“What’s going on?” I asked, seeing Ian standing at the front door beside Walter, with irritation masking his face.
Walter sighed and looked at me. “Dorian is always watching. We need a way to draw him out. Get him away from Jane just long enough to get her out.”
“Out of where?”
Ian stared at me as if he was too afraid to answer me. His face was completely blank, but I saw his features harden as he replied. “He has her locked in a basement.”
“Oh my God.”
“He’s done it before,” he continued. “A woman named Sharon Walters was kept down there. As far as I know, she’s still there.”
I saw Walter dart his eyes toward Ian with his mouth hanging open.
“Sorry,” Ian whispered.
“So what do we do?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” Ian said, “yet—I don’t know yet.”
“There is one thing.” I looked to Walter. “Rudy wants to help.”
“What?” Walter bellowed.
Ian chimed in. “You told him?”
I shook my head mechanically. “He already knew. He found me when I was walking and demanded to know where Jane was. I told him I didn’t know what he was talking about, but obviously he didn’t believe me. His father is a cop. I didn’t want him alerting the police or the media. That would cause complete pandemonium.”
“Well, it won’t be long before Jane’s father gets worried and calls the police anyway!” Ian yelled.
I nodded. “Which is why we have to act fast.”
“Let Rudy help,” Walter said.
“Are you insane?” Ian yelled.
“He’s strong,” Walter continued. “He can handle himself. He can be there for comfort if nothing else.”
“It’s true,” I answered. “Jane does trust him.”
Ian sighed. “Fine, but I’m warning you it’s a very bad idea.”
“Clem…” Walter muttered.
“I promise,” I whispered, “I will protect Rudy as best as I can.”
He didn’t answer.
“So how do we get Dorian away from Jane?”
Ian looked at me but didn’t reply. Walter then moved his gaze to me as well.
“Oh…no!” I yelled, throwing my hands up. “No. I’m not going to be bait. Dorian will kill me.”
“They already want you,” Ian said. “Let me do the acting. You can trust me.”
I shook my head. “I don’t know.”
“Just come with me, and…I guess bring your idiot friend, and I’ll go inside and tell Dorian you are at the clearing. By the time he realizes you aren’t there, we will have Jane out.”
“If Abraham wants to find me badly enough, he can,” I said. “He’s a Sevren. He can find anyone.”
Ian nodded. “That’s why Abraham has to be…”
“Has to be…”
“Killed,” Walter said. “That simple, Clem.”
I shook my head. “That won't stop them.”
“I know,” Ian said, “but it will slow them down.”
“You didn’t tell anyone, did you?”
He broke eye contact.
“RUDY!”
He sighed. “I told Becky. But how could I not? She’s Jane’s best friend. I convinced her to stay behind.”
“That wasn’t necessary,” I said. “She wouldn’t be coming anyway.”
“I know.”
“Anybody else?”
He shook his head. “Ethan thinks Jane is with Becky. It hasn’t occurred to him yet that something has happened.”
“Good.”
“When do we go in?” he asked, fidgeting in his seat.
I was amused again by his odd love for Jane. “We wait for Ian’s signal.”
“What is his signal?”
“Rudy, just relax. You shouldn’t even be here.”
“What’s his damn signal?”
I huffed. “When he tells us to go in. Good enough?”
“Fine,” he muttered. “Good enough.”
I sat silently, staring at the windows as if something terrible would happen if I were to look away even for a brief moment. My insides felt as though they were quaking when I saw the blinds in the window of the top story open. My breath exploded when I saw it was Ian. He signaled us to come in.
“Now?” Rudy asked frantically.
I nodded. “Follow me. There is no need to run. Do you hear me?”
He glared at me but didn’t object as he often did. I slinked toward the house as calmly as I could, trying my best to keep my mind off of Jane and what she may be going through. I knew I had to keep all of my emotions at bay until Jane was safe. Rudy was following clumsily behind. I tried to ignore his mumbles and sighs.
“Abraham is still in the house,” Ian whispered as soon as we walked inside. The house was dim, and the hallways were completely shadowed. I followed Ian through the corridor and toward the basement door.
“Stay here,” Ian demanded. “I’m going down. Do not move.”
I could hear in his voice that he was reluctant to trust me. He still thought I was the bad guy. I tried to trust Ian as he instructed even through his clear and obvious dislike of me. Rudy followed closely behind.
“Rudy,” I snarled, “one more step and I’ll knock you out.”
“Oh, shut the hell up, Summers. I love her.”
“That doesn’t make it okay for you to be an idiot. One more step. I promise you I could have torn you apart with my bare hands that day at Jane’s. Don’t make me prove it to you.”
He growled deep in his throat but stopped about ten feet from the stairs. I strained to listen to Ian but could only make out some of it.
“Let’s go,” I heard him say.
There was an almost maddening pause. Oh God. Jane, please say something.
“Jane?”
I heard the softness of her voice, and it almost brought me to my knees. I didn’t realize her voice was so familiar until I heard it.
“Dorian left,” Ian said. “I’m sorry. I thought he was on our side, that he was fighting against The Sevren, not one of them. He must have been planted within.”
“How can I trust you now?” she asked.
“Because I’m the only one who can get you out of here. Come on. Get up.”
“By the way,” he started, “your friend…is a severe idiot!”
I tried not to laugh, knowing he was referring to Rudy.
“Aidan?”
I was instantly amused. Did she really think I was an idiot?
“Who?”
“Don’t remember his name at the moment,” he said. “Light, spiky hair, taller than Aidan.” There was another pause before Ian continued. “Wow, let me tell you—those two do not get along.”
“Rudy!”
“Ah”—he chuckled—“there ya go. Rudy. That’s the one.”
“What the hell is he doing here?”
“Well, from what I gathered, he claims he loves you, so Aidan asked him to help.”
Not exactly the way it happened.
“Come on,” he said, “before Dorian gets back. We have to get you out.”
Rudy instantly called her name. Goddamn. Could he not do what he was told just once?
“My God. Are you okay?” he said.
She just sobbed into his chest.
“I’ll take care of you. You’ll be fine. We have to move.”
“You’re crazy,” she said, “coming here.”
“Not crazy, Jane. I just can’t leave everything up to Summers. I don’t trust him an ounce.”
I glared at him even though he couldn’t see.
“Rudy, where’s Aidan?” Jane asked. I could hear concern in her words.
“Shh… He’s just around the corner. Come on.”
She raced down the hallway and leapt into my arms. I could feel she was frail and weak but was still able to constrict her arms around my neck as she always did.
“Can’t breathe, Jane.” I chuckled.
“We have to go,” Rudy said. “We have to keep moving.”
I was thankful for the dark, not wanting to see Jane in the state she was in.
“I have my car,” I whispered. “It’s just outside. We have to get you home.”
“I’m going to head out,” Ian said. “I’ll make sure there’s no one outside.”
I nodded toward him. “Thanks.”
“Is Ethan okay?”
“As far as I know, Ethan is fine,” I answered.
We walked down the dark hallway, passing several rooms. Jane stopped abruptly and turned toward a closed door in front of her.
My senses were screeching again, and that familiar tugging on my nerves returned. I could hear distinct sounds of sobbing coming from behind the closed door.
“Rudy, listen,” Jane whispered after his annoying warnings I wasn’t listening to.
“No,” he whispered. He grabbed her hand. “Let’s go.”
“I can’t,” she demanded. “I have a very bad feeling, Rudy, like I need to do something.”
“You have a bad feeling?” he echoed. “You have a bad feeling because if we don’t keep moving, you’re going to get yourself killed. Don’t do it. Please!”
I could feel the evil that was approaching, and it was driving me near mad. My senses again were telling me to follow the danger. I patted the breast pocket of my jacket, making sure I had my knife on me.
“She doesn’t have to do anything,” I interrupted, “but I think you should let me do the right thing—for once.”
“Since when are you the good guy?” he snapped.
“Since you tried to steal my girlfriend,” I retorted.
“What? Your—”
“Both of you stop,” Jane demanded. “I know that voice.”
“You’re making this into something it isn’t,” Rudy said.
I knew he was right, but I was doing this because I didn’t feel I had a choice.
“Why don’t we just get Jane out of here? Be logical—for once.”
“Look,” I started, curtly, “we have to at least try to get along. You can hate me if you want to—that’s fine. But until this is over, please at least pretend to tolerate me, and I will show you the same courtesy.”
“Fine,” he growled, “but I’m not doing it for you.”
“I’m not asking you to.”
I pulled out my knife and turned toward the door again.
“What the hell are you doing?” Jane hissed.
“Jane—close your eyes.”
She pressed herself into Rudy’s chest.
“It’s all right,” I heard him whisper.
I kicked open the door and was instantly sickened by what I saw. There was a girl lying across the bed, with her arms over her face and my evil, monster of a father over her body. She was naked and lengthy, but Abraham appeared to still be fully clothed. Rage began boiling inside me, feeling like it would destroy me if I didn’t assuage it someway. I grabbed the back of his shirt, pulling him off the bed. My heart almost stopped entirely when I saw it was Becky. She was shaking furiously and screamed Jane’s name with the most miserable fear behind her voice. It only heightened my fury.
I pushed Abraham to the floor and shoved the blade into his back. A drowned gurgle erupted from his mouth, and he choked out my name—the hated name that heightened my anger again, forcing it to explode out of me. I growled and pulled the knife from his back, actually watching the blood streaming from his body and emptying onto the floor. I was so full of hate that the sight did nothing but make me want to hurt him more.
I rolled him over and pulled the blade quickly across his throat. That’s when the blood really came out. It flooded out the way I never thought blood could. It pooled out around his body, soaking my shoes.
“I told her to stay behind,” I heard Rudy murmur. He covered his face with his hands. “She wouldn’t listen.”
I turned to Jane. “Why are your eyes open?” I asked, trying to remain calm. I just murdered Abraham—there was no way of getting out of this now. My shirt was soaked in blood, so I pulled it over my head and wiped at the stains on my jeans.
“Aidan,” Jane whispered, “get her something—please.”
I pulled a clean sheet off the bed, and Jane wrapped it around Becky and tied it off in the front. Rudy lifted her in his arms, and she instantly complained.
“No,” she said, sobbing. “No, Jane.”
“I’m right here. I’m right behind you,” Jane coaxed.
A small whimper escaped, but before she said anything else, she fell unconscious in Rudy’s arms.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, “that you had to see that.”
“How badly did he hurt her?”
“I’m not sure. He was fully clothed when I walked in. She may be a bit banged up, but I think she’s mostly scared.”
“Abraham?”
I stared into her eyes, realizing Alex had been telling her things. I nodded and continued down the hall to the car.
I couldn’t pay attention to anything. I couldn’t even look at Jane. I tried to keep my eyes off of her as much as possible. It made me sick to see her that way. She was a haggard wreck. Her face was colorless, and dark circles ringed her eyes. Her hair was a mess of tangles and knots, and her clothes were dingy with a blood stain on the knee of her jeans. And it was my fault.
Rudy put Becky in the back seat, with her head rested in Jane’s lap.
“It’s okay,” I heard Jane say sweetly. “I’m here, and we’re going home.”
“Correction,” I interrupted. “Hospital.”
“No,” Becky whispered. “You’ll be in too much trouble.”
“We don’t have to tell them exactly what happened, do we?” Jane asked.
Obviously not. I just murdered my own father.
“Aidan?”
“No, we don’t, Jane, but either way, in this situation, I am innocent.”
“You killed Abraham.”
“Self-defense,” I lied.
“Thank you,” Becky whispered.
Rudy turned to look at her. “You should have stayed behind. I didn’t even know you were in the car.”
“Well, of course you didn’t,” she said. “That was the point.”
She was slipping in and out of consciousness.
Rudy sighed. “My God,” he yelled. “Jane, have you eaten anything?”
“I’m okay. I was fed.”
“Not as much as I had hoped,” I added. “But Alex gave you food, right?”
“Yes,” she answered. “Thank you for that.”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t get you out sooner,” I started, suddenly realizing that a bit of food wasn’t close to good enough. “I am so sorry I let this happen to you.”
“It isn’t your fault.”
“I should have never gotten close to you.”
“I tried to tell you that,” Rudy murmured.
“Not now!” Jane snapped back.
“When?” he mumbled under his breath.
“How about when Jane is coherent and Becky is conscious? Sound good to you?” I yelled.
“Jeez,” he snapped back. “A little hostile, are we?”
“For the love of God, man. I just found my father attacking my friend, and the love of my life half starved to death in a dirty basement, so I think it would be nice if you could just shut the hell up before I crash this car into a tree. Yes?”
He didn’t answer, just slouched down in his seat.
Before we got far, I could feel the car slowing down. I pressed my foot harder on the gas, but nothing happened. I prepared to pull over. Before I had even gotten far enough over to the side of the road, the car stopped completely.
“Shit,” I grumbled.
“What’s wrong?” Jane asked.
“Damn car’s out of gas,” I murmured, speaking more to myself than to her.
“What?” Rudy growled. “It was completely full just before we got here.”
“Abraham,” I said, sigh
ing under my breath. He knew I was here. Great. “Damn—we really do need a car.”
“That’s not exactly an option,” Rudy chimed in.
“Nonsense.”
“Okay, another question then. How do you propose we get a car?”
I smiled at him, shaking my head. “It won’t be too difficult.”
I drummed my fingers on my cheek a few times. “Okay… Rudy, I need to go back inside. Stay in the car and look after the girls. Lock the doors. If Dorian gets back, I’ll take care of it.” Though I’m not sure how yet.
He nodded.
I rushed back inside, knowing Dorian would be back soon. I brought myself back to the room where I had murdered my father, trying my best to push back the guilt. There was nothing to feel guilty about. I reached into his pocket, trying to ignore the blood. I turned away, grimacing as the soggy fabric stuck to my hand. I pulled out his car key and a silver cell phone. I wiped my hand on my jeans and returned to the car as fast as I could. Nobody had even moved an inch.
Rudy unlocked the door.
“Let’s go,” I said, holding up the key dangling from a silver chain.
Jane followed right behind me, and Rudy, with Becky in his arms, followed a little farther behind. The garage was open. Perfect. I looked to Jane, sure she would instantly recognize the black Mustang that had followed us. It was hard to even glance at her looking as awful as she did, knowing it was my fault.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
She choked back then broke eye contact and nodded.
I started the car as Rudy put Becky in the back seat. She hardly moved at all.
Rudy got in the passenger’s seat, and I sped off.
“Slow down,” Rudy sputtered.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “It’s a habit.”
“I wouldn’t mind getting home faster,” Jane said.
“Are you going home?” Rudy asked, turning around.
“I guess not, but the sooner Becky gets to a hospital, the sooner we all get home.”
He nodded. “She’ll be okay. You should get checked on too.”
“Wait,” she started. “Just take her to my house. Ethan’s a doctor, you know.”
“That’s right,” I replied in sudden remembrance. “He is a doctor.”
“Take her to Ethan then,” Rudy said.
“I’m still not sure about it though,” Jane said. “We’re going to need a pretty good cover story.”
Summers' Shadow (Hunters Trilogy Book 2) Page 16