Riley's Redemption (A Moon's Glow Novel) (7 page)

A Message

The back of my eyelids
were bright pink and I could feel the hot sun baking over my face. I must have
fallen asleep, but as I came into consciousness I could feel the car moving
under me and the drone of the radio playing low. Slowly, I opened my eyes and
stared at a jean-clad leg, black sneakers and the floor of the Jeep that was
encrusted with gravel and dirt. The sound of wind whirling through the window
and the scent of old food crashed into my senses. “Where are we?” I asked, my
voice raspy with sleep.

“Just outside of
Roseburg.”

I sat up and glanced
around, trying to shake the cotton from my mind. “No sign of them?”

“No.” His response was
abrupt. He was obviously still in an irritated mood.

“I’m sorry Adrian. I
should have tried to stop them. I know how to fight. I could have gone after
the werewolf—”

“Don’t.” He interrupted
me before I could apologize anymore. “It’s not your fault. She’s the one
keeping me from my sister.” He turned toward me and I winced when I saw his
yellow eyes. “And she’s going to pay for it.” It was then that I noticed his
arms shaking. He was fighting the wolf.

“We’ll find them.” I
placed my hand on his arm and rubbed softly, hoping to calm him. He must have
been stewing the whole time I had been asleep, worrying about his sister. I
wanted to make him feel better, but I didn’t know how—other than finding his
sister and that was what I intended to do. We would search for as long as it
took.

He only nodded, turning
back to face the road ahead.

I gazed outside, taking
in the scenery. We were in a rural area with only fields, trees and a few
houses visible. A glance at the clock on the dashboard told me it was after ten
in the morning. I had been out for a while. “Have you stopped at any towns to
check for their scents?”

His eyes faded back to
their natural color. “Some, but there weren’t any. I have a feeling she’s going
to drive as far as possible since she’s been spotted. She probably won’t stop
until they hit a big city where they can get lost in all the people.

I rubbed my sleep-caked
eyes, digging the goop out of them. “What about bathroom breaks?”

With his attention still
on the road ahead, he answered me. “If they stopped, they went deep into a town
where I couldn’t scent them. If they went to a rest stop or along the road I
would have known it.

I shifted in my seat
and rubbed the cool window with the side of my hand, sending prickles into my
skin. “Is that the closest you’ve been to finding them?”

He nodded. “And I was
sleeping. She was right there and I didn’t even know it.” The self-hatred
emanated out of him and again his eyes turned yellow.

“Don’t worry, we’ll find
them.” My voice was soft and, I hoped, soothing. We couldn’t have him wolfing
out inside the car while he was driving.

Thankfully his
expression softened as he turned to look at me, his eyes returned to their
normal dark brown. “Thank you for coming. It’s much easier doing this with
you.”

I smacked his shoulder;
his muscles were not as hard as they were months ago. He definitely needed to
get back to the gym. “You should have called earlier,” I scolded, feeling
annoyed at him for so many reasons. First for refusing to ask for help and for
not realizing he needed me earlier. If I wasn’t with him, we wouldn’t have
almost caught them last night. And if he had taken more breaks or rented rooms
instead of sleeping in his car, he wouldn’t have been so exhausted and probably
would have heard them himself, even without my help. His refusal to let anyone
in was frustrating, yet understandable. For ten years he was basically held
captive with a group of selfish werewolves he couldn’t count on. I was his
first real friend in a decade. Of course he would be hesitant to trust me or
anyone else for that matter. But just because I understood his actions didn’t
mean I would let him off the hook.

He grinned sheepishly.
“I was trying to handle it on my own.”

I rolled my eyes. “You
are not alone anymore. We are your friends.”

He sighed, slowing down
to take a corner. “I’m not used to having friends I can trust. I guess I don’t
know how to handle it.”

“Did you have friends
before Charlotte found you?”

His lips turned up into
a smile. “Yeah, I was in my first year at college. My best friend Marty was in
the same course as I was and we met a few guys there. I was pledging a
fraternity and lived on campus. I was home for the weekend when it happened.”

“What were you taking
in school?” I wondered what he was like back then. Like Nate, he had so many
regrets, courtesy of Charlotte. How would his life, or Nate’s for that matter,
have changed if they hadn’t been turned into supernatural creatures? I would
have missed the chance at knowing them both and that fact made me sad. The
feeling turned to irritation when I realized that if it hadn’t been for that
witch Charlotte my life would not have changed for the better. Two of my most
favorite people were in my life because of someone I hated. I didn’t know how
to feel about that.

Adrian’s answer pulled
me out of those disturbing thoughts. “Architecture. My parents partnered in the
business. My dad built the houses, my mom decorated them and I was going to
design them.” His voice was softer than it had been since I had met up with him
yesterday. The memories seemed to be stirring up emotions that he had
suppressed for a long time. I was sorry I had brought it up.

“I didn’t mean to make
it hard for you.”

“No, it’s fine. I
should remember the happy times more. I’ll need to replay them for Marisa when
I find her.” The cold look was no longer on his face. Now the expression he
held could only be described as hope.

When a truck stop came
into view I realized I had to pee. “Can we stop here? I gotta go and I’m kind
of hungry.”

“Sure, but let’s make
it quick. I want to get back on the road as soon as possible.”

The rest rooms were on
opposite sides of the building, so I left him at the entrance and followed the
signs until I found what I was looking for.

After I did my business
I washed and dried my hands with a paper towel and then tossed it in the
garbage. I was reaching for the door handle when an image registered in my mind
and I spun back around. There was a small white triangle sticking out of the
edge of the mirror. I touched the tip of it and yanked. It was an envelope with
the name Adrian scrawled on the front. My heart raced and excitement fluttered
in my stomach. Could this be from Marisa? What were the odds that I would just
happen to choose the same washroom they must have been to earlier? I didn’t
smell the werewolf anywhere and since I didn’t know Adrian’s sister’s scent
there was no way to know if it was actually her—unless Adrian came into the
washroom to check it out. There were too many human smells to decipher one.

I tucked the envelope
into the back pocket of my jeans and rushed outside. Adrian was in line at a
chicken place and I made my way to stand next to him. He barely acknowledged my
presence as he gazed up at the menu, deciding what to order.

“I found something,” I
whispered, knowing he would hear me.

We moved up in line and
he turned his attention to me. “What?”

“Can I help you?” a
blond teenaged girl with a chicken on her hat asked.

Adrian moved toward the
counter. “Yes, I’ll have three chicken sandwiches, three large fries and a
large Coke.” As she rang up his order he turned to me, his brow raised.

The girl finished
pushing buttons and looked up at me expectantly. I hated ordering food in
public. It was embarrassing how much I ate and most people gaped at me if I
ordered too much. “I’ll have the number six.” I was saved by the meals. I
didn’t have to announce to everyone that I wanted six pieces of chicken and a
large order of fries. She pushed in the order
without
a condescending
expression, just as I had hoped.

We moved over while our
order was being prepared and I pulled out the envelope.

“What’s that?” Adrian
asked, eyeing the object in my hand apprehensively.

“I think it’s from your
sister.”

His eyes widened.
“What?”

“I found it sticking
out of the mirror in the washroom.” I pushed the letter towards him, but
instead of taking it he continued to eye it like it was a bomb. When our food
bags were placed in front of us I sighed and slid the envelope back into my
pocket taking my bag.

He didn’t speak until
we were safely out of hearing distance, situated in the vehicle. “Can I see
it?”

I pulled the letter
back out and this time he took it. His expression was full of nerves as he slid
his finger under the flap to break the seal.

I was silent as he read
it out loud.

Adrian,

I don’t know if you
will find this, but I’m hoping the girl you are traveling with will eventually
have to use the rest room. Eva is worried I have developed a bladder infection
with the amount of times I have asked to stop. I’ve left three other letters
like this.

If you do read this,
please know that I miss you and have no idea why Eva won’t let you see me. All
I know is that she says she is trying to protect me.

Until we saw your
friend at the motel I didn’t know who we were running from. That changed when I
heard your name. I know I don’t need protection from my big brother. You were a
hero I looked up to when I was little and now you are more of a fantasy I see
only in my dreams. The images of you and our parents are fading and I need you
to bring them back to me. So, please find me so we can do that together.

She is taking me to
Portland. She wants to relocate and is hoping that the big city will hide us.
She likes to stay near schools, so make sure you look there. If you find us,
please don’t be too angry or hurt her. She has become the only family I have.

Marisa

When he finished the
letter his expression was a contradiction. His dark brown eyes softened, but
his jaw locked in place.

“Are you okay?” I asked
as my phone beeped with a text message. I ignored it as I waited for him to
answer me.

He did after a few
seconds. “She wants me to find her.” He turned to face me, the letter still
poised in his hands and a small smile formed on his lips.

I nodded, reaching out
to squeeze his leg. “Of course she does, you’re her brother.”

He closed his eyes and
breathed deeply. “But she doesn’t want me to hurt the werewolf.” Despite the
fact that we now knew the name of the person keeping the siblings apart, Adrian
refused to use it. My guess would be because, it would be too personal to say
her name and right now he wanted to hate her.

“Let’s just find them.”

He nodded, folded the
letter up carefully and stuck it between the seats. With a quick look in my
direction he turned on the car and backed out of the lot. I unwrapped his
sandwich and handed it to him. “She sounds mature for her age,” I observed,
after I swallowed a bite of dark meat from my chicken.

He nodded his mouth
full of bun and meat.

“She’d be fifteen now,
right?”

“Yes. I hope this
werewolf has taken good care of her.”

I leaned my bare feet
up onto the dash, my flip-flops lay discarded on the car floor. “I know you
don’t want to hear this, but by what your sister herself said in that letter
and by the sound of the few words I heard, she does love Marisa.”

His eyes flashed
yellow, his face turned hard. “You’re right. I don’t want to hear it.”

I gulped; the coldness
in his tone was so unlike him. I picked nervously at the bright, red, peeling
nail polish on my pinky toe. It was the second time he had snapped at me within
twenty four hours. He was lucky I was so understanding, or that ass-kicking I
had joked about with Nate would definitely become a reality.

“Are you going to check
your phone?”

Oh right; I forgot I
had a text. I leaned over and pulled my phone out of my bag. It was from Nate.
Finished my meeting
can leave soon. Where am I headed?

I read the text out
loud to Adrian.

“Portland, I guess. But
he doesn’t need to come.”

“I know, but he wants
to help.”

He shrugged, popping
the last of his sandwich into this mouth.

Ignoring him, I texted
Nate back.
Heading
to Portland. Got word that’s where they are headed.

How far out r u?
he
asked.

“How long do you think
it will take to get there?”

Adrian shrugged. “About
three hours.”

I typed in Adrian’s
answer and waited for a response.

K, I’ll be there
ASAP

I was about to type in
a response when my phone beeped again.

Can’t wait to see
u. I miss the taste of your lips.

I sucked in a breath,
feeling my cheeks heat and my stomach flutter. I missed him so much it hurt.

“What?”

I covered my phone with
my hand and dropped my legs from the dash, slipping my feet into my sandals.
“Nothing,” I responded while I typed in a message.
I miss you too.

His only response was
-
lol

I grinned and put my
phone back into my bag. I was still smiling when I noticed Adrian watching me.
“What?”

He simply shook his
head and looked back to the road ahead of him.

While he fell silent, I
closed my eyes and pictured vivid blue eyes, messy pale blond hair and the
scent of leather and pine. My heart ached at the need to be near him, to feel
his strong arms wrap around my back as he nuzzled my neck and to have his
warmth seep into me. With these images in my mind, I couldn’t wait to see the
real thing and I was thankful that I wouldn’t have to wait much longer.