11. Eleven
Eleven
Presley
“I won’t go if you don’t want me to.” My mom put on her lipstick in the bathroom. It was a blast from the past, and the same mauve color she wore every day, even the same brand.
I didn’t want her to go to work, and I wanted to tell her.
“I want to stay, honey, I do. But with there being so few staff out here, it’s really hard on them to not give notice. They really need me at the ER today.” She stopped to look at me. “But if you need me, I’ll stay.”
Mom was such a good nurse that people actually died when she was away. That’s the way I imagined it, anyway.
Aaron appeared in the doorway, getting his nose in my business. “Go, Mom. We’ll be here when you get back.”
“It’s a short shift today. Only six hours.”
She wanted to go. Mom loved work. It was something I never understood. No one likes work, but no matter how exhausted she was by the end of the day, she’d come through the door with a smile. Something about helping sick people brought her joy. I didn’t get it, but she always said, “ One day you’ll find something that brings you as much joy. And you’ll understand .”
Now that was just comical.
“We can’t let people suffer because we want to see Mom,” Aaron said.
“Debatable. I haven’t seen her in almost a year.”
“I’ll be back by dinner. I promise. Kimberly, if you need anything, I have makeup, clothes, shampoo, conditioner. Everything I have is yours. Go nuts. But boys, stay out of my room.”
More nostalgia hit me as Mom neared the door in her scrubs with a packed lunch in hand. Her hair was perfectly slicked back in a bun out of her face. I was certain there wasn’t that much gray in her hair last year.
I wanted to talk to her and catch up on everything I’d missed. If there was anything I’d learned, it was that a lot could change in a matter of months. Maybe she had new hobbies or a boyfriend. Or a secret new love of romance novels. Whatever it was, I wanted to hear about it.
“Thank you,” Kimberly said right before Mom blew a kiss and scurried out the door.
“So, how was your guys’ swanky new cabin?”
“Cold,” they said at the same time.
We gathered in the living room by the fire. I’d kept it going through the night while I avoided my bedroom and watched TV till the sun was up.
“Okay. So, Kimberly and I were talking last night, and we agreed we needed a plan. Zach and Luke aren’t here, and I’m sure we can all agree it’s up to us to find them. The three of us are their last hope.”
“Yep.” I edged a little closer to the fire. My chest hurt more than it did yesterday. It was so deep I felt it in my back.
I waited for him to get to the point.
“Then the question is, how do we find them?”
I planned on telling them about the phone number in my pocket, I did, but first, I wanted to hear all our options. Aaron would freak out when I told him about the phone call, and I’d silently prepared myself for that during commercial breaks.
“I have an idea that I’m certain neither of you will like,” Kimberly said while pulling her hair into a bun—Kimberly Burns with black hair was kick-ass. “We need to find The Legion.”
That snapped me out of my daydreams.
“Kim, did you forget about them locking everyone up and kidnapping us?”
“Let her talk,” Aaron said.
“No. But I spent all night thinking through every possibility, and I’m certain it’s our best option. They’ve been tracking the coven for centuries. They may even know where their new location is. The Legion knows their histories, their patterns, their strengths . . . weaknesses. We know nothing. Even if by some miracle we find some type of clue to lead us to Zach and Luke, we won’t be able to do anything about it because it’s just the three of us. We need help.”
“We can’t trust them. They don’t have hearts, Kim. I’m pretty sure Kilian is the tin man,” I said.
“You’re right. But we need them. And they need us. We’re their last bit of connection to the queen. Kilian is closer than he’s ever been to bringing them down. Plus, they have Will. And we know that Kilian kept Will safe more than the others. We might be able to strike a deal.”
“This is stupid.” I stood up.
Aaron growled, “It’s not stupid. She’s right.”
“You don’t know that. What happens when they decide to lock us up and do experiments on us? Or they put us in a cage and serve us up as bait?”
I could see it all play out perfectly as they stuffed us in their creeper van.
“This is different than before. Kilian didn’t know how important the twins were to The Family.” Kimberly’s voice was so calm and rational it was giving me a headache.
My blood was boiling over with anxious energy, and I had a lump in my throat that matched the weight in my chest.
“There’s got to be a better option than that.”
“If you have a better idea, we’re all ears,” Aaron said.
My phone burned a hole in my pocket and suddenly felt heavier. No. It was a terrible option. We’d trusted The Legion. I’d spent all that time with Thane . . . and we were betrayed, and no matter how much logic they threw at this, it wouldn’t change that. We couldn’t risk it. I wanted to see my brothers again, but I couldn’t do that if they held us hostage, and if Aaron knew about the phone number, he’d never see it as a good option. When things with The Legion failed—and judging by the past, they would—I was holding the only known connection to my brothers, and they’d take it from me like they’d taken and ruined everything else.
“Whatever.” I went for the door, suddenly hot all over. My chest thrummed, and I needed to not look at them anymore.
“Where are you going?” Aaron spat.
“Away from both of you. If you want to buddy up to the people that got us into this mess, then fine. But leave me out of it.”
“You’re not going to help?”
“Nope. You two have fun with your death mission.”
I flung the door open, and Aaron jumped to his feet.
“Let him go,” Kimberly said as I slammed the door shut.
As soon as I started walking, the anger left. Shit. Why did I just storm out of there like I was freakin’ Kylo Ren having a temper tantrum? I didn’t get angry. Yet, here I was, standing in the snow. Again.
I kicked a trash can. Very smart, Presley. Don’t help them. Litter instead.
It’s what Zach would do probably.
I picked up my mess and swallowed the guilt for slamming the door. I probably hurt Kimberly’s poor ears. Being a jerk to my brother was one thing, but Kimberly didn’t deserve it. I’d apologize later to her alone. She was trying her best, even if her best plan was terrible.
Not that I had a better one.
Okay, Aaron didn’t deserve it either, but I needed someone to be angry at, and it couldn’t be Mom or Kimberly.
I kept walking along the plowed road. The sun was out but did nothing to thaw the snow covering everything. I could have taken the car, but I just wanted to move. I didn’t know if it was me or Hell Bitch’s blood making me feel like that.
I’d never dramatically stormed out of anywhere in my life. Though in the moment it felt better, every step out into the cold left me feeling sick.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been sad. Briefly when we’d left Brooklyn, but that was nothing compared to how I felt now. My brothers were gone. It was like they’d died but almost worse because I didn’t know what was happening to them, and from what I knew about The Family, it wasn’t good. I wanted to sit alone in the snow and mope, but instead, I fished out my phone and stared at the missed call notifications. I didn’t call back, but I thought it over for a minute or two.
I finally reached the town after being offered a ride not once but twice. Probably because I was not wearing a jacket and everyone thought I would die. That, and I had to walk directly on the road because the snow berms were so high.
I snatched a coat out of the back seat of someone’s unlocked car so I could walk in peace. There were a lot of supply shops before I hit the main part of town with clothing stores and a few restaurants. It was like a cozier Blackheart with little to no people walking around. Only, everything was covered in snow, and instead of being on the mountain, there were a group of them in the distance. If I was in a better mood, I would have said it was beautiful, but I wasn’t, so it was ordinary and boring.
A small building with a large dog hand-painted on the window caught my attention. My first guess was a pet store, and I imagined getting lost in the store and holding fuzzy bunnies to make me feel better. Maybe they’d have an aquarium section I could ogle at.
A bell rang as I entered, and the strong scent of wet dog rushed my senses. Dogs barked somewhere in the back, and a large black husky came up to greet me at the door. It wasn’t a pet store, that was for sure. It looked more like a hospital lobby that needed upgrades.
“Hi, how can I help you?” A girl with dirty-blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail greeted me.
“What is this place?”
“We’re a sled dog rehabilitation center. We also do training and adoption. Are you looking to adopt?”
“No. I’m new in town, visiting my mom, and I was just looking for a place to distract me.” More like hide.
“Oh, who’s your mother? Maybe I know her.”
“Her name is Vera . . .” Did she give her last name? I wasn’t sure, so I avoided it.
She gasped. “You’re one of Vera’s sons? She never stops talking about you all. She must be so happy. I’ll have to bring you all some cookies later.”
“She’d probably like that. I’m Presley, the youngest.”
“I’m Sydney, the middle child of three girls.” Her eyes sparkled. “Vera said you were travelers.”
“Oh. Yeah . . . totally.”
She raised her brows like she expected me to say more. “Where did you go?”
My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I jumped. I wriggled it out, and the same number was calling me again. The blood drained from my face, and my heart hammered.
“Are you okay?”
“I-I’m sorry, I’m having an off day.” I peeked out the window behind me. They couldn’t find me if I didn’t answer my phone. There was no way someone could be watching me from across the street.
“Well, I could show you the dogs out back? Sometimes that cheers me up.”
I plopped it back in my pocket. “Uh, yeah, sure.”
I followed her past her desk littered with paperwork and a fresh coffee. We moved out the door into what looked to be a kennel area where a few dogs sat. All kinds but a lot of huskies. I’d begged for a dog as a kid, and Mom never let me have one. She said she preferred cats, but looking back, I think it was more of the money thing.
The kennel hall led to an outdoor area freshly shoveled, with piled snow lining the fence. Ten large dogs ran around chasing each other and scrapping on the ground with their toys.
“They’re loving this sunshine,” Sydney said with her hands on her hips.
The same huge black dog nuzzled my calf from behind and almost knocked me to the ground. Its long tufts of hair were velvet between my fingers as I scratched its back while its heavy tail beat me.
“What’s this one’s name?”
“Oh, that’s Sarah! She’s such a sweetheart. We’ve had her for almost a whole year.”
I sighed and used my fingernails to scratch under her chin. Of course that’s her name.
She licked my face and barreled into me.
No matter where I was, I couldn’t escape my own reality. The buzz of my phone jolted me again—a not-so-gentle reminder that even in our haven we were doomed.