When she stuck her fingers inside, she didn’t feel anything.She shifted her fingers from left to right to ensure she hadn’t missed them.
Hm.She figured she had the wrong pocket and went to the other.Nothing.
She stopped.She checked the two lower pockets but came up empty.Her heart was pounding.She knew they were there before she first came to the suites.
Tana.She’d taken them and her other clothing.She’d repaired the jacket.Maybe the attendant removed them from the pocket while she was sewing it.Or had Aodh dropped them when he brought the coat back to her?
Oh, God, she hoped not.It had to be Tana.“Yes, that makes sense.”
“What makes sense?”Aodh questioned her from across the room.
Kai glanced up and saw the big man dressed in another of his usual attire of vest and pants.Of course, he had heard her with his keen hearing.She strutted across the room toward him at the table with platters of food.Seeing it made her think of the ever-efficient Tana.As always, the woman had entered while they were preoccupied and brought them their morning meal.
Why hadn’t she returned the rings yet?
“My rings,” Kai claimed the seat next to Aodh, who had risen when she arrived.“I realize Tana must have them since she fixed some of the holes.”She gripped the edge of one side, indicating the jacket to him.
He arched a brow as a flash of yellow ran through his markings.“You had jewelry?”
“Yes.”She frowned.“I know our rags and beater truck made it seem that Morlie and I didn’t have anything.”She lifted a shoulder.“And we didn’t.Except I kept my parents’ wedding rings after they died.In the Dispatch, you don’t want to let on that you have anything of value.I kept them hidden in the jacket pocket.”
“Hm.”He continued to stare at her.
Kai went on, “Since Tana cleaned and repaired it.She must still have the pieces.”
“What kind of jewelry were they?”Now, there were small, yellow flames in his eyes rising higher and higher.
Tilting her head to the side, Kai tried to decipher why Aodh was showcasing such an elevated level of curiosity.“Gold.They were gold bands.”
He nodded.When he blinked, the color became muted before fading away.“If Tana has your gold bands, she’ll return them.”
If?
Aodh began to dish up fruit onto her plate, followed by fresh bread, which she enjoyed eating in the morning.
“She has to have them.”Kai declared.“I hope they didn’t fall out of the pocket and get lost.”
“While we are at my office, I will have her come over, and you can ask after them.”Aodh served himself the same thing, including a pile of savory, ground goat patties.
“Thank you.”She smiled at him and started to eat.
She and Aodh were too famished after they’d exerted so much energy through the night that they didn’t talk while they ate.As soon as they finished, they headed out of the suite.Kai glanced at the window and noticed the sun had finally risen, turning the sky lavender.
They crossed the wide landing toward Morlie’s smaller place.When she started to open the door, Aodh swayed her to knock first.
“Aodh, she’s my sister.I’ve cared for her practically all her life.”She was trying to convince him that it wasn’t an issue that she walked in, no matter if her sister was still in bed or bathing.
“I know it is true, but she is still a young woman, not a child, and in this territory, Morlie is deserving of privacy.”
Kai gasped at his words.She wanted to argue against what he was saying.She and Morlie had shared rooms all their life, and as of recently, before they left the Wall, they had slept in the bed of their father’s truck together.
“Fine.”She huffed.Raising a hand, she knocked on the door.Rapping on it hurt her knuckles, even though it barely made a sound when she hit the smooth stone.
Aodh chuckled.He lifted her injured hand and kissed along the reddened knuckles.
Goosebumps ran up her arm, and heat spread through her body.She swallowed down the moan.
“Here, let me.”With the side of his fist, he pounded once.The booming sound was easier to hear as it shook the door.
