Chapter 33

The hospital was going to keep Eric overnight for observation. He had a number of broken bones, both in his face and elsewhere. The side of his head looked like someone had replaced his skin with that of an overripe eggplant. It was puffy, with varying shades of purple all over. He wanted to know what happened to Grace and was relieved to hear that she was okay. Then he asked about Dan. I shrugged but couldn’t say anything more than he’d been arrested. Stanfield didn’t even want me to mention Dan’s death yet. I pulled out Eric’s keys to give to him, but he told me to hold onto them for the time being. Ellen was going to stay for a while longer. I nodded and left. There wasn’t anything I could do that the hospital couldn’t, and I wasn’t ready to share my secret with the twins yet. It was probably wrong to continue keeping the secret from them, and I felt a twinge of guilt about that, but if Homeland Security became serious about wanting to know more about me, it was better if those two knew nothing.

I was quiet during the ride home. Only the chatter on the radio broke the silence in Stanfield’s cruiser. Instead of having him take me to my place, we went over to Grace’s apartment. There were still officers going over the place, but otherwise, there was nothing for anyone to do there. Stanfield dropped me off and I got into Eric’s car. I studied Grace’s place for a moment and realized that she wouldn’t be able to stay there until the door was fixed. I knew she wouldn’t be allowed to stay with Eric at the dorm, so Rachel would probably grab some stuff and Grace would stay with her for a while.

I started Eric’s car and headed back to my apartment.

For some reason, I felt a touch depressed about how things had ended. I didn’t like how Homeland Security had just taken over the case and treated Stanfield and his department as if they were kids playing with something only grownups could understand. Of course Rochelle, Middleton, and Polanco all seemed to know a lot more about Powerborne than Stanfield could guess. It probably truly made them more prepared for the challenge of capturing Jacquelyn. Did they know about the drug? Did they have their own version of it or something just as handy? Was it possible they had a Powerborne who could negate powers working for them? If so, all the more power to them. I supposed.

Still, Stanfield was going to check on something about them. He didn’t like having the case pulled from under his feet, so he might have been just looking for dirt to trip them up with and get the case back. How could I really know? Truth was, I couldn’t.

So, with all the craziness that had happened that morning, I was ready to settle down and just enjoy a bit of peace and quiet.

I drove around the apartment complex, checking to see if maybe Rachel and Grace were getting Grace settled into her apartment. Her car was there, so I parked next to it. I walked up to the door and noticed that it was slightly ajar. Then I noticed that the frame was cracked. I used my shoulder to push the door open, leaving the doorknob alone. “Rachel?” I called. “Grace?” No one answered.

The living room didn’t look disturbed. I walked over and spotted a vase broken in front of the couch. I turned and went to Rachel’s bedroom. The door looked broken in the middle. I nudged it open and the comforter and sheets were pulled along the foot of the bed as if someone had fallen and grabbed them to break their fall. Neither of the girls was there. Just to be sure, I checked the bathroom, but the apartment was empty.

I didn’t have a phone yet, not a cell phone, or any sort of landline in my apartment. I needed to call the police. First, though, I should check my apartment. Maybe the girls had fled there. I didn’t bother with Eric’s car. I just ran.

At my door, I had my key out and was about to slip it into the lock, but I stopped in mid-motion. Just like back at Charlie’s Café with Dan, I had an insight into danger. Someone or something was a danger to me. I turned and looked around. No one else was in sight, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t see me from range. I pressed the key in and turned the knob. My shield was already on my arm.

The knob felt funny in my hands like it was loose. I looked closer at the door. I could see cracks around the lock. Someone had broken in. Were they still inside? If this was the case, I didn’t think the girls were here. But if someone else was here, then I was going to find out who.

I listened at the door. Nothing moved inside, but I had the distinct impression that danger was close by, and inside the apartment was the only place I couldn’t clearly see. I would have to go in and be ready for whatever was there. My shield had no weight to it. I couldn’t actually feel it on my arm, but I knew it could take a lot. It could keep just about anything thrown at me from hurting me. I’d just have to tuck behind it until I knew what waited for me. Because someone was waiting. Someone was there, anticipating my entrance. I didn’t want to disappoint.

All at once, I pushed the door open and rolled forward. My shield was between me and the main living area of the apartment. Something slammed into my shield, but it washed over it and past me. The wall took the full brunt of the blast.

I looked up. The transparency of my shield allowed me to see who was in my living room. Charlie.

He stood there in boots, jeans, and a t-shirt. His aura was already reformed into his armored shell.

I reached out with my other hand and gripped him, lifting him from the floor.

Charlie floated there, looking around at himself. There was a surprise in his expression but his aura was a solid shell of armor surrounding him. I couldn’t tell what he was really feeling. He looked at me. His arms came up and I realized the problem with my choice of tactics: he could attack at range.

I blocked his shot with my shield but dropped him. Again, we were at a stalemate. I couldn’t do anything to him and he couldn’t do anything to me. Well, not unless he got past my shield.

I needed to lead him outside. The apartment was too cramped for what was going to happen, and I had little doubt about what Charlie intended. Escaping his attempt at a rematch was the best I could hope for. Keeping him from hurting the neighbors while he tried to get at me would be another issue. I could only hope no one wandered out of their apartments.

Before Charlie thought to shoot at me again, I ducked back outside. Something hit me. It felt like a truck. I slammed up against the only window leading to my living room, cracking it, but hurting too much to care at the moment. I slumped to the ground and looked up.

Yaeko looked down at me. “Such a wimp.”

Charlie might have had his armor to protect him, but I didn’t see anything of that sort around Yaeko. I brought up my hand to launch her away from me but she held up her hand. “Wait.”

I held her gaze and asked, “Why?”

“If you want your friends back,” she said. “Then you better come with us.”

I narrowed my eyes. “What are you talking about?”

She just stared at me, watching for any sign that I might strike. It was Charlie who said, “You know whom we’re talkin’ about. That girl you brought to dinner last night. The one with the wings.”

“And the redhead too,” Yaeko added. “They’re at House Vikkor.”

Fear flushed through me at the thought of Rachel and Grace at the hands of Jacquelyn. I studied Yaeko’s aura and watched the way it swirled and shifted. I didn’t think she was lying, but something wasn’t right. She didn’t like what was happening. If Jacquelyn had ordered them to take my friends and come for me, why wouldn’t she like that? From what little interaction I’d had with them, I could have sworn Yaeko adored her House Leader. “Why the hell did you take my friends?”