Chapter 132
Chapter 132:
Xander’s jaw literally dropped. He felt a phantom ache in his own hinges.
Elias didn’t use a fork. He used his fingers. With methodical, surgical precision, he began to peel the shell. The juice from the shrimp dripped onto his thumb.
Xander felt like he was witnessing a crime. Or a miracle. Leo had claimed the bike ride was a “necessity of transit.” But this? This was voluntary servitude.
Elias finished peeling the shrimp. He didn’t eat it.
He placed the pink, perfectly cleaned meat onto the woman’s plate.
The woman—Aurora, Xander realized with a jolt—looked at the shrimp, then up at Elias. She smiled. It was a soft, intimate expression that seemed to suck the air out of the room.
And then, Elias smiled back.
It wasn’t his shark smile. It wasn’t his media smile. It was a softening of his entire face, a relaxation of the muscles around his eyes that Xander had never seen in twenty years of knowing the man.
Xander frantically fumbled for his phone. His hands were shaking. The bike photo was circumstantial. This was the smoking gun. This was the Loch Ness Monster surfacing.
He dialed Leo Thorne.
The phone rang once. Twice.
“What?” Leo’s voice was groggy. “It’s barely dinner time. Why are you calling me p>
“Shut up and listen,” Xander hissed into the receiver, pressing himself deeper into the foliage. “I’m at Le Coucou. Your uncle is here p>
“So? He eats food. Humans do that p>
“He’s peeling shrimp, Leo. With his bare hands. For her p>
There was a long silence on the other end.
“Define ‘her’,” Leo said, his voice losing its sleepiness.
“Aurora Vance. The bike girl. The one you said was just a business associate. Since when does Elias provide manual labor for business associates p>
“You’re drunk,” Leo said flatly. “Go home, Xander p>
“I am stone cold sober! He is peeling shrimp. And he’s smiling. Like, actually smiling. It’s terrifying p>
“Last time you sent me a blurry photo of two people in helmets. You need better evidence than your hallucinations p>
“Fine. Watch this p>
Xander switched to his camera app. He zoomed in through the leaves of the fern. He lined up the shot. Elias was reaching for a crab leg now. The focus locked. Xander tapped the shutter button.
Flash.
A bright, blinding burst of white light illuminated the dim restaurant like a supernova.
Xander cursed under his breath. He had forgotten to turn off the automatic flash.
At the table, Elias’s head snapped toward the source of the light. His movement was instant, predatory. His eyes, seconds ago filled with warmth, were now scanning the room with the intensity of a laser targeting system.
Xander didn’t think. He dropped to a crouch and army-crawled backward, scuffing the knees of his three-thousand-dollar suit. He scrambled behind a waiter station, heart hammering against his ribs.