Wisteria (Wisteria Series) (17 page)

“You’re an idiot.” She hugged Garfield with relief, but she still couldn’t believe that Bach would actually pull a joke on her, it was so unlike him. She needed to be careful around him even more now. He was unpredictable and that was something she didn’t need when she considered the erratic life she was already living.

CHAPTER TWELVE

“Wisteria.” Someone was shaking her.

Opening her eyes, she was pleased to see it was Bach. Until she reminded herself she was being foolish about him.

“Are you okay?”

The tenderness in his voice was a little surprising to her. If she was a dumber person, she might believe he was worried, but since he hadn’t said a word to her since Garfield returned, she knew that couldn’t be true. Most likely, he felt embarrassed about getting too close to her earlier or showing that he could laugh and be more—human or something. “Where are we?” She peered out of the car window.

The SUV had stopped again, but this time they were in front of an incredible mansion. The grounds were green and lush, but well-cultivated. In the distance, she saw the sea and that meant the house was on a cliff. This definitely wasn’t London.

“Nice.” Garfield beamed as he gaped at the magnificent buidling.

“This way,” Bach informed them and moved toward the house.

The pair followed him.

The doors of the house opened and Enric emerged with an enormous grin. “Bach! What happened to you?”

“We ran into some trouble,” Bach replied as Enric came to meet him.

“Glad to have you back, man. The Family was going to send empirics here to find you. We are going to drink so much sandwine tonight, you will not believe it!”

“Where are Felip and your Ter…?” Bach halted while looking back at Wisteria. “Your friend?”

Enric embraced Bach, but his excitement vanished when he spotted Wisteria. “Felip is inside.” Enric leered. “I see you have brought back two
friends
.”

The way he said that word sent a shiver down her spine.

“Do you understand what they’re saying?” Garfield asked her.

“Yes, parts.”But why she understood them, she didn’t know, since Enric and Bach weren’t speaking English.

“Who are you?” Enric asked Garfield in English.

“Garfield, and I’m just getting a lift. Don’t need to worry about me,” he gulped while staring nervously at the very tall Enric.

Enric sniggered and turned to Bach. The Famila boys exchanged words in their dialect, but she could make out parts about Felip’s health.

“Is something wrong with Felip?” she asked without thinking.

No one answered. Instead, Bach rushed toward the house and was about to leave Wisteria and Garfield standing outside with unhappy Enric.

“Wait!” Enric blocked his path. “First, we must settle what actually happened. We know how the Red Phoenix found us.”

“What? How?” Bach asked.

Enric nodded in Wisteria’s direction.

“Enric, what are you saying?” Bach glanced at her, then back at his friend.

“Ask your Terran what she did before you renewed her,” Enric suggested.

“She tried to kill Enric.” Piper bolted out of the house, holding a rifle.

“Put it down, Piper. Bach must have renewed her by now.” Enric grimaced. “That is the only reason I did not shoot the animal when she got out of the car.”

“She’s still tricky.” The unstable girl jabbed Wisteria with the weapon.

“Don’t point that at me!” Wisteria stepped back.

“Piper.” Bach grabbed the barrel of the gun. “Give that to me. You will injure someone.”

Nervously, Piper glanced at Wisteria, Bach, and then at Enric. Enric shook his head, so she didn’t let go.

“She brought those people here,” Piper shouted. “We know she brought those killers into our home.”

“Stop, before you hurt someone.” Bach seized the weapon out of her hands.

She staggered back and produced a handgun.

“Tell him, tell him you did this!” Piper screamed.

“Enric shut her up now!” Bach ordered. “Enric, if your friend hurts Wisteria, there will be blood to pay.”

“She’s lying,” Piper protested as Enric tried to muffle her and disarm her.

“How the hell could I bring those people?” Wisteria inched to the SUV, but was stopped by the tall, cold body of Enric.

“How else would they know where to come?” Enric grabbed Wisteria’s shoulders.

“I don’t know,” Wisteria stated passionately. “Maybe they’re like you. Different, and they could sense you or something,”

“
Different?
” Bach echoed.

“D’cara, animal.” Enric charged at her and she stumbled back to the ground. “You did not care how different we were when Bach saved your life.”

“Enric, stop!” Bach ordered.

“I’m sorry; I didn’t mean it like that. You’re all really special,” she tried to explain as Garfield helped her to her feet.

“Shut up, Terran!” Enric sneered as he stormed over to her. “Well, it was really special of you to bring Red Phoenix here with your GPS tracking.” Producing a pink mobile phone, he gave it to Bach.

“We do not use this technology, Wisteria.” Bewildered, Bach examined the phone. “This is not ours.”

“That isn’t mine. I’ve not used a phone in about three years. Maybe they dropped it. I don’t know,” she maintained.

“I do not care about what you are saying or your lies. Tell them to the infected you meet on the street tonight,” Enric seethed.

“No.” Wisteria was distraught at the notion of being thrown out to face the biters on her own. “I didn’t do anything. Bach, don’t you believe me?” Facing him, she saw him staring at her with great disdain. “Please, you can’t believe them!” She moved toward him, but he moved away.

“I do not know what to believe,” he replied.

“Do you doubt me? Over an animal?” Enric was practically screaming. “Please, do not tell us you have allowed the Terran to pollute your mind. How come you have not renewed her, Bach? Did the Terran trick you?”

Enric’s words seemed to hit their mark and Wisteria saw Bach’s expression become hard. She knew referring to him as different again had only made things worse.

The group waited as Bach thought, but he didn’t speak, he just shook his head.

“Bach,” Wisteria whispered.

“Shut up!” Enric grabbed Wisteria and threw her to ground.

“Hey!” Garfield protested.

“Touch her, Terran, and I will break your neck,” the big boy warned.

“I saved your life!” she angrily reminded Bach.

“You saved his life? You wish, Terran.” Enric stepped up to Wisteria and grabbed her by the hair. “Bach, she needs to go now. Either shoot her, send her out, or I will deal with her.”

She scratched and crawled at Enric’s hands to make him let go, but she had no effect.

“Enric.” Bach seized his friend’s hands and took them off Wisteria. “Enough.” He shoved the bigger boy aside.

“Qwaynide fool,” screamed Enric as he fell.

“Are you all right?” Bach asked quietly as Wisteria got up.

“I see you are back.” Felip appeared at the front door. Breathing heavily, he was so pale, almost like a ghost.

“He’s a biter!” Garfield drew a gun at Felip.

“We do not have your diseases.” Before Garfield could fire, Enric had the weapon dismantled and then tossed the pieces to the side, grabbing Garfield’s throat. “Try that again and you will regret it.”

“Enric, stop,” Felip called out casually. “You will make Wisteria cry.”

“I don’t care,” Enric sneered

“But that will upset Bach. It’s obvious he does
care
,” Felip pointed out through deep breaths.

Enric tossed the Terran boy to the ground, but not before giving Bach a look that could only be translated as disgust. “Explain to me how you care.”

“I do not care about her or her friend, but I promised to take her back to her community and I will take her back. Because I am not a liar,” Bach explained

“Why waste the fuel?” Piper scowled. “Just shoot her in the head.”

“Enric, shut her up,” Bach ordered. “Now!”

“But she is right,” Enric said.

“Because she saved my life.” Bach took Piper’s other gun away. “And I appreciate that even though I’m
different
. Even if she also tried to kill me.”

Wisteria let out a deep sigh of relief. Even though Bach thought she brought the intruders into the Hunter Tower, he wasn’t going to let them hurt her. The guys went inside, and Piper trailed behind obediently.

“Nice people,” Garfield remarked now that he and Wisteria were alone.

“Where are we, Garfield?” She shouldn’t have fallen asleep, but she was still shaky from Mackenzie’s attack.

“We’re in Hammond Village, near Hastings?”

“Where?” Her UK geography was equally shaky.

“Seventy miles away from Norton. In case you’re planning on walking.”

Actually, she was thinking about taking the SUV, but Bach had the keys. When she got back to Smythe, she’d have to learn how to hot wire a car, so never to be in this situation again.

A few minutes later, Bach returned alone, not looking any happier than when he left.

She wasn’t happy to see him, since he still thought she was part of the Red Fire or whatever they were called.

“We will leave in the morning,” Bach informed them and started back to the house.

“Can we go now? I don’t want to inconvenience you any longer and I have a family to get back to.” Wisteria hurried up to him. In truth, it would make more sense to leave in the morning, as the sun would set in a few hours, but she was positive Piper would slit her throat that night if she stayed. She also wanted to be away from these self-obsessed boys as soon as she could. And there was no way she was going to let Bach think he had hurt her again. “I have no reason to hang around.”

“Just give the dog the car,” Piper screamed from the house. “We’ll get another one tomorrow.”

“No, I said I would take her and I will.” Bach held his ground. “But perhaps Garfield would rather leave in the morning.”

“Good, let’s go and ask him.” Wisteria brushed past him toward the car, where she found the boy crouched down in the passenger seat. “Are you staying here, Garfield, or coming to the Isle of Smythe with me?” Trying to contain her anger so not to upset him, she asked as serenely as she could. “Or do you want stay here and take your chances with the paranoid?”

Warily, Garfield raised his head and pointed to Wisteria.

“Maybe you should eat and rest before we go?” Bach suggested from a few inches behind her.

She was surprised he had reached her so quickly and so quietly. “I’m happy to wait out here, but if you want to eat something or take a nap, go ahead.”

“I’m hungry,” Garfield admitted. “But I can wait until we get there or whatever. But we won’t get to Smythe before dark.”

Wisteria glared at him. “I won’t live till morning if I stay. I’ll take my chances outside.” She attempted to sound confident, but she was afraid.

“We need to lock the gates.” Felip staggered out. “So we can secure the net.”

“I thought you boys were mighty enough to repel everyone,” she remarked.

“Execpt for the poison your friends gave to us.” Bach squinted at her angrily.

Her hand was itching to slap Bach. “I’m not staying here tonight,” she told Felip. “If you guys believe I brought those intruders, you can—”

“Okay, let us go!” Bach lifted her up and threw her into the back seat of the car.

“Are you insane?” Surprised by his harshness, Wisteria kicked at him when he got into the driver’s seat.

Without a word, he started the car.

Felip got in next to her.

“You’re coming too?” she asked.

“You said there were doctors on your island. Perhaps they can help me to feel better.” Felip groaned.

“I doubt that very much,” she replied. “Why would you trust my doctors? Maybe they are all spies.”

“I do not believe you brought Red Phoenix, but Enric has the mind of a sentinel. He is all about the fight.” Felip patted her knee.

But that wasn’t going to make her feel any better. “Yeah, but that doesn’t explain why you want to see a human doctor.”

“Trust me, most human doctors cannot tell us apart. Their medicine is not advanced enough,” Felip told her.

“So why are you going?”

“Because they are still doctors. I am not one and they might have some insight into why I have not able to recover like Bach did.”

“Maybe they can tell me why Bach is such an idiot,” she muttered angrily.

Bach checked the rearview mirror when she mentioned his name and their eyes met. He was still mad, but maybe he really did want to eat something and she’d goaded him to leaving right away.
Well, in that case it was good for him!