“It's going to be a long ride―”
NOW!!!
While Alan pieced together what was happening, Scarlet let out a put-upon sigh and relinquished control to a very pained and irritated me. When my baby blues fell on Alan's eyes, a wave of relief flooded the car.
“Jesus Christ, Ruby! You mind telling me what the fuck is going on?”
“Well actually, if I have a choice about it―”
“You don't,” he barked, cutting me off.
“Listen, I don't mind telling you what I can, but some things are best left unclear.”
“Like?”
“Details. Names. People involved. Who knows.”
“People?” he asked incredulously.
“Yeah, well, you know what I'm saying.”
“She was talking about Sean, wasn't she?” he blurted out suddenly.
“Alan―”
“There's no point in lying to cover for him, Ruby. I've known he wasn't on the up and up for a while now.”
“Your family is in no danger from him, Alan. In fact, quite the opposite. Sean would never hurt anyone close to me.”
“Unless it served his purpose.” I so desperately wanted to contradict his words, but I couldn't. They were true. I saw him look over at me out of the corner of his eye, my evasive nature only further underscoring the truth of his statement. “I see,” he whispered, his voice trailing off.
“He is not the enemy you need to concern yourself with for now, Alan. The one that nearly shot and killed us both in the woods is a far more pressing matter. Sean didn't kill McGurney; I've told you that before, and it's true. Whoever just showered us with gunfire looks like the most likely suspect to me. We need to figure out who they are.”
“Were,” Alan corrected. “We need to find out who they were. Your friend made short work of them.”
“Yes, well, Scarlet is efficient if nothing else,” I scoffed, choking on the combined truth of his and my words. “Whoever they were, my guess is that there are more of them and that we haven't seen the last of them.” In a stroke of genius, I jumped around in my seat to snatch Alan's camera out of the back seat. My body did not thank me for my efforts. The thin, tender pink skin that had healed on my arms protested the quick movement and the resulting pain was intense to say the least. “Alan, I need you to stop somewhere and either get me a fifth of something or some heavy duty, over-the-counter pain meds.”
“What are you doing?” he asked while he scanned the street for a pharmacy or liquor store.
“McGurney had photos all over that wall. I want to see what they were of,” I explained, squinting at the harsh light of the tiny screen. “Did you get a good look at any of the guys shooting at us?”
“No. I was too busy trying not to eat lead. You?”
“Sort of. Scarlet moved so fast. She's got a bit of a one-track mind when she's pissed off,” I retorted while I clicked my way through the tiny images.
“I'm going to run in here and get you something for the pain. Do not go anywhere under any circumstances, do you understand?”
I waved him off, still plowing through the many photos he had taken in the storage locker. Then a wave of realization set in.
“The file...,” I said aloud. It had been in the boxes that were fully ablaze when we had arrived. I assumed they had been used to start the fire in the first place.
There was no saving it.
“I know,” I whispered, dropping the camera to my lap. “Dammit! If I'd only looked through it while I had the chance.”
If you had, Alan would be dead, and we would be in a less than enviable situation right now. There's no sense in focusing on what's already happened, anyway.
“That really is your new mantra these days, isn't it?” I snapped, my frustration boiling over.
Perhaps you should adopt it. Your life would be far simpler if you did.
“Just be quiet for a while,” I barked, picking the camera up to resume my search for something helpful. It wasn't long before Alan returned to the car with meds in tow. “So what's the plan, Alan? Where are we going from here?”
“We're going to return the car and rent a different one. Then we're going to head home.”
“But...isn't that a bit risky? Renting another car? If they know anything about either of us, they're going to be looking for something like that, won't they? They didn't exactly seem like an unorganized operation.”
“No, they didn't,” he replied curtly, “which is why we won't be renting the car.”
“Okay...that sounds super and all, but who will be renting the car then? Are we just going to hang out like teenagers looking for someone to score them some booze?”
“We won't be renting anything,” he repeated, reaching into his wallet. “Dennis O'Shea, however, will.” With an extended arm, he handed me a New Hampshire driver's license with a picture of him looking handsome and carefree. I looked up at him, shock painting my expression. I didn't enjoy surprises much, especially not from people I least expected them from. “Relax, Ruby. I somehow think that you're in no position to look surprised by my actions this evening; besides, I am a detective. Occasionally I do undercover work. The alias won't be foolproof if someone goes digging deep enough, but it will cover our asses for now.”
“Oh,” I replied, feeling foolish for not seeing the obvious.
“So Dennis is going to go and rent us a car for NYC.”
“NYC? What's there?”
“The Empire State Building. Statue of Liberty.”
“Okay, I get that, smartass, but what I don't get is why we're going there. You need to get home to your family, and I need to go home and—”
“Lie your pants off?”
“I wish. Everyone sees through my attempts, so I don't bother anymore.”
“Good. You suck at it.” I looked over to see the faintest smile tugging at his lips. It was good to see that Alan could still have a sense of humor about something after the shitstorm that had been our evening. “I'm going to put NYC down as the destination just in case someone is looking for a rental going to Portsmouth or Boston or anywhere else near us. We have no idea how much these people know, Ruby. I want to keep them off our trail as much as we can. We're going to drive the car home and return it somewhere else or ditch it altogether.”
“I know people that can probably help us out with either of those options,” I volunteered without thinking.
“I'm sure you know 'people' that could help us out with a lot more than that.”
With that allusion to the supernatural, Alan's renewed sense of humor flew out the window. After he rented the car and started driving, there was very little talk between us at all. He fiddled with the radio stations incessantly and called Kristy numerous times. She never answered. Both of us were nervous about the implications, but neither verbalized it. In true New Englander fashion, we kept our mouths shut and our thoughts to ourselves. I texted Cooper, asking him to send one of the boys by Alan's house just to make sure everything was okay. I told him that there had been some break-ins in their neighborhood. Cooper instructed Alistair to do what I’d asked before he demanded to know when I would be home. When I told him that I wasn't going to be home until the next day, there was a pause in text messages. Then he started calling immediately. At best, Cooper knew something was up. At worst, he'd called Peyta and found out that I'd never been there. Either way, I knew I would be in some serious shit when I got home.
Knowing that I couldn't let Alan figure out that Cooper was onto me, I blew off his calls. Minutes later my phone rang again. The caller ID showed a most unexpected number on the screen. Cooper was far more deviously resourceful than I ever gave him credit for.
With a sigh, I pressed the talk button and waited for the storm to hit.
Chapter 29
“I can't talk right now, Jay,” I grumbled into the phone. Cooper knew there wasn't a snowball's chance in hell I would answer a call from Sean, so he did the next best thing. He sent Sean's second-in-command t
o me. It was a damn clever and strategic move.
“Can you at least tell me why I just got a frantic text from Cooper saying I needed to get in touch with you ASAP?” he asked, sounding every bit annoyed as he should have.
“Um, I can tell you that I'll be home in a few hours. We can meet up if you really feel it's necessary.”
“Does Sean know about whatever trouble you're mixed up in now?”
“NO! And that is not an option right now, Jay,” I barked, stealing a glance over at Alan. He shot me an inquisitive look that made my urge to hang up hard to ignore.
“Okay,” he said softly in an attempt to placate me. “We can meet, alone. Is everything all right at the moment?”
“Yes.”
“Do you foresee any danger before you arrive?”
“No, but it does like to come at me when I least expect it.”
“Ruby...”
“Everything is fine,” I reassured him.
“I want you to text me every hour so that I know where you are and that you are okay. If you miss one, I'll be forced to find you, and you know that I can if need be.”
I rolled my eyes thinking of their techie brother, Trey, and all his space-age gadgetry that would easily home in on me if Jay said the word. There would never be an “off the grid” with them, which was probably for the best given my penchant for attracting danger.
“I will,” I agreed with a sigh. “And I'll call you once we're back. Say hi to Peyta for me, and be sure to tell her I'm fine. She'll worry otherwise.”
“She'll worry regardless, Ruby. We all will.”
He hung up the phone without further elaboration on who exactly the “we” referred to. While my mind instantly overanalyzed his innocuous statement, the not-so-subtle clearing of Alan's throat brought my attention back to the situation at hand.
“So, Sean―”
“Not a chance in hell we're going there, Alan. Drop it.”
His brow furrowed in the scant light of the car. He was contemplating his next move. Knowing that he wouldn't follow my directive, I cut him off at the pass.
“We're through. I left him. I won't go into the 'whys' or 'hows' of it, so don't ask. He is no longer a part of my life, and that's all you need to know.”
Again, his expression darkened, processing my words carefully before he chose his own.
“You're not telling me something. Are you sure he didn't hurt you? Is it something worse than that?” Alan had always been protective of me, like an older brother would have been, or so I imagined. Even though he knew that a part of me was a mildly psychotic killer, he was still concerned that Sean had done something untoward.
Alan was good people indeed.
“No, it's nothing worse than that, and he didn't hurt me―not in the way you're thinking,” I replied tightly while my emotions started to constrict my throat.
“Good. You know how I feel about him.”
“I do.”
“Does this mean you'll finally give Cooper a chance?” he asked with a sideways glance. I never had figured out what it was about him and Cooper. Maybe they were long lost bro-mates or something, but he was all about me and Cooper getting together. I couldn't help but ask why.
“No, it doesn't, but I'm dying to know why you're all up in his corner, especially when it comes to me.”
“Cooper is the kind of guy that does right because it's the right thing to do, Ruby. He's honorable, kind, and he loves you more than anything. I fail to understand why you can't see that.”
“Oh, I see it, Alan. I've known exactly who Cooper is from the moment I met him. The issue is that those feelings don't necessarily translate into the kind of love that you and Kristy have. Coop and I are different.”
I let my words hang in the air for him to interpret however he wanted. When a stunned expression met my gaze across the console of the rental car, I knew that Alan was every bit the sleuth I thought him to be.
“So Cooper is―”
“Just like me,” I continued, cutting him off. “He is also my alpha—my leader and protector. Our love is deep and binding, but not in the way you think. He and I are family on the most primal level, and make no mistake, he may be honorable, but when it comes to me he will go to any lengths to ensure I am safe. That is what you see when he looks at me, Alan.”
“Holy shit.”
“Yes, well, I'd appreciate it if you kept that little revelation to yourself. Our kind isn't fond of being outed, but for you, I'm willing to make an exception given what you've just learned tonight. On a good day, you're like family too, you know. And I don't like keeping secrets from my family.” My words were again heavy and laced with subtext, which, judging by Alan's expression, he easily interpreted. I had admitted to him that I hated not being able to fully let him in on the truth all along. His tight smile in return told me he understood.
“So the whole psychic thing?”
“Total bullshit, though in that particular situation I was being given information from an external source, so I guess it wasn't a full-blown lie. I just left out the fact that the source happened to be a deranged werewolf. I didn't think it really added anything helpful at the time,” I joked, hoping desperately to lighten the mood. Thankfully, Alan took the bait. There comes a time for some when the mind either chooses to accept or reject the reality it's faced with. One path allows the individual to move on. The other causes him to break. When Alan erupted with laughter, albeit mildly unhinged laughter, I knew he had chosen the former. I supposed it made sense, given that he hadn't cracked immediately when Scarlet came out to play in his presence. If he could get past that, he could get past almost anything.
“Well, that's good to know. I guess I won't call you the next time I buy a lotto ticket then,” he replied with a wink.
The vibration of my cell phone interrupted our little moment and I pulled it out, half expecting to find another angry message from Cooper on it. I was more than surprised when I saw whom it was from.
Gavin.
Alive. Investigating out of town. Will return to Portsmouth by evening. You and I need to talk.
I breathed a sigh of relief. At least I hadn't gotten him killed.
Meet where? I replied, still uncertain where he was staying. Surely he wasn't still docked in the same place, waiting like a sitting duck for Sean to come after him.
Three boats over. Not all is as it seems.
Another riddle. The man was utterly incapable of sharing information freely. Thank God it wasn't a family trait. Or maybe it was, given my inability to disclose everything to those close to me.
Regardless of his enigmatic sign-off, I relaxed into my seat with a rare sense of satisfaction. Not only had Alan and I survived the attack by McGurney's murderers and him finding out about my other half— a reality that hadn’t sent him running from me screaming—but I'd also finally received confirmation that Gavin was alive. The strangest sensation of hope stirred within me. I'd always assumed there would be no normalcy in my life—that I was destined to hide for the duration of my existence, however long that turned out to be. But in the car on our long journey home, I thought that maybe, just maybe, after all the London bullshit and McGurney mystery were put to rest, I could have a sliver of the ordinary.
I fell asleep with the smile still on my face.
Chapter 30
Sadly, I didn't get to sleep for long. I was a good little soldier and had set an alarm to check in with Jay every hour as promised so as not to cause a complete uproar within the PC. Even better yet, it kept Sean out of the game in the meantime, and that was music to my ears.
When Alan pulled up to my apartment, he seemed nervous for the first time. I gave him a hug and told him I loved him before I grabbed his camera and the other scraps of evidence we had to show for our efforts. He wasn't excited about anyone else being brought into his investigation of McGurney's murder, but I assured him that we needed to, and after pointing out that the supernatural world was not his area of expertise, he saw reason.
Whether I liked it or not, McGurney's murder and the Rev were somehow tied together, however loosely.
The PC needed to brought up to speed.
I informed him that I had “people” keeping an eye on his house for him so that he wouldn't worry about any backlash from our expedition. It seemed to ease him slightly, but it was apparent that a mental fatigue was besetting him, as were the dangerous implications that accompanied those we'd encountered. He had finally concluded that, if they could find us there, they could find us anywhere. It was then that he appeared to realize that his undying need to avenge his friend could potentially cost him his family. With that grim reality painted all across his face, he watched me walk to my building before he pulled the car away.
I waited until he disappeared from sight before heading to the alley that wrapped around the side of the building. Jay had texted, saying to meet him and Cooper in the back of the shop so as to avoid any unwanted attention from the Brits. They were pack, but they didn't need to be let in on anything until we knew exactly what they were being let in on.
When I turned the corner, I found them both waiting for me as patiently as could be expected. Jay was a relatively chill guy, but he looked riled up and slightly uncomfortable. Cooper was trying hard to repress whatever anger he had boiling up inside him, but his efforts were moot. I could feel him raging from yards away.
When they had both taken in my rugged appearance, the interrogation started.
“What happened to you?” Jay asked.
“Listen,” I started, fumbling with my keys while I approached the duo. Doing so kept me from having to look into their angry eyes just yet. “I know you're both pissed, and I understand why―”
“You have no idea,” Cooper snapped. The harshness in his tone startled me, and I looked up to find him staring me down with murderous eyes.
“I'm sorry, but―”
“You lied to me,” he growled, stepping toward me. There was so much hostility rolling off of him that I actually stopped walking, afraid to get any closer. “Then you ignore my calls once you know you're busted. And now you show up here looking like a war refugee and think that 'sorry' is going to make it all better.” I stared at him in silence, not knowing what to say. Nothing I could offer was going to make it better. That was abundantly apparent. “Just open the door, Ruby. I want to know what's going on, and I want to know now.”
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