The silence quickly became too uncomfortable for Rachael. It took her a couple minutes to think of a subject that didn’t involve Jackson. “Is Nathan home?” she asked.
Aaron’s dark eyes went cold. “Nathan is confined to his room,” he said in a clipped voice.
Well, great. She’d just screwed that up as well. Rachael sank down a little in her seat, but he snapped, “Sit up. Should an accident occur, you are not safe like that.”
Rachael immediately obeyed, but something inside her insisted on saying, “I thought you had better reflexes than a human?”
Aaron certainly didn’t find her amusing in that moment. “I do not appreciate bad habits forming, particularly when I am responsible for the daughter of a man I hold a modicum of respect for.”
It took a moment for Rachael to realize his meaning. “You have respect for my dad?” she asked dubiously. “Wasn’t he part of the reason you were thinking about infecting me before?”
That he found humorous. Aaron’s mouth twitched into a wry smile. “Your father still had a hand in your and your brother’s upbringings. You are a kind young woman and Jackson makes a fine lycan.”
There was a shadow of darkness in the last part of his sentence, and once again the heaviness of her brother’s situation thickened the air. All the same Rachael saw her chance for opening up the subject. “Speaking of Jackson,” she began.
Aaron finally did look at her, and she shut up. His expression was strictly impassive, yet it made her blood run cold. Not two seconds must have passed before he looked back to the road. “Speak to your brother, and later you and I may speak of him,” he said quietly.
Rachael nodded meekly.
The remainder of the ride was silent and, at least on her end, incredibly tense. She felt an enormous wash of relief when they finally turned down the driveway. Aaron pulled to a stop outside of the garage, turned off the engine, and locked the doors. The resulting click was quiet yet ominous. Rachael froze in her seat, keeping her eyes on the dashboard. Aaron refused to speak, so she forced herself to look at him, and he was watching her with those opaque black eyes that revealed less than nothing.
“You may have two hours with your brother before I insist upon taking you home,” said Aaron. He kept his hands on the steering wheel, as though to prove he was not trying to intimidate her. But he was still a strong, supernatural creature, so Rachael could hardly say she felt comforted. “If you wish to speak to me, then I highly suggest you come find me at least half an hour before we leave.”
Rachael quickly agreed. She checked her watch to make a mental note of how much time she had.
Having said his piece, Aaron unlocked the doors again. Rachael hurried to get out of the suffocating car, making a beeline for the front door. She found it unlocked and rushed in without taking off her shoes or jacket. Since she had helped move furniture just days ago, she remembered exactly which room was her brother’s. Rachael ran up the stairs, throwing the door open to her startled sibling.
“RayRay.” Jackson stood from his bed and met her halfway, enveloping her in a possessive hug. Rachael clung back to him, her anxiety finally abating a little. He smelled like fresh laundry.
When they separated, the two took a seat on the mattress. Rachael took a quick look around and she had to admit she was impressed with his new setup. His bed was a king sporting what looked like bespoke sheets for a video game. Multiple monitors sat on an L-shaped desk, with a powerful computer showing off green backlights to one side. He had his own TV, a gaming console, and a stair-style shelf that held a few games.
“Nice pad,” she commented.
Jackson grinned. “Yeah. I had to work my butt off to earn a lot of this stuff.”
“Oh?”
“Odd jobs, you know? Under the table stuff, when I wasn’t meditating. Aaron doesn’t mess around. It was insta-adult once we got to Wales.”
“I’ll bet,” she murmured.
At her soft voice, his smile faded. “I’m gonna be okay,” he said gently. “You bought me a week, and I still have four days left. Aaron will see I’m not the one fading, and we’ll figure something out.”
Disbelief sprang hot tears to Rachael’s eyes. Her shoulders began to tremble. “How can you believe in him so much?” she whispered. “He wants you dead.”
“No, he needs me dead,” said Jackson.
“That’s worse, Jackie.”
“It’s not. Look,” he said quickly, grabbing her shoulders until she looked up at him. “If I was the one fading—and I’m not—then it would mean I’m the one killing all those kids. As a lycan, I couldn’t bring that on the pack. And, yeah, especially about the kids. Aaron has a thing about them, more than you think, and believe me he’s upset as anyone. He’s trying to do the right thing. It just... might involve my death.”
Rachael was so sick of crying, but she began to sob in spite of her desires. Her brother pulled her in for a strong hug, rubbing her back as she bawled into his shoulder.
When the worst hiccups passed, Rachael managed to say, “I don’t know what else to do, Jackie. I looked. I tried so hard. And now everyone’s mad at me or not talking to me and I—I just failed you.”
“No,” he mumbled into her hair. “You’re the best sister I could ask for. And I’m sorry I didn’t spend more time with you before.”
Sniffling, she said, “Please, don’t talk like that.”
Jackson sighed and pushed her back a little. “Okay, then,” he said. “We won’t give up. I can’t leave, so I can’t do much from here—but you’re smart, RayRay. And resourceful. You saved my life last time. I know you’ll find something. Or maybe even Aaron. I’m in good hands.”
His unwavering faith in his alpha still amazed her. Rachael dried her eyes with her sleeve. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m grateful for Aaron looking after you, but... why do you look up to him so much?”
Jackson stared at her as though perplexed she would even ask. Then his eyes deepened as though inspiration struck, and he lowered his voice. “I don’t know what Holden’s told you all this time, but it’s just his experience. Aaron’s hard but I get why. It makes sense to someone who gets the lycan mindset.”
Holden is a lycan, Rachael wanted to say. Yet she couldn’t. Somehow it felt like an untruth. She settled for picking at a loose thread on her coat and hurriedly changing the subject. All the while she did her best to covertly keep track of the time. Even so she was 15 minutes late when she bid her brother goodbye and went looking for Aaron.
She quickly found him in the back yard facing the woods. Rachael quietly let herself through the sliding glass door, gingerly stepping over a lifeless rat (did wolves eat rats, she wondered) to get in his periphery. Aaron continued to stare straight ahead, his expression intent but eyes distant, as though he were listening carefully for something.
Just as Rachael thought she didn’t have the patience to wait much longer, Aaron spoke. “How is your brother?”
She frowned up at him. “Don’t you know? He lives here.”
Aaron folded his arms without glancing her way. “What he imparts to me is vastly different from what he is willing to impart upon you.”
“You could just eavesdrop,” she pointed out cynically.
“Were I not preoccupied with other equally important matters, I would have,” admitted Aaron.
After all the energy she’d expended, Rachael would have assumed she’d be too drained to be angry. Still it sparked at his words, and she looked at him sharply. “Something else is equally important to Jackson’s life, huh?”
Distractedly, Aaron said, “Perhaps.” He then turned to face her, giving her his full attention for the first time since he’d picked her up. “Nathan is behaving strangely; very similar to how he did when Beatrice was whispering lies into his ear. Yet he is more tight-lipped. I cannot help but wonder how much of it has to do with your brother.”
Rachael nearly had whiplash from how quickly her emotions struck. First anger then disbelief then confusi
on and then, finally, relief. He was confiding in her, if only a little. It gave her some potential to work with.
“I can talk to him,” she offered a little too eagerly.
“No.”
Some of the light that had filtered in at his moment of openness began to fade. Rachael blinked furiously. “Why not?”
Aaron shook his head. “You do not have the experience. Depending on what he is hiding it could be disastrous for your brother. For all I know he has proof Jackson is responsible for those deaths and is trying to protect him.” His voice grew infuriatingly quiet. “Either way you are an amateur and are more likely to ruin things in your overemotional state.”
“And what exactly are you doing to find out the truth?” she demanded. “If I’m such an amateur, then help me! What do I do? What should I look for? How do I handle this?”
Aaron didn’t answer her right away. He still seemed preoccupied, to the point Rachael wondered if he’d even heard her. At the moment he seemed transfixed at a point past her head. But he did speak, and her heart sank at his words.
“You can be there for Jackson in the event this does not work out in his favor.” At last his gaze came back to the present, and he truly looked at her. His black eyes were startlingly tender. “I am sorry, but as a human that is all you can do.”
A violent shudder overtook her. Rachael inhaled wetly. “I can’t accept that’s all.”
“Nor do I expect you to.”
She took a step back, hugging herself against a chilling gust of wind. “Then why—?”
“Simply because I see limitations does not mean there are those limitations alone,” said Aaron. “I would not have expected you to stand as well as you did against Beatrice, and yet you fought valiantly. I had not expected you to make friends given your state when we initially met, and yet you have ones who continue to stand by your side. Certainly I would not have thought you the type to embrace Holden after your initial exposure to lycans, and yet you pursue him romantically.”
Embarrassment flooded Rachael’s ears. This time it was she who looked away, unable to admit that Aaron was off the mark on his last point. It was odd, though, that he spoke so well of her despite treating her like a child. His actions and words didn’t always jive. He confused her.
Rather than press further into that thought, she focused on another. “Just how much were you watching us, anyway?”
“I rarely did,” said Aaron calmly. “I told you before, espionage is pup’s work. But when Holden was incapacitated or otherwise unable to do his job, I liked what I saw. So far you have proven me right. Your will to push through makes you phenomenal lycan potential.”
Rachael surprised herself by laughing. “It’s creepy that you just out and say you stalk humans, you know.”
A small smile pulled Aaron’s mouth. “To a human, perhaps. To a lycan, not so. We do not just hunt. We follow. We observe. We differentiate between valuable allies and prey. It is no different from any other animal, albeit we can look like humans when we wish.” His eyes flickered toward the house. Rachael followed them up to what she quickly realized must have been either Jackson or Nathan’s room. “In time, your brother will change like the rest of us as well. Should he survive this ordeal, of course.”
“Holden didn’t,” she pointed out.
Aaron’s voice was chillingly uncaring. “Holden is not lycan material.”
But her brother was, apparently. Rachael had to wonder what Holden had been like before he’d been infected. She knew he’d been turned at a very young age, but that was about it. He never spoke of his birth family.
Another question came to mind. Rachael took her time considering how to phrase it. She didn’t want to give the appearance she hadn’t been listening, no matter how strange the lycans were to her.
Slowly, she asked, “If Jackson can be such a great lycan, why do you act like it’s better to kill him?” At the look he gave her, she hurriedly added, “For all you talk about how you do things, you come off so cold. Like you don’t care.”
Something changed Aaron’s demeanor then. He quickly turned toward the forest again, but Rachael could have sworn she’d found a glimmer of guilt in his eyes.
Just as carefully as she’d asked, Aaron said, “Continuous compassion becomes exhausting over time, Ms. Adair. One might find, after over a hundred years, resorting to other methods eases the burden only compassion brings.”
She didn’t know what to say to that. Rachael pulled her coat tighter around her body and stared down at her feet.
Several minutes went by without either of them speaking. Rachael wracked her head for more ideas, but came up short. Just as she was about to cry out in frustration, a sudden loud clap startled her.
“Well then,” said Aaron with crisp cheer. He walked over and opened the sliding glass door, motioning for her to go through. A smirk twisted his mouth, and yet his eyes seemed so strangely blank. “Time is up.”
Rachael reluctantly stepped through the threshold.
Chapter Seventeen
Rachael was loath to leave her brother behind, but Aaron left no room for arguing. He didn’t get to the point he shoved her into the car, but one stony look told her that he had no issues causing her grief if she didn’t comply.
He had declared her time up at the house, but Rachael didn’t consider the discussion over. Once they were on the road she saw her chance.
“Are you sure there’s nothing to be found on the body?”
Aaron’s eyebrows shot up at her inquiry. “Yes,” he said succinctly. “And even if I was not, I would not allow you to dig it up.”
How odd that Holden had said the same thing, she thought wryly. “Why, because I can’t handle seeing a corpse?”
“More that it is disrespectful to the dead,” said Aaron mildly.
Oh. Rachael quickly looked out the window, hoping he didn’t see how humiliating his shut-down was. Still, something about his answer bothered her. “Shouldn’t her family be the ones to bury her?” she asked quietly.
“They should,” agreed Aaron. “And hopefully one day they will.”
“But why can’t we—”
“You know why we cannot alert the authorities,” he cut in harshly. “But if you must then take it upon yourself to do so. But I will warn you, your brother will not escape consequence. He is complicit in the action of our household.”
And this was where the line between morality and family blurred, Rachael realized. It was so incredibly easy to ask Aaron to do what she couldn’t—just as it was so easy for him to tell her to do the same thing. Neither was willing to compromise the safety of a person they cared about.
Softly, she said, “It’s nice to know you really do like Jackie.”
Aaron’s fingers tensed on the steering wheel. He glanced at her but kept his mouth sealed.
They pulled into her driveway quicker than she expected. She hadn’t thought Aaron to speed. Or, a part of her murmured, she was just more comfortable in his presence, so time had flown by faster.
The mere concept made her squirm. As Aaron slowed to a stop, Rachael stammered her thanks and unbuckled her seatbelt. But before she could open the door, his voice stopped her.
“Just so you know,” began Aaron. She turned to face him, and he kept staring straight ahead. His muscles were corded and tight from his hands to where his biceps disappeared into his sleeves. “I have every intention of saving Jackson.” He looked at her then, his mouth grim with determination. “If I can help it, he will not die.”
For the second time, a tidal wave of gratitude washed over Rachael. It carried her closer to Aaron, who started when she threw her arms around him and squeezed. Their position was awkward, with her practically kneeling on the seat while he remained frozen beneath her embrace. But then, gradually, he raised his arms around her.
Rachael sensed his unease, so she whispered, “Thank you,” before attempting to release him. To her surprise he held her down, firmly but not roughly. So she remained in
that strange position, wondering what could have possibly come over the pack’s standoffish alpha.
Before he released her, Aaron said in almost imperceptible tones, “Take care of yourself first and foremost, Ms. Adair.” He then released her without flair, nodding once to the passenger side door. Rachael was unsure what to make of his words. She flashed him an awkward smile before exiting the car.
The ground was damp all the way up to the house, remnants of the on and off drizzle throughout the day. Once she reached the front door, Rachael unlocked it with her house key. She rested her hand on the knob and glanced over her shoulder. Aaron was still in his car. Watching her.
Somehow, it no longer made her skin crawl. If anything, knowing he was keeping an eye out gave her relief. Rachael lifted her fingers in a slight wave before she stepped inside and closed the door behind her.
After all that, she needed a hot shower. Rachael went up to her room and shed her clothes. She made sure the water was just a few touches above warm before jumping in. Though none of her problems were resolved, she strangely felt a little better. The thought gave her pause. Was that truly a good thing? For all she knew, Aaron had just lulled her into a false sense of security. She could hear Holden’s voice in her ear, insisting that Aaron had just lied to throw her off.
And yet she couldn’t shake the feeling that today she had caught Aaron in an unusually translucent mood.
She spent longer in the shower than strictly necessary. Only when she felt the water begin to shift temperatures did Rachael finish rinsing and turn off the spray. She stepped out of the tub, toweled herself and her hair dry, and went back to her room for a change of clothes.
She was in the middle of yanking an oversized T-shirt over her head when the doorbell rang. Rachael’s pulse quickened almost immediately. If it was this late, then the only one who would come calling was....
Heedless of her silly red fox pajamas and sockless feet, Rachael hurried down the stairs and threw the front door open.
Secrets in the Fade (Secrets of the Sequoia Book 2) Page 15