Cold Blood (34 page)

“
She’s had it rough. Her past isn’t as cut and dried as she likes to make out. I’m not defending her,” he added quickly. “All I’m saying is she’s got reasons to hate the world. It hasn’t been very friendly to her.”

“
Well, the world is a large target. She can only aim at one person at a time, and so far, it’s me.”

“
Then remind her to focus on Miles. He deserves it.”

“
What’s the big deal with her and Miles?”

“
They dated, sort of.”

“
Seriously? As in, a couple? When?”

“
Before I met you. Miles was really new to the group. I’m not sure how exclusive it was. It’s not like either one of them shared the details with me. We just knew. It’s a small group.”

“
Wow. So, she’s got extra reasons to be pissy about him. Good to know.”

“
Don’t use it against her, Tara,” he warned.

“
I wasn’t planning on it.” But if it came out by accident, like if she pushed and pushed and made me mad enough, well… I couldn’t help that. I didn’t say that part out loud.

“
Any day, Tara,” Cord called.

I looked over my shoulder and saw her standing near the door, tapping her foot and looking all-around impatient. I sighed. “My babysitter said my time is up,” I said into the phone.

“
Fine, I’ll let you go. But, Tara?”

“
Yeah?”

“
We’re good, right?”

I wanted to say yes. I ached to say yes and end the weird, back and forth, fighting-or-not thing we’d had since I’d gotten here, but the truth was, I didn’t know. Not until I could see him face to face, talk to him in person, and know what I felt and whether it was real.

“
We’re good enough until we can talk this out in person,” I said instead. “And we’re good enough for me to tell you I miss you. A lot.”

“
I miss you, too. Be careful.”

“
I will,” I promised.

I hung up, and immediately the phone rang again. I could hear Cord’s exasperated sigh from here. The screen said George. I wouldn’t have answered it except I knew it would piss Cord off, and I was in the mood to get to her.

“
Hello?”

“
Tara, hey!” George sounded excited and a little breathless.

“
Hi, George. What’s up?”

“
I’m so glad you answered. I’m coming to see you.” I could hear his grin through the phone, and I froze.

“
What are you talking about? Visitation day isn’t for another two weeks,” I said. And more importantly, George didn’t know where I was.

“
Yeah, I know. But I didn’t want to wait that long. Did you get my message about the scholarship?”

“
I did. That’s pretty awesome,” I said. His enthusiasm was contagious. I couldn’t help but smile. “Congratulations.”

“
Yeah, my mother is beside herself. I had to share it with the person who did the most to help get me here, and that’s you, so I decided to surprise you. We need to celebrate. Are you free tonight?”

“
Tonight?” My brain went completely numb. I couldn’t think. George was coming here tonight. “I don’t know. How do you know where to find me?”

“
You’re cousin… Miles? He stopped by and gave me directions. He said you get free time on the weekends, and I could probably sneak in for a couple hours.”

“
You talked to Miles?” I worked hard at keeping the shrieking panic out of my voice, but plenty of stress had come through. George caught it easily.

“
Yeah, why? He seems like a great guy.” His answer wasn’t so much concerned as defensive, guarded.

I narrowed my eyes. “George, you sound weird.”

“
I thought you’d be happy to see me, that’s all. You can meet me, right? We’ll be there in about an hour.”

“
We?”

“
I drove up with Miles, to save on gas. Like I said, cool guy.”

My throat dried up, and I couldn’t breathe. I turned around and locked eyes with Cord. She stiffened at whatever she saw in my face. I gripped the phone too tight and my cheek hit a button. It beeped loudly in my ear and brought me back enough to make me coherent. I walked towards Cord and Cambria. They watched me with matching expressions of concern and tension.

“
Tara? You still there?” George asked. There was some background noise and then he said, “Miles wants to say hi, hang on.”

There was silence and then, “Hello, Tara.”

“
This is war,” I spat. I could feel my temper rising, and I knew I was shaking because the phone kept pulling away from my ear.

“
It always was. It was simply a matter of whose side you’re on, lovely.”

“
Not. Yours.” My muscles literally ached to do damage to him and my jaw felt tight, like it was too big for my mouth.

“
The choice is no longer yours. I’ve decided to take out an insurance policy.” His voice was light, like all crazy people seem capable of when innocent lives hang in the balance. He reminded me of Leo. No more affection, no more creepy crush, just plain psycho. George probably had no idea what he was in the middle of, or that Miles was threatening his life at this very moment.

“
I will kill you if you hurt him,” I said, trying to keep my own voice as calm and nonchalant as his. I didn’t want him to know he was getting to me. It would only endanger George further.

“
You may try. We’re going to pull off and come in the back way. Since the wards are sketchy at best, what with the new girl taking over, I think we can sneak in fairly easily through the woods. I’ll call you when we find a quiet spot, and we can meet up.”

“
How do you know about Betty?”

“
I’m everywhere, darling.” His voice was smug and silky.

Somehow, Miles knew about the wards being down, and that Vera was no longer in charge of them. Someone was giving him inside information. My mind raced. “Fine, I’ll come. But you will let George go when I get there,” I said.

“
Of course, whatever you want.”

His tone was entirely too accommodating, and I didn’t believe him for a second. I grit my teeth and stared at Cord. She was figuring it out, I think, because her eyes were blazing and she looked just as ready as I was to rip into someone.

“
Call you soon,” Miles said, and then he disconnected.

I lowered the phone.

“
What the hell’s going on? Who was that?” Cambria demanded.

“
Miles,” I said, glancing at her. She looked worried but not nearly as violent as Cord. I took a deep breath and kept focused on her. The shaking wasn’t letting up and my thoughts were getting jumbled behind the rage. I needed to think clearly.

“
Tara, are you okay?” Cambria asked. She reached towards me and then seemed to think better of it. “You don’t look so good. You’re sweating. And your cheeks are really flushed.”

“
I’m fine,” I said. I took another deep breath. I wasn’t fine, though. I wasn’t calming down. I was shaking worse, and I couldn’t keep still much longer. Something in me had to
move
.

“
What did he say?” Cord asked in a low voice.

“
He has George.”

“
Your ex?” Cambria’s eyes were wide.

I nodded, jerking and shaking. “They’re driving here. Miles is using him as blackmail so I’ll leave with him. He’s going to call back when they find a place to meet.”

“
What about the wards?” Cambria asked.

Cord shook her head. “They aren’t up and running yet.” Cambria looked at her with wide eyes. “I know they told everyone they’re up, but they’re not. Not completely anyway. Butch Betty or whatever her name is, she’s new and slow. It’s taking time. He’ll get through.”

“
He knows about the wards being down,” I said.

“
How?”

“
I don’t know.”

“
How long?” Cord asked.

I blinked, trying to clear my head and remember the answer to her question. “Um, an hour?”

“
Geez, Tara, you’re shaking worse,” said Cambria.

I couldn’t take it anymore. I stepped back, my legs feeling stiff and unused, and paced towards the edge of the roof. Cambria and Cord stayed where they were, watching. I ignored them. I couldn’t concentrate. My thoughts felt jumbled and shifty; I couldn’t focus on anything except my desire to hurt Miles. A vision of taking him down was on replay in my brain and I couldn’t shake it. I didn’t want to. It was the only thing keeping me sane, imagining myself killing him, over and over again.

Chapter Thirty One

I don’t know how long I paced, but eventually a pair of hands appeared in front of me, bracing tightly on my shoulders and bringing me to a stop. Their appearance was so unexpected that my head came up and I let out a snarl at the face they belonged to.

As soon as the sound reached my ears, I stopped and blinked.

It felt as if I was waking from a dream, coming back to myself. I had no idea how much time had passed, only that my muscles felt loose – and better – and the shaking had stopped.

And I was looking at Alex.

“
What are you doing here?” I asked. I looked around, confused by his presence. I was still on the roof. Behind him, Cord and Cambria were huddled up, watching our exchange. Logan was with them. He watched me with worry etched into his expression.

“
Tara? Can you hear me?” Alex’s tone was low and soft, like the way you’d talk to a child or a wild animal.

“
Yes.” I stepped out of his hold and he tensed. “What are you doing here?” I repeated.

“
Cord asked me to come. You were…not yourself. She and Cambria couldn’t get you to respond when they called you.”

“
What? When? I didn’t hear them.”

“
Yeah, that’s what we’re trying to tell you,” Cord said, coming up behind Alex. She kept her distance. “You were standing right here, or well, pacing right here, and you wouldn’t answer me. Even when I screamed at you. It’s like you were hypnotized or something. I got Alex because if you attacked me or something, I wasn’t going to be responsible for throwing you off a roof, even if it was self-defense. Better to let Wes kill him.” She finished by jerking her thumb at Alex.

He rolled his eyes.

I looked back and forth between them. It was clear they were serious. I glanced farther back, at Cambria. She was watching me, too, and she wasn’t scared, but she looked seriously concerned, and sort of lost.

“
You’re okay now?” Alex asked.

“
I guess so,” I said. “I’m not shaking anymore. And I don’t feel ready to punch anything that looks at me funny.”

No one was amused by that. They all nodded with serious expressions.

“
Good, can we figure out what to do about Miles now?” Cord asked. “Thanks to Tara’s one-woman drama act, we’re down to forty minutes before show time.”

The words were meant to be a barb but her usual bite wasn’t there. I could tell she was still bothered by the whole thing and unsure how to respond. That made two of us.

Cambria and Logan walked up. “You told them?” I motioned to Alex and Logan.

“
No choice. We’re going to need backup,” said Cord.

I stared at her with a sinking feeling. “Who else did you tell?”

“
Relax. Just these two,” said Cord.

“
Why can’t we tell Kane?” Logan asked. “We could use the help. Especially if Miles brings any backup of his own.”

Cord shook her head. “If we tell Kane, they’ll give plenty of backup, but they have their own way of doing things. They may not let Tara play ‘bait’ and then who knows where that’ll leave her friend George.”

“
But he’s a hostage,” Logan argued.

“
He’s a human,” said Cord. “Are you really arguing this? You know how Hunters operate. He won’t be a priority.”

Logan didn’t answer.

“
So, we’re letting Tara walk right up to him?” Alex asked. “Not my favorite plan.”

“
It’s the only way Miles will let his guard down long enough for you guys to get George out,” I said. “No matter what, you have to get him out.”

“
We will,” Cambria assured me.

“
And then we go after Miles,” Cord finished. The gleam in her eye made it easy to see which part she was looking forward to.

“
Then we call for backup,” Alex said.

Cord eyed him, like she didn’t agree.

“
I thought you’d be the first to run to Kane,” I said to her.

“
I don’t think we’ll need anyone else,” she said, and her eyes gleamed with malice. “Not like I – we – can’t handle him ourselves.”

“
Okay,” I said. Even if I didn’t understand her reasons, I agreed. If bringing Kane would endanger George, we’d have to do this ourselves. “You guys get George and then call Kane.”

“
Hey, what about me?” Cambria asked. Everyone turned to look at her and I’m pretty sure their stares were as blank as mine. “I can help with Miles. I can be convincing, remember?”

Her meaning dawned on me, and I felt like an idiot for not remembering before. “That’s a good idea, Cambria. You can make sure Miles decides to live up to his end and let George go. But how close do you need to be?”

She shrugged. “I only need a visual on him.”

“
What’s she talking about?” Cord interrupted.

Cambria and I exchanged a look. “Cambria has a special gift,” I said.

Cambria smiled; sweet and evil all at once. “I can compel him to let George go.”

Cord raised an eyebrow, either doubting or impressed, I couldn’t tell which. “Will he know what you’re doing?” she asked.

“
Not if I do it right.”

“
And can you compel him to, say, not fight back?” Cord asked. Her eyes were alight with the full possibilities of Cambria’s ability. “To sit there and take it?”

“
Um, probably not.” Cambria’s smile fell away. “I mean, that’s a basic Hunter instinct, especially when you’re under direct assault. He’d probably fight out of reflex.”

“
Too bad. We’ll make it work regardless,” Cord said.

Once the plan was made, everyone wandered off to do whatever they could to pass the time. We couldn’t leave the roof until Miles called; we needed the cell service to find out the location. Besides, it was the best place to hide out from Kane and the other patrollers until it was time to make our move. I wandered to an empty corner of roof, the one that overlooked the western corner of the woods. Nothing but green treetops were visible as far as I could see but I barely noticed them. I was too preoccupied with mental images of Miles to see anything in front of me.

A hand on my shoulder made me jump. I whirled and Alex stepped back, apologetic.

“
Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said. He looked wary, like before, when I’d been out of it – like I was a little too unpredictable. It made me defensive.

“
No, I’m fine,” I said. “Thinking about Miles. And George.” Alex stepped up so we were shoulder to shoulder and gazed out over the trees.

“
You and George, you were a couple?”

“
We broke up a while ago but we’re still friends. I’ve known him for a long time.”

Alex didn’t say anything, and we stood there for the next few minutes, wrapped up in our own thoughts and plans. It felt nice, not having to talk but knowing he was there and had my back. We stayed that way until my phone rang.

I pulled it out, and George’s number came up. I braced myself. I still had to act like everything was fine to him.

“
Hello?”

“
Hey Tay,” George said. The line was crackly, and I knew he didn’t have long before he lost signal. He must be close. “We’re about there. Miles said there’s some cave on the grounds, off one of the smaller trails. He says we can hang there. Do you know it?”

“
I think so,” I said. I remembered Miles had found me near the cave that day in the woods.

“
Cool. We’ll be there in twenty, so I’ll see you then.”

“
I’ll be there.”

“
I can’t wait,” he said, his smile evident in his voice.

We disconnected, and I turned to find everyone had crowded back together again, waiting for me to fill them in.

I looked at Cambria. “They’re going to that cave you took me to.”

She nodded. “I can get us there. It’s going to be tricky for me to get a good visual without being seen, though. Not many places to hide, especially if they get there first.”

“
Then we need to get there first,” Cord said. “Let’s move.”

No one argued with that. I think we were all sick of standing around, waiting. We moved for the door that led downstairs, but Alex stepped in front of us and put up his hand.

“
I’m going down first, alone. If you hear me being stopped, I’ll distract them and you guys slip out another way,” said Alex. “No one can know where we’re going. Cord, turn your earpiece on. Give me three minutes and then head down.”

She flipped a switch and Alex told her what frequency to tune into, so he could let her know when the coast was clear. Then Alex disappeared through the door.

After a few minutes the rest of us headed down the stairs, single file and silent. The hallway and lobby were pretty empty; it was mostly student aides and kids cutting through to the courtyard. The staff didn’t come downstairs much on a Saturday. Except Kane, who always seemed to be on duty, but there was no sign of him. From the doorway, Alex waved us over.

“
Here, take these,” he said. He held out a handful of stakes. We all grabbed one and shoved it someplace concealing.

“
Where’d you get these?” I whispered, eyes darting around.

“
I stopped by my room. They’re mine, not school issued, so no one will miss them.”

I looked closer at the rough stake in my hand. Near the point, the initials A.C. had been carved into the wood. I looked up at Alex.

“
I like to claim my kills,” he said. Intensity blazed in his eyes. This was a different Alex; a battle-hungry version with little or no emotion, except the satisfaction of making a kill. It unnerved me, but I told myself it was worth it, if it meant saving George. And stopping Miles.

“
Let’s go,” Cord said, breaking the silence and pushing on the door.

We filed out into the courtyard and followed Alex when he took a sharp left, away from the buildings and open spaces in between. It was all I could do not to break into a run. Even though I couldn’t see anyone out who would stop us, I knew that didn’t mean we weren’t being spotted. Plenty of kids were wandering the courtyard; I could hear talking and laughing coming from around the hedge, near the fountain.

As soon as we were well into the cover of the trees, Alex broke into a run. The rest of us were right behind him. I was, for the first time, actually grateful for all the running Alex had made me do. Right now, it was the only chance we had of arriving at the cave first and getting Cambria in a position to save George. I kept up easily with the rest of the group, which said a lot for my progress, considering all of them had been training like this for years.

Alex went first. I crouched behind a tree and watched as he approached the cave cautiously, sticking to the tree cover until he was directly across from the opening. He stepped through and was swallowed up by darkness. I felt a moment’s panic as I imagined him being ambushed inside, but then he reappeared and motioned for us to join him. We moved across the trail, single file, into the darkened mouth of the cave. I blinked until my eyes adjusted enough to make out the damp walls on either side.

Alex motioned for Cambria to take the lead with him. No one spoke as we moved down the pathway. I forced myself to breathe evenly and put one foot in front of the other at a normal pace. My anxiety was working overtime; between the darkness and the danger George was in, the walls felt like they were closing in.

We made it through the tunnel and into the cavern below without incident. My heart pounded as we neared the open area. I could see the trail lightening, and I stepped forward into open, airy space. It was exactly as I remembered. From across the cavern, the sound of rushing water could be heard from the waterfall. High above us, a natural skylight allowed enough sunlight through the cracks to make it bright but not hot. There was too much dampness and shadowed edges to heat the room.

We fanned out, without anyone having to give a single order. We all searched for two things: a concealed enemy and a decent hiding place. Cambria found a spot where the rock split to form a small alcove. She slipped inside and ducked down, watching me from around the corner with a question in her eyes. I angled around to check for visibility, and when I saw that it hid her from sight, I gave her the thumbs-up. She nodded back and sent me a strained smile.

Across the room, Cord handed Logan her earpiece and slipped around a vertical rock formation, to wait. Logan slid the earpiece on and hurried forward, still looking for a spot to hide. I scanned but didn’t see Alex. He must’ve already hidden himself. I kept going, looking for a place to wait, and watched Logan disappear behind the edge of the waterfall. I was alone – or at least appeared to be.

I didn’t bother to hide. I wanted to be visible when Miles showed. I wanted him to know he hadn’t gotten the drop on me; I’d still gotten here first. But I didn’t want my back exposed, either. I ended up leaning against the rock wall as far from the entrance as I could get, arms folded across my chest in a stance that I hoped looked confident and sure.

I didn’t have time to wonder, because there was the sound of shuffling feet on the darkened trail and then George, with Miles behind him, appeared inside the cavern. I forced myself to relax – and smile. Even if it was fake.