Teenage Romance, Part Five

I pulled up beside a big dumpster 45 minutes later and turned my car’s engine off. “Here we are.”

The sky was a dirty gray, threatening rain. The alley was narrow, with shadows falling from both sides like dusty curtains . Opposite the Hotel Venetian was the back door of an Italian restaurant, and the air in between smelled like a mixture of garlic and laundry detergent. A pigeon sat on top of one of the hotel’s dumpsters, poking at a French fry, then flapped over onto the other side to investigate a crust of garlic bread.

The black SUV that had tried to run me off the highway last night blocked the way forward. The passenger door opened, and Daniel jumped out. He scowled at me, then pulled on the rear door’s handle, sliding it back.

Helena sat in the rear seat, buckled in, duct tape over her mouth and wrapped around her wrists and arms in front. She looked over at me, then saw Ross and Christine. She closed her eyes for a moment, then glared at me like a wolf on a chain, ready to snap my neck if I got too close.

Rachel got out. She’d insisted on coming, and I’d learned not to argue with her about that. “So now what?” She looked around.

We waited a moment in silence. Then Atlan walked around the front of the van. Same corduroy jacket, fresh Starbucks cup.

“Still with the coffee?” I asked. “You should talk to your doctor about caffeine.” I was trying to be cocky to cover up the churning in my stomach. Also to look good in front of Rachel. 

“We all have our vices.” He took a sip and smiled at Rachel. “And you are?”

“Rachel. I’m with him.” She nudged me. 

He ran his eyes up and down. “Nice to meet you.” Then he turned to the teenagers. “Welcome, Ross. Christine. I’m glad you decided to make the right decision.”

“Let my aunt go.” Ross’ voice was quiet, tense.

Atlan took another sip of coffee, then nodded to Daniel. “Get her out. She stays bound, though. And keep the tape on her mouth, especially.”

Daniel seemed unhappy at taking orders, but maybe he was just still mad about being slapped around by Ross. He grabbed Helena by the shoulders and yanked her from the vehicle. Her feet were free, and she swayed unsteadily next to him. 

“Go to his car,” Atlan told her. “Ross—Christine? Come on. I want to get out of this city.”

“What’s your plan, Atlan?” I didn’t have much of a plan myself—I was mostly trying to play for time. Plus, I was curious. “Family takeover? World domination? Or just no more boring Thanksgiving dinners?”

He laughed. “It depends. Right now I just want us to all be together. Get to know each other. Find out what we can do together if we put our minds to it. You’ll see, guys.” He motioned them toward the SUV. “Come on. It’s going to be fun.”

Helena didn’t move. Daniel gave her a shove, and she staggered forward, trying to pull at the tape around her wrists and arms. She twisted her head to glare at Atlan, and I could see her lips struggling to form words beneath the tape over her mouth. A curse? Or just cursing? Either way, I couldn’t hear whatever she as trying to say.

“Come on.” Atlan was growing impatient. “In the car, kids. Now.”

“We’re not kids!” Ross shouted.

Atlan hurled his Starbucks to the ground. The cup burst, spilling coffee over the pavement. He jabbed a finger at the two of them. “Now!”

Ross’s body started to tremble. He lumbered forward, his feet sliding, as if some force was pulling him. Christine put a hand on his shoulder, then yanked it away as if his jacket had burned her hand.

Then she lifted her arm, mumbling under her breath, and a beam of light shot from her palm. It hit Atlan in the chest, and he took a step back, grunting. Then he planted his feet on the pavement and raised both his arms.

Helena’s eyes went wide with fear, and she tried to shout under the duct tape over her lips.

Ross and Christine suddenly dropped to their knees, clutching their heads in pain. Atlan clenched his teeth, concentrating his power on them.

Then the door behind him popped open and Cecilia stepped out from inside the hotel.

I let myself breathe again. “She could have come sooner.”

“Give a girl a break,” Rachel said. “At least she’s here like she said.”

Atlan glanced over his shoulder, then whirled around. “You—what—why are you—” Then he turned, still pushing down on the teenagers while he snapped his fingers at her.

But Cecilia was already sending a bolt of energy his way, silver and shiny. It sliced his shoulder, ripping his jacket. But he stomped a foot hard, and the ground shook. Cecilia rocked back and forth, off balance, giving him a chance to swing both arms around, fingers spread wide.

Cecilia clawed at the air as if an invisible web was tightening around her. She started gasping for air. Atlan grunted with effort, sweat running down his face as he put his energy into controlling Cecilia. She was more powerful than the kids. She was more dangerous.

Ross, on his knees, reached out for Christine. She nodded, and then started to raise their arms again.

“Hey!” Daniel started reaching under his arm for his handgun.

I was quicker, for once. I had my Glock out, and I pointed it at him with both hands, my finger nowhere near the trigger. “Don’t!” I shouted.

He froze, thank God. I’ve never actually shot anyone—well, not anything human. I didn’t want to start today.

Atlan wasn’t paying me any attention. Cecilia seemed to be fighting to breathe. He kept one arm aimed at her, but he swiveled halfway and raised his other arm like a spear.

Ross and Christine slammed to the ground. Ross’s legs twitched. Blood seeped from his scalp. Christine moaned, face down, crawling into a fetal position.

What now? Maybe I could shoot Atlan. Maybe. Would a bullet stop him, or at least slow him down? Would Daniel shoot me first? What would I tell the cops? 

Helena was twisting on her feet, waving her head back and forth, grunting urgently against the tape over her mouth. Glaring at me.

“The duct tape,” I snapped. Rachel was closer to her. “Take it off. Get it off her—”

I saw Daniel’s look of alarm as Rachel reached for Helena’s cheek, but he couldn’t do anything with my gun on him as Rachel ripped the tape off. Helena moved her jaw back and forth, flicked her tongue over her lips, and opened her mouth wide.

Atlan saw her. Too late. He tried to shift his arm from Ross, but he was—

Too late.

I don’t know what she uttered. Her shout was too loud for me to grasp the words, if they were even in English. Whatever it was, it pushed Atlan to the pavement, right on top of his crushed Starbucks, and held him there. His body twisted as if she was grinding him into the ground, until he gave one long, loud groan and went limp.

Cecilia lurched up, gasping for air. She took a step forward, looked down at Atlan, and kicked him in the butt. “Nice try.”

Rachel started working on Helena’s arms. I kept my handgun aimed at Daniel. “Why don’t you just leave your gun on the ground and get out of here,” I told him. 

He sighed, slowly set his pistol on the pavement, and turned to walk away. “And make better choices in the future, all right?” I yelled. I kept my eyes on him until he turned a corner and disappeared.

“Ross!” Christine was on her knees next to him. “Are you okay?” She touched his face, keeping her fingers clear of the blood leaking from his hair.

“Uh . . .” He blinked. “I think so. My head hurts.” He sat up. “Are you—Helena? What—arw you all right?”

“What on Earth were you thinking?” She was talking to Ross, to me, and to Cecilia at the same time. “You could have been killed! Or worse! Cecilia—”

“I know, I know.” She rubbed her face. “Look, let’s all go upstairs and talk before someone shows up and starts asking why we’re blocking the alley.”

“What about him?” I pointed at Atlan, motionless on the ground. 

“Yeah.” She looked down at him. “Help me get him into the van and find some of that duct tape. I’ll use a spell to keep him out for a day or so, too.” 

I handed my keys to Rachel. “The valet’s out front. Try not to flirt with him too much.”

She smirked. “That’s how I tip these guys.” She opened the door. “What room?”

 

Micah Graves showed up in Helena’s suite 20 minutes later. Maybe he teleported, I don’t know. I was still recovering from the mixture of adrenalin and terror running through my veins, with the help of some of Helena’s whiskey. Rachel cocked an eyebrow at me but didn’t say anything. 

            Micah stalked across the room to Christine, who was on a sofa next to Ross. She stood up and let him hug her, then sat down and took Ross’ hand again, as if telling him which side she was on. Chad watched from the corner of the room.

            He crossed his arms, looked at Helena, and then walked over to the bar for a scotch. Taking a swallow, he turned and looked around the room. “Helena.”

            She nodded. “Micah.”

            Then he turned to me. I was in a chair, with Rachel next to me. “I suppose I owe you an apology. And a thank you.”

            I shrugged. “Actually, Cecilia did most of it.” Rachel jabbed an elbow into my ribs. Subtly. “I mean, I did find Ross and Christine, but she helped. Sort of.”

            Cecilia, next to Helena smiled. “And we’ve got Atlan.”

            Micah smiled. “That calls for another drink.” He poured himself more scotch.

            “That was the point, wasn’t it?” I looked at Cecilia. “Capturing Atlan?”

She was sipping some white wine. “You could say it was a bonus.”

“Did you know he’d come after Ross and Christine?” I looked over at them. “Were they bait?”

Ross stiffened. Christine clutched his arm before he could say anything.

Helena cleared her throat. “Ross and Christine are very important to us. Nothing is bigger than that, and I have to say . . .” She smiled at them. “I’m glad things seem to be going well.”

“But you knew Atlan was coming.”

She looked at Micah. They both nodded. “We were prepared for that,” Helena said. “That’s why Cecilia is here.”

“Yeah.” I looked at her. She was drinking a Coke. 

I’d called her to arrange the ambush on Atlan, but there hadn’t been time to go into details. Now I had to ask: “What’s your deal?”

She glanced at Helena, as if for permission. Helena nodded. Cecilia put down her can of Coke and sighed. “Atlan is my father.”

I lifted my eyebrows, but no one else in the room seemed surprised. “Did everyone but me know that?”

“We didn’t know he’d show up.” Helena picked up a bottle of lotion to rub on her arms. “Until he showed up at the airport. That’s when I called Cecilia.”

“Dad and I aren’t exactly on speaking terms.” She looked at the floor. “Never. Years of abuse—well, it took me a long time, but I finally left. Helena took me in.”

“You went to her?” Micah gripped his glass tightly. “Not us?”

“We had ulterior motives, but we were honest about them.” Helena carefully picked up her own glass of wine. 

“I wanted to get back at him. When I was ready. You would have sent me out for him when I was their age.” She pointed at Ross and Christine. “Helena let me wait.”

Micah scowled. “We spent years looking for him. You could have helped us avoid all that—”

“It’s done, Micah.” Helena raised a hand. 

“Why did you leave me alone at Jackie’s place?” I asked, still annoyed about that. 

“I saw him outside, coming to the building. I knew you’d find Ross. And I didn’t want my father to see me. I—I’ve been waiting a long time to see him again, and I wanted to be, well, ready.” She looked away from me, embarrassed. “I’m sorry.”

“Ready with your powers? Or just to see him again?” But Rachel poked me again, so I said, “Is Jackie all right?”

“She’s home now. You should call her,” she told Christine.

Helena cut in, rescuing Cecilia from me. “We were pretty sure he didn’t notice Cecilia when he was here. You managed to get out of sight pretty fast, didn’t you?” I couldn’t tell if she was pleased or disappointed. “But I sent her with you because I knew she’d be the best one to deal with him.”

Having an evil wizard for a father must be traumatizing, so I suppose I couldn’t blame her for ditching me. Rachel could probably write a paper about it. I changed the subject. “Except you were the one we needed in the end,” I told Helena.

She frowned. “It took both of us. All of us.” She rubbed her wrists. “Will my skin ever stop itching?”

“I can send something over,” Micah said. “I’ve got some good stuff. Christine? Let’s go.”

Christine stood up, reluctant, her eyes on Ross. “See you later?”

“Yeah.” He looked away from her, shy, then suddenly darted in for a quick kiss. They smiled, and Christina turned to Micah. “Okay.”

Micah gave Ross a probing look, then nodded to Helena. “Talk to you later.” They left.

Ross immediately went to his room. Cecilia got herself another Coke and poured a glass of sherry for Helena. She offered me another drink, but I shook my head. “We should go.”

Helena stood to hand me a check. I glanced at it and managed to keep my face from bursting with excitement. “Thank you.”

“Thank you.” She shook my hand, then Rachel’s. “Good to meet you.”

I waved to Cecilia. “Good luck with your—with Atlan.”

“Yeah, I’d better call and have someone pick him up.” She pulled out her phone. “Can’t leave my dad tied up in a car all night, can I?”

I nodded to Chad, who only stared solemnly at us.

Ross came back, looking embarrassed, as though he’d forgotten something. He walked up to me and stuck out a hand. “Uh, thanks. Sorry to be a problem.”

“No problem at all.” Well, that wasn’t entirely true, but I was a teenager once too. “Take care.”

In the elevator Rachel took my hand. “Those crazy kids.”

I smiled. “Call me crazy, but I think they’re going to make it.”

She rolled her eyes. “It’s your turn to make dinner.”

I frowned. “How about we go out?”

“To dinner? You mean like a date? Or are you just trying to get out of cooking?”

“Why not both? All this teenage romance has me feeling lucky.”

She snorted. “Don’t get your hopes up, loverboy.” 

The elevator doors opened on the lobby. “I’ll take my chances.”

 

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