Page 93 of Another Damned Storm

Did he know? Was that why he was alone in the park?

Motherfucker.Was the whole damned storm a setup meant to weaken our side?

“Of the people you’re detaining, who among them would be the most likely to turn on you?” I asked.

Matt raked a hand over his head. “Arthur Klinebold.”

“Was he the one who was doing most of the yelling at the meeting?” The man I remembered as the loudest was short and stocky, with a basketball for a belly and a shiny bald head.

He shook his head. “I don’t think he said a word at the meeting.”

A silent traitor. How long would his silence hold out once I got my hands on him? “I need to talk to him.”

“Not before I do, Never. Look around. We’ve suffered our own losses here. People are going to need answers.”

Losses? He thought a handful of injuries amounted to losses?

I gripped his wrist, and without weighing the consequences, flashed us both to the bloody scene just outside the main building at Salus. The energy drain was significant, but so wasthe shock contorting my brother’s features as he took in the carnage.

“Just so we’re clear, I’ll be questioning anyone I damn well please,” I said coldly.

He glanced over at me and took a step back. “Hey, whoa. I’m not the enemy here, Never.”

No, he wasn’t, but he still wasn’t getting it.

I grabbed a handful of his shirt and flashed him inside the gymnasium.

He sucked in a harsh breath. “Oh god.”

I pointed. “Your daughter is over there.”

It took him a minute to find his voice, and when he did, it was tight with desperation. “Angie!”

Her head whipped up. Then she was running, dodging bodies and gurneys to get to him.

He ran too, and when they collided, he hauled her up into his arms. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

She shook her head furiously. “I’m fine, Dad,” she sobbed.

When he finally set her on the ground, Lily was there. I braced for a tense exchange, but Matt pulled her into a bear hug, and she returned the embrace. It was a real hug too, not one of those one-armed, awkward-pat-on-the-back type hugs.

But she was the one to pull back. “I’m glad to see you’re okay, but you need to get back to Rutledge. Now. You’ve got traitors?—”

He held up a hand. “I know. We’ve detained everyone who might be involved.”

“Oh, I already have the list.” She tossed a look at the blood-soaked body of a man slumped against the cinderblock wall at the far end of the gym. Then she licked her lips. “It wasn’t all that hard to get him to talk.”

A feat she’d apparently accomplished with the use of her tiger’s claws. Or maybe her teeth?

“Fiskers?” he asked, disbelief lacing his voice. “I thought…”

When he didn’t finish the statement, Lily lifted her chin. “He wasn’t the only one.”

Angie ducked under her dad’s arm, and he looked down at her, clearly in shock. “I’m so sorry.”

“You couldn’t have known,” she said.

Matt shot me a look that was heavy with guilt. “I should have?—”