Ouch. “I don’t know… Confessing in front of everyone took a lot of courage. Couldn’t have been easy. And now that everyone knows all the gory details, I think they’ll be suffering enough.”
Mr. Collins’ brows shot up. “You don’t want them expelled?”
I shrugged. “Not really. They took responsibility at great risk to their reputations. But you should do whatever you think is right. Just don’t do anything because you think I need revenge. I’m fine.”
He gave a curt nod. “See you tomorrow.”
I took off to the restroom to freshen up. As soon as the door closed, it opened again. Gina barged in, glaring at me, her jaw clenched. “You did this. How? Did you drug me? Do you know how humiliating that was?” she shrieked.
“Almost as humiliating as having your boyfriend cheat on you with your best friend? But slightly more humiliating than being accused of cheating?” I asked, rocking back on my heels, arms folded.
“Don’t be cute!” She took a menacing step closer.
I didn’t want to have to beat her up. I didn’t think her psyche could handle any more embarrassment.
“You drugged us, didn’t you? Some sort of truth serum.”
I shook my head. “Nothing so diabolical.”
“Then how?” she demanded.
“I willed it. I commanded you telepathically to tell the truth. Then you did.” I smiled, knowing it was the exact truth, but fully aware that she’d never believe it in a million years.
“This isn’t funny,” she hissed. “God, you’re such a bitch. That’s why Zack has to take breaks from you and get some action with me.”
She stormed out, leaving me alone to freshen up. I tried not to gloat. Really, I did. As I brushed new gloss over my lips, I couldn’t stop the grin. I didn’t try to hold back as I exited the restroom and strolled down the corridor.
Maya, Trevor, John and Janine were among the crowd outside, their eyes bright with excitement. I spied Zack beyond them.
You’re a celebrity now. Too good for the likes of me. Zack gave me a crooked smile, looking way too sexy. I’ll be right over here, patiently waiting for my turn with you.
I rolled my eyes but wanted to laugh. And gloat. I really wanted to gloat as the congratulations poured in. After a while, my friends were satisfied and gradually dispersed.
“I’ll see you later, right? At Bill’s?” Maya asked.
“Yeah,” I said.
“Text me when you’re on your way.” She waved and left.
Zack put his arm around me and guided me to my car.
“Do you have to work today?” I asked.
“No. I asked Tim to cut my hours.” His mouth thinned. “This way, there’s less time that you’re alone and vulnerable to Charles.”
“I think I can handle extra time with you. But, you know, someday, we’re going to have to talk about it.”
“Yeah, I know. This Charles situation has me so amped up, I can’t deal with one more thing. I promise we’ll talk though. I swear. Soon.”
“Sure. Speaking of Charles…”
“What?” His brows furrowed.
I stopped in front of the passenger side of the Mustang. “I really want to get my laptop from my house. I wished I’d remembered it yesterday.”
“You can use mine. I don’t want to go back there unless it’s absolutely necessary,” he said. “It’s riskier each time we go.”
“You’re right.” I sighed and plunged a hand into my purse, looking for my cell phone to text Maya. Where was it? I rifled through the bag again, but my phone wasn’t anywhere. I squeezed my eyes shut in frustration as I remembered setting it on the table of my house the night before. We’d been so anxious to get the hell out of there that we’d rushed off without it.
“What’s on your mind?” he asked, reaching for the car door handle to open it for me.
“My cell’s at my house.” I did a whine-moan combo. “What if my parents call and can’t reach me? What if they think something happened? They’re probably already freaking out. What if they come back and run into Charles?” The pitch of my words had risen to dangerous heights.
Zack grabbed my shoulders. “Calm down. We’ll go back to your house. It’ll be fine.”
“No. We can’t. Like you said, it’s too risky.” Panic crept into my voice. “We could stop and buy another phone, but I keep getting visions of Charles showing up at the store. We could be safer in a public place or he might be pissed enough to kill everyone there. That’s unthinkable. But I need a phone.”
“It’s dangerous not to talk to your parents too. You know how they are and we can’t have them worried about you. They could slip up and get caught.”
I nodded, knowing we had to go back to my house at some point. Even if my parents returned and Charles didn’t attack, how would they find me if I was at Zack’s and they couldn’t reach me?
“Get in. We’ll be fast. We’ll get your laptop while we’re there.”
We parked in front of my house and I sat still, a sinking feeling in my stomach. Would today be the day or would we escape unscathed again?
“What did you do with Cara’s knives?”
He reached over and opened the glove box, took one out and handed it to me. “Let’s get this over with.”
I climbed out of the car and slipped the knife up my sleeve, thankful I’d dressed for the overcast day and worn a long-sleeved shirt. Just like the day before, we opened the door in silence and entered, little by little, our eyes darting around and looking for anything suspicious. The sun shone through the open curtain and everything looked exactly like we’d left it — as far as I could tell.
“I don’t smell anything,” I said.
“That doesn’t mean he hasn’t been here. This morning, I was going over last night in my head. If Charles came in earlier today and went directly upstairs without touching anything, his scent might be too light down here to detect.”
“Right.” I tried not to panic, but the only thing I wanted to do was run screaming and call my parents for help. But putting them in more danger wasn’t an option. “Zack?” I swallowed the mass of fear crawling up my throat. “If he’s here, then he heard us come in.”
Zack stood at the bottom of the stairs, looking up. After a moment, he motioned for me to follow then started up the stairs. At the landing, I stopped but he continued on. I didn’t smell Charles or sense him, so why were my knees weak and my hands trembling? It had to be my imagination. I mean, there was no trace of Charles anywhere.
By the time I resumed my climb up the stairs, Zack was already several feet ahead of me. He paused at the top which gave me a chance to catch up to him.
“Something isn’t right.” Zack locked into place, his body alert and ready. He ventured into the hallway, but I stayed near the top of the staircase.
Yeah, something was definitely off. I couldn’t smell Charles or detect him at all, not physically anyway. But my heart knew he was close. I just knew it. Something was different… I stared at the wall next to the doorway of my dad’s office. What wasn’t right?
After I’d ransacked it the other day looking for clues about my parents, I’d left the door open and rushed off to get ready for school. When I’d gone into my room last night, I had looked into my dad’s office and noticed everything was exactly as I’d left it. I was absolutely positive the door had been open when we’d left last night. Now it was shut. And if Charles was in that room, maybe we couldn’t sense his energy past the wall.
“Zack, get back here!”
I rushed to him, but before he could get out of the way, the wall thundered in an explosion of drywall and dust as a massive human form burst through. Zack crashed to the ground, but sprang to his feet an instant later. By then steel arms had already imprisoned me, a sword pressed against my neck.
“Oh, you can try,” Charles told Zack. “But her head will be gone long before you get to me.”
Zack froze mid-lunge and scowled.
“Kill me and
let him go,” I said.
Charles laughed and the cold steel pinched my skin. “Why do that when I can kill you both? I’ll cut off your pretty little head and have his too before he gets away.”
“So now what?” I asked, feeling foolish for trying to bargain with him. He’d kill us both, no matter what deals we struck. Why? Because he could. I craned my neck to risk a glance at him and shuddered. His face wasn’t just scarred like Renzo’s — he looked like he’d been put through a wood chipper.
“Let her go and I’ll come with you willingly. We can leave now, tonight,” said the guy who’d made me swear not to bargain my life for his.
“Oh, that’s rich!” Charles growled. “As if either of you could make any deals. No, this is the end. I’ll cut off your heads for your parents to find. How would they like that, little one?” he whispered into my ear, making the hairs on my neck stand up.
“So that’s it, huh? You cut off our heads and that kills us?” Zack asked.
I wondered if Charles noticed Zack inching closer.
“Yes, you completely detach the nerves and anything that feeds the brain. Then you separate the parts and make sure it can’t repair itself. Don’t you wish you’d known that when you thought you killed me?” A low rumble built in his chest. “Stupid fledglings.”
I couldn’t see Charles’s face since my back was against his chest and I’d been watching Zack. But I could smell Charles. He reeked of dead animal and rotting clothes. But his stench was quickly forgotten as I remembered the knife I’d slipped into my sleeve just moments ago.
“Please don’t kill me,” I whined, just to distract him as I let my arm drop, nudging my wrist against my thigh to loosen the blade. It inched down my arm until the handle connected with my thumb.
“If you return to the king and tell him how you failed, you’ll look like a wuss. But if I go with you now, no one ever has to know.”
Slowly, my other hand slid across my stomach toward the knife in the sleeve of my other arm.
Charles snorted. “Nice try, but I’d rather be a fugitive than let you two live after what you did to me.”
How could I use the knife most effectively so Charles got maximum damage? And could I apply enough force with him behind me? I twisted slowly to meet his gaze, hoping he wouldn’t tighten his grip and press the sharp blade harder to my skin. He didn’t.
As if Charles knew he had my attention, he leered down at me. “You would’ve been fun to keep around for a while, sweetheart.”
My stomach lurched and I gripped the handle of the knife, turning toward him just a little more. “Your loss.”
“Renzo will kill you for hurting us.” Zack’s face looked pained, helpless, as he shifted his weight to his other leg, which somehow brought him closer. He now stood about three feet away.
“Renzo?” Charles’s voice became dangerously low.
“Midnight-blue late-model Jag, dark hair, little fine scars all over his face. Yeah, that Renzo.” Zack was bluffing. Renzo claimed he wanted to help, but would he actually kill a scout for us? Unlikely, but Charles didn’t know that.
“I haven’t seen the Jag in days. Of course, I’ve been living in the forest and eating rats for a while so what would I know?” Charles snickered and the blade eased off my neck a fraction. “Time’s up. Say good-bye to your girlfriend, Zack.”
With all my strength, I thrust the knife deep into his gut. Charles grunted and dropped the knife, then growled as his hand shot out to close around my throat. Breathing wasn’t necessary, and even if he broke my neck, I now knew that wouldn’t kill me.
But I couldn’t afford to be out of commission in any way at all. Incapacitation would lead to decapitation. I thought about morphing into a small animal and slipping through his fingers, but I’d be so much easier to kill if he caught me. I needed every ounce of ferociousness the shape could provide. I needed to be the biggest, baddest animal around.
My body quaked as I once again morphed into a bear. The increase in my size sent my body exploding outward and Charles’s grip around my midsection slipped. He didn’t lose much time though. His sword thrust into my side and pain sliced through me.
I staggered back against the wall. My insides felt like they were being ripped apart and I let myself slide down the wall until my furry rump hit the floor. Zack morphed and leapt. Charles sidestepped and lunged for me.
Rolling on my side to avoid Charles, I saw my knife crimson with Charles’s blood just inches from me. In one swift movement, I grabbed for it. Damn paws! I roared and flipped over on my back, but Charles was already charging, eyes wild with rage and the long blade aimed at me.
Zack hurled himself into Charles, knocking him down the hallway. They tumbled further away, white drywall dust clinging to them as they struggled for the sword. Weak as I was from loss of blood, I couldn’t allow Charles to hurt Zack. If only he and I could continue to keep Charles off each other and stall death. But how long could we keep that up?
I fought through the blood loss and weak limbs to fling myself at Charles, my giant paws slashing at his flesh. He struck out at Zack, flinging him against the far wall, then whipped around, sword in hand.
Screw this.
I shoved forward, opened my jaws as wide as I could and covered his head with my mouth. His arm flailed and the sword cut into me. He couldn’t see, but he didn’t need to. Fire burned my neck. I increased the pressure, using the full force of my jaws and his skull cracked. As my paws held him down, I tugged. Bone snapped and flesh ripped. Just as I prepared to give his head one final yank to separate it from his shoulders, Charles wielded his sword and more pain shot through my neck. A moment later, his body pitched forward. His head slipped from my mouth, fell with a thunk and rolled in the opposite direction.
But he’d already done his damage. Like an old building being detonated, my knees buckled and I crumpled in a heap. The floor-boards thundered when they met my rump and the room spun around me.
I morphed into my human form.
Zack was calling my name, but his voice was faint. I raised a weak hand to touch the fleshy chasm the blade had made at my throat. My fingers slipped on something gooey. So much liquid…
My eyes closed.
Numbness set in and I vaguely wondered how bad it was. Had Charles severed my head? My hand flopped to the floor with a thud. I was cold, so cold, and I was floating. A tremor began in my fingers and spread to my knees until my legs and arms were quivering, too. Then frigid cold settled over me like a dry ice mist.
Somewhere far away, voices raged, but I couldn’t follow the words. I drifted off, succumbing to the white light beckoning me. I thought of emerald green eyes and how I’d never look into them again.
~~~
Chapter Thirty-four
I opened my eyes and scanned the dimly lit room. My room, my house. The mattress creaked as someone sat next to me, but it wasn’t Zack. I turned my aching neck to see Renzo.
Renzo? My spine stiffened.
“I won’t hurt you,” he said in a soothing voice. “Relax.”
If he was going to kill me, wouldn’t he have already done it? Instead, he was by my bedside. My shaky limbs wilted. “Where is he?”
“Zack? He went to check on his mother.”
Zack was alive. I let my lids shut and took a moment to breathe in the relief.
“He’ll be disappointed he wasn’t here when you woke.”
My head felt fuzzy as I faced Renzo and blinked. “What are you doing here?”
“Tending to you, obviously. How are you feeling?”
“But why are you h—?” I coughed and pain sliced through my neck. “I feel like I died,” I whispered.
“Almost. You’ve healed quickly, though, considering the damage. I’m impressed.”
A fire worked its way through my throat as I gulped. I needed water desperately. “Thirsty.”
“Here.” He handed me a cup with a straw.
I sucked up every last drop, the cool water soothing the bu
rn. “Who are you?”
“Renzo. Did you lose your memory like you almost lost your head?” He touched my forehead with his index finger.
“I mean who are you? What’s your real name?” I studied him. Zack clearly favored his mom with his dark hair, but in my foggy haze, I couldn’t help noticing Zack’s eyes and brows were eerily similar to the man sitting beside me.
“Renzo.” His eyes narrowed.
“Ever gone by the name Lucio Gavino De Luca?” I whispered, wanting to be discreet so Alura wouldn’t hear from wherever she was. Plus, Zack could make an appearance any moment.
“Your questions never stop.” Renzo made a quick grunt. “Wouldn’t Zack know his own dad if he saw him?”
“All the pictures of his father disappeared and Zack was very young when his father died,” I said. “You didn’t answer my question.”
“Rest now. You’re weak, hallucinating from the pain meds I gave you.”
I groaned and rubbed the skin at my throat, feeling a scar running from one side of my neck to the other, just above my collar bone. Having expended too much energy with that little movement, I left my hand there. “I’m not going to give up.”
“So I’ve seen.” He breathed deeply and grated out four words. “My name is Renzo.”
That was his name today, but what about when Zack was a boy?
Oh, man, I was really reaching to think Renzo was Zack’s dad. I didn’t even like Renzo, did I? Of course not. Still, there was something about him…However flawed he might be and whatever demons haunted him, he’d be loyal. Maybe even die for ones he loved.
But was he our friend? If not, why was he there? Why hadn’t he already killed us? Because I wasn’t buying the whole vacation thing anymore. Not after he followed us to Yosemite. He had a secret agenda — keep us safe, then take credit for delivering a new recruit and a slave to the king in one fell swoop? Charles was too dead to tell anyone what really happened. Or was he?
“Charles… where is he?”
The door opened and my heart thumped faster, expecting to see Zack.
“How’s our patient?” Alura asked, her voice musical and soothing.