The Lost Saint(70)

“No,” I whispered, but I couldn’t bring myself to back away. “I already have someone.”

“Just once … Please. I have to know what it feels like.”

I half closed my eyes, imagining getting lost in the intoxicating idea of Talbot’s touch, but all that flashed in my mind was the look on Daniel’s face if he ever learned I’d kissed someone else. I turned my head as Talbot tried to press his mouth over mine. His lips lightly brushed my cheek instead. He dropped his hand from my face.

I stepped away from him and crossed to the open doorway. “I need to leave,” I said, my voice barely working.

“Why?” Talbot asked. “You want this. I can feel it. Stop denying yourself what you want.”

Heat flashed through my body. “I just can’t.”

Talbot’s nostrils flared, but then he dropped his gaze. “I’m sorry. I got caught up in the excitement. I’ll never do it again.” He took a step toward me.

I held my hand up to stop him and shook my head again. “It’s okay. We both got caught up. I need to get back to the bus now.”

Talbot reached into his pocket for the van keys. “Let’s go, then.”

I left the apartment and headed for the van in the parking lot. I could hear Talbot following after me, but I didn’t look back.





CHAPTER TWENTY


Need



BACK AT THE REC CENTER




We both knew I was pretending to be in a hurry to get back to the bus—it was a whole hour earlier than I needed to be there—but neither of us said anything about it. I stared out the window at the side-view mirror, concentrating on healing the burns on my hands and the claw marks on my shoulder. I replayed killing that horrible Gelal in my head, embracing the feeling of exhilarating power—the rush of it all—in order to heal my wounds.

We both stayed silent until we parked under the oak tree where he’d picked me up. I pulled on my jacket to cover up the bloody rip in my shirtsleeve and grabbed my backpack, which I’d left in the van during my little escapade. I slung it over my shoulder and was about to get out without saying good-bye when Talbot grabbed my newly healed hand.

“Just tell me one thing, Grace,” he said. “Is the idea of you and me being together that terrible to you?”

“I can’t do this.” I pulled my hand away, my fingers slipping out of his. “You’re my mentor.…”

“Not anymore. Training’s over. We can be together now.”

“Please try to understand. We’re friends, Tal. And that’s all we’ll ever be.”

He half closed his eyes and sighed. “Don’t call me Tal, then,” he said. “It sounds too good coming from your lips.”

“I’m sorry.”

Talbot gave himself a little shake. “Let’s forget this ever happened.” He found his baseball cap between our seats. He plopped it on his head and gave me a dimpled smile from under its bill. “Friends. That’s all.”

“Okay,” I said, and smiled weakly back at him.

“Hey, don’t let this ruin the day for you. You should be proud of what you did back there. Your training’s over. You’ve made it. I’d take you out to celebrate if you’d let me—in a strictly just-friends sort of way, of course.”

I gave a slight laugh.

“That’s more like it,” he said. “You’d better be ready for crackin’ some heads tomorrow. We’re going to find us a new lead—even if it kills him.”

I knew he meant that last part to be a joke—but at the same time I knew it wasn’t.

I laughed uneasily and got out of the van. I said good-bye to Talbot and crossed the back parking lot. I went through the building and figured I’d linger at the front entrance of the rec center until it was time to meet the bus, but what I saw out the glass doors in the front parking lot made me stop cold in my tracks.

The bus was there already, and so were all seven of the other Rock Canyon vans—accompanied by a cop car with flashing lights. Students from my religion class sat huddled on the steps to the front entrance, surrounded by people in Good Samaritan polo shirts. A man in a business suit talked to a girl who looked like she was crying. And that girl was April.

I pushed open a glass door and jogged out into the parking lot. As I approached the huddle of students, Claire stood up and pointed at me. “She’s here! Grace is here!” she shouted. The rest of the students shot up on the stairs, all staring at me. April came running.

She threw her arms around me. “Oh, my gosh! You’re okay. I was so scared.” She squeezed me so hard I could barely breathe.

“Whoa! Of course I’m okay.” I pried myself out of April’s death grip. Her face was splotched with red, and her eyes shone like she was about to burst into tears again. “What’s happened to you?”

“What happened to me?” she asked incredulously. “What happened to you? Everyone’s been looking for you! First Pete, and then you not showing up at that karate studio, and then neither you nor Talbot answering your phones. And then I remembered Jude’s text, and started thinking you’d been kidnapped. Or worse. Your dad is on his way, and Pastor Saint Moon is totally freaking.”

“What are you talking about? I was out on my service project just like everyone else … and what about Pete and the karate studio?” Is she talking about the same dojo where Talbot and I trained?