At last, Henry removed himself from the snow mat near the front door and sidled hesitantly into the living room to join the conversation. “Wes might be right,” he said, rounding the coffee table to sit next to his wife. “But that doesn’t change what has to happen next. The Bureau will back me up, Natasha. This has been a long time coming, and who knows what could happen in court, but we’ll get through this together.”
“No, no, no,” said Natasha. She pushed Henry’s hands away as though she couldn’t stand the contact. “You don’t understand. No one puts the Black Raptor Society down. It’s not possible. If you turn in Catherine Flynn, she will find a way to murder all of us.”
“We’ve gotten this far,” I said. “Besides, I’m not the only one in this room to have evaded the Raptors on multiple occasions. This is the closest anyone has ever been to overthrowing the society and this is the most backup we’ve ever had. You didn’t hear Flynn’s niece talking about it. Flynn’s nervous. She knows we’re closing in on her.”
Natasha remained silent, tucking her feet beneath her and pulling the blanket up to her chin as if it would act as a shield from the Raptors’ influence. I pressed on.
“Think about what life would be like if we were rid of the Raptors,” I said quietly. “You could stop running. You and I could get to know each other again. We wouldn’t have to worry about breaking into secret clubhouses or stealing private property or nearly being blown up.”
“Blown up?” she said, her voice cracking. She turned on another lamp, squinting at us through the dusty light. Wes looked the worst, but I knew that Henry and I weren’t exactly winning trophies for cleanliness either. Natasha’s eyes widened.
“It doesn’t matter. We’re safe now,” I said, patting her blanketed shoulder. “My point is that if we can put Catherine Flynn in jail, there won’t be any more of this crap. Isn’t that what you want? To live a normal life?”
Natasha sniffed. Henry handed her a tissue from the side table, which she used to blot her nose. “I’ve been dreaming of a normal life for over thirty years.”
“This is your chance at one,” I said. “Henry is going to put word in with the Bureau, and then the Raptors will be as good as finished. Right, Henry?”
“Right,” he said gruffly. He made a second attempt to hug his wife. This time, she gave in, resting her head against his broad chest. “For now, though, I think it’s best if everyone got some sleep. It’s safe to say we’ve all been deprived of a good eight hours these past few nights.”
“Weeks,” corrected Wes.
“Months,” I jumped in.
“The point is we could all use some shut-eye,” said Henry, squeezing Natasha tightly. “Let’s regroup in the morning.”
Together, we headed upstairs, splitting up in the main hallway. Natasha and Henry said goodnight, disappearing into the master bedroom, while Wes and I made ourselves comfortable in the spare room. We showered first, rinsing off the reminders of what had occurred that evening, then fell into bed. I snuggled up to Wes, inhaling the scent of the cedarwood body wash that still lingered on his skin, and wrapped an arm around his waist. I sighed contently, and within a minute, I fell asleep.
My comfort didn’t last long. Wes and I woke with a start as the bedroom door flew open, banging up against the wall. Henry careened into our room, and downstairs, the dogs started barking at the noise.
“Get up!” ordered Henry, yanking the duvet off of our bed. “We have to go.”
“What the hell, Henry?” demanded Wes.
With the sudden absence of our source of warmth, I shivered in my pajamas. Wes slipped out of the sweater that he had fallen asleep in and offered it to me. I pulled it over my head, grateful for his lingering body heat. “Henry, what’s happening?”
“Natasha’s gone,” Henry announced. His hair stood straight up. He looked as though he’d shoved his fingers in an electrical socket. “So is Holden Hastings.”
“What about the charter?” I asked, trying to swallow the anxiety rising in my throat.
Henry gave me a look. “They took it with them.”
In the morning, Lauren woke Olivia, who had been gently snoring in the twin bed across the small dormitory room. They got dressed for the Raptor meeting in comfortable silence, trading places at the shared vanity to wash up. When they were ready, they ventured across the dormitory lawn toward Olivia’s car, pausing only to take in the sight at the Waverly library.
“Wow,” said Olivia. She tucked her hands into her coat pockets as she tilted her head up to look at the full extent of the damage.
“Yup,” agreed Lauren.
A barrier of blockades and caution tape prevented students from straying too close to the library. Once the stained glass dome had been blown to pieces, the building had folded in on itself. The bricks were charred and black, spilling outward to reveal the ravaged insides of the library. Scorched bookshelves lay like dominos, crushed by the ceiling’s wooden support beams. Broken glass sparkled in the sun, causing Olivia and Lauren to shield their eyes.
“I wonder how long it will take to rebuild,” said Olivia.
“I wonder if anything in the clubhouse survived.”
“Let’s go find out.”
Since there was no longer a clubhouse to hold society meetings in, Flynn had arranged for the Raptors to meet at a location off campus. Olivia drove, following the directions on her phone’s GPS, but when they arrived at the given address, parking on the curb, Lauren stared out the passenger
