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“Ten hours to Vanora from Blackwater,” Maeve says from the front.
“Great,” Willow replies sarcastically.
I don’t want to sit next to you either, trust me.
Willow whips her head and glares a hole into the side of mine.Why are you such an asshole?
I don’t acknowledge her. Instead, I look out the window again toward one of the villages as we pass it. Shadow Village. Darker buildings, sharper roofs, grumpier citizens.
Now you’re going to ignore me?
I roll my eyes. I need my wall again. I think of it—big rocks wrapping around my brain. My eyes close briefly as I draw in a breath, and then exhale.
“So, if you can read Caz’s mind, can you ask him if he’s the one who stole my TC-15?” Rowan asks from the back.
“You’re still going on about that damn gun!” Juniper laughs.
“Yes! That was a brand-new, high-quality TC-15! Highly rare, might I add! I killed Wesley with it, remember? That pig.”
“Why would Caz steal it?” Juniper asks.
“To sell it. I don’t know,” Rowan grumbles. “He has a habit of taking shit that doesn’t belong to him and tossing them on the barges.”
“Not from family,” Maeve says over her shoulder.
I don’t bother acknowledging either of them, but I can feel Willow looking at me.
“Veno, stop at the Barix,” I order.
“The Barix, sir?” Veno glances at me through the rearview mirror, confused.
“Yes. Now.”
“Yes, sir.”
“What are we stopping at the Barix for?” Maeve peers over her shoulder at me.
I don’t answer, but I feel all their eyes on me. It takes less than ten minutes to arrive at the Barix, and when Veno pulls into the vacant parking lot and unlocks the doors, I climb out and rush toward the building. The Barix is my third home in Blackwater, the tavern being my second and the mansion being my first. It’s where I keep my cars, my money, and many of my guns.
Slipping my hand into my pocket, I pull out a set of keys, finger to the designated one, unlock the metal door and swing it open, then I head for the keys hanging on the wall, belonging to my cars. I grab the key fob to my favorite black X-Stinger, then slam my fist on the garage door button to open it.
My X-Stinger sits beautifully in the garage, amongst other cars of various styles—SUVS, pick-ups, two-doors. All of them are mine, and I breathe a sigh of relief as I march to the first black one and climb behind the wheel. I reverse out of the garage, close it, and then tap a button to lock the building back up.
“Seriously?” Maeve shouts out the window. “A ten-hour trip won’t kill you, Caspian!”
“It will when I’m with this family. I’m driving alone. Don’t wait up.”
Maeve scoffs and rolls her eyes, but she doesn’t argue. She knows she won’t win. She tells Veno to go and he pulls off, hitting the main road that leads to Vanora.
I watch the car grow distant and allow my mind’s wall to lower. Just as I do, I hear Willow’s voice again, asking so many questions. None of them bother me but one:What the hell is wrong with him?
I drive, leaving the vacant lot of the Barix and trailing behind Veno. It’s a great question—one I’m sure she doesn’t want the answer to. Because if she knew, she’d never look me in the eyes again.
Vanora
Seventeen
WILLOW
