“And Zoe didn’t heal anyone with an audience, right?” James pressed.
“She tried to heal Scott, but Paris, Kelsey and I were the only ones around,” Aric answered. “No one else saw.”
“And Scott is the dead man?”
“We went to college with him,” Aric said. “Did anyone else die?”
“Several people, but most of them were senatorial aides checking the spot before their bosses arrived,” James said. “No one important died.”
“I’ll be sure to tell that to Scott’s parents when I call them to offer my condolences tomorrow,” Aric spat.
“I didn’t mean that the way it came out,” James argued. “I’m merely saying that, considering the size of the blast, we got off lucky.”
“I don’t think Zoe sees it that way,” Aric said. “She’s going to blame herself for this. Scott was her friend.”
“I’m sorry he’s dead, son, but we have other problems to deal with.”
“Like what?”
“You said you saw someone in the woods right before the blast,” James said. “Do you have any idea who it was?”
“All I saw was dark movement,” Aric replied. “It was a man. I can be sure of that. He wasn’t overly big, though, and I didn’t scent another wolf. I can’t be sure that it wasn’t someone from another pack, though. He was too far away and my senses were on overload because there were so many people inside.”
“You’re out of practice.”
“Now is not the time for this conversation,” Aric hissed. “Zoe is a wreck. We’re both exhausted. I don’t want to talk about this right now. We’ll deal with it tomorrow.”
“Are you sure Zoe will be up for that?”
“Zoe is the strongest person I know,” Aric said. “She’ll be okay. She needs to grieve, though. Scott would be alive if it wasn’t for that party – a party you and Mom insisted on throwing, by the way.”
“Wait … are you saying this is my fault?” James sounded angry.
“It’s not your fault,” Aric said, adjusting his tone. “But Zoe is going to blame herself. Heck, I was rude to the guy right before he died. I’m not feeling too good about myself right now either. We’re tired, Dad. I cannot deal with this right now.”
“I’ll be back in the morning,” James said. “I know you’re both upset, but we have to start thinking strategically. If someone planted that bomb to get at Zoe – and that has to be the assumption we move on – then that means someone is out to get her again.”
“I’ve already figured that out on my own, Dad,” Aric said, his temper flaring. “Do you think I’m not worried? Do you think I’m trying to gloss over what happened? Zoe is my primary concern right now. I can’t take on anything but her safety until tomorrow morning.”
“Fine.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to snap at you.” Aric was obviously frustrated. “We’re going to have a lot to deal with tomorrow. I need tonight to be quiet. Zoe needs it.”
“Take care of Zoe,” James said. “We’ll get everyone together and make some decisions on where to go tomorrow. I shouldn’t have come here. It wasn’t fair to either of you.”
“None of this was fair,” Aric said. “This was our engagement party. The worst thing that was supposed to happen was Zoe being annoyed by all the politicians. Now Scott is dead. Someone else is after us. She deserved one night to be the center of attention for a reason that doesn’t terrify her.”
“Get some sleep,” James said. “We can’t go back in time and change what happened. Things will be better in the morning.”
I pressed my eyes shut so I could pretend I was sleeping when Aric returned to bed. No matter what James said, I knew things would not be better in the morning.
5
Five
Aric’s strong body pressed against my back when I woke the next morning. The sun was bright and beat against my face. Aric usually closed the blinds before bed. The previous evening was anything but normal, so I couldn’t really blame him for forgetting.
“Hey,” Aric murmured, tightening his arm around my waist as he buried his face in my hair. “Are you okay?”
“I’m angry.”
“Join the club,” Aric said, his voice gravelly from inhaling so much smoke during our rescue efforts. “How do you feel otherwise?”
“Angry.”
“Not that, Zoe,” Aric chided, forcing me to roll so I could face him. “How does the rest of you feel? Do you hurt anywhere?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?” Aric pressed. “I don’t want you going through pain because you feel guilty about Scott dying.”
He was feeling blunt this morning. That was good. I was feeling blunt, too. “I don’t feel guilty. Not the way you think I do. I was the reason he was there, but I don’t feel guilty. I feel really angry.”
“Not angry enough to set something on fire, right?”
I shrugged. I wasn’t feeling particularly fire happy after last night, but some good old-fashioned vengeance sounded good. “I could set something on fire.”
Aric smirked, although it looked sort of like a grimace. “I think that pink dress is on the floor by the bottom of the bed,” he said. “If you want to set something on fire before breakfast, I suggest taking that outside and venting on it.”
“I just might do that,” I said, burrowing my face into the hollow between his neck and shoulder. “What happens today?”
“Well, the police are supposed to stop by, and we need to have a talk with my father.”
“I know. I heard you guys in the hallway last night.”
“You’re nothing if not predictable,” Aric said, kissing my forehead. “You should be a spy. You’ve got eavesdropping down to a science.”
“It’s not eavesdropping when you’re talking right next to the room I’m sleeping in.”
“I stand corrected,” Aric said, tracing a lazy pattern across my back with his finger as he contemplated the day. “We need to figure out who did this and why. Then we need to go after them. We can’t sit back and hide. Not again.”
“I’m fine with that.”
“I need you to keep your temper in check, especially around the cops,” Aric cautioned. “If you need to vent before they get here, do it on the dress outside and then … dump that dress in a trash can where no one can see it.”
“I’ll put it in the fire pit and toast it there.”
“That’s even better,” Aric said. “Do that before you shower. I don’t want you smelling like you’ve been torching stuff when the cops get here. That might send the wrong message.”
I realized what he was insinuating. “Do you think they’ll suspect us?”
“No. We were injured in the blast, too. You healed my shoulder and your leg, but you didn’t get around to the minor stuff. That’s good. We need to look beat up.”
“What are we going to do about Scott?” The question was almost painful to ask. I felt as if something was drilling a hole in my heart at the mere mention of his name.
“I’m going to find out where his parents are and call them later this afternoon,” Aric replied. “I’m also going to pay for his funeral. I don’t know what else we can do.”
“What about his girlfriend?” I asked, racking my brain as I tried to remember whether she made it out of the building. “I didn’t see her after the explosion. Did you see her?”
“No. My father found her at the hospital, though. She had to stay overnight for observation. Her injuries aren’t life-threatening, though.”
“We need to make sure she’s okay,” I said. “I’m not sure I can face seeing her.”
“We’ll take it one step at a time, Zoe,” Aric said. “Go burn that dress and vent your excess energy. Then come inside and take a shower. After that we’ll tackle breakfast. We’ll pick a task and go with it until it’s done. I don’t know what else to do.”
BURNING the world’s ugliest dress fortified me. Taking a shower revitalized me. By the time I shuffled
into the kitchen an hour later I was ready to take on the day – and mete out revenge. My biggest problem was that I didn’t have any idea where to focus my rage.
“You look better,” Aric said, handing me a glass of juice. “Drink that.”
“Oh, is that what this is for? I had no idea.” I turn to sarcasm at the worst of times. Apparently today fit the bill for that particular personality defect.
Aric wisely opted to ignore it. “Paris and Kelsey are getting dressed. They’ll be out for breakfast in a few minutes. The cops are coming at ten. They’ll want to question them, too.”
“I can’t wait.”
Aric dumped a bag of hash browns in the skillet. “Have another glass of juice when you finish that one,” he instructed. “You didn’t have anything to eat after noon yesterday. You didn’t even get a chance to have dinner – and I made sure your favorite seafood items were on the menu.”
“I’m sorry I was snarky,” I said, lowering my eyes. “I … don’t know why I act that way.”
“It’s okay,” Aric said, reaching over to squeeze my hand. “I know you don’t mean it. Sarcasm is a defense mechanism for you. We both do it – although you turn it into an art form when you’re in a mood.”
“I’m lucky to have you,” I said. “You get me.”
“I am the bravest and most handsome man in the world,” Aric agreed. “Have another glass of juice.”
“You’re also the bossiest man in the world.”
“And now you see why we’re perfect for each other,” Aric said. “You get me, too.”
I wrinkled my nose and rolled up to the balls of my feet to kiss him. The sound of a throat clearing drew my attention to the other side of the kitchen island, where James watched us with weary eyes.
“I see you two are feeling better,” James said. “I’m glad.”
“I’m not feeling better,” I clarified. “I’m feeling angry. I’m ready to talk to the cops and then kick them out so we can talk freely. Then I want a plan of action to get whatever animal did this.”
“We have quite a few things to discuss, and luckily for you the police have decided not to question you after all,” James said. “They called my aide a few minutes ago. You’re off the hook.”
“Why?” Aric asked, confused. “I thought we were suspects until they could clear us.”
“They’ve already cleared you,” James said. “It turns out the restaurant had video security.”
“Wouldn’t the security system have been destroyed in the blast?” I asked, pouring myself another glass of juice as my stomach growled. It seemed disloyal to be hungry given Scott’s death, but plotting against the fiend who murdered him worked up my appetite.
“Yes and no,” James said. “The security equipment was destroyed. The restaurant’s feed was relayed to a third-party security company. They had footage and they caught someone on it planting the bomb.”
“Why didn’t they call someone when they saw it?” I asked, my temper flaring and causing the towel next to the sink to flutter.
“Don’t set the kitchen on fire, Zoe,” Aric warned, patting my hand.
“I got that out of my system when I burned the ugly dress,” I shot back. “I’m not going to burn anything.”
“I’m just checking,” Aric said. “Drink your juice.”
I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of following his orders, but I was really thirsty, so I did as instructed.
“The police have seen the footage and they’re looking for a suspect,” James supplied. “They’re sending a copy to my office, and my aide is going to email it to me as soon as it comes through. We’ll be able to watch it to see if we recognize the culprit.”
“Do you know anything?” Aric asked.
“We know it’s a white male, almost six feet tall, with a slight build,” James replied. “He was dressed in black and came in with the delivery team that dropped off the seafood.”
“What kind of explosive was it?” I asked, trying to wrap my mind around the logistics. “Where was the bomb planted?”
“The bomb was in the basement closet,” James said. “That closet is only used for storage. The explosive device was fairly simple. The police say that whoever set off the bomb did it with a remote control device.”
“The guy in the woods,” I said. “He must’ve been watching and decided to blow it when he saw Aric and me on the deck.”
“We can’t be sure about that, but it does make sense,” James said. “Right now we have to wait for the video to arrive. If we recognize the person in the video, then we’ll have something to go on. If we don’t, we’ll have to dig deeper.”
“Dig deeper on what?” Paris asked as she walked into the kitchen, dressed down in yoga pants and a T-shirt. Her face was pale and grim.
“They have video of whoever set the bomb at the restaurant,” Aric supplied. “We’re going to be able to look at it once the police email it to my father.”
“Do you think it’s another person after Zoe’s powers?” Kelsey asked, padding into the kitchen and taking my glass of orange juice so she could down the rest of it. Apparently she was as thirsty as I was. I poured more juice in the glass and watched her gulp that down.
“I guess it’s good I bought two jugs of orange juice yesterday because I figured we’d be hungover,” Aric said, lifting an eyebrow as Kelsey finished the second glass.
“What about the other people at the restaurant?” Paris asked. “How many … I mean, did anyone else die?”
“There were five fatalities,” James replied, his eyes briefly locking with mine. “In addition to Scott, two waitresses, an aide for one of my fellow senators and the wife of an old friend died.”
“The wife must have been the woman I saw in the lobby,” I mused. “What was her name?”
“Glenda Jenkins.”
“That name doesn’t sound familiar,” Aric said. “Who was she married to?”
“Burt Jenkins?”
Aric flipped the hash browns as he searched his memory. “I’m sorry. I don’t remember him.”
“You might not have ever met him,” James said. “He was a golfing buddy. He’s devastated. He’s still in the hospital.”
“What about Jenna?” I asked. “She was Scott’s girlfriend.”
“They’re keeping her another day for observation,” James answered. “She has a concussion and a broken arm.”
“And a broken heart,” I said, my stomach twisting.
“Zoe, I know Scott was your friend, but you can’t let this beat you,” James said. “You need to stay focused so you can … handle … whatever may be coming.”
“What is he suggesting?” Kelsey asked, narrowing her eyes. “I admit I’m new to all of this ‘Zoe can burn the world to the ground’ stuff, but is he actually suggesting setting you loose on whoever planted that bomb? Because, if he is, I think that’s a great idea.”
I stilled, surprised. “You do?”
“I want someone to pay for what happened to Scott,” Kelsey explained. “I know we haven’t seen him in five years, but he didn’t deserve to die. I want Zoe to beat some ass.”
“Thank you for that, Kelsey,” Aric said dryly.
“I’m with Kelsey,” Paris said. “If someone is dumb enough to go after Zoe given what she did at Quinn’s compound, they’re practically begging for an ass whooping.”
“I forgot what living under the same roof with the two of you was like,” Aric said, rolling his neck until it cracked. “I think everyone should calm down until we have a suspect. Then we’ll decide what to do.”
James studied his phone screen. “Speaking of that, the video is here,” he said. “Where is your laptop? It will be easier if we watch the footage on a bigger screen.”
It took James a few minutes to boot Aric’s laptop up and load his email. Aric continued making breakfast, although I could tell he was tense. When James announced the video was ready, Aric moved the food off the burner and stood behind me so we could watch toget
her.
The video was grainy so I had to lean closer to study the furtive figure as he moved through the restaurant’s downstairs hallway. I couldn’t see what he was doing inside of the closet, but when he came out I had a clear view of his face. My heart rolled painfully as James froze the video and pointed.
“Does anyone know who that is?” James asked. “He looks familiar. I can’t quite seem to place him, though.”
“I know who it is,” I said, grim. “It’s Mark.”
“I was wrong, Zoe,” Aric said, his rage palpable as he slung an arm over my shoulder. “You’re definitely going to kick his ass.”
6
Six
“I don’t understand,” Kelsey said, her eyes widening. “I thought Mark was taken into custody after that big fight right before graduation. That’s what you told me, Zoe. I … that’s what you told me.”
“He was taken into custody,” Aric said, his eyes narrowing until they were nothing more than dangerous brown slits. “He was held for a year and then released. I thought our people were watching him.”
“Are you sure that’s him?” James asked, peering closer to the monitor so he could watch the video feed again. “I don’t remember him being that … white.”
“Oh, he was always white,” Paris said. “You should’ve seen him with his clothes off. He looked like a deformed marshmallow.”
My mind was overloaded so I started pacing for lack of anything better to do with my excess energy. Aric kept one eye on me but both feet planted firmly in the conversation.
“I thought we were watching him,” Aric charged. “You said you were keeping an eye on him and that he wasn’t causing trouble.”
James balked. “We have been keeping an eye on him,” he argued. “That doesn’t mean we watch him twenty-four hours a day. That means we keep our ears to the ground and monitor his location.”
“Where is his location?”
“I’m not sure,” James gritted out, his patience evaporating. “Don’t take that tone with me. It’s not my fault. I thought we should kill him the day we captured him. Zoe made the decision to keep him alive.”
Dark Covenant (Living Covenant Trilogy Book 2) Page 4