Just Breathe Part 24

The Wyldlings were his weakness. Always had been.

Make Gavin pay with Wyldling Fire.

Make them all pay.

Indeed, she would.

Scarlet started the car and pointed it toward Zoe's house.

When Gavin came inside, shoulders squared and nose wrinkled, he looked agitated. And guilty. He startled when Zoe shuffled out of the bedroom toward him. "I thought you'd gone to sleep. I was coming to kiss you goodnight." He wiped beads of sweat from his brow.

Blanket around her shoulders, she squinted at him through the dim hall light. "Who the h.e.l.l was that making such a racket?"

He glanced at the window, twisted the blinds shut, and switched off the outside floodlights. "p.i.s.sed off neighbor. Mad that I haven't mowed the gra.s.s in a while."

Why would a neighbor drive over in the middle of the night while it was raining to lodge a complaint about his lawn? Something was off with him-had been for a few days now. Maybe it was some kind of Sentinel business he couldn't talk about.

More likely, he was hiding something Scarlet-related.

Every time Zoe brought up his ex lately, he danced around subject as if talking about her was downright painful. His defensiveness made her defensive. She didn't like not knowing what was going on.

Even Jack had been mum when she questioned him last night about Gavin's odd behavior.

"What the h.e.l.l did you ever see in Scarlet?" The words came out with more venom than she intended. Zoe sat on the couch and watched for his reaction.

His lip twitched. He averted his gaze as he settled beside her. "Do we have to talk about her again?"

She grabbed his clammy hand and stared him in the eyes. "Yes."

"I love you, Zed. Let's put her behind us. She's not worth the breath." That time he didn't look away. Thank G.o.d.

"And I love you, but I need to know my enemy. Why'd you hook up with her in the first place?"

He flinched. Stood. Paced. "It was a combination of desperation and raging Fire. I'd just lost a good friend-my Sentinel partner, Serena. The one you asked about. I had...feelings for her, and her death f.u.c.king devastated me.

"I did all the stupid s.h.i.t people do. Drank too much, got lit at parties, drowned my sorrows in empty s.e.x with strangers. Scarlet came along and fit right into the mess of my life. I was so deprived of Water at that point, I didn't even recognize she was a Fyre."

Gavin paused and turned to her. "Actually, I take that back. In hindsight, I subconsciously knew it all along. I just didn't give a f.u.c.k. She made it so easy."

Zoe focused on the fingernail sc.r.a.ping her tingling palm. Her hands always itched when she was nervous or scared. Or got that achy feeling like something bad was going to happen.

She didn't want to lose him.

"You're much stronger now." At least, she tried to convince herself he was.

"Because of you. I know that sounds so cliche and bulls.h.i.t lame, but it's the b.a.l.l.s-honest truth. You brought back the Water I lost when Serena died. You're the reason I get up and fight every morning." He rubbed his chest with a fist.

She wanted to believe him, but trusting him was hard. He's been acting so weird, suspicious, avoiding her. If only she could read his mind. See into the future. Interpret 'auras' like he did.

A Just Breathe song rattled from the cell phone lying on the coffee table before her. She s.n.a.t.c.hed it up and checked the caller ID. Randy.

s.h.i.t.

She stood and shrugged out of the blanket. "Work stuff. I'm gonna take this outside. I won't be long."

He scowled. Some inner dialogue seemed to taunt him. "First sign of trouble, you wave at me." He flipped open the blinds and turned the outside light back on.

She nodded and clicked the answer b.u.t.ton on the way out the door. "h.e.l.lo?"

"It's Randy. How are things?"

She checked her watch. "You realize it's ten o'clock here, right? What do you need?"

"Well, if you're not interested in good news, I can call back later."

She tightened her grip on the phone. "What is it?"

"I heard from the CRN Board of Directors today. I'd have called earlier, but I thought you'd be out on the boat."

"We've had a few bad weather days." She didn't want to appear too anxious. "What did the Board want?"

"To confirm some info for payroll regarding an employee promotion." He paused. She pictured him checking his fingernails. "And to thank me for my recommendation for the new Vice President."

Her heart ker-thunked in twelve different rhythms at once.

After a few seconds of silence, he laughed. "Congratulations, Zoe. You got the job."

For the first time since she stepped outside, she noticed the sounds of soft pings off the huge palm leaves. The Water tapping out natural beats of a rain shower. The smell of wet Earth, a little sweet, full of grit and strength. Air zipping in between drops like an obstacle course.

She faced the window where Gavin watched her, fiddling with the ring piercing his bottom lip.

Zoe turned her back to him. "I got the job?" Stupid question, but she couldn't very well ask the one bouncing around in her head like a super ball from h.e.l.l: 'What am I going to do about Gavin?'

"Yeah, I believe I mentioned that." Randy laughed again.

For months leading up to this trip to Australia, she'd pushed herself to the limits, sacrificed every moment of free time, put in ridiculous hours both in the office and on the water-all to prove she was worthy of the promotion she'd just been awarded.

Why did it feel so anticlimactic?

It felt anticlimactic because Gavin wouldn't be there to live the new job with her. She'd finish up her work in Hervey Bay and move on to the next a.s.signment. That's how responsibility worked. You made sacrifices in one area to get ahead in another.

"Zoe, you there?"

She gave herself a mental slap in the face. "Sorry. I guess I'm in shock." That was the G.o.d's honest truth.

"Why? You earned it."

"Thanks, Randy. I appreciate your confidence."

"I look forward to working with you on a more...intimate level."

She closed her eyes and shook her head. And here we go. "We've had this conversation many times before. If my appointment had anything to do with our previous...arrangement, you can keep your promotion."

"I a.s.sure you, the Board-and I-have complete confidence in your abilities. I meant exactly what I said. It'll be good working closely with you again. Your qualifications and experience far exceeded those of the other candidates. The project in Oz proves you're the right woman for the job."

True. Zoe knew the others who'd applied for the position, and none of them had the hands-on background she did. What she lacked in academic prowess, she more than made up for in down and dirty, hardcore research. CRN needed someone with her skills, not a pie-in-the-sky, ivory tower brain junkie with thousands of journal articles under his belt and not a lick of common sense.

And the whole speaking-with-whales thing would open doors, create insights she'd never had before. She had no plans to expose her 'ability,' but it certainly couldn't hurt to use it in the field.

"Thanks for letting me know. When does the new job start?"

"Your pay increase will begin next cycle, but we won't give you any official responsibilities until you return in November. Figured it was best to keep you where you're kicking a.s.s until the project ends."

Thank G.o.d. She turned to the window. Gavin hadn't moved from his watchful perch. Her knight in tattooed armor.

"I think that's a good idea."

"Bad weather, you said?"

"Yeah, we've had a rush of it on and off for a few days. Lots of rain, high seas. I'm hoping it'll clear enough for us to go out tomorrow. I hate staying in." And she was anxious to find out how the Waeters were faring under their new leader.

Her phone beeped. She pulled it back. Adriene. s.h.i.t, she was probably p.i.s.sed and wondering where the h.e.l.l Zoe had been. They'd exchanged voicemails over the last day, but never actually spoken.

"Hold on a sec. I've got another call."

"That's all right. I gotta go. Congratulations again. We'll touch base soon."

"Yeah, thanks." She tapped the end b.u.t.ton twice. "Hey, girl, I'm sorry I-"

"Zoe, you need to come home." Adriene's voice shook.

Alarm shot through Zoe's veins. "What's wrong?" she asked, a little unsteady in the vocal chords, too. She whipped her head around to Gavin and gestured for him to come out.

"The research house. It's...gone."

Chapter Twenty-eight.

As soon as Gavin parked the car, Zoe bolted down the street, past seven fire trucks, to the end of the drive. Gavin's splashing footfalls kept pace beside her. The rain piddled half-heartedly, though she hardly noticed. A small crowd of neighbors, a news crew, and some pa.s.sersby had gathered in front of foreboding yellow bands of police tape.

It was dark, but not so dark she couldn't see the damage. Adriene hadn't exaggerated. The house was freaking gone. Burned to a pile of still-smoking ash. Not even the bricks had survived.

A panic attack weaseled up her spine and grabbed her by the back of the neck before she had a chance to do the controlled breathing thing her shrink had taught her. She halted her steps, bent forward, hair dipping into the muddy gra.s.s, and braced her hands on her knees. Her vision shook.

Everything was toast.

All the research they'd done. The DTAGs. Hundreds of digital photos. Hard drives. Backup drives.

Her copy of Among Whales by Roger Payne, the researcher who'd inspired her to become a whale biologist.

And oh G.o.d, the beautiful song Gavin had written for her that she kept under her pillow.

Her eyes pumped a steady stream of tears as her body quaked with profound, raw loss.

Gavin dropped to his knees before her, took her by the chin and looked her in the eyes. The rain flattened his black spikes to short, flat triangles stuck to his waxy skin. "It's gonna be okay. We'll make them pay for this with blood. We'll end this. Together."

She felt her mouth twist, all clown-like, the way people did in movies when really bad s.h.i.t happened. She hated those horrible faces. But Gavin didn't turn away. He caught her when panic shook her emotions free of their foundations and caused her to lose her balance. He plunked his a.s.s beside her in a puddle and crushed her to his chest. "Gotcha."

He'd said that same word when he first rescued her from drowning in the Dreaming.

There was no point in trying to maintain a sense of decorum in this situation. She'd done remarkably well, dealing with the c.r.a.p life pelted her with up to this point. The universe would have to deal with her losing her s.h.i.t now.

Saliva thickened in her mouth. Gavin held her. Shoulders and knees jerked. Gavin smoothed her sopping wet hair. Inhuman sounds choked from her throat. Gavin kissed her forehead.

Sloshing thumps of mismatched footsteps came up behind them.

"Zoe?" Adriene said. Her crutches dropped to the wet ground. "Is she okay?"

Gavin nodded. "She will be. What did the police say?"

As if he didn't know who was behind the fire.

Another hand joined Gavin's on her back. Adriene spoke near Zoe's ear. "No suspects. Neighbors didn't see anything. They can't figure out how the fire could have burned so hard and so fast. By the time the firemen got here, there was nothing left but smoke and ash."

Zoe pulled away from the refuge of Gavin's arms. "Where are Dani and Elizabeth?" She squinted past the spinning red swirls of light from the trucks. "Did anyone get hurt?"

Despite the cast on her leg, Adriene carefully lowered herself to the mud on Zoe's other side and gestured to a clump of investigators talking to witnesses. "No injuries. No one was home, thank G.o.d."

No injuries this time. But who was to say the Fyres-Scarlet-wouldn't pay them another visit tomorrow or the next day?

Zoe grabbed her arm. "Listen to me. The three of you aren't safe. We need to get you some place where no one will find you."

"Zoe-" Gavin squeezed her hand lightly.

She whip-cracked her gaze on him. "Adriene knows. Sort of."

He exhaled and licked his lips. "It's important we don't tell anyone else." He leaned around Zoe to Adriene. "Zoe's right. You girls aren't safe. You can stay at my house tonight, and we'll organize secure accommodations tomorrow."

"What's going on, guys? Who did this?" Adriene's fear-streaked expression bounced back and forth between Zoe and Gavin.