The Flight of the Silvers (Silvers #1)(126)

Mia rubbed Amanda’s back. “This isn’t your fault. It’s Evan’s.”

“It doesn’t matter. Everyone’s going to recognize Zack now.”

David tilted his head at the image. “No they won’t. Unless he finds another way to float horizontally with a contorted expression of pain, no one will make the connection.”

Soon the news report transitioned to a live Q&A with the lead Dep on scene, shot downstairs in the lobby. Andy Cahill was a leathery codger who delivered curt words through a bushy mustache and a sandy baritone. His whiskers curled in a patient smile as he indulged the reporter’s questions. Are the people involved still at large? Yes. Do you believe they’re foreign terrorists? Doesn’t seem likely. Do you think the shooting death of the hotel manager is somehow connected? That does seem likely. Anything you can tell us about the tempic device that was used today? Nope.

When teasingly asked if he considered the possibility of Gothams, Cahill chuckled softly and told the reporter she watched too many movies.

All throughout the interview, Theo sat forward in rapt attention, fixing his gaze on a female agent in the background. Though she moved too fast to provide a decent look, her dark skin and flowing dreadlocks were enough to ring every bell in Theo’s head. His thoughts screamed with recognition, as if she’d been a crucial part of his life from the moment he first drew breath.

Once the scene changed, he snapped out of his trance and flipped his mirrored senses. It wasn’t the past he knew her from. She was a towering presence to come. That dark and faceless woman loomed over every corner of his future.

—

Propriety went out the window at bedtime, when Mia crawled under the covers with Zack, and David asked Amanda for permission to sleep with her sister.

“I’m not a beagle,” the boy declared. “I can’t just doze on some couch or rug. I need a bed. I promise I’ll be a perfect gentleman. And I’ll wake you right away if Hannah’s condition changes.”

Amanda traded a dim look with Theo, then gave David an acquiescent shrug. She raised a worried eyebrow when he closed the door behind him.

“Did I just make an awful mistake?”

Theo smirked. “Even if she was conscious, Hannah wouldn’t mind.”

“You mean if he shares a bed with her or if he tries something?”

“Yes.”

She covered her laugh with a hand, feeling guilty to be glib under the circumstances. She slipped out of her sweaty T-shirt and into a tank top, stunning Theo with her sudden lack of inhibition. What a strange unit the six of them had become. He already felt more at home with the Silvers than he ever did with the Maranans.

Amanda turned off the light and stretched out on the long sofa. Theo had curled up in the love seat, his bandaged thigh dangling awkwardly over the edge. She asked him if he’d be okay like that. He assured her he was quite the beagle.

At dawn, a shrill electronic chirp blared throughout the suite. Zack’s eyelids fluttered in jarring disruption. He dazedly processed the teenage girl in his bed, then plucked his ringing handphone from the dresser.

Mia rolled over and opened a groggy eye. “What time is it?”

“Early.”

“Who’s calling?”

“Well, that’s the weird thing.”

He held the phone in front of her. She squinted at the screen. Mia Calling.

For a brief disturbing moment, Mia wondered if her future self had discovered a new venue. Once the ringing stopped, she stumbled onto the saner theory.

“Someone found my phone. The one I threw away.”

Zack had a strong idea who it was. When the phone rang a second time, he painfully scuttled out of bed. Mia sat up in worry.

“Wait. You’re not going to answer that, are you?”

“I’ll be all right.”

“But it could be—”

Before she could finish, Zack pressed the phone to his ear and heaved a sigh into the speaker.

“Hello and up yours, Evan.”

From the airy balcony of his newest suite, Evan laughed. This was his fifth trip through their conversation. Zack always started the same way.

“Good morning,” he said, with sunny cheer. “How are the new digs?”

“Spiffy,” he’ll say, and then inquire my purpose in calling.

“Spiffy,” Zack said. “Are you calling to gloat or is there another reason?”

“For you, my friend, I’m all rainbows and kittens. Come outside. Let’s talk privately.”

Beyond the sliding glass door, two naked corpses bled out on the bed. This suite’s balcony was the only place Evan could get a decent view of the Silvers’ new hideout. Tragically, the room had been occupied by a pair of young newlyweds who were light sleepers and loud screamers. Evan had to rewind twelve times before he was able to murder them quietly. It didn’t help that he’d invaded their room in a smiling gray goblin mask.

Evan pressed binoculars to his eyeholes, waiting for Zack to emerge onto the patio.

“By the way, I’m sorry about the mimosa prank. I only wanted the sisters to shriek and pull some hair. I didn’t expect a full tempic smackdown. Jesus.”

Zack stepped outside and slid the door shut. He scanned Tower Two, the only spire within view.

“Over here,” said Evan. “Top floor.”