Rain Shadow(42)

Moisture from the soil soaked through my shirt. Hunger was definitely taking its toll, and it burned a hole in my stomach. I sat up and peered at the slippery slope I’d just rolled down. Coming down had been painful but fast. Going back up would be a different story.

I pushed to my sore feet. Using exposed tree roots and the occasional solid section of footing, I climbed back up and away from the glacial spray of the river.

I came upon a massive tree with a large chunk missing from its trunk, most likely the result of a lightning strike. I piled up some forest debris inside the crevice and sat down in it. Bark poked my back, and I was sure I wasn’t completely alone in my pine nook, but it seemed the best place around for now. It would definitely be a long night.





Chapter 18

Angel

I uncurled from my fetal position. My back and neck were stiff from sleeping on the floor. The dogs had moved onto the comfort of the bed, but I hadn’t had the energy or will to pull myself onto the mattress. I sat up and yanked the quilt around my shoulders. It was still early, but the sun had come up. Then yesterday’s horrid events crept back into my head, and I sank down again.

My eyes ached from crying. I pulled the quilt over my head and buried myself in its soft warmth. I breathed in deeply. Luke’s scent was still fresh. I’d lost him. That reality was so devastating, I wanted to die with the thought of it. There was no one else out there for me except him. Now he was gone, and I was alone in my grandfather’s asylum.

A knock startled me. “Evie, it’s me.”

“Go away, Richo.”

The door opened, and he stepped inside carrying something wrapped in a paper towel. He lowered his hand to me. “I made it myself.”

I looked at the bread smeared thinly with jam. “I couldn’t keep anything down, Richo. You eat it since you had to work hard to make it.”

He sat down on the floor next to me. “I’m really sorry everything turned out this way, Evie.”

“Are you?” He tensed. My coldness hurt him, but I was in too much pain to stop. “It’s just you didn’t seem to like him.”

He grew quiet and stared down at the bread in his hand. Then he shook his head. “All you chicks think you know everything a guy is thinking, but most of the time you’re clueless.”

“I really don’t need this right now, Ri—”

“I was fucking jealous, Evie. How could you not see it? Even he saw it. You think of me as a brother, but I sure as hell don’t think of you as a sister.”

I looked at the side of his face. Sometimes he was too perfectly sculpted to seem real. “I guess I was clueless, Richo. I don’t know what to say.”

“Nothing to say.” A shot rang out. Jericho tossed the bread and pulled me down against the floor. Another shot was fired, followed by my grandfather’s sinister laugh.

“Stay down,” Jericho said sharply. He stooped low and went over to the window. He flinched as another gunshot broke the silence. He lifted the curtains and peered out. “Holy shit, he’s staggering drunk or high or knowing him, both.” Jericho dropped the curtain and crawled back to where he’d left me stretched out on the floor. He dropped down next to me and stared up at the ceiling. “Gunner took off this morning. Packed up his stuff and left. His refusal to kill the fed yesterday put him at odds with Dreygon. He knew he was no longer welcome. Max said Gunner was leaving to go meet up with some of the members. He wants to drum up support for his presidency. He seems to think that this is the time for an overthrow.”

Another bullet whizzed through the air, and I moved closer to Jericho.

“He’s just firing at the sky . . . for now. He looks pretty close to passing out anyway.”

“While I know that Gunner’s refusal was to save his own ass, there was a brief moment in time when I actually liked the guy. But Cash—” my voice broke off. I struggled to push it from my mind, or I’d go insane with the thought of it.

“Cash came back yesterday and disappeared into his cabin. Didn’t want to talk to anyone. Haven’t seen him since. Not sure what the hell is going on with him, but I was as shocked as you.”



“I’ll never forgive him.” The gunshots had stopped. “Do you think he’s done?”

“Maybe. Wait, do you mean with firing into the air or being president?”

“Both, I guess.”

“He probably stumbled back to his cabin to pass out. But as far as his presidency, there are still a lot of people who admire and fear him. Loyalty doesn’t just pop up over night. It takes years of proving yourself, and Dreygon has done that. But he’s become pretty irrational and crazy lately. That kind of behavior loses the loyalty he worked hard to gain. He might be seeing the end of his reign soon. Just don’t know if Gunner has what it takes to step into his shoes.”