Dentelle (26 page)

 
The
question was, how could I pull off everything Kieran had demanded without
rousing my friends’ suspicions? Especially Jason, Ash, and Ally. Besides lying
to absolutely everyone I loved, I had to come up with a plausible story as to
why I would leave town so abruptly when Ava Rose was still missing. On top of
that, I had to make it believable. And I had to do it fast.

My instructions were to catch a 3:30 p.m. flight
directly out of Bellingham to Seattle. Apparently, I was already booked on the flight,
and my ticket was waiting for me at the reservation counter. Once in Seattle, I
had a layover. For how long? I didn’t know. I was supposed to wait in the food
court area of the Central Terminal, sitting next to the glass windows that
faced the airfield. At that point, someone would meet up with me and escort me
the rest of the way. I still didn’t know my final destination. Nor did I know
Kieran’s ultimate goal or what he planned on doing with me once I arrived. And
while he assured me Ava Rose would be safe as long as I followed his orders, he
refused to say whether he’d release her once he had me in hand. I was probably
walking into a trap, but I’d have to take that chance. Following his
instructions was the easy part. The hard part was concocting a believable
story.

First things first. Packing. Acting. And lying.

I practiced my story on Ash first –
telepathically. Standing in front of the bathroom mirror, I observed my facial
expressions, trying to make them match the emotions I’d be expressing during my
fabricated story. My brown eyes already held a haunted look, and my lips easily
fell to a frown. But something about my execution rang untrue. I couldn’t quite
put my finger on it. Ash was shocked to hear that my Uncle Jack from Virginia
had been in a horrible car accident and had slipped into a coma. When I told
him I needed to leave for a few days and use my Essence to heal him, he’d
completely understood and asked if I wanted him to go with me. Immediately, I’d
informed him I was going with my family and needed him to stay in Bellingham
and work on finding Ava Rose. He’d agreed and wished me luck.

That went better than I’d expected. Next, I
called Jessica and went through it all again. Fooling her was easy. She was
extremely empathetic and promised to call me if there were any updates in the
search efforts here at home. Next, responding to my urgent text, Ally called me
back. I was relieved I wouldn’t have to look directly into her eyes, because
out of everyone, she would have seen straight through my deceptions. You can’t
be best friends with someone since second grade and think they won’t notice
when you’re telling a big fat lie. She’s also the reason I had to use my real
Uncle Jack as an excuse. I had to tell her I was meeting up with my parents in
Seattle and flying out with them. I didn’t want her calling them and offering
her sympathy. I also promised to update her on a regular basis. I decided not
to tell my parents anything. I would pretend I was still in Bellingham, call
them and text them regularly, keeping them falsely updated on Ava Rose.
Hopefully, they’d never be the wiser.

At least during my conversation with Ally, I
realized what was wrong with my facial expressions. I kept biting my lip and my
eyes kept darting up and to the left, as if I was trying to avoid eye contact –
with myself, I thought. How ridiculous! But mostly it was like I was thinking
too hard, trying to conjure up details because there weren’t any real ones
there to grab hold of. It was important to have all this figured out though,
because Jason was on his way over. Lying straight to his face was going to be
dreadful. My stomach churned and I cracked my knuckles. I’d promised him I’d
never betray him again, and here I was perfecting all the ways I could do just
that. Feeling sick to my stomach, I lifted the toilet seat and leaned over.
While I took several short, choppy breaths, luckily, my oatmeal remained firmly
in place.

Grabbing my toothbrush, I decided to brush my
teeth anyways. A little cool mint flavor might help with my dry mouth.
Afterwards, I looked at my hair and contemplated. My hair was several inches
past my shoulders now, and I’d done nothing more than slap it into a ponytail
earlier. I’d worn it that way a lot lately – hadn’t felt like fussing with it.
Hoping to achieve an, I’m-desperate and my-life-has-just-become-unimaginable
look, I pulled a few extra strands out here and there so they fell all around
my face. I made my eye make-up a little darker than usual and slapped on some
chap stick. I smiled grimly. Yep! That about did it. I looked frazzled, and
with the right tone of voice and the right body movements, I just might look
like I was bordering on hysteria. Shouldn’t be difficult, since I really was.

Lying to Jason was unimaginably difficult. I
felt like I was destroying all that was good between us. All the trust and
respect that had taken months to rebuild. When he finally discovered the truth
– that I had gone willingly into Kieran’s hands – I didn’t know if he’d have it
in his heart to forgive me. He might understand my motivation – Ava Rose’s
safety – but he wouldn’t agree. He would say there had to have been another
way. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to figure out what that way was.

Sadly, my charades worked. A little too well, I
might add. Jason was sympathetic and beyond concerned for my mental well-being.
Worried that I might crumble under the pressure, he insisted on packing his
bags and going with me and my family. I assured him my Essence was strong, and
I would remember to use it on myself. I also claimed I couldn’t help my Uncle
Jack with a clear conscience unless I knew he would be here for Ava Rose. I
insisted I needed him here in my place to comfort her if she should come home.

Jason dropped me off at the airport, and it was
all I could do not to cry my eyes out. Letting go of him was the hardest thing
I’d ever had to do. I knew there was a good chance I might never see him again.
With Kieran, the unthinkable was most likely. He might put me in a dungeon,
never to see daylight again, and extract Essence from me until the day I died.
I didn’t know. And I didn’t want to think about the possibilities. But
realizing I might never see Jason again, hold him in my arms, or kiss him
passionately, those were the thoughts that sucked the life right out of me,
rendering me powerless.

I held him tight and memorized his face: that
crescent scar along his eyebrow; his chiseled face; those perfect teeth that
generated heart-stopping smiles, and those eyes – deep aqua-marine pools of
paradise. Or more simply, home. I wanted to kiss him all over but knew that
wouldn’t be wise. He’d catch on that something was way off with me. I couldn’t
overdo it. Not when I was only supposed to be gone for a few days. So, after a
hug, I kissed his cheeks, the tip of his nose, and then his lips. Pulling away,
I said softly, “I love you. See you soon.”

“I love you, Alex. Be safe.”

Yeah. Right. Safe.

The quick 35 minute flight from Bellingham to
Seattle was over before it started. Immediately after disembarking, I hurried
towards the Central Terminal, weaving in between people while pulling a small
suitcase behind me. Then I did something unbelievable. I stopped at the
Starbucks and bought myself a Caramel Frappuccino. I never drank coffee. Ever.
But Jessica had introduced me to the blended beverage, and it was good. Really
though, I wanted a boost of energy that didn’t come from Essence, and I figured
the caffeine and sugar would give me that.

Glancing around, I settled into a bench directly
in front of the windows – windows which were actually an amazing 60-foot tall
glass curtain wall that faced the airfield. The roar of an engine caught my
attention as a jet plane took off directly in front of me. Behind me, the food
court was surprisingly crowded and definitely noisy with voices. Someone close
by must have picked up something from Anthony’s Restaurant because I caught a
whiff of malt vinegar. Strong and pungent.

I took a sip of my Frappuccino, and nearly
dropped it on the floor when two guys plopped down on either side of me, shaking
the entire bench. I froze but realized they weren’t a threat, otherwise I’d
have sensed them with my Flair. They must be Kieran’s men. I didn’t feel any
links, so I doubted they were Ray-pacs. Bravely, I looked into their eyes.
Neither of them had those strange amber eyes of a Ray-pac. The guy on my left
was tall, while the one on my right was more of an average height and build.

The average-sized guy on my right said, “Miss
Adams. I’m James and that is Vincent,” he motioned to the other side of me.
“We’re here to escort you to Kieran. He’s assured us you’ll be cooperative and
do exactly as we ask. If you should deviate from our plan or cause a scene of
any kind, I will report to him immediately. If that should happen there will be
severe repercussions. He said you would know what that meant…” His eyes were
direct and probing as he waited for my response.

“Yes, I understand.” My voice did not falter.

All business, he nodded once and said, “Good. We
have a couple flights ahead of us. One,” he stopped and checked his watch,
“begins boarding in ten minutes. You will not be traveling as Alexandria Adams,
though.” He fished around in his backpack and gave me a driver’s license with
my picture but a different identity. “You will be Morgan Peterson. That’s the
name we’ll call you during our travels and that’s the one we’ll expect you to
respond to. Got it?”

I nodded.

“All right, then. I’d like you to give me your
cell phone. Kieran will return it to you later.” I frowned but complied. “Okay,
let’s go,” he said, his tone all businesslike.

“Yeah, let’s do this,” Vincent quipped. James
gave him a blank stare and brushed past him. I could tell he was irritated, but
he hid it well. James was obviously the brains and the stealth of the two. We
stopped and printed our boarding passes at the check-in kiosk, and while I was
sweating bullets at security, the agent never batted an eye at my false ID.
James moved quickly and confidently through the terminal, while Vincent, with
his lanky build, stomped along beside me as if he was carrying a heavy load on
his shoulders. Our destination was Dallas, Texas. James had mentioned a couple
flights, so I doubted Dallas was our final destination. I wasn’t surprised at
what great lengths Kieran was taking in order to cover our tracks. He was,
after all, a natural predator, who was beyond skilled in stalking and capturing
his prey. Now, I’d have to wait and see what he meant to do with me.

My thoughts drifted to Ava Rose, and I wondered
if he’d given her a false identity, too. Of course, he would have. As I
followed James onto the plane, it hit me. He had short brown hair and an
athletic build, the exact description the eye-witness had given for the man
she’d seen at the park with Ava Rose. Wanting nothing more than to throttle
James into unconsciousness, I instead took a breath and dug my fingernails into
my palms. As we settled into our seats, I subdued my anger. Jason was always
talking about approaching things with logic rather than emotion, and I think in
this situation he was right. If I wanted to pump James for information, I
needed to be level-headed and civil in my approach.

“I don’t see why you and L…Morgan get to sit in
first class and I don’t,” Vincent complained as he walked by.

James gave him a cold hard stare. With a forced smile,
he said in a lowered voice, “There were only two available. Now, stop
complaining and find your seat. You have plenty of things to work on.” He
pointed at Vincent’s backpack. I frowned, unable to fathom what Vincent would
have to work on. He reminded me of one of those kids in school who complained
all the time, never made an effort to focus, and refused help even if someone
offered it to him.

Once we were in the air and the flight
attendants had finished their spiel about the emergency procedures, I asked
James quietly, “So, how did you get Ava Rose to leave the park with you?”

He jerked slightly and narrowed his eyes, an
amused smile pulling his lips slightly upwards. “Kieran said you were sharp.”
Deliberating, he tilted his head and looked at me shrewdly. “Since you asked so
nicely, I’ll tell you.” He adjusted the air nozzle above him and stuck another
piece of gum in his mouth. Noticing the perspiration on his forehead and how
rigid he’d become, I guessed he had an aversion to flying. One he probably
didn’t want anyone to know about. “It was really quite easy. First, I gave her
the code phrase you have with each other, ‘I love Orcas,’ and then I handed her
a little Orca trinket of yours. After that, I gave her a letter she thinks you
wrote – something about how she was to come with me and meet you for a surprise
vacation.”

I blanched and grabbed his arm but let go when
his expression hardened. The missing Orca figurine on my nightstand hadn’t
fallen to the floor, I realized. No, James had been inside my bedroom. How
disturbing. Not only that, if he knew my code phrase with Ava Rose, he’d been
watching us closely and eavesdropping on our conversations. My skin crawled.
What else might he know about me? How else had he invaded my privacy? The blood
drained from my face. “Do you have a camera installed in my house…in my
bedroom?” I asked angrily.

He chuckled and then instantly his face
straightened. “No. I suggested that, but Kieran didn’t go for it. Felt like it
was too risky. Besides, your boyfriend is always poking around, like he’s
checking for bugs or something.”

I frowned. Jason poking around? That didn’t make
any sense. And then I remembered Ash searching our rooms at the Ranch for wires
and cameras. He was paranoid about those kinds of things. And lately, he always
seemed to be keeping an eye on me – concerned about my safety. In fact, he and
Jason were probably in on it together. Ever since the Amethyst disappearances,
they were always discussing strategies in case there was a surprise attack or abduction
attempt by the Ray-pacs, aimed at either me or Jessica. Ash also had ample
opportunity; he was always over at my place, hanging out with Ben. I wouldn’t
put it past him to snoop around – make sure things were on the up and up.