Stolen Secret

by Piper Dow

  "I have a date next weekend," she said. "A guy I met in my adventure course."

  "Is he a Shade, or a Light?"

  Kelly's eyes met Wayne's. She wanted to watch his expression. "A Shade."

  Wayne pursed his lips, quiet for a few seconds. "Wow."

  Kelly waited for him to elaborate. When he stayed quiet, she prompted, "Wow?"

  He nodded slowly, thinking. "I'm just, curious, I guess. I mean, you've gotten the same, 'don't date someone you wouldn't want to marry' thing from Dad. I get where he's coming from, but I guess I don't think I have to worry about that in high school. But you—you don't date much. I guess I sort of figured you were listening to Dad."

  Kelly watched him stare at his hands. Their father did say that, a lot, and maybe Kelly did usually question if she could see herself married to a guy before going on too many dates with him, but she wasn't thinking of marriage to Tyler.

  "I'm not marrying him, Wayne. We're just going to the movies. I just..." She trailed off, uncertain of how to describe what she felt. "He seems like a nice guy. He's funny, he likes to tease—he has a twin sister, Bizzy, and they actually remind me a lot of me and you, how they get along. He's sweet, too. He really helped me not panic, during the course. I don't know, I just...I just think he's someone I'd like to spend more time with."

  Wayne nodded, meeting her eye with a smirk hovering on his face. "Well, if he reminds you of me, he must be pretty incredible."

  Kelly picked up her throw pillow and batted him with it before he made it off the bed. As he left the room she settled back on the bed, stuffing the pillow behind her back for support, and scrolled to find a meme to send to Tyler. She wondered if she should tell Sam about him yet, but decided to see how their date went, first.

  Chapter twenty-two

  Kelly took a desk in the back of the room. She dropped into the seat and let her bag slide from her shoulder, tucking it between her leg and the leg of the chair. She pulled out a notebook and pen and waited, doodling idly on the first page of the notebook.

  First classes were so typical and boring. She wished they could skip past the first day, but then people would ask stupid questions about procedure that they didn't get answered because the first class hadn't covered it. This was her third class of the day. She wished she had paid a bit more attention, or been a bit less ambitious when she'd picked her classes—three in one day meant two long days. She remembered thinking this would make her available an extra day if she tried to get a job, but she was regretting it now. She wouldn't be getting out of this place until after dark.

  "Kelly! It's about time I ran into you!"

  Kelly looked up to see Rick slide into the seat next to her and smiled. "Rick! I didn't know you were taking this class. You look nice and tan. How was your vacation? Fill me in!"

  "My aunt's place is incredible, Kel! My cousins have quads and dirt bikes, and we took them out almost every day. My mother wouldn't let me use the dirt bikes because I just finished with physical therapy for my leg, and she was afraid I'd pop something, I guess. It was so hot, though. When we weren't on the quads, we were at the community pool they have." He smiled a little self-consciously, glancing at her from the corner of his eye and then back at the top of his desk. "I met this girl there."

  Kelly smiled encouragingly. "Come on, spill! What's she like?" She teased.

  Rick's gazed off into a corner of the ceiling, remembering. "Her name's Jeni. She lives in the park with her grandmother." A smile hovered on his lips. "She's hot."

  Kelly smirked. Of course she was, if Rick was interested. She was glad, though. If Rick could find someone he could really be interested in it would make her friendship with him easier. He had crushed on her since high school, but, other than occasional parties when he'd had too much to drink, he'd understood that she didn't share his feelings. "I'm glad you met someone, Rick. You deserve to be happy."

  The room had filled with students as they'd talked, and now the professor stood and called for the class's attention. Kelly studied him, wondering if she would be able to tell if he was a Shade. She hadn't been able to tell with the others in the adventure course. She had gotten some of her guesses right at the end, but she knew they had been guesses.

  Sighing as she pulled out the syllabus, Kelly glanced down at her notebook. She was surprised to see doodles of flowers across the bottom of the page, with a cartoon fox smelling a daisy. The corner of her mouth quirked up as she covered the page with the sheets being handed out.

  KELLY RAN THROUGH THE rain, hitting the button on her key to unlock her car before she reached it. She yanked the door open and scrambled in, tossing her bag onto the passenger seat. She had known it was raining, they'd been able to hear it on the roof from the auditorium, but she hadn't realized it was such a downpour.

  She turned the key and hit the button to turn on the defroster. She blew on her hands while she waited for the car to warm up, then groaned. The little gas light on the dashboard was on. How had she not realized she was that low? Her father was always telling her to fill it when it got to half-empty so she wouldn't run out. She didn't, but she didn't usually let it get to the point the gas light came on, either.

  She waited until the windshield was defrosted before putting the car in gear. There was a gas station right before the rotary. She didn't usually stop there because it was more expensive, so close to the highway, but she could put ten dollars' worth in. She pulled up to the pump and pulled out her debit card, shutting off the car. She was out of the car before noticing the tape around the pump's handle. Glancing around at the other pumps, she saw that they were all taped. Great.

  She hopped back into the car and started it while doing some quick figuring. She didn't want to drive out of the way, but the gas station near her house would be too far. There was that gas station she had gone to on the way home from Silverton; it was out of the way but not by much. She glanced at the dash again and breathed a quick prayer that she had enough to make it.

  She didn't. Kelly muttered a curse under her breath as the car sputtered and bucked forward. She guided the wheel to ease onto the shoulder of the road as it choked on it's last drops of fuel. Great, just great. Blowing out a big breath, she pulled her cell phone out of her bag to call roadside assistance. It wouldn't turn on. Groaning, she moved her hand to grab the charge cord she usually kept plugged into the port but came up empty. She scanned the car before remembering she had used it in her mother's car last. She must have forgotten to put it back.

  Kelly felt her throat growing thick with the urge to sob and closed her eyes, drawing in a slow breath. Okay. She opened her eyes and glanced around, looking for familiar landmarks to orient herself in the darkness. She realized she was probably within a mile of the gas station. Determined, she slid her cell phone and debit card into the inside pocket of her coat and shoved her bag under some empty tote bags on the floor in the back seat. Maybe they would let her use their phone at the gas station to call for help. At the very least, she could probably buy a charge cord and power her phone back up.

  Glancing around to make sure she had everything she needed, she climbed out of the car and pocketed the key, locking the door behind her. She pulled the hood firmly over her hair and started walking.

  Chapter twenty-three

  "Carl! I don't care if Roger doesn't need him this week! I saw him walking to the gas station this afternoon. You promised!" Kenzi almost hissed the last sentence, she was so angry.

  "Give me a sec." Carl's voice was quiet as he pulled the phone away from his mouth to talk to someone else. Then he was back. "Okay, yes. Let me get a couple of the others and the driver, and we'll meet you. Give me the address again."

  Kenzi huffed. "I don't know the freaking address, Carl. The streets don't have names on them I can read from the sky, do they? It's the one on Rte. 28, heading toward Bluffs Cove. It's down the street from the grocery store."

  She hung up after he agreed to meet her there with the van in half an hour. Satisfactio
n made her smile. She'd vowed to make sure the guy paid for all those days she'd spent watching him, waiting for Roger to need him. Tonight, she would get her chance. She shifted in the kitchen and used the little pet door that Carl had installed to get into the backyard. Tonight was going to make those hours worth it.

  MATT WASHED HIS HANDS in the bathroom sink and grabbed a paper towel to dry them, then an extra towel to wipe the sink area down. He'd already picked up the paper that had been carelessly tossed toward, but not into, the trash can. He glanced around to make sure the room looked presentable before leaving.

  "It's really coming down out there, huh?" Anne, one of the regular women who worked in the food prep area was restocking the condiments section. "Do you have a ride home?"

  Matt grunted and shrugged, a non-committal sort of agreement. He never actually told anyone where he lived, just allowed them to make their assumptions. He lifted a hand and smiled, then went outside. He stood on the sidewalk under the roof's overhang, leaning against the building. It wouldn't hurt to look like he was waiting for a ride for a few minutes.

  The rain had let up a bit. It was still coming steady, but not the deluge that had drenched him an hour ago. He gazed up, trying to see if he could determine whether it would get heavy again in the twenty minutes it would take him to get to camp. A splash drew his attention.

  A girl crossed the driveway and the area in front of the pumps, a hood pulled over her head and shoulders hunched against the cold. He watched as she pulled the door open and went in, even turning to follow her approach to the register. He couldn't hear what she said, but watched the cashier shake his head. He gestured to a rack of tech accessories near the counter. The girl selected one and paid, and the kid gestured toward Matt.

  Matt quickly turned his head so as not to be caught staring. A minute or two passed, and he realized the kid had been pointing at the counter behind Matt, not at him. He was just getting ready to head out when the girl stuck her head out the door.

  "Hey!" Her voice was warm. "Could you use a cup of something warm? I have to wait for my phone to charge, and I'm drenched. I'm going to get a cup of cocoa. Would you like something?"

  Matt nodded, offering a small smile. He followed her back into the store and over to the coffee bar. He selected a tea bag and added a sugar packet before filling the cup from the hot water spigot on the coffee machine. He glanced over at the girl. Had she said her name was Kelly? Something like that, anyway. He hadn't recognized her outside. She was right, she was drenched. Even with having the hood up, her hair had gotten plastered to her head like fur on a drowned rat.

  She had filled her cup with hot chocolate from the machine and topped it off with milk before adding a cover. She smiled at him and moved to the register, adding a bag of Skittles to her order. Matt added a few ice cubes to his tea before putting the lid on the cup and headed back outside. He didn't like to hang around too much inside the store, didn't want to wear out his welcome.

  "Hey." She joined him on the sidewalk. Both hands cradled the warm cup just under her chin. "I can't believe I ran out of gas. My dad is going to kill me, he's always telling me not to let it get under half a tank."

  Matt grunted in commiseration and took a sip of his tea. He had never had a car, though he did have his license. Tony had taught Matt to drive when he was 14, when Tony would get too hammered to drive home. Matt hadn't minded, he was pretty good behind the wheel. Besides, Tony was less likely to take a swipe at him if it would mean the car might get scratched. But Matt had never had to worry about putting gas in it.

  He glanced over at the girl. This was the third time she'd talked with him, taken time to treat him as a person. She seemed to really be nice, not just trying to salve her own conscience.

  "I'm Matt."

  She grinned, showing those straight white teeth again. "It's good to know you, Matt." She shivered.

  Matt's gaze went past her as he caught a shadow of movement at the side of the building. A black man in a dark puffer coat and ski hat rounded the corner of the building, hands in his pockets. His eyes took in Matt and Kelly and he faltered, then continued with a determined stride. He passed them, then turned back when he was a few steps from Matt.

  "I have a weapon. I need you to walk around the side of the building. Now."

  Matt watched Kelly's expression freeze, her eyes huge. His own pulse pounded in his ears and his cup shook in his hands. He tried to think through the panic sending his thought scrambling. Did the guy have room in that coat for a gun? One of Tony's had been small enough he carried it in his front pants' pocket, so he might.

  "Now!" The man's voice was more insistent. "Don't make me repeat myself again!"

  Matt felt something pressed into his back. The man gave him a nudge to get moving. Kelly stumbled backward before turning and moving dazedly to the side of the building. Matt followed.

  A small utility van was parked near the back corner of the building, next to a tan Toyota Camry. Kelly kept looking back over her shoulder at the man.

  "You're going to open the back of that van, and you're both going to climb in. Any screams, any noise at all, and I will use my weapon. Got it?"

  Kelly nodded. Matt didn't say anything, just kept walking. His eyes darted about the parking lot, searching for a way to distract the guy long enough to try to get the gun away from him. There was nothing.

  In the span of a few breaths they reached the back of the van. Matt felt the nudge in the middle of his back again and reached forward to grab the door handle. He pulled it open as a large tan cat with black markings on its face, nearly the size of a cougar, lumbered around the side of the vehicle. The cat pulled its lips back in a snarl.

  Matt gave a strangled shout before scrambling into the van. He grabbed Kelly's arm to pull her in and slammed the door behind them. He could hear Kelly panting in fear in the dark interior of the van.

  He cursed, trying to keep his voice quiet. "Are you okay? I can't believe it—did you see that thing?"

  The side door opened and the cat sprang into the van. Matt and Kelly scrambled backward into the corner of the cargo space, as far away from the cat as they could get. It stood facing them, ready to pounce, as the door slammed shut and the man with the gun climbed into the drivers' seat.

  "We're going to go for a ride. You two stay quiet and behave yourselves, and Maria here won't have to hurt you. You ready, Maria?"

  The cat snarled over its shoulder in response.

  Chapter twenty-four

  Kelly stared at the animal in front of her and fought the panic threatening to overwhelm her. She could feel Matt trembling at her side. The cat remained on its feet, staring unblinkingly at them. It's tufted ears stood up on the top of its head, and black lines ran from the inside of its eyes to the corners of its triangular nose. The ears reminded Kelly of Jamie Lee's rufus malkin Shadeform, although this cat was bigger.

  She didn't dare close her eyes, but forced herself to take slow, measured breaths. She heard Tyler's voice again, reminding her to think about what she could physically feel and see to ground herself. She concentrated on the feel of the cold metal underneath her butt, the chill from her wet pants, and the sore spot on her shin she knew would turn into a bruise from where she'd banged it when Matt had pulled her away from the cat.

  As they passed under street lights and the interior of the van was momentarily visible, Kelly studied the cat's markings and it's sleek muscular body, its huge feet. As the van took a corner the cat took a step to steady itself and Kelly saw that its tail was stunted, though twice as long as Jamie Lee's. She glanced toward the driver. His hat was pulled down over his ears, and the street lights shone dappled and spotted through the rain on the windows on his dark skin as they drove underneath them. Kelly couldn't see much through the windshield. The steady swishing of the wipers and sound of the tires driving through the soaking rain filled the cabin.

  "Where—" Kelly bit back the rest of her question as the cat jumped toward her. She jerked her legs
in tighter and tucked her head down, curling her arms up instinctively. Kelly heard Matt's ragged intake of breath as he tried to scramble further away from the cat.

  The cat flared its nostrils and bared its teeth, then stalked back and forth in front of them. Its incisors were at least an inch long.

  "I told you, you need to stay quiet and behave. Maria hasn't had her supper yet, and she's hungry," the driver's voice held a suggestion of laughter.

  Heat shot through Kelly and her head shot up. She narrowed her eyes at the back of the driver's head. He was enjoying this. Like Mark had. This time, the image flashing through her mind of Mark shifted in front of her didn't give her a panic attack. She used the anger coursing through her body to push the thought of him away.

  The cat snarled once before it moved back to its spot behind the driver's seat. It flattened its tufted ears and bared its teeth at them again, but Kelly straighted up, unfurling her legs and dropping her arms into her lap. Without taking her eyes off the cat, she reached one hand over and squeezed Matt's knee. She could feel him trembling. His muscles under her hand clenched repeatedly.

  She had to help him to calm down. They needed to be calm. Frightened people couldn't focus on their surroundings, and made foolish mistakes. Silently she sent up a prayer.

  It seemed an eternity driving through the dark before the driver turned the van onto an unpaved road of some sort. The wipers were only moving intermittently, but there were no street lights here. Kelly studied the driver's back. His shoulders seemed more relaxed than before, and he drove almost leisurely now.

  Once satisfied that its captives would remain quiet, the cat had settled onto its haunches. Now it stood again and widened its stance, staring at them. Its ears twitched as though trying to detect noises outside the van, but its eyes studied the pair huddled in the corner.