Closed Hearts (28 page)

“He recovered more quickly than I expected,” said Anna, the same intense eyes as Julian’s boring down into mine. “You were the one with the gun. Twice. And yet Kestrel still lives. I’m thinking that you didn’t want to kill him that badly after all.”

“You let him live the first time,” I countered.

She raised an eyebrow. “I thought he might be more useful to us alive.”

“Well, if I was a better shot, Kestrel would be dead.” I folded my arms. “I could have let that orderly inject Hinckley with whatever he had in his syringe so I could get a second shot. But I figured it was more important to save Hinckley than to go after Kestrel. What would you have done?”

Anna regarded me for a long moment, then nodded slowly. “I would have made the same choice.” Her shoulders relaxed a little, and she turned to Julian, who was watching us with wide eyes. “However, that means we’re no further ahead than we were before.” Her voice lapsed into command mode. “Kestrel is still in control, and the changelings and other jackers are still being held in his facility. Except now we have inside knowledge of the facility’s security systems. We should strike again, before they have a chance to regroup.”

“It’s too risky to attack now,” Julian said.

“We need to act soon, before they can move the prisoners again,” Anna said. “We should hit them hard while they’re down. Now is the perfect time. They wouldn’t expect it.”

“Or the place could be crawling with Feds,” he said.

She planted her fists on her hips. “I’m not going to leave them there, Julian.”

“Of course not.” Julian’s back stiffened. “But some of our strongest mages are still recovering. Sasha’s unable to scribe and he won’t leave Ava’s side while she’s out. You know Sasha is key to any plan involving Kestrel.” He put a hand on Anna’s shoulder. “I know you want your vengeance, Anna—”

She smacked it away. “I want to complete the mission!”

“I know.” Julian put his hands up but didn’t seem to take any offense. In fact, he softened his tone even more. “But we have surveillance set up. If they start to move the prisoners, we can mobilize a rescue team and go after them. Much has happened since you were taken, Anna. The crews and clans are coming together—they’re beginning to trust us. The mage cells have coordinated sentries at the outskirts of Jackertown in case Vellus decides to conduct another raid, and the clans are seeing the strength of working together. When we show them we’ve brought some of their fellow jackers home, they will see it even more. A rescue team is a perfect chance to bring people together, but we need time to recover and plan.”

The fire left Anna’s eyes during Julian’s speech. Was he handling her? He said he could, even though she was a keeper, but he also said he never would—because she was his sister, I supposed. She pressed a fist to her lips, tapping lightly. It reminded me of Julian and how he templed his fingers and tapped his lips when he was thinking.

She dropped her hand. “Okay. We’ll wait. But we’ll start planning right away.” She raised an eyebrow in my direction. “Are you up for another shot at Kestrel?”

“I have to find my boyfriend first.” I glanced at Julian. “And I could use some help.”

“Hinckley told me about your reader friend,” Anna said. “That’s an unfortunate business, but it’s not our concern.” Her voice turned formal. “While I do appreciate your help in getting out of Kestrel’s facility, the hundreds of jackers still stuck in there are more important than one wayward reader.”

I flexed my hands and tried to keep the bite out of my voice. “The only reason Raf’s life is in danger is because Molloy wanted to bring the mages to Kestrel.” I swept a hand out, gesturing at the mages clustered around the kitchen table. “Kestrel wanted all of you, all of
us
, for whatever his plans were, and he used Molloy to bring us in. Raf did nothing but get caught in the crossfire. I saved Hinckley because that was the right thing to do. Finding Raf is the right thing to do. I’m going after Molloy, and I’m going to keep looking until I find Raf. Are you going to help me or not?”

Anna’s eyebrows had hiked up to the top of her forehead. “I don’t think—”

“Anna,” Julian stopped her with a low voice. “Molloy betrayed us—all of us.
He
is responsible for the failure of the mission. I want to pay him back for that. And,” he glanced at me, “I made a promise.”

“A promise?” Anna drew back, then looked me over like she was doing a threat assessment. Finally, she gave Julian an exasperated look. “I wish you would stop doing that.”

“No,” he said with a small smile. “You don’t.”

She rubbed her face with both hands and took a deep breath. “Fine! What do you need to find Molloy?” she asked Julian.

“Just some time,” he said. “And possibly Sasha’s help.”

“Don’t take too long.” She jabbed a finger into his chest. “As soon as everyone is recovered, I want us ready to go.”

He smiled, but she refused to smile back and ignored me completely, turning on her heel and stalking back to the kitchen table. Hinckley watched her return with crossed arms, his frown matching hers.

Julian leaned close and said softly, “She’s not so bad once you get to know her.”

“I’m just glad she’s letting you help me,” I said. “I don’t even know where to start looking for Raf.”

“There was never any doubt about me helping you, keeper,” Julian said with a smile. “I’ve already been on the short comms. No one’s seen anyone who meets your friend’s description.”

My shoulders sagged.

“That’s better news than you might think.”

“It’s just… Molloy told me he killed him.” The words choked me. “I saw Raf’s body in his mind. If Molloy didn’t kill him before, he’s had more than enough time to do it by now.”

“Just because Molloy’s gotten what he wants,” Julian said gently, “doesn’t necessarily mean that your friend is dead.”

“You mean Molloy might have traded him.” I wanted to believe it, and saying it out loud made a tentative thrill of hope twirl up inside me.

“Maybe. Or Molloy could have set him loose in Jackertown,” Julian said. “If he did, it’s likely someone would have seen him. Jackertown’s not that big of a community. Maybe Molloy went back to the family, asking for ransom, or sent a contractor to do it. If so, it’s been long enough that the ransom would have been paid and your friend could be safely back home.”

The twirl of hope burst into a gush of possibility. I hadn’t thought of ransom. That happened—not as often as Vellus claimed or readers feared, but it did happen. Raf could be sitting at home, right now, worrying about me.

“Julian…” I couldn’t breathe.

“I know,” he said. “You need to go home. At once. And find out.”

The autocab rolled to a stop in front of the skinny suburban homes that surrounded my family’s rental house. The early afternoon glare made me squint. I had already swept the neighborhood, but Julian was scanning the area like he thought jackers might jump out of the bushes.

“If Molloy’s got wind that you’ve escaped,” Julian said, “he might come here instead.”

I wanted to program an autopath straight to Raf’s front door, but that was exactly where Molloy would expect me to go. If Raf was alive, it would be tricky keeping him that way, especially if Molloy saw us coming. Going home first was safer.

“There are no jackers for at least a quarter mile,” I said. “Except the ones in my house.”

I strode ahead of Julian and reached into the house. My mom was shoving a tray of cookies in the oven. Worry about me was an endless loop in her mind, which wasn’t a surprise—I had been missing for over a week. Xander was playing a violent sim on the living-room screen, but he responded to my featherlight brush.

Hey!
he thought.
You’re back!
He was about to call out to my mom, but thought better of it. Then I realized what had stopped him: my father was there. I stumbled to a stop on the grass and Julian bumped into me.

He stepped back. “What’s wrong?”

“My dad,” I said. “He’s here.” My dad hadn’t reacted to my light touch, and I had quickly pulled back. A white-hot heat welled up in me. Was he still doing Vellus’s dirty work?

“Maybe we should try your friend’s house first,” Julian said.

“No.” I paused. “I’m sure my dad’s been looking for us. If Raf is back, he’ll know.” Yet I couldn’t get my legs to move toward the door. The press conference was long over. Had my dad come looking for me, like he promised? I couldn’t imagine a world in which he hadn’t. At least he was here, looking out for Mom and Xander. I had to give him credit for that.

Julian measured the door with his eyes, like it was rigged with explosives. “Well, this won’t be the first trap I’ve followed you into.”

I rolled my eyes. “Even if my dad’s still working for Vellus, he’s not going to haul you off to the Detention Center.” At least, I couldn’t imagine my dad succeeding in that, not against Julian. But he might try. “Just in case he’s not super happy to see you, promise you won’t do that handling thing.”

“As long as he doesn’t point a gun in my face, we should be fine.”

I sighed, squared my shoulders, and marched toward the house. Xander must not have been able to contain himself, because my dad flung the door open before I got there.

“Kira!” He said my name like it was his first breath after nearly drowning. He rushed up to wrap me in a hug so strong it knocked the air out of me. “Kira, thank God, I’ve been so worried.” The stubble on his face scraped my cheek as he pulled back, then he clasped my shoulders like he thought I might slip away if he didn’t hold tight enough. “Where have you been? I’ve been looking all over Jackertown for you and Raf, back at the diner, everywhere.” He paused for a breath and noticed Julian behind me. “What is
he
doing here?”

“He’s helping me find Raf.” I pulled out of my dad’s grip.

He frowned and let his hands drop. “Helping you? Wait, wasn’t Raf released from the prison? I thought that was the whole point of letting your shady friend here jack the prisoners out of the Detention Center.”

Julian looked unimpressed by my dad’s description and more than a little on edge.

“Raf was never in prison,” I said, and the burst of hope I’d carried inside me from the mages’ headquarters shriveled into a lump. “Molloy had him the whole time, holding him hostage. Are you sure Raf wasn’t ransomed?”

“No, his parents are frantic. I’m sure they would have paid a ransom if they’d been contacted.” He put a hand back on my shoulder and dropped his voice. “Why didn’t you tell me Molloy was holding him hostage? I could have helped you, Kira!”

“I didn’t tell you because you were too busy mindguarding for Vellus!” I stepped out of his reach and crossed my arms. “How can you work for someone like him?”

His hand hung in the air, then slowly dropped to his side. “I did what I had to.”

“What exactly is
that
?”

When my dad hesitated, I linked into his head.
I need to know, Dad. Have you been mindguarding for Vellus all along? Did you ask him to do the raid on Jackertown?

I had nothing to do with the raid.
My dad stepped close to me, put his hand to the small of my back, and steered me a few steps away from Julian, who watched us go with a slightly amused expression.
But I have a feeling that Mr. Trullite did
, my dad thought.
He said if I didn’t come out with you in an hour, he would send someone in to get us.

Mr. Trullite asked Vellus to raid Jackertown to rescue me? The idea of Mr. Trullite and Vellus being buddies made my head go sideways.
Wait, in the interview, Vellus said he conducted the raid to get a kidnapped reader out of Jackertown. Was that Raf?

Mr. Trullite didn’t know Raf was with you
, my dad thought
. He probably told Vellus that his granddaughter was in Jackertown and that Vellus could track my phone. Anyway, I’m pretty sure Vellus used it as a pretext for doing the raid. He rounded up a lot of jackers that night, more than just the ones that were released.

How can you work for someone like that?
I unlocked my arms and threw them out.
Why don’t you just quit?

My father’s shoulders slumped.
It’s not that simple, Kira.

It is that simple!

It’s not!
My dad rubbed the back of his neck.
And I did quit… when I left Naval Intelligence. I was on Vellus’s protection detail for a long time. I thought working for him was the right thing to do. I can’t explain it. He made me believe we were doing good things.
Maybe that’s what politicians do. Talk people into doing things when they should know better.

What kinds of things?
My body tensed. Did my dad hurt people for Vellus?

It doesn’t matter!
But then his face pinched in and my insides shredded. What did my dad
do
? Maybe all jackers
were
dangerous, even the good ones like my dad. Maybe it was in our DNA, like Vellus said. The part of me that wanted to execute Kestrel on the floor—was that the monster inside me, just waiting to come out? Did I get that from my dad?