Blood Bond (4 page)

“You seem preoccupied.”

“Just happy to be sprung from this place for
a few months.”

I nodded as we walked out into the sunshine,
unable to voice any sort of agreement. The ache in my chest—the one
I pretended was indigestion—sharpened at the thought of
leaving.

*

My bags were intact. I’d been briefly
worried Demi would mess with them, but she’d been leaving us alone.
I think she was on some sort of probation. She kept it very
hush-hush. I’d heard she’d been interviewed and released under the
assumption Miles had used this “sweet, innocent, and very gullible
teenager for his insane and criminal acts.” I’d almost barfed when
Alex told me that.

Alex.

Alex was gone. I felt numb about his
absence, unless you counted the ache—which I didn’t.

I mentally shook myself. Nope. Wasn’t
thinking about it.

“Did your grandma say anything about
George?” Cambria asked as we walked toward the parking lot.

I glanced around, checking to make sure we
were out of earshot of the few kids left on campus. I’d told
Cambria what Miles had done, injecting George with whatever it was
he’d concocted to create these hybrids. I’d also told her there was
no way we could let the other Hunters, or more importantly CHAS,
know about his change. They’d only lock him up—or worse.

“She said he’s okay, for now. Whatever Fee
is giving him has slowed everything down. But nothing can stop it.”
I sighed, feeling the worry come crashing down anew. “I just need
to get there so we can figure this out.”

“You could give him your blood and see what
happens,” she said.

I frowned. “You know how dangerous that
could be. Miles was nuts. For all I know, he told me to do that
because it will kill George instantly, or make him an even bigger
monster.”

“What about that Astor guy?”

I shook my head. “I asked Grandma about him.
He’s some mad scientist whose experiments killed a girl. She says
to stay away from him. I don’t think it was a request.”

“Sounds like he and Miles must’ve got along
great.”

We rounded the corner and the shiny Hummer
came into view, double-parked, as usual. Grandma loaded bags as a
sickly-looking Vera leaned against the passenger door.

“Maybe Vera knows of something,” Cambria
said.

“Maybe,” I agreed half-heartedly.

We added our bags to the growing pile,
helped Vera into the front seat, and climbed in.

“Geez,” said Cambria. “It’s like an
army-issued cave or something. Are there rocket launchers? I’ve
always wanted to shoot a rocket.”

Grandma laughed and backed out. “Sorry, no
weapons of mass destruction. Unless you count the passengers, of
course.” She winked into the mirror.

I watched the buildings as they slowly faded
from sight. Griffin Hall loomed larger than the others. I felt
conflicted—I should’ve been relieved, excited to be leaving. And a
part of me was. Another part felt lost, like whichever version of
myself I’d brought to Wood Point was still on the grounds, left
behind.

Two hours later, Grandma took an exit
advertising gas and burgers. “Anybody want anything?” she asked as
she hopped out.

“A bottle of water would be perfect,” Vera
said. Her eyes were dark underneath where shadows had formed in the
time we’d been on the road.

“Sure.” Grandma looked at me. “Tara,
anything?”

“Water’s good,” I said, scratching absently
at the base of my neck. Since she’d opened the door, a strange
feeling had crept in. Not goosebumps. This was different. Still,
the threat it held was unmistakable.

“I need a restroom and I don’t think you can
go get that,” Cambria said. She climbed out and headed off toward
the station entrance.

I watched her, on edge, my eyes darting to
the shadows created by the gutter overhang that wrapped around the
stained stucco walls. Nothing moved. Two other cars sat parked at
the pumps and a rusty pickup dripped oil onto the space by the
door.

As Cambria entered, a man exited. He wore
battered shorts and a shirt with so many holes I didn’t see the
point in the fabric. I stared as he got into his truck, trying to
zero in on him—or anything that could be the cause of this strange
feeling. Nothing registered. A moment later, his clutch popped and
he motored off.

The feeling remained.

I scanned the lot, but nothing and no one in
it seemed to be the source. I shifted in my seat, my palms sweaty;
the cool air had escaped when Grandma opened the door.

“Everything all right?” Vera asked.

I looked up sharply and found her watching
me through the mirror in her visor.

“I’m fine,” I mumbled, feeling a little
awkward. Vera always made me feel that way.

She frowned and twisted in her chair to face
me, her eyes searching. For what, I didn’t know. “You look
unsettled.”

Unsettled.

That wasn’t a bad way to describe it. I
opened my mouth, ready to brush her off, to tell her she was
imagining things, when the feeling suddenly spiked. Something like
adrenaline burst from my chest and ran through my veins. My leg
jerked at the unexpected energy. My incisors sharpened and my jaw
stretched forward. I clamped both hands over my mouth and stared at
Vera with wide eyes.

“Tara?”

I grappled for the door handle and pushed it
open. When I’d jumped clear of the Hummer, I ran. I didn’t stop
until I’d rounded the corner and reached the dumpster. My knees
buckled and I bent over and heaved. Nothing came up but my stomach
churned and roiled. My breaths came in short gasps and my lungs
swelled to bursting. Was this what an asthma attack felt like?

“Tara?” Cambria appeared from the front of
the building. She held a bottle of water in each hand. She watched
me warily, like one might approach a wild animal.

“I’m good,” I said, still breathing heavily.
I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. “I felt like I was going
to be sick for a minute.”

She handed me one of the waters. I took it
and gulped. It was cold enough to chill my insides as it went down.
I was grateful. It calmed the swirling in my stomach.

“Do you get carsick or something?” she
asked.

I shrugged. “First time for everything, I
guess.”

“But you’re okay now?”

“Yeah, I think so.” I gulped more water.

“Huh.” She eyed me another minute and then
turned to leave. “Well, come on. Your grandma wants to get
going.”

“Right behind you.”

Grandma was waiting at the car, arms
crossed. “You all right?” she called before I’d finished crossing
the lot.

“Fine. Carsick, I guess,” I called back.

“You’ve never been car sick before,” she
said, though she didn’t look nearly as suspicious as Cambria.

We merged onto the highway in silence. I
took a few more sips of water. The tightness in my stomach loosened
as the miles stretched on. Vera’s face reflected in the mirror and
I found her watching me. I forced a smile and then looked away,
feeling exposed for a reason I couldn’t even name.

Chapter Four

Mom agreed to Cambria staying with us way
easier than I’d expected. She said having another Hunter my own age
around would be a good influence, keep me out of trouble.

Clearly, she didn’t know Cambria very
well.

But, she did give us permission to go to
Fee’s the next morning. It shocked me, after the way she’d acted
about The Cause before I left, but who was I to argue? I had a
feeling her willingness had something to do with Wes’s absence.
Once he returned, I was sure she’d take up her usual “The Cause is
the devil” attitude.

“We’ll take my car whenever you’re ready,”
Grandma said, as Cambria and I loaded our breakfast dishes into the
dishwasher. I bolted upstairs to dab on lip gloss, hurrying now,
and beat everyone back down again.

My mother met me in the foyer, a spray
bottle of water in her gardening-gloved hands. “Oh, good, I wanted
to speak to you alone,” she said.

I followed her into the sunroom. I didn’t
want to talk. I wanted George. She went to a flat of planters
sitting on a table near the window and began spraying them. I
stayed near the door. “What’s up?”

“You’re going to be a senior next year, and
it’s got me thinking.”

My shoulders fell. This didn’t sound quick.
“About what?”

“I know you think I sent you to Wood Point
because I don’t trust you, but that’s not true. I did it to protect
you. I ignored what you are for too long, and now you’re suffering
the consequences. You aren’t trained, and it puts you in
danger.”

“Jack and Fee were training me,
remember?”

“I know that, but you have so much time to
make up for. You deserve to learn from the best. Having you so far
away has been hard on me too. I just want you safe.”

“I know, Mom.”

“I think you and I should work on things.
Try to find a common ground. I know you think I don’t trust your
judgment, but I do. I’d like us to start fresh, a clean slate.”

“That sounds great.”

Her words had been surprisingly accurate. So
often my mother would lose herself in running the shop and fail to
realize how little credit she gave me for how I handled the
responsibility of so much freedom. We’d both kept secrets and lied
to the other. Maybe that made us even. “Does our clean slate have
anything to do with you letting me go to Fee’s?”

“Like I said, I trust your judgment. Or I’m
trying to.”

“And Wes? Are you going to let me see
him?”

Her sunny smile dimmed. “I’m a work in
progress.”

“Mom …”

“I’m not going to keep you from seeing him.
I just wish you’d pick someone … safer.”

“You mean someone human.”

“I know that’s probably unreasonable. I
can’t explain it to you. Maybe one day you’ll have kids and
understand. I need you safe, and a Hunter’s life isn’t ever
safe.”

“There’re no guarantees for anyone.”

“I know that. It’s just …” Her expression
crumpled, turned desperate. She crossed to me and grabbed my hands.
“Please don’t give me a reason not to trust you, honey. I’d really
like it if I didn’t have to worry so much.”

My heart pricked at her pleading tone. I
hadn’t lied to her, not exactly, but there were several things I
hadn’t been entirely forthcoming about, either. George was one such
issue. I’d been too afraid she would freak out and bring up moving
away like she did the first time I’d been in danger.

“You’re going to worry no matter what,” I
said instead of promising what I couldn’t deliver.

“True, but the appliances can only take so
much scrubbing.” She held up the spray bottle still in her hand. We
shared a smile.

Footsteps sounded on the stairs and Cambria
joined us. My mother’s eyes flickered to the hem on Cambria’s
shorts—which was short enough that the lining on her pockets stuck
out the bottom—and then to Cambria’s purple-streaked hair. Cambria
had re-dyed it last night. My tub was stained plum to prove it.

“Are we ready?” Cambria asked, oblivious to
my mother’s scrutiny.

“Let’s go,” Grandma called from the hall.
Cambria and I turned to leave but my mother’s voice stopped me.

“I almost forgot, George’s mother called for
you the other day,” she said.

I stiffened, careful to keep my face
neutral. “Oh?”

“She asked if you knew any way to get a hold
of George. Said she’s had a hard time reaching him at that training
camp he went to in South Carolina.”

“No, I haven’t talked to him since he left,”
I said. Which wasn’t a lie. I’d spoken to Fee and Grandma to check
on him, but not to George directly.

“Well, if you do, tell him to call his
mother.”

“I will,” I promised, hoping he was well
enough to do so.

“All right, kiddos. Let’s get going.”
Grandma came up behind us. She’d applied a fresh layer of
rose-colored lipstick. A direct contradiction to the sturdy,
leather boots she’d pulled on over her pedal pushers.

“What’s the deal with George?” Cambria asked
once we were in the car. “I thought you guys broke up.”

“We did.”

“Then why is his momma calling you for his
whereabouts?”

“I’ve known George a long time. He’s the
closest thing to family I’ve got, besides my mom and Grandma.”

“Family,” Cambria repeated. Her brows shot
up, one disappearing into her side-swept bangs.

“Yes, family. Like brother and sister.” I
emphasized the last part.

“And I’m sure he feels exactly the same
about you.”

“He does,” I said, “although, he may not
realize it.”

Cambria snorted and said something like
“understatement” under her breath. I pretended not to hear. I
wasn’t going to hash out George’s feelings for me when I wasn’t
even sure what they were. He’d seemed a little friendlier toward
Wes after the attack. And by “friendlier” I meant he hadn’t tried
to use a handshake as a pretense for arm-wrestling him like the day
they’d met.

Grandma turned down the narrow back road
that led to the gravel drive almost hidden by undergrowth and tree
branches. I cracked the window, not enough to combat the AC on full
blast, but enough to inhale the scent of sun-heated honeysuckle
hanging in the air.

Cambria made a noise like she was choking.
“Can’t … breathe,” she said in a strangled voice, “too much
humidity out there. Roll up the window.” I held the button until
the glass slid up, sealing us in. “Aahh,” she said, relaxing
against the seat with eyes closed. “How do you manage this? The
humidity will kill you here before Werewolves even get the
chance.”

“Funny,” I said.

“Your summers aren’t this hot back home?”
Grandma asked.

“Summer in Arizona is hot all right, just
not so humid. I feel sticky.”

“Have you heard anything else about your
mom?” I asked. Cambria’s expression clouded. I watched her try to
blink it away, shrug it off, but it clearly bothered her. “Sorry, I
heard you on the phone earlier and—”