A Touch Menacing (14 page)

“I’m hanging in there,” she wheezed. A cough tickled her windpipe, but she swallowed it down despite the taste in the back of her throat.

Jarrod took her elbow, Sullivan on the other side. “I really don’t like this, though,” he said.

“I don’t like it either,” Eden said. Earlier, Madeline had agreed to help them, to meet her. Half an hour ago, Eden had gotten a text from her abruptly retracting the offer. When Eden asked for a reason, there’d been no response. Kristen hadn’t answered her calls. She had no number for Erin, or Vaughn, though she couldn’t imagine calling him.

Eden scanned the pedestrians walking on either side of the street, the rooftops above them. Coming back to the apartment after Gabe’s warning was foolish, stupid, but she had no choice. Without a Sider, she’d crumble to ash. “If there’s anyone on the stairs,” she said, trying to reassure Jarrod and Sullivan, “I’ll take them quick and we’ll head to Milton’s. Maybe there’s a chance Zach can help us. We at least need to warn him.”

“And he should know how to find some other Siders in the area,” Jarrod said.

Eden squeezed Jarrod’s shoulder hard as a sharp knife of pain stabbed through her. Just as they reached the alley, her legs wobbled. She fought to stay on her feet. Jarrod hitched her up. “You’ve gotta walk, Eden.”

“It hurts so bad,” she panted. Agony blurred her vision. The stairs were so close. If she could just rest for a bit, she knew she could make it. “Stop. Just for a second.”

Before she knew what was happening, Jarrod had set her down and taken off. Sullivan called his name and he twisted around as he ran. “Stay with her,” he demanded.

Eden curled up, not caring about the dirty slush she lay in. “If I don’t . . . Take care of Jarrod, okay?” she begged Sullivan.

“Jesus, Academy Award, he’s already on his way back.” The sarcasm nearly hid the fear in Sullivan’s voice. “You’re not gonna die in the next ten seconds.”

Eden swiped the gathering ashes from her eyes, didn’t believe it until she saw four blurred shapes hurrying toward her. Jarrod dropped down beside her, lifted her until she was sitting. “Ready?” he asked, panting.

The first Sider, a girl, came forward, close. Eden let out a strangled exhale and the girl disintegrated into ash, settling on the dirty drifts of snow.

A tingle spread over Eden’s cheekbones and tickled down her windpipe as her body used the Touch to heal. She laid her head back against Jarrod’s shoulder in relief. Her skin buzzed, electric. She didn’t have to look at her hands to know the gray on her fingers would be gone, if only for a little while.

Sullivan stared at her in wonder. “You look
much
better,” she said.

“We cut it a little too close that time,” Jarrod said as he moved out from behind Eden.

Eden dragged the sleeve of her coat over her face. When she looked up, her vision had cleared, though her eyes were still irritated. “I need another,” she said.

There were two guys left. One stepped forward. The closer he got, the more she could see the heaviness of the Touch he carried. How much he wanted to be free of it. More importantly, he hadn’t been passing.

“Wait. You,” she said to the other Sider as she struggled to her feet. “Have a phone?” He nodded uncertainly. She took it from him and programmed her number in. Instead of a name, she hit the asterisk and handed it back. “Tell everyone you know to spread the word that the Siders are under attack. For protection, they should head to one of the territory leaders. Anyone who needs me, you give my number. I’ll be on the move so they won’t find me here. Have them call and I’ll meet them.” She pointed to the head of the alley, hoping her urgency would be enough for him to take her seriously. “Spread the word today and you can call me tomorrow.”

He gaped at her, holding the phone. “Under attack by
who
?”

“Get your ass out of my alley,” she snapped. She watched him walk away before she turned back to the Sider left behind.

“Hurry, Eden,” Jarrod said from a few yards away. Tension stiffened his stance, as he surveyed from one end of the alley to the other. Sullivan moved from her side to join him.

The Sider in front of her watched in a mixture of reverence and respect. He held out a crumpled fifty-dollar bill. She shoved it into her pocket without thinking.

“So, here’s the deal,” Eden started, her voice low enough not to carry beyond the two of them. She slid closer to him, her feet moving almost on their own. When she took in his Touch, it would make everything so much better. “You’re gonna keep spreading your Touch Upstairs, okay?” She didn’t know if he’d heard about the angels, if he’d remember any of this. “And when they catch you,” Eden went on, squeezing his cheeks, “you tell them to send me Az. Got it? Send me Az or I won’t stop.” She probably looked like a raving lunatic, but didn’t care. The boy breathed faster. She grabbed the collar of his coat. Pure need coursed through her veins.

“Wait. I don’t think I want to—” His mouth pressed into a tight line, his head jerking. Eden exhaled in a steady stream. “Wait!” he cried, and then gasped.

His last frightened cry echoed through the alley as his ashes scattered.

“Send me Az back,” she said, her collarbones thrumming as his Touch settled into her.

“Eden!” Jarrod called sharply. “What the hell?”

She stared down at the freshly trampled snow at her feet. “He panicked at the last second.”

“That was one long ‘last second.’”

“I had to take him.” Eden snapped her neck to the side until it gave a satisfying pop. “I don’t need the guilt trip.”

“When do I need to start doing this?” Sullivan asked.

Eden walked them toward Milton’s. “I’d guess you’ve got another week or so before things get bad. The problem is, with the first Siders you send Downstairs, Luke’s gonna know you exist.”

Jarrod kicked at a chunk of ice. “I don’t think we should wait until she’s sick, Eden.”

Like me,
she thought.
Weak. A burden.
He didn’t say it, but it was written all over his face.

It was a miracle Luke didn’t seem to know about Sullivan already. It would only be a matter of time before he tracked her down once he did. He’d let Eden live because he’d thought her useful, and now because her Siders infected Upstairs. Because Luke had been the one to put an end to Sullivan’s mortal life, she was tied to him. Something he wasn’t going to be thrilled to find out. For now, their best bet was keeping Sullivan’s identity hidden, which meant she shouldn’t be taking Siders out until they had no other choice.

“Jarrod, don’t push this,” Eden said when they got to the street. Her nerves ratcheted up. The Bound could be anywhere. Watching.

Waiting.

Had they seen Jarrod at the stairs? Were there angels waiting this moment for the three of them to come out onto the street? A surge of adrenaline quickened her steps.

“Faster,” Eden said. The Bound wouldn’t attack them in front of mortals. If she could get to Milton’s, they’d be safe. She burst onto the sidewalk, jogging across the street. When she got to the door, she dove for it. The bell clanked against the metal handle as Jarrod and Sullivan barreled in behind her. The mortals in line turned to stare.

Behind the counter, Zach stood frozen, a cup in his hand, halfway through making a coffee. “You finish this,” he said slowly to the other barista standing beside him. “I’ll be right back.”

Zach waved them around the side of the counter, holding open a swinging door to the kitchen. He gave Sullivan a quizzical look as she passed by him. “So she is a Sider, after all?” he asked Jarrod when they were through.

The only time Zach had seen Sullivan was when she’d come into Milton’s looking for Jarrod. Before Luke had killed her. Eden coughed hard, and Zach let it go. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

She couldn’t get the words to come. Didn’t know where to start. Instead, she looked around helplessly. Rows of shelving units took up the right half of the room. To her left, heat waves rolled off a commercial-sized oven. She could smell pastries baking. Her stomach turned.

“We need help,” Jarrod said finally. “Someplace to hide out. Maybe crash for a day or two?”

“You’re that freaked out?” Zach asked, confused. A week ago, she’d sent Jarrod to warn him about the Bound, but Zach had seemed nonchalant. “They can’t kill us,” he’d argued. “What are they gonna do, kick my ass and force me to make their lattes with extra whipped cream?
”
She had to make him see that the threat was real and the Bound were dangerous.

Zach went for a corduroy jacket hanging from the edge of a tiered shelving unit. Digging into a pocket, he took out a set of keys.

“My apartment’s small, but there’s plenty of floor.
Mi casa es su casa,
” he said, handing them over to Eden. His expression was solemn as he took out a pen and an order pad from his apron. He scribbled down an address and handed her the page. “No one knows where I live, Sider or mortal. I don’t get off until seven, so you guys can either hang out here or head there. Up to you.”

“Thank you,” she said. She folded the address in half, then again. “We wouldn’t ask if—”

He shook his head. “Happy to help. Just tell me what happened.”

“We were warned,” she said quietly. “The Bound are closing in on our place. Listen, I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to stay either.” When Zach gave her a sardonic smile, she grabbed for his arm. “This is serious.”

“I can handle myself,” he said, heading over to the oven. He peeked in through the window to check on whatever baked inside. “If it gets too crazy, I’ll bolt, okay?”

“Erin!” she said suddenly, looking up at him. He’d been at Milton’s when Eden took over Manhattan. Maybe he would have a lead on where to find Erin. At the name, Zach tensed.

“Who told you about me and Erin?” he demanded. “Was it Kristen? Madeline?”

Eden shook her head, baffled at his reaction. “Gabe wanted us to help figure out how the Siders started. Did you know her? We have to reach her.”

He let his head drop back with a sigh of self-loathing. “That is
not
where I thought you were going with that,” he whispered.

“I was supposed to talk to Madeline, but she blew me off. Kristen’s not answering. I’d rather not deal with Vaughn. Erin’s my last hope.” She leaned in, studying him to gauge how far she should push. “What do you know about Erin?”

He leaned forward to bounce on his toes. “Look, I don’t think this—” He gave Eden a pitying look. “Don’t be pissed, okay? This isn’t how I wanted to tell you.”

“Tell me what?” she said. Distrust moved her toward Jarrod.

Zach gave the door a weak shove and checked the line out front. Satisfied, he turned back to her again, grim. “When Erin was in charge, she was cool with some of us being on our own as long as we stayed in contact. I didn’t just live here, Eden. I was part of her crew.”

“Her crew?” Eden repeated, stunned. She’d always thought Zach had stayed under the radar. She’d admired the rebel in him.

“I kept track of the Siders who didn’t live with her. We all helped each other out and were there for Erin when she needed us. It was a pretty good system.”

“What happened, though?” Sullivan asked. “Why’d Erin leave Manhattan?”

Beside Eden, Jarrod tensed, knowing what was coming. He squeezed Sullivan’s hand, the only warning he could give her.

Zach leaned back onto a metal counter, oblivious, balancing himself on his arm. “Erin picked the short straw and had to go deal with the huge douche that was running Staten Island.” He turned back to Eden. “You
know
all this, though, right? Why Erin went? That Vaughn was selling Touch there?”

Eden hesitated, unsure what to tell about Sullivan. The girl had somehow managed a flawless poker face.

“We knew,” Jarrod said. Before Eden could take up the conversation again, he hit Zach with a level look. “If you were part of Erin’s crew, why are you still here? I thought she took all her Siders with her.”

Zach stared at him for a long moment before he answered. His words came slow, careful. “The day Erin left,” Zach said, “Kristen came over and told her about this new Sider, different from the rest of us.” He fiddled with the edge of a bag of sugar on the counter.

“Me,” Eden said quietly.

He nodded, not looking at her. “Kristen said you were going to take over Erin’s territory while Erin was gone, that everyone needed to act like it was yours permanently. There wasn’t time to argue. Erin asked that I stay behind. Keep an eye on you. We didn’t know what to expect, because you had some sort of ties to the Bound.”

Eden went still. “You couldn’t have known about the Bound then, though. Jarrod just told you last week.”

“Erin told me what I needed to know about them a long time ago.” Zach’s brow furrowed. “I’m her Second, Eden.”

She jerked away from the counter, away from him. “No. That’s impossible,” she said in disbelief.

Eden stared at Zach, everything she knew about him warping, distorting. The simple guy she exchanged wisecracks with every morning faded away. Conversations they’d had ran through her brain. She liked Zach because he didn’t ask questions about her past. Didn’t ask about Az and Gabe. Never pressed. Now she knew it was only because he already knew the answers.

Jarrod looked positively dumbfounded. “Is that why you gave me the job here? You just wanted me to tell you more about us?” he demanded, his tone sharpening as shock turned to anger.

“It’s not like that,” Zach swore. “Not anymore. I know you guys needed help.” He offered her an apologetic shrug. “Helping out the Siders in Erin’s territory is kind of what I do.”

“Erin’s territory?” she asked.

Zach threw his hands up, clearly hoping to set her at ease. “That’s between you and her,” he said. “I don’t do politics.”

The door swung open, and the kid from the front counter popped his head through. From the sound of the chatter, the postwork rush had started. “We’ve got a line,” he said. “Can you come back out?”

“Sorry. Five seconds, Clay.” When he was gone, Zach heaved a sigh of relief. “Wow, this is a load off,” he said, his grin reappearing. “I had no idea how I was going to explain if you ran into me and Erin at Kristen’s together.”