Fortunately, Ryan wasn’t the type to ask a lot of questions when his friends needed him. And when he heard that it was me who was in danger, he immediately took one of his dad’s guns. He must have known he’d be in a world of trouble if his dad ever found out. But I was impressed that he didn’t hesitate when we asked for help.
“OK, let’s get going,” Ryan said, as he rushed into the house. I wasn’t sure he grasped how deadly serious this was, but I knew I couldn’t face this situation alone.
We piled into my mom’s car and drove along Dupont, where Justin had last seen the van. I wasn’t sure how we could possibly find the van on this stretch of road. There were just too many places to look—office buildings, the park and ride, motels, stores, not to mention private parking garages, some underground. It would be awfully easy to hide out in a place like this. There was also the possibility that the Scots had already left town. Ashley could be anywhere by then.
We looked everywhere we could think of, checking out every parking lot along that stretch of highway. But it was getting harder to see things in the dark, so when we got to the edge of town, we turned the car around.
While we were searching, I tried to tell Justin and Ryan the whole story. But when I got to the harder concepts, like the curse, immortality, and the fighting clans, I could tell they thought I was nuts. But since Ashley really was missing—and Justin was absolutely sure of that—at least they weren’t going to institutionalize me on the spot.
When we got back to my house, Ryan locked the door, closed all the blinds, and explained that it would be safest for all of us to stay together. He suggested the living room. We could keep an eye on the door there and, if all else failed, we’d have another way out, through the back door. Whether his safety strategies were inspired by the movies or all those years of listening to his dad, I didn’t know, but it sounded good.
After he checked that all the windows were properly secured, and the door chain was latched, we all tried to relax. Kim was sitting on Justin’s lap in an armchair while Justin rubbed her back. Ryan and I sat on opposite ends of the sofa.
“Hey, Sam, do you want a back rub, too?” Ryan asked, grinning.
“Oh, can you not just give up!”
He raised his hands in apology. “I thought danger might turn you on.”
I was pretty sure he was joking. At least, I hoped he was joking. So I joked back. “All right, I’ll forgive you, but only because you’re the one with the gun!”
Ryan laughed, and I smiled at him thankfully.
We all grew quiet. I don’t think anyone got much sleep. We spent the night worrying, dozing off once in a while, and shifting around on our seats. Kim and Justin whispered to each other from time to time; Ryan kept checking the windows, and I sank into my memories.
I went over everything in my mind. That poor woman, Isobel, who died trying to save her child. The dark sky, the sudden lightning, I could see it all right in front me, just like in my dream. What had Vanora said to me? Face your destiny. Remember those you are a descendant of. Beware of the fall. The fall. What did she mean by that? Fortunately, in Milford there were far less hills to fall from than in the Scottish Highlands. But the fall could be a metaphor, I realized. And if so, what for?
My restless thoughts wandered on to the Scotsmen. Alasdair was really threatening, and if he wasn’t alone, as Kim and Justin had said, then he definitely posed a danger. I considered calling my parents. No, I thought. If Alasdair were intending to finish what he’d started, it was good to know that my parents were nowhere nearby.
I wasn’t really worried about Ashley. After all, she wasn’t a descendant of the Camerons. She was my cousin on my dad’s side; she had nothing to do with the Cameron bloodline. Once they figured that out and got ahold of me instead, the angry Scots were bound to let her go.
I wished with all my might that I could talk to Payton, to ask him what to do and to make sure he was all right. But I had deleted his number awhile back, thinking I could erase him from my life.
I wondered if he knew the danger I was facing, and if he was trying to help. But in the back of my mind I also wondered if he had turned his loyalty back to the clan. After all, he was bound to the clan by oath. Would he dare, after all that had happened, to defy them out of his love for me? I didn’t think so. But maybe. He had told me that there was something very special between the two of us.
Ugh! My thoughts were running around in circles. I could pluck petals off a daisy and know as much as I did now… He loves me. He loves me not. He wants me dead. Or maybe not.
Ryan’s return from one of his security rounds interrupted my dark poetry.