Sweet Reckoning (The Sweet Trilogy #3)(18)

I had to shut her up before she said another word about those two psychos.

“I don’t appreciate you showing up unannounced. I don’t answer to you or any other Neph. I do what my father tells me. He’s not the kind of Duke you want to cross, so I suggest you give me my keys and leave me alone.”

Caterina began to laugh, but quickly stopped when she saw Marek toss the keys to my free hand. She gave him a disbelieving look.

“She hasn’t answered our questions!”

“And she won’t now that you’ve treated her as our enemy.”

I pitied Marek. I’d hate to have to deal with the enraged mini-vamp girl.

I hit the Unlock button, opened the door, and threw my bag in.

“Good luck,” I said to Marek before I quickly slipped in, locked the doors, and cranked the engine on.

“Wait!” he yelled, grabbing the door handle. His face looked panicked. “Don’t leave yet!”

What did he expect when he threw me the keys? Caterina made a run for the front of the car to block me, but I hit the accelerator and she jumped back as I sped away. They’d have hell to pay with the Dukes for letting me go.

At the first stoplight I opened the bag and felt around until the hilt was in my hand, then I breathed a sigh of relief. I texted Dad with my information code: A411. I tried to keep my hearing around the two Neph, but they were both silent, and I wasn’t great at following sounds of cars when other cars were around. Just to be safe, I kept driving for the next three hours until my body demanded rest.

I pulled into the back of a supermart’s parking lot and used my backpack as a pillow. I never heard back from Dad. That night, I fell asleep haunted by the look of regret in Marek’s eyes as I sped away. What did he regret, exactly? Was he an ally or a foe? I didn’t know, but I intended to find out.

CHAPTER SEVEN

JAY’S FUTURE

I was certifiably grumpy when I woke in the car the next morning. If those restless moments of dozing could be considered sleeping.

I texted Patti first thing. U ok?

Yes. You?

Fine, I texted back.

We said nothing more, and I deleted the conversation from my phone, wishing it was safe to tell her I loved her. I would have given anything to sit out on our balcony with her this morning, sipping coffee like we used to, discussing college plans and other normal things.

I texted Dad again.

He never responded, which made me antsier. I felt stuck in limbo and I didn’t know what my next move should be. I decided to swing by our apartment in Cartersville to check the mail. It probably wasn’t the smartest move, but I tried to be careful. I stopped as I neared the neighborhood and did surveillance. No strange cars or people. I pushed my hearing into the apartment. The place was silent, but I wouldn’t be going in. I got the mail and left as quickly as I could.

I drove to Jay’s house and sorted through the envelopes as I sat parked in his driveway. I was glad I’d gotten the mail, because there were things from Virginia—information about checking into campus housing at Virginia Tech, and letters from the bank and realtor about Patti’s new house in the small town of Riner. I shoved everything into my backpack, slung it over one shoulder with a quick glance for whisperers, and walked into Jay’s house.

His parents were at work, and in his room I could hear clicking on a keyboard. The door was open, so I knocked and peeked in.

“Hey,” I said.

He tried to smile, but he looked stressed. “I think I found something, but I don’t really know what I’m doing. I—”

I put a finger to my lips and motioned toward a pen on his desk. He picked it up and wrote in messy handwriting, There’s a church in Atlanta that needs a night janitor and they offer lodging.

Janitor? I wrote.

He shrugged, seeming so much more unsure of himself than usual. He bent over the page and scratched out another message. I’ll have to give up DJ stuff at nights, but I don’t know what else to do. I can get one of those carrier things for when I’m sweeping and stuff.

I underlined carrier things and put a question mark.

He pointed at the computer screen full of different baby carriers, and tears of surprise sprang into my eyes.

“Aw, come on,” he said softly. “Don’t do that.”

I wiped my eyes dry. So many things ran through my mind that I wanted to say: How proud I was of him. How awful this situation was, and how sorry I was that it was happening. But none of that was necessary with Jay. Though a navy blue stream of sadness and gray worry ran steadily through the underbelly of his aura, the rest was a pastel swirl of pink love.

Jay was going to be a daddy. Despite his trepidations, he was being proactive about it. The thought of anything happening to him scared me to death. It wasn’t safe for him or the baby to be in Atlanta, but I hated asking him to leave the place he’d always known as home.

I took the pen. Would you consider moving to a place where there are no Dukes?

He didn’t immediately refuse, like I thought he might.

You mean Virginia, with you?

Hm, there was a thought, but I shook my head. I have to live on my own, but maybe you could be nearby? A lightbulb went off, and I wrote faster. Maybe you could live with Patti! Or near her. You could help each other, and you’d only be a town away from me.

The idea grew on me as I stood there thinking about it, and a grin spread across Jay’s face.