Infinite Harmony (5 page)

Ada was fifteen minutes late to work. Misty didn’t write her up, but she did make several passive-aggressive comments about people not finishing their shifts and showing up late. Ada didn’t blame her. She would have probably been more aggressive than passive if she’d just worked thirteen hours straight.

Like most things in Ada’s life, the beginning of her work shift had its own special routine. First, she switched off the radio, which was playing smooth jazz, plugged her phone into the sound system, and pulled up her “Feeling Groovy” playlist. Then, she turned on the air purifier and Lysoled the back office and front desk. Finally, she hit up the vending machine, smiling at the empty spot where the Kit-Kats normally resided.

By the time she settled into the worn leather chair in the back office, Marsden had texted her four times. After the radio silence from the day before, she was happy to see he was back to normal, even if normal was treating her like she was incapable of taking care of herself. She might have been more annoyed if he was alone in his delusion, but since most everyone treated her as if she should be ensconced in bubble wrap, she let it slide. She quickly fired back a message, and his response was almost immediate. They’d been messaging back and forth for over fifteen minutes when the office door banged open.

“Duty calls,” Ada typed in. “Later.”

“Well, if it isn’t NYPD Blue,” Kathy said, easing herself onto the leather couch taking up the entire back wall of the office. “What kind of excitement do you have planned for this afternoon? Maybe a car chase? Or even better, a boat chase, complete with on-water explosions?”

Ada leaned back, threw her feet up on the desk, and folded her hands behind her head. “Just doing what I have to do to keep the streets safe.”

Kathy snorted. If anyone understood how unexciting the streets of Serenity Shores were, it was the housekeeper who had worked there since it opened over twenty years ago.

“So, Mr. Rudolph…?”

Ada didn’t have to explain what she was asking. It was another benefit of talking to the resort’s oldest employee. Kathy not only knew all the ins and outs of every aspect of the business, she was practically part of the Rudolph family. She knew how Dorian was, and was more than aware of his father’s inability to handle the truth of his behavior.

“He doesn’t blame you, if that’s what you’re asking, hon,” Kathy said. “Actually, I think he’s kind of relieved. He knew this day was coming sooner or later, no matter how much he was unwilling to admit it. It’s good for him to have it over and done with.”

Ada breathed out a sigh of relief. The texts she’d received from her boss didn’t seem to hint at any blame, but it’s hard to tell tone from words on a screen. But if Kathy said he wasn’t ready to kill and/or fire her, then she knew she could rest easy. Kathy wasn’t exactly the kind of woman who spared feelings.

“It’s been kind of quiet today,” Ada said, realizing the phone hadn’t rung once since she’d clocked in. She knew all the cabins were already filled with guests who had reserved them through the week, but usually afternoons were when calls started pouring in from people who needed extra towels or couldn’t figure out how to turn on the television. “Our new guests tend to keep to themselves, don’t they?”

It’d been this way since they’d started checking in a few days ago. People from all over the world were staying at the resort. Ada had never heard so many different accents in her life. While they were checking in, it was absolute chaos. Mixed up reservations. Credit cards getting denied. Some crazy man who tried to pay with gold coins. But once everyone was checked in and settled, it was like the resort was empty.

“They’re a bunch of weirdos is what they are,” Kathy said. “I wouldn’t want to be caught in a dark alley with half their men, and those women are just as creepy. Today one of them told me she could see my ancestors and descendants standing beside me and that I was loved. What kind of crazy crap is that?”

Ada smothered a laugh behind her hand. “What I don’t understand is what they’re all doing here for Scout Donovan’s wedding. She grew up in my dad’s church. Her sister is my little sister’s best friend. The Donovans are about as normal as they come, so why are they attracting all these crazies?”

Kathy leaned forward and dropped her voice. “If you want my opinion, those Donovans aren’t quite as normal as you think.”

“Really? What makes you say that?”

“Besides that
supposed
kidnapping by domestic terrorists a few years ago?”

“You mean the thing where Scout was kidnapped by domestic terrorists?”

Kathy gave Ada a bless-your-heart look. “That’s just what they want you to think.”

“Okay, so besides the Illuminati conspiracy surrounding Scout’s disappearance forever ago, what makes you think the Donovans are less than normal?”

“Well, there was the house fire.”

“Personal tragedy happens to everyone. Not experiencing it would make you abnormal.”

Kathy waved a finger in the air and made a little tsk-ing noise. “But not everyone’s personal tragedy comes at the hand of an arsonist.”

“It wasn’t an arsonist. It was an electrical fire.” Ada was starting to wonder if Kathy was one of those crazy people who thought the moon landing was filmed in Hollywood and President Bush orchestrated 9-11.

“That’s not what Glenn Jamison with the Timber Fire Department said. He said that fire was set on purpose.”

“Why would someone want to burn down the Donovans’ house?”

“Because they’re
involved
with something.” Kathy tapped the side of her nose like some sort of cheesy detective in an old movie. “I see things. Like the way all these people fall all over themselves to do what that Scout girl and her fiancé say. And the way it seems like they’re guarding the Golden Pond cabins. There is always someone loitering outside, looking around as if they’re expecting someone or something. At least one of them was carrying a gun. I could see the outline of it through his shirt.”

“Guns?” Ada’s ears perked up.

“Yes, guns. And you’ll never guess what I found in one of the Golden Pond cabins today.”

“What?”

“A bloody t-shirt tossed into the fireplace.”

Ada sat up so quickly the chair nearly toppled over. As it was, her feet managed to send her phone flying through the air and behind a stack of papers which were supposed to be filed a decade ago. She had to follow the sounds of Art Garfunkel’s voice to find it.

“Are you sure?” she asked as she dug behind invoices dated 1996. “It was blood and not barbecue sauce or ketchup or something?”

Kathy knew she had Ada’s attention, and if there was one thing Kathy liked, it was attention. She sighed rather dramatically and folder her arms over her frighteningly large breasts. “I have five kids, none of which ever shied away from a playground brawl. I know the difference between a blood stain and a mess caused by condiments.”

Ada didn’t say anything. She was too scared to say anything. She kept thinking about the picture Jase had shown her of Joshua. Maybe it was her imagination filling in what she thought she should see, but in her memory Joshua was pale with dark circles shadowing his eyes. He had been smiling, but even though she’d only known him half an hour, she could tell it wasn’t his real smile. He looked like he was in pain.

He looked like he’d been shot.

Not that Ada actually knew what people looked like after they’d been shot, but she suspected she was right about this one.

“Was it a
Star Wars
shirt?” she asked already knowing the answer.

Kathy’s eyes narrowed. “How did you know that?”

“Last night, during that whole fiasco with Dorian’s party, one of the real guests got shot. I saw it happen, but no one would believe me. They… no, Jase Donovan was covering for him.” Either Ada just swallowed the crazy conspiracy theory pill, or Kathy was right. There was something up with the Donovans. “He was wearing a
Star Wars
shirt. The one with the original 1977 poster on it.”

“That’s the one,” Kathy confirmed. “It was laying in the fireplace, like maybe they were going to burn it to hide the evidence.”

Ada’s mind was firing so quickly she couldn’t process any of it. The phone in her hand buzzed, announcing a text from Marsden asking her to meet him at Landing Park when she got off work. She stared at it in confusion for several minutes before she understood what it said.

“So, what do you think it is?”

What Ada thought was that it was a not-so-subtle booty call, but she didn’t see how that was anyone’s business but hers.

“What the Donovans are into,” Kathy explained. “What do you think it is? Drugs? Human trafficking?”

Well, at least she could think clearly enough to answer that.

“Have you met Dustin Donovan? Just the mention of drugs or human trafficking would probably break him out in hives he’s so tight-laced.” It was one of the things her father liked most about the father of the Donovan family.

“Maybe they’re a cult. Or maybe they’re the terrorists and that whole kidnapping ploy was to throw the government off their trail.”

“Maybe,” Ada said, although none of that sounded right either. The Donovans didn’t seem cultish or terroristic to her, but she had to admit something was off with them. Something was making them lie to her about Joshua, and come midnight, she was going to figure out what it was.

“I don’t need a babysitter,” Angel Donovan said, standing above the couch where Joshua was laid out trying to rest. Her hands were on her hips and her eyes were narrowed to tiny slivers with only a hint of blue peeking out. “I am twelve-years-old. That’s like a teenager.”

“No,” Joshua argued, trying to ignore the pulling sensation coming from his shoulder. “That’s like a twelve-year-old. Thirteen is when you graduate to teen status, munchkin.”

If the tweenage girl towering over him looked angry before she was downright furious now. “Don’t. Call. Me. Munchkin!”

She was like a magnificent volcano of fury, and Joshua couldn’t resist pushing to see if he could make her erupt.

“It’s a school night. Don’t you need to be in bed now, munchkin?”

A high-pitched screech threatened to burst his eardrums.

“I am the tallest person in my class. Not the tallest girl. The tallest person,” she said, and Joshua believed her. Over the past year, Angel’s hormones had gone into hyper-drive. She’d gone from sweet little kid to being taller than both her siblings and having curves that caused each of the men in the Alpha Pack to have to threaten a random stranger at least once. “And it’s June. There isn’t any school, so I don’t have a bedtime. Because I’m
a teenager
.”

“A pre-teen,” Joshua corrected. “And I think we’re going to have to reconsider this no bedtime thing. You get awfully cranky late at night. It happens with little kids, you know.”

Angel kicked the couch with all her might, and not for the first time, Joshua was glad she didn’t possess her sister’s strength. As it was, instead of injuring the couch or Joshua, Angel injured her toe.

“It’s broke,” she bellowed, falling to the ground. “I broke my toe, and it’s all your fault.”

Joshua lowered himself to the carpet. “I didn’t tell you to kick the couch,” he said, pulling her injured foot into his lap. “See if you can move them.” Whines and complaints filled the air as five toes decorated with bright pink polish wiggled at him. “Not my fault, and not broken. You’re zero for two, munchkin.”

Angel opened her mouth to argue, but she was cut off by someone knocking on the front door. Joshua pressed his finger to his lips, but Angel had already gone silent. Her hand moved to the pepper spray Joshua made her keep tucked in her pocket at all times, but there wasn’t even a trace of fear in her big blue eyes.

Stay down
, Joshua mouthed as he slid out his gun and pulled himself up to a kneeling position. The sound of footsteps echoed down the hall, and he flicked off the safety.

“Joshua, Ada Jessup is at the door and says she needs to see you,” Dustin Donovan said as he entered the room. He glanced at the gun in Joshua’s hand and sighed deeply as he ran a hand through hair that was more salt than pepper. “Angel, it’s past your bedtime. Go on upstairs.”

Angel stood up and smoothed out the gauzy pink dress that was a bit too formal for a night of watching old episodes of
The Fairly Odd Parents
, but Angel tended to care more about style than comfort. She was a true fashionista. Even when she wore jeans and a t-shirt, she made certain they were the
right
jeans and the trendiest t-shirt. Like her sister, she had a mad scientist streak, but instead of playing with genes and chromosomes, Angel dabbled in lip glosses, mascaras, perfumes, and hair products. “Why would Ada Jessup want to talk to Joshua?” she asked as if it was inconveniencing her greatly.

“I didn’t ask because it’s none of my business, nor is it yours.” Her father pointed toward the stairs. “Bed. Now.”

With overly dramatic sighs and a fair amount of stomping, Angel made her way to the bedrooms on the second floor. It took Joshua a few more minutes to get up since he was trying not rip open the hole in his shoulder. When he was finally standing with the gun tucked back in its holster, Dustin was waiting at door.

“Thank you.” Dustin was a former high school teacher and recently retired school superintendent. When he spoke, even if it was to ask someone to pass the butter at the dinner table, he sounded like he was trying to command the attention of a room full of teens. So at his quiet thanks, Joshua stopped, knowing whatever it was the father of his Alpha and best friend had to say was important. “Thank you for watching over her and keeping her safe. And not just Angel. All of them. My kids…” Dustin ran a hand over his face. “My kids mean everything to me. I don’t know what I would do if anything happened to one of them, so thank you for looking out for them.”

Joshua clasped the other man on the shoulder and immediately regretted it. Even though he was technically old enough to be Dustin’s father, it felt disrespectful to be so casual with him.

“You’re my family,” he said, hoping Dustin could hear the sincerity in his words. “No thanks required.”

Dustin just nodded, and Joshua hurried past him, terrified he was going to see the man cry.

Of course, once he was past the sentimental father, Joshua was at the front door and facing a much bigger problem. Steeling himself against the pain in his shoulder, he slung open the door.

“Why, Miss Ada Jessup, to what do I owe the honor of this…” He glanced at his watch. “Midnight-thirty visit?

She stuffed her hands into the pockets of her khaki pants. “I need to talk to you.”

Danger, Will Robinson! Danger!

“Of course. What would you like to talk about? Need a sugar fix? Having trouble leveling up on
Skyrim
? Or is there another party afoot? Buzzkill Boy is ready for action!”

Joshua struck a pose with one fist on his hip and the other raised in the sky, but instead of the smile he was expecting, she looked around as if she could sense the Taxiarhos watching the cabin from the shadows.

“Come with me to the dock?” she asked.

Again, Joshua wanted to refuse. It wasn’t a rational feeling. He should want to talk to her, to assure her she hadn’t really seen him get shot the night before. Killing her curiosity and then staying close enough to make sure she didn’t start questioning the lies she’d been told was the best strategy. But something in Joshua’s gut told him that wasn’t how this was going down. Still, he nodded his agreement and started walking down the path leading to the private dock behind the cabin, knowing Scout was inside where she could keep an eye on Angel. As he walked past the edge of the house where he was sure Robby, who was on watch for the evening, would see him, he tugged on his ear to let the Shifter know he didn’t need additional coverage.

“I heard you had to go to the hospital last night,” Joshua said, holding a tree branch up so Ada could pass under it. “Did you get hurt? I’m sorry I didn’t stick around. I saw that Jase had you, and the guy with the gun was running off. I thought he might be getting into a boat or something, so I chased after him. I wanted to be able to tell the cops which way he went.”

Other than the part about knowing Jase was protecting Ada, it was all a lie. The moment he felt the bullet go through his flesh and saw the rest of the Alpha Pack closing in, he bolted. He wasn’t sure where the bullet had gone in, the pain was too intense and encompassing for that, but he knew if it had been a fatal shot, it would have been impossible to explain his miraculous survival to doctors and authorities. Talley and Scout grabbed him at the bottom of the steps and pulled him out of sight before the cops arrived.

When he and Ada first got to Hillman House and he realized the unknowns really were a bunch of stupid guys throwing a kegger, he’d regretted sending out a battle cry to his friends, but the regret was short lived. There was no way he could have single-handedly pulled off getting away without anyone seeing him.

At least, not by anyone other than Ada.

“You didn’t hit your head did you?” he asked as they neared the dock. “If so, this might be a bad idea. I’m not a medical expert, but something tells me head wounds and large bodies of water aren’t a good combo.”

Ada stopped at the edge of the wooden walkway. She was, by all standards and measurements, a perfectly average looking girl. Height? Average. Hair? Medium brown. Eyes? Hazel. There was nothing distinct or particularly enticing about her, but for some reason, Joshua couldn’t look away.

“You really don’t know?” The moonlight reflected off her lips, which managed to be small and full at the same time.

He was going to have to reassess that whole not-particularly-enticing thing.

“They didn’t tell you?”

“Who didn’t tell me what?” It might have been that his brain was too focused on her lips too fully to process what she was saying, but he had no idea what she was talking about.

“Huh,” she said as she started walking down the planks leading out across the water. “That’s weird. I don’t remember the last time I talked to someone who didn’t know.” She stepped down onto the wooden platform bouncing gently with the waves and turned back toward him. “I almost don’t want to tell you. It’s nice being normal to someone.”

“Then, don’t tell me.” He would ask Jase later if it was something important for him to know, but until then, he would let her enjoy keeping whatever it was secret from him. When she flashed a smile, he knew he’d done the right thing.

It was a beautiful night. The humidity from the day had bled away and a soft breeze blew across the water. The sky was clear, and that far away from the lights of the cabin, the stars seemed infinite in the velvety night sky.

“This is nice,” Joshua said, spinning slowly in a circle with his eyes on the stars. He felt small and insignificant and the center of the universe all at the same time. “If we had some music, it would be perfect.”

“I know—”

“Give me your phone.” Joshua stopped to find himself facing Ada. She was standing closer than he expected. The smell of vanilla and chocolate filled his nose and tugged up the corners of his mouth.

“My phone?”

He made a give-me motion with his hand. “I know you’ve got some music on there. Hand it over.”

Ada reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. Before she had time to refuse, Joshua plucked it out of her hand.

There are at least a hundred different ways to record a conversation with a smart phone, and Joshua knew how to detect and disable all of them. He instinctively knew Ada was trustworthy, but still he took the necessary precautions. He was finishing the sweep for video recordings when she asked, “What are you doing?”

“Hmmmm…?” He made a few last keystrokes and pulled up a different screen before she could look over his shoulder. “I’m giving you my digits.”

“Oh. Ummm… Well…” There wasn’t much light, but Joshua was pretty sure her cheeks turned red. “I have a boyfriend.”

Of course she did.

“Of course you do. You’re a pretty girl who likes video games. You could probably have ten boyfriends all at the same time if you wanted them.”

This time he was certain her face grew brighter.

“Well, one is all I can handle so…”

“So there can be no hanky-panky on our party-stopping missions. Got it.”

That wasn’t disappointment weighing down like lead in Joshua’s heart. Couldn’t be. He knew hanky-panky was off the menu. It had to be. He was an Immortal, and she was…

Well, she was a  sparkly-eyed girl who made him smile. As far as he was concerned, she was the most dangerous creature on the earth.

“Now that has been established, how about we find some decidedly non-hanky-panky music?” He pulled up the music app and decided she was his own personal devil sent to earth to torture him. “Okay, fess up. What old lady did you beat up so you could steal her phone?”

Ada snatched her phone back and held it protectively against her chest. “No dissing my music selection. Just because I happen to have taste and standards when it comes to what I listen to—”

“Slow down, crazy train. I would never, ever, diss a music collection featuring both Chuck Berry and CCR. I was just commenting on the obvious lack of drum machines and boy bands.”

“Boy bands?” Ada shot him a half-smirk that went straight to the spot between his chest and stomach where his feelings lived. “Of course I’ve got boy bands. I’ve got
the
boy band.” Her thumb raced across the screen. After a few taps, she sat the phone on the dock, and then lowered herself down beside it. Joshua followed, trying to find a distance that was close enough to allow for a quiet conversation, but not so close he seemed desperate and pushy.

“Good choice,” he said. “I’ve always thought the George songs were underrated. ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ is my one of my all-time favorites.”

Ada slid off her shoes and began rolling up the legs of her khaki pants. “You know, my boyfriend couldn’t name a single Beatles song when we started dating.” She tested the water with her toe before sliding in both legs. “He still calls Ringo ‘Bingo,’ and I don’t think he’s trying to be clever. Marsden isn’t really a clever guy… and I can’t believe I just said that.” Both hands covered her face. “Can you please forgot I said that?”

“Said what?”

Her hands slid down until they were just covering her cheeks. She titled her head up to the stars, and from where he was sitting, Joshua could see them reflected in her eyes.

“I’m not really a bad person,” she said. “And Marsden is great. He has many really great qualities.”