The Kerrigan Kids Box Set Books #1-3

by W. J. May

  A little dreamcatcher was hanging in the frame. An intricate lacework of string and feathers, small enough to fit in the palm of your hand.

  He unhooked it from the nail, stared at it a moment, then offered it out with a shy smile.

  “For you.”

  She looked up in surprise.

  “Are you sure? Jase, you should keep—”

  But he was already pressing it into her palm.

  “I want you to have it. For coming here with me.” A faint blush colored the tops of his cheekbones as he smoothed her fingers shut. “And for...everything else.”

  What should have been an awkward silence fell over the room, but they both were smiling.

  A few seconds later, Aria cocked her head to the window with a teasing grin. “I’m pretty sure our cab driver fled for his life. You think we should hitchhike back uptown?”

  “Are you kidding?” Jason stifled a theatrical shudder, looking far more like himself as he gave the room a final glance and started heading for the door. “We’ll be attacked by a pack of wild dogs long before we can make it to the...to the...”

  He trailed off, staring at something just over her shoulder. She whirled around a second later and saw a tiny carving in the wall. Two pair of initials, surrounded by the classic heart.

  WG + EH

  W.G.? That has to be his father, Wyatt Gaines. But wouldn’t that mean...?

  “Jason?” she breathed, almost afraid to ask. “Do you think that could be...”

  He took a step forward, touching his fingers to the heart. “...my mother.”

  IT WAS LATE BY THE time Aria and Jason battled their way through London traffic, back to the places they knew. It was even later by the time they finally made it home. They probably would have gotten there much sooner, if Jason hadn’t told the driver to take them to the riverfront.

  He’d walked straight down to the shoreline the second they arrived, leaping gracefully over the cautionary rail until the tips of his shoes were touching the water. He stood there for a moment, staring out at the waves, then threw back his head with a deafening curse.

  “DAMNIT!”

  Aria cast a quick look in either direction, then hurried after him. She couldn’t remember a time they’d been to the river when they didn’t see some lunatic hauled away by the police. They hadn’t told their parents they were leaving in the first place. She didn’t want that lunatic to be him.

  “Hey, crazy.” She flashed a bracing smile, shooting reassuring looks at the gawking tourists as she hopped the rail to join him. “You putting on a show?”

  He ignored her, staring out at the churning tide.

  “Why did I have to see that?” His voice was so soft she almost couldn’t hear it, so desperate that it tore at her heart. “I was finally starting to...but then I had to see it.”

  He shook his head, searching for answers in the waves.

  “All summer it’s been killing me. Ever since I got that call. But then we came here and you...” He trailed off suddenly, as if he’d almost said too much. “I thought I could finally walk away, that I could finally put it behind me. Then I have to go and see those bloody initials.”

  He hurled a piece if ice into the water with those last words, watching as it skipped half a dozen times before floating away on the current. Again Aria cast a nervous look around, but the people behind them didn’t seem to have noticed. Their attention had been drawn away from the beautiful but slightly disturbed teenager by a man who was swallowing whole churros up the road.

  “At least now you know,” she ventured tentatively. “It doesn’t give you much to go on, but if you typed in Wyatt’s name along with those initials, maybe you could find something online—”

  “And why should I?” he answered shortly. “The woman left when I was less than five years old. Just walked out. Why should I care to find her now?”

  Each word was laced with bitterness, but the hurt beneath them was clear to see. Aria lay a gentle hand on his shoulder, turning him away from the waves.

  “...because maybe she thinks you’re dead.”

  His face paled slightly, as if the thought had never occurred to him, but it flushed just as quickly with anger over something else. If he’d spent less than an hour in that house and found the carved heart, it would stand to reason—

  “Don’t,” Aria cautioned immediately, holding up her hand, “I know that look.”

  He tilted his head sarcastically. “Give me one good reason.”

  In a blind panic, she found herself repeating the words Lily had said to her the other day.

  “Omniscient uncle, pre-meditated homicide, consequences.”

  He shook his head, pulling free from her grasp and turning back to the water.

  One hand was clenched around something so hard his knuckles had started to whiten. It took her a second to realize it was one of the little figurines from the game.

  “He knows. He has to know.”

  Her heart sank, and her eyes snapped shut for a split second.

  “You can’t be sure—”

  “Oh, come on,” he interrupted bitingly. “You really think my dad spent any amount of time in that house and didn’t see it? You really think my dad missed something?”

  No, she didn’t. But the last thing Jason needed now was to alienate one father for another.

  “I’m sure he has his reasons...”

  She trailed off at the look on his face. A second later that little figurine was skipping over the waves as well, hovering there for a moment before sinking into the river.

  “They always do.”

  THE CAB RIDE HOME WAS much more subdued than the one to the house. There was no more nervous foot bouncing, no more blurted questions and fingers tapping against the seat. Both friends stared silently out their own window, watching the lights of the city flash by.

  There would be trouble when they got home. Growing up as children of secret agents came with several rules. Don’t ever break curfew was one of them. Not to mention they’d left their phones on the kitchen table next to the waffles. But there’d be more trouble in Jason’s house than hers.

  She didn’t like to imagine the fight that would ensue when all that bottled up anger came spilling out onto Gabriel. She was almost tempted to go with him—just to temper the rage. She understood where it was coming from. Gabriel would, too. But it wouldn’t help matters.

  Of all the friends, Jason and Lily were the ones least likely to lose control—probably because they each had one of the ‘twisted siblings’ as a parent. Once, when Benji set the kitchen on fire, they calmly collected everyone’s personal belongings as the others raced outside in a blind panic.

  The outburst by the river was a rare thing. So was using his tatù in public.

  I’ve got to talk him down before we get home, she decided, casting him a secret look from the corner of her eye. I’ve got to salvage whatever’s left of this... why is he smiling?

  It was hard to see in the dark, but it was there—a little grin curving up the side of his face. A second later, he felt her watching and met her gaze. The grin brightened under the flashing lights.

  “You really made fun of my dead father’s taste in furniture?”

  She let out a secret sigh as her heart quickened in relief.

  “Talk about bad taste—he had you as a son,” she said seriously. “I went easy on the guy.”

  He laughed aloud, then glanced out the window as the taxi pulled up to his house. The curtains were drawn, but there was no doubt that Gabriel was waiting. Probably Natasha, too.

  “Always putting things in perspective, Arie.”

  He opened the door, but she caught him by the sleeve.

  “Wait.” She fumbled around in her pocket, retrieving a water-logged little figurine from her pocket and holding it in the palm of her hand. “I might have rescued this while you hailed a cab.”

  His lips parted in surprise as she held it out between them, twirling the little man between her fingers.
He’d chosen the pilot. She wasn’t sure if he was aware of it himself. A few silent seconds passed then he took it suddenly, giving it a final look before slipping it into his pocket.

  A hint of that same peculiar expression ghosted across his face. “...thanks, Arie.”

  She grinned and pulled the door shut behind him. “Anytime.”

  IRONIC AS IT MIGHT seem, when your father was gifted with perfect hearing the best way to approach unnoticed was never on foot. It was in a car—where the noises blended and individual sounds couldn’t identify you. It was a lesson Aria had learned the hard way, and she used it now.

  “My house is just on the other side of the park,” she told the cab driver. “Do you mind?”

  He shrugged once and put the car back in drive. “It’s your money.”

  They circled around in the darkness, past each of their respective homes. The Deckers’ blinds were closed and the windows were darkened. The Fodders’ penthouse was too high up to properly see. By the time they reached her house at the end of the block, it was as deceptively quiet as the rest of them. So quiet, in fact, that for a split second Aria thought there might be hope.

  “Thanks,” she said breathlessly, eager to get inside. “Keep the change.”

  “That’s a nice car outside,” the man said appreciatively, eyeing her father’s newest indulgence. “Next time, you should take that.”

  Her smile faded slightly as she pressed the door shut behind her. “I’ll keep that in mind...”

  The second the man was gone, she moved in earnest—throwing her purse into its hideout in the bushes before placing both feet carefully on the flowering lattice to begin her climb.

  Even if her parents had noticed she was gone, they’d surely know by now that Jason was gone as well. They’d surely called Julian to check on things and he’d surely told him that the kids were just down by the river—throwing ice into the waves and shouting. They’d surely expect them to take a cab home, and no matter how distracted they’d become it surely wasn’t that far past curfew.

  I’ve been worrying for nothing, she thought confidently, pushing open her window and swinging her foot to the floor. Everything’s going to be fine—

  “Watch your step.”

  She whirled around with a gasp, slipping on the polished window frame and tumbling to the floor. She landed with a thud, then lifted her eyes to see her father sitting by her desk.

  “You keep that up, I’m going to have to replace the latch.”

  The same way he’d fused the thing shut two summers before. The way he’d deliberately sabotaged the floorboards outside her bedroom, so they made an incriminating creak.

  “Dad.” She straightened up in a hurry, too guilty to meet his eyes. “How long-how long have you been sitting there?”

  He didn’t answer. He just gave her a steady stare. “Where were you, Aria?”

  “I was out,” she answered instantly, “with Jason.”

  There was no point in lying. If he hadn’t already called Julian—and she was sure that he had—her mother had a useful tatù that let her know whenever someone was telling the truth.

  Sure enough, Devon didn’t look surprised—just disappointed. “Were you going to call me?”

  “I left my phone at breakfast,” she blurted, feeling a flaming blush on her cheeks. “I wasn’t even planning on leaving. Jason needed this favor and it was.... it was kind of spur of the moment.”

  This was not good enough. She knew that. But without betraying her friend’s secret, she didn’t know what more she could say.

  “I’m really sorry,” she offered, figuring that was a good place to start.

  He let out a tired sigh, pushing to his feet.

  “Arie, I don’t want you to be sorry. I want you to have fun and be safe. But you can never manage to do both at the same time. Do you know how much leeway you kids have?” He glanced back at the chair. “Do you know how worried I get, sitting here night after night?”

  Her head bowed to her chest. These were always the worst confrontations. The ones where he didn’t raise his voice, or threaten, or punish. The ones where he was just quiet and a little sad.

  “Go to bed.”

  He was gone before she could say a word, heading downstairs as he pulled his phone from his pocket. She heard him pressing speed-dial, then couldn’t resist ghosting after him, perching on the top of the landing and switching tatùs just in time to hear him leaving an angry voicemail.

  Gabriel. He must have called Gabriel.

  Turns out her dad was angry after all. She didn’t understand half the words he was saying, the others she’d only heard in the kinds of movies where her mother covered her ears.

  “—control your damn kid—”

  The doorbell rang.

  Both father and daughter glanced up at the same time. Then he went to open it, still holding the phone in his hand, while she turned invisible and crept down a few more stairs to see.

  Gabriel was waiting on the porch with a smile, hands in his pockets.

  “We live so close, I thought you might want to yell at me in person.”

  Devon ended the call with a withering expression and proceeded to do just that, while there was a quiet knock on her window and Aria ghosted back up the stairs.

  She looked around for a moment, thinking she must have imagined it, then another little pebble hit the glass. She opened it as quietly as she could, melting back into sight.

  Jason was outside, grinning up at her from the street.

  As their parents ranted and raged downstairs, he cocked his head towards the park. She hesitated a long moment, then leapt out the open window into the cool night air.

  “I really shouldn’t be doing this,” she whispered when they were far enough away. “I’m in enough trouble with my dad as it is—”

  “This will just take a second,” he interrupted, pulling her beneath the trees. “I just realized I forgot to do something back at the house.”

  Her mouth fell open in dismay as she gestured incredulously to the road. “Well, it’s not like we can go back—”

  He kissed her on the cheek. “Thanks for coming with me.”

  She froze perfectly still, staring up at him in shock. For a second, it looked like he wanted to say more. Then he quickly moved into the trees, vanishing with a little wink.

  “See you later, Arie.”

  She slowly lifted a hand to her cheek. “Yeah...see you.”

  Chapter 10

  The next morning, Aria was almost relieved to be heading back to Guilder. Most of the time she and the others went home for the weekend, she absolutely dreaded going back. But this weekend had been different than most. And, if she was being honest, that had very little to do with her adventure the previous day versus what had happened when she got home that night.

  He...kissed me.

  She blanked just at the thought.

  Am I remembering that right? Was that some kind of hallucination?

  By the time she’d gotten dressed and packed her bag for school, she’d half-convinced herself that it was. She must have picked up some kind of mutant spore in his dead father’s house and it had worked its way into her brain. What else could explain what had happened?

  Toxic mold, asbestos. She shook her head, swinging the messenger bag over her shoulder. These things are silent killers. Jason probably picked it up, too—

  A car honked outside.

  She raced to the window and saw Lily parked in the middle of the road, waving frantically with a giant grin plastered on her face. With a roll of her eyes, Aria waved back—silently vowing to win the battle with her parents and have her own car before the year was up.

  “James,” she yelled, “our ride’s here! Let’s go!”

  The front door swung shut beneath her and she looked down to see him sprinting full-speed to the front seat. The car door was already hanging open. He was just seconds away.

  Oh no, you don’t!

  Strictly speaking, supernatural ac
robatics weren’t allowed outside the walls of the school. But there were few things more powerful than a big sister’s ego. With a hastily shouted goodbye to her parents, she sprang from the open window—ignoring the honeysuckle altogether as she flipped twice in the air and landed in the grass right in front of him.

  He stopped short, staring in amazement, then gave her a hard shove in the shoulder and took off running once again. Only to have her catch him by the shirt and yank him back.

  “This is called seniority,” she stressed, deciding it was a good moment to teach the little upstart a lesson. “Maybe one day, when you’re older, you’ll understand—”

  There was a loud slam and both siblings whirled around in dismay as a handsome redhead waved from the front seat. Apparently, Benji had decided it was a good teaching moment as well.

  He locked the door, but rolled down the window.

  “Tough luck, Arie.” His lips curved up in a lazy grin as he slipped a pair of sunglasses over his eyes. “Maybe one day, when you’re older, you’ll learn to share.”

  James grinned, yanking himself free, while Aria threw a handful of ice at the window. Lily let out an infuriated shriek from inside as cool pair of fingers suddenly flicked Aria beneath the chin.

  “Get your own power, Arie.” Jason gave her a wink as he sailed by, pulling open the door to the backseat. “You can’t have mine.”

  Her breath caught in her chest as she stared after him, only to realize in dismay that James had already slid inside. Leaving her to squeeze in between them.

  ...for an hour-long drive.

  Jason’s eyes twinkled as he tilted his head with a courteous smile. “After you.”

  Consciously willing herself not to blush, she swept past him and settled quickly in the middle seat. Crowding her little brother as much as possible to make some room on the other side.

  “This is great,” Benji said from the front seat, stretching out his long legs. “Very spacious.”

  Jason clapped him on the shoulders and he bolted up with a shiver, shaking little shards of ice from the collar of his shirt. “Spacious...but a little cold.”