Hidden Heart (5 page)

“And it’s
nice
to see you, too.” His voice danced with sarcasm. “I’ll be heading there soon. I’m taking a short break from world domination at the moment.”

When his wit failed to elicit a smile from me, Nox got serious. He rested his forearms on the top of the window frame, putting his face much too close to mine as he bent and sort of hung into the car. “Listen, I heard about your friend Emmy. I’m sorry.”

“Sure you are.” I looked away and fiddled with the stereo controls.

“No really, I’m sorry. You’re upset. And believe it or not, whatever bothers you bothers me.”

I shrugged. “Well, thanks I guess, but apparently there’s nothing anyone can do.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I don’t even know how to begin to find her short of going to Los Angeles and driving around hoping to spot her walking down Sunset Boulevard. I’ve already tried to get some help, and… well, that’s not happening.”

“You mean the police?”

I shot him a give-me-a-break glance. “You know they can’t do anything. No. I mean I asked Lad to help me.”

His dark eyebrows lifted. “He turned you down?”

“Never mind. I’ll figure it out.” I pressed the button to raise the car window, causing him to back away from the opening.

He grabbed the top of the window glass before it closed completely. “Wait. Wait. Maybe I can help. I do have some connections in California. As you said, I’ve been out there a lot these past few months, rehearsing and getting things ready for the tour.”

“No,” I blurted. Connections or not, I didn’t trust Nox. Not anymore. He hadn’t been honest with me and had very possibly glamoured me with his music for purposes only he knew. No way was I going to put my faith in him. I was better off alone.

Shay picked that moment to walk back to the car.
Thank God
. Now we could leave, and I could get away from Nox and home to the beautiful Salvatore brothers.
Shoot
—were they Elven, too? Probably.

“Hi Nox. Hey Ryann, would you mind if I ride around with Lance for a while?” Shay gave me a big grin that told me their conversation had gone
very well
. Their “ride” would probably end up out at the end of the not-quite-finished bypass where kids took their cars to park and hook up.

I blew out a breath and forced a smile. Someone in this godforsaken town should be happy. “Sure. That’s great. So, he’ll take you home later then?”

She nodded, still wearing the giddy grin, and I gave her a thumbs-up. “Goodbye Nox,” I said, closing the window completely and putting the car into reverse.

He stood for a moment, too close to allow me to back out of my parking spot without crushing his toes, but then he fell back a few steps, and I pulled out and drove away, not bothering to look into the rearview mirror.

My mom shook me awake early the next morning.

“What’s going on?” I mumbled. “It’s Saturday—I mean it’s summer.” I rolled to face her and forced my heavy eyelids open.

“Nox is here,” she whispered. “Do you want to see him, or should I tell him to come back later?”

I sat up in bed, instantly awake. What the heck was he doing here? “No, I’ll get up. Give me a minute.”

It would have done me no good to try to go back to sleep, knowing Nox was right on the other side of my bedroom door.
What does he want?
And what was he doing
in my house
?

“Well, I’m on my way to work in a minute, but Grandma is here.” She kissed my forehead and hugged my shoulders. “Have a good day, okay? I’ll see you tonight.”

Giving her a smile and a wave, I slid out of bed. I’d brush my teeth and throw on some shorts and a t-shirt, then get rid of Nox as quickly as possible.

The last thing I needed was him hanging around and glamouring Mom into whatever whim he had on his mind. She might be on her way out, but it was no secret she always had a few minutes to spare for him. Like most other females, she was highly susceptible to his charms, in spite of her half-Elven heritage.

Glancing at the mirror, I momentarily considered trying to deal with the bed head but decided it really didn’t matter. Maybe the Medusa look would scare him away.

              I walked into the great room to find Nox’s huge form taking up half the sofa. He stood when he saw me and looked me over, his gaze landing on my hot pink toenails before traveling up to my cosmetic-free face. His smile was wide and thoroughly irritating.

              “Good morning.” His voice carried a note of amusement. “You look like a little girl without your makeup on.”

              My face heated, making up for the lack of foundation and blusher. “What do you want, Nox?”

              “I guess I can’t get enough of your friendly face and charming personality lately,” he said, laughing softly at my less-than-amused expression. “Fine. I’m here because I have something
you
want.”

              “Right. I don’t think so.”

“You want to find Emmy. I can help you do that.”

              “How can you help me? She’s in L.A. in a fan pod. What—you have some kind of fan pod directory?”

“No—but I do have a fan pod. Or… I
can
have one.” His brow lifted in a
so-there
way.

              I froze in place. “What do you mean?”

              “My agent is Alfred Frey. He’s been bugging me about starting a pod for months now, and I’ve been putting him off. But maybe this is the right time. If I move out to L.A. full-time and let him set one up for me, I might be able to get some insider information. You could come with me, and we could find Emmy—together.”

              Dumbfounded, I looked at him for a few moments, trying to get it through my head that Nox, who I’d known for months, who I’d thought I’d known so well,
really was
a Dark Elf. I mean, I knew it in theory—I’d discovered that fact on the day of Lad’s cancelled wedding, the day Lad’s father was found murdered. But, it was so hard to believe.

And now… with this revelation, that he had a fan pod just waiting to be born, I had a whole new level of disbelief to process. Nox was a celebrity. A fledgling celebrity, but big enough to have a fan pod of his own, like Vallon Foster the movie star, and Serena Simmons the supermodel-turned-actress, and Reggie Dillon the NFL quarterback, and countless other famous athletes and performers who seemed too good to be true.

As it turned out, they all were.

At my silence he continued. “So, you know The Hidden has been working on our album in the studio, and we’re getting ready to go out on tour this fall? I’ve been flying back and forth to L.A. so much I was already thinking of moving into my house there full-time. The band’s got a lot of pre-tour promotion we have to do anyway—TV and radio station appearances. I haven’t actually met Vallon yet, but once I move out there, it probably wouldn’t be too hard to meet up with him.”

“Wait. Slow down. You have a
house
in Los Angeles?”

“Yep. Right on the beach in Malibu. It could be home base for Operation Find Emmy. Sound like a plan?”

When Nox had mentioned being out in California lately, I certainly never imagined he already had a house there, much less a beach house in Malibu. And the idea of going there
with
him—it did sound like a plan. A dangerous one. 

“I… don’t think so.”

Nox rested his hands on his hips and threw back his head as if the answer to persuading me was written across the ceiling. His voice was rough with exasperation. “Ahhh… Ryann. Come
on
. This is what you wanted, right? A way to find Emmy? You’re not going to get a better offer.”

That much was true. I wasn’t going to get
any
other offers at all. But traveling with
Nox—

Blinking in rapid succession, I blew out a breath. “I don’t know. I need to think. And I can’t think with you standing right there, pressuring me.”

A confident smile overtook his face. “Fine. You think about it.” He walked toward the door as he talked, throwing a grin back over his shoulder. “Then let me know what day I should book the plane tickets.”

Before he reached the door, Grandma came into the room from the kitchen. She and Nox stared into each other’s eyes for a few moments, and he left, laughing as the door clicked shut behind him.

*     *     *

“What do you think, Grandma?” We sat at the breakfast table together where I’d shared Nox’s plan with her.

“I’m not sure. I told you before he was probably your only hope. But even if he has the best intentions, Nox doesn’t seem to understand any more about what the Dark Elves are up to than we do. A few minutes ago when I suggested they might have nefarious purposes, he laughed.”

“Well, he’s been with the Light Elves since he was a child. He’s only just started associating with the Dark Elves again—maybe he doesn’t know anything. Or… maybe he’s lying.”

“No. He’s not lying. Whatever’s going on with the fan pods, he really means to look out for you out there and bring you home safely. It’s impossible for us to lie when we communicate in the Elven way, mind-to-mind.”

              “Oh, wow.” That was a revelation. I really needed to work on developing my Elven communication skills. I’d love to know what was
really
going on inside that inflated head of his. Of course, Nox was plenty capable of deceiving without actually telling any lies.

              I’d known him almost a year, and he’d never told me a direct lie—yet he’d managed to keep me from finding out he was Elven. And Lad’s foster brother. Nox was a master of omission.

Even if I became an expert in Elven communication, I’d still only be able to hear the thoughts he
wanted
me to hear—those he sent to me. Elves didn’t walk around reading everything in each other’s minds. If Nox had anything to hide, I had no doubt he’d still manage to keep it from me.

              How could I trust him?

How could I find Emmy
without
him?

Both questions had the same answer.

I couldn’t.

              “I don’t think I have a choice. If it were me who’d disappeared off the face of the earth, and I had a friend who might be able to help, wouldn’t you want her to? Wouldn’t you do it for your friend, for your sister?”

              Grandma Neena had only recently been reunited with her own sister, even her parents, after a forty-year estrangement. She’d been happier about that than I’d seen her in my whole life.

              “I don’t have a sister, but Emmy’s the closest thing I’ve got,” I continued. “And there may literally be no other human on the planet who can help her.”

              Her hands lifted then fell onto the tabletop. “Well, I guess it’s decided then. What will you tell your momma? How will you explain your sudden desire to fly out to L.A.?”

              “She knows I’ve always been fascinated with UCLA. I’ll say I want to visit the campus. She respects education and career-readiness more than anything. You know that. And I’ll use my waitressing money for the ticket. If she still doesn’t go for it, I know someone who can glamour her—quite easily, in fact.”

              “Yes, that’s true.” She chuckled, understanding my reference to Nox. Then all amusement left her face. She took my hands and looked into my eyes. “I’m worried about this Ryann. I’ll cover for you and work to get the tea company going here while you’re gone, but you have to promise me something.”

Her seriousness alarmed me. “What?”

“Promise me when you look for Emmy you’ll
look
, only—not confront anyone, not try to perform some cockamamie rescue operation by yourself. Let Nox deal with the Dark Elves—you’re not up to the task. They’re not like me and Lad.”

I nodded as she went on, her fingers tightening around mine until it was almost painful.

“And I need to hear from you often—the
truth
about what’s going on. If I find out
you’ve
joined a fan pod… I’ll be getting on a plane myself.”

“Don’t worry, Grandma.” I patted her hand in reassurance. “That will never happen.”

The flight attendant handed me a bubbling, icy Coke and gave Nox the beer he’d asked for, lingering to make sure there was nothing
else
he needed before moving on to serve the other first class passengers.

              “You should have some of this. It’ll help with those first-time jitters,” he said, holding out the foam-topped glass to me.

Nox had insisted on buying our tickets—thus the first class seating. My money would probably have gotten me a lovely seat conveniently located right outside the plane’s rear lavatory, but I suspected I still would have been more comfortable there. He looked entirely comfortable with the relative luxury, already reclining and enjoying his pre-flight beverage.

              I shook my head. “I don’t have jitters about flying.”

              “You have jitters about
something
.” Cutting a side glance at me, he picked up a Luxury Pools magazine someone had left behind. He flipped through the pages wearing a smug smile.

I pulled at the end of my seatbelt strap again—still fastened—before folding my hands in my lap and focusing my attention out the window. Within minutes we were backing out of the gate, taxiing down the runway, and lifting off for my first trip to California and my first stretch of enforced togetherness with Nox since discovering the truth about him.

I pretended to sleep for most of the flight. Real sleep proved impossible. My mind was too active, filled with equal parts anticipation and apprehension about what would be waiting for us when we touched down.

Some things I’d expected, like the bright sunshine outside the window as we taxied to the terminal and disembarked, and the massive crowd inside. And there were people actually holding up those little signs for arriving passengers like they did in the movies—I wasn’t sure if that was a real thing before now.

Of course, there wasn’t a sign for us—we didn’t need one. Only one of the waiting drivers looked like a professional volleyball player or a male model. Or both. He nodded to Nox as we approached him, and we followed our ridiculously handsome chauffeur outside to the curb where a gleaming black Hummer waited. He opened the back door for us.

              “You have to be kidding me,” I said to Nox as I climbed in. “Who lives like this?”

              He gave me a dazzling grin as he slid into the seat beside me. “Welcome to L.A., Ryann. You’re going to like it in my world.”

              Palm trees. I was getting butterflies looking at palm trees outside of the tinted windows, and we hadn’t even left the airport yet.
What a country bumpkin
. Glancing over at Nox, I did a double take at his expression. He’d been watching me stare out the window as we rode in silence, and he looked completely amused at my wide-eyed wonder.

              “Shut up,” I said and turned back to the window, propping my head on my hand.

              He laughed and started singing, “I… know a place… where the grass is really greener. Warm… wet and wild—”

              I clamped my hands over my ears. “Stop. Stop it. Do
not
sing to me—about California or anything else.”

              “Come on, Ryann. You like it.” He snickered, a rascally sound. “And you’re so much more fun when you’re a little bit glamoured.”

              I sucked in a breath and snapped my attention to him before turning my head away again, face burning. So he
knew
what his singing did to me. Of course. I should’ve known he’d figure out the real reason I’d never gone back to see him perform after the first time in Oxford.

One song, and I’d been ready to start a fan pod for him and nominate myself as its president. His voice was… indescribable. Dangerous. The heat spread from my face to my neck as I realized why he’d hummed on the two occasions he’d kissed me. And why it had taken everything in me to resist him. I folded my arms tightly over my chest and continued staring out the window.

In my peripheral vision, Nox took out his phone and tapped the screen.

“It’s me. I’ll be coming in this afternoon. Yes. Right. Hold on.” He pressed the phone to his chest and leaned in my direction. “Would you like Aiden to drive around a bit, give you a tour of the Hollywood hotspots? See the Walk of Fame? Rodeo Drive? Mann’s?”

              “No.” My voice was brittle. “We’re here to find Emmy. Nothing else.”

Grinning, Nox put the phone back to his ear. “We’ll be there within the hour. Right. Good.” He hung up and answered my unspoken question. “Notifying my staff to expect us. They’ll have some supper ready.”

Shock pulled me around to face him. “You have a
staff
?”

Nox’s grin widened. “Listen Ryann, I know we’re here to find Emmy, but you might as well loosen up and enjoy the fringe benefits of the situation—do some sight-seeing while you’re here, try to have some fun. We can’t exactly drive up to Vallon Foster’s mansion, ring the doorbell, and demand he turn her over. We’ll have to be a
little
more subtle than that. It’s going to take some time.”

              I narrowed my gaze at him. “What does that mean?”

              “It means he can’t suspect what we’re up to, or all Hell’s gonna break loose.
No one
can find out you know our secret. Which they
will
if you go marching up to his front gate pushing the buzzer and screaming “Emmy!” in the streets of Brentwood. It’s gonna look pretty strange if even
I
start asking questions or make it obvious I’m looking for her.”

“So—what then? You tell your agent you’re here, let him recruit some stupid groupies for your new fan pod, and then we all have a groupie play date? You bring your pets, he brings his?”

Nox laughed. “Something like that.”

“And how will you explain me? If you have a staff, other Elves are obviously going to find out I’m here with you.”

“True.” He paused a moment, a here-comes-the-punch-line expression on his face. “Looks like I have the first official member of my fan pod.”

Silence filled the car, expanding like an oversized helium balloon.

No doubt sensing my displeasure, Nox tried to placate me. “Only as far as everyone else knows. I mean, you’d only be pretending. All you have to do is spend a little time with me, go to a few parties, act like you don’t hate me—”

“I’m not that good of an actress.” I tried playing the hard-ass, but as I’d just confessed, I wasn’t a good actress. “Oh all right. I guess there’s no other way to do this. But don’t expect a lot of giggling and squee-ing.”

“No, of course not.” Nox tried to hold a sober expression, but an amused grin broke through as he turned his head toward his own window and checked out the view of the freeway. After a few seconds his shoulders shook with his silent laughter.

“What?” My tone revealed every ounce of my annoyance. “What?”

He finally laughed out loud. “I can’t picture it. I bet you’ve never ‘squee-ed’ once in your entire life.”

His laughter was so contagious, I had to join him. “I did. Once.” I shrugged and nodded. “Justin Beiber. I was eleven.”

“Figures.” He snorted.

“Why?”

“He’s
not
Elven.”