The Wolf in His Arms (The Runes Trilogy) (14 page)

“Werewolves
trying to stop the slaughter of humanity.”

“That
sounds insane.”

“Why not
be honest?” Alec blurted. “Well sort of. Why not say, ‘Your son Maxwell took
part in a study on people with green eyes?’—or something like that—and you’re
trying to follow up with him, and this is the address he gave. Just try to get
inside.”

“So,
we’re university researchers. That might work,” Jared agreed.

“We
both have green eyes,” Lucy pointed out.

“That’s
why we’re so interested,” Jared said.

Jared
drove the car past the town toward Mary’s house. The sky turned a deep, aquatic
blue as the sun fell beyond the horizon, and the trees and houses formed black
silhouettes against the sky. In the distance, the horizon cut a thin orange and
yellow line across the land as dusk descended. Alec ducked down in the front
seat as they pulled into Mary’s driveway. Lamplight from inside the house diffused
through the sheers over the picture window. They could see the silhouette of a
woman moving about inside the house.

Jared
and Lucy knocked on the door, prepared for a similar reaction to what Alec
received. They looked at each other with a here-we-go shrug as they waited for
Mary to answer. The porch light flicked on above them, and they could see
Mary’s silhouette as she looked through the window on the side of the door. She
inched the door open. “Can I help you?”

“Hi,”
they both began. They looked at each other briefly. Jared began again, “Hello.
Is this the Snug residence?”

“Yes.”

“My
name is Jared, and this is my colleague, Lucy. We’re—”

“Where
did you say you’re from?”

“We’re
from the university,” Lucy said.

“Which
university?”

“University
of Chicago,” Jared said quickly.

“What
is this about?”

“We’re
looking for Maxwell Snug. He took part in a study we’re conducting, and he gave
us this address.”

“You
came here all the way from Chicago? Without calling?” The door waivered in her
hand.

“We’ve
been trying to locate Maxwell for a follow-up. It’s really important,” Lucy
said.

“In
fact, our careers count on it. See, Maxwell took part in our study, and we need
to complete it to write our dissertations. Is he here?”

Mary
smiled. “What’s the study?”

“On
green eyes.”

Mary
nodded. “Don’t stand out here in the cold. Come in.” She opened the door, and
Jared and Lucy filed in. Lucy flashed Jared a relieved look.

Until
she saw the gun in Mary’s hand. “Ms. Snug?”

“Maxwell
warned me that you’d be coming,” Mary said, her hand shaking on the gun, which
made Jared feel considerably more nervous. He would have felt better if she
seemed more confident with it. “Do you think I didn’t notice your green eyes
right away? Get over to the couch!” She motioned with the gun, but her eyes
never left them.

Jared
and Lucy inched toward the couch and sat. Jared looked at Lucy and faked a
smile, but she could see the fear in his eyes.

“So
what do you really want with my son?”

“What
did he tell you?” Jared asked with a cool that belied his shaking knees. Lucy
looked at him out of the corner of her eyes. She silently prayed for Alec to
come to the door or look through the window.

Mary’s
face pulled back in an angry grimace. “He said the bad men with the green eyes
were coming. One of you attacked him last night.” Her voice shook. “That’s why
I haven’t had my boy with me for the last three years. He fled to protect me.”
The gun shook with her fury. “From
you
.”

“Your
son was right to run,” Lucy said softly. “My parents nearly died. My brother
did, and so did my grandmother and my boyfriend.”

Mary
stared hard at Lucy, her lips pulling up in an incredulous snarl. “What are you
talking about?”

“I lost
my parents and my two little sisters,” Jared said. “That’s why we’re here. We
thought, maybe, we could help, could save Maxwell, but we couldn’t even find
him.” He gave a short, self-effacing snort.

“My
brother—the one that’s still alive—stopped by earlier today.”

Mary’s
face flashed recognition, but her posture did not waiver. “And I chased him
off.”

“People
are
looking for Maxwell. Bad people.
That’s probably who found him in Chicago.” Jared strained to keep his voice
level. “They’re the same people who came after all of us.”

“Why?”

Lucy
and Jared turned their heads to look at each other and then turned back to
Mary. “They experimented on us,” Jared said. He added softly, “and Maxwell.”

“What
are you talking about?”

“I wish
we could explain it better, but—” Jared shook his head at a loss.

“I am
about two seconds from calling the cops. After I put a bullet in you both.”

“Go
ahead,” Lucy said. “It won’t stop us, but I think you already know that.” Her
voice remained level, not betraying the fear that shook within her, like a branch
in the wind. “And you knew, all along, that Maxwell was different, didn’t you?
He’s like us. And only we can help him.”

Mary’s
brow furrowed as she stared at Lucy. “What are you talking about?”

“You
know what I’m talking about.” Lucy paused just a moment and then took a leap of
faith. “That’s why he left, not only just to protect you, but because everyone
here could tell he was different too.”

Mary
stumbled back, the gun lowering slightly. “It was after the accident,” Mary
whispered.

“Tell
us,” Lucy said.

“My
husband, Ricky, and Maxwell were in the stands, at the state fair, watching
monster trucks. It was the year of the accident. The year the truck jumped into
the stands and killed six people. Ricky was one of them. And Maxwell should’ve
been. But he
knew
. Before that truck
flew into the bleachers, he knew.” Mary’s lips quivered, and she lowered the
gun to her side. “I was so relieved that Maxwell survived. But, then, someone
noticed in the video footage. Someone caught it on tape. Maxwell was pulling on
his dad’s arm, and you can’t hear what he’s saying, but he’s pointing toward
the arena, toward the trucks. Ricky shook him off, and Maxwell ran. My husband
turned to follow him, and right then and there the truck jumped into the stands
and killed him.

“Maxwell
was only twelve and this town made him Frankenstein. Like he was a witch or
something, because they could tell he knew, and that he was trying to save his
dad.” Mary leaned against the wall, and laid the gun on a shelf next to her.
Her chest rose and fell with silent crying.

“Alec,
who was here today, has a similar gift,” Jared said.

Mary’s
face twisted. “It’s not a gift.”

“It
is,” Jared said. “It took me a long time to realize it. But what we have are
gifts. Just because some people want to misuse them doesn’t mean they aren’t
gifts.”

“How do
they want to use them?”

“We’re
not sure,” Lucy said. “But we’re trying to find out.”

“Can
you trust us?” Jared asked.

Mary
nodded. “What do you want from me?”

“Can I
get something of your son’s? Anything will do.”

Mary
hesitated. “Why?”

“With
that, I can use my gift. It’s—finding—people.”

“Are
you guys even human? Is my son human?” Mary could see the pain she caused them
with her words, imagined the pain that would have shot through Maxwell had he
heard her.

“More
human than you think,” Jared said, his voice trembling.

“I’m
sorry—I don’t know why I said that.”

“It’s a
lot to process,” Lucy said. “We understand.”

Mary
looked at Jared. “What do you need?”

“Anything
that smells like him.”

Mary
turned her head, her hand clutched to her mouth. “I find the things that still
smell like him hard to part with.”

“I can
smell better than you,” Jared said softly. “It doesn’t still have to smell like
him to you.”

“Wait
here,” Mary said. She receded into the shadows in the back of the house, as
Lucy and Jared sat in silence. A few minutes later, Mary returned with a shirt
in her hands. She handed it to Jared. “I used to breathe in his scent, when the
missing got too strong to bear. But this doesn’t smell like him anymore. Not to
me, anyway.”

Jared
took the shirt and lifted it to his nose. He took a deep breath and closed his
eyes. Images flashed through his mind: a busy city street.
Chicago, of course,
he thought. He took a deeper whiff and tried to
scan the image for a recognizable landmark. He opened his eyes. “This will
work. May I take it?”

Mary
nodded.

Jared
stood. “Thank you.”

Lucy
stood, too, smiling. “We’ll let you know when we find him, if it will make you
feel better.”

“It
would.” Mary followed them to the door. As they walked toward the car, Mary
called, “Please, help him.”

Lucy
nodded. “We’ll try.”

Mary
shut the door. Her silhouette appeared behind the shears in the picture window,
and the shears parted as she watched them climb in the car. As they shut the
doors, Alec crawled out of his hiding spot in the passenger seat. “I see you’re
not running from buckshot.”

“No.
She did pull a gun on us, though,” Lucy chided.

“What?”

“Yeah,
thanks for checking.”

“I was
about to,” he argued.

“It’s
best that you didn’t,” Jared assured him as he pulled onto the street. “It may
have freaked her out.”

“What
happen to your early warning system?” Lucy asked.

Alec
shook his head. “I don’t know. It blipped earlier, but...”

“Everything
thing’s okay now,” Jared said. “We got what we need and Chicago’s not that
far.”

*
         
*
         
*
         
*

Haley’s
head ached with the questions buzzing within it. After the attack, the police questioned
them for hours. She and Maxwell had described the man—and the first encounter
in the diner—to the police. A full-on manhunt began, spreading out across the
city. Earlier, Haley had seen neighbors talking to reporters. She wondered what
they had to say. Now, standing outside the doorway to their apartment, she
couldn’t believe that a man could do that kind of damage. The door was
completely ripped off its hinges, lying splintered on the floor. She brushed
past the yellow POLICE tape and walked over the door.

The
police waited outside to board up the doorway and secure the crime scene but allowed
her and Maxwell to gather clothes. They planned to spend the night with Haley’s
ex-girlfriend, Sue. A cab was on its way to take them.

“Hey,”
Haley said, poking her head into Maxwell’s bedroom, where he was stuffing
clothes in a bag.

“Hey,”
he said softly. He didn’t look up.

“You
okay?”

He
turned his face toward her, tears brimming in his eyes. “I have to get away from
here, from you.”

“What?”
Haley stepped into the room.

“He’s
after me. He’ll hurt you if you’re in the way,” Maxwell cautioned. He crammed
clothes into his bag. He scanned the room for the things he needed most. His
eyes moved frenetically.

“What
are you talking about? Is he an ex? A stalker?” Haley couldn’t fathom what
Maxwell was trying to say. He spoke as if he
knew
the man.

“I’ve
always known
they
were coming, Haley.
That’s why I ran away. To protect my mom, but they found me. Now you’re in
danger.”

Haley
put her hands up. “Hold on. So you’re saying you know who he is? Who are
they
?” Haley thought,
He’s always been a man on the run.

Maxwell
shook his head. “No. I don’t know why they want me. I think—” He stopped
himself.

“What?”
Haley grabbed his arm. “You think what?” She locked her eyes on his.

“I
think
they
want me because I know
things.”

“Who
are
they
?” She barked. Haley’s mind raced
with mob boss witness protection program scenarios from books and TV shows. She
shook her head. “Know what? You’re not making sense. Did you see something?”

“I can
see things before they happen, Haley.” Maxwell dropped to the bed. He folded
over and began to cry. “I don’t want this. I don’t.”

Haley
sat on the bed next to him, trying to comprehend everything he was telling her.
“You think someone’s after you because of your—visions?”

Maxwell
shook his head. “Not exactly.” He took a cleansing breath. “I don’t know why
they’re after me. I think the visions are part of it.” He shook with fear.
“Haley, he had eyes like min. No one has eyes like mine.” “