Dirty Blood (29 page)

“Well, at least you’re off the hook for a little
longer about the fighting,” she said, breaking into my
thoughts.

“Yeah, thanks for that,” I agreed. My stomach growled
loud enough for Stacey to glance over.

“You hungry? I can hit up a drive thru if you
want.”

“That would be great. There’s probably not a whole
lot at home,” I said. Plus, I wanted to prolong the ride as long as
possible. The rest of the afternoon stretched out in front of me,
empty and alone, in my house. It didn’t sound like fun. We hit up
McDonalds and then took back roads home.

“I’m really sorry, about Julie,” I said, glancing
over at her and then away. I didn’t want to make her upset
again.

“Thanks. Her funeral was Friday. Your mom said a lot
of really nice things.” Stacey pulled in behind my car, and I
gathered my stuff, reaching for the door handle. “Hey, good luck
later,” she said, with a sympathetic smile.

I thanked her and got out, slowly making my way
towards the front door, as I dug around for my house key, while
gripping the paper bag that held my lunch. The sound of Stacey’s
whining engine disappeared behind me. I felt my fingers close
around my key ring, somewhere in the depths of my bag. I stepped up
to the front door and was hit by a solid wave of tingling.

It ran up my arms and down my back, leaving goose
bumps in its wake. Every muscle in my body went taut and I strained
my ears against the sunny silence in my yard. A sliver of panic
curled its way up my spine as I realized my front door was already
cracked open.

I reached out and pushed it wider, staying where I
was on the front step as I scanned the entryway for signs of
movement. Cheery sunlight filtered through from behind me, the
contrast somehow giving the whole place an ominous feel. The front
hall was empty and untouched but beyond that, I could see
overturned furniture in the den. I hesitated only a second before I
crashed through the debris and pushed forward into the house,
dropping my bags as I went.

There were no windows in the den and the shadows were
heavier in here but I didn’t bother flipping the switch. It was a
safe bet nothing would happen, since I could already see the shards
jutting from the fixture where the bulb had been smashed. I kept
waiting for someone – or something- to jump out at me, but the room
was empty. The access door to the garage was hanging open and I
peeked in and froze. My mother’s car was parked inside. The engine
was still creaking with warmth; she hadn’t been here long.

Panic rose and suddenly I didn’t care who or what
heard me.

“Mom!” I yelled, turning and racing for the hallway
that led to the rest of the house. The living room and kitchen were
both trashed. All of the furniture had been overturned and anything
breakable had been smashed to pieces. I kept going, not even
slowing to take note of the damage that had once been my TV or the
dining room table that was split in two. One thought dominated any
fear I might have felt and drowned out all rational thought as I
turned the corner and ran for the stairs.

“Mom!” I screamed. Still, no answer.

The pounding of my feet on the stairs echoed against
the walls. At the top, I stopped just inside my bedroom and stared.
Clothes littered the floors and my computer had been ripped from
the wall and thrown across the room. My mattress had been slashed
and my comforter was shredded. I halted my inspection when I
realized the room was empty and continued on to my mother’s
room.

I threw open the door and stopped. This room was also
empty and trashed but something else entirely had already caught my
attention. Across the room, a piece of paper was pinned to the
wall. A lump rose in my throat and I slowed to a walk as I crossed
to it, dreading its message. It was handwritten in elegant cursive
and addressed to me. It read: ‘I’m willing to trade. I’ll be in
touch.’

I stared at it, a tight fist just beginning to wrap
itself around my heart. Downstairs, the sliding glass door slammed
shut and I jumped, jerking into motion. I raced back down the
stairs and to the door, wrenching it open and stepping into the
yard, scanning for movement. There was nothing. A car engine
revved, and I bolted towards the front. I didn’t even bother with
the locked gate. I just used the momentum of my body and swung
right over the fence without stopping. I landed with bent knees on
the front lawn and ran for the curb. Red tail lights were visible
in the distance and then faded around a corner, taking the tingling
feeling with it.

My knees threatened to buckle, and for a second I was
tempted to give in to the despair and fear that gripped me,
squeezing harder and harder inside my chest. I could barely breathe
from the pressure and I doubled over, trying to get enough air. I
had to think. I had to clear my thoughts enough to figure out what
to do. The answer was easy. Wes. It was the only coherent thought I
could form. I straightened and felt my pockets for my phone. They
were empty. Then I remembered: my mother had my phone.

I raced back through the front door and into the
kitchen, yanking open the junk drawer next to the sink where my
mother liked to think I didn’t know she hid things. Batteries and
flashlights fell as I rummaged roughly through the drawer’s
contents, until my fingers closed over my phone. I gripped it with
white knuckles, like a life line, and messed up twice before I
found the right buttons to dial Wes.

It rang four times, which felt like four hundred, and
then his voice mail came on. It wasn’t until I heard the recorded
message that I remembered he wasn’t taking my calls. Panic seized
me harder, and I couldn’t think. I sucked in a gulp of air and
pushed the panic away as best I could, finally remembering there
was someone else I could call.

He answered on the second ring. “Hey, Tara. What’s
up?”

“Jack, I need you to come get me. Right now.” I still
felt out of breath and talking made it worse so my voice came out
whispery and faint. It must’ve been enough to get Jack’s attention,
though.

“What happened?”

“He was here. He took her.”

I could hear him calling to Fee in the background and
then his voice came back on. “Where are you?”

“My house.”

“Dammit, she’s home early so none of us were there.”
His voice was muffled and I assumed he was talking to Fee. Then he
came back on. “Okay, who was there? Leo?”

“Yes.”

“Did you see him?”

“No.”

“Who did he take?”

“My mom.”

“Shit.” On his end of the phone, a car door slammed.
Then another. Then an engine revved and I could hear him muttering
stuff to Fee again. “Okay, we’re on our way. You need to get
someplace safe until we’re there. Can you do that?”

“Um…”

“The woods,” I heard Fee saying. “Tell her to go to
the woods behind the house and stay there until we get there.”

“Did you hear that?” Jack asked.

“Yeah,” I said, squeezing my eyes shut in a futile
attempt to block out the panic and fear. “Yeah, okay, I’ll do
that.”

“Okay, I’ve got to make some calls so I need to hang
up now but I’ll be there in a few minutes. You gonna be okay?” Jack
asked.

“Yeah,” I said, my voice near a whisper again.

Jack hesitated and I knew he wasn’t convinced, but he
didn’t have a choice. “Alright, see you in a few,” he said,
finally.

We disconnected but I kept my phone in my hands and
got to my feet, heading for the back door and the woods beyond. I
managed to find a decent place to sit – using an old tree stump for
a chair – and dropped heavily onto it. The problem with waiting,
though, is it gives you plenty of time to think about things you
shouldn’t; things that only make the panic and fear worse. In this
case, it was guilt, over the way I’d treated my mom the past few
days and all the nasty things I’d said to her about everything
being her fault. I’d acted like a kid throwing a temper tantrum
when she’d really just been protecting me, the best way she knew
how. And now, she’d been taken because of me.

Heavy tears filled my eyes and wasted no time in
spilling over onto my cheeks. My vision blurred and sobs racked my
shoulders so badly that I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have been able
to feel a Werewolf, even if one had walked right by me. Mostly, the
tears were a result of my fear for my mother but a few were for
Wes, too. He hadn’t even picked up the phone. When I’d needed him
the most, he hadn’t bothered. It made me angry, and it hurt – which
made me even angrier. I cried harder.

I’m not sure how long I stayed like that, but I
managed to get myself together somewhat by the time Jack found me.
Crying and falling apart wouldn’t help get my mother back; neither
would being mad at Wes. I had to do something, take action, and I
couldn’t do that if I was a wreck. So I did my best to push aside
the agonizing worry and wiped the tears from my face with my
sleeve, determined to do whatever I needed to rescue my mother.

When Jack got there, the tingling came first, so I
tensed up, momentarily worrying an enemy Werewolf had found me, but
when I heard the extra heavy crunching of leaves under human feet,
I realized who it was and stood up as Jack came into view. He
strode towards me, scrutinizing my face as he got close. I hurried
over to him and he surprised me by reaching out and pulling me
towards him in a suffocating hug. The embrace lasted only a second,
which was good because I couldn’t breathe at all in that position,
and then he let go of me, looking slightly awkward about it.

“Come on. The truck’s waiting out front,” he
said.

I fell into step beside him, which was tricky, since
I had to take two steps for every one of his. “Where’s Fee?” I
asked.

“In the house, checking it out and packing some
things for you.”

“What things?”

“Clothes, whatever you’ll need. You’re not staying
here until Leo is dealt with. We don’t have the manpower to fight
him and guard your house.”

“And you think dealing with Leo will take awhile?” I
asked, dreading his answer, and what that might mean for my
mother.

“I don’t know, but we have to be prepared.”

Fee was already at the truck when we rounded the side
of the house. She slung my blue duffel bag into the back and then
turned to wrap her arms around me. “You okay?” she asked.

“Yeah, I think so.”

She gave me a quick squeeze and then released,
nudging me towards the open truck door. “Get in, we need to hurry
back to meet the others.”

I wedged myself in, between Jack and Fee, and we
left. I couldn’t say we were necessarily speeding, because I wasn’t
sure this truck was capable of it, but Jack definitely didn’t brake
for corners or stop signs, so it was a jarring ride.

“Who are we meeting?” I asked, when we’d made it out
of my neighborhood and onto the main road without incident.

“Miles, Cord, Bailey, and Derek. Vera’s further out
so it’ll take her a little longer. The rest are all on assignment
so they can’t get here in time, but we put the word out and they’ll
be here tomorrow, if we need them,” said Fee.

“What about – did you call Wes?” I asked, hating that
I even wanted to know, right now.

Jack and Fee exchanged a look. “He’s cleaning up the
mess from earlier. Did you want us to?” she asked, gently.

“I don’t know. I guess not,” I said.

Nobody said anything after that. I had to concentrate
on staying upright in my seat, as Jack sped around the back roads
and curves like he was on a race track.

There were a couple cars out front when we got to
Jack’s. It made me feel a little better, knowing we had help. I
knew they were doing it for Jack and Fee, not for me, but I didn’t
care. Whatever got my mom back.

Derek met us at the door.

“Where are the others?” Jack asked.

“Kitchen. Bailey’s already pissed because he knows
you’re going to sideline him.”

Jack grunted. “What else is new?”

Derek eyed me as I passed him, but he didn’t say
anything as he shut the door behind me and followed me down the
hall. Jack waited until we were all together in the kitchen, then
he turned to me.

“Tell us what happened?”

I didn’t answer right away; the abruptness of the
question threw me off, along with everyone’s eyes swiveling to me.
“He took her,” I said.

“How do you know?”

“I got home from school and the house was trashed and
I sensed a Werewolf. I wasn’t really that worried until I found my
mom’s car in the garage, which meant she’d come home. I ran through
the house, looking for her, but all I found was a note in her room.
I heard the back door shut and I ran down but he was already
gone.”

“What note?” Jack asked.

“It was on the wall in my mom’s room. I guess I
forgot to tell you about it,” I said.

“Here, I grabbed it,” said Fee, holding up a piece of
paper. She handed it to Jack.

“Yeah, so obviously it was Leo,” I went on, while
Jack read. “He loves leaving me cryptic little notes.”

Jack looked up at that, his eyebrows wrinkling in
confusion. “This isn’t from Leo.”

“What are you talking about?”

“This note is from your mother,” he said.

“What? No, it was from Leo. It said something about
trading her for me,” I said.

“This one is different. I found it in your room when
I was packing your stuff,” said Fee. “I would’ve showed you but I
assumed you’d already seen it.”

“You need to read it.” Jack handed me the letter.

I took the crumpled paper and unfolded it. It said:
‘Tara, I don’t have much time, but I want you to know that I love
you and everything I’ve done is to protect you. I know you don’t
understand, but this is my choice. I’ve gone with Leo willingly. He
agreed to leave you alone if I do. Please don’t come after me, this
is my decision. Find Vera. Call Grandma. They will help you stay
safe. I love you, forever. Mom.’