The drive home from Jack’s was awkward. Wes didn’t say much and kept his eyes on the road. At first, I barely noticed, I was so preoccupied with the screaming muscles in my body. I vaguely remembered Fee telling me Jack was a hard teacher, but I hadn’t really believed her. I mean, sure, Jack looked pretty intimidating, but once I’d gotten to know him, I’d realized he was just this big teddy bear. Or maybe puppy was the right word. But the minute the clock had started for our training session, it was like he became a whole different person. He was strict and no-nonsense and definitely pushed me way beyond the limits I thought I could handle.
In the two hours we’d spent together, I think I’d done more pushups and sit-ups than ever before in my life. I’d also run—for a ridiculously long time. We ran a trail through the woods, so I couldn’t be sure the distance, but any time I stopped or even slowed my pace, Jack was behind me, barking an order to get moving. I was exhausted and sweaty and desperately wanting a shower and my bed, in no particular order.
We were a fair distance away from the house before Wes’s clipped silence dawned on me—and before I felt like I was breathing normally enough to hold a conversation.
“What did you do while I was with Jack?” I asked.
“Cause business.”
“Anything interesting?”
He glanced at me quickly and then back to the road again. “Vera needed me so she could finish reinforcing the wards.”
“What are wards?”
“I guess you could call it a security system. Vera weaves a spell that spans the edge of Jack and Fee’s property. It keeps unwanted guests out, and lets Jack and Fee know when someone—or something—crosses over it.”
I guess it shouldn’t have surprised me that Vera could do magic. And in a way, it didn’t. She was exactly the sort of modern-day witch I would’ve pictured, but the fact that magic existed, on that level, never ceased to amaze me. “So why did she need you there?”
“The spell can be programmed to let certain individuals pass, but you have to present them properly. She was programming me in, so I wouldn’t get zapped with a thousand volts of electricity next time I come over.”
“Good idea. What about the rest of The Cause members? How will they get through?”
“Vera will be at the end of the drive to meet them and program them in as they arrive. Then, they’ll be okay to come and go until she has to redo it.”
“How long will that be?”
“A couple of months. It probably lasts longer, but with everything going on, we aren’t taking any chances.”
Somewhere during our talk of magic, his shoulders had relaxed, and his tone had become less strained, his words not as short as when we’d left the house. “Did you ask Vera if she saw something about me?”
Immediately, the tension returned. “No. I forgot.”
He was lying. And poorly, at that. Usually when he kept something from me, he did a better job concealing it, so that I only suspected, without any real proof. But this one had been obvious. His eyes had shifted and he still wouldn’t look at me. I wondered what Vera had seen. Was it something bad? Was it about Leo hurting someone else? Or me? Did he think I couldn’t handle it?
“I thought we had a deal,” I said. “Training in exchange for full disclosure.”
He shook his head. “I promised I’d share everything I knew about Leo. And I have.”
“You’re still keeping something from me.”
“But it’s not about Leo,” he said, as if that made it okay.
I clenched and then unclenched my teeth. “You would’ve made a fantastic lawyer.”
He grinned, like it had been meant as a compliment.
I shook my head. “I’ll find out, you know. Whatever it is you’re keeping from me.” He just stared at the road, so I went on. “The truth always comes out. And if something happens, or if someone gets hurt, and it could’ve been avoided if you’d just been honest with me, that would be hard to forgive.”
“What if telling you would hurt someone?”
I might’ve argued that the truth was always better, and secrets always had a way of coming back to bite you, but the sincerity and quiet desperation in his tone stopped me. Whatever he was keeping, it was wearing on him. For a split second, it made me feel bad for him, but then I realized how dumb that was. If he’d just tell me, we could face it together, and he wouldn’t have to feel all “world on my shoulders” about it. Besides, all of this overprotectiveness was reminding me of my mother.
I sighed. “I still deserve to know. Even if it hurts,” I said.