Cold Blood (27 page)

He’d told me not to forget him.

It made me feel guilty for standing in a motel room, with Alex, wearing nothing but a robe. But then the memory of the full moon came crashing back in, and I hardened myself against the guilt and pushed it away.

“
You never said how you found me,” I said, moving to a new topic to clear my head.

“
Cambria.”

“
She told you I left but not where I was going.”

“
Oh, that was easy.” His lips crept into a smirk. “I tracked you.”

“
But I made sure not to leave a trail,” I said.

“
You really need to work on that.”

He was still smirking. And looking at me. And standing way too close. I stepped back and his smile faded, like he understood my reason for putting distance between us.

“
I found you some clothes,” he said, pointing at a pile of fabric he’d dumped on the bed. “I’m going to go find us a car and then we’re heading back. I trust you not to leave while I’m gone.”

I blinked, totally giving away my intention with my lack of response. He doubled back and grabbed the clothes off the bed and tucked them under his arm.

“
Unless you want to go see Miles wearing nothing but a bathrobe. Bet that would make his day.”

He sailed out the door like he couldn’t care less whether I stayed or went.

I paced for a while before finally admitting the aches and pains of my body were getting to me and stretched out across the bed. I didn’t think I could sleep, after all the adrenaline that had pumped through me that morning but I guess the aftermath of panic tended to make one drowsy. I drifted off to the mental replay of me growling.

*

A hand on my arm woke me. Not the pressure of the touch but the pain it caused.

“
Ow,” I muttered, rolling away from whatever had pressed on my bruises. I eased onto my other side and came face to face with Alex.

His eyes were closed and his breathing was even. He was curled on his side, still in the same clothes he’d worn earlier. There was a small smudge of dirt under his right eye that I hadn’t noticed earlier. Actually, there was a lot I hadn’t noticed earlier. Like the exact texture of his skin, or the smooth olive color of it. I’d never been close enough to take in the details.

I held my breath as he shifted and brought his arm up to tuck under him. The arm that had fallen over me and woken me. I knew I should get up, move away, anything to put distance between us, but I couldn’t. Alex asleep was mesmerizing. The intensity he always wore when he was awake was gone. It made him more approachable. I wanted to enjoy being this close to him and not wanting to kill him.

“
You’re staring at me,” he said, his lips barely moving, his eyes still closed.

I tensed. “You’re awake.” He didn’t answer and I felt awkward. I tried to think of something else to say. “Did you get a car?”

“
I did.” His eyes opened slowly, almost lazily, and met mine. Something in my stomach leaped into my throat. I couldn’t speak. “Your clothes are over there,” he said, nodding his head towards the bathroom counter. His voice was low and gruff from sleep.

“
Right. I’ll get dressed,” I said, scooting away and turning my head before he could see the redness creeping into my cheeks.

I felt his hand close over my wrist and pull me back to the pillow.

“
I wasn’t telling you to get up,” he said.

“
What are you telling me?” I asked, hating that I’d even voiced the question at all; afraid of the answer.

He didn’t respond with words, though. He leaned in and closed the gap, quick enough that neither of us had a chance to change our minds. Our lips met and held for a long moment and then his mouth moved against mine. This was bigger than the first time we’d kissed. That had been almost chaste, the way his lips had planted themselves on mine, unmoving and hard. This was different. Like a dance, starting slow and building into something heavier, something I wasn’t sure I could stop.

Alex pulled away first. He stared back at me with a fierce expression, and for a second, I thought it wasn’t over. But then he sat back and blinked and the moment faded. I pushed myself up onto my elbows and tried to breathe normally. Alex seemed like he was trying to do the same.

He cleared his throat and did a complete subject change. “You handled yourself pretty well on your own. I almost forgot to tell you that,” he said. “As for Miles, your plan wasn’t a bad one. But you need a team to help coordinate all of the possible what-ifs. We’ll go back to school and regroup and then try again, okay?”

I was too shocked to argue. Partly about the kiss and partly that he was so willing to, not only help me, but do it my way. “Okay,” I said, knowing my skepticism was showing.

“
You don’t believe me?”

“
I don’t think you’re lying,” I said carefully.

He laughed. “I’m serious. We can try again once you have time to heal.”

“
You would let me walk in there alone?” I asked, eyebrows raised, fully expecting him to correct me.

“
As long as I was nearby in case you needed me, yes. It’s a good plan.” I stared at him. “What?”

“
Nothing. I…I’m not used to being treated like an equal,” I admitted.

“
Why? Because you’re a Dirt- a hybrid? Or because you’re a girl?”

“
Both, I guess.”

He nodded. “Hunters are pretty good with gender equality, as a rule. I’ve seen enough women in action to know you girls are just as good in combat, if not better. And I’ve seen enough of you personally to know you can handle yourself.”

“
Thanks,” I said, understanding the level of compliment I was getting from him and that it didn’t come often.

“
And if all else fails, you could always kick him between the hips.”

I stuck out my tongue.

He smiled. “Now, you can get dressed.”

Alex was waiting for me when I emerged from the bathroom in tight sweats – he said he’d swiped them from the lost and found at the front desk–and a white tee shirt. He’d opened the curtains a few inches and sunlight slanted in from an angle.

“
What time is it?” I asked, pulling my shoes on.

“
Three. If we leave now we can make it back by curfew.”

He looked out the window, scanning the parking lot. All traces of humor and closeness were gone, replaced by the rigid, almost military-like attitude he carried when it involved anything to do with Werewolves; it was as if the kiss had never happened.

I hadn’t missed the slip he’d made a few minutes ago, when he’d almost called me a Dirty Blood. Did he still think of me as nothing but a half-Werewolf? Did he still despise that part of me? He must be a little more accepting of it, if he wanted to kiss me. I didn’t know how to ask without making things awkward or way more complicated than I was ready for.

“
Ready?” he asked, glancing at me and then back out the window.

“
Let’s go.”

“
Keep your head down,” he said as we headed for the car.

“
You really think they’re looking for us?”

“
I think you left a pretty obvious trail on the way in,” he said, wrenching open the door of a beat-up pickup and climbing into the driver’s seat.

I got in and pulled my seat belt on while he fired up the engine, which sounded less like a truck and more like a lawn mower with a cold.

“
What does that mean?” I asked.

“
It means you had a certain odor coming off you when we got here. You smelled… animal.”

I shifted in my seat. “You said that already. I’m sure it was those Werewolves.”

“
I don’t think so. It was different. It was mixed with your scent, part of you.” He shook his head, steering us out of the lot and onto the main road. I wasn’t sure why, but I wished he’d let it go. I didn’t like knowing I’d smelled like one of them since I wasn’t sure exactly what that meant.

The subject fell away as he concentrated on getting us out of town. The way he watched the road and the mirrors, you would’ve thought we were being followed by Secret Service. I sat back and let him obsess; trying to figure out what the heck I was going to say to Headmaster Whitfield to explain my absence over the last twenty-four hours. Or worse, what I was going to say to Cambria.

My phone rang, jolting me out of my panic. I grabbed it from my pocket and looked at the readout. I glanced at Alex.

“
Miles,” I said, my heart pounding.

“
Answer it. Maybe he knows who attacked you.”

I nodded and pressed the button. “Hello?”

“
Tara, you’re being a tease. What exactly happened out there earlier? I thought you were coming to meet me.” Miles sounded irritated underneath the smooth cockiness he exuded.

“
I got held up. A pack of pissed off Werewolves with bad breath and rabid eyes tried to kill me. You wouldn’t know anything about that would you?”

“
Kill you? Of course not. I don’t want to harm you.” Miles sounded genuinely surprised. “I want you by my side, an ally in the war. The future first lady of our kind.”

I gagged a little, and glanced at Alex who was watching me with a questioning expression. “So you have no idea who sent the pack of killer Werewolves after me?”

“
No, but rest assured, I will find out. In the meantime, you will be safer with me than on your own. Why don’t we try this again?”

“
No, Miles. Not today. Soon.”

Miles paused. I could feel his annoyance through the silent speakers. Something crashed in the background, and I thought I heard a muffled whimper.

“
Soon,” he repeated in a tight voice. “I won’t accept any more delays. The next time I call you, be ready, my dear.”

The line went dead before I could answer. I dropped the phone into my lap.

“
What did he say?” Alex asked.

I leaned my head back against the seat and tried to shake off the threat that had come across in Miles’ tone. “He’s pissed. No idea who wants me dead, but says he’ll try to find out. He wanted me to meet him. I think I pushed him too far when I told him no.”

“
Do you think he’ll call again?”

“
Eventually. He says to be ready this time. It sounded kind of ominous.”

“
Good. It’ll be easier if he thinks he has to work for it. He’d be suspicious if you gave in too easily.”

“
Typical guy then,” I muttered.

Alex smiled wryly. “You do have the whole ‘play hard to get’ thing down.”

“
Whatever.” I was definitely
not
responding to that one.

My phone beeped. Seven missed calls. I cringed and looked at the list of numbers. It wasn’t as bad as I thought. Only two were from Cambria. Four from Wes. One from George.

I called into my voice mail and listened to only the first half of the messages until I got to George. It wasn’t that I didn’t care; they were just full of lectures. First Cambria, hissing at me to get back to school before the bypass phrase changed. Then Wes going on about how sorry he was for reading my mind. By the last message from him, he sounded distraught and irritated, and I felt bad for him so I skipped the rest of the message to save myself from having to deal with that yet.

George’s message was, surprisingly, the most pleasant.

“
Tay, oh wow, you’re never going to believe it. I secured the scholarship to Brown. Ivy League, baby! I can’t believe it! The recruiter said I have more potential than any rookie he’s seen in years. I’m on cloud nine. I….” His excitement faltered and I could hear him struggling to maintain the happy attitude. “I wanted to share it with you. I – I miss you. Talk to you soon.”

He hung up quickly, and I could tell he wanted to say more but held back. I knew that feeling all too well. I was genuinely happy for him about the scholarship, though. It was everything he’d ever wanted, and I was glad that at least one of us had a promising, normal future ahead of them.

Chapter Twenty Five

“
How bad is this going to be for me, exactly?” I looked over at Alex, but there wasn’t enough light left to make out his expression. We’d been driving for over an hour, and I knew we were getting close to Wood Point.

“
That depends,” he answered.

“
On what?”

“
On our method of entry. Do you want to announce your return?”

“
Um, do I have a choice?”

“
Yes.” He pulled the truck to the side of the road, throwing up a spray of gravel in our wake, and shifted into park. The truck idled like a weed whacker.

“
Where did you say you got this truck again?” I asked.

“
I didn’t say.”

“
It’s not a rental, is it?”

“
No.”

I waited but he didn’t say more.

“
Okay. Why are we stopping?” I asked.

“
We go on foot from here.” He killed the engine and wrenched the door open. The road was free of any traffic, and the air smelled like pine and darkness.

I got out and followed him as he cut a path straight into the trees. “But what about the truck?”

“
Someone will be by to pick it up,” he said cryptically.

“
Okaay. And the wards?”

“
Not a problem.”

His tone was clipped, and he walked fast enough that he stayed ahead of me. Not that I would’ve been able to see him, even if he had been walking next to me. It was pitch black in the trees and even with my heightened sight, I could only make out the outline of his body. Still, I could tell the difference between ‘all business’ Alex and ‘don’t talk to me’ Alex. This was definitely the latter.

“
Alex, wait.” He didn’t slow, and I grabbed his arm, halting him until I could come around and face him. “What’s your problem?”

“
Nothing.” He shifted like he wanted to sidestep me, but I held onto his arm and waited. “We’re almost back to school. I assume you’ll want to forget about anything that happened between us once we’re there. I’m simply switching gears to accommodate.”

“
Switching gears to accommodate? What are you, a robot?” He didn’t answer. “Look, I didn’t say anything because… well, it’s complicated. You know that.” I squeezed my eyes shut and then opened them again. “You haven’t said anything, either,” I said quietly.

“
You’re right. I guess I figured I’d made my feelings clear.”

I laughed before I could catch myself. “Have you ever actually had a girlfriend? Because you really suck at this.” I held up a hand to silence him. “Don’t answer that. Seriously, though, you can’t kiss a girl and expect her to automatically know your feelings through osmosis or something. Besides, when I met you, you hated me. And now you’re kissing me. So, pardon me if that leaves me a little confused.”

“
I didn’t hate you.”

“
Pot-ay-toes, pot-ah-toes,” I said. “You were disgusted, at least.”

“
You don’t disgust me, Tara. You amaze me, impress me, surprise me, and entertain me. You definitely don’t disgust me.”

He fell silent, and like before, he seemed to be waiting for something. I didn’t answer. I didn’t know what to say.

“
Do I do any of those things for you?” he asked, quietly. There was something very serious in the question, and I knew he meant something much deeper than the words implied.

“
Yes,” I whispered.

“
And does Wes do any of those things for you?” he asked, his voice strained.

“
Yes,” I repeated, feeling miserable.

I saw him nod in the darkness and was glad I couldn’t see his face, and he couldn’t see mine.

“
I think its best that we leave it here then. For now.”

I swallowed a lump in my throat and stayed silent. A minute passed.

“
Let’s get you back to school and focus on getting Miles,” he said.

“
Okay.”

I moved aside, and we began walking again, this time shoulder to shoulder. The silence was different, more relaxed, and I knew that while it bothered him to pretend nothing had happened, he had accepted that things were this way, for now, and was letting me off the hook about it. I wondered how long that would last.

Within minutes, I began to feel the vibrations of the wards line. We were coming in at a different angle than when I’d left but the feeling was there just the same, and I halted.

“
Cambria said the bypass phrase was being changed today. How are we going to get in?”

Alex answered by turning back towards the wards line and whispering, “E Pluribus Unum.”

All around me the vibrations fell away, and I knew the lines had been removed. I whirled on Alex.

“
How did you know?” I asked.

“
You aren’t the only ones with tools of manipulation,” he said.

He was walking again, and I hurried behind him.

“
What does that mean?” I asked.

“
Well, how did you get the phrase yesterday?”

“
Cambria um…”

“
Right. Details are sketchy.”

“
She might’ve convinced Headmaster Whitfield to give it to us,” I said.

“
There you go.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small cell phone. He pressed a button and the screen lit up, revealing a text with the same phrase he’d whispered.

“
Cambria strikes again,” I muttered. “I can’t believe she sold me out so quickly and then jumped up to help you drag me back.”

“
Not quite accurate,” he pointed out. “The dragging part, I mean. You’re not exactly kicking and screaming. Yet.”

“
What do you mean?”

He halted and let out a sigh, like he was finally accepting some hard reality. “I think him showing up had something to do with it.” He gestured to a grove of trees up ahead and a figure standing in front of them.

I froze, unsure who it was at first. But then the figure stepped forward, and I heard the rustle of leather, and I knew.

“
Wes!” I ran to him, not even thinking about whether reaching him would mean crossing the wards, and not caring, either.

He caught me and held me to him like a life raft. I buried my face in his neck and inhaled the scent of him, holding on just as tight. We stayed that way for a long moment, and then I could hear him whispering my name against my hair and I remembered where we were, and how I’d gotten here. Reluctantly, I pulled away.

“
What are you doing here?” I asked. “How’d you get inside?”

“
That would be your friend Cambria’s doing.”

“
Huh. Seems she’s been handing out that password like its candy.” My smile faltered when I remembered Alex. I turned, feeling embarrassed and guilty, but he was nowhere in sight.

“
He left,” said Wes. “I can’t even smell him anymore.”

“
Oh.” I turned back, determined to focus on the moment before me and not the one I’d left behind.

“
Is everything okay?” He was still smoothing my hair, running his hand over it and wrapping it around his fingers.

“
Yes, I...It’s been a long day.”

He nodded, looking unsure. “I’d like to hear about it, if you want to tell me.”

“
I think we should talk about the other night first.”

“
We should.” He hurried on before I could interrupt. “I’ll start. Tara, I’m sorry. There’s no excuse for what I did. I could lie and say it was a bad coincidence, me coming here on the night I did, but it wasn’t. I wanted to see you, to know everything that had happened to you since we’d been apart. I knew I could get the information quicker if I picked it out of your mind than waiting for you to explain it all. Selfish, completely, I know. But I never meant to use it as a weapon. I just didn’t expect to see everything I saw. And then the stuff with Miles.” He stopped and ran his fingers over my hair, onto my shoulders, down my arms, and folded my hands into his. “I’m sorry,” he repeated.

“
For what it’s worth,
he
kissed
me
,” I said. It sounded weak, even to me.

“
I know. I saw that. But you didn’t push him away, either. And I know you’re confused by it. Should I be worried?”

He sounded entirely too calm and rational, and it broke my heart. “No,” I insisted. “You shouldn’t be worried. It was–” I stopped. I couldn’t say it was a fluke, or a one-time thing, because it had happened again at the hotel. And that one had been mutual. I sighed. “It happened again.”

“
Twice?” It was too dark to see his face but I could picture his brows raised.

“
Yes,” I whispered. I stood very still. My arms were wound lightly around his shoulders, and I waited for him to take a step back or pull away, but he didn’t.

“
All right,” he said.

“
All right? That’s it?” I stared up at him, wishing I could see his face better.

“
I don’t know. Is that it?” he asked, carefully.

“
Yes. No. Not at first. But it is now.” I stopped, knowing I was probably screwing this up beyond repair. I took a deep breath and started again. “At first, I thought maybe I had feelings for him. Then I thought maybe it was because I missed you and we weren’t getting along. Either way, it doesn’t matter because I love you. I don’t want us to have any secrets.” I held my breath and waited for him to answer.

“
So, you might have feelings for him, but it doesn’t matter because you love me,” he said, slowly.

“
Um, right.” It didn’t sound nearly as noble and romantic when he broke it down like that.

“
Okay.”

My eyebrows shot up. “Okay?”

“
Well, not
okay
, but you’re being honest, and I can appreciate that. Besides, it’s partly my fault for not being around more. If I want to keep you, I guess I’m going to have to fight for you.”

I couldn’t believe how good it felt to come clean. “So you’re not mad?”

“
I’m furious,” he said and the low tone of his voice proved it. But that was the only reaction that gave any indication he meant it. He was holding back, I knew. “But again, I can’t fully blame you for this. Or him,” he added, though his voice became more brittle when he said the last part. “Although, if I see him, I may have to make sure he feels the weight of his responsibility in all this.” There was extra emphasis on the word
feel,
and I decided to make sure they didn’t meet again, if at all possible.

“
You should be mad at me, then, too,” I said. “I’m as much to blame.”

“
It doesn’t matter,” he said.

“
Yes, it does.”

“
No, it doesn’t.”

“
Why not?”

“
Because I love you.”

“
I love you, too.” I was on the verge of tears, and I didn’t know why.

“
I know. So, it’s okay to be confused, as long as you choose me in the end.”

“
Why are you being so nice to me?”

“
Because I snuck into your head, and I shouldn’t have.”

“
So, it would be different if you couldn’t read my mind?”

“
Exactly.”

I shook my head. That logic made no sense to me, but if it kept us from fighting, I’d take it. “I would’ve told you about Miles, even if you hadn’t seen it,” I said. “I’d been trying to get a hold of you for days. You never answer your phone.”

“
About that… I don’t want to fight so I’m going to be up front with you, too. No more secrets. There’ve been some attacks. I’ve been away a lot trying to find the group responsible. A lot of prominent Hunter families have been targeted. A couple of kids from your school, even.”

“
You were a part of that?” I asked, remembering the hunting party Vera had mentioned.

“
Vera brought me in, along with Cord and Derek. We kept to ourselves, sort of a side team, but we fed off the information from the Hunters. There was a girl with them, a tracker. She led us to their base, but they were already gone. We lost them after that.”

“
Victoria. She’s my roommate.”

He nodded. “I wanted you to know. No more secrets. Things have been rough.” He ran a hand through his hair, sending it sprawling in new directions. “Training to lead hasn’t been smooth. There’s been a lot of opposition. Then these attacks happened and some of them weren’t only against Hunters. Some humans have disappeared up and down the coastline, under suspicious circumstances. Some have turned up dead, blood drained from their bodies. Everyone needs a scapegoat, and The Cause seems to be shouldering the brunt of it. No one wants peace when there’s a war brewing.”

He broke off, preoccupied with thoughts of the battles he spoke of. I took a closer look and realized he did look pretty disheveled, even for Wes. His shirt was only half tucked in and his leather jacket had new creases that didn’t really add to the stylishly unkept look he always wore.

“
I’m sorry. I wish you’d told me things were this bad. Do you think Miles has anything to do with it?” I asked.

“
I hadn’t really considered it until I heard he’d made an appearance here. I mean, I assumed all he wanted was you, but then I didn’t take into account his need for revenge against me, and possibly the rest of The Cause. Maybe.”