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“You have to tell her the rest.” The unknown voice carried urgency.
“The timing is wrong, Kaleb. She’s starting to trust me.”
“You need to fill her in before something happens.” Kaleb’s voice was rougher, more gravelly than Michael’s. I wished I could see Kaleb’s face. I wondered if it matched his voice. “She needs to know what’s going on. You can’t let her go into this blind.”
“I’ll take care of it.” Michael sounded as if he were speaking through gritted teeth.
“Do,” Kaleb said. At least he wanted me to be able to protect myself instead of keeping me in the dark. I liked him. Whoever he was. “Remember, we’re a team. I’ll handle the files; you handle her. A lot is on the line for a lot of people.”
“I made a promise, and I’m going to keep it. I’ll do whatever it takes to get him back, whatever the sacrifice.”
“You think she’ll go for it?”
Michael paused before answering. “I can’t be sure. But I wouldn’t doubt it. She’s pretty amazing.”
The sound of surprised laughter echoed off the stone wall. “Mike! Are you into her?”
o;I’m not afraid,” he protested, pulling his hands apart quickly, dropping one to his side and tucking the other into his vest. “It’s simply a habit.”
“I don’t think so.” I took another step closer, lifting my hand and reaching gingerly toward his chest.
“Stop. Stay where you are,” he warned, his voice full of fear.
Squeezing my eyes shut and taking a deep breath, I moved forward to slide my hand through his form.
Chapter 19
I met resistance.
It wasn’t solid matter exactly, more like thick mud or wet sand. Jack twisted out of my way at the same time I jerked away from him.
“What the hell?” I looked at the traces of the substance on my hand. Whatever it was, it sort of … glowed.
When I looked up, Jack was gone. I got out of Michael’s apartment as quickly as possible, not even bothering to lock the door behind me. I had no idea what to do next.
Besides wash my hands.
Even though I was more than freaked out by Jack and his semisolid state, the address for the Hourglass was burning a hole in my pocket. I could be there in less than twenty minutes.
I had to risk it.
After a thorough hand scrub in my bathroom sink, I threw some essentials and dark clothing—in case I needed to blend—into a bag, as well as the binder Michael told me not to let out of my sight. I twisted up my hair to keep it out of my face before stopping in the freshly tidied kitchen to pour my coffee into a travel mug. I wrote a quick note for Thomas and Dru and left the loft with Michael’s card in my hand.
Thomas had installed GPS in Dru’s SUV for her birthday. All I had to do was enter in the address listed on the business card. I checked the gas gauge, then took a deep breath, putting the vehicle in reverse. I was a decent driver, but I didn’t do it very often. Good thing driving a car was like riding a bicycle.
Or whatever.
Jack. If he wasn’t a rip, what was he? What if he’d existed for so long that he picked up some matter along the way? If that was the case, why hadn’t Scarlett been semisolid, too?
I could ask Michael, but for reasons I didn’t exactly understand, I wanted to keep Jack to myself. My face grew hot just thinking about it.
I’d expected the Hourglass to be in some kind of an office building. Instead, the GPS system led me through downtown to rolling green farmland and rural country estates. I lowered my window to let in the breeze, along with the smell of harvested hay and other earthy things. Soon, the GPS indicated I’d reached my destination, and I stopped, noting the property was lined with a stone fence guarded by an iron gate. It stood open.
Tall oaks blocked the view from the main road. A gravel drive curved beneath them, leading to something I couldn’t see.
I’d have to take a chance.
One benefit of being a survivor was that there was no fear when it came to taking risks. What could happen? I could go to jail for trespassing. Couldn’t be worse than a mental hospital. Whoever lived behind the stone fence could capture me and hold me prisoner while performing experiments on me. Not unlike a mental hospital. I hesitated, my turn signal blinking so brightly it felt like a beacon for the security officers and guard dogs I imagined hiding just beyond the property line.
