Blindsided (15 page)

“Is it Spud?”

He nods, reading the message intently.

“Can I see?”

He looks hesitant, but then shows me the screen.
Sorry, babe. Things are bad here. I have to take out this chick first.

I frown, not fully understanding the context. “What does that mean?”

“It means she can’t help you like I asked. Gotta admit I kinda hoped she’d say yes, because then maybe I’d get to see her. Last time was the hack on Dad.” He sighs, and it sounds so sad I can’t help but hug him. He squeezes my arm. “Do I look as pathetic as I feel?”

“No,” I say, imagining how I might feel if I couldn’t see Seth for three months. “So does that mean there’s no way she can help? Because if we’re going on the offensive Spud would be a huge asset.”

He shrugs. “I don’t really know. She’s had to take on a lot of extra work lately, which is probably my fault.”

This surprises me. “Why would it be your fault?”

“Think about it, Fi.” His tone is sharp. “Dad knows she’s tied to me.”

“Oh.” A pit forms in my stomach. If Spud was on my Dad’s hit list before, now she must be at number one. She ruined his plans, helped us get out, and is probably paying the price. Which means that whatever reason she can’t come now is likely my fault.

“Not tonight,” Seth says when I insist we have to get to the cave as soon as possible. He sits at my bedside, where I’ve slept most of the past three days when I’m not eating. “You’re still weak, and Brady really tore the place up. It’ll be more like a hike than a run.”

“What if they find it?” I eat the ham sandwich he brought me. “Bea said it sounded like the Army was expanding its search, since they aren’t finding what they want at the factory.”

While I recover, my friends use their skills to cull information. Hector overhears that Juan’s men are planning to break into the factory grounds. Carlos sneaks around at night, using his vision to get the locations of Juan’s patrol guys. The Pack also has the school covered, watching everything the Army does and relaying anything they hear. Graham surveys the town from above, Mom flirts thugs into telling secrets at the bowling alley, and Miles trawls the internet with his newfound hacking skills thanks to his girlfriend.

They’re pretty much as awesome as I knew they’d be.

“At least one more day.” Seth puts his hand on my leg where Tagawa ripped into it. “That cut was pretty bad.”

“Brady can carry me,” I offer. “Or Graham can fly me.”

He shoots me a look. “Graham is
not
coming.”

I frown. “He put his ass on the line for me, Seth. Kidnapped a girl, stormed the school by himself, and he got me out. What more does he need to do to gain your trust?”

“I don’t know.” He turns away, but I can still see anger on his face. “Maybe it’s easier for you because he’s your brother, and because you never saw exactly how much he hurt you when he got violent. I can’t forget that, no matter how much I try. Someone who treated you like that will always be a threat to me.”

“Fair enough, I guess.” I take his hand and pull, the memory of lying in his bed begging to be recreated. “C’mere.”

He smiles widely. “If you say so.”

Our arms wrap around each other, and I breathe out some of the stress I’ve been holding since officially forming a vigilante group. “I suppose I like to think people can change—it gives me hope for myself.”

Seth sighs. “Maybe people can change, but it doesn’t hurt to be careful.”

“You can be careful for me.” I kiss his cheek. “How about I don’t bring up Graham helping as long as we get the sample tonight?”

He glares at me. “You drive me crazy, you know that? In pretty much every sense of the phrase.”

“Is it a deal?” I bite my lip, knowing how much he likes when I do that. “Please?”

“Only if…” He leans in. I’m more than ready for an extended make-out session, but right before our lips meet he pulls back, wincing. Then he covers his eyes and starts swearing like a sailor. My mind immediately goes to him not being able to control his vision.

“Is it happening again?” My voice betrays my panic.

“Yeah.” He pulls himself up, blinking rapidly. “It’s been acting up ever since, but not as bad as that first time.”

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” I try to remain calm. But if this has happened more than once since he pushed his ability too far, that’s not good.

“You weren’t here, remember? And then…what the hell?” He squints as if staring at something he can’t make sense of.

“What?” I ask, looking at my desk because he is.

Seth shakes his head, the episode seeming to have gone as quickly as it came. He stands and reaches behind my desk for reasons I cannot guess. When he holds his hand up, there’s a black dot on his pointer finger. He looks at it closely, and then to me. “Tell me this isn’t what I think it is.”

I get up and stare at the little device. It’s a bug. My room’s been bugged for who knows how long. I pick it off his finger and rush down the stairs to the stove. Turning on the gas, I throw it into the flame and it sparks as it dies. Seth’s look of terror must mimic my own, and I grab a pen and notepad from the counter.

Look for more
,
I write.

He nods, and I follow him through the house as he peels back layers with his eyes. One in the kitchen and living room. Another in Mom’s room. One in the guest room. I burn them all before we talk again.

“We have to find out who planted those,” I say quietly, still fearing listening ears. I feel sick, thinking that someone could know not only my secrets, but Seth’s and the Navarros’ and my mother’s. “If this was Juan’s doing…”

“The Phantom would have already taken you out if he heard the stuff we’ve said,” Seth says. “Same with the Army. They’d know about the cave and wouldn’t have bothered keeping you.”

My eyes narrow. “What are you saying?”

“Maybe we have a mole.” He looks down, and I get the feeling I know exactly who he suspects.

“You think it’s Graham, don’t you?”

“Think about it, Fi.” He puts his hand over his mouth, like he doesn’t want to continue. “Why haven’t we seen your dad’s people here yet? It doesn’t make sense, unless he’s already getting all the information he needs by listening in on everything you say.”

“No…” I can see Seth’s logic. Graham could be a plant. My dad could be playing along with us “being out of the syndicate” because it’s useful to him to have us here. But it can’t be. “My dad shot Graham—that wasn’t just for show! If we’d gone back to Vegas, I have no doubt Graham would be dead right now. You saw how clearly my dad viewed him as a traitor. There has to be some other explanation.”

“Like what? You don’t think someone in The Pack would do this, do you?”

“Of course not!” I put my hands over my face, trying to calm down. Then I remember something. Snapping my fingers, I say, “The Phantom said Juan’s been keeping tabs on us for a couple months! It has to be a spy, not a mole.”

Seth seems skeptical. “But then they’d have to know where the cave was, or at least that there was a cave. Juan’s guys aren’t looking out in the desert—they’re letting the Army do the heavy lifting and spying on them.”

“And us.”

“Look, I know he’s your brother and you guys are finally starting to see eye to eye—”

“I don’t want to hear it!” I put my hands in the air, my temper about to go off. “If Graham wanted to spy on us he could have stayed
here
, but he went to Tucson with Miles. I suppose you think that was to throw us off the trail?”

He gives me a “duh” look.

I let out a frustrated grunt. “Can we think about the last time I decided not to trust Graham? You got shot!”

“That doesn’t mean he has good intentions now!”

The doorbell rings before I can get out my next defensive point, and I trudge for it despite the pain in my leg. When I pull it open, Brady and Bea stand there with a brown box. They give me a surprised look.

“Whoa, I can feel your angry face,” Brady says.

Bea laughs. “Definitely.”

I take a deep breath, wishing I could prove them wrong. “What’s in the box?”

“A major score, that’s what.” Brady steps inside and heads for the kitchen table, Bea following behind.

I shut the door and come over. Seth’s already pulling out test tubes, beakers, and chemicals that look like materials we’ll need to test the cave water. “Sweet. How’d you get this stuff?”

“We had to take turns sneaking into one of the school science labs,” Bea explains. “One is on serious lock down, but the other two still have classes going on. Carlos took one thing during biology, I took another during chemistry, and so on and so forth. Now all we need is a sample of the water.”

“Perfect.” I shoot a glare at Seth, who gives it right back. “We’ll get it tonight. Brady, you’re taking me even if Seth refuses to ‘let me’ go. He can look for more bugs at your house and the Navarros’ place.”

“What?” Bea and Brady say at the same time.

Seth puts his hand on the table, eyes all fire. “Oh, I’m coming. Who else will make sure you don’t get hurt?”

I grit my teeth. Bea and Brady step away from the table slowly. Seth doesn’t back down one millimeter. I hate that it kind of makes me want to jump him. “Fine.”

Chapter 21

“So Graham broke into the Navarros’ and planted all those, too, huh?” I say to Seth as we begin our trek into the desert. Brady really did do a number on the landscape. What was once fairly flat now looks more like rolling hills.

“It’s not impossible,” Seth grumbles. “He was in Madison last Friday.”

“He never went in the back rooms.”

“That you know of.”

I scowl at him. “And how did he get into your house again?”

Seth doesn’t answer because we found five bugs in his place. He knows chances are low that Graham could have bugged all three of our houses. Juan spying on us makes a lot more sense, even if they aren’t using the information they should have got.

It’s so dark tonight that we probably should have flashlights, but it’s too risky. So we slowly make our way through the new landscape, trying to be as quiet as possible. There are more signs of others out here than I’d like to see—tire tracks here, dig sites there, and even lights far to the right. My cut leg trembles as I attempt to climb a four-foot cliff made by Brady’s fists. It gives out on me, and I land in Seth’s arms.

“Told you to take another day off,” he says. “You’re pushing yourself too hard.”

“You’re one to talk.” I wiggle away from him, even though I know I’m being mean. But after all we’ve been through, how much we’ve changed to be together, I thought he’d have more faith in my family than he does. “Brady, I’m sorry, but I think you’re gonna have to help me.”

“Here.” Brady holds out his hand from where he stands on top of the small cliff. I take it, and he lifts me like he’s lifting a stuffed animal. He carries me the rest of the way. The trip goes much faster.

When we get to the giant boulder hiding the cave, my heart begins to flutter with all the memories I have of this place. Brady pushes the rock aside, and I can’t help but remember the first time I watched him do that. It was a night I thought my dad was coming for me, one filled with fear and yet hope, too.My first steps into the tunnel are shaky, and a hand I know is Seth’s finds mine. Part of me wants to pull away, but how can I when memories of us together in the water swirl in the cool air? I can’t count how many times he’s kissed me here. There isn’t a spot in the world that means more to me than this one.

The blue light grows brighter as we near the pools, and I hate how glaringly obvious it is that this is what everyone’s looking for. This is merinite. I want to pretend I don’t know just a little longer. As Seth pulls test tubes from his backpack, I say, “Maybe we should just destroy it now, even if it’s risky.”

Both boys look at me, horrified. Brady especially. “It might not be merinite. We don’t know for sure. We’ve never been hurt by swimming in it.”

I fold my arms, knowing a glare won’t mean anything to him. “Do you really believe that?”

“Yes…” He looks away, an awful pout on his face. “It’s just that this place has been my hideout since I was a kid, since my father told me what I did to my mother. I ran out after that and planned on never coming back—that’s when I found this place. It made me feel better, and I was going to live here forever.”

“Except I followed your divot trail,” Seth says, a small laugh escaping. “There was no way I was about to let you go all Peter Pan out in the desert.”

Brady tries not to, but one side of his mouth curls, making his dimple show. “I offered to let you stay with me.”

“Then I reminded you of the merits of air-conditioning.” Seth dips one of the test tubes into a pool. “And you called me a bed-wetting pansy.”

“That’s right!” Brady sits next to Seth and puts his hand on his brother’s shoulder. Now that I’m around them so much, I sometimes forget all they had for a long time was each other. “I stand by that statement.”

“Psh.” Seth tries to shove Brady, but it doesn’t work very well. “You came running back the second you needed a toilet to—”