The answer was simple. I hadn’t been.
For the third time since we’d arrived, I jumped up and started for the door.
Ash, quick little thing that she was, jumped in front of me. Again. “Noah, no. We talked about this. Storming off in a huff is not the way to do this. All you’ll do is give Cora exactly what she wants.”
We’d run through the woods behind Brewster’s place until the air had left our lungs and both our legs refused to work anymore. When we’d come out the other end, we tucked ourselves away in the first vacant house we could find. The place was empty. It’d been looted long ago and every inch of every surface was covered in graffiti—and not the good kind. Kori would have been horrified.
I elbowed Ash aside and reached for the handle. But instead of storming out, I closed my eyes and held my breath, counting to five.
“I understand how you must feel.”
“No you don’t.” I opened my eyes and blew out slowly. It pissed me off that she was standing in the way of me getting to my friends. To my family. It infuriated me that she even had that much power over me. And the look in her eyes? That pitying stare? That almost sent me into a rage-filled tailspin. “Someone like you can’t possibly understand.”
The words horrified me, and yet I couldn’t stop the verbal spewage. It was fueled by my fury for Dylan, over everything that had happened, and fear. For Cade, for Kori—for Ash. I’d lost enough in this world already. My sister, my parents—my life and home. After finding Kori again, I swore that was it. I hadn’t meant to feel anything other than relief over the fact that we’d saved her, then ended up viewing her as an extension of myself, of my blood. She was family—whether I liked it or not, whether I refused to admit it or not. And Cade… I would do anything for him. He was my brother not by blood, but by choice. The one person who would stand with me no matter what. Right, wrong, ugly crimes, or pathetic mistakes—he would always have my back.
But Ash? I was incensed by the strong need to…what? Protect her? Care? If it’d been anyone else in that room with me, I would have stormed out and not looked back. But her? By just telling me not to leave, I found myself paralyzed. In that moment, with all the shit weighing down on me, all I could think about was the promise I’d made to myself. The promise to give her up. To blow the whole thing off and not let anyone else inside. The fact that I hadn’t been able to shake her like I had the others made me twitchy and raw.
It made me an asshole.
“You’ve got no one, right? No family, no friends. There’s no one for you to miss, to lose.”
“Wow.” She folded her arms and stood there, an attempt to look casual that she didn’t quite pull off. Underneath the mask was horror. I’d struck and landed my blow with precision accuracy.
“You cannot possibly understand what it’s like to lose someone.”
She gritted her teeth but held her ground. “I’ve lost people. I lost Noah.”
The cut was deep, but I wanted more. In that moment, I wanted her to hate me as much as I hated myself. “You lost a friend. It happens to all of us.”
“He was more than a friend.”
“Oh. Yeah, right. He was a friend you made out with.”
“Asshole,” she spat, lunging forward. I caught her fist before it connected, kind of impressed by the force behind the blow, then pushed her backward. I should have let her hit me—God knew I deserved it—but it only added insult to the injury to stop the attack.
“Damn right I am. Probably a good thing you don’t forget that.” Without another word, I yanked open the door and stormed out.
...
This version of Wells was slightly different. The buildings were taller with more of a gaudy spin, and the foliage was more colorful, but the layout was mostly the same. Navigating my way through town wasn’t hard, and after wandering around in the darker corners of the city to find a safe path, I finally made it back to the bridge where we’d come to contact Rabbit.
I worked the stone free, pulled out the cell, and turned it on. The battery was almost dead, but there was just enough for me to leave a message letting him know we’d found something—not that I was sure we had. The notebook was just a collection of names, but I was hoping he could sort it out.
Going back to his cabin was probably a bad idea, so I gave him the address of the vacant house we were in, then replaced the whole thing. Cora wouldn’t risk hurting Cade and Kori until she had me—at least, I hoped. The idea of having me waltzing around town, wearing her son’s face, would be too much. That, and I got the impression she was bat-shit crazy. Like it or not, Rabbit was going to help me get them back, and then he was going to fix the damn cuffs.
Making my way back to the house took almost as long as getting to the bridge despite all the detours and unfortunately gave me time to think. I’d been an ass to Ash—which, at the time, had been the point. But now that I’d cooled and could view things in hindsight—a nasty habit according to, well, everyone who knew me—I realized just how far over the line I’d stepped. I’d been angry. At her, at the situation—at myself. The way she’d been looking at me, like I was someone worthy of her pity, of her kindness, had sent me over the edge. Maybe that was the real reason I kept talking myself out of any kind of future with her. Deep down, I knew I didn’t deserve it. I didn’t deserve her—not any version. Especially not this one.
From the time she could walk, I’d always been Kori’s protector. My sister had been fragile. Sweet and full of light and life, yet oddly vulnerable. From the moment I laid eyes on her, I knew it was my job to keep her safe. A job that, with Cade’s help, I excelled at. No one messed with Kori Anderson. That day when we found her in the basement, bleeding out right in front of our eyes, I failed. Me, a pre-med student who couldn’t save one of the most important people in his life. That moment had changed me. It’d changed my outlook on life and on medicine. If I had to admit it—which I never would—it had shaken me. Dislodged my center and screwed with my confidence in twisted ways.
There was no way to change who I was. I couldn’t push away the feelings of self-hatred and guilt that had been festering since that day. But I didn’t have to take it out on Ash. Not anymore. I pushed through the door, half expecting her not to be there anymore. The place was quiet and dark, the electricity off and the sun going down. I stopped in the middle of the room and listened. Nothing. “Ash? You here?”
A few moments passed before a soft sigh drifted through the room. “Here.”
Her voice sounded like it’d come from the far corner, and when I rounded the couch, I found her sitting on the floor against the wall. “Listen, I—”
She held up a familiar thin black thing. “You left your phone. When you stormed off like a child? You left your phone behind.”
“Um, okay.” I leaned over and took it from her. “Thanks?”
“It rang.”
“Someone called?” I looked down at the phone and pulled up the call log. Normally the only number there was Cade’s. Sometimes it’d go weeks without ringing. We’d found our phones worked in most places—which still kind of blew our minds—but in some it didn’t. Now, in addition to Cade’s number, there was one I’d never seen.
“That guy called. The one you came here after.”
“Dylan?” Every muscle in my body was instantly on alert. This wasn’t good. “What did he say? What did—”
“You said yourself he knew the cuff wasn’t working right. That he’d go looking for a way to fix it? Well, he did. He went looking for a person to fix it.”
It only took me a few seconds to figure it out. There were only two people who could fix the cuff. It would have either been Cora—which probably would have had Ash dancing in the streets—or… “Rabbit.” I groaned. “He went after Rabbit…”
She nodded and stood. “He says Phil is unharmed and that if you want it to stay that way, you and Cade will meet with him to discuss terms.”
“He’s gonna have to settle for just me.”
&nb
sp; “And me.”
“Doesn’t Rabbit hate you?” Not exactly eloquent, considering the circumstances and the shit that went down between us earlier, but as usual, I opened my mouth and shit just spilled out.
“Yep,” she said. “He does. And he’s not really my favorite person right now, either. But I’ll probably need his help to prove Cora and Karl had Noah killed.”
“Did he say where? When?”
She nodded. “He gave me an address. As for when, he told me to tell you the clock was ticking. Said you’d know what that meant.”
I sighed. “It means we go now.”
Chapter Sixteen
Ash
The place Dylan told us to meet him was an old park on the other side of town. The Wells town board voted to stop dumping money into it six years ago, and the place had fallen into disarray. The rumor was, the park was used by the braver listed to meet with estranged family members because no one else ever came.
It wasn’t too far from the house we’d commandeered, a mile or so at the most. We’d been walking for a few minutes, and every so often Noah would glance at me—thinking himself slick—then turn away without saying anything.
What he’d said to me earlier had been harsh, and deep down I knew he was only reacting to the situation. He was worried about his sister and friend and needed an outlet. I hated that I understood, but I did. My Noah had been the same way. He was sweet, but had never mastered dealing with certain emotions. His reactions to fear were much like this Noah.
“Stop squirming.” I thrust my hands into my pockets. “Just forget about it.”
“I shouldn’t have—”
“Probably not,” I agreed. “But what’s done is done.” I tilted my head down so that my hair fell to hide my face. I understood, but that didn’t mean what he’d said hadn’t cut like a sword straight through to my heart—probably because it was partially true. I had no one.
“It doesn’t feel done.”
I shrugged. “Sounds like your problem.”
He stopped walking, shooting a quick glance over his shoulder before looking back to me. “That’s just it. It’s not my problem. Not usually.” He hesitated, then started walking again. I thought that was the end of it, but after a few minutes, he said, “I’m an asshole. I’ve always been kind of an asshole, but after Kori… I’m mean, abrasive, and pretty damn thoughtless most of the time. I am what I am, though, and I’ve never really given a shit.”
“So you suddenly give a shit?”
“I hate what the Andersons did to you.”
It wasn’t the words he’d said, but the way he’d said them. Full of anguish. It made my chest hurt.
“I hate what I did to you,” he added.
“I told you, its fine. You were—”
“I didn’t mean what I said. Yeah. That was a dick thing to do, but I’m talking about before that.” He spread his arms wide. “Before this.”
“What are you talking—”
“Nice of you to finally join us,” a voice said from the darkness. A moment later, the same tall guy with a crooked nose and sharp features from the Doon emerged from the dark. “Thought you’d never show—but, where’s the rest of the crew? My brother isn’t planning to try ambushing me?”
Brother?
“Cade isn’t here.” Noah’s jaw was tight and his fists had tightened on either side. “Neither is Kori. They’re a little busy with my parents.”
“Oh, wow. Sucks to be them! I heard this world’s Cora and Karl weren’t the most welcoming.”
“Moving on… Where’s Rabbit?”
“You mean Phil?” Dylan rolled his eyes and leaned in close to Noah. I had to give him credit. He didn’t back away—or rip the guy’s throat out. “This one is a drag! He’s got the stick wedged so far up his ass, it’s about ready to shoot out his nose!”
“Where is he?” Noah repeated, this time with menace.
Dylan looked like he was having too much fun pushing his buttons, though. “Did you know he was wearing loafers when I found him? Loafers? Our Rabbit would die!”
“Dylan…”
“All right. All right. Cool the hell down. He’s fine.”
“What is it you want?” I told myself I’d keep quiet and let Noah do all the talking. I mean, he knew this whacko and all. But I was losing my patience.
“Well, well. I see you finally found the right brother, huh?”
I grabbed Noah’s wrist and tugged him away. “Come on. I’m betting this jackass doesn’t even have Phil. He’s—”
“Oh, I have him. And since we have a very real problem—” He glared at me, the smile disappearing from his lips. “You’d better listen up.”
“Listening.” Noah folded his arms.
“The cuffs are busted, but I think you already knew that. Since I already checked and it doesn’t appear that Ava is here, I decided it was time to bring the old thing in for repair.”
“Meaning Rabbit.”
“He is a genius. Maybe even smarter than your mom here. Who knows?”
“Lemme guess.” I couldn’t help snickering. “He refused to help you?”
Dylan laughed. “Oh. She’s cute, Noah.”
“I don’t get it.” He’d said it like it was some kind of insult.
Noah made a low growling sound, then said, “Dylan wouldn’t have given him a choice.”
“Of course not. No, good old Phil is going to fix the cuff. Says he can upgrade and improve it—and disconnect me from you two asshats—well, it’s three now, isn’t it?”
“Could you get to the point? I’m dying of old age.”
“He needs the rest of the cuffs to do it.”
It didn’t sound funny to me, but something he’d said made Noah snort, then double over with laugher. Maybe the world they’d come from, laughter meant something different. Maybe it was a sign of aggression. I had an ill-timed vision of two gun-toting bad guys, faced off and cackling hysterically, while they blew each other away.
“Well, then you’re fucked.”
Dylan lost his grin. “’Scuse me?”
“Cade and Kori? Unreachable at the moment.”
“We can wait,” Dylan said cautiously. He folded his arms and leaned back against the nearest tree.
“Gonna be waiting a long time. Mom and Dad? They’ve kind of got them locked up.”
Dylan was quiet for a moment, gaze alternating between Noah and me. “What the hell does that mean, locked up?”
Noah grinned. “As in, taken prisoner. Held against their will. Tossed in the pokey—”
“I get it.” Dylan lifted his hand, irritated frown changing to match Noah’s smile. “But we both know you’d never leave Cade behind. And what about your sister?” He shook his head. “Nope. I suggest you get creative and plan a jailbreak.”
“Why? When we skip, they’ll get pulled right along with us.” He was posturing. I knew he never intended to leave Cade and Kori in the Andersons’ dungeon. He might not know the full extent of Cora’s insanity, but he’d seen enough to be worried. “All I gotta do is sit back and wait for you to get bored.”
Dylan laughed. “That so?”
“Eventually you’ll move on. We’ll all move on with you. End of story.”
“No,” he said with a grin. “I won’t. Can’t. I’ve tried to skip four times. We’re all dead in the water and stuck here unless Phil can fix our ride.”
Noah’s smile faded and I could tell he was trying to decide whether or not to believe the guy. I didn’t know them, had no idea about the dynamic between them, but it was obvious to anyone with a pair of eyes and half a brain that there’d been a lot of lies tossed around. Still…something about his expression, about the way he held himself, screamed of truth.
“I swear on your dead sister,” Dylan prodded, grin growing even bigger. “You know, the real one.”
Noah lunged for him, but I threw myself between them. “Need to keep your head,” I reminded him.
He ignored me, eyes full of fury an
d entire body rigid, but at least he didn’t move any closer.
Dylan gave a satisfied snort and took a small step back. “As I was saying… Phil can fix the cuffs, but he needs all of them to do it. Unless you want to spend the rest of your days in this twisted place, you’ll find a way to get to Cade and Kori. I think you’ve got my number, right? Call me when you get your act together. Until then, I think Phil and I will do a little chilling.”
Chapter Seventeen
Noah
We left the park empty handed and with no path in mind. “I never thought I’d say this, but I miss Cade’s we need a plan attitude. I got nothing. You?”
Ash kept pace beside me. “Well, for starters, we know Phil is lying to Dylan.”
“Lying? How?” Obviously I’d missed something.
“Don’t you remember? He told us at the cabin—he doesn’t need all the cuffs. You asked him and he said he just needed the main cuff. The one Dylan is wearing—the one he already has.”
How the hell had I forgotten that?
“Assuming that was his way of calling for help when Dylan nabbed him. Unfortunately it kind of backfired,” Ash added.
“Cora has the other cuffs and we have no hope of sneaking in to get them without Rabbit—unless you have another ace up your sleeve?”
“I got nothing,” she repeated. “But maybe there’s a way around it all. Maybe we don’t have to sneak in.”
I snorted. I could see it now. The girl she wanted to blame for her son’s death accompanied by the guy wearing his face. That would go over real well. “You wanna try skipping right through the front door?”
“Yes.”
I stopped walking and stared at her.
“If the truth about what really happened to Noah comes out, not only will Infinity be ruined, but Cora and Karl will go to jail. I know them. They’ll do anything to prevent it.”
“So your suggestion is…?”
“Offer her something she wants. Something she needs. Cade and Kori for me. You’re an annoying thorn in her side, but I’m a time bomb looking for the right place to detonate. They want to pin Noah’s death on me, but they know I’m not going to go quietly. I can still kick up enough dust to put the spotlight on them. I probably wouldn’t win, but no matter what, Infinity would get dragged around. Cora is going to want to deal with me herself. Out of the public eye.”