Once I was safe on my two legs again, Zane bent over to stare into my eyes with an expression so bright he almost seemed as attractive as Gregory. Then he spoke. “Well, holy crap on a cracker, Iris! You certainly are a freak of nature. Woo! I’m in!”
I wasn’t sure how to react, so I just fumbled back to my seat as Zane did the same, trying not to feel everyone’s gaping eyes on me. “Okay…thanks, Zane.”
After that exuberant show of faith and a few resulting chuckles, no one else spoke. Maybe they disagreed with me, or maybe they were just waiting for me to suggest what they felt they couldn’t. Only one way to find out. “Kyra, you need to go to her.”
Gregory knit his brows in disapproval but he kept his mouth closed, so I continued. “She’s needed there more than we need her here. I can do our part on my own.”
Gregory withdrew his hand from Kyra’s back and sighed. His shoulders slumped, as though the decision he was about to make had knocked the wind out of his sails. He turned to Zane wearily. “I suppose if…if Kyra has to go help her friend who’s in critical condition, she could probably use an angel’s help as well.” He glanced at Robert. “And as Robert pointed out, I could do this all on my own if I wanted to. Well, if I needed to.”
Kyra barely let him finish. In two seconds flat she had her arms wrapped around Gregory’s neck. He let out a surprised laugh and then returned the hug.
“Thank you,” she spoke into his shoulder.
“Don’t thank me. Thank Iris.”
Kyra leaned back up as she wiped her eyes. “Thanks, friend.” She smiled at me. “And you’re right to be confident. I’ll be listening and checking in the whole time, but you have to know I wouldn’t even think about leaving if I didn’t think you could handle whatever stupid scheme Lucas and Donovan have planned. Well, with Gregory’s help and everyone else’s too.” She paused and a sly grin crossed her face. “And maybe even without their help.” She sighed. “My only regret is that I won’t be there to see you show off.”
“Well,” I said, “maybe we can get someone to record it or something.” She laughed and I pulled her in for a hug.
“Okay, not trying to ruin the moment or anything,” Robert said, glancing around the room hesitantly, “but what does this mean for our plan? What all has to change now?”
Gregory scratched his head. “Uh, good question. I guess I’ll have to ride with you to siphon the gas tank. Patrick and Iris, you can drive Patrick’s car down there. Then when I’m done, I’ll fly straight to the convenience store and wait with Patrick in his car until we’re ready to unlock the back of the U-Haul. Iris, you’ll have to distract the U-Haul driver by yourself, but Patrick will be just around the corner and we’ll be able to listen to your transmitter.”
He eyed Patrick and me apologetically. “Sorry I won’t be there in the beginning in case you need my help.”
“No worries.” Patrick peered into my eyes. “I think I’ve underestimated this rock star long enough. If she thinks we’ll be fine, we’ll be fine.”
“I don’t just think that. I know it.” I flashed him a cheesy grin, but his magnetic green eyes melted my humor and held me there. If I’d had any anxiety about our plans changing or what I’d have to do, those negative feelings drifted away in the sea of his green eyes.
Zane coughed, forcing me back to reality. “Uh...You sure that’s a good idea.” He wagged his finger back and forth at us as he eyed Gregory.
“Don’t worry about them.” Gregory leaned towards him, chuckling. “I made them take a Child Development and Parenting class this semester just for good measure.”
Zane howled as he smacked the arm of the sofa. “You mean the class where you have to carry around the baby? That’s classic!”
My eyelids flew wide open. I dug in my bag frantically for my keys. “Crap! I left the baby in the car!”
Gregory’s face fell as his tone dropped two octaves. “You got the baby simulator today?”
I yanked out my keys and glared at Gregory with a heavy smirk on my way out. “Yes. Because of you, Patrick and I will not only be pulling some crazy, drug-trafficking shadow hunt tonight...we’ll be doing it all while also playing parents to an annoying doll.” I extended my hands to my sides and bent forward in an exaggerated bow. “So thanks for that.”
I strolled to the front door, feeling a twinge of guilt for being a bad parent but not enough to make me run to my car. Gregory’s regretful voice drifted from the living room to my ears. “Well, I guess that plan backfired.”
At least he felt bad. His remorse was a small victory for the torture I’d already been through that semester and was about to go through that night. But it was a victory nonetheless. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be the last one we’d see before the night was over.
Chapter 29
“I promise we won’t stay up until three in the morning.”
I slapped on my most convincing “I’m a good child” face for my mom, but she wasn’t buying it. I’d told her I would be staying the night at Kyra’s to work on a school project that was due the next day. Though she believed me just fine, she wasn’t letting me go as easily.
She frowned like a typical concerned mother, even though she wasn’t one. Ironically, Robert, who should’ve been helpful in covering up my light warrior tracks, was inadvertently inspiring my mom to become a better parent. Which was really getting in the way tonight. She was getting nosy.
I tried again. “And I promise in the future I won’t put off projects till the last minute.”
I struggled to keep an aloof, unhurried expression as I glanced at my phone for the time. I was due back at Kyra’s house so Patrick and I could get a head start within half an hour. I frowned at my unwanted baby, which I had not-so-carefully chunked on the ground in its carrier beside me, and adjusted my backpack on my shoulder. The bag would have to double as a diaper bag for the weekend. I peeked up at my mom. “So are we cool?”
She opened her mouth but was interrupted by Hannah barging into the living room. Along with her overstuffed bag, Hannah carried a giant textbook and laptop into the kitchen and dumped them on the table.
I grinned over my mom’s shoulder. “Looks like I’m not the only one with homework tonight.”
Hanna flashed me a weary smile as she plopped down into a chair. “You have no idea, miss high school student.”
Returning her attention to me, our mom sighed but remained silent.
I took that as consent. “Thanks, Mom.”
“Hey,” she said after I’d already picked up the carrier and opened the door.
I whirled around with my hand still gripping the door handle. “Yeah?”
Her motherly frown melted into a smirk as she put a hand on her hip and pointed a finger at me with the other. “You’d better get an A.”
That was more like my mom. I smirked right back and yelled after her as she walked to the kitchen. “I’ll do my best.”
I was the last to meet up at Kyra’s house. Not unlike all adults, Lexi’s parents loved Kyra, so they had no problem letting her stay the night at her house to “work on a school project.” They’d probably even helped her pack and shoved her out the door.
Patrick, too, had no trouble getting there since his dad was gone most of the time anyway.
Apparently, he’d only just arrived, though. As I passed by his car, he surprised me by opening his door and stepping out. “Hey there, partner. Or would you prefer I address you as Team Captain?” He slung his backpack over his shoulder as he locked his car.
“Please. If there has to be a leader, it should be you. You’ve done things like this more than I have.”
“Not quite like this.” A slight uneasiness colored his voice, but he masked it well. “Tell you what.” He took the carrier from my arms and led the way to the door. “You can be the sidekick that turns out to be way cooler and more important than the main character. Like Tonto and the Lone Ranger.”
I laughed and rang the doorbell. “I don’t know how I feel ab
out my boyfriend comparing me to Tonto.”
“Hey. Have you ever seen any of those movies? Tonto’s a beast!”
“Exactly. If it’s all the same to you, I think I’d prefer not to be a beast. I’m content being a normal sidekick.”
Patrick shrugged. “And if you happen to want to show off and totally beast the shadows, then so be it.”
I rolled my eyes as Kyra’s mom opened the door for us. Kyra and Zane had already left for Indianapolis, but Gregory had given them an extra walkie talkie so they could stay up on everything that went on.
Once Patrick and I stepped inside the foyer, the baby started crying. I stopped to rummage through my backpack for the key and the bottle.
“Take your time. Everyone’s already in there.” Kyra’s mom smiled and then wandered off.
“How do you know that’s what Angel wants?” Patrick asked, setting the carrier on the ground after I’d pulled out the bottle.
“Because she’s ready for a feeding. This thing has a schedule. You just have to figure it out.”
“Well, look at you, little miss mother.”
“Yes,” I laughed as I unhooked the baby from the seatbelt, more skillfully than when I’d first attempted the maneuver. “I’m part beast and part mother.”
“You know...” Patrick hesitated like a child about to ask something of his parents, knowing they’d probably say no. “You really should let Kyra’s mom take care of the baby. I mean, she did offer. Tonight would be a lot easier, considering…”
“No.” I said forcefully as I rammed the key in the baby’s back and positioned her in my arms for the bottle. “This is my assignment and my grade. I’m not going to put my responsibilities on somebody else. Besides, I’m starting to get the hang of this. It’ll be fine. She’s not going to get in the way or anything. She’ll be with you for the short time I won’t be with her myself. The driver won’t even see her.”
“Iris. I think you’re amazing. But you do know you’re not wonder woman, right?” He stared at me flatly so I stared right back.
“Yes. I do. But stopping a drug trafficker wasn’t on the list of approved reasons for having a babysitter. So she’s coming.”
Patrick held up his hands as a half-hearted gesture of surrender. “All right. All right. I’m just saying.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
We walked into the living room, Patrick with the carrier and me with the baby, holding the bottle in her mouth.
“Hey, it’s the new parents,” Robert hollered upon seeing us.
Apparently my relationship with my mother’s boyfriend had matured to the stage were sarcastic banter was acceptable. I wasn’t sure if that included physical banter, such as a swift kick in the foot, so I settled for a smirk and a snide comment. “So what does that make you? Grandpa?”
“Touché, touché.” He raised his hands like white flags as I strolled by him to my seat for last-minute instructions.
* * * *
Thirty minutes later Patrick and I were on the road. Our drive was only about half an hour, which passed even faster due to our in-drive entertainment for the evening—listening to the adults and angels make wise-cracks about each other over our devices meant for communication. I’m pretty sure I learned more about my mom’s boyfriend and about Gregory’s history with Zane than I had ever cared to learn.
However, the short drive was long enough to get my adrenaline pumping and palms sweating.
“There’s our exit.” Patrick pointed to the green highway sign that matched our directions.
“Good timing,” I muttered as I put away the baby’s bottle and rubbed my sweaty palm on my jeans.
Patrick glanced at the baby in my lap and returned his eyes to the road. “You know Angel’s supposed to stay in her car seat the whole time we’re driving, right?”
I stared at him. “It’s made of plastic. I think this doll would fare way better than any human if thrown from a vehicle.”
“Hey guys.” Lexi’s voice broke through our forgotten walkie talkie. It’d been silent for several minutes. “If I’m reading this tracking stuff right, Gregory and Robert have just turned around on the highway to follow the U-Haul and are now about fifteen minutes from the exit. Iris and Patrick are exiting now. Is that right?”
Gregory replied first. “That’s right.”
I picked up our walkie and pressed the talk button. “Yeah. We’re pulling into the gas station now.”
“Okay,” Lexi continued. “Just wanted to make sure before things got crazy. Not that I’m saying anything bad will happen. Just…crazy.” She paused. “Okay, over and out.” Her voice died into fuzz.
I laughed. No one could say she wasn’t taking her job seriously.
“Oh,” Gregory said as I was about to put away the walkie talkie. “Speaking of crazy. I’ve got some angels to keep a lookout for anything strange relating to Lucas and Donovan. Nothing so far.”
Though I was happy to hear the news, his mention of the two adversaries I would very well have to face that night gave me goosebumps. I pushed the talk button on the walkie talkie before I could stop myself. “Gregory, I know I said I was ready to deal with them if they show up tonight. But I don’t know if I really know what to do.” I hated to admit being so unprepared, but the thought had really been bothering me on the drive.
Gregory’s voice on the other end was firm yet comforting. “Iris, you don’t always have to have a plan. Just trust your instincts and let your aura guide you. Your light will know what needs to be done when the time comes.”
I let his simple answer, along with Patrick’s encouraging smile, reassure me, at least for the moment. “Thanks, Gregory.”
Patrick maneuvered into the service station and found our decoy car. The Charger was parked around the corner from the gas pumps, out of sight just as Gregory had said. As Patrick parked next to it, I set the walkie talkie down but didn’t move to get out. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but something didn’t feel quite right.
Patrick must not have sensed anything. “You’d better get moving so you can put that transmitter on.” When I didn’t budge, he made a shooing motion at me with his hand.
I took a deep breath and exhaled. There was no backing out now. After handing Patrick the baby, which he promptly returned to its car seat in the back, I stepped out with my backpack.
The bathroom stall of the gas station wasn’t ideal for hooking a wired transmitter underneath my form-fitting, long-sleeved shirt. But I made it work, hooking the wire so nothing wouldn’t show like I’d practiced at Kyra’s house. I wouldn’t be able to hear Lexi and Kyra’s dad, but they’d be able to hear me once I turned on the transmitter. The thought gave me some comfort. The only information we’d dug up on the driver was his age—twenty five, his name—Michael, what he looked like, and the fact that he was trafficking drugs. Other than that I knew nothing about him. With my luck, he could be a complete perv.
I pulled out the purse I’d stashed inside my backpack as I shuffled back outside. Patrick was bent over, messing with something inside the Charger. I threw my backpack into Patrick’s car beside my deceivingly cute homework assignment and shut the door. When I stood back up I found Patrick standing over me, jangling car keys in front of my face. “Here you go, ma’am. I double-checked. Your vehicle is all ready not to start for you.”
“Why thank you, kind sir.” I accepted the keys with a kiss, which he accepted with startling intensity that sent shivers down my spine. My nerves weren’t helping.
He pulled away and eyed me warily. “Is your transmitter turned on yet?”
I smiled. “Not yet.”
“Good.” He leaned in for another kiss, slightly longer than the first, but we were soon interrupted. Lexi’s voice blared from inside Patrick’s pocket. “Iris, are you guys in position yet?”
Patrick studied me with a raised eyebrow as he pulled out the walkie talkie and pushed the talk button. “I guess that depends on what you mean by --"
I punched his
solid chest, cutting him off, and he broke out in a laugh Lexi didn't hear.
Lexi continued, sounding a bit more urgent. “Guys, Gregory just left to siphon the gas tank.”
Patrick sighed and pushed the talk button again. “We’re getting there now. Chill your biscuits.”
He slid the device back into his pocket and peered at me with an unreadable expression. The humor had faded from his eyes. “Well. This is it, I guess.”
Our plan was finally becoming a reality, and all I could think of were the potential problems. I shook my head. I had to think positively.
I closed my eyes and let my aura blaze. As the brilliant light flowed through me, the warmth and power charged me with strength and confidence.
When I opened my eyes, I was able to smile genuinely at Patrick. “We’ll be fine.”
He smiled back, but it seemed forced. No one else would’ve noticed, but I knew him too well. “I know we will,” he said as he leaned in to peck me on my forehead. “Good luck.”
He squeezed my hand with more pressure than usual and then turned around to head back to his car. But something about seeing him walk away from me sent a shock of anxiety zipping up my spine. I suddenly felt vulnerable and a little bit like David from David and Goliath. Although David had confidence that God would help him defeat the giant, he must have still felt a little scared all small and by himself. If I was about to meet my giant, it would be nice if I could meet him with Patrick by my side.
“Hey,” I shouted.
I hadn’t really thought through what I wanted to say, so when Patrick twisted back to me, I faltered. Instead of sharing my fears, I ended up saying something entirely different. “Uh, take care of my doll, okay? I don’t want to get a bad grade.”
He smirked. “Sure. You go have fun flirting while I stay home and take care of the baby.”
Luminous Spirits (Shadow Eyes Series Book 2) Page 30