She rubbed her finger against its smooth surface. “Does it always glow like this?”
Alek took his hand off her shoulder and picked up the talisman.
“That’s weird. It stopped,” Eva said.
Muffled voices caught Eva’s attention, and she pressed her face against the door. “Bridget’s back.”
“What is she saying? What’s going on?”
“I don’t know. I can’t tell,” she said, watching the monitor. “Too bad advanced hearing isn’t one of your super powers.”
The keypad beeped, and Alek pulled her away from the door and into the nearest closet. Fur coats and winter boots filled the cramped space, and Eva pressed her body against Alek’s to make enough room to close the door. The crystal flared back to life, and Alek covered the bright beam with his hand.
“Why does it keep doing that?” she whispered.
“I have never witnessed it before. It must have something to do with you. You are the Oracle.”
“Oracle? What are you talking about?”
“So sorry you waited for so long,” Bridget said loudly. “But as you can see, there’s no Eva in here.”
Footsteps echoed off the hardwood as one of the detectives looked around.
“So Eva didn’t come up here with you?” James asked.
“Like I said, she freaked out at the hospital, and I haven’t seen her since she forced me to drop her off at the bus stop.”
“And your friend, Alek. Seen him lately?” The detective’s country twang made his words rough and choppy.
Bridget chuckled nervously. “I wouldn’t really call him a friend. I only talked to him that one time. So, no, I haven’t seen him.”
“If you do,” he continued, “don’t approach him. Call us right away. He could be real dangerous.”
“Will do.” Footsteps returned to the door, and the hinges whined as Bridget opened it. “Thanks for stopping by, Detectives.” The door closed, and she let out a big sigh.
Eva pushed open the closet door. “That was way too close.”
“You’re telling me. I was sure I’d open the door and the two of you would just be standing there out in the open. I’m glad you found someplace to hide.”
“And you did a fantastic job lying.” Eva tripped over a pair of sparkly Ugg boots and flailed to grab onto anything to keep from falling on her face.
“I got you.” Alek’s strong arms caught her around the waist. He lifted her to her feet, and she rested in his embrace.
“Thanks.” She tucked a few stray hairs behind her ear and smiled up at him.
“Are you two having a moment or no?” Bridget asked.
“No.” Eva smoothed out her shirt and backed away. “I, uh, I just—”
“No need to explain. If hunky Hercules wrapped me in those arms we would take a lot longer to get untangled.” She smirked.
Alek cleared his throat. “We can no longer stay here. It’s not safe.”
“He’s right,” Eva said, shoving the shoes back in the closet. “We have to go somewhere they won’t be looking for us.”
“How about our country house? You can stay as long as you need to,” Bridget offered.
“Since when do you have a house in the country?”
“Since always. It’s north of Mohawk Park, or maybe it’s west. I don’t know. Either way, we used to go there like every week when we were younger.”
“Oh, that house. It’s definitely still in Tulsa city limits, not the country.”
“But it is in the absolute middle of nowhere. No one ever goes out there, and it’d be a perfect place to lay low.”
“And you are sure the police will not visit there as well?” Alek asked.
“Positive. They’d have to search real hard to even find out about it.”
“Bridget, you’ve already done too much. I can’t let you put yourself in another situation that could get you in trouble.”
“We have an office full of smarmy lawyers that get paid whether or not they’re actually working. Why not give them a little something to do?”
Twenty-Seven
Bridget’s country house stood nestled between towering pecan trees on a quiet five acres. She guided the SUV up the long gravel driveway and into the garage. “We may not be in the country country, but it’s a good thirty minutes to the nearest Saks,” she said, hopping out of the car and leading them into the house.
“I’ll take a walk around to be sure this place is safe,” Alek said.
“Do whatever you want,” Bridget said, dumping her bag on the kitchen counter.
“If you need me, just yell. I will come.”
Alek shut the door, and Bridget’s eyes immediately darted to Eva. “He’s hot, right? You gotta love that macho Superman thing he has going on. And that tight shirt. Sexy, sexy.”
Eva shrugged. “I guess. I mean, I have more to think about than how he looks in his clothes.”
“In his clothes? I was hoping we could find a way to get him out of them,” she snickered.
“Oh, Bridge.” Eva rolled her eyes.