Page 38 of Veil of Secrets
The runner finally speaks. “I came from the south lot—car was following me halfway down Bayview. Thought I lost them, then this guy broke off. Thought maybe he was just cutting through—”
“He wasn’t,” I say.
“No,” he agrees.
Elara crosses the room. Not fast. Not tentative.
She walks around the body like it’s a spill someone forgot to mop up.
When she reaches me, she stops. Arms crossed. Chain swinging slightly.
“This normal for you?” she asks.
“Lately?” I nod. “Yeah.”
She huffs once. “Then you’d better get used to having me around.”
That makes me stop.
Look at her.
Full.
She meets it. No flinch. No mask.
“Good,” I say.
The runner blinks like he’s watching a different kind of violence unfold. One he can’t explain.
I glance at him. “Clean this up. Dump him in the canal off 14th.”
He swallows. “You want a burn bag?”
“No,” I say. “Let them find the body.”
He nods fast, already heading toward the back wall to grab the tarp.
Elara’s still near me. Not touching. But close.
Close enough that I can feel the heat of her skin again.
“You okay?” I ask.
“Is that a real question?”
“Yes.”
She shrugs. “I’m not bleeding. So yeah.”
“Good.”
She reaches for the rag on the bench and wipes a spot of blood from the edge of my wrist.
She doesn’t hand it back. Just drops it into the trash can.
And then she sits.
Right down on the edge of the bench.
