Helen just continues to give her a cold look, then nods and says, "Fine."
Valerie looks between the two of them, confusion melting into uncertainty and then transforming into horror. "Mom, you—you can't just—"
"It's fine, Valerie." Jackie walks past her, squeezing her shoulder on the way by. She goes into her room and grabs the duffel bag she's always used to transport supplies, and starts packing up her clothes and her books. Valerie follows her, and opens her mouth to say something. "Don't," Jackie says, before she can. "If your mother doesn't want me here, I don't want to be here. I'll get a room at the barracks."
Valerie snuffles a little. "She shouldn't…"
"It doesn't matter." Jackie won't look at her, but she reaches out and grips her hand, trying to silently remind her that they're going to be leaving in a few days anyway. Leaving all of this behind. "Don't worry about me, Valerie. I'll be fine."
Valerie takes a deep breath and wipes her eyes, then stands up a little straighter. "Okay. But, uh, I'll come have lunch with you tomorrow, okay?"
"Sure." She gives her sister a quick embrace. "Let me pack."
"Okay."
Jackie comes out of her room a few minutes later and ducks into the bathroom to grab a few things from there. Valerie is waiting for her. "I'll walk with you," she says, and Jackie nods. She walks past Helen without saying a word, and Valerie follows.
"It'll be better this way," Jackie says, keeping her voice low even though there's nobody else around. "A mole would never move into the barracks, right? She would never want to be so close to the people who could catch her. It'll divert suspicion. But you'll have to go check on Dad tonight. I won't be able to sneak out."
Valerie nods. "What should I tell the others?"
"That I'm fine. Stick to the plan, and I'll see them when we make the run. The supply run might be delayed because of all this, but frankly I doubt it."
"Okay." Valerie pulls her jacket around herself a little more tightly. "Maya won't like it."
"Just remind her that I know what I'm doing. She'll get over it. Tell Dad everything, okay? Speaking of things that people won't like. But…to be honest I'd rather not tell him myself, so this sort of works out for me."
Valerie laughs despite herself. "Jerk."
"Yep." Jackie leans over and presses a kiss into her sister's temple. "See you at mess tomorrow?" she adds, speaking louder in case anyone is listening.
"Yeah, I'll see you then."
*~*~*
Nick wakes up with a jolt and nearly flails his way off the table in an uncoordinated lurch. Somebody grabs him and keeps him on whatever flat surface he's lying on. His body feels strange, like a marionette where the strings aren't working properly. "Easy now, Captain," a calm voice says. "It takes about twenty-four hours for the effects to wear off. Until then, you're going to be an uncoordinated mess."
"Meffanfluh," Nick says, which is interesting, because it's not at all what he intended to say. He's a little more eloquent than that under normal circumstances.
"I'm sure," the voice says, amused. "Your tongue is probably still pretty numb, hm?"
"Uh," Nick says.
Miranda Cooper walks into his field of vision and leans over him. "Are you in any pain?"
"Nuh," Nick says, blinking up at her several times. He supposes that her presence makes sense. She is a doctor, after all. But the fact that she's here at Solomon's suggests that she's still been practicing her trade, which surprises him.
"Okay, good. Your neck's intact, spine looks good. You've got some bruising around your neck but your windpipe wasn't crushed, obviously. Or we wouldn't be having this conversation. Can you feel this?"
"Nngk!" Nick responds, as Miranda stabs his hand with a needle.
"Good," she says, with a serene smile. She takes out a stethoscope and listens to his lungs for a few moments. "Your ride will be here in a minute. Speaking colloquially, of course."
Nick closes his eyes and listens to the noise of Miranda moving around the clinic. He doesn't know what he'll say to Ryan, when he arrives. He's glad not to be dead, certainly, but he isn't glad that Ryan had dragged his daughter into this. It would have been better, safer for Jackie, if she had just let her father hang.
"He ready to go?" The voice is surprisingly soft, certainly not the one that Nick expected. He opens his eyes to see Maya Callaghan standing there.
"He probably won't be able to walk for about twelve more hours," Miranda says. "Speech should recover in the next hour or so. You have the mixture that Solomon gave you?"
"Yeah."
"Make sure he gets it every two hours. It'll prevent any long term damage from the rhododendron."
"Okay." Maya walks over to where Nick is still lying immobile on the exam table. She takes a hold of Nick by the wrist and hauls him upright without wasting any time on pleasantries. "Thanks for all your help," she says to Miranda, and walks out of the clinic without waiting for a reply. Nick tries to stumble along beside her, but his feet just drag along the ground.
It's completely dark out, and the air has a chill in it. He shivers a little, an involuntary response that overrides the paralytic. "Wez Ryn," he mumbles.
"Quiet," Maya says. A young woman ducks out of the shadows. Gabby. She comes up on Nick's other side and gets his arm over her shoulder so she can help Maya support his weight and carry him along. Nick allows this in silence since Maya is obviously worried about being overheard.
They get to what looks like it used to be a convenience store. It's small and dark and the roof is mostly caved in. It isn't the sort of place they stay in often, but Nick guesses that this is the point. It's not a place that anyone will think to look for them, or for anyone. There's nobody else there. "Wez yer pack?" Nick slurs.
"Somewhere else," Maya says. "Somewhere safer. Not that it matters to you."
"Maya," Gabby says quietly.
"Wez Ryan?" Nick tries again.
"I have no idea, actually," Maya says. "I'm not his babysitter. He goes where he wants. For all I know, he's on the moon."
"Maya," Gabby says again, this time sounding a little exasperated.
Nick gathers some semblance of coherence, even though the words are still coming out somewhat mushy. "Affer getting m'daughter involl'ed, the leass Ryn could do is splain wha's happenin."
"Oh, boy, that is some creative interpretation of the past day's events," Gabby says. She crouches down beside Nick. "Okay. Let me see if I have things straight. You decided that you wanted to help me, which, thank you for that, by the way. And then your father decided to hang you because he's an asshole. Ryan couldn't let that happen, so he recruited Jackie to help him get you free. Right?"
Nick nods, wondering why she's summarizing what he already knows.
"Yeah, that's not what happened at all," Gabby says. "Jackie has been helping us for months. She decided to rescue you without Ryan having anything to do with it, and figured out how to do it mostly on her own too. Our only job was picking you up out of the trash heap where the guys had dumped you, and taking you to Solomon's for recovery."
Nick closes his eyes and wrestles with that. Jackie is the mole after all. "Why would she…"
"Look, obviously you're going to have to have a pretty long talk with your kid," Gabby says. "I'm not getting involved in that. But don't blame Ryan. He didn't want to help you at all, or at least that's what he said. Wouldn't lay money that it's actually true, but he knew it was just a trap for us. He was right about that, I'm sure."
Nick looks between Maya and Gabby, not sure of what to say.
"Get some rest," Maya says abruptly. "Jackie will explain everything once she gets here."
"S'not safe," Nick says.
"I think Jackie can be trusted to figure out what is and isn't safe," Maya says. "Now shut up."
Nick does. It's not like he's got a lot of other options. He's tired, and everything hurts. He closes his eyes and waits. He thinks he might even doze off for a little while because he's not sure what tim
e it is when there's the creak of the door opening and a very familiar voice. "How is he?"
"Valerie?" he asks, trying to sit up and just flopping around like a landed fish. "The hell—what are you—do you have any idea how dangerous it is to—"
"Dad," Valerie says impatiently. "It's fine. Gabby and Dominic walked to the edge of the compound to pick me up, and they'll walk me back when I'm done. I was perfectly safe."
"Dominic." Nick sees the blonde boy standing with Valerie, his hand curled around Valerie's arm. He's starting to get a clearer picture of what his daughters have been up to, and it's making his head hurt. "Jesus Christ."
Valerie kneels beside him, leans down to kiss him on the forehead. "Hey." Her voice is gentler. "How are you feeling? God, your neck…"
Nick hasn't seen himself in a mirror, but he's guessing the marks can't be pretty. "I'm fine," he says. "Just a little sore. Can't move most of my limbs yet but I guess that's an aftereffect of whatever Solomon gave me."
"Rhododendron ponticum," Dominic says, "but he says it was coated in some other things to enhance the effect."
"Well, whatever it was, it seems to have worked," Valerie says.
Maya is glaring at her. "Where's Jackie?"
"She couldn't make it." Valerie shakes her head. "She's staying in the barracks now and she can't risk being seen leaving. Not so close to the supply run. She says to take care of Dad and stick to the plan, and she'll meet up with you guys when we make the run."
"Staying in the barracks?" Nick asks, looking up. "Why?"
Valerie blinks at her father, then looks away. "She couldn't…I mean…"
Nick closes his eyes, feeling a twist of anger and sorrow in his gut. "Your mother."
"Yeah." Valerie wipes away a few tears. "I mean, I could have argued with her, but Jackie told me not to. She said it was better this way." She looks over at Maya and says, "She thinks it's better this way, anyway. I mean, a traitor would never move into the barracks, never want to be closer to the people in charge."
"Mitchell won't be looking for a traitor anymore," Maya says. "Not now that he found one."
"We'll see," Dominic says.
"What do you mean by 'make the run?'" Nick asks.
"We're leaving," Maya says. "We're going to use the return of the supply run as a diversion. Jackie says that almost everyone in the militia will be called back to cover, especially with the rumor that someone's going to attack it. We can get out of the valley. Find somewhere better."
Nick shakes his head. "Getting out of the valley won't bring you somewhere better."
"You know that for a fact?" Dominic asks. "Or have you bought into Mitchell's propaganda like everyone else?"
"I saw it," Nick says. "With my own eyes."
"When?" Maya asks.
"When?" Nick echoes.
"Yeah. When? Was it a month ago? A year? A decade? When was the last time you left this godforsaken town?"
Nick sighs and wishes he could move. "Four, maybe five years ago."
"Then things could have changed," Gabby says.
"Yes. They might be even worse."
Maya shakes her head. "We don't care. We can't survive here any longer, so we're leaving. Whatever's on the outside, we'll deal with it together, as a pack." She lets out a breath. "We weren't planning on inviting you, but now that this has happened, you're going to have to come along."
"Oh, am I?" Nick asks, somewhat amused by this nineteen year old giving him orders.
"Well, it's that or you explain to Jackie and Valerie why you'd rather stay here and risk getting caught and hanged. Again."
Nick's mouth tightens. "If they think they're going with you, they've got another think coming."
"You're kidding, right?" Maya asks, her eyebrows going up.
"No, I'm not. I—"
"You can stop right there!" Valerie is standing with her hands on her hips and her chin tilted towards the ceiling. "If you think for one minute that you're going to stop Jackie and I from leaving, than you're the one who needs to think twice. You've lied to us our entire lives. About everything. About the world. We found a family of our own, and we're going to stay with them. And I don't care what you think about that."
"You don't know what it's like out there," Nick says.
"Neither do you," Valerie counters.
"I've been there," Nick says. "Maybe it was a few years ago, but I was there and I saw it. Why do you think I didn't want to smuggle your family out?" he adds, directing the question to Maya. "On the last supply run I went on before Ryan asked me for help, I saw werewolf women and children skinned alive and staked out in the streets. I saw witches crushed by the stone tests. I can't—" His voice cracks despite himself. "I can't let you go out there. It's not safe."
There's a ripple of unease in the room. Valerie hesitates, and it's clear that she wishes that Jackie was there to offer some advice.
"Then we'll keep going," Maya says. "Until we find somewhere that is."
"It doesn't work like that," Nick says.
Maya shrugs. "We're out of better options. What else do you think we should do? Stay here until we're hunted down?"
"You can do whatever you want," Nick says. "But you're not bringing my children with you. After everything I've done to keep them safe."
"You think they're safe here?" Dominic challenges. "You think Mitchell isn't going to keep trying to kill Jackie because he knows that eventually Jackie is going to figure out that Mitchell killed her parents? You think they won't eventually figure out that Valerie is helping bring us supplies? Do you think that Mitchell will hesitate to hang her in the square any more than he did you?"
Nick looks at Valerie. "You have to stop."
"I won't," Valerie says.
"Why not?" Nick asks, frustrated.
"Because I'm going to do what's right." Valerie gets to her feet. "And to hell with anyone who tries to stop me. Including you."
Chapter Sixteen
It's sunrise, and it's cold, and Maya is sulking. She knows that it's unbecoming. But she misses Jackie, and she's disappointed that Jackie didn't come to see them, almost angry. And towing Nick through the darkened streets without knowing whether or not there are any dawn patrols out is unnerving. They had stayed in the convenience store right by the compound because nobody wanted to risk being out on the streets at night if they didn't have to. Now it's time to get back to the motel.
There's barely anything to eat there. Pickings have been lean the last few days, and they long ago finished what Valerie had stolen for them. There's plenty that's been designated for the run, but Maya hasn't allowed any of the betas to touch it, so she won't either.
They need hot water for Solomon's mixture, though, if they want Nick to recover. So they'll have to risk lighting a fire. Maya sees that the betas have built one up. "Who's on watch?" she asks, taking the envelope full of herbs out of her jacket pocket.
"Jared and Dominic on the back, Siobhan and Spencer on the front," Kyra says.
"Any idea where Ryan is?"
Kyra shakes her head. "No. He hasn't been back since you left for Solomon's with Jackie and Dominic yesterday."
"Great." Maya shakes her head and lugs Nick into one of the other rooms, so he can have a little privacy while he recovers. "Bring me a cup of water when it's hot, will you?"
"Sure," Kyra says. She's looking at Nick curiously, but not commenting.
Maya wants to throw Nick into a heap and have done with it, but instead lowers him down gently. She's pissed about Jackie being in danger, but she shouldn't take that out on Nick. She can't help but feel like all of this is Nick's fault, but it isn't. And Nick saved Gabby's life. So she lays Nick down and even sticks a pillow underneath his head. A few minutes later, Kyra comes in with a cup of water, and Maya mixes it as instructed. It takes some hard shaking to wake Nick up. His hands still aren't working, so Maya has to prop him up and spoon the tea into his mouth.
"Jackie has been helping us for months," she says quietly. "Bringing u
s supplies. She smuggles them from the warehouse by signing them out under a bunch of different names. Says she took months perfecting how to forge the signatures. She gives us the patrol schedule. Tries to warn us about the raids when she can, even though it doesn't always work out."
"Why?" Nick finally asks.
"When she was thirteen, she ran away from home. Got picked up by a couple of Cervantes' betas, and I got her out of it. And…" Maya huffs out a breath. "Because it was the right thing to do. She knows it. You know it too. That's why you saved Gabby. It just took you longer to get there."
"I always knew it." Nick closes his eyes and lets his head rest against the wall. "I just never did anything about it."
Maya shrugs. "You came through when it mattered."
"Not according to Ryan."
"Yeah, well, my brother's kind of a jerk." Maya continues to spoon the tea into Nick's mouth. "You broke his heart."
"I know." Nick sighs. "He's got every right to be pissed. To let me hang. I was a selfish son of a bitch, and I used him, and even though he was the best thing that ever happened to me, I never put him first. Not once."
"Mm," Maya says, more of a noncommittal noise than an agreement or denial.
"But I wasn't lying about what's out there. About why I didn't help your family escape."
"I know that," Maya says evenly. "But that doesn't change the fact that we're leaving. And it's not just because we think it's better out there. We know it might not be. But it's a chance to be together. A chance we would never get here."
Nick glances at him. "You and Jackie, huh?"
"Yeah." Maya sets down the empty mug. "I love her. I won't apologize for it."
"You don't need to. I'm glad you two found each other."
"But it would never work. Not here. So we're leaving. Maybe we'll find a better place. Maybe we won't. But either way, we'll find it together."
Nick says nothing.
"And, because you're supposedly dead now, you're coming too," Maya says.
Nick opens one eye. "You're not my alpha, Maya. You don't get to order me around."
"I'm not giving you an order. I'm just telling you the way it's going to be. The decision was kind of made for you, when Mitchell tricked you into helping us under his nose and then hanged you in the town square. What are you going to do, stay here? Hide in the shadows by yourself and live off the charity of people in this town? You're not going to find a lot of that."
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