Caged (19 page)

23

I passed out from sheer exhaustion shortly after he left. Impending doom or not, I needed to sleep and I didn’t plan on waking for a long time. The blaring of my cell phone startled me out of my stress-induced slumber and scared the ever-loving shit out of me.

Eric.

He said he’d check in with me, that he planned to relocate me to keep me safe.
Talk about being right on the money
. He had no idea how right he was, or how imperative it was that he figured something out, and fast. Even though I believed Sean didn’t want to kill me, I didn’t doubt that he would or could. That fact outweighed his personal sentiment, and even though Eric was wrong about Sean’s knowledge, he was right about everything else. I wasn’t about to tempt fate a second time and stick around for Sean to return to Portsmouth, carrying my death warrant. I needed to bail and soon, so I placed my trust in Eric with the hope that we would successfully escape.

By the time I wrestled my phone out of the covers, it had gone to voicemail. Figuring this would send him into a state of overprotective meltdown, I immediately hit the return call button. He answered immediately.

“Ruby? Is everything OK?”

“Hmm…let’s see: two arms, two legs, one head, still breathing. Yep, everything seems to be good,” I joked, hoping to ease his tension. Something in his voice was off. Though I didn’t know him well, I could read voices regardless of depth of relationship. He sounded stressed.

“I don’t find that funny,” he replied, sounding painfully honest.

“Sorry, I joke when I’m stressed,” I returned.

“I see that,” he replied flatly, “How was the rest of your evening? Uneventful, I hope.”

“Um,” I stuttered as I fought for a good way to bring up my impending doom.

“Um?” he asked, “I’m not sure what that means.”

“I had company last night. He showed up right after you-”

“SEAN?” he shouted. “And why aren’t you here? Are you stupid? He could have killed you…ruined everything.”

“I’m fine, thanks for asking,” I snarled back at him, cutting him off this time. “He came, I blustered. He threatened, I threatened back. He enlightened, I absorbed. Then he left, and then he came back, then he left again. For good, like left the country. He’s off to Italy.”

“Italy? He’s gone to the PC. Good. That buys us time,” he said, lowering his voice. “Maybe he needs permission to take you out, though that seems unlikely. I do like the thought of him on a tighter leash.” Eric was silent on the line for a moment. “I’m glad he’s gone, Ruby, but we still have to go. It’s not safe. He’ll come back soon enough. You can’t be here when he does. Marcus has arranged for a safe house. I told him the whole story after our pack business was settled. He called a friend immediately after I explained the danger you were in. He wasn’t aware of Sean’s involvement before now. It complicates things, but doesn’t change them. I will keep you away from him.”

I relaxed at the sentiment, though I still wasn’t sure where his earlier outburst of anger came from. He never struck me as the yell-at-someone-because-you-were-worried type. Clarification was necessary.

“Why did you freak out on me just now? Way to pull a Jekyll and Hyde,” I said, keeping my tone level. “And what exactly could he have ruined?”

“I’m sorry, Ruby. It was a knee-jerk reflex. Sean brings out the worst in my personality,” he apologized, sounding dutifully contrite. “You’re not stupid at all, quite the opposite in fact, but a terrible judge of character.”

I smiled at the phone.
That’s a recurring theme…

“And the ruined comment?”

“I just meant that he could’ve taken everything from me. Again,” he whispered, “He’s very good at that.”

I felt saddened by his tone, and a twinge of anger flared deep in my core. An uncharacteristic flash of violence shot through my mind.
Sean will pay for this.

I shook my head, surprised by what my mind was thinking, and disturbed by the unfamiliarity of it. “Ruby?”

“Yeah, sorry, I’m here. What’s the plan?”

“You need to get down here as quickly as you can. Marcus has booked us tickets for this afternoon out of Logan. You’re going to be gone for a long time, so be sure you pack accordingly.”

“But how long? What about the store? I have to let Ronnie know I’m leaving and find someone who can…”

“NO!” he yelled, quickly interrupting me. “You can’t let anyone know you’re leaving or where you’ve gone. They’ll be in danger. He’ll use them to track you far too easily. Leave everything as it is, the pack will take care of everything else. I’m sorry about the shop…I know it means a lot to you.”

I pondered what he said for a moment and then realized the sobering truth - nobody would really feel my absence. There was nobody to report me missing, nobody to send out a search party for me. I had isolated myself to the point that my existence didn’t register on the map. Ronnie would notice, of course, but wouldn’t think much of it. We didn’t have the depth of relationship that would require me to announce an extended vacation. It’d likely pique her interest for a while and then be forgotten. It was a sad reality to face. Luckily, I had Eric; maybe I’d make some new friends where we were going. I promised myself right then that I would make a concerted effort to do so.

“OK,” I replied. “I’ll be down in a couple of hours.”

“Meet me outside Marcus’s building. I’ll be waiting,” he said softly. “And Ruby…don’t worry.”

I started to say that I wasn’t when it became clear that that was his sign-off for the conversation.

Guess he needs to go pack, too.

24

As I drove to Boston I thought about how rapidly my life was changing, and how I was so not in control of any of it. The past few days had been a roller coaster of revelations and experiences that amounted to more than most people would have in a lifetime. Next on the agenda was going into hiding with Eric; yet another adventure for sure, though I wasn’t convinced it was necessarily positive. Somehow I got the sneaking suspicion that Sean would not be easily evaded if he had a duty to carry out, or his eyes fixed on a target. It made me wish I wasn’t one.

I managed to snap myself out of a downward spiral by thinking of the state my apartment was in. My mother would never have tolerated such mayhem. Eric told me to bring a lot of stuff since we would be gone for an undetermined amount of time. He also told me to get my ass down to Boston ASAP.

Major packing in a short period of time could only lead to one thing: complete wardrobe explosion. There were panties hanging from the chandelier, boots in the sock drawer, and jewelry dotting a trail through the hall. I had also gone quickly through the bathroom, collecting products I would need in a not-so-organized fashion. The only casualty in the whole thing was a bottle of perfume that I adored dearly; its remains shattered across the tile floor. It was a limited edition too. I seemed to always break things that couldn’t be replaced. I giggled to myself thinking of the virtual crime scene I’d be leaving behind.

I rolled up outside Marcus’s place about an hour and a half after I spoke to Eric, having driven as fast as I packed. Eric was waiting on the steps of the building for me, alone. He met me at my car as I parked it, looking surprisingly unfazed.

“Did you do as I instructed?” he asked pleasantly, helping me out of the driver’s seat. His touch sent energy prickling through my body.

“Yes. I’m packed and didn’t mention my travels to anyone, if that’s what you mean.”

“Good,” he replied, “This needs to be secretive.”

I looked around for Marcus, knowing we needed to leave soon. Since he was taking us to the airport, I was curious as to his whereabouts.

“He’s upstairs,” Eric said coolly, having read my mind. “He’s finalizing the agreement.”

“Oh. I hope he didn’t have to trouble himself too much.”

I wasn’t sure what there was to finalize, though I was admittedly new to this whole pack thing and I figured they must have their own protocols for lending asylum to foreign wolves. At that moment Marcus appeared through the double doors looking as dapper as I’d remembered him in a full three-piece suit that fit him beautifully. His energy still wasn’t sitting well with me, but I just couldn’t put my finger on why.

I then remembered that Eric had said that Marcus was one of the ”old ones”. Maybe age created a certain aura or frequency that I just wasn’t attuned to. It was irrelevant anyways, because he was willing to help me out of one hell of a jam. He thought nothing of lending a helping hand when I needed it, and regardless of my sixth-sense confusion about him, I owed him my gratitude, not my scrutiny.

He reached out his arms to embrace me as he approached. I went to him uncomfortably, silently repeating the mantra ”I owe him my life, I owe him my life”. I felt like a five-year-old who didn’t want to give grandma a kiss.

“Ruby, my dear,” he said affectionately as he held me. “I’m so sorry about all this nonsense. I had no idea that Sean was up to something.”

“It’s OK,” I said as I tried to politely wriggle free of him. “You can’t know everything about everybody. Besides, I’m not sure he knew, but I don’t want to stick around and find out what the verdict is from Italy once
they
know.”

“Smart girl,” he said, releasing me from his embrace. “That’s an attractive quality in a woman.” He sneaked a glance at Eric and they both laughed out loud.

Before I got the chance to ask what the punch line was, Eric turned and addressed the issue.

“It certainly is,” he said, his eyes swallowing me up. “High praise from Marcus is hard to come by, Ruby. He knows something valuable when he sees it.”

“It’s true. I’ve made a career that has spanned lifetimes out of seeing the worth of something that others couldn’t. We all have gifts…” Marcus said, trailing off as he looked at me intently. “Now my dear, we must get you out of here.”

He and Eric snatched up my bags and threw them into the empty trunk of the Mercedes. Eric motioned me over to the car and into the backseat while he and Marcus sat up front. It was a quick trip to Logan Airport, filled mainly with idle banter and trivial conversation. I had so many questions to ask about where we were going, what it’d be like, and how long we’d be staying, but I couldn’t bring myself to ask. Maybe a leap of faith was exactly what I needed.

We pulled up to our Northwest terminal and parked curbside to unload. As Eric brought the bags out, Marcus came over to say goodbye.

“It’s been such a pleasure,” he said as he hugged me yet again.

It seemed an odd thing to say, but I was starting to realize that Marcus was an odd kind of guy, so strange things coming out of his mouth seemed more appropriate than not.

“You say that like you won’t see me again.” I nervously chuckled as he slowly released me from his grasp.

“Perhaps I will,” he said, and nothing more.

“Time to head out,” Eric called from behind me.

The two men shook hands, leaning in close. Marcus said something amusing, and a wide smile crossed Eric’s face in response, but he said nothing in return.

Maybe werewolves don’t hug…

Marcus turned and waved goodbye as he rounded the driver’s side of his Mercedes and got in, leaving Eric and me to our luggage and our adventure. I looked ominously at the monstrous pile of bags, wondering exactly how we were going to manage to get them inside all at once. It had taken me three trips to load my car. I rifled through the stack looking for things that could easily be slung over my shoulder before picking up things that actually had to be carried by hand. I would have killed for some bags with wheels at that moment. While I wrestled to sling a single duffel on, Eric asked if I was ready yet. I looked up to see him stocked up with two other duffels, holding a suitcase in each hand. All the bags were mine.

“Are you ready or what? The plane doesn’t leave from the parking lot.” He was looking at me with feigned annoyance.

“Where is all your stuff?” I asked, thoroughly confused as to why I’d packed like Paris Hilton, and he brought nothing.

“My things aren’t necessary there. You’ll see,” he said as if that made all the sense in the world. Why he didn’t need a stitch of clothing (while I needed a wardrobe to dress a movie set) was beyond me. Pack life was something that was going to take some getting used to - a lot.

We went through the usual rituals to get on the plane, and after we were seated in a row all our own, I finally got to ask what the plan was.

“It’s not that exciting, Ruby. We’re going out to Utah to stay with the Provo pack. They’re amazingly self-contained; the perfect place to go if you never want to be found,” he said reassuringly as he reached over and grabbed my hand. I melted instantly.

“How long will I be there?” I asked.

“Indefinitely,” he said as he raised my hand up to his lips and kissed it. “It’s important that we know what’s going on with the PC before we do anything. Marcus has people abroad working for him to find out the ruling regarding your life. When we know this we can plan better. Until then, you will stay put in Utah.”

“So Marcus will be in contact with you while we’re there?”