Taken (13 page)

Josh started the car and put it in gear then looked over his shoulder as he backed up.
 

“I just grabbed a couple of things. My knife, a couple of clips of ammo for Channie. It only took a couple of extra seconds and I figured it was worth it. We need to be sure we’re ready for trouble.”

Hunter opened the pack and pulled out the curtains and tablecloth Channie had pieced together. “I understand the knife and the ammo, but what are we going to do with these? Hide?”

“Channie worked really hard on those, so just shut up.”

Tears filled Channie’s eyes. She wouldn’t miss the miserable living conditions, but that old shack was their first home as a married couple. She leaned across the console and kissed Josh’s cheek. “Thank you. I’ll hang them in the windows of our new house as soon as we get settled.”

“About that … Wisdom said we have to keep our marriage a secret.”

“What? Why?”

“She’s afraid that if your parents figure out who I am, they’ll turn me over to Dominance as payment for their blood-debt.”

“She’s right.” Channie’s mind raced as she immediately conjured a dozen ways Josh could get caught. “You can’t go anywhere near Momma and Daddy. We need to go somewhere else. Do you have any kinfolk that live outside of Colorado that might take us in?”

“I need to go home, Channie. I have responsibilities there too.”

“What responsibilities?”
 

“My family for one. I owe my parents and Elijah an explanation as to why I disappeared and didn’t even call them for over a month. If I study really hard, I might be able to catch up and graduate on time. And if I suck up to my coaches and sponsors there’s a chance I can salvage my racing career.”

“What am I supposed to do? Go home and pretend like none of this happened?”

“I’m not letting you anywhere near your psycho parents. You’re coming home with me.”

“Your momma ain’t gonna let me stay there. She’s already threatened to put me in foster care.”

“When was that?”

“November sixteenth.”

“You remember the exact day?”

“It was the morning before the new moon, when we opened the Book of the Dead for the second time.”

“If Mom won’t let you live with us, we’ll just move in with my dad. He’s been begging me to come live with him ever since the divorce.”
 

“Are you going to tell him we’re married?”

“There’s no reason to tell him. He won’t care if we’re sleeping together.”

Hunter said, “You want your Daddy to think Channie’s a whore?”

Josh glared into the rearview mirror. “It’s not like that in the real world.”

“Whatever.”

Josh said, “Hey babe, can you dig my phone out of the glove box and plug it into the car charger? I need to call my parents.”

Channie said, “Aunt Wisdom told us to throw away our phones.”

“I brought this one from home. I never used it to call any of the disposable phones, so there’s no way anyone is going to trace this number to us.”

Channie twisted around and frowned at Hunter. “Did you throw your phone away?”

He slipped his hand over the right front pocket of his jeans as if that would hide his guilt.

Josh pulled off the road and said, “Give me your phone.”

“No! I ain’t gonna use it.”

“I’m just going to turn off the emergency locater so no one can track us. I’ll give it back, okay? But you have to promise not to use it.”
 

Josh’s kindness overwhelmed Channie. The Feenies were one of the poorest families in the region. Hunter had never owned anything of real value before and he obviously loved that dang phone.

Hunter nodded then dug the phone out of his pocket and handed it to Josh. He poked his head between the bucket seats and watched Josh like a hawk as he fiddled with his phone.

Josh could have used his own phone as soon as Channie plugged it in, but he waited until they crossed the Oklahoma border and stopped at a 7-Eleven for food and gas to call his daddy.
 

By the time Channie was done using the facilities, Josh had finished the call. She had no idea what was said, but it was obviously draining. Josh crawled into the passenger seat and reclined it back as far as it would go. “I’m tired. I need one of you to drive for awhile.”

Hunter yelled, “Hot damn!” and dove behind the wheel. Channie climbed into the back seat, behind Hunter and used her backpack for a pillow. She dozed off immediately but woke with a start three hours later when Hunter pulled off the road, bolted from the car and puked up everything he’d eaten.
 

Josh held up an empty bag of Twizzlers and said, “This should have lasted the three of us the rest of the way home. He shuffled his feet amongst the trash on the floor and laughed. “Dude. Did you eat all the Cheetos, Slim Jims and Reeses Pieces?”

Hunter groaned and nodded.
 

“All of that on top of a Big Mac, shake and fries. No wonder. Even if your body were used to junk food, no one can eat that much crap and not get sick.”

Hunter whimpered and said, “Don’t remind me,” then threw up again.

Channie drove for a couple of hours, pulling over twice to let Hunter empty his stomach. When he started dry heaving, Josh folded the back seats down so Hunter could stretch out and cast his version of a be-calm spell on him. Poor Hunter. He was gonna have a hard time adjusting to life in the modern world.

Josh drove the rest of the way home, growing more animated and talkative with every mile. The interior of the car shrank around Channie as she thought about what awaited her in the big house by the park.
 

“Channie?” Josh picked up her hand and kissed the back of her knuckles. “What’s wrong?”

She shrugged and looked out the window at the pink and orange horizon.

“You worried about your parents?”

She nodded.

“I won’t let them hurt you.”

She swallowed and said, “You can’t protect me. If you get within fifty feet of them, they’ll sense the change in you. They’ll know you’re a mage.”

“There’s no reason for them to even know you’re back. And I’m never letting you out of my sight again.”

They pulled into Josh’s driveway at a quarter ‘till noon. Josh’s momma should have been at work, but when he raised the garage door, her vehicle was parked inside. Josh said, “You guys wait here. Let me talk to her alone for a minute.”

He didn’t make it inside before the door flew open and Mrs. Abrim charged down the stairs. Channie cringed, waiting for her to tear into Josh, but instead of hitting or slapping him, she threw her arms around him and bawled like a baby.

Josh patted her back for five minutes then pried her arms off his body and motioned for Channie and Hunter to get out of the car.
 

If looks could kill, Channie would have died on the spot. Mrs. Abrim glared at her with pure hatred. She didn’t even glance at Hunter.

Josh said, “Mom, this is a friend of Channie’s, Hunter Feenie.”

Hunter extended his hand and said, “Pleased to meet you, ma’am.”

She ignored him and continued to glare at Channie.

Hunter dropped his hand to his side, then shrugged and scratched the back of his head.

Josh put his hands on his momma’s shoulders and turned her towards him. “They need a place to stay.”

“Not here.” She shook her head. “That girl is no longer welcome in my home.”

A crimson flush spread over Josh’s face and neck. “Then it’s no longer my home. Channie, Hunter, get in the car.”

“Josh! Wait! You just got here.”

Mrs. Abrim grabbed Josh’s wrist, but he twisted out of her grasp and said, “We’re going to Dad’s.”

She stood in the driveway, wide eyed and silent as Josh backed into the street. The only sound inside the car was Josh’s labored breathing and the roar of rushing blood behind Channie’s ears.

When Josh merged onto highway 36 towards Boulder, Hunter broke the silence. “So … your momma ain’t too fond of Channie, huh?”

Josh glared at Hunter’s reflection in the rearview mirror then said, “She’s just mad because I disappeared for so long.”

Channie shook her head. “She knows it’s my fault you ran away. She blames me for ruining your life.”

A band of misery squeezed Channie’s heart when Josh didn’t argue.

~***~

Channie had never been to Liz and Ezra’s house. So when Josh stopped in front of a massive wrought iron gate and punched in a secret code to open it, her mouth fell open.
 

Hunter said, “Is your daddy in jail?”

“What? No.” Josh laughed and shook his head. “This is just a gated community.”

“Is it dangerous out here?”

“Not at all. The people that live here just want to keep it private.”

They drove past a small lake with a sandy beach, picnic tables and a playground every bit as nice as the one at Heritage Park. But there wasn’t a single person there.

Hunter had his hands and nose pressed against the window like a curious puppy. “Wow. Look at the size of that hotel!”

Josh laughed again. “That’s not a hotel. It’s a house.”

“Who lives there? Some movie picture star?”

“I have no idea who lives there.” Josh turned onto a side road that dead-ended in front of an even larger, grander estate. “But this is my dad’s house.”

Channie and Hunter stared at each other with matching expressions of awe-struck wonder. Two dark-wood and stained glass doors swung outward. Josh’s daddy ran down a paved brick sidewalk to meet them. Channie and Hunter both hunkered down in their seats.

Ezra Abrim didn’t even wait for the car to come to a complete stop before he started yanking on Josh’s door. He pulled his son out of the car and bear-hugged him, lifting him off the ground. He released him then leaned into the car.

Channie shrank back against her door and shivered. Ezra had always been nice to her and the trips, taking them to Josh’s races on Saturdays, but that was before she’d ruined Josh’s life. Ezra’s face softened. “Hi, Channie. How are you?”

“Fine?”

He leaned in a little further and reached into the back seat to shake Hunter’s hand. “And you must be Hunter, Channie’s friend.”

Hunter’s eyebrows disappeared under his shaggy mop of hair. “Yessir. Pleased to meet you, Mr. um …”

“Just call me Ezra.”

“Pleased to meet you, Mr. Ezra.”

Ezra laughed and said, “Come on you two, let’s go on up to the house. Carmen’s got lunch waiting.”

Channie said, “Whose Carmen?” Then slapped her hand over her mouth. Maybe Josh’s daddy had gotten himself another new wife.

He smiled and said, “She’s Liz’s little sister. She’s also an excellent cook. Are you hungry?”

Josh said, “We’re starving. Where’s Liz?”

“She’s at a fundraising event in L.A. for one of her charities. She started looking for a flight home as soon as I told her you were on your way. The earliest one she found doesn’t leave until 6:15 tomorrow morning.”

“That’s sweet, but you should call her and tell her not to cut her trip short.”

Ezra shook his head. “That would just hurt her feelings.”
 

Carmen was indeed an excellent cook. As soon as they entered the front door, the aroma of fresh-baked bread made Channie’s mouth water.
 

Josh said, “Do we have time to shower before lunch? We’re all pretty grimy.”
 

Grimy didn’t even begin to describe it. Josh’d cast cleansing spells on all of them, as well as the interior of his car, to get rid of the blood. But they’d still spent over eighteen hours in the car, only stopping for gas and bathroom breaks. Right now, a shower sounded even better than food.

Ezra said, “You look different. What happened to you?”

Josh said, “It’s a long story. I’ll fill you in after lunch.”

The guest bathroom on the third floor was bigger than Aunt Wisdom’s cabin and the fully enclosed shower looked like it belonged in a spaceship. Josh didn’t even try to explain anything to Hunter as he pushed buttons and dialed knobs. Water and steam poured out of at least a dozen different spigots.

Hunter stood in front the shower with his mouth open and gaped at it with wide eyes.

Josh said, “Just leave it running when you’re done. I’ll shut everything off. There’s a robe, extra towels and a shaving kit in here.” He opened a closet door next to the shower unit. “Make yourself at home.”

Josh took Channie’s hand and led her down the hall to his room. She’d never seen it before, but the BMX posters, trophies, medals and ribbons gave it away. “How come you never told me about Carmen?”

“This is only the second time I’ve seen her. I met her at Dad and Liz’s wedding.”

Josh shut and locked the door, then peeled off his shirt on his way to the bathroom.
 

“Josh? What are you doing?”

“Come on. There’s room enough in here for two.”

“We can’t shower together! What if your daddy catches us?” In spite of what Josh had said about Ezra not caring whether or not they slept together, Channie agreed with Hunter. She didn’t want Ezra to think she was a whore.

“Did you forget that we’re married?”
 

“Did you tell your Daddy?”

“He doesn’t care. Besides, as much as I’d like to ravage your body, we don’t have time before lunch. It’s just a shower.”

It was a lot more than just a shower. They didn’t have sex, but they might as well have.
 

Josh’s dresser and closet were well stocked. He wrapped Channie up in his soft-as-a-cloud robe then got dressed and took an armful of clothes to Hunter’s room. He said, “I’m going to go raid Liz’s closet. I’ll be right back.”

He closed the door before Channie had a chance to protest. She didn’t want to go chasing after him wearing nothing but a robe so she sat on the bed and braided her hair while she waited.

When Josh returned, he said, “Well that was creepy.”

“What?”

“Digging around in my step-mother’s underwear.”

“Josh, I can’t wear her skivvies.”

“They’re brand new. The tag’s still on ‘em.” He tossed a pair of panties at her.

Channie caught them and set them aside. “Give me one of your shirts and a pair of boxers.”