Five (Elemental Enmity Series Book I) (2 page)

Her smile turned to a light frown. “Everyone we know will be there.”

Uh-oh. This couldn’t be good. “Everyone?”

She stood up and paced in front of me. “Chase is going.”

My eyes flew wide. I knew it. That weasel still had his teeth in her. “When did you talk to him? I thought you were done getting used.”

She shrugged. “Can’t seem to get him out of my system.”

“You deserve better than that jerk. Think about it, Cass. Notre Dame. Real men, not that louse who acts like he’s James Dean reincarnated.” Her wide eyed gaze told me I had her interest. Now was time to close the deal. St. Mary’s College not only offered an amazing art program I craved to explore, but it was only minutes away from the one thing Cassie would die to see on a regular basis. “Oh, and don’t forget about football.”

The corners of her mouth turned up fractionally. She considered me for a moment then bounded over to her laptop, yanked it to her chest then sat beside me again. Her already bright eyes nearly glowed in the dim light.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

She smirked. “Looking up the team roster.”

My heart beat faster, but it wasn’t because I cared a whit about football. She was in it again, and with her help I could do anything.

We spent the next eight months figuring out the details of my escape. I would have never been able to swing it if it hadn’t been for Cassie and her dad. As far as Aunt Grace was concerned, I would be going to Snow College tomorrow morning. What she didn’t understand wouldn’t hurt me.

I sat my suitcase down by the bottom of the stairs. Jenny and Sarah waited for me with outstretched arms. I leaned into them, inhaling the scent of cheap strawberry shampoo.

Sarah wrapped her arms around my waist, gazing up at me with tears in her eyes. “I don’t want you to go,” she said then buried her face into my abdomen.

I held her tight for a few moments, feeling like the biggest loser but not the good kind. “I’ll be home before you know it, and if you promise to be good for Jenny, I’ll bring you a present.”

She pulled away from me, her eyes brightening. “Really?”

“Promise.”

She raced into the kitchen, her tiny voice raised in excitement. “Rayla’s gonna get me a present, Momma!”

“Is she now?” Aunt Grace said, stepping into the foyer. Her face was tight with worry as she wiped her hands on her apron. “You call me when you get there.”

“I will,” I said, shifting my gaze back to Sarah, who smiled at me.

Aunt Grace walked closer. “I don’t see why you can’t just stay here tonight.”

Not this again. I’d already explained this ten times. “We have to leave really early. I don’t want to wake anyone up.” To counteract my tendency to rush my words when I was nervous, I counted to three before continuing. “Cassie’s parents aren’t even in town right now so we won’t be bothering anyone at her house.”

Jenny hugged me from the back. “You better e-mail me.”

We were probably the only family on the planet that couldn’t afford a cell plan that included unlimited texting. Once I got a job, I was going to get a new phone and hopefully a new plan.

I touched her hand perched on my shoulder. “Promise.”

She bounded up the stairs yelling for Travis to help her move her stuff into my room. He stopped by the railing, stared down at me. Giving me his lopsided grin, he flipped his head to get his blond bangs out of his dark eyes. “See ya round, Cuz.”

I tilted my head in an upward nod. “Sure thing.” I pointed my finger at him. “Be good.” I wasn’t that much older than him, but I felt as if we had ten years between us.

He huffed. “When am I ever not?” Without even a backward glance, he took off around the corner before I could say anything else.

Sarah had already pulled Aunt Grace into the living room for her bedtime story. I waved goodbye, but neither of them noticed. The ancient door creaked when I pulled it shut. Not wasting any time, I quickened my step, but no one followed me to the car.

The tires threw up a cloud of dust as I sped away toward freedom. I gazed at my home through the haze of the rear view mirror. The moon set an eerie cast to the scene. The old Victorian had seen better days. Time had transformed the once stately manor into the humble residence of a working family. It needed a paint job. The porch swing still hung by one chain, flopping around in the breeze, and bicycles littered the two week overgrown lawn. It wasn’t anything compared to Cassie’s house, but it would always be special to me. I swiped the tears from my eyes and rolled down the window. The time for crying was over. I was officially on my way.

Cassie waited outside for me when I pulled up. Her grin couldn’t have gotten much bigger. The handle gave her some trouble, so I reached over and opened the door. Before I knew it she plopped onto the seat. Eyes glowing, she reached into her purse and pulled out a wad of cash. “Dad’s going away present.”

I kept my cringe to myself. I was tired of feeling guilty for taking advantage of Mr. Lambert’s endless acts of kindness. He’d done so much for me, especially where college was concerned. I needed to figure out a way to pay him back. “You’ve got to have the coolest father on the planet.”

She grinned, tucking a strand of her dark hair behind her ear. “Yeah. Isn’t he great?”

Taking the gearshift, I put the car in gear. Cassie still smiled when I glanced at her. “You sure you’re ready for this?”

She laughed, nudging my shoulder with the tips of her fingers. “No backing out now!”

One day I would tell her how much she meant to me. She’d given up her plans for mine. She’d helped me figure out everything and handled some of the details with St. Mary’s I could never have managed from home.

I waggled my brows before I lowered her window. The invading night air sucked the moisture from my body like a sponge. She just shook her head at me, smiling, but I knew what she was thinking without hearing one word. We would have been much more comfortable in her car.

“Sorry,” I said. “I didn’t think it would still be this hot when we planned this whole thing.”

“If you think this is bad, you just wait until you have sweat dripping from you twenty-four-seven.”

She’d already tried to explain humidity to me, but I didn’t care if I had to take three showers a day. I was on my way to my new life. We had pulled it off without any snags. Nothing short of death would keep me from claiming my dreams.

We trudged along a lone stretch of Wyoming highway. The newness of our trip had swiftly worn to raw-edged fatigue. I was going to have to wake Cassie up soon. Even if I could manage the weight of my eyelids, I couldn’t shake the dread that had attached to my spine ten miles ago.

Icy gooseflesh erupted across my neck, skittering down my entire body like a million frosty spiders. I shrugged off a shiver before I checked the rear view mirror again. No monsters lurked in the back seat with the sole desire of making me their next juicy snack, so why did I feel like Satan himself was stalking me? And to make things even better, my horrendous scar picked this exact moment to sprout sensation. I found it odd that the usually—void of any kind of feeling—jagged patch of skin suddenly wouldn’t stop itching. Having the thing erupt with sensitivity for the first time since my horse riding accident seven years ago was more than a little weird, but it wasn’t as though I had a doctor on hand to do an impromptu exam.

Cassie rested against the passenger door, blissfully sleeping away. I stretched my hand toward her, but pulled back just before I touched her shoulder. No way was I going to wake her again because of my absurd paranoia. This trip didn’t need me complicating it to make it unbearable. My fear of the dark would not cripple me anymore. Hopefully St. Mary’s offered counseling.

Out of nowhere, a thunderous rumble shattered the milky silence, sending a quiver through my bones. Even though the empty dawn had greeted me in the mirror moments before, a motorcycle rocketed toward us. Where had he come from? I shook my head and took a calming breath. It was just a stupid motorcycle. No need to panic.

I expected him to zoom by, but he matched my pace instead. The bike zigzagged haphazardly in the lane as if the driver was loaded. Great, just what we needed.

I honestly wouldn’t have cared if he did wheelies behind me if he hadn’t been centimeters from my bumper. Why was he craning his neck in my direction?

He flashed his lights repeatedly as if I was hogging the entire road. My car wasn’t that big. I rolled my eyes and inched closer to the shoulder. When my tires hit the rumble-strip, I jumped. He had plenty of room to pass. No other vehicles were in sight. What was he waiting for?

Even if Aunt Grace had miraculously figured out what I was doing, she wasn’t ridiculous enough to send this lunatic to bring me home. What could he possibly want from me?

If I had more than noodles for a backbone at the moment, I would have pulled over to see what the heck was wrong with him. I sped up instead. I was weaponless—like it would have helped if I had an entire arsenal in my car. You sort of have to know how to use a gun for it to do you any good. I was not stopping. He could be a rapist or a serial killer.

My entire frame quaked under the reality that this man was most certainly trying to get me to stop. I shook my head and motioned for him to go around me. I slowed down, sped up, gunned it, took the other lane, but the jerk wouldn’t back off no matter what I did.

Something I hadn’t considered hit me. What if he was in trouble?

After a moment of hesitation, I shoved the thought aside. It was too risky to stop. This wasn’t the Sixties. Besides, his bike worked fine from where I sat.

I took a deep breath then clutched the steering wheel harder, and moved the car back into the center of the lane where it belonged. Biker dude would just have to pass me. Eventually he’d get sick of hanging onto my tail end. All I had to do was wait him out.

I just wished the butterflies in my stomach would chill. A strange urge to stop the car bombarded me like a repeating alarm. I would have sworn on a Bible this dude was secretly weaving puppet-strings around me; it was all I could do to keep my foot on the gas. Worse was the barrage of absurd thoughts swirling in my head about the stranger.

I hadn’t even really seen him, but in my mind I was neatly tucked behind him on that beast of a motorcycle. The vision grew into something almost tangible. The heat from his body warmed me while the wind whipped my hair around us. I leaned closer to him, inhaling spice and man. Even the daydream of him smelled divine.

My foot tapped the brake, slowing the car down. Cassie gave a slight groan, snapping me back to reality.

What was I
doing
? Vivid couldn’t come close to describing this fantasy. No one should have that kind of power over me.

My back stiffened automatically, determination welling up in my heart. He wasn’t going to terrorize me an instant longer. A calming sensation washed over me, threatening to steal my will. Something about this guy was off.

I stomped the brakes, hard. He was either going around me—or over the car.

He was next to me in a nanosecond.

Cassie woke up with a startled yelp. “Rayla, what are you—what the hell?” She jumped away from me as though I were ablaze.