“Dani, it’s me,” I said softly.
“Oh, Mara,” she breathed a sigh of relief. “Where are you? I haven’t heard from you. I tried to call you, but your phone was disconnected.”
I bit my lip again and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. “Um … I moved.”
“What? Mara, you suck at lying. No one can move in a day.”
“It was really sudden. If Dad didn’t take this new job they were going to give it to someone else. He had to start immediately.”
“You’re serious, aren’t you?” she asked.
“Yeah,” I sighed. “I am.” A single tear fell from my eye, and I wiped it away hastily so that Theo wouldn’t see.
“We can still be friends though, can’t we, Mara?”
I knew then what I had to do, and it broke my heart. I had to say goodbye to my childhood friend and I knew I’d never see or hear from her again. “I’m sorry, Dani,” I started, “but I don’t think so.”
I hung up the phone and handed it to Theo.
I wanted to turn into a heaping pile of tears and female hormones, but I refused to let that happen in front of him. I didn’t want my protector to view me as weak. I wanted him to know that I was strong enough to survive saying goodbye to everything I had ever known and embracing what I was to become.
From that moment on, I was the new and improved Mara Pryce. Granted, it wasn’t much of an improvement.
But it was a start.
Chapter 6
WANT ONE?” ASKED THEO AS he climbed back in the car from charming the cashier for free gas and whatever else he wanted. “Unlike you, doll face, I share.”
I looked at the black and white cookie he offered.
“I only eat them with peanut butter,” I mumbled.
Dani and I had gotten in the habit of dipping Oreos in peanut butter from summer camp.
Theo pulled out a squirt packet of peanut butter. “I know. Come on, I know you want one.” He waved a peanut-butter-slathered Oreo in front of my face.
“Thanks,” I said, taking it from him. “But how do you even know that?”
He smiled crookedly. “I know everything about you, Mara.”
“That’s not unnerving at all,” I replied sarcastically. “If you know everything about me, it’s only fair you tell me something about yourself.”
He looked like he wasn’t going to say anything but surprised me by replying with, “I have a cat. His name’s Nigel. He’s a Russian Blue. Does that suffice as something personal?”
“Not really.” I smiled. “But I’m sure it’s all I’m going to get from you.”
“You’ve got that right.”
We sat quietly in the car as the gas poured in. It clicked, and Theodore hopped out to return the nozzle. A moment later, we were racing down the road. Dark had long since fallen.
I’d be lying if I didn’t say the darkness unnerved me now. It had never bothered me before but knowing something might be out there, watching, hunting me … It was scary.
I watched the speedometer near a hundred miles per hour. We had yet to be stopped by the cops, so I figured Theo had some sort of magic trick to keep them away.
“You can go to sleep,” Theo told me.
“I’m fine,” I lied.
He sighed. “You’re no good to me if you’re dead on your feet.”
I closed my eyes and laid back. “Happy now?”
“Very.”
“Night, Theo,” I said sarcastically.
“Night, doll face.”
“Shit, shit, shit,” someone cursed. “Wake up,” the same voice said and shook me.
I cracked my eyes open.
Theo’s gray eyes were wide and dark with concern. “We have company,” he said as his gaze darted to the rearview mirror. “I need you to drive.”
“What?” I asked, still groggy.
“Move, Mara,” he growled and forcefully switched places with me. “Drive as fast as you can,” he commanded.
I pressed down on the gas. I hated driving in the dark and with the added speed and an unfamiliar car I was spooked. Then I noticed the headlights trailing us, and my heart rate spiked from fright.
“You’re doing great. Don’t worry about them. I’ve got this.” He rolled down the window. “Drive steady.”
“What are you doing?” I shrieked.
“I can’t exactly get them from here, can I?” he snapped as he climbed out the window and onto the top of the car.
“Theo!” I cried.
“You’re doing great, Mara,” he called back, his voice muffled by the speed. I was too frightened to care that he said Mara instead of doll face.
A green light shot from the top of the car and hit the car behind us. The light shot in a single streak before billowing out and enfolding the entire car.
When I looked again, the car was gone.
Before I could rejoice in the fact that they were gone, another car appeared. I heard Theo’s curse above me. Despite my desire to make the car go even faster, I kept it steady.
Theo did something else this time. I watched red and orange flames in the shape of a dragon engulf the next car.
Luckily, this time, another car did not appear. I kept watching for one and apparently Theo did too because he didn’t climb back in the car.
My heart roared in my ears, drowning out the sound of the wind whipping through the open window.
I’d believed Theo when he spoke of these iniquitous that were after me, but believing it and seeing it were two different things.
I was officially terrified.
After a while, I asked, “Theo, are you okay?” Hopefully it was loud enough for him to hear. I hoped he hadn’t fallen off the car. I hadn’t heard a thump or anything, so surely, he was fine.
“I’m fine.” He slipped back into the car easily like he did this sort of thing every day. “Just making sure no more appeared. They’re sneaky bastards.”
“How did they find us?” My voice shook with fear.
“Your guess is as good as mine. Now come on, move on back over here.” He motioned for me to switch places with him.
“Why do they want to kill me?” I asked as we did a very awkward dance changing places.
He flopped down into the driver’s seat, his foot replacing mine. “I told you. It’s because you’re powerful.”
“There’s more to it than that. I can tell when someone’s hiding something. And you are definitely hiding something.”
Theo sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “I’m not lying.”
“Yeah, you are. You see, that thing you did with your hands, it’s called a nervous tic.”
“That is not a nervous tic,” he defended. “My hair was in my eyes.”
“Of course it was.”
“I saved your butt. Why are you arguing with me?”
I rolled my eyes. “Thank you for saving me, Theodore. Happy now?”
He shook his head. “You’re a piece of work.”
“And you’re annoying.”
He smirked. “I think you like me.”
“Of course you do. You’re a self-centered, egotistical jerk,” I scoffed, crossing my arms over my chest. Theo brought out the best in me.
He grinned cockily. “When you’ve got it, you’ve got it. And I’ve got it.”
“That was a lot of got its,” I remarked.
“I can’t win with you, can I?”