Michael (The Curse) (The Airel Saga, Book 3: Part 5-6) (20 page)

Gravel crunched under my feet as I shuffle-paced in circles, wrestling with things bigger than I.

Ellie was talking on her phone now. I figured she was calling about hotel rooms. I
prayed
she was calling about hotel rooms. She caught my stare and raised an eyebrow at me.
What’s she thinking?
I thought about trying to read her thoughts, but fear got the best of me and I didn’t. Would she get into my head and read
me
like a book?

My gut ached with stress as more questions poured into me.
Just how did the Brotherhood find us?
I trusted Kim to be cool. If anyone was innocent, it was her. But what about Ellie? And what about Michael?
Have I been foolish to trust him so soon? Is he still in contact with them? No.
I wouldn’t even consider it. If I was going to trust him, I needed to do it and stop doubting him like this.

Michael was talking with Ellie. She put her hand on his arm and laughed at something. In the distance I saw Kim dusting herself off, standing all alone. She looked miserable.
Poor thing.
I felt so bad for her. All Ellie could do was flirt casually—or tease, Michael—ignoring my miserable best friend. And me, for that matter. The ache in my stomach left, replaced by frigid anger.

Fine.

I stalked over to Kim. I wanted to shove Michael into the dirt as I passed by him.
Bullies.
That’s all they were.

I was so confused. I didn’t know what was going on with me, why I was getting so angry so fast. It took only seconds to set me off.
But really, after all I’ve shared with Michael, all he’s done for me—how can I not trust him?

As I approached Kim, Michael said something from behind me that made Ellie laugh again. This time he laughed too.
Come on, Airel, you’re just being paranoid. Reading into something when nothing’s there.
I wanted to believe that. I wanted to think that this girl, this angel, this perfect, beautiful killer, wasn’t trying to steal my boyfriend from me. But what did I know about her? What did any of us really know about her?

Something wasn’t adding up. Maybe it was just my jealous heart talking too loudly.

CHAPTER XIII

Boise, Idaho—Present Day

“RAWLINS MISSED HIS CHECK-IN with his local,” Harry said.

“Figures,” FBI Special Agent Gretchen Reid mumbled into her coffee cup. “That guy’s career was over before it started.”

“Well, I don’t know him.”

“Consider it your lucky day, then.”

“Regional command said they’re just passing the word along to us out of courtesy—”

“It’s not courtesy, Harry, and nothing’s ever optional. We need to get on this. What was his last known position?”

“I already pulled that up, ma’am. Here,” he pointed to the display, “U.S. 97. Looks like it’s right around milepost 25.”

Reid sipped lustily at her coffee, looking at the map on the screen.

“I cross-referenced it with local 9-1-1 dispatch. The only thing that’s local out there is whatever traffic gets diverted to the Oregon State Patrol—”

“Yes, Harry. Dear God, you are straight out of training, aren’t you?”

He absorbed the slight. “And it turns out there was a call not more than an hour ago. I guess there’s spotty cellular service out there …”

Reid sat bolt upright and seized the desk phone as he rambled on.

“…and whatever’s happened is old, maybe a few hours old, even…”

She dialed a number from memory.

“…because whoever saw it had to get to a land line, possibly in, what is it … Grass Valley?” Harry finally silenced himself.

“Harry, get your stuff,” Reid said, eyes still locked on the screen. Then she brightened a shade. An answer on the other end. “It’s Reid here. I need the helo.”

Harry dismissed himself to the restroom. It was going to be a long day.

Again.

***

Arlington, Oregon—Present Day

“KIMMIE, ARE YOU GOING to be okay?” I asked. “You look like you’ve been to hell and back, girl.”

“Shut up, Airel. You don’t look so hot yourself,” Kim said.

I knew she was lying, just trying to keep up with me. Though I didn’t have a mirror, I knew I probably looked a lot better than she did. She didn’t have angel blood—I did. I wasn’t bragging; it was just a fact.

I couldn’t help but overhear Ellie as she conversed with Michael. “He’s an old friend. The best pilot I’ve ever known. Don’t worry—he’s been with me for many years. I trust him.”

“And he gets here tomorrow?” Michael said to her.

“Yeah.”

We were walking toward the little town of Arlington. To the left, the tracks continued on across a bridge. To our right, there was a nice little park. We veered that way and walked through it.

I turned back to Kim, who had been talking to me for a while already. “I just really need a shower,” she was saying. “And some real food. Do you think they have a hotel in this Podunk town?”

“Yeah,” I said to her as Michael and Ellie’s conversation went on. I relayed to Kim the information that I gleaned from before, that I had overheard Ellie earlier on her phone, making us a reservation somewhere.

“Oh, good. I could eat the backend out of a dead rhinoceros,” she shouted with all her Kim-like drama.

“Ew,” I said, acting repulsed by her crassness. But then we laughed, and sharing that moment with my Kimmie took me back to movie nights at my house, popcorn fights, and talk about boys. It made my smile fade all too quickly. Those days might never return, I realized.

There was a picturesque little marina nearby on the other side of the railroad bridge, with I-84 roaring along above us as well. I looked up and stopped. Beech Street. And off in the distance, like a beacon of hope: A hotel. “Oh, thank
God
.”

“Do you think there’s a restaurant?” Kim seemed to be perking up.

“Yeah, and I bet they even serve
dead rhinoceros
,” I said, mimicking her raucous tone from earlier. We laughed until we nearly peed our pants and fell over in the grass, and then I decided what the heck—I tackled her. We rolled around giggling and wrestling, letting all the tension go at last, sending her bag flying. We rolled into Michael and Ellie, who stood there looking down at us, bemused. But we weren’t done yet—there was more pent-up tension to release. We rolled around a bit more, wrestling each other.

When we were through, trying to recover, I pulled myself onto my elbows and looked up. Ellie had gone, presumably to get us some rooms, and Michael was sitting at a picnic table, his chin in his hand, looking out at the river. I wanted to go to him, enjoy the moment with him, but I thought better of it. Kim was such an odd man out—she needed an advocate.

“Hey.” She poked me. “Thanks for that.”

I smiled at her. “No prob.” Then I widened my eyes in mock surprise. “Dang, girl,” I said, looking at her hands, “you need to find a bar of soap.” They were crusted over with dirt and possibly even bruises, especially on the palms, which I thought was really weird.

She withdrew them and looked ashamed. “I know,” she said. “I know, right?” She made a whooshing sound and said, “It’s been really messed up, hanging out with you lately.”

I felt really bad for her. “Kim, I’m so sorry. Maybe we should have just taken you home.”

“No way,” she said. “I wouldn’t miss this for nothin’.”

I rolled my eyes. “Whatever, you. Don’t try to act tough. It doesn’t suit you.”

“I’m not acting.”

“Okay, whatever,” I said, thinking. “Hey, I’m sorry for my part of what happened on the train.” I thought back to how I woke up to find Michael missing, went to go find him and found Kim instead, and then … “I don’t know what happened once Ellie showed up and started freaking out.”

“Yeah, she’s got her bags packed for a power trip,” Kim said. “She’s lame. I hate her.”

I looked at her, surprised a little at her extreme tone. “Yeah, well, I guess I do too.”

“Airel, I love you.” She looked like she was about to cry.

“Kim, what’s going on with you?” I blurted out. I didn’t really want to know just then, I had to admit. But she was obviously emotionally unstable.

“It’s nothing,” she said, wiping at her eyes with the cuff of her dirty red sweatshirt. She looked like a meth addict.

“It’s okay to be weak, you know, to need a break. Even I need—”

“Even you, huh?” she said, the hurt in her tone pretty obvious. “Look, I know I’ll never be like you. I’ll never have cool angel powers. I’m ugly, I won’t live forever…” She got a distant look in her eyes and put her hands in her hoodie pocket.

“Kim, I didn’t mean anything by—”

“Where is it?” she interrupted me. She sounded scared, her eyes darting all over the grass.

I laughed at her, but it came out fraudulent. “You’re acting really weird, Kim. Where’s what?” I looked from her eyes to the grass and back, judging the situation.

“My … my, um …” she fumbled.

“Your what?”

“I lost something,” she said, her voice choked up. “I think it happened when we were wrestling.”

“What, you lost something?”

“Yes.” She was suddenly very irritated. She pulled her bag close and unzipped it, keeping her body between me and it, peeking inside, rummaging around in it. “No, it’s not here.” She sounded desperate.

“Kim, honey, what’s wrong?”

She stopped, frozen, her eyes distant. “Oh,” she said robotically, “it’s nothing. I … I think I made a mistake.”

“Kim, what the heck is wrong with you? What did you lose?”

“It’s nothing.”

“Nothing. Right. I don’t buy it. Now what did you lose? Tell me.” Now I was getting angry.

“I said,” she looked at me speaking through gritted teeth, “it’s nothing. It was just a little keepsake, and I—I found it. It was in my bag after all.”

I regarded her. I knew she was lying, but I thought better of calling her on it right then.
Pick my battles carefully
, I thought. “Oh. Well, good. Glad we solved that riddle.” I looked back to Michael. Ellie was walking back toward us, holding one hand up. Something dangled there that looked like keys.

I could already feel the shower running over me, washing away the dirt and grime.

“We use cash for everything,” Michael said. “And no phone calls to home. I think that’s how they found us.” I watched his face. Something wasn’t right. It was like he didn’t believe what he was saying. His blank expression said more. I tried to tell myself he was just finally feeling tired, but then I didn’t believe what
I
was saying.

CHAPTER XIV

ELLIE HAD PAID FOR two rooms with the cash Michael had given her. He wanted us all to share one room, saying, “We’ll be safer if we stick together.” Ellie vetoed that idea, though, on grounds of decency. Her stock began to rise in my estimation at that point.

“Hey,” I elbowed her as we left Michael to himself and made our way to the girls’ room, a few doors down, “good call.”

“What, keeping you and your hormone-happy boyfriend separated? No problem.”

“Yeah, no, it’s not a problem,” I reiterated. “And again, thanks. I’m not your average girl and I don’t think it’s cool to place myself in … awkward situations.”

She stopped and looked at me, sizing me up again. “You’re welcome, girlie. We’ve got to look out for one another, right? Besides, you’re right. It would be a bit ticklish, that.”

I laughed, and it made her smile. The sight of that expression on her face filled me with such a confusion of emotions that I couldn’t sort it out at first.

It’s like watching someone die: you know they’re going to a better place, but you also know you’ll never see them again.
I didn’t know how else to look at it; it weirded me out.
Why would I feel like that?
I chalked it up to my special abilities, which were still, after all, pretty new to me. How would I know when I had plumbed the depths of all the gifts my angel blood had given me?

We had arrived at our room. She turned the key in the doorknob, and before either of us could enter, Kim barged between us and bolted for one of the beds. “This one’s mine,” she said and jumped on it like a little girl. She began peeling off layers, starting with her hideous red sweatshirt.

We had to hurry inside and close the door before she flashed the whole parking lot from the second floor. “Geez, Kim.” I said.

“I’m first into the shower.” She ran into the bathroom in nothing but her underwear and slammed the door.

“The room’s already thrashed,” Ellie said. She groaned as she looked around us. “I’m not picking this stuff up; it’s nasty.” Kim had been a tornado of dirty, smelly clothes.

I could hear the shower start up. I was a little jealous of that, but I figured I could wait. I kicked her shirt and jeans into a pile against her duffel bag, which had fallen into the space between her bed and the wall. “There,” I said, “out of sight, out of mind.”

“Did you see her…?”

“How could I miss her,” I said.

“No, I mean the bruises. You saw it, yeah?”

I nodded. “Yeah.”

“She looks like a user.”

I was shocked at Ellie’s frankness. “Why would you say that?”

“What?” Ellie said, pulling her own sweater off over her head. She pulled the hem of her white T-shirt down and sat heavily in one of the chairs by the table.

I lowered my voice. “Because I was just thinking the same thing out there.” I motioned to the grassy park outside, beyond the closed curtains.

“Look, it’s no great stretch of the imagination.”

“Duh,” I said. “I’m just sayin’.”

“Tell you what, Airel. Why don’t you go next.” She motioned to the shower. “I’ll go get us some ice, maybe see if I can scare up a soda or two.”

“Um, sure?” I gave her a confused look.

“It’s not you,” she said, trying to explain her abruptness. “I need regular alone time or I get grouchy.” She smiled, again setting off the emotional fireworks within me.

What the heck, dude.

“You know what else … we’re gonna need some new clothes, right? I’ll be the search party for that.”