by Gloria Craw
It ended up being another conference call with Katherine, Spencer, Ian, Theron, and me. I gave them a word-for-word recounting of the conversation I’d had with Nikki and then waited for their reaction.
Katherine made a distressed noise, Spencer grumbled, and Ian said nothing at all.
“Maxwell will be at that meeting tomorrow,” Katherine said. “The question is, what do we do about it?”
“Why should anything change?” I asked. “I’ll disrupt the vote like I agreed to do.”
“That would only stall him,” Spencer said. “He’ll probably try again, and we won’t know when or where. He’s contained up there. It’s an opportunity for us to put an end to him.”
Theron blanched. “You’re talking about killing him?” he said.
“Sebastian killed more of our kind than you want to know,” he replied. “We have to prevent Maxwell from doing the same thing.”
“You promised to keep me out of it, remember?” I said.
“You took care of Sebastian for us,” Spencer said. “We’ll try a different way this time.”
“We need to discuss this with the other chiefs,” Katherine said. “It will take a while to get everyone on a conference call. There’s nothing any one of you can do tonight, so everyone get some rest. We’ll call back in the morning with some plan of action.”
They hung up and Theron stared at me. “Obviously, there are things I don’t know,” he said. “What did you do to Sebastian?”
“It’s complicated,” I replied, squeezing my eyes closed and rubbing my temples.
“It wasn’t Spencer who killed him. It was you, wasn’t it?”
I didn’t say anything.
“But how? You can’t fight with mind energy. How did you do it?
“Do you trust me?” I asked.
He thought about it. “Yes, I do.”
“Then trust I’ll tell you someday, but not now.”
He nodded once.
My phone rang. “It’s Ian,” I said with my heart in my throat.
“I’ve got stuff to do,” Theron replied. “Give him my condolences. His dad is an even bigger ass than I thought.”
He went to his room, and I accepted the FaceTime request. Ian’s image appeared.
“Are you okay?” he asked tensely. “Your face is scratched up.”
I was happy he couldn’t see the rest of me. I was covered in little cuts and bruises from the wreck. “I wiped out a couple times today. It’s nothing.”
He looked skeptical but didn’t push for details. “Don’t worry about my parents and their plan for Maxwell. You’ve done enough for the greater good.”
“I think I’ve reached my fifty-year limit,” I agreed. “I won’t do any more than disrupt the meeting. They’ll have to figure the rest of it out on their own.”
“Be ready. They might push you.”
“They can push all they want. I only take orders from my dead mother.”
His brows drew together. “What?”
“Nothing, sorry.”
He smiled his long, lazy smile, and his shoulders relaxed. “You’re so weird,” he said.
I returned his smile. He was back to teasing me, and it was a huge relief. I’d hurt him, but Theron was right, he’d bounce back. What our relationship would be afterward, I couldn’t say.
“Nice jammies,” he commented.
“Thank you. I think I’ll re-cover a sofa with them later.”
He chuckled and then grew serious. “I’m sorry for pressuring you to leave your family this morning.”
I took a big breath. “I’m sorry, too. I should have told you what happened months ago, but I was afraid we couldn’t be friends after I did.”
“Alison,” he said gently. “I will always be your friend. No matter what. But do you remember that thing you said to me today? That thing about loving me?”
As if my greatest secret had been revealed, I swallowed and managed to say, “Yeah.”
“Say, hypothetically, that I loved you back. How would you feel about that?”
I picked at edge of the quilt around me. “It doesn’t make any difference.”
“Here’s another hypothetical,” he said patiently. “If there were no such thing as destiny, and we were free to choose who we’d be with, would you choose me?”
“Yes, but that’s a hypothetical.”
He started to laugh at me. “Sometimes I don’t know why I like you so much. Aside from the fact that you’re beautiful, brave, and you constantly surprise me by saying yes when most people would say no…and then saying no when most would say yes, you frustrate the heck out of me. That said, I need you in my life. You’re the landmark I keep coming back to, and when we’re together, I think everything is going to be okay. I see a change in you when I’m around, too. Whatever it is between us, it works. You can’t deny that.”
He was right. I couldn’t.
“I accept what you told me about the night we fought Sebastian,” he continued. “Everything…except that there’s no hope for us. Your thoughts may run different than ours now, but ultimately you are one of us. Everything I’m capable of, you are, too. I won’t push you to leave your family again. And I won’t push for more than what we have now…well, maybe I will occasionally…but I’m not giving up hope that we will be together. Not until I know for myself there’s no hope left. So what do you think about that?”
The way he said it made me smile. “Why are you always so sure you’re right about things?”
“Because I usually am. I don’t want to make things more painful for you. I wouldn’t keep trying if I thought it would turn out badly for us.”
He believed what he was saying. I wanted to believe it, too.
“I can tell you’re tired,” he said. “So take your ugly pajamas and go back to bed. We’ll talk tomorrow, okay?”
“Tomorrow,” I agreed.
When I put my phone down, the lights flickered off and then on a couple of times. Theron came out of his room and started going through the camping equipment piled high in the corner.
“What’s with the lights?” I asked.
“I’m betting the power is going to go out, and my generator is broken. This place is cold enough when the heat is working. It’s going to be icy without it. We’d better sleep by the fireplace tonight or we risk freezing to death in our sleep. Somewhere in this mess I’ve got cold-weather sleeping bags and a camping mattress.”
The lights flickered again and then went out for good.
“Crap,” Theron muttered as he kept digging.
“Nikki looked worse today than when I first saw her,” I commented. “I don’t know how much longer she can last.”
Theron threw a sleeping bag out of the pile. “She’ll be back with her parents soon.”
“It feels like Spencer and Katherine are playing with her life. I told her I’d help her get home. I hate waiting to make that happen.”
He turned a look on me. “Jacob needs to keep her alive for his own health. So stop worrying about her dying.”
He threw out a deflated air mattress.
“Jacob isn’t in charge. Phoebe says he’s only good at following orders.”
“Look, I want to help her, too, but we can’t do it tonight. And if I can’t find the other sleeping bag, we’re going to have to share. We’re both big people. It would not be comfortable.”
“Fine,” I replied. “I’ll just sit here with my mouth shut.”
“I can’t imagine anything better,” he said.
He did find the sleeping bag, and when we had everything set up in front of the fire, I snuggled into it.
“You know, all I ever wanted was a normal life,” I said. “I got this instead.”
“What? Sleeping on the floor?”
“No. Contemplating death and murder.”
He punched his pillow a few times and lay down. “Spencer has that effect on people.”
“I’d just like to wake up in the morning and be certain who I am, no
t anxious for my family, and not worried about what I’m going to have to do to keep them safe.”
He turned on his side to look at me. “I’m not usually the introspective type,” he said, “but I get the feeling you don’t think about what makes you happy very often. Maybe you should give that a try. If you didn’t have any worries, what would you want to do tomorrow, or next week…or next year?”
Other than what book I wanted to read next, I made plans based on what was necessary, not what I wanted. I almost didn’t know where to start, but I let my mind wander until it focused on something. “I’d like to come back here in the spring,” I said.
“Why?” he asked with disbelief.
“I like the quiet here, and I want to see this valley like you painted it.”
“Oh. You saw my painting in the art studio?”
“Yep. I loved it.”
There wasn’t a smile on his face, but I could hear it in his voice when he replied, “You can use the cabin anytime you want. My grandparents gave it to me. I’ll get you a key before you leave.”
“Can I join your loosely knit, highly skilled criminal network, too?”
“Why would you want to?”
I shrugged like I didn’t know. But I did. I wanted to be a part of Theron’s life after the Ledges mess was cleaned up.
“I’ll have to interview you first,” he said. “What criminal type skills do you have?”
“I can manipulate people’s thoughts. It doesn’t get more underhanded than that.”
“True. I’d have to teach you some hacking, though. We do have standards.”
“Okay,” I agreed.
“Now stop thinking about Nikki and try to sleep.”
I lay awake for a long time after he dozed off. He’d posed a good question…what did I want to do?
I started making a list in my head. I wanted to go to Thailand and eat real Thai food, I wanted to spend a week looking through the Louvre, I wanted to cut my hair, and I wanted to see Leonardo da Vinci’s notebook. The list went on and on until I fell asleep thinking I wanted to skateboard through a mall with Alex and maybe get booked into jail by the police. He’d think that was fun.
When I woke up, Theron was making breakfast in the kitchen. “Still no power, but the stove is gas,” he said, flipping a pancake. “At least we’ll get a warm breakfast.”
It smelled delicious. Once again, I was grateful Theron learned to cook. “What time is it?”
“Nine.”
“Wow, you let me sleep in. I’ll bet it’s been driving you crazy to be quiet.”
He smiled over at me. “Yep.”
I’d promised to use thoughtmaking on him, and the time was right for it. Joining my mind to his I slipped I should make some hash browns between two of his thoughts.
“Do you want hash browns?” he asked, with his brows drawn together like he didn’t really understand what he was offering.
“Do you want them?”
“Not really. I don’t have the stuff for them anyway. Huh…why did I offer to make them?”
“And that, my friend, is what it feels like to have a thoughtmaker in your head,” I told him, giggling.
His eyes got wide. “No way.”
“You owe me now,” I said. “Can I see one of your paintings?”
“Go ahead, but you can only look at one. I don’t like to show my stuff to anyone until I’m entirely finished with it.”
I nodded, got up, and hop-stepped across the room. After picking up the nearest canvas, I took it back to the warmth of my sleeping bag.
Theron had painted a portrait of a girl. She was around twenty, her hair was honey-colored, and she had gold-brown eyes. She was looking up and to the right, with a smile that touched not just her lips but her eyes, too.
“Of course you’d pick that one,” he said, bringing me a plate of pancakes and eggs.
“It’s Amy, isn’t it?” I asked quietly.
He nodded and took the canvas from my hand. “I painted it about six months before my brother came to visit me in New York. That’s when it happened. I brought this here thinking I’d burn it or something. Kind of a final gesture to close that part of my past.” He shook his head. “I haven’t been able to do it yet.”
It was such a sensitive issue for him, but I got the feeling he needed to talk about it. “How did it happen?” I pushed.
“Suddenly, is the best way to explain it. One day Amy and I were making plans to spend spring break together. The next she was packing her things and moving to California with Zack.”
“Have you seen either of them since?”
“No, and I don’t plan on seeing them anytime soon.”
“Are you angry with them?”
“I don’t know. Zack and I never got along, but I guess I’m glad he found his partner. I’m not really mad at Amy, either. I actually want her to be happy. I’m just…”
“Hurting,” I finished for him. “Has she tried to contact you?”
“A couple times. When I see her name on the caller ID, I don’t answer.”
“You should take her call next time. Listening to what she has to say might help you feel better.”
“Hum,” he said. “Thanks for the advice. I’ll think about it.”
“I have a question for you, but you may not want to answer it,” I said.
He gave me his evil smile again. “I’ll tell you if I don’t.”
I cleared my throat. “If you could do it over again and chose not to love Amy, would you? I mean, if it meant not having your heart broken, would you change what happened between you?”
He thought about it. “I can’t answer that question. I’m not sure.”
“Has it gotten any easier since she left? They say time heals all wounds and that kind of thing.”
“Yes and no. I miss her less, but I don’t love her less. What keeps me going is the thought that someday, I’ll love someone more.”
“That’s poetic. Maybe you should add studying literature to your future plans.”
“I’m not making future plans,” he said, taking the canvas back to its place against the wall. “I’m going to live like a traveling hobo, remember?”
I lay back to stretch. “What are we going to do today? I mean, before I have to disrupt a Truss meeting and possibly be killed because I’m a spy.”
“We can decide that later. I’ve got to go to Frank’s. With the power out, he’s going to need more wood for his fire.”
“My shoulder is stiff but not sore anymore,” I said, pulling the sleeping bag edge up to my chin. “I should probably try to rest, though.”
He attempted to be quiet as he got ready to leave, but it was like a boxer performing a ballet…awkward and ultimately unsuccessful.
As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t sleep after he left. I’d started to really miss home. I hadn’t talked to my mom since I left, so I tried her cell phone.
“Hey, sweetheart,” she answered. “How’s the snowboarding?”
“Good, but there was a bad storm last night. It knocked the power out, so the lifts might be down today.”
“Just stay in. Get a massage or something. You’re always busy with work and school when you’re here. Some time to relax will do you good.”
I chuckled. “How would you know, Mom? Do you ever relax?”
“I cuddle with your dad now and again.”
“Ugh. You could just have said yes and left it at that.”
“Oh, Alison. I’m not stupid. I’m sure you’re getting some cuddling with Ian, too. Although that’s all you better be doing.”
I hadn’t been cuddling with Ian. I’d been sleeping on the floor next to Theron, but she didn’t need to know that.
“Is Dad taking Alex golfing today?” I asked.
“No. A great family just moved in. Alex is becoming friends with the boy his age. They’re going to the skateboard park and then to a movie.”
I was pretty sure Alex’s new friend was one of Ian’s relatives.
“Does he have a sister I can bond with?”
“I know you’re asking that sarcastically. You’re with Ian all the time.”
She was right. I was grateful all over again that he hadn’t cut me out of his life.
“I’m making a special lasagna tomorrow night to welcome you back,” she continued. “You can invite him over if you want to.”
“I will,” I replied.
“I should go, honey. I’ve got a yoga class in thirty minutes. Remember what I said…rest and relax.”
After the call, I tried to read one of Theron’s tech magazines, but gave up on page two. I ate another pancake, walked around looking at his piles of crap in the corners, and then plopped down into a chair. It was miraculous Theron was still sane. Boredom was killing me.
What would you want to do today, or next week…or next year? I asked myself.
The answer was pretty simple as far as that day was concerned. I wanted to talk to Phoebe. I wanted to see her once as a friend, not as someone sent to betray her. And I had one last opportunity to do it.
The snowplow’s engine roared on the road and its blades scraped along the asphalt. The way to the Ledges would be clear. I took it as a sign to get off my butt and finally do something only I wanted to do.
I moved my arm around in a three-sixty to test for pain. It was okay. My scrapes and bruises had healed, too.
Theron kept the keys to his Land Rover on the kitchen counter. I picked them up. I wasn’t going to steal his car. I just needed to borrow it. He’d be red-hot angry when he found out, but I could take the heat. At least, I hoped I could.
I texted Phoebe to ask if the lifts were working. She said yes, so I texted back that I was coming up for an early run. She messaged saying she’d meet me at the lifts in thirty minutes.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“I only have time to do one today,” I said, adjusting my board on the lift up.
“Yeah, me, too,” Phoebe replied. “I’m flying home in a few hours.”
“Seriously? I thought you were staying until tomorrow.”
“I was supposed to, but last night I told Jacob he was an idiot and his ideas were crap. I said it kind of loud. Really loud, actually. Everyone on the third floor probably heard me.”
