Harkham's Choice (Harkham's Series Book 2) (16 page)

* * *

The next day at school, they both felt off. It was strange wondering where Samara was, if she’d come back and what she would do once she reappeared. Would she attack again? Mari was constantly on the alert, keeping an eye open for his sister’s return.

Adam found out Samara’s boyfriend’s name by hacking into her emails.

At lunch, he and Mari went looking for him.

“Do you think he’ll tell us where she is if he even knows?” she asked him.

“I don’t know, but I have to try,” he said.

“We don’t have a clue what he looks like.” She set a hand on her hip and cocked her head.

She saw the back of Kendra’s head, walked up to her and nudged her chair.

“Before you turn around and say something dumb, I just wanna say I hope the money was worth it. Samara is gone,” Mari said, close to her ear.

Kendra gasped and pushed away with her chair, the legs scraping the ground with a squeal.

“I’m so sorry, Mari. I . . . Rory told me she had a knife at his crotch, ready to castrate him. What was I supposed to do? I’m not some street fighter, and I was afraid of what she might do to me and my cousin.” Kendra looked at Adam, then averted her eyes.

“I don’t wanna talk about that,” Mari said. “I want to know if you know who Daniel Robertson is?”

“Who doesn’t? He’s about as hot as they come . . . Well, you know, with the exception of Rory and these freak Latham brothers.”

“They’re not freaks,” Mari said.

Adam glared at Kendra.

Kendra rolled her eyes. “I’m not talking about his . . .” she paused and rubbed the back of her neck “. . .
issues
. I mean, the fact that all three of them were all in the same grade. That never happens.”

“Doesn’t matter. Tell me what I need to know, or a knife will seem like a baby’s rattle to you,” Mari said.

“Yeah, uh . . .” Kendra looked around the cafeteria. “Over there. The tall one with the wavy dark hair and crooked nose. That’s him.” She pointed over by the corner window. Three girls and two guys sat at the table with him.

He was sitting there with a glum look on his face, leaving his food untouched.

“Thanks,” Adam said and took Mari’s hand, tucking it up against her hip. He liked having it there now.

Mari wondered if it was some kind of way to protect her wound.

That would be just like him to look out for her in that way.

“Does this make us even? You’re okay with me, now, right?” Kendra asked.

“Not even close. Maybe if you paid Adam the money Samara gave you and stayed away from us indefinitely, then I’d say, yeah, we’re good,” Mari said.

Kendra swallowed and frowned.

Mari left without another word.

She led the way over to Daniel, ready to kick the hell out of him if he kept quiet as to where Samara was and what was going on with her.

Mari carefully sat herself down on a seat right next to Daniel.

“Excuse me, who’re you?” one of the girls asked at the table.

“I’m the bitch that’s gonna tear his head off if he doesn’t tell me where Samara Latham is,” Mari said.

Adam squeezed into the seat next to her.

“And why should I tell you that?” Daniel asked.

“Please . . . She’s my sister. I only want to know if she’s okay and has somewhere to stay with food and water,” Adam replied, his voice pleading and gentle.

“She’s fine. She stayed with me last night, but she left this morning. She said she was leaving the country to find her mom.” Daniel’s eyes softened at Adam when he noticed how sad Adam became at this news.

“I’ve been looking for our mom—can’t find her no matter how hard I try,” Adam told him.

“She said she was pretty sure she knew where to find her.” Daniel extended his hand. Adam didn’t take it. “I’m sorry to hear you’re mad at Samara, but it’s nice to meet y—”

“
Mad
? Is that what she told you?” Mari lifted her shirt and showed him her stitches. “She did this. She attacked me with a knife—stole Adam’s car and phone. Mad doesn’t even touch what I am. She’s psychotic. You need to turn her in if you know where she is.” She put her shirt back down.

Daniel’s eyes flew up, and the girls at the table covered their mouths when they saw her wound.

“She
did
that to you?” Daniel gasped.

“Yeah. She tackled me, then stabbed me once, really deep. Wanna know how close to some vital organs and bones she got?” Her lips twitched as she took a breath, the memory jabbing into her mind, hurting almost as much as the actual attack.

“If Samara hadn’t stood up to try to slice her from throat to belly, then I probably wouldn’t have been able to save Mari in time. We want to get her some help,” Adam said, finishing for her.

Daniel’s eyes roamed to the table. “I don’t know exactly where she is. She didn’t really say, but she did say she’d return for your wedding.”

“She’s not invited,” Adam said, his voice lacking all emotion.

“Yeah, I can see why.” Daniel tapped his finger on the table. “Give me your phone number. When she calls, I’ll let you know right away.”

“We need more than that. You need to tell us where she is, and what she’s doing after you talk to her again,” Mari told him and stood up.

She reached for Adam’s hand.

He took it.

“Thank you, Daniel. I can’t really be friends with you, but maybe next time I see you, I’ll shake your hand so you know we’re not enemies. I hope I can trust you,” Adam said.

Mari gave no goodbye, just left with Adam at her side when he was done talking.

“That was rude not to say goodbye,” Adam told her.

“I know . . . I did it on purpose. I want him to dislike me, too. Then he’ll tell her where I am and what
I’m
doing instead. She’ll come back for me, Adam—and when she does, we’ll be ready for her.”

She got in line to get her food. Adam did the same.

While they ate in silence, she stared at Daniel and gauged his reactions.

Yeah, he was shaking and uptight while he talked to his friends.

He looked paranoid. No doubt he’d say something to Samara as soon as he could.

Something deep inside told her he knew exactly where she was. Did Samara have him memorize a script or something on what to say if they contacted him? He was lying.

Bastard!

* * *

Mari was cooking dinner tonight. She was spooked—every sound making her jump.

Adam finally stood next to her and held her hand, slowing down the cooking process, but she was happy to have him nearby.

“Are you okay?” He released his fingers knotted in hers and set his hands on her shoulders.

“I don’t know.” She put down the mixing spoon and turned to him. “How did you know yesterday where Samara was and that she was attacking me?”

He inhaled a stuttering breath. “I didn’t know. It looked like dinner was done cooking, so I set the table. And when I went to ask Samara what to do next, she was gone. I went looking for her, and then I heard something fall in your room with a heavy thud. I ran in through her bedroom door because it was wide open. I figured yours would be locked since you’d just showered. That’s when I saw her and what she was doing.”

A chill gathered around her spine like a cold fist was milking the icy fluids all the way down to her toes. She closed her eyes and dropped her head. It almost felt like a prayer—the way she was searching her thoughts for answers. “Adam, if you hadn’t gotten there when you did . . .” She licked her lips—her tongue was cold, too.

“I’m glad I did. When I saw that knife in her hands, and she pulled it back . . . God—I swear, I almost died. I thought about how I’d miss you at first if she managed to kill you before I hurt her, but then it was more than that. I had a moment when I realized—if you died, then I was already gone. Nothing would matter, and I would’ve let Sam kill me too.”

Her eyes flashed wide, and in a sweeping rush, her intake of air jammed in her windpipe. She grabbed at her throat. “No . . .” she muttered under her breath. “You can’t ever say th—”

Rmmmmmmmmmmmnnnnuh . . .

The sound of an engine cut off in the driveway.

Their heads snapped in that direction.

Before Mari could tell Adam to stay put, he ran through the house toward the front door. She was right behind him, gaping at the Mercedes parked in the driveway.

A dark, wavy-haired head poked out of the driver’s door, and Daniel got out.

He walked over to them and gave Adam the keys.

“She told me to tell you once again that she’s sorry and she loves you.” Daniel’s eyes were apologetic.

“What other lies did she say?” Mari asked.

“None. I broke up with her. After I saw what she did to you . . . I knew she was leaving stuff out, but I had no idea. She told me to wait and bring the car back in a few days so you’d think she was still in town, but I wasn’t about to let you be without your wheels because she . . . Well, never mind.” Daniel put his hands in his pockets. “I’m sorry I was in the middle. I wish now I hadn’t been. I really love her, ya know?”

“I’m glad you do. I hope she gets some help,” Mari said, her eyes sweeping over him with her jaw tight. “There’s something seriously wrong with her. She’s really violent.”

“I know. I told her the same thing. She said it was her mom’s fault, not hers. Do
you
know what that means?” he asked Adam.

Adam shrugged and shook his head. “I have no idea what she’s talking about. Mom never lifted a finger against us, and she was always really nice. Hardly ever yelled or anything.”

Daniel sighed, and his eyes drifted over to the house. “If I hear anything else from her, I’ll let you know. Can I get your phone numbers? Forgot to follow up and get it last time.”

Mari passed him her phone since Adam’s was with Samara.

Daniel typed his in. She called him, and he immediately saved the number on his.

“Thanks.” Daniel jiggled his phone in his palm at them. “I appreciate it.”

“Do you need a ride home?” Adam asked.

“Nah. I’ve got a friend that’s gonna pick me up in five minutes at the corner there.” Daniel pointed at the end of the street.

Mari’s gut lifted. Who was this friend, and why not call them and cancel, get a ride from Adam? Was he lying again? Her eyes narrowed a little.

“Samara didn’t happen to give you Adam’s phone back, did she?” Mari asked before he walked away.

“No. She said he deserved it since he burned hers.” Daniel turned to Adam smirking. “Is that true? Did you really do that?”

The left half of Adam’s lips twisted into a goofy grin, and his Adam’s apple bobbed. “Yeah. It was fun.”

Daniel chuckled. “I’m sure it was. She was 
pii-iissed
 off about that one when it happened. I thought she’d accidentally flushed it and was embarrassed so she made up some silly story about you doing that. He shifted away for a moment, looking like he was anxious to get away. “In the tub?” He smiled and looked at Adam.

“Yeah. My dad got mad about that. Next time, I’ll do it in the grill in the backyard, but I didn’t want her to catch me doing it. The bathroom has a good lock on it.”

“Not good enough,” Mari mumbled under her breath, recalling his surprising shower visit with her. She nudged Adam.

He blushed. “No, not good enough to keep
me
out.”

Daniel’s cheeks tinged pink, a little flustered, probably figuring out what they were talking about.

“I’ll let you guys get back to dinner,” Daniel said, waving bye.

He left, and Adam got inside the car to check it over.

Everything was exactly how he’d left it.

With the exception of the small note on the passenger’s seat.

Adam read it silently to himself, wadded it up, tossed it on the lawn on his way back inside the house and snorted with disbelief.

Mari picked it up, straightened the note out and read it—
I’ll find Mom. Love, Samara

“Not if I find her first!” he growled.

Chapter 9

Adam’s jaw flexed. “I 
found
 you,” he said to the screen.

It was his mom’s brother, Peter. He lived in France.

Adam bounced out of his seat and found Mari in the living room, wrapping Christmas presents.

“Don’t come in!” she hollered. “I’m wrapping your gift.”

“I thought we said nothing big,” he reminded her.

“It’s not big, but I can still wrap it,” she said, sounding beyond excited.

He turned around and closed his eyes. “Tell me when it’s safe to come in.”

A few crinkles of paper and the tape snapping and sealing the gift made him break out in goose bumps. But what really had him smiling was when he heard her mumbled, “’Kay. It’s safe now.”