Page 25

Chapter 25

No Rest for the Righteous

Blake

We were all gathered in the living room of the Blackthornes’ Joshua Tree home. Lily, Caleb’s hellhound, sat by my feet. A half-eaten box of pizza was on the coffee table. The entire family was here, along with their partners. The castle had been the target of a full-scale attack by the Time Turners. They had been expecting Xavier to be there and were going to try and take him by force.

“It’s obvious they’re getting desperate,” Damien said. He had swapped the torn-up shirt he arrived in for a slightly oversized black T-shirt, already attracting Bambi’s hair like a magnet as she purred on his lap. “To attack our castle means they’re running out of options.”

“How many were there?” Xavier asked. He had changed into a white tank top and gray sweats, his arms crossed as he perched on the arm of the couch next to me.

“Ten of them,” Claire said. She’d been at the castle during the attack. “I took out three.” She brushed off invisible dirt from her shoulder.

“Good job, baby,” Dawn said, leaning in for a kiss.

“You’re the ones that had to deal with Shades,” she said. Her shoulders shook at the thought.

“But why would they attack the castle? Why were they so certain I was there?” Xavier asked.

“Good question,” Damien replied. “They have to be keeping tabs somehow.”

“Not great tabs, apparently,” Caleb said. He sipped on a steaming mug of green tea.

I looked to Cassius, who’d been awfully silent ever since he got here. We’d already shown him the photo of his dad and his uncle together. It had appeared to shake him quite a bit. He didn’t have an explanation as to why they’d be photographed together, especially with both of them looking so friendly. He was under the impression that they hadn’t spoken to each other in years.

Something wasn’t adding up.

Robby leaned forward. His smooth, poreless skin appeared to shine under the cool lights of the living room. “At least you guys came out of that house with some information. We’ve got blueprints to something—hopefully the lab—which means we might be able to launch a surprise attack. It could be a huge advantage in getting that dagger back.”

“Right, but now we have to find the lab,” I noted, slumping back into the couch. Exhaustion was beginning to creep up on me. I had stared death in the face only hours prior to this. The adrenaline from that encounter was long gone, bringing the pain and soreness in my body to the forefront. I stifled a yawn.

“With that picture we found, maybe we have someone to ask.” Warrick nudged his glasses higher up his nose. He looked to Cassius, who held his head up with a closed fist. “Are you okay with asking your dad about it? Maybe he’s communicated to Simon more than we know; maybe he’s let something slip.”

Cassius shifted his blank stare out the floor-to-ceiling glass that framed a peaceful desert landscape. I’d be nervous about being watched if Xavier hadn’t reassured me that the glass was one-way and bulletproof. “I feel like my dad’s hiding something from me.”

“How so?” I asked.

“He’s just acting weird. I called him, and he barely spoke to me for more than a minute. That’s not like him. Ever since my mom died, my dad and I turned to each other. I can tell when something isn’t right, and something isn’t right.”

I sucked in a deep breath. “Maybe he’s stressed. His job isn’t exactly the easiest.”

“Neither is your dad’s, and I’m sure nothing is off between you two.”

“No, it’s not…” I reached over and gave my best friend a shoulder squeeze. “Whatever’s going on, I’m sure there’s an explanation for.”

“Yeah, but what if I don’t like the explanation?” Cass dropped his head into his hands. He hadn’t eaten anything. He hadn’t shaved in a while either, and his hair was becoming as equally unruly as his beard. This wasn’t like him. He always took pride in his appearance, getting haircuts on a regular schedule and always inviting me to get facials with him. I declined, never liking people touching and squeezing on my face, but he seemed to enjoy it.

“I think I’m just going to go to bed,” he said, standing up, his gaze trained down at his bare feet. “I’ll try and call him again. If I find anything out, I’ll let you all know.”

He left the room without another word. Silence draped over us like an invisible blanket. It wasn’t a comfortable silence either. This was filled with a shared frustration. We were losing time, and we were hitting more and more walls. Not only that, but the Time Turners were growing more desperate, which put us all at risk.

“This is getting messy,” Warrick said. He drew random shapes on the blue velvet pillow he had on his lap. A tall fig tree stood next to him. It appeared as if the vibrant green leaves had all shifted in Warrick’s direction. I wondered if he did that on purpose or if nature just always reacted like that when he was around.

Damien sighed. “I just want to know how they seemed to find where Xavier is every other time they’ve attacked, but not this most recent time. What changed?”

“Yeah, what made them so confident X would be at the castle?” Claire asked.

“Could they have some kind of Marvel on their side who was able to weave a tracking spell?” Dawn suggested.

Claire nodded. “It’s possible. Tracking spells are difficult, though. You’d need a red and a blue Marvel to work the threads together, and then they’d need to be attached to Xavier.”

“Maybe it’s something else…” Maddox said. He’d been pretty quiet tonight.

“Maybe.” Claire stifled a yawn. She glanced at her watch. “Oh, wow, I didn’t realize how late it was.”

“Same,” Dawn said, stretching her arms in the air .

Claire’s yawn jumped to me. I didn’t do a good job of hiding it, though.

“Come,” Xavier said, a hand on the small of my back. “Let’s go get some rest.”

“Please. I’m so fucking exhausted.”

“Night, boys,” Dawn said as she stood and grabbed the box of pizza. Claire asked her to hold on as she took out another slice and bit into it. Damien and Robby stayed cuddled on the couch. Maddox and Caleb decided to call it a night too.

“Think Cass is okay?” I asked as we walked up the stairs. A wall of glass was too much right, giving us a beautiful view of the quiet desert landscape. The stars covered the sky in a blanket of twinkling lights.

“He seemed shaken, but I think he’ll be okay. That picture may have a good explanation behind it.”

“I hope so.” I shook my head. “It’s hard to even wrap my head around. He and his dad were always like a second family to me. If his dad has anything to do with this… I don’t even want to think about that.”

“We’ll figure it out.”

As we walked down the hall, the smooth red rock of the rock formation on my left, my phone started to ring. It was a FaceTime call from my father.

“Hey, Dad,” I answered. He was sitting in his study. The curtains were drawn behind him. I could tell he was burning that midnight oil, same as we were.

“How are you?” He looked concerned. I had spoken to him earlier and filled him in on the Shade attack.

“Tired, but doing alright. Everything okay over there?”

“As okay as they can be. The president is back at his desk, thankfully. But there are other things here that have me concerned.”

“National security things?”

“Those always have me concerned. No, something else. Have you spoken to Cass yet?”

I stopped, Xavier walking for a second before realizing I wasn’t next to him. “Yeah, he’s been worried, said his dad was acting weird. Have you noticed that too?”

“I have.” My dad took a sip of his coffee. Damn, he really did plan on pulling an all-nighter. That wasn’t like him. He took his rest seriously. Even though his job didn’t stop for anyone, he always believed that being rested was crucial in making the right decisions under pressure. It was a lesson I’d learned from him pretty early in life.

“How so?”

“He’s been very testy lately. And he’s dropped the ball on quite a few different things. But what’s even more concerning to me is his disappearance these last few days.”

My jaw dropped. “He’s been gone? But Cassius said he just talked to him.”

“He did? Did he mention where he was? We’ve been trying to get a hold of him. His aides don’t even have his location.”

That didn’t make sense. Why had Cassius’s dad gone off-grid right after we were ambushed at his uncle’s house? “Do you know if Joshua had any contact with Cass’ uncle?”

“I don’t believe so. Why?”

“Because we think Simon is the one behind this Time Turner shit. That’s the house we were searching when we were attacked by Shades. But he had left traps there, as if he knew we were coming… ”

“Blake, I need you to be very careful. This has spiraled far out of anyone’s control.”

“I know, I know. But we can’t let up now. I feel like we’re so close to figuring it out.”

“But at what cost? If anything were to happen to you?—”

“I’ll be fine. I’ve got Xavier with me. He’s got my back.”

My dad offered a genuine smile at that, although worry still creased the corners of his eyes. “Good, that makes me feel better, at least. Is he around? I’d like to thank him.”

I turned the camera so that it faced Xavier. He gave a friendly wave and a big grin. “Hello, Mr. Vice President, how are you?”

“It’s Richard, remember? I wanted to say thanks for looking after Blake. I feel like hiring you was one of the best decisions I’ve made in a while.”

I can second that , I thought, my heart turning into a fluttery mess. If only he knew half of why I thought it was such a great idea. I’d have to break the news to him sometime, but then again, Xavier and I weren’t anything official, so there wasn’t all that much news to break.

Yet, at least.

“It’s an honor and a privilege.”

“Well, I hope I can thank you with another dinner soon.”

“Bet on it,” Xavier said.

I turned the camera back to me. “Alright, I’ll let you go, Dad. If I hear anything about Joshua, I’ll let you know.”

“And I’ll do the same. Stay safe. Love you.”

“Love you too. Tell Mom I love and miss her.”

“Will do. Oh, Blake, have you been using that Find My Friend app? She’s mentioned she’d like you to use it. Just so we know you’re safe.”

“I haven’t. I really don’t like having my location discoverable like that, no matter how encrypted or safe it is. Sorry. I’ll just check in with you guys more often.”

“Sounds good. I understand.”

We hung up the call. Xavier stood in front of me, hands in the pockets of his sweats. I tried not to let my gaze drop, but I couldn’t quite help myself. Gray sweatpants on a man were my weakness, and Xavier was proving exactly why. He looked delicious. I had the urge to drop to my knees and thread myself through his legs like a purring cat in heat.

I audibly gulped. “Well, um, okay. Maybe we should head to bed now,” I said, suddenly wanting to race him.

“Let’s,” Xavier said, his tone slightly suggestive. My heart turned from fluttery to full-on nervous hammering. I could use some time alone with X after everything we’d been through. I wanted to take my mind off all the stress, all the questions, all the near-death experiences. Instead, I wanted to focus on the here and now.

On us.

Xavier held his hand out. I took it, his big fingers twining through mine. We continued down the hall, the soft white wooden floors shining under the recessed lighting.

That’s when it hit me. I froze. Xavier tugged on my hand, not expecting me to stop.

“Oh my god… the tracker app!”

“What?”

“The app Cass wanted me to download. The one only government families can use. The one that only Cassius had. He was with us every time we were attacked. Except this last time, when he was alone at the castle. Holy shit!”

Xavier’s eyes widened. “We have to tell him. Let’s go.” He took off running down the hall. I followed behind him, the revelation feeling like a bucket of ice water being dropped on my head. It was the only thing that made sense. They had eyes on us the entire time, and they had eyes on us now.

Fuck.

We reached the door to the room he was staying in. Xavier knocked. No one answered. He had to be sleeping. I turned the knob; it wasn’t locked. I pushed the door open.

“Cass, we figured something out. You need to give us your?—”

I paused. He wasn’t in there. His bed was still made, his backpack next to it.

But Cassius was nowhere in sight.