Infamous (26 page)
“Sorry.” She sighed wearily. “You have no idea how confusing it is to wake up in a strange place with no idea how you got there.”
Caleb laughed. “Sure I do. Happens to me frequently.”
She rolled her eyes at his frightening lifestyle. “Yes, but I woke up in this bed alone.”
He sucked his breath in sharply. “Low blow, Kode.”
Maybe, but … “Are you going to tell me how I got here and who undressed me?”
He held his hands up in surrender. “That be your boy, not me. You want to bitch-slap somebody, I’ll fetch Nick. He’s the one who brought you here.”
That concerned her even more. “Did he say anything to you about what happened?”
“Only that you two were attacked, and you went down. He needed someplace safe to put you until you could heal. We both decided taking you to his place would be a huge mistake. His mom would ground him until retirement if he did that, not to mention, she’d want to know how you got stabbed, and why you both weren’t in the hospital.
True. On all accounts.
And none of this was allaying her fears. She should be dead. How had he saved her?
Not one of the possibilities appealed to her. They all ended with Nick doing himself harm.
“Where is he now?”
Caleb checked his watch. “As of an hour ago, Sanctuary. He and his mom should be heading over to school in a few, for parent-teacher conferences.” He dropped his arm and narrowed his gaze at her. “You’re making me nervous with the intensity of your interrogation. What do you know that I don’t?”
“Noir offered him a bargain. We need to know if he took it.”
Caleb went white as a sheet before he started cursing under his breath. “He seemed like normal Nick to me when I saw him. But now you have me worried, too. That boy finds more trouble…”
She wouldn’t argue that. Much like Bubba and Mark, you couldn’t leave Nick alone for five minutes that he wasn’t getting into something he shouldn’t. Or that something wasn’t trying to eat him. Either way, watching his back was a full-time job.
She let out a long breath. “How long have I been out?”
“Almost four days.”
She cringed in reaction. Four days? Really? “Are you serious?”
“Why would I joke about that?”
“I don’t know. You’re a daeva. Some of you can be really twisted.”
“I’ll remind you of that the next time you need someone to save your sorry butt.”
She ignored his threat. He’d come when she called. He was terribly dependable that way. “So what all have I missed?”
“Main thing. School was canceled today, and no,” he added quickly, “I didn’t set anything on fire to cause it. It’s that stupid Web site that we’re still trying to locate. The owner has people going at each other like animals. There were eight fights before yesterday’s homeroom alone. So Head has called meetings between faculty, students, and parents in an effort to allay parental fears and to find the party responsible … which makes me really glad I’m not Goth or Emo.”
Weird segue that she definitely didn’t take with him. “Why?”
He made a sound of disgust. “Who do you think they’re targeting? Head is convinced it has to be ‘one of those weirdo, depressed kids,’ ’cause you know, they’re all cutters and social rejects.”
Of course they were. “He doesn’t have a clue about his students, does he?”
“Nope. Even if you bought him one, I doubt he’d understand it. But given his attitude, I’d love to introduce him to Acheron and watch his head explode.”
She gave a short laugh. Yeah, Ash would definitely throw his preconceived stereotype out the window.
“Give me a couple of minutes to get dressed. Then we need to go find Nick.”
* * *
Nick sighed in frustration as they sat outside the office, waiting for the secretary to make a copy of his transcript for his mother’s records. He was thinking the woman must have taken the long way to the copy machine, including a scenic route through Europe.
He had way too much to do to be stuck here.…
But at least Kyrian was coming to pick him up. After he’d been attacked, neither Kyrian nor his mom would let him near a door to the outside after dark.
Impatient to leave, he stood up and started pacing the small walk area in the center of the waiting room. He wanted to rant over the secretary being part snail, but he knew his mom wouldn’t tolerate it.
Everyone deserves your respect, Nick. Especially those who are doing work for you and making your life easier. God bless them for it.
Yeah, she didn’t have a sense of humor when anyone showed impatience with a worker.
“Oh hey, that’s Nick! Nick!”
He turned to see Jill in the hallway with her brother and two older people who seemed vaguely familiar to him. Since they looked too old to be Jill and Joey’s parents, he assumed they must be the tuition donors.
Jill came rushing over to hug him.
Awkward. Why did some girls do that? He didn’t like to be touched much anyway. Unless it was Kody.
This … this was intrusive.
Help me.
She squeezed his arm as she made him walk toward the door. “Nick, you have to meet our sponsors.” She smiled at them. “This is the Nick I was telling you about who has the same last name you do.”
“Ah.” The man held his hand out to Nick. He seemed decent enough. His graying hair appeared to have been brown in his youth. Dressed in a nice brown sweater and khakis, he oozed an aura of Garden District or Kenner old money. As did his accent and diction. “It’s a pleasure to meet another Gautier. I know Jill thinks the world of you. It’s Nick this and Nick that, all the time.”
Giggling, Jill turned as red as her blouse.
“Most people do think the world of my Nicky … Dad. He’s a good kid. Honor student. Here on a
full
scholarship.
Was one of the best football players they had until he was benched with an injury. And he’s already working, saving up money for college. Not to mention, he does a lot of charity work. Every morning, he gets up early and goes down to Ms. Liza’s doll store so that he can wash off her sidewalks and balcony before she gets to work and he gues to school. He doesn’t even charge her for it.”
Nick wasn’t sure what stunned him most. His mother’s bragging on him or the fact that he was standing in front of his real grandparents.
No wonder they’d seemed familiar. Some part of him must have remembered them from the one time he’d seen them passing by in the mall.
And now that he knew, he definitely saw how much his mother favored hers.
Rising to her feet, his mother moved to stand beside him. “Nick, meet your grandparents. You’ve always been curious about them. Here they are.”
Jill’s jaw dropped while Joey went bug-eyed. “I thought you said you didn’t have any children, Mr. Gautier?”
His grandparents drew up like two swollen cantaloupes. It was obvious they weren’t happy with Jill remembering that.
Mr. Gautier looked down his nose at Nick. “I’ve heard he cheated to get into school here.”
His mom cast a scornful glare at her father. “That’s jealousy talking. But they did make him take the test twice, because they were so stunned by his superior performance. And he had the same score both times on two entirely different tests. One hundred percent. He missed nothing and even got the bonuses. Apparently in all the one hundred and thirty years the school’s been operating, my Nicky is the only one to make a perfect score. He’s been courted by some of the best Ivy League schools in the country ever since.”
Wow, his mom never bragged about anything. She disdained it.
Be humble in thought and humble in action. Most of all be humble in tongue.
She’d harped on that as much as she did “honor thy mother” and the Golden Rule, et cetera.
It was Mrs. Gautier’s turn to be snotty. “You still working in that henhouse, selling yourself for money?”
His mother curled her lip. “I
never
did that.”
“Not what I was told.”
“Then someone lied, and no, I don’t work there. I’m a day manager for a restaurant. Have been for over a year now.”
“You expect me to believe that?” Her father raked Nick with a sneer. “Anymore than I believe what you’re saying about
him.
Good grief, look at him. How many fights has he been in?”
His mother opened her mouth to respond, but before she could, Kyrian came into the office to pick him up for work.
Dressed in a black Armani suit with a black shirt and black-and-white tie, he looked every bit the rich businessman and prince he’d once been. His blond hair was perfectly styled and if Nick didn’t miss his guess, those were two-thousand-dollar-a-pair loafers on his feet.
And for once, he wasn’t wearing his sunglasses inside.
He stopped gallantly in front of them. “Cherise,
ma petite,
am I early?”
She smiled up at him. “No … Kyrian.” She no doubt had to force herself to say his name since she always insisted they call him Mr. Hunter. “Perfect timing.”
He returned her smile. “Nick, I had to put the Bentley and Aston Martin in the shop for oil changes. I’m afraid I was stuck with only two-seaters to drive tonight so I’m in the Lamborghini. But since I don’t want you walking home after that vicious mugging, so Ash said he’d be here in a few minutes to pick you up in his Jag. Is that all right?”
Nick was even more stunned.
Kyrian
never
threw his cars out like that. In that moment, he could kiss his boss for his mind-reading abilities.
“Sure.” Nick smiled. “He’s already promised me I get to drive it.”
“Oh hey, Kyrian. Cherise … Nick, how you feeling, son?” Madaug’s father, Dr. St. James, came into the office and put a kind hand on Nick’s shoulder. “Madaug told me what happened. You poor thing. And on your way to help Ms. Liza close her store. She’s so heartbroken.”
“Yes, sir, and I feel terrible about that. I keep telling her it wasn’t her fault, but she won’t listen.”
“Yeah, Liza’s bad that way.” Dr. St. James jumped then reached into his pocket. “Work as always. And I better answer this. Y’all take care. I’ll see you later.”
“Good night,” Nick called after him.
His grandfather scowled. “How do you know Dr. St. James’s son?”
Nick shrugged. “We became friends while I was tutoring him.” Kind of true. But if he told them that they had bonded due to a mind-control game that had turned players into zombies that Madaug had unleashed on the school, it might not go over well.
“Tutor? Madaug?” his grandfather asked incredulously, as if he couldn’t believe Nick could read, never mind help someone else. “But Madaug’s a genius.”
“In computers and science. He reeks in English and social studies.”
Yeah, they didn’t want anything to do with him and his mom. It was obvious by the revulsion on their faces, and disdain in their eyes.
“C’mon, Jill and Joey, we need to leave.”
His mother didn’t say a word until they were gone, then she turned around and hugged Kyrian. “Thank you so much for that, Mr. Hunter! You are the best.”
Kyrian shrugged her hold away. “No problem. I live to please.”
“And that you definitely did tonight. Thank you so much.” She ruffled Nick’s hair. “And you be careful and I’ll see you later.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
As soon as the secretary handed her the papers, they all went outside, where Kyrian had his car parked on the street in front of the school.
Nick slowed down as he saw a parked police car and the officers walking around with a picture they were showing to his classmates. Police at his school was never a good thing.
When they got to Stone, he pointed to Nick. “He’s right there!”
Nick went cold. What the heck was going on?
The police made a beeline right to him. The biggest of the two narrowed his eyes. “Are you Nicholas Gautier?”
“Yeah.”
“Then you’re coming with us.”
Nick laughed nervously. “I don’t think so.”
“Yeah, well, we do.”
“No,” his mother said sharply. “My son isn’t going anywhere.”
“Yes, ma’am, he is. We have a warrant for his arrest.”
“For what?” he and his mother asked simultaneously.
“Rape and theft.”
The look on his mother’s face would haunt him forever as the cop grabbed him and shoved him against the hood of his squad car, right in front of the school for everyone to see. Nick grimaced as the cops rudely frisked him, then cuffed his hands behind his back. Once he was secured, the biggest officer grabbed him by the hair and wrenched him off the car.
“Mama, I didn’t do it. I didn’t. I swear to God!”
“That’s what they all say.” The cop looked over at his partner. “Wouldn’t it be nice if, just once, they confessed and made our job easier?”
Tears glistened in his mother’s eyes. He could tell she wanted to believe him, but the doubt there …
How could she even think he’d do something like that? Even for a nanosecond. She’d been with him for fifteen years. How could she not know him better?
He did his best not to look at any of his classmates or the smirking faculty members who had no doubt he was guilty. That thought sickened him.
The only one who wasn’t judging him guilty was Kyrian. “Don’t worry, Nick. I’ll have you out of there as soon as you’re booked.”
Booked. That word slammed into him so hard that for a minute, he thought he’d vomit.
“Good luck with that,” the smaller officer scoffed. “With what we have on him, he’s not going anywhere until trial.”
What could they have on him? He hadn’t done anything. Heck, he’d only been out of the hospital since yesterday.
As they were placing him in the backseat, Caleb came running up to his mom. He frowned at her as she told him what was happening.
Caleb winced, then kicked the front bumper of the squad car.
“Hey!” the smaller cop snapped. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“What?” Caleb challenged. “I can’t touch your car?” He kicked it again.
“Boy, do you want to go to jail?” the taller officer asked.
“For what?” Caleb braced his foot against the front fender. “It’s a free country.”
“Not when you’re vandalizing state property it’s not.”