Betrayed (6 page)

That one touch brought it back again, brought back that moment when her whole world was his hands on her, his
mouth on hers.

"I'll talk to her for you," Anthony said, pulling Rae around to face him. "It'll be better. It'll be better if you leave and I-

"

"You want me to leave?" Rae asked, a buzzing starting up in her head.

Anthony released her elbow. "Yeah. You should leave."

I'm the only person on this bus who's alone, Rae realized. Well, except the driver. And how stupid is it that I'm
alone when I'm on my way to the Wilton Center, where very possibly one or more people want me dead? One
hundred percent stupid? Criminally stupid? You-should-live-in-a-rubber-room stupid?

Probably all three. But when Rae'd found the bus stop closest to Anthony's and studied the little maps, she'd
found a bus that would take her a block away from the center. The bus had shown up a few minutes later, and Rae
had climbed on. It had just seemed like the right thing to do. Although now that the Wilton Center stop was the next
one, Rae didn't feel quite so sure she wasn't being… stupid. Lethally stupid.

The bus wheezed to a stop, and Rae dutifully climbed off, leaving all the not-alone people behind. Some kind of
plan would be useful here, she thought.

The block to the center was way too short. For a really brilliant plan you needed a couple of miles at least. For even
the most basic plan you needed, well, more than a block. Clearly. Rae hesitated at the edge of the parking lot. Maybe
there's a back way in, she thought. If I could manage to get to Aiden's office, I could do a fingerprint sweep and A tall
woman hurried out of the main doors of the center. Rae turned around and walked back toward the bus stop.

Probably the woman was just someone who took a class at the center. But Rae didn't want anybody to see her near
the place. She kept walking until the woman drove past her and disappeared from sight. Disappeared from sight in
her car, Rae noted, feeling a cartoon-worthy light-bulb go off in her head.

All righty, then, Rae thought. I've achieved a plan. She turned around and returned to the center parking lot,
reached into her purse, pulled out a tissue, and wiped the wax off her fingertips. It always felt weird when she did
that. Like she was getting naked.

Okay, now which of these puppies is Aiden's? she wondered, scanning the cars in the lot. Probablypeople who
work here park close to the front. Rae made her way to the front of the lot, keeping to the edge farthest from the
main doors. The first car in the first row was-actually, Rae didn't know what it was. But it didn't matter what, it
mattered who-who owned the car. Rae lightly ran her fingers over the driver's-side door handle, getting some static
and/I have eleven points left/what did Suzi mean/points for wine/any points/pizza points/

Somehow I doubt this is Aiden's car, Rae thought, her stomach gurgling, even though she wasn't hungry. He didn't
seem like a guy who'd be on the Weight Watchers point system.

She moved on to the next car, one of those station wagons with the fake wood.
baby blanket
Badger needs
food/split nail/shower gift/

Too girlie for Aiden, she decided, fighting off the twinges of not-her jealousy that came with the shower gift
thought.

Rae took a quick scan of the center's windows to make sure no one was watching her amazing psychic girl show,
then, keeping low, hurried over to the Jeep parked next to the wagon and slid her fingertips over the door handle,
ignoring the static that she always got when there were old prints under newer ones.

record ATM withdrawal
mailing list/half a tank/Jenny/

Okay, wait, wait, wait, Rae thought. She ran her fingers over the door handle again, this time ignoring the thoughts
on top and focusing on the static. There were thoughts in there, and she'd caught the words two girls in one of
them. But that was it.

Rae tried again. All she got were the same two fuzzy words. But the feeling that came with them was much clearer.

It was fear, and it made sweat pop out under Rae's arms.

The two girls could be me and Yana. The thought could have come from the day we came to the center and Aiden
caught us in the stairwell, Rae thought. She knew she was making a big leap, that two girls and the feeling of fear
could have come from other situations. But maybe…

If you're going to do it, do it fast, Rae told herself. She tried the door. Unlocked. Quickly, trying to look casual, she
climbed inside. Confirmation. I need confirmation, she told herself. She popped open the glove compartment- /I
need/

–and scrounged around, letting the unfamiliar thoughts zip through her until she found the registration. And the
name on it was… Aiden Matthews.

So I know it's his car-now what? Rae thought. She couldn't follow him, not without a car of her own.

No, that wasn't quite true. She could follow him from the backseat. It was risky getting in a strange man's car and
letting him drive off who knew where. Risky was probably an understatement there. But still, it wasn't as risky as
wandering around not knowing who was after her, not knowing if her own body was going to destroy itself. And
something in her gut was telling her that Aiden wasn't responsible for her kidnapping. Because she hadn't picked
up anything about kidnapping, and she would have if he'd been the second man at the Motel 6. Probably she would
have.

I'm not going to be some lost little Rae lamb, she decided as she scrambled into the backseat. She curled up on
the floor of the car and covered herself-well, as much of herself as she could-with a jacket she'd found on the seat.

Now all she had to do was wait. When they were far enough away from the center, Rae'd make Aiden pull over and
talk to her. She gave a soft snort. Yeah, Rae Voight, nonathlete of the year, was going to make a full-grown man do
something. Right.

But Aiden probably isn't dangerous, she thought. Probably. Rae closed her eyes and tried not to think. Thinking
wouldn't help. There was nothing to plan. It all depended on Aiden and how he reacted when he found out she was
there.

"What's that look?" Yana asked Anthony, sounding annoyed.

Anthony shrugged. "It's my basic watching-TV look," he told her, even though he suspected what had really been
on his face was his basic thinking-about-Rae look.

"You were thinking about her, weren't you?" Yana demanded, nailing him. "Getting all worried about her."

Crap. Should he lie? Admit it? Tell her it was none of her business?

"Can we turn the channel to Pokйmon?" Anna asked.

Saved by the little sister, Anthony thought. Hanging out with Yana was fun, except when she got on one of her Rae
rants.

"No," Danny answered, even though Anna'd been talking to Anthony.

Take Danny to get a haircut, Anthony reminded himself. With all those blond curls getting so long, he was starting
to look like a girl, not something that made middle school life very pleasant for a guy.

"You don't get to decide," Anna told Danny. "Anthony gets to decide. He's the oldest."

"Pokйmon, Pokйmon, Pokйmon," Carl, the three-year-old, started to chant. He was about thirty seconds away
from a tantrum.

"Sorry," Anthony muttered to Yana.

"It's okay," she answered. Her blue eyes weren't narrowed in anger anymore, and her mouth was soft again, not
pressed into a hard line.

"Anthony, Carl and I can watch Pokйmon, right?" Anna asked. "Because that's two of us."

"Pokйmon," Carl wailed, his face getting red. He was going to blow any second.

"Zack doesn't want to watch Pokйmon," Danny told Anna, giving her a little pinch that Anthony knew he wasn't
supposed to have seen.

"Zack isn't even in here anymore," Anna shot back. "He's on the phone with his girlfriend." Zack has a girlfriend?

Oh, man, Anthony thought.

Carl pulled in a deep breath, and Anthony knew he was about to let out the supersonic scream. "How about if we
play a game?" Yana asked.

Anthony looked over at her, surprised. So did Danny, Anna, and Carl, who had downgraded to defcon 2.

"What kind of game?" Anna asked, squeezing onto the couch next to Yana.

"Ever hear of sardines?" Yana asked, shooting a playful smile at Anthony.

Anna wrinkled her nose. "Like the greasy little fish?" "That's where the name comes from," Yana answered,giving
Anna's wrinkled nose a light tap. "The game's like hide-and-seek, except in sardines, only one person hides and
everyone else looks for them."

The kids like her, Anthony realized. Who would have thought Yana'd be a kid person? Maybe she wishes she had
brothers and sisters, Anthony thought. Living alone with her dad and the bimbette of the hour doesn't sound like
any picnic.

"Then when you find the person who's hiding, you get in the hiding place with them," Yana continued. "At the end
of the game, one person is looking for everyone else. And everyone else is crammed into one place like…" Yana
paused, looking from Anna to Danny. "Sardines," Anna said happily.

"Sardines," Danny muttered, not managing to completely disguise his interest.

"I'll hide first," Yana said. "You guys all close your eyes and count to fifty." Anna, Danny, and Carl all obeyed. "You,
too, Anthony," Yana told him. Then she leaned close and whispered, "I'll be waiting for you in the bathroom."

I'll be waiting for you in the bathroom. Somehow, when Yana said those words like that, they sounded way more
interesting than they normally would.

Yana reached out and gently smoothed her hand over his eyes, encouraging him to close them. Hejoined in the
counting with his brothers and sisters, thinking about Yana in the bathtub, covered by bubbles. Not that that's what
he was going to find when he got to her, but still.

As soon as they reached fifty, Anna and Danny took off in different directions, Carl trotting after Danny. When
Anthony was sure the coast was clear, he headed down the hall to the bathroom. He pulled back the tropical-fish-patterned shower curtain and saw Yana sitting on the edge of the tub.

"Hey, Anthony," Anna called from what sounded like the kitchen. "Jesse's on the phone for you."

Yana scooted over to make room for Anthony between her and the wall. "You can call him back," she whispered.

"We don't want to ruin the game." She grinned. "The kids are really into it."

"Yeah. Uh-huh. The kids," Anthony answered as he plopped his butt down on the edge of the tub, squeezing into
the tiny space she'd left for him. His leg was pressed up against hers, and he could barely move without touching
her.

Which seemed fine with her. Almost immediately she laced her hands through his hair and pulled his mouth toward
hers. The sink faucet was dripping cold water, but he tuned out the sound, focusing entirely on kissing Yana. Except
that a tiny part of Anthony's brain wasthinking about Rae. And as he deepened the kiss, the thoughts of Rae
increased, taking up more of his brain.

Crap. What was wrong with him? Rae was supposed to be with Marcus. He knew that. And Yana was totally hot.

And into him. So what in the hell was wrong with him? Now he had a freakin' picture of Rae in his head, her face all
hurt because Yana wouldn't talk to her. "Yan," Anthony murmured against her lips. "Hmmm," she murmured back.

"I don't think Rae meant to mess up like that with your dad. Writing that letter, that was just her trying to make
things better for you."

Yana's body stiffened. "Do you really want to be talking about Rae right now?" she whispered, her breath tickling
his face. She didn't wait for him to answer. She just started kissing him again.

Rae was on a conveyor belt, being moved toward… she couldn't see what. Dark. And dangerous. She knew
whatever was in the darkness was something to be afraid of. She didn't know how she knew, but she did. The
conveyor belt gave a jerk, and Rae's eyes snapped open.

She'd dozed off. God, she'd actually dozed off waiting for Aiden to return to his car. And now thecar was moving.

She'd slept through him getting in, starting the car, and driving off. Rae slowly brought her wrist up in front of her
face and peered at her watch. 7:14. She'd been in the car for more than two hours. How much of that had been
driving time? Had she fallen asleep almost right away? Where was she?

Okay, okay, calm down, she ordered herself. Her breath was coming out in panicked wheezes, and it was almost
impossible to believe Aiden hadn't heard them. Okay, this is the plan, she thought. You'll count to a thousand, then
you'll tell Aiden you're here, in a quiet won't-cause-him-to-have-an-accident way. Rae's breath steadied as she
began to count in her head. When she reached a thousand, she kept going, just to be sure that they were far
enough away from the Wilton Center. At least that's what she told herself.

A thousand and four. A thousand and five. A thousand and six. Stop now, Rae told herself. You're never going to
get to a number where you feel safe, so just do it. Do it now.