by T. A. Kunz
“There’s one last person we can talk to, but it might require a trip to The Reaping. You up for it tonight?”
“Aren’t you the least bit worried about the Guild being after you?” His eyes show concern. “That’s sort of their main hangout, remember?”
“Who do you think we’re going to go talk to?”
“You’re crazy, you know that? Absolutely gorgeous, but crazy.”
“Tell me something I don’t know. Are you in or not?”
“Pick you up at ten?”
“It’s a date.” My response causes his eyebrows to rise.
“A date?” he repeats. “Was that a figure of speech, or did you just ask me out all Sadie Hawkins style?”
I give him a pat on the shoulder. “I guess the world will never know. See you at ten, Heath,” I call over my shoulder as I walk away.
“Yeah, see you then.”
The lunch crowd is in full effect at the quad, but I’m still able to find Tara and Angelica through the sea of people. The moment Tara sees me, she waves me over.
“Sorry to hold up our little meeting. I had to have a chat with a certain someone.”
“You mean the hottie from last night?” Angelica asks with a sassy grin. “I’ve never been into the whole tattoo thing, but for him, I’d change my mind.”
“Yep, that’d be the one,” I reply.
Angelica releases a quick laugh. “You’re full of surprises, aren’t you? First, you save my life, and now come to find out you’ve got a thing for a half-warlock. All while being a Hunter. Well, I’m impressed, to say the least.”
“First of all, I’m an ex-Hunter, and things are complicated at best with Heath, so let’s leave it at that.”
“She’s not going to budge on that issue, Angelica. Believe me, I’ve tried,” Tara pipes up.
“Okay, let’s focus less on me and what I do, and more on what our plan’s going to be,” I say in exasperation. “I’m going to do some digging around town tonight with Heath. There might be someone who can help us figure out what’s going on. I think it’d be best if both of you stay in the room tonight until I get back.”
“Who are you going out to find?” Tara asks.
“Someone, okay?” is all I reply. Her eyes narrow and lips scrunch, but thankfully she doesn’t press the issue.
“I can give you tonight, but …” Angelica interjects while pulling out a bright pink planner from her tote bag with her sorority’s Greek letters stitched onto it. “Tomorrow night is the pre-hell week Greek life bonfire.”
“Uh, can’t you skip it? In case you’ve forgotten, someone’s trying to kill you.” I’m met by glares from both Tara and Angelica. Angelica’s glare is in direct relation to my last question, but Tara’s been glaring at me since my last answer.
“Let me put it this way: if I miss this event, I might as well let whoever’s out to kill me, kill me. Not attending an event as important as the pre-hell week bonfire is, like, Greek life suicide,” Angelica explains with frustration. “I’m sorry, but there isn’t any other way to do this. Being in a sorority isn’t just a thing you do in your spare time, Olivia. It’s a way of life, and people depend on me.”
“Okay, okay, I get it. It’s important. But so is your life, and I’m kind of in charge of protecting that right now,” I reply with my own sense of aggravation.
“How about we all go, and you can stalk Angelica from afar, Liv?” Tara chimes in.
“All right, but can you at least compromise and not stay the whole time? The less you’re out and about, the better. At least until we get this whole situation resolved.”
“Unfortunately, no. The bonfire involves this whole ritual that lasts ’til the end of the ceremony,” she answers, much to my disappointment.
“Then you better come up with a good excuse for why I’ll be attached to your hip the whole time you’re there,” I say with a forced smile.
So much for Angelica not wanting to be an inconvenience.
*****
While waiting in front of the dorm for Heath to pick me up, I realize I’ve never seen his car. I’ve always been the one to drive to his parlor, and we never went anywhere after that, since we had plenty of ways to keep ourselves occupied there.
The heavy rumble of a car’s engine catches my attention out on the street before it turns into the parking lot. Its liquid black paint job shimmers in the streetlights lining the area as it passes underneath them. When the vehicle pulls into the spot right in front of me, I notice the Mustang logo on the hood.
The car’s engine rumbles again before shutting off. Heath exits the car and a gorgeous smile splits his mouth when he sees me. He proceeds to the passenger side and opens the door for me to get in. “Your chariot awaits,” he says, his smile somehow even more gorgeous than before.
“I guess you were right—chivalry isn’t dead,” I comment while settling into the car.
He laughs. “I told you that was a vicious rumor.”
The interior of his car is as black and lush as the rest of the vehicle, and the leather seats are in immaculate condition. Actually, the whole car is spotless. Either Heath takes really good care of this thing, or he did a last-minute major cleanup on my behalf. Either option is endearing.
“Nice wheels,” I say when he drops down into the driver’s seat.
“Thanks. I saved up for years to buy her.”
I can’t believe we both refer to our cars as a she. “Does she have a name?” I ask as he begins backing out.
“Yeah, but you’ll make fun of it if I tell you,” he answers.
“My car’s name is Scarlet, if that helps,” I say with a slight smile in his direction.
“Raven,” he says under his breath.
“Raven, huh?”
“I told you you’d laugh,” he murmurs.
“No, I like it. It fits,” I reply and a relieved smile shows on his face.
“Not to change the subject, but what exactly is your plan when we get to the bar?” he asks, getting right to business.
“Would you hurt me if I said I don’t have one?” I answer sheepishly.
“Really?” His reaction isn’t surprising.
“I’ve kind of always been a winger when it comes to stuff like this. Sure, I might think about what I want to do, but usually I tend to trust my instincts. They rarely do me wrong. It’s sort of a part of the Hunter’s creed. ‘Trust your instincts, for they are always right,’ or something like that,” I explain, but he doesn’t look amused. I get this feeling he’s a planning sort of guy.
“The fact that you’re so calm about all this and appear not to be that worried about what’s going on has me concerned. There are Hunters wanting to bring you in on suspicion of murder, someone has either possessed your brother or is masquerading as him, and now you’re about to walk into a bar full of paranormals and Hunters without a plan. I’ve said it before, and I’m sure I’ll say it many times after this … you’re crazy.” I can tell he’s tense since he’s grinding his hands on the steering wheel.
“Again, tell me something I don’t know. I’m not going to apologize for my methods, but all I can say is that they get results—”
“Yeah, like you getting yourself shot after being assaulted by a group of Maulers,” he interrupts.
“I appreciate your concern and your assistance, but ultimately, it isn’t your ass on the line here, it’s mine. This is how I handle things, and I know what I have to do. You can stay and help me or not. Your choice.” Almost immediately after saying that, I feel bad. Here Heath is trying to help me, and I treat him like this.
“Of course I want to help you. I wouldn’t have agreed to this if I didn’t. I was just under the impression you’d have a strategy of some kind, that’s all,” he comments, loosening his grip on the steering wheel.
“Here’s the thing. You can have a strategy laid out, but rarely does it ever go as planned, right? I’ve got a general idea of what I need to do, and if all goes well, then hopefully everything
will fall into place. That’s my plan. I’m reactionary to a fault, always have been, but it’s exactly that quick thinking that’s gotten me out of several sticky situations. So if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right?”
“Just let me know what you want me to do, Liv, and I’ll do it,” Heath responds, glancing over in my direction.
“Thank you for trusting me.”
“Yeah, yeah. Just try not to make me regret it, okay?”
“Well, shit. I was beginning to wonder when I’d bump into the twins again. They’re most likely looking for me,” I groan as we pull into The Reaping’s front lot. There was no mistaking the twins’ trademark souped-up matching purple crotch rockets, which we passed as we searched for a parking spot.
“The twins? They’re here?” Heath asks while swerving into one of the empty spaces near the alleyway that runs behind the bar.
“Didn’t you see their bikes back there? Kind of hard to miss those things.”
“Damn, Liv. You can’t go inside with those two around. That’s like throwing a bucket of chum into a pool of great whites. They’re dangerous, and if they’re here for you, this is literally the last place you want to be right now.”
When Heath shows worry like this for my well-being, it makes me smile. Other than the fact that he finds me intriguing, I’m still not sure why he hangs around acting all protective. I must admit, I do love having him around though. He’s like my walking, talking conscience.
“Thanks for the warning, but I see Topher’s car right over there, which means he’s inside, and he’s the only person I can think of who might know where my brother is. I’ll be careful. Don’t worry, okay?”
“Wait … you think you’re going in there alone?” he asks, putting inflection on the word “alone.”
“I work better that way,” I say, and then cut him off when he tries to butt in. “Look, if you’re out here waiting and I get into trouble, you’ll already be in the getaway car.”
His face turns serious with a hint of frustration present in his eyes as he stares at me. “The very second shit goes down, you get the hell out of there, all right? Promise?”
“Promise.”
“Damn, it aggravates me how stubborn you can be sometimes, Liv,” he groans.
“Well, I’ve been told my stubbornness is one of my best qualities … or was it one of my worst? I get that confused all the time,” I say with a snicker, which is met with one serious glare.
“Can’t you just call Topher and have him meet us somewhere?”
“Would if I could, but when I got the new phone, I lost all my contacts,” I reply.
“What about Facebook?”
“Lying low, remember? No social media.”
“All right. Well you better go before I change my mind about this whole thing.”
“Trust me, I’ll be fine.” He raises his eyebrows at me with a pointed stare. “And if everything goes to shit, you’ll be right here, ready to save my life like the hero you are.”
“Quit patronizing me, Liv,” he says as a laugh slips out. “Just be careful in there.”
“Always am,” I answer, to which he murmurs, “Mmmhmm.”
I didn’t want to say anything in the car, but my heart is beating, like, a million times per minute. I think this is the first time I’ve ever done something I wasn’t at least mostly positive about beforehand. Sure, I’m not a planner by any stretch of the imagination, but I at least have some idea of what I’m going to do. This time, though, not so much. My only focus is on finding Topher.
While moving down the alleyway behind the bar, attempting to keep to the shadows and out of sight, I make my way to the back entrance. I hear two faint voices as I continue to inch closer. They sound familiar, and one of them I recognize as Topher. Sure enough, as I hunch down behind a stack of pallets full of milk crates and cardboard boxes, I see Topher standing there with Sasha the Vampire Hunter. As far as I can tell, they’re chatting over a cigarette break. They were always the only two smokers of the group, and nicotine was the only vice Topher seemed to have since he didn’t care for alcohol. He hung out at The Reaping with the gang because they liked to drink.
I watch Sasha hand the cigarette back to Topher before patting him on the back and re-entering the bar. When it closes behind her, Topher relaxes back against the brick wall of the building and takes another drag. He looks pensive about something, and I realize this is my chance to confront him. I’m sort of loving my good luck right now.
After checking if the coast is clear one more time, I step out from the shadows and approach him. “Hey, you,” I whisper in a playful manner.
“Olivia?” he asks, flicking away the cigarette. “What are you doing here? You better leave. The twins are inside and if they see you, you’re pretty much fucked.” His eyes glance toward the door with a sense of nervousness before landing back on me.
“I’ve got more important things to deal with right now, Topher. Have you seen my brother?”
He shakes his head and moves in closer like he has a secret to tell me. “I haven’t seen him since last night when we hung out here, and he was spouting off about how he let you go, and he was worried the Guild would punish him for it.”
“Did he say anything else?”
“He was saying that you thought he was possessed or something and trying to kill someone. It was weird, to say the least, but there was also something off about him. His eyes shimmered purple for a split second when he leaned in to hug me. He accused me of being like you and got defensive when I asked him about it, so I dropped it. What the hell’s going on, Livie?”
“I don’t know. That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”
“Look, for what it’s worth, I’m completely against this whole witch hunt they have after you. I don’t think you had anything to do with Tobias’s death.” I smile at his words with a great sense of relief. “But the majority don’t share my opinion, so you better get out of here. This is not the place you want to be right now.”
“Thank you, Topher. I knew I could trust you,” I say, drawing him in for a hug.
“I’ve missed you, Livie. Things haven’t been the same without you around. I’m sorry you’re mixed up in all this,” he says over my shoulder.
“I’ve missed you too,” I reply as we part. “Hey, can I see your cell phone real quick? I got a new one with a different number. I want you to call me if you find anything out, or when you see my brother again, okay?” he nods and digs into his pocket for the phone.
I take it from him and change the number saved in his contacts under my name to the new number before handing it back to him. “Remember, call me if you hear anything.”
“Of course,” he answers, taking the phone back from my outstretched hand. “Livie, I—”
Topher’s interrupted by the back door swinging open and slamming hard against the brick wall. “Topher, will you hurry your ass u—” the tall beautiful brunette begins to say, but then stops when she sees me standing next to him. It’s Lexi, one half of the Torres twins. Her eyes hone in on me and I notice a second person standing right behind her. Lexi struts outside and the other person steps into the light. I’m not surprised to see it’s her sister, Carmen. Well, damn … so much for loving my luck.
The Torres sisters are serious brawlers. They fight a little dirty, but their motto in life is “Whatever it takes to get the job done.” They’ve held the record for most successful hits in the Guild between the two of them, and have earned their badass badges with flying colors, especially the color red for blood.
The moment Lexi cracks her knuckles, Carmen follows suit, and I cringe. Lexi speaks up first. “Olivia Adams. Just the person we were looking for.”
Topher tries to say something, but is shushed by Carmen and ordered inside. They outrank him, so by Guild code he has to listen to whatever they say.
“We can do this the hard way or the easy way, Olivia. Your choice,” Carmen pipes up.
“The hard way wouldn’t by a
ny chance be you trying to catch my quick ass as I run away, would it?” I ask.
Both of their faces show confusion as they glance at each other and back at me. The instant our eyes meet again, I turn on my heel and haul ass down the alley back toward the parking lot. I’m smart enough to know that tangoing with those two will only result in one outcome, but luckily I’m younger and quicker than they are.
I hear the sound of their heeled boots smacking against the blacktop behind me as it bounces off the walls on either side of the alleyway. Making a beeline for Heath’s car when I emerge into the parking lot, I yell out his name when I notice his window is down. He turns and shouts “fuck” when he sees who’s after me. Peering back over my shoulder, the twins are no longer there, but are now instead mounting their motorcycles. The rumble of Heath’s car engine fills the area, followed by the roar of the twins’ bikes.
Flinging open the passenger side door, I jump in and whip my seatbelt across my chest to buckle up. “Go,” I shout. Heath doesn’t even hesitate, gunning the car in reverse and peeling out onto the main road.
“I guess it went well.” His words drip with sarcasm.
“Look in your rearview mirror. That’s how well it went,” I say, turning around to look out the back window. The twins are right behind us, weaving in and out of traffic in order to catch up.
“I think I can lose them,” he says, speeding up slightly.
“No offense, but I’m going to need that ‘I think I can’ to change to ‘I’m going to.’”
“On it,” he replies with a soft laugh.
The light directly ahead of us turns yellow, and Heath swerves to the far right-hand lane, speeding up around a car going slow as molasses in front of us. We fly through the intersection as the light goes red. Peering back, I see the twins blow right through the red light with no regard to traffic safety.
“Those two are relentless,” he remarks.
“That’s putting it lightly.”
Arcadia College passes as a blur when we drive by it. We’re headed toward downtown, which means we’re bound to run into some heavier traffic. This definitely won’t bode well for us since the goal is to keep moving forward.