Oath Bound
Page 49
Gazes focused on us. Tensed postures relaxed. Everyone seemed to exhale in relief all at once. Kori, Ian and Liv holstered their guns, and Liv bent to offer Sera a hand up. “I take it you didn’t get the car.”
I stood and brushed off my pants, then picked Sera’s computer bag up from where it had fallen on the floor. “I’m just happy that we made it out unshot.” I handed Sera’s bag to her and her eyes widened. Instead of taking it, she unzipped it while I still held it and pulled out her laptop. Or, what remained of her laptop. A bullet had punctured the computer’s case and lodged in some part of its electronic guts.
“Seriously?” Her forehead was deeply furrowed. “I’ve known you for all of four hours, and you’ve managed to destroy my phone, my car and now my computer. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were still trying to cut me off from the outside world.”
“Would it help to remind you that your computer died a noble death, in defense of both our lives?”
She snatched her bag from me, busted laptop and all. “No. That wouldn’t help. If I’d never met you, my life wouldn’t need defending.” With that, she turned and marched into the living room where she sat next to Hadley, pretending to watch TV while silent tears rolled down her face.
Kori gave me a silent, brow-raised look as she pushed the closet door closed behind me.
“I don’t think she likes me, Kor.”
“Yeah, I can’t figure that out. You’re the friendliest kidnapper I’ve ever met.” My sister shrugged. “She probably hates puppies, too.”
* * *
That night, after Anne and Hadley had gone home, Vanessa loaned Sera something to sleep in and Kori dug out an extra toothbrush from the linen closet and told her to help herself to any toiletries she needed from the bathroom. While Sera showered, I sat backward in my sister’s desk chair, conferring with Kori and Ian in their bedroom.
It was nearly twice the size of mine, and the bed looked all rumpled and...used. I tried not to think about that. At all. Ever.
“I asked Van to do a search for murdered families with a survivor named Sera,” Kori whispered, even though we could all hear the shower running. “If she doesn’t find anything in the immediate area, she’ll widen the search.”
“She won’t find anything local.” I laid my arms over the back of the chair, my voice almost as low as hers. “Sera’s definitely not a city mouse.”
“Or so she’d have us think.” Kori’s gaze narrowed on me. “Do you believe her?”
“About everything? No. About that? Yes. Anne says she’s hiding something, and we have no reason not to trust Anne. But I believe Sera doesn’t know the city and truly has no clue about the Towers.”
Ian sank onto the love seat in front of a large window. My room had only one small window, and no couch. “Do you trust her?”
That was a more complicated question. “I don’t know.”
“That’s kind of a ‘no’ by default.” Kori shrugged. “Either you trust her, or you don’t.”
“I don’t trust her yet.” But I wanted to. And I wanted her to trust me.
Ian pulled Kori down with him on the couch. “Maybe we’ll be able to once we figure out who the hell she is.”
“Crossing my fingers for Vanessa on that account,” I said, and Kori gave me that same I’m-laughing-at-you-but-you’re-too-dumb-to-know-it grin she’d been using on me since the sixth grade.
“Cross your fingers for yourself.” She glanced at Ian and he smiled. “If I had any money, I’d bet that you’ll get her talking long before Van can dig up anything reliable.”
“Kor, Sera hates me.”
My sister’s smile refused to die, and if it weren’t so good to see her happy—even at my expense—I might have tried to rid her of it. “Maybe. But you’re the only one she’s really spoken to so far, other than Hadley. That has to mean something.”
But I had my doubts.
Ian shrugged. “Either way, we’re safer with her here, unless she’s a mole planted by Julia Tower.” But if that were the case, Anne would have known Sera was lying.
“We may be safer. But Kenley isn’t,” Kori said, and the mood in the room sobered instantly. We hadn’t forgotten about her—not even for a second—but hearing her name brought all our anger, fear and frustration to the surface.
Ian put one arm around her. “We’ll get her back, Kori. But there’s nothing we can do for her tonight, and we won’t be much good to her tomorrow without some rest. So kick your brother out of here, so we can all get some sleep.”
“Get out, brother, so we can all get some sleep,” Kori said, obviously struggling to maintain the illusion of optimism.
I stood, already backing toward the door. “You have to stop using ‘sleep’ as a euphemism.”
I closed the door on their soft laughter and began my first-floor security scan, specifically checking on the window Ian had covered, which now felt safer than the ones that still held glass. Then I checked on Gran, who was snoring on her left side, and on the hall closet, which stood wide open, lit from within by a bare bulb hanging from the ceiling.
All the other rooms held a single infrared bulb in a floor lamp with no shade. We kept them on all the time as a security precaution. They shed no visible light, but kept the darkness too shallow for shadow-walkers to utilize.
I stood and brushed off my pants, then picked Sera’s computer bag up from where it had fallen on the floor. “I’m just happy that we made it out unshot.” I handed Sera’s bag to her and her eyes widened. Instead of taking it, she unzipped it while I still held it and pulled out her laptop. Or, what remained of her laptop. A bullet had punctured the computer’s case and lodged in some part of its electronic guts.
“Seriously?” Her forehead was deeply furrowed. “I’ve known you for all of four hours, and you’ve managed to destroy my phone, my car and now my computer. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were still trying to cut me off from the outside world.”
“Would it help to remind you that your computer died a noble death, in defense of both our lives?”
She snatched her bag from me, busted laptop and all. “No. That wouldn’t help. If I’d never met you, my life wouldn’t need defending.” With that, she turned and marched into the living room where she sat next to Hadley, pretending to watch TV while silent tears rolled down her face.
Kori gave me a silent, brow-raised look as she pushed the closet door closed behind me.
“I don’t think she likes me, Kor.”
“Yeah, I can’t figure that out. You’re the friendliest kidnapper I’ve ever met.” My sister shrugged. “She probably hates puppies, too.”
* * *
That night, after Anne and Hadley had gone home, Vanessa loaned Sera something to sleep in and Kori dug out an extra toothbrush from the linen closet and told her to help herself to any toiletries she needed from the bathroom. While Sera showered, I sat backward in my sister’s desk chair, conferring with Kori and Ian in their bedroom.
It was nearly twice the size of mine, and the bed looked all rumpled and...used. I tried not to think about that. At all. Ever.
“I asked Van to do a search for murdered families with a survivor named Sera,” Kori whispered, even though we could all hear the shower running. “If she doesn’t find anything in the immediate area, she’ll widen the search.”
“She won’t find anything local.” I laid my arms over the back of the chair, my voice almost as low as hers. “Sera’s definitely not a city mouse.”
“Or so she’d have us think.” Kori’s gaze narrowed on me. “Do you believe her?”
“About everything? No. About that? Yes. Anne says she’s hiding something, and we have no reason not to trust Anne. But I believe Sera doesn’t know the city and truly has no clue about the Towers.”
Ian sank onto the love seat in front of a large window. My room had only one small window, and no couch. “Do you trust her?”
That was a more complicated question. “I don’t know.”
“That’s kind of a ‘no’ by default.” Kori shrugged. “Either you trust her, or you don’t.”
“I don’t trust her yet.” But I wanted to. And I wanted her to trust me.
Ian pulled Kori down with him on the couch. “Maybe we’ll be able to once we figure out who the hell she is.”
“Crossing my fingers for Vanessa on that account,” I said, and Kori gave me that same I’m-laughing-at-you-but-you’re-too-dumb-to-know-it grin she’d been using on me since the sixth grade.
“Cross your fingers for yourself.” She glanced at Ian and he smiled. “If I had any money, I’d bet that you’ll get her talking long before Van can dig up anything reliable.”
“Kor, Sera hates me.”
My sister’s smile refused to die, and if it weren’t so good to see her happy—even at my expense—I might have tried to rid her of it. “Maybe. But you’re the only one she’s really spoken to so far, other than Hadley. That has to mean something.”
But I had my doubts.
Ian shrugged. “Either way, we’re safer with her here, unless she’s a mole planted by Julia Tower.” But if that were the case, Anne would have known Sera was lying.
“We may be safer. But Kenley isn’t,” Kori said, and the mood in the room sobered instantly. We hadn’t forgotten about her—not even for a second—but hearing her name brought all our anger, fear and frustration to the surface.
Ian put one arm around her. “We’ll get her back, Kori. But there’s nothing we can do for her tonight, and we won’t be much good to her tomorrow without some rest. So kick your brother out of here, so we can all get some sleep.”
“Get out, brother, so we can all get some sleep,” Kori said, obviously struggling to maintain the illusion of optimism.
I stood, already backing toward the door. “You have to stop using ‘sleep’ as a euphemism.”
I closed the door on their soft laughter and began my first-floor security scan, specifically checking on the window Ian had covered, which now felt safer than the ones that still held glass. Then I checked on Gran, who was snoring on her left side, and on the hall closet, which stood wide open, lit from within by a bare bulb hanging from the ceiling.
All the other rooms held a single infrared bulb in a floor lamp with no shade. We kept them on all the time as a security precaution. They shed no visible light, but kept the darkness too shallow for shadow-walkers to utilize.
