9
Carter held his breath as he and Celia slipped quietly into the dark villa. Celia’s aunt was probably asleep. It was after ten, and they didn’t want to wake her. Anthony stirred in his cage, his gray feathers rustling as he whistled softly.
“Hello there… Hello there.” The eerie human-sounding words echoed in the living room.
“Shhhh,” Celia whispered.
“Hush, Anthony, hush now,” the bird whispered back and raised one foot up to his beak like he was telling them to be quiet instead. He shuffled along one of the bars, making soft clicking sounds as they passed by him. She and Carter paused in front of their separate bedroom doors, before Carter turned around and held out his other hand to her.
His heart raced. If she took his hand, he would make love to her tonight. Was it too soon? Was
