“Are you kidding? I love their music,” she said with the first smile he’d seen all afternoon.
“Okay, hold up. Before you two bond over your love of classic rock, Cain’s talking about an FBI agent.”
“Former,” Cain said. “He’s a hunter now.”
“And don’t hunters hunt . . . us?” Gillian asked.
“It’s really goddamned complicated,” Cain told her as he went to fiddle with the incredibly complicated sound system Jez had installed in here before the opening strains of “Let There Be Rock” rang out overhead. “Want a beer?”
“Yes!” She accepted one and they knocked their cans together and he half expected them to break out lighters and sway together to the song.
But hey, it got her mind momentarily off the heaviness. Cain had a gift for shit like that and Jinx forgot how much he appreciated it. Realized how much he missed that, missed him and Cyd too.
“Cain, do you want to explain . . . about Angus?” he called over the music and Cain called back, “No goddamned way!” as Jez came in and stared at the two dancing wolves for a long moment.
And then the vampire broke into a smile, announced, “I have Guitar Hero,” and Jinx groaned and sank down on the couch because there was no way out of this. If he brought Harm out, this would be an eighties party extraordinaire.
He simply crossed his arms and watched them, especially Gillian, her movements fluid, graceful, her eyes glowing.
He was never letting her out of his sight again.
When Rogue and Cyd came in, they simply stared as Cain, Gillian and Jez danced around making devil horns at the sound system and singing at the top of their lungs. Then Cyd, of course, jumped right into the action and Rogue sat down next to him.
“This is what happens when you fate twenty-one-year-olds, old man,” Rogue told him.
“You’re only six minutes older than I am,” Jinx reminded him.
“I guess that’s why my knees ache,” Rogue said seriously, bent down to rub them with his palms. “Did you call us here for the concert?”
“She wants to know about our twin thing,” Jinx said. “How we . . . feel one another.”
“You make it sound so dirty.”
Jinx laughed and looked out at the group. “It’s nice that she can have some fun. She’s been through . . .”
“Hell?”
“I didn’t say it.”
Rogue shrugged. “Hell is whatever you think it is. I’m not one to lord it over everyone just because I’ve really been there.”
“Yeah, you are.”
“Of course I am,” Rogue agreed.
“We’re going to look into your background more thoroughly,” Stray explained. “And we didn’t want to go behind your back. So now that it’s all out in the open, we wanted you to be . . . involved.”
“Thanks for that,” she said. The music blared still and the others were listening and the heavy feelings she’d managed to shed for a little while came back. She supposed that was how it would be from now on, until she found her twin. “Go ahead and talk. I’m okay with it.”
Killian jumped in first. “The Arrow line . . . shit, I mean, there were three daughters around our ages, from what I remember, but Gillian could be a grandkid of theirs at the rate they breed.”
“It’s not like they keep any kind of birth records,” Stray added.
“How about checking psych hospitals?” Gillian suggested quietly.
“All across the country?” Kill asked but Stray was already typing.
“If I set up some search parameters, I might get a hit,” he said.
“Might want to check prisons too,” Vice offered and ignored Stray and Jinx’s glares. “Come on, man. Be realistic. If she’s strong and exhibiting signs of violence like . . .” He jerked his head toward Gillian and made the universal sign for crazy by his ear.
“You’re aware that I can see and hear you, right, Vice?” she asked.
“Of course he is,” Stray grumbled.
“Part of his charm,” Killian tacked on.
“Least someone appreciates me,” Vice huffed.
“Do you have the key Walter gave you?” Stray asked and Vice nodded. “Think Cyd could track the scent?”
“This thing’s passed through many hands.”
“Recently, yours, Walter’s and the man who owns the storage facility. That’s three,” Stray said and Vice shot him the finger.
“Fine, worth a try, I guess. But let’s try New York, otherwise it’s a wild-goose chase,” Vice said.
“Maybe both twins were placed in New York,” Killian said hopefully.
“Why so close to us, though?” Vice mused.
“My parents moved to New York when I was five,” Gillian said suddenly. “Before that, we lived in Texas. From before I was born, my parents lived there.”
“Guess Cyd and I will get our cowboy boots on,” Vice said and Cyd did a loud yeehaw that turned into a howl. “We’ll work on that. Come on, Were, let’s go pack for our trip.”
“I’m totally hanging my head out the window the entire time,” Cyd said as they left the apartment.
“Do you think they got freaked out over the prophecy?” Stray asked Killian.
“It said brothers,” Jinx pointed out.
“I never said the pack was smart,” Killian snapped. “I guess they didn’t want to take any chances.”
“I wonder if they’re identical?” Stray mused and Gillian left them to their searches and speculation in favor of sitting with Rogue and Cain and finding out more about this twin bond they seemed to have.
“Even with Cyd gone, I can feel him. Hear him, actually, if need be,” Cain told her. “It’s been that way for as long as I can remember. Close your eyes. Concentrate.”
“Might be tough for her because of Jinx—that bond they have might interfere,” Rogue pointed out and she was glad he’d said that. Because every time she closed her eyes, she saw Jinx’s face. Not a bad thing by any means—just not what she was going for at the moment.
Still, she gamely tried everything they said. They even went up to the roof, because she felt more open there. And still, nothing.
“Just keep concentrating. Keep trying,” Cain told her.
“What if she doesn’t know she’s got a twin?”
“But what if she does?” Rogue asked.
“Do you always play devil’s advocate?” she asked and Rogue gave a wry smile and said, “Unfortunately, I have no choice.”
He left her and Cain together, and Cain sat next to her as they dangled their feet off the rooftop and looked out over the buildings.
“She’s out there somewhere,” she said, wrapping her arms around herself.
“And we’ll find her. Cyd’s a great tracker. If he can’t find it . . .”
“It doesn’t exist,” she finished and he sighed and nodded. “You know, the missing part . . . I thought it was just family. But even after meeting all of you, and Jinx, especially, I was so happy. But something still nagged at me. But she’s what I’m missing.”
“Sounds like it,” Cain said.
“Would I know if she was . . . dead?”
“Yes,” Cain said seriously.
“But if I’m immortal . . .”
“I don’t know if she is. I don’t know how these Dire abilities get parsed out. It would stand to reason she’d have an ability as well,” Cain said. “Maybe you could appeal to the Elders?”
“Jinx forbade me to do that. And I understand why—I want nothing to do with them.” She practically spat
