The Rift (32 page)

She looked at us for a moment and her lips
curled up into a sad smile. “I’m glad to see you two have finally
gotten together, although your relationship appears to be a bit
codependent if you ask me.”

“We didn’t ask,” I said.

Her smile widened. “What’s going on, my
friends, is that Harvest One has decided joining the reapers in
their mission to take over the country is more cost effective than
fighting them. My company likes this little town and the drug
business the wolves have going here, and they see an opportunity
for an easy profit. Since a bunch of wolves and Thad just stomped
through town, trying to act subtle, and since you two are here, I’m
guessing the wolves and Varius are teaming up to get rid of the
reapers. I’m here to warn you off in both an official and a
personal capacity. Trust me when I say you will lose this
fight.”

“Why should we trust you after the shit you
pulled in Colorado?” I asked. Jed tensed next to me, and I realized
Thad and I had never really told him of our suspicions about Holly.
When we’d been on the run from reapers in Briarton, she’d been with
us. She’d also disappeared around the same time a group of reapers
and living people rescued Caleb from us and beat up our teammates,
Isobel and Rooster.

Holly rolled her eyes and sank down onto the
floor across from us. “You don’t have any choice but to trust me at
this point. I’m putting my ass on the line to help you out here,
and you’re not going to get any help from anyone else.”

“Maybe we don’t need or want your help,” I
said. I could feel Jed’s eyes burning a hole in the side of my
face. I knew he thought I was being crazy, but I ignored him.

“Then you’re an idiot,” Holly said. “I should
get up and walk out of here, but I…Maybe I’m an idiot, too.” She
banged her head against the wall, looking somehow put together and
beautiful even in dirty jeans, a t-shirt, and complete frustration.
“Look, I don’t know why you should believe me, but I didn’t tell
anyone we had Caleb at that hotel. I didn’t even tell the folks at
Harvest One. Problem is, they had a tracking device on me of which
I was unaware. They also have trust issues when it comes to me.
They tracked me and sold our whereabouts to the reapers in
Briarton. They sent an operative with the reapers, who beat up
Rooster and Isobel and kidnapped Caleb, and that operative took me
back to headquarters. Where I have been under house arrest ever
since. This mission is the first time they’ve let me out and
believe me when I say I needed to get out. I don’t do well when I
don’t have anything to do. I’m taking a huge risk being here today
and I need you to trust me.”

I eyed her, trying to tell if she was lying,
but what she said made sense.

“We don’t have a lot of other options,” Jed
said softly. “I think she’s telling the truth.”

I nodded. “Fine. Just as long as you know
I’ll be watching you and expecting you to turn on us.”

To her credit, Holly didn’t laugh, but she
didn’t look intimidated either.

“How many people does Harvest One have here?”
Jed asked.

“Ten,” she said. “I’m not exactly in favor
with the powers that be, but even I know Varius has cut some deal
with the wolves. I figure the wolves have something Varius wants.
You want to fill me in on what that might be?”

“Nope,” Jed said. “But the deal isn’t common
knowledge, so I’m guessing there’s a mole at Varius, and pretty
high up, too.”

“What do I know?” Holly asked. “The only
reason I got sent here at all is people in power think I can
influence you, Jed.”

“People in power are idiots.”

Holly nodded like his statement was too
obvious to deserve mentioning. “Do you really think you stand a
chance against us and the reapers?”

“What about our friends,” I asked. “Are they
going to be left alone while they’re in town today?”

“Today? Yes,” Holly said. “I’m here to talk
some sense into Jed, so Harvest One isn’t going to start a fight if
there’s a chance of avoiding it. If your people start a fight…all
bets are off.”

“How do you feel about all of this?” Jed
asked.

She shook her head. “Are you seriously asking
me whose side I’m on? I’m here right now to offer you help, the
only help I can afford to offer.”

“You don’t have to stay there,” Jed said.
“You could work for Varius.”

“I’d rather gouge my eyeballs out with a
rusty spoon. I like both of you, but I can’t offer you more than my
advice to get the hell out and leave this town to the reapers.”

“That’s not an option,” Jed said, and he
explained our situation to her.

She opened her mouth, closed it, opened it
again, then shook her head. “This is a fucking cluster. I really
don’t want to have to fight you.”

“So don’t,” Jed said.

“You think you’re the only one with
complications?” she asked. “This job is my last chance to prove
myself to Harvest One. If I screw this up, I’m going to be out on
my ass.”

“You could join Len’s team,” I said.

She shook her head and sighed. “And what can
Len offer me? How long will I work for him before I’m in this same
situation having to fight someone I like from Harvest One?” She
dropped her head into her hands. “Can I stay here, with you?” she
asked. Her head popped up and her eyes widened like she couldn’t
believe what she’d just said. “Forget it, I can’t leave Harvest
One. Please just get out of town. The reapers might follow Wraith,
but you could fight them in the next place, and leave this town to
Harvest One.”

“And who’s to say Harvest One won’t follow
us, too? I’m not sure I believe they didn’t know we were here
before they decided to move in,” Jed said. “We can’t run forever,
and we like it here. Wraith likes it here. He’s already got rogue
wolves joining him. If we go somewhere else to start over, we’ll be
the rogues and you know how that goes.” I didn’t, but it made sense
that werewolves would be as territorial as real wolves.

“You could stay here with us,” I said. “I’m
sure Wraith can use another medium and you could make a life here.”
She had always seemed so unhappy to me, and I almost suggested she
find something to make her happy, but I didn’t want to cross a
line.

She ran a hand over her face and looked
completely lost for a moment. “Maybe. I need you to promise me you
won’t turn your back on me once I’ve helped you.”

Jed leaned forward in his seat and took her
hands in his without losing contact with me. “I promise, Holly. If
you help us now, you’ll be with us, and we don’t turn our backs on
our people.”

She ripped her hands out of Jed’s like they
were contaminated, but her eyes were glassy. “Okay, you don’t have
to get all gooey, Jed. I believe you and, even if I didn’t…it
doesn’t matter. I have to go, but I’ll be back as soon as I’ve got
something you can use.” Holly stood and left the room before we
could say anything else.

“I’m beginning to doubt the possibility of a
happy ending here,” I said.

He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and
squeezed me tight. “I don’t like this. The reapers picked this town
because of Wraith, but why is Harvest One here? There are other
towns with just as much to offer.”

“What if—”

“The others are back.” He rose to his feet
and pulled me up with him.

“That’s great. But I really have to pee.”

Jed sighed and shook his head. It wasn’t the
first time, but it didn’t make it any easier. He led me to the
bathroom and paced outside the door while I did my thing. When I
was finished, he pulled me against him and hugged me until his
heart rate returned to normal. I breathed him in and enjoyed the
warmth of his strong arms, trying to ignore my certainty that our
plan wouldn’t work and he’d be taken from me.

“We should get one of the wolves to spar with
us,” I said. “We need to make sure we can maintain contact while we
fight.”

He nodded and released me, keeping an arm
around my shoulders so we could walk to the living room. He
motioned for the others to follow him back to our room. “Next house
we get, we should ward the living room, too,” I said.

He didn’t say anything and I knew he was
worried. My stomach started to churn, and I took a few deep breaths
to calm myself.

Jed filled the others in on what Holly had
told us, but they’d already recognized a couple of Harvest One’s
people in town. None of the wolves looked worried. They looked
eager, if they were in their wolf form their tails would probably
be wagging. “We go in tonight,” Wraith said. “I have a date with
Lorelei, the new mayor, and Boss and Pyre here are going to crash
it.”

“And what about Harvest One?” Jed asked.

“They won’t be expecting it. It will just be
the three of us, so we shouldn’t draw too much attention. I’ve
convinced her I’m ready to pick up where we left off and work with
her to run this town.”

“Was she convinced?” I asked.

Wraith pinned me with his gaze. His amber
eyes had just as much intensity as they did when he was a reaper
and I felt myself pulled in by them, starting to drown in his
power. He gave me a tiny, tense smile and the spell was broken.
“I’m not sure,” he said, being more honest than I had expected.
“But we need to strike now. If we give them any more time to plan,
build up their defenses, or reap more people, we’ll be screwed.
They’ve already reaped the sheriff and the local money bags, who
owns most of the property in town.”

“So fast?” I asked. “How?”

Something flickered across his eyes and it
almost looked like fear. “We’ll find out when we bring Lorelei
in.”

The group broke up and Jed and I went outside
with Thad and Hugh, one of the rogue wolves, to work out how to
fight connected to each other.

I fell into step between Thad and Jed.
“Where’s Tessa?” I asked Thad.

“She left with Lionel,” Thad said, his words
clipped.

“When will you see her again?” I asked the
question even though I was pretty sure I knew the answer by his
tone and the expression on his face. For the first time since I’d
met him, he looked hopeless and sad.

“I won’t. We’re through.”

I nodded and we walked through the woods in
silence.

“I’m telling you right now. I don’t think
this will work,” Thad said when we got to the dirt circle we’d been
using for sparring. Hugh didn’t say a word, his face showed no
expression. He was taller than Thad, but not as broad, a bit lanky.
He might have looked like a regular guy, a bit of a softy even, if
it weren’t for the scars crisscrossing his face and his hard,
fierce eyes. He noticed me watching him and shifted a bit like he
was offering me a better look. I knew better than to drop my gaze,
so I continued to stare and raised my eyebrows in question. I
didn’t know him and I had no reason to trust him, staring at him
was the least I could do. He ran his eyes over my body from head to
toe and back up again, before giving me a leering smile. Jed
growled next to me, and Hugh’s smile widened.

“Cut it out, you two,” Thad said, sounding
bored. “Kelsey, Hugh has been thoroughly vetted by Wraith and me.
He’s on our side and he’s a damn good fighter. Hugh, she’s not
being rude, she’s just being protective, back off.” Hugh took a
step back and dropped his gaze to the ground. I shot Thad an
apologetic smile. I’d accept his words, but I wasn’t happy about
all of the newbies on our team.

The early afternoon was warm, but a breeze
brought out goose bumps on my uncovered arms. The birds were
singing merrily, and daffodils had pushed up on the edges of the
ring. I wondered who had planted them so far into the woods.

“We don’t have any choice,” Jed said. I
didn’t know if he was responding to Thad’s earlier comment or to my
sense of unease about our group, but it didn’t matter. He was
right.

Thad nodded. “Okay, then. You two need to
learn to act as one unit. It would be best if you kept your backs
together while you fought. You won’t be able to maintain perfect
contact, but you must stay as near each other as possible.”

Jed nodded and Hugh was on us before I’d even
gotten my hands up into fighting position. I heard him and Jed
fighting behind me, and I did the best I could to move with him and
keep some sort of contact without looking at him, preparing myself
for another attack. Jed dropped away and I spun to find him on the
ground.

“Oh, shit. Sorry,” I said. I dropped down
next to him and helped him back to his feet.

Thad chuckled while Jed gasped for breath.
“Good job maintaining contact, Kelsey,” he said. “But next time,
you might actually try to help Jed fight. He’s still adjusting to
his new strength.”

Jed and I got back into position and tried it
again, and again, and again, until I got the hang of staying close
and fighting with him. After two hours I started guessing his next
move and, once, I knew what his next three moves were going to be.
I don’t know if it was all the hours we’d spent training together
in Briarton, or if he was just predictable, but I felt I had him
pretty well figured out.

Hugh stepped back, breathing hard, eyebrows
raised. “You two have some crazy voodoo connection going on.”

I grinned at Jed, and he pulled me tight
against his side. The sun was starting to set behind the mountains,
and my stomach rumbled with hunger. I figured we were done for the
day, but Hugh studied us for a long moment, and Jed seemed pinned
in place by his gaze.

“You should practice shifting with Kelsey
here.”

I looked at Jed in time to see his skin go
ghost white. “Hugh…”

“I know it hurts, dude, but you might need to
shift during a fight. The more you practice the less it will hurt
and the more quickly you’ll be able to do it. Besides, we need to
know how much control you have in wolf form, and whether or not
you’ll be able to leave Kelsey’s side to fight.”