Out of the Ashes (9 page)

Chapter Eleven

Cara

I’m not sure how I feel about Logan leaving. I understand why he went. None of this is fair to him. He shouldn’t have to sit around and hope I fall in love with him again, and maybe it will be easier with him gone. Maybe I’ll be able to let go of what I can’t remember and move on with my life as a Phoenix.

Jeremy nudges me with his elbow. “Are you even listening?”

This meeting has been going on for hours. I’m tired of listening to everyone bicker over the best way to track down these Hunters. We have no leads, so I’m not sure what there is to discuss. I stand up, done with all of this.

“Look, the only thing we know is that these guys are gunning for me. You want to find them? Use me as bait.”

Mom’s face pales, and she looks at me like I volunteered to be beheaded. “Cara! How can you even suggest that?”

“Because it’s a smart move.” Garret crosses his arms, probably to guard himself against Mom, who already has a fireball burning in the palm of her hand. “Hear me out, Elisa.”

“Hear you explain how you don’t give a damn about my daughter, my flesh and blood? I don’t think so.”

Monique puts a hand on Mom’s shoulder. “If you kill him, you’ll only be helping the Hunters. We have to stick together or we won’t get through this.” She nods slightly to the side, motioning to Linette, who is still looking groggy but at least is awake now.

“Maybe I’ll be able to remember something helpful once my chest stops trying to implode.” Linette presses her hand to her chest, and Mom extinguishes the fireball she’s holding.

“Logan wasn’t wrong,” I say and all eyes fall on me. “There are more of us than them. We can use me to lure them out, and then the rest of you could attack them.”

“And then what?” Mom’s gaze zeroes in on me. “Hope we kill them before they kill you?”

“We could set up a trap, Elisa. Think!” Garret yells.

“Stop!” Jeremy shouts, his voice booming through the house. “Can’t you see how idiotic this is? We’re all here in one place, our abilities are out of control, and we’re jumping down each other’s throats.”

Garret has smoke coming out of his ears, and not in the cartoon way. Monique’s face is as red as a stove burner, and Mom’s fireball is back. The only ones not losing it, oddly enough, are Jeremy and me.

Mom steps toward us. “You and Cara don’t understand the severity of the situation like the rest of us do. You’re still new to it.”

“Which makes us your best bet.” Jeremy looks at me, and I nod. “The Hunters will want us more than the others. We aren’t as experienced with our powers
and
we have more lives for the Hunters to take.”

“No.” Mom holds her hands up. “I’m not having this.”

“Elisa—”

“Shut up, Garret. They’re my children, and all I have left of Phil. I won’t risk their lives. We’ll find another way, and that’s that.” She storms out of the room and up the stairs.

“Well, I guess the meeting is over.” Jeremy shoves his hands in his pockets and heads for his room.

I look at the others. Monique smiles at me, but it’s forced. She knows I’m right. We all know it, even Mom. She just won’t admit it. She doesn’t have to; I know what I have to do, and I’m not waiting to get her approval.

“I’m going to call Rachel,” I say. “I need some normalcy.”

Garret steps toward me. “It’s too dangerous for you to be out on your own. You’d be unprotected.”

“Last time I checked, I can manipulate fire. I don’t think that’s unprotected. Besides, a Hunter would have to get close enough to me to try anything.”

Linette shifts on the couch and moans in the process. “Cara, I hate to say it, but right now we have to question everyone. That includes your friends.”

No way is Rachel a Hunter, though I can’t exactly be sure Nick was the one to tell the Hunters my name. There are still too many unanswered questions.

“Mom trusts Rachel, but if it makes you feel better, we’ll meet at Monique’s café.”

Monique puts her arm around my shoulders. “Come on. I’ll drive you. You can text Rachel on the way.”

Garret sighs and sits in the chair in front of the fireplace. “I’ll stay here with Linette. Elisa obviously isn’t going to be any help this evening, and I think Jeremy is done with all of this. I doubt he’ll come out of his room.”

Garret seems to know us all so well. It makes me feel bad for getting so pissed with him lately. Maybe if I had my memories I’d understand where he’s coming from.

“Thanks,” I say. I give Linette a smile and wave before letting Monique lead me to her car.

I text Rachel.

Cara:
Need some girl talk. Meet me at Monique’s?

We’re nearly at the café before Rachel responds.

Rachel:
Sorry, I’m with Rob. Rain check?

Rob
. I picture his face from my memory book—blond hair, blue eyes. Is Rachel
with him
with him? What about Jeremy? I can only think of one way to get Rachel to cancel her plans with Rob and meet me.

Cara:
Logan’s going back to NY.

Her response is immediate this time.

Rachel:
OMG! I’m on my way!

She must be as good a friend and person as Mom thinks she is. No way is she a Hunter.

Monique motions to a table with a reserved sign. “Your table awaits.”

I raise my brows and sit.
I have my own table?
Monique disappears and returns with a cup of steaming hot tea.

“Thanks,” I say, drinking it in one big gulp.

Monique laughs. “It’s good to see some things haven’t changed.”

“I know Rachel thinks I have amnesia, but can you tell me anything that I should know about her?”

“She’s a good friend. I’m not sure there’s anything she wouldn’t do for you. She has terrible taste in boys, though.” Monique picks up my empty teacup and shakes her head. “I can’t understand why she bothers with that Rob. He’s cocky and for no good reason. And I see him with a different girl just about every other day.” She wags her finger at me. “Don’t you even think about falling for him now that Logan’s left. You hear me?”

“I don’t think I’ll be falling for anyone. With my luck, I’d fall for a Hunter.”

“Funny you should say that. Your mother and Garret were convinced Logan was a Hunter for a while before your rebirth. All of the attacks began after he and his dad moved here.”

“What about Nick? He was a friend of mine, right?”

“Yes, a good friend.” She puts her hand on my shoulder. “Don’t feel bad. He fooled us all. That’s why we have to be so careful now. We can’t let that happen again.” She looks up, and I see Rachel walking toward us. “I’ll be back with more tea.” Monique disappears inside the kitchen, and Rachel rushes over, wrapping me in a hug.

“What happened? I told him if he—”

“Rach, stop.” I pull out of the hug. “I’m the one who wanted to end it.”

“Oh.” She sits down and furrows her brow. “I don’t get it. You two couldn’t have been more perfect for each other. My God, the way he looked at you, and the heat between the two of you was intense.”

I look down at my hands in my lap. “It’s too hard to be around him when he clearly…”

“Loves you?” She places her hand on top of mine. “I’m so sorry, Cara. Did he say when he’s coming back? Because you won’t have amnesia forever, right? Once this passes, you two can pick up where you left off.”

Yeah, amnesia doesn’t have to be permanent, unless you’re a newborn Phoenix. “I don’t want to think about that right now. I have to get him out of my mind.”

“Does that mean I get my best friend back?”

I smile at her, already seeing why I liked her so much. “Yeah. Why don’t you start by telling me about you and Rob?”

She leans back in her chair. “Don’t start that again. We’re just friends. I was bored and so was he. He tried to feel me up once, but I smacked him and told him if he tried that again I’d kick his balls up into his ribcage.”

I laugh, which is exactly what I need.

“You know I’ll do it.” She pauses. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said it like that.”

“It’s okay. I have to get used to all these lost memories.”

“Good attitude. Out with the old and in with the new,” she says as if the solution to my problem is that easy.

Monique returns with my tea and a glass of lemonade for Rachel. “How would you girls like to try my new peach pie?”

“Yum.” Rachel smiles and sips her lemonade.

“Be right back.”

I lean forward to drink my tea. Rachel is eyeing me strangely. “What?” I ask.

“You look different. I thought so last time I saw you, but since I had just found out you had amnesia, I didn’t want to bring it up.”

Do I look different because I’m a full-fledged Phoenix now? I shouldn’t.

“Did you dye your hair? Your red streaks look even redder.”

“Oh.” I reach for my hair, smoothing it. “Yeah. I figured why fight it.” It’s a harmless lie.

“I like it.”

“Thanks.” I’m grateful when Monique returns with two slices of peach pie and Rachel drops the topic of my hair. “Looks good,” I tell Monique, taking one of the plates from her hands.

Rachel digs right in and moans. “Oh my God! That’s orgasmic.”

Monique reddens, and I laugh. I can’t help it. Rachel is no holds barred. Monique shakes her head and goes into the kitchen again. I’m laughing so hard my stomach hurts.

Rachel bobs one shoulder. “What? It seriously is, and now that you’ve lost your V-card, you can back me up on it.”

I stop laughing. “No, I can’t.”

“Oh, crap. I’m sorry. I keep forgetting.” She slaps her forehead. “And then I say stupid things about forgetting. Sheesh. I’m such an asshat sometimes.”

I’m glad she isn’t walking on eggshells around me. That would be so much worse.

“Just be yourself, Rach. I’m okay. I have to move on or I’ll never get past this.”

“Good.” She shoves another forkful into her mouth. Without swallowing she says, “But seriously, this is orgasmic.”

I take a bite, and while it’s delicious, I’m not moaning like Rachel. The girl is in a class all her own.

“So, Rob just got back from visiting his cousin in Bridgewater,” Rachel says. “He was—”

“Did you say Bridgewater?” Monique is holding the teapot and looking like she’s seen a ghost.

“Yeah, why?”

“There have been several murders in that town lately.”

My mind races. Monique must be talking about the victims of the Hunters. What was Rob doing in Bridgewater at the same time as the Hunters?

“He didn’t mention it,” Rachel said nonchalantly.

“You mean you haven’t heard about the murders?” I ask.

She shrugs. “I hate the news. It’s too depressing. Besides, after Mr. Baker died, and then Nick disappeared—”

“Nick disappeared?” How have I not yet wondered what people thought happened to Nick? I look to Monique, but Rachel is the one who answers.

“He took off. The police think finding Mr. Baker’s body was too much for him to handle. His parents packed up and left too.”

Garret must have cleaned out Nick’s place to make it look like Nick and his parents left town. Except Nick’s parents are dead, and so is Nick.

“I miss him.” Rachel looks down at her plate, stabbing at a peach slice. “We were just starting to get close, and the boy could kiss.”

Monique stiffens, and so do I.

“You dated Nick?” I ask.

“Yeah, but I swear he was only with me because you were taken. All he ever did was talk about you. If he wasn’t so good—” her eyes raise to Monique, “—at other things, I would’ve kicked his ass to the curb.”

“Kicked whose ass to the curb?” says a new voice, and I look up to see Rob standing behind us. I didn’t even see him come over. “Ooh, pie!” He sits down and tries to dig into Rachel’s, but she pulls the plate away.

“Get your own.”

“I’ll get you a slice.” Monique studies Rob for a moment before heading back into the kitchen.

“Hey, Tillman, you look good.” Rob’s eyes roam over my body, pausing at my chest.

“Do you not know how obvious that is?” I ask, unable to keep the disgust from my voice.

“What?” he asks innocently.

“
This—
” I lower my eyes to his chest, “—and
this—
” I raise them to his eyes, “—look a lot different.”

Rachel laughs and I’m about to join her, but something washes over me. If I didn’t know it’s impossible, I would swear it’s déjà vu. Logan’s face pops into my head. He said I’d thought he was checking me out when we first met. Did I have this same conversation with him? I dismiss the thought because Rob is talking about Bridgewater.