“Don’t blame her!” Aric exploded. “She told you to take him into custody and was under the impression that he would stay locked up for good. She didn’t even know he was out until a month ago.”
“What did you want me to do, Aric?” James shot back, equally frustrated. “What good would’ve come of locking him up for the rest of his life? Zoe made it sound like he was hoodwinked by the Academy people. I told you I was letting him out. You went and talked to him yourself and said he seemed pathetic and sad.”
My stomach revolted and I hurried to the sink so I could throw up the juice. Aric moved behind me and held my hair from my face. I continuously gasped when I finished, my head pounding.
“Zoe, it’s okay,” Aric said, lowering his voice. “This is my fault. I … I didn’t think he was a threat.”
“I should have let James kill him that day,” I said, finding my voice. “Part of me knew it was wrong to let him live, but … there was a time when he was my friend. He tried to teach me how to skateboard. Did I ever tell you that?”
“Well, you have negative coordination sometimes, so I’m guessing that didn’t go well,” Aric said, softly rubbing my back as I ripped a few sheets of paper towel from the roll on the counter and wiped the corners of my mouth.
“It was really pathetic,” Paris offered. “Mark was all smooth and trying to hit on her, and she couldn’t stay in a standing position on the board. She fell off at least twenty times. I couldn’t stop laughing.”
“Thank you, Paris,” Aric deadpanned. “That really helps us right now.”
“Sorry,” Paris said, her expression falling. “I don’t understand how he could do this. Even with how badly things went, I never considered him to be the type of person who would bomb an engagement party.”
“He was clearly putting on a show for Aric,” I said. “He wanted Aric to look past him and see a disgusting wimp. That’s what he wanted all of us to see. That’s why I didn’t think he was involved when Paris went missing that night right before graduation. It never occurred to me that Mark had the balls to grab her himself.
“Even after he locked me up in that dungeon with Paris, Rafael and Will, and I knew he expected Rafael to eat us … part of me still wanted to believe he was simply misguided,” I said. “I’m such an idiot.”
“You’re not an idiot,” Aric argued, drawing me away from the sink and pulling me in for a hug. “We all misjudged him. We can’t go back and change that. We have to move forward.”
“What do you want to do?” James asked. “I’ll call the people on his case and find out where he’s been living. He probably doesn’t realize we’ve been watching him – or that the restaurant had cameras that survived – so he’ll think he’s in the clear. I can send a team in to grab him and we’ll end it away from prying eyes. That’s probably the best course of action.”
“We’re not going to do that,” I said. “It may be the best course of action, but that’s not what I want to do.”
“Okay, what do you want to do?” James asked, his patience clearly wearing thin.
“I want you to find out where he is,” I instructed. “Then I’m going to have a little conversation with him.”
“Does that mean you’re going to kill him?” Kelsey asked, licking her lips.
“Yes,” I replied, not missing a beat.
“That means we’re going to talk to him and decide together whether we’re going to kill him,” Aric clarified. “We’re not making any decisions until we have all the facts.”
“Aric is right,” I said, giving in. “We’re going to get all the facts. Then I’m going to kill him.”
I gave Aric a tight squeeze and then took a step away from him. “While you’re getting the information on Mark, I’m going to the hospital to see Jenna,” I said. “I need to tell her how sorry we are about Scott. I need to make sure she’s okay.”
“I’ll go with you,” Aric said. “That’s my responsibility, too.”
“No offense, but you didn’t like Scott, and I don’t think you should go with me,” I said, choosing my words carefully. “I’m taking Kelsey and Paris. We won’t be gone long.”
Aric searched my face, and for a moment I thought he was going to argue. I wasn’t in the mood for a fight. “Okay,” he said. “Keep your eyes open and if you see something or someone you don’t like, blow them up first and ask questions later.”
“Yes, sir.” I rolled up to the balls of my feet to kiss him, but he stopped me by slapping his hand over my mouth.
“I love you more than life itself, Zoe, but I can’t kiss you after you threw up,” Aric said. “Go brush your teeth and we’ll talk.”
I scowled. “I’m never kissing you again.”
“Oh, don’t be like that,” Aric whined. “You vomited. What do you want from me?”
“In some ways they’re adults, and in other ways they’re like squabbling children,” Kelsey said, reaching for the juice carton. “It’s kind of interesting to watch them interact.”
“It gets old when they’re fighting as a form of foreplay,” Paris supplied.
“I heard that,” I said, stalking toward the bedroom. “Get dressed. We’re going to the hospital.”
“Should you be driving when you’re ticked off?” Paris asked.
“Today is not the day to test me!”
“We’ll be ready in five minutes,” Kelsey said. I didn’t turn around, but I was pretty sure Paris gave her a dirty look. “What? She can literally set people on fire with her mind. I’m not ticking her off.”
JENNA was a pale mess when I knocked on her hospital room door about an hour later. Dark circles pooled under her eyes, her cheek was bruised, and she had a large bandage on her forehead. Her eyes darkened when she saw me standing in the doorway.
“You probably don’t want me here, but I thought I should stop by and see you,” I said, walking into the room, Paris and Kelsey on my heels. They were nervous, and opted to let me do the talking. I didn’t blame them. “How are you doing?”
“Well, I have a concussion and a broken arm, and my boyfriend is dead,” Jenna replied, her voice shaky. “How do you think I’m doing?”
“I think you’re probably angry and looking for someone to blame,” I replied, sitting in the chair next to her bed. “That’s why I’m here.”
I didn’t miss Paris and Kelsey exchanging a worried look out of the corner of my eye.
“You want me to yell at you because Scott is dead?” Jenna asked, surprised.
“I want you to do whatever is going to make you feel better,” I clarified. “If you want to blame me, I understand. He wouldn’t have been at the party if I didn’t invite him. He wasn’t a target for the bomber. He was … collateral damage … and he didn’t deserve it.”
“Do you know who set the bomb?” Jenna asked, playing with the fuzzy nubs on her blanket.
“It was a guy we went to college with,” I answered, refusing to lie to her even though I had no idea how much Scott told her about our time together. “He was acting on an old grudge.”
“Scott had a lot of nice things to say about you,” Jenna said, seemingly searching for the right words to get her point across. “I was always secretly jealous. I think he carried a torch for you long after he left college, but you disappeared. That upset him.
“When he got the invitation to your engagement party, he was excited,” she continued. “He told me hilarious stories about playing euchre and your jealous boyfriend. I knew he was exaggerating the hunched back thing, by the way, but he seemed to enjoy it, so I never said anything.”
“He and Aric were jealous of each other for a time,” I offered. “They never hated each other, although I don’t think they ever really liked each other.”
“When Scott saw you and Aric together – this was before we talked to you guys – he said you looked happy and he was glad things worked out the way they did because you were where you belonged,” Jenna said. “He looked a little sad, and I couldn’t help but fe
el jealous. Now I regret being jealous because it was the last emotion I felt before … .”
“You can’t look at it that way,” I said. “I’m sure Scott knew you cared about him. We hadn’t seen each other in a long time. There was never anything romantic between us.”
“I have a feeling that’s because you were in love with Aric, not because Scott didn’t have feelings for you,” Jenna said, forcing a watery smile.
“I don’t know what you want me to say,” I said. “Scott might’ve had a crush on me, but that was a long time ago. A lot of things were happening back then and … now they’re happening again.”
Jenna dragged her eyes from the blanket and locked gazes with me. “Was someone trying to kill you last night?”
“That’s my guess,” I replied. “Aric could’ve been a target, too, but it was most likely me. That means Scott’s death is my fault, so if you need someone to blame, I’m your woman.”
“That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard,” Jenna shot back, taking me by surprise. “You invited an old friend to your engagement party, and he was thrilled to reconnect with you. It’s not like you killed him.
“From what I understand, you tried to save him,” she continued. “The paramedics said that a tall man with dark hair had to carry you out because you were so upset. I don’t blame you. I blame whoever set that bomb.”
“I blame him, too,” I said. “I’m going to find him. Once I know where he is … I’ll make him pay. I promise you that.”
“What’s his name?” Jenna asked, reaching for the laptop computer on the stand next to her bed. “Maybe I can help you.”
It took me a moment to realize what Jenna was doing. She needed to be involved, because it would allow her to believe she was avenging Scott. She needed something to do, and I couldn’t think of a single reason to bar her from helping.
“Mark Doyle,” I replied. “He attended Covenant College with us until five years ago. I’m not sure he graduated, though. He was off the map for a year following our graduation. I need to know where he is now.”
“Okay,” Jenna said, her face grim as she typed. “Do you know where he was from originally?”
I racked my brain and came up empty.
“He was originally from the Novi area,” Paris supplied. “He went to a rich school out there. It was the same one Brittany went to. Remember?”
I frowned. How could I forget Brittany? My roommate freshman year, she was a thorn in my side sophomore and junior year, and one of my least favorite people senior year. She took up with my ex-boyfriend Will after our breakup. When I sacrificed Will to save Paris and me from a starving vampire, she fell apart. Paris was a witch, so she cast a spell on Brittany to modify her memory. She erased all evidence of a friendship with us – and a relationship with Will – from her mind in an attempt to give her peace, and ensure we would never see her again.
“I forgot that Brittany and Mark went to the same high school,” I said, rolling my neck until it cracked. “There was something odd about that relationship. Brittany didn’t want to admit she knew Mark because she thought he was a slacker, and Mark pretended hanging out with Brittany was an inconvenience.”
“I don’t think they ran in the same circles in high school,” Paris supplied. “They were different types of people.”
“And yet they ended up working for the same side,” I mused.
“I never thought about it that way, but you’re right,” Paris said. “It’s kind of weird when you think about it. They didn’t want to be associated with each other, yet they both joined up with the same evil cause. Brittany didn’t do it because she wanted power, though. She wanted status. I think Mark liked the power.”
“What cause is that?” Jenna asked, furrowing her brow as she studied her screen. “I think I found him. Hold on a second.”
“It’s a long story, and I’m not sure how much we should tell you right now,” I said. “There are a lot of people around, and until we know where Mark is ….”
“You don’t want me to know in case Mark turns up dead before the police catch up with him,” Jenna surmised. “I get it. I’m fine with it. If you’re going to make him pay, I can live with not knowing. I always knew Scott was hiding something about the time he spent with you guys.”
I didn’t doubt that. “What do you have on Mark?”
“It looks like he was completely off the grid – just like you said – for the year after graduation,” Jenna said. “His parents filed a missing person report and went on a couple of local television stations in southeastern Michigan appealing for information on his whereabouts.”
“I never even thought of that,” I said. “Once Mark was taken from the rally … .”
“It would’ve been better if he died then,” Paris said. “We know that now. You couldn’t have possibly known it then, though. You can’t beat yourself up over this. You made the best decision you could at the time.”
“I won’t make the same mistake again,” I vowed.
“We need to find Mark first,” Paris said. “You can’t make him pay until we find him.”
“I know where he is,” Jenna offered. “Once he reappeared, he moved to Novi for a few years and then got a job as a professor at the college.”
My heart flopped. “I’m sorry … um … are you saying that Mark is a professor at Covenant College?”
Jenna nodded. “He’s been there for about a year.”
“Son of a ... .” I hopped to my feet. “I am definitely blowing something up now.”
7
Seven
“I know where Mark is!” I bellowed, slamming the front door for good measure to let Aric and James know I was home.
Aric stepped into view. I could tell he was bracing for a fight. “I do, too. How do you know?”
“Jenna is just as good with computers as Scott,” I said. “She found Mark in less than five minutes. I’m kind of curious how your father’s people managed to lose Mark when he turned up in the one place that should’ve set off bells and whistles.”
“Zoe, you need to calm down,” Aric warned. “We’re talking about what we should do right now. A few of my father’s aides and two members of the wolf council are here. Maybe you should … I don’t know … take a walk and come back when we’re done talking. How does that sound?”
“That sounds like something I’m not going to do.” If Aric thought reason would dissuade me, he was sadly mistaken.
Aric scowled. “I know you’re angry, but you have to calm down right now,” he said. “The last thing we need is for you to blow the roof off the house.”
“That’s because you don’t trust me,” I said, stalking into the living room and giving him a wide berth. He wasn’t wrong about me being on the edge. “You think I’m irrational and will do something stupid.”
“I didn’t say that,” Aric said. “I am worried you’re going to … do something you’ll regret if you’re not careful.”
“Oh, I’m going to do something,” I said. “I’m not going to regret it, though. I’m going to do it and throw a big party!”
“Take a walk and calm down,” Aric ordered. “Where are Paris and Kelsey? You didn’t leave them at the hospital, did you? Are they stranded?”
I narrowed my eyes. “No. I accidentally blew them up.”
“That’s not funny.”
“It wasn’t meant as a joke,” I shot back. “Isn’t that your worst fear? Don’t you sit around and worry every night that I’m going to lose control and kill the people closest to me? There’s no reason to deny it. If I were you, I would worry about it, too.”
“No. I never worry about that.” Aric crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re out of control right now. I don’t blame you, but it’s time to rein it in.”
“Don’t tell me what to do!” I lashed out in anger, my mind whipping an invisible lasso of energy and shredding a wedding magazine my mother left behind on one of her visits.
Aric glanced over his shoulder, h
is face unreadable as he watched the tattered bits of magazine fly through the air. “You’re getting better at venting when things start piling up on you,” he said. “That was pretty good. You took out an item you hated instead of blowing up the coffee table. I appreciate your restraint.”
I knew what he was trying to do, but his legendary charm wasn’t going to work on me this time. “We’re going to Covenant College,” I said. “Pack your things. We’re leaving in an hour.”
“No, we’re not,” Aric countered, holding firm. “We’re going to listen to what my father’s friends have to say, and then we’re going to decide on a plan of action. We are not running off half-cocked and getting in trouble.”
“Mark killed Scott,” I said, tugging on my limited patience and reminding myself that Aric was trying to do right by me. He always tried to do right by me, even when he accidentally did the absolute wrong thing. “What is there to talk about?”
Aric held out his hand. He wanted me to take it. “We’re talking on the deck,” he said. “They have information we need. I promise you we will make a decision together when we’ve heard all of the information. You have to trust me, though.”
I studied his hand for a moment, frustrated. “Fine.” I slipped my hand in his and let him lead me toward the deck. “If I don’t like what they say, though, I’m overruling everyone.”
Aric chuckled, the sound warm and throaty. “I’m glad you’re feeling better,” he said. “Anger is going to work in our favor more than guilt.” He brushed a quick kiss against my forehead and yanked open the sliding glass door, causing four heads to turn in our direction. “You brushed your teeth for when we make up later, right?”
I scowled. “I can’t believe that’s what you’re worried about right now.”
“I’m a multitasker, baby,” Aric said, pushing me outside. “I can worry about a lot of things at the same time. Some things take precedence in my mind over others, though.”
Dark Covenant (Living Covenant Trilogy Book 2) Page 5
