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It took me a moment to make out Luke’s frame at the end of the bed. When he was sure I was looking at him, he released my foot and held a finger over his lips to motion to me to be quiet. He curled his other fingers to me, silently asking me to follow him.
I crept out from between Nathan and Kota. I did it softly, trying not to shake the bed. When I was close enough, Luke hooked his arms under my legs and around my back to lift me up gently from the bed.
He slipped out of the bedroom before he put me down.
“What—” I started to whisper.
Luke’s fingers wrapped around my lips, closing them. His head tilted at me, and in the dark, his face loomed close enough to tell me: Don’t ask yet.
He snagged my hand, holding it, and slowly made his way through the house. I padded behind him, trying my best to mimic his quiet movements, stepping where he did so I wouldn’t make any noise. He went for the front door, and released me to hold the door handle with both hands, smothering any sound of the knob twisting.
I followed quickly out into the night. Luke closed the door and released the handle slowly, not making a sound.
The chill in the air bit into my skin through the cami top and shorts and I started shaking right away. “Luke,” I whispered in a trembling voice.
Luke led me away from the front door, and when we were down the driveway a little, he turned around and hunched down. “Hop on my back.”
I held on to his shoulders and he picked me up under my thighs. With my body pressed to his, I was a little warmer. I squeezed myself close into his back to keep the warmth between us.
He started dashing through the yard and followed the side of the house. He stayed in the shadows until he reached the back corner of Nathan’s yard and found a small trail that went to the bridge and through the woods behind the house.
I shifted my head a little, wanting to whisper but not sure if he’d hear me. When I felt my lips near his ear, I whispered. “Where are we going?”
His fingertips around my thighs rubbed back and forth for a moment before he grasped me tighter. “You’ll see.”
It had me curious. Was he planning some prank? It was then I remembered I was supposed to be on lockdown. Kota and the others wouldn’t be happy to learn Luke was stealing me and bringing me out of the house. But this was Luke. He was part of the family. Learn to trust.
Luke followed one of the paths in the woods. I couldn’t sense which one, only the general direction. He was headed over to the diner.
He dashed across the parking lot, proceeded toward a familiar-looking black motorcycle parked behind the diner.
“We’re taking the motorcycle?”
“Just for a little while,” he said. He stopped in front of it, dropping me down so I was standing. “I’ve got a job to do.”
I wavered as my bare feet got used to the gravel. My heart leapt. Academy jobs? I wasn’t allowed to do this. “And I’m going?”
“Mr. Blackbourne said to take the quietest one with me, and that’s you.”
I sensed this might not have been what Mr. Blackbourne meant, but since he wasn’t specific, Luke was taking advantage of it.
“Here,” he said, and his fingers slipped into his pocket and pulled out a hair band. “Tie your hair back. Make it really tight.”
I started pulling my hair back. He did the same with an extra band, pulling it into a bun at the base of his neck. Seeing him in what almost resembled short hair only accentuated the finer features of his handsome face. His jaw seemed broader, more masculine and his fine lips tripped in a playful smile. It was enough to make my heart thud double-time over the excitement just from being out with him.
When I was done with my hair, he opened a hatch on the bike. He pulled out a black leather jacket and a helmet. He passed both to me.
“Don’t you need a helmet?” I asked, grateful for the jacket at least.
“I’m more worried about you. Put it on,” he said.
I did what he told me. He had to help me with the helmet by strapping it into place. It was a half helmet, so my face was exposed. When it was fastened, he beeped my nose.
He got on the bike, kicking the stand back. He started it up, and reached for my hand. I wanted to hesitate and pull back. I was nervous; I didn’t know where we were going and I thought the others would be unhappy if they found out.
But I couldn’t resist Luke’s pleading eyes and the way his face promised that we’d be okay. I dropped my hand into his and he guided me to sit on the bike. The bike vibrated between my legs, but the running engine let off a warmth I was drawn to.
Luke guided my arms around his stomach. “Pull yourself in tight,” he said. “I don’t want to lose you.”
I squeezed more, and nudged my legs in next to his. He kicked off and started out of the parking lot.
My heart thundered almost as loud as the bike was roaring in my ears. The neighborhood slipped away behind us and Luke took the on-ramp to the highway.
It was too late to ask now where he was going, but he was heading east. I thought maybe we were on our way to go fetch Victor.
It was only twenty minutes later that he pulled off the highway toward a place called Hanahan.
Luke took a straight route through the middle of the abandoned main road. We passed by closed retail outlets and grocery stores.
At some point he cut off short, tilting the bike to take a sharp turn that surprised me. I squeezed him around the middle to hang on tighter. He started weaving his way through a closed grocery store parking lot, taking a back road behind it into a residential neighborhood.
Luke’s hand found mine against his chest. He lifted my hand until he could place his hand between his chest and my palm. He started signing.
“Need to shake him,” he signed.
I signed back, “Who?”
“Kota’s tail.”
I bristled. Not good.
A second later, headlights appeared behind us. Our tail must have followed us without lights before, or had been so far behind us we hadn’t noticed until now. We didn’t need Mr. Hendricks or someone on his team following us.
I stiffened, holding on tighter. Another thought ran through me: it could be Volto. Had he followed us from the house?
When I checked back, I recognized the car. It was the same one I’d seen parked outside of Kota’s house before. A brown car. At the sight of it, I suddenly had an idea.
I signed to Luke. “Stop.”
“No,” he signed back.
“Let’s find out who it is.”
I thought I felt Luke grunting. He started to take off like he wanted to keep going. At an intersection, he did a tight circle, swerving around and heading off the car.
The car stopped short when Luke got close, not wanting to play chicken. That was good. He wasn’t willing to risk hurting us.
Luke stopped the bike. The car started to go into reverse, like it wanted to back off, but I jumped off the bike, waving at it and running toward the car.
The driver slowed and stopped, waiting. It was just like I thought. He was curious, too.
I glanced back at Luke. He nodded, seeming to understand. I wanted to approach the guy alone. This wasn’t Volto. I didn’t want to scare him off.
I approached the driver side window, and the window rolled down.
Mr. Morris was in the car. I almost choked in surprise, but caught myself. “Did Mr. Hendricks have you following us tonight?” I asked him.
Mr. Morris glanced at Luke and then back at me. He didn’t want to give up an answer. His short, curly black hair looked a little mussed in the back, like he’d been relaxing in his car before he came after us. There were heavy bags under his eyes, too.
“He asked me to check out where Mr. McCoy has been hiding out,” I said. I went with things Mr. Hendricks already knew and probably suspected. If Mr. Morris relayed his own information back to him, it wouldn’t be very useful. “Mr. Hendricks mentioned someone was following us, but he didn’t say who. We thou
ght you might have been who we were looking for.”
Mr. Morris frowned. “I told him it was a waste of time to follow a bunch of kids.”
“Honestly, I don’t know what we’re supposed to do. He expects us to be detectives or something. I thought he was having Kota followed?”
“I’m supposed to follow any of those kids until I figure out where this Academy is located.”
“I’m not in the Academy,” I said. “If they’re taking me somewhere, it isn’t there. I’m not allowed to know.”
Mr. Morris nodded. “Where were you headed? It’s really late.”
I glanced back at Luke, trying to come up with something that resembled a truth since I wasn’t really sure myself. “I think he picked up a lead on Mr. McCoy,” I said. It could have been true. Luke hadn’t told me yet, so it could have been anything. The vibe I got from Mr. Morris was that this was all pointless and he didn’t understand the full measure of what was going on. I could play that game. “But I feel like we’re chasing a ghost.”
Mr. Morris rolled his eyes. “You’ve got school tomorrow.”
“So do you.”
“If he’d raise my salary, I wouldn’t have to be doing this. He’s got me by the balls right now.”
“Is he promising a raise?”
