Secret (7 page)

Quinn smiled. ‘You and your vocabulary.’

‘I’m serious,’ he said. ‘Why don’t you put all that passion into your dancing?’

‘So you want me to hump Adam on stage? I’m not sure that’s the kind of audition he’s looking for.’

‘Quinn.’

She squeezed her eyes shut. She was losing Becca to Chris. It was okay, and she
got
it, but now she was going to lose Nick, too. It was almost enough to force tears between her lashes again.

She opened her eyes and looked down at him. Her voice was choked. ‘Could we keep dating?’ When Nick frowned, she rushed on. ‘Not like for reals. Just — just for a little while?’

‘Why?’

Because she didn’t trust herself not to jump on another motorcycle the next time her mom was a raging bitch or a cheerleader called her fat or there wasn’t any chocolate in the house. Because Nick was still someone steady to lean on, someone who wouldn’t use her. Somehow this revelation made him safer, and for the first time, she wanted to cling to a boy especially because he
didn’t
want to put his Tab A into her Slot B.

Not like she could say that. ‘It would help you, right? Keep a secret?’ When he didn’t say anything, she studied his eyes. ‘Or . . . are you going to come out . . . ?’

He sat up quickly and rubbed at his face. ‘No.
No.
I don’t know.’

She spoke carefully. ‘It would buy us both some time.’

His hands dropped. ‘So . . . a secret. Why would you do that for me?’

Quinn hugged him and spoke into his shoulder. ‘Because you’re
my
friend, too.’ She paused, and a smile found its way into her voice. ‘You know, if I’m dancing with Adam, my
boyfriend
would have to come along to a lot of my rehearsals.’

He laughed again, more softly this time. But then he hesitated. ‘Do you really think I could?’

Nick finally climbed into bed at five in the morning. He was going to be a zombie on those landscaping jobs today.

Quinn was safely asleep at Becca’s, with a stern warning to call him if she felt any need to go anywhere else.

And Adam . . .

‘Hey. You’re up. Everything okay with Quinn?’

Nick jumped a mile. He was lucky he didn’t pee his pants. Gabriel was there in the doorway, wearing running shoes and a hoody.

‘Yeah,’ Nick said. ‘Long night.’

‘Anything interesting happen?’

Ha.

For a heartbeat of time, Nick considered telling him everything. Then he shook his head. ‘Nah,’ he said. ‘I’m going back to sleep for a few hours.’

‘Sure you don’t want to go for a run?’

Maybe Gabriel sensed the energy in the room, because Nick was actually considering it. Being out in the crisp air, letting oxygen fill his lungs and charge him with power.

But then he thought of those jobs later this morning.

He thought of the secrets he was keeping from his twin.

He thought of that envelope on his desk, with the letter he didn’t want to open. Or that kiss, when he’d been swept into the maelstrom of emotion and touch and tongues and —

His phone buzzed on the nightstand, and Nick glanced at the lit-up display. His heart skipped a beat when he recognized Adam’s number.

Then he realized Gabriel was still waiting.

‘Not today,’ Nick said. ‘You go on without me.’

When his brother was gone, Nick unlocked the screen to read Adam’s message.

When you’re sure of what you want, I’ll be right here.

Secret

For my mother,
who has always been there for me.
Always.

PROLOGUE

Gareth Brody sat in a chipped plastic chair in the prison waiting
room, listening for the guard to call his name. He drummed his fingers on his briefcase, casting a dark look at the guard booth every so often, playing the role of an impatient young attorney.

In truth, the cinder-block walls and barred doorways left him feeling claustrophobic. The air felt stale, the lighting artificial and too bright. Outdoors, the prison yard was barely more than a lengthy stretch of concrete, broken only by steel poles supporting basketball nets, all enclosed by chain-link fencing and barbed wire.

Silver must be going
nuts
in here.

Gareth would remedy that soon enough.

A loud buzz echoed in the small room, and the barred door swung open. ‘Mr. Brody? Your client is available now.’

Gareth followed the guard through the doorway, mentally calculating how quickly he could disable the man. Three seconds? Maybe four? This wasn’t a high-security facility, and this officer barely looked capable of guarding a box of donuts.

Two hallways, four turns, and three locked doors brought them into a small chamber. Gareth memorized the path, remembering which doors required a slide from the guard’s key, and which required a pin code on a pad mounted on the wall.

This would almost be too easy. Perhaps he could just ask Officer Incompetent to leave the key on the table.

‘Have a seat here,’ said the guard.

Gareth dropped into the plastic chair — which sported a cracked seat — and plopped his briefcase on the table. The locks snapped open with a loud
click
.

Usually, he did this without files. But today he had several.

He and Silver had things to discuss.

He pulled a pen out of the briefcase and spun it between his fingers. He could eviscerate two people in less than five minutes with nothing more than this pen. Idiots hadn’t even checked his belongings. Typical. Flash a business card and a little hair gel, and they assume you’re legit. He should have just walked in here with a gun.

It was a miracle they’d been able to keep Silver here this long, honestly.

But then the opposite door clicked open, and another guard led Gareth’s
client
into the room.

The last time he’d seen Silver, the younger Guide had been in his late teens. Blond hair, too-dark-to-be-tan skin, slightly slanted eyes all topped off with a British accent and a talent for being ruthless. Silver had achieved control of the elements far younger than any other Guide — including Gareth himself.

Silver had no family, no attachments. He’d been given assignments early. Some had said he was too young, that he’d fail or crumble in the line of duty. That he’d abandon his task of killing pure Elementals.

Silver proved them all wrong. He’d killed without mercy, completing each mission without complaint or unnecessary mess.

He’d done well.

But now he was in an orange jumpsuit, wrists and ankles shackled to a chain that trailed from his waist. His right hand was mangled and scarred, but whatever injury had caused it had left enough wrist to keep him restrained. He was thin, too thin, and Gareth almost wished he’d thought to bring a sandwich.

If Silver was surprised to see Gareth, he didn’t let it show. He dropped into the chair when the guard gave him a shove.

Gareth glanced up, realizing he needed to keep up appearances, at least for a little while longer. He half rose from his seat, smoothing his tie as he addressed the officers. ‘Thank you, gentlemen. We won’t be too long.’

One of the guards gave him a mocking courtly bow on his way out. ‘By all means, take your time, your highness.’ The other laughed.

Then the door slammed.

Silver’s eyes lifted from the table. He cut a glance at the door and kept his voice down. ‘Gareth. It’s been a long time. You’re looking well.’

‘I wish I could say the same.’

Silver glanced at his wrist, his eyes darkening. The chains jingled as he moved. ‘I let them get too close. It won’t happen again.’ He paused. ‘I began to wonder whether they’d send someone.’

‘Of course.’ Gareth smiled. ‘We would never leave one of our own sitting in a cell.’

‘Do we have a plan?’

So very like Silver. Right down to business.

Gareth opened one of his file folders. ‘We have to keep up appearances, if only for a little while.’ He tapped his pen against the table. ‘I thought maybe we could review what you know of your last assignment.’

Silver’s eyes narrowed. ‘Why?’

‘If I’m going to help you, I’d rather not go in blind.’

Gareth watched the emotion in Silver’s eyes: wounded pride warring with resignation over the fact that he was sitting here with barely more dignity than a caged animal. Proof of his failure.

Gareth waited. He would not rub salt in the wound, but he wouldn’t coddle the man, either.

Silver gritted his teeth. ‘I know there are pure Elementals in town, enough to form a full circle. Proven dangers.’

Gareth raised his eyebrows. ‘All proven?’

Silver nodded. ‘All.’ He paused. ‘We can proceed with eliminating them immediately.’

‘I think I’d still like to observe, to be certain.’

Silver’s expression tightened. He was insulted.

Gareth didn’t care. Collateral damage was one thing. He would not destroy children based on hearsay.

The Guides had few rules, but this one separated them from the Elementals who were driven by nothing but power.

Observe first. Then destroy.

Silver cleared his throat. ‘There are numerous young Elementals as well, though few have demonstrated the level of their power yet.’ He nodded at the papers in front of Gareth. ‘Show me what you have. I’ll fill in your blanks.’

Gareth slid a piece of paper off the top of the stack. ‘Michael Merrick?’

‘Earth Elemental. Twenty-three. Runs a landscaping business out of his garage. The legal guardian of his younger brothers. He’s known in the community, but there are reports of his involvement with a young girl’s death years ago.’ He paused. ‘He’s romantically involved with the daughter of the county fire marshal. A Hannah Faulkner. No Elemental connection that I could discern.’

Gareth nodded and slid the paper to the side. A connection to law enforcement could be troublesome. ‘Christopher Merrick?’

‘Water Elemental. Sixteen. A bit of a loner at school, from what I could see. I thought perhaps he was our weak link, but then I discovered he was romantically linked to a Becca Chandler.’

Gareth looked up. ‘Chandler. As in
Bill
Chandler?’

‘The very same. You should see her. She’s a dead ringer for Bill. I think he’s her father.’ Silver leaned forward. ‘I also think she’s a rogue Fifth.’

A rogue Fifth would be an Elemental who could control all the elements of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water — but who had never been trained to fulfill his or her duty. Silver and Gareth had been trained to destroy pure Elementals who only controlled one element. A rogue Fifth would not only be dangerous because of her ability to focus and intensify the powers of a pure Elemental, but also because her connection to the human spirit would make her more willing to side with them.

Gareth tapped his pen again. ‘Bill never claimed to have any children. Have you spoken with him?’

‘Bill Chandler hasn’t checked in with anyone since August.’

Gareth raised his eyebrows and made a note on the paper. ‘Interesting.’

‘What’s more interesting is that this Becca Chandler is not the only rogue Fifth in town. I also identified a Hunter Garrity.’

Gareth’s eyebrows went way up. He wrote the name on the cover of his folder. ‘As in John Garrity? The Guide who died in the car wreck?’

‘Indeed. And to complicate matters, young Master Garrity is living with the Merricks.’

Gareth let out a low whistle. No wonder Silver had ended up over his head. He went back to the original papers. ‘So I also have Gabriel and Nicholas Merrick.’

‘Identical twins. Seventeen years old. Fire and Air Elementals, respectively.’

‘So you’re telling me that with Hunter Garrity living in the home, there’s a perfect circle of Elemental power just outside of Annapolis.’

‘And there are more, younger children who may or may not develop into their full Elemental power.’

For the first time, Gareth allowed an edge to enter his voice. ‘I’m more concerned with the immediate threat of a house full of pure Elementals.’

Silver wasn’t easily intimidated. He held Gareth’s gaze. ‘I will not underestimate them again.’

Gareth sighed. ‘We’ll have to lure them apart. I don’t like this law enforcement connection. Or the rogue Fifths. What about the twins? Any vulnerabilities there?’

‘Gabriel is a noted danger. He was accused of the recent arson attacks in town, though later cleared. It’s been widely reported that he assisted in rescuing numerous students from a fire in the school library.’ A pause. ‘If you read his file, there are notes that he caused the fire that destroyed his parents.’

Gareth glanced up. ‘Interesting. Was he responsible for the recent fire at the school carnival?’

‘No. That was caused by Calla Dean. I have very little information on her.’

Gareth flipped through the papers, remembering the name.

‘She’s listed as one of the missing students.’

‘She’s dead.’

Gareth stopped riffling through the pages and looked at him. ‘No body?’

‘I shot her in the middle of the carnival. I had no way to remove her body.’ Silver must have seen the judgment in Gareth’s expression, because he quickly added, ‘It was a clean shot.’

‘But she isn’t listed among the dead.’

Silver had nothing to say to that.

Gareth shifted back to the Merricks’ file. ‘What else can you tell me about Gabriel?’

‘He’s involved with a girl, a Layne Forrest. He spends a great deal of time with her and her younger brother. Their father is a defense attorney — an influential member of the community.’

Meaning they would need to be careful not to let these Forrest children be injured in any crossfire. The last thing anyone wanted was a lengthy investigation driven by a distraught parent. That was almost worse than the attachment to law enforcement.

‘And Nicholas?’

‘Some involvement with a girl named Quinn Briscoe. No Elemental connection I could detect.’

Gareth studied the paper. Nicholas Merrick.
Hello, weak link
.

But an Air Elemental. That begged caution. An Air Elemental wouldn’t have the flash and drama of the others. An Air’s power was far more subtle — and far more subversive. At seventeen, this boy might not have the more nuanced abilities of sensing emotion or detecting an enemy from a great distance, but he’d surely feel any breath of power in the atmosphere.