Текст книги "Sweet Reckoning"
Автор книги: Wendy Higgins
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Текущая страница: 2 (всего у книги 17 страниц)
“Is he one of you?” Patti whispered to me under her breath.
I looked him over. No supernatural badge at his sternum to signify a demon or Neph. I shook my head. “He’s definitely not from around here, though.”
“Call the cops,” she said.
I did as she asked. While we waited, the guy began to murmur. He was a mess, bleeding from his arm, with a purpling lump on the side of his head. Patti shifted her stance, appearing as uneasy with the sight as I was.
“Please,” he whimpered. “Don’t turn me in. He’ll kill me.”
My pulse, which had finally started to settle, went wild again.
“Who?” I asked.
I wanted to naively believe this was a random break-in.
“He’ll kill me!” he said again.
The door to the apartment opened and I heard footsteps.
“Mrs. Whitt?” a man called. “It’s the police.”
“Please,” the perpetrator begged.
“Back here!” Patti yelled. And to the man on the floor she said, “It’s too late.”
The police took him away and spent over an hour questioning us and examining the apartment. The bolt lock was not broken, so he’d somehow picked it. A definite professional.
“And you have no idea why this man would break in and attack you?” he asked. Again.
“No,” I said, and it was the truth. I was baffled. He hadn’t been trying to kill me; of that I felt certain. It was as if I’d taken him by surprise and forced him to attack. He’d been there for something, but it wasn’t me.
Just as the officer was putting away his pad of paper, another cop walked in and approached. He held out a plastic bag with a small, pink wad of cloth inside. It looked vaguely familiar.
“I think we figured out why our perp broke in,” said the cop. “Panty thief.”
Gah! My freaking underwear!
Patti gasped, and the interviewing officer sighed, shaking his head. “Well, you two gals sure put a hurtin’ on him. I don’t usually suggest that people fight intruders if they can avoid it, but I commend you both.”
“Thank you, officers,” Patti said.
After they left, we stood there in the silence staring at each other, her curly strawberry blond hair askew. I was glad we’d be moving soon, because our home was now tainted. Everything about the place felt violated and unsafe.
Where did you get the gun? I asked her, using my hands to sign in case any Dukes or enemy Neph were listening nearby.
Your dad.
Well, that figured. I was glad she had it, though.
Who sent this man? The second she finished signing the question, my stomach dropped, and I knew.
In slow letters I spelled out, Pharzuph.
The Duke of Lust, my boyfriend’s father, was behind this. He was checking to see if we’d followed through with the lie Dad had told them at the New Year summit seven months ago. Pharzuph wanted to know if I was still a virgin, a state of being that was unheard of for a Nephilim of my age. Only Pharzuph would have the ability to smell someone’s virginity in such a way. A disgusted shiver raked up my back. I shook it off and stood up straight.
All right Dukes, I thought. It’s on.
UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE
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CHAPTER THREE
CRAZY DAY
After I calmed myself and worked up enough nerve to return to my trashed room, I dialed Kaidan on video chat and told him everything. He might not have shown any emotional colors, but the murderous look on his face said it all. He rubbed his palms roughly over his eyes, then dug his fingers into his hair.
“They’re meeting in Vegas tonight. He must’ve sent someone before they even started. I want you out of there.”
“I know,” I said. “We’re going to a hotel. Not that we can hide for long, but at least we can make them work for it if they’re after me. I want to tell my dad, but I’m afraid to text him while he’s in the meeting.”
“Wait a bit and see if he contacts you.”
I nodded and chewed my lip.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
“Yes, but he scared the crap out of me,” I admitted. “Then I just felt determined, and it sort of overrode my fear, so that was good.”
“Good. I’m glad you didn’t freeze up. And Patti is a rock star under pressure, yeah?” His words were light, but serious anger still clung to his features.
“Yes. She is.”
“What did Jay want?”
I told him the whole story about Jay and Veronica, but he didn’t seem surprised. Neph were used to seeing relationships crumble. In fact, they were the cause of many breakups.
“They’ll be all right, luv,” he said.
“Yeah,” I whispered.
My plan had been to stay up that night chatting with Kaidan—to make use of every second we had—but I felt skittish after the attack, like staying stationary was too dangerous.
“You should go,” Kaidan said, reading my mind.
I stared at him on the screen, his handsome face with slight worry lines between his eyes.
“I love you,” I said.
His head tilted and the worry line smoothed. “I love you, too.”
Those words, in that voice, from that mouth, did so many things to me.
I kissed my fingers and touched his cheek on the screen. He did the same, and with reluctance, we disconnected.
It didn’t take long for Patti and me to grab our emergency bags with all the essentials and get out of town. We stopped at a hotel one hour away.
We entertained ourselves playing Skip-Bo and Yahtzee. We were just starting to get sleepy when my phone rang. My heart banged against my ribs when I saw Dad’s number.
“Hello?”
“Where are you?” His voice was low and quiet.
“Hotel in Georgia.”
“Alone?”
“With P.”
“Separate. From here on out, you need to be together as seldom as possible.”
“Okay.” I looked at Patti, who sat across from me on the bed, watching me and taking shallow breaths as she waited for news. “Something happened tonight.”
“Go on.”
I told him about the attacker and his thwarted attempt to steal my underwear. Dad’s stewing silence was like a ticking bomb.
“Stay away from the apartment.” His raspy, violence-filled voice gave me the chills.
“Is anyone working the Atlanta area tonight?” I asked, referring to demons.
“No. Everyone’ll be heading out in the morning, but keep your eyes open. I’ll be in touch soon.”
I hung up and looked at Patti. “He wants us to separate tonight. I’ll come get you in the morning.”
Her chin quivered for one second before she cleared her throat and nodded. “Please be careful, Anna. I want you to take the gun.”
She reached for her bag, but I stopped her. “No. You keep it. I’ve been training with the knives and always have them on me.”
Patti hugged me hard, and I set off with a lump in my throat.
I drove without purpose or direction. When my phone rang I was happy to see Marna’s number.
“We’re in Atlanta. Where are you?” she asked.
I made a split-second decision and said, “I’ll come to you.” Normally I stayed in the outskirts of Atlanta and avoided the inner city because of Pharzuph and heavy whisperer counts, but the demons were in Vegas tonight, so the coast should be clear. We agreed on a hotel, and when I met the twins in the lobby an hour later I squeezed Marna around her thin shoulders. I planned to give Ginger a quick hug, if she’d let me, but to my surprise she held on when I tried to let go.
“Is Blake dead?” she asked in a dry voice.
“What? No!” I pulled back, and she closed her eyes, puffing up her chest. “I’m so sorry, Ginger. I didn’t mean to scare you.” I lowered my voice. “It was Flynn.”
The sisters looked simultaneously dejected and relieved by the news of whom we’d lost. Marna smoothed her flight attendant uniform down and let out a giant breath.
“Come on,” I said. “I’m getting a room, and I’ll tell you everything.”
The girls and I got comfortable in the hotel room, and I told them the entire story of L.A.—everything from me staying at Kaidan’s place, to Kai and Kope going to Syria to save Zania, to the island—and then the attack in my apartment today. I left out the fact that Blake had a girlfriend who he’d soon be forced to marry per his father’s orders, because I didn’t think Ginger could take it.
They were speechless for a long while.
“It’s starting,” Marna finally said.
“Yep,” I whispered.
“Bring it, arseholes,” Ginger said.
In a rare moment of camaraderie I stuck out my fist and Ginger bumped it, causing Marna to say, “Aww!” Ginger rolled her eyes.
My phone rang, once again sending my heart into my throat. Would it always be like this now? Constant trepidation?
I let out a breath when I saw the screen. “It’s just Jay.”
Marna’s beautiful gray eyes got big when I answered. It was loud in the background.
“What are you up to tonight?” he asked.
“Nothing much.” I winked at Marna. “What’s up?”
“I dunno. I kinda don’t want to go home after work and be alone. I thought maybe if you were at a party or something, I’d hit it up and hang with you.”
I couldn’t remember the last time Jay wanted to hang with me. I mean, naturally a guy should want to hang with his girlfriend, and I always understood that, but it felt kind of nice. I’d missed him.
“Where are you?” I asked.
“I’m deejaying in Atlanta, but I’m done in half an hour.”
I grinned. Marna grinned. Ginger rolled her eyes again.
“What if some friends and I come to you instead?”
“For real? That’s cool. This club is eighteen and up.”
He gave us the name of the place, which was only fifteen minutes from the hotel.
I felt bad on the walk over. Jay and Veronica hadn’t been broken up a whole day, and I was bringing his dream girl straight to him. Veronica would be offended and hurt, even though the breakup had been mutual. I had no idea if Jay would still be appealing to Marna now that he was single. Maybe I was worrying about nothing.
Jay looked super cute from across the club in his backward hat and freshly shaven face. The DJ booth was raised up at the edge of the dance floor, and Jay held headphones to one ear with his shoulder while he changed CDs and adjusted dials. From the corner of my eye I saw Marna staring. Hard.
A group of guys in tight shirts flanked us when we walked in.
“Piss off,” Ginger said.
Apparently American guys were just as magnetized by an English accent as we American girls were, because they went a little goofy.
“You’re British?” one of the guys asked, starry-eyed.
Judging by the look of annoyance on Ginger’s face, she didn’t think it was cute. She grabbed Marna’s hand, who in turn grabbed mine, and we moved past them. I shot an apologetic look over my shoulder, because, well, I understood.
As Ginger wove us through the crowd and onto the dance floor, my mouth watered at the sight of people’s drinks held high. After the week I’d had, my system was begging for alcohol, but as the daughter of the Duke of Substance Abuse, one drink would only fuel my longing for a whole lot more.
I focused on the DJ booth instead.
Ahead of me I heard Ginger ask Marna, “Are you sure about this?”
Marna’s head nod was small, but certain.
The girls stopped just as a dark, sensual song with a thumping bass came on. It was the kind of song that made you want to move your body, but all I could do was stand there and gawk with everyone else as the twins broke into a smokin’ hot dance.
Red auras popped up in fizzing bursts all around them as they moved against each other in perfect sync. I glanced up at the DJ booth and found Jay’s aura blowing up like a firecracker, orange, yellow, and red. He tore his eyes away from the girls and found me, which seemed to settle his aura a little. And then a strand of grayish guilt crept in.
He gave me a wide-eyed look that seemed to ask, What are you thinking?
I gave him a small smile and shrug. The twins were only here for a night. It wasn’t like Jay and Marna were going to fall in love or do anything crazy in a matter of hours.
When the song ended and the twins were applauded, we left the dance floor and found a table.
“I’m getting a drink,” Ginger said. She gave us pointed looks, I suppose as her way of asking if we wanted anything.
“One for me, as well,” Marna said.
Yes. “No, thanks,” I told her.
As Ginger left, Marna lifted the hair off her neck and fanned herself. “Jay’s looking fit.”
The way she gazed at him was sweet. “He’s single. In case you’re wondering.”
She dropped her hair, and her big, rounded eyes sparkled. “Are you being serious?”
“Yes. But Marna . . . it just happened today.”
Her face fell. “Oh.” Brokenhearted boys on the rebound were not a good idea, but they held a certain appeal.
Ginger came back with two identical red mixed drinks and set one in front of her sister. They made a silent toast and both drank. I allowed myself a few seconds of envy before looking away.
Fifteen minutes later Jay was handing over the reigns to another guy and joining us. Marna didn’t try to hold back her beautiful smile. She stood, bouncing on her toes, and ran to hug him.
“Way to play hard to get,” Ginger mumbled.
Jay held her with his eyes closed. He was a good bit taller than her now. They pulled back enough to look at each other, and my heart gave a squeeze at the way they gazed with open adoration.
“This kid is not good for her,” Ginger said under her breath.
I didn’t respond. What Ginger meant was that Jay was good for Marna, but in our world, good was bad. Marna couldn’t afford to fall in love when she was expected to work as an adulteress. Kaidan and I posed a huge danger to each other, but we’d chosen to be together anyway. Jay knew nothing about angels, demons, or Nephilim. Starting something with him would only end up in heartache for Marna and him both.
I should have probably thought this through better.
“What are y’all doing here?” Jay asked. He looked down at Marna’s uniform. “Layover?”
“Just a quick one. We leave at five a.m.”
Jay whistled. “Well, this is a nice surprise. It’s great to see you.” He smiled, but the edges of his eyes drooped from the day’s emotion.
Marna patted his cheek. “Come on, gorgeous. Let’s get out of here.”
The four of us left together, Marna never letting go of Jay’s hand. Ginger glared down at their joined hands from behind them. I understood her worry about Marna, and I had my own worries about Jay’s vulnerable, human heart, but I also knew it would do no good to try and come between them.
We exited into the hot, muggy night, and Ginger wrinkled her nose.
“It’s bloody stifling here in the summer.”
“Yep,” I agreed, though I was used to it.
“What do you guys wanna do?” Jay asked. “There’s a diner on the corner that makes awesome milkshakes.”
“Ooh!” Marna clapped her hands.
“I’m beat,” Ginger said.
“You can go back to the room,” Marna told her.
Ginger narrowed her eyes. “Not without you.”
I expected Marna to cave to her sister’s forceful wishes, as usual, but she held her ground. “You can stay or leave, but I’m not ready to go.” Marna lifted her chin.
Ginger’s little nose flared in annoyance as they battled in a silent stare-down. Then she snapped, “Don’t stay out late.”
“Bye, Ginger,” I called as she sashayed away.
“See ya,” she answered, not looking back.
“You seem tired, too,” Marna said to me with a sympathetic tilt of her head.
Dude. I was pretty sure Marna had just told me to get lost. I was beyond exhausted, now that she mentioned it.
“Yeah, I am.” I looked at Jay. “You okay?”
His mouth went up on one side in a half grin. “Sure.” He threw an arm around me and pulled me in, then the three of us walked to the diner, which was a few blocks from my hotel.
“I’m gonna head out,” I told them. “Please be careful.”
“We will,” they answered together.
“I’ll call you tomorrow,” I said to Jay, then I walked to the hotel with a dainty switchblade in my closed fist, eyeing every shadow until I was safe in my room. I checked the bathroom, closet, and under the bed before flopping down on it.
I texted Patti to let her know I was safe, and she texted right back. We kept the messages brief and generic, but I still deleted them.
Without bothering to stand, I stripped off my jeans and tossed them to the floor. As I was about to climb under the covers and call Kaidan, I got a devious thought.
I turned on the camera feature of my phone, struck a pose, and took a picture of the bottom half of my body. It was so silly looking that I started laughing at myself. How in the world had I landed Mr. Sexy?
Determined, I struck different poses, shaking my head, laughing, or groaning at each picture, and deleting them immediately. And then I took one that made my whole body go still.
Wow.
That one was kind of . . . nice. I was lying on my side, one leg hitched up with my feet tangled in the covers, and it was a great shot all the way from my lower back down. I was wearing panties with black lace trim, nothing crazy, but the whole angle really worked.
I stared at the picture for a long while. My thumb hovered over the Send button, then over the Delete button. I chewed my lip. Kaidan loved me. He’d be shocked if I sent this pic, but he wouldn’t think less of me. Still, each time I envisioned him opening it, I felt a hot wave of embarrassment. I hit Save and dropped the phone next to me, falling back on the pillows. Maybe I’d send it someday. Maybe.
UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE
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CHAPTER FOUR
HELLOS AND GOOD-BYES
A light, persistent knocking woke me at four in the morning. I saw Ginger through the peephole, and let her in. My eyes darted down the hall, but there was no sign of Marna. It was the first time Ginger had ever looked less than perfect. Small purple bags rested under her eyes.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. “Where’s Marna?”
“She went home with your friend last night,” Ginger spat. “We had a row about it over the phone, but she wouldn’t listen. You have to reign in that bloke of yours, Anna.”
“Ginger . . .” Man, she was prickly this morning.
“No, Anna. This is bloody serious, and you know it. She’s already talking about coming back to see him next week!”
Anxiety spread through me like nettles. This was the worst time for any of us to veer off our paths. The Dukes and whisperers would be watching. If she started making frequent trips to Atlanta, her father was likely to notice.
“You can use your persuasive ability thing,” Ginger said.
I shook my head. “It won’t work if they want to be together. They’ll fight it.”
Marna was desperate for love. And Jay was a relationship kind of guy, who was on the rebound with a girl he was wild about.
“I’ll talk to Jay,” I promised.
Ginger pulled out her phone and shoved it under my nose, asking, “By the way, have you seen this?”
I took the phone from her. It was an article from a Santa Barbara newspaper. The headline read LOCAL EXTREME sports star engaged. It had a picture of Blake and his girlfriend,
er . . . fiancée, Michelle, sitting on one of his motorbikes, beaming. They looked gorgeous. And in love.
“Oh no,” I whispered. I looked into Ginger’s broken face. “His father is making him.”
“Whatev.” She snatched the phone back and shoved it into her purse with a shaking hand.
“Ginger—”
“Gotta go. Take care.” She slung her purse over her shoulder and left.
I tried to go back to sleep, but I couldn’t relax. Ginger and I weren’t exactly friends, but I still hated to see her upset. Marna and Blake were the only people she cared about.
At five I pushed myself out of bed. By seven I was parking outside of Jay’s house, greeted by the scent of wild honeysuckle bushes. His home was quiet, everyone sleeping in since it was a Saturday. I let myself in, like everyone did at Jay’s place. He was conked out on his rumpled bed, lying diagonal across it. I sat next to him and gave his shoulder a gentle shake.
“Jay,” I whispered.
He didn’t budge. I shook him harder and said his name louder. With his eyes closed, he grinned and flung a heavy arm over my lap.
“Jay, it’s me. Anna!”
His eyes cracked open and he pulled his arm away.
“Dude. Sorry.” His voice was groggy. “What time is it?”
“It’s seven. I need to talk to you.”
He sat up and scrubbed his eyes with the back of his wrists before giving me his sleepy attention.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to jump right into something with Marna.”
He blinked and scratched his short hair with both hands.
“It’s nothing to worry about. I can’t believe you came all the way out here to say that.”
“I’m serious, Jay. I love you both, and I don’t want to see either of you hurt. Plus, if Veronica found out . . .”
“She dumped me. I’m allowed to have a little fun, right?” Guilt spun around his chest. “We’re just hanging out.”
I gave him my “yeah, right” look, and he gave me a sheepish grin.
“You’re not gonna tell Roni, are you?” he asked.
“No way.” The breakup was mostly her doing, but she’d still go ballistic with jealousy if she found out he’d immediately moved on with her nemesis.
“Do you hate me?” he asked.
“Of course not.” I needed to talk sense into Jay, but I knew how it felt to fall for somebody. Nothing anyone said could stop it. “It’s just that Marna lives in England,” I explained. “And her dad is really controlling. He’d never let her move here.”
“Yeah, I know. But she’s a flight attendant, so she can come here on her days off and stuff.”
He sounded way too hopeful.
“That’s such a long trip, Jay. It’s going to get really tiring.”
“You’re the one with a boyfriend on the other side of the country, so you don’t have much room to talk.”
Hmph. Well, crap.
“Anna,” he said, searching for words. “There’s just something about Marna. I didn’t think we’d ever be able to be together, you know? But I’ve always thought about her. Probably too much. Roni used to test me. She’d ask stuff like, ‘What would you do if that British girl came back right now and tried to get you to break up with me?’ And I’d tell her she was crazy for asking, ’cause I knew that would never happen, but really . . .” He cleared his throat and dropped his eyes. “I knew what I’d do. As much as I loved Roni, I always thought about Marna. Everything feels different with her. Bigger. I can’t explain it. Like she’s my soul mate or something—and I don’t even believe in that crap.”
“I get it, Jay. I really do. But Marna isn’t at a time of her life when she can settle down with you. I don’t want you to get your hopes up about her.”
“You worry too much.” He slid back down into his bed and closed his eyes.
I rubbed the top of his thick blond hair and sighed. “Go back to sleep.”
“Nigh’-night,” he mumbled.
And he fell asleep. How nice would it feel to be so free of worries you could slide into sleep that easily? I hoped Jay’s life would always be like that.
Outside in the warm morning I climbed into my car and called Patti.
“You doing okay?” I asked her.
“Fine. You?”
“Yeah. Just tired. I think you should stay where you are until it’s time to move.”
She sighed. “You’re probably right. There’s plenty of stuff in walking distance. I should go over to the store and get a couple novels to keep me busy. I’ll need my car eventually.”
“Yeah. Once I get word, I’ll come get you and we can run back to the apartment to grab our stuff and leave.”
“All right, sweetie. Be safe.”
A sudden chill slid up my spine. My thumb hit the End button and I heard the Legionnaire chuckling inside my head—a rattling, insidious sound. I turned and jumped at the sight of the dark whisperer behind me in the car. Its ugly face grinned in gleeful malice, and its giant wings stretched through the sides of my car. How long had it been there? The hearing of demon spirits wasn’t very good, but in this small, quiet space the whisperer would’ve had no trouble. I went over the conversation in my mind, searching for anything incriminating I might have said. Any little thing could be used against me at this point.
“What do you want?” I asked, letting my irritation show.
Again, it chuckled, and without answering flew away. What the heck was that about? Just a checkup? I had to be more careful—constantly on guard. This was why Marna needed to stay away from Jay. Hopefully she would do the smart thing. For once I was siding with Ginger.
Not knowing if or when Pharzuph might come back to town, I got out of Atlanta and drove to a mall. I walked around all day, buying a few things. At four o’clock I went to see a movie by myself, which was lonely, but it passed the time.
I never stopped looking for demon spirits.
Veronica called to see if I wanted to hang out, but I told her I couldn’t. The incident with the whisperer in my car was too fresh on my mind. I promised her we’d see each other before she left in five days. I hoped I could keep that promise.
My anxiety was rising. Dad hadn’t contacted me or sent his ally spirit, Azael, with any messages. I hated waiting. By the end of day three I’d bitten off all my pretty fingernails. I’d seen a whisperer every day. Each day one would find me, swoop down, circle me, and leave, as if monitoring my location. The only good thing was that after they spotted me, they left me alone.
On day four, after my daily whisperer sighting, I went to see Veronica.
“I can’t stay long,” I said. All of her bags were packed in her room, and stuff was lying around with the look of someone in the midst of moving. Something inside me ached at the sight.
Close to Veronica’s chest, like a thin band around her, was a deep, blue sadness. On top of that was a fizz of orange excitement with a sprinkle of gray nervousness. Emotions were funny things.
I reached for her hand and she took it, then looked down at my fingers.
“What did you do to your nails?”
“Oh . . . I’ve been kind of stressed.”
“Sheesh, Anna! You could’ve at least cleaned them up with a file. Can I do your nails? For old times’ sake?”
“Sure,” I said.
Her dark, thick hair had been recently cut and blown out in a voluminous style around her jawline. I memorized the look of perfectly drawn eyeliner around her almond eyes, the slant of her regal nose.
We sat down on the floor with her basket of polishes.
Veronica talked to my nails. “Don’t worry, you poor things. Roni’ll take care of you.”
She gently filed the messy nubs, and I bit back a wave of emotion.
“How’s Jay?” she asked without looking up.
I cleared my throat. “He’s . . . okay. How are you?”
“I’m okay, too, I guess. It’s weird, though. I miss him. But I feel like I don’t have the right to call him anymore. It’s hard to stay friends after you’ve been together.”
“Yeah,” I whispered. “I wonder if you’ll meet someone in Spain.”
She grinned up at me. “We’ll see. I don’t want anything serious, but I’m counting on a lot of hotties in my near future.”
“I’ll miss you,” I said.
She patted my hand. “Don’t get sappy. No tears. Just think of me when you do your nails, ’kay? And for God’s sake, don’t bite them anymore.”
My poor nails were the least of my concerns.
UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE
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CHAPTER FIVE
MARNA
I missed Kaidan like crazy. It’d only been five days since our video chat, but it felt so much longer. We were trying to stay cautious—to chat only when we knew it was safe, but it was hard.
I was tired of bouncing around to different hotels every day, hanging out in their gross bars sipping Cokes so that if whisperers came I could jump into action. I was only eighteen, but I had a fake ID to buy alcohol if necessary. I was bored, lonely, and impatient, waiting for Dad to give me the thumbs-up to leave for Virginia Tech.
I was surprised to see Ginger’s number calling me that afternoon as I sat in my hotel room, reading about a swoony alien guy. Books were about the only thing that could distract my anxious mind.
“Is she with you?” Ginger asked, sounding frantic. “She” was obviously Marna.
“No.”
“Shite! She snuck off when we got stateside.”
I set down my book and sat up. “Are you here?”
“No. I’m in Newark, the armpit of the bleedin’ world. Will you find out if she’s with your friend and call me straight away?”
“Okay.”
We hung up, and I called Jay. It rang so many times I thought voice mail would pick up, but then he answered.
“What’s up?”
“Is Marna with you?” I asked.
“Um . . .” He got quiet.
“That’s a yes.” I sighed. This was not good.
I heard Marna say in the background, “Argh! Just tell my sister I’ll be back in time for our morning flight!”
“She just wanted to know where you were,” I said.
“Well, she’s suffocating me. I don’t have to answer to her.”
“Dude,” Jay said. “How can you two hear each other when the phone’s at my ear?”
We both got quiet.
“I’ll tell her she’s okay,” I said, and then hung up.
Ginger answered immediately and I told her, “She’s fine. She’s working here tonight, but she’ll be back in time for your flight in the morning.”
“Ugh!” Ginger screamed into the phone, and disconnected.
Four hours later I was sitting on a stool in a bar, playing a game on my phone and ignoring the stares from two men when Ginger called again.
“We need to meet so you can take me to them,” she said. “This has to stop.”
“You’re here? I don’t think this is a good—”
“Just meet me.” She sounded desperate.
We met in front of the superstore in Cartersville. We both stepped out of our cars into the humidity, searching the skies and crossing our arms.
“Take me to her,” Ginger demanded.
I hesitated.
“I think Marna needs to get this out of her system,” I told her. “I’m worried that the more you try to stop her, the more she’ll cling to him.”
She appeared to be barely containing her anger. “I swear, Anna. I’ll chain her up if I have to, but she is not staying another night with him. I won’t let her endanger herself for some stupid human boy.”
I took a deep breath. These were touchy circumstances. If whisperers caught Marna hooking up with a boy, just for fun and not for the purpose of making him cheat, her father would have her killed. Worse yet, the Dukes would probably make a spectacle of her death as a lesson to the other Neph about the importance of working.
“If I take you to her, will you promise to try and stay calm?”
Ginger gave me a tight smile. “I’ll be calm.”
I so did not believe that, but while I couldn’t tell her how to deal with her sister, I could tell her how to deal with my best friend.
“I can’t have you yelling at Jay. He doesn’t understand.”
“Fine.”
“All right. Let’s go.”
I took us to Jay’s house and texted him from the gravel driveway to let him know we were there. I didn’t want to walk in on anything.
