The Burning City (9 page)

Sam huffed. “The feeling is entirely mutual, trust me.”

“He was always cocky and grandiose,” Anthony said. “I’d tune him out. We never got along very well. I think he resented the fact my power wasn’t eating me away too.”

“That’s the thing with fanatics,” June said. “No one takes them seriously until they finally kill a bunch of people.”

“If I could have stopped that”—Anthony’s voice dropped a notch—“I would have. I never dreamed he would go that far.”

“You’re not much of a fortune teller, then,” June said dryly.

Sam shot her a wide-eyed look, the kind she got from her mother as a child when she was acting up in a public place.

“My power doesn’t work like that, as I explained,” Anthony said. “I don’t blame you, June, for mistrusting me, when my brother has done such horrible things to you and your friends. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry those things happened. I’m part of the Paranormal Alliance, too, even if I don’t go to any meetings. Those were my friends he killed as well.”

June clenched her jaw. She was trying to have faith Sam’s trust was well placed, but he’d trusted Robbie once too. She wished more than ever that Muse were there.

“I don’t get out much,” Anthony said. “I’m a bit of a recluse. Socializing is…exhausting. It’s hard to be around people when my power mostly behaves of its own will.”

“We won’t keep you long, then,” Sam said. “I was just thinking you could explain this to her better than I could.”

Anthony’s eyes flashed. “Robbie has people watching my house. I see cars all the time. I don’t know if he’s planning a visit. I haven’t seen or spoken to him since late last year.”

“Did you join the Paranormal Alliance together?” June asked.

Anthony shook his head. “I wasn’t part of it until a few years ago. Robbie joined around the time it was formed.”

“What made you join it?” She couldn’t read minds like Muse, but she could damn sure interrogate him.

“Sam is inspiring. He finally made me believe in something. He made me believe that no matter how hard things are, there’s a place for people like me in the world.”

Sam beamed.

“I was able to get involved in some of their programs. I branched out a little and made contact with other people. It was nice.”

He spoke to part of her soul—being hidden away and feeling disconnected. Still, she couldn’t bring herself to trust him wholly.

“So how are you going to find Robbie?” she asked.

“I’m going to suck it up and socialize. I’ll talk to the people watching me in the hopes one of them has been in contact with him recent enough that I’ll see where he is.”

“And then we’ll have some idea how to proceed,” Sam said.

June narrowed her eyes. “So you’re going to strike up a conversation with the people watching you?”

“I’ll take a walk. Go by the car. I’ll say, ‘I know my brother sent you, and I’m tired of you watching me.’ Something like that.”

June folded her hands on the table. “Does your brother know how your power works?”

“Yes…”

“Then there’s no way he’s going to risk coming in contact with any of the spies he sends in the timeframe you’d be able to see him. He’s really fucking clever.”

“He doesn’t know Anthony came here,” Sam said. “He doesn’t know he’s going to assist me. So why would Robbie care if Anthony sees him? He might even want him to, to entice him.”

“What about the spies?” June opened her hands. “If someone is spying on you, that means they know where you’re going.”

“I was careful.” Anthony sat back. “I sneaked out. No one saw me.”

“You’re absolutely sure of that?”

Sam leaned over to her. “This is the best chance we have of finding Robbie. It’s our only chance.”

She looked him in the eye. “I know. But you can’t just throw caution to the wind.”

“No one saw me come here,” Anthony said. “And I will find my brother, even if I have to talk to all of his spies.” His eyes flashed. “However hard it is for me, I have to do this. I have to help Sam find him.”

She didn’t understand what the hell Sam planned to do once he did find him.

“What about Occam?” she asked. “You said this would help us find both of them.”

Sam sighed. “That will be harder, but Anthony is willing to help us on that too. Even if it means we have to go into Old Town.”

“Your power works on vampires?” June asked. “I thought nothing did. That’s like, one of the perks of vampirism.”

“My power is extremely unique. It’s one of the very few things that does work on vampires.”

“How do you know that?” June stared him down. “You don’t like to socialize. How do you know it works on vampires?”

Anthony shifted. His shoulders were hunched. His anxiety was not her problem.

“I’ve spoken to vampires before.” He sounded edgy. “Robbie made sure I was exposed to all sorts of supernatural people when I was younger. It was his favorite game. He said it was good for me to learn about my own kind. My power works on vampires. It works on everyone. Which is what makes it so…consuming, at times.”

“So we can talk to the vampires,” Sam said. “Until we find one that leads us to Occam.”

“What’s in it for you?” June asked Anthony.

Anthony focused on her, eyes wide and intense. He did remind her of Robbie, something about the narrowness of his face, his willowy limbs, his penetrating stare.

“I mean,” June said, “nobody does a favor like this just because they admire someone. It sounds like it’s a pretty big deal to you. What’s your stake in this?”

“June,” Sam said lowly. “There’s no need for—”

She cut him off. “You trusted Ethan Roberts. You trusted your entire organization, half of which were actively working against you behind your back.”

Sam’s face hardened. His eyes glittered.

“They even got past your foolproof telepath,” June said. “So forgive me if I don’t trust anyone you bring in here to try to solve our problems for us.”

Anthony pushed his chair back. “I think you two should discuss this on your own. I need to get some fresh air and clear my head.” He stood.

“What’s your stake in this?” June slapped her hand on the table. “Why do you want to do this for us? And don’t say because you respect Sam. Lots of people respect Sam. I want a better answer.”

Anthony stared at her. His eyes flashed once, and then again. His hands were clenched at his sides.

“I want my brother to pay.” His voice was strained. “I want him to pay for what he’s done.”

“To us, or you?” June kept her gaze fixed on him.

Anthony walked swiftly out of the room.

Sam pushed his chair back sharply. “You’re being rude and mistrustful.” He stood.

She gaped at him. “After all we’ve been through, don’t you think mistrust is common sense?”

“You can’t mistrust everyone, not if we want to win this. We have to trust someone.”

“That someone sure as hell isn’t going to be Robbie’s brother.” She got up and stalked out of the room.

Back out on the patio, her phone rang. It was Trina.

“Hey, I’ve got news,” Trina said.

June squinted into the sunlight, scanning the grounds. Anthony going to “get some air” could be his way of creeping around the property, spying.

“What’s the news?” June asked.

“You still want to see Micha?”

Her heart jumped, her attention immediately shifting. “Yes.”

“I pulled some strings, but it has to be today. You have to get over here as soon as you can. You need a ride?”

She looked into the house. “I think so.”

“I can come pick you up. Tell me where you are. I’ll be there soon.”

Driving out in Trina’s car would probably prove less conspicuous than leaving in one of Sam’s, who had been frosty and silent since June announced where she was off to, even more so than he already was about her fit over Anthony.

When Trina arrived, June stood in the driveway, waiting. Sam stood on the porch.

“Do you want to come?” she asked. “For moral support?”

He stared down at her. “Do you want me to?”

“You don’t have to. But I need to see him, and he deserves this visit. He deserves to see us again. We can’t just abandon him.”

“I don’t disagree.”

“I don’t know if they’ll let you in, but you might as well come. I’ll tell him you said hi.”

He walked down the steps. “Fine.”

Such a bratty child.

Trina pulled the car up next to her and parked.

“I don’t want you going anywhere alone right now, anyway.” Sam strode over to her. “It’s not safe.”

“You mean anywhere without you.” She walked around Trina’s car. “I’m not alone.”

Two security guards flanked the gate. People stood across the street, holding cameras. Sam and June slumped down in the backseat until they passed by them.

“Jesus,” Trina muttered. “What a circus.”

June sat up. “Well, you know, if someone hadn’t decided he was running for mayor…”

Sam sat up as well. “They’d be here even if I hadn’t. Welcome to freedom.”

June gazed out the window.

The hospital was near Trina’s clinic, and it took them almost a half hour to get there. June’s stomach knotted up as they pulled into the parking lot.

“I can’t take you both in,” Trina said. “Only June. I’m sorry, Sam. They have all these rules. You could wait in the waiting room, though.”

“It’s okay,” Sam said. “I’ll wait out here. I don’t think he really wants to see me, anyway.”

June looked down at her hands in her lap. Her palms were sweaty.

“We won’t be long,” Trina said. “They’ll only allow a brief visit.”

Sam’s expression was blank, but his eyes were hard.

“You sure?” June asked Sam, trying to lighten the mood. “Sitting out in the car like a dog?”

He grunted. “Just crack a window for me.”

Trina parked, and they got out of the car.

Walking up to the hospital, June tried to brace herself. “He’s not okay, is he? You’ve been lying to me.”

Trina glanced at her. “You’ve had enough on your plate.”

“I hate when people lie to me.”

“Is Sam angry you’re doing this?”

“I don’t care what Sam thinks. He makes a lot of choices I’m not happy with, either.”

Trina guided her inside and into an elevator. June kept her head down and avoided eye contact with anyone. In the elevator, a man seemed to recognize her, or else was curious about her tattoos, as he kept sneaking glances at her. He didn’t speak, though.

The process of being checked in was like visiting someone in prison. She had to sign a form stating she wouldn’t take pictures, record their conversation, or disclose any information on his whereabouts or condition. She was also patted down and her phone was taken away. Finally, they stepped into a small prep room, where June pulled on a mask, gloves, and gown.

“Avoid extensive physical contact,” the female nurse suiting her up said. “We’re trying to eliminate as much outside contamination as possible. A brief hug is fine, or touching his hands, as long as you keep the gloves on.”

June glanced over her mask at Trina, who stood in the corner of the room.

“You’re only allotted ten minutes,” the nurse said. “He has a full schedule today.”

“Yeah.” June huffed through the mask. “Places to go and people to see.”

The nurse led her to a door. June held her breath as it opened.

The room beyond seemed to be a regular hospital room—no cages or shackles or nefarious scientists looking down from a ring of windows. The hospital had attempted to make his bed look like a real bed, with a wooden headboard and colorful blankets draped over it. Despite that, it was tucked into a bank of monitors.

Micha lay in the middle of it, shockingly haggard and startlingly thinner than he’d been just a month ago.

“June.” He smiled faintly. “God, it’s so good to see you.”

He looked awful. Bony and ashen, slumped in the blankets, his eyes sunken, lips dark. He looked like a zombie.

June blinked a few times, fighting back tears. No extensive physical contact be damned. She wanted to fling her arms around his wasted frame and never let go.

The nurse left the room and closed the door behind June, leaving them alone. A camera looked down from the corner above the bed.

“You look good.” Micha’s voice was cracked and weak. “I saw you on TV yesterday.”

June walked over to the bed, trembling, stomach aching. The tables around the bed were filled with flowers, cards, teddy bears, all sorts of gifts. Chicago still loved their favorite paranormal advocate, especially now that they knew he hadn’t killed his wife.

Micha patted the bed. She sat down carefully, afraid to jar him.

She gripped his hand, next to his hip. “How are you?”

He shrugged, eyelids drooping. “I’ve been better. I got lots of nice presents, though.”

“You look awful.” June’s voice shook. “You’ve lost weight.”

“Can’t really keep anything down. You know how that goes, huh?” He squeezed her hand weakly. “How’s that going, by the way?”

Micha didn’t know what Occam had told her, that horrifying revelation.

“Don’t worry about me right now.” She clamped her other hand over his. “What’s wrong? What’s happening to you?”

He let out a wheezy breath. “I suppose I’m dying. They don’t know why. It’s not like there’s any precedent.”

“You’re not dying.” She clutched his hand tighter. “If the serum was going to kill you, it would have done it by now, right?”

“I’ve been sick since the day they shot me up with it. I’m just in the final stages.”

“No.” She scrabbled at the mask over her mouth and nose and yanked it down. She couldn’t breathe. “You’re not going to die, Micha. Trina is working on this. She’ll find a way to stabilize you.”

The door opened. The nurse stood in the doorway, hand on her hip. “Miss Coffin, put the mask back on.”

June scowled at the camera. “I’m not breathing on him.”

“Miss Coffin, put the mask back on or leave. If you care about him, you won’t endanger him.”

June jerked the mask back up. “Fine.”

The nurse left.

Micha huffed. “They’re overreacting. I don’t think there’s anything I can catch that’s going to hurt me worse than what I’m already suffering.”