The Bonding Ritual (Girls Wearing Black: Book Four)

by Spencer Baum

  The words made him think of Nicky and Sergio, dancing at the Masquerade. In fact, if he thought on the words hard enough, he half-remembered a dream where he was watching Nicky and Sergio talk. He was present in the room for this dream, waiting for Nicky to walk away from the vampire, longing for her to choose me instead, and then Sergio looked at him and set him straight.

  Nicky must stay at Thorndike and win Coronation.

  Ryan loved Nicky. And because he loved her, he had to let her go. He had to help her find her true purpose. She was meant to be with Sergio. If she didn’t understand that, he would make her. He would convince her to stay. It was what she needed. She deserved happiness beyond what any human could give her.

  She deserved to be immortal.

  Sure, he knew that wasn’t her plan at the moment, but things would change. In her heart, Nicky understood that she and Sergio belonged together—Ryan knew she did. Ryan would help bring Nicky and Sergio together. There was no greater gift he could give to the woman he loved.

  That’s why he got up and walked out of the house. He couldn’t let them leave town. Going missing would delay their departure. There was no way they would leave without him.

  He knew what they thought about him and his condition. He heard them talking while he slept.

  Ryan has a bad concussion, they said. It may be weeks, maybe months before he is himself again, they said. He needs to rest.

  At the time he heard them talking, they were right. He wanted nothing more than to sleep.

  But then the truth came to him, and the fog cleared. The truth was so powerful it brought him back to life. His mind, which had been so dark and gloomy after the fight with Renata, was clear as snowmelt now. His body, so full of aches from smashing into a glass case and falling to the floor, was energetic and refreshed with the certainty of his purpose. With his mind clear, he began to see the obstacles to his purpose lining themselves up in front of him. One by one, he had to figure them out.

  His parents, who would be angry that he had disappeared after Renata’s party. They were an obstacle. He had to get home and set their minds at ease.

  But he was far away from home. He had to find a way to get there. That was another obstacle.

  And once he got there, he would have to tell his parents a story to cover himself. A story to explain why no one knew where he was after Renata’s party. A story to cover up the truth of what really happened.

  The truth might be the biggest obstacle of all.

  Ryan walked north through the unfamiliar neighborhood in the pre-dawn morning. He cut between two houses then made a diagonal across the block, emerging on Princess Street. He crossed the road and stepped into the next block, walking around an apartment building, through a parking lot, and around a set of townhomes. Oronoco was the next street, and that’s where he found a cab. It was stopped at the light. Ryan ran up to the driver’s side and knocked on the window.

  “Not in service,” the driver said, pointing at the unlit sign on his rooftop.

  “I need to go to Potomac!” Ryan yelled. “I’ll make it worth your while.”

  The driver rolled his window down.

  “Potomac’s an expensive trip for me,” he said. “I’m on the airport loop today.”

  “How much?” Ryan said.

  “I’d need to charge you at least a hundred to go that far out of my way.”

  “Done,” said Ryan.

  “Paid up front,” said the driver. “In cash. We’ll do this one off the meter.”

  “I don’t have it, but I’ll give you two hundred when we get there.”

  The driver shook his head. “Sorry man. I’m doing the airport today.”

  The traffic light turned green.

  “Wait,” said Ryan. “Three hundred! I’m good for it!”

  The driver looked him over. Ryan was a tattered and torn mess, walking around in the freezing cold without a jacket.

  “My name is Ryan Jenson,” he said. “I need a ride home. Do you know who my parents are? You ever heard of Jenson Medical Devices?”

  A car pulled up behind them and honked its horn.

  “Are you for real?” the driver said. “What the hell are you doing way out here?”

  “This weekend got a little crazy,” Ryan said. “It was the end of semester party at Thorndike. I need to get home.”

  “Five hundred,” the driver said. “And if you’re lying to me--”

  “Five hundred,” said Ryan as he opened the back door and stepped into the cab. “River and Chapel’s where we’re going,” he said. “Take the Parkway please.”

  In early morning traffic, the drive wouldn’t be long. Maybe thirty minutes.

  Thirty minutes to figure out how to get Nicky Bloom back in school and on track to win the Coronation contest.

  *****

  They drove around the immediate neighborhood first. Helena and Phillip turned left out of the driveway. Nicky and Jill turned right.

  They met back at the house, neither car having spotted Ryan.

  They widened the search, driving up Route 1 and taking it all the way to the river. There was no sign of him there either. They came back into town via the Parkway, wondering if they’d spot him on the median.

  They didn’t.

  Helena called Network Headquarters and asked for help. By mid-morning they had a crew of volunteers, largely the same people who emptied out Renata’s house two nights prior, combing the neighborhoods between the river and the Interstate. Nobody saw him.

  Phillip suggested they drive the neighborhood again, this time with Helena in the front and Nicky and Jill in the back, everyone’s eyes looking down the sides of the road. As Jill sat in the back seat of Phillip’s car, gazing down side streets, her phone rang.

  Ryan Jenson. Home.

  “He’s calling me from his house!” she said.

  “His house?” said Helena. “It would have taken him all day to walk there.”

  “Hello, Ryan?” Jill answered

  “No, Sweetie, this is Suzette. Ryan’s taking a shower at the moment.”

  Suzette?

  Aware that everyone in the car was watching her, Jill silently mouthed the words, “It’s his mother.”

  “Oh, he’s in the shower?” Jill said for the benefit of her audience. “How is he?”

  “He’s fine, Dear. Just fine, thanks to you. Oh, Jill, our phone was ringing off the hook yesterday. You can’t imagine the confusion around this town, and we just had to tell them all we were waiting for news like everyone else. Did you really find Ryan and Nicky as the clock struck midnight?”

  Jill took a deep breath. She wasn’t expecting to have this conversation. She wasn’t expecting to play Jill the Thorndike student ever again.

  “Yes ma’am, that’s how it went.”

  “Oh my goodness, what an event that must have been! The excitement of it all. And I heard Renata’s mansion was decorated to be so lovely, and she even let you kids dance to your own music.” Suzette let out an uncomfortable laugh. “Oh Jill, we were getting so many calls looking for news on Ryan yesterday, and we had no idea, I mean, Ryan never called us...”

  Jill remembered this about Suzette. The passive-aggressive swipes in every conversation.

  “Miss Jenson, if you don’t mind me asking, how did Ryan get to your house?”

  Suzette let out another awkward laugh. “Lose track of him, did you Sweetie?”

  “Yes, I um…”

  “It’s okay. Someone at your party had the good sense to put him in a cab. Got a little rowdy at your house this weekend, didn’t it? Ryan told me he was having fun and that’s why he never called. I know it’s hard for you kids to think about your parents…I mean…I was young once, but just a simple phone call…”

  “I’m sorry no one called you,” Jill said, improvising. “It was really insensitive of us.”

  “It’s fine, Sweetie. Roger and I were talking. He had a good point. You saved Ryan’s life. We must always put things into their proper pe
rspective. You saved our son. And Jill, I’m so, so happy it was you. I really am. I just hope, well, I know you are the responsible one. Ryan needs someone responsible in his life. I’m glad he has you.”

  Jill wanted to end this phone call right now. There was always something about Suzette that made her want to squirm.

  “I suppose what I’m asking you is, next time, could you please insist that Ryan check in with us, just so we know where he is? You can’t imagine how strange this weekend has been for Ryan’s father and me. First we saw the ransom money moved—we had made it available via bank wire months ago, but to see it actually disappear…a hundred million dollars deducted from your bank, Jill. Let me tell you, it can take your breath away! Then the phone calls started. Students were home from the party with news. You found Nicky and Ryan right as the clock struck twelve! That’s what they were buzzing about. And you gave the money to Samantha Kwan! Oh, Jill, this whole town was talking about what you did, but we just wanted to know about Ryan. We didn’t have any word from him or you or Renata or anyone official, really. We knew it was proper to be patient—the immortals do things on their own time, of course. And now that we know you kids were just having fun, I mean, a simple phone call to tell Ryan’s parents where he was after he had been gone for three months! Oh I shouldn’t scold. You’re the one who found him, aren’t you?”

  “Yes, I sure am,” said Jill, smiling and hoping her sense of utter confusion wasn’t translating through the phone.

  “But we can talk about all of this later. I’m calling to invite you and your family over for dinner tonight, naturally. There’s really nothing we can do that’s adequate to thank you properly for solving the Rose Ransom, but dinner’s a start now, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, dinner would be lovely,” Jill said. “But it will just be me. My parents are traveling at the moment.”

  “Oh yes, I suppose, well, that makes sense that you kids would choose to party at your house then. When the cat’s away--”

  “I’m sorry Ryan never called,” said Jill. “I’ll try and do better about that next time.”

  “Oh heavens! I’m sorry I mentioned it. Have I told you I’m glad to be speaking with you? Because I am. I always thought you and Ryan—oh, Jill, it was nice when you two were together and we used to see you around. Between you and me, Sweetie, I never understood why Ryan broke it off with you.”

  Suzette was speaking in a conspiratorial tone now, almost whispering.

  “Miss Jenson, I--”

  “When Ryan told me about staying at your house—oh, Jill, I couldn’t be happier. And I want to work together with you this time. Will that be okay?”

  “I’d…be…happy to work with you, Miss--”

  “Call me Suzette.”

  “Okay, Suzette.”

  Jill wanted to put down the phone and scream. What was this all about? Why had everything gone haywire this morning? First she woke up to find Phillip and Helena hellbent on staying in town and completing the mission, then Ryan disappeared, and now Suzette Jenson was on the phone inviting her to dinner?

  “Really, I think this thing between Ryan and that new girl was a bit of the forbidden fruit, if you know what I mean,” Suzette said.

  “Forbidden fruit? I’m sorry, Miss Jenson, I don’t follow.”

  “Call me Suzette, remember? And don’t mind me. I’m just glad Ryan seems to be finished with Nicky Bloom. His true feelings were always for you. Of that I’m certain! I can’t begin to tell you how miserable he was after you two broke up. Years, Jill! For years he just moped around this house and when I told him to call you and talk it through, that he didn’t have to be this way, oh, he was so confused! Some day you might have a boy of your own and you’ll see. When they turn into teenagers there’s no making sense of them!”

  A long-forgotten sense of unease was coming back to Jill. She remembered all the strange encounters with Suzette Jenson back when she and Ryan were dating. Suzette was a ruthless, overbearing woman who was always on the lookout to marry off her son to a daughter from another powerful family. At times when Jill was dating Ryan, she felt like she was dating Suzette as well.

  “But we’ll have plenty of time to talk later. I won’t keep you,” Suzette said. “I imagine you need some rest. Shall we see you at seven for cocktails?”

  “Yes, seven will be fine,” Jill said.

  “Have a lovely day.”

  “Goodbye, Miss…erm….Suzette.”

  Jill ended the call to find the car pulled off onto the side of the road and all three occupants staring at her.

  “Apparently Ryan found a cab to take him home,” she said. “That was his mother. They’re having me over for dinner tonight.”

  Chapter 11

  Jill arrived at the gate to Ryan’s house just before seven o’clock. A familiar voice greeted her on the intercom.

  “Good evenin’ Miss Wentworth.”

  “Good evening, Shamus.”

  Jill looked up to the security camera and smiled. The gate started to open.

  “All the way up, young lady,” Shamus said. “I’ll meet you at the front door.”

  The drive from the gate to the house was dazzling, with the orchard on either side of the road covered in Christmas lights. Two pine trees, covered in garland and colorful ornaments, greeted her as she exited the orchard and entered the carport, where a glimmering glass star hung from the concrete ceiling.

  Shamus skipped down from the front door and opened the car door for Jill.

  “My goodness, what a beauty,” he said.

  “It’s limited edition,” Jill said. “My father bought it at auction last year.”

  “Oh, I wasn’t talking about the car. I was speaking of the driver,” Shamus said with a wink. “Come on, I’ll take you inside.”

  The Jenson home predated the McMansions that littered Potomac, and Suzette had made it her life’s work to restore the place to all its art deco glory. The result was a home that felt like it was right out of the roaring twenties. Thick marble columns lined the entryway, which led to an atrium with a glimmering tile floor. On this night, an enormous blue spruce made up as a Christmas tree hid the floor’s intricate sunburst design. Underneath the spruce was a sea of gifts wrapped in shiny paper.

  “Looks like Santa came early this year,” Jill said.

  “Oh, company Christmas party tomorrow,” Shamus said. “Mr. Jenson is quite generous to his employees.”

  “I see,” said Jill, scanning the atrium with her eyes and finding Christmas décor everywhere. Holly branches sat in vases on the mantle and every shelf. Bright red ribbons hung from the wall. Lights dangled from the high ceiling like snowflakes about to fall.

  What would they have done if I hadn’t solved the Rose Ransom and rescued their son, Jill wondered. Would they have gone ahead with their Christmas party anyway?

  Shamus took Jill’s jacket and purse, then led her to the parlor, where Ryan and his parents were standing in front of the fireplace, sipping their drinks.

  “There she is!” Ryan said, rushing across the room with his arms open. He gave Jill a big hug, more warm and loving than she ever would have expected. She hugged him back, surprised at how easy it was to slip into his grasp.

  “I was worried about you,” she whispered.

  “Everything’s going to be fine,” he said.

  Suzette was next, leaning in to kiss Jill on the cheek. Then Ryan’s father, Roger Jenson, who took Jill’s right hand in both of his and beamed at her, saying, “So very, very good to see you tonight.”

  “It’s nice to see you too,” said Jill.

  “We’re having port,” Roger said. “May I pour you a glass?”

  “Yes please,” Jill said, reflexively. Her mind wasn’t on the wine Mr. Jenson was offering her, but rather, her hand, which was now firmly held in Ryan’s grip. She wasn’t quite sure how it happened, but there it was. She and Ryan were holding hands. And he was taking her to the love seat, where, still holding hands, they sat side by side,
their thighs touching.

  Suzette flashed a big smile at them both, so big it made Jill feel a bit uncomfortable.

  “It’s something Roger picked up in Portugal,” she said.

  “I’m sorry, what?” said Jill.

  “Sweet wine before dinner!” Roger bellowed. “It’s how they do it in Portugal. I think it’s a superb idea. Why save the most delicious part of the meal for the end when you’re stuffed?”

  Roger brought a small crystal goblet of red wine to Jill. “Cheers,” he said, holding up his own glass. “To the things that really matter in life.”

  “Here, here,” said Suzette.

  Ryan leaned over to clink his glass with Jill’s. The wine was smooth and tasted like candy.

  “Oh my,” Jill said. “That’s really good.”

  “It’s perfect, isn’t it?” said Roger. “We’re so hoity-toity with our dry wines in America. Sometimes, I swear, the smartest families are the ones who never came to the New World.”

  Jill took another drink and leaned back to find Ryan’s arm resting atop her shoulders. Her immediate response was to lean forward, but Ryan placed his hand over her shoulder and held her back.

  “Oh, Jill, we have so much to talk about!” Suzette squealed. “Where should we even begin? Why don’t we start with the Rose Ransom clues? They were wicked hard this year, don’t you think? But you solved all three of them.”

  Suzette, a Greenwich native, allowed a bit of her Connecticut accent out with the distinctly New England phrase, Wicked hard.

  “Yes ma’am, the clues were difficult this year.”

  “Why do you think that is?” Suzette asked. “I mean, Roger and I, we kept our mouths shut, but we couldn’t help but feel a little hurt by the way everything went down. Ryan’s life was on the line, and the clues were so challenging it seemed like everybody gave up!”

  “Except for you,” said Roger. “We couldn’t believe it when we heard about what happened at Renata’s party. When people started telling us it was you who solved the final clue, well, what can we say? We brought in experts from all over the world to work on those clues and they got nothing. But you solved all three!”