Indigo Incite (The Indigo Trilogy) (6 page)

“Yeah,
hold on just a second and I’ll walk outside,” Tyler spoke out loud, for the
benefit of his companions. Then, he looked at them and said, “Can you two wait
here until the waitress comes back with the check? I need to go outside to talk
to Toby. I’ll meet you out there?”

“Sure,
go ahead,” Eddie replied. “We’ll be out in a minute.”

So,
is she cute
? Toby
asked, once they were outside.

You
and I both know, brother, that now isn’t the time or place for romance.

Who
said anything about romance? Is she hot?

Have
you figured out where we need to go next?
He ignored his brother’s question and looked out to
the water. To any passersby, it would appear as though he was simply enjoying
the scenery.

Oh,
so she is hot.

Um,
really, Toby? Focus please.

Sorry.
Her name is Sarah Hughes. She’s in a little town called Granite Falls. It’s
just north of Seattle, not too far from where you are now. Maybe a two-hour
drive.

Okay.
We have to go back to Liliana’s place so that she can pack a bag, and then
we’ll head up there. It’s getting late though,
Tyler thought as he watched the rare
Seattle sun near the water’s horizon.
It’s going to be dark by the time we
get up there. Do you know where we can find her?

Yeah,
she’s a waitress at a diner, next to a small motel. She’s not there now, but
she should be there again in the morning.

Right
now, a motel sounds great. It’s been a long day.

Are
you getting one room or two?
Toby teased.

Though
Tyler couldn’t see him, he knew that his brother was smiling.

She’s
HOT
, Toby reminded
him.

Yeah,
I know
, Tyler
thought.
Don’t remind me. And I don’t know if we’re getting one room or two,
so I need to stop being reminded that she’s hot. She can hear my thoughts.

She
can? Really?
Toby
sounded fascinated.
NICE!

No, brother.
NOT nice if I have to share a room with her. Not cool at all!

Toby
laughed.
Hey, so good luck with that.

Yeah?
I’m going to need some luck finding Sarah
.

Um,
yeah, about that…You’re going to want to find her as soon as possible. I didn’t
tell you before, but the guys who are after you are getting closer. I overheard
one of them thinking about a flight he was going to catch to Washington. If
they’re not there already, they’ll be there soon.

Great.
I hope we’re not too late. What if we’re too late?

You
won’t be
, Toby
reassured him.

Do
you know that for sure? Or are you just trying to make me feel better?

I had
a vision of you talking to Sarah. You will find her. Don’t worry.

I
hope you’re right.

His
companions stepped up to the rail, beside him. “Are we ready to go?” Eddie
asked.

Tell
Eddie I said ‘Hi’, and tell Liliana that she’s hot,
Toby thought.

“No,”
Tyler replied, out loud, to his brother.

Liliana
looked confused. “No? We’re not ready to go?”

“No, I
mean, yeah, we’re ready. My brother says ‘Hi’ to the both of you.”

Well,
those weren’t my exact words, but it’ll do
. Toby laughed.
Good luck, brother. I’ll catch up
with you, tomorrow.

“All
right. Hang in there,” Tyler said. “I’ll see you soon, Brother. We’re going to
find you.”

I
know you will. See ya soon.

“So?”
Eddie asked. “Where to? Did he say?”

Tyler
nodded. “Yeah. We’re headed north.”

It was
late. The quaint town seemed all but deserted as they drove down the main strip
of Granite Falls, passing tourist shops, gas stations, and bars as they went.
Other than a few motorcycles, parked outside of a saloon, there was no sign of
inhabitants.

They
didn’t stop, but followed the GPS directions on Eddie’s phone and continued the
short drive through town. The restaurant, where Sarah worked, was next to an
inn, nestled close to the mountain. They would stay there for the night, and
with luck, they would find her in the morning.

When
they checked in, the manager informed them that the restaurant had just closed
for the night but graciously let them in and assembled a simple meal of
sandwiches, chips, cookies, and drinks to take back to their room. Apologetic
that she couldn’t offer more, she proclaimed that dinner was on the house.

The room,
which consisted of two queen-sized beds and a small sofa, was dark and cold
when they entered. Eddie promptly found the lights and cranked the heater up to
the red zone.

Huddled
in her snow coat, Liliana sat cross-legged in the middle of one of the beds and
took a bite of her sandwich. “Mmm, I don’t think ham and cheese has ever tasted
so good,” she said.

Her
companions took up similar positions around the room and ate in silence, for a
few minutes, as the relief of food and the realization that the long day had finally
come to an end sank in.

“Wow, I
can’t believe it was only yesterday that all of this started,” Eddie said.

Liliana
was surprised. “This all just started yesterday?”

“Yep. I
met Tyler yesterday and Toby, the night before. It’s been a whirlwind ever
since. Now, here we are, a thousand miles from home, and on the run from
kidnappers. How did we end up here?”

“That’s
a good question. I’ve only known you guys for a few hours, and I can’t figure
out how I ended up here either.”

“I
called my father and told him that I went on a research trip to Tucson. That
excuse will work for a couple of days, but then what? Who knows how long it
will take to find Tyler’s brother.”

“I know
what you mean. I have a good cover story, and it should be a few days before
anyone misses me, but then what?”

“Well,
whatever,” Tyler said. “I say we face our worries tomorrow.”

Liliana
turned to him. “You don’t sound concerned. You’re not worried about what you’re
going to face when you go home?”

Tyler shook
his head. “No, not really.”

“You
don’t think your family will miss you?”

“Nah. I
was staying with a foster family. And really, I don’t care what they think. The
only real family I have to speak of is my brother. Once I find him, then I
guess we’ll see what happens.”

“I’m
sorry. I didn’t know that you lived with a foster family.”

“Don’t
worry about it. Anyways, I say for now we enjoy this gourmet, paper-bag dinner
and get some rest. Hopefully tomorrow we can find Sarah and get ourselves one
step closer to finding my brother.”

 “Sounds
good to me. I claim the bed,” Eddie declared, to Tyler. “You can have the
couch.”

“Why
don’t we flip for it?”

“Hmm,
let me think…No,” Eddie said with a smile. “The couch is short and my legs are
long.  I need a good night’s sleep because I’m the one doing the driving. The
bed is mine.”

Tyler
looked at Liliana, who sat comfortably on the other bed.

Don’t
even think about it
,
she thought.
I’m the girl. I get the bed
.

The
idea never crossed my mind
, Tyler thought.
But since we’re on the subject, it would make more
sense, don’t you think? You’re a lot shorter than I am. The couch would fit you
much better.

The
bed is mine
. She
smiled sweetly, but her thoughts held a slight tone of glee at the idea of his
discomfort.

To make
his point, Tyler stretched out on the short sofa, his feet dangling over the
edge of the arm rest.
You’re going to feel guilty all night, as you lie in
your nice, comfortable bed and think of me on this hard, lumpy couch.

And
that’s supposed to convince me to give up the bed? You’re going to have to do
better than that
.
She laughed out loud.

From his
own bed, Eddie looked amused at their interaction and shook his head. “I don’t
have a clue what you two are thinking, but I can sure guess.” He turned to
Tyler. “Let her have the bed. Maybe tomorrow night, wherever we are, you two
can compromise, and you can have the bed.”

Or we
can share the bed
,
Tyler rationalized. She raised her eyebrows and blushed. Tyler bit his lip and
looked away. He obviously hadn’t meant to share that particular thought.

Whether
or not he was aware of the awkward moment that had passed, Eddie helped to ease
the tension. “Hey, Tyler, do you have the remote for the TV over there?”

“Nope, I
don’t see it.”

After a
quick search of the room, which resulted in no remote, Tyler pressed the power
button on the television but discovered that the buttons to change the channel
were broken off.

“Ugh, I
think I would rather watch nothing than have to listen to a show on politics,”
Liliana said. “Did you try to push the spot where the channel buttons used to
be? Are you sure it won’t work?”

“Yeah,
I’m sure,” Tyler said. “You sure there’s no remote over there?”

Liliana
peeked in the nightstand drawer for a second time. “Nope. Nothing but a bible.”

“What do
you want to watch?”

“Anything
but this. Why? Are you going to make the channel magically change?”

“Maybe,”
Tyler said, with a sly grin.

He moved
to sit on the front of her bed and situated himself in front of the television.
He stared at the screen for a moment, and then suddenly, the political talk
show was replaced by the news, a game show, a homicide detective show, and then
a re-run of an old sitcom.

“Will
this do?” He turned to face her with a proud smile.

She was
speechless as she looked back and forth between the television and Tyler.
“That’s so cool! How did you do that?”

Tyler
grinned. “Just one of my many talents.”

“Well,
thanks. I don’t suppose there’s anything you can do about the heat? It’s still
freezing in here.”

“Let me
take a look,” Eddie said. He fiddled with the dials on the heater, cranked up
the fan, and held his hand over the vents, but it only blew out cold air.

Liliana
peered over. “Is it broken?”

“Looks
like it. Give me a minute. I should be able to do something with it.”

Liliana
watched with curiosity as Eddie rested both hands on top of the heater and
closed his eyes. A moment later he turned to her. “You cold? Come over here and
stand by the heater for a minute. It’ll warm you right up.”

“You
fixed it?” Even though she was exhausted, the prospect of heat was enough to
get her off the bed, and she hurried to the heater in anticipation. “Oh my
gosh, thank you!” She rubbed her hands over the blowing air and closed her
eyes, allowing the heat to warm her through.

Eddie
smiled. “You’re welcome. Now that we’re not freezing, maybe we’ll be able to
get some sleep tonight.”

They
watched TV until Liliana could no longer keep her eyes open. “I’m exhausted,”
she said. “If you guys don’t mind, I think I’m going to bed.”

“I hear
ya,” Eddie said. “It’s probably going to be another long day. We should get
some rest.”

Curled
up under the blankets, Liliana felt the cusp of sleep open its arms to greet
her when Tyler’s silent voice filled her head.
You asleep yet?
he
thought.

She
smiled to herself as his thoughts invaded her mind. She had, in fact, been
thinking of him before she had closed her eyes. Even though it was impractical,
she felt an undeniable attraction for him.
I was almost asleep.

Oh…sorry.
I just thought you might be awake, still. I’ll let you go back to sleep. Night.

Wait,
it’s okay…really. I probably won’t sleep that great anyway. I’ve got too much
on my mind. I’d rather talk to you.

You
would?
He sounded
both surprised and pleased.

Well…sure.
I mean, I’ve never met anyone I could mentally communicate with. It’s kinda
cool, don’t you think? But then again, I guess you’re used to it with your
brother, huh? I suppose it’s no big deal for you.

Well,
yeah. I mean, I can mentally communicate with my brother, but this is new for
me, too. I’m not sure what I think. It’s fun, but I have to stay on my toes. I
forget that you can hear
what I’m thinking if I let my guard down. It’s one thing to have my
brother in my head, but having a pretty girl in my head is a whole different
ball game.

Liliana
was glad that it was dark, so he couldn’t see her irrepressible grin.
Pretty
girl?

Well,
you know what I mean. You’re a girl. I’m a guy. We think differently.

You’re
scared what I might discover in that mind of yours?
Liliana teased.

Something
like that.

She
tried to suppress a giggle but failed horribly.

You
think that’s funny, do you? You’d better watch yourself. I might just start
having thoughts you wish you’d never heard. You’ll wish that you had stayed out
of my head.

She
turned her face into her pillow in an attempt to stifle her laugh.

He threw
a pillow from the couch. In the dark, his aim was amazingly accurate as it
found its directed target and landed on her head.

“Ow!”
she said, out loud. Silently she asked,
What was that for?

Shhh…
he thought,
you’re going to wake
up Eddie. Can I have my pillow back?

Why
did you throw it? That hurt.

That
did NOT hurt.
It
sounded like he tried to suppress his own laugh.

It
did,
she thought
back.
Would you like me to smack a pillow on your head so you can see how it
feels?

If it
would mean that I get my pillow back, then yes, please. Bring it on.

She
smacked the pillow a few times, nice and loud, so he could hear.
Hmm, I
don’t think so. I kinda like this pillow. I think I’ll keep it. Thanks.

Oh, I
see how it is. You’re going to leave me over here pillowless on this small,
cramped couch. Now I’ll wake up in the morning with not only a sore back, but a
crick in my neck, as well.

Are
you whining?

Maybe.
I think I deserve the right to whine a little, don’t you? My brother’s been
kidnapped, I’m a thousand miles from home, there are people chasing us, and
really, if I don’t find my brother, I don’t have much of a home to go back to.

Well,
when you put it that way, I guess you do have a little reason to whine. Just
don’t make it a habit, okay?

Tyler
laughed out loud.
Okay.

Do
you want to tell me about it? About your family, I mean. You mentioned that you
live with a foster family. What happened to your parents? You don’t have to
tell me if you don’t want to. I’d understand.

It’s
okay. I don’t mind. My mother died in an accident when I was four. My dad was a
workaholic, so Toby and I stayed with my grandma most of the time. One day, our
dad just decided that he wasn’t coming home. Personally, I think he missed my
mother too much, and we reminded him too much of her. In any case, we never saw
him again. A few months later, our grandma died, too. The state tried to locate
our father, but they couldn’t find him. So they placed us in foster care. We
were bounced around from one family to another for a while, and then eventually
we landed with the Smith’s. I won’t go into details, but basically, the only
reason they kept us around was for the money from the state and for the free
help around the house. It was no secret that they couldn’t stand us.

I’m
sorry. I imagine you must miss your brother a lot. How was it that he was
kidnapped but you weren’t?

I
wasn’t home at the time. A few years ago, I got into a little bit of trouble,
and they sent me away to a sort of military school.

A
little bit of trouble? What did you do?

I
didn’t do anything…really.

Liliana
laughed.
Of course not, because boys who are innocent always get sent to
military school.

No,
really. I haven’t always been perfect, but in this case, I was just in the
wrong place at the wrong time. I don’t know why I care so much that you believe
me, but I just do.