Framed

by Amber Lynn Natusch

  * * *

  Peyta texted me later on that evening to see if she could spend the night. I was hoping that she wasn't using me as a way to get away from the tension she and Ronnie were having. I didn't want to cause any more problems there than I already had, so I wanted to speak with her first to see exactly what was going on.

  “Peyta?”

  “Yeah?”

  “It's me. I just got your text. What's going on? Is everything okay?”

  “Totally, Ruby. No need to freak out or anything. Mom just called to see where I was and what I was up to tonight. She said she was going to be home super late and suggested that I should maybe stay over at your place for the night,” she said, sounding as surprised as I felt. “Did you two have a come-to-Jesus moment or something? Or did you let her shoot you in the ass? That always makes her feel better.” She giggled after she said it, completely unable to contain herself.

  I, on the other hand, wasn't sure how to play things. Ronnie was clearly up to something, but I wasn't expecting for her to put her plan into action so quickly. I didn't want Peyta to worry, so I lied through my teeth.

  “Things are pretty much back to normal with your mom and me. It didn't take me letting her shoot me in the ass, but it was touch and go for a little while there. I'm glad she's finally come around, though, I really was starting to miss her.”

  “You just miss her hooking you up!” Peyta replied with a chuckle.

  “Well, there was that too,” I said sarcastically. “But yeah, you should totally come over. Cooper would love it. I think he's around here still.”

  “Can we do movie night? Popcorn and all?” she pleaded.

  “Sure. You know I'm always well stocked.”

  “Yay!” she shrieked like the teenage girl she was. I could literally hear her jumping up and down on the other end.

  “I'll come and get you. Get your stuff together. I'll be there in a few.”

  We said goodbye, and I made my way out to the living room to find Cooper sprawled across the couch in shorts, sans t-shirt. Blood surged through my body for the briefest of seconds reminding me all too well that I couldn't deny that we had chemistry. The reminder was so not helpful.

  “Who were you talking to?” he asked without taking his eyes off the TV.

  “Peyta. She's coming over,” I replied, trying not to stare at his chest. "I suggest you put a shirt on for the sake of all parties involved."

  “Yes, Mother Superior," he groaned as he dragged himself from the couch, "I'll get the popcorn started.”

  “Ronnie told her to stay here tonight,” I added for effect, and boy did it work beautifully. He stopped dead in his tracks and stared at me blankly.

  “And why would she do that?” he asked incredulously.

  “Isn't that the question of the night,” I replied sarcastically. “She's up to something, Coop. She knows about the Rev. Her whole little Underground group does too. She left me a message saying she needed to ask me some things about the murders and the individual committing them; I'd already told her it wasn't human. I wanted to impress upon her the importance of not dicking around alone at night. That prompted an angry discussion about how she came to know about werewolves and the Underground, etc.”

  He stared at me like I'd completely lost my mind, discussing werewolf matters with a human, but he had to realize that Ronnie already knew. The jig was up, so I didn't see why keeping up pretenses would have mattered. If what I told her was going to keep her and Peyta safer, then I was fine with my decision. He seemed to disagree.

  “So you told her about this guy?”

  “She already knew about him, Coop. I didn't really tell her anything new. In fact, I think her group has been trying to stop him as long as the PC has, unsuccessfully, of course.”

  “I hope you know what you're doing,” he said, looking disapproving. “You're playing with fire trusting Ronnie right about now.”

  “But she said she knew what he wanted, that the Underground knew too. I think they're coming to help. Maybe if we could all work together, we could stop him, Cooper.”

  “Maybe we could all get hurt or killed trying,” he said, slumping back onto the couch. “Never a dull moment with you around.”

  “I'm sorry, Coop. I didn't have a chance to tell you. I'm not trying to purposely leave you out of this one, I promise,” I told him, coming to sit beside him.

  “I know you're not,” he said, taking my hand in his. “So she told you how she found out about weres? That was rather forthcoming of her.”

  “Well, I had to piss her off pretty good before she let those beans spill. She told me just to illustrate a point that would make her right.”

  “Ah,” he said, pressing his lips together, “that makes sense. So what did she say?”

  “She saw her husband attacked and killed by a werewolf. Peyta was with her at the time. She was only a baby.”

  “Holy shit,” Cooper gasped. “That's unheard of. Weres who want to Change someone over never do it in public where they could be exposed.”

  “I don't know what to tell you, Coop. That's what she said,” I replied, throwing my hands up in surrender. “She said he went to work late one night, and she stopped by to see him while out trying to soothe Peyta to sleep. She parked the car in the back, saw her husband come out of the building, and something jumped out of the bushes and attacked him. He told her to run. She left and never looked back.”

  “Creepy,” he said, looking a tad paler than he just had. “No wonder she is the way she is now.”

  “Yeah, and why she hates us so much.”

  “Yep. That is a lot clearer now,” he said, nodding slowly. “Isn’t it a little suspicious that she would send Peyta over tonight, given how much she distrusts us?”

  “Exactly! I told Peyta her mother and I made up just to cover things on that end, but that sure as hell wasn't true. Ronnie tolerates me now. It's an upgrade, but it's a long way from like.”

  “So you think she's sending her over here to ensure her safety?” he asked, leaning forward, his full attention on me. “But that's why she's been trying to keep her away. She thinks she's in danger just being around us.”

  “Right, but not if there's some crazy rogue wolf out there. Who would you want surrounding your child in that scenario? I'd sure as hell pick us.”

  “Maybe,” he mumbled, scratching his head. “I see your point, but, if she sees us as capable of keeping Peyta safe, why wouldn't she see us as capable of taking this dickhead down? Why wouldn't she want our help?”

  “I don't know, Cooper. It doesn't make any sense to me either. Ronnie is stubborn, but not suicidal. She must think the Underground can handle it, even if she's wrong.”

  “I hope she knows what she's doing,” he said, getting up to go make the popcorn. “You'd better go get Peyta now. I don't want her alone any longer than she needs to be. This whole thing is sketchy as hell, and I've got a bad feeling about all of it.”

  “I do too, Coop,” I said, collecting my purse and keys. I slipped on my shoes and opened the door to leave.

  “Ruby,” Cooper called from the kitchen as I started to leave, “why do you suppose Ronnie thinks she can find this guy? If the PC hasn't been able to track him down for years, why does she think she can do any better?”

  “I don't know, Coop,” I said softly. “That point has been gnawing at me too. We're missing something here, that's for sure. Hopefully we figure it out before someone gets hurt.”

  “Be careful, Ruby,” he said with softened, saddened eyes. “I don't want that person to be you.”

  I smiled gently in response.

  “Me either, Coop. I'll see you soon.”

  “Try to make that in one piece, please?”

  “I always do.”

  I made my way quickly down to the car. My phone was vibrating somewhere in my hobo purse, but I couldn't find where I'd thrown it in the vast, open cavity. Sighing in frustration, I unlocked the car and got in. I figured if it was important enough
, they'd leave a message.

  Once I pulled out of my spot, I wove through the downtown streets until I made my way out of town, heading to Ronnie's. I heard the phone vibrating again, but I wanted to wait until I was done maneuvering through Portsmouth proper before trying to retrieve it from the depths of my purse. I needed to consider smaller accessories.

  Just outside of downtown, I bent over the console, my seatbelt fighting me as I rummaged around until I finally located my Blackberry. Pressing a button to illuminate the screen, I saw that I had five missed calls.

  “Oh shit!” I squeaked in the silence of my car. “Please don't be Peyta. Please don't be Peyta..."

  I went to my voicemail and listened to four increasingly concerned messages—all were from Sean. The fifth was him distraught and shouting, so I deleted that one without finishing it. For once, he had called from an actual phone that displayed its number. I returned his call immediately. Something had him good and riled up, and though I knew I didn't want to know what it was I needed to.

  There was no answer.

  I hung up and looked at the phone curiously, wondering if I'd misdialed or hit the wrong button. My old phone had been possessed by technology trolls and did the strangest and most random things when you tried to use it. I wondered if purchasing the same one was such a great idea.

  I tried the number again, double checking to be sure that the numbers were all correct and that I actually hit the dial button properly. With everything looking good, I awaited his response on the other line. There wasn't one.

  My nerves started to get the best of me, and I repeatedly tried to reach him the rest of the way to Ronnie's. All my attempts were in vain. My increasing level of concern quickly turned to fear—fear that the worst case scenario Sophie had painted had occurred.

  Could Sean have been blindsided by his own? Had the Elders come and done what she said they would do? I punched my leg out of frustration, irritated with myself for deleting the last message. What if what I had mistaken for anger had actually been fear.

  Maybe it was a dying warning to me.

  “Fuck!” I yelled, pounding the wheel.

  I floored it the last two miles to Peyta's. When I arrived, I literally ran in and grabbed her and her bag, dragging her out to the car.

  “What's with you?” she asked, trying to wriggle free.

  “Get in,” I barked, throwing the phone at her. “Keep calling that number until someone answers.” I got in and peeled out of the driveway at breakneck speed.

  “Who am I calling?” she asked, holding the phone to her ear. “I need to know who to ask for.”

  “Sean,” I snipped, “and if he answers, don't talk, just hand me the phone.”

  “Ruby, you need to tell me what's going on,” she said, calmly. “You're really freaking me out right now.”

  “I'm not sure, Peyta,” I said, trying to center myself. “Whatever it is, it isn't good. That much I'm sure of.”

  “What does it mean if you don't get a hold of him?”

  I couldn't bring myself to answer her as the thought of what it could mean brought a lump the size of Texas into my throat. I turned my bleary eyes to her and she clearly got the point.

  “Oh,” she said, dialing again. “It'll be okay, Ruby. He'll answer...I'm sure of it.”

  We were five minutes from home when my cell phone finally rang. Peyta fumbled to answer it, and I swatted at her to give it to me.

  “Hello?” I yelled into the receiver. “Sean! Are you okay?”

  “Ruby, it's Cooper,” he said, sounding concerned. “What's going on?”

  “I can't talk now. Gotta go,” I said, hanging up on him and throwing the phone back at Peyta. “Keep trying.”

  We pulled up outside my building to find Cooper pacing nervously outside. The look he gave me while I got out of the car was murderous.

  “So you're all right?” he asked, supremely annoyed. “Too bad you couldn't have mentioned that before you hung up on me.”

  “I'm sorry,” I said, somewhat unapologetically. “Potential shit hitting the fan.”

  “More than we already thought?” he asked carefully so as not to arouse more suspicion from Peyta.

  “More than we already thought,” I confirmed. “Sean left a series of messages while I was driving to get Peyta, each one with increasing urgency. I can't get a hold of him at all now.”

  “Oh,” Cooper replied, seemingly getting the gist. “Did we know when his company was coming? Perhaps he's tied up at the moment?”

  “That's what I'm afraid of.”

  “What are you two talking about?” Peyta chimed in. “I don't like it when you edit yourselves around me. It's rude and annoying.”

  Cooper scooped his arm over her shoulder and tucked her into him.

  “I'm sorry, P, but we have to leave you out of this one. The less you know, the better. You have to trust me.”

  If I had said that, I would have been met with instant rebuttal, but Cooper had a way with people in general and Peyta in particular. She shrugged her shoulders and sighed before making her way into the building.

  “OK, Cooper,” she agreed, sounding helplessly resigned to his terms. “But if it gets bad, and I mean really bad, you two better let me in on it. I resent being treated like a child.”

  “We will,” I said softly. “We're not there yet. Hopefully, we won't be at all.”

  Cooper and I gave a troubled glance at each other before following our guest up the stairs. Right as I was about to enter the apartment, Cooper grabbed my arm and held me back for a second, making sure Peyta was out of earshot.

  “You think something has happened to him, don't you?” he asked, assessing my expression for an honest answer.

  “I'm not sure,” I replied. “I erased the last message because Sean was yelling, and I figured he was mad at me for not answering the phone as always. In hindsight, it may not have been the best move. What if it was a call for help?”

  “Do you really think that Sean would call you for help if he needed it?” Cooper asked soberingly. “If things were that bad, you'd be the last person he'd call for back up. He'd want you as far away from that scene as possible. Him and I both.”

  “And if it was a dying warning?”

  “Then I guess we're in for a surprise,” he said, before gently stroking my hair. “He's a big boy, Ruby. He hasn't lived this long for no good reason. Try to focus on the other issue at hand. You may be able to help on that one.”

  “Are you two coming in or are you gonna hang out there all night long?” Peyta asked from the doorway, holding an enormous bowl of popcorn in her petite arm. “If you're going to stress all night, could we at least do it from the couch with a movie on?”

  “Yes, Peyta,” I said, smiling weakly at her. “You pick tonight. And make it something funny. I don't need any superficial drama in my life.”

  “Sounds good,” she chirped before tearing into the living room and snagging the remote.

  “Make sure you approve of the movie, please,” I told Cooper. “I can't deal with any of that slapstick crap.”

  “Will do,” he said, making his way to the couch to chaperone the movie purchasing.

  I instead made my way to my bathroom to score myself some privacy, though it was seriously short lived. A ruckus from the living room came through the door as a muffled cacophony of voices. A bolt of panic shot through me as I fought with the misbehaving door, trying to try and get out. It had been kicked in one too many times and no longer sat on the hinges properly. I yanked on it as hard as I could as the voices got louder until it finally gave, knocking me ass over tea kettle into the tub along the far wall. I flailed like a fish out of water to try and get myself up. When I did, I found myself nose to nose with Sean.

  “I've been worried sick!” I yelled, punching him in the chest, knocking him back a step or two. “You didn't answer your phone. I didn't know what happened to you.”

  “It's maddening, isn't it?” he asked, with the slightest hint o
f self-satisfaction in his voice. “Maybe you won't do that to others anymore.”

  “You are such a dick!” I cursed, kneeing him in the thigh. “I thought you were dead!”

  “You thought he was dead and you didn't think that warranted sharing with me?” Peyta shouted from the hallway. “What constitutes 'really bad' to you people?”

  “Zip it, Peyta,” I yelled back. “Go watch your movie.”

  “I don't know how many times I have to tell you this, Ruby. I. Don't. Die.”

  “Well, there's a first time for everything, Sean,” I said, shoving past him only to run into Cooper, who was hovering right behind him. “Seriously, you guys, this isn't a party bathroom. Everybody out!”

  “I need to talk to you about something,” Sean said, looking at the entourage around us. “Privately.”

  Cooper growled his disapproval while Peyta bitched and moaned about always being left out. I grabbed Sean and dragged him to my room, knowing full well the others would be standing outside listening the whole time. There really wasn't any privacy in my place.

  “I'm so pissed off at you right now,” I shouted, starting in on Sean as soon as my door closed. “I can't believe you did that to me on purpose.”

  “I can't believe you just kneed me in the leg," he said with a curious expression. "And I never said I did it on purpose. I received some information that made me rush over here. I didn't stop to grab my phone on my way out.”

  “Really?” I asked, putting my hands on my hips. “So what is this information that was so important that you dropped everything to rush over here?”

  “The Elders are scheduled to arrive at midnight,” he said, glancing over to the clock in my room. “I didn't trust the information entirely; I thought they may have been trying to lull me into a false sense of security while they went after you. I needed to be sure that didn't happen.”

  I swallowed hard.

  “They didn't, though. What do you think that means?” I asked, trying to keep my hands from visibly shaking. “That has to be a good sign, right?”

  “Maybe, maybe not,” he shrugged. “We won't know until midnight. My source has been credible over the years. I'm hoping that he hasn't been compromised recently.”