Dirty Blood (31 page)

“Tara, just listen-” he began.

“No, you listen,” I said, whirling on him angrily. “I
tried to call you. Before, when it first happened. You were the
first person I thought of. So I called you, freaking out. But you
didn’t answer. Because you thought it was best for me if you stayed
away. And don’t say you were protecting me, because I am sick of
everyone saying that, without any regard for what I want.” I turned
so that my angry stare briefly included Jack, for his part. “So,
until I get an equal say, stay away from me. I don’t need your idea
of protection. Miles will do just fine.”

Wes listened in stony silence, giving no reaction –
until I mentioned Miles. Then, his expression darkened and
something flashed in his eyes. “Don’t go with him,” he said, in a
low voice.

I felt myself hesitating. I wrenched my gaze from
his, before I changed my mind. “Let’s go, Miles,” I said.

~ 32 ~

“Where are we going exactly?” I asked, as we climbed
into Miles’ car.

“Lake Anna. An informant for The Cause lives there.
He may have heard something.” Miles revved the engine and put the
car into gear, easing us forward. A hand slammed down on the hood
and Miles stomped on the brake. Wes stood in the way, his hard
expression illuminated by the car’s headlights, and making him look
even more dangerous. Slowly, he came around to my side and wrenched
open the door to the backseat. He slid inside and slammed the door
shut again behind him.

“Odd number. Jack said I could tag along with you
guys,” he said.

“I thought I made myself clear,” I said, turning in
my chair.

“You want to argue, take it up with Jack, but we’re
wasting time.”

I turned to Miles, waiting for him to demand that Wes
get out, but he just nodded at Wes evenly, and turned back to the
road, easing the car into gear again.

“You’re not going to say anything?” I asked him.

“He’s right, we shouldn’t be wasting time. Besides,
we need to work together if you want your mother back.”

I slumped back into my seat, arms folded, biting my
lip. Miles was right. My love life wasn’t a priority right now. My
mother was. I’d have to put aside my feelings, until this was
over.

Dirt and gravel flew up behind us as Miles picked up
speed down the driveway. At the intersection for the main road, the
tires spun and then caught as we turned onto the asphalt.

“What’s your first stop?” Wes asked.

Miles’ eyes flicked to Wes, by way of the rearview.
“Our informant in Lake Anna,” he answered, after a beat.

“Fleck? He turned on us,” said Wes.

“He’s sworn allegiance again.”

“Right, like he did the last three times. His
information isn’t even remotely reliable.”

Miles’ expression tightened. “What would you
suggest?”

“Donovan Harding.”

“You think he knows something?”

“He’s a better gamble than Fleck.”

“Not by much,” argued Miles. “He’s too new.”

“But he wasn’t for their side, even before. He’s
always been neutral.”

“That’s my point. How would he know anything about
Leo?”

“He knows Benny.”

Miles considered that. “Alright,” he finally agreed.
“We’ll try him first.” He took a left at the light, putting us on
Route 1, heading back to town.

“Who’s Donovan Harding?” I asked, directing my
attention to Miles.

Wes answered before Miles could. “A recent addition
to The Cause. It’s taken years of coaxing to get him to commit,
though. He’s always proclaimed himself Switzerland in all of this,
saying he didn’t want to put his family in danger by officially
picking a side.”

“So what makes you think he’d rat Leo out? Wouldn’t
that put his family in danger, too, if Leo ever found out?”

“Exactly,” said Miles, glancing at Wes in the mirror
again. Wes didn’t answer.

We rode in silence for awhile. I felt Miles’ gaze
wandering to me a couple of times which gave me the same creepy
vibe I’d gotten the day we’d met in Jack’s backyard, like he was
sizing me up or something. But I wasn’t going to make a big deal
since that would wind up leaving me with Wes; and I was determined
not to cave on where I stood on that. Things had to change if he
expected me to forgive him. For those reasons, the air inside the
car felt thick.

I pressed the automatic window button and rolled it
all the way down. I rested my head on my arms and closed my eyes
against the brisk breeze that hit my face. I realized the sun had
slid to the other side of the sky and glanced over at the clock. It
was mid-afternoon, now. Time was slipping by, and I had to fight
the urge to panic with every minute that passed without news of my
mother.

“We’re almost there,” said Miles, a few minutes
later. He blew through the yellow light to make the turn and wound
through the neighborhood. He halted at the curb hard enough to push
me against the seat belt before thumping back again. Across the
street was a small one story house with a black minivan parked in
the driveway and I realized that I recognized the house.

“This is it?” I asked in disbelief.

“Yes, why?” Miles asked.

“I know the kid that lives here. He goes to my
school. Mason…”

“Harding,” Wes finished for me. “I know. Donovan’s
his father.”

“They’re Werewolves,” I realized. “Wow.” I shook my
head. There were probably other kids at school that were a part of
this world, living a lie, just like me. Strange that I’d never felt
it before. Or maybe I had, passing the tinglies off as being cold
or something.

“You or me?” Miles asked Wes.

“Both. It’ll be more intimidating, if it comes to
that,” Wes said.

Miles nodded in understanding and looked at me.
“We’ll be back in a minute.”

“What? No, I’m coming with you guys,” I said,
unbuckling my seat belt.

“Not a good idea,” said Miles.

“You can’t,” said Wes, at the same time.

“Why not?” I demanded.

Wes ran a hand through his hair, making it stick up
haphazardly, and ruining the carefully mussed look he always wore.
“Look, Donovan’s priority is to protect his family. Information is
one thing. Housing Enemy Number One is another. If you show up at
his door, it could freak him out enough to keep him from talking to
us.”

I glanced at Miles, but he nodded in agreement.

I sighed. “Fine.” Miles got out and went around to
rummage in the trunk, for a weapon, I assumed.

Wes slid out and shut his door. He turned, leaning
down into my open window. Gently, he raised his hand and brushed
his fingers over my cheek. His eyes burned into mine and my pulse
sped. “Tara, do you think I want to leave you alone right now? Even
for a second? I don’t. Having you out of my sight is going to be
just as hard for me as it is for you. Why do you think I came with
you, knowing how much you didn’t want me here? If I could bring you
inside right now, I would, but it won’t work. Not if you want to
find your mom. So give me five minutes, okay? Can you do that?”

“Okay,” I whispered. I couldn’t bring myself to argue
with him after that.

“Let me see the gun.” I reached into my jacket pocket
and handed it to him. He took it and pointed it out the windshield.
In an expert move, he pulled the chamber back and inspected it, and
then let it click shut again. “Okay, it’s loaded. Here, this is the
safety. It’s on right now, so if you try to shoot nothing will
happen. If you need to use it, press this button first. Then, just
aim and pull the trigger, okay?” He handed it back to me and showed
me the tiny black button he was referring to.

“Okay,” I agreed reluctantly. I took the weapon and
held it gingerly, careful to keep it pointed away. It still felt
awkward in my hands.

“I’ll be right back,” he promised, before
straightening and falling into step beside Miles, towards the
Harding residence.

Miles rang the bell and a moment later, a man
answered. He was tall and broad shouldered, and he immediately
reminded me of an older version of Mason. His expression, upon
seeing Wes, wasn’t pleasant. They exchanged a few words, and then
the man stepped back and Wes and Miles disappeared inside.

I faced forward again and scanned the empty street,
focusing on movement rather than detail. I didn’t see anything but
my breath came quicker and my mind was on alert for any tingly
feeling. Several minutes passed. A high pitched beep broke the
silence, and I jumped and clutched at the gun handle. I willed
myself to relax and reached for my cell phone with my free hand. A
text sent from my mother’s phone lit up the screen and my breath
caught. I opened the text with shaky fingers and read the message.
‘No fun without you. Wish you were here. Love, Leo.’

I stared at the screen until the light faded to black
and the words disappeared. A dull aching was growing, at my
temples. I knew Leo was only trying to get to me, with his vague
and ominous messages. The problem was, it was working. The hand
that held the gun squeezed tighter on the handle, in fear and
impatience. With my other hand, I illuminated the screen once more
to check the time. Wes had thirty seconds left or I was going in.
Part of me hoped he didn’t come out in time so I could go looking
for a fight. Anger was mixing with the anxiety that coated my
thoughts, and my muscles were itching to move, preferably with
force behind it.

Just as I was about to go looking, the front door
opened and Wes appeared, with Miles in tow. Behind them, Donovan
stood in the doorway, a deep scowl on his face. Watching him, I
felt the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. Wes pulled open
his car door and slid inside. With the gust of cold air came the
tingling, and I kept my eyes trained on the man at the door. He
didn’t move towards us, just watched with a frown, as Miles got in
and started the car. As we pulled away the man finally closed the
door.

I watched the house grow smaller and smaller behind
us, through the car’s side mirror, my muscles only relaxing when it
finally disappeared. “How’d it go?” I asked.

“We have to go see someone else,” said Wes.

I didn’t answer, and Miles glanced over at me, his
brow wrinkling slightly at my expression. “Everything okay?” he
asked.

“I got another message from Leo.”

His gaze swiveled from the road to my face. “What
kind of message?”

“A text. It came from my mom’s phone.”

“What did it say?” Wes asked, his tone sharp. He
shifted in his seat and leaned forward.

I hit the button to illuminate the screen on my phone
so he could read it over my shoulder. “No fun without you. Wish you
were here,” I recited, for Miles’ benefit. I managed to say it with
a little bit of sarcasm, but I couldn’t help but feel the threat in
them, too. I had no doubt this was a game; one where Leo made the
rules and all of the moves – so far.

“He’s messing with your head,” Miles said. “Just
remember what Vera said. She’s not hurt. We know that, at
least.”

“We know more than that,” I said pointedly. “I can’t
believe she thought he’d leave me alone if she did this.”

“What are you talking about?” Wes asked, still
hovering just behind me.

He was close enough for me to feel, and I purposely
kept my face forward, staring at the road ahead. “My mom left a
note. Fee found it in my room when they came to get me. She says
she went with Leo to protect me. That he promised to leave me alone
if she went willingly.” I shook my head. “And she believed
him.”

“I’m sure she had her reasons,” said Wes.

“Like what?”

“I don’t know, but I think you should at least give
her a chance to explain.”

“Right, I forgot, you’re on her side,” I snapped. He
didn’t answer. “And you?” I said, glaring at Miles. “Do you think
she should be able to sacrifice herself for me, without my
permission?”

“That depends,” he said carefully.

“On what?” I demanded.

“On if it would really work. And without your
permission, obviously it hasn’t. But… would you sacrifice yourself
for her?”

“In a second.”

“It’s the same concept,” he said.

Behind me, Wes snorted.

I ignored him. “Where are we going?”

Miles shot a glance in the rearview, apparently
realizing by whatever Wes’ expression was, that he wasn’t going to
answer. “A guy we know. Not exactly elite society, and a Werewolf,
so this should be interesting.”

“Will he try to attack?” I asked.

This time, Wes did answer. “He’ll be curious about
you, but he’s not the violent type, so just stay close and try not
to talk too much. Either way, in this neighborhood, we can’t leave
you in the car.”

I didn’t ask why because, frankly, I was just glad to
be in on the action this time. By now, we had woven through
downtown and come out the other side. This part of town wasn’t so
great. On one side of the road were run down, three story apartment
buildings with darkened side streets mixed in between, on the other
was the river. Through my open window, I could hear the rushing of
water over rock. The smell of garbage hung in the air. Miles turned
onto one of the side streets and parked along the curb behind a
rusted out Nissan. It was by far the best looking car on the block.
Up ahead, at the corner, a group of guys in baggy sweatshirts
huddled in a group, swigging from bottles. Sirens sounded in the
distance and then faded away.

I reached down and grabbed the gun again - this time
without any prodding from Wes. I started to reach for the door
handle but Wes’ voice stopped me.

“Stay close to me, and don’t talk to anyone, even if
they talk to you. And pull your hood up.”

“Why?”

“Just do it. Put the gun in your pocket but keep your
hand on it. Ready?”

I yanked my hair free of its ponytail so I my hood
would stay in place and adjusted my grip on the gun. I slipped it
into my left pocket and got out. I found Wes watching me. Something
in his expression settled the raging in my head, and I heard myself
say, “Ready.”