EYES: By Lori Titus |

EYES: By Lori Titus

The Marradith Ryder Series Part 52

Rafael is an ass, Will thought. There’s no way around it.

Rafael came down to question Will about the surveillance surrounding Ryder House. He wanted new protocols enforced that would record, time, and catalog any movements around the house.

“Are you really asking me to tighten the perimeter scan, or do you want me to watch Marradith?” Will asked. “I can do it, but that presents challenges. You know that she can control…electrical things.”

“I need to know how she managed to sneak off the estate and no one noticed, until she was already gone for hours.”

Will took a breath in, measuring his reply. He didn’t want to make Rafael any angrier than he already was.

“Our cameras did catch Marradith leaving the house. She went out the front gate and waited for Justin for about five minutes. He picked her up, and that was it.”

Rafael rubbed his beard. Will could see the wheels spinning. Justin was already wearing a black suit when he left. Marradith was wearing a white dress when he came for her. How long had they been planning it, he wondered?

Will looked up and saw Fiona staring down at them from the gallery above.

Her hair was down this morning, fiery red. Her face looked a little paler than usual. She didn’t have on any makeup. He could see the freckles on her skin, and the dark blue of her vivid eyes. He managed a nod, just an acknowledgement. Rafael kept fussing, but Will only half heard him.

Fiona held his stare for a moment, and she shrugged. Will paused to answer one of Rafael’s questions. When he looked up again, she was gone.

He knew what all of this was about. He was pissed that Justin and Marradith got married. When Justin told him he’d take care of things with the family, Rafael assumed that meant he’d break things off with the girl.

It gave Will a sort of childish satisfaction to know he’d been even indirectly involved in anything that got Castillo’s proverbial drawers in a bunch.

Justin had come to him a few days before, asking for a favor. Will had a list of judges that were on Leighton’s payroll. It was quite easy to have one of them write out an order for a marriage license.

Of course it was a favor for Mr. Leighton Ryder. The bride was his beloved… Will said daughter, just to make things less confusing.

“Not like anyone is looking for Leighton,” Justin said with a grin. “We should be able use his contacts… well, for years.”

“It’s all good,” Will told Justin with a smile. “ The license will be here by tomorrow. Remember, you owe me now.”

They shook on it.

Rafael’s sour voice snapped Will back to the present.

“I’ll let you know if there’s changes to be made,” he fumed, and then stalked off.

****

Fiona decided to take a walk outside.

It was unseasonably warm for this time of year. November, and the temperature hovered around fifty five. No snow.

Tree branches cracked beneath her boots. The ground was still a bit soft from the rain a few nights before, and she stepped carefully.

The forest always seemed to make her feel better. When she was a little girl, she’d walk through the woods surrounding her home for hours. It was there that she first began to have an inkling of her powers, her attraction to the animal side of her being.

For a ShapeShifter, closeness to the elements was essential. She would never feel at ease living anyplace where she was not within walking distance of a forest or a body of water.

When she was upset, she craved it even more.

Her cell phone chirped, shaking her reverie.

“Yes,” she answered.

“Sorry I took so long,” he whispered.

She closed her eyes for a moment.

“You feel close. Where are you?”

“Turn around.”

She did as she was told.

It took a while for her to see him at first. He was a few yards off, standing behind an old tree.

She saw him smile. He put the phone down and moved carefully toward her.

“It’s better here,” Will whispered. “Too many eyes around the house.”

Fiona shook her head. Part of her was worried.

And part of her didn’t care.

Fiona put her palm against the back of his neck as he bent down to kiss her.

Want a quick who’s who of the characters in this story? Click here:

http://loribeth215.wordpress.com/2009/09/27/ryder-ology

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 25th, 2009 at 12:00 am and is filed under Lori Titus, The Marradith Ryder Series. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.