The Rift (21 page)

“What else is there to consider?” Jed asked,
his face blank of any emotion.

I couldn’t tell him that he was an important
part of my decision. “I have to consider whether Yvonne or Wraith
is the most dangerous, and who will ask me to compromise myself the
least,” I answered honestly.

“None of this makes sense, Kelsey. My mother
wouldn’t just let you go. She feels you owe her, and she won’t give
in until that debt is paid.”

“According to Wraith, she decided I’m more
trouble than I’m worth.”

He grimaced, his teeth flashing white. “No,
there are few things my mother enjoys more than breaking someone.
She wasn’t in any hurry to make you comply. She was planning to
wear you down slowly and your supposed drinking was just an
indication to her that her plan was working.”

“But I—”

“Not to mention that Wraith is not the sort
to rest on his laurels, no matter what he or his file says. He’s up
to something, something big, there’s no way around that.”

“So everyone’s playing everyone.” I sighed.
“Where does that leave me?”

“I don’t know, Kelsey. I say we just string
them along until we figure it out, if we can. Spend some time
thinking about what you want.”

I didn’t want to be having that conversation,
not then, not with Jed. I owed Jed. Whether I’d asked him to or
not, he’d given up his dream for me. I knew how much he hated his
job and hated killing people. Freedom wasn’t an option for me, and
there was no reason I shouldn’t do everything I could to make sure
it was an option for Jed. Leaving with Wraith would just be leaving
one kind of contract behind for another, and even if I did get
played my situation couldn’t get much worse. Jed actually had a
shot at something good without me in his life.

“What does Henry think about it?” Jed asked.
“Would you be able to continue seeing him?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “We should probably
head back.”

“Kelsey,” he said, before I started
walking.

I stopped and looked at him. “I know my
mother hasn’t made it easy on you,” he said. “And I know she won’t
ever make it easy for you, but I need you to know that I’ll never
let her hurt you. As long as you’re at Varius, I’ll make sure
you’re safe. I can’t promise the same if you leave with
Wraith.”

“I’m capable of taking care of myself, Jed,”
I said. “You’ve helped me enough. I don’t want you to worry about
me anymore.”

“Kelsey, I…” He ran his hands through his
hair.

“We should head back,” I said again. I turned
and ran as fast as I could. I didn’t want to hear whatever Jed had
to say. I didn’t want to hear him tell me what a good friend I was
or how he felt a brotherly need to look out for me. I just wanted
to be free of him. I wanted to stop wanting to touch him every time
he was close to me, I wanted to stop waiting to hear his opinion on
the decisions I was making. I wanted to stop wanting him.

Jed ran after me and past me, and I picked up
my pace to pass him. We raced hard back to the house, and collapsed
in the front yard, panting and laughing. “I won,” I said between
breaths.

“You cheated,” he said.

“No, I didn’t. You tripped on that tree root
all on your own.”

“There aren’t any tree roots in the middle
of—”

“Kelsey, Jed, we’ve got a lead.”

I looked up to see Wraith on the porch above
us. He looked pissed, but I smiled up at him and waved. “Good
morning.” I climbed to my feet and offered Jed a hand. He took it,
and I did my best to ignore the tingles his touch gave me, to stomp
out the desire to cling to his hand and never let go. I released
him, and he walked ahead of me to the porch, unaffected by my
touch.

We followed Wraith into the kitchen, where he
laid a map on the table and pointed out four different properties
where his pack mates might be holding Tessa. His skin had a greyish
tinge and dark circles lay heavy under his eyes. He didn’t look at
me or even acknowledge I was there. Whatever game he was playing
with me was on hold and I welcomed the chance to see another side
of him.

“They haven’t made any sort of demands,”
Wraith said. “I thought this was about me, but now I’m not so
sure.”

Jed studied the map with Thad, while I
showered. I was good at a lot of things, but reading a map wasn’t
one of them. When I got out of the shower, I put on jeans, a
t-shirt, and my leather jacket, expecting to be heading out with
the guys to look for Tessa. When I emerged from my room, they were
already gone. I stomped out onto the porch and found Jed there,
rocking. “Oh, good,” I said. “I thought everyone had left without
me.”

He shook his head, still staring out at the
woods. “They did. We’re staying behind. Doctor Veronica would like
to talk to you in her room.”

I just looked at him, trying to absorb his
words. “Why aren’t you out there looking for Tessa?”

“Something about this feels off,” he said.
“The wolves who took her haven’t called Wraith or Tessa’s pack to
make any demands. They could have taken her for information, but I
don’t know what she could tell them that they’d want to know. I’m
worried that they took her to distract us from something else
they’re about to do.”

“Like what, Jed? What could they possibly do
that’s worse than kidnapping Tessa? You should be out there looking
for her, and so should I.”

He just stared out at the trees and kept
rocking. I wanted to walk over and shake him until he looked at me
and told me what was really going on. “It’s clear you really care
about her, it’s got to be killing you not to be out there looking
for her.”

“Tessa can take care of herself. I’ve never
known anyone tougher or more determined than her.”

I couldn’t believe he could be so calm. “What
do I have to do to prove to you that I’m tough, that I can take
care of myself? Do you want to fight me again, because I will if
that will get you off your ass and out there looking for Tessa. You
don’t need to protect me anymore, Jed.”

“Kelsey, I don’t know what you’re talking
about. Thad has a reputation as the best tracker in the business,
and Wraith has the nose to search for Tessa. I stayed behind to
help you, because Henry would be next to useless if they sent
someone here.”

“If you really feel I need to be protected,
I’ll go with you and we can look for her together. It doesn’t make
sense for us to stay here and do nothing.”

“We aren’t going to do nothing, Kelsey,” he
said, getting to his feet and pacing over to stand in front of me.
“You’re going to talk to Doctor Veronica, which was the whole
purpose of us being here in the first place. You’re useless in the
field until you get your head on straight.”

His words hit me like a punch to the chest,
and I found it suddenly hard to breathe. “Fine,” I said.
“Fine.”

I walked back into the house and found Thad’s
car keys in a bowl on the table next to the door. I grabbed them
and raced back out the door and down the steps to Thad’s car. I was
inside, with the door closed before Jed even made it to the car. I
had expected him to try to stop me, but he jumped in the
passenger’s seat as I started the engine, put the car in drive, and
pushed my foot down hard on the gas.

“Kelsey, what the hell are you doing?” I
wondered why he hadn’t jumped in front of the car to stop me or
used his telekinesis. Maybe he figured I’d run him over, and I
wasn’t sure I wouldn’t have, I was so mad at him.

“I’m doing
something
, Jed.”

“Do you even know where you’re going?”

I had no idea where I was going, but I wasn’t
about to tell him that. I concentrated on the road and let my anger
diffuse a bit before I considered my next step. “I’m going to look
for Angelica. I don’t know where Tessa might be, and I’m sure you
won’t tell me, but I have some ideas where Angelica could be. I
think she might be in just as much trouble as Tessa.”

Jed didn’t say a word, but he did buckle his
seatbelt.

“What?” I said. “No comments about how crazy
I am, or how this proves I’m not ready to be in the field?”

“I’m a little scared to say anything right
now.” He grabbed the “oh shit” bar as I took a curve a tiny bit
faster than I probably should have.

“Of course you are. Ever logical and rational
Jed, you would never let your emotions get the better of you,
right? Every action you take is carefully thought out and
risk-free, right? You’re just going to let the crazy girl drive
until you get a chance to subdue her and return to sitting on your
hands at the house.” I realized I was driving faster the madder I
got, and I really didn’t want to die in a car crash, so I eased my
foot off the gas and slowed down just a little bit.

“Kelsey, calm down. You aren’t making any
sense.”

I took a deep breath and tried to organize my
thoughts, because I knew Jed wasn’t going to listen to me unless I
made sense and, for some reason, I wanted him to listen to me. “I
just don’t understand how you can be so calm when your girlfriend
is out there, maybe hurt and alone. I don’t want to be the reason
you don’t go and help find her.”

“I made a decision to stay with another
member of my team. It’s what partners do in the field. I wouldn’t
have left Henry or Thad alone at the house right now, either. In
fact, I’m not too happy about Doctor Veronica being there alone,
and I think we should go back.”

I sighed. I didn’t want Doctor Veronica to
get hurt because of me. “Fine. Let’s just check the bakery and see
if Jeremiah is there. I don’t think he’d leave his pack and his
business. If he’s not, we’ll get bagels and take them back to
Doctor Veronica.”

Jed nodded. “Fine. If it makes you feel any
better, it’s killing me to not be out there looking for Tessa.
She’s one of the best people I know and the idea of her being
hurt…” He shuddered.

I felt terrible for all the mean things I’d
just said. Of course he was worried about her. “You could have left
me and Doctor Veronica together,” I said in a quiet voice. “I’m
tougher than you think.”

“You have no clue what I think about you,
Kelsey,” he said as I parked on the street. He got out of the car
before either of us could say anything else.

The bakery smelled like warm sugar and
cinnamon. My stomach rumbled, reminding me that I hadn’t eaten
breakfast. We stepped in the door together and were immediately
engulfed, not just in good smells, but in the conversation of
cheerful customers.

Angelica stood behind the counter ringing up
somebody’s order, but she froze when she saw us. Jeremiah stepped
out of the back and glared our way, before pushing her back into
the kitchen area. He took over at the register and we waited
silently until it was our turn. “Can I talk to her?”

“She’s staying here with me,” he said, his
voice gruff.

“That’s great,” I said, feigning
cheerfulness. “I just want to talk to her for a few minutes.”

“You’ve always been a terrible liar, Kelsey.
You’ve brought nothing but pain to her.”

His words stung more than they should have.
“I don’t want to hurt her. I just want to hear her say this is
where she wants to be.”

He lunged forward just a bit. “You think I’m
forcing her to be here?”

The customers quieted at his shouted words,
and he forced a smile. At least he wasn’t so far gone that he no
longer cared about business.

“Jeremiah,” Jed said in a low voice. “We
don’t want to cause you any trouble. We just want to talk to
Angelica, then we’ll leave. You have my word.”

“Your word is worthless to me,” Jeremiah
said. “Kelsey can talk to her in the kitchen, but you have to stay
out here with me.” He looked at me. “I’ll be able to hear
everything you say, so choose your words carefully. I’d hate to
have to ruin your boyfriend’s pretty face.”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” I said, more as a
reflex than anything else. I should have just gone back to talk to
Angelica while I had the chance.

Jeremiah leaned over the counter and put his
nose to mine. “Lying to me doesn’t work anymore, Kelsey. I’m a
werewolf, I can smell your attraction to him and his to you. I can
smell your lies and I can smell your selfishness and your filth.
You’re no friend to Angelica and you never have been.”

I took a step back from him. “I’m sorry. I
just want to talk to her for a few minutes and I’ll go.”

He jerked his head back to the kitchen.
“You’ve got five minutes.”

Jeremiah growled low in his throat as I
stepped past him and into the kitchen where Angelica was icing
cupcakes. “Hey,” I said.

“Hi.” She gave me a wide smile. The bruise on
her cheek had faded and taken on a yellow tinge. “I’m sorry we
disappeared on you. Jeremiah was just so angry about getting
tranqed again, and I didn’t want him to start a fight.”

“How’d you get that bruise on your cheek?” I
don’t know why I bothered asking. There was no way she’d admit to
Jeremiah hitting her with him listening in.

“Jeremiah took me to meet his pack mates.
He’s…he didn’t want them to cause me any trouble. He wanted it to
be clear I was with him. One of them, Slade is her name, I guess
she used to have a thing with Jeremiah, and she attacked me. She
gave me this bruise and Jeremiah he—” A soft growl from the front
stopped her and she shrugged apologetically. “I know what you’re
thinking, Kelsey, but he’d never hurt me. He’s still getting used
to being a wolf and he’s very possessive right now.”

“Is this where you want to be? Are you going
to stay here?”

She nodded. “I only went to Varius in the
first place to find Bruce and now I’ve got him.”

“What about Varius?”

“Yvonne agreed to let me out of the
contract.”

My heart stuttered in my chest with fear for
my friend. “What did you have to promise her?”

She shrugged. “Jeremiah and I will work for
her when and if she needs it. Just a job here and there.”