My eyes roamed around the room, spotting a half filled duffel bag in the corner. It looked like he’d started unpacking and then given it up. The sheets on the bed had most likely been provided because they were rough and utilitarian. The only touch of home was the picture on the bedside table, one I refused to acknowledge.
Why keep a picture of us if he didn’t want there to be an us? I forced the thought aside as I stood up. He glanced up from rinsing his face at my movement.
“Do you want to change?” He gave me a quick onceover, taking in the tank top and shorts I normally slept in. “It’s still cold up here. I’ve got some pants and a shirt you can wear over it.” He knew I didn’t wear underwear, since I considered it a waste of material. My habits hadn’t changed with his absence and I stomped over to the dresser I’d seen him take his clothes out of the night before. I hated that he knew me so well even as I rejoiced at the fact he cared enough to remember. The dueling emotions distracted me momentarily from the shit storm that my life had quickly become.
I jerked the drawer open to see a jumble of clothes haphazardly dumped inside. I shook my head at the familiar sight and picked through until I found what I wanted. I tugged them on quickly as he lounged in the doorway watching me.
“Still incapable of organizing your drawers?” I mocked even as I gathered the mess up.
“Never did see the point.” He answered, holding the duffel open so I could shove the pile of wadded up clothes inside it. I checked the other drawers but they were empty so I attempted to zip up the bag. Attempted being the operative word. It was stuffed and the zipper didn’t want to glide.
“Hold up.” He said before I could get it closed. He darted to the nightstand and grabbed the picture frame and I was tempted to zip it closed before he got the damn picture tucked in, but I refrained. “Can’t leave this behind.”
I held in the questions I wanted to ask. Mainly, why? Why did he have it? What did it mean? But there was no time for those questions, not when the more pressing concern was who had killed my parents and why had they come for me?
He slung the duffel bag over his shoulder, having tugged a long sleeved t-shirt on at some point. A smaller backpack went on the other shoulder, one that contained his laptop I assumed. He cracked the door open to check the common room. I cocked an eyebrow at him and he shrugged.
“We’re not supposed to have guests.”
“Does it matter?” I asked, shoving past him. “You’re leaving.” He frowned at the reminder, but settled beside me as we entered the room. Part of me knew I should feel bad. He was abandoning his job to take care of me, but the larger part of me understood he would never make any other choice. I could tell him I was fine, that I could figure it out, make it home, but it would be a lie. I was at my best only when we were together. He knew it as well as I did. My life was apparently in danger and until that changed, we would stick together.
“Hey, man,” A guy scratched his chest as he wandered in from another room. He stopped as he spotted me hovering next to Dane. “Oh, hey.” He gave me a wave, his eyes scanning me as he attempted to figure out the situation.
“Hey, Nate. I’m actually headed out. There’s a family emergency.” Dane’s words drew the guy’s attention back to him and he seemed to notice the packed bags for the first time. His eyes moved back to me, a curious expression on his face. Dane stepped in front of me, blocking his view and not making any attempt to explain my presence or to introduce me. I followed his lead and stayed silent. This Nate guy was someone he knew and if he wanted to make introductions it was up to him.
“Sorry to hear that. When you gonna be back?” Nate asked, his curious gaze straying back toward me. I was sure he thought it was a little weird Dane didn’t acknowledge my presence to him, but it wasn’t unusual for us. We didn’t bother to try and explain our relationship. Or lack of one, I amended.
“I won’t be.” He answered tightly, reaching down for my hand and tugging me toward the door. The guy said something but it was lost as we went through the door. I trailed behind Dane, my hand firmly tucked into his as we went down the stairs. A gust of cold air hit us as the door banged open and I couldn’t hide my shiver. I was grateful for Dane’s clothes as we walked to his truck. June in Montana was a little bit different than Tennessee. Dane opened my door first, helping me inside and tossing the keys in my lap. I started the engine as he piled his stuff in the back.
“Drive-thru okay?” He asked, ducking his head as he slid in. I nodded my agreement, awed as I took in the backdrop of mountains. We were in the middle of a campus of some kind, but the view was still spectacular. He recognized my expression and said with a chuckle, “There’s nothing but amazing views around here. I damn near drove off the road a dozen times on the drive in.”
“Yeah, I can see why, but eyes on the road this time.” I muttered as he backed out of the parking space.
“Yes, ma’am.” He answered with a sharp salute. The warning was unnecessary. Dane never drove over the speed limit when I was in the car, he stopped at yellow lights, and looked both ways a dozen times before turning. He was the safest driver on the planet when I was his passenger.
“How long?”
“It took me four days to get here, but I took my time. We’re gonna drive straight through.” I nodded, knowing we needed to find answers quickly and terrified the man would find me again. I had gotten away last time, but what would happen if he came after me again and got to Dane? He’d already admitted he didn’t have magic, and as much as I didn’t want to put stock into the idea, I really had no other explanation for how I’d wound up here other than magic. So if magic had saved me last time, would it save me again? And could it save Dane? Because I knew he would put himself in front of any danger before allowing it to get near me.
He pulled up to the order screen of a popular fast food chain and placed our order without asking what I wanted. I growled and punched his arm. He shot me a confused look as he pulled around the building.
“You could have asked me what I wanted.”
“Why? You always order the same thing.”
“It could have changed over the last year. And why did you order two?”
“Because you need to eat two. I wasn’t kidding about you being too skinny and using magic takes a lot of energy. You’re gonna need the fuel.” He was at the window then and I bit back my reply since talking about magic around other people seemed like the fastest way to the psych ward. I rolled my eyes as the chick in the window bent over to give him a good look at her cleavage. It never failed. Girls saw Dane and immediately started flirting.
I wanted to tell her, “Don’t bother. We’re headed out of town and you’ll never see him again,” but Dane didn’t even seem to notice her efforts, dumping his change in the charity box before going to the next window. I wanted to scream in frustration. Why did he insist on us taking a break to see other people if he was going to ignore such obvious overtures from willing girls? It made no sense.
Unless he didn’t recognize she was flirting with him?
I wouldn’t normally consider that, but it had happened to me. Apparently guys had attempted to flirt with me over the past year once Dane was gone, but I never noticed. It drove the few friends I had nuts. They declared me a lost cause when I shot the fifth guy down and took to eating in the library to avoid the whole mess.
Bags and drinks were handed to me as he drove away from the window. He hit the road as I took our food out. Apparently we were not stopping to eat, but headed straight for the highway.
“Fix mine?” He asked hopefully and I gave him a narrow glare. I was already squirting grape jelly on his biscuit and he knew it. I thought about spitting in it for good measure, but he’d eat it anyway. He really didn’t care about stuff like that, especially not from me. The tightness in my chest eased as he threw me a happy smile when I handed him his biscuit. It was impossible for me to stay angry with him. Always had been.
I bit into my own biscuit and after inhal
ing it in three bites, was grateful he’d gotten me two. I ate the second one slightly slower, but didn’t turn down the hash brown he pushed toward me. I hadn’t realized I was starving until food was in front of me. At this rate, I’d be bigger than before in no time.
“Should have gotten three. I’ll remember next time.” He muttered as he finished off the last of his biscuit. “Drink the orange juice.” He told me, passing me the bottle he’d just taken a swig from. I didn’t argue, unwilling to admit I was still hungry even after two biscuits and two hash browns. I finished the OJ and stuffed our trash into the bag. Dane wasn’t obsessive about keeping his truck clean but neither of us liked trash laying around. “Tell me what the man said. Describe him if you can. As much detail as possible.”
“What, are we ignoring the fact that I somehow traveled two thousand miles in the blink of an eye to appear in front of you after having no clue where you were?” I was deflecting his question, partially because the disappearing act really freaked me out. What if it happened again? But the big reason was because I didn’t want to think about the man or my parents. Were they still lying there? Had he done something with them? Was anyone even looking for me?
“That was magic.” I groaned, throwing my hands up at his answer. “Yes, I know that isn’t the answer you want, but its all I’ve got at the moment.” His own frustration was clear. “I don’t know what type of magic you possess, but it’s strong enough to send someone after you. We need to know why. It’s a long drive, sweetheart. You might as well start talking.”
His face was set and I knew arguing was pointless. He would wait until I finally spilled every detail. He’d poke and prod asking every question he could think of to get what he wanted. He was thorough in everything he did and while that had its benefits, right now I wanted to be left alone.
Chapter Four
An hour later, he was still waiting, but the rumble of my stomach had him cursing and pulling off the highway to get me food again. This time he parked and we went inside.
“Go to the restroom while you have the chance, and I’ll order some food.” I didn’t hesitate and headed straight to the ladies room. Those were the first words he’d spoken since demanding answers, and the tension in the truck had gotten so heavy I was grateful for the chance to escape his presence for a moment. As I washed my hands I caught sight of the burn on my neck. It had faded considerably, much faster than a normal burn. As I met my own eyes in the mirror, I flashed back to the moment he’d squeezed his hand against my neck.
“What do you want?” My words were a blubbering mess as tears streamed down my cheeks. He’d killed my parents and it appeared he was going to kill me as well. This stranger had come in to my house and killed my family, and I had no idea why.
“You.” The one word was accompanied by an easy shrug as if everything he’d done was nothing more than simple tasks to get to the main prize – me. But why me?
“Why me?” The whisper was painful as the burning got worse the longer his hands stayed on me.
“Because you’re one of the chosen ones. The trinity. At least that’s what they say.” He chuckled, casually twisting my head. “Mitchell was right. You are an easy target since you don’t have your magic yet.”
“Magic?” The word came out as a strangled question as it dawned on me that this person was undeniably insane and had just killed my parents because he believed in magic. I shook my head frantically. “You have the wrong person.”
“Nope.” His smile was cruel, and lacking any resemblance to happiness as he said, “You’re it. And oh what fun it’ll be to watch your blood spill. You should be honored. Your death will increase the power of my coven. It’s an honor many have died for.”
“Quinn!” I snapped out of the memory that had taken hold as Dane called my name. A brown bag dangled from one hand as he smoothed his other hand across my forehead. “What happened? I was waiting but you didn’t come out. Your eyes…it was like you weren’t here.”
I buried my face into his shoulder, trying to erase the man’s expression of casual cruelty. He’d thought nothing of killing me. Mocked how easy it would be. And all for something I didn’t understand and seemed to have no control over.
“The man didn’t look like a robber. And he didn’t care about killing me. In fact I think he enjoyed the idea.” I felt his exhale and he tightened his arm around my shoulders as he pressed his lips to the top of my head. “He babbled about my blood increasing the power of his coven.”
I heard his sharp intake of breath at that, and knew it was as bad as it sounded. I didn’t really understand the coven part, but spilling my blood to give them power was something I definitely wanted to avoid. I pushed at him, and he loosened his hold but didn’t let me go completely.
“He said something else. Something about a trinity. That I was a chosen one.” Dane’s eyes narrowed in puzzlement. He shook his head, unfamiliar with the term. The door to the restroom opened just then and an older lady frowned at seeing us standing there. It dawned on me Dane had come into the ladies room after me and I threw her a quick apology as I caught the door and dragged him out after me.
Another thing I’d forgotten about him. He could care less about society’s rules if it interfered with him being near me. There was no escape if we were arguing. He’d barge straight into a locker room or bathroom to fight it out. He couldn’t stand avoidance and only barely understood the concept of space. It had never bothered me. I would do the same, except I was usually more circumspect about following him into spaces that generally didn’t allow women. But that was our normal. I had no doubt people analyzing our relationship would find us too possessive, or obsessive even. Our relationship unhealthy and too inclusive. And they’d be right.
It was.
We were everything they said a relationship shouldn’t be, but it had worked for us. We were yin and yang. The literal center of one another’s universe. Most people never found their soulmate, and I’d found mine at the age of ten.
As much as I’d hated to admit it, I understood our parents’ fears. Their desire to have some separation between us. It was Dane’s agreement that tore me apart. He understood. He should have understood. The pain at being apart, the need to be near one another, and the clawing emptiness that swallowed me when he was gone.
It hadn’t made sense when we were kids, but we didn’t analyze it. He was my best friend then and hanging out together all the time was okay. Acceptance was how we handled everything. The need to always be together meant we’d sneak into each other’s rooms for sleepovers. Not a big deal when you’re kids, but it became a problem as we got older.
Everything about us became a problem as we got older.
Our feelings didn’t change. They developed as naturally as anyone would expect. Best friends turned to lovers, but it was the timing that was the issue.
We were too young.
Everyone said so.
You can’t make a commitment at such a young age. You need to find yourself. Explore your options.
All excellent ideas.
For someone else.
It was impossible to imagine being with anyone other than Dane. To take time I could be spending with him and spend it with someone else? I rejected the notion and so did he. There was no denying we were co-dependent, but it was the concept of us changing that was ridiculous.
Wind slapped us in the face as we exited the fast food restaurant.
“Sorry.” He offered with a quick glance over at me. I shrugged. I didn’t care that he’d stormed into the ladies room after me. I might still be standing there lost in my own memory if he hadn’t come looking for me. He helped me into the truck, setting the bag in my lap before going around and giving me the sensation of déjà vu.
“Road trip. Take two.” His words echoed my own thoughts so closely it might have been eerie, except now I knew there was a lot more to the world than I’d thought. And to Dane. It hadn’t escaped me that he’d known about magic, but never told me in a
ll the years we were together.
“Why didn’t you ever mention magic to me?” I asked abruptly, clenching the bag in my lap. “That your family are witches?” I should be used to the feeling of betrayal, but this was different. This was a secret kept from me when I had believed we had no secrets. Even when he’d left, saying we needed time apart, he hadn’t sugarcoated it. There had never been any lies between us, or so I’d thought.
“It wasn’t my secret.” He sighed, leaning back instead of putting the truck in gear. My stomach growled loudly, and he gave me a lopsided grin. “Eat, and I’ll talk.” I opened the now mangled bag, and found more biscuits. The clock on the dash read eight. We’d left early, but hadn’t really gotten far. I crammed a biscuit in my mouth as he ran his hand over his face. “Truthfully, I never really thought about my family being witches. I wasn’t one, didn’t have a lick of magic and always knew it wouldn’t have a bearing on my life. When I met you that was it for me. You were my life. My own sort of magic. Telling you about my mom and the rest….it didn’t occur to me.” He gave me a look, waiting for my disbelief, but I only nodded. What he said sounded exactly like him. If it didn’t directly affect him, then it didn’t enter his mind. “Then you consider what happens when you tell people your family can do magic.” He arched an eyebrow toward me. “They tend to not believe you.”
I lowered my eyes, and took a bite to keep from having to answer. I’d like to think I would have believed him, but considering how badly I’d taken the news when I was the one with magic, I couldn’t convince myself.
“I was always honest with you. Any lie was solely one of omission. Never intentional. If you had ever asked me directly if my family could do magic or were witches I would have told you the truth.” His sincerity was unmistakable and I offered him a biscuit in apology. He chuckled, and took it from me.
“Are you sure you can’t do magic?” I asked curiously, still wondering about the burns and the mind reading.
The Trinity Sisters Page 35
