by Hart, Stella
I knew exactly who we could turn to for help.
9
Tatum
There was a blissful ache between my legs when I woke up. As much as it had bothered me earlier that Elias wouldn’t let me come, it actually felt good now, in a simmering, anticipatory way. My climax would be ten times more explosive than usual when he finally allowed me to let go.
I yawned and stretched, then winced as a cramp spread over my abdomen, dulling the pleasure below. It felt a little like a period cramp, but it couldn’t be that. I knew it was quite normal to experience sensations like this in early pregnancy, though, and with a couple of deep breaths, the pain was gone.
I exited the van to find Elias sitting on a large log, stoking a campfire with a stick. Bright sunlight shone on his head, making his light brown hair gleam with golden highlights.
“Hey,” I said, smothering a yawn. “What’s the time?”
He looked up from the fire. “Just after ten. How are you feeling?” he asked, forehead creased with concern.
“A few cramps, but I haven’t had any nausea for a while, so that’s good.”
He smiled. “You hungry?”
“Starved.”
“Well, we’re in luck,” he said, rising from the log. He stepped over to a large blue cooler bag which sat on the other side of the fire. “We have bacon, eggs, sausages and bread.”
My brows shot up. “From where?”
“The campground owner stopped by earlier. He said those teens camping at the lake asked him to keep all their breakfast stuff in his fridge, but they left early—I think one of them was sick—and forgot to get it from him. He’s a vegetarian, so he figured he’d offer it to us.”
As he unzipped the cooler bag, I frowned and nibbled the inside of my cheek. “Are you sure it’s safe?” I asked.
“It’s all fresh.”
I shook my head. “No, I mean: what if he’s somehow connected with the society and it’s poisoned or something?”
I knew it sounded crazy, but I wouldn’t put anything past Crown and Dagger. Their dark, slimy tentacles were everywhere.
Elias put a hand on my shoulder. “It’s fine. Believe me, if they knew where we were, there’d be five cars and twenty men here in a fucking instant with black hoods to stick over our heads. They wouldn’t try to carry out some long-winded poisoning plan. Besides, I used to come here all the time when I was younger. The guy knows me, but he doesn’t know who I am, if you know what I mean. He’s just a friendly guy who likes the rural life. The food is just food.”
My shoulders slumped with relief. That made sense. I was just paranoid after everything we’d been through. “It was nice of him to offer it to us. I’ll get a skillet.”
I retrieved some cookware and crockery from the van, and twenty minutes later, a divine-smelling breakfast awaited us. The bacon sizzled and spat in the skillet as Elias kept it warm over the edge of the fire, and I fished out a couple of pieces so I could make a bacon and egg sandwich with the bread.
“I know it’s not exactly fine dining, but it’s still a decent breakfast,” Elias said, loading up his plate with a couple of sausages and fried eggs. “Better than the boring muesli and canned fruit I packed for us.”
I let out a moan of bliss as I bit into my sandwich. “I think it beats fine dining any day,” I said after chewing and swallowing. “This is the best sandwich I’ve ever had.”
He chuckled. “Really?”
I cocked my head to the side, brows drawing together. “Maybe it just tastes so good because it’s the first proper meal I’ve had since we escaped,” I said slowly, the stark realization finally dawning on me. “It’s the first meal I’ve eaten without being a prisoner in almost six months.”
“Freedom has a nice flavor, huh?”
I smiled. “Yeah. That’s it.”
I took another bite, and Elias watched me, his eyes twinkling with affection. “There’s something I want to run past you,” he said a moment later, pushing his plate away. “I have an idea.”
I swallowed my mouthful. “Oh?”
“While you were sleeping, I was thinking about a bunch of shit. For some reason, words like ‘empire’ and ‘queen’ were floating around my head. The whole royal theme shook something loose.” He tapped the side of his head.
“What?”
He stretched his legs out in front of him. “When I was a freshman in college, I had this big group of friends I hung out with all the time. Mostly other Roden students, and a few I’d already known for years through family connections. We all had these stupid nicknames for each other. Mine was Prince.”
I snorted. “Prince?”
“It was a reference to my last name. Much funnier when you’re eighteen and just slammed three tequila shots.”
“I figured. Go on.”
“Our group stopped hanging out as much as we used to a few years ago. Some of the guys were older and had already moved on to new stuff, some left for jobs in other cities, and the rest of us—like me—stayed on for grad school. So I haven’t really seen most of them for a while, but…” He leaned forward. “I think one of them might be able to help us.”
“Who?”
“Mellie’s older brother.”
My brows shot up. “Henry?”
“You know him?” Elias asked, lifting a brow.
“I wouldn’t say I know him, per se, but I know about what happened to him. Mellie told me. Also, I think he actually tried to help me a while ago, before all this.”
“Really?”
I nodded emphatically. “I ran into him outside Mellie’s dorm room, and he told me to stay away from her. I thought he was either a total dick or being overprotective of his sister, but when she eventually told me what was really going on, I figured he was actually trying to warn me not to be friends with her, because he knew what was going to happen to me. But obviously he couldn’t say those words out loud, seeing as he’s always being monitored. If he tried to tell me what was happening in detail, they probably would’ve killed him.”
“Makes sense.” Elias nodded slowly. “That’s good to hear, though, because if he was willing to try and help you then, even in a small way, he might still be willing.”
“Yeah. I actually can’t believe I didn’t think of him myself. Last time I tried to escape, I told the cops who picked me up to call him. But they didn’t, of course. They called your father.” I tightened my lips. “Anyway, how do you think he can help us?”
“Well, firstly, he’s gotta be sympathetic to our situation. I know I haven’t seen him in a while, but that’s mostly because after he left the society, he stopped talking to everyone else in it. Even the first and second-level members who didn’t really know anything, like me.”
“I can understand why, though.”
“Yeah, me too. Anyway, because he’ll actually understand our problem, he’ll know how important it is to keep us hidden. The society has been stalking him around for a couple of years now, so he knows their tactics, and he also knows how dire things can get when they want you gone. The only reason he isn’t dead already is because his dad is one of the highest council members.”
“Like you,” I reminded him.
He pressed his lips into a thin line. “That’s a bit different. Yes, my dad is the president, which could help me in theory, but I didn’t just leave like Henry did. I left with you, and I also stabbed one of the other members and probably killed him. That’s a whole new level of betrayal for them.”
“I suppose so.” My stomach lurched. Until this very second, it hadn’t really occurred to me just how much Elias had given up for me. His friends, his family, his power, his connections—all of it was gone, sacrificed to save me. He valued me above everything else.
He clasped his hands together. “Last I heard, since Henry was cut off from everything and had to leave his job at one of the family companies, he’s been working at a realtor’s office. So I thought he might be able to help us find a vacant house to stay in, und
er the radar. One with decent security, of course. We’d use fake names, so no one would know to look for us there, and you’d finally have a real bed and bathroom.” He motioned toward the van. “I can’t exactly make you live like this forever.”
I smiled. “This has been fine so far. Really. I don’t expect a five star hotel while we’re on the run,” I said, gently rubbing his leg. “A proper house would be nice, though. It would feel a lot safer.”
“Exactly.” Elias rubbed his chin. “There’s just one thing I can’t get my head around. Henry’s phone and computer are always being monitored. So how the fuck do we get in contact with him without the society finding out?”
My brows furrowed. “Do you even have his contact details?”
“I have his old cell number, so unless he’s changed it, I can get in touch.”
“Okay. Why don’t you call him and make your voice sound a bit different? You could make it a bit higher or lower, and also make your tone really casual. Say something like: ‘hey man, it’s Prince’. That way he’d know it’s you because of the nickname, but the society wouldn’t have a clue. Unless some of your old friends from that group are in it.”
Elias smacked his hand against his forehead. “Shit. How did I not think of that already?” he muttered. He hesitated for a second and then looked up at me again. “Some of the other guys are in the society, but none of them made it past first level. They wouldn’t be involved in the search for me.”
“So my idea could work?”
“Yeah. I just need to figure out else what to say.”
“Just keep it casual, and wait for him to clue in. We don’t want to arouse any suspicion.”
Elias nodded and strode over to the van to grab one of the burner phones he’d brought along with us. He’d copied his contacts directory from his real phone over to all of the burners when he got them, so Henry’s number should be in there. I just hoped it was the right one.
He drew in a deep breath, then clicked the dial button and put the call on loudspeaker. It rang for what felt like a century. I thought it would eventually go to voicemail, but a familiar voice finally answered. “Hello?” Henry’s voice was clipped, nervous.
“Hey, Hennessey! It’s Prince,” Elias said, affecting a slightly higher voice. “Long time no speak.”
There was a lengthy pause on the other end of the line. Please don’t hang up, I silently begged.
“Prince,” Henry finally said. “It has been a while, hasn’t it?”
“Sure has, buddy. Couple of years now, right?”
“Right.” Henry cleared his throat. “It’s actually a funny coincidence that you’ve called, because I’ve heard some rather interesting rumors about you recently. From my little sister.”
My heart skipped a beat. He knew.
Elias nodded over at me, obviously reaching the same conclusion. He kept his voice light as he spoke. “Oh, man, I don’t miss the old rumor mill.” He feigned a laugh. “Anyway, I heard from some of the other guys that you’re still in New Marwick. I know I’ve been away for a while, but I was thinking of coming to visit, so I was hoping you’d help me and my baby mama find somewhere to crash. We’d really appreciate your help.”
I almost snickered at Elias using the term ‘baby mama’, but I stayed silent, my heart racing. He had to sound as different to his usual self as possible, and it seemed to be working so far. Henry knew who he was talking to, but he hadn’t yet ended the call out of fear.
“You want me to find you somewhere to stay?” he said slowly.
“Yeah. I’ve been looking everywhere online but I can’t find anything decent, and I don’t have a place in the area anymore.”
“Sorry, man. My battery is almost dead. I’ll have to call you back.” Henry abruptly hung up, and my shoulders slumped.
“Damn. I thought it was working,” I muttered.
“Me too. I guess he doesn’t want to help,” Elias said, his jaw set. “Can’t really blame him.”
“Maybe he thought the society was testing him by pretending to be you asking for help. Like they were looking for an excuse to finally kill him.”
He shrugged. “Yeah. Maybe.”
I rubbed his leg again. “It’s okay. We’ll think of something else.”
We sat in a gloomy silence, finishing off the remainders of breakfast.
I almost jumped out of my skin when the burner phone began to vibrate on the log next to me several minutes later. The caller ID said ‘unknown number’. My eyes widened as I held it out to Elias, and my stomach twisted into nervous knots.
Elias answered the call with a frown, putting it on loudspeaker again. “Hello?”
“Hey. It’s me.”
“Henry?”
“Yeah. Sorry I hung up before. I couldn’t talk on my cell. Not about this. I had to run down the street from my office to find an old payphone. I’d say I’ve got about two minutes before the usual guys chase me down and demand to know what the fuck I’m doing, so shoot.”
“I left the society, and I took Tatum with me.”
Henry snorted. “I know. Heard all about it a couple of hours ago from my nasty little sister. You’ve got a real set of balls on you, you know that?”
“You’re the only person I could think of who might be able to help. We need somewhere safe to stay.”
“I figured. Obviously you can’t crash with me, but I’m sure I can think of something.” Henry muttered a curse word under his breath. “Shit. They’re already coming down the street. I can’t keep talking on here. We’ll need to talk in person.”
“Can you do that?”
“Yeah. These guys don’t give a shit what I do with my life, as long as they can monitor every fucking word I say. So I can meet up with you, but you’ll need to be disguised.”
“Got that covered already.”
“Good. When we meet, we have to keep talking in code, like we were doing earlier. You’re just an old college buddy who I’m helping out with a vacation rental, or something like that. Got it?”
“Yeah.”
“Anything that can’t be said out loud, we can write down, but we have to be very careful about it. Type it out like a text on your phone, act like you’re showing me a photo, and then delete it before anyone else sees it,” Henry said. He was obviously accustomed to living with the society looking over his shoulder at all times. “Anyway, where are you right now?”
“About an hour away from New Marwick.”
“All right. Remember that old lookout along East Coast Drive? We used to park there when we wanted to go to the beach.”
“Yeah, I remember the spot.”
“Meet me there at half past five. I should be done with work by then.” There was a loud banging on the other end of the line, like someone was pounding on the payphone wall. Henry swore under his breath again. “I’m just talking to my fucking sister!” he called out a few seconds later, presumably to the Crown and Dagger thugs assigned to follow him around.
A man said something in response, but I couldn’t make it out.
“I had to come to this phone, because my cell was screwing up. The battery is fucked,” Henry went on in an indignant tone. “And I can’t use my work phone for personal calls.”
There was another scuffling sound, and a terse voice came on the line a second later. “Who is this?”
Elias frantically waved his hand at me, and I leaned forward. “This is Mellie Davenport,” I said in the haughtiest tone I could conjure up. “Who is this?”
“Sorry to bother you, Miss Davenport, but you’ll have to talk to your brother later. You know he’s not supposed to use pay phones.”
The line went dead.
I breathed a sigh of relief. “They bought it. Thank god.”
“We’ll need to ditch this phone anyway, just in case they start to suspect anything and trace the call.”
“Good point. We’ll drop it in a trashcan on our way out.”
Elias nodded and began to clear away everything f
rom around the fire. I helped, and when we were done, we set about putting on our full disguises.
With a messy dirty-blond wig, thick-rimmed glasses, drawn-on freckles, bulky jacket and faded jeans, Elias looked like an average suburban guy. Nothing particularly conspicuous about him, other than his towering height.
My disguise had the same effect on me. I looked several pounds heavier with the oversized clothes, and the black boots with the hidden interior heel made me appear substantially taller than usual. After adding the red wig, thick goth-style makeup, and veneers to the equation, I doubted anyone in the world would ever look twice at me and wonder if I was Tatum Marris.
“Ready?” Elias finally said, assessing my new look with a shrewd gaze. “You’re practically unrecognizable.”
“You too. And yes, I’m ready.”
We ditched the first burner phone on our way out of the backwoods campground, and then we killed some time in a tiny tourist town in central Connecticut. We weren’t meeting with Henry till after five, but we didn’t want to hang around New Marwick all day, just in case someone happened to recognize us even with the heavy disguises.
At half past four, we got back on the road. My heart seemed to beat faster and faster with every mile we drew closer to New Marwick, and by the time the city’s skyline appeared on the horizon, my nerves were frayed and raw.
“It’s okay,” Elias said, touching a hand to my shoulder as we stopped at an intersection. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“I know,” I said. “I just can’t stop stressing.”
“Keep breathing deeply. It’ll help.” He squeezed my arm.
I closed my eyes and took his advice, drawing deep breaths right down into my diaphragm like I was trying to meditate.
It helped for a while. My pulse slowed and my stomach felt less knotted, but then there was a sudden dip in the road, followed by a loud, repetitive clunking sound on my side of the van. My brain was immediately on high alert again, adrenaline flooding my system. “What’s happening?”
“I think there’s a hole in one of the tires,” Elias said with a frown, slowly pulling over on the edge of the road. “Don’t worry, we’ve got a spare.”
