Page 7

7. She. Said. No.

Kerry

We landed at a tiny airstrip that was little more than a worn track in a straight stretch of snow with nothing but a wall of trees on either side of us.

I’d been shocked to see so much open space from the window of the airplane. The mountains and valleys seemed to go on forever. Gemma had warned me to bring my sunglasses because the sun would glare off the snow, and she was right. It blanketed the ground and clung to the Christmas trees. I never saw any place look so clean before.

After getting off the plane, I lifted my face and breathed in huge lungfuls of air. It was cold and crisp, and I loved it.

Well, at least until Maddy and Travis started to bicker about something and interrupted my peaceful moment. She stamped away with her backpack. Travis walked up to me with a sigh.

“What was that about, Dragon?”

“We have different views on courtesy, I guess. I just offered to carry her bag for her.”

“What’s going on with you two, anyway?” I looked down at him. “You’re fighting more than you’re not lately.”

“I don’t know.” He shook his head and shrugged. “Something’s changed between us. I can’t figure out what I did, but I don’t think she likes me anymore.”

“Hmm.” Like I was one to offer advice on girls. Still, I tried. “You ask her if she still does?” “Are you serious ?” He half-choked. “What if she says she doesn’t?”

“Then you call it quits before you get hurt any worse. But,” I looked at him over the top of my shades, “what if she said she does?”

“Harker!” Clem barked. “What’s our first move?”

“Huh?” I turned to look at him.

“You’re our leader. What do we do first?”

“Meet your scout?” I guessed.

“Good.”

#

Clem’s scout was waiting for us outside the larger of the two hangers. I sized him up, noting he had brown hair, was about Jax’s height with a slender build, and looked to be only a couple of years older. Clem shook the guy’s hand, then introduced him to my team.

“This is Mike Spinelli. He’s going to return to the Sanctuary as soon as the plane’s ready, so let’s get out of the cold and hear what he has to say.”

“Call me Spin.” He smiled. “Everyone does, except this old man.”

We all entered a building that looked like a super-sized shed with a long antenna and a small twirling radar unit on the roof. Inside, there was a counter, a bank of equipment against one wall, a card table, and a few folding chairs. I saw a paper map spread across the table and looked around for Gemma. She was chatting with Spin, though, and I didn’t want to bother her.

As I put my hands on my hips and tried to understand what I was looking at, someone came up to my side. I looked over, then down, and met Maddy’s brown eyes.

“It’s a topographical map.”

She explained how to read it in a way that I could understand.

“Thanks. I’ve never seen a map like this.”

I didn’t tell her I couldn’t remember ever trying to read a map, period. It was bad enough she’d known right away I was lost looking at this one.

“Unless you’re a backpacker or geologist or cartographer, you wouldn’t.” She shrugged. “You don’t normally use this kind of map outside of hiking, geocaching, or a profession.”

Travis came to stand on her other side and pointed to a red dot in one corner.

“Look. Here’s where we are.”

The others came over, too, and I noticed that Gemma was next to Spin, which didn’t bother me.

The look on his face did.

When I realized a growl was building deep in my chest, I rammed my fists into my jacket pockets and fought to calm down.

“Easy,” Jax murmured. “What’s wrong?”

I blinked and turned my back to the others.

“I don’t like how he’s looking at her.”

“Dude. She’s not gonna run off with him.”

I rolled my eyes with a huff. He didn’t understand.

I knew the depth of her loyalty, and she was not capable of betraying a trust.

Someone or something threatening her, though? That woke my tiger up real quick.

“It’s not her I’m worried about!” I snarled, then lowered my voice. “If he tries something—”

“Nothing can happen with all of us here. And she can take care of herself when the odds aren’t stacked against her. Be patient. He’ll be gone soon enough.”

It wasn’t that I wanted to suffocate Gemma or control who she talked with or befriended, but I’d seen her bloody and hurt once before because of a boy, and once was enough to make me swear it would never happen again.

Still, Jax was right, so I closed my eyes and worked to tamp down the fury. After a minute or two, when I was able to blank my face, I turned around and tuned back as Spin pointed out the locations of the sightings and worst damage and where he’d first caught the scent of something Diabolical. Travis’ eyes drank in the map and Maddy was paying close attention, too, so I figured we’d be okay.

I had just begun to relax a little, confident that my girl was safe, when Spin chose to do something stupid.

“It’s pretty cold around here, especially at night. It’s a good thing you’re a big group.” He threw his arm around Gemma’s shoulders. “I wish I’d had a sweetheart like you to snuggle up with out there.”

“I’m not comfortable with you doing that.” She squirmed, trying to get out from under his arm. “Please don’t.”

As soon as I heard her protest, I zeroed in on Spin like a cobra watching a mouse.

Give her time to deal with it herself , I told myself, but my hands started to shake.

“Breathe,” Jax murmured. “Slow and steady. In one, two, three, four. And out one, two, three, four.”

I tried to do it like we practiced, but each exhale let a little power slip from between my lips like a shower of cinders.

“And here I was going to ask you to walk me out to the plane.” Spin pulled her even closer.

“Stop it.” She pushed against his chest.

The blue cinders fell thicker, and the growl built up again as I kept my eyes fixed on Spin.

“Not a good idea.” John tried to help. “You’re making Kerry mad.”

“And that is not conducive to your continued breathing.” Travis looked from Spin to me and back again with wide eyes.

“You’re spoken for?” Spin sighed. “Ah, well. I guess it wasn’t meant to be, sweetheart. A kiss before we part.”

“No!”

This time, she pushed against him, but he ignored her, turned her in his arms, dipped her, and lowered his face toward hers.

Yeah. That’s not gonna happen.

A gout of flame shot out of my mouth. Jax swore and tried to grab my arm, but I was already in motion. I grabbed Spin by the throat and pulled him off her, then choke-slammed him into the wall.

“She. Said. No.”

Spin’s eyes started to bug out and his fingers pulled uselessly at my hand. After a few more seconds, I released him and he fell to the floor, coughing and spluttering.

And Gemma dropped to her knees beside him.

I will never understand this part of her. He was abusing her seconds ago and she’s still willing to help him.

Spin waved her away and she whirled on me, her green eyes spitting.

“You can’t hurt people because you’re jealous!”

“He didn’t let go when you told him to!” I roared.

“Huh?”

She looked confused, and I wanted to kick the crap out of something.

“You told him to let you go and he didn’t! Look, you’re not my pet! I don’t want to put a collar on you or cage you. But I am never gonna be able to stand by and let someone hurt you! And I know you can take care of yourself. You coulda zapped him to sleep in a heartbeat. So why didn’t you? When he didn’t let you go after you told him the first time, why didn’t you knock him out?”

“I— I don’t— ”

“I’ll tell you why! Because you have the heart of a dove. Soft and kind and gentle. Your self-protective instincts are only ever gonna come out when your life’s in danger. That’s just who you are, and I understand that. But I am who I am, too. If he’d done that to Jax , I would have done the same. If you tell someone to let you go and they don’t, they need to be punched in the face!”

Tara and Maddy started clapping, and I blinked. I’d forgotten we had an audience.

“Kerry’s right,” Gigi said. “You were being stupid, Spin.”

“You’re lucky Kerry has tamed down some.” John crossed his arms and glared at him.

“Yeah, a few months ago we would have been vacuuming your ashes up off the floor.” Jax laughed.

“Okay, okay. You’re all right,” Spin admitted and got to his feet. “I was teasing, but I took it way too far. I apologize.”

He held out a hand, but I skipped back, power stirring under my skin like angry hornets. I put my fists in my pockets and backed away even further.

If I touched him now, I’d kill him.

“Don’t say sorry to me , idiot,” I snapped. “ I’m not the one you disrespected.”

I watched as Gemma shook Spin’s hand and gave the jerk a thank-you for the apology.

“Whelp.” Clem pushed away from the wall he’d been leaning against the whole time. “Now that that is sorted out, let’s get back to business, people. We’re here to hunt something Diabolical, remember?”

Spin finished his report with no more stupidity, then led us outside to where two SUVs were parked. He said he’d packed the vehicles with all the camping gear and supplies we would need for up to a week in the wilderness. After that, we’d need to make a run for more freeze-dried food.

“Michael, next time I ask you to do a scout for me,” Clem said, “bring Rome along. You’re not such a jerk when he’s around.”

“Aw, he’s still torn up over that mess from last year.” Spin jammed his hands in his pockets and hunched his shoulders up. “I’m worried about him, to tell the truth.”

“I’ll stop by after we finish up with this,” Clem promised. “Keep an eye on him.” “He’s one of my two best friends. Of course I will.”

Spin climbed into the plane we’d arrived on and I heard the pilot start up the engine.

“Clem?” Gemma touched the old warden’s arm. “It sounds like this other person, Rome, needs help. Is there anything I could do?”

That’s my girl. Even if I can’t understand her way of thinking. Any hurting thing, she wants to help.

If I could plot her priorities on a pie chart, I figured fifty percent of it would be taken up with me. God knew, I was messed up enough to need that much of her energy and focus. Then the pie would have a twenty-five percent slice for friends, ten percent for acquaintances and passing strangers, ten percent for stray puppies and kitties and any other fuzzy animal, and four percent for her enemies. The last little one-percent sliver would be for herself.

My own pie chart was much, much simpler. It only had two slices. Ninety percent for Gemma and ten percent for the rest of the world.

And ten percent is probably generous, I admitted to myself.

“No, he doesn’t need healing,” I tuned back in to hear Clem say. “Not in any physical sense. Hmm. Now that I think about it, I may introduce Kerry to him.”

“I don’t know what kind of help I could give anybody.” I shrugged. “What’s wrong with him?”

“Like you, he was forced to kill someone he didn’t want to.”

“Shut up!”

As my mind shifted into panic mode, I skipped back. Gemma reached out one hand, but I twisted away.

“I’m not safe right now,” I said through gritted teeth.

“I understand.”

Her eyes were worried and I knew I’d hurt her feelings, but I was afraid for anyone to touch me right then. Still prickly from Spin’s foolishness, Clem’s little reminder of the bad old days sparked my temper.

“Oh, hey, Kerry, I forgot. I need to talk to you about something.” Jax motioned me to follow him.

Focused on my breathing, I started walking after him.

“We’ll be back soon,” he called to the others. “It would be a good idea to start moving our gear into the SUVs. ”

He trotted alongside me as I stalked along, my long legs eating up the ground until we hit the airport driveway.

“What do you want?” I ground out.

“Nothing.” He shrugged. “You needed a break, so I came to the rescue.”

I growled, half angry and half amused.

“Want to run?” He lifted one eyebrow in challenge.

“Think you can keep up?”

“Try me!”

#

Gemma

Gigi and I chatted as we waited for our boys in the shelter of the open hanger. After about half an hour, Kerry and Jax returned, winded and laughing. Jax collapsed onto the frozen ground, pulling Gigi down on top of him. She shrieked and smacked his chest, but he only grinned.

I breathed a sigh of relief to see how relaxed Kerry was. He ran up to me and looped an arm around my waist and swung me around. I giggled as he stuck his cold nose in my ear.

“I’m sorry, angel,” he whispered. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. Please don’t be mad at me.”

“I wasn’t hurt or angry, Lab Rat, just worried.”

“Oh, good, you’re back.” Clem had impeccable timing. “Come on inside.”

When we joined the others, Clem asked Kerry if he had a plan.

Kerry looked at Maddy first.

“Can you guide us to the place where Spin first found a Diabolical smell?”

“Sure. There’s a fire service road that gets us pretty close, then a short hike. Can’t tell from the topo map where there may be a good camping site, but Tara can help there.”

“Yeah?” He looked at Tara.

“I can scoop out a bowl in the earth to block the wind and clear away the snow,” she said. “We’ll be comfortable enough at night.”

“Sounds good. Once we get there, we’ll be able to plan more.” His expression turned thoughtful. “Maybe we can practice working together later today. Depends on how much light we have when we make camp, I suppose.”

“So,” Clem interrupted, “who wants to drive?”

Kerry looked at me and I shrugged.

“We need two drivers. I’m not going to be one of them.” Clem crossed his arms. “Figure it out, Harker.”

“Well,” he said, “in mission skills, Ms. Chapman has Jax and Tara ranked as the top strategic drivers, so each of you is elected. Gigi, Gemma, and me with Jax. Travis, Maddy, and John with Tara. Clem, you can ride with whoever you want.”

“I think I’ll stick with you.” Clem snickered. “ Fun things happen around you!”