Stone In Love

Chapter 12

I watched for signs that Vincent was going to play the ignorant card, but he did the right thing, shaking his head in surrender.

"Damn, that Colin."

"Don't blame Colin. You were both shouting. You're lucky Mr. Pearlman didn't come out and yell back."

"We weren't shouting, and we were two floors down. Can I come in?"

I let him pass and shut the door, pondering my uncanny hearing ability and whether it was a gift or a curse. Vincent stared at the TV screen where I'd paused the movie in the middle of Hellboy's transformation, and I grabbed the remote to shut it off. 

"Do you want water or something?" I asked.

"I'm fine. Come sit down, Reese." Vincent took a seat exactly where Colin had been, and his gaze never left me as I scrunched into the corner where I had been, hugging a throw pillow to my chest. Anxiety was growing like a weed inside me. Maybe I should have pretended I didn't hear anything. 

"I'm going to cut to the chase because I know you're figuring things out," he said. "I don't want to lose your trust before I've even earned it. So, I'll start by asking you to recite what you saw from your bedroom window early this morning around four forty-five."

My mouth popped open, proving my guilt, but it also proved something else. "I was right. You were the one who texted me when I took my trash out."

"No, that wasn't me. It was Jonathan, my younger brother."

"Does he happen to have long blond hair and wear turquoise Chuck Taylors?"

Vincent released a resigned sigh. "That's him. I take it you've seen him on your street recently?"

"Yes. When I took a walk with Mr. Pearlman. I also saw you talking to him after our photo shoot, which made me a tad suspicious about your interest in me, but I've been giving you the benefit of the doubt." I decided to leave out the part about seeing Jonathan threaten a man after my meditation class. I wanted to let Vincent fill in some more blanks first.

"I'm sorry if you feel like your privacy has been invaded. I assure you, we are just trying to keep you safe. What did you see when you looked out your window this morning?"

Vincent directed me back to the original question, and I dropped my gaze to the pillow clutched at my chest. The last thing I wanted to do was revisit that awful scene, but it seemed important to him. Maybe he knew the men.

"I woke up to the sound of growling in the alley. I thought it was dogs, but when I looked hard I realized they were men. Two big men, but they were fighting like animals. One one of them definitely had sharp teeth, and they were carrying some kind of oversized backpacks, although I don't think they were backpacks. They looked more like... I'm not sure. It was dark and three stories down and I was freaking out."

"What do you think you saw, Reese? I won't judge you, I promise."

I focused on my fingers as I fondled the thick braid around the pillow. He was going to judge me, I knew it. "It looked like they had wings. Not feathered wings. They were leathery, like bat wings. I'm sure I just imagined it. I was still groggy. I'd been sleepwalking."

Vincent didn't laugh, which was good, but his non-reaction had me clenching the pillow tighter. "Did you watch the entire fight? What else did you see?"

Damn. 

Vincent knew I saw the man get his neck snapped. Had his brother been involved? Was he trying to find out if I saw his brother commit murder? Was I dealing with the mob? Would I end up wearing concrete shoes and decomposing at the bottom of the East River? No way was I admitting to anything.