Out of the Ashes (14 page)

Chapter Seventeen

Logan

I can’t believe Monique put all that on Cara, and out of nowhere. It was a shitty thing to do. If Cara thinks I’m letting her find these Hunters and put a stop to this on her own, she’s got another thing coming.

“We shouldn’t talk about this here. Logan, I think you should come over to Cara’s this evening. We’re having a meeting, and you should be there.” Monique gets up to check on her other customers.

“What did I miss while I was gone?” I ask.

“Garret wants to destroy the dagger.” Cara is whispering and hiding her mouth behind her teacup.

“Is that possible?”

Cara finishes her tea. “He isn’t having any luck finding a way to do it.”

“So what’s next?”

“We lure them out. They’re looking for me specifically, so—”

I drop my fork. “No. Don’t even think about it. I’m not letting you put yourself in danger.”

“I’m in danger every day until this is over, and now I’m putting you in danger too.” She moves her chair closer to mine and lowers her voice. “I think Rob might be one of the Hunters. He was in Bridgewater when the last murder happened.”

“Rob was in Bridgewater back when the other murders happened too.”

“What?”

“He said he has a cousin out there who sells him beer.” I never liked that guy, and he’s always been obsessed with Cara. Plus, he was good friends with Nick. Rob could easily be a Hunter.

“This is bad. I mean first Nick and now Rob?” Cara shakes her head and hugs herself. “I can’t believe I was stupid enough to bring two Hunters into my life.”

I place my hand on her forearm. “We don’t know for sure if Rob is a threat.” I’ll gladly beat a confession out of him, though. It makes sense with how he was always trying to get close to Cara. Always looking for a reason to touch her.

“What’s your honest opinion?”

Shit. I can’t lie to her. Well, I can, but I’m not about to. “I’ll talk to him, see what I can find out.”

“So you think he’s a Hunter.” It’s not a question. She might not remember me, but she’s damn good at reading me right now.

“I’ll go find him, and then we might know something concrete in time for this meeting tonight.” I lean back in my chair, trying to think where Rob would be. The falls are a possibility, or maybe the fields. He likes to play football there.

“You just got back and already you’re knee-deep in all of this. If Rob
is
a Hunter and he thinks you suspect him, he’ll hurt you. You know that, right?”

“I’ll be ready,” I state.

“How?”

Nothing deflates an ego faster than your girlfriend thinking you’re not man enough to hold your own in a fight. “I’ll be fine.”

She lets out a deep breath. “I don’t like it, Logan.”

“I can’t say I do either.” Monique is standing behind me, holding our check. “But I think this might be our best shot.” She sits down and whispers, “Logan doesn’t know Rob that well, so it won’t be suspicious for him to ask questions. Just play it off like you want to hang out. You know, be friends.”

“Wait,” Cara says, “didn’t Rob have a crush on me?”

“Don’t even think it,” I say. “You’re not pretending to be interested in that douchebag just to get information out of him.”

“It could work.” Cara’s face turns red. She closes her eyes for a few seconds and when she opens them again her color is normal. She’s getting better at controlling her Phoenix powers.

“Rob’s going to find out we’re together again. Once he does, he’ll get really suspicious about why you were cozying up to him.”

“Logan has a point,” Monique says. “Cara, you need to go home, sit tight, and let Logan handle this. Whether any of us like it or not, he’s part of this now.”

Cara huffs. “Fine. Just call me the second you’re finished talking to him, okay?”

I stand up, wanting to get this over with. I look at Cara and debate kissing her good-bye. Would that be pushing things too far, too fast? Monique is watching me…again. I settle for squeezing Cara’s hand and waving to Monique.

Cara looks panicked, but she whispers, “Good luck.”

I head toward the falls first, taking off at a slow jog. I haven’t exactly lived in Ashlan Falls for long, but I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to small-town living. You can walk or run just about everywhere in this place, and while that’s good because I don’t have my own car—still a sore subject since Dad can easily afford to buy me one—I miss taking the subway. I miss having stores every few feet. Here it’s homes, a few buildings in the center of town, the falls, the fields, and the schools. That’s Ashlan Falls, nothing to write home about.

The falls are empty except for one car. Rachel’s. I wonder what she’s doing here. I run through the parking lot and see that she isn’t alone. Jeremy is with her, looking really cozy for someone who’s not supposed to be dating Cara’s friends. Jeremy lifts her in the air and Rachel squeals. At first I think he’s about to throw her into the water, then he lets her body slide down the front of his. I’ve got to give him credit. That’s a smooth move. He must have snuck out, considering how Mrs. Tillman was dead set against Cara and Jeremy going out on their own with Hunters on the loose.

I really don’t want to see any more of this show, so I turn around and head to the fields. The only problem is if Rob is in the fields, he’ll be there playing football with a bunch of guys. I won’t be able to question him with other people around. Since I don’t know where he lives, the fields are my best option. I can hear grunting and laughing as I approach. There’s definitely a game going on. I jog up and see Rob running down the field with the ball in his hand. He’s whooping and laughing being chased by what looks like a bunch of freshmen judging by their size. He spikes the ball at the end of the field and does a victory dance.

I wait for him to finish and jog back my way. He’s got these guys trained. One gets him a towel and another has a Gatorade for him. I feel bad for these kids if a douche like Rob is their idol.

“Hey,” I say, nodding at Rob. “Nice touchdown.”

“As always.”

Cara told me that Jeremy was the best player around before his rebirth. I wonder what would happen if he faced off against Rob now.

“Is the game over?”

He’s breathing heavily, and he takes a long drag on his Gatorade. When he’s finished, he wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. “I guess I’ve pulverized these guys long enough. Why? You want something?”

I debate what angle to play. Lost new guy or whipped boyfriend who needs a dose of testosterone before his balls shrivel up. I decide Rob would probably love the opportunity to get on my case about Cara, so I go for the latter.

“I just got back from visiting my best friend in New York and already I’ve had too much estrogen for the day.”

Rob nods. “Say no more. I know just what you need.”

I’m guessing it involves a six-pack. “Great. Thanks, man.” I hold my hand up, and he clasps it.

“We’ll head to my house. I need to shower anyway.” He doesn’t even acknowledge the guys he was playing football with. He just points in the direction of his house. “So, why’d you go back to New York? Was Tillman too much to handle with her amnesia?”

“You heard about that, huh?”

“This is Ashlan Falls, man. News travels at the speed of light.” He polishes off the rest of his Gatorade and tosses the bottle onto the ground. I’m not surprised.

“Yeah, well you know what it’s like when a girl is hot one minute and cold the next.”

“Cock tease.” He scoffs. “I guess I dodged a bullet there,” he says as if not being with Cara was
his
idea.

“Speaking of, I just ran into Rachel and Jeremy at the falls. They were all over each other.”

“She’s such a…” He shakes his head. “There’s no word for that girl.”

“You two hooked up at Nick’s party, right?” I keep my eyes down and kick a rock on the sidewalk, trying to act casual.

“Yeah. It was nothing, though. I got bored with my date, and Rachel was there and willing.”

“Speaking of Nick, have you heard from him?”

“Nah. I don’t think anyone has. Why?”

I shove my hands in my shorts pockets. “No reason. It’s just weird how he disappeared like that.”

“Not really. He was in bad shape.” Rob turns up a driveway, and I follow. He opens the front door, which is unlocked. I wonder if that’s a clue. After Henry Baker’s death, people started locking their doors out of fear of a murderer on the loose. Rob doesn’t seem to be concerned about that. “Even drinking didn’t numb whatever Nick was going through. Poor bastard. I’m not surprised at all that his parents packed him up and took him wherever they went.”

“His parents travel a lot, right?” I follow Rob to the kitchen where he grabs two Yuenglings from the fridge and tosses one to me.

“Yeah. My guess is Nick’s traveling with them so he’s not on his own anymore.” Rob twists the cap off his beer and sips it. “Damn, that’s good. My parents always get the good stuff.”

“They don’t care that you drink their beer?”

My dad probably wouldn’t notice if I was drunk, but he’d notice if I took his beer from the fridge.

“Nah. They always say if I’m going to drink I might as well do it in the house.”

“Does your cousin in Bridgewater hook your parents up with beer too? Like he does for you?” I twist the cap off my Yuengling and take a sip.

“Nah. They buy it around here. I only go to Bridgewater because I know I won’t get carded.” He sets his beer down on the counter. “I’ve got to hit the shower. Feel free to watch TV or something.” He walks toward the stairs, already ripping his sweaty shirt off.

I wait for him to disappear before I get up and search the house. The living room is off the kitchen and it’s pretty neat. Rob’s parents are definitely in the picture, not like Nick’s. But there’s more than one Hunter on the loose, so it could be a family thing. I look around, checking the magazines on the coffee table and the knickknacks on the fireplace mantel. Nothing looks out of the ordinary.

There’s a den on the other side of the living room. The door is slightly ajar, so I make sure Rob is still upstairs before pushing it open. There’s a filing cabinet and a computer on a desk. That’s it. I run my finger across the touch pad on the laptop, and an email account pops up. Not Rob’s though. Nothing looks suspicious. Then again, I didn’t expect to see a message with the subject “Calling all Phoenix Hunters” either. I click through a few emails and see they’re mostly from relatives. One mentions Bridgewater. It’s from someone named Russell, and I’m guessing he’s Rob’s uncle because it mentions Rob’s recent stay. Nothing’s helpful or the least bit incriminating. I turn to the filing cabinet and open the drawer. Instead of papers, I find bottles of alcohol. Like father like son, I guess. I quickly shut the drawer and head back to the living room. Though I’m dying to check out Rob’s room, I’ve already wasted enough time. Rob’s bound to come back downstairs soon, and I won’t be able to explain what I was doing in his room. I sit down on the couch and wait for Rob.

“Hey,” Rob says, coming down the stairs. “You finish your beer?”

Crap. I left it in the kitchen and only took one sip. “No. I, um, had to use the bathroom and I guess I forgot to grab it when I was done.”

Rob cocks his head to the side and narrows his eyes at me. “You didn’t use the bathroom upstairs, did you?”

“No, you were using that one.”

He lets out a laugh. “Yeah, right.”

He’s hiding something. The question is, is what he’s hiding Hunter related or teenage boy related? He could have some sort of weapon in there, like another Phoenix dagger, or he’s got pictures of…Shit. He was probably jerking off looking at pictures of my girlfriend.

“Look, I forgot I already have plans, so let’s hang out some other time.” Rob motions to the door. His behavior’s gotten too weird. He wants me gone, and he’s afraid I’ve been snooping.

“Sure. Another time.” I get up and walk to the door, already planning my trip back when I’ll definitely be breaking into his bathroom.

Chapter Eighteen

Cara

“I can’t believe you invited him!” Garret’s face turns beet red, and his fist comes down hard on the edge of the coffee table.

“What did you want me to do?” Monique gestures frantically, most likely to keep from setting something on fire. “Cara wanted to interrogate Rob herself. I couldn’t allow that to happen.”

“I’m sitting right here,” I say. I hate when they talk about me like I’m not in the room. “Seriously, you’ve all got to accept that I’m in this every bit as much as you are.” I shake my head. “No, that’s not true. I’m in this deeper than all of you because the Hunters are coming for me, specifically.”

“Let’s not go through that again,” Mom says, taking a deep breath and pacing the living room.

“Did you find a way to destroy the dagger?” I ask Garret, trying to put the conversation on him instead of me, since no one wants to listen to me anyway.

“No. I’ve tried breaking it, but it’s too strong.”

“Too strong?” I grip the arms of my chair. “I thought it was made from the ashes of the first Phoenix egg. How is that too strong to break?”

“How are we Phoenixes in human form?” Jeremy asks, giving me his “duh” look.

Resisting the urge to roll my eyes, I turn back to Garret. “Fine. What else have you tried?”

“Submerging it in water.”

A laugh bursts through my lips. “What were you trying to do, drown it?”

Garret’s fists shake and tiny embers fall from them, scorching the coffee table. “Our powers are rooted in fire. Water counteracts those powers. It makes sense that water could destroy the power of the dagger.”

“Except I can boil water. I’m sure we all could.” If these are the best ideas Garret’s come up with, we’re in serious trouble.

Garret stands up, his eyes boring into mine. “You want to try destroying the thing? Be my guest.”

A knock on the front door makes the room go silent. I get up, knowing it’s Logan. Garret continues to glare at me as I walk by. I smile at him because I’ll be damned if I’ll let him know he’s getting on my nerves. I greet Logan at the door.

“I’m glad you’re here,” I say.

“I have some news, but I’m not sure what it means.” He steps into the house and looks around at the eyes focused on him. “I guess you were waiting for me.” He walks into the living room, but doesn’t sit.

I stand next to him, showing Garret that I’m not going to let him bully Logan at this meeting.

“What did you find out, Logan?”

“Rob claims to believe the story that Nick left town and is traveling with his parents because he couldn’t deal with Henry Baker’s death. I don’t know if I believe him, though. I can’t help thinking Officer Monroe gave him too good of a line to use as far as Nick is concerned.” Logan emphasizes “Officer Monroe,” mocking Garret’s police work.

Garret steps toward Logan and I raise my hand, allowing flames to erupt from my fingertips. Sure, Logan said that just to piss off Garret, but after the way Garret’s treated him I kind of think he deserved it.

“If that’s all you’ve found out, then you can leave,” Garret says. “Your services aren’t needed anymore.”

Logan lets out a noise somewhere between a scoff and a growl. “My services? That’s rich. I don’t remember you paying me.”

“Enough!” We all turn to see Linette standing at the bottom of the stairs. “I can hear you all bickering from upstairs. You’re lucky I’m not at full strength or I’d burn this house to the ground with all of you inside just to show you how stupid you’re acting.” She stumbles a little, and Logan and I rush to her side. “I get that you’re scared, but how is this fighting helping? Logan, did you find out anything else? Something a little more useful maybe?”

Even though Linette asked the question, Logan speaks directly to me. “Rob took a shower, so I was able to look around a little. I checked the laptop in the den and found an email confirming Rob was staying at this cousin’s house at the time of the last murder.”

“We pretty much knew that already,” Garret says.

Logan whirls around on Garret. “Did you know Rob’s hiding something in his bathroom upstairs?”

“Hiding what?” Monique asks.

Jeremy laughs. “Porn probably. That guy has a one-track mind.”

“Yeah, well at first I thought maybe he was hiding something like that, but if that were the case he wouldn’t have been so persistent about me leaving.”

“True,” Jeremy says. “He probably assumes you’re looking at porn in your own bathroom.”

Mom puts her hands up. “Okay, can we please stop talking about this?”

“I’m going to go back and see what I can find there, but I need to make sure Rob’s out of the house first.” Logan looks at Jeremy. “Think you could invite him somewhere?”

Garret crosses his arms and sits on the arm of the couch. “Jeremy is a new Phoenix. You’d be putting him at risk if Rob is a Hunter.”

“I agree,” Mom says, and Garret raises a brow in disbelief. They don’t agree often.

“I could ask Rachel to hang out with him,” I say, already hating the idea.

“No.” Jeremy sits up straight. “You’d be putting Rachel in danger.”

“She might very well be a Hunter too,” Monique says. “She and Rob have always had a connection, and with the way they banter and she dotes on him, I’m not convinced we can trust Rachel.”

I close my eyes, wanting to make this whole situation go away. “Are we questioning everyone now?”

“We have to be careful, Cara,” Mom says. “I don’t want to think Rachel has been lying to us, but…” Her face falls. “We can’t afford to let another person get close to us the way Nick did.”

I can tell she blames herself for not picking up on the signs that Nick was a Hunter. Maybe Jeremy and I had befriended Nick, but Mom had allowed it to happen. She was around him every time he came over, and from what I can tell, that was a lot, at least before Jeremy’s rebirth.

“What exactly are we looking for?” I ask. “What are the signs? I can get close to Rachel and find out for sure so we can rule her out.”

“No,” Garret says forcefully. “You don’t want to believe she’s a Hunter and that will sway your opinion, even if there’s evidence against her. It has to be someone else.”

“I’ll do it next time she comes to the café,” Monique says.

“Fine.” Garret lets out a deep breath. “Then we need to figure out who is going to get Rob out of his house long enough for us to search it.

Logan furrows his brow. “What do you mean
us
? I thought I was doing it?”

“When are you going to get it?” Garret stands and moves toward Logan. “You’re not one of us. We can’t have you going in there and messing this up.”

“I didn’t screw anything up when I questioned Rob today.”

“You got lucky.”

“I’ll go with Logan,” I say. “We’ll search Rob’s place together. I have no reason to try to defend Rob. I can’t even remember him. We’ll go tonight.”

Mom walks over and takes my hand. “And how do you plan to do that? I’m not having you sneak around while Rob is sleeping in that house. His parents will be home. It’s too risky.”

Monique pats the front of her jeans. “Tell you what. Tomorrow I’ll offer a half-price brunch. You two tell Rachel and Rob about it. Tell them I asked you to extend the invitation to them for being such great customers and friends to Cara. I’ll be able to keep an eye on them while Cara and Logan look around.”

“I should be the one to search the house,” Garret insists. “I’m trained for this.”

Sure, he’s the cop, but he doesn’t have a warrant. If he gets caught, he could lose his job. “No one is going to question Logan and me going to Rob’s house if they see us. What reason would you have for being there?”

“Cara’s right. It has to be us.” Logan looks at me as we both continue to hold up Linette.

“Good. Then can we end this meeting please?” Linette asks, her voice weaker than ever.

Logan and I help her back upstairs and into bed. I motion to my room because I want to talk to Logan before he leaves. He steps inside, goes right for my bed, and sits down. He smoothes the bedspread with his hand and smiles. “You nearly outed yourself right here.”

“What do you mean?” I close the door and walk over to him.

“We were making out and a puff of smoke came out of your mouth.”

I take a deep breath to keep myself from having a meltdown over my own carelessness. “How did I talk my way out of that one?”

“You tried to tell me your mom had the air conditioning set so high that I saw your breath.” He laughs. “You probably could’ve told me you swallowed a volcano and I would’ve been okay with it.” He reaches for my hand, and I let him. “You know I’m okay with all this, right? What you are? What it means for us? Have I made that clear?”

He’s made it clear that he’s a great guy, and it’s also becoming clear that I probably don’t deserve him.

“Listen, I just want to thank you for everything. I know Garret can be a major tool, but—”

“I can handle Garret.”

“I know.”

His fingertips brush my cheek and then he lowers his hand. “I should go. It’s getting late.”

I don’t want him to leave. I want to sit with him so I can feel like me again. It’s selfish of me to ask him to stay just so I can feel normal, but I can’t help myself.

“Will you stay for a little while longer?”

He smiles. “Until you fall asleep, you mean?”

I narrow my eyes at him. “How did you know?”

“Because you used to like to keep me on the phone until you fell asleep.” He stands up and motions for me to get into bed. I do, fully dressed.

“You can sit with me if you want.”

“You sure? Your mom might not like that. She once caught us in the middle of a pretty intense make-out session, and I doubt she wants to relive that. Not that I mean I’m planning to make out with you. I just meant I don’t want to do anything to remind her of that day.” He fidgets uncomfortably. “You know, maybe I should go.”

I laugh. “For a confident guy, you sure can talk yourself in circles.” I pat the bed. “I’ll stay under the covers and you can sit on top of them. How’s that?”

He slides onto the bed next to me, but he doesn’t touch me.

I snuggle down under the sheets, turning on my side to face him. “Logan?”

“Yeah?”

“Tell me more about us.”

“Are you sure?”

I bite my lower lip, wondering if I’m pushing myself too far. “I’m sure.”

“Yeah, you look it.” He laughs, but it’s cut short. “Are you more afraid of not getting your memories back or of remembering what we had?”

That’s a good question. There are consequences to both, and I’m not sure I’m ready to handle either. “I’m sort of counting on fate to intervene, I guess. You know, figure out what’s best and make it happen for me.”

“Don’t you think you’re a better judge of what’s best for you?”

“Not when I can’t even remember who I am.” I stare into his blue-gray eyes and get lost in him. “I do feel like I’m more in touch with whoever I’m supposed to be when I’m around you.”

He leans down and places a kiss on my forehead, and my heart clenches.

“What do you think we’re going to find tomorrow?” I ask him. “At Rob’s.”

“If it’s pictures of you, he’s a dead man.”

Judging by the look on Logan’s face, I can tell he thinks we’re only going to find out Rob’s a perv. I reach for Logan’s hand and wrap my fingers around it as I drift off to sleep.

***

Three hours later, I wake up sweating and Logan’s voice is yelling, “Don’t forget!” I sit up and look around the room. Logan is gone. He must have left after I fell asleep. My heart is pounding in my chest, and my pillow has scorch marks on it. I replay the dream in my mind and gasp when I realize what it was.

My rebirth, or the premonition of my rebirth that I had in my previous life. Am I starting to remember things?