The Rift (16 page)

Thad pulled off his long-sleeved t-shirt, and
handed it to me, without really looking at Henry or his arm. “Wrap
it up if you can,” he said.

“I’ve never done this before,” I said. “Do
you think you could help?”

Thad sighed, but he squatted next to me and
helped me to wrap the shirt around Henry’s arm. I didn’t think what
we’d done would stop the bleeding, but it would keep the wound as
clean as possible until we got him to the doctor. Thad helped me,
but he kept his eyes on the ground and he looked slightly
green.

“You don’t like the sight of blood?” I
asked.

“At least I didn’t throw up,” he said. “I’m
going to call Jed.”

He stood and walked toward the trees, his
phone to his ear. Wraith pulled up with his SUV and loaded Henry
into the back, laying him gently across the bench seat. “Kelsey why
don’t you sit with him,” Wraith said. “Angelica, you can sit up
front with me and Thad.”

I got in and lifted Henry’s head to lay it on
my lap. He moaned slightly but didn’t wake.

“What about Jeremiah?” Angelica asked.

“He’ll wake up in a few hours. He can find
his own way home,” Wraith said. He got into the driver’s seat and
slammed the door.

Angelica knelt beside Jeremiah. Thad stopped
next to her on his way to the SUV, and whatever he said to her
convinced her to leave Jeremiah. She stood and got in after
Thad.

“He should really go to a hospital,” Doctor
Veronica said. “This is beyond what I can do here.”

“And what do we tell them at the hospital?”
Jed asked. “How do we explain a wolf bite when we’ve got no
wolf?”

We were back at the house. Wraith had left to
wait for Jeremiah at the pack house, and Henry was stretched out on
the couch. Doctor Veronica had cleaned his wound as best she could,
and was going to start stitching him up, but his arm was badly
broken and she wasn’t confident enough in her abilities to set it
properly without x-rays. She didn’t want to stitch him up if he was
going to go to the hospital, so we were arguing while Henry
continued to bleed. He was awake, so he was bleeding, gritting his
teeth and flinching every time he took a breath. Tucker was next to
me and about to lose it. He was silent, but he kept fading in and
out of my sight, which was a sign of heightened emotions. I was
sure he wanted to be by Henry’s side, but he couldn’t risk giving
away the nature of their relationship.

“It won’t be the first time the doctors
around here have seen a wolf bite,” Tessa said. “They’ve learned
not to ask too many questions.”

“They know about werewolves?” I asked.

She shrugged. “They might suspect, but the
accepted story is that Wraith and his buddies keep wolves or big
dogs on their property, and they sic ‘em on anyone who causes
trouble.”

“And the police don’t do anything?” I
asked.

“Never been able to prove anything.”

I leaned in closer to Tessa and she leaned
away, so I had to talk louder than I’d wanted to. “Will he turn
into a werewolf?” I asked.

Tessa shook her head. “It takes more than
just a bite. The method for turning a human into a wolf is similar
to the mythology about vampires, but the bottom line is, Henry is
unlikely to turn. If it were that easy, you’d see a lot more
werewolves running around.”

Jed sighed. “I don’t like the way he’s losing
blood. We need to get him fixed up soon.”

Jed met my eyes and I looked away from the
worry there. “Kelsey you should go with him,” he said, his voice
gentle. I felt terrible about lying to him, suddenly, about
pretending to be the person Henry needed, but if he couldn’t have
Tucker with him, I’d have to be the next best thing.

“Alright, then, let’s go,” I said.

Thad helped Henry to the car and got him
comfortable in the back. I took the passenger seat and no one else
offered to go with us. I knew Tucker desperately wanted to go, but
he still lived under the assumption that Thad didn’t know about him
and Henry. I wished I’d told them. Tucker must have been in agony,
not able to join us. Thad waited until he’d pulled out of the
driveway and onto the main road before he spoke. “How long are you
two going to keep letting everyone think Henry’s your boyfriend,”
he asked.

I looked at him, shocked. “What does that
have to do with anything?”

At the same time, Henry said, “That’s
Kelsey’s call.” Henry didn’t seem surprised that Thad knew our
relationship was fake. I wondered if he and Thad had talked about
it, or if he was just tired of pretending.

“What?” I said, turning to look at Henry.
“We’re not doing this for my benefit, Henry.” I kept my voice low
even though Thad knew about Henry and Tucker. I didn’t want to give
Henry something else to worry about when he was already hurt.

“Yeah, and I appreciate it, Kelsey, but I
never expected it to last forever.” Henry’s voice was strained.

I felt like I was being attacked and rejected
at the same time. “There’s no reason it has to end,” I said. “It’s
not hurting anybody.”

They were both silent for the length of two
songs on the radio, it was some pop station and it made me want to
claw my eyes out. “’Seriously, Thad,” I finally exploded. “Is this
what you like to listen to?”

He grinned. “It’s the only station I can get
clearly other than country music.”

“Ugh. Don’t you have any CDs or an iPod or
anything?”

“I have audiobooks. I don’t really listen to
music.”

I just stared at him. “I thought I knew
you.”

He laughed. “You don’t know me, Kelsey, and
that’s my point about Henry. You and Wraith looked pretty cozy this
morning, but how are you going to get close to him and get the
information we need if you have a boyfriend? Jeremiah attacked
Henry today and not even his alpha could stop him. We need to know
what’s going on.”

“You want me to sleep with him to get the
information? Some men do get close to women without sex.” An image
of Wraith’s grinning face close flashed in my mind and chilled me
to the bone. I grimaced.

Thad looked at me and grinned. “No, but it
would probably help to flirt with him and when you’re already
taken…”

“He’s not interested in a romantic
relationship. He’s all business.”

“Right.”

“And besides, I’m not having any problem
getting information from him so far.”

“Really, so what’s his master plan? Why is he
interested in you?”

“Because she’s smart and beautiful and—”
Henry said.

“Because I’m powerful. He wants to be left
alone and not to have to fight for everything he gets. He says he
wants a normal life and that together we could have that.”

“And he has no interest in sleeping with
you?”

“He didn’t say that…”

“What do you want, Kelsey?” Henry asked.

Jed
. The answer was in my thoughts
before I consciously considered it, and I knew it to be true. For
so long all I’d wanted was an ordinary life, but now, I’d take
whatever kind of life I could get if it meant I got to see Jed at
least once a day. Of course, he was completely uninterested in me,
so I might as well start figuring out what I wanted second.

“Do you still want a normal life?” Thad
asked, interrupting my thoughts.

I had to really think about that one. I’d
said goodbye to that dream, because I didn’t think it was a
realistic possibility, but I thought I still wanted it. I was no
longer sure. I wanted to stop being afraid. I wanted to stop seeing
my friends get hurt, but I couldn’t deny how powerful I was. I
could do a lot of good and help a lot of people. I no longer felt
certain I’d be happy going to an ordinary job and watching TV every
night. “No,” I said, my voice shaky. “Maybe. I just…I just…I hated
seeing Henry hurt today, but he wasn’t hurt fighting reapers. He
was hurt on a picnic with my friends. Granted it was a bizarre
group of friends, but we weren’t at battle. If we had been, maybe I
could have been next to Henry and kept him from getting hurt.”

“Whatever you want, Kelsey,” Henry said. “You
won’t be able to figure it out as long as I’m your boyfriend. You
spend too much time worrying about keeping up appearances and
keeping me safe, and I appreciate it, but it’s time for you to have
your own life. You deserve your own life.”

The idea pushed my heart into my throat, and
I found it suddenly hard to breathe. “I’m not ready,” I finally
managed to get out, my voice breathy.

“I know, sweetie,” Henry said. “I’ll always
be your friend and I’ll always love you, no matter what, but if you
don’t end this soon, I’m going to.”

“You’re going to dump me.” Pain sliced
through my chest.

“It’s for your own good.”

Thad pulled into the hospital parking lot and
together we helped Henry inside. The waiting room was practically
empty and they were able to take Henry right back. Thad and I
stayed outside and waited. “You know if you need a transition
boyfriend…” he said with a smile.

“Shut up, Thad.” I handed him a Cosmo from
the pile of magazines and picked up a National Geographic for
myself. Fortunately, hospitals weren’t a place we had to worry
about running into reapers. The dead avoided hospitals as fervently
as the living.

“Are we going home a different way?” I asked,
noticing strip malls and gas stations instead of the forests and
fields we’d passed on the way into the city.

Henry was once again in the back, but he now
had stitches and a cast on his arm. He was also on pain meds and
appeared to be feeling pretty good.

“Henry needed to pick up a few things,” Thad
said. He turned and parked in front of a large two story mall.
“This place is supposed to be open until nine. We can get some
dinner and shop.”

“Are you sure you’re up for this?” I asked
Henry.

He looked at me, his eyes scary wide and his
grin showing all of his teeth. “These pain meds are amazing. I feel
like I could run a marathon.”

“These are way too tight,” I said, twisting
to look at my butt in the mirror. Turns out what Henry needed to
pick up was a new wardrobe for me. Hev had handed me a pile of
clothes and sent me to a dressing room in an obnoxious and bossy
manner. Shockingly, he’d stuck to my usual style, jeans and tees,
just several sizes smaller than I was used to. The current jeans
were so tight they actually changed my shape, pushing my butt
higher and making my thighs appear slimmer. I couldn’t complain
about that, but I actually felt like they were compressing my body,
and I could have sworn they were getting tighter as I stood
there.

“They look fine to me,” Thad said, his eyes
glued to my butt. “You know how there was no chemistry between us
the last time we kissed? Maybe we should try again.”

“They only seem too tight because you’re used
to baggy clothes,” Henry said, ignoring Thad.

“I’m not buying these. I don’t have any
money, anyway.”

“Actually, you do,” Henry said, his cheeks
reddening just a bit. “I told Jed that you hadn’t been getting more
than a food allowance and he was furious. He called headquarters
and demanded back pay from the day you started. You have eight
grand.”

My jaw dropped. “Why didn’t you tell me
before?”

He shrugged. “I was a little distracted. Now,
since you’re rich, you can buy the jeans.”

“I’m not buying the jeans.”

Henry stepped closer to me and put his mouth
to my ear. “If you walk into a room with those jeans on, Jed will
forget Tessa’s name.”

Heat rose to my cheeks and bit my lip to try
to regain my usual color. “I don’t care what he thinks,” I
whispered back. I twisted and studied myself again, as Henry
stepped away. I looked back at Thad who was almost literally
drooling, and I couldn’t help but smile.

“Fine, I’ll get the jeans.” I stomped back
into the dressing room and changed into the next outfit Henry had
picked for me. I really did need clothes that fit, and I hadn’t
bought anything new for myself in well over five months. I also
couldn’t deny how much I’d like for Jed to look at me the way Thad
had just been looking at me.

My new wardrobe didn’t seem to have any
lasting effect on Thad. By the time we left the mall, Henry and I
loaded down with bags, we had to drag Thad away from the sales
clerk he was flirting with. “She’s pretty,” I said, as we walked
out. “Did you get her number?”

“I’m coming back after I tuck you two in,” he
said, his swagger cockier than usual. “We’re going to her
place.”

“Good for you,” I said, feeling not the least
bit jealous. I’d had fun, shopping with Henry, and I was happy with
my purchases. Everything I’d bought was practical and in my style.
I’d even let Henry convince me to buy a skirt and a dress, just in
case I ever needed them. I was currently wearing the jeans that had
made Thad drool, along with a fitted V-neck tee, that revealed
cleavage I’d forgotten I had, and a leather jacket. I’d always
wanted a leather jacket and that one was kick ass, with lots of
zippers and shiny buttons. It made me feel tough, even if I wasn’t
as tough as I’d like to be. I told myself I wasn’t dressing to get
Jed’s attention but, like I said, I was a terrible liar.

When we walked in, Tessa and Jed were on the
couch in the dark, watching a movie. In the blue light from the
T.V. I could tell they weren’t snuggling, but they were sitting so
close their bodies were touching. All the confidence and sexiness
I’d felt in my new clothes vanished as I realized I didn’t stand a
chance with Jed. “Hi,” I said and headed back to my room.

“You want to watch the movie with us?” Jed
asked. “It just started.”

“No thanks.” I kept walking, not waiting to
see if Henry or Thad took him up on the offer. “I’m really
tired.”

Henry followed me back to my room and dropped
the bags on my bed with a disgusted look. “Giving up already?”