Forget Me Not

by Stacey Nash

  WILL’S SLUMPED IN THE dusty blue lounge, his fingers knitted together while he stares at the television. He’s not alone. Sam sits by the cold fireplace, leaning forward over the low timber table. The pages of his newspaper make a snap as he flips through it. I drop into the lounge beside Will, enjoying the way it makes me feel hugged. It feels like so long since I was last embraced.

  “Is everything all right?” I ask.

  He grunts like he doesn’t know what I’m talking about.

  “What was that?”

  “What?”

  I look at him with a raised brow. He knows what I mean—the way he just acted in the dining room.

  “Nothing,” he says in a flat voice.

  “It wasn’t nothing. You were upset.” Should I mention the way he treated Jax? No, it’ll make matters worse. Jax seemed to be what set him off.

  “I said it was nothing, Mae. Just drop it.”

  Lips pressed together, brows drawn, jaw clenched, Will stares at the boxy television. I sit in silence beside him. He’ll talk if I wait it out. We both work the same way. I can’t keep it in, though. It’s probably my fault he’s so angry. “I’m sorry I zoned out for days. I just didn’t know how to deal with it.”

  Without answering, he slumps his arm over the back of the couch, then drops it to my shoulders. We slide into comfortable silence, and it feels good to know we’re okay.

  Loud explosions and gunfire blares from the action movie. The hero keeps making stupid mistakes, which makes me talk to the screen. “Idiot. Oh, come on, she’s over there.”

  It’s all a bit silly. The guy tries to outsmart his enemy, but he’s always one step behind. I know it’s Hollywood, so it’ll come together in the end. Doesn’t mean it’s any good, though. I roll my eyes and huff. If only real life was so easy. I certainly feel like I’ve been trapped in a movie with all this insane stuff happening around me.

  I glance up at Will to check he’s still awake; he looked so tired earlier, but he’s not sleeping. His eyes are fixed on Sam who’s no longer reading. Beau’s perched opposite him, talking in quick and urgent whispers. Something in my gut, an intuition maybe, tells me something’s going down.

  “What’s happening?” I ask.

  “Shh, I’m trying to hear,” Will says.

  “…taken… Manvyke… from the house….” I sit up straighter, tilting my ear forward, but it’s no use. I can’t hear them properly.

  Sam glances in my direction, rubs the back of his neck, and looks away. Beau’s lips barely move as he talks, so I can’t read them. Sam glances back again, his eyes catching mine for a moment. All the moisture in my mouth dries up. What are they whispering about? Something’s not right. He nudges Beau, who also looks at me. Breaking eye contact after a brief moment, they both get up and walk out of the room.

  Even though the movie blares, I can hear Will’s whispered words. “Sounds like a hostage situation.”

  “That’s not good,” I say. “They looked pretty serious.”

  Will leans closer toward me. “I couldn’t hear much, but it sounded serious. I didn’t catch the first part of what he said, but Sam looked pretty agitated.”

  He closes his eyes, puts his hand to his forehead, and takes a deep breath. Is he hiding something from me? Surely he wouldn’t, but after his behavior in the dining room I can’t be sure. The side of my thumb finds my front teeth, and I chew.

  “Do you think it’s anything to do with us? They kept looking at me,” I say.

  “I don’t know, but I got the feeling they didn’t want us to overhear.”

  Voices come from behind us, making me jump. I glance over my shoulder as Jax, Marcus, and Lilly stroll through the arched doorway. Jax’s hands are stuffed into his jacket pockets, and his hair crosses his creased forehead in a tousled wave. There’s more emotion in his expression than normal. Something about it sits wrong.

  “What’s the movie?” Lilly squishes onto the couch between me and Will.

  “An action show. It’s almost over,” he says.

  Jax’s eyes hold mine, his lips pressed together in a slight grimace. I frown and mouth, “What?” He shakes his head.

  Sam strides between us, breaking our look. He squats in front of me and Will, his face deadly serious, his gaze strong and hard. “Beau needs to see you in his office immediately.”

  “Why. What is it?” I clasp Will’s arm.

  “Just come,” Sam says.

  I pull myself out of the sagging lounge. Will’s arm falls around my shoulders again and pulls me into his side. Jax moves to follow, but Sam shakes his head. “Just Will and Mae.”

  Jax looks at me with a furrowed brow before lowering himself onto the patched armchair. Hostage. The word rushes through my mind on the short walk to Beau’s office. There’s a hostage, and Beau wants to see us. Please, no. I try to stop my thoughts from running out of control.

  Beau paces the room like a caged animal. He looks straight to Sam. I’m not sure he even notices we’re here. “Get Evan and Garrett.”

  Garrett the spy? Evan? The second name isn’t familiar. Who is he?

  Beau holds out the same black shiny cellphone I found in his office weeks ago. Sam snatches it and leaves the room with a heavy, measured stride, looking for all the world like a mission-fueled man. The door bangs closed behind him.

  “Mae, Will, take a seat.” Beau gestures to the high-backed wooden chairs by the wall.

  I sit, but the chair is cold and hard, so I can’t get comfortable. It’s impossible to sit still. Hostage, hostage, hostage. My mind is still on repeat. No room for any other thoughts.

  “What is it?” I suck my lip in.

  Beau looks from me to Will, and his gaze settles on me again. He takes a breath so deep I think his lungs might explode. “Earlier this evening, I received word of a situation.”

  I slide from side to side in my chair, my fingers twirling into and around each other. It has to be something to do with us. Will reaches out and puts a hand on my lap.

  “Mae, The Collective took your father.”

  HOSTAGE. My thought explodes into a million tiny shards. I jump out of the chair, and my hand shoots to my mouth, holding in the noise building in my throat.

  “No, no, no. You told me he’d be safe if I stayed away. And Al. Al was keeping an eye on him.”

  I’m sinking, being swallowed by water, unable to push myself up. Swallowed again, but now by Will’s arms, strong and protective, wrapping around me. I sob into his shoulder. It can’t be true. Heat spreads across my chest, neck, face, and back.

  “How did this happen?” he says over my head as he holds me tight against him.

  “I’m not exactly certain. We’ve been keeping a close eye on him, checking in at least once a day. Yesterday was fine, but today the house was empty,” Beau says.

  I hear him stop pacing, and he clears his throat. There’s more. He’s stalling. What doesn’t he want to tell us? What’s he hiding?

  “What’s that mean?” Will asks.

  Extracting myself from Will, I move away, piercing Beau with my gaze. “What else?”

  “It didn’t look like there’d been a struggle.”

  I shake all over, tiny vibrations rattle on and on. My eyes slide closed, back open, and the room starts to sway. Will’s hands steady my shoulders and lower me back into the chair. There was no struggle. What does that even mean? He said it like it was supposed to make me feel better. I look out the window into the darkness. Everything melds together into one huge, black mass, but I’m not going to let the blackness take me over again. Icy coldness sweeps through me.

  “They went inside….” Beau looks at me, opens his mouth to speak, and closes it again. “There’s a note.”

  My gaze shoots to his empty hands, then to the table piled with papers. “Where is it? What does it say?”

  He moves to stand in front of me, his expression serious, his words soothing. “We’re going to take care of it. We’ll have him back in no time.”

/>   “What does the note say? Will they hurt him?”

  “I don’t know. I suspect they’re just using him to lure you out.” Beau’s gaze dances around the room. He won’t look at me.

  “Where’s the note?” I ask again.

  “You don’t need to see it. It’s gone.”

  “I have to go. I have to help him.”

  Beau’s eyes finally meet mine and they’re hard, like when Dad’s laying down the law. “No, you don’t. You’ll play right into their hands. You have to stay here and sit tight while our experienced team goes in and gets him out.”

  Will sits beside me, staring at Beau without uttering a word. Beau called both of us in here, not just me. Damn it. I’ve thought only of myself. Somehow this news must affect him too. I rock forward in my chair, clutching my knees, guilt and fear snapping at my insides. “What about Will’s family?”

  “You’re the one who has caused them trouble, you’re the threat. Will’s just a teenager with knowledge he shouldn’t have, and no contraband tech,” Beau says.

  Will presses his palms into his eyes and slumps backward into the chair. “So, they’re okay?”

  “Yes.”

  Thank God. Emalee, Mrs. Avery, even Mr. Avery. Nothing can happen to them either. They’re like my second family.

  “Can Will go home if he’s not a threat?”

  “I’m not going without you, Mae.”

  “But you—”

  “Quit it. I’m not.”

  “Our men will arrive soon. We’ll have this resolved quickly,” Beau says.

  Everything about Beau’s body language changes, becomes closed off. It’s obvious we’ve been dismissed. Will stands to leave, and I follow. Hostage, hostage. Shards of the word stick into my insides like a physical pain.

  With a long, steady stride, I pass Will and go straight to the family room. He rushes to catch up, but I don’t wait. I just walk through the door. Jax lounges in the armchair, his head back, his arms slack on the armrests. He looks up and continues to rub Ace’s belly in slow, idle strokes with his foot. Will takes the other tattered armchair, and I plonk onto the couch next to Lilly. Jax’s eyes meet mine in an emotion-filled look I don’t quite understand.

  “Who’s Evan?” I blurt then bite down on my lip.

  Jax reaches down and picks a snag out of Ace’s coat.

  “He one of the best fighters we have, really experienced in infiltration.” Lilly sighs like she’s gushing over a hot actor. “Why? Are they coming here? Of course Garrett’s coming if Evan’s coming.” She runs her hands over her dress, smoothing it down.

  “Don’t worry, Lilly, you look stunning.” Marcus chuckles from his seat by the now glowing fireplace, flicking through the paper Sam left behind. “What’s happened?”

  I let out a long breath and run my thumb over my pendant in small, repetitive circles.

  “The Collective took Mae’s dad hostage,” Will says.

  “When… how… why?” Lilly moves to the edge of her chair.

  Jax is still bent over, playing a game of tap on Ace’s nose. The shaggy dog tries to nip his fingers. The muscles across Jax’s shoulders bunch through his snug T-shirt, and his jaw looks tight. Is he listening or not?

  “I don’t know,” I say.

  “Beau said there was a note. That’s all we know,” Will says.

  Lilly reaches out to pat the back of my hand, her kind eyes round and brimming with sympathy. I have to move, can’t be still. Jumping to my feet, I push Lilly’s hand away and walk across the room to the window, but there’s nothing to see. I turn and walk back to the other side of the room where Marcus sits reading, but I don’t feel any better here, either. Back and forth, still walking. “I can’t just sit here and do nothing. I need to help.”

  Will gets up and stands in my way, holds me by the elbows, and looks into my eyes. “We wouldn’t be any help. We’d get in the way and slow them down.”

  I pull free of his grip and push him away, resuming my march. I rub my pendant around and around until the skin on my thumb tingles. “It’s my dad, and it’s my fault he’s been taken. I will do something.”

  Jax looks up from Ace, and my skin prickles with the feel of his eyes following me across the room. He puts his feet up on the low table and lounges back in his chair. “We’ll go.”

  Jax will go, and he’ll take me. This is good. We’ll go tonight. I stop pacing and look at him. His expression’s pensive like he’s forming a plan. Good, he’s serious about going.

  “We can’t go.” Will crosses his arms over his chest, frowning at Jax.

  “Of course we can,” Jax says.

  “They won’t let us.”

  “Who said anything about them letting us? We’ll go alone.”

  Will moves closer, towering over Jax, the veins in his neck throbbing in an angry rhythm. Damn. I push Jax’s feet off the footstool and sit on it with my back to him, placing myself between them to diffuse Will’s anger. Will’s jaw clenches and his eyes shoot daggers over my shoulder.

  “We can’t go, anyway. We don’t even know where he is,” I say.

  “Yeah, we do. They’ll be holding him in the Council building,” Jax says from behind me.

  Will’s face looks strained, his anger building like a bubbling volcano. “Beau said we can’t go.” He puts emphasis on every word, cutting them off like each holds a bitter tang.

  A squeak sounds from behind me, a shuffle of movement, and the warmth of Jax’s breath trickles the back of my neck. All the hairs rise, and a shiver trembles from my neck to my toes.

  “Do you always follow the rules, Dudley?”

  Will’s eyes bulge, and I can tell he’s fighting the urge to lash out with his fists. Jax, don’t goad him. Will continues to scowl over my shoulder. My back and neck warm with Jax’s nearness.

  “When the rules make sense, it’s better to follow them than be reckless and get someone hurt,” Will says. Low blow. It’s not Jax’s fault we both came home bruised and bleeding.

  Jax chuckles and leans in so close his chin prickles my shoulder. “Scared, Will?”

  The look on Will’s face makes my heart stop. It’s the same as that instance with Billy French. The time he tried to force me and spread nasty rumors. Cold, hard, pure anger.

  Rolling my eyes heavenward, I clamp my mouth closed to keep from telling them both off.

  “Stop it,” Lilly says, and I’m grateful she steps in. I don’t have the headspace right now. “Look, if Beau has Evan, Garrett, and probably Sam on the job, then they’ll have Mae’s dad out and safe by morning,” she says. “You two pull yourselves together and stop behaving like idiots.” She thrusts her finger at Jax and Will in turn.

  She has a good point. It’s already late, and we may as well give the infiltrators a few hours. “Let’s sit it out until morning and see if there’s any news.”

  I get up and walk out of the family room, my neck still warm from Jax’s breath. No way am I sorting out a fight between him and Will. Instead, I leave them both staring each other down like a pair of wolves trying to decide who’s alpha.

  Halfway up the stairs, Lilly rushes up behind me. “I thought you might like some company.”

  My feet hit the stairs, and I roll my eyes. “Ugh, those boys.”

  She levels a gaze right at me. “It’s because they both like you.”

  Hot air rushes from my mouth and nose in a snortlike noise. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

  “You’re sweet and innocent and beautiful. They love you for—” She waves her hand before my face. “—this whole girl-next-door thing you’ve got going on.”

  “Right. As if.”

  She couldn’t be more wrong. Will’s my best friend. Sure he loves me, but not in the way she means. He’s just trying to protect me from Jax, from all boys. After Billy, he trusts no one. And Jax… well, he probably regrets kissing me in the spur of a heated moment. He might feel that pull, the same way I do, but it doesn’t mean he likes me. The distance he puts between us i
s proof. We only ever talk Collective or tech, nothing about him or me.

  We reach my room, pushing the door open, and we both bustle in. She mumbles something under her breath.

  “What’s a Dudley anyway?” I ask.

  “Not a what, a who.” Her face splits in a snickering smile. “He’s a character out of an old cartoon. A habitual do-gooder.” She shakes her head and laughs.

  I chuckle. That’s spot on for Will. “Never seen it.”

  “We don’t get cable here, so we’re stuck with commercial television. A few years ago, they reran old cartoons every Saturday morning. Jax and I watched it religiously. Dudley Do Right, he was really funny. Will is a bit like him.”

  I used to watch old cartoons on Saturday mornings too. I’d climb into Dad’s bed, and we’d watch together. I bite down on my lip without realizing, and it stings. God knows where they’ve they taken him. Maybe he’s in a prison cell, or tied up in a basement. Maybe he’s got no water, no food. Maybe they’re hurting him, torturing him. I take a deep breath and force the thoughts away, for now. If I don’t, I’ll explode. I need to think about something else.

  “Tell me about Evan and Garrett.”

  “They’re from another safe house. It’s interstate. Evan is as sweet as they come, but Garrett….” She blushes. “He is totally gorgeous. Even better looking than Jax.”

  Garrett did look pretty fine sitting by the fountain, but there’s certainly no comparison between him and Jax. Has there ever been anything with her and Jax? My stomach flips at the thought. “Have you two ever dated?”

  “I wish. He thinks I’m just a kid, but he’s only two years older than me,” she says, obviously talking about Garrett because there’s no way she’s two years younger than Jax. “I’ll be back in a second.” She dashes out the door.

  I stare out the window into the night. Dudley. A smile spreads, but drops quickly, Dad better be okay.

  Lilly rushes back into the room, her arms loaded with bottles and vials, hairbrushes and all things girly. “He’s just so hot, and….” She talks nonstop while she paints my toenails deep red, followed by my fingernails. Then pulls my long hair back into a million tiny braids. Her words all jumble together as a haze settles over my mind. I feel less alone with her here, chattering away. It’s nice, even if I’m not listening. When she’s done I pull on my soft flannel pajamas and snuggle down under the patchwork quilt, listening to her gush over Garrett, Evan, Sam, Will. Every guy she’s ever met.