We’re almost to the top of the hill. I drive considerably slower, because it’s dark, and I’m on a gravel road. Hank barks at me. “Stop.” I tap the brakes. “Right now! Stop!”
I hit them harder, and we come to a complete stop. Hank scans the road. “Back down the road and turn into that drive there by the fence. You need to hide.”
Austin pops up from the back seat. “Why?”
Hank continues looking at me as if Austin isn’t there. “I think I saw something at her house. Someone else might be there.”
I put the car in reverse and do exactly as Hank says. I back up until we’re behind a line of trees before I stop. “Why would someone be there, Hank?”
He shrugs and looks sideways. “I don’t know.”
I stare at him. “Yes, you do. You sound like you weren’t too surprised. Why didn’t you just let us drive by? We didn’t have to stop.”
He stares back at me. “This place is on a dead-end road at the end of a private drive. There’s only one way out.”
Something else nags at me. “You didn’t answer my question, Hank. Who would be in her house?”
He shifts in his seat. “Possibly strangers who are robbing the house.”
There’s more he’s not telling me. “Or who else?”
“Possibly Children of the Sun.” What?
“How? How would they know where this house is?”
His eyes dart back and forth. “She may have told them.”
I don’t believe him. “Why, Hank? Why would my aunt do that? I thought she only told you.”
He won’t look me in the eye. “I don’t know. Just let me go check it out.” He looks at me, then Austin, and then back to me. “You could come with me.”
I go to answer, but Austin does first. “Hell, no. She’s not going with you.”
Hank looks at Austin full-on. “Why not?”
“You will put her in danger, Hank! You just said you don’t know who’s in the house.”
“She could follow me and then wait outside.” I suppose I should be flattered by Hank’s single-minded devotion to keep me near, but I can’t help but wonder if he’s willing to jeopardize my safety just to keep me away from Austin.
I shake my head back and forth. “No. I’m staying with the car.”
Hank opens the door and turns to stare at me. “I’m going to make sure it’s safe. I will return.” He shuts the door quietly and runs off into the darkness.
I turn back to Austin. His face is inches from mine. His gaze goes straight to my lips. I back up and look over at Jenni. Her eyes are wide open. “I saw you two kiss the first time, Amy.”
I feel like an idiot and a terrible best friend. “It was an accident.”
She sighs. “I know that, but ever since it happened, things are different.”
Austin glances back at her. “What? No, they’re not. It’s like Am-y said, it was an accident.”
Jenni stares back at him. “Stop lying to yourself, Austin, and stop lying to me. I don’t know what’s going on, but I can feel that something is. Get out of the car and sort it out already. I’ll stay here.”
I sit still. I’m frozen in my seat. I don’t know what to do. I can’t believe what Jenni is saying. The car door opens and shuts. I look back and see Jenni still in the car. I feel lame as I say it again. “It was an accident.”
Jenni narrows her eyes at me. “It might have been on your part, but I’m not so sure about Austin.”
My eyes fly wide. “What?! He’s my stepbrother, Jenni.”
She nods. “I know.” She smiles sadly at me. “Get out and go see what’s up.”
I look at my best friend. I know next to nothing about guys, and I’m desperate for guidance, but I hate asking her. She likes Austin, and I think she has for a long time. “But I kissed Hank. He thinks we’re together.”
Jenni frowns at me. “He all but mauls you, Amy. Where can a relationship with Hank go? You’re going to college, and he’s a survivalist who lives in a missile silo. I don’t see any of that changing any time soon. Get your butt out of the car and see Austin before Hank comes back.” Her voice catches on Austin’s name.
I look at her again. “Are you sure?”
She gives me a nod before she looks out her window. I take the keys from the ignition and walk to the back of the car, where Austin stands. He leans on the trunk. I hate this. He’s been in my house for almost a year and he’s my stepbrother, but it feels like I’m seeing him for the first time, and what I feel right now has nothing to do with family.
“Hey.” He looks at me but he doesn’t say anything. The air around us is charged.
“What’s with the silent treatment? Why won’t you…”
He grabs my arm and yanks me to him. He clings to me as he whispers in my ear. “I’ve wanted to kiss you since I was thirteen and you were fourteen, and I saw you in the library, chewing on the end of your pencil, completely lost in a book.” I would laugh, if I wasn’t so turned on, at the thought of Austin, sportiest of all jocks, the very definition of a sweat-filled uniform, lusting over a bookworm, in the library of all places.
I can’t help it as I answer. “Why?”
He squats down and pulls me down with him. “I don’t know.” That’s the only answer I get before his lips leave my ear to find mine, and this time there’s no question. This kiss is no accident. It’s not as basic and primal as Hank’s, but Austin knows exactly what he’s doing. The boy can kiss, a fact I didn’t want to know as I grab a hold of his arms and pull him in closer. I don’t know exactly what I want from him, but I know that I want more. We separate and I’m breathless. I can’t believe I just kind of made out with my stepbrother, and my best friend’s crush. This is so bizarre and heavy. I feel so guilty. I plop on my butt in the gravel, more confused than ever. Who am I and why am I chasing my best friend’s boyfriend?
“I knew it. I knew it would be this way. Are you going to tell Hank, or am I?” Austin’s question interrupts my train of thought.
I look back at him. I feel so unsure. “Tell Hank what, exactly?”
He frowns at me. “That this just happened. That whatever is between you and him is over.”
I stare back at him. “What about Jenni?”
He looks at me. “What about her?”
I can’t believe how insensitive he’s being. “Austin. You guys just started something. You’re going to dump her? Just like that?”
He stares at me. “She’s going to dump me at the end of the summer, Amy.” His voice drops off. “She already told me.”
I clear my throat. “Austin. She’s my best friend. I can’t do this to her.”
He stares back at me. “Haven’t you already?”
I look at him. “No. I came out here to sort things out, because she told me to. You kissed me.”
He takes my hand, but I pull away from him. “You kissed me back.”
I look him in the eye, even though it’s hard. He deserves the truth, which I’m trying to figure out. “Austin. I don’t know what this is, but it’s not our time. Not right now.”
He picks up a rock and chucks it in the grass. “Then when, Amy? When do you think you’ll have time for me?”
I look down the long, empty road. “I don’t know, Austin. This is all new. I had no idea.”
“Really.” I hate it when he’s sarcastic.
“Yes, really. I’ve spent the last year trying to ignore you. I’m preparing for college.”
He shifts over to sit beside me and leans his head on the back bumper. “Am I really that bad?”
I blink my eyes. I’m surprised to find a tear rolling down my cheek, which I wipe away. “No. Not at all. I just don’t like change. You and your dad moving in was a huge change.”
He takes my hand in his, and this time I let him. “So I’m guessing your dad’s baby on the way is not your favorite subject, either.”
I look off sideways. I hate this whole conversation. “Nope.”
I take my hand back. I’m terrified at the idea of Hank catching us. “This can’t happen, Austin. Not now. Hank will kill you.”
He looks back at me. “Let him try.”
I shake my head. “I’d rather not. I don’t want to see you hurt.”
He throws another rock. “So that’s it then? You’re dismissing me?” I say nothing. He tries once more. “You want me to get back with Jenni?”
I look back at him. “Austin. I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings. Jenni is my best friend. If you want to spend time with her, then don’t let me get in the way.”
He watches me carefully. “Am I not a good kisser?”
I glare back at him. “Fishing for compliments will get you nowhere with me, Austin Martinez. You’re very aware of your make-out skills. Just ask half the sophomore class.”
He has the decency to look shamed. “It wasn’t half the class.” His eyes light up. “Are you jealous?”
I snort. “You wish. I’m more like disgusted. When I think of your lips touching April’s, then Kayla’s, then Dana’s, then..”
He clamps a hand over my mouth, shutting me up. “Okay. Enough already. I get the point.”
I stand up. I want out of this conversation. Now. “I’m going back to the car. Can we still be friends?”
Austin steps up on me and makes me uncomfortable. He yanks me forward and hugs me before he leans in toward my lips. He passes them by at the last minute and kisses my cheek. “No. We’re family.”
I punch him lightly in his gut. “You’re such a pervy brat.”
He lets go of me and swaggers toward the back door. “You wouldn’t want me any other way.”
I get back in the car. Austin flicks the back of my ear and makes me holler. “I hate it when you do that!”
He laughs out loud, but it sounds a little hollow. “That’s why I do it.”
I look out the front window. “I wonder where Hank is?”
Jenni stares at me in the mirror. “I don’t know. What if this is all a trap? What if he never meant to take us to find your aunt? He might be in there with the others. What if they’re waiting for us? I think we should leave.” Her voice is quiet and tight, a sure sign she’s terrified.
I glance at Austin. “Austin?”
He stares back at me in the mirror. “Don’t look at me. You’re the one who knows him best.”
I look down at my hands. “I don’t know. I want to trust him, but I just can’t be sure.”
“You sure act like you’re sure. There’s sure a lot of stuff going on between you two for you not to be sure.” I can’t believe Austin, of all people, is giving me crap about my relationship.
Now I’m mad. “Whatever, Austin. Don’t sit there and judge me, okay? You going to tell me you knew what every girl you ever kissed was thinking? Or that you really knew them?”
His eyes never leave mine as he answers. “Obviously not.” He gets out of the car again.
His words are like a hit to my solar plexus, and they knock the breath out of me. Jenni answers from the backseat. “I gotta hand it to you, Amy. You walked right into that one.”
I don’t know what to say. “Probably.”
A thud lands on the side of the car, and I go to scream out loud, but Jenni clamps her hand over my mouth. We watch on in horror as Austin is slammed up against the car door! Jenni doesn’t hesitate as she rips her hand from my mouth. She whispers furiously. “Pop the trunk, Amy! Do it now!”
I do as she says. I’m shocked to see Jenni get out the opposite side of the car. She sneaks around to the back, quiet as a mouse. I’m frozen with fear, but I can’t let her face them alone. I sneak out too. Someone’s on top of Austin! Their hands are on his neck! I have to do something! I throw my head back and scream as loud as I can. I don’t know what else to do. I have to make him stop. He turns his head to look at me, but I can’t see his face inside his hoodie. Jenni sneaks up from behind. She hits him on the head with a tire iron. He falls sideways. She drops the weapon. We grab him by his shoulders and tug him off of Austin, who coughs and chokes. He grabs for the tire iron at the same time. I don’t want to see him, but I have to. I turn the body over. I’m relieved to see he’s still breathing.
Jenni slams the trunk shut. “Austin, get in the car. Amy, get us out of here.”
Austin stares at Jenni with respect. It feels like we’re in a scary movie as he answers. “I’m putting him in the ditch and I’m tying his hands and feet. Pop the trunk. I’ve got fishing twine back there. Anyone want to help me?” Jenni and I don’t answer, but we do as he says. The three of us hogtie him and get him off the road. We get back in the car. Austin sighs. “I hate to say it, but we have to get Hank.”
Jenni and I answer together. “Why?”
Austin takes a deep breath. “I don’t know why, but I just think we have to.”
I look at him. “Do you have a plan?”
He shrugs. “We wait them out. We sneak up to the house at like 3:00 a.m., and hope they’re all asleep, and then we get Hank out of there.”
Jenni shakes her head. “I don’t like this, Austin. What if he’s one of them? How do we know he’s in trouble?”
Austin smirks at me. “I just don’t think he’s smart enough to double cross anyone.”
I look at my hands and hope he’s right. “You think Hank is too stupid to be conniving and manipulative?”
He clears his throat. “No. He’s great at manipulation. He’s too honest and simple to make complicated plans. There’s a difference.”
I should stop talking, but I can’t seem to. “But you want to help him.”
He shakes his head again. “I don’t want to help him. I think we need to help him. I think it will benefit us down the road to have him indebted to us.”
Jenni frowns, and I frown with her. “I don’t know, Austin. I think we should just cut our losses and leave now. We can find this place on our own. Surely, someone in North Dakota knows about it. It’s a freaking missile silo. They make YouTube videos about these things all the time.”
Austin looks back at me. “There’s a difference between knowing where it is and being allowed entrance. Without Hank, I see no reason to go up there. They’ll never let us in.”
I look at Jenni and back at Austin, feeling torn. I’m kind of with Jenni, and I’m questioning whether or not I really want to risk my life over an urn of ashes, but I can’t believe Lady Margaret is really gone. I feel like I’m losing my mind, as I look at Jenni’s face that’s white as a sheet and Austin’s face filled with annoyance. Suddenly, the door flies open, and Hank jumps in, holding his nose. He’s gushing blood. Austin whips off his shirt and throws it at Hank’s face. “Dude! Don’t bleed all over my Charger!”
Hank buries his face in Austin’s shirt. Hank growls as he slams the door. “Punch it, Amy.” I do as he says. We shoot out into the road and head back toward town as Hank continues to groan. “I think they broke my nose. “
I reach out and pat his shoulder. “You’re going to be okay, Hank.”
He looks at me like I’m stupid. “I know that, Amy, but it still hurts.”
Austin flies up between us. “Who are they, Hank?”
Hank yells into the tee shirt. “Children of the Sun!!”