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“She was responsible for a lot of other things.”
“I know.” Michael sighed and ran his hands down his face. “Honestly, Hunter, I don’t know if I would have been able to pull that trigger myself. She’s a kid. I’d rather turn her over to the authorities and let them deal with her. If we find her and shoot her, we’re no different from the Guides. I’m not an executioner.”
“Then turn her over to the authorities.”
“I would. In a heartbeat.” Especially after last night. Michael checked his phone again, as if there were some possibility Calla had magically texted him from a non-working number. “I don’t have any idea where she is.”
“The Guides say that everything they do to Elementals is for the greater good. Did you know that? They think it’s better to kill someone who might be a threat than to take the risk of letting them cause any damage.”
“They also think it’s fine if innocent people get caught in the crossfire. According to your mom, your father didn’t agree with any of that. He was coming here to help us.”
Hunter’s face twisted with emotion, just for a second. His voice was level. “I wish he’d made it.”
“Me too.”
The glass door slid open, and Gabriel stuck his head in. “Are you two going to start knitting, or do you want to come burn off some rage with the rest of us?”
Michael glanced at Hunter. Emotion still hung in the air, and he knew better than to poke at something fragile. “Nah, we’re all right.”
“Come on,” said Gabriel. “Who knows if we’ll ever get to play ball again?”
He dropped the serious words so casually.
Michael thought of his meeting tonight, of the secret he was keeping from his brothers.
He stood. “All right.”
Hunter didn’t move. “I’ll stay here.”
“Come on,” called Gabriel. “You can tackle Chris if you want.”
Chris said something from behind him. Michael couldn’t make it out, but the intent was pretty clear.
Hunter must have picked up on it too. He shoved out of his chair.
When they lined up to play, Michael watched Chris, ready to make sure he and Hunter didn’t push this aggression too far. But he was surprised to find that Chris’s angry eyes didn’t find a target in Hunter.
Instead, they found a target in Michael.
“Hey,” Michael began.
But then the ball was in play, and Michael lost himself in a game with his brothers.
CHAPTER 10
Hannah woke to the smell of peppermint. She opened her eyes to find a half-eaten candy cane in front of her face.
“Grandma says you have to get up because Pop is bringing home someone from work for dinner.”
Hannah groaned and rubbed at her eyes. “Dinner? What are you doing home already? What time is it?”
“Six-one-four. Grandma picked me up. We made cookies.”
Hannah sat straight up in bed. The clock confirmed the numbers he’d read off. A quarter past six? She’d slept straight through the afternoon and into the evening. She’d missed picking James up from school.
Thank god for her mother.
Hannah looked at her clock radio. The alarm switch was off.
