Forged in Ice Read online

  9

  Ainsley

  I had the biggest grin on my face as we made our way back to the car. We hadn’t been on the beach long, but those words—and that kiss made it seem exponentially longer. Of course afterwards I wanted so much more of him. James was addicting in all the best and worst ways, and I knew there was no way that was going to change. I’d expected the feeling to change when we returned to Charleston. I figured the supernatural pull would lessen, and I’d be back to where I was before we left, but I wasn’t. If anything my feelings were stronger. I wasn’t sure if I should have been thrilled or afraid. I was a mix of both.

  James covered my hand with his, and we walked up the driveway toward my car.

  “Glad you two finally decided to come back for us.” Henry attempted to keep a straight face, but it quickly fell.

  “We were not gone long.” James smiled. Maybe he was as giddy as I was. It was hard to tell because he tried to stay so serious with the others. “But was your talk successful?”

  Talen nodded. “We have the details, but it is going to be a longer drive than planned.”

  “Where is this wolf?”

  “Outside a town called Nawlins?” Talen glanced back toward the house.

  “Do you mean New Orleans?” Talen’s accent combined with the nickname for the city was rather comical.

  “Yes. That is what it was. He said it is a long drive from here.”

  “Yeah, a really long one, but not as bad as California or anything.”

  “California?” Talen’s forehead scrunched up.

  “Flying would be faster, but my guess is you guys have no IDs?” Those sorts of things were unnecessary in Energo, at least from what I had seen of it. Besides, they wouldn’t have anything issued by a government anyone in the U.S. would have ever heard of.

  Henry shrugged. “I had one Monty made for me, but I have no clue where it is.”

  “You had an ID from here?” I wasn’t aware that the government gave those out easily.

  Henry nodded. “From when I lived here for some time. Monty liked to have things ready in case of an emergency.”

  “Monty? As in Charlotte and Kevin’s uncle?” I remembered the empty room.

  “Yes.” James looked away at some spot in the distance. “He was always prepared, and he had lots of connections.”

  “Ok.” I decided not to ask anything else. Maybe James had been close to Monty too. And I didn’t want to know anything about what these supposed connections were. “I guess we’re driving.”

  “We can take shifts driving.” Henry smiled. “I volunteer.”

  “You know how to drive?” I questioned.

  “No, but I am a fast learner.” He grinned even bigger.

  “Yeah… no thanks.” I valued my life and safety. There was no reason to put it at risk by having someone completely inexperienced drive us cross country.

  “Fine, can we at least get some food? I have not eaten at one of your restaurants in years.” His disappointment seemed to almost immediately disappear.

  “Where do you want to go?” I couldn’t imagine what Henry’s favorite place was.

  “Is Basil still operating?” Henry asked.

  “Yeah. It’s still there.” Thai was a surprising choice, but a good one. “But it’s late. They have to be closing soon.”

  “Then we can get it to go. Charlotte taught me about that.” Henry laughed.

  “Does anyone have the currency?” Talen asked.

  “You mean you guys don’t want to just dump gold coins on the counter?” I remembered James handing me the strange coin.

  “Did you do that?” Henry turned to James.

  “I paid for fake ice cream with a coin.”

  “Fake ice cream?” Henry’s eyebrows drew together.

  “Frozen yogurt. He’s making fun of where I work.” I pulled away from him just a nudge.

  “The place you formerly worked.”

  “They haven’t fired me yet.”

  “They will when you are out another few weeks.”

  “Oh well, I hated the job anyway.” Or at least a lot of the customers.

  “Yet you were complaining because I criticized the product. It is not as good as ice cream.”

  “But it’s not fake ice cream. It’s something completely different.”

  “If it does not taste as good, why bother with it?” Henry asked.

  I unlocked the car. “Because it’s healthier.”

  “Healthier?” Talen looked at me. “In what way?”

  “Less fat. People here are obsessed with the fat content in food.” James held open my door.

  “You say it like it’s a bad thing.” I took a seat.

  James closed my door before going around to his side. “It is not bad, just different than where we are from. We eat the food we grow and raise. It has different results.”

  “You should make ads for the farm to table movement.”

  “The what?” All three guys asked at once.

  “Forget I said anything.” I started the car and waited for everyone to get buckled. “Let’s get dinner.”

  “Now that is a good idea.” James rested his hand on my leg.

  * * *

  Basil was crowded when we arrived. I glanced at the time on my phone. It was after nine. The restaurant closed at ten. We were cutting this close.

  A loud laugh caught my attention, and I noticed a group of men and women in suits. What if I ran into someone from work? We were only a few blocks from the office, and people often worked late. How would I explain my absence? “Uh, I might wait in the car.”

  “Why?” James asked with alarm.

  “Because I might see people from work. The office is not far from here.”

  “The fake ice cream place?” Henry asked.

  “Nope. My other job. At a law firm.” The job I wanted to keep more.

  “Oh. Two jobs? That must have been tricky.” Henry rubbed the back of his neck. “I only have one job and it keeps me on my toes.”

  “It kept me busy, but neither job was like yours. Being a Guardian is harder.”

  “Not harder, just different.” James held open the door of the restaurant. “But there is no reason to worry, Ainsley. If they see you, they see you.”

  “I don’t want to get in trouble. I left them hanging.” And if I did move back eventually it would be nice to at least have references, even if I didn’t have a job.

  “Ok.” James let the door swing closed. “We can go back to the car together then.”

  “No. We can do this quick.”

  “Ainsley?”

  I started at the sound of the familiar voice of my favorite attorney from the office. Rachel. I’d been caught already.

  “Hey.” I turned to face the last person I wanted to run into. “I know this looks awful.”

  But she wasn’t even looking at me anymore. Instead she was staring at Henry. “Henry? What? What are you doing here?” She put a hand to her chest and all color drained from her face. Then she turned to James. “And you too? James? I thought. I mean you all just disappeared. I thought. Henry…”

  She stepped out of the way to let a group walk out of the restaurant.

  “Rachel.” Henry paled, and his eyes widened. “Is that really you?”

  “How do you all know each other?” Talen looked between Rachel and Henry. I was thinking the same thing.

  “We dated, but that was a lifetime ago.” Rachel still had her hand on her chest and her color hadn’t quite returned.

  “I did come back for you.” Henry took a small step toward her. “I came back for you. I never intended to leave you.”

  “When?” Rachel crossed her arms.

  “I came back a few months after I left.” Henry stuck his hands in his pockets. “But you had moved on.”

  “I never moved on.” Rachel’s mouth fell open. “I can’t believe I’m telling you this, but why not? You deserve to know how much you destroyed me.”

  “Destroyed y
ou?” Henry stumbled back a step as though Rachel’s words had wounded him. “I would never hurt you. You destroyed me. I was ready to give up everything for you, to turn my back on what I was born to do, but you did not care. Your words were all lies.”

  My head spun. What was going on here? How did Rachel know Henry and James? I was so confused. My real life was colliding with the fantasy world I’d been living in. “How do you know these guys, Rachel?”

  “I can ask you the same question. Why are you with them?” She turned to me. There was an angry insinuation in her gaze.

  “And I can ask the questions too. How do you know Rachel?” Henry turned to me. “Did you lie to James? Do you know more than you have admitted?”

  “Hey.” I shook my head. “I have done nothing wrong here.” I was willing to accept the blame when it was earned, but this time it wasn’t. I was more in the dark than anyone.

  “That is what you are saying.” Henry crossed his arms.

  “Ok, someone start talking.” My curiosity had become something more once the accusations started to fly.

  “Why don’t you start?’ Rachel pointed to me. “Since you seem to be the one in the middle of this.”

  “Me?” I put my hand to my chest. “How am I in the middle?”

  James put his arm around me. “You do not owe an explanation to anyone. We can leave if you want.”

  Rachel’s eyes widened. “Wait. You are with James. With him?”

  “Yes.” James pulled me even closer to his side. “Do you have a problem with that?”

  She nodded. “I have a problem with all of this.”

  “I am sorry if I inadvertently hurt you,” Henry bowed slightly to Rachel. “I never wanted that. We will leave and let you have your meal.”

  “What?” Rachel shook her head. “Are you kidding? Have a meal? I’ve been waiting years for a chance to see you.”

  “You have your chance now.” There was a note of hope in Henry’s otherwise defeated voice.

  “I should hate you.”

  “But you do not?” Henry watched her.

  “No.” A few tears slipped down her face.

  “This is moving, but we must go. All this time wasted, and we did not even get food.” Talen scowled.

  I glared at him. “Clearly these two have history.”

  “Loads of it.” James ran his fingers down my side.

  “Tell me something. I have to know.” Rachel looked at James.

  “Yes?”

  “Is Charlotte all right? Is she alive?” Rachel whispered the last few words.

  “Charlotte?” My confusion grew. “You know Charlotte too?”

  Rachel’s face broke into a smile. “You said know. That is present tense. So she is okay?”

  I looked at James for help. “Why wouldn’t she be okay?”

  “Because she went missing...” Rachel wrapped her black sweater tightly around her.

  “She’s great. Pregnant.” I hoped it was okay for me to be sharing that info.

  “Pregnant?” Rachel’s jaw dropped. “With whose baby?”

  “Her husband’s…” It wasn’t nearly as racy as Rachel was acting like.

  “She’s married?” Her jaw fell even further. What was Charlotte like as a teen? Was she ultra-nerdy or something?

  “Yeah… to Liam.” James grinned.

  “What!” Rachel screamed. Several people walking by stopped and stared. “Liam? Seriously?”

  “Yes.” James laughed. “Funny how things work out.”

  “But where are they? Why did you all leave?” Rachel’s face fell as she lost her temporary excitement. “I lost all of my friends at the same time.”

  “Not all of them,” Henry said bitterly.

  I was completely and utterly lost. Had Charlotte left for Energo without saying goodbye? But Liam’s mother wasn’t concerned, so they had to have told somebody.

  “What are you talking about?” Rachel’s brow furrowed. “Is this about that whole I moved on thing?”

  “Yes. You and Roberts.”

  “What? What are you talking about?” Rachel stepped toward him. “I didn’t date Roberts.”

  “I saw you together.” Henry’s lips pressed into a firm line.

  “Together? You mean talking or something? We helped each other through things after our lives got insane. Do you realize how many times I was questioned by the police?” Large tears spilled from her eyes. “And they thought you guys did it by the way.”

  Henry reached out for Rachel, but at the last minute he let his arms fall to his sides. “Did they hurt you?”

  She shook her head. “No. But it was scary. I was only a kid and my whole life fell apart.”

  “What did the police think we did?” James asked.

  “Killed the Calloways and Liam,” She dropped her voice. “That or Monty. Is he with Charlotte and Kevin, too?”

  Henry shook his head. “No.”

  “Wait, what happened?” She tilted her head slightly to the side.

  “He died to protect those he cared for,” James said solemnly.

  “Oh my…” She put her head in her hand.

  “There is so much I was never allowed to tell you, Rachel. So much you are better off not knowing.” Henry spoke wistfully.

  “But she knows?” Rachel pointed to me. “She knows everything I don’t.”

  “Ainsley knows because she is somehow part of it. We do not know why.” Henry’s eyes were fixed on Rachel’s.

  “Well, I am part of it now.” Rachel puffed out her chest. “Nothing you can do about that.”

  “We need to go.” Talen scowled. “You can finish this reunion on your own time.”

  “I am coming with you.” Rachel set her jaw and stood tall with her arms crossed.

  “But I assume you are meeting people. What about them?” Henry asked.

  “That shouldn’t concern you. Where are we going?”

  James laughed dryly. “You cannot actually mean to come with us.”

  “And why’s that? I’ve been to Europe.”

  “Europe?” I froze. “Why would we be going to Europe?”

  “She thinks I was a foreign exchange student from Europe…” Henry looked down at his feet.

  “You weren’t?” Rachel yelled.

  “Not exactly.”

  “What about the accent? Is that fake too?” She stepped right in front of him.

  Henry shook his head. “No, of course not.”

  “Of course not? If everything else was made up why wouldn’t that be?”

  By this point there was an entire crowd of people watching us. “If you don’t mind squishing in you can come with us.” I started toward where I parked.

  “Where are we going? I’m not asking again.” She followed right behind me.

  “New Orleans.” Maybe I shouldn’t have been sharing that information, but then James or Henry should have stopped me. I was so confused and overwhelmed I needed to get out of there.

  “Why?”

  “We need to find a wolf.” I opened the passenger door for her. “You can sit up front.”

  James mumbled something, but I ignored him. I wasn’t sticking her in the back with her ex.

  “I have a bigger car.” Rachel paused on the sidewalk.

  “You want to drive to New Orleans even though you have no clue why we’re going?” I asked, although just coming with us was crazy.

  “Yes.” She got into the passenger seat and closed the door. Talen and Henry slipped into the backseat.

  As soon as I saw an opening in the line of cars I got into my seat and closed my door.

  “No. She might leave us on the side of the road.” James got into the back behind my seat.

  “Why would you say that?” Rachel glared at him.

  “Because you are angry.”

  “I want answers.” Her hand curled into a fist. I knew she wasn’t going to hit him, but she was upset. I understood it even if I still found the whole thing about her dating Henry hard to believ
e.

  “Yes, but you are still angry.” James buckled his seatbelt.

  “I am in shock. The real anger hasn’t started yet.”

  “Then why are we taking you?’ Talen slid in behind Henry. “We have more important things to worry about than a female out of her mind.”

  “I am not out of my mind.” She turned to look at him. “I am in shock. That is something entirely different.”

  “Are you sure you want to come with us?” I hesitated before starting the car.

  “Yes, but first, do you promise you weren’t lying to me? You had no idea about these guys?”

  I started the engine. She was coming. “Remember the guy who broke into my house—”

  “Oh my god. Of course. It was James. Holy cow. How didn’t I make that connection? Wait. Are you staying at Charlotte’s house?” She rattled off question after question. “Oh my gosh. This is insane.”

  “It is perfectly sane.” James leaned forward and touched my shoulder. “Are you sure you want to drive?”

  “I’m fine with it. Well, if someone gives me more directions than just to go to New Orleans.”

  “Does anyone have an address?” Rachel asked. “I can put it in the GPS in my phone.”

  I still wasn’t sure what to make of Rachel’s decision to come. Whether she had a history with Henry or not, wasn’t it a little bit insane to jump in a car with a bunch of people and drive eleven hours? But then again I was doing it too.

  “It is not actually New Orleans. I have the specific coordinates if that helps.”

  “How would that help me?”

  “Can you get us close if we have a town name?”

  “Theoretically.” I had a good sense of direction, but that wouldn’t help me find a town hundreds of miles away.

  “Then we should be fine.”

  “And with that show of confidence, let’s do this.” I pulled out onto the busy road.

  “We never got any food,” Talen said quietly.

  “I’ll find a drive-through,” I suggested even though eating was the last thing on my mind.

  10

  James

  “We should stop for the night.” I noticed Ainsley was slumped down slightly in her seat. It was frustrating to be stuck in the back seat while she was up front, but I had no choice. How could I argue with her inviting another girl to sit in front with her?