The Healing Power of Sugar: The Ghost Bird Series: #9 (The Academy Ghost Bird Series)

by Stone, C. L.

  But he had done it in his own way: secretly, alone.

  “Sang?” Silas’s voice floated from downstairs before his footsteps sounded on the stairs..

  I rushed to the closet, moving the clothes back into place to hide what I’d found, and then closed the door. I wouldn’t betray Luke by telling the others.

  I returned to the lower part of the room just as Silas opened the door. He peeked his head in, looking around the room first before looking at me. “He’s not here?”

  I shook my head. “Not here.”

  Silas tilted his head forward, black strands of hair crossing in front of his eyes. “Check the other rooms?”

  “Not yet.”

  He lifted a dark eyebrow. “You okay?”

  I forced a smile and hurried to the door. “Just worried about Luke.” That much was true.

  Still, I wanted to ask Luke about why he’d taken the clothes. But how could I? I wasn’t sure if I should admit I had poking around in his stuff.

  Should we even mention we were here? The reluctance Silas had about spying on Luke made sense, and I realized how complicated this would be if we did have to confront Luke about anything.

  But I wouldn’t be able to confront him about anything unless we could find him.

  I just hoped I could be the one to talk to him first.

  HUNTING A SPY

  After checking the rest of the upstairs, Silas and I started down the steps to find Nathan standing in the foyer. He had his hands on his hips, his blue eyes dark and serious, his lips tight.

  “His phone’s in the kitchen,” he said, looking up toward us when we were about halfway down the staircase. “It was in the pantry, behind some cereal boxes. I put it on the counter.”

  Silas stopped on the stairs, tilting his head as if straining to listen. After a pause, he continued down, ahead of me until the three of us gathered in the foyer. “So he is here somewhere?”

  “I don’t see him around,” Nathan said. He looked over at me. “I don’t know why he hid his phone. What time did you call him?”

  I searched my bra and then my pockets before I remembered Silas still had my phone. I tugged at his sleeve, cuing him to pull it out from his pocket to hand to me. The pink case had a few scratches from when I’d dropped it, but the rest seemed fine. I checked the call list. “Maybe an hour ago?”

  Nathan frowned, looked around the space and then shook his head. “I don’t like this. Something’s wrong.”

  I pressed my lips together, anxious. “What if it’s Volto?”

  Nathan’s frown deepened and he pulled his own phone from his pocket. He pushed a button and then held the phone out, putting it on speaker. He pushed a finger to his lips, indicating to us to keep quiet and let him talk.

  The phone in the kitchen rang. I silently stepped toward it. Why was Nathan calling Luke’s phone?

  It rang a few times and I expected it to go to voicemail, but then the phone in the kitchen stopped, although the ringing coming through Nathan’s phone continued.

  After two more rings, there was a click. “Hey man, I’m sorry I didn’t stop by the diner. I got roped into some Academy work.” Luke’s voice sounded like he was in a tunnel, but it was certainly him.

  Nathan’s jaw tightened and his shoulders dropped before he forced a smile on his face and said, “Oh no, don’t worry about it. I wasn’t calling about that. Just had a quick question.”

  “Shoot.”

  Nathan pointed to me and Silas and then toward the phone in the kitchen. “Uh…I found this empty pickle jar with money in it. Looked like one of the tip jars, but there wasn’t a name on this one.”

  As we listened to Nathan’s made-up story, Silas shooed me on further into the kitchen. Luke’s iPhone was on the island near the sink. It appeared to be silent now.

  “Did you ask around?” Luke asked—we heard his voice from Nathan’s phone in the other room, not the phone on the counter.

  “Yeah, no one’s claiming it. I thought it might be yours since you were here earlier. If no one claims it, I was just going to dump it into Sang’s jar.”

  Silas pushed a button on Luke’s phone. The screen showed a timer running, like he really was on the phone, but I didn’t see anything else. Silas put the phone back down, frowning with deep concern.

  “Might be mine but give it to Sang anyway,” Luke said and then chuckled. “Girl makes bank even when she’s not there.”

  It was odd to hear Luke so casual, even laughing, when he was hiding from us. On the phone, he sounded completely normal.

  “Okay,” Nathan said, leaning into the doorway of the kitchen, his eyes on us. “Heading this way tonight? You know, maybe if you’re not busy this week, we’ll have a game night like we used to.”

  “Sure,” Luke said. “Maybe tomorrow. I’ll have to let you go now, though. Stuff happening.”

  “Understand,” Nathan said. “Be careful.”

  “Always,” Luke said, and hung up.

  After Nathan disconnected the call, we all stood in the kitchen, looking between Nathan’s phone in his hand, and the phone on the counter.

  “Kota would know if this was an actual Academy job he’s on, right?” Nathan asked Silas.

  “Supposedly,” Silas said. “Unless Mr. Blackbourne didn’t tell Kota.”

  “Would he ever tell him to leave his phone?”

  “Yes,” I said, frowning, remembering a night when we’d taken an emergency cell phone only, leaving our own phones behind. We didn’t want our own phones with us when we were committing a crime: breaking and entering, theft.

  They looked at me, their expressions concerned.

  “There’s no way we can tell what he’s doing then,” Nathan said. “And we can’t go after him, especially if he’s doing something dangerous.”

  “He is answering his phone,” Silas said, his voice subdued and low. “He’s clearly okay.”

  Nathan shook his head, lifted his eyebrows and gave another sigh. He moved forward and picked up Luke’s phone. “Damn Luke. You’re too good for your own sake.” He took it over to the pantry and positioned it back where I could only assume he’d found it. “This is why Mr. Blackbourne probably didn’t tell us about it. We’d sit here and worry and want to go help him out, but we can’t.”

  “We should stop calling him,” I said quietly. “And looking for him. We might blow his cover or something.”

  Nathan grumbled and headed to the door. “I don’t know what he’s up to, but if you’re trying to ask about his little pranks, we’ll all have to wait until later…and just hope he’ll get out of this job clean.”

  Silas and I shared a look. Luke might be safe for now, but I still didn’t like the situation. Kota had seemed to know Luke would be on the last job. This time, Kota didn’t know. We were told to trust, and we tried, but Luke going off alone without any of us really bugged me.

  Silas headed out. I followed, my head down, not wanting to leave so soon, but without much choice. Luke wasn’t here. Trying to find him now could put him in danger.

  We’d have to trust him this time.

  ♥♥♥

  Later, we were on the road, headed back to Sunnyvale. Silas asked to go to the diner. “I want to help North out,” he said. “And ask him about the house. Maybe make plans to finish one of those rooms next weekend.”

  Nathan pulled the Jeep into the diner’s parking lot, leaving it there for North. Silas went into the diner.

  Nathan and I scurried into the woods and then went across the small plank of wood to his back fence. He opened the gate, letting me in.

  I walked ahead of him toward the pool, now covered with a thin blue sheeting to protect it from leaves and keep it clean through the winter. I dipped down, pulling the sleeve of the black hoodie up on my arm, so I could touch the cold water.

  “I was tempted to push you in again,” Nathan said behind me, nudging me with his leg. I stood, spinning on him and he smiled. “But I wouldn’t want to have to jump in after you. Too
cold for that.”

  I smiled, but it wasn’t genuine. Things didn’t feel right, and I couldn’t let go of the sensation that there was a puzzle I needed to piece together.

  Nathan fixed his gaze on my face and then lifted his hands to cup my head in his palms, forcing me to look into his eyes. “Sang,” he said softly, gently tracing his thumbs across my cheeks. “What’s wrong?”

  What could I say? The whole day had been a rush of what Luke had been doing and discovering secrets, and now I had so many questions hanging over me, some I couldn’t even tell him about. “Long day,” I simply said.

  The corner of his mouth lifted a little. “Worried?”

  I nodded against his hold.

  His lips twitched and then he leaned in. I closed my eyes as Nathan kissed my lips gently.

  I was expecting something short, friendly, but he held his lips there, like he wanted to continue, but wasn’t sure.

  I opened my lips a little.

  He dipped in again for a kiss, a little deeper, drawing me in.

  I tried to want it, and I did, but my head wasn’t clear. I knew he was trying to distract me. He wanted to make me feel better.

  I hated that I was concerned about Luke and not completely mindful of Nathan in this moment. I breathed in his leather scent. My mind pictured his handsome jawline and this blue eyes, even after I’d closed my eyes.

  Still, in the back of my head, I couldn’t enjoy his kiss if someone else on the team was upset. I appreciated Nathan so much, but I couldn’t help my concern.

  The sound of the back sliding door opening startled me, breaking us apart. I had a horrible feeling it was Nathan’s dad, or worse: Volto.

  Nathan looked over my shoulder toward the back porch. “Gabriel?”

  I spun around to see Gabriel leaning out the door. Still in jeans and the bright orange tank shirt. His blond locks framed his face, with the russet brushed back neatly. He put a long lean arm out and waved frantically, signaling us to get closer.

  Nathan sighed, took my hand and guided me around the pool.

  Once we were close, Gabriel spoke, his voice low through clenched teeth. He was glaring at Nathan. “Are you crazy?”

  “What?” Nathan asked.

  “Kota’s in the kitchen. You’re lucky I was in there playing video games. He could have seen you.”

  Nathan’s eyes narrowed. “So?”

  Gabriel frowned and then looked at me. “Fucking shit, that hoodie is horrible.”

  “She’s fine,” Nathan said. “Stop picking on her clothes.”

  Gabriel’s crystal eyes flashed at Nathan. “What’s wrong with you? Why are you snapping at me?”

  We could have said the same thing to Gabriel. Nathan started an eye roll but then rocked back on his heels quickly, looking at the ground. “Luke,” he said.

  Gabriel straightened and his lips curved downward. “Thought he was up to something. He’s been acting funny.”

  “Could be just Academy stuff,” Nathan said. “Long story.”

  Gabriel stepped aside and curled his fingers at us. “Get in here. Explain it to Kota. Let me go through Sang’s clothes with her. That closet is looking a mess again.”

  I didn’t particularly want to go through clothes, but I was grateful for a moment to think. Knowing Gabriel, he would go through the clothes on his own while I sat on the bed and watched.

  Kota was in the kitchen, wiping off counters with a sponge, sweeping crumbs into his palm.

  “You don’t have to clean,” Nathan said, going in and straightening some stuff on the counter, moving used mugs and spoons into the sink. “I was going to hit it tonight before going to bed.”

  Kota shrugged. “I was just doing a little here and there. Couldn’t sit still.” He still wore the green sweater, with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows as he worked. He rinsed the sponge in the sink, flushing the crumbs down the drain. He looked up, caught me watching, his green eyes brightening. “Any luck?”

  I offered a sympathetic smile but shook my head. “Road block.”

  “Come on, Sang,” Gabriel said. He grabbed my elbow and tugged, catching more sweatshirt than elbow. “Nathan can tell him. Let’s get you into something that doesn’t make you look like you’re wearing a tarp.”

  I grimaced at Kota and he shared a tight, sympathetic smile. I could have protested, but Gabriel seemed to need some down time.

  We walked into the hallway as Nathan started talking to Kota, telling him about leaving the diner. I didn’t hear much before I was in Nathan’s bedroom and Gabriel had closed the door behind us.

  The room was actually cleaner than I remembered from that morning. The CDs on the dresser had been straightened, alphabetized. It looked freshly dusted. The laundry basket was missing, and as I listened, I heard a dryer running. How long had Kota been over here?

  I immediately crawled onto the freshly made bed, finding a pillow, and sinking my head into it. My face still felt a little cold after being outside. I rubbed at my nose, and then took the pillow and put it over my face just to warm it.

  I heard a gentle click as Gabriel locked the door. This wasn’t unusual when Gabriel had me trying on clothes and didn’t want the guys walking in when I might be undressed.

  The bed shifted as he climbed onto it, and then walked over me on his hands and knees, until he was hovering above me. I could see a little of him from under the pillow. He lowered his head until his lips pressed to my shoulder, lightly kissing it through the black cloth, and then brushing his cheek against it. The coarse hairs on his jaw snagged the cotton material. “Trouble,” he said softly. “Sweetheart…”

  I swallowed, feeling strangely emotional at his words. I turned slightly, pushing the pillow aside. It fell to the floor as I reached for him.

  He settled in beside me, and wrapped his arms around my body, pulling me close. I snuggled into him, relaxing. He smelled faintly of roses.

  He kissed my forehead and then kept his face pressed against my skin. “What happened?” he finally asked.

  I didn’t know what to say. There was too much going on for me to sort through.

  I couldn’t keep it to myself, though, and I didn’t want to keep secrets.

  “Meanie,” I said, my face pressed into his chest, the ribs of his tank shirt making lines against my skin. “Do you think Luke’s not…not into the thing we learned about?”

  He rubbed my back with his warm palm. “I don’t know.” He was quiet for a long moment. “Is Nathan? I thought he was, but then the way he…outside. Or am I reading into it too much?”

  I backed up a bit so I could look at him. His crystal eyes fluttered open, the dark lashes striking beside the light blue color. He did have pretty lashes. “I don’t know where anyone is with this. And it’s making me paranoid.”

  “No shit,” he said. “I thought I’d have a heart attack if Kota had seen that. He doesn’t know yet, but North wanted to talk to him, and he’s waiting for something. I guess Mr. Blackbourne told him not to talk to anyone without him, and to not even start unless something significant happened. We jumped the gun on learning about it. We weren’t supposed to yet according to their plan.”

  I groaned, tilting my head back and rolling it a bit back to put some space between us. I wanted to be able to look at him and not hurt my eyes with him so close.

  Gabriel reached for the pillow that had fallen and picked it up, flattening it out and offering it to me. He and I stretched out on one side of the bed to share it.

  I studied his face, noting the orange crystal studs in his ears. “Maybe we did learn about it too soon,” I said.

  “We can’t help it now,” Gabriel said. “It’s not going to do us any good just wishing we’d waited. How were we supposed to know?”

  “North said he wants to, but he’s hesitant, because he’s not sure if I want to.”

  Gabriel reached up, taking pieces of my hair that had fallen across my cheek and pushing it back behind my ear. “This isn’t like what Lily went t
hrough. She didn’t even know until all the guys had decided. Even then, she had to be convinced that it was what they really wanted. She thought it was selfish to want it.”

  “That’s how I feel,” I said, suddenly very eager to talk about my feelings, which had been weighing on me a lot. “It feels completely selfish. I don’t…I couldn’t…” I coughed as I stumbled over my words, trying to get too many syllables out at the same time and couldn’t finish the thought.

  “Hey, don’t get sick on me,” he said. He covered my mouth and nose with his palm, not smothering, just covering while I coughed.

  I finished but when he glared at me like he didn’t trust that I was done, I reached my tongue out, licking his palm.

  “You licked it, you bought it,” he said and then wiped his hand on my sleeve.

  Wanting to talk more about how I was feeling, I forced myself to be serious. “Earlier today, when we did the marker thing...”

  “Yeah, I remember. You still have the heart on your ear.”

  I gasped and then reached up. It must have been showing now that he’d pushed back my hair. I’d forgotten.

  “I’ll let you keep that one, fucking shit girly desire to keep everything cute…”

  I smiled wide now, trying not to giggle, and covered my own mouth with my fingers to hide it.

  He smirked, his lips protruding out, his crystal eyes smoldering. “What were you going to say?”

  I kept my fingers over my mouth, but just pulled them back a bit so I could talk. “Luke had a phone number on his arm. Some girl wrote it on him. It…I didn’t like it and he scribbled it out.”

  “Then that’s a good thing,” Gabriel said. His eyebrow arched, almost disappearing behind a blond lock hanging over his forehead. “Right?”

  “Well, it’s the same worry,” I said. “It’s okay for me to be jealous, but I’m asking you…and him, and the others not to act the same way?”