“Look!” Ruby gestured into the dark ahead.
Celia and the man they had seen in the shop earlier walked out from behind a large outcropping of rocks. Naked!
“Well, would you look at that?” Jade whispered, amazement ringing in her voice.
“They don’t even have a blanket or anything,” Ruby added.
“That is weird.”
“Doubly weird.”
Celia opened the back door of the truck, took out the sack of clothes and quickly dressed, glancing around her as she did.
“What in the world is going on?” Ruby whispered. “How did they get here? They aren’t even wearing shoes.”
“And it’s not as if they look all that...friendly to me. If you know what I mean,” Jade said, her eyebrows raised in that knowing look.
“I know,” Ruby agreed. “I thought she couldn’t stand that guy. She didn’t even want to see him. Hmm. Something weird is definitely going on.”
Celia and her man friend climbed into the truck and drove away.
“Is that it?” Ruby asked as they hurried back down the road toward their car.
“Well, what did you expect?”
“I don’t know. An answer or something. We’ve been here for hours.”
“But they never even saw us.”
“True,” Ruby agreed, and sighed. “Now what? Did we spend all night out in the desert for nothing? What do we do now?”
“Now we follow them.”
“What?”
“Obviously something is going on here, something wrong. Celia’s in trouble,” Jade said. “If we don’t help her, who will?”
“You’re right. Let’s do it.”
* * *
Several hours later, Celia woke to Malcolm’s hand softly stroking hers. In the haze of half sleep a feeling of warm contentment spread through her at the feel of his touch. She started to reach for him, but then the haze cleared and the memory of why he was there surfaced, bringing with it the shadows of regret and pain.
She opened her eyes and the wide expanse of freeway greeted her as she stared out the windshield. They were barreling through the desert, heading north toward home.
“How are you feeling?” he asked, the warm tendrils of his voice reaching deep within her.
“Tired,” she admitted, though she didn’t know how that was possible considering all she’d done was sleep since she climbed inside his truck the night before. “Where are we?”
“California. You’ve been out for seven hours. You hungry?”
“A little,” she admitted.
“I was hoping you’d say that.” He smiled and, for a second, it was hard not to want to smile with him. To just let go of the anger and the darkness growing within her. To succumb to the comfort she knew he could offer. But she wouldn’t. She had to be strong. If she let him in, even for a second, he’d only hurt her again. All she had to do was get back to the Colony without letting him back under her skin. Two days. Three at the most. She could do this.
And then what? The stones surrounding the Colony had to be rejuvenated every two weeks. If they didn’t find someone else who could do it, she would be stuck there. Always.
“There’s a truck stop a few miles up ahead.”
“Sounds good.” She grabbed a book out of her bag, hoping the story would absorb her and draw her attention away from him. As long as he didn’t talk to her. Look at her. Touch her. She would be fine. A few minutes later, she threw the book back in her bag. It was no use. She could smell him. His rich, spicy scent reached inside her and settled in. She could feel him, his warmth, his strong presence even from across the cab. It made her want to touch him. Obviously she was a lost cause. Pathetic. Hopeless. And when it came to Malcolm Daniels, she always had been.
“Things are going to be a little different when we get back home,” he said, thankfully breaking into her thoughts.
“Why’s that?”
“Jason is the Pack leader now. Losing you wasn’t the only mistake I made. Things got a little out of hand. I made some really bad—”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” she said, interrupting him. She was curious and tempted to let him finish, to sit there and let him ramble on about his mistakes and how sorry he was. To find out what he’d done. But did she really want to know? All that mattered was Scott had shot her mother and she would make sure he paid for it. She needed to focus on that and finding another Keeper, so she could get back to her new home. And that meant not getting embroiled in Malcolm’s life again. So instead of letting him finish, she pointed at the diner up ahead. “Is that it?”
“Yes,” he said, obviously confused and a touch... what? She looked at the sadness on his face. Disappointed? Yeah, she knew that feeling well.
“Good, I’m starving.”
* * *
A few minutes later, Malcolm watched Celia from across the small laminated table, trying valiantly to ignore him. She was determined not to make eye contact or even to speak. He could see how much pain she was in, and it was killing him. He brought this on her with his stupidity and greed. And he’d lost everything because of it. Somehow he had to make things right. He could live without being Pack leader, but he couldn’t live without her. He wouldn’t. But how could he get her back?
“So tell me about Sedona?” he asked, breaking the painful silence growing between them.
She glanced up at him, her eyes filled with indifference. “It’s beautiful.”
“Sparse.”
“And yet incredible with the red rock mountains and canyons. I never knew a place like that existed. So different from home, and yet so beautiful in its own way.”
Their food arrived—two plates heaping with thick slices of bacon, fluffy eggs and fried potatoes that were actually quite good. Silence grew once more between them as they ate. A wide chasm he didn’t know how to cross.
As he finished his food, fatigue fell over him, pulling him down. He wanted to tell her about the Colony, about his role in what had happened to her mother. He should be the one to tell her. But she wasn’t making it easy on him. And he supposed he shouldn’t start a conversation like that now. Not when he hadn’t slept for almost twenty-four hours. For that he’d need all his wits about him. But he also knew that as soon as she stepped foot inside the Colony’s borders, someone would tell her. He sighed and his eyes drifted closed.
“So how did Jason become Pack leader?” she asked, her tone hesitant.
His eyes popped open. He groaned inwardly and took a deep slug off his coffee. “I’ve made more than a few mistakes,” he began. “Starting with wanting to marry Shay.”
“It was a stupid plan,” she interrupted. “And one I still haven’t forgiven you for. But I’m glad it happened.”
“You are?” he asked, stunned. “Why?”
“Because it pushed me out of my comfort zone and out of the Colony. I love Sedona. I love my new life and I’m not going to give it up. I’ll rejuvenate the stones, but you are going to have to find another Keeper. I’m not staying there. Make no mistake.”
A chill filled him at her words. “There is no one else. You know that.”
“There could be. We will need to test everyone now, just to be certain.”
He