“That was an accident,” Gabe determined. “An accident we know nothing about. So, we should probably get the hell out of here.”
“Where’s Sharla?” Carly pleaded.
“Abel took her back to your place,” Crys answered. “Her shoulder’s not in very good shape, but she’s alive. Sharla’s alive because of you, Carly. Thank you—you saved her.”
Carly’s gaze fell. Sharla might be alive, but Carly hadn’t saved her from nearly enough. She should have sensed Damon’s intention sooner and made sure none of this happened.
“Hey,” Gabe said. “It’s not all on you, Carly.”
“We really should get out of here,” Crystal advised. “Eventually, that body’s going to get found, and we don’t want to be around when it does.”
Carly indulged in one last look at Damon’s corpse, one final glimpse of the man who’d robbed her of so much but who’d ultimately taught her a wealth about the world. Though only seventeen, Carly Morneau’s days of sitting around waiting for other people to work things out for her were over.
There were three more crystal skulls out there, and even if it took Carly the rest of her life, she was determined to find them. After all, they belonged with her. They belonged with what she and the amethyst skull had become.
As a middle finger to Damon and his memory, Carly stole from him the last thing he had left to take—his primary form as a hawk. She spread her wings wide with flight and floated up into the moonlit night, not bothering to give him any further regard.
Damon Phillips was a closed chapter in Carly’s life. It was time to move on, and live.
* * *
“An anonymous tip has been called in regarding the body,” Howard spoke to the small crowd gathered in the Morneau kitchen later that evening.
Well, it was morning, really, Carly noted, glancing at the clock. After she’d split from the beach, she’d led a search party around Sterling and McCabe and all the other towns in the area, looking for any sign of Katia or Vanessa. But their things had already been taken from their rooms at the resort in McCabe, and there was no trace of them.
It was only after several relentless hours of pursuit that Carly had receded back to the house and allowed Chandra to assess her injuries.
“These cuts on your neck are deep,” Chandra spoke, wincing as she studied them.
But Carly didn’t seem to notice the pain. “I’ve got Gabe to thank for that.”
“You’ve got Gabe to thank for a lot, young lady. From what I’ve heard, he saved your life tonight.”
“I didn’t do anything,” Gabe said, setting a cup of coffee in front of Carly. “She’s the one who got us Sharla back.”
“And Abel dislocated his shoulder making sure she didn’t fall off that cliff,” Carly reminded him, taking a sip of coffee. “So, I think it’s safe to call it a group effort.”
“The real group effort will be keeping this under wraps,” Abel spoke as he gazed out the back window. “Is Sharla still asleep?”
“She’s been passed out for several hours now,” Chandra confirmed. “I’m hoping a good night of sleep will make this easier for her to process.”
Carly smirked. It was going to take more than a few hours of sleep to make any of this easier to process. “Am I in the clear for now, Chandra?”
“As long as you promise to keep these bandages clean,” Chandra relented, nodding toward the patchwork she’d done on Carly’s neck and shoulders. “And to let me know if that wrist of yours gives you any more trouble.”
“Sure thing,” Carly said, ignoring the nudge of pain gnawing at her wrist as she jumped up from the table. Though the room was filled with family and friends, she couldn’t seem to focus on any of them except Gabe. “Can we talk?”
There was no longer any permission to ask from her father. Carly had taken a man’s life tonight, and had inadvertently taken charge of the group. Gabe nodded, and she led the way to her room on the third floor, closing the door to give them privacy. She stepped over to her stereo and set Low to play, easing a bit as music surrounded them.
Gabe didn’t say anything, just stood in the middle of the room and watched as Carly dug through her things.
She located the items she’d stowed away—secrets that Gabe was much more entitled to than she. “I didn’t give you these before because I didn’t think I could trust you. But now, you can’t hide anything from me, can you?”
Gabe blushed, but held her gaze.
Carly handed him the items—the envelope with My Dearest Gabriel scrawled on the front, and the Polaroid of Cassandra Hutchinson with PLAN B printed on the back. Their fingers grazed for just a moment, a shimmer of sparks igniting between them.
“Have you seen either of these things before?” she asked.
Gabe shook his head, puzzling over the picture. “Plan B?”
Carly shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine. She’s young in the photo—maybe our age.”
Gabe frowned, scanning the envelope. “Have you read this?”
“Haven’t even looked at it.”
“You weren’t curious?”
“Oh, I’m curious, but it’s not addressed to me.”
Gabe seemed amused by that, which was as good of a reaction as she could have hoped for. “Where’d you find these?”
“Well, I found the letter in your house,” she admitted. “On New Year’s, so, now you know why I didn’t show you right away.”
Gabe surprised her with a smile. “I suppose you were kind of busy that night, trying to get someone’s attention. What about the picture? Did you steal that from my house, too?”
“No, I found the picture here,” Carly explained, nodding toward the secret passage where they’d first found the amethyst skull. “Wedged into the wall. Based on how dated the photo is, it’s probably been there a while.”
He let out a sigh, and dug into the envelope. Gabe produced a single sheet of stationary, unfolded it, and scanned over the brief message. As he read the neat script, Carly made out the words in his mind: If they’ve gone with Plan B, you’ll need the 5 skulls to get me back.
Five? Carly questioned, stepping in next to Gabe to read the letter for herself. Sure enough, the numerical value was written out, and there was no mistaking it. “Then why did Damon say there were only four?”
Gabe gaped at the letter, reading it over and over again. “Does this mean my mother’s still alive somewhere?”
Carly had to still her own speculation to backtrack to Gabe. He was wondering if Cassandra Hutchinson could possibly still be alive, while Carly was already operating from the assumption that she was. “I found this letter in a secret passage in your father’s study, Gabe. How long’s he had it?”
Gabe shook his head. His elbow brushed up against Carly’s arm, and though the action had been accidental, it sent electricity humming between them.
Carly took a step back. “Gabe…”
His icy eyes swept over her as if he knew what she was going to say. “I do know what you’re going to say,” Gabe jumped in. “Just like you know exactly how I feel about you. Not like I could hide it even if I wanted to.”
Gabe loved Carly—that’s all there was to it. Despite her flaws and downfalls, despite his, he loved the hell out of her. And that wasn’t going to change, no matter how much she shut him out.
“That’s exactly why I can’t have that level of relationship with you right now,” Carly told him. “It’s too distracting, Gabe, when I’m just starting to figure out my destiny.”
Gabe would no longer be arguing about the concept of destiny, but it wouldn’t be as easy for him to place his feelings on hold. Carly didn’t care what was easy for him—she cared what was best for their community. And right now, what her friends needed more than anything was a leader with a clear head.
“If this is about Katia—” he countered.
“It’s not,” Carly assured him, and hoped he saw she meant it. “I can handle it, Gabe, whatever went on between you two—but
only as an outsider. Right now, the only intense relationship I can handle is with the skull. And the skull’s what’s going to help us find your mother.”
Doubt clouded his mind, but not doubt in Carly. If his mother was alive, Carly would be the one to find her. But the possibility was just too far out of this world for Gabe to believe.
“Why else would she leave us clues?” Carly pointed out, tapping at the Polaroid. “Your mother knew something we didn’t—and that something was Plan A.”
Gabe winced. “How much of this are we going to tell the others?”
“I think we’ve both learned the hard way that it’s best to keep as few secrets as possible,” she said, and emphasized, “from our friends—Sharla, Crys, Esther, Jeremy, Kyle and Abel. Anyone else… Right now, it just doesn’t feel right to trust anyone else.”
Including my father.
Especially your father.
Gabe nodded, his shoulders slumping forward. He’d been given a glimpse into a world where he could have his long-lost mother back, but he was also facing a reality in which he couldn’t trust the father who’d raised him.
“If Paul did have any involvement in searching for the skull, we’ll figure it out together,” Carly promised. “All of us. Just like we saved Sharla tonight.”
“While I appreciate your optimism, Carly,” Gabe replied, “only one of us is currently inseparable from the amethyst skull.”
Carly couldn’t help the smile at her lips, the skull tugging at her heart. It brought something out in her that only Gabe ever had, and left her not quite sure what to do with herself.
“Maybe you could get some sleep?” Gabe suggested. “After the night you’ve had, I think you’ve earned it.”
“No,” Carly yawned, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. She grabbed the pile of books from her nightstand and shuffled through them. “We’ve got to get you caught up.”
Gabe let out a laugh as he took a seat beside her. “Are you expecting me to read all these tonight?”
“Not all of them, but you could at least get started.”
He picked up one of the paperbacks, thumbing through it. “You’ve highlighted like half this, Carly.”
She yawned again. “I hope you can look past it and pick out something I didn’t.”
“Wow, you’ve really been taking this seriously.”
“I’ve had to,” Carly confessed, her gaze landing on his for just a moment. Or I wouldn’t have gotten you back.
Contented, at least for now, Gabe turned to the front of the book, fell back on the bed, and started to read.
Carly discarded the pile of books, all but for a paperback she’d picked up in Duluth. She settled in next to Gabe and opened to the first page. She didn’t know what fate next had in store for her, but whatever it was, Carly was certain she could face it as long as she had her best friend by her side.
MICHELLE ROXANNE BREDESON
is a Writer + Graphic Designer.
She resides in The Middle of Nowhere, North Dakota.
For more information, please visit
www.michellebredeson.com
Legends: Bloodline Book 2 Page 27