Requiem (19 page)

Jared looked ahead, his
eyes tightening with focus. “I will find time. I will
create
time if I have
to.”

“
Well, you do have Divine
connections. I’m sure you could make that happen,” I teased. I
peered up the giant tree, squinting from the sunshine poking
through the leaves. The branches swayed with the breeze, and I
smiled. “I love it here.”

“
Good. I do,
too.”

“
It’s so amazing that Gabe
brought Lillian to this exact spot.” My eyes lingered on the
rudimentary heart and initials of Jared’s parents, and then on the
elegant details of the vines and leaves inside the heart with our
initials inside. I looked back to Jared’s glowing blue-grey eyes.
“Is there anything you can’t do?”

“
Just get my fiancé to
actually marry me,” he said, winking.

I pressed my lips together into a tight
line. “I said I’d set a date.”

“
I’ll believe it when I see
it.” Jared said, raising an eyebrow.

“
Is that a
challenge?”

“
Whatever works,” Jared
grinned.

“
I promise. I’ll set a
date.”

“
Within the next ten
years?” he asked playfully.

“
I’ll set a date for this
year,” I said, stubbornly raising my chin.

“
This year,” Jared
repeated, dubious.

“
Did you think I was
kidding when I said yes?”

“
No. I just didn’t realize
when you said yes that you meant
someday
.” His tone was lighthearted,
but I felt a twinge of guilt in my chest. Jared immediately
reacted. “I’m kidding, sweetheart,” he said, tucking my hair behind
my ear. Instead of the ends of my hair wrapping around the bottom
of my ear like it used to, it brushed against my
shoulder.

I looked down, picking at my fingernails. “I
know, but it’s true. You didn’t expect a long engagement.”

“
Well, I assumed maybe a
year with everything happening so fast. But when the year came and
went and you never so much as mentioned it….”

“
Oh. You think it’s not
important to me,” I said, my face feeling hot.

“
I didn’t say that,” he
quickly backpedaled.

I looked up at him under my lashes. “But
that’s what you’re thinking.”

“
Well,” he hesitated, “you
do tend to insinuate that there are other things you’d rather focus
on. I understand, but I can’t help but be a little disappointed. It
was my idea after all,” he grinned, kissing my forehead.

I slowly crawled into his lap. “I love you,
Jared Ryel. There is nothing I want more than to be your wife. I
promise to get right to work on that date, okay?”

Jared beamed.
“
Thank
you.” His
lips traveled to mine, but quickly pulled away. “You’d better keep
this to yourself. I think mom has finally accepted that no amount
of encouragement on her part is going to produce a wedding. It’s
probably best to let her think you have other things on your
mind.”

“
Good plan,” I said,
leaning him back against the blanket.

He smiled. “Speaking of Lillian…she invited
us to dinner. Apparently, she has a surprise.”

“
A surprise….” I trailed
off. “Do you know what it is?”

Jared shook his head. “Not a clue.”

I looked at my watch. “We’d better get going
if we’re going to wash up and make dinner.”

Jared stood up and brought me with him. We
rolled the blanket and I fastened it to the back of Jared's
motorcycle, and then we made a quick stop at the loft, trading the
bike for the Escalade.

After a quick stop at Cynthia’s, Jared drove
us to his mother’s. We had been to Lillian’s more than enough times
for me to get past the night of the invasion, but no matter how
many times we made a visit, an overwhelming sick feeling still came
over me as we pulled into the drive.

“
No need to be nervous,”
Jared said.

“
I’m not. I’m starting to
wonder if it’s post-traumatic stress,” I said with a
half-smile.

Jared didn’t share my humor over the
subject. “It’s a possibility,” he said as he opened the passenger
door.

We walked to the house, and Jared stopped
abruptly.

“
What?” I asked, scanning
his face.

He was working far too hard to mask an
emotion. “Nothing. Everything is fine.”

“
Jared,” I said as we
walked. “Something’s wrong.”

“
No. No, everything’s
fine.”

The closer we got to the door, the harder my
heart throbbed against my chest. Jared reached out with one finger
to press the doorbell.

The door swung open, and I gasped. “I don’t
believe it.”

“
Well that’s a hell of a
reception. I missed you, too.”

“
Claire!” I squealed,
wrapping my arms around her neck.

She didn’t hug me back, but stood with her
hands on her hips. “You confuse me.”

“
I’m sorry!” I said,
breathless. “I just…I wasn’t expecting you.”
Lillian walked to Claire’s side, casually crossing her arms.
“Surprise,” she said with her warm, sweet smile.

“
Wait,” I said, my eyes
darting to everyone. “Does this mean that Ryan is…?”

Claire nodded. “He’s at the Providence VA
Hospital to finish his rehabilitation.”

My hands flew up to my mouth, and then I
hugged her again. “I’m so glad you’re home,” I whispered into her
ear.

“
Me too,” Claire
smiled.

We sat at the table for dinner. The symphony
of our laughter filled every inch of the house. I cleared the
dessert dishes, and listened to them talk and giggle. I waited in
the kitchen, smiling to myself as I soaked in the sound of love
Bex, Claire, Lillian and Jared exchanged, even in their
teasing.

“
Nina?” Jared
called.

“
Coming,” I said, starting
the dishwasher.

“
I’m sure Nina wants to
hear more about her friend,” Lillian said.

Jared's expression changed so slightly, that
I was sure no one at the table noticed but me. The skin around his
eyes tightened as the corners of his mouth turned up—something he
always did when he tried too hard to cover how he was feeling. I
took his hand in mine and squeezed. He seemed to relax an
infinitesimal amount, and I shook my head.

“
Tonight is about Claire,”
I said.

Claire touched the napkin to her mouth and
rolled her eyes. “He’s a machine. He’s been working like crazy
trying to get well. His psych analysis wasn’t exactly...he told
them about me.”

“
He saw you?” Jared
said.

An awkward pause sent tension into the air.
“He thinks he did,” Claire said. “My face was covered with the
hijab, so he only remembers my eyes, but they’re questioning how a
woman with the small frame he described could have carried him
out.”

Bex chuckled. “What a pinhead. Did he really
think they would believe him?”

Claire stared at the table. “He told them I
was American. He told Colonel Brand he thinks he knows who it
was.”

“
Not good,” Jared
said.

Claire looked up. “But he only told the
Colonel. No one else. After they gave him the results of his psych
eval, he insisted he be placed in Providence.”

“
Way to go, Claire. You
blew your cover,” Bex smiled.

Jared leaned his elbows on the table. “This
is serious. You need to stay out of sight, Claire. Lay low.”

“
I know,” Claire grumbled,
her eyes returning to one spot on the tablecloth. “I could say the
same thing to you, you know. No one’s torching my
house.”

“
What?” Lillian said, her
eyes darting to Jared.

He glared at Claire for moment, and then
looked to Lillian. “There was a small…fire. Everyone is fine.”

“
A fire?” Bex said. “They
set explosives at the loft. Everything’s gone.”

“
Who’s
they
?” Lillian asked. She was
concerned, but not in the way a typical mother might be. She didn’t
seem overly worried about Jared’s well-being. It was clear she was
years ahead of me as far as experience with Hybrids. She knew
exactly what her children were capable of, and I wondered if I
would ever have that same peace of mind.

“
Donovan,” Jared
said.

“
Interesting,” Lillian
said, thoughtfully. “How do you plan to resolve that,
Son?”

“
We’re going to need help
that won’t come,” Jared replied, clearly frustrated with his own
words.

Claire’s eyes narrowed. “You talked to
Samuel?” Jared nodded, and she continued, “Eli?” When Jared nodded
again, she shook her head in disgust. “It’s that bad?”

“
Eli talked about a
balance,” I said. “They won’t get involved.”

“
You know,” Claire said,
leaning forward in her seat. “If it gets to that point…we could
force them.”

“
That better be one
frightening, desperate point,” Bex said. “That would mean
war.”

Lillian held up her hand. “That would be a
last resort.” She stood, making her way to me. “Nina, what I’m
about to ask you will be very difficult, but I need the truth.”

“
Okay,” I stuttered,
worried what she was going to ask.

Lillian lowered her chin. “What did Gabe say
to you on the plane?”

Jared frowned. “What are you talking about?
He didn’t come to her on the plane.”

“
Actually….” I said,
trailing off.

“
Why didn’t you tell me?”
he said, noticeably angry. Before I could answer, he began again,
“Don’t you know that everything is important, now?”

“
Jared,” I said,
embarrassed, “he said to go home. He said not to see Claire. I knew
you wouldn’t leave her there alone until you knew she was all
right.”

Jared looked to Claire, and then to Lillian.
“Does he talk to you?”

His mother smiled. “At night. Only if it’s
important. She knows about Kim now?”

“
Yes,” Jared
answered.

Lillian’s mouth pulled to the side,
disappointed. “That was a mistake. Your main focus should be the
book. It’s vitally important that you have it in-hand.”

“
Kim and I made a deal,”
Jared explained. “She will help us obtain the book if we help her
return it to Jeruselum, under the Sepulchre where her ancestor
found it. She wants to free her family of it.”

Lillian's eyes flitted about as she thought.
“If she is helping you, why would your father try to keep Nina away
from her?”

“
Away from Kim?” I asked.
“She's harmless.”

“
Is she?” Claire
snipped.

“
Dad is wrong this time. We
need her,” Jared said, clearly uncomfortable. Gabe was the
foundation of their family, a fallen angel from Heaven,
pure-blooded. The thought of him making a mistake was a hard pill
to swallow, and even Jared wasn't convinced of his own
words.

Everyone at the table sat silently,
processing the situation. Finally, Bex spoke. “We’re all here.
Let’s go get it.”

“
We need a plan,” Jared
said. “And we can’t leave Nina unprotected.”

“
So Bex watches Ryan and
Nina, and you and I go,” Claire said.

Jared rubbed the back of his neck. “I’ve
already tried. I’m telling you, we need a plan.”

“
You went there and didn’t
leave with the book?” Claire said, raising an eyebrow.

“
He had it in his hands,”
Bex said, chuckling. Jared shot Bex a sharp look, and the boy's
smug expression immediately vanished. “Sorry,” he said, clearing
his throat.

“
I was a little
outnumbered,” Jared explained. “By eighty or so.”

“
So?” Claire said,
unimpressed.

Jared huffed. “We’ll talk about this
later.”

The ride home was long, and the air in the
cab of the Escalade was thick with tension. I didn’t dare talk
first. Jared’s jaw was tight, and his knuckles were white as he
gripped the steering wheel. He drove closer to Bex’s typical speed,
impatient with the stop lights and traffic.

Jared parked in the drive, and then appeared
at the passenger door. Without a word, he helped me to the ground.
I wrapped my arm around his, and we walked in quiet
understanding.

After a long shower, I set out clothes for
Fall classes the next day. Jared waited for me, sitting on the end
of the bed.

“
You’re not staying,” I
said, more of a statement than a question.

He stood. “Bex will be outside. I won’t be
far.” He tightened the belt of my robe, and then encompassed me in
his arms, leaning down just inches from my face. “I’ll see you in
the morning,” he said, pressing his warm lips softly against
mine.

He intended the kiss goodbye to be quick,
but his lips lingered on mine. I ran my hands over the perfection
of his chest and stomach, and then made my way to the bottom of his
shirt, reaching underneath the fabric to touch his soft, feverish
skin.

“
You could stay,” I
whispered, smiling against his mouth.

“
I want to,” he said, his
voice strained.

“
Just for a little while? I
won't keep you long,” I began to raise his shirt, but he gently
restrained me by the wrists.