in the right direction.
    She sang along with the radio as we drove. I didn’t say anything, just watched her. Why was she so eager to keep me around? I didn’t kid myself that it was my strong jaw. She wanted something from me, besides finding her brother, but I wasn’t sure what it was. A competent private detective could