Hollowed (20 page)

Judging by the sigh, I knew I had him.

"
Only a few days. But I wanted to make the most of it while I could.
"

He sounded guilty. It bothered me. As much as I wanted Noah to miss me when we were apart, I never wanted him to feel bad for putting his work first. I shrugged it off, wrapping my arms around his waist, making it difficult to walk but the nearness was worth it.

"
Then we
'
ll make the most of it. Where are you headed this time? France, Australia, New Jersey?
"

He laughed, reaching out with a free hand and snagging one of the willow branches, brushing the leaves against my cheek.
"
Can I ask you something?
"

Side-stepping my question, but I was used to it. Where he was going was top-secret, classified info, after all. Very hush-hush.
"
Shoot.
"

Noah s
t
opped walking, his gaze on me intense.
"
If you could travel any place in the world... N
o, rather, if you could just...
drop everything in your life and run away, where would you go?
"

Admittedly, I
'
d thought about things like that before so the answer came easily.
"
Ireland.
"
There was something about the rolling countryside, the castles and the history that had always been fascinating.

He quirked a smile.
"
Went there once, a long time ago.
"

I elbowed him.
"
If you asked me that just to brag...
"

"
No, no.
"
His arm dropped away
from my shoulders
and he gathered both my hands in his instead.
"
I want to take you there someday.
"
The shock on my face made him laugh again, albeit nervously. Like he wasn
'
t sure whether I was freaked out or amazed by the prospect. Lucky for him, it was the latter.

"
You want to take me on some vacation overseas?
"

"
If it
'
s some place you really want to go, then we
'
ll go.
"
He brought my hands up, pressing a kiss to my chilled fingers.
"
Maybe for your birthday. Though I guess that
'
d be a hard present to top the year after that.
"

My birthday was a ways off; I turned eighteen not that long ago, but the idea that Noah wanted to take me on a trip anywhere made me want to bounce up and down and clap like a five-year-old getting a pony.

"
You
'
re something else, cowboy,
"
I said, lacing my fingers behind his neck, drawing his forehead to mine.
"
So let me ask...
for the guy who
'
s been everywhere, what
'
s something
you
'
ve
always wanted to do? Since you
'
ve got traveling the world covered.
"

"
Mm... Anything? Anything at all?
"
Noah
'
s eyes practically sparkled. His hands settled on my hips, kicking my heartbeat into overdrive.

"
Anything,
"
I murmured.

His eyes fell closed for the span of a breath. When he opened them again his expression was warmer, softer, absolutely entrancing.

"
This,
"
he said.

And he kissed me.

I was so warm in that moment. Nevermind the slight chill
in the air
. For the space of those minutes
that
his mouth was on mine, nothing else mattered. Not my parents, not my failure at
maintaining
c
ollege, not my work schedule
or my dead sister. Just Noah and the promise that someday, he and I might travel the world together and leave all the
painful stuff
behind.

Lukewarm memories. There is no sunlight, no Noah with his arms around me. Just a dark cemetery and branches heavy with the weight of the world. The path stretches out before and behind me and I realize that
,
in my daze, I
'
ve completely lost track of Algonquin.

Super.

Better to head back the way I came, take a different route. We
'
ll cover more ground if we
'
re split up and he
'
ll hear me call if I need him.

I sigh and resume walking. I didn
'
t sense anyone nearby, but maybe I should have been trying harder. A figure stands far up the path, beyond the willows. I barely make him out save for the subtle shift in the shadows, making my heart stutter.

I blink and he
'
s gone.

Seeing things. That
'
s all it is. If someone were here, I would have sensed them. Unless my
vampire GPS thingy is broken...
is that possible? Then again,
if it's another vampire, maybe I
wouldn't
sense them.

My throat is dry. I swallow hard. Things you see in a graveyard after dark..
.
tricks of the imagination. When I reach the spot I thought I saw the person, there
'
s a very faint scent in the air that feels way too familiar. I stop again, twisting around full-circle just to make sure I
'
m alone. Nada. See, self? All worked up for nothing, now don
'
t you feel like an idiot? I sure do.

Up until a heavy hand closes over my mouth and drags me backward, off the path, into a pitch-black and enclosed space that smells of dust an
d decay of a place shut up for decades
. The wrought iron gate to the tomb creaks shut, locking me and mister grabby-hands inside while I
'
m alternating between trying to scream and bite him.

"
Be
quiet
. They
'
ll hear you!
"

I freeze, breathing hard. Stupidly trying to ask
who?
but his hand is still clamped tight to keep me from making a sound. I should
'
ve trusted my own eyes and nose; it
'
s Noah. There
'
s no mistaking that voice or the smell of his aftershave.

A few seconds tick by. The sound of voices creeps in past the bars. I don
'
t recognize them until Alex and Artie come into view, passing by us and our tomb and scanning the area. If they were to look close enough, there
'
s no way they
'
d miss us. Slowly, very slowly, Noah eases us back and we sink down to a crouch to keep better hidden.

"
You sure she came this way?
"
Alex asks, sounding bored.

"
I saw her. There are only so many places she can hide...
"

They
'
re after me. Which means, yet again, Noah rescued me.

Their voices fade into the distance. Only when they
'
re out of view does Noah uncover my mouth.
"
You should really pay more attention,
"
he says, voice low.

I twist around to look up into his face. He looks exhausted;
there are
dark circles beneath his eyes,
and his
hair
is
more a mess than usual. I want to ask if he
'
s been eating enough and taking care of himself, but I bite my tongue. After how he
'
s been acting, he doesn
'
t deserve sugary-sweetness from me.

"
I could have handled it.
"

"
Right. Like you did last time.
"
Noah lets me go, looking away.
"
What
'
re you doing out here?
"

I squint and twist around, scooting
back
as much as our tight quar
ters allow. The unoccupied space amounts to only maybe
two feet deep and four feet wide, and the cobwebs in the corners are bigger than my face.
"
I was looking for someone.
"

He narrows his eyes.
"
Who?
"

"
Oh, I
'
m sorry. I didn
'
t realize it was any of your business.
"
It
'
s so hard being cold to him, but it
'
s what he deserves. Besides, I don
'
t owe him any answers until he gives me some of his own.

Noah studies my face.
"
Ruby?
"

Well, guess that confirms that he and my sister did know each other. The idea that my boyfriend knew all along my sister was alive and well makes me sick with disgust. I push myself to my feet. How
stupid
; here I was, pining away after him and now all I want is to put as much distance between us as possible.

"
Briar—
"

"
You
'
re such an asshole,
"
I hiss, turning for the door. He grabs my wrist, wrenching me back around to face him. His face is shoved a few inches from mine. We
'
re practically sharing breath.

"
Briar. I need you to listen to me very carefully
.
"
H
e enunciates each word, like I
'
m a damned toddler
.
"
You can
'
t take both of them.
I
can
'
t take both of them.
"

My fingers flex. He
'
s making my hand go numb.
"
What do you care? You were going to kill me last time I saw you, anyway.
"

His expression contorts, somewhere between confused, hurt
,
and uncertain. At least he lets me go.
"
You have no idea what you
'
ve gotten yourself into. This world isn
'
t one you should be involved in.
"

"
Yeah, well, didn
'
t have much choice, did I?
"
I take the opportunity to slip back outside, sparing a look around. No sign of bimbo and dumbo.
"
If I had my way, Sherry and I would be spending our night with triple chocolate fudge ice cream, pizza
,
and HBO.
"

Noah follows after me.
"
Do you regret it, then?
"

I don
'
t even stop to look back.
"
Regret
what
?
"

There
'
s a fraction of a second where he pauses, like he
'
s deciding
what he should say. How to say it.
"
Being turned.
"

I screech to a halt. Whirling around, I realize he was a lot closer behind me than I thought, but fine; I can get in his face if he wants to be a jerk.
"
You think you
'
re so cute. Did you have it in your head that I did this on
purpose?
That I drew a bulls-eye on my throat and told them to have at it?
"
From the way Noah
'
s gaze flickers guiltily and looks away, I
'
ll take that as a yes. The anger burns so hot in my chest I can hardly s
ee straight.

I slam my hands into his chest and shove him away. Might as well be pushing a brick wall for all the good it does, but he stares after me like a kicked puppy, like
I
'
m
the one who broke
his
heart.