Hypnotic Ch. 04

"Now that doesn't sound like you were taking it very easy," he scolded me.

I shrugged. "I know, but I really wasn't too busy. I think I'm still a bit worn down from everything."

"Well go home and rest," he said. "But call me if you need anything, Ellis."

"I'll need to call a cab." He put his hand over the phone when I reached for it.

When I looked at him in surprise, he looked away, his wings rustled a little. It was a fidget I'd noticed in other bird Carthera that was a lot like humans wringing their hands together.

"What?" I asked suspiciously.

"Well, Davis dropped off your car while you were sleeping off your migraine. So you don't need to call a cab."

I could feel my shoulders tightening and my mouth flattening in a thin line. "Did you let him in my room?" My heart was racing at the thought of Dav in a room with me while I was drugged and unconscious.

"Of course not!" Dr. Pannar looked up at me in indignation.

"I'm sorry. I guess I'm still just. . .upset with everything going on with him. Don't worry; I'll be back to normal soon."

Dr. Pannar's expression was nothing short of skeptical.

"I will!"

He shook his head and grabbed his jacket off the coat rack and grabbed his keys. He pulled my keys off their hook and tossed them to me.

"If you say so," he said.

The drive home didn't take long, but I was yawning when I walked in. I considered making something to eat, but I just wasn't that hungry. I'd eaten a bit of soup in the afternoon when Dr. Pannar threatened me bodily harm if I didn't, but he wasn't there now to force me to eat.

I dropped my keys on the counter. They'd been hanging on the hook in the break room at the office. I know Dav got them out of my stuff at his apartment and had to have picked up my car and dropped it off at the office for me. We'd ridden in his car to the bar the day before after we had lunch.

I didn't understand it. Not when he was still blocking our bond. Obviously he was trying to get on my good side.

Not happening.

Especially when I keyed in the code for my voicemail and there were ten messages all from him. I hadn't even turned my cell phone on. I deleted my entire inbox, not listening beyond his quiet, "Ellis, please listen."

Definitely not happening.

The next two days were long and tiring. I wasn't sleeping well, and I only ate when Dr. Pannar nagged at me to. The meeting Velaku arranged was getting closer and closer, and my stomach churned when I wasn't focused on my work if I thought about it. I was just finishing up some paperwork on Friday when my cell phone rang. I'd finally turned it back on, and there had been a huge volume of messages all from the same number. I'd erased them and then blocked it. I knew it had to be Dav.

I looked at my phone, ready to hit end, but the caller id popped up with Isiah's name. My heart started racing.

"Hello?"

"Hey little brother! How's it going?"

"You know you're only about two minutes older than me right?"

"Still older," he laughed.

I still felt like my heart was going to pound out of my chest, and it was really hard not to blurt out questions about the video I'd seen but I knew Velaku was right. Answers had to come in person. I just had to make sure that they weren't going to hurt him.

"Anyway, little brother, I was wondering if I could change our plans a little."

"What do you mean by that?" My hand was clenched on the edge of the desk.

"Well, I have someone I really want you to meet, and I'm able to get away a few days early. I thought we'd fly out tonight; the airline will switch our tickets if you can pick us up. If you don't have room for both of us, we can stay in a hotel."

I thought fast. This changed things; this changed a lot of things. "Who is it?"

Isiah laughed. "Oh no, that'd be telling. I want it to be a surprise. Don't worry though, you'll love them. I do."

"Them. Not her? Do you have a boyfriend?"

"Maybe." Isiah was quiet for a minute. "Well, sort of. I'll tell you about him when we get there."

I nibbled on my lip, considering the options. It wasn't that hard to make my decision. I took a deep breath.

"What time will your flight get in?"