Lilith (17 page)

Charlie laughed. “Lilith wouldn’t hurt him
tangibly even if she could, it isn’t about hurting Dean so much as it is to have him. Boy’s don’t really get it.”

Charlie nodded towards me an Rhi. “But I bet you two do. Adam hurt Lilith in the deepest and most tragic way possible. He broke her heart and fell in love with another woman. Her need to win him back is born from that pain. She probably can’t even control it anymore
. It’s taken on a life of its own enslaving her to her quest for revenge and capturing the one thing she can’t have.” Charlie’s eyes drifted towards Dean. “Him.”

Chapter Seventeen

Thief

“How exactly are we supposed to get our hands on the blood blade?” Rhiannon voiced the words I was positive everyone was thinking, and I didn’t even have to peek.

“I have an idea about that.” I said dryly, and I knew she wasn’t going to like
it.

“Well what is it, spit it out already.” Rhi s
aid.

I knew she was annoyed not just by our little outing but by how different Wes was while we were there. The jokester
we knew had remained quiet and considerate. He didn’t act out or make funny comments. He was different in his new world of college students. Which made Rhi’s relationship with him, her still being a high school student, and immature, a little impractical.

“Well,” I said taking a deep breath for confidence. “I’m betting the knife my mom cut me with is in Police custody, being a murder weapon and all.”

Dean grabbed my hand and squeezed, comforting without words.

“If it’s with the cops how are we going to get it?” She asked.

I frowned. Rhi stared at my face and paled, instantly realizing where I was headed.

“No way, absolutely not. Liv can have her dad pull some strings.” Rhi said.

I shook my head. “Rhi, no police officer in his right mind would give away a knife that was involved in an open investigation to some random teenagers. Hell I have to go down to the precinct tomorrow with my dad, and my new
lawyer
to answer questions about all three attacks. She’s our only option.”

“But why, I mean we can come up with something with the other Bad Girls, like I said Liv can---“

“Rhi.” I interrupted her. “Liv’s dad isn’t involved with the cops here, but hers is. Even if Liv’s dad got the okay for us to have the knife they’ll know we have it. My plan has much more to do with finding out where it is, and stealing it. The Bad Girls can help with the theft. But she’s our hope at finding out where it is.”

Rhi drew in a ragged breath. “I hate this.”

“I know.” I said.

“Would you t
wo enlighten the rest of us.” Wes said.

Rhi and I shrugged before I said. “
We’re talking about Lexie Vega.”

“And why is Lexie the person you think will have the answers
and possible connections?” Wes asked.

Dean laughed. “I’m betting it has something to do with her father being a Culliver City Police Committee Board Member…
am I right?”

I smiled. He really was a smart
boy. “Exactly.”

“How are you planning on getting her help, I mean, from personal experience the bitch never went out of her way to help anyone but herself.” Rhi said sharply.

“To be perfectly honest Rhi, she’s not half as bad as you think she is. You know how rumors are, not to mention that after I told her off it’s like she’s had a lobotomy. I think she’ll help because she already offered.”

It took me a while to find her number. It was crumbled up on a piece of paper in the bottom of my backpack. Dean, Rhi, and Wes sat on my bed while I paced across the floor trying to figure out the right wording to get Lexie’s help. Everyone agreed that keeping it short and simple was the best. The problem was I needed a viable reason to steal it.

“You know.” Rhi said braiding a strand of her hair. “Dean is probably the best reason, I mean, the most obvious non demon magical reason.”

I frowned. “How so?”

“Well he was the one who stabbed your mom right. We could say we want the knife because of the finger prints.”

It made sense, but it was also sort of stupid. The police had more than enough time to get the prints off the knife. But Lexie may not know or care. We just needed a reason other than the real one for wanting it.

“We should also replace it.” Wes said.

“So that the cops don’t suspect anything.” Dean agreed.

Rhi glanced at me and I shrugged. “I guess it makes sense. But the knife was also covered in blood, mine and my mom’s.

My eyes were drawn to the dark stain on the hard wood floor. There was no chance I’d be able to get any of my mom’s blood.

“The cops probably already have samples so it wouldn’t even matter.” Rhi said.

The boys glanced at me. I rolled my eyes and walked to my bedroom door. “Well are you g
uys coming, let’s see if we can find a matching knife in the kitchen.”

Bridget was standing in front of the sink when we walked down stairs. He
r shoulder length hair pulled up into a messy ponytail. She looked sort of off. Her hair was greasy, and her clothing wrinkled. She turned when we entered the room, a frown pulling harshly at her mouth.

“What do you want?” She cried.

Her voice was hard and empty like a shell. My eyes roamed over her uncovered skin looking for traces of Lilith.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

She took two aggressive steps towards me. Dean and Wes jumped forward to pull me back and place their bodies in front of me.

“No I’m not. And
it’s all your fault. If you hadn’t got out of that stupid hospital, everything would have been perfect. But you ruined it all you little bitch.”

She reached out to hit me, but Dean caught her wrist.

“Easy.” He said softly.

She glanced up into his face, and her lip trembled. Tears started falling down her pale tired face. She crumbled against him.

“He doesn’t want me anymore. He says he made a mistake…but I know it’s because of her.” She fought to get past Dean. Her voice breaking into a snarl.

Wes pulled me out of the room. My father charged forward between us and saw Dean restraining Bridget. He walked quickly across the room and hit Dean hard in the
face. Wes dropped my arms and jumped forward to stop my dad.

“Dad what are you doing?” I yelled.

Bridget’s face broke into a cruel and evil smile. I searched her eyes and face again for any sign of Lilith, but there was nothing. She was screwed up all on her own.

Rhi moved closer to my dad stepping between him and Dean. “Hi Mr. O’Brien, I know it looks bad but that chic was trying to hit Pacey. Dean was just stopping her. He wasn’t hurting her. I promise you. You trust me right?”

My dad’s angry face searched Rhi’s and his eyes dropped to the floor. His shoulders heaved with labored breaths.

Bridget saw the fight leave him and screamed. “No, you are not going to side with that little slut.”

She pointed at Rhi and tried to charge past Dean to get to her. My dad’s face went wide with shock. He moved Rhi out of danger and patted her shoulder.

“Thank you sweet girl, you’re not a slut.” My dad’s eyes narrowed then fell on Dean. A bruise was blooming beneath his eye. My dad sighed and shook his head. “I’m sorry son. I…I didn’t know.”

My dad’s eyes fixed on Bridget and she squirmed. He took her hands in his and pulled them up towards his mouth.

He kissed them softly and said. “Bridget, you know that I appreciate everything that you’ve done for me…since…well since Pacey’s mom died. I know I promised that when Pacey turned 18 I’d finally leave” My jaw fell open, he had been cheating the bastard.

“But things have changed. Without her mother she needs me more than ever. What we’ve done…what we’ve been doing is wrong. I know that now. Please understand that this isn’t about you, you’re wonderful.” I snorted and Bridget’s cold eyes landed on me.

I smiled. My dad cleared his throat to gain her attention. “This is over. I can’t do what I promised and be the man that I was before. I have to better, I have to be more. I’m sorry.”

He dropped her hands and took a step back. He reached for my hand and squeezed. I couldn’t help the tears that spilled down my face. He would be better for me. It didn’t matter anymore that he’d cheated on my mom. It was in the past. We had to move forward as a family…together.

Bridget rushed from the room and out the front door. Slamming it hard behind her. My dad glanced at my friends and motioned for them to leave us alone in the kitchen.

“Pacey…I’m---“

I held up my hand to stop him. “It doesn’t matter dad, what’s done is done.
Let’s just move forward. Besides you weren’t married to me, and moms gone. It doesn’t matter.”

My dad sighed. “It does. I don’t want you to think that my behavior is what women deserve. I loved your mother for years. I still do. But we decided a long time ago to stay together for you until you were older. But you’re right it doesn’t matter anymore.”

I reached out and hugged him hard. Feeling the fast beating of his heart under my cheek.

“I still love you dad.”

“And I you my sweet girl.”

Lexie sat on the chair in the corner of my room. Her face scrunched up in surprise. Her brown hair hung flatly down her shoulders. Gone were the perfect waves and flawless makeup. She wore a plain white tank top and boot cut jeans. Three silver chains hung at different levels across her chest. She looked like a completely different person.

“So you want to break into the evidence room, steal a knife, replace it with another, and you expect me to believe it’s because of him?” Lexie pointed at Dean and I nodded.

She laughed. “I’m not stupid. But you obviously think I am. If you want the damn knife that’s fine, just don’t try to sale me some bullshit reason for why you want it. I don’t really care.” She paused and her eyes fell on Rhiannon who bristled in the opposite corner.

“I’ll help, but I want a truce, from you.” She pointed at me. “You.” She pointed at Rhiannon. “And all of the Bad Girls. I know I don’t really deserve it. I’ve done some pretty awful things. But I don’t want to walk around school waiting for the axe to drop. It sucks.”

Rhi smiled. “Now you know how we feel.”

Lexie paled and her eyes dropped to the ground in shame.

Dean cleared his throat to gain their attention. “Look girls this thing goes beyond high school vendettas and old hurts. We need your help.” He nodded at Lexie. “And yours.” He nodded at Rhiannon. “So you two need to get over your shit and work together…for Pacey.”

Lexie smiled. “I’m in.”

Rhi frowned and took a defeated seat on the bed. Wes pulled her into his arms and kissed her head. “Fine.” She hissed.

“So.” Lexie said. “Who gets to be our thief?”

Chapter Eighteen

The Art of Misdirection

The plan was simple. Rhi would use the Bad Girls in her disposal to distract the officers inside the police station. They’d figure out a way to get them all out of the office, bomb threat, fire, something. They’d use the time that the cops were out to get someone else inside, someone who had a reason to be there, and that someone would break into the evidence room.

Lexie’s job was to find out where exactly the evidence room was located, how to get inside, and where the knife was, i.e. serial number, locker, box, bag, whatever. The more we knew the easier it would be going in. Knowledge really was power.

The tricky part was getting someone inside. See I needed to be down at the police station to answer questions about the attacks, but my dad was going to be with me, maybe even with a lawyer. Ditching him wouldn’t be easy, especially when the police station went crazy with whatever distraction the Bad Girls cooked up.

The trial itself wasn’t going to take place for a couple of months. The DA wasn’t even sure if it would go forward. The woman who had stabbed my mother in the chest had gone a little crazy. Strangely enough she was now living in the mental ward I’d previously been staying at. God really did have a sense of humor.

Rhi’s idea for getting me away from my dad was genius…if it worked. Liv, the Bad Girls resident P.I. was the best lock picker we had. I needed her to get into the evidence room, at the same time I needed a distraction for my father. Rhi’s idea was so twisted I had to wonder what she’d be capable of later in life.

Liv would show up right before the distraction. She’d be in tears over something related, most likely the recently departed Bad Girls. She’d come to me and cry, upset about the whole thing. Knowing how my dad was with tears it would be easy. I’d take her to the women’s room to clean her up and that’s when the police would get the call.

The problem was we needed to keep my dad from freaking out and breaking down the door to the bathroom. Rhi would show up just in time, promise to get me. Then stand outside the bathroom door and pretend to have a conversation with said door. If my dad was too agitated and busted in, we’d get caught. But if by some small miracle Rhiannon was able to keep him calm. We were home free.

That morning I couldn’t eat. Lexie as promised delivered the information within hours. How she got it I didn’t really want to know. But she delivered on time and efficiently. The Evidence room was in the basement. The
knife was sealed inside baggie 14 in box 1387 on aisle O shelf 3.

After my dad’s fall out with Bridget we were able to find a smaller but similar knife in the silverware drawer. It wasn’t a perfect match but it didn’t really matter. I cut my thumb to cover the blade. And dropped it into a plastic Ziploc bag.

If by some chance the cops ever checked the evidence baggie in box 1387 we’d be screwed. The good thing was they’d never be able to prove it…Hopefully.

Maddison was in charge of hacking into the police system and shutting down the camera’s surrounding the evidence room. Dawn, the other IT girl was one of the fallen. Only fifteen years old, she’d died at the hands of Lilith. Her older sister Candy as well.

I hadn’t really been able to mourn them. I’d missed their funerals, and I hadn’t been back to school since the shootings. I had a mountain of homework in my bedroom, and no desire to do it. It seemed unimportant on the larger scale. Graduating just didn’t seem to matter anymore either.

My dad had convinced the school to let me do home studies. But actually doing the studies hadn’t happened yet. I felt like a failure. I needed to get the knife and succeed at something against Lilith
before I could move on to normal everyday life.

What was even scarier was that after everything that had happened. It was quiet. Too quiet. Lilith hadn’t sent any scary text messages or possessed any of my friends. It was as if she was waiting to see what I came up with. What I had planned. I knew the clock was ticking. The blood blade was our first step in the right direction.

“Miss O’Brien, can you please tell me exactly what you remember from the night of the shootings?”

I recited the incident back to the officer with dry words. I felt numb to it, like it was a bad movie I’d seen. Not something I’d actually been a part of.

In the middle of his next question something changed and I knew it was go time. A loud earth-shattering bang shook the blinds that covered the window. Outside the sirens of all the police cars started going off at once. Another bang went off farther away. Then another. A chorus of bombs surrounding the building.

The officer jumped from his seat and ran out the door leaving it open behind him.

“I’ll be back just wait here, I’m sure it’s nothing.” His ashen face said otherwise, and I bit down my smile.

What in the hell were they doing? I hadn’t actually thought they’d go pyro an
d try to blow up half the town.

“What do you think is happening?” I
asked my dad with fake concern.

He stood up and went to the window to look out at the street. I jumped up to join him.

“Stupid kids.” An officer yelled from behind us.

I watched the station empty. Leaving only one secretary, and an officer to answer phones. The phones at every desk rang, adding to the chaos. The booming outside continued.

It was almost like fireworks. I glanced out the window and laughed when I saw two masked girls throw a two liter into the street. A loud band erupted as the chemicals inside combusted. It was a simple experiment that we’d learned in science.

Muriatic acid combined with baking soda. It could be extremely dangerous if you didn’t know what you were doing, but as long as no one was near it when it went off it was okay. It was a non-lethal and loud way of getting the cops attention. The girls doing it directly in front of the police station was pretty gutsy. Like thumbing their nose at the cops and screaming nah nah nah nah nah.

“Please tell me those aren’t those bad girls of Rhiannon’s?”

I stared at my dad and shook my head. “I don’t think so, if it is they sure as hell didn’t tell me.” I swallowed the lie and heard Liv sniffling from the doorway.

“Pacey.” She said on a sob.

My dad’s eyebrow went up in disbelief. “Seriously, Liv is actually crying? Whatever you girls are up to I don’t wanna know just get back here before those cops return or I’m not covering for either of you.”

I smiled. Was he really contributing to the delinquency of a minor?

“You realize you girls are crazy right?” He said.

I kissed his cheek and met Liv at the door.

“Whatever you do don’t get caught.” He said as we raced down the hallway.

When we got to the stairwell we slowed. Liv opened the door and checked her watch.

“We have exactly ten minutes starting now. We need to hurry.”

She handed me a pair of rubber gloves. Her own hands were covered in a thin dark leather. She was organized, which was a little frightening. I followed her down the three flights of stairs and stopped when I realized the lights had gone out. Liv pulled out two sets of goggle’s and handed one to me.

“What are these?”

Liv laughed. “Courtesy of Willow’s younger brothers. They got them one year for summer camp. The parents took them away when the boys got caught pulling pranks on the counselors. It’s for a onetime only use tonight, but they sure are sweet.”

Liv pulled her
goggles on and slipped a card in front of a keyed entry door it clicked open and she disappeared inside.

The green hew of the night goggles was strange. I blinked a few times until my eyes adjusted. I reached for the closing door and I followed behind her. In her hands she held a kit full of small picks and narrow tools. When we got to the end of the long ha
ll she stopped at a metal cage.

Inside was the evidence we needed. It only took her a minute to get the door open. She typed in a code on the inside keypad and we were home free. She held out the Ziploc covered knife and we walked inside the room.

Row after row of cardboard boxes lined the shelves from floor to ceiling. I looked for the right aisle. My heart was beating so hard inside my chest I thought I’d throw up from the sensation. Liv stopped at the aisle and we walked down it in search of the box. Liv pointed up and I held my hands out to help her reach. She stepped into my hands and lurched up grabbing it.

She pulled the box down and searched for the knife. I could feel the blade even before she found it. I started to speak, but Liv shook her head and pointed to the corner. I nodded and she held out the knife and pulled the other
fake one from my grip. I removed it from the clear plastic bag.

She pulled a similar one from her own kit and put the fake knife inside free from the
cheap Ziploc. I held the blood blade in my hand and felt it warm against my fingers. It was singing to me. Power rippled up my arms and I sighed softly. It was mine. Liv elbowed me and pointed to her watch. I shoved the blood blade inside my purse. I helped her up again to put the box back and we left.

I prayed they didn’t ask to look through my things. If they found the blade on me I didn’t know what I’d do. Liv paused at the metal cage and retyped the code. She swung the door open and motioned towards the other door. I ran down the hall and paused to wait for her. She removed the goggles and held out her hands for mine. I ripped them off and thrust them into the darkness. Liv pulled them from my grip and opened the door.

She stared at her watch when she closed it behind us.

“Three minute
s.” She said with a smile.

I tried to return it but my face was frozen. We’d actually done it. Liv fixed my hair and patted me on the shoulder.

“You did pretty good for your first time P.” She pointed at my gloves and ran up the stairs two at the time. I took them off and threw them in a nearby trashcan.

When I
got to the top I took a deep breath to steady my heavy breathing. I opened the door and returned alone to my father. He smiled when I walked through the door. I sat in the chair and rested my head on the desk in front of me.

It took a
long time for the cops to get everything settled down. A total of thirty noise bombs were shot off during the twenty-minute attack. Some of the cops were laughing about it, while others were seriously ticked. By the time Officer Williams returned he looked exhausted. My father asked for a different appointment to come in and we left.

No one checked my bag or asked if I was involved. It was too easy, or maybe it was just a very good lesson in misdirection. Rhiannon and the other Bad Girls were a force of nature.