The Black Coats(71)
“That’s all you can tell us? Are you serious?” Thea stepped into the circle now, her fists clenched. “We could have died here at the hands of the very organization that we’ve been asked to serve! Who are the other Monarchs? What about Adam Porter? What is happening to Bea?”
Nixon nodded her head. “Bea is fine, Thea. Believe me, Julie would never do anything to hurt Bea.”
“Except when Bea refuses to be a part of the Monarchs. Bea is barely comfortable with what we do! She can’t be a Monarch.” Thea pressed. “Who are they? The Monarchs.”
Nixon stared at the ground. “Thea, would you ever sell out your team?”
Thea didn’t even blink. “Never.”
“Then don’t ask me to do the same. The Monarchs are my team.” She paused. “Were my team. But that’s all done now.” She took a step backward, remorse crossing her face. “This is where I leave you, girls. I can’t help you anymore from here on out. I put you in danger, and I won’t do it again by associating with you. I have some things I need to clean up here in town and then I am moving on.”
“Moving where?” asked Louise.
“On.” Nixon’s eyes were far away.
Casey shook her head. “No! You can’t leave us now. What do we do?”
Nixon sighed. “I had a tough conversation with Julie a few minutes ago. We came to a conclusion and a truce was declared. At my urging, she passed a resolution that Team Banner is dissolved and no longer a part of the Black Coats. You are free. None of you should have any trouble returning to your normal lives, as long as you don’t speak about anything you’ve seen. She’s afraid of me. As she should be.”
Mirabelle put her hands on her hips, and Thea was relieved to see her sassiness returning. “And what about Thea and Drew?”
Nixon’s eyes clouded over. “Julie said this morning that she believes the debt is settled and that this scare was enough. It got out of control too quickly and she may have to answer for it.” Nixon brushed off the lapel of her coat, now smeared with blood. “Adam Porter has been offered a cushy job in Dallas to get rid of his meddling, and I’m sure Drew will go with him. That is the last I heard.” There was a grunt from the back room as one of the men was trying to free himself from Nixon’s elaborate knots. “Team Banner, it’s time to say goodbye. Each one of you, go home. Take a shower. Live normal lives. Work for justice in your own ways.”
“But how can we?” muttered Mirabelle. “Now that we’ve been through this?”
Nixon leaned her forehead against Mirabelle’s. “I don’t know the answer to that myself.” After a moment, she pulled back and straightened her coat. Team Banner watched as Nixon slowly fastened each button, all the way to her neck. She tightened her bun and checked her reflection in a small compact, her flawless skin catching the moonlight coming through the windows.
Thea’s chest tightened when she turned to leave. “Are we going to be okay?”
Nixon shrugged. “Thea, I think you’ve known for a while that I don’t have all the answers.” She spun on her stilettos. “Good night, Team Banner. It’s been a pleasure. You’ll find your phones by the door, and lock it behind you.”
Thea watched as Nixon took one long glance at them before disappearing into the back room. Someone began screaming.
Somehow she still made it home by curfew. When her mother opened the door, Thea fell into her arms, relishing her mother’s warm smell.
“You okay, honey?”
Thea nodded, squeezing her tight. “Just glad to see you, that’s all.”
“Me, too. Your dad and I are heading to bed. He made me watch that new show, where divorced couples are stuck on the boat with each other?”
“That looks terrible.” What I mean is, I love you and I’m sorry.
“It was.” Her mom kissed her forehead. “We’ll see you in the morning, yeah? It’s Drew’s graduation, right? Anyway, there’s a plate in the fridge if you want it. Your dad made shrimp tacos.” Thea’s stomach rumbled. She padded into the kitchen and popped the plate into the microwave, glancing at her phone. Graduation was tomorrow. She had almost forgotten. There was still no word from Drew, so she took a deep breath and texted him everything she wanted to say. After Natalie’s loss, she should have known better: the time to say important things was always now.
I’m sorry for lying to you. You were right—about almost everything. Can we talk after the ceremony tomorrow?
Then without thinking, she typed:
Drew Porter, I think I might love you, in spite of it all.
Thea sat back in her chair, anxiously awaiting any response as the night grew long around her.
Finally, it popped up:
See you tomorrow afternoon at graduation.
Thea let a small glimmer of hope pass through her. Maybe there was a chance that she wouldn’t lose this, too. Still, before heading up to bed she triple-checked the locks and tucked a knife up her sleeve.
Twenty-Seven
It was funny, Thea mused: she hadn’t even thought about the last day of school or graduation at all. Wrapped up in the Black Coats drama, entire months of school had passed by in the blink of an eye. She tugged on the hem of her lace dress, admiring the way the creamy white showed off her rounded calves and hazel eyes. Hopefully, Drew would appreciate them as well. As she came down the stairs, her mom clapped. “You look gorgeous, honey!”