“That’s the very thing that makes people like you and Grace so special. And now that Grace isn’t an option,” Cat said, “it only makes sense that Landers would look for someone else with the same ability.”
“If he didn’t know about you before, he will soon. He’ll know you’re in town, close by. You aren’t safe anymore. Not if he has the files,” Michael said deliberately. “He has access to everything: your records, personal information. Your family’s address. My guess is it’s only a matter of time before he comes for you.”
I fought nausea as terror washed over me. “Oh, no, Michael. Thomas and Dru … the baby.”
My eyes landed on the phone hanging on the wall, and I almost knocked my chair over in my haste to get to it, grabbing it off the hook in a panic. It was the old-fashioned rotary type, the receiver attached by a long spiral cord twisted up in knots.
“You have access to more technology than NASA, and this is your phone?” I asked Michael, shaking the receiver at him. Cat and Kaleb disappeared from the kitchen, the door swinging shut behind them.
“It’s a secure line, so it …” He’d started to answer, but the expression on my face stopped him. I forced myself to concentrate and managed to put the right finger in the right holes as I dialed the number.
One thought pounded against the sides of my brain. If Landers killed Liam to take over the Hourglass, who would he be willing to hurt to get to me and my ability to travel to the past?
I called Thomas on his cell. The clanking sound of machinery muffled his voice. “Em, hold on and let me go somewhere quiet.”
I willed him to hurry and tried to figure out how to tell him that a lunatic was on the loose, and thanks to my freaky ability my whole family had big targets painted on their backs. And wombs. Womb.
“What’s up?”
“Do you trust me?”
He answered cautiously. “In what capacity?”
I twisted the phone cord in my fingers. “The other day at the restaurant, you said I was almost an adult and you couldn’t really tell me what to do anymore.”
“I don’t like where this is going.”
“For reasons I don’t have time to explain, you and Dru need to go somewhere safe. A place where no one can find you. Just for a couple of days, until you hear from me or Michael.” Silence on his end of the phone line. “Thomas?”
“I’m absorbing.”
“We don’t have time—”
“You may not,” he said, sounding exactly like our father would have, “but I’m not making one move until you give me an explanation.”
“The man believed to have killed Liam … Michael thinks he could have a ‘special interest’ in someone with my ability. And now he knows about me. What I can do. Where I live.”
“Go home. I’ll meet you there. We’ll all go somewhere safe together.”
“If I go home, I can’t save Liam. Michael believes that’s the only way we can stop this guy.”
“Understand this,” Thomas said, exchanging his parental tone for a panicked one. “You are just as precious to me as Dru and our baby. I get your motivation, but—”
“Thomas,” I cut him off, and considered asking Michael to leave the room so I could be completely honest with my brother. Instead I turned away and lowered my voice. “My motivation isn’t simply about saving a life or a family. The thing is … I belong here. I’ve found my place in the world. If I walk away now, it will be for good, and I can’t do that.”
“Is Michael with you?” Thomas asked. “Are you somewhere safe?”
“Yes.” As safe as I could be. “He’s right here.”
“Put him on.”
He listened to my brother with intense concentration, reaching out to take my hand halfway through the lecture. I was glad the phone wasn’t attached to a power source.
“Yes, sir. Whatever it takes. To save time, if you and Dru head for the airport we’ll make the arrangements,” Michael said. “A guy named Dune will give you a call.” He listened for another minute. “You got it. Here she is.”
“Everything in me screams that I shouldn’t let you do this,” he said.
“Everything in me screams that you should.”
“I know.” A mix of anxiety and reservation strained his voice. “I love you. Be safe.”
“I love you back, and I will.”
I handed Michael the phone, and he placed it on the receiver.
“You know what we have to do,” I said. Nothing like a sociopath on your tail to throw things into a clear perspective. “We have to go get Liam. Now.”
“You’re not ready. We can’t risk—”
“We can’t risk Landers finding me before we go back to save Liam. We can’t risk Dru and Thomas and their baby.” I wrapped my arms around myself for comfort. “We can’t risk lots of things.”
Michael pushed the heels of his hands against his forehead. “It was so stupid to leave information about you where Landers could find it.”
“There’s nothing we can do about it now.”
“If we’re successful in saving Liam, he can make it all right again.” He lowered his arms. “We just have to protect everyone in the meantime.”
“What about Lily?” I asked. “Would he target her?”
“He could target anyone to get to you. Do you want her to come here?”
I did, but I didn’t think she’d go for it. “No. I’ll call her.”
“I’ll go find Dune. Get him started on the travel arrangements for Thomas and Dru.”
I dialed Lily’s number.
“Lily, it’s me. Something has happened, and I need you to do a couple of things.”
“Tell me what you need, sugar.” Leave it to Lily to stay cool and not ask questions. She was my best friend for a reason.
“The biggest thing is that you look out for yourself. This would be a good time to keep the baseball bat that lives by the back door pretty close to wherever you are.”
She let go with a string of curse words.
“And if anyone asks, you don’t know where Michael and I are.”
There was a moment of silence on the other end. “I don’t know where you are.”
“It needs to stay that way. No matter what happens.” I was terrified of what might be in the files, not just about me, but about my best friend. “Do you understand me?”
She was silent for a beat. “I understand.”
I didn’t let the tears fall until I’d hung up the phone.
Chapter 41
Michael sat at the kitchen table, laptop open, poring over newspaper articles and college records from six months ago. He had set up a timetable and was trying to find any holes. Dune held another laptop on his knees and searched traffic and accident reports to make sure we’d have clear roadways. Nate leaned against the kitchen counter, holding up a map of Ivy Springs for Dune.
I held an extra copy of the timetable, and tried to hold down the vomit.
Cat was as nervous as a mom sending her baby off to kindergarten. Possibly more, which was appropriate, considering what we were doing was way more dangerous.
