Chapter 21
After eating most of the food, but also eating bites of the other plates, I paid and went outside. And man, was it COLD! I hurried out of Blind Joe's, grateful I'd looked at the weather forecast earlier and brought my umbrella. As I passed storefront windows, I saw crowds gathering in the bars.
I was a few blocks from the bus stop when the now familiar icy feeling kissed the back of my neck. I'd felt it the night I was sure someone looked in my bedroom window, at Delphic, and again right before Nudge walked out of Victoria's Secret wearing my jacket. I bent down, pretended to tie my shoelace, and cast a surreptitious glance around. The sidewalks on both sides of the street were empty.
I strolled down the street, and turned at the corner of the street, where I met a couple of smokers. One of the guys smiled at me, and I gave him my death glare, he stepped back when I passed. I kept my tough face on, until I reached the bus station.
I heard the rumble of the bus, and a moment later it rounded the corner, materializing out of the fog. It slowed against the curb and I climbed aboard, heading home. I was the only passenger.
Taking a seat several rows behind the driver, I slouched to keep out of sight. He jerked the lever to close the doors, and the bus roared down the street. I was on the verge of offering a sigh of relief when I received a text message from Nudge.
WHERE U AT?
PORTLAND, I TEXTED BACK. YOU?
ME 2. AT A PARTY WITH HUNTER AND DYLAN. LET'S MEET UP.
WHY ARE YOU IN PORTLAND?!
I didn't wait for her answer; I dialed her directly. Talking was faster. And this was urgent.
"Well? What say you?" Nudge asked. "Are you in the partying mood?"
"Does your mom know you're at a party in Portland with two guys?"
"You're starting to sound neurotic."
"I can't believe you came to Portland with Dylan!" I had a sinking thought. "Does he know you're on the phone with me?"
"So he can come kill you? No, sorry. He and Dylan ran to Kinghorn to pick up something, and I'm chilling solo. I could use a wingwoman. Hey!" Nudge shouted into the background. "Hands off, okay? O F F. Max? I'm not exactly in the greatest area. Time is of the essence."
"Where are you?"
"Hang on…okay, the building across the street says one seven two seven. The street is Highsmith, I'm pretty sure."
"I'll be there as soon as I can. But I'm not staying. I'm going home, and you're coming with me. Stop the bus!" I called to the driver.
He applied the brakes, and I was thrown against the seat in front of me.
"Can you tell me which way to Highsmith?" I asked him once I'd made it to the top of the aisle.
He pointed out the windows paneling the right side of the bus. "West of here. You planning to go on foot?" He surveyed me up and down. "'Cause I should warn you, it's a rough neighborhood."
"Rough is my middle name," I said and jumped off. I had to walk only a few blocks before I knew the bus driver had been right to warn me. The scenery changed drastically. The quaint storefronts were replaced by buildings spray painted with gang graffiti.
The windows were dark, barred up with iron. The sidewalks were desolate paths stretching into the fog. I saw a woman smoking. I walked toward her to ask for help.
"Yeah sweetheart?" asked the black haired woman.
"Can you tell me how much farther to Highsmith Street?"
She smiled.
"A bus driver pointed me in this direction," I said with confidence.
"He told you Highsmith is this way?" she said, sounding irritated. "I know the way to Highsmith, and this ain't it."
I waited, but she didn't elaborate. "Do you think you could give me directions?" I asked.
"I got directions." She tapped her head with a finger.
"Which way is Highsmith?" I encouraged.
"But I can't tell you for free," she said in a chiding tone. "That's gonna cost you. A girl has to make a living. Nobody ever tell you ain't nothing in life free?"
"I don't have any money." Not much, anyway. Only enough for a bus fare home.
"Give me your coat."
I hesitated. I unzipped my coat and gave it to her. Nudge so owes me. Good thing I have a black long sleeve shirt. My breath came out like smoke. I hugged myself and stamped my feet, conserving body heat. "Can you please tell me the way to Highsmith now?"
"You want the long way, or the short way?"
"Sh- short," I chattered.
"That's gonna cost you too. Short way's got an additional fee attached. Give me your gloves." I gave her my leather on the outside and fuzzy on the inside gloves.
"See that alley?" she said, pointing behind me. I turned. The alley was a half block back. "You take it, you come out on Highsmith on the other side."
"That's it?" I said incredulously. "One block over?"
"Good news is, you got a short walk. Bad news is, ain't no walk feel short in this weather." I thanked her and walked away into the alley.
The alley was dark and cluttered with trash bins, water stained cardboard boxes, and an unrecognizable hump that may have been a discarded water heater. Then again, it just as easily could have been a rug with a body rolled inside. A high chain link fence spanned the alley halfway down. I could hardly climb a four foot fence on a good day, let alone a ten foot one. Brick buildings flanked me on both sides. All the windows were greased over and barred.
Stepping over crates and sacks of trash, I picked my way down the alley. Broken glass crunched beneath my shoes. A flash of white darted between my legs, stealing my breath. A cat. Just a cat, vanishing into the darkness ahead.
I reached for my pocket to text Nudge, intending to tell her I was close and to watch for me, when I remembered I'd left my cell phone in my coat pocket. Nice going, I thought. What are the chances the bag lady will give you back your phone? Precisely—slim to none.
I decided it was worth a try, and as I turned around, a sleek black sedan sped past the opening to the alley. With a sudden glow of red, the brake lights lit up.
For reasons I couldn't explain beyond intuition, I drew into the shadows.
A car door opened and the crackle of gunfire broke out. Two shots. The car door slammed and the black sedan screeched away. I could hear my heart hammering in my chest, and it blended with the sound of running feet. I realized a moment later that they were my feet, and I was running to the mouth of the alley. I rounded the corner and came up short.
The smoking lady's body was in a heap on the sidewalk.
I rushed over and fell on my knees beside her. "Are you okay?" I said frantically, rolling her over. Her mouth was agape, her raisin eyes hollow. Dark liquid flowered through the quilted coat I'd been wearing three minutes ago.
I felt the urge to jump back but forced myself to reach inside the coat pockets. I needed to call for help, but my cell phone wasn't there.
There was a phone booth on the corner across the street. I ran to it and dialed 911. While I waited for the operator to pick up, I glanced back at the lady's body, and that's when I felt cold adrenaline shoot through me. The body was gone.
With a shaky hand, I hung up. The sound of approaching footsteps tapped in my ears, but whether they were near or far, I couldn't tell.
Clip, clip, clip.
He's here, I thought. The man in the ski mask.
I shoved a few coins into the phone and gripped the receiver with both hands. I tried to remember Fang's cellphone number. Squeezing my eyes shut, I visualized the seven numbers he'd written in red ink on my hand the first day we met. Before I could second guess my memory, I dialed the numbers.
"Hello?"
I smiled at the sound of his deep voice. I heard the sound of pool balls hit each other. He's at Bo's.
"It's me," I muttered.
"Max?" he gasped. "I'm in P- Portland. On the corner of Hempshire and Nantucket. Can you pick me up? It's urgent."
My back was against the building in the alley, in the shadows. I think Fang could see me, since a purple strand of hair was visible, when I heard a car close. I froze, hoping it was the van, I should back away, but I froze, and kept my eyes closed.
"Max!" he whispered/hissed. I opened my eyes and found him in front of me, taking his jacket off. He wrapped it around me, and pulled me to his chest, heat radiating off him. My face was buried in his chest. Fang buried his face in the crook of my neck, and pulled away after ten seconds. My heart picked up speed. Fang kissed my hair, making me blush and I am not complaining this time, since it brought heat to my face. Fang stroked my cheek, before pulling me into his Jeep.
"I think I'm going to be sick," I said. The world tilted, including Fang. "I need my iron pills."
"Shh," he said, holding me against him. "It's going to be all right. I'm here now."
I managed a little nod.
"Let's get you home," he said. I nodded again. Fang cranked up the heat.
While Fang drove the Jeep around the corner, I listened to my chattering teeth echo around inside my head. I'd never been this frightened in my life. Seeing the dead woman conjured up thoughts of my dad. My vision was tinged with red, and hard as I tried, I couldn't flush out the image of blood.
"Were you in the middle of a pool game?" I asked, remembering the sound of billiard balls colliding in the background during our brief phone conversation.
"I was winning a condo."
"A condo?"
"One of those swank ones on the lake. I would have hated the place. This is Highsmith. Do you have an address?"
"I can't remember it," I said, sitting up taller to get a better look out the windows. All of the buildings looked abandoned. There was no trace of a party. There was no trace of life, period.
"Do you have your cell?" I asked Fang.
He slid a Blackberry out of his pocket. "Battery's low. I don't know if it will make a call."
I texted Nudge. WHERE ARE YOU?!
CHANGE OF PLANS, she texted back. GUESS H AND D COULDN'T FIND WHAT THEY WERE LOOKING 4. WE'RE GOING HOME.
The screen drained to black.
"It died," I told Fang. "Do you have the charger?"
"Not on me."
"Nudge's going back to Coldwater. Do you think you could drop me off at her house?"
Minutes later we were on the coastal highway, driving right along a cliff just above the ocean. I'd been this way before, and when the sun was out, the water was slate blue with patches of dark green where the water reflected the evergreens. It was night, and the ocean was smooth black poison.
"Are you going to tell me what happened?" Fang asked. Should I tell him? I trust him yeah, and it's the least I could do, since he saved me from dying in the cold.
"I…I wanted to ask for directions to where Nudge was. I asked a woman for help, she gave me directions, in exchange for my coat. You can imagine what happened there," I breathed out the last part.
"Maximum Ride, what the hell were you doing here?" he asked.
"Meeting Nudge at a party," I mumbled.
We were halfway between Portland and Coldwater, on a stretch of lush and unpopulated highway, when steam spewed suddenly from the hood of the Jeep. Patch braked, easing the Jeep to the roadside.
"Hang on," he said, swinging out. Lifting the hood of the Jeep, he disappeared out of sight.
A minute later he dropped the hood back in place. Brushing his hands on his pants, he came around to my window, gesturing for me to lower it.
"Bad news," he said. "It's the engine."
I tried to look informed and intelligent, but I had a feeling my expression just looked blank.
Fang raised an eyebrow and said, "May it rest in peace."
"It won't move?"
"Not unless we push it."
Of all the cars, he had to win the lemon. I got off.
"What are you doing?"
"My dad thought me a few things on how to fix cars," I said. I examined the engine. Fang stood beside me, examining it. I noticed the engine was different than what I'm used to, but I examined it. The charge pipe, the distributer's wires and the intake pipe were all broken. The wires were tangled, and the pipes were broken in two.
"I can't fix it," I sighed. I looked over at Fang, who studied me intently.
"Where's your cell?" Fang asked.
"I lost it."
"I'm guessing inside your coat?"
"Bingo, sherlock" he smiled.
He scouted the horizon. "Two choices. We can flag down a ride, or we can walk to the next exit and find a phone."
"I think there's a motel at the next exit. I'll go c -c -call a cab," I said, my teeth chattering harder. "Y -y-you wait here with the Jeep."
He cracked a slight smile, but it didn't look amused. "I'm not letting you out of my sight. You're looking a little deranged, love. We'll go together."
Crossing my arms, I stood up to him. In tennis shoes, my eyes came level with his shoulders. I was forced to tilt my neck back to meet his eyes. "I'm not going anywhere near a motel with you." Best to sound firm so I was less likely to change my mind.
"You think the two of us and a slummy motel make for a dangerous combination?"
Yes, actually.
Fang leaned back against the Jeep. "We can sit here and argue this." He squinted up at the riotous sky.
"But this storm is about to catch its second wind."
As if Mother Nature wanted her say in the verdict, the sky opened and a thick concoction of rain and sleet hailed down.
I sent Fang my coldest look, then blew out an angry sigh.
As usual, he had a point.
Asshole, I thought.