Truth and Consequences

by Cate Dean

  “It’s still there.” He reared back, shaking his head. “I’ve been there. Hyattown is standing—”

  “You lie.” I could have sworn hope flared through the grief and anger. “Mary told me—she told me it died in the fire, along with, along with—”

  He lowered his head, his hands shaking, which made the blade hum against my skin, like a carnivorous mosquito. With teeth. I felt the edge of the blade nipping me—and forgot the pain when I saw Simon standing at the end of the alley. Between one breath and the next he was at my side.

  “Keep stalling him, Alex. Zach is on his way. I’ll stay with you.”

  The tears I managed to control until now stung my eyes. I kept looking at him, those clear, intense green eyes giving me courage. Someone knew—I didn’t have to fight alone anymore, not much longer.

  Mr. Hyatt’s raw voice snapped our connection.

  “You saw it? You’re not lying to me?”

  “I was there. I touched the buildings, saw the welcome sign with the burned Algiz rune, telling anyone who found it that it wasn’t a haven anymore.”

  “That was supposed to be the only thing left . . . why did she lie to me? Why did she lie!”

  He raised the knife—and I knew my time had run out.

  “No—” Adrenaline surged, blocking the pain, the numbing fear. I wrenched out of his grip, ducking just as the knife swung down.

  A tall blur slammed into him, knocking them both to the hard ground. The knife flew, clattering out of reach.

  One solid punch from Zach took him out. Unconscious, he looked harmless, and more than a little sad.

  I sank to my knees, the realization that I wasn’t about to die turning my legs to rubber.

  “Hey—you okay?” Zach closed his hands over my arms—right where Mr. Hyatt drilled his fingers into me. I let out a harsh gasp and recoiled. He let go and caught me around the waist, easing me to the ground. “I’ve got you. Just hang on to me, Alex. You’re safe now.”

  “Yeah,” I whispered. Now that the adrenaline started fading, I felt every nick of the knife blade, the cool air licking at the open wounds. Man, it hurt to talk. Who was I kidding—it hurt to breathe. I leaned into him, shaking with relief—and the realization that I had been seconds away from dying. “Thank you, Zach.” Tears clogged my throat, and I knew Zach could hear them in my raw, rasping voice. Another second and I’d be spilling them all over his shirt. “I should go.”

  “I don’t think so.” His arm tightened when I tried to pull away. “You’re hurt, Alex. And it would hardly be guessing to say that you can’t stand up on your own. I’m going to get you off this cold cement, and take you to my mom—”

  “Zach.” Simon’s quiet voice froze him. “You can help her.”

  His eyes widened, and a blush crept over his face. “I only helped with Mom—Marcus did most of the healing. I didn’t do it on my own, not like I could before . . .”

  “You have more of the old you than you think, Zach. Remember how it felt, before, and how it felt when you helped Marcus.”

  “Right.” Taking a deep breath, he faced me, hands hovering over my throat. “This is probably going to hurt, so I’ll apologize now. If you need me to stop, just grab my wrist. Okay?” I nodded, not wanting to use my voice. Just the movement flashed pain through me. “Now hold still for me, and just breathe.”

  He laid both hands on my throat.

  Heat exploded through me. I let out a hoarse gasp and clutched the ground. Then I looked at Zach.

  He was lit up like a Christmas tree.

  The same blue light surrounded him, only stronger, and threaded with a rich gold that pulsed like a heartbeat. He had his eyes closed, and I could feel his fingers shake against my throat. I almost jumped out of my skin when he opened his eyes.

  That gold light filled them, bursting through the already intense blue. He looked like an—angel.

  I was so awed I forgot to breathe.

  “Alex.” Simon’s voice shocked me so much I sucked in a harsh breath. I held it, waiting for my throat to retaliate. Instead, it felt—good. “I think you’re going to need to catch Zach.”

  “Oh.” I reached for him just before he slumped over. The glow around him faded, leaving him completely human, shaking and cold. “Zach?”

  “Okay,” he whispered. “Give me a minute.”

  He didn’t even need that long before his color came back, and a soft, gold glow surrounded him. Huh—I wonder if I could see it because of being in Hyattown, or because he healed me.

  “Let’s get you off this cold ground.” Zach hauled me up, held on to me while my legs decided whether or not they were going to cooperate. “The Roadster is yours, right?”

  “Yeah.” It definitely hurt less to talk, but my balance was completely wonky. I held on to Zach like a fangirl, Simon on my other side. He looked worried, which told me I probably didn’t look all that hot. “I need to fi—um, locate, my—friend, Sam. Warn him—”

  Zach smiled, noticing my almost slip. “We’ll get you there.”

  “My phone—”

  He leaned me against the brick wall, snatched my phone up and handed it to me. The screen had a narrow crack running up the right side of the screen, but when I touched the screen my apps popped up.

  “Okay?”

  I nodded, and he wrapped one arm around my waist, moving to my car. Once we got there he opened the passenger door for me, and helped me in. Every inch ached, but not as much as I expected. So Zach had done a little more than heal my throat.

  Simon appeared behind him. “I’ll meet you wherever you land. Just—call me.”

  Zach smiled. “Right.”

  I looked up at Simon. “Thank you, for staying with me. It helped.” I swallowed. That was a serious understatement. Having Simon there kept me from giving up. “It really helped.”

  He reached in past Zach, touched my cheek. The heat/cold made me feel—cherished. Yeah, stop judging. He’s my first ghost. A male model gorgeous ghost.

  “Anytime, sweetheart. I’ll see you soon.” Straightening, he looked at Zach. “Call my friend Nick at the station, send him Hyatt’s way. I’ll keep a watch on him until Nick shows up. Be careful, Zach—and don’t do anything stupid.”

  “Okay, Dad.” Simon laughed—and disappeared. Zach let out a sigh and shook his head. “I will never get used to that.”

  “What—him disappearing, or the whole ‘a ghost is my friend’ thing?”

  He flashed me a smile that could drop a girl in her tracks. “Duh.”

  I tried not to laugh as he shut the door. My throat still hurt enough to remind me of how close I’d come.

  He slid behind the wheel, adjusting the seat for his much longer legs.

  “Are you—” I didn’t want to offend him, but it was my car. “Can you drive a stick?”

  “My mom’s new husband has a Jag—it scared the hell out of me the first time I drove it. But man, what a rush.” His smile was infectious. “This will be a breeze.” He started it up and shifted into reverse, like he’d done it more than a few times. I felt better, seeing him shift without thinking about it. “Okay—where to?”

  I didn’t know where Sam was, or Jake. “Give me a minute.” I decided to call Jake—he’d know where Sam was, and wouldn’t ask as many questions. I tapped in his number, letting out a shaky breath as it rang. “Jake—I need you to listen, and not ask questions.”

  “Alex—”

  “Please—I’ll explain when I get there.” I took his silence as a yes. “You and Sam are in danger. Get him and meet me—at the archery range.” Public place, plenty of witnesses. Mrs. Hyatt wouldn’t dare do anything stupid. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  “Can I talk now?”

  I let out a sigh. “Hold on.” I put off the lecture I knew was coming, and looked over at Zach. “There’s an archery range just outside Emmettsville. Just head down the coast road—I’ll give you directions when we’re close.”

  “Got it.” He backed up,
slowly, shifted into first—and shot down Forest. Fabulous. Another lead foot.

  I leaned back, closed my eyes, and braced myself for the questions Jake was bound to throw at me. Questions I wouldn’t be able to answer.

  ~ ~ ~

  Sam all but jumped me when I walked into the back room of the archery store.

  “Alex—where have you been?” He halted, and I knew he spotted Zach, who had come in behind me. “Are you . . .” His voice faded, which told me he saw the scabs on my throat. “What happened?”

  “Quick and dirty—you and Jake are in danger. We need to get you out of town—”

  “Before Mrs. Hyatt can get to us?” I jumped at Jake’s angry voice. Zach stepped in front of me. Jake pushed him out of the way and trapped me against the wall. “I’ve been doing some research of my own. I know what really happened ten years ago, and what was supposed to happen.” He slapped his hands against the wall, blocking any escape. “How the hell did you figure it out?”

  Before I had the chance to tell him, someone yanked him away. Zach let go of him, fury shooting dark blue through the halo of gold. Uh oh.

  “The hard way,” Zach said, anger humming through his voice. “If you took a damn second to look at her, you wouldn’t need to ask.”

  Jake growled, low in his throat. Double uh oh.

  Before they could get into a former angel/Fenris Wolf rumble, I pushed off the wall and stepped between them, facing Jake.

  “I learned about it from Mr. Hyatt. Just before he tried to kill me. Zach saved my life, so I’d appreciate it if you didn’t maul him. Or bite him.” I glanced over at Sam, who looked shell shocked, and not all that happy to see me. “Though I seriously doubt Zach would give you the chance to touch him.”

  Zach smiled at me, looking fierce and—okay, I’m going to say it—like an avenging angel. I was really, really glad to have him on my side.

  Jake, on the other hand, looked like he wanted to strangle someone. I hoped he didn’t do something stupid. Like attack me. Or more stupid—attack Zach.

  Misty bounded in, running straight for me. “Did I miss anything? Sam called me, said you were on the . . .” Her voice faded, and she stopped mid bounce when she caught sight of Zach. “Oh—hi.”

  Was she blushing? I’d never seen Misty anything less than fully confident around other people. I don’t count monsters; only idiots aren’t scared, even around the good ones.

  Zach stared at her, a blank look on his face. One I recognized. I’d seen it on boys all over Emmettsville, whenever I went anywhere with Misty. I didn’t blame him.

  But when I turned back to Misty I blinked in surprise. She had the same blank look and was blushing.

  Hiding a smile, I took Misty’s hand, pulled her forward.

  “Misty Corwin, meet Zach Wiche. Zach, meet Misty. I’ll be right back.”

  They stared at each other. Poor Zach looked like he’d been hit with a stupid stick.

  Sam was already halfway across the room when I turned around. He caught my arm, and to my eternal relief, pulled me into his arms.

  “Are you okay?” I nodded against his chest, gave him an abbreviated version of what happened. He tilted my chin, ran his fingers over the scabs. “He healed you? How—”

  “I’ll tell you later. We have to get you and Jake somewhere safe. Mr. Hyatt was rambling, but I got the more important bits. One of them being Mrs. Hyatt wants to finish what she started ten years ago.”

  “We’re not kids anymore, Alex. It won’t be that easy—”

  “You don’t understand.” I forced myself to stay calm. “Mrs. Hyatt kidnapped Katie, and the brothers. She kidnapped her own child. All of her circuits are definitely not firing.”

  “And you have a plan.”

  I figured it out on the way here. I wasn’t happy with the solution, but it would keep them safe. “You and Jake need to go back to England.”

  Every muscle tightened. “I’m not—”

  “Running away? Think of it as a strategic retreat. I won’t give her the chance to hurt you.”

  “Then you’re coming with me.”

  Oh, he knew how to tug the right strings. I could already picture us there—walking through endless green fields, climbing rolling hills, marveling at ancient and mysterious sites—

  “Alex—”

  “I can’t. I want to, Sam.” Oh, how I wanted to. “But she has to be stopped, and me flying off to England is not going to make that happen.”

  “I won’t let you face her alone.”

  I touched his cheek. “I won’t be alone, I promise.”

  “Are you talking about—him?” He almost sneered. The jealousy he fought hard to hide from me was the icing on this day. It didn’t start out like a memorable one, but boy, was it ending that way. “How do you even know you can trust him?”

  “I just do. And you have to trust me, Sam. You have to go.”

  He leaned his forehead against mine, tightened his grip on me. “I just got you back.”

  “I know,” I whispered, my heart already aching. But knowing he’d be safe helped make it easier to let him go. Again. I pulled away, took his hand. “Now we just have to convince Jake.”

  “No, you don’t,” Jake said. Sam and I swung around. Jake stood behind us, phone in his hand. “Your mom called me, Sam. She just got a call from the police in Santa Luna. Seems a witness saw Mr. Hyatt threatening a teenage girl with a knife. He’s been arrested, and your mom was his one call. You should have told me, Alex.”

  He stalked over to me, and to my shock, gathered me in his arms.

  “Jake—”

  “I would have come for you.” After a long, almost painful squeeze, he slid his hands up to my shoulders, looked me in the eye. “We’re friends, aren’t we? Why didn’t you call?”

  “Jake—” I didn’t know what to say. Two months ago, I was a loner/geek, and pretty happy with my life. Now I had friends, and I was still too new with the concept to understand all the rules. “I was a little busy, being in pain. Hey,” I grabbed his wrists, to keep him from pulling away. “I had help, and I wasn’t alone. We have a short window, and I want you and Sam to take advantage of it to get yourselves out of here. Before Mrs. Hyatt fi—” I cleared my throat, glanced over at Zach. He winked, nodding his head. I continued, hoping no one else noticed. “Before she discovers that we know about her.”

  “Already taken care of. We’re meeting Sam’s mom at the airstrip outside town. Their plane is gassed up and ready to go.”

  My heart skipped, just before grief clamped down on it like a vise. In a split second, I’d lost Sam. Again.

  14

  Zach hugged me goodbye outside the store.

  “You need anything, you call me. Even if it involves the F word.”

  I laughed, and held on to him, ignoring Sam’s outraged glare. “Thank you,” I whispered. “For everything.”

  He kissed my cheek and let me go. “We’ll have to compare notes sometime. See who ends up with the most strange.”

  “Deal.”

  I watched him jog out to the road, part teenage boy, part miracle. And another friend. One who understood the crazy turn in my life more than anyone else could. I’d only known him a couple of hours, and I already missed him. Just a little more crazy. I think I’m getting used to it.

  Sam took my hand, holding on tighter than normal as he led me to his beat up SUV. It still wore the scars of our rough and tumble across Main Street, trying to get to Jake.

  “Alex.” I looked up at him. He sounded more serious than usual, his voice quiet. “I don’t want to leave.”

  “Oh, Sam.” The ache squeezing my heart left me breathless.

  I leaned into him, and he let go of my hand to wrap his arm around my waist, hugging me as we moved to the car—me slowly, since the colder weather and my ankle were not happy with each other.

  He helped me climb into the passenger seat, and I glanced up in time to see Misty running after Zach. We were going to talk about that—once I got
Sam and Jake far away from Mrs. Hyatt.

  Jake hopped in the back seat, frowning at me. I had a feeling I needed to apologize, even though calling him wouldn’t have helped either one of us. Sam got in, and stopped the embarrassing apology I was about to make, just to get that look off Jake’s face. He finally stopped glowering at me once we were on the road, and I felt comfortable enough to close my eyes.

  Five seconds later my phone beeped, letting me know I missed a call. So much for resting.

  I pulled the phone out of my pocket—and froze when I saw the number.

  It was Mom.

  Oh, God—I forgot to call them back. I was on the phone with her when Mr. Hyatt attacked me, and who knew how much of that she heard. Then I was so worried about Sam and Jake, I completely forgot about them. I was screwed. Utterly and completely screwed.

  ~ ~ ~

  The airstrip outside of town—the private airstrip, with planes owned by people who had enough money to let them sit around most of the year—was deserted when we pulled up.

  I got a bad feeling. Mrs. Emmett was supposed to be here, the plane ready for them to hop on and go.

  “Sam—”

  “Not stopping,” he said. He swung around—and stomped on the brake when a white van swerved in front of him, blocking the way out. His fingers pressed on my seat belt release. “Get on the floor, Alex.”

  “What—”

  “Now.”

  The glare of the sun bounced off Sam’s windshield, blinding whoever was in the van. He was protecting me, when I should have been protecting him.

  My body protested, but I slid to the floor of the SUV, curling under the dashboard.

  “Sam—”

  “No matter what happens, promise me you’ll stay out of sight. Promise me, Alex.” He didn’t look at me, but his voice was deadly quiet.

  “I promise,” I whispered. I looked over at Jake. His jaw was set, and he nodded when I caught his eye. “Sam—”

  “Hold on.”

  He slammed into reverse and flew backward, twisting the wheel with grim determination. There was only one road in and out of the airstrip. If you didn’t count the runway—