Chapter Twenty-Six

Selena

Rock the Boat

Five turns on the Ferris wheel later, I still had no idea what to think. Dillan and I never left our seat, much to the annoyance of the couples waiting to take our place. He really must have slipped the ride operator a Benjamin because the guy didn’t make us leave. He kept letting our car pass the unloading dock.

The second Dillan gave the signal to let us off I hurried away without actually running. What he told me freaked me out. What scared me even more was how all the information about Arbiters and the Illumenari and Supernaturals clicked in my head. Like a memory I’d forgotten until someone reminded me of it. That was just batshit loony. How could I feel comfortable with knowing all this? And I was a target? Of what? And what did that voice mean by finding the guardian. Who was that?

Again with the thousand and one questions with no clear answer in sight. Either I needed the guys in white coats to take me away now or my life just got super complicated and possibly dangerous.

One thing I knew, I needed to figure things out.

“Where are you going?”

His question startled me. I’d forgotten he was even there.

“Can you leave me alone?” I asked, weaving through the crowd as the sunlight around us turned orange and the sky blushed. It should have been beautiful. This afternoon should have been my chance to let loose. Instead it spiraled into a fun house version of hell. I just wanted it to end. All of it.

A hand caught my arm. I let my forward momentum swing me around, my right hand landing on Dillan’s face. The smack caused those around us to stop and stare before continuing on their way. I gasped. My eyes widened.

“I don’t know where that came from,” I said. The smell of stale popcorn and bubblegum filled my lungs. Laughter mixing with excited squeals from the rides around us drowned out the loud beating of my heart. The festival looked far from slowing down as night fell.

“I think I deserved that, but I’m not sure what for.” Each of Dillan’s words sounded deadlier than the last. “I don’t like taking a hit for no reason. Start talking.”

I stood my ground. “I need to be alone.”

“Dumping all this information on you is confusing. The unknown is always a scary thing. You’ve already been attacked twice, and most likely, the attacks will keep getting worse until they get what they want, which is probably you. So why not let me to protect you? What do you have to lose?”

He didn’t get it. He just didn’t get it. “This is all psycho. I want my old life back.”

“Too late for that, babe.”

“Don’t call me babe!”

My lips trembled.

After a long pause, he closed his eyes for a second and breathed. When he opened them again, they had less murder inside the blue. “Where do you need to be right now?”

I licked my lips, swallowing down some of my anxiety. “I need to meet my grandparents at the main tent. Judging must be over by now.”

“I’ll walk you there.”

I heard the period at the end of his sentence. The determination in his eyes stopped any complaints I had. What was the point? I had a sneaking suspicion that if I blew him off, he’d still follow me at a distance. I gave up and went in the direction of the contest tent.

I took out my phone and punched in a message to Kyle.

Me: Where R U?

Kyle: Took Penny home. She ate a bad batch of corndogs.

That actually made me smile despite today’s madness.

Me: Meet me @ home? I need 2 talk.

Kyle: Got it.

Without checking if Dillan followed, because I knew he did, I entered the massive white tent the organizers used for the contest. Long tables showcased pies, preserves, and cakes. You name it. If it could be judged, it was part of the Fall Festival competition. The sea of people parted, and in less than ten seconds, I spotted my grandparents conversing with a tall, buxom woman gesturing wildly with her hands. I plastered a smile on my face the moment I heard Nancy’s booming voice. I needed a distraction, and I was standing in front of the people who would give it easily.

“There’s my girl!” Nancy ran and pulled me into a bear hug.

“Nice to see you, too,” I squeaked.

“I want my granddaughter back in one piece, Nancy,” Gramps harrumphed.

“She’s just showing her love.” Grams patted Gramps’s bulging bicep.

“You call that love?” Gramps pointed. “Looks more like a UFC choke hold to me.”

“Hogwash,” Grams exclaimed.

Nancy finally let go when she noticed Dillan. “Who’s the handsome devil?”

He ran a hand through his already disheveled faux-hawk. His nervous habit. I didn’t even think he realized it.

“Dillan Sloan, ma’am,” he said.

“Rainer’s nephew?” Grams moved forward to gawk at him. “My, my, my, you’re just as good looking as your uncle. Hair needs trimming though.”

“Leave the boy alone, Caroline,” Gramps grumbled.

I stifled a much needed giggle as Dillan endured the attention of both women. He was doing well until I noticed the muscle on his jaw jump. From the way Nancy and Grams circled him, I wouldn’t be surprised if they pinched his cheeks…among other parts of his anatomy. Those jeans fit him too well. And I shouldn’t have been thinking about them on top of everything else.

I must have frowned, because Gramps wrapped an arm over my shoulders and drew me close. “Something bothering you, honey?” Of course he would notice. I was a good actress, but I wasn’t good enough to fool him.

Before I could come up with a lie, he followed up his question with, “Where’s Bowen?”

I almost exhaled in relief at the mention of his name. Right. The perfect excuse. Thank you, Bowen.

I shrugged. “I don’t think we’ll be seeing him for a while, Gramps.”

He frowned at me. “You alright?”

I shifted my weight to my toes and kissed his chin, the only part of his face I could reach. “I’ll be fine.”

I really, really hoped it was true. My gaze landed on Dillan again.

…

Exhausted, but still wired from all that had happened at the festival, I rested my chin on a fist while looking out the window of Gramps’s truck. The prairies zipped by, covered by a blanket of night. I sighed. My breath formed a small circle of fog on the glass. Grams filled the ride home with raves about Dillan Sloan—gracious, a total gentleman, good breeding, just some of the words she used. Words I would never have used. Within the first five minutes of meeting him, Grams was all for Team Ego.

“What’s that, Grams?” I immediately said in response to a question I didn’t hear.

“Where’s your head been, dearie?” Grams turned to stare at me from the front seat. “I asked, is it true Dillan was homeschooled until now?”

Memories of the true identity of Dillan’s parents still left me freaked, so I gave Grams the PG version. “His parents travel a lot and he goes with them. So, yeah, homeschooled.”

“He sounds like such a smart boy.” Grams swooned.

“Polite, too,” Gramps added.

I had to smirk at the fact that they didn’t know about the arrogant, know-it-all, Mr. Rock-Star-National-Geographic.

“Is that Kyle?”

Grams’s question snapped me to attention. I craned my neck to try and get a better look at the shadowed figure sitting on the front steps of our farmhouse. I squinted. Another figure entered my mind. Cloaked. Faceless. Pointing at me. I shook my head until my curls covered my face. No time for that. Gramps parked his truck by the garage and we all slid out, making our way to the front porch.

“You off to take my granddaughter somewhere?” Gramps stood at his full height, puffing his chest out like a silverback gorilla.

“No, sir,” Kyle said. “Just planning to sit outside.”

“I asked him to meet me here,” I added.

“Good! Wouldn’t want her out late. That dog killer’s still out there.”

“Don’t scare the children, David.” Grams’s voice sounded a little unsteady.

“I’m just telling the truth, dear.”

“I know.” Grams touched his cheek. “Now, let’s leave these two alone. I’ll bring you some iced tea in a while,” she said to Kyle and me before she tugged Gramps up the steps.

“If you see anything, boy…” Gramps’s forehead wrinkled.

“I’ll be sure to holler.” Kyle tipped his head in a brief nod.

I raised an eyebrow as Gramps and Grams disappeared into the house.

“What?”

“That look between you and Gramps.”

Kyle shrugged. “What look?”

“Don’t pretend it didn’t happen.”

“I’m not.”

I sighed. If Kyle wanted to clam up, I’d need the Jaws of Life to get anything out of him. So I changed the topic. “Today was all kinds of weird.”

The top step creaked when I sat down. I spread my legs in front of me and leaned back on my hands. He sat down beside me and rested his arms on his knees.

“Define weird.”

A cold finger ran down my spine. I’d been keeping way too much from him. My dream. The puppets. And now, the black dog. Oh, and the fact that Dillan admitted to being an Illumenari and how all that made sense in my head. When did having visions of the future become the least weird thing I had to deal with?

I puffed out my cheeks. “I actually don’t know how to answer that.”

He let out a slow whistle. “Sounds serious.

“You have no idea.”

“So, what are you thinking about?”

“Dillan.” It was true.

“How did we suddenly go from your day being weird to him?” His expression shifted from confused to complete guy shutdown. “Is this a girl thing?”

“He…” I paused. What to confess? “He said some things to me this afternoon.”

“Okay, officially lost me.”

“That’s pretty obvious.”

“I thought you spent the day with Bowen? He asked Penny and me to stay away so he could have some ‘alone time’ with you. His words, not mine.”

My heart stopped. “Yeah, about that…”

“Whoa! Is that why you and Bowen were fighting?”

A groan escaped. “You heard about that?”

“Penny and I were in the crowd. That was one nasty blow up. We knew better than to follow you while you were still pissed.”

Lips pursed, I said, “Anyway, it’s safe to say Bowen and I are officially done.”

“He doesn’t and will never deserve you, Selena.”

“He cheated on me. I get it.”

“It’s not just that. You deserve so much better.”

Crickets chirped around us. I studied Kyle’s profile from where I leaned on the newel post. When did I start keeping things from my best friends? I used to tell Kyle and Penny everything. It was time for me to trust someone.

“Have you ever felt like someone was watching you?” I asked.

He winked at me. “When don’t I? Particularly when I’m in the shower.”

“Oh, shut it!” I shook my head in disbelief. Trust Kyle to make jokes when I needed total and complete seriousness from him. “Come on. I’m trying to tell you something here. No jokes.”

“What’s life without jokes?”

“Anyway,” I continued with an eye roll, “this afternoon I came out of a booth at the flea market and the feeling hit me like a slap in the face. At first, I was just uneasy. Then the feeling got more intense. And then I thought I saw this huge black dog with red eyes. I ran.”

His eyebrow twitched.

“That’s when I ran into Dillan. He thinks I’m being targeted.”

“Targeted? What the hell does that mean? By who?”

“I know you think this is crazy, but it gets worse.”

“Worse than spouting weird stuff about you being a target?”

“Dillan told me he’s an Arbiter for this group called the Illumenari. And the weirdest part is…” I paused. “I think I believe him.”

All the color in his face drained like a bucket with a hole. His mouth opened, but nothing came out. He stood up and practically ran to his car.

“Where are you going?” I blurted out.

“It’s getting late,” he said.

“Kyle?”

“I need to take care of something.”

Slack-jawed, I watched him go. He didn’t even look back when I called his name again. He got into his Prius and drove away. When I’d thought my day couldn’t get any stranger, it did.