Pocket Apocalypse
Page 58
“Well, that tears it,” Charlotte had said, with no real surprise in her voice. “We’ve got too much blood on us to risk the road until we see them go by again. Relax, you lot, we’re here for the haul.”
It might not have been so bad if the elder Tanners had been willing to discuss the traitor in their organization while we waited. At least then we would have been doing something. But they had shut down all attempts to raise the topic, until I became frustrated and sank back in my seat, not saying anything. Shelby had put a hand on my arm, shooting me a look of resigned understanding. No wonder she’d been so amazed when she met my family and learned that we believed in talking things out—a necessity, when your immediate family includes two telepaths and two empaths, not to mention Antimony, who wasn’t psychic, but was easily irritated enough that she was practically the next best thing.
When I’d first arrived in Australia, I had looked at the Tanners and seen only their similarities to the people I knew and counted on back home—and there were plenty of similarities, don’t get me wrong. Now that I’d been here long enough to see how they responded to crisis situations, the differences were looming larger all the time.
“Are you really marrying Shelby?” Raina’s question would have been abrupt under the best of circumstances. In the dark, silent SUV, it sounded like the start of an interrogation.
I looked up at her. She was just an outline in the gloom. That actually made things a little easier, since I didn’t have to see her face when I said, “I was hoping to, yes. I did propose, and it seems polite to go through with it.”
“Aren’t you supposed to ask her father for his consent?”
“No, he’s not,” said Shelby. There was steel in her tone. “That would imply that I was property, and that someone could give me away to someone else. That’s not true. That’s never been true. Only person Alex needed to ask was me, and you know what my answer was.”
“Could’ve told us.” Gabby’s comment was much softer; I might not have heard it, if we hadn’t all been shut in the car. “You’ve emailed me at least once a week since you left, and you never said you were getting married.”
“I wanted it to be a surprise,” said Shelby. “So . . . surprise, I guess. I’m getting married.”
“Will the ceremony be here or in the United States?” asked Charlotte. Then, as calm as an assassin sliding a knife between someone’s ribs, she added the question I’d barely started formulating: “Where are you intending to live? Alex could apply for Australian citizenship. It’s a difficult process, but being married will make it easier, and it would keep you near your family.”
Riley hadn’t said a word, but I saw his hands tighten on the wheel, and imagined I could hear his teeth grinding.
“I’m going to get murdered and dumped in a bog before I even have this conversation with my parents,” I said, tilting my head up so that I was staring at the ceiling, and not the vaguely menacing shapes of Shelby’s family.
“They probably already know, you know,” said Shelby. “Sarah’s no doubt told them—and Mum, I don’t know yet where we’re going to live. We haven’t started having those conversations yet.”
“Oh, God,” I said, almost philosophically. “I’m going to die.”
“Maybe those are conversations you should have before you go announcing that you’re going to marry some boy your family’s only just met,” snapped Charlotte.
“Maybe we should wait to have any of these conversations until we’re not dealing with lycanthropy-infected sheep and people setting us up to be slaughtered,” I suggested.
They ignored me.
“She’s going to move to America, obviously, or she wouldn’t be hedging,” said Raina.
“No, she’s not,” said Gabby. “She wouldn’t do that. She knows how much we miss her already, and that’s when we have good reason to expect her to come home. Tell her, Shelly. Tell her you’re not moving to America.”
“Still the werewolves prowl, hungry for human flesh,” I said. Again, they ignored me.
“I don’t know where we’re going to live, all right? Alex gets a vote, too.” Shelby was starting to sound annoyed.
She wasn’t the only one. “There are plenty of nice boys in Australia, Shelby Tanner,” said Charlotte. “Why couldn’t you find one of them? No offense, Alex, you’re lovely, for a Price, and I’m sure you’d be an excellent husband for some girl who wasn’t my oldest daughter.”
“Offense taken, and did I mention there were werewolves?” I kept my eyes on the ceiling. At least if I was watching the ceiling, I would miss any rude gestures thrown in my direction. “I really, really think werewolves are more important than our eventual mailing address.”
As expected, they ignored me for a third time. “Australia’s great! You’ll love living here,” said Gabby. “We have beaches, and you can come see me in the opera after I graduate, and there are lots of really interesting monsters for you to study.”
“Like werewolves?” I asked.
“I hate to agree with the Price boy, but maybe this conversation can wait until another time,” said Riley, who sounded about as happy about the situation as I felt. I didn’t make the mistake of thinking this made him an ally. I heard the rubber squeak as he tightened his hands on the steering wheel again. “Believe me, it’s a conversation we will be having, as a family—but I’d like to live that long.”
“Can’t live anywhere if we’re all dead,” said Shelby. She sounded incredibly happy, like this was the best thing that had ever been said, by anyone. Then again, it was distracting her family from grilling us about our long-term plans. Maybe that did make it the best thing anyone had ever said. “Who had access to the bullets, Dad?”
Riley twisted in his seat enough to jerk his head toward me. “I already told you I didn’t want to discuss private matters in front of our visitor.”
“He’s my fiancé, Dad, and that makes him family. Plus, whoever set this up was trying to kill him, too, which I figure makes this his business.” Shelby looped her arm through mine to illustrate her point. I would normally have enjoyed having her snuggle up against me like that. I wasn’t normally worried that her father was going to throw me to the wolves—literally. “Who had access to the bullets?”
It might not have been so bad if the elder Tanners had been willing to discuss the traitor in their organization while we waited. At least then we would have been doing something. But they had shut down all attempts to raise the topic, until I became frustrated and sank back in my seat, not saying anything. Shelby had put a hand on my arm, shooting me a look of resigned understanding. No wonder she’d been so amazed when she met my family and learned that we believed in talking things out—a necessity, when your immediate family includes two telepaths and two empaths, not to mention Antimony, who wasn’t psychic, but was easily irritated enough that she was practically the next best thing.
When I’d first arrived in Australia, I had looked at the Tanners and seen only their similarities to the people I knew and counted on back home—and there were plenty of similarities, don’t get me wrong. Now that I’d been here long enough to see how they responded to crisis situations, the differences were looming larger all the time.
“Are you really marrying Shelby?” Raina’s question would have been abrupt under the best of circumstances. In the dark, silent SUV, it sounded like the start of an interrogation.
I looked up at her. She was just an outline in the gloom. That actually made things a little easier, since I didn’t have to see her face when I said, “I was hoping to, yes. I did propose, and it seems polite to go through with it.”
“Aren’t you supposed to ask her father for his consent?”
“No, he’s not,” said Shelby. There was steel in her tone. “That would imply that I was property, and that someone could give me away to someone else. That’s not true. That’s never been true. Only person Alex needed to ask was me, and you know what my answer was.”
“Could’ve told us.” Gabby’s comment was much softer; I might not have heard it, if we hadn’t all been shut in the car. “You’ve emailed me at least once a week since you left, and you never said you were getting married.”
“I wanted it to be a surprise,” said Shelby. “So . . . surprise, I guess. I’m getting married.”
“Will the ceremony be here or in the United States?” asked Charlotte. Then, as calm as an assassin sliding a knife between someone’s ribs, she added the question I’d barely started formulating: “Where are you intending to live? Alex could apply for Australian citizenship. It’s a difficult process, but being married will make it easier, and it would keep you near your family.”
Riley hadn’t said a word, but I saw his hands tighten on the wheel, and imagined I could hear his teeth grinding.
“I’m going to get murdered and dumped in a bog before I even have this conversation with my parents,” I said, tilting my head up so that I was staring at the ceiling, and not the vaguely menacing shapes of Shelby’s family.
“They probably already know, you know,” said Shelby. “Sarah’s no doubt told them—and Mum, I don’t know yet where we’re going to live. We haven’t started having those conversations yet.”
“Oh, God,” I said, almost philosophically. “I’m going to die.”
“Maybe those are conversations you should have before you go announcing that you’re going to marry some boy your family’s only just met,” snapped Charlotte.
“Maybe we should wait to have any of these conversations until we’re not dealing with lycanthropy-infected sheep and people setting us up to be slaughtered,” I suggested.
They ignored me.
“She’s going to move to America, obviously, or she wouldn’t be hedging,” said Raina.
“No, she’s not,” said Gabby. “She wouldn’t do that. She knows how much we miss her already, and that’s when we have good reason to expect her to come home. Tell her, Shelly. Tell her you’re not moving to America.”
“Still the werewolves prowl, hungry for human flesh,” I said. Again, they ignored me.
“I don’t know where we’re going to live, all right? Alex gets a vote, too.” Shelby was starting to sound annoyed.
She wasn’t the only one. “There are plenty of nice boys in Australia, Shelby Tanner,” said Charlotte. “Why couldn’t you find one of them? No offense, Alex, you’re lovely, for a Price, and I’m sure you’d be an excellent husband for some girl who wasn’t my oldest daughter.”
“Offense taken, and did I mention there were werewolves?” I kept my eyes on the ceiling. At least if I was watching the ceiling, I would miss any rude gestures thrown in my direction. “I really, really think werewolves are more important than our eventual mailing address.”
As expected, they ignored me for a third time. “Australia’s great! You’ll love living here,” said Gabby. “We have beaches, and you can come see me in the opera after I graduate, and there are lots of really interesting monsters for you to study.”
“Like werewolves?” I asked.
“I hate to agree with the Price boy, but maybe this conversation can wait until another time,” said Riley, who sounded about as happy about the situation as I felt. I didn’t make the mistake of thinking this made him an ally. I heard the rubber squeak as he tightened his hands on the steering wheel again. “Believe me, it’s a conversation we will be having, as a family—but I’d like to live that long.”
“Can’t live anywhere if we’re all dead,” said Shelby. She sounded incredibly happy, like this was the best thing that had ever been said, by anyone. Then again, it was distracting her family from grilling us about our long-term plans. Maybe that did make it the best thing anyone had ever said. “Who had access to the bullets, Dad?”
Riley twisted in his seat enough to jerk his head toward me. “I already told you I didn’t want to discuss private matters in front of our visitor.”
“He’s my fiancé, Dad, and that makes him family. Plus, whoever set this up was trying to kill him, too, which I figure makes this his business.” Shelby looped her arm through mine to illustrate her point. I would normally have enjoyed having her snuggle up against me like that. I wasn’t normally worried that her father was going to throw me to the wolves—literally. “Who had access to the bullets?”
