“But—”
I cut her off with a firm “I know these people. They won’t hesitate to hurt you to get to me. So please. Please! Go with Mr. Holland. Stay safe so that I can stay focused.”
A beat of silence...another...each crackling with tension.
“I will go with him,” she said, surprising me. Then she added, “But only if you’ll come with us.” I heard the despair in her tone. “My husband is dead. My daughter is dead. My only other grandchild is dead. I can’t lose you, too.”
Destroying me. “Nana. If I don’t do this, you’ll lose me anyway. I won’t be...me.” I’d been born for this. I wasn’t afraid. I was ready.
“At least let me try to protect you.”
From the corner of my eye, I saw Mr. Holland pull a syringe from his pocket. Going to drug her like Mr. Ankh had drugged me? Oh, man. When she woke up, she would be tee-icked.
Worth it. I clasped her hands in mine. “I’m needed here,” I said, and she once again shook her head. “Only slayers can fight Anima and zombies. And you know we’ll be facing both.”
He gently struck.
Her eyes widened, and she gasped.
“Please understand,” I whispered, “and know that I’m truly sorry.”
“Ali...together...” Her lids closed, her head slumping forward. Her knees buckled.
Mr. Holland caught her before she hit the ground and cradled her against his chest.
“Stay with her,” I commanded, shoving a new wave of guilt in that mental box. “Take care of her. Guard her with your life.”
“I will.” His eyes were diamond-hard, cold and almost cruel. “I don’t want to go. I would be of help here. But I can’t fight the zombies. Plus, I’m out of practice, and you’re not, and I know Cole. I know he’d want your grandmother safe at any cost. Besides, I can work from the sidelines and text you anything I learn.”
“I won’t let anything happen to your son,” I replied softly.
He nodded, satisfied. “I’m not going to tell you where we’re going. It’ll be better if you don’t know.”
“Agreed.”
“This morning, I bought ten burner phones and gave them to Cole. He has my new number, and I have his. If anything happens, you call me.”
“You have my word.” I placed a soft kiss on Nana’s cheek and smoothed the hair from her brow. “Tell her I’ll call her at least once a day.”
He turned and stalked out of sight.
I missed her already.
I strode to the back room and unlocked the girls. The door was open only a crack when they bum-rushed me, pushing their way out. I stumbled backward as their gazes found me.
Reeve had been ready to fight, her hands balled into fists. Now she breathed a sigh of relief. “Ali. You’re all right.”
Kat had been ready to fight, as well, her eyes narrowed, her teeth bared in a fierce scowl. Her cheeks were paler than they’d been last night, the stress of the situation hell on her malformed kidneys.
“Ali!” she cried.
Before I could blink, the two were on me, hugging me, kissing my cheeks, crying on my shoulders.
“I’m so freaking scared,” Kat admitted. “This situation is so not cake. Mr. Ankh told us slayers were attacked last night, that Lucas and Trina... They were—” She gulped, unable to finish the sentence.
“I know,” I said, somehow speaking past my own trembling. I brought her hand to my cheek, needing to feel her skin against mine. She was here, and she was okay. “Cruz was... He was... He’s gone, too.”
Both girls tensed, and I knew they were wondering how many others had been taken from us...and how much loss we were going to suffer before this war ended.
“Have you seen Bronx?” Reeve asked.
“No. I’m sorry,” I replied, and her shoulders drooped. Then I gave her the comforting words Cole had given me. “He’s tough. He’s smart, and he’s been through hell and back and survived. This? This is nothing.”
“What about Frosty?” Kat said, shaking me. Her emotions were too much for her small figure to contain.
“I haven’t seen him, either,” I admitted. But if I knew the boys, and I did, they were frantic for news about their girls. They wouldn’t have gone far. “Don’t worry. We’ll find them.”
“Together,” she insisted. “Don’t try to send me home. I won’t go. I won’t! I’ve already called my dad, told him I’m spending the next few weeks with Reeve. Maybe even longer.”
Something wonderful about her father: he let her do anything she wanted.
“If you guys are in danger,” she continued, “I’m in danger, and I don’t want my dad caught up in it. Besides, if I stay, I can cancel my dialysis at the hospital and Mr. Ankh can do it here.”
I held up my hands, a gesture of acceptance. “I agree with you. Now let’s put on our big-girl panties and go convince Mr. Always Right that he’s seriously wrong.”
Chapter 5
IMPOSSIBLE?
ONLY IMPOSSIBLE-ISH!
Reeve drove a golf cart through the dark, damp tunnel, all the way to the basement of her mansion. A place we’d often referred to as “the dungeon.” I expected Cole to be there, lying atop one of the many gurneys, feasting on egg whites and turkey bacon—that was healthy, right?—but he wasn’t. I ignored my twinge of disappointment.
A fingerprint ID allowed Reeve through another door and into the house itself. On our feet now, Kat and I followed her up a flight of creaky stairs we’d traversed too many times to count. Usually, at the top, all vestiges of dungeon vanished, replaced by the luxuries of massive wealth. Rich mahogany-trimmed walls. Plush carpets probably woven by enchanted fairies. Glossy antique furniture. Not today. Graffiti decorated the walls in a collage of every color imaginable.
Somewhere, a rainbow was weeping.
There were rips and holes in the carpets, and several pieces of the furniture were in pieces.
Had Anima trashed the place to give credence to the supposed gang war?
Yeah. Probably. Just one more crime to add to their ever-growing list.
Reeve pressed a button on the intercom. “Daddy. Where are you?” she asked, an edge to her tone.
“My office, princess,” he returned, his voice weary. “Ali, Cole’s in your bedroom and he’s been asking for you. I suggest you visit him before I’m forced to restrain him.”
I gave Kat and Reeve a hug and said, “Don’t tell Mr. Ankh what we’re planning. I’ll lead the conversation after I’ve seen Cole.” I pulled away.
I think they nodded. I was moving down the hall already, too quickly to keep track.
I flew up another flight of stairs, darted down a hallway, snaked a corner and raced into the bedroom. Instant surge of relief. The other piece of my soul was propped against the bed’s headboard, embraced by fluffy white pillows. His skin had a healthy tint, and the violet eyes I so adored were no longer glazed with pain, but bright and alert. His left arm was in a sling and his right had IV tubing running through his vein. His chest was half-covered by bandages.
“Ali.” His gaze heated as it locked with mine, and I would have sworn the earth tilted.
A second later, my surroundings faded—
—and suddenly Cole was stalking down a narrow corridor. Blood trickled from his lip.
I was slung over his shoulder, my fists beating at his back, my knees digging into his torso. “Let go,” I demanded.
“Never again,” he countered.
“You keep saying that. What do you want with me? What do you want from me?” As if I didn’t know him, sometimes better than I knew myself.
“I want what I’ve always wanted. Everything—”
—as suddenly as it had begun, the vision ended.
Because the world was tilting. I was falling,
hitting my knees.
“Ali!” Cole threw his legs over the side of the bed.
“Stay where you are or you’ll rip out your IV! I’m okay.” I stood, shaking off the momentary flash of dizziness that had taken me down. Lingering effects of the sedative, I was sure.
Cole didn’t listen. He made to rise. I rushed to his side, easing onto the mattress, pressing my hip against his and pushing him to his back. For now, I didn’t care about the vision. We’d seen it weeks before, and we would see it again. We’d figure it out then.
“You should be used to girls falling at your feet,” I said.
He cracked the barest hint of a smile. “I’d rather have one girl standing beside me.”
Sweet-talker. “How are you?”
He twined his fingers with mine, lifted our joined hands and kissed my knuckles. “I’m better now that you’re here.”
Six little words, and yet my heart swelled with love. Were all guys so open about their feelings? So willing to admit when they needed, when they wanted...when they had to have or else?
“How’s your recovery?” I asked.
“Better than it should be. Nearly burning me alive was a good call.”
I donned a haughty air. “Did you ever doubt it?”
“Only all night and a little this morning.”
“So hardly at all.”
He cracked another smile. “Last night I was getting weaker, so I performed the fire trick on myself. Charged me right up. But had it not been for you, I wouldn’t have known to do it.”
“So you owe me.”
“Exactly. I pay in kisses.”
“Good thing I accept that currency.” I adored this playful side of him—and hated knowing it wouldn’t last. “Have you been told about Trina, Lucas and Cruz?” I asked softly.
“Yeah.” He scoured his other hand over his face. “But that’s not all. The gym burned down.”
Horror sped through me at full throttle. “Bronx. Mackenzie. They were there.”
He gave a clipped nod. “The good news is, no bodies were found inside.”
Okay. Okay, then. They’d either gotten away or been captured. Just like all the others.
Stomach cramp.
“We haven’t heard from anyone. News stations have been blasting stories about the attacks, but besides Cruz, no other murders have been reported.” I paused, mentally preparing myself for a fight. “I’m taking Kat and Reeve, and we’re going on a hunt.”
He surprised me by giving another nod. “That’s great.” Of course, he just had to add, “I’m going with you,” which deflated me.
“You need to stay in your sickbed for at least a month, the way you made me stay in mine.” I’d been recovering from a stab wound—one he had given me.
Don’t worry. It wasn’t domestic abuse or anything. He hadn’t done it on purpose.
“Try to keep me here. I dare you,” he said, then winked. A challenge? “You’ll end up beside me.”
“Oh, no. Not that. Anything but that,” I responded with a mock shudder.
“Smarty.” He tweaked the end of my nose. “Even on my worst day, with both hands tied behind my back, and no gun, I can shoot better than you.”
“Maybe so,” I said, practically dripping sweetness. “But you have no control over your swords.”
His eyes narrowed. “Low blow, Miss Bell. Very low blow.”
“I thought so.” I fluffed my hair.
“Does Ankh know what you’re planning with his precious?”
“Not yet.”
“Are you actually going to ask him for permission?”
“Well, yeah.” The girls and I could leave without his knowledge, sure. I was good at sneaking. But he would panic and go looking for his daughter, maybe get himself killed. I didn’t need the added guilt.
“He won’t just say no,” Cole said. “He’ll try to sedate you and lock you up.”
Yeah. Probably. “I’ve seen his work firsthand. But I’m onto his tricks now.” He wouldn’t catch me off guard a second time. “He’s just going to have to trust me and stop trying to surround Reeve with bubble wrap.”
“I get where he’s coming from,” Cole said, everything about him softening. “To Ankh, she is a reason for getting up in the morning, and there’s nothing more important to him. Without her, he might as well just curl up and die. And that, Miss Bell, is exactly how I feel about you.”
Oh, glory. Nana had destroyed me with her declaration, but Cole...Cole was utterly slaying me....
“There’s a difference between you and Mr. Ankh,” I said with a soft smile. “You know I can defend myself, and you trust me to make smart decisions. Isn’t that right, Mr. Holland?” Eew. No way I’d use the name reserved for his father.
Backtrack. “Mr. Cole.”
He tugged on a lock of my hair. “That’s right. Therefore, I will girl up, as Kat likes to say, since that’s apparently better than manning up, and I will let you go—”
“Wait. You’ll let me?” I interjected with attitude.
“—without a fight,” he finished. “Besides, I wasn’t asking if I could come with you. I was telling you I’d be by your side.”
Le sigh. His determination was kicking up a fuss again. “What’s your blood pressure? Do you have a temperature? Are you even steady on your feet?”
He smiled and said, “Reason number thirteen. You always ask way too many questions.”
Of all the things I’d expected him to say, that didn’t even come close. He definitely had to be feverish. “That’s a reason you love me?”
“See? Another question. But yes, it is. It’s charming.”
Well, he was the only one who thought so. Other people found it off-putting. And that was being kind!
I leaned over and kissed his brow, careful not to brush against his injury, then pressed my brow into his. “Don’t think the fact that you avoided discussing your condition has escaped my notice. But I’ll let it slide...and I’ll let you come with me. As long as you stay in the car.”
“Let me?”
“Oh, good. Your ears are working.”
The softness faded from his expression, fierce protectiveness taking its place—as well as cold-blooded aggression.
The aggression wasn’t directed at me, I knew, but at Anima.
“Let’s play a little game I like to call Cole’s in Charge and Ali’s Not.”
“Pass! Played it before, hated every second.”
The flash of another grin. “You know I think you hung the moon, right?”
“Right. Just like I know you held the ladder and looked up my skirt.”
“But you’re not going to talk me out of this,” he continued. “So, go down, speak with Ankh. I’ll get dressed.”
Stubborn boy. “I’d offer to take out your IV, but that would make me an enabler.”
“Won’t be the first time I’ve removed one myself.”
The Care and Feeding of an Alpha Male 101. Sometimes, you just had to humor them. “Fine. Have fun with that.”
“Don’t leave without me,” he commanded as I stood. “I mean it.”
“Fine, fine.” I held up my hands, all innocence. “I’ll wait for you to come downstairs.”
Moving as fast as lightning, he leaned forward and hooked me by the nape, tugging my face to his. He kissed me hard and fast—no innocent forehead peck for this boy, not this time—and I moaned at his ferocity. “Also, don’t even think about sedating me.”
“Fine,” I snapped. He was severely limiting my options.
I left the room and stalked down the stairs, texting Nana along the way. I just couldn’t help myself.
I love U. So much. One day, I hope U’ll 4give me.
She’d wake up...wherever, and the n
ote would be waiting for her.
I sent her a second message. 1st update. I’ve seen Cole & he’s back 2 his bossy self. I’ve set Kat & Reeve free, & now I’m going 2 chat w/Ankh then find rest of slayers. I’ll B careful, swear!
Mr. Ankh and the girls were in the kitchen, eating sandwiches.
Not one to waste time, I explained my search and rescue plan while slapping together a PB&J. The conversation went better—and worse—than I’d hoped. Before I’d even finished, Mr. Ankh was shaking his head. I didn’t let that stop me, however. The fact was, I didn’t just need Kat and Reeve. They needed me. They’d rather die than stay behind.
“No,” he said. “You’re too recognizable. Anima will see you, follow you and then kill you all.”
I could suggest we spend a few hours dyeing our hair, altering our appearance, but even that wasn’t a guarantee we’d escape notice. “With this supposed increase of gang violence, the police will be everywhere. Anima wouldn’t dare try anything in public.” I hoped.
“It’s too dangerous,” he insisted. “Kat is sick. She needs rest and relaxation, not—”
“Hey! Don’t make me pimp-slap you, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. A. Because I will.” Kat raised her hand to prove she meant business. “I’m ready to roll.”
He pursed his lips, as if he’d just sucked on a lemon. “I’m not an unreasonable man.”
Ha!
“And I know the others need to be found. So, I’ll go with Ali, and you girls will stay here.”
Uh, that would be a big fat no. He played by the rules. We made our own. “Don’t worry. We’ll have a bodyguard. Cole is coming with us.”
“Cole? Hardly.” Mr. Ankh rubbed his forehead. To ward off an ache? “That boy needs rest just as much as Miss Parker does.”
“So he doesn’t need any, and he’s good to go?” Kat quipped.
“Tell that to him,” I said to Mr. Ankh, then hiked my thumb at Kat. “And her.”
He threw his arms up, all I’m the last sane man in the universe. “Why do I even bother? No one ever does as I recommend anyway.”
All right. I’d try this from a different angle. Hopefully one that wouldn’t give him a coronary. “Had you told everyone about the church,” I said, “this could have been avoided. But you didn’t.” Throwing blame. Maybe not the best route. But the truth was the truth, and I wasn’t going to sugarcoat it.
The White Rabbit Chronicles Page 77