Whatever she said, it worked. Lexi looked over at me and shivered, but Izzy wrapped a blanket around her and towed her out of the room. The three of us made our way down to the parking garage, the halls worryingly empty. I climbed into the back seat and laid down upon the leather. And wow, who had the money to afford a leather interior? Izzy must have gotten paid far more than the rest of us did.
"Hang on tight," Izzy ordered, the car turning over.
Lexi clung to the blanket and pulled it over her head. Izzy had to fasten her seatbelt for her. She slammed the door and I sank my claws into that expensive upholstery with a little extra relish. Isabella had stolen my future, for all she may have been under Allison's exposure at the time.
It felt good to take a little something of hers, too.
We peeled out into the night, leaving a dark, silent Alliance building in our wake.
Chapter 6
I may not have been close with Nishelle any longer, but I had to admit; she had one hell of a sense of taste.
Stretching out on her couch, I grabbed the remote with one hand and dug into the bowl of popcorn with the other. A billion channels and everything was on. I never got time off like this and, despite the circumstances, I was relishing it. I wiggled my sock-covered toes, tossed a piece of popcorn into the air, and caught it as the opening blare of some late-night talk show rerun kicked on.
My phone rang and I jerked. The popcorn smacked off my nose and went flying across the room. I tossed my handful back into the bowl, turned the television on mute, and sighed at the unknown name, unknown number callback information. Damn it.
"Edwin Noll," I answered.
There was a brief pause before he spoke up. "Mr. Noll, you're head of support and technology at the Yarborough center, aren't you?"
The world crashed in around me all at once. I knew that voice, having overheard it so many times during announcement videos. My stomach fell to my ankles and I did everything I could to remain calm. Logan Patterson was not a man to toy with.
"Yes, sir. That's me," I said, teeth chattering. So much for calm.
I could almost hear his nod. "We have three of your cohorts here at the Thomaston center, if you would be so kind as to attend it yourself. We are aware that you are in the area."
Subtext: This is not a request. We know where you are and we know how to get to you. We're giving you the option to give yourself up peacefully. Say no, and the boys with the battering ram will be there shortly.
"If you don't mind giving me enough time to grab a shower and a shave, I'll be there."
Logan chuckled. "One hour."
And then he hung up.
The phone flopped onto my chest and I closed my eyes, pinching my nose. "Okay, Edwin. You have an hour to get the fuck out of Thomaston or go save your friends. You're not the smashy sort. You're not even really good at it. The one time you participated in one of these superhero fuck-fests, you got your ass handed to you. Cassie and the others could save themselves. Nishelle could light the whole damn building on fire."
I had all the excuses in the world, but none of them made it right. Even as I struggled to find more ways to excuse myself, to tell myself that Cassie would want me to run, I knew I couldn't do it. So I did what anyone would do. I smashed a bunch of popcorn in my face and stomped off to the bathroom to shave. Not that I really needed it, but I felt better going there looking as presentable as possible.
Even butchers wash off sheep before they slaughter them.
The door smashed open just as I was finishing the last stroke of my razor. I sliced the fuck out of myself and grabbed a nearby towel, gritting my teeth and trying to stay as quiet as I could. There was a window and a 20-foot drop outside of it. If I had to, I'd slip out and hope I didn't break my stupid legs.
But there was no tromp of boots, no whispers that promised terror. Clutching that towel, I stuck my head out to look around the interior of the apartment.
"How the hell did you do that to yourself?"
Nate dropped his bag, dug into it, and produced a first aid kit in seconds. I stared at him, my head cocking to one side. "How'd you get here? And what the fuck are Izzy and Lexi doing here?"
"We came to help," Izzy said, tossing her bag on the couch. "Always nice to be wanted. Where's everyone else?"
"Does that translate to 'where's Adam and what have the others done with him'?" I asked, scathing.
Nate pulled my hands away and hissed in sympathy. "Stop grouching at her and keep your mouth shut. This needs to be disinfected before you catch your death. You do know that they make razors with guards on them, right?"
"I prefer a straight razor," I sniffed, then shut up and let Nate do his thing. You don't tell a medical professional that you know what you need against their expertise. The cut would have stopped bleeding eventually, but it was better to let him get his nerves out on me.
His hands trembled as he worked on me, even as Izzy rounded on me to bitch some
