Silver pulled a folded piece of paper out of his pocket. “You’ll go to this.”
Kate took it. She’d seen and ignored the posters around school. “A school carnival? Seriously?”
“Seriously. It’s public, they’ll likely all attend, and I can observe without being noticed. It’s also tomorrow night.”
“And what should I do while I’m there?”
“You’ll make sure you haven’t blown our cover.”
A new edge had found its way into his voice, matching the darkness in his expression. Kate looked at her nails and did her best to ignore it. She’d barely spent any time with the Merricks—she couldn’t imagine she’d blown their cover.
But she kept thinking about Hunter, and the way he’d thrown her out of the car.
She’d touched him, and he’d caught her arm. Had he figured it out somehow?
She glanced up at Silver, but he was looking back at his laptop. “And if I have?”
“You’d do well to run.”
“From them?”
He met her eyes. “From me.”
CHAPTER 10
Gabriel and Nick Merrick were sitting at the kitchen table when Hunter followed Michael into the house. They were identical twins, but Hunter had never had a moment’s trouble telling them apart. Their powers were so different that they registered differently against his senses. When he’d first met them, he hadn’t known what that meant—he’d never spent any time around full Elementals. But once he knew their abilities—Nick’s affinity for air, and Gabriel’s for fire—he wondered how he’d ever missed it.
Nick had a thick textbook open on the table in front of him, with a notebook beside it. He looked irritated, and he was watching Gabriel break Oreos into a bowl of milk.
“You know,” Nick was saying, “you could actually make dinner for a change.”
“I am making dinner.”
They hadn’t spotted him yet.
Hunter didn’t exactly want to remedy that.
But Casper didn’t care, he just followed Michael into the kitchen, his tail waving like a banner behind him.
Hunter watched their expressions change, saw their eyes follow Casper as his nails clicked across the ceramic tile, then watched them swing their gazes around to the kitchen doorway.
The silence lasted about three seconds.
Then Gabriel’s expression sharpened, and he said, “Look, Michael brought home a dog and a—”
“Gabriel. Leave him alone.” Michael grabbed a bowl from a cabinet and filled it with water.
Hunter had no idea how this was going to go, and he didn’t really want to be standing here, waiting around to find out. He could sit on the front porch while Casper got a drink.
Before he could move to take a step, Nick cleared his throat. “You help Mike with a job or something?”
“Yeah.”
“Want something to drink?”
Hunter hesitated, like this could be a trap. But Nick was just looking at him, waiting for an answer.
So Hunter shrugged. “Sure.”
Then he tensed, realizing he’d probably walked right into it, that Nick would say something shitty like, “Too bad,” or he’d throw a glass of water in his face, or—
Or he’d just walk to the fridge, fetch a bottle of Gatorade, and toss it.
Hunter snatched it out of the air but hesitated before unscrewing the cap. “Thanks.”
“No problem.”
Gabriel watched this whole exchange. “What the hell are you doing here?”
There was something reassuring about the hostility. This, Hunter could deal with. He took a sip and made Gabriel wait for the answer. “Your brother blocked my car and forced me into his truck at Home Depot.”
Nick’s eyebrows went up. He looked at his older brother, who was dropping into a chair at the end of the table. “Really.”
Michael shrugged but didn’t say anything. He reached for the package of Oreos.
“Gee, Mike,” said Gabriel. “I’m sure that didn’t look sketchy at all.”
Michael didn’t answer him; he just looked up at Hunter. “What are you going to do tonight?”
Hunter shrugged and leaned against the doorjamb, swirling the Gatorade in the bottle. “I’ll be all right.”
“What’s tonight?” said Nick.
Then the front door slammed, and a pair of feet came down the hallway. Hunter moved to the side, and Chris appeared in the doorway, his eyes narrowed. “You’re here.” He tossed car keys on the counter. “Well, that was a wasted trip.”
Hunter raised his eyebrows. “Meaning?”
“Becca made me swing by your house before I dropped her off.” Chris made it sound like Becca had asked him to swing by the county dump. “You weren’t in school and then you didn’t return her texts. She was worried.”
Becca was worried. Hunter was oddly touched.
Then Chris said, “Your grandfather said you left.”
Hunter’s chest tightened until it was hard to breathe again. His grandfather said he’d left? Like he’d just walked out?
“I figured you’d skipped town,” said Chris. He dropped into the chair next to Nick. “Guess we’re not that lucky.”
“Guess not,” said Hunter. His hand gripped the Gatorade bottle so tightly the plastic crackled. His thoughts were spiraling like a tornado, and he couldn’t make them settle. His mother had watched—his grandfather had—his mother—his—
“Casper,” he called. “Hierr.” The dog shot to his side and nosed at his hands. Hunter glanced at Michael. “Will you drive me back now?”
“Why don’t you wait,” said Michael. “Have some dinner.”
Hunter glanced at the bowl of crushed cookies in milk. “Thanks, I’ll pass.”
“You going to sleep in your car and skip school again?” said Michael.
Well, that changed the tenor of the room. Hunter couldn’t look at any of them now. He could feel them staring, and that was bad enough.
“Forget it,” he said. “I’ll walk.”
The night air stung his face when he stepped out of the house, and Hunter pulled the hood of his sweatshirt higher against his neck. No one followed him.
Good.
He was dirty from helping Michael, and a hot shower would have helped ease the soreness across his shoulders, but that would have to wait until tomorrow morning. He wasn’t sure how long he could keep using the school gym showers without someone noticing he wasn’t going to class, but he’d do it as long as he could keep it up.
Your grandfather said you left.
Hunter swallowed. Stupid old man. Like he wanted to be there anyway.
He thought of the Merricks, sitting around the kitchen table, a room full of aggression and old wounds—but full of camaraderie and solidarity, too. The brothers didn’t always get along, but they knew each other.
His grandfather didn’t even know that Hunter would never have hit a girl.
His grandfather hadn’t even hesitated before hitting him. Hunter had to swallow again.
God, stop being such a wuss.
His father would be so disappointed.
Hunter rubbed at his eyes.
His cell phone chimed, and he yanked it out of his pocket, stupidly hoping it would be his mother.
It wasn’t.
Bueller . . . Bueller . . . Bueller.
Kate. Hunter smiled and wanted to kick himself. He stared at the text and wondered how to respond.
He felt a flicker of guilt at the way he’d thrown her out of his jeep.
Sneakers ground on pavement behind him, and Hunter whirled, hands up. Then the air sparked with Gabriel’s presence.
He shoved the phone in his pocket and kept walking.
Gabriel fell into step beside him.
Hunter didn’t even glance over. “Leave me alone.”
“Having a good cry?”
He wasn’t, but Hunter set his jaw anyway. “Go to hell.”
“So yesterday,” said Gabriel. “Rem
ember when I flipped your tray?”
“No. I forgot all about it.”
“Totally didn’t know you’d have soup on there. Jesus, I didn’t even know the cafeteria sold—”
Hunter stopped on the street and looked at him. “What do you want, Gabriel? What?”
“I want to know why you pretended to be my friend.”
Hunter started walking again.
Gabriel kept after him. “Michael said your grandfather threw you out because of what happened with Calla.”
“So what?”
“Does anyone trust you? Or do you just feed everyone a line of crap until it catches up with you?”
Hunter couldn’t look at him now. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Remember that day we went running? Remember how you sat on the side of the trail and cried about your father? Was that real? Or just one more act? Something to get me to talk, so you could report back to Bill?” His voice turned into a breathy lisping mockery of Hunter’s. “ ‘Guess what I learned today. Gabriel Merrick misses his mommy.’ ”
“Fuck you.”
“No, fuck you, Hunter.” Gabriel got in his face and shoved him, true anger behind the motion. “You know why you slept alone in your jeep last night? Because you’ve screwed over anyone who might help you.”
Hunter shoved past him and kept walking. He remembered that day, jogging on the trail, racing Gabriel for fun until they ran out of energy and adrenaline and collapsed in the grass. The air had been crisp and clean with the sun beating down—and memories of his father had clouded Hunter’s brain until he couldn’t help but talk about it. Emotion was tightening his chest again, just thinking about it.
A car rolled down the road, swirling dead leaves from the roadside in its wake. Night wind snuck into the space between Hunter’s collar and his neck. He begged the air for warmth, but it was merely content to nip at his skin and make him shiver.
“What I don’t get,” said Gabriel from behind him, “is how you could trust that asshole.”
Hunter didn’t say anything.
“I mean,” Gabriel continued, “you know he abandoned his own daughter. You know he trapped Chris and Nick and used them as bait. Hell, you saw the news footage of the bridge when he tried to blow up Becca’s car. Some fucking father.”
Hunter just kept walking.
“And if you want to pick Bill’s side, then why did you help Michael tonight?”
“I needed money.”
Gabriel caught his arm and spun him around. “Bullshit.”
“It’s not bullshit. I did need money.” Hunter jerked free.
Gabriel shoved him in the chest. “Lying to yourself, too?”
Hunter gritted his teeth. “Go away.”
“Why can’t you even answer a straight question?” Another shove. “I’ve seen you drop Mike on his ass one-handed, so I don’t buy this crap about him forcing you into the truck.”
Gabriel shoved him again, a fierce motion that drove Hunter back a step. He didn’t want to fight. He didn’t want to be here.
“Are you messing with my family again, Hunter?”
“Stop it.”
“If you wanted to finish what your father started, then you should have shot us on the soccer field.” Another push, another step. “Quit screwing around so I can decide whether to help you or kick your ass.”
Hunter moved to shove him—and when Gabriel shifted to brace and strike back, Hunter stepped into the motion, hooked an ankle, and spun. The back of his fist caught Gabriel in the face, and the other boy went down. Hard.
Hunter glared down at him, fists clenched and ready for retaliation. “You could not kick my ass.”
Gabriel winced and touched the back of his head. “Dude, this is concrete.”
“Good.”
“Jesus.” He winced again and sat up on the curb. “One of these days you’ll have to show me how you do that.”
Hunter stared down at him, feeling his breathing settle and his hands loosen. He sighed and dropped to sit on the curb. Casper came and pressed against his knees, and Hunter buried his fingers in the scruff of fur at the dog’s neck.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I should have told you. About Bill.”
Gabriel didn’t say anything, so Hunter kept his eyes on his dog. “When I followed you to the first fire—I wasn’t even going to let you know I was there. But then I could tell someone was trapped, and I couldn’t not—well, you know.”
“I remember.”
“I never told Bill anything. He asked, but I didn’t tell him any of it. Not about the fires, or about the—the other stuff. About my dad, and your mom—”
“I get it.”
“Sometimes . . .” Hunter hesitated. “Sometimes I don’t know what’s right, you know?”
“Yeah, man. You do.”
Did he? It made Hunter think about Michael’s comments in the car, about turning off his conscience. Who decided what was right?
Gabriel stood and held out a hand. “Come on. You can crash in Nick’s room.”
Hunter peered up at him. “What? Why?”
“Because he’s got more floor space for an air mattress.”
“What about all this crap about not trusting me?” Hunter took the hand and pulled himself to his feet.
“Keep your enemies closer, right?” said Gabriel.
But the tension, the challenge and aggression, was gone from his voice.
“Thanks,” Hunter said. “Maybe just one night.”
“Stay as long as you need to.”
Hunter was surprised by the sudden lump of emotion in his throat. He couldn’t say anything.
But then Gabriel smiled. “Besides. If you fuck with me or my brothers again, I’ll just let Nicky suffocate you in your sleep.”
CHAPTER 11
Hunter stared at the ceiling and waited for sleep to find him, but it didn’t seem to be looking too hard. Casper was a heavy weight at his side, his muzzle tucked under a paw. Nick’s breathing was slow and even, a solid indicator of sleep.
Hunter pulled the phone out of his pocket and scrolled through the menu until he found Kate’s last text.
Bueller . . . Bueller . . . Bueller.
He’d never responded.
He should have just deleted it, but his message from this morning, the one about his grandfather, sat there right above it.
He’d been such an idiot. Why had he told her about it? God, he’d been ready to completely unravel in front of her, and then she’d started texting some other guy.
The phone suddenly vibrated in his hand, and he almost dropped it.
I am going to stare at you until you respond. O_O
It made him smile.
He told himself to knock it off.
His phone vibrated again.
O_O
And again.
O_O
Hunter slid his thumb across the keys.
Careful. Your eyes will dry out.
As always, her response appeared almost instantly.
I knew the staring would get you.
He didn’t know what to say to that. A pause, and then another message appeared.
What are you still doing up?
I couldn’t sleep while someone was staring at me.
Why did you throw me out of your car this morning?
Hunter had no idea how to respond. I didn’t want to get played seemed like the wrong thing to say.
He already felt like a loser for almost breaking down in front of her. No sense adding more weight to that.
Then again, she’d lost her mother. Maybe he’d misread this morning entirely.
Nick’s breathing changed, and he shifted on the bed, running a hand across his face before looking down at Hunter. “What are you doing?” He glanced at the clock on his nightstand. “It’s two a.m.”
“Sorry. Can’t sleep.” Hunter clicked the phone off and shoved it under the blanket.
“Who are you texting?”
?
??Nobody.”
A pause. A long one.
A weighted one.
Then Nick’s voice gained an edge as he said, “Is this some elaborate trick to get in our house? Are you reporting back to Bill about us—”
“I’m not.” Hunter paused. “It’s just a girl.”
“Prove it.”
Hunter’s pride wanted him to refuse—but he really couldn’t blame Nick for not trusting him. He pulled the phone out from under the blanket, unlocked the screen until Kate’s texts were visible, and tossed it.
Nick took a quick glance, then tossed it back. The edge was gone from his voice. “Kate? The one who just transferred?”
Hunter looked up in surprise—though her name was clearly at the top of the screen. “How did you know?
“She asked me about you today.”
“She did?” That statement was full of highs and lows. She’d asked about him—but she’d asked Nick. Had she sat with Nick again?
He didn’t care. He didn’t.
Yeah, he did.
God, he needed to stop being such an idiot.
But he couldn’t stop thinking about her. “What’d she say?”
“She asked if I knew why you were ditching school.”
His heart felt like it was beating faster. No, it felt like it wanted a break from being inside his rib cage. His phone was a warm weight in his hand, and he wanted to pull it out from under the blanket to see if she’d written again. “And what did you say?”
“Ah . . . I said no.”
Right.
Hunter rolled back to look at the ceiling.
Nick said, “Do you know her?”
Hunter shook his head.
“Interested?”
Yes. Immensely. “Not really.” Hunter looked down at Casper, who was blowing puffs of warm breath against his arm. “She seemed into you, though.”