Framed (25 page)

“Creepy,” he said, looking a tad paler than he just had. “No wonder she is the way she is now.”

“Yeah, and why she hates us so much.”

“Yep. That is a
lot
clearer now,” he said, nodding slowly. “Isn’t it a little suspicious that she would send Peyta over tonight, given how much she distrusts us?”

“Exactly! I told Peyta her mother and I made up just to cover things on that end, but that sure as hell wasn't true. Ronnie
tolerates
me now. It's an upgrade, but it's a long way from like.”

“So you think she's sending her over here to ensure her safety?” he asked, leaning forward, his full attention on me. “But that's why she's been trying to keep her away. She thinks she's in danger just being around us.”

“Right, but not if there's some crazy rogue wolf out there. Who would you want surrounding your child in that scenario? I'd sure as hell pick us.”

“Maybe,” he mumbled, scratching his head. “I see your point, but, if she sees us as capable of keeping Peyta safe, why wouldn't she see us as capable of taking this dickhead down? Why wouldn't she want our
help
?”

“I don't know, Cooper. It doesn't make any sense to me either. Ronnie is stubborn, but not
suicidal
. She must think the Underground can handle it, even if she's wrong.”

“I hope she knows what she's doing,” he said, getting up to go make the popcorn. “You'd better go get Peyta now. I don't want her alone any longer than she needs to be. This whole thing is sketchy as hell, and I've got a bad feeling about all of it.”

“I do too, Coop,” I said, collecting my purse and keys. I slipped on my shoes and opened the door to leave.

“Ruby,” Cooper called from the kitchen as I started to leave, “why do you suppose Ronnie thinks she can find this guy? If the PC hasn't been able to track him down for years, why does she think she can do any better?”

“I don't know, Coop,” I said softly. “That point has been gnawing at me too. We're missing something here, that's for sure. Hopefully we figure it out before someone gets hurt.”

“Be careful, Ruby,” he said with softened, saddened eyes. “I don't want that person to be you.”

I smiled gently in response.

“Me either, Coop. I'll see you soon.”

“Try to make that in one piece, please?”

“I always do.”

I made my way quickly down to the car. My phone was vibrating somewhere in my hobo purse, but I couldn't find where I'd thrown it in the vast, open cavity. Sighing in frustration, I unlocked the car and got in. I figured if it was important enough, they'd leave a message.

Once I pulled out of my spot, I wove through the downtown streets until I made my way out of town, heading to Ronnie's. I heard the phone vibrating again, but I wanted to wait until I was done maneuvering through Portsmouth proper before trying to retrieve it from the depths of my purse. I needed to consider smaller accessories.

Just outside of downtown, I bent over the console, my seatbelt fighting me as I rummaged around until I finally located my Blackberry. Pressing a button to illuminate the screen, I saw that I had five missed calls.

“Oh shit!” I squeaked in the silence of my car. “Please don't be Peyta. Please don't be Peyta..."

I went to my voicemail and listened to four increasingly concerned messages—all were from Sean. The fifth was him distraught and shouting, so I deleted that one without finishing it. For once, he had called from an actual phone that displayed its number. I returned his call immediately. Something had him good and riled up, and though I knew I didn't want to know what it was I needed to.

There was no answer.

I hung up and looked at the phone curiously, wondering if I'd misdialed or hit the wrong button. My old phone had been possessed by technology trolls and did the strangest and most random things when you tried to use it. I wondered if purchasing the same one was such a great idea.

I tried the number again, double checking to be sure that the numbers were all correct and that I actually hit the dial button properly. With everything looking good, I awaited his response on the other line. There wasn't one.

My nerves started to get the best of me, and I repeatedly tried to reach him the rest of the way to Ronnie's. All my attempts were in vain. My increasing level of concern quickly turned to fear—fear that the worst case scenario Sophie had painted had occurred.

Could Sean have been blindsided by his own? Had the Elders come and done what she said they would do? I punched my leg out of frustration, irritated with myself for deleting the last message. What if what I had mistaken for anger had actually been fear.

Maybe it was a dying warning to me.

“Fuck!” I yelled, pounding the wheel.

I floored it the last two miles to Peyta's. When I arrived, I literally ran in and grabbed her and her bag, dragging her out to the car.
“What's with you?” she asked, trying to wriggle free.

“Get in,” I barked, throwing the phone at her. “Keep calling that number until someone answers.” I got in and peeled out of the driveway at breakneck speed.

“
Who
am I calling?” she asked, holding the phone to her ear. “I need to know who to ask for.”

“Sean,” I snipped, “and if he answers, don't talk, just hand me the phone.”

“Ruby, you need to tell me what's going on,” she said, calmly. “You're really freaking me out right now.”

“I'm not sure, Peyta,” I said, trying to center myself. “Whatever it is, it isn't good. That much I'm sure of.”

“What does it mean if you don't get a hold of him?”

I couldn't bring myself to answer her as the thought of what it could mean brought a lump the size of Texas into my throat. I turned my bleary eyes to her and she clearly got the point.

“Oh,” she said, dialing again. “It'll be okay, Ruby. He'll answer...I'm sure of it.”

We were five minutes from home when my cell phone finally rang. Peyta fumbled to answer it, and I swatted at her to give it to me.

“Hello?” I yelled into the receiver. “Sean! Are you okay?”

“Ruby, it's Cooper,” he said, sounding concerned. “What's going on?”

“I can't talk now. Gotta go,” I said, hanging up on him and throwing the phone back at Peyta. “Keep trying.”

We pulled up outside my building to find Cooper pacing nervously outside. The look he gave me while I got out of the car was murderous.

“So you're all right?” he asked, supremely annoyed. “Too bad you couldn't have mentioned that before you hung up on me.”

“I'm sorry,” I said, somewhat unapologetically. “Potential shit hitting the fan.”

“More than we already thought?” he asked carefully so as not to arouse more suspicion from Peyta.

“More than we already thought,” I confirmed. “Sean left a series of messages while I was driving to get Peyta, each one with increasing urgency. I can't get a hold of him at
all
now.”

“Oh,” Cooper replied, seemingly getting the gist. “Did we know when his company was coming? Perhaps he's tied up at the moment?”

“That's what I'm afraid of.”

“What are you two talking about?” Peyta chimed in. “I don't like it when you edit yourselves around me. It's rude and annoying.”

Cooper scooped his arm over her shoulder and tucked her into him.

“I'm sorry, P, but we have to leave you out of this one. The less you know, the better. You have to trust me.”

If I had said that, I would have been met with instant rebuttal, but Cooper had a way with people in general and Peyta in particular. She shrugged her shoulders and sighed before making her way into the building.

“OK, Cooper,” she agreed, sounding helplessly resigned to his terms. “But if it gets bad, and I mean
really
bad, you two better let me in on it. I resent being treated like a child.”

“We will,” I said softly. “We're not there yet. Hopefully, we won't be at all.”

Cooper and I gave a troubled glance at each other before following our guest up the stairs. Right as I was about to enter the apartment, Cooper grabbed my arm and held me back for a second, making sure Peyta was out of earshot.

“You think something has happened to him, don't you?” he asked, assessing my expression for an honest answer.

“I'm not sure,” I replied. “I erased the last message because Sean was yelling, and I figured he was mad at me for not answering the phone as always. In hindsight, it may not have been the best move. What if it was a call for help?”

“Do you really think that Sean would call you for help if he needed it?” Cooper asked soberingly. “If things were
that
bad, you'd be the last person he'd call for back up. He'd want you as far away from that scene as possible. Him and I
both
.”

“And if it was a dying warning?”

“Then I guess we're in for a surprise,” he said, before gently stroking my hair. “He's a big boy, Ruby. He hasn't lived this long for no good reason. Try to focus on the
other
issue at hand. You may be able to help on that one.”

“Are you two coming in or are you gonna hang out there all night long?” Peyta asked from the doorway, holding an enormous bowl of popcorn in her petite arm. “If you're going to stress all night, could we at least do it from the couch with a movie on?”

“Yes, Peyta,” I said, smiling weakly at her. “You pick tonight. And make it something funny. I don't need any superficial drama in my life.”

“Sounds good,” she chirped before tearing into the living room and snagging the remote.

“Make sure you approve of the movie, please,” I told Cooper. “I can't deal with any of that slapstick crap.”

“Will do,” he said, making his way to the couch to chaperone the movie purchasing.

I instead made my way to my bathroom to score myself some privacy, though it was seriously short lived. A ruckus from the living room came through the door as a muffled cacophony of voices. A bolt of panic shot through me as I fought with the misbehaving door, trying to try and get out. It had been kicked in one too many times and no longer sat on the hinges properly. I yanked on it as hard as I could as the voices got louder until it finally gave, knocking me ass over tea kettle into the tub along the far wall. I flailed like a fish out of water to try and get myself up. When I did, I found myself nose to nose with Sean.

“I've been worried sick!” I yelled, punching him in the chest, knocking him back a step or two. “You didn't answer your phone. I didn't know what happened to you.”

“It's maddening, isn't it?” he asked, with the slightest hint of self-satisfaction in his voice. “Maybe you won't do that to others anymore.”

“You are such a dick!” I cursed, kneeing him in the thigh. “I thought you were dead!”

“You thought he was dead and you didn't think that warranted sharing with me?” Peyta shouted from the hallway. “What constitutes 'really bad' to you people?”

“Zip it, Peyta,” I yelled back. “Go watch your movie.”

“I don't know how many times I have to tell you this, Ruby. I. Don't. Die.”

“Well, there's a first time for everything, Sean,” I said, shoving past him only to run into Cooper, who was hovering right behind him. “Seriously, you guys, this isn't a party bathroom. Everybody out!”

“I need to talk to you about something,” Sean said, looking at the entourage around us. “Privately.”

Cooper growled his disapproval while Peyta bitched and moaned about always being left out. I grabbed Sean and dragged him to my room, knowing full well the others would be standing outside listening the whole time. There really wasn't any privacy in my place.

“I'm so pissed off at you right now,” I shouted, starting in on Sean as soon as my door closed. “I can't
believe
you did that to me on purpose.”

“I can't believe you just kneed me in the leg," he said with a curious expression. "And I never said I did it on purpose. I received some information that made me rush over here. I didn't stop to grab my phone on my way out.”

“Really?” I asked, putting my hands on my hips. “So what is this information that was so important that you dropped everything to rush over here?”

“The Elders are scheduled to arrive at midnight,” he said, glancing over to the clock in my room. “I didn't trust the information entirely; I thought they may have been trying to lull me into a false sense of security while they went after you. I needed to be sure that didn't happen.”

I swallowed hard.

“They didn't, though. What do you think that means?” I asked, trying to keep my hands from visibly shaking. “That has to be a good sign, right?”

“Maybe, maybe not,” he shrugged. “We won't know until midnight. My source has been credible over the years. I'm hoping that he hasn't been compromised recently.”

“So what now?”

“Now, we wait.”

“Wait here for them to come for you? For me?” I sputtered. “I won't risk Peyta and Cooper getting hurt, Sean, I won't.”

“You need to relax, Ruby. They would never hurt Peyta, and, as long as Cooper can keep his mouth in check, they won't go after him either, providing he doesn't do anything stupid.” I gave Sean my “are you shitting me?” face. He saw what I was getting at. “Fine, maybe you
should
worry about Cooper then, but not Peyta. She'll be fine.”