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“Yeah, I have it.” I have a can of pepper spray, an alarm on my keychain, and an app on my mobile that calls 9-1-1 and with the press of one button sends my location to a bunch of people in my phone: Davis, my parents, and my best friend, May. Sadly, only one of them is in town. May is in Mongolia and my parents are in Turkey.
“And you took those self-defense classes.”
“Yes.” For all the good that did me. Last night, I froze like a timid rabbit and then ran to hide behind Davis’s guitar.
“Good. Be alert and try to stop worrying so much.” She hesitates with her hand on the door. “Maybe you should try to get out of town for a while. Put yourself outside of Marrow’s reach. He’s required to stay in the state per his probation requirements, but you don’t have to stay put, Landry. Go to a beach, meet a nice guy, have some fun.”
I should’ve gone with May, I think for the hundredth time since my best friend took off on her backpacking trip across the world. Except for the fact that I didn’t want to backpack or spend days without showers. May’s idea of a good time is to pretend she’s an extra on the Bear Grylls survival show.
“I’m going to eat bugs, Landry! Isn’t that cool?”
“No, May, I don’t think that’s cool at all.”
“Did you know that ants are full of protein and some of them taste chocolate-y?”
“That sounds terrible. I’ll stay home.”
I tell none of this to Pressley, though. Instead I give her a brief hug and say goodbye.
Davis is out in the lobby, a regretful look on his face. “Sorry for losing my shit in there,” he mumbles.
“Don’t worry about it.” I drag my purse strap higher on my shoulder. “You ready?”
“Yeah. Mind if we stop at my condo first so I can grab some stuff?”
I frown. “What stuff?”
He shrugs. “Just clothes and shit. I’m staying with you until Mom and Dad get back.”
“You don’t have to do that,” I object. “I’ll be fine.”
He gives me the Look. The one that says I’m your big brother and I’m going to protect you until my dying breath so don’t bother arguing with me.
Normally I find it sweet, and sometimes it’s annoying. Today, I feel almost…ashamed. I know I’m not to blame for this Marrow situation—or for what happened to Davis’s afterward. I didn’t even know Marrow had a thing for me and I didn’t ask Davis to mete out a revenge beating that fractured three bones in his hand. Those things happened, though, and it’s hard to shake the consequences of it all.
For all my good fortune—the business success, Mom and Dad rekindling their marriage, Davis in his new job and his new band—the past still has a hold on me.
I don’t want that for Davis. He has a job, a life, and—the tour. Damn it, he has an opportunity to go on tour and maybe even hit it big.
“Just for tonight,” I say firmly.
Davis gives me the Look again. Biting my lip in exasperation, I follow him out of the police station.
* * *
“Is that…a snake head?” I adjust my glasses in hopes that my vision is distorting things.
“Yes!” May’s excited voice blares out of my laptop speakers. “We had snake for dinner when we were riding in Kharkhorin. That’s the old capital of Mongolia,” she explains. I don’t even know what the current capital is but I smile and nod. “Anyway, the meat was chewy, if you were wondering. They let me keep the head which I’m bringing back with me. Isn’t that amazing?” She shakes it again, and it bounces up and down on the Skype screen, the dead eyes watching me no matter where I moved in front of the camera.
“Amazing,” I say faintly, my stomach roiling. “So where are you exactly?”
“Close to Ulan Bator. I visited the Gandan Monastery—it was gorgeous.”
Ulan Bator…the name rings a bell. Oh, I think that is the current capital. I remember reviewing May’s itinerary, which seems to change by the week, and thinking it sounded like a Tomb Raider game with May playing the part of gun-wielding, acrobatic Lara Croft. “How long are you going to be there?”
“Only a day.” She leans forward. “I hooked up with another tour to ride into Amarbayasgalant Monastery. It’s for three weeks.”
Yup. Lara Croft, take two. “Find any ancient treasures or curses?”
