"You're out of control, killing people."
"They aren't people! Whether you understand this or not, I'm going to wait here until dawn and then search the house. She has to come home before it gets light. When she does, I'm going to cut her head off and this will be over."
"Get out."
"What?"
"You heard me. Get out. This isn't your job." Before his partner could speak again, Wade pulled the 9mm Beretta from the back of his jeans and pointed it.
Dom's eyes widened. "You won't kill me."
"No, but I'll blow a hole in your leg and then call an ambulance. By the time the paramedics get here, I'll be long gone."
"Why are you…?"
Wade pointed the gun straight at Dominick's thigh. The burly man stepped back toward the door, his blue eyes narrowing.
"You don't want to take me on. You'll lose."
"Just get out," Wade repeated.
Dominick slipped out the front door, and Wade bolted it behind him.
I pushed myself up from Maggie's bedroom floor, removing my thoughts from Wade's, seeing through my own eyes again, and stumbled downstairs to the foyer. William's body was already turning to ash, the tiny cracks in his flesh spreading.
Wade dashed about, checking window bolts. "Did you see? Did you hear all that?"
"Yes," I whispered tiredly. "Through you."
"We've got to run. He's right. I can't take him on. I wouldn't even know how."
Sinking to my knees, I fingered William's smoking jacket. I couldn't bring myself to look at his severed head… across the floor. "It doesn't matter now," I whispered.
"Get up! Change your clothes."
"Dominick is nothing now."
"Twenty minutes ago you were begging me to get him off your back."
"Julian's coming."
Wade froze. "What?"
"You and I felt psychic waves only because we were so close. Julian made William. I think even halfway across the world… he felt it. He'll be coming."
"That doesn't change what's happening right now!" he spat. "We've got to get out of here."
"He'll find us."
"I just aimed a gun at my best friend for you!"
He had, hadn't he? I'd dragged him down into moral hell and now had probably killed him. No one could stop Julian.
"Where should we go?" I asked.
"Anywhere away from here," he said. "It'll be light soon, so catching a plane is out. You go upstairs and change clothes. We'll have to hole up in a motel for a day or two and figure something out." He knelt down next to me. "I don't mean to sound like this. I know what William was to you."
People say those words all the time-almost a cliche. But Wade really did know.
My torn, bloody tank hung at an odd angle over one shoulder. Knowing he was right about changing clothes, I stumbled back up to Maggie's room. Would it be the last time? Would her lovely room pass out of my life as she had?
Numbly, I got undressed and then pulled on a clean pair of jeans, and a long, oversized T-shirt. Then I found a knee-length wool coat, black but thin and lightweight.
A drawer slammed downstairs. I heard Wade's feet shuffling about rapidly, as if he was in a hurry. After saying good-bye to Maggie's room, her creation, for the last time, I went back down to find my companion stuffing a small box inside his sweatshirt.
"What's that?"
"Nothing. I'll show you later," he said.
Ashes floated up from William's body, like dandelions gone to seed.
Chapter 15
I woke up the following night with lingering memories of Wade carrying me into a hotel room as the sun came up. What happened? Bits and pieces of memory floated back like a chill wind. William's death, Dominick's threats, Julian's inevitable arrival. Black world.
Wade had become more than a simple asset. My behavior the previous night embarrassed me beyond words. He'd taken over and protected me, dragged me out of Maggie's house, and checked us into a hotel.
Now I was lying in a large bed. I sat up and looked around. The room had decent decor-not that I normally cared about such things-in soft blues and grays, with a cedar wardrobe closet. Someone had covered the windows with thick blankets. Wade was sleeping in a chair a few feet away from me, his head lolling back, blond hair in a mess, the Beretta in his lap. He still wore his jeans and the faded Colorado State sweatshirt.
"Wade?"
His eyes clicked open. "Yeah?"
"Where are we?"
"Kirkland, northeast of Seattle."
"Did you hide the car?"
"Yeah."
We'd taken a taxi to a twenty-four-hour Hertz office, and then Wade rented a Toyota Prius. I didn't like the idea of using a credit card-in case Dom found a way to track us-but Wade assured me that his partner no longer had any form of police access. And we didn't have a choice. I can remember not too many years ago being able to pay for almost anything in cash… but not anymore.
By the time he got us to the hotel, I was falling dormant and no longer cared how he paid for the room.
Now he just sat staring into empty space.
"This is a nice room," I said.
"You like it? It's my first hideout."
"I should get out of here. When Julian finds us, he'll kill you."
"What?" His expression turned incredulous. "You're just going to leave? After last night, after everything that's happened, you're going to say ‘thanks' and take off?"
"What do you want? If you stay with me, you'll die. If Dominick doesn't kill you, Julian will. No matter what you've seen of me so far, I'm faster than you, I'm probably stronger, and I know how to disappear. I also know how to make people help me."
"Like me?"
"You're different, and you know it."
"How?" He got up, grasping the gun, his voice bordering on hysteria. "How am I different? You aren't using me?"
What was I supposed to say?
His feelings actually mattered to me. "Last night when I saw you sitting on the steps at Maggie's, bringing you over to my side seemed like a good idea. I did use my gift a bit, but not much, and not anymore. If you help me now, it's because you want to."
He calmed slightly. "What are these gifts you keep talking about?"
"When we're turned, a strong personality trait grows into a hypnotic aura, impossible for mortals to resist. Maggie's was sexual attraction. Julian's is fear."
"What's yours?"
"Helplessness. People perceive me as small and frightened. Some feel a need to hurt or take advantage. Some feel an overwhelming urge to protect."
"And you kill them?"
"Usually the ones who fall into category A."
His gaze fell to the carpet. "Do you need to take a shower?"
The sudden change of topic relieved me. I was glad to talk about anything else. My T-shirt was still clean but wrinkled. "Yes, but I don't have any other clothes."
"Me either. All my stuff is with Dominick."
"Oh, that's right. Sorry."
"Doesn't matter."
I walked into a surprisingly large bathroom and stood under steaming water for ten full minutes. It felt good, comforting. Small bottles of hotel shampoo and conditioner sat on the tub. I washed my hair and face slowly, not thinking about reality or Maggie or William… or Wade. I got dressed in the same set of clothes I'd slept in.
Wade was lying quietly on the bed, watching television, when I came back out. His gun lay on the nightstand.
"You should probably order some food," I said.
He nodded. "What about you?"
"No, I'm okay. I fed last… Don't worry."
Something new passed behind his eyes. Something unreadable. "If we get stuck hiding, and you can't get out, could you feed on my blood without killing me?"
"What?"
"Could you?"
The thought frightened me. "Don't talk like that. You're my-"