Blood Rule (Book 4, Dirty Blood series) (26 page)

George sighed. “Yes.”

“
When did you talk to
Logan?” I asked.

“
While you spent your days
at the hospital or making out with your boyfriend,” he said, giving
me a look that made my face heat, “I did research. Or, I had Logan
do research. I took a lot of notes.”

I opened my mouth and closed it again.
George had done research?

“
I read a lot of thoughts.
I had to do something to shut them out. Logan talked to Astor and
helped me learn how to turn it down a notch.”

Again, I didn’t say a word. I thought
back to all the time I’d spent beside Alex’s bed, begging him, both
mentally and aloud, to wake up and talk to me. Most of it was due
to wanting an explanation to what he’d done to George but there was
a fair amount of selfishness mixed in. I missed him. I wanted him
back in my life, even as a friend. How much of that did George
know?

George quirked an eyebrow at me. I had
my answer.

“
And it worked?” Wes
asked. “You’re able to turn it off and on?”

“
More or less,” George
told him. “I’m getting better with practice. Honing in is easier
than checking out.”

“
And you think this will
help her find the pack?” Wes asked.

“
Maybe.”

“
I don’t know,” I said. “I
just found a way to turn the volume down on what I do get from you.
Remember how strong it was in the beginning for us?”

“
Yes. And it’s still that
strong now,” he said. “But I can control when I hear you and how
loud it gets. I’ve seen you with your headphones. I know the noise
gets too loud. Don’t you want to find a way to turn it
down?”

“
Yes,” I admitted. And I
did. Desperately. If I was able to reawaken the bond with the pack,
turning down the noise would be great. But all I could think about
was what he’d said about “honing in” being so much easier and how
transparent my thoughts had been these last few weeks.

“
I’m sorry you feel
invaded,” George said. “I didn’t realize … I didn’t mean to make
you uncomfortable. And I turned it off as much as possible. I try
to only use it to make sure you’re not in danger.”

I studied him, both physically and
through the bond. I knew George didn’t mean harm, but could I trust
him with my thoughts? In response, he gave me a barely-noticeable
nod.

“
What do you think?” Wes
asked me, unaware of our silent exchange.

“
I have to try,” I said.
“What do I do first?”

“
Call Logan.”

***

Three minutes later, I held the phone
and listened to it ringing. George had memorized Logan’s cell
number, which was a good thing since this phone had nothing
pre-programmed.

Victoria answered. “Hello?”

“
It’s Tara. Can I talk to
Logan?” I managed to keep my voice neutral. That was usually the
best way until I figured out what sort of mood Victoria was in, or
whether we were pretending to be friends or not on a particular
day.

“
Hello, dog
food.”

Today, we weren’t friends.

“
Ice Queen Barbie,” I
replied. And then without waiting for a response, “Get
Logan.”

“
He’s busy.”

“
Tell him to call me as
soon as he’s not busy.”

“
What will you do for
me?”

I bit my lip until the urge to
threaten her with violence passed. “What do you want?”

There was shuffling in the background,
a door closing, and then silence.

“
Hello?” I said. “Vic, you
there?” I wouldn’t put it past her to hang up on me.

“
I want out of here,” she
said in a low voice.

“
What are you talking
about?”

“
Astor is effing crazy.
And I mean that in a very real, screws loose,
doesn’t-know-whether-he’s-coming-or-going way. He wears a dirty
smoking jacket and house slippers with bunny ears every day.
There’s a stain on the pocket from last week’s spaghetti. It’s
revolting.

“
There’s nothing to do. No
outside communication, not that any of my old friends will still
talk to me after associating myself with you, and even if I wanted
to help you and your mutts, no one will let me.”

“
Vic—”

“
I’m being treated like
I’m helpless. I’m not. I want out. And after exhausting all other
options, you are going to help me make that happen.”

I resisted the urge to laugh out loud.
It shouldn’t surprise me that Victoria would ask me for help while
being as nasty as possible about it. That was her way. What
surprised me was that she thought I could make it happen for her.
Did she really want to leave that bad? Was she tired of Logan? Were
they having problems? Her attraction to him had always surprised
me: the popular, beautiful cheerleader type with the quiet,
bookish, smart although adorable guy from the front row. At the
time, it’d made me wonder if I’d misjudged her and maybe that she
went deeper than appeared. Then again, maybe not.

And what other “options” had she
exhausted?

“
How exactly do you expect
me to do that?” I asked.

“
Simple. You need
me.”

“
Do I? And why is
that?”

“
I can help you find your
pack.”

It took me about three seconds to
process what she’d said. I’d forgotten Victoria’s gift for
tracking, an ability that could be the answer to everything. Except
that it belonged to the most difficult person I’d ever met—aside
from Cord.

“
Tell Logan you need me,”
she said.

“
Why do you need his
permission to leave?”

“
I don’t. I need to
convince him to let me come alone.”

“
Are you tired of him
already?”

“
No, dogface. I’d like to
keep him safe long enough for me to kick ass.”

“
Logan can kick ass
too.”

“
Not when the ass needing
to be kicked belongs to his own father.”

Again, I found myself without words.
Victoria was protecting someone? Putting someone else’s needs
before her own? I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen that before. It would
have to mean she actually cared for the person. Definitely a new
concept for her.

“
Point taken,” I said,
forcing my mind to work through her words. George chuckled and I
knew he was reading the conversation loud and clear.

“
Are you going to help me
or not?”

“
I don’t know if I can,” I
said.

“
Don’t give me that crap.
If you want to, you’ll make it happen.”

“
I’m serious. The place
we’re at is protected. And sealed. Only hybrids can—”

“
I know. The cabin. I can
get in.”

“
How?”

“
Are you kidding me? I
spend all my time with Bill Nye the Science Guy and his thankfully
much-better-looking sidekick. Of course I can get in. Will you talk
to Logan for me?”

I shook my head. “I can try, but I
can’t guarantee—”

“
Here he is.”

“
Hello?” Logan
said.

“
Hey, Logan. It’s
Tara.”

“
What’s up? You guys find
the cabin okay?”

“
We found it.”

“
And everyone’s fine? I
heard what happened before you guys left…”

“
Yes, we’re fine,” I said.
“How are things there? How’s Astor?”

“
He’s … You
know.”

“
Yeah, I know.”

“
Grandma said you weren’t
answering your phone for a few days.”

“
I had some family stuff
going on,” he said uncertainly.

“
Logan, I know about your
dad. Are you okay?”

“
I’m fine. He’s doing what
he thinks is right. I can’t—He doesn’t listen to me.”

“
I’m not asking for
anything,” I said.

“
Thanks.”

There was a pause.

“
You there?” I
asked.

“
She wants to leave,
doesn’t she?”

“
She told you?”

“
She may have mentioned it
a few times,” he said, his words laced with sarcasm.

“
She offered to help me
find the hybrids.”

“
I know.” He sighed again.
“Which is why you’re about to tell me to let her go.”

“
You make it sound like
she needs my permission. We both know if Victoria makes up her mind
and I promise not to kill her if she shows up, that’s all the
permission she needs.”

“
It would be nice if you
didn’t attempt to murder my girlfriend.”

“
She wants to come
alone.”

“
I know.” He sighed
heavily and I knew this too had already been discussed between
them.

“
She’s worried about you
handling yourself with your dad being involved.”

“
I worry about her for the
same reason.”

“
What do you
mean?”

“
After what happened with
her parents, she thinks she needs to prove herself.”

“
To who?”

“
That’s a good
question.”

“
I can’t believe I’m
saying this, but I think her heart’s in the right
place.”

“
Don’t get all crazy on me
now.”

I laughed. “Don’t worry. That’s the
extent of my warm fuzzies for Victoria.”

“
Good. The two of you
being friends scares me.”

“
Agreed. So, are you going
to come with her then? Make sure we don’t kill each
other?”

“
I don’t think I can leave
Astor,” he said. He sounded strained, like it wasn’t an easy
choice.

“
Astor has Jeeves. He’ll
be fine.”

“
They both miss you,” he
said, changing the subject.

“
I’ll bet. I bring such
peace and tranquility wherever I go.”

Logan chuckled. “That’s one of the
things I love about you. Never a dull moment.”

“
Havoc, it’s what I
do.”

“
Apparently. Runs in your
family, I suppose.”

“
You heard about Grandma
being removed from CHAS?”

“
She called earlier. So
does this make Vera’s vision more or less true?”

“
What do you
mean?”

“
Vera saw you as the
leader. Of Werewolves or maybe even both sides. But now, with the
treaty dissolved, The Cause isn’t really The Cause anymore. And I’m
pretty sure CHAS isn’t going to offer you a spot on the council
anytime soon.”

“
I wouldn’t want it
anyway. CHAS is just this side of a dictatorship.”

“
I agree, but it’s not
like there’s another option.”

“
Well, maybe there should
be.”

“
What are you saying?”
There was a strange note in his voice when he asked. George and Wes
watched me intently.

I answered honestly and couldn’t help
the vehemence that crept in at the very mention of his name.
“Steppe thinks he can erase The Cause with a piece of paper. Maybe
CHAS shouldn’t exist either.”

When he spoke again, I could hear the
smile through the phone. “We’ll be there tomorrow.”

Then he hung up.

I looked at George and Wes. “What was
that about?”

They exchanged a glance that said they
knew exactly what it was about, but neither one offered an
explanation.

“
What did Logan say?”
George asked.

“
They’ll be here
tomorrow,” I said.

“
And they can get through
the wards?” Wes asked.

“
That’s what Victoria
said.”

“
What does she get out of
it?” George asked.

“
She offered to help find
the pack. She must really hate it there.”

“
Did it occur to you she
might actually want to help?” Wes asked.

I didn’t even hesitate when I said,
“No.”

***

Living in an invisible house made me
jumpy. Somewhere between watching it appear out of thin air and
finding out the walls were reinforced with an invisible barrier
meant specifically for sealing us inside, the cabin became more
than a house. It’d become its own entity, definitely more magical
than any four walls had a right to be.

So, the next day, when the
after-dinner silence was interrupted by something as mundane as the
doorbell ringing, I screamed. A full-on shriek that had George
dropping a plate into the sink full of soapy water. It clanged
loudly against the other dishes and somehow managed to stay in one
piece.

George glared at me. “Are you
serious?”

“
Sorry,” I muttered. “I
didn’t even know we had a doorbell.”