by A and E Kirk
“And remember to keep an eye out for Helsing,” I told them.
I was doubly tired and grumpy because I’d stayed up too late looking for my stupid cat, then gotten up early to search again. He’d been gone all night. Not the first time, but I never liked it. I saw Luna and Lucian bound out the front door in their pajamas. If they saw Heather in the van, I’d be going nowhere.
“Hey, idiots, get in here!”
By the time I’d made it outside, they were hanging in the open windows of the van chatting with Cristiano.
“Come on,” Luna said. “What’s the mission? You can tell us.”
“Yeah,” Lucian nodded. “We are so in the know. Once, I even helped keep them from getting arrested.”
“Excellent,” Cristiano said. “I could use some assistance on this mission.”
“No!” I almost tripped on the front steps. “Get away!”
They all ignored me as Cristiano unfolded a large, colorful piece of paper. “On this Map of the Stars, which homes of Hollywood celebrities would you suggest we visit?”
Luna and Lucian groaned and trudged back into the house. Thank goodness.
I hopped in the van. The back was empty. “Where’s Heather? What’ve you done to her? You promised.”
“I keep my promises,” he said, driving down the street. “I thought it best not to allow her anywhere near your family.”
“Oh.” Glad someone was thinking ahead. “Thanks. Where are we picking her up?”
“She awaits us on the plane.”
“Plane?” I paused securing my seatbelt. “I thought we were driving. I told my parents we were driving. It was hard enough convincing them to let me go if we were driving. I doubt they’d go for a plane ride.”
“Then for now we should keep the information from them,” he said. “I can shoulder any future blame, but flying gives us a time advantage and allows me to better monitor Heather. Which brings us to the rules for today’s events.”
“Here we go.”
“It is simple. You will remain wary of Heather. Keep your distance, follow my instructions, and let me handle her. Do you understand?”
“Yes, sir!” My hand flicked off my forehead in a mocking salute.
He didn’t smile.
We pulled onto the airstrip, the bitter cold of the mountain’s early morning air biting through my clothes. I smelled the acrid aroma of fuel, and the engines rumbled the asphalt beneath my feet as I raced through the fog and scurried up the steps into his heated jet.
A high-pitched squeal nearly shattered my eardrums.
“Aurora!” Heather bounced in a seat. “It’s better than a road trip. It’s an air trip!”
She was buckled in a seat normally, but also had her wrists secured in shackles that were somehow built into the armrests. Hadn’t noticed those before.
After the ringing in my ears settled, I said, “Can we let her go now?”
“Shortly,” Cristiano said. “Buckle up.” He went into the cockpit, put on a headset, and took a seat next to the pilot, flipping switches and turning knobs.
As I settled into a chair opposite Heather, a grey streak shot across the floor and jumped onto the seat next to her. The creature hissed.
“Eeek!” Heather cringed away.
“Helsing?” I blinked. “Hey, Armani, what’s my cat doing on your plane?”
“He arrived at Blake’s ranch last night,” Armani said. “He appeared very determined to keep watch over Heather. I do not believe he likes her very much. Which makes me like him even more.”
My cat offered me a “What is she doing here?” glance, then he went back to staring at Heather. Sure, this wasn’t weird at all.
The takeoff was much gentler than our escape from Novo. And a lot chattier. Not that Helsing made a peep. Still and silent as a statue, tip of his tail flicking back and forth, he kept a relentless glare at Heather. She tried to glare back. Once. Helsing flattened his ears, bared his teeth, and hissed. After that, she ignored him.
“Weeee! This is so cool!” she giggled. “So fancy too. But what’s with the strong, silent, scary macho man type? I like your other boyfriends better. Where’s ol’ blue eyes and the rest of the catalog crew?”
“They’re not my boyfriends. Well, most of them aren’t.” I glanced toward the cockpit. “And he certainly isn’t.”
“Oh,” she smiled. “Just your lovers. I get it. Give a girl some gossip, who’s the best in bed?”
“What? No! None of them!”
“Bummer. Maybe you need a new batch.” She laughed. “Of bachelors! Get it?”
Not really.
She jerked her chin toward the front of the plane. “But get rid of that one first. He’s mean.”
“Did he hurt you?”
“No,” she pouted. “Just wouldn’t engage at all. I woke up this morning handcuffed to the bed, which, hey, maybe I wouldn’t mind in other circumstances, if you know what I mean.”
Wish I didn’t.
“He got me breakfast, but wouldn’t answer any of my questions or even talk to me other than to say I’d better treat you well and have some answers or else.” She rolled her eyes. “Like I’m the bad guy. Sure I hurt you, and I’m really sorry, but even you said it wasn’t my fault, so why is he such a downer? I mean I’m finally out of the horrible hospital with all those crazies, trying to have a normal conversation. Would it kill him to make a little effort?”
If she’d been like this, she was lucky he didn’t kill her.
I tried to smile. “He’s got a lot on his mind.”
“Pshht. Like I don’t? I’ve been completely out of touch. I don’t even know what’s in fashion.” She looked down and frowned. “I know it isn’t this stupid sweatsuit. Can we go shopping anytime soon? Oh, and see a movie? And eat sushi. I really miss sushi. Remember when we’d go to that place in the mall for their All You Can Eat sushi night and check out guys? But you were so jumpy and shy. You’d never talk to any of them.”
Because a lot of them had demons lurking over their shoulders.
Not that Heather ever noticed. She talked to everyone. The social butterfly who’d arrived at school not long before I did, but she was already the shining social star. Everybody gravitated toward her. Unlike me, the quiet one who everybody preferred to avoid.
One afternoon she’d seen me throwing pitches during a Lahey family softball game at the park. She’d asked to join in. She was great at bat, but I still struck her out twice. After that, she’d gotten me to join her on the high school softball team, and we’d become fast friends.
Heather, the popular girl, smart, cute, athletic, and me, the weirdo. I’d been flattered. Even more so when she didn’t seem to mind losing some of her fashionable friends and social status by hanging out with me.
“You’re the real deal,” she’d tell me. “Not like those phony losers.”
So we’d bonded, become closer. When I would’ve hid in my house, afraid to venture into the world, afraid to encounter demons, she’d drag me out. She’d even talked me into going on that college field trip. “You’ve got to get out more,” she’d insisted. “It’ll be fun. You and me, conquering college together!”
Yeah. Look how well that turned out. But I couldn’t fault her good intentions.
Heather nudged my foot with her toe. “Hey,” she said. “I mean it.”
Helsing jumped down, hissing at Heather, and crouched on the floor between us.
“Sorry, creeper cat,” Heather said. “But I do mean it.”
I came back from my memories and nudged Helsing aside. “Mean what?”
“I’m really proud of you. Not so shy now, huh? Breaking me out. Kicking butt. Even got the guys eating out of your hand.” She winked. “What else have you got them doing for you?”
I’d forgotten how boy crazy she could be. Although, while she’d flirted outrageously and always had a ton of guys drooling over, she never had a boyfriend. “They’re all soooo immature,” she’d said repeatedly.
; I sighed. “So have you remembered anything else about that night in the alley?”
Her face shadowed with sadness. “No. Macho Man asked me that too. But I’m hopeful this fieldtrip will be much more successful than the last one, am I right?”
Cristiano walked in. “Let us hope so,” he said, giving her a less than enthusiastic look.
She rattled her shackles. “Time to take these off?”
He didn’t look happy about it, but he released her. “As we discussed—”
She jumped to her feet. “I know, I know. Best behavior and all that.” She gave me a hug then bounced around the jet, looking through cabinets, peering out the window. “So cool!”
Helsing jumped onto the back of the chair so he could track her every move. As Cristiano walked by, he fed Helsing something.
“What was that?” I said.
“A Flavor of the Sea Gourmet Cat Treat. I purchased them for my new friend and partner. Now, as for you…” Cristiano put a hand on my shoulder. “Il libro di scienza, per favore.”
I brushed off his hand. “I keep telling you, I haven’t spoken Italian in almost a year.”
“Then we can practice your Italian and study for your science test. Get your text book.”
“Are you serious?”
“Very. I promised your parents I would tutor you.” He pointed at my backpack. “Scienza.”
“Scienza sucks,” I muttered.
“No, no, mia bella Aurora!” Heather cried. “La scienza e fantastico! See, I still remember the Italian you taught me.”
That’s right. And she’d caught on incredibly fast. Almost irritatingly so.
Turns out she was correct. Science, specifically chemistry, actually didn’t suck. At least not the way Cristiano taught it. Sure, I didn’t get everything, but it was making more sense.
“So the two bonds you’re talking about are covalent and…” I scratched my head.
“Ionic,” Heather said, staring out the window.
Cristiano gave her a dirty look then pointed to the book. “Which type of bond would this be?”
I stared at the page, thinking.
Heather popped up and looked over my shoulder. “Covalent,” she said, then danced away. Based on Cristiano’s annoyance, she was right.
He had me write down several chemical equations. I handed him my work. Heather hurried over behind him and studied it too. As he turned to tell her to go away, she pointed at the paper.
“Yes, yes, yes on these,” she said. “Good work Aurora. But no on this one and this one. It’s close but you don’t have them balanced. Let me show you.” She snatched the paper from Cristiano, grabbed a pencil, then plopped down beside me and corrected the answers. “See?”
“You’re sure?” I said.
She eyed Cristiano. “Ask him.”
“Yes,” he scowled, snatching back the paper. “But I am the tutor, not you.”
“Maybe I should be,” she said smugly.
Suddenly sitting next to her, Helsing swatted a paw that ripped the sleeve of her sweatsuit. Heather squealed and ran to the other side of the plane.
Cristiano fed Helsing another gourmet treat, and the cat settled into the seat next to mine, glowering at Heather.
“Relax,” I told Helsing, stroking him softly. “She’s just trying to help.” He didn’t look convinced, or relaxed. “So Heather, how do you know so much about my homework?”
Heather snorted. “Please, I took every AP class available and then some.”
That was true. And she managed to get straight A’s.
“I’m not just another pretty face, Aurora-bora!” She opened a cupboard. “Ooo! Oreos! I haven’t had those in ages! Is there any milk?”
Cristiano frowned, but pointed to the refrigerator. In no time, she was dunking and chewing, and in between noises of delight, be-bopping around the plane, keeping her distance but managing to constantly interrupt my studies with more right answers. Even I was getting annoyed.
Cristiano leaned against me and whispered in my ear, “Are you certain drugging her is out of the question?”
I bit back a smile. “Yes, I’m certain.”
He dropped his forehead on my shoulder and sighed with frustration. “Then there is only one solution to shut her up.” He stood. “Because I have had enough.”
Heather screamed, “No!” and ran toward the back of the plane. Cristiano and Helsing stalked after her.
CHAPTER 81
“Yep, yep,” Heather nodded as she crawled out of the rental car. “This is definitely the house we partied at.”
“We know.” Cristiano slammed the door shut.
He’d been ready to throw her off the plane. Without a parachute. I’m sure Helsing would have helped, but the two fast-friends compromised by having her catch up on all the episodes she’d missed of her favorite bloodsucking vampire TV shows, with Helsing on guard duty. That had shut her up for the rest of the flight, but she was back to constant blabbering again, and Cristiano’s patience was once again reaching the breaking point. Not good when dealing with a twitchy trigger-fingered assassin.
At least I didn’t have Helsing to deal with. When we’d landed, he’d tried to follow us off the plane, but I made him stay.
Above us the sky foamed with thick dark clouds, covering the day in dim grey light and an atmosphere congested with ominous overtones and the threat of rain. The air glommed damp and heavy on my skin. Every so often I felt a random, fat rain drop plop onto my head.
The place was overly quiet. Faint sounds of traffic could be heard in the nearby city, but here on the campus there was zero activity. The entire place appeared deserted. Like a zombie apocalypse had ravaged all living souls. But it was a college campus early morning on a weekend, so the real reason for the ghost town feeling was that students were either sleeping in or sleeping one off. Nothing sinister here, people.
Thunder rumbled. I jumped and hugged myself.
Yep, despite the reality check, I was seriously on edge and creeped out. I’d had so many nightmares about this place, and now I was here for real. Or was I? I pinched myself to be sure.
Ow.
Yeah, it was real.
Palms cold and sweaty, I rubbed them against the burgeoning goosebumps covering my arms.
Cristiano watched me, then put on his sunglasses, which seemed more cool than necessary considering the weather, and strode across the empty street. “Let us get this done.”
We were parked in front of a well-kept house of red brick with white trimmings. Greek pillars supported a wraparound porch which held a swing big enough for four. Didn’t look scary. So why was it getting harder to breathe?
Heather and I trailed behind Cristiano as she whispered, “This guy isn’t just lacking social graces, he’s a total psycho. I think he was going to drug me again! Has he drugged you too?”
“What? No.”
“Not yet.” Heather kept her voice low. “You know I have a sixth sense about guys.”
Not that I remembered.
“There’s something not right about this one.”
Maybe her senses had improved.
But we’d bonded over our tendency to let paranoia run rampant with our imaginations. Seeing demons was my excuse. What was hers?
“He’s crazy!” She twisted one of the flower bracelets around her wrist. “Maybe we should go to the police.”
“That would drop you right back with the people who took you in the first place. And I don’t think I can save you again.”
“Maybe if we got away from him.” Heather pursed her lips, looking small and sad as her eyes flickered toward Cristiano. “I want to help, but he scares me so much it’s harder to remember. We’d be better with you and me alone, conquering this together, just like old times.”
Apparently she remembered “old times” much more fondly than I.
“It’ll be fine.” I moved to put a hand on her shoulder.
“No touching,” Cristiano said without looking back.
“You can’t tell me what to do,” I said, but let my hand drop.
“I can request. You may always ignore me.” Cristiano guided Heather to the porch swing and sat her down. “If you run, I will shoot you.”
Heather’s eyes went wide and terrified.
I gave Cristiano a hard look. “No. You. Won’t. Don’t worry, Heather, he doesn’t even have a g—”
He swept open his blazer briefly to flash a sleek pistol in a shoulder holster under his arm. How long had that been there?!
“Your life, your gamble,” Cristiano said.
Heather put her hands up, palms out. “No running.”
“Good.” He gave her his back and buttoned his blazer up.
Heather mouthed at me, “Oh my God!”
I shrugged an apology then caught Cristiano’s arm before he reached the door. “Maybe we should come up with a plan.”
“I thought we were making it up as we went,” Cristiano said.
“Yes, but I’m thinking that now we should have a plan to get inside the huge house full of testosterone fueled college guys.”
“I can handle them,” Cristiano said evenly.
“I was thinking along the lines of a plan that doesn’t put them all in body bags.”
“I had planned to use this.” Cristiano reached into his blazer.
I swatted his hand. “You can’t shoot anyone.”
He rolled his eyes and pulled out a leather wallet. He flipped it open. Inside was an ID card and badge.
I snatched it from him, eyes wide. “You’re an FBI agent?”
“Occasionally. Other times I am CIA, MI-6, Mossad, MSS. I assumed your FBI would be enough to gain us entry.” He brushed past me.
I’m sure impersonating law enforcement was against the law no matter what country we were in. “What if they ask for a warrant or something?”
He knocked on the door. “Then we shoot them.”
CHAPTER 82
It took an abundance of knocking before an honest-to-goodness Ken doll opened the door. Preppy. Ivy League. And extremely red-eyed and bleary.
