Cipher (14 page)

“You’ll end up dead, just like my parents. And Sally. Jack and Natalie. Everyone who’s ever tried to help me. Every time I slow down, they catch up. I’m tired. Freaking exhausted by all of this. I want to stop this ride and get the hell off, but I don’t know what else I’m supposed to do. Staying away from people and keeping moving in the Griz is the only thing that’s worked. For five years, I’ve been okay. But I stop—for weeks, not years, not months and months—but weeks now, and they’re all over my ass.”

Knight pulled me into him. I struggled at first, but gave in.

“You’re losing it, bitch,” Mona said.

I laughed against Knight’s chest. And then kept on laughing. “Did I ever have it to lose?”

Knight pulled away so that I could see his sea glass eyes. Why hadn’t I recognized that color right away? Against his tanned skin, they glowed.

“Give us a second, guys. We’ll meet you inside.” When the door closed behind them, he said finally, “It’s going to be okay.”

I shook my head. “Don’t make that kind of promise. I’m not dumb enough to believe it, and you shouldn’t be either.” We were in the middle of the desert. The sounds of the city were long gone. There was no place to hide. No Griz. I was screwed.

“A Shadow Ravens safe house,” he said.

I guessed this was it. I was with the Ravens now, for better or worse. Knight, Oliver, Dex—all of them really were Ravens. But whatever my tattoo meant, I wasn’t one of them.

“We’ll stay here for the night. Re-group. I’ve got to call in and see what it’s like out there.”

The idea of sticking around for any length of time still didn’t sit well. Not at all. “Shouldn’t we keep moving?”

Knight shook his head. “Better to know where to run to before taking off. The Seligo have a long reach, but the Ravens have been slowly gaining ground. We find a route that won’t get us caught and we take it.”

I liked the ‘won’t get us caught’ part, but it sounded too good to be true. There had to be a catch. “To where?”

“Lady Eva’s compound.”

There was that lovely catch. “Nope. I’m not going to some place to be experimented on. Not in a million years.”

“No one is going to experiment on you.”

I narrowed my gaze at him. There was no way he could possibly know that for certain. “Are you sure about that?”

He blew out a breath. “I guess not one hundred percent sure, but close enough. She’s the one who saved you and stabilized your DNA when you were a baby. Why would she hurt you now?”

I nearly laughed. “Maybe because I’m not freaking stable. I have a wee side effect.” Hell, I’d burned the sand under my feet. It glittered as the moonlight touched the little bits that had turned to glass.

He grinned, and I knew I was in trouble. “Oh, I noticed.”

Which brought up a whole other line of questions. “How do you keep grounding the electricity?” Because that was so not normal. I’d hit him hard. Mega voltage. It was enough to stop his heart for sure, but here he was, standing there looking handsome and calm while I was feeling entirely not okay.

“That’s a long story, and part of how I
know
you can trust Lady Eva.” He reached for me. “Let’s get settled first.”

He wasn’t going to get out of it that easily. “You’ll tell me later?”

“Promise. And that’s one I know I can keep.”

I stared at his hand for a second as he held it out to me. This was a fork in the road. Another one of those key choices that would either make or break my life. Who was I kidding? I was already in deep with this guy. “Okay. Fine. Let’s go inside.”

His smile got bigger. “Good.”

“Just don’t blame me when this comes back to bite you in the ass.”

“As long as you’re the one doing the biting…” He winked.

A surprised laugh escaped me. “Oh my God. When did you turn into a flirt?”

He put his arm around my shoulders and walked me to the front door of the house. “You’ve missed a lot.”

“Clearly. You’re like two feet taller.” It was nice. Talking with him, being with him felt natural. Maybe that was because I’d known him all those years ago. Or because I’d talked to him online. Or some combo of the two. Whatever the reason, this was either going to be the biggest mistake or the best thing ever. It was too soon to tell which yet.

The single-story adobe house looked like any other one I’d seen before, only this one had a glowing raven on the door in the same odd color of my tattoo. I’d have to ask about that when I wasn’t already feeling totally out of my element.

The interior was decorated in traditional southwestern style. Terra cotta floors and autumn hues dominated the house. Geometric patterns appeared on the walls and accent pieces. The space was open planned, with the living, dining and kitchen in one really large room. All the furniture looked well loved. It didn’t smell dusty or old, but no one had been here in at least a few weeks. There wasn’t anything out of place. It was like the house had been ripped from a magazine.

I wasn’t sure what I’d been expecting, but it definitely wasn’t this.

“You okay?” Mona asked. She stood slowly from the worn leather sofa.

“Yeah. Sorry for the freak out. You okay?” I was trying not to be awkward and uncomfortable but failing miserably. Suddenly, all I wanted to do was go back outside, but it was too late for that. I was committed to being here.

“I’m fine,” she said, and I nearly winced. Her hands were a little shaky and her skin a little pale. Being my friend was definitely against her best interests. “I didn’t know you were a Red,” she said.

I blew out a breath. “Yeah, it’s not something I really advertise.” I looked everywhere but at her. I didn’t want to see the rejection that might be on her face.

“I guess that’s why you were so closed off when I met you?”

“Yup.” I hoped she still wanted to be friends, but if she wanted to bail, I wouldn’t blame her. Being friends with me carried a much higher cost than she’d thought.

“Will you zap me if I hug you?”

I cringed and finally looked at her. “I don’t think so.”

Mona nodded slowly. “Screw it.” She crossed the room and wrapped her arms around me. “No more fuckin’ secrets, ‘kay?”

I hugged her back, and willed myself not to cry. “I’m sorry for dragging you into this. You okay?”

“I’m fine. I swear. That was scary as shit, but we’re safe. I trust these guys.” She pulled back a little. “It’s you I’m worried about.”

I took in the other two guys—Dex and Oliver. “Thanks for your help,” I said to both of them. “I’m sorry for melting down out there.”

“No worries. We’re friends with Hunter from way back, so we know the deal,” the Dex said. “We haven’t been properly introduced. I’m Dex. We’ve played online before. My handle’s TheSurgeon.”

I’d asked him about that. The way he talked, it was clear that he probably wasn’t an actual surgeon. He said it was because he was a brain surgeon—he got in peoples’ heads and messed them up. I’d laughed when he told me since I assumed it was a joke, but now that I knew he was a Blue, maybe he was telling the truth. Something told me there was more to Dex than he let on.

“Right. Nice to meet you in real life.” I really knew how to make a stand-out first impression. “Thanks for your help, Oliver.” He grunted, but his gaze was trained on Mona. I took a little step away from her, and his shoulders relaxed. He knew how dangerous I could be, and I appreciated that he was looking out for Mona. “So, what’s the plan?”

“There are showers,” Knight said. “You can take the bed in any of the bedrooms, but I’m sticking close by you.” I started to object, but he held up a hand. “I’ve been searching for you for twelve years. I’m not about to let you out of my sight. I can’t give you a chance to run.”

I swallowed. The guilt that he’d spent so long trying to find me was a little more than I could handle. I hadn’t asked for him to dedicate his life to that. Why would he care so much? It didn’t make sense.

As much as I wanted answers, I didn’t think I wanted them with an audience, so I settled for a nod.

“Good.” He relaxed a little. “Good.” His voice was more confident the second time. “Okay. So, I’m going to check in, like I said. If you want to get settled, then we’ll get some rest, and before we head out in the morning, we’ll check in again. We need the latest intel before we attempt to run.”

“Sounds like a decent plan,” I said. Getting some rest was a good idea, but I wondered if I’d be able to sleep here. I hadn’t slept with people in the same place since I first hit the road.

There was an awkward silence, and I started fidgeting.

“Anyone hungry?” Dex said finally, breaking it.

“Yes,” Mona said.

Oliver sat up straight. “I can cook.” His cheeks turned a little pink as he glanced at Mona.

Never one to miss a chance to flirt, Mona stepped close to him. “I’ll help.”

Cute. It was an odd match—his bald head and towering height against her small frame and long, flowing locks—but cute. If something good came out of all of this, I hoped it was the two of them getting together.

I retreated into the bathroom, which was the biggest one I’d ever seen. The shower had ten heads coming out of the walls. I flipped it on nearly as hot as it would go, and a knock sounded at the door.

“Yeah?” I said.

“Clothes. For after your shower.”

Everything I wore was damp with sweat from running and being in the trunk. And from nerves. I could use a fresh set. I cracked open the door.

“First thing I could find. They might be a little big. I’ll try and find you something else in here before the morning,” Knight said.

“That’s okay. I’ll make this work. Thanks.” He looked like he wanted to say something else but he turned and walked away. I closed the door and rested my head against it. Things were going faster than I was comfortable with and yet not fast enough.

I wanted Knight to fill me in on everything that had happened since I knew him as Hunter. What was going through the Trials like? How were those special schools? What kinds of mods did he have? But I was afraid to ask those questions. Any information I learned would make me care about him that much more. Make it that much harder for me to leave him behind when the time came.

And the time would come. It always did.

My parents used to tell me to live in the moment. To cherish every second of happy that I had while I had it, but I sucked at that. I was too busy worrying about the future. Trying to plan life five steps ahead was dumb. No one could predict it. If someone had told me an hour ago that I’d be showering in a monstrosity of a bathroom done in hand-painted tiles, I’d ask them what they’d been smoking.

Yet here I was.

I shed my clothes and tested the water.

Holy crap. It was hot. Like burn-your-skin hot. The Griz’s water heater didn’t work nearly as well. I quickly turned the knobs and stepped in.

Best shower ever.

The mirror was totally fogged when I got out. I wiped my hand across it and stared at myself. The shampoo in there must’ve been harsher than my usual stuff. My hair was fading to some horrible combination of strawberry-blond and blue. And it didn’t look remotely like purple.

I hadn’t seen my normal hair color in forever. For a second I thought about leaving it, but that was probably a bad idea. They were looking for a girl with red hair. Or blue hair. Maybe we could stop somewhere for some dye…

I pulled on the black sweatpants and gray T-shirt and opened the door. Knight stood across the hall, leaning against the wall.

“Everything okay?” I asked.

“Yeah?”

Weird. “Did I take too long? You can use it now. I’m done.”

He blushed a little. “Yes. No. And I don’t need it.”

I thought for a second. “Then what are you doing in the hallway…oh, right. Making sure I don’t run?”

He winced. “Guilty.”

I barely held back the sigh. Trust was a two-way street, and I didn’t think either of us were totally there yet. “I’m not going to run, but when you watch over me like that, it makes me feel like a prisoner.”

He crossed his arms. “You’re not a prisoner.” He sounded a little insulted.

“I know. And if I ever really feel like I’m one, I
will
take off.” I couldn’t hold back the threat. He needed to know what he was up against.

“Well, then I’ll do my best to make sure you feel safe and protected, but not smothered.”

He didn’t seem insulted, which I took as a good sign. “Fine.” The sound of Mona’s laugh drew my attention. “What’s going on?”

“Let’s talk. We’ve got some food.”

My stomach rumbled. Food would be good. I followed him into the living room. Mona, Oliver, and Dex were having a hushed conversation on the couches surrounding a coffee table made from a slice of tree trunk. At least they were until I showed up. As soon as I walked in the room, all conversation stopped.

I looked behind me. Was it me or Knight they were reacting to?

A few pizzas sat on the table. The smell of the too-sweet sauce told me that they were from the freezer, but they’d do.

I sat on one of the armchairs circling the table and cut myself a slice. As soon as I started chewing, I realized no one was talking. “What?”

“Your uncle is tearing up the city looking for you,” Dex said. Oliver hit the back of his head, but Dex shrugged. He didn’t seem bothered by it.

I dropped my slice on the table. “And? Is it worse than when we left?”

“Much. They’ve instated martial law.”

Suddenly, I wasn’t so hungry. The pizza tasted like greasy cardboard anyhow. I grabbed a napkin and wiped my fingers off, but it was like the grease was stuck. Disgusted with everything, I threw the napkin on the table.

Conflicted didn’t begin to cover how I felt about the news. That anyone was being hurt or even inconvenienced because of me was horrible. But chaos in the city might keep the Seligo from finding me, so there was no easy solution. “So what do we do now?”

“The same thing we were planning,” Knight said. “We knew he was probably going to do this.”

I didn’t want to let Jack tear apart the Void because of me, but short of turning myself in, I didn’t know how I could stop him. “Okay. Now what?”

“We’re just outside the limits of the Void. This house is totally off the grid.”