Desolation Road

by Feehan, Christine

  “If he leaves us, it’s for a reason. You can’t save him if he goes. He’s leaving because he knows he can’t be saved.”

  “He already thinks that, Absinthe. We all know that. It’s a matter of time. If he leaves, it’s because he’s given up. If I go with him, he’ll try to hold out longer.”

  “And what? Prolong his agony? Because that’s what he’s going through. I feel it when I’m close to him. Not all the time, but, man, when the devil’s on his back, when it sinks its teeth into him, that demon has him hard. You can’t save him, Lana. I don’t know what can.”

  She looked out toward the restaurant, blinking rapidly to stop any moisture from touching her eyes. “I hate what they did to us. To all of us. Czar tried so hard to give us something to live for, but I don’t see how we’re all going to come out of this whole.”

  “We aren’t,” Absinthe said truthfully. “We aren’t, Lana. It’s an impossibility. Look at Reaper. He loves Anya so much. You can see it every time he looks at her. He loves her with every breath he takes. He’s damned lucky she loves him the same way back because they have to work to make it work. He isn’t an easy man to live with and he knows it. He tries, but he can’t undo the damage done to him. Steele is insane sometimes and Breezy is strong enough to call him on it. She chooses her battles, but she doesn’t let him get away with being a dictator. Ice has it the easiest because Soleil is a pleaser, but then he gives her the world. He would stand on his head to give her whatever she wanted. The two of them are making their art work for them together in a business, but even Ice can get out of hand sometimes and Soleil seems to be able to bring him back. But the absolute bottom line is this, we can’t be without one another, not even Czar. Blythe knows it. All the women know it. They choose to live close because they know we need each other.”

  Lana rubbed her left temple. “I want everyone happy, Absinthe, I really do. I want to see every single one of my brothers and Alena find that perfect person, but to be left behind, to be alone and know I always will be, it’s just too much. I can’t watch that. I’m not that big of a person. I wish I was, but I’m not.”

  “You have a headache, babe? I shouldn’t have asked you to stay.”

  “No, I get them sometimes, just like all of us. It’s nothing. I wanted to stay. I like your librarian. I think she’s perfect for you.”

  “Stop overthinking all this. You’ve always done that. You’re the one who likes to plan out every detail.”

  “Like you.”

  That wasn’t exactly the truth and both of them knew it. His older brother, Demyan, had been the meticulous planner. Absinthe had always gone on his gut feelings. As always, when he allowed himself to think about his brother, his stomach churned and his lungs burned for air. His heart accelerated and the pressure in his chest increased until it felt like a thousand-pound weight was sitting on him. He broke out in a sweat. Shit. He was finished with that.

  “Honey.” Lana’s voice was pitched low.

  He forced air through his lungs when it felt impossible to make that happen. Movement at the window across from him caught his eye. Scarlet had risen from her chair and moved right up to the glass. She appeared to be peering out, looking out toward the garden, right at him. Night had fallen, streaking the sky with gray and then deeper bluish black, making it impossible to see through the draping trees and thick shrubbery where Lana and Absinthe were hidden, but he still felt as if she could see right through it all straight to him.

  He made an effort to breathe, to push his brother behind the doors in his mind, close and lock them. He couldn’t afford to think too much about him or what happened to him. Or why. “Damn it, Lana. Like I said, we’re never going to be all right. The damage they did to us will always be there no matter what we do.”

  Lana had turned her head and was looking at Scarlet as well. “Is it possible that she felt you, Absinthe? That she felt you upset? Can you already be that connected?”

  He took his time answering. “I don’t honestly know. We definitely have something unexpected. It’s growing stronger every time we’re together. Our minds kind of tune to one another. I’ve never felt anything like it before. There’s a definite connection and I know she feels it as well, but just because I’m upset … that seems a little farfetched.”

  Scarlet turned away from the window to take her seat. Dessert and coffee were served to the two women. She smiled up at the waiter and he responded with something that made her laugh.

  “I don’t know, gut-wrenching, visceral, not just upset, Absinthe. I would have to say there’s a difference and if you’re connected, she just might feel that. You feel it when any of us are upset even over a distance.”

  “I’ve known all of you since childhood.”

  “You said she’s much like you.”

  Absinthe had to give that some credence. Scarlet was a lot like he was, at least the closest he’d ever met to anyone with the same gifts. They weren’t exactly the same and she wasn’t as adept at using them, but no one else had even come close to having anything like his talents. He had no idea what she could or couldn’t do yet.

  “I really like spending time around her,” he admitted again. “She gives off this really low energy I find peaceful. The little teenage girl she was talking to today was very agitated, but the more upset the girl was, the lower Scarlet’s energy was and that helped to calm the girl. I like that a lot about her.”

  “That’s what you do with us, isn’t it?” Lana guessed.

  “Something like that,” he admitted, flashing a slight grin at her.

  She wadded up a napkin and tossed it at him. He caught it out of the air, although he was watching Scarlet and Josefa, making certain he didn’t miss them leaving. He wanted to get out in front of them, just to make certain they could follow the two women home.

  Scarlet had told him she lived some distance from town, and she did. The property she rented was out on its own private road. A single back road led to a highway, although he discovered two smaller dirt roads that also branched away from the house, hidden by orchards that could be used as escape routes. The owners had clearly used the property as an illegal grow for years but eventually, when things got hottest just before the marijuana industry was declared legal in some states, they had gotten out of the business.

  The house was set back from the road by more than a mile, making it easy for the occupants to see anyone coming up on them. It was ideal for the previous owners, who could either take off or hide as much cash or evidence as possible inside the house before the cops got to the residence. The groves of fruit trees and nut trees made the long rows of enclosed warehouses nearly impossible to see until you were right up on them. Those had been the real cash cows, where the marijuana had been grown and processed.

  He hadn’t done more than look around and was careful not to leave any shoe prints. He hadn’t gone into the house. Scarlet was very careful. Too careful. She had no cameras outside, which he found interesting since he thought she was very security conscious. She was bound to have more security inside. In any case, he was hoping to be invited in soon.

  “They’re on the move,” Absinthe said abruptly the moment he saw the waiter come over with the check.

  Scarlet gave the waiter cash while Lana repacked the picnic basket. She was careful because the basket was Alena’s and they were always careful with Alena’s things. Absinthe took the keys and the basket and went ahead to the Porsche, sliding in and waiting for Lana. She wanted to ensure that the women weren’t meeting with anyone else. Like him, she thought the entire setup was odd, no matter what she’d said playing devil’s advocate.

  Absinthe spotted first Josefa’s car and then Scarlet’s drive past. Lana slid in and they were trailing after the women, allowing several cars to get in between. Josefa’s car had distinctive yellow rings on her taillights. That made it easier to spot several car lengths behind. There was nothing distinctive about Scarlet’s car. She disappeared into the lights of the others on the road
. Still, Lana kept her in sight, just in case she turned off somewhere else.

  After a few miles, it was very clear they were heading to Scarlet’s home. Absinthe didn’t want to take a chance that she would spot the Porsche following them. “We’d better break off and find somewhere to settle down above them to watch the house. Do you want to go on home? I can handle it from here.”

  Lana frowned and tapped her fingers on her thigh for a moment. “Absinthe. She’s doing exactly what she said she was doing. Why is it you’re still watching her?”

  He pulled the car to the side of the road, made a U-turn and parked and cut the lights. “I’ve got that feeling I get when something’s not right, Lana. Instead of getting better, it’s gotten worse. Something’s going on with Scarlet, and I need to know what that is.”

  “Another man?”

  Absinthe frowned. He wanted to say no. He didn’t think Scarlet wanted anything to do with another man. She was genuinely interested in him. He could tell easily when a woman was attracted, and she was. More, she was honest about it when quite a few women wouldn’t be. She wasn’t coy, she was very up-front, although reluctant. Still, he had a feeling a man was tangled up in there somewhere, he just didn’t know how.

  “Absinthe?”

  “I don’t know. I’m feeling my way with her. Whatever this is, she wanted to go with me tonight. She really couldn’t. She wants to see me tomorrow and intends to. She said she was seeing an old friend and that friend was leaving the country. It was both the truth and a lie. I could hear both. She said there wasn’t another man, but I felt another man and it wasn’t a good feeling.”

  “An ex? A stalker?” Lana guessed.

  “She’s watchful. At the library, she’s always careful in front of windows and she definitely looks before she goes out the door, and yet tonight she deliberately put herself in front of the window. So what the hell does that mean?”

  “Maybe she’s tired of running and is calling him out?”

  Absinthe turned the car back toward Scarlet’s rental property. He’d discovered a little knoll up above it where he could park and they could watch the house. As always, Lana was prepared for spending the night in comfort. She had a ground blanket and night goggles.

  “Don’t worry, I brought food, just in case you think you’re going starve come three in the morning.”

  “I better not have to be here that long,” he objected. “I’m picking her up at eleven. I’ve texted Alena and asked for another picnic basket. I’ll have to get back there and return before eleven.”

  “That’s silly,” Lana said, lying on her belly, fitting the goggles to her eyes. “Just get a room to sleep in tonight, have one of the boys bring you the food and pick your girl up in the morning. I worry about all of you without Alena and me to think for you when it comes to women. I’ve got eyes on the two of them, Josefa and Scarlet. They’re talking in her living room. She doesn’t have much furniture in there.”

  “Great.” He rolled over and stared up at the stars. “I’m probably out of my mind because I’ve never had to deal with emotions like this before.”

  “Sucks, doesn’t it?” Lana said.

  The sadness in her voice caught at his heart. Sometimes the sorrow in Lana was so overwhelming he couldn’t breathe. He kept his gaze fixed on the constellation right above his head and forced the air to move in and out of his lungs, thinking about Scarlet and that long fall of glossy red hair. It was the only way to keep from letting the demons consume him.

  “Yeah, babe, it does,” he answered, striving to keep his voice light.

  An hour later, the door opened and the two women opened the trunk of Josefa’s car, stuck a few items in it and then talked for a few more minutes, hugged and then Josefa drove off. Scarlet stood there a moment, hands on hips, watching her go, waved again and then turned back and shut the door. She turned off the light in the living room and turned on the light in what must have been her bedroom, and then the bathroom light went on. The bathroom windows began to steam up as she presumably ran a bath.

  “There you have it, Absinthe, exactly what your girl told she was doing tonight,” Lana said. “Let’s go get you a room at a hotel.”

  “Not yet,” Absinthe said. He was more uneasy than ever. He sat up and took the night binoculars from Lana. “Something is really off. Can’t you feel it? Stop looking with your eyes. You’re good at this, Lana. You want to believe her because she’s mine and you liked her.”

  Lana sat up as well, her shoulder nearly touching his, but not quite. None of them ever quite touched him, not if they remembered in time. She studied the house.

  “She’s taking a bath and getting ready for bed.”

  He stared down at the house. He wanted to believe it. More than anything, he wanted to believe that was exactly what Scarlet was doing. What else could she be doing? He waited. After thirty-eight minutes, the lights went off in the bathroom. He pulled out his phone and texted Scarlet.

  He phoned her. Her message said she would call back later, that she was busy.

  Babe, you up? Need to know if you’re allergic to anything.

  He waited. There was no response.

  “Don’t get crazy, Absinthe. It’s very late. She might not want to answer you this late. She might have fallen asleep already.”

  “Her light’s on.”

  “Haven’t you fallen asleep with the light on?”

  “I don’t sleep.” Absinthe put the binoculars down and turned to look at her. “She’s not in there. She’s gone. There were no shadows. Lights on. Lights off. Windows misted over, but no shadows. That was a mistake. She’s not in there.”

  “We’ve been here the entire time. She didn’t get in the car with Josefa and her car is right there, sitting in front of her house, Absinthe,” Lana pointed out.

  “You think she’s in there?” he demanded.

  She started to open her mouth and then closed it. She sighed. “Damn it, Absinthe. She has to be in there. We’re both right here. Where else could she be? She’s not in the car with Josefa, that’s for certain. Do you think she went out a back door and we didn’t catch that?”

  “I don’t know, but I’m going in.”

  She caught his arm as he unfolded his long frame. “If she’s in there, you’re blowing your chances for good. She won’t forgive you.”

  “She isn’t in that house.” He knew it with absolute certainty. “You flash me if you see anything that leads you to believe she’s coming back.”

  “Like that’s going to happen when I didn’t see her leave in the first place,” Lana said. “Let me get the rifle from the car.”

  “I’ve got to work my way down to the house. Don’t want to leave traces just in case she gets suspicious and looks up this way. Have to be careful. You have time.”

  He didn’t waste time because he had no idea what Scarlet was up to and didn’t know how long she would be gone. He made it as fast as he could, being as careful as he could not to leave behind evidence of his presence. Going back, he would have to erase his boot prints with a branch, but right now, he was going to have to hurry.

  He walked around the house first. It was on the smaller side. No cameras hidden under eaves. None on the porch or up by the door. She had two exits. A front and back door. Both were locked, and the locks were new and very good. Clearly, these weren’t the landlord’s.

  The deadbolts were new installs and really good ones. She knew what she was doing. He checked for small threads in the doorway that would let her know someone had breached her security. There were none. Shaking his head, he went through the front door. He was careful to move silently, just in case he was wrong, but he knew the moment he stepped inside that she was gone.

  The entire house smelled like her. Every breath he drew, he took that scent deep into his lungs. He looked around the living room. There were no photographs or artwork on the walls. There was no television. Very little furniture. She had two chairs and a lamp. That was it. He moved stealthily into the
bedroom, careful not to disturb anything.

  It was the same in that room. Not one thing on the walls. She had blankets on the bed, and this time, on a small, scratched-up end table that had seen better days, under a lamp, was a photograph in a beautiful silver frame of a girl that at first he thought was her, but when she was younger. In her teens. He realized when he studied it under his penlight that it had to be a sibling.

  He looked around the bathroom. Again, a very sparse setup. Everything could be dumped or picked up in one minute and run with. He spent the next forty minutes going through Scarlet’s house. Closets were mostly empty. Drawers were as well. She lived as if she could pick up and go at any moment.

  He made his way back to Lana, taking his time to brush out the distinctive prints of his motorcycle boots with a branch laden with leaves. Scarlet was far too careful not to notice prints around her house in the light of day. He knew he hadn’t made any mistakes, he was too experienced, but just the idea that she was so good that she’d managed to elude both members of Torpedo Ink bothered him.

  “She wasn’t there,” he greeted.

  “No shit,” Lana said. “I guessed that since you didn’t come back and I didn’t hear gunshots. Did you figure out how she got out of the house? If she went out the back door, wouldn’t we have seen her making her way to either road?”

  “I don’t know what to think. She’s a pro, Lana. You should see that place. She can be gone in seconds. Found a go-bag in the wall with a good hundred K in cash and a passport in the name of Libby Simon. Good forgery too. Costs a mint to get that kind of work.”

  “Did she have any kind of alarm system? Cameras set up? Anything at all to protect the property?” Lana asked. “I didn’t see you protect yourself from a camera.”

  “That’s the thing that puzzled me the most. The locks on her door were good. I mean really good. She knew what she was doing when she put them on her doors—and she put them there, not the owner. They were too new. The windows slide open and she had little round sticks in them to keep anyone out. That would work unless someone broke a pane, and she’d know. Simple, but effective. So great locks and a simple solution on the windows. No cameras. Not a single one. She doesn’t have any kind of aid-using technology.”