The Savage Grace

by Bree Despain

  I could tell he meant it. So maybe the idea of our being engaged wouldn’t be too crazy, even if he had no recollection of it. “It’s just that … when we were locked up … you asked me … What the hell?” I jumped back and smacked my hip on the foot of my bed. My hearing had pricked at the sound of an unexpected noise, stopping me from finishing what I was about to say.

  Daniel laughed and let go of my arms. “That’s an odd thing for me to ask.”

  I held my hand up to quiet him and then concentrated my powers into my hearing. I felt a slight pop in my eardrums, and my hearing increased just in time to catch the noise again. I knew exactly what it was this time—the sound of a car door opening and closing. Out in my driveway.

  Then another noise, one I never would have heard without my powers: a key being slipped into the lock of the front door downstairs.

  Daniel’s eyes widened. He’d heard it, too. “Who … ?” he whispered.

  “I don’t know.” My muscles tensed. “My parents are both in the hospital…”

  A creaking noise accompanied the opening of the front door. Then footsteps as someone crossed the threshold. Anxious power tingled under my skin. Who could be inside my house? How could they even get a key?

  Suddenly, I pictured Caleb and a gang of his boys entering my house. Coming for us at last…

  “James, don’t drag your blanket,” I heard a voice call.

  A sigh of relief rippled through me. “Aunt Carol,” I said to Daniel. I jogged over to the window and saw her yellow Subaru parked in the driveway with its trunk open. I watched as Charity pulled a duffel bag from the back, and Baby James dragged his blanket across the leaf-strewn grass. “And she’s brought Charity and James. I told her not to come here.”

  “You’re related. I’m not surprised that she didn’t listen,” Daniel said with a quiet laugh.

  “Hey,” I whispered loudly. “That’s justified … but how am I going to explain the half-naked guy in my bedroom?”

  “Just tell her the truth.” He shrugged overdramatically, his hands turned up. “Werewolves are always naked when they turn back into human.”

  “Ha. Ha.” I gave him a “Not appreciated” look, but I couldn’t help smiling.

  “Don’t worry,” Daniel whispered. “I’m good at disappearing.”

  I looked out the window again just as a white SUV pulled up behind Aunt Carol’s car in the driveway. “Oh crap!”

  “What?”

  “Sheriff Wright,” I said as I watched him get out of the patrol SUV with Deputy Marsh. I could think of only one reason why they would come here. I’d almost let myself believe that we’d gotten away. “I think those hunters went to the police. You better pull that vanishing act now.”

  I turned to Daniel, but he was already gone.

  Chapter Twenty

  SECRETS UNEARTHED

  HALF A MINUTE LATER

  I jogged out of my room and headed for the stairs just in time to hear Aunt Carol greet the sheriff at the door. I slowed my pace and tried to go down the stairs as casually as possible. I even threw in a yawn with a dramatic stretch for good measure.

  “Kind of early for a visit,” Carol said to the sheriff. “I just got here.”

  “Is this about Dad?” Charity asked. I could hear the concern in her voice.

  “No, miss.” Sheriff Wright tipped his hat to them. “We’re here to ask Grace a few questions.” He glanced up and saw me descending the stairs.

  “Gwacie!” Baby James said. He ran to me and practically threw himself into my arms.

  I wrapped him in a bear hug but didn’t take my eyes off the sheriff and Deputy Marsh. Their presence here couldn’t be a coincidence, not with what happened last night. “Hey, little man, how was your trip?” I asked my little brother.

  “Long,” James said. “I hungwy.”

  “Hello, Grace.” Marsh gave me a too-friendly grin. “We looked for you at the school this morning but couldn’t find you.”

  “I wasn’t feeling well,” I said. “I would have had one of my parents call the school under different circumstances.”

  “Since when does the school send the police when someone plays hooky?” Aunt Carol asked. “The poor girl’s parents are both in the hospital. I think a few truancies are understandable.” Carol never did have a lot of patience, and I could tell she wanted to finish bringing in the luggage. They must have driven most of the night to get here this early in the morning.

  “This isn’t about school,” Sheriff Wright said. “I need to ask you a few questions about last night.”

  “last night?”

  Oy, why did my voice always sound so weird when I was trying to act casual?

  “We got a couple of hunters in the station this morning. They were part of yesterday’s hunt for the wolf that’s been howling so loud the whole town can hear it. The hunters claim they were on the verge of capturing it, but then they were accosted by someone who knocked them out and stole their guns. Happened a mile or so into the woods behind this neighborhood.”

  “Oh, that’s too bad.” I kept my face as blank as possible. “But what do you need me for?”

  “Their description of the assailant fits you to a tee,” Marsh said. “One of them claims to have recognized you.”

  Charity gave me a surprised stare.

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Red “lie marks” burned up my neck. Why did I have to be such a bad liar?

  Carol gave a derisive chuckle. “You mean a couple of full-grown men came into your station, claiming a five-foot-two-inch stick of a teenage girl beat them up, and you didn’t laugh them right out the door? This is ridiculous. Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to get the car unpacked and Baby James down for a nap. We drove all night to get here.” She started to close the door in their faces.

  Marsh stopped it with his boot. “All the same, we’d like to take a look around, if that’s okay?” He glared at me right in the eyes. “We’re worried the same person who attacked those hunters might also be harboring a dangerous animal. The wolf that escaped those hunters may be responsible for two deaths already. A nurse at City Hospital, and Peter Bradshaw, who died two nights ago.

  “What?” Charity asked softly. Her mouth had popped open at the mention of Pete’s death. This was probably the first time she’d heard about it.

  “This is a matter of public safety,” Sheriff Wright said.

  “My niece knows better than to bring something dangerous into this house.”

  I tried desperately to keep a straight face.

  Charity gave me another strange look.

  “Besides, I know my rights,” Carol said, wagging a finger at Marsh. “You need a warrant if you want to come in here.”

  “No,” I said. “They’re welcome to look around. I have nothing to hide.” I stepped aside and waved my hand, inviting them in. The only way for them to stop suspecting me was to give them access to what they wanted. I trusted Daniel’s abilities enough to know he’d keep out of sight.

  “We’ll be out of your hair soon,” Sheriff Wright said as he and Marsh came inside. I listened to their heavily booted footsteps as they trudged through the house, opening and closing doors.

  Carol followed behind them, grumbling about the mud they were tracking around. Carol and my mom were alike in a few ways. Charity said something about needing to get the rest of the bags and disappeared out the front door.

  “I hungwy,” James said again, rocking in my arms.

  “Let’s get you some cereal,” I said, trying to keep my superhearing trained on the sheriff and Marsh as they took their search down to the basement. I hoped all the mud had washed away from the clothes that were still sitting in the washer.

  I set James in his booster chair and then opened the pantry and pulled out a box of cereal. I poured a bowl and set it in front of him.

  “Nana, too?” James asked with a smile too cute to deny him.

  I grabbed a banana from the counter and then pulled a knife f
rom the butcher block. As I sliced into the thick peel I suddenly remembered that I’d stashed the hunters’ rifles under the back porch. I’d been so concerned about Daniel last night, I’d completely forgotten about hiding them. My eyes darted toward the back door, wondering how quickly I could get to the rifles before the police came back downstairs. But then what would I do with them, throw them over the fence into the forest? What if one of them went off when I tossed it? What if I got caught?

  “Nana, nana, nana,” James crooned from the table.

  “It’s coming.” I sliced the knife down a second time just as Deputy Marsh appeared through the kitchen entrance, making me flinch. “Shhhh,” I hissed. I’d cut right into one of my fingers. Droplets of blood pricked up from the cut. I grabbed a paper towel and wrapped it around the wound as Deputy Marsh gave me a snide look. Like me flinching was a sure sign of my guilt.

  “Sorry to scare you,” he said. “You don’t mind if I take a look outside, do you?”

  I wished I could wipe that smirk right off his face. “Not at all.”

  I watched out of the corner of my eye as he went through the back door out onto the deck. He was standing right over the spot where I’d stashed those rifles. How was I ever going to explain myself if he found them? He jogged down the porch steps, whistling an all-too-merry tune, and moved out of my line of sight.

  I squeezed the paper towel into my cut, concentrating on healing over the stinging sensation as I rocked up on my tiptoes and tried to spy out the window. I still couldn’t see him. I took a step back and realized I was practically standing on Aunt Carol’s feet.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “Nothing.” I held up my finger, still wrapped in the bloody paper towel. “I just cut myself.”

  Carol raised her eyebrows. She started to say something, but she was cut off by the sheriff’s voice as he reentered the foyer.

  “Do we have an all clear?” he asked. I heard the cut of static and assumed he was speaking into a walkie-talkie.

  “All clear,” another voice answered, with just enough edge of disappointment that I knew it belonged to Deputy Marsh. “Nothing out of the ordinary in the yard.”

  How had he not found anything?

  “Sorry for invading your morning, ma’am,” Sheriff Wright said to Aunt Carol. “Looks like everything here is in order.”

  “What else did you expect?” she snapped. “Honestly!”

  “Truly, I am sorry. But I’d be remiss if I didn’t check out every lead in this case. We had an entire forest full of hunters last night, but that wolf still managed to escape. Wouldn’t want any of the townsfolk putting themselves, or their neighbors, in danger.”

  “Nana. I want nana,” James cried. I could hear the lack of sleep in his strained little voice.

  I grabbed another banana and sliced it with a butter knife while listening as Aunt Carol escorted the sheriff out the front door. Every muscle in my body tensed until I heard them drive away. But I still couldn’t duck off to the backyard yet to figure out why Marsh hadn’t found those rifles, because Aunt Carol had decided to regale me with one of her long griping sessions about small-town life and the idiocy of Rose Crest’s government.

  After about what felt like an hour of listening to Carol, I realized James was asleep, one of his cheeks resting on his bowl of dry cereal and bananas like it was a pillow.

  “Why don’t you take James upstairs so the two of you can take a proper nap,” I suggested to Carol. “You deserve it after all that driving.”

  Carol yawned and picked up James. As soon as they were up the stairs, I slipped out the kitchen door into the backyard. Curiosity was killing me. Why hadn’t Marsh found those rifles?

  I was about to pad down the porch steps when I heard someone call my name in a loud whisper. I looked up to find Daniel perched on the edge of the roof. So that’s where he’d been hiding!

  He stood up, his bare toes peaking over the edge of the roof. If he’d been normal, I would have worried about his falling. Instead, I watched in quiet adoration as he pushed off with his toes and did a twisting flip in the air before landing soundlessly in the grass in a crouched position. It reminded me of the night he first told me about his powers. He’d made an exit in a similar way.

  “Show-off,” I said sarcastically, but I couldn’t help smiling with appreciation. I could seriously watch him do that kind of thing all day.

  “Oh, come on. You loved it.” His mischievous smile made me want to kiss it right off his face. How had I even breathed without him for an entire week?

  “Yes, I did.” I put a hand on my hip. “The sheriff might be gone, but there’re still people in the house.”

  “Good point.” He crouched low, avoiding the kitchen windows. “Are you okay?” He pointed at the bloody paper-towel bandage I’d forgotten was still wrapped around my finger.

  “It’s just a small cut,” I said as I pulled off the paper towel and showed him how I’d healed it over. There wasn’t even a pink scar as evidence that the cut had even happened.

  “You’re getting better at healing yourself,” he said.

  Healing had always been the hardest of my powers to get the hang of. “Yeah, I guess I am.”

  My ears pricked to the sound of voices coming from the house. I listened for a moment and realized that Aunt Carol was talking on the phone—complaining to her latest boyfriend about the visit from the police.

  “Come on.” I waved at Daniel to follow me. I wanted to find a new home for those rifles while Aunt Carol was distracted. I rounded the edge of the porch to the opening where I’d stashed the guns the night before. I stretched my hand in deep to reach for them, then peered into the opening.

  “You didn’t see Deputy Marsh carry anything out from the backyard, did you?”

  Daniel shook his head. “I’m pretty sure he was empty-handed. Why?”

  “Because they’re gone.…” Confusion muddled my brain. I could have sworn this is where I’d hidden the rifles, but maybe I’d just imagined that part of last night. The entire experience had been completely unreal. Maybe I’d left them in the forest after all? I shook my head. I know I wouldn’t have just left them there. “I think I might be losing my mind. I swear they were right there. I don’t know how this is possible.”

  “What?” Daniel’s eyebrows arched over his deep brown eyes. He’d been so delirious, he wouldn’t have remembered my hiding them.

  “You’re looking for this, aren’t you?” asked a voice from behind us.

  Daniel and I reeled around to find someone standing there, with a high-powered rifle in her hand.

  ABOUT TEN SECONDS LATER

  “Charity!” I jumped up. “What the heck are you doing?”

  The sight of my almost thirteen-year-old sister holding a gun nearly gave me a heart attack. She had it half raised in her hands, like she wasn’t quite strong enough for its weight.

  “Whoa, there, Char. Be careful.” Daniel reached out toward the gun. “Give it to me.”

  “No,” she said, taking a step back. “Not until you answer my questions.”

  “Don’t be a brat, Charity,” I said in my bossiest older-sister voice possible. “Put that thing down. It’s loaded.”

  Charity lowered one of her hands and shoved it into her pocket. She pulled something out and held it in her hand, nearly dropping the heavy gun at the same time. “You mean with more of these?” The bullet in her hand was shiny and silver. Not like the brassy ones a rifle would normally take. “These are silver bullets, aren’t they?” She cradled the gun in both of her arms.

  “Yes, and they’re dangerous. Now put the gun down. It isn’t a toy.”

  “I know,” she said. “And I know how to use a gun just as well as you do, Grace. Grandpa Kramer taught me how to shoot, too, you know.”

  She was right. I did know. Grandpa Kramer had always fancied himself a bit of a cowboy. He used to invite us on monthlong trips to his summer cabin, where he’d teach us things like shooting a
nd fishing. I wasn’t a fan of guns, but I could shoot a tin can off a tree stump from thirty yards away. Charity had been a lot younger during those lessons, but it was obvious she’d remembered a few things—like how to load and unload bullets.

  “Yeah, and Grandpa Kramer would flip out if he saw you holding that thing. You should know better. Somebody could get hurt.” My nostrils flared. “Give. It. To. Me. Now.”

  “Or what? You’ll tell Aunt Carol? Go ahead, because then you’ll have to explain to her why you have them, and I want to know. I deserve it. You should be thanking me for finding them before the deputy did. You know how far back under the porch I had to hide to keep him from seeing me? I still feel like I have spiders crawling all over my back.” She shivered dramatically, making me flinch. I really wished she’d put that gun down.

  “Thank you,” I said, dropping the bossy tone. “But you can give it back to me now.” I held out my hand, beckoning her to hand the rifle over. Why had she even gone looking for it in the first place?

  Charity shook her head. Her arms tightened around the gun. If she wasn’t careful, she was going to end up blowing someone’s face off. “I knew you were lying,” she said, answering the question I’d wanted to ask out loud. “Your neck was as red as the devil. I just couldn’t figure out what you were lying about. I figured if you had been out in the forest, you would have gone over the fence, so I decided to take a look around in the backyard. I didn’t actually expect to find out you were hiding guns.” She tapped her finger against the gun barrel. “But now I want to know why. I want the truth. And I’m not giving this gun back until you answer.”

  Whoa. My little sister was using a high-powered rifle as leverage? Well, if there was any doubt she and I were related…

  “You really were the one who attacked those hunters in the woods and stole their guns, weren’t you?” she asked.