Requiem

“Nina?” Ryan call ed, knocking twice.

“Yes?” I said, shrugging to Claire.

“I couldn’t help but notice the Lotus Exige you have parked out front. New car?”

Claire’s eyes squeezed shut, and then she looked at me again, shaking her head.

“Er…no…? I believe my mother has company this evening. I’ll meet you downstairs, okay?”

It was silent for a few moments, but then Ryan knocked on the door again.

“Yes?” I said, unable to hide the irritation in my voice. I glanced back at Jared, hoping he would give a sign as to what I should do.

“Isn’t that the same car Claire drove the night we first saw her at the pub?”

When Jared held out his arms and shrugged, I sighed. “I…can’t remember, Ryan. Do you want me to get ready or not?”

“The thing is,” he said, his voice just on the other side of the door, “I ran the plates, and it’s registered to Claire Ryel.”

For the first time, Claire looked nervous. She rubbed the back of her neck the way her brother rubbed his when things between us were tense. It struck me as funny, and a smile forced its way to the surface.

“It’s not funny!” Claire mouthed silently. When I covered my mouth with my hand, a smile crept across her face as wel .

“Uh….” I said, turning once again to Jared. He rol ed his eyes, gesturing for us to somehow fix the mess we’d made. “She was here. She was here earlier helping me…er…pick out a dress.”

“So she walked home?” Ryan said from the hal .

“No. No, she didn’t,” I said, stal ing.

Claire desperately pointed at Jared.

“Jared took her home!” I said.

Ryan puffed. “Okay, but the Escalade is parked behind the Lotus.”

“Shit!” I whispered, interlocking my fingers on top of my head. “He…took her home on his motorcycle.”

Claire gave me a thumb’s up, and I relaxed a bit, hoping Ryan would accept my story.

“Nina,” Ryan said. “Could I talk to Claire for a minute? Just…just for one minute.” The door handle moved, and Claire’s hand instantly gripped around it, refusing to let it budge a mil imeter more.

“She’s not here, Ryan. I told you.”

“Then open the door.”

“I’m not dressed.”

“I’ve seen you that way before.”

Jared frowned, and I laughed once. “It’s different, now.”

“Claire?” Ryan said. “Can I talk to you? Please? I won’t take up much of your time, I swear. I just need to, uh…wow,” he chuckled, “I feel real y stupid right now.”

“You should, since she’s not here,” I said.

“Claire. Please?” he asked.

Claire leaned her forehead silently against the door. She bit her lip and sighed. “Go away, Ryan.”

“Claire?” Ryan said, his voice excited. “Please open the door.”

“Nina told me what you said. It’s sweet, but…,” she cringed, “you’re crazy.”

“I know what I saw,” Ryan said, his tone notably less enthusiastic than before. “I know you were there.”

“Right. I was in Afghanistan or wherever, sniping Al Qaeda, and carrying you over my back for miles. Sounds like me,” she snapped.

“I just want to see you,” Ryan said. “I need to see you to be sure.”

Jared shook his head, and Claire’s expression grew impatient. “Beat it, Ryan,” she said.

After a short pause, Ryan hit the door with the side of his fist. “I’m not leaving until I see you!”

“What are you going to do?” Claire yel ed, taking a step away from the door. “Wave your shiny badge around and impress us to death?”

“Open the door!” Ryan demanded.

“No!” Claire said.

“Fine!” he replied. “But I’m not giving up on you.”

He stomped down the stairs and slammed the door.

Chapter Thirteen

Lesson

“I need the keys to your bike,” Claire said, holding out her hand to Bex.

He frowned. “Why?”

“Because I have to fol ow him, and he knows my freaking car! Give me your keys!” she said, jerking her hand toward Bex, impatient.

In one swift movement, Bex handed his motorcycle keys to his big, little sister. She wheeled around, sprinting down the stairs.

“Don’t forget the helmet,” he call ed after her.

“Shove it!” she yel ed before slamming the door.

I walked to my vanity, sitting hard onto the delicate pink cushion of the bench. “This is bad.”

Jared took slow steps to stand beside me. “Ryan is the least of our worries.”

“That makes me feel much better,” I said.

Bex left us alone to sit on the stairs, and Jared pul ed me from the bench to sit beside him on the bed. He didn’t speak for a long time, lightly brushing the skin of my arm, from wrist to elbow, with his fingertips.

“Do you understand what could happen?” he said softly, his eyes stil focused on my arm.

After a short pause, I took a breath. “Yes.”

He meant my death. Dying at the hands of the most inhumane, cruel beings on three planes wasn’t peaceful, in my sleep as I had planned, but it was an end. I wondered what would take place in that moment, and what ways Jared would suffer in the days fol owing my death.

His eyes were dark, the skin around them tight, but tired. The helpless feeling surrounding us was suffocating.

“I know what Father Francis said,” Jared said, his voice breaking. “But, I can’t believe that. I have to see the book for myself to be sure. There has to be a reason our father’s wanted it so badly. Gabe must have known there was a way to stop it.

“Stay with me,” I said.

“I can’t,” he replied.

“Just for a while. Just until I fal asleep?”

Jared met my eyes, and I could see that he would let me win.

We lay together above the sheets, silent and thoughtful. I imagined Jared was careful y plotting a way around Donovan and Isaac in his mind, praying for a conclusion. Shax had stayed one step ahead of Jared—even Kim, his secret weapon—and he was frustrated.

Jared’s arms tensed. Bex’s light footsteps rushed down the stairs, and the door opened. After a few moments, another set, heavier, returned with him, and Kim appeared in the doorway, out of breath and wide-eyed.

Jared sprung from the bed, pul ing on his jacket. “Stay with her, Bex.”

“I should go,” Bex said.

Knowing they were going to try to capture the book, I jumped from the bed, pul ing on a pair of sneakers. “He should go. I’ll go, too, and if anything happens, Bex can help.”

Jared frowned while he made his decision. “Nina….”

“We don’t have time for a lecture,” I said. “You know you have a better chance if Bex is there.”

He nodded, clearly conflicted. “Let’s go.”

The streets were filthy, lined with mounds of dirty snow. The Escalade flew at three times the speed limit, racing against the moment Shax realized we’d found him.

Jared slammed on the breaks in front of an old apartment building on the outskirts of town, and he and Kim rushed in. Bex was stoic, waiting patiently for a signal. My knees bounced nervously as I bit at my thumbnail.