Out of the Ashes (17 page)

Chapter

Twenty-Three

Cara

“Logan!” I dive through the waterfall after him. All I can think as I splash into the water is that if Rob hurts Logan, I’ll burn him on the spot. I still can’t believe it’s him, but according to everyone else, Rob and Nick were good friends so it makes sense.

I surface and look all around for signs of them. I spot them near the lagoon. Logan is gripping Rob’s shoulder and pulling his free hand back to punch him. I swim to them, wondering if I should burn Rob and get this over with, but I don’t. I want him to tell me to my face that he’s a Hunter, before I put an end to him.

Rob’s head flies back when Logan’s fist connects with his jaw, and Rob doesn’t even try to fight back. What kind of Hunter doesn’t fight back? Unless…Logan has superhuman strength or something.

“Logan, stop!” I yell, closing the distance between us.

“Stay back, Cara.” Logan tightens his grip on Rob, who is looking dazed from the blow.

“Get him off me,” Rob slurs.

“Not going to happen, Hunt—”

“Logan, no!” I cut him off. Until Rob admits to being a Hunter, I don’t want the word brought up. If we’re wrong, we’d be outing my kind to Rob, of all people. From what I know about him, he’d use it against us.

I place my hand on Logan’s arm, hoping to calm him with my touch. “I want to talk to him, and I can’t do that if you knock him out.”

“See. Cara doesn’t want you to hurt me.” Rob rubs his jaw and cringes. “Now get your hands off me.”

“Do you promise not to try to run off?” I ask.

Rob smirks. “Aw, Tillman, you
do
care. Now if you’d kick this guy to the curb, you and I can—”

Before he can finish, Logan lands a jab on Rob’s nose. Rob screams and grabs his face. Blood pours out of his nose and drips through his fingers. I could heal him easily, but I don’t want to use my powers to help a Hunter, if that’s what he is.

“You broke my nose, you fuck!” Rob’s voice is muffled and nasal.

“Why were you spying on us?” I ask him.

Rob’s eyes turn to me. “What makes you think I was spying? I came to swim, just like you did.”

“Cut the crap. You were hiding up there. I saw you and you panicked. That doesn’t exactly spell innocent to me.” I have to focus on my body temperature since my pulse is racing. I can’t do anything to out myself in front of Rob.

“Fine. I was taking in the view.” Rob tilts his head back to try to slow the bleeding. “Now move so I can go get my nose fixed and then press charges against this—”

I make a fist and hold it in front of his face. “Think about it and I’ll give you a broken jaw to match.” The back of my hand turns as red as a stove burner, and Logan pulls my arm down under the water before Rob sees it. I concentrate on cooling down and not boiling the water. With a few deep breaths I’m back to normal, and I nod to Logan to let him know I’m okay.

“Seriously, Tillman, I’m starting to think you’re more trouble than you’re worth.” Rob cringes.

When I reach for him, Logan grabs my hand and shakes his head at me. I have to do something or we’re not going to get anything out of Rob. “There’s a trick to making the bleeding stop, Rob. Here. Let me.” Rob lowers his hand, eyeing me like he doesn’t know if he should trust me. “My mom’s a nurse, remember? Now stop being a baby and hold still.” I place my fingers on his nose and give a gentle squeeze that I know will send pain shooting into Rob’s head, and cover up the heat I’m applying to stop the bleeding. “There.” I pull my hand away.

“Damn! That friggin’ hurt!” Rob touches his nose. “Did the bleeding stop?”

I nod. “Told you. It’s definitely broken, though. You’re going to have to get that checked out.”

He glares at Logan and opens his mouth to say something—another threat, I’m sure.

“I meant what I said about your jaw,” I say before he can speak. “Besides, do you really want people to know you got beat up?”

Rob narrows his eyes at me. “What do you want?”

“I want to know why you were watching us.”

“I told you. I was enjoying the view.” He lowers his eyes to my chest, which is barely visible in the water. “You know I have a thing for you, so don’t play dumb. We’ve been flirting back and forth for months.”

“No. You’ve been flirting and Cara’s been shooting you down for months,” Logan says.

“That’s because you’re here. I thought with your trip back to New York things would end between you two.”

“Not happening,” Logan says, his voice practically a growl. He’s obviously struggling to restrain his urge to pummel Rob.

“Don’t be so sure. You don’t know Cara the way I do.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I ask. No way did I ever date this guy. I’m pretty sure I hated him.

“You and Nick were tight. He talked about you all the time, but he said you were always so hot and cold. You can’t make up your mind. So the way I see it, you might be with Logan now, but it won’t last. You’ll get bored and move on. All girls are the same that way.”

“What else did Nick say about me?”

Rob and Logan both look stunned that I don’t deny Rob’s statement, but there’s no point. Rob is going to tell himself whatever he needs to so he doesn’t feel like the loser in this scenario.

“He mostly asked me what I thought of you. I think he wanted to know if I was into you or not. That’s why he never went after you even though he had a thing for you. He was a good friend.” Rob furrows his brow, which makes him grab his nose and grimace. “You saw him before he left, right?”

Does he know Nick was at the school with me? I nod, deciding to play along.

“What did he say to you?” Rob stares at me while continuing to squeeze the bridge of his nose. “Did he tell you he was leaving?”

“No. He told me you’re a dick and I shouldn’t get involved with you.” I don’t know why I say it, but I can’t help wanting to piss Rob off, push him to his limit. Maybe then he’ll crack and say something he shouldn’t. Like that he’s a Hunter.

“He wouldn’t say that.”

“Why not?” Logan asks. “It’s true.”

“Because Nick told me that with a girl like Cara you go through two stages: wanting to get her in the sack and wanting to dismiss her from your life. He was over her. He told me so.”

“When did he say that?” I ask.

“Why do you care? If you’re so happy with City Boy over here, why do you give a damn what Nick thought?”

“Because I think you’re hiding something. I think you know more about why Nick left than you’re telling me.”

“Fine. You want me to say it? I will. Between Henry Baker’s death and watching you throw yourself at Logan all the time, Nick had had it with Ashlan Falls. I can’t say I blame him. I wish he’d taken me with him.”

“Believe me, so do I.” I take Logan’s arm and pull him toward the shore.

“What are you doing, Cara?” Logan tugs me back. “We’re just going to leave him?”

“It’s not him. If he wants to be where Nick is, it means he doesn’t have a clue Nick’s…” I widen my eyes, not wanting to say it even though Rob’s out of earshot.

“Hang on. I have one more question for him.” Logan swims back to Rob, who holds his hands up, obviously afraid of being hit again.

I swim toward them. “Relax, Rob. Logan just wants to ask you something.”

“What?” Rob looks back and forth between us.

“Why were you hiding in the bushes by Cara’s house earlier?”

Confusion washes over Rob’s face. “I wasn’t.”

“Don’t lie to me, you little—”

I reach for his arm before he can take another swing at Rob’s face. “Logan, he’s not lying.”

“Then who was it?” Logan’s eyes are burning into Rob.

Rob smirks and tries to sound casual, but his voice shakes. “Look, man, I wouldn’t follow you around. I have better things to do.”

“I didn’t say you were following
me
. I think you were there to watch Cara, just like you were watching her from the ledge up there.” Logan motions above us with his eyes.

“I don’t hide in bushes.”

“Do you own a navy blue hoodie?” Logan presses.

“Why would I hide this body behind a hoodie? And in July of all times?” Rob scoffs. “Idiot.”

I gently tug on Logan’s arm. “Let’s go. This is pointless.”

He glares at Rob. “If I ever catch you spying on Cara again, I’ll break the rest of your face. Got that? And to make sure there’s no confusion as to whether you’re spying or not, stay away from her altogether.”

Rob doesn’t say a word. He likes to act tough, but he knows Logan can take him.

Logan and I swim to shore and dry off. I don’t feel like having a picnic anymore, so I grab my clothes and head to the car.

“What are you doing?” Logan asks. “We haven’t even eaten yet.”

“I can’t. Not after all this.” I look out at the water. Rob is finally swimming to shore, probably because he sees us leaving.

“Yes, you can. You can’t stop living.” Logan stops talking as Rob walks by, still holding his nose. We wait until he’s out of sight before picking up our conversation again.

“Rob isn’t a Hunter,” I say, realizing how disappointed I am by that. “He can’t be. He’s just a horny, pathetic teenage guy.”

Logan steps closer to me. “Then what are you afraid of?”

“I guess I was hoping it was Rob because I could’ve…” I look out at the falls. “I just want this to be over. I can’t get my life back if I’m constantly in fear of being discovered. No, wait. I’ve already been discovered. I’m waiting to be found. Hunted.”

“Stop.” Logan pulls me into his chest and rests his head on mine.

I breathe him in and smell cinnamon. I tilt my head back so I can see his face. “You’re chewing cinnamon gum, aren’t you?”

“It reminds me of you.” His voice is barely a whisper.

I stare up at him and swallow hard. His whole world has become about me. It isn’t fair. I want to remember him more than I want to breathe right now.

“Logan?”

“Yeah?”

“Kiss me.”

“I thought you’d never ask.” He closes his eyes and lowers his mouth to mine. The kiss is soft, and I can tell he’s holding back.

I reach up and pull his face toward mine. He wraps his hands around my waist, holding me against him, and deepens the kiss. His cinnamon gum tastes like home. The kiss is incredible, and I don’t want to pull away. I keep expecting my memories to come flooding back, but all I can see is this moment. Logan’s lips against mine. His fingers are against my back, his bare chest against my body.

He pulls back just enough to speak. “Tell me to stop, Cara.”

Stopping is the furthest thing from my mind. Kissing him is drowning out all that’s wrong with my life. I want to feel. My memories are connected to those feelings. And I know Logan doesn’t want me to tell him to stop. He wants me to give him permission to love me.

I lean toward him, closing the distance between us, and press my lips to his again. His shoulders slump, like a weight’s been lifted off them. He reaches around me and opens the back door. Without pulling away from my lips, he moves us into the back seat. I’m lying down, and Logan is lowering himself onto me. Again he pulls back slightly and studies my face. “Tell me to stop.”

“Stop.”

Only it’s not me who says it. It’s a guy in a hoodie standing right outside my car.

Chapter

Twenty-Four

Logan

Before I can turn around, I’m yanked from the car and thrown onto the gravel parking lot. The guy kicks me in the stomach and ribs, knocking the wind out of me. He’s wearing a hoodie, and I know this is payback for almost pummeling him earlier in the bushes. I have to get Cara out of here before this guy gets his hands on her. Maybe Rob’s not a Hunter, but this guy definitely is. He has long, wavy blond hair and eyes so dark they look black.

I curl into a ball to avoid any more blows to my ribs. If he punctures my lungs, I’ll be useless to Cara. I wait until he’s between kicks to extend my legs and catch him right in the balls. It’s a dick move, but I’m desperate. I roll away from him and yell to Cara, “Get out of here!”

She scrambles out of the car, but instead of getting in the driver’s seat and getting far away from here, she holds her hand up. A ball of fire appears and she yells, “Hey, Hunter!” Still doubled over in pain, the guy turns in her direction. She launches the fireball right at his face. He goes down instantly, burying his face in the gravel and dirt to smother the flame.

I get to my feet and push Cara into the car before racing around to the passenger side. Cara peels out of the spot, kicking rocks up everywhere. For a second I think she’s going to run the guy over. I’m not sure I can handle seeing her kill again. This isn’t the person I want her to be, so I grab the wheel and push my hand down on her leg, making her hit the gas. Killing this guy will be on my head, not hers. The guy manages to get up and dodges the car. He hurries to the water and jumps in.

“I can go back and boil the water,” Cara says. “We can’t let him get away.”

“No. Drive home.”

“I can’t. He’s the one who hurt Linette. I can’t let him go. Besides, he might follow us and then I’d be leading him right to Jeremy and Linette. They could die because of me.” Tears are forming in her eyes.

“Then let’s go after him.”

She pulls up to the water, and I get out the second the car stops. I look around for the Hunter. He has to surface somewhere. “Where is he?”

Cara scans the area. “Maybe he came up behind the falls.” She dives into the water, and I can see she’s already working to make it boil, which means I can’t get in with her.

I race up the stone steps in case the Hunter tries to escape. I feel like I’m waiting on the sidelines while my girlfriend does all the work. I hate feeling useless. What happened to
me
protecting
her
?

“Do you see him?” Cara yells.

“No.” The water is bubbling like crazy. If he’s still under, he’s as good as gone. “Come out. There’s no way he survived that.”

A car pulls into the parking lot and I panic. People are here to swim and Cara just turned the place into a human pressure cooker. “Cara!”

She turns toward the car, and the water immediately stops boiling. Is that enough? I’m not willing to bet it won’t burn the family of four getting out and heading this way. Cara races for the shore, and I run to catch up with her.

“It’s really hot in there today,” she tells the family. “Be careful. I burned myself on the rocks.”

The mother pulls her children to her sides and looks at her husband. “Maybe we shouldn’t go in.”

“I wouldn’t,” I say. “Wait until tomorrow. Hopefully it will have cooled off by then.”

They nod and head back to their car. Cara and I stand there, still searching the water.

“Where did the Hunter go? I never saw him surface, and if you didn’t see him on the ledge, then…” She shudders. “I boiled the water all the way up to the koi lagoon. I must have killed him, right?”

If so, the body should have surfaced by now, unless the body got caught on the underwater ledge or something. I don’t want to freak her out more, so I keep that thought to myself.

“Let’s hope so. It’s not a bad thing, Cara. Believe me, if I could’ve killed him for you, I would have.”

“I was wrong, wasn’t I?” She presses her hand to my chest. “You’re human, aren’t you?”

I nod, and my insides clench because I’m letting her down. “I’m sorry.”

She leans into me. “I’m not. My life is crazy enough. I need some normalcy. I need you.”

“Would you have told me to stop? In the car?” I’m not sure I want to know the answer, but I can’t stop myself from asking.

She shrugs. “Maybe. I don’t think I’m ready yet, but that doesn’t mean I won’t be. Eventually.”

“That’s good enough for me.” I kiss her forehead and wrap my arm around her as we head back to her car.

“Well, Garret will be happy to hear I killed another Hunter,” Cara says once we’re on the road. “I guess that’s one good thing that came out of today.”

I reach for her leg, placing my palm against it. “I think
we
made some progress today too. I’d say that’s a good thing.” A really good thing. For a moment, I’d thought I’d gotten her back, but then that Hunter had to screw everything up. Although, if Cara really was going to tell me to stop, maybe the Hunter saved me from having to hear it.

***

As soon as we get back to Cara’s and tell Jeremy what happened, he gets all the Phoenixes together for yet another meeting. Garret isn’t the least bit happy to hear our story.

“What do you mean you lost him?” Garret yells, his skin turning bright red.

“There’s no way he survived. Cara boiled the water. He’s as good as cooked.” I’m trying to help, but Cara cringes at my words.

“You don’t know that. If you didn’t see him die, then you can’t say for sure that he did.” Garret walks to the fireplace mantel and pulls a package down from it. I lean closer to see what he has. He unwraps it and holds up the dagger.

“You had that in Cara’s house?” I yell. “No wonder that Hunter was so close. He probably sensed the dagger. You led him right to her!” I storm over and shove him in the chest, which prompts him to hold the dagger up as if he’s going to use it. “Be my guest,” I challenge him.

“Stop!” Cara yells. She moves toward Garret. “How long has that been here?”

“Since our last meeting. I have to keep moving it so the Hunters won’t be able to trace it.” Garret isn’t showing any remorse for putting Cara in danger. He thinks he’s right about this.

“They’ve been after Cara for a while now. You knew that and you still brought that thing here?” I turn toward Linette, silently communicating an apology for what I’m going to say next. “Linette can’t defend herself, and Jeremy is a prime target. Yet you risked their lives. Why? What the hell kind of cop are you? No, what kind of
person
are you?”

“I’m not answering to a human kid.” He pushes past me, and despite what he said, he launches into an explanation. “I’m doing my best to protect us all. I kept the dagger at my place, at the café, and here. Moving it was the only solution since I couldn’t destroy it.”

“Let’s all calm down,” Mrs. Tillman says. “I think we can call today a victory.” Garret starts to protest, but Mrs. Tillman stops him with a look. “Cara and Logan made it out of there alive, and as far as we know, the same can’t be said for the Hunter.”

“Did you recognize him?” Monique asks.

Cara and I both shake our heads. “He had long blond hair, and it was kind of curly,” Cara says.

“And his eyes were dark brown, almost black,” I add. “He was pretty tall too.”

Jeremy gets up and starts pacing. “Great. Cara and I don’t remember anyone from school who isn’t in our memory books, and Logan hasn’t even started going to school here, so he can’t help either.”

“I’m trying to place someone with that description,” Monique says. “I can’t remember anyone like that coming into the café.”

Garret wraps the dagger back up, but he doesn’t put it on the mantel again. “Not all Hunters are going to come right out in the open the way Nick did. While he hid in plain sight, that’s not typical. I’m sure these guys are going to stay well hidden until they see a clear path to one of us. Like today.”

“That reminds me,” Mrs. Tillman says. “How did the Hunter sneak up on you two?”

I’m not about to tell her what Cara and I were really doing so I say, “We were packing up to leave and he came up behind us.”

“That was gutsy, considering he was alone,” Jeremy said, sitting down on the arm of the couch.

“Yeah. I think he got a little too sure of himself. He turned his back on Cara to attack me.” I don’t know why I didn’t question that move sooner.

“That’s it,” Cara says. “The Hunters are afraid of Logan because they think he’s a Phoenix. They assume you’re one of us, and it’s probably because of your connection to me.”

“Not probably,” Garret says. “That’s definitely why.”

“I didn’t fight the guy with fire today, so I think he figured out I’m human.”

Especially since he was kicking my ass. Thankfully, Cara healed my ribs in the car on the ride over here.

Garret steps toward me. “Then you better hope he boiled in those falls, because believe me, you don’t want a Hunter coming after you when one of us isn’t around.”

“I’m not helpless just because I’m human.”

Garret snorts. “Keep telling yourself that.”

“Hunters are human, Garret,” Cara says.

“Humans who have been trained most of their lives to fight powerful Phoenixes.” Garret looks at me. “What have you trained for other than running?”

“At least he can run away from them,” Jeremy says, and while I know he doesn’t mean it as a diss, it stings.

“I think we’re done for today,” Mrs. Tillman says. “We need to hide that dagger someplace that isn’t my house.” She glares at Garret. “And then we all need to get some rest so we can be on high alert tomorrow. We know there were two Hunters that attacked Linette. So even if Cara did eliminate one today, there’s still another nearby.”

Everyone says their good-byes and I follow Garret to the door.

“Logan, wait.” Cara rushes over to me and then stands there debating what to do. Everyone is watching us, probably because they’re curious about Cara’s memory too, but damn is it awkward. She turns and glares at them until they look away. “Weren’t you going to say good-bye?”

“Of course,” I lie. I had something else on my mind, and while it has to do with Cara, saying good-bye slipped my mind.

“Call me later?” she asks, giving me a nervous smile.

“Absolutely.”

She hugs me, and all eyes are back on us. I decide kissing her isn’t a good idea.

“Bye,” I say.

Garret gets in his patrol car and drives off. I don’t know where he’s going, but I follow, running after him. I stick to the bushes so he doesn’t see me. The speed limit in town is crazy slow, but he’s obviously in a hurry to hide the dagger. He pulls into the police station and gets out. He looks around the lot before heading toward the dumpster. I watch him from behind a silver Focus parked a few spots away. He opens the dumpster and pulls out a metal box. After placing the dagger in the box, he returns it to the dumpster.

Why would he leave the dagger where anyone could get it? It’s like he’s trying to hand it over to the Hunters. Like he’s…A thought slams into me. What if Garret is a rogue Phoenix? What if he’s planning to betray Cara and the others to save himself? As soon as he gets in his car and drives away, I rush to the dumpster and pull the dagger out of the box. I unwrap it and hold it in my hands. It’s heavy and not like any weapon I’ve ever seen, but it fits in my hand perfectly. Something comes over me, and I wrap my fingers around the handle and swing the blade through the air. It feels…good. And then another idea hits me. A way to stop Garret from betraying the others. A way to save Cara.

If I use the dagger on Garret, I’d get his essence. I could live longer, maybe as long as Cara.