Love's Cruel Redemption (The Ghost Bird Series)

“North said she wouldn’t,” Nathan said. “She wouldn’t because she’d try to keep us together.”

“That sounds more like her,” Silas said. “Not that I wouldn’t trust you all around her. But...I don’t know. Maybe this is the right thing to do. I’d rather just know you’re all taking her out and doing things with her than wonder if you’ll forever do it behind my back.”

“It’s what we do,” Victor said. “The Academy. We can’t always be around her. We’re so busy. And I don’t trust anyone else with her. I don’t trust anyone else wouldn’t try to talk her into running off together. But I know if we say we won’t, then...you won’t.” He sighed. “That’s all I worry about. When I’ve got time between what we do, I just want to see her.”

The car fell into silence again. Victor got distracted again with typing and scrolling in his phone. Silas glared out the front window.

Nathan had nothing more to add. Every time he talked to the others about this, the more it felt like there was an ultimate choice for all of them. If they wanted to stay together, and be happy...

What North and Dr. Green had said to him echoed in his brain, mixing in with Silas and Victor’s expressed thoughts.

He hadn’t considered what he was asking when he thought of what if Sang couldn’t do this. What if she needed to back off and pick one?

Who would she pick, if any?

And if it wasn’t him, what would he do then?

Would he be able to live the rest of his life in the group knowing she picked one of the others? Could she continue to work in the group like that?

No. Every angle he pictured, North was right.

The dark mood he’d been in for days settled in more now. His stomach turned in turmoil. In confusion.

They needed to either decide to do this together, or they were asking to splinter the group forever.





The Exchange




Sang

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Close to one in the morning, I stood with Mr. Blackbourne near the back of the school as a large truck that normally brought in food for Bob’s Diner backed up toward the same two doors that opened up into the cafeteria.

Mr. Blackbourne signaled to them, noting where to back up and how far.

I kept an eye out on the surrounding grounds. North and I had witnessed something similar days ago. Paranoid, I kept particular attention to the woods and underneath the nearby buildings.

The truck parked. Both doors opened.

Uncle came around from the driver’s side. North from the other.

Uncle beamed. His bald head covered in a bandana. He wore a jean jacket and khaki pants. When he smiled, he formed wrinkles around his eyes and lips. “I don’t get out enough. This is actually exciting.”

Mr. Blackbourne approached him with a hand extended in offering. “Thanks for coming out to do this.”

Uncle took his hand, pumping up and down. “Sure, sure. I don’t know what I’m going to do with what you’re giving me.”

“We have to source what’s wrong with what,” Mr. Blackbourne said. “There may be more in the city going around that’s off like it is.”

“Right,” he said. “Good thinking. Do you want my team to handle it? Sounds like you’ve got enough going on here.”

“We’d appreciate the assistance,” he said. “We’ll give you the warehouse we think it came from. It’s where the school’s food ended up.”

“We’ll get on it,” he said. He turned to me. “Where’s Luke? He’s not with you?”

Did Luke say he was with me? I wasn’t sure how much information he gave Uncle on where he was. Uncle was part of the Academy, as far as I knew, but I didn’t know how much Luke kept from his Uncle about what we were up to. “I’m sure he’s around here somewhere,” I said, although I wasn’t totally sure where he was.

One of the brown doors behind us opened up. Nathan stood with the same wagon Mr. Morris and the other woman had used to cart stuff around. Silas stood by him. He looked once toward me and then on to Uncle and North. “Let’s get this over with,” Silas said. He headed toward the truck.

The truck was opened. Boxes were stacked high, taking up most of the space. “Since we don’t know what was brought in that could be the bad stuff,” Uncle said, “we’ll just have to replace everything. I think I have everything you’ll need for this upcoming week. Hopefully enough for two thousand kids.”

“We should be back on track by then with another normal food delivery,” Mr. Blackbourne said. “Are we ready?”

Nathan waited by the door, holding it open. I walked past Nathan, heading inside, ready to help sort what was coming in with what was going out.

The cold room fridge was open, some of the boxes already set aside to make room for the new stuff coming in. Each box was marked and inventoried, some in red for likely suspects of what was bad, since most of the comments from students had been about the hamburger option, but it was unclear what exactly it might have been, hamburger or toppings, that might have been contaminated. And who knew out of all the other food what else might have been bad as well.

Victor was in the kitchen, leaning over one of the long metal prep counters, writing out something in a laptop, and monitoring some cameras around the school for anyone who may come by.

I leaned over his shoulder, not really paying attention to whatever he was doing, just wanting him to know I was close.

He jerked back the moment I touched him and widened his eyes. “Oh. It’s you.”

I smiled at him. “A lot going on.”

He smiled and motioned to what he was working on. “No kidding. I’m probably not getting any sleep tonight.”

“Maybe you should. We all should.”

He nodded slowly. He glanced over at the door, but no one was within eyesight. We could just feel the breeze from outside sweeping in. He leaned close to me, giving me a quick kiss on the corner of my lips. “Do me a favor?”

I agreed to it before even knowing what it was. For Victor, I’d do anything. “Absolutely.”

“Spend some time with Nathan?”

The question had me curious. “Any particular reason?”

He glanced back at the open door and then back at me. “Just...trust me? He might not be showing it, but...he needs it.”

I did trust him, but it made me wonder what was going on. I’d spent days with Mr. Blackbourne and with school issues. Did something happen while we were busy? I didn’t ask. Instead, I tried to think of how to make what needed to happen, happen.

They didn’t need me here. Not right now.

I gave a quick kiss to Victor, squeezing his hand gently. I was grateful he was aware enough, even through all this, to let me know when I was needed.

I walked back to the open door, and when I did, I yawned, a little loud.

Nathan immediately picked up on it. “Tired?”

“Mmm,” I mumbled, rubbing at my eyes. “I can stay up a bit longer.”

Mr. Blackbourne turned his attention back to us during his monitoring of the food being loaded into the trolley. He took one look at me with a questioning glanced.

I silently motioned to Nathan with wide eyes, and hoped Nathan didn’t notice me doing so. I needed Mr. Blackbourne to know I needed to talk to Nathan. No one else.

“Mr. Griffin, I think we can spare you a few hours if you wouldn’t mind driving her somewhere that she can sleep.”

“Taking her home?” he asked. He glanced quickly at Uncle, who could easily hear them.

“Wherever she can get undisturbed sleep.”

I was proud he knew exactly what I needed. Alone time with Nathan for as long as I could get.

“Yeah,” Nathan said. “Sure. I’ll take her.”

When Nathan turned to go inside, I waved shortly to Mr. Blackbourne, silently thanking him.

We returned to the kitchens. Victor noted us coming in. He waved to Nathan but then spoke to me. “We’re having to work in shifts now. Maybe we need more people on the team.”

Nathan stretched his arms over his head and yawned. “Why are we doing this delivery so late, anyway? Can’t we do this in the morning?”

“We need it done before anyone else is notified about the food,” Victor said. “Better to do it now.” He paused as he typed at something on his computer. “Luke should be in the car now.”