by Lynn Rush
“Screw you, Tim.” Zach lurched forward. “I didn’t ask you to come. I wanted Mandy to come here. What have you guys done? Where have you been all this time? Making me think she was dead.”
“Back off, man,” Tim said.
Zach jumped to the side, grabbed my wrist and yanked me away from Nate.
“Zach, no. What are you doing? Stop.”
“Did they take you? Force you to leave? Are you okay?”
We stopped a few feet from the gang. Nate watched with narrowed eyes.
“Zach. Calm down. We chose to die. You’re not supposed to know I’m alive. No one is. We were to never come back or contact anyone again.”
“You went to our chat room. You went—”
“That was a mistake. I’ve upset the entire group and hurt Nate in the process. Not to mention endangered us all, even you. Why did you come here?”
“I had to find you, Mandy. You died. They identified you from dental records. DNA.” He yanked me to him again. “You’re alive. I’ve been so—you were gone. Just gone. I—” His voice cracked.
He was truly broken.
“So you hopped on your bike and headed to Minnesota? How—?”
“Jess saw what happened. Heard about it online. He’s been searching for you since you died. He didn’t buy it that you were gone.”
“Scott?”
“Not sure. Don’t really hang around them. Only Jess, but he sees Jasmine and Scott all the time to make sure no one came sniffing around town. He says they know you and Georgia died and that I was being unreasonable and Jess shouldn’t be feeding into it.”
He squeezed me tighter. I left my arms to the side. I wasn’t really sure what to do. The sun was nearly set, darkness was creeping in, and we needed to leave. Six people in a Jeep would be tough. Me and Georgia were smallest, we might be able to sit in the back.
“Zach. Let me go.”
“No. Never.” He tightened his hold.
“Zach. I’m serious. You need to let go of me, you’re squeezing the breath out of me.” Not really, but what was I going to do, karate chop him? He was beside himself with . . . with grief I guessed. Relief maybe?
He released his grip around me, and I stepped back. Georgia, Tim, and Lois had filed into the Jeep and turned the car on. Nate watched Zach and me but stayed by the Jeep. God I loved him. So calm, even with Zach pawing me like he was. And after I’d lied to him.
“Now that you’ve seen me, know that I’m okay, you need to come to Colorado with us.”
“I’m in. Wherever you’re going, I’ll go.” He reached for my face, but I stepped back. “It’s not like that, though, Zach. You’re only coming because we’re in some serious trouble and there might be someone there who can help us.”
“Agents, they know you’re alive?”
“Worse. You’re aunt does, too, and she’s throwing everything she has at us.”
“Everything?”
“No more darts, Zach. Real bullets. In Minnesota, her Agents rained down on us with live ammo.” An image of me falling over the edge of that building flashed, and I couldn’t hold back a full body flinch. “It was bad. And now that you, like an idiot, zoomed up here, you’re involved again.”
“I don’t care. I’m still in shock that you’re alive. God, I went to your funeral. Thought you’ve been dead this whole time. Georgia, too.” He glanced toward the Jeep. “I’m no good without you, Mandy.”
“I can see that. You look like shit.”
“Thanks a lot.” He shook his head. “So, you held onto my birthday present this whole time. You contacted me in our private chat room.”
“Didn’t believe I stumbled into the room?”
“Can’t really. Well, it’s really hard to, anyway. And Rambo? I knew that right away.”
Boy, I wasn’t very bright was I?
“Why’d you come to the chat room if you weren’t supposed to be in touch with anything from your past?”
“I heard you were doing poorly.”
“That’s an understatement. I think Dad was ready to have me committed.”
A chill rattled my bones. “Look, let’s go. It’s cold out here.” I turned toward the Jeep.
“Wait. Tell me something.” He drew in a deep breath. “Why’d you keep that gift all this time. Even after you were supposed to be dead and never contact anyone from Trifle again.”
I showed him my back. No way I wanted to answer that. Didn’t need to be encouraging him anymore. He’d already said he loved me earlier today in the chat room.
“Mandy.”
“Zach. Like I said, I’d heard you weren’t doing so hot and I got worried for a second. Lapse in judgment and look what happened. Now we’re in more danger than ever.”
“I don’t even care about that right now.” He darted around and stopped in front of me. “I think you did it because you still love me.”
Chapter 24
“Gotta pee,” I said. It wasn’t a total lie, but I had to get out of this Jeep.
Not only was I cramped in the way back, considering there wasn’t a seat, just an itty-bitty space for me to sit while Zach, Georgia, and Lois took the back seat, but I couldn’t stand the thick, heavy silence that polluted the car.
Sure, it was pitch-black nighttime, and Georgia and Lois were sleeping, but still. The tension made the silence that much worse. Even with headphones. I pressed menu on my iPod and sat up.
“Hello?” I said.
“Ten miles,” Nate said.
I caught a glimpse of his face in the rearview mirror. Now there was quite a distance between us and it was totally dark, but I swore I saw him wink. So who was throwing all that tension out into the darkness?
Zach probably. He’d been known to do that while we were dating. Couldn’t blame him. I was scoping Nate while technically still dating Zach, so actually, I was a heel. But still, he needed to grow up. He hadn’t stopped staring at me or trying to touch my hand or arm since we’d found him. Again, I couldn’t blame him. Last time he’d seen me, I was a splat of charred human flesh beneath massive helicopters in Jasmine’s backyard. And his mom had just been killed.
I needed to cut him some slack, but I couldn’t have him pawing me like that in front of my boyfriend.
I pressed play again and pushed up the volume until it hurt. I knew it was totally bad for my ears, but I needed to drown out all this thinking.
Felt like only minutes passed, and the car jostled. I popped my eyes open and pressed pause. The dim roadside light poles flew by overhead as we exited the interstate. A rest area. These places gave me the creeps more than any other, but only at night. During the day some of these had pretty sweet views. Like the sunset stop in Arizona. Loved that one.
But at night, it was like they morphed into a cheap horror flick stage.
Absolute darkness surrounding an isolated structure where total strangers stopped to pee—talk about creepyville.
I glanced at my phone. Nearly midnight. We had to be getting close. I was never known for patience or riding well on long drives, and it was starting to prickle beneath my skin.
The parking lot was pretty empty, minus about fifteen semis, but if they were in their cabs and there was space behind the building, maybe I could let off a little steam before crawling back in here. That’d help.
The car jostled to a stop in a spot slightly beyond the last light. I’d asked why once, and Nate had said we didn’t want to be beneath a bunch of lights so people had clear views of us.
Yeah, never would have thought of that. Tim took the customary quick scan, followed by Nate slowly getting out of his side and looking around. He tapped the car top signaling it all clear. Georgia and Lois burst out of the backseat and that left me room to climb over. Zach held out his hand to help me.
“I got it. Thanks.” I aimed for the open door Lois and Georgia went out and saw Nate standing near it. On my hands and knees on the backseat I looked up. His big smile greeted me. “Hey, you.”
He turned and
bent down and gave me the perfect angle to jump onto his back. I loved his piggyback rides. Made me feel like a kid—fun and carefree.
I coiled my arms around his neck and clenched my legs tighter. He’d shed his massive jacket, so only our sweatshirts separated us. That was way better.
The cool air flushed out the stale air that had taken residence in my lungs.
I snuggled into his neck and nipped at his skin. “So how much longer?” Jeez I sounded like a bratty kid.
“Maybe about five more hours. Depending on weather.” He hoisted me up and despite the cold air surrounding me, my tummy tingled with warmth. “Aspen might be having a snowstorm, though. Last weather check said there was a chance.”
“Wonderful.” I pressed a kiss to his neck. “You doing okay? Maybe you need me to drive.”
“I don’t think I’ll fit in that cubbyhole very well.”
“True.” I glanced around. “Let’s go out back and I’ll throw some ice at you a while. I’m so cabin feverish.”
“You weren’t the only one who needed to stop.” He loosened his grip around me as we approached the restrooms. “But hurry up and I’ll meet you out back in three minutes.”
Georgia laughed. She’d been walking beside us. So lost in my moment of fun with Nate I’d forgotten about everyone else. Of course Zach being there shocked me right back into reality.
“Come on, Georgia.” I grabbed her hand and hurried into the restrooms.
Within the promised three minutes, I stole around the corner of the building and ran smack into a snowball to the gut. “No fair! I wasn’t ready.”
I ignited my hand and threw my own, homemade snowball at Nate. Then another. And another.
“Talk about not being fair. You generate them faster than I can make them.” He ducked behind a sign reminding us all to pick up after our dogs.
I glanced around. Only the bright moonlight spilled over us. The crisp darkness that had a hint of silver splashed over the tall trees that backed up to the rest area. But between us and the wall of trees there was a pit of darkness.
“Hold on. Time out,” I gasped. My lungs burned from sucking in the frigid air so fast.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Just want to see what’s past this railing here.” I reached forward and grabbed the metal railing perched atop the short cement wall that ran along forever.
“Yeah, it’s a small canyon.” He came up beside me, chest heaving from our impromptu snowball fight. “Where’s the rest of our travel gang?”
“Stretching their legs a little. Lois is nailing Zach with questions about Gary and things back in Trifle.” I leaned forward. Yep, total pit of blackness just past the rocks and trees that jutted out from the snow. I bet it was pretty when the sun was shining off the snow. “Wonder how far down it goes?”
“Let’s not find out, please.” He tugged at my hood that hung down my back.
I glanced up toward the building. All clear, so I turned and pushed up to my toes to kiss my boyfriend. No witnesses. No exes. No Agents. Just him and me, in the dark, and beneath the moon. Despite the circumstances of why we were there, it was pretty romantic.
Cold, but romantic.
Well, not entirely cold. His lips were warm. So was his tongue. I loved how it mingled with mine so perfectly. His taste, his smell, I loved it all. My heart hammered as I deepened the kiss, drawing him in as far as he could go. We probably only had a few minutes alone, so I planned on enjoying them to the fullest.
His arms around me tightened, and I molded against him best I could through the layers.
“I taste Red Vines,” Nate whispered as he pulled away for a breath.
“And you taste like soda.” I nipped at his lips. “Good combo.” I cupped his cheeks with my hands. “I wish we didn’t have to get back into that car.” Another quick nip. “I kind of like having you to myself.”
“Don’t get much alone time, do we?” He brushed his lips along my neck.
“Mmm, that feels nice. And we will have plenty of time together. Once we get GEM’s help.” I wanted that more than anything. “And I call dibs on you for, like, the first seventy-two hours.” I giggled.
“Seventy-two, huh?” He leaned back.
“For starters. You know, then we can come up for air and…mingle.”
“Sounds like a plan. You cold?” He kissed me.
“Your lips are a little, but it’s nice.” He sucked my earlobe into his mouth. “Oh, now that’s warm.” And warming me up.
His mouth found mine again for a long time. Finally he pulled away from me, but kept his forehead touching mine. We probably looked like the cutest post card ever, if only I’d had a camera.
Couldn’t do pictures, though. Too much of a trail.
That’s all right. I had this moment etched in my brain. I’d never forget it.
He glanced toward the building. “We should get back.”
Up on my tiptoes again, I stole another kiss. “I love you, Nate.”
His eyes widened along with his smile. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but then it clamped shut. His arms loosened around me, and his stare went blank.
Completely and totally blank.
But only for a split second, because in the next breath his head ticked to the side with a quick jerk, and a subtle red glow in the upper corner of his left eye pulsed to life.
Oh, God. I’d seen that look before.
Melanie.
I didn’t see it happen, he moved so fast, but his hand was curled around my neck in a grip so tight it should have snapped.
I wasn’t quite sure why it didn’t.
“Nate,” I yelled. My voice cut short, throat closing beneath his grip. His eyes glazed and fixed on me. That damned red tint flared. Pulsed.
I fisted my hand and hit his chest. His eyes flickered to life, and I saw my Nate’s amber-flecks sparkle again, then his hold on me loosened. But just as fast, the glazed look returned and his grip tightened.
“Georgia.” My voice came out squeaky. Nowhere near loud enough to cut through the distance separating us from the front of the building.
I clawed at his hand and wiggled my fingers between a small gap. With every ounce of strength the lack of air to my body allowed me I cranked, peeling his two top fingers back.
Instantly more air made it to my lungs.
“Georgia!” I yelled.
“Run,” he whispered.
My Nate’s eyes returned.
“Run, hurry.” His voice cracked, and his jaw clamped shut. The vein in his temple pulsed, bulging. His grip loosened. “I can’t hold it—”
“Mandy!” Georgia stormed around the corner of the building followed by Tim.
“Oh, God,” Tim said. “Mandy, get back. Get back.”
“Trying.” But that wasn’t working too well at the moment with his ironclad grip around me.
Suddenly he let go of me. But in the next breath, blank-eyed Nate reached for me again, then stopped. “Go! Go! Hurry! Tim. It’s happening—”
“Georgia, flame up. Mandy, ice up,” Tim yelled.
“But—”
“Do it now!”
I cooled down my hands, not really sure what was going on. It all happened so fast, yet so slow at the same time. “Nate!” I yelled. “What’s wrong with you? It’s me. Mandy.”
His fist rushed my face. Caught so much by surprise, I didn’t have time to duck and his knuckles pummeled my cheek. I’d only cooled my hands readying them for action, no ice protection on my face, so I felt every bone-crunching second of that blow.
I toppled back. My elbow cracked on the hard, snow-packed ground as I landed.
“You will come with me.” Nate grabbed my upper arm and hoisted me into the air.
“Nate. Stop!” I yelled. “What are you doing? It’s me, Mandy.” I flattened my hand to his chest. His heart hammered beneath the surface.
“Freeze him,” Tim yelled.
Nate dropped me and vanished in a blur.
/> “Shit.”
“What the hell is going on?” Georgia asked, her skin glowing and hands flaming.
A blur approached me, but I froze the already snowy ground as I hopped to my feet. Nate slid, unable to stop, right toward me. I streamed soft snow like a fire hose at him and slowed him down. “Nate! Shake out of it. Nate!”
He rammed into me, shoulder to my gut. Bones cracked, my breath rushed out of me, burning along the way as I screamed.
“Stop. Nate.” I braced for the fall, but with his weight on me, my wrist snapped, and I caved.
His fingers coiled around my neck again. “You will come with me.”
Tears spilled over my cheeks. The blank look in his eyes made him look like…a monster. Where was the caring, tender man I loved? How did this—I’d said the words. The words he couldn’t ever say to me. The words I’d wanted to say for a long time now. Shit.
I worked my hand between us again and pushed as I rolled. He slid to the side, still holding onto me. Darkness curved my vision. Just like he’d done to Melanie. It’d scared the shit out of me watching it, but now I was at the receiving end of his version of the dart gun to make someone unconscious.
“Nate. I love you. It’s me, Mandy.” I turned on the cold. “Please. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You’re mine!” he whispered, his voice low and menacing. “Mine.”
I cuffed his wrist and cranked on the cold. He grimaced, but at least his hold loosened. With my free hand, I hammered into his gut then kicked him over my head.
He’d taught me that.
In a flash he was to his feet.
“Freeze his legs!” Tim yelled.
I screamed as I sprayed liquid ice, tears stinging my eyes. I felt their warmth contrast my freezing skin. They may have frozen to my face.
He darted away again before my ice took hold. Georgia turned on the flame, giving us more light, but he was gone. Vanished.
“Nate,” I yelled as I ran to the railing and looked over. He hadn’t gone that way, but I couldn’t tell very well from the blur. I turned around, scanning every direction.
“Nate!” Felt like razors ran along the insides of my throat I’d screamed so loud. Nothing like alerting any Agent in the area to our location, but I didn’t care. I melted to the cold ground. My Nate was gone.