Sacrifice
Page 16

He wondered how long he could sit here with the car in park before they’d realize he had no idea where to go.
He wondered how long this shocked silence would last.
Did they blame him? Not like it mattered. Michael blamed himself. His fingers felt like icicles, and he flexed them in front of the vent, willing the car to warm up more quickly.
They were waiting for him to say something. To do something. Their expectations sat like a weight against his skin.
He shifted into gear and glanced at the clock on the dash. Four o’clock in the morning. He could check into a hotel at 4 AM, right?
Nick cleared his throat from the back seat. “I texted Adam. He says we can go to his place.”
Adam was Nick’s boyfriend. He was nineteen and he had his own place—but that didn’t mean they’d all fit. Michael glanced at Nick in the rearview mirror and tried to ignore how driving over the fractured driveway pavement felt like driving over downed trees. “You have your phone? Who else has one?”
They all did.
Michael had no idea why it was important, but his worries eased just a notch knowing he could reach them if he had to.
And where would they be going?
He wove between the remaining fire trucks sitting in the cul-de-sac. He hadn’t seen Hannah since she’d walked out of his house, and he hadn’t been able to look for her. Her father had actually walked him and his brothers to the door of the truck.
“Tell Adam thanks, but we’ll go to a hotel.”
“And then what?” said Nick. “Sleep in these clothes? Live on fast food?”
“You think the five of us are going to fit in a one-bedroom apartment for long?”
“You think the Holiday Inn is going to let us check in looking like this? With a dog? At least at Adam’s we can wash our clothes and get something to eat.”
“Nick—” Michael sighed. Those were all good points, and he was too tired to argue. “Fine. Whatever.” He reached out and spun the dial to turn the heat higher. He couldn’t stop shivering.
The roads were deserted at this hour. Rain speckled the windshield, and he clicked on the wipers as he turned onto Ritchie Highway. Beside him, Hunter had his fingers buried in Casper’s fur. His forehead was against the window.
At the first stoplight, Michael glanced in the rearview mirror and took stock of his brothers again. Nick looked weary, his eyes half open. Gabriel looked pissed, his jaw set, his eyes glaring straight ahead. Chris was looking out at the darkness, the streetlights reflecting off the bare spots on his cheeks where the rain had washed the soot away.
“Thanks for stopping the fires,” Michael said. “The rainstorm was smart thinking.”
Chris didn’t look away from the window. “It wasn’t just me.”
“I know. I’m thanking you all.”
Gabriel’s eyes locked on his. “Maybe you could thank us by telling us what the f**k is going on.”
Michael kept his foot on the brake. “What?”
“What do you mean, what? We looked for you, ass**le. You weren’t in that house when the fire started. You weren’t in the woods. You weren’t anywhere.” His voice gained volume. “We found Hunter and Chris, but you weren’t—we couldn’t—”
“Easy,” said Nick. “Take it easy.”
“Fuck easy, Nick! Until that earthquake started, we didn’t even know if he was—”
“Wait.” Michael slammed the gearshift back into park and turned in his seat. Gabriel looked primed for a fight, like he was ready for his oldest brother to take a swing at him. He looked like he’d welcome the opportunity.
But Michael looked at Chris. “You didn’t tell them?”
“Tell us what?” said Nick.
“We couldn’t tell them,” said Hunter. His voice was tired. “By the time they found us, we were surrounded by paramedics, and then the earthquakes started—it was all too fast.”
“Tell us what?” Gabriel demanded.
“I thought someone was in the woods,” said Michael. “It woke me up.”
“Me too,” said Hunter.
“What did you guys think?” said Michael. “That I snuck out?”
“We didn’t know what to think,” said Nick. “The fire started fast.”
“I almost couldn’t stop it,” said Gabriel. “I had to keep it to the front of the house. I was worried about it getting into the garage.”
So Gabriel had stopped it. “You probably saved the business.”
“I was more worried about all that shit blowing up. Whoever did this had a plan.” Another pause. “And power. A lot of power.”
“Do you think it was Calla?” said Michael. “I haven’t heard from her in a week. She’s been pissed that I won’t help her start a war.”
“This would be a good way to start one with us,” said Gabriel, his tone dark. “But I have no idea. I didn’t see anyone.”
“Who was in the woods?” said Nick.
No one said anything for a long moment, but the confusion and fury in the car redirected toward Chris.
He didn’t look away from the window. “Sometimes I go for a walk, okay?” he snapped. “It’s not like anyone is sleeping lately.”
“But you ran,” said Hunter.
Now Chris whipped his head around. “I didn’t know it was you! You would have run, too!” Then his gaze darkened. “Or maybe you would have shot someone. Who knows?”