Drink Me

52. TOO LATE TO SAY GOODBYE

TOO LATE TO SAY GOODBYE

Riley's feet were pounding fast on the concrete, perfectly matched by Aidan's pace.

The afternoon cold air was an exquisite match to the heat from the run, and the combination felt amazing on Riley's skin. He was ecstatic he was finally strong enough to endure his daily five K, it might not have been his fastest pace, but it was something.

"How did the meeting with Caroline go?" Aidan asked as they took a left towards the Serpentine lake in Hyde Park.

"Great, I told her I'm good to work. I will start on the messaging system tonight," Riley explained.

"How long will it take?" Aidan queried.

Riley tilted his head from side to side as he thought. "Usually not long but the boss asked for an extra secure system so I might have to tweak it," Riley explained and watched his cousin nod in agreement.

"Yeah, we don't want any more complications," Aidan said. "We're already running behind schedule."

"Did you guys find out anything?" Riley tried.

Not knowing who'd tried to kill him was bothering him more than the poisoning itself.

He'd almost died before but never as the receiving end of a targeted attack; he was usually one in the crowd of many people to kill off. The fact that somebody had wanted him specifically dead really pissed him off.

But Aidan shook his head. "No, nothing yet. Nobody seems to know anything, it's quite frustrating. But Newby said they found somebody willing to cooperate at the hotel, so we should get the recordings pretty soon," he explained. "Have you noticed anything suspicious since you came back?" Aidan asked then, his breathing now heavier.

"No, nothing at all," Riley replied. "And trust me, I've paid attention."

Aidan scoffed and smiled back at his cousin. "Yeah, I bet you have," he said then sighed as he tried to stabilise his breathing. "It's possible that whoever did it is back in New York or hiding away or both. Either way, it's likely they acted alone and on a whim, otherwise, they would have tried it again."

"Or maybe they're just waiting for the waters to calm down and for the perfect chance to strike again," Riley retorted. The glass was definitely half empty when someone tried to kill you.

The two men ran in silence for a while, both concentrated on their own breathing as they jogged along the lake.

The sun was now only a thin dark orange line at the horizon; the park was starting to empty after the sunny day had allowed crowds to fill its paths and alleys, with only a handful of people stubbornly enjoying a book on a bench or listening to music on a patch of grass.

"Edward would like you to date Caroline," Riley said, out of the blue.

Aidan's face quickly turned to his cousin's, and he slowed down his pace.

"What? How do you know?"

Riley stopped running and so did Aidan, both catching their breath.

"He told me," Riley said. "He said he really likes you."

Aidan rubbed his face with his hand, wiping the sweat but also his sorrow.

"I think on some level, he knows," Riley offered.

But Aidan looked at him with pleading eyes. "I can't tell him, Riley, it's not worth it."

And Riley understood the reasoning behind the man's anguish-filled words and had to agree.