The Guardians (MORE Trilogy) (11 page)

“This has to be a mistake!” Ava put herself between Tiernan and Caleb, heart pounding as her gift flared, aching to protect him. “You know this is wrong, Tiernan. Caleb’s no traitor.”

“They’ve got evidence that says he is.” He stepped around Ava and zeroed in on Caleb, muscles rippling as he stretched his arms in a way that he probably intended to be nonthreatening, but really wasn’t. “Don’t make this harder than it needs to be.”

Ava could feel it a split second before it happened. Before Caleb lunged for his bag, yanked it against his chest, and started to shift. Before Tiernan wrapped his hands around Caleb’s throat, bringing him back before he could completely vanish. Before her gift shot out of her and slammed Tiernan into the far wall, toppling furniture along the way and cracking the plaster. She held him there, incapacitated against the wall, and turned frightened eyes to Caleb.

But if she hoped for answers—for promises—she got none, only a whispered, “I’m sorry,” before Caleb shifted away into the night.

“Caleb?” Ava stared at the spot where he’d been standing, unable to believe what had just happened. He couldn’t have left her there alone with Tiernan, with no explanation.

“You have to let me go after him.” Tiernan choked, barely able to get the words out.
 

Ava realized her gift had tightened its hold on him so she loosened it a little—but only a little.
 

He took a deep breath, but he still couldn’t move beyond that. “He’s running from the Council. If I don’t bring him back, they’re going to send others after him. They’re going to send
everyone
after him.”

“He didn’t do it,” she said, although her voice lacked the conviction she’d felt only a few minutes earlier. “He couldn’t have. He wouldn’t.”

“I tracked him to New Elysia myself,” Tiernan said. “I let my guard down, thinking he was there on Council business, but—” Tiernan’s muscles tensed, and Ava knew he was fighting against her binding. “They have him on camera taking Borré out of the city. He hurt a lot of people, Ava.”

“No. That can’t be right.” Her mind raced, and she felt tears prick at her eyes. “You can’t be right.”

“Ava, listen to me,” Tiernan snapped. “The Council has suspected Caleb for a while now. They pretty much knew about the Guardians. But with his background, they gave him some leeway on that. He’s hardly the first—” He bumped his head back against the wall, his frustration clear. “But then they assigned me to watch him, and I knew it was more than the Guardian thing. They don’t tell us much. We’re just hired muscle, after all.
 

“But I did some digging around, and something’s definitely being going on with Caleb, Ava. He’s been spotted with suspected Rogues, and then this thing with Borré—”

“No.” Ava shook her head and tightened her hold on Tiernan, choking off his words. “You’re wrong. Caleb wouldn’t work with the Rogues. Never.”

But . . . 

He’d been different the past few weeks. Disappearing for days at a time. Vague about where he’d been. Defensive when she questioned him.

He’d lied to her. She’d known it, but didn’t want to admit it.

She’d known something was wrong, something was off. But
this
? This couldn’t be.

Tiernan struggled, his breath wheezing in and out slowly, skin red with exertion, veins bulging.

She loosened her hold and he took a deep breath.

“Could you please stop doing that?” he growled.
 

“Sorry,” she replied, distracted.

“You’ve got to let me go,” he said, still gasping. “Caleb’s in trouble, Ava. If he’s working with Rogues he’s in serious trouble.”

Stunned, she blinked up at him through unshed tears. “What?”

“I promise I won’t hurt him. I’ll make sure he’s safe.”
 

“You’ll take him to the Council.”

“He’ll get a fair hearing.” His blue and green gaze was unwavering, his scar jagged and white against his flushed skin. “If the Council learns he’s on the run, they’ll send assassins. It’ll be shoot first, ask questions later. And shifter or not, they have ways of tracking him down.”

The thought sent a chill down her spine. She knew all too well the resources the Council had at its fingertips. She also knew that regardless of what Tiernan promised, a fair hearing before the Council was no guarantee of justice. If they had the evidence he said, Caleb’s fate was all but sealed. Even his mother couldn’t save him if they believed he was in league with the Rogues.

No, she couldn’t let that happen. But she couldn’t let the Council send assassins after him either. There was only one solution.

“I’ll let you down,” she said, walking slowly toward Tiernan. “I’ll let you go after him. But you’ve got to do something for me.”
 

He glared at her, and she knew he was imagining wrapping those meaty hands around her throat. Again.
 

“What?”
 

“Take me with you.”

“What?” Despite his precarious position, he laughed. “You’re out of your mind.”

“I want answers, and I want to hear them from Caleb,” Ava said, lifting her chin stubbornly. “So, that’s the deal. You want to go after Caleb, you’ve got to take me with you.”

“You’ll slow me down.”
 

It stung, but it was true. Ava didn’t let it show.

“You’ll have to figure that part out.”

If Tiernan had laser vision, Ava figured she’d have been barbecued. His eyes narrowed. “How do you know I won’t agree and dump you at the first opportunity?”

Ava smiled wickedly. “I’m a lot better at this now,” she said. “How do you know I can’t grab you from a mile away and hang you from the nearest tree?” She couldn’t. Not by a long shot. But she knew her training sessions with Caleb had been unobserved, so Tiernan had no way of knowing that. She held his gaze, hoping he wouldn’t call her bluff.

He didn’t. His frown intensified, if that were possible, and he growled out a resigned, “Agreed.”

“Really?”
 

His lip curled in a snarl. “Don’t make me say it again.”

Ava let out a relieved breath, but she took a few steps back before she released him. He rubbed at his arms, shaking them a bit to get the blood flowing, and she eyed him warily.

He raised a mocking eyebrow. “Now you’re nervous? Like you couldn’t slam me back up there in a second?”

She laughed weakly but reached for her backpack to check for the basics she always carried with her. Recent experience had taught her to be prepared. “So, you ready?” she asked, depositing her textbooks on Caleb’s table before zipping her backpack closed. She had a feeling she wouldn’t be studying in the near future and didn’t want to be weighed down.

Tiernan didn’t respond. He just headed for the door.
 

Ava shrugged into her heavy coat as she trailed after him, quickening her steps. “How do you know where he’s going?” she asked as they hurried down the stairs.
 

Tiernan crouched at the bottom, staring at the sidewalk and then the grass along the edge. “I’m a tracker,” he said. “That’s what I do.” He tilted his head back and closed his eyes as he inhaled deeply. After a moment, he opened his eyes and headed toward the parking lot.

“Where are we going?” Ava asked, jogging at his heels.

“East,” he replied, not slowing his steps. “But we can’t run . . . obviously.” He cast a disdainful look her way. “So we’re going to need a ride.” He came to a stop at the street, eyeing the parked cars appraisingly.

“Don’t tell me, let me guess.” Ava pretended she wasn’t trying to catch her breath. “We’re going to steal a car.”

He raised a brow. “Borrow.”

She sighed. “You and your sister have a lot in common, you know that?”

He ignored the comment, striding toward a black sports car.
 

Within minutes they were on their way, Ava clutching the door handle as Tiernan sped toward the edge of town.
 

“I hope you know what you’re getting yourself into,” he said as he shifted gears, tires squealing a little as he rounded a corner.

“You’re not the only one,” she replied under her breath. She pulled her feet up onto the seat and wrapped her arms around her knees. They’d find Caleb, and she’d figure out how to help him. Until then, she was just along for the ride.

The girl was a pain in the neck.

She kept asking Tiernan where they were going. How he knew which direction to turn. Why he kept sticking his head out the window. He didn’t have time to explain. Not that he could, really, even if he wanted to. His tracking ability was something as natural to him as recognizing the smell of apple pie, or the taste of peppermint. It was part of him. He just knew. He could sense Caleb, as long as they weren’t too far behind him.
 

The problem was they were falling farther behind him every hour. It was her fault, of course. She couldn’t match his running speed, so they had to use a car, which meant sticking to the roads while Caleb could go cross-country. And Caleb knew he was being tracked. He kept doubling back, shifting one direction then running another to throw them off. Tiernan was left to trail after him like an awkward puppy, stumbling over his own feet. He didn’t really see an alternative, though.
 

He glanced at Ava sitting innocently in the passenger seat.
 

Innocent. Right.
 

The girl slammed him up against that wall as if he was nothing more than an annoying fly. It was humiliating. Irritating. But he had to hand it to her, she had guts. She stood right up to him and glared unblinkingly into his mismatched eyes. Not many—human or Race—would dare such a thing. Still, it was unnerving to have someone like that sitting next to him. He felt at a disadvantage, which was decidedly where Tiernan preferred
not
to be.
 

He came to a crossroads and stopped to scan the horizon. The homes were farther apart—not quite farms, but with generous lawns out front and well-tended gardens in the back—and he could spot a town in the distance off to the right.
 

“What is it?” Ava asked.
 

“Give me a minute.” He rolled down the window and turned to scent the air, listening . . . searching with all of his senses.
 

Ava’s stomach growled, and he turned on her with a frown.

“What?” she asked. “I can’t help it.”

“Well, try,” he snapped. “I can’t hear with you making all that noise.”

“It’s a biological function! In case you haven’t noticed, we’ve been at this for hours. Not that I’m complaining, but I can hardly be blamed for my empty stomach’s reactions.”

He glared at her, and she set her jaw stubbornly. Her stomach growled again and her cheeks flushed, but she didn’t look away.
 

With an irritated grumble, Tiernan reached over the seat to where he’d tossed his bag in the back, and fumbled inside it. He threw a slightly smashed protein bar into her lap and snagged one for himself, ripping the plastic with his teeth and eating half in one bite.

“Thanks,” she said quietly, pulling off a piece of her own bar. “You might have mentioned you had these before.”

“I was a little busy,” he replied through a mouthful of granola and chocolate. Ava grimaced slightly, but said nothing. He turned back to the window and tried to seek out Caleb again.
 

“It’s no use,” he said after a few moments, wadding up the wrapper and tossing it into the backseat. “I’m getting a faint sense of a trail, but I can’t tell which direction, other than a vague—that way.” He waved his hand toward the town. “You getting anything?”

Ava shook her head. “I’ve been trying, but he’s beyond my reach, I think.”

With a sigh, Tiernan stepped on the gas and turned right. “We’ll need to ditch this car. Find a place to hole up until I can get some backup,” he said.
 

Ava stiffened. “You can’t call for backup. They’ll know he ran.”

Tiernan shot her a sideways glance. “I have a contact in the Council. He’s the one who put me on Caleb in the first place, and he’s made it pretty clear that he wants to talk to him—not kill him.” He spotted a grove of trees off to the side of the road and pulled behind them. “I think he’ll give me the resources I need to find him, without alerting the rest of the Council.” He grabbed his bag and got out of the car, slamming the door behind him.