by Russo, Jessa
I scoffed. “Excuse me?”
“Well, I think we can both agree that before I came along, you were a weak little girl pining over a ghost. Now look at you. You’re on the run, you’ve been kidnapped twice—even put up a fight”—she glanced at Q—“and you’re not even a virgin anymore. All because of me. But, no matter. You don’t have to thank me. Your silence is thanks enough.” She waved a hand in the air, then turned around and strolled back up the steps. “Come along, kids. And Q, if you hurt her again, you’ll have me to deal with.”
Ridley smiled, then followed Ariadne inside.
Q and J began to lead me, but I dug my feet into the dirt. “Wait. Are you guys serious? Why do you listen to her? Why do you do what she says?”
J shrugged, so I looked at Q. After Ridley, it was clear that Q was next in line as far as authority around here. J was just a hapless, lovesick puppy, from what I could see.
“It’s just a job, kiddo. Ari pays well.”
I didn’t know what to say. Eventually I closed my mouth, so as not to catch flies, then Dumb and Dumber pushed me inside. At least I knew who I was dealing with now, and could be better prepared to hatch an escape plan. I mean, what harm could Ariadne possibly cause? It wasn’t like she could mark my soul any more than it already was.
I snorted at that thought, then shook my head when Q glanced back at me with his eyebrows raised.
Inside, the cabin was warm and homey, fully decorated in exactly the way I’d picture a cabin in the woods. A wooden ladder stood to one side of the couch, draped with various quilts and Navajo-style blankets. The couch was large and overstuffed, with a plaid blanket draped over one side. A fire burned in the fireplace, even though the time of year was completely wrong for a fire. I raised an eyebrow and looked at Ariadne.
“What? I like the ambiance,” she said with a shrug. “Plus, it gets cold up here at night. Anyway, are you hungry?”
“Well, actually, I was about to eat at”—I paused, remembering why I hadn’t been able to eat my patty melt at the Hi-Lo Café, and it wasn’t because Q kidnapped me. Gracie Lynn’s wide, dead eyes floated through my mind, and I shuddered.
“What?” Ariadne asked, her voice impatient.
“The Seeker…”
“What about Seekers? Did they find you?” Ariadne approached me, pulling my elbow out of J’s hand. “Ugh, Jayson, she’s not a prisoner.”
I glanced back at Jayson as Ariadne pulled me to the couch to sit down. Not a prisoner, huh? Then why the hell had she kidnapped me?
“I thought none of the Seekers had found you?” Q asked.
“I never said that. Where’s Toby?”
“Ooh, good question, Eleanor. Rid, how’d you get her away from Tobias?”
“He’s in his trunk,” Ridley answered, his lips pulling up at the corners.
“What?” Ariadne and I shrieked at the same time.
“What the hell, Ridley! Go get him!” Ariadne snapped.
“Relax, babe. He’s not going to suffocate. And Trey’s bringing him now anyway.”
“You let Trey drive Toby’s Mustang?” Ariadne asked, her voice rising in pitch and shrieking on the last word. She brought her gaze to me, her eyes wide. “He’s going to kill me.”
I shook my head, flabbergasted. “You’re kidding me, right?” I asked, shocked at how crazy she was. “You branded my soul, Ariadne, whatever that means. People are hunting me. Then, you have your hired goons kidnap me and lock Toby in his own trunk, and you think the fact that one of them drove his car is what’s going to seal the deal for your death warrant?”
“He doesn’t let anyone drive that car, Eleanor. You should know that.”
“I’ve driven it.”
“What? You’re lying.”
I shrugged. Maybe I was. She didn’t need to know.
Ariadne’s eyes narrowed, then she brushed it off with a wave of her hand in the air. “Anyway, we didn’t really kidnap you, and Ridley hates Toby, so the trunk part was just for fun. A little revenge on my ex-boyfriend from my new boyfriend. No biggie.”
“You’re truly psychotic; you know that, right?”
“Aw, Evvy, that’s the sweetest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
“Here they are now,” Ridley said, interrupting the most absurd conversation I’d ever been a part of. “See? No harm no foul.”
Just as the words left Ridley’s mouth, I glanced out the large window and watched Toby’s classic Mustang come sliding through the clearing in the trees, dust flying behind it like a tornado shooting out from the exhaust pipe. The driver—Trey—slammed on the brakes, bringing the car to a screeching, and sideways, halt in front of the steps. I flew off the couch and out the door, then ran down the front stairs.
“Open it!” I shouted at no one in particular, my finger extended toward the trunk of the Mustang.
The driver opened his door and climbed out, his head hanging down and making his dirty blond hair drape across his eyes. He had an ear bud in each ear, and he fiddled with an iPod in one hand while his other hand jiggled the car keys. He was really tall, though with his head and shoulders drooping downward, he appeared smaller. Built like a runner—long and lean—he was probably well over six feet tall when not hunched over. He didn’t even notice me standing behind the car in a panic.
The passenger door opened, and I gasped.
“Toby!” I shouted, then ran around the car and flew into his open arms. “You’re not in the trunk!”
Toby pulled back to look down at me, his lips pulled into a scowl. “No, I’m not in the”—he softened slightly when he saw my cheek, then his eyes widened—“what the hell did they do to you?” With one swoop of his arm, he positioned me behind him as he rounded to face Ariadne and her boys.
“It wasn’t me, Toby,” Ariadne said, her hands up in the air. “I never told them to hurt her. What do you take me for?” She smiled, then winked. “Don’t answer that, lover.”
“Ridley?” Toby growled.
Ridley smirked, then shook his head from side to side with one eyebrow raised.
I turned to my right as Trey came to stand beside me, leaning against Toby’s car—as if he wasn’t one of Ariadne’s hired goons. He crossed his arms over his chest, hindering my view of the shirt he was wearing—with a picture of Bigfoot on it. Bigfoot. Only Bigfoot wasn’t stomping through the forest like I’d imagine he’d be doing, if he existed in the first place…he was riding a bicycle across the moon like E.T. did.
Trey wouldn’t bring his gaze to mine, even as I openly stared at him, which, combined with his hunched shoulders, his blatant avoidance made him appear slightly awkward.
Or, maybe it was his strange choice in t-shirts.
“Trey,” Toby said, bringing my attention to Toby, who hadn’t taken his gaze off Ridley, Quinn and Jayson.
“Trey,” Toby said again, slightly louder this time.
I elbowed Trey, finally getting his attention. His big blue eyes met mine, so I nodded in Toby’s direction, and Trey’s eyes followed. He barely acknowledged Toby’s extended hand before returning to whatever was so intriguing on his iPod, but when he tossed Toby his keys they landed perfectly in Toby’s hand, indicating Trey was anything but awkward. He glanced up briefly one more time and his blue eyes met my gaze again. He was cute. For a guy who liked Bigfoot and may or may not be on our side. The jury was still out on that one.
“Which one of you hurt her?” Toby said, bringing my focus back to the group of people who stood before us.
Ariadne didn’t seem scared, but then, she’d just orchestrated a kidnapping, so she was clearly more deranged than I’d originally thought. Ridley stood beside her, smirking, his piercing glinting in a small shaft of sunlight poking through the pines. Quinn and Jayson remained still, their gazes both locked on Toby. Funny how they weren’t so tough when they didn’t think my boyfriend was locked in his trunk.
I mean, um, not my boyfriend.
“Who are these two?” Toby asked, nodding toward Quinn
and Jayson.
Ariadne looked at the two guys, then waved her hand in the air. “No one, Tobias. Errand boys.”
“Excuse me?” Quinn snapped, bringing his narrowed gaze to Ariadne. He glared at her then turned to Ridley. “You owe me two hundred bucks.”
“Oh, please,” Ariadne drawled. “You delivered damaged goods, Quinn. You get nothing.”
“I’m sorry, what?” Quinn stepped forward, his gaze narrowed. “You’ll pay me, Ari.”
“After what you did to her face?” Ariadne snapped, glancing at Toby with a sly smile. She knew exactly what she was doing letting Toby know who was responsible for the road rash covering the right side of my face.
Toby tensed, so I placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to get his attention. After he didn’t respond, I tightened my grip, and he finally relaxed—slightly—then turned his head to glance at me standing behind him. I maneuvered myself to stand beside him instead, suddenly realizing I’d allowed him to make me his damsel again. I really needed to stop allowing people to push me into that role, now that I was on the run for my life.
“It wasn’t his fault, Toby. He told me not to run,” I said, shrugging. “So I ran.”
Toby’s deep blue gaze bore into mine. “He kidnapped you, Ever.”
“I know. And you’re right. That is his fault. And his,” I said, pointing to Jayson. “And his,” I said, moving my finger down the line to Ridley. “But mostly hers.” I looked away from Toby, focusing on Ariadne’s golden eyes. “And frankly, I just want to get the hell away from here and from her, and from all of this. Okay?”
“We’re not just going to let this slide, babe.” Toby grabbed my chin and brought my gaze back to his. “They kidnapped you,” he said slowly, nodding as if willing me to understand the gravity of the situation.
“I know,” I said, matching his slow pace. “But hey,” I said flippantly, “it’s not like it was the first time, right?” Budum chhh.
His mouth fell open.
“Oh, Tobias,” Ariadne purred as she approached us. Her red-tipped fingers grazed my arm. “It was supposed to be a little joke.”
I scoffed. “A joke?”
“Don’t be such a baby, sis. You weren’t supposed to get hurt.”
“But I did get hurt,” I growled.
“I know. And I’m sorry.” She reached out to touch my cheek, but Toby’s arm flew up and he grabbed her wrist, keeping her hand a few inches away from my face. She pulled out of his grasp and turned away from us, walking back to stand beside Ridley. “As someone who values her face, I can understand how upsetting that must be—especially when you already have something less than stellar to work with.”—she winked—“There’s Neosporin and Band-Aids upstairs in the medicine cabinet.” Ariadne stared at me, waiting. “Well? Go on now. Tend to your face.”
I turned to Toby. “Can we just go?”
He nodded, then tossed the keys back to Trey—the guy never even looked up at Toby but caught the keys and walked to the other side of the car. Toby reached down to open the door for me.
“Wait,” I said, placing my hand over his. “With him?”
Toby smiled. “Yeah, babe, about that”—he glanced up at Trey, then back to me—“Sorry I never told you.”
“Told me what, exactly?”
“That’s my baby brother.”
Shocked, I glanced to Trey, who shrugged as he disappeared, climbing into the car.
“Your what?” Ariadne shrieked.
Toby’s smile grew ten sizes. He leaned down, brushed a kiss against my lips, then turned to face the rest of the group.
“Oh, shoot. I must have failed to tell you that little tidbit of info, too.” Toby turned back to me, then nodded toward the car as he opened the door for me and turned his head back to Ariadne. “So that’s Trey. My baby brother. You hired him to kidnap Ever and oh, I don’t know, keep me locked up in my own trunk, but here’s the best part… I’d already sent him to keep an eye on you. How’s that for irony, Ari?”
Ariadne’s mouth opened, then closed a few times, and her eyes blazed with anger. I watched from the backseat of Toby’s Mustang, unable to keep the smile off my face.
“I’m assuming your boy toy there got the drop on me…he seems like the sucker punch type…and I’m pissed about that. Without Ridley’s cowardice”—Toby paused when Ridley sneered at him—“without his cowardice,” Toby repeated with emphasis, “your errand boys would have never made it out of the parking lot, and my girl’s face wouldn’t be all scratched up. But seeing that look on your face right now, Ari? That makes the sting a bit more bearable. Doesn’t it, Ever?”
I nodded, though he wasn’t looking at me to see the movement. His gaze was still locked in a silent battle with Ariadne’s golden eyes.
“We’re leaving, Princess. Stay away from me, and if you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay the hell away from Ever.”
Toby turned to climb into the front seat, smiling at me as he did so. I smiled back—
“Oh, Eleanor?” Ariadne called, her voice shrill. “You don’t want to leave before I tell you how to get out of this, do you?”
Toby froze, his dark gaze locked on mine.
My stomach sank.
“Either you have to die, or Frankie has to die…but one of you has to relive that car accident; otherwise, your soul will be branded until someone turns you in. I’ll let you decide what to do.”
Toby’s left hand froze on the headrest, his other hand holding onto the door. He was half in, half out of the car, completely immobile by Ariadne’s words. I stared straight ahead, focusing on his fingers curled around the seat. My stomach felt hollow. Like my chest. No words formed in my mind. I tried so hard to focus on Toby’s hand. So hard…
The vision of Frankie’s overturned Chevy flooded my mind, clouding my thoughts with curling tendrils of black smoke and all too familiar fumes. Toby’s fingers, his car, everything melted away. Liquid trickled down the rocks of the nearby stream, gas flowed from the tank, crickets resumed their nightly chorus, creating a cacophony of noises I’d never forget, never be able to not relate to this scene. The scent of gasoline tickled my nose. The pungent fragrance of burnt rubber wafted up from the tires—one of them still spinning around and around in the air, the grating sound unlike anything I’d heard before or since.
Frankie’s body to my left, his voice on my right…
“I’m scared, Frankie. Will you stay with me?”
“Always.”
“Ever?” Toby’s voice broke through the memory, but I couldn’t focus on him. My mind still surrounded me with the car accident, as if I was there, living that moment all over again. Toby touched my face, his hand cupping my cheek, anchoring me, pulling me back to him. “Ever, look at me.”
I brought my gaze to his, so close. He’d pulled the seat forward and leaned into the backseat, his head level with mine.
“Are you okay?”
I nodded as the present day world soaked in around me. Forest. Trees. Toby. His car. I glanced to the driver’s seat. That guy. Who is that guy? I glanced back to Toby, then outside to the right. Ariadne stood with three guys. The odor of gasoline vanished as I recalled their names; Jayson, Quinn, Ridley. Then I turned my head back to look at Trey in the front seat. Toby’s brother. Toby has a brother.
“You have a brother.”
“I do. Are you okay?”
“I’m okay.” I nodded, then licked my lips, my mouth feeling parched. “Let me out.”
Toby has a brother, and I have to relive the worst night of my life.
I inhaled a deep breath as I climbed out of the car on shaky legs. Recalling those moments I spent at the bottom of the ravine on Ortega Highway had shocked my system, but only momentarily. I needed to hear what else Ariadne had to say.
She stood at the bottom of the steps, holding Ridley’s hand, her eyes focused on me. She grinned—a satisfied, evil smile. Officially the worst sister a girl could ask for.
“Well now,” Ariadne said.
“That’s better. Why don’t we all head inside for a chat? It’ll be dark in a couple hours anyway, and you really don’t want to maneuver through these mountain roads at night if you don’t know them—you never know what could happen.”
My chest tightened as Ariadne winked, then she and Ridley climbed the steps and went inside, Quinn and Jayson following. She was truly a hateful bitc—
“Ev?” Toby leaned down, bringing his lips to my ear. “We’ll stay as little or as long as you want. Don’t worry about the drive, okay? I’m not afraid of driving on these roads.”
I nodded, pushing more images of the car accident out of my mind, then began walking toward the cabin with Toby.
“Tobes?”
We turned around to face Trey, who leaned against the Mustang, his arms crossed over the roof.
“Want me to stay here with the car ready, or come inside?”
“May as well come inside, buddy.”
Trey nodded, then shoved his ear bud back into his ear and followed behind us, hands in his pockets.
“You have a brother,” I whispered again, looking up at Toby.
“I do. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I would have, eventually, but—”
“It’s okay. I’m kind of excited to get to know him.”
“You’ll love him.”
I glanced back at Trey and smiled, though he still focused on his iPod. I watched him maneuver around rocks and take the steps two at a time without even glancing up to check his path. I shook my head as we entered the cabin’s living room and took a seat.
“Hungry?” Ariadne asked.
“No,” I said. “Get to the point, Ariadne.”
She sighed, then sat down beside Ridley in an oversized chair.
“Look. It’s no secret I don’t like you”—her narrowed eyes met mine—“And it’s no secret that I went after Toby when I knew he was yours.”
I raised my eyebrows but said nothing.
“What? I don’t lose, okay?”
Didn’t, I thought. You didn’t lose. Now you do.
Obviously.
As if following my thoughts, Toby placed his hand over my hand that rested on my thigh, and laced his fingers through mine. I glanced at him, but didn’t move my hand, I could probably stop whatever was building—or rebuilding—between us…but I honestly didn’t want to.
