Love's Cruel Redemption (The Ghost Bird #12)(62)

Which left the question: how did he get in to get to the phone, and how had he known it was there?





Evasion




Sang

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I never finished eating dinner. I was halfway through when I just couldn’t keep my eyes open any more. I was swaying in the seat.

Erica got after Jessica to get to bed and after a bit, she suggested I go as well. I didn’t know how to say no to her. Not after tonight. Not after finding us and how she looked at me, at Nathan and even at Victor. They had to stay together. Nathan couldn’t leave as he was anticipating a talk with Erica with Kota. Victor couldn’t be alone right now. Not with Volto causing problems.

She knew something happened.

Nathan and Victor waited downstairs on the couch for Kota. I wanted to. I didn’t want Kota to have to face Erica alone. But as Erica told me everything was okay and reminded me that there was school tomorrow, I didn’t know what else to do. Nathan and Victor encouraged it.

Sleep took over quickly once I hit the bed. The only time I woke up, it was when Nathan crashed in the cot after he rolled it out. I sensed there was someone else in the room, too. I think it was Victor on the floor. I was asleep again quickly once Nathan settled down.

Someone was shaking me to wake up the next morning. Despite the effort, my eyes stayed closed.

“Sang,” Victor said. “Princess. Come on. We’ve got to get going.”

I heard it and I still couldn’t wake myself.

Part of my memory was foggy from the night before. The blanket over my body kept me so warm and the bed was incredibly comfortable. The moment he stopped shaking, I was already going back to sleep.

But Volto was out there. Somewhere.

The thought of him woke me.

I sat up sharply, knocking my head against Victor’s hovering face. He reeled back, cupping his hand around his lips and mumbled against it.

“Sorry!” I said, scrambling to get on my knees on the bed. I blinked rapidly. The shock of it all coming to me at once. I leaned into Victor, looking at his face. “I’m sorry.”

He removed his hand. His lip was a bit red and it split at the bottom. Not terribly bad but it must have stung. “Accident,” he said and tried to smile but he winced and touched his lip again. “You okay?”

I nodded. The room was a mess of sleeping bags and the rollaway bed was still out. Someone was in the bathroom. There was activity downstairs, but I couldn’t tell who was here and where they were.

Victor leaned closer and touched my face, around my forehead. “I didn’t bite, did I?”

I didn’t feel anything. “Where’s North? Did he get back?”

“We’ve got him. But let’s wait until we’re in the car...” He continued to focus on me. It wasn’t safe to say too much here.

I crawled out of bed and then stopped. “My school uniform. I think it’s at the security trailer.”

“We can pick it up on the way,” he said. He was already in his uniform, looking polished and ready to go. His hair was combed back on his head, still wet from a recent shower. “Just get some clothes on.”

The urgency in his tone spoke to me more than his words. I stood, hovering on the carpet, trying to put pieces of memory together and figure out what needed to be done.

When he nudged my lower back, bringing me to the closet, I realized he meant right now.

I scrubbed at my face, and instead of grabbing clothes to take into the bathroom, I took what I needed in the closet and started to get dressed in there.

Victor hovered in the doorway, checking in on me, but his gaze went to the stairs on the far side of the room.

He was nervous about...who? Erica?

I dressed quickly in simple, dark cotton pants, a tank shirt and then put on a sweater over top. I stuffed my feet into tennis shoes without socks. “Ready.”

He took my hand and led me to the steps.

The bathroom door opened. Gabriel appeared, already in his uniform and carrying a jacket at his elbow. He was putting in a pink crystal stud into one of his lobes. He hurried behind me as we descended the stairs.

Victor stopped at the bottom of the steps, putting his ear to the door. After a few minutes, he stepped back and pulled the door open. He moved quickly, tiptoeing around to the side door of the garage.

Gabriel followed behind me. His palm touched my back, urging me on and keeping me steady. His usual smile was gone, a grim expression replacing it.

The mix up of people was just registering to me. Where was Nathan? Did he go somewhere? When did Gabriel get here?

Once we were clear of the house, Victor had us going to Kota’s sedan parked out in the driveway.

Victor got behind the wheel. I got into the back seat with Gabriel.

Within minutes of Victor turning the engine, Kota appeared. He rushed out, bag in hand, phone to his ear. He jumped into the front passenger seat just as Victor started rolling the car backward.

We were escaping.

Since Kota was on the phone as Victor drove, I kept quiet. I stretched, yawned, trying to wake myself further. I leaned into Gabriel as part of my memory returned. “Did Luke make it out?”

“He waited inside. Too risky to leave. He’ll meet us in the music room. There was security all over that place last night, so he decided to camp out.”