by Gina LaManna
Backlit by the moon, covered in shadows, I couldn’t make out his features. I pulled my head behind the doorframe. A sob rose in my throat, flashes of everything I had yet to accomplish blinking into my mind: prepare the vial for Wishery, find Poppy, help Zin secure housing, make amends with X—all of it still lingering.
And then he spoke. “Lily?”
I gasped.
“Lily! What happened?!”
Ranger X’s voice broke through, releasing the silent sob I’d held back for too long. He moved through the storeroom before I could uncurl myself from the ball I’d crumbled into, and he had me in his arms before I could utter a word.
“Who was here? What did he do?” Ranger X pushed my hair back from my face, almost violently pleading with me. “Talk to me, Lily.”
“How did you...” I hiccupped, sobs wracking my body.
“Something felt wrong, so I came to you.”
I blinked up at him. “That’s it? A feeling?”
He kissed my forehead, relief flooding his face as he saw me unharmed, heard my voice, touched my cheek. “I’m so sorry, Lily. About everything. Leaving you alone—where the hell is Gus? I instructed him not to leave you.”
“You instructed him?”
“Do you hear that?” Ranger X pressed his cheek to my forehead, and the wild storm grew outside. “I’d never leave you alone tonight. I would’ve come sooner, but I had...business. I’ve been working all day, all night. Things are happening, Lily.”
“I know,” I whispered. “Look.” The calla lily in the corner had grown, bloomed to a flower the size of my head. “We can’t stop it.”
“Stop what?” Ranger X stiffened. His chest big and strong and firm as he pressed me harder against him. “Was it...you don’t think it was him that was here tonight?”
“My father? No,” I said. “I just saw...well, a shadow, just before you came through the door. Nothing more than a shadow.”
“They say he’s a ghost.”
“I don’t know,” I finally murmured. “All I know is that things aren’t right. Nothing’s right. There’s havoc on the island, and it’s impossible to ignore any longer. I mean, look at us.”
“What about us?”
“You and I are arguing. We rarely argue.”
“Lily,” he rasped. “Where is this coming from?”
“Our talk, earlier. You have to decide what to do.”
“Think about what to do, yes. Not whether or not it means being with you. It wasn’t an argument, it was a...”
I rose to my feet, the wind cycling through the door and whistling behind my words. “If you are in a relationship with me, your emotions are involved. There’s no way around it. That’s what love is—being vulnerable. If that puts you or your Rangers at risk, then you’ll need to figure out what to do about it.”
“Yes, but—”
“You didn’t seem to want to go the second route, which leaves only the first. Cutting emotional ties. I am an emotional tie. If I weren’t, you wouldn’t have come here tonight.”
“Come home with me,” X demanded. The windows rattled and the door banged against the wall. “I don’t want you here alone. We’ll discuss this later.”
“Screw later! We’re talking about this now.”
“Now?!” X, framed by dark black clouds, looked positively menacing. His eyes glinted onyx black and his lips curled into battle. “Fine. But there’s nothing to decide.”
“Have you not been listening to me?”
“Of course I have.” He stepped toward me, the black of his pants, his shirt, fitting the frightening image of him. All mass, all muscle—no wonder the islanders respected him so. “But there’s no decision to be made.”
“What are you talking about?”
X stood inches away from me, our breath intermingling with the heaviness in the air, the humidity stifling. The scent of him, like lumber and fire and outside, lingered around us.
If things were different, I’d ease my arms between his, clasp my hands behind his back, and let the beat of his heart carry me away from this place. The brewing anxiety, the inky unsettledness easing its way into the hearts of our people. But things weren’t different, not yet, and we reached a standoff, both of our fists balled at our sides.
“I can’t believe you’d even think there was a decision to be made here.” X’s voice was a whisper, deathly still. Even the storm seemed to halt for a moment. “If I have two options, and one involves losing you—I will always choose the other.”
“But—”
“End of story,” he snapped. “I will always choose you.”
“You can’t mean that.”
“Where do you think I went tonight?”
I shook my head, unable to speak. In response, X held up his fingers. No moon beamed through the windows, no stars cut through the storm. Utter darkness surrounded us save for the glint in X’s eyes, and...the halos around his fingers.
“What is...” I cleared my throat. “What is that?”
He held up his hands, the glow around the edges of his fingers as bright as if he’d dipped his fingers into liquid gold.
“I won’t let it happen again,” X said with a vengeance. “You belong to me, and I belong to you. Everything else is secondary. What must I do to prove that to you?”
The lump that’d been growing in my throat choked me, and the tears spilled freely as I finally collapsed into his arms. His hands stroked my back, teased through my hair, and held me against him.
“I almost lost you once to my job, and I almost let you go,” he said, his voice raspy. “I’ve learned from my mistakes. You are my strength, Lily, not my weakness, and together we are stronger. I won’t ever doubt us again.” He paused, pressing me closer to him, refusing to let go. “My responsibility is to The Isle, yes. But first, it is to you.”
“I believe you,” I said. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry I doubted you, but I—”
“It’s not your fault; I didn’t handle the attack well. Lumiette—it was a surprise. A children’s disease struck me down. I didn’t handle it well, and I needed time to deal with it. I should’ve been clearer about that.”
“No, I should’ve trusted—”
“Let’s go upstairs. We’re done down here for tonight, and I’m not leaving you alone.”
I scanned the contents of the storeroom one last time before locking up for the night. Nothing appeared to be damaged from the wind that came through, but I’d heard breaking glass. Cleanup, however, could wait until morning.
Instead, I took X’s hand, allowing him to lead me upstairs to my bedroom.
He looked wonderful with his black shirt melted to his body, his pants slick from the rain he slogged through on the way over. Even his eyelashes glittered with raindrops, and his hair was tousled and shaggy.
While I surveyed him, he eyed my matching satin pajamas, now all but see-through and useless after having his wet clothes pressed against them. His eyes darkened, glinting, and I gave a shake of my head.
Together, we burst out laughing.
“Come,” he said. “Take a shower and get warm.”
I moved to the bathroom, turned to face him at the door, and crooked my eyebrow high. “Alone?”
Chapter 22
THE NIGHT PASSED IN a delightful tangle of limbs as we slept wrapped in each other’s arms. Mercifully, the storm let up around daybreak, X slipping from bed shortly after. He was in the shower when the thunk of the newspaper—a sound that now brought dread with it—hit the front door of the bungalow.
I eased out of bed, threw on one of X’s old shirts, which was long enough to be a dress, and crept outside to get the paper. To my surprise, I wasn’t alone.
“Any comments?”
“Lily Locke? What do you know about the disappearances?”
“We’re told Peter spoke with you late last night—”
I halted on the front steps in an awkward position, halfway bent over to retrieve the paper, to find no less than six repo
rters with notepads shoved under my nose, pencils scribbling away.
I didn’t have time to think, to shriek, or to yell at them. I merely froze, staring dumbly at them with my hair in the style of a rat’s nest, and my clothing fit for nothing but sleep. My feet were bare, as were my legs, and finally the chill of skin against dewy ground jolted me awake.
“We’re here to ask you some questions,” a reporter in a top hat said. “Is Ranger X with you?”
“What’s going on?” X called, stepping into the storeroom. “Lily, are you okay?”
His eyes locked on me, probably saw the fear in my face, and made quick strides across the room. I tried to stop him, to keep him away from the mess, but my intentions backfired. Ranger X and I hadn’t kept our relationship a secret, but we also preferred it not be splashed across the newspapers.
He wore no shirt and no shoes, and his black pants clung against his figure. He looked incredible. That wasn’t the issue. The issue was that he stepped directly behind me and in front of the open door. A group of hungry reporters turned their eyes from me to the figure standing at my shoulder.
“Ranger X, question—”
“—know anything about Peter—”
“—disappearances are alarming. What are the Rangers doing to fix this?”
“Why are you spending your time with her instead of solving the issue?”
That last question froze everything. As if time had stopped completely. I’d heard the way the reporter leaned on the word her, and it hadn’t been complimentary.
Ranger X stiffened against me, his arm coming down to rest on my shoulder and squeezing, squeezing tighter until I had to shift slightly to relieve the pressure.
The reporters near the back squirmed, everyone looking mighty uncomfortable. Except for the one who’d asked. He continued to stare in blatant obliviousness up at X until another elbowed him in the ribs.
Looking around, the reporter in question must’ve realized his mistake and slunk back a step, mumbling an apology underneath his breath.
Ranger X took a step toward him. It wasn’t meant to intimidate, but it did nonetheless, and the reporter blinked furiously, scanning for a way out of the situation.
“If you had a woman like her, maybe you’d understand,” he said with a crooked, terrifying sort of smile. “You may apologize to Lily. After all, she is your Mixologist,”
“Yes, o-of course.” He turned to me. “Sorry, your honor.”
“Well, no need to go overboard,” I mumbled. “Let it go, X, it’s fine.”
“I don’t ever want to see you on this property without an invitation again—any of you. If you have concerns about how the Ranger program is protecting The Isle, you may inquire at HQ like the rest of the population. We will promptly address your concerns.”
“So, you’re working on the disappearances?” A timid, yet stupidly brave reporter pressed on. “Just one word for our story?”
Ranger X gave him a pleasant smile, one that brimmed with fury. “You may inquire—”
“Inquire at HQ, understood.”
“And, if you feel the Rangers are not up to your standards,” X said, resting a hand over my shoulder and against the doorframe. “Please feel free to submit yourself for the next Trials.”
At that, the reporters backed away.
Ranger X pulled me inside, then shut the door, latching it with surprisingly gentle movements. “I apologize for that.”
“You have nothing to apologize for.” I watched over his shoulder out the window. A few of the reporters lingered on the edge of the property, watching us through the glass. “They showed up here and invaded our privacy.”
“They won’t do it again. I might’ve come off as harsh, but I’m simply not willing to share our time alone with anyone. For any reason. They can ask questions on work time.”
“Speaking of alone time...” I cleared my throat and gestured out the window. “They’re still watching us.”
He cursed under his breath and stomped toward the window.
“I can’t tell if they’re more interested in the disappearances,” I joked. “Or your love life.”
Ranger X had his hand on the window and, instead of pulling the curtains down like he’d been about to do, he threw the window wide open. A thoughtful expression appeared on his face. “Come here.”
“What?”
“Here,” he demanded. “Now.”
“But—” I held up a hand and weakly gestured outside. “They’re just waiting for something to happen.”
“Are they?” His eyes twinkled with mischief as he reached for me.
I didn’t realize what was happening until a second later, he had my back pressed to the wall and his lips on mine, his arms sliding around my sides and melting me against him.
The kiss itself was delicious. His hands teased the band out of my ponytail, letting my hair loose as he ran his fingers through it, not caring who in the world saw.
The world darkened, the reporters vanished, and all that existed was us.
“Cannon,” I murmured when he finally allowed me a moment to breathe. “That was...wow.”
He winked, then glanced out the window and waved. “Yeah, I think they would agree.”
Six male jaws sat wide open. Hugely open. The reporters stared with unabashed amazement through the window.
At X’s glance upward, they all simultaneously began marching away, several of them attempting to jot down notes as they walked. I leaned against X, sharing a quiet laugh as the bungalow finally recouped its privacy.
“You didn’t need to do that,” I said, my head against his chest. “I know you prefer to keep private matters under the radar.”
“Private matters, yes.” He planted a kiss on my head. “I have no desire to keep you private. The whole world can know for all I care. It won’t change a thing.”
I was a gooey mess as we wandered to the kitchen for some coffee. He poured cups for both of us, just as I realized that I’d never actually gathered the paper. Scurrying to the front steps, I retrieved it and set it down on the table without reading it.
“When the reporters were outside,” I asked softly. “Did you hear them mention Peter?”
“Peter? The conspiracy columnist?”
“I suppose.”
“What about him?”
“He came to visit me late last night and asked for help.”
Ranger X plunked two mugs on the storeroom table and sat down across from me. “With what?”
“He said he’d be the next person to be...disappear.”
As usual, X didn’t respond immediately, preferring time to work through his thoughts before leaping to conclusions. “And you believed him?”
“I didn’t think it was urgent, but I didn’t doubt he believed the theory himself.”
“He always believes himself,” X muttered. “That doesn’t mean he’s right.”
“Fair enough, and that’s what I told him, but what if...”
Ranger X unfolded the paper, ushering in silence from both of us. The front page was a photo of Peter with a byline from none other than himself. The title of the article: I’M NEXT.
I stood, rounding the table to read the article over X’s shoulder. It seemed that Peter had written and prepared the piece, slipping it into this morning’s edition, probably late last night. It didn’t provide all the details that he’d mentioned, but it explained he would be the next to go.
The last line, in particular, was a cry for help.
Lily Locke, he wrote, will have the answers.
“I don’t have any answers!” I cried, though the reason the reporters had shown up at my doorstep had now become clear. “What answers?!”
“Calm down. We don’t even know if he’s missing.”
“Can you have your Rangers check?”
“Already on it. We should hear back soon.”
Almost to the tee, his Comm buzzed, and Ranger X listened to the message with a blank expression. When the Comm ended, he
looked up, and his expression confirmed what I’d already guessed.
“He’s gone,” I said, frozen in place. “And I sent him away last night. I offered to let him stay, but—”
“Lily. Lily,” he repeated when I wouldn’t stop trembling. “It’s not your fault. If he was concerned, he should’ve come to Ranger HQ.”
“He did, but he was sent away. Apparently, there’s a long list.”
Ranger X pinched his forehead. “It’s not up to you to save the world, contrary to everyone’s beliefs.”
“I didn’t do everything I could to save him. I told him to go back to you in the morning, and—”
“And that’s what you should have done. You offered him a place to stay? That’s more than you needed to do. If he turned you down, that’s on him.”
“He asked me to get in contact with you. I refused and said I didn’t want to abuse my relationship with you and ask for favors. I told him to wait in line with everyone else.”
Ranger X pulled me into his chest. “No matter how hard we try at Ranger HQ, we can’t save everyone and prevent everything. We do our damndest to make sure we do, but at the end of the day, we have to follow a process. We must be thorough and orderly, or else we’ll have chaos.”
“But—”
“Thinking about what might’ve been different will get you nowhere,” X said firmly. “What can we do to get him back?”
I tried hard to listen, to digest X’s words. Little by little they slipped into my consciousness, and finally, I nodded.
“I must get to HQ.”
“X,” I said, as he turned away to go upstairs and get dressed. “Thank you. For everything.”
“You don’t have to thank me for anything.”
“Yes, I do. All you’ve done for me, all you’ve—”
“Whatever I’ve done for you, you’ve done for me tenfold,” he said, reaching for my hand and squeezing it. He brushed his lips against mine in the softest kiss. “Be safe today. Keep me posted with anything you find.”
“I need to start testing the antidote for the vial,” I said. “Then find Poppy, talk to Zin, and hunt for Peter.”
