Cold Blood

by Heather Hildenbrand

  “So… roof then?” Cambria asked.

  I nodded and we headed for the exit, earning a nasty look from the librarian on our way out.

  Halfway across the courtyard, Cord’s earpiece went off. It was set to vibrate, but I could still hear the pulsing it gave off. Cord switched it on and said, “Go ahead.” A voice on the other end was speaking but I couldn’t make out any words.

  I watched her as she listened and realized I was holding my breath. I let it out and forced myself to calm down. Cord’s comment had me all wound up. The Hunter in me wanted a good fight, some way to let out some of the energy that was building.

  “Nope, nothing new to report here… Yeah, okay.” Cord signed off and gave me a sideways glance. “Problem?”

  “What did they want?”

  “Just checking in.”

  “Oh.” I forced myself to relax.

  I expected Griffin Hall to be busy in light of the attack, but it was as deserted and low key as usual. There were a few staff people coming and going in the lobby, all disappearing down one of the hallways. A few students, probably working as aides or needing extra credit, wandered by, heading for the administrative offices, but no one I recognized enough to speak to, and no one interested in stopping us, thankfully. I guess if they had, I could use Cord’s presence to smooth it over, but I didn’t really want to resort to that. It would feel too much like owing her one. And I did not want that.

  I led the way to the access stairs and then up and out into the open air. The sky was bluer today than it had been, with an added hint of warmth that made the breeze feel good against my arms and face. It was amazing how different the weather felt up here, compared to down in the coolness of the trees. Down there, it seemed like all one season. Cool and damp. Up here, it was spring already.

  I wandered off to the side, away from Cambria and Cord, and took out my phone, waiting for a signal. It came up, and I dialed Wes.

  He picked up on the second ring. “Hello?”

  His voice did things in my stomach and I stopped walking and dropped down to lean against an air handler.

  “Hey,” I said.

  “Tara. It’s good to hear your voice.”

  And it was obvious he meant it. I could hear the relief and happiness that came through in his words; it fueled the guilt that I’d been pretending I wasn’t feeling. I squeezed my eyes shut and focused on how the sound of his voice made me forget all of the confusion and stress I’d been carrying. It dropped away; none of it mattered. All that mattered was Wes.

  “Yours, too,” I said, and my voice cracked.

  “Is everything okay?”

  “Everything’s fine. I assume someone called you about last night?”

  “Yeah, Cord called while they were disposing of the body. Alex took care of him?”

  “Yes.” I held my breath, waiting for whatever he was going to say next. I was terrified Cord had told him whatever she thought she’d seen.

  “I still want you to keep Cord close. And maybe that Cambria girl, too. Don’t go anywhere alone, okay?” There was the usual concern in his voice, but otherwise, he sounded like business as usual.

  I let out the breath I’d been holding. “Okay,” I said.

  Wes paused, and I wondered if I’d agreed too easily, if I should’ve argued more.

  “Are you still mad at me?” he asked.

  “No, I’m not mad. I just –” I stopped and took a breath. “I just miss you. Things are really… different here.”

  “It doesn’t feel the same without you here, either.”

  I supposed what he’d said was close enough to what I’d meant, though it was so much more than that. But I let it go. “How are things going for you? With The Cause, I mean. Is it getting any easier?” I asked.

  “It’s a process,” he answered. “What about you and Cord? She is still alive right?”

  “Ha ha. Funny,” I said, but I let a smile creep into my voice. “We’re managing. She gets a daily quota of nastiness she’s allowed to exude, and then I cut her off.”

  “Seems fair,” he said, and I could tell he was smiling back. It was the first light moment we’d had since I’d come here, and it felt so good it literally warmed me. Then, just like that, it was over, and we were back to serious. “I know you’re not happy with her being there so I appreciate your effort.”

  “I don’t get why she has to hate me so much,” I said. I left the usual anger out of it because deep down I still really didn’t know what the problem was. She’d said she didn’t like how everything was so much easier for me, but now that she was spending time with me, she could see it wasn’t as simple as it appeared. I felt like I was missing something.

  “She’s had it rough. Her past isn’t as cut and dried as she likes to make out. I’m not defending her,” he added quickly. “All I’m saying is she’s got reasons to hate the world. It hasn’t been very friendly to her.”

  “Well, the world is a large target. She can only aim at one person at a time, and so far, it’s me.”

  “Then remind her to focus on Miles. He deserves it.”

  “What’s the big deal with her and Miles?”

  “They dated, sort of.”

  “Seriously? As in, a couple? When?”

  “Before I met you. Miles was really new to the group. I’m not sure how exclusive it was. It’s not like either one of them shared the details with me. We just knew. It’s a small group.”

  “Wow. So, she’s got extra reasons to be pissy about him. Good to know.”

  “Don’t use it against her, Tara,” he warned.

  “I wasn’t planning on it.” But if it came out by accident, like if she pushed and pushed and made me mad enough, well… I couldn’t help that. I didn’t say that part out loud.

  “Any day, Tara,” Cord called.

  I looked over my shoulder and saw her standing near the door, tapping her foot and looking all-around impatient. I sighed. “My babysitter said my time is up,” I said into the phone.

  “Fine, I’ll let you go. But, Tara?”

  “Yeah?”

  “We’re good, right?”

  I wanted to say yes. I ached to say yes and end the weird, back and forth, fighting-or-not thing we’d had since I’d gotten here, but the truth was, I didn’t know. Not until I could see him face to face, talk to him in person, and know what I felt and whether it was real.

  “We’re good enough until we can talk this out in person,” I said instead. “And we’re good enough for me to tell you I miss you. A lot.”

  “I miss you, too. Be careful.”

  “I will,” I promised.

  I hung up, and immediately the phone rang again. I could hear Cord’s exasperated sigh from here. The screen said George. I wouldn’t have answered it except I knew it would piss Cord off, and I was in the mood to get to her.

  “Hello?”

  “Tara, hey!” George sounded excited and a little breathless.

  “Hi, George. What’s up?”

  “I’m so glad you answered. I’m coming to see you.” I could hear his grin through the phone, and I froze.

  “What are you talking about? Visitation day isn’t for another two weeks,” I said. And more importantly, George didn’t know where I was.

  “Yeah, I know. But I didn’t want to wait that long. Did you get my message about the scholarship?”

  “I did. That’s pretty awesome,” I said. His enthusiasm was contagious. I couldn’t help but smile. “Congratulations.”

  “Yeah, my mother is beside herself. I had to share it with the person who did the most to help get me here, and that’s you, so I decided to surprise you. We need to celebrate. Are you free tonight?”

  “Tonight?” My brain went completely numb. I couldn’t think. George was coming here tonight. “I don’t know. How do you know where to find me?”

  “You’re cousin… Miles? He stopped by and gave me directions. He said you get free time on the weekends, and I could probably sneak in for a couple h
ours.”

  “You talked to Miles?” I worked hard at keeping the shrieking panic out of my voice, but plenty of stress had come through. George caught it easily.

  “Yeah, why? He seems like a great guy.” His answer wasn’t so much concerned as defensive, guarded.

  I narrowed my eyes. “George, you sound weird.”

  “I thought you’d be happy to see me, that’s all. You can meet me, right? We’ll be there in about an hour.”

  “We?”

  “I drove up with Miles, to save on gas. Like I said, cool guy.”

  My throat dried up, and I couldn’t breathe. I turned around and locked eyes with Cord. She stiffened at whatever she saw in my face. I gripped the phone too tight and my cheek hit a button. It beeped loudly in my ear and brought me back enough to make me coherent. I walked towards Cord and Cambria. They watched me with matching expressions of concern and tension.

  “Tara? You still there?” George asked. There was some background noise and then he said, “Miles wants to say hi, hang on.”

  There was silence and then, “Hello, Tara.”

  “This is war,” I spat. I could feel my temper rising, and I knew I was shaking because the phone kept pulling away from my ear.

  “It always was. It was simply a matter of whose side you’re on, lovely.”

  “Not. Yours.” My muscles literally ached to do damage to him and my jaw felt tight, like it was too big for my mouth.

  “The choice is no longer yours. I’ve decided to take out an insurance policy.” His voice was light, like all crazy people seem capable of when innocent lives hang in the balance. He reminded me of Leo. No more affection, no more creepy crush, just plain psycho. George probably had no idea what he was in the middle of, or that Miles was threatening his life at this very moment.

  “I will kill you if you hurt him,” I said, trying to keep my own voice as calm and nonchalant as his. I didn’t want him to know he was getting to me. It would only endanger George further.

  “You may try. We’re going to pull off and come in the back way. Since the wards are sketchy at best, what with the new girl taking over, I think we can sneak in fairly easily through the woods. I’ll call you when we find a quiet spot, and we can meet up.”

  “How do you know about Betty?”

  “I’m everywhere, darling.” His voice was smug and silky.

  Somehow, Miles knew about the wards being down, and that Vera was no longer in charge of them. Someone was giving him inside information. My mind raced. “Fine, I’ll come. But you will let George go when I get there,” I said.

  “Of course, whatever you want.”

  His tone was entirely too accommodating, and I didn’t believe him for a second. I grit my teeth and stared at Cord. She was figuring it out, I think, because her eyes were blazing and she looked just as ready as I was to rip into someone.

  “Call you soon,” Miles said, and then he disconnected.

  I lowered the phone.

  “What the hell’s going on? Who was that?” Cambria demanded.

  “Miles,” I said, glancing at her. She looked worried but not nearly as violent as Cord. I took a deep breath and kept focused on her. The shaking wasn’t letting up and my thoughts were getting jumbled behind the rage. I needed to think clearly.

  “Tara, are you okay?” Cambria asked. She reached towards me and then seemed to think better of it. “You don’t look so good. You’re sweating. And your cheeks are really flushed.”

  “I’m fine,” I said. I took another deep breath. I wasn’t fine, though. I wasn’t calming down. I was shaking worse, and I couldn’t keep still much longer. Something in me had to move.

  “What did he say?” Cord asked in a low voice.

  “He has George.”

  “Your ex?” Cambria’s eyes were wide.

  I nodded, jerking and shaking. “They’re driving here. Miles is using him as blackmail so I’ll leave with him. He’s going to call back when they find a place to meet.”

  “What about the wards?” Cambria asked.

  Cord shook her head. “They aren’t up and running yet.” Cambria looked at her with wide eyes. “I know they told everyone they’re up, but they’re not. Not completely anyway. Butch Betty or whatever her name is, she’s new and slow. It’s taking time. He’ll get through.”

  “He knows about the wards being down,” I said.

  “How?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “How long?” Cord asked.

  I blinked, trying to clear my head and remember the answer to her question. “Um, an hour?”

  “Geez, Tara, you’re shaking worse,” said Cambria.

  I couldn’t take it anymore. I stepped back, my legs feeling stiff and unused, and paced towards the edge of the roof. Cambria and Cord stayed where they were, watching. I ignored them. I couldn’t concentrate. My thoughts felt jumbled and shifty; I couldn’t focus on anything except my desire to hurt Miles. A vision of taking him down was on replay in my brain and I couldn’t shake it. I didn’t want to. It was the only thing keeping me sane, imagining myself killing him, over and over again.

  Chapter Thirty One

  I don’t know how long I paced, but eventually a pair of hands appeared in front of me, bracing tightly on my shoulders and bringing me to a stop. Their appearance was so unexpected that my head came up and I let out a snarl at the face they belonged to.

  As soon as the sound reached my ears, I stopped and blinked.

  It felt as if I was waking from a dream, coming back to myself. I had no idea how much time had passed, only that my muscles felt loose – and better – and the shaking had stopped.

  And I was looking at Alex.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked. I looked around, confused by his presence. I was still on the roof. Behind him, Cord and Cambria were huddled up, watching our exchange. Logan was with them. He watched me with worry etched into his expression.

  “Tara? Can you hear me?” Alex’s tone was low and soft, like the way you’d talk to a child or a wild animal.

  “Yes.” I stepped out of his hold and he tensed. “What are you doing here?” I repeated.

  “Cord asked me to come. You were…not yourself. She and Cambria couldn’t get you to respond when they called you.”

  “What? When? I didn’t hear them.”

  “Yeah, that’s what we’re trying to tell you,” Cord said, coming up behind Alex. She kept her distance. “You were standing right here, or well, pacing right here, and you wouldn’t answer me. Even when I screamed at you. It’s like you were hypnotized or something. I got Alex because if you attacked me or something, I wasn’t going to be responsible for throwing you off a roof, even if it was self-defense. Better to let Wes kill him.” She finished by jerking her thumb at Alex.

  He rolled his eyes.

  I looked back and forth between them. It was clear they were serious. I glanced farther back, at Cambria. She was watching me, too, and she wasn’t scared, but she looked seriously concerned, and sort of lost.

  “You’re okay now?” Alex asked.

  “I guess so,” I said. “I’m not shaking anymore. And I don’t feel ready to punch anything that looks at me funny.”

  No one was amused by that. They all nodded with serious expressions.

  “Good, can we figure out what to do about Miles now?” Cord asked. “Thanks to Tara’s one-woman drama act, we’re down to forty minutes before show time.”

  The words were meant to be a barb but her usual bite wasn’t there. I could tell she was still bothered by the whole thing and unsure how to respond. That made two of us.

  Cambria and Logan walked up. “You told them?” I motioned to Alex and Logan.

  “No choice. We’re going to need backup,” said Cord.

  I stared at her with a sinking feeling. “Who else did you tell?”

  “Relax. Just these two,” said Cord.

  “Why can’t we tell Kane?” Logan asked. “We could use the help. Especially if Miles bring
s any backup of his own.”

  Cord shook her head. “If we tell Kane, they’ll give plenty of backup, but they have their own way of doing things. They may not let Tara play ‘bait’ and then who knows where that’ll leave her friend George.”

  “But he’s a hostage,” Logan argued.

  “He’s a human,” said Cord. “Are you really arguing this? You know how Hunters operate. He won’t be a priority.”

  Logan didn’t answer.

  “So, we’re letting Tara walk right up to him?” Alex asked. “Not my favorite plan.”

  “It’s the only way Miles will let his guard down long enough for you guys to get George out,” I said. “No matter what, you have to get him out.”

  “We will,” Cambria assured me.

  “And then we go after Miles,” Cord finished. The gleam in her eye made it easy to see which part she was looking forward to.

  “Then we call for backup,” Alex said.

  Cord eyed him, like she didn’t agree.

  “I thought you’d be the first to run to Kane,” I said to her.

  “I don’t think we’ll need anyone else,” she said, and her eyes gleamed with malice. “Not like I – we – can’t handle him ourselves.”

  “Okay,” I said. Even if I didn’t understand her reasons, I agreed. If bringing Kane would endanger George, we’d have to do this ourselves. “You guys get George and then call Kane.”

  “Hey, what about me?” Cambria asked. Everyone turned to look at her and I’m pretty sure their stares were as blank as mine. “I can help with Miles. I can be convincing, remember?”

  Her meaning dawned on me, and I felt like an idiot for not remembering before. “That’s a good idea, Cambria. You can make sure Miles decides to live up to his end and let George go. But how close do you need to be?”

  She shrugged. “I only need a visual on him.”

  “What’s she talking about?” Cord interrupted.

  Cambria and I exchanged a look. “Cambria has a special gift,” I said.

  Cambria smiled; sweet and evil all at once. “I can compel him to let George go.”

  Cord raised an eyebrow, either doubting or impressed, I couldn’t tell which. “Will he know what you’re doing?” she asked.