But his twin had just shrugged and said, “Fine. You drive.”
Thick clouds hung overhead, blocking the stars, cloaking the road in darkness. The rain had stopped, but those clouds would only need a little push to start dumping water again.
Rain could’ve been a safety net. Maybe they should have brought Chris.
If nothing else, for conversation. Gabriel wasn’t saying a word. He’d been silent for miles. Nick could feel the tension like a vibration in the air, mixing with the cool humidity, as if his brother’s uncertainty created a whole new level of energy.
Gabriel was waiting for Nick to spill, to pour out his problems the way he usually did. Nick was the thinker. The talker.
The analyzer. Gabriel was all about action. If Nick presented a problem, Gabriel provided a solution—even if his idea of a solution was a fistfight.
Not having a way to solve this problem, this distance, was making Gabriel nuts. Nick could tell.
And a petty, vindictive part of Nick reveled in it.
That lasted about twenty seconds. Then he felt like crap.
He glanced over. “Hey. What’s your plan?”
“To set him on fire.”
“Seriously.”
Gabriel’s eyes were on the windshield, his voice dark and full of anger. “I am serious. I’m sick of him f**king with you, Nicky.
I don’t know what he’s doing to you and Quinn, but I know something is up.”
So all that silence had left Gabriel with time to draw the wrong conclusions.
“We’re not setting him on fire,” Nick said.
“Fine. What do you want to do?”
The words were a challenge. Nick wasn’t sure how to respond. Honestly, he wished they could simply walk up to Tyler and ask what the deal was. He was so tired of fighting.
“I don’t know yet,” he said.
A bolt of lightning cracked the sky in front of them, followed by a roll of thunder. Gabriel’s power flared in the air. He wasn’t tired of fighting. If the eager tension in the atmosphere was any indication, he was ready for a battle.
Suddenly, Nick didn’t want to be out tonight. He didn’t want to be picking a fight. Maybe he’d used up all his emotion earlier in the evening. Maybe Michael’s talk about Emily and Quinn had softened the edge of his anger against Tyler.
Or maybe he was afraid.
Nick swallowed that back. If he admitted fear now, he’d lose more ground with his twin. He’d be the creepy freak who couldn’t solve his own problems. The weak one.
“Where are we going?” said Gabriel.
“Tyler’s parents’ shopping center,” Nick said. “Quinn said he’s been guarding the place every night. From vandals or something.”
Just as he said it, they crested the hill, and the lights from the 7-Eleven sign broke through the darkness. Nick could see the big SUV in the parking lot and knew Tyler was there.
He wanted to keep on driving.
Instead, he hit the turn signal and pulled off the road just past the shopping center, killing the lights as the car drifted to a stop along Ritchie Highway.
Then he turned off the engine and sat there.
He didn’t want to do this. Everything felt wrong.
“How does Quinn know?” said Gabriel.
“What?”
“How does Quinn know what Tyler is doing at night?”
“Apparently she walks over here sometimes. That’s her apartment building.” Nick pointed.
Gabriel was quiet for a minute. “So do you think she and Tyler—?”
“Come on,” Nick said. He didn’t want his brother to finish that thought. He climbed out of the cab.
Nick wished he’d chosen more concealing clothing than a white T-shirt under a jacket. Gabriel was a shadow in a dark hoodie and charcoal-gray jeans. They stepped over the guard rail to slink through the trees beside the road.
The 7-Eleven sign grew larger with each step. Nick could hear his own breathing, faster than Gabriel’s. When they came to the tree line, Nick hesitated, not wanting to lose the cover. To cross the street, they’d pass directly below half a dozen streetlamps.
He expected his brother to move on without him, leading the way to disaster.
But Gabriel stopped, too, and looked at him.
“What?”
“You tell me, Nicky.” Gabriel’s voice made small clouds of steam in the air.
Nick froze. Those words seemed loaded with more than just an inquiry about what to do next.
He had to look away from his brother, so he put his eyes on the strip mall. “I don’t want to cause damage to someone else’s property. There have been enough fires.”
“Let’s go back in the woods. Burn some leaves.” Gabriel fished a lighter out of his pocket and tossed it.
Nick caught it. “Why?”
“It’ll lure him out. If he’s a pure Elemental, he’ll sense it.”
“Even from here?” They were at least a hundred feet from the parking lot.
Gabriel nodded and started walking back into the dense darkness of the woods.
Nick followed, sliding the lighter between his fingers. “What if he ignores it?”
“Then he’s not a full Elemental and I can go punch that mofo in the face.” He stopped once they were out of sight and pointed to the ground. “Here’s good. The leaves are dry underneath and they’ll smoke more. I don’t want anyone to see it from the road yet.”
Nick held up the lighter. “You still need these?”
Thick clouds hung overhead, blocking the stars, cloaking the road in darkness. The rain had stopped, but those clouds would only need a little push to start dumping water again.
Rain could’ve been a safety net. Maybe they should have brought Chris.
If nothing else, for conversation. Gabriel wasn’t saying a word. He’d been silent for miles. Nick could feel the tension like a vibration in the air, mixing with the cool humidity, as if his brother’s uncertainty created a whole new level of energy.
Gabriel was waiting for Nick to spill, to pour out his problems the way he usually did. Nick was the thinker. The talker.
The analyzer. Gabriel was all about action. If Nick presented a problem, Gabriel provided a solution—even if his idea of a solution was a fistfight.
Not having a way to solve this problem, this distance, was making Gabriel nuts. Nick could tell.
And a petty, vindictive part of Nick reveled in it.
That lasted about twenty seconds. Then he felt like crap.
He glanced over. “Hey. What’s your plan?”
“To set him on fire.”
“Seriously.”
Gabriel’s eyes were on the windshield, his voice dark and full of anger. “I am serious. I’m sick of him f**king with you, Nicky.
I don’t know what he’s doing to you and Quinn, but I know something is up.”
So all that silence had left Gabriel with time to draw the wrong conclusions.
“We’re not setting him on fire,” Nick said.
“Fine. What do you want to do?”
The words were a challenge. Nick wasn’t sure how to respond. Honestly, he wished they could simply walk up to Tyler and ask what the deal was. He was so tired of fighting.
“I don’t know yet,” he said.
A bolt of lightning cracked the sky in front of them, followed by a roll of thunder. Gabriel’s power flared in the air. He wasn’t tired of fighting. If the eager tension in the atmosphere was any indication, he was ready for a battle.
Suddenly, Nick didn’t want to be out tonight. He didn’t want to be picking a fight. Maybe he’d used up all his emotion earlier in the evening. Maybe Michael’s talk about Emily and Quinn had softened the edge of his anger against Tyler.
Or maybe he was afraid.
Nick swallowed that back. If he admitted fear now, he’d lose more ground with his twin. He’d be the creepy freak who couldn’t solve his own problems. The weak one.
“Where are we going?” said Gabriel.
“Tyler’s parents’ shopping center,” Nick said. “Quinn said he’s been guarding the place every night. From vandals or something.”
Just as he said it, they crested the hill, and the lights from the 7-Eleven sign broke through the darkness. Nick could see the big SUV in the parking lot and knew Tyler was there.
He wanted to keep on driving.
Instead, he hit the turn signal and pulled off the road just past the shopping center, killing the lights as the car drifted to a stop along Ritchie Highway.
Then he turned off the engine and sat there.
He didn’t want to do this. Everything felt wrong.
“How does Quinn know?” said Gabriel.
“What?”
“How does Quinn know what Tyler is doing at night?”
“Apparently she walks over here sometimes. That’s her apartment building.” Nick pointed.
Gabriel was quiet for a minute. “So do you think she and Tyler—?”
“Come on,” Nick said. He didn’t want his brother to finish that thought. He climbed out of the cab.
Nick wished he’d chosen more concealing clothing than a white T-shirt under a jacket. Gabriel was a shadow in a dark hoodie and charcoal-gray jeans. They stepped over the guard rail to slink through the trees beside the road.
The 7-Eleven sign grew larger with each step. Nick could hear his own breathing, faster than Gabriel’s. When they came to the tree line, Nick hesitated, not wanting to lose the cover. To cross the street, they’d pass directly below half a dozen streetlamps.
He expected his brother to move on without him, leading the way to disaster.
But Gabriel stopped, too, and looked at him.
“What?”
“You tell me, Nicky.” Gabriel’s voice made small clouds of steam in the air.
Nick froze. Those words seemed loaded with more than just an inquiry about what to do next.
He had to look away from his brother, so he put his eyes on the strip mall. “I don’t want to cause damage to someone else’s property. There have been enough fires.”
“Let’s go back in the woods. Burn some leaves.” Gabriel fished a lighter out of his pocket and tossed it.
Nick caught it. “Why?”
“It’ll lure him out. If he’s a pure Elemental, he’ll sense it.”
“Even from here?” They were at least a hundred feet from the parking lot.
Gabriel nodded and started walking back into the dense darkness of the woods.
Nick followed, sliding the lighter between his fingers. “What if he ignores it?”
“Then he’s not a full Elemental and I can go punch that mofo in the face.” He stopped once they were out of sight and pointed to the ground. “Here’s good. The leaves are dry underneath and they’ll smoke more. I don’t want anyone to see it from the road yet.”
Nick held up the lighter. “You still need these?”
