Drop of Doubt (14 page)

My mouth was still hanging open as I inched through the collection of very expensive looking tuxedos and suits on a rack, like they were on display. It seemed the more expensive the suit, the more space was given to it.

Silas tapped the underside of my jaw. “You’re catching flies,
aggele mou
.”

“Are you sure we’re not in a men’s clothing store? Because that’s what this looks like.”

“Most of the stuff near the back is actually clothes Victor’s holding for us.”

“Victor hangs on to your clothes?”

“Gabriel really likes shopping,” Silas said. He pointed to the racks near the back. “And we keep spare clothes for most of us here. Gabe’s got it organized somehow. I think it’s by season.”

I fingered a pair of black jeans hanging up near the back, finding a collection of nearly all black clothes that I guessed was North’s. “Gabriel goes all out,” I said. I glanced down at the skirt and blouse I’d put on that morning. When I looked at it, I shivered, thinking of the image that was sent to the boys’ phones. “I don’t suppose he left any here for me.”

“Probably not yet,” Silas said. He went to a spot along the wall which held clothing that looked similar to his style. He fingered through a number of shirts before pulling one out. “Here’s something for you. It’s not pink.” He held it up. It was a large Red Sox T-shirt. “But it’s long enough for you if you wanted to sleep in it.”

“Sang?” Victor materialized in the doorway.

I turned. “Yeah?”

“Nathan’s on the phone in my office. He wants to talk to you.”

My heart warmed. It felt like it had been forever since I saw the other boys. “Is everything okay?” I asked.

Victor smiled. “Sure. They’re just bugging me about your birthday and I didn’t know what you wanted to tell them.”

“Shit,” Silas said. “We can’t do her birthday now. Not with this bozo lurking out there.”

Victor shrugged and then nudged me by the shoulder. “Just go talk to them.”

I wandered over to the office alone, leaving Victor behind with Silas.

I found a corded phone on the long table off the hook. I picked it up. “Hello?”

“Sang,” Nathan said into the phone. “How’s it going?”

My heart picked up at the sound of his voice. “Where are you?”

“At home, for now. About to leave actually.”

“Tonight?”

“Yeah. We’ve got some work to do. I wanted you to know I checked in at your house with your sister. She’s fine. The house is fine.” He paused. “Are you okay?”

“Yes,” I said. I wasn’t sure how much Victor may have told him, but I didn’t want to add any more strain on him if he was going out. “It’s kind of weird to be spending the night here.”

He laughed into the phone. “I have to admit, it’s kind of weird when you’re not next to me. I’ve gotten too used to you.”

My heart fluttered. I wanted to say a million things to him. I wanted to keep him on the line and get him and the others to come over. After the night we’d had, I thought it best if everyone stayed safe behind Victor’s walls and the security. I said the only thing I could come up with: “I miss you.”

He breathed into the phone. At first I thought maybe I said the wrong thing. Maybe I should have said something funny.

His voice deepened. “I miss you, too, Peanut.”

There was a pause between us. I didn’t know what else to say to him then. My mind went blank.

He mumbled something away from the phone like he was talking to someone else. “I’ve got to go. Stay with the others, okay?”

“Yes.”

“Bye.”

After he hung up, I listened to the quiet in the phone, thinking about calling him back. I wanted to call Gabriel, too. And Luke. And Kota. And North. I wanted them all here. Slowly, I released the phone back on to the cradle.

I thought I needed sleep. I was strung out. I was oversensitive. Still, I couldn’t help feeling the tugging in my heart, in so many different directions. I brushed the thoughts away like flies hovering around me. Trust. They knew what they were doing. I had to believe in that.

––––––––

I
dreamed I was shot.

––––––––

“S
ang!” Victor called to me. In my half-asleep state, I sensed him hovering over me, shaking me.

“Victor!” I slurred his name as I sat upright in the bed. The dream’s images hovered in front of my eyes still. I wasn’t sure what was real and what wasn’t.

“What is it?” he asked. His eyes caught the soft glow of street lamp lights from outside, and now they really did look like candle flames.

“
Aggele mou
,” Silas said softly. He was sitting up next to us, gazing down at me. He was in shadow. I just caught the outline of his hair and cheek. “You were shaking and moaning.”

I grasped at the sheets, clutching them around my hips as I stared off into the near dark. I willed myself to calm down, but I couldn’t shake the images from my head. My heart wouldn’t stop thundering. The best I could do was keep quiet. I was afraid if I started talking, I’d scare them.

“Sweetie,” Victor said. His hands found my back, and he rubbed. “What’s wrong?”

I swallowed, shaking my head. I pressed a palm to my cheek, willing myself to say something. “A dream.”

“What was it?”

I pulled away from Victor, crawling to the foot of the bed. When I got there, I stumbled to the floor. I wobbled around the edge of the room to avoid bumping into the piano, heading toward the bathroom.

Victor lunged himself off the bed, snapping the night lamp on. It caused me to pause as my eyes readjusted to the onslaught of light. “Where are you going?”

“I need to wake up,” I said, hurrying to get the words out. My voice cracked, betraying my shaken state. I shoved the bathroom door open, snapping the light on. I went right for the sink, turning on the faucet.

“What are you doing?” Silas asked, coming to stand in the doorway. Victor appeared next to him, looking pale and unsure if he should enter.

“Give me a second,” I said. I cupped my palms under the faucet, collecting the cold water and then splashing some at my face. Despite the coolness of the water, it wasn’t enough: no matter how many times I pressed my wet hands to my cheeks, the images remained.

Hands found me, sliding against the ribs along my back. Victor pulled me into his arms, dripping and shaking where I stood. “Sang,” he whispered.

“It won’t go away,” I cried, unable to hold it back any more. His arms around me forced me to relinquish every last bit of strength I had. The water wasn’t working. The memory wouldn’t fade.

“What won’t, Princess?” he cooed. His fingers found my hand at my cheek, and he pulled it away so he could press his own palm there, warming my skin. “What was the dream about?”

“Some guy with gray hair and a moustache. I don’t know. He had Silas.”

“What do you mean?” Silas asked. He’d moved closer, standing over us, watching. His hands were clenched. His eyes darkened as he gazed down at me.

“He had you in his house. I don’t know where it was and I didn’t recognize it. And he kept threatening you. He’d scream and then wave his fists like he was going to hit. I was there in the house. I was telling him to stop, and I was trying to get you to go with me and leave.” I sucked in a breath for more courage, finding little. “The guy had a gun behind his back. A big silver one. He was pointing it at me and said to leave without you. He was so angry. I yelled back at him, not sure he would actually shoot. I wanted you to go with me.”

“Did I go?” Silas asked quietly.

“You tried. You got up and walked with me out into his yard. I ran ahead out of the house, around the curb and I thought you were right behind me. Victor was up the road.”

“I was?” Victor asked.

“You were waiting with some sort of truck. When I checked and didn’t see Silas, I thought the guy did something to him, so I started running back for him. At the house, I couldn’t find Silas, just the old guy. And the guy had his gun...” I broke off, choking on the words.

Victor pressed his fingers over my forehead, stroked my hair. “Did he get you? Did he shoot you?”

I closed my eyes, turning my head away from him. I nodded.

“Did you feel it?” Silas asked.

I nodded again.

Victor breathed out what almost sounded like a curse. He embraced me, pressing my head to his shoulder. I wrapped my arms around him loosely, holding to his back and pressing my wet eyes against his shoulder.

“I don’t usually dream about anyone I know,” I mumbled. “I was so worried about Silas. And then you were coming up behind me and I couldn’t stop you. I woke up after the second shot hit me.”

“It’s all right,” Victor said. “It’s just a dream. He didn’t really get you, and Silas and I are right here.”

I had nothing left to say, and no energy to say it. I was exhausted, shaking, a mess of nerves. I wanted to say I was sorry for waking them.

“How do we stop this?” Silas asked. “She can’t keep getting these dreams. It sounds like they’re getting worse.”

“They don’t always get me like this,” I said. “Most of the time I can wake up and shrug it off. I don’t know. I guess because you two were in the dream that this one just felt bad.”

“Things have gotten pretty rough lately,” Victor said. He smoothed his hand across my back, not letting go. “Between your parents and McCoy and now this.

“I have to tell North,” I said.

“Let me go call him,” Silas said. He turned around, heading back into the bedroom.

“What do you need, Princess?” Victor asked. He pulled back enough so he could gaze down into my face. “Tell me what I can do.”

“I don’t know,” I said. “I feel a little better now. I just thought waking up a little would get the images out of my mind.”

“Do you want some more water?”

“No.”

“Do you want a shower?”

I trembled again at the thought, unexpected. I stiffened to try to stop myself, but my knees betrayed me by locking up, overcorrecting.

“What? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” I said. I pulled away from him, pushing my palm to my cheek. “I don’t want a shower right now.”

Victor blinked after me, his eyebrows furrowed. “What can I do?”

“I don’t know. There’s nothing to do. You’re right. I shouldn’t be so freaked out about it. It’s not real. It doesn’t mean anything. It’s probably just because of everything that happened yesterday.”

“
Aggele mou
,” Silas stepped through the door to the bathroom again. He held out a cordless phone. “I told North what you said about the dream.”

I nodded, forcing a grateful smile at Silas. At least I didn’t have to repeat it and think too much on it. I took the phone from his hands. “North?”

“Are you okay, Baby?”

“Yes, sorry.”

“Stop apologizing. Are you really fine?”

I sucked in another deep breath. “Yes. I just needed to wake up.”

“You didn’t stop breathing this time, did you?”

“No, Silas said I was moaning, so I guess I was okay there.”

“Baby, stop worrying about us so much. It’s going to drive you crazy.”

I guess this was what he interpreted the dream to mean to me. He was probably right. “Where are you?” I asked, not meaning to sound so pitiful, but hearing his voice was as soothing as Victor’s hug and Silas’s touch.

North sighed into the phone. “I want to come see you, Sang Baby, but I can’t right now. I’m sorry. There’s things going on.”

“Are you okay?”

“What did I say about worrying about us?” he asked, though he didn’t seem upset. “Do me a favor, okay? Hang on to Silas for me. Or to Victor. Whichever one you want. Just hang on to someone until I can get there. I’ll try to get to you as soon as I can.”

“When?”

He chuckled. “Not soon enough. I don’t know though, okay?” He paused for a moment. A voice rattled off in the background behind him. “Kota says he’ll come see you soon, too.”

“Tell him I say hi,” I said.

“He says hi back, and brush your teeth. And go back to sleep.”

“Is he serious?”

“Yes. Brush your teeth.” Pause. “We’ve got to go, Baby.”

I was going to say goodbye but North hung up before I could. It had me shaking again. He’d never hung up on me like that before. What got his attention now? Why was he working so late?

“What did he say?” Victor asked.

“He said stop worrying so much,” I said quietly, still pondering why North had to hang up so quickly. I straightened, knowing I wouldn’t get the answer then and there, and probably never would. Academy secrets. “Kota told me to brush my teeth.”

Victor rolled his eyes. “Sometimes, I don’t understand him.” He moved to the sink, snatching up a white toothbrush from a silver cup. He held it out to me. “Do you want to? You don’t have to.”

I held out my hand for the toothbrush, curious and amused now after Kota’s suggestion. “If you don’t mind girl cooties.”

Victor smirked. “I’m vaccinated.”

I swished my teeth with only a droplet of toothpaste. The surprising part was that brushing my teeth woke up my senses enough that I felt I was shaking off the dream. I stared at Silas and Victor behind me, my eyes widening in surprise at how I felt better.

They both sent curious gazes back at me. I spit in the sink so I could talk. “How does Kota know so much?”

“Sometimes I think he’s not human,” Victor said.

I replaced Victor’s toothbrush. Silas picked up a towel and handed it to me. “Are you okay to sleep, or do you need anything else?”

“I’m kind of not ready to sleep for a while. Like ever.” A shiver swept through me, catching me by surprise so I wasn’t able to hide it.

Silas frowned. He took the towel from me and dropped it on the sink. He held out his arms. I thought he wanted another hug, but he scooped me up around my butt and picked me up off the ground. He half turned to Victor. “We can’t leave her too scared to go to sleep.”

Victor nodded. “Yeah. Sang, we’re going back to sleep. Silas, get her in there. I’ll help.”

“How?” I asked.

Victor’s fire eyes smoldered. “You’ll see.”

“Master Morgan?” a female voice broke through. It started me enough that I trembled against Silas. “Is everything okay?”