After so much peace, quiet, and scenic beauty, New Camden hit like a shot of adrenaline. Ben stepped out of the over air-conditioned coffee shop and back into the atmosphere of exhaust, hot tarmac, and rush that was the city in summer, with relief. He knew these streets and where he belonged in them.
Making his way down the pavement toward his apartment building, a file of laptop brochures in his hand, Ben gloried in the knowledge that none of the eyes glancing his way lingered for more than a second. After a momentary impression, he would be forgotten before he’d even reached the opposite side of the road. There was no Dan to notice and comment, no neighborhood gossip to care about―and no Nate.
Ben slowed his pace.
Waking alone in the apartment had been hard. He didn’t remember the nightmare, but it had followed him all day, even as he went about what would be his new routine―eating a solitary breakfast of toast, checking his list of things to get for the apartment, and starting the search for a replacement laptop. It was all necessary, all his own choice, but all the same… Something was missing.
“Hey, asshole! You going to answer your goddamn phone or what?” The garbage man paused, bin raised to the collection truck, to glare at Ben.
Crap. Ben snapped back to himself. He was standing in the middle of the pavement, his phone blaring in his pocket. He hastily juggled his coffee and file to grab it. An unfamiliar number. “Hello?”
“Central Hospital. Is this Bennet Hawick?” The speaker was female, brisk and unfamiliar.
“Speaking.” Ben doubled back towards a quieter corner. “What’s this about?”
“You’re listed as emergency contact for a patient of ours. Georgina Martin.”
“I don’t― George?” Ben tightened his grip on the phone. “What’s happened to George?”
“She’s in critical condition. Given her underlying condition, we need to make arrangements for our other patients’ safety.”
Ben stood very still. By underlying condition, she meant George’s revenant bite. Damn it, George. When I promised to put you down, I didn’t imagine it would happen so soon!
“Are you able to come to the hospital immediately?” There was a pause. “Mr. Hawick? Are you still there?”
Ben forced himself to breathe with difficulty. “I’m here. I’ll be on my way at once.”
✩✩✩
The nurses were calmly professional as they went about adjusting their patient’s drip, checking her oxygen and making sure that the call button was within easy reach, but Ben couldn’t help but notice that they worked with one eye on the window and the setting sun beyond. He listened to the procedure the head nurse outlined for him in the event of a medical emergency and accepted the stake she provided him in the case of an undead one.
“You’re comfortable with the radio?” she asked. “There will be a doctor on the other end of it all night. Your friend’s case has already been circulated to everyone on night duty, so if you need assistance, we’ll be ready.”
Ben looked down at the handset. It was a similar model to those used by ARX operatives―perhaps the hospital had employed ARX for their security needs. “It’s fine.”
“Once we leave, you will be alone in the ward. The doors are reinforced steel and cannot be opened from the inside. Do you remember the location of the call button?”
Ben nodded. “I’ve got it.”
“In the event of an emergency, our priority will be securing the safety of our other patients. By agreeing to remain, you take full responsibility for your own safety.”
“I signed the liability form.” Ben was surprised by his own abruptness. “I know what I’m doing.”
The nurse hesitated. The rest of her team had already left the room. Ben could hear them making their way down the corridor, footsteps quick and no chatter. She seemed about to say something, but a look out the window decided her against it. “Good luck, Mr. Hawick.”
Ben heard the vault-like clang of the steel doors locking into place. In the wake of the nurses’ absence, the room felt much bigger than it had been. He stood at the end of the bed and looked down at George.
She was almost entirely hidden by the bandages and hospital gown. The burns were superficial and the surgeon expressed confidence that they would heal without the need for surgery―if she survived the night.
Ben gripped the stake tightly. He’d listened to the doctor on autopilot, picking up the odd word here and there. Head injury. Coma. Internal bleeding. Unpredictable. If George survived the night, she had a fighting chance of a full recovery―but it was the night that was the problem.
The bite scar was still visible, even under the scattering of fresh bandages. Because of the risk revenants posed to staff and other patients, hospitals confined patients infected by vampires to secure wards, leaving them to take their chances during the night. There was a camera at Ben’s back, intended to monitor George from the hospital’s security center, but there would be no help coming to either of them. The hospital had given George all the help they could, but now the fight was hers alone. If anything went wrong…
Ben’s mouth twisted. “How much more wrong do we need, right, George?” He placed his hand over hers.
Her skin was cool. She’d been found, collapsed within a dumpster outside a busy downtown restaurant. Staff had called an ambulance immediately. Their quick action and George’s own tenacity had saved her life―she’d managed to successfully hide herself from whatever had attacked her.
The doctors had shaved large parts of her hair to get access to her head wounds, but a singed smell clung to what remained. Burnt hair, mingled with a lingering scent of copper and sulfur.
Ben’s nose twitched. The sulfur was so strong, he wondered why he hadn’t noticed it before. It put him in mind strongly of―
“Amateurs.” Gunn leaned in the room doorway with his arms folded. “You can’t warn them. Chasing a demon’s certain death whichever way you play it.”
Ben schooled his expression into one of indifference. “She’s not dead yet.”
“Operative word being ‘yet’.” Gunn wasn’t smoking. Despite himself, Ben was impressed. Either Gunn had more respect for human life than Ben had ever imagined, or the head nurse had managed to impress on him the hospital rules. “Visiting hours are over, Benny.” Gunn looked pointedly at the stake in Ben’s hands. “You here to do the night watch?”
Ben nodded. “I promised I would.”
Gunn snorted. “Could have saved myself a trip. Then again, I’m not entirely sure you have the guts to go through with it. I hear she’s a friend?”
Ben looked down at George. In the hospital gown and without her makeup, she looked much, much younger than she was. “It’s because she’s my friend that I will.” He flexed his fingers around the stake. “Knowing what is ahead of her if I don’t― There’s no way I’m letting that happen.”
“Even if it means putting a stake through her heart? They struggle, you know. They don’t go quietly.”
“I have done this before,” Ben reminded Gunn.
He grinned at Ben, making no apology for his remarks. “Just like riding a bike?”
“Do you know anything about what happened?”
Gunn shrugged, straightening up. “Apart from the obvious? We got a team working on tracing her online movements. Theory is that she successfully managed to attract our agent into a meeting, but the date soured pretty quickly. We found the initial site of the attack in a few alleys over from where she was found―the entire scene scorched. Any circle there might have been is gone. We did find a pile of ashes and a few scraps of paper.”
“Harriet’s notebook,” Ben guessed. “They hunted together.”
“Sheriff in Little River suggested George had some kind of plan in mind for the demon. Any idea what that was?”
Ben shook his head. “I’m guessing it was in Harriet’s notebook. But whatever it is, it doesn’t matter. Demons can’t die.”
“Oh, Ben. How can someone so twisted still be so delightfully naïve?” Gunn wagged his finger at him. “Everything dies. Demons included.”
“But there’s no records―”
“Maybe you’re not looking at the right records, Benny-boy. And on that note, while I would love to hang out with my favorite waste of space, paperwork calls.” Gunn cast a last look at George. “I’ll leave you two lovebirds to your wake.”
“Love―” Ben looked up in foreboding.
Nate stood in the hall beyond Gunn. He looked apprehensive.
Ben felt sick. “How long have you been here?”
“Gunn got me past security, and the nurses let us in when they left. You―” Nate swallowed. “You’re here to kill her?”
“Put her down, Nate. If she dies and rises―” Ben looked at George, lying still on her bed. “―she’ll already be dead.”
“Because of the vampire bite?” Nate clenched his fists. “But you were a vampire yourself!”
“And that is why I’m here. I know better than anyone else what is in front of George if she rises. Friends don’t let friends become vampires, Nate.”
“Shouldn’t you wait and give her time to adjust? She might be one of the good ones―”
“There are no good vampires. Only slightly better behaved ones.” Ben was aware he was clenching his free hand hard enough that his nails were digging into his skin. He deliberately relaxed his posture, repositioning himself in his sentry position over George. “Anyway, George and I had this conversation in Little River. She’s a hunter, she’s faced revenants and vampires in the field, seen firsthand the harm they do. She wanted to be sure she wouldn’t walk.”
“I still can’t believe it.”
“What are you doing here?”
Nate took a hesitant step towards George’s bed and looked down. Ben saw his neck tightened as he swallowed, clearly powerfully affected by George’s injuries. “The sheriff called on my way back to New Camden. She mentioned being surprised that George listed you as next of kin, and I thought I should be here to help you. Didn’t realize what helping you entailed.”
After a moment, Ben pulled up one of the seats to George’s bedside. With the stake resting on his lap, he would still be able to address any transformation promptly. “Sit down, Nate. We have to be prepared for the worst, that’s all. George is tough, and the doctors gave me a positive diagnosis before they left.”
“Typical. I come in order to help you, and you end up taking care of me.” Nate sank back into the seat Ben had used for most of that afternoon.
Ben felt easier with the bed between them―and then immediately guilty. Driving a stake through George’s heart was fine, but he drew the line at using her as a barrier. “I’ve got experience you don’t,” he reminded Nate. “I would―and do―feel just as out of place in Century.”
Nate studied George’s sleeping face. “You were mentally prepared for this because you knew it was coming?”
Ben shook his head. “I knew broadly what George planned, but she wouldn’t share the details. She’s extremely lucky to be alive at all.”
Nate lifted his gaze to Ben. “How can you be friends with someone, knowing you might have to kill them?”
Ben’s hand gripped the stake. “You just do. It’s a fact of life of being a vampire―a possibility when any kind of supernatural influence is involved.”
“Hunter?” Nate watched him closely. “What if he started to behave dangerously?”
“Wouldn’t hesitate,” Ben said promptly. “I know him too well to think he would want to live with the knowledge that he succumbed to the vampire completely. He’d do the same to me.”
“But you called each other brothers!”
“It’s an awful responsibility. But as his brother, knowing better than anyone else what he must feel, I couldn’t stand by and let him hurt anyone.”
Nate gripped the armrests of his chair with both hands. “You stopped Hunter from killing me in the graveyard when you didn’t know what I was.”
“Yes.” Ben was grateful for the support of the seat back. It allowed him to meet Nate’s comment with the appearance of calm. “And that’s why you’re so bad for me, Nate. I don’t think I could kill you―even if it was necessary.”
“You’ve really got to work on your flirting.” Nate’s voice cracked. He wasn’t entirely able to pass off his cool tone. He sucked in a second, abrupt breath. “If anything happens to you now―if you died, I mean―would―” He stopped.
Ben winced. “If I died now, there’s no way that I wouldn’t become a vampire. I have been exposed to their influence too long not to.”
“And if that happens, do you want us to―”
“Destroy me.” Ben looked down at the stake he held. “I never want to return to that shadow life.”
“But you were a good vampire! You didn’t hurt anyone―”
“Under Saltaire’s influence,” Ben reminded him. “Without it, there’s no guarantee I would be able to exert enough self-control over myself to contain the monster.”
Nate sat in silence. He didn’t look at Ben or George, running one hand along his arm as he stared at the floor.
Impulsively, Ben leaned across George’s bed to put a hand on his arm. “It’s not something I’d ever ask you to do, Nate.”
Nate looked up. His smile was shaky. “Don’t think I could. Even knowing that’s what you want.” He sighed and sat straighter, seemingly attempting to regain his composure. “Does that make me weak?”
“It makes you human.” Ben patted Nate’s arm. “I want to protect that in you.”
“Still looking out for me.” Nate’s hazel eyes regarded him steadily. “You realize that by your own logic, you being unable to kill me makes you human, too.”
Ben stared at him. Is Nate right? Am I doing something right after all?
A loud beep jarred him out of his thoughts. Ben glanced from George―whose condition did not seem immediately altered―to the monitors surrounding them.
“What was that?” Nate got to his feet at once. “Is she―?”
“I don’t know.” Ben motioned to the monitors. “I know what these monitors do, but there are many variables that could cause an irregularity in her heartbeat.”
“Do we call a nurse?”
“No nurse is setting foot in here before sunrise.”
“But―”
“We have to wait it out, Nate. And trust that George isn’t giving up without a fight.”
Nate reluctantly returned to his seat.
Minutes went by without any further sound from the monitors. Whatever they’d detected, it had passed.
“Why don’t you bring your chair round over here?” Nate suggested. “It’s going to be a long night. May as well get as comfortable as we can.”
Ben sat on the very edge of his seat. “I think it’s better we didn’t. A little discomfort can be a good thing. Keeps you alert.”
Nate gave him a look of pure skepticism. “You know who else thrives on discomfort? Gunn told me pretty much the exact same thing once.”
Ben bit back the impulse to protest having anything in common with Gunn. He disliked the man and his methods immensely, but if Nate was hoping for a kneejerk reaction, he was out of luck. “Maybe he was trying to tell you something.”
“What do you mean?”
Ben turned over the stake in his hands. “You rate comfortable too highly. That’s a problem.” He could see the protest forming in Nate’s expression and continued quickly. “You want to please everyone, make everyone happy, so you do things impulsively based on what other people want―”
“There’s nothing wrong with wanting to take care of people!”
“There is when it comes at your own expense!” Ben deliberately forced his voice into a lower, calmer state. George’s recovery wouldn’t be aided by the sound of them arguing. “You’re so willing to take care of others you don’t consider the cost to yourself. How can I depend on you―trust you―when I can’t be sure you’ll be there when I need you?”
Hurt blazed in Nate’s eyes, but he managed to keep himself in check. “You know I wouldn’t do what I did for Ethan for just anybody. He’s my brother!”
“But you continually put other people first. It’s like you’ve got no idea of your own worth!” Ben was grateful to his long hair for falling in his eyes. He had to say this, but it was a lot harder, looking directly at Nate’s face. “You’re not even mad at Sandy, and he tried to kill you―”
“You don’t know that!” Nate shot back immediately. “You have no proof!”
“Nate, the circle’s location in the barn beneath his bed, his intended seduction of you―”
Nate shook his head. “You said it yourself, anyone who came to our house in the last ten years could have done it.”
“This is exactly what I mean.” Ben sat back, crossing his arms over his chest. “You’re ignoring the danger to yourself in order to protect someone else!”
“Because no one else is even giving him a chance! You haven’t even talked to Sandy, heard what he has to say.”
“George was looking for Sandy.”
“She was looking for the agent,” Nate corrected. “We don’t know for sure who she found.”
Ben shook his head, settling back in the chair. “It’s no good, Nate. This is exactly why we can’t be together. I need to figure out who I am and you need to develop a spine.”
✩✩✩
It was the longest night of Ben’s life. Coming from a former vampire, that said a lot. Sitting angry vigil with Nate not talking to him, not even looking at him… The tension between them was so strong, Ben couldn’t believe George didn’t sense it, that it didn’t trigger another alarm.
The metallic thunk of the security doors unlocking heralded the arrival of the team of nurses. Nate got to his feet, shouldering past the head nurse as soon as she opened the door.
Ben watched him go. He wasn’t hurt or relieved. He was tired―more tired than he’d ever believed possible. He shook himself, trying to listen to what the nurse was telling him. “I’m sorry. Come again?”
She looked up from George’s bedside. “You look white as a sheet. In fact, I’m not so sure we shouldn’t send you for a quick observation yourself.”
“I’m fine. George?”
She looked down at her patient. “Better for the night’s rest,” she said. “As you know, it’s the first hours that are the most crucial. You can go home and sleep with your mind at ease. She’s doing as well as anyone could have hoped.” The nurse put a hand on Ben’s shoulder, steering him towards the door. “Now, you need to go home and take care of yourself.”
Ben took a taxi back to his apartment. He made it as far as his bed, but not as far as undressing. When the phone rang, he was still facedown on the duvet, exactly where he had fallen onto the bed.
Ben felt around for his phone fighting against the groggy mist of being awake too soon. His room was dim, long shadows stretching the length of the room. His fingers closed around the smooth shape of the phone, and he swiped ‘Answer.' “Hello?”
“Hawick?” The sheriff was as brisk as ever. “We got a positive ID on the unidentified prints in Harriet’s van. Thought you’d like to know.”
Ben sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. “Can you tell me who?”
“One Samuel Abraham Miller, known as Sandy to his friends. Assuming he has any. His date of birth is listed as 1921.”
“Which lines up with the agent having been active for over seventy years.”
“Remarkably youthful for a man his age. I don’t think there’s any doubt that we’ve got our culprit,” the sheriff agreed.
Talked to Nate? Ben dug his fingers into his arm before he could make the remark.
“There’s something else you should know. As you may have guessed from our identification of his prints, Sandy has something of a criminal file. A long history of misdemeanors―loitering, of lewd conduct, petty theft, trespassing―nothing big. But he was found guilty of a charge of sexual misconduct with a minor and received a sentence of fifteen years, that was reduced to nine on good behavior. He was only just released a few weeks back.”
“A few weeks?”
“Yes.” The sheriff cleared her throat. “Which got me thinking. You don’t meet much innocence in jail.”
“No,” Ben agreed. “You don’t. He doesn’t have much time to secure a victim.”
“If you’re right about the game he’s playing―and there’s no reason you wouldn’t be―then Sandy must be getting desperate. What’s more, with the attack on the hunter yesterday, he’ll be on his guard, too wary to target someone new. Does his victim has to be an innocent? Or will anyone do in a pinch?”
“Anyone who can suffer will do.” Ben’s body felt like lead. “He’s going to go after Nate.”
“I was really, really hoping you weren’t going to say that.” The sheriff collected herself, resuming her usual matter-of-factness. “Is he with you?”
“No. But I’ll find him.”
“I’ll alert Department Seven to the situation. Godspeed, Hawick.” She hung up before Ben’s startled brain could muster an appropriate response.
He stared down at his phone for several seconds. His mind had kicked into overdrive, sorting through the implications. Sandy’s visit to Little River, his pursuit of Nate at Century, all indicated that Sandy, rather than giving up his goal, had become increasingly desperate.
And Nate is wide open. The thought spurred Ben to move. He dropped his phone into his pocket, going to his father’s office. Austin had left his hunting supplies behind in the move. Ben had no trouble finding a knife or salt, stowing them within the pockets of his jacket. He hesitated before adding candles and matches―what good were they against demons? If I don’t know what I’m up against, I don’t know what I’ll need. Ben added the candles and the crucifix that happened to be in the box. He hoped this was enough.
He dialed Nate as he stepped out the door and into the lift. The call diverted to an answering message. “C’mon, Nate.” Ben dialed again. He held his breath as it began to ring. Nothing. “I’ll do this as many times as necessary until you pick up,” he threatened, dialing a third time as he stepped outside―and into night.
The phone connected to Nate’s answering message for the third time. Ben hung up.
I slept the entire day? Ben looked down at his phone, registering the time. No wonder Nate wasn’t answering his phone. He’d be at Century, probably working. Ben stepped forward, raising a hand to signal a cab. Please, Nate. Don’t do anything stupid until I get there.
✩✩✩
Century was packed. People stood wall to wall, every single one intent on blocking Ben’s way. He shouldered past them, ignoring their dirty looks as he made a circuit of the dance floor. Nate’s height and physique should have made him obvious―but none of the men who caught Ben’s eye in the strobe light on the floor or leaning against the bar were Nate.
After the third disappointment, Ben realized he wasn’t being logical. He marched up to the bar. “I want a catalog.”
He was handed a tablet. The host beside him gave Ben a considering look as he scrolled through the escort options and drifted farther down the bar. Ben didn’t care. He’d found Nate’s profile and with a tap, brought up his availability.
Nate was listed as on duty, but his schedule was grayed out. Ben tapped a time slot, discovered that he was unable to make a booking. What’s going on? Ben scrolled down, discovered that he could book Nate for the following night. If he has a client, that’s a good thing. He’ll be busy. Too busy for Sandy? Ben hesitated. I need to be sure.
He returned to the menu, selecting the host he wanted. This time he was in luck. The host was available. Ben made his booking and waited.
Aki draped himself across the bar. “We have to stop meeting like this. And I seriously mean that. You know we get full powers of veto over our clients, right?”
“I just need some info, Aki. That’s all it is.”
Aki sighed. “Fine. But I want an hour at premium rate for this.”
“An hour?”
Aki motioned to the crowd around him. “My net social worth is decreasing with every minute that we are seen together. It’s going to take at least an hour for the crowd to disperse and my credibility to recover.”
Ben narrowed his eyes. While he wasted time quibbling with Aki, anything could be happening to Nate. “Fine.” He pushed the tablet down the bar to Aki. “Where’s Nate?”
Aki’s face took on a pitying expression. “Jealousy doesn’t look good on anyone. You should have taken Nate up on his offer of exclusivity when you had the chance.”
Of course Nate had told Aki about that. Ben forced himself to remain calm. “Take a look at his schedule. Is that normal?”
“Nate is popular with his regular clients. And he’s been absent for a few weeks.” Aki brought up Nate’s schedule with a few quick taps. “He’s a professional. You have to understand that―huh.”
Ben felt his stomach lurch. “I’m right. That’s not normal.”
Aki shook his head. “Getting the whole night booked is a big deal. He’d have told me if he had.” Aki tapped in his employee login code, brought up a more detailed report. “Yeah. Nate’s taken himself off the schedule.”
“And that’s―unusual?”
“We have the option at any time― Our job, we have to take care of ourselves. But this…Nate was saying at the start of the evening how much he needed this.”
Ben forced himself to think past the spike of pain, pay attention to Aki’s words. “Did he say anything else?”
“He didn’t. I’m guessing his ex did.”
Liquid ice flooded Ben’s veins. “Sandy was here?”
Aki shrugged. “Saw them together at the start of the night. They looked pretty cozy.” He held out the tablet to Ben with a shake of his head. “Sorry, not sorry. This is exactly what I told you would happen. You took too long making up your mind, and Nate’s ex swooped in and picked Nate up on the rebound.”
Ben fought to keep his thoughts together. Aki didn’t know the full story. “Is Nate with Sandy now?”
“Well, I didn’t see them leave together. Actually, I know they didn’t ’cause I saw security start to head towards them, and Nate’s new paramour made tracks. At the time, I assumed that he hadn’t paid the cover charge. I gave Nate shit over that, and he told me he’d said he’d meet him after his shift.”
“After his shift?”
Aki nodded. “We were going to hit the floor, but then I got a client.”
“Is Nate still in the club?”
“You’re being really possessive for someone he’s not dating.”
“It’s important.”
Aki rolled his eyes turning back to the tablet. “No, he’s―not here. Not even in our room.” Aki tapped in a few more commands, his frown increasing. “That’s not― He’s not showing up on the maps at all.” He was about to say something else, but a look at Ben’s expression stopped him. “Something’s happened?”
Ben nodded. “Call Department Seven. Ask to speak to Gunn or Kenzie and tell them exactly what you’ve just told me.”
“And you couldn’t have told me that earlier?”
“I said it was important.”
Aki shot Ben a disgusted look. “When we’ve found Nate, you and me are going to have to have a long chat about properly communicating― Yes, hello? I’d like to speak―”
Ben left Aki talking to Department Seven. He called Nate twice more as he left the club. Nothing. Ben struck out onto the city streets.
Nate left the club― Why? What had Sandy told him? It was too easy to imagine. Sandy was a master of his game and would know exactly what Nate needed to hear. The only question was where they’d go. Somewhere private, unobserved. Ben turned off the populated main street and down a shady side street. Somewhere dark where the circle would not be visible.
The problem was that New Camden had too many dark, secluded corners. Ben turned down one shadowy alleyway and then another. I’ll never find them. New Camden was huge, and Ben was on foot―
A shadow darted across the ground in front of him. Ben reached for his knife. “Stay back!” I don’t have time for revenants―
But the shadow faded with the sound of a car traveling away. Ben looked down at the pavement in front of him. Get it together! He was panicking, jumping at headlights! You’re better than this. You have to be better than this. Nate― Ben forced himself to push down the tight fear in his throat. Nate needs you to get your head together.
The cold grip of the knife provided some reassurance. It was a remnant of his time as a hunter. I’m still a hunter. George was right. I need to think like one.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Ben reviewed what he knew. By now, Gunn was aware of the situation. The Department Seven officer disliked Ben but would not endanger Nate. Department Seven would be searching the city for Nate and Sandy. Their reach was wider than Ben’s alone, and they had at least one werewolf on the team. For perhaps the first time in his professional career, Ben felt himself thinking fondly of a werewolf’s tracking and hunting potential. I would not like to be Sandy when Kenzie finds him.
Which left Nate.
Aki was surprised that Nate left. At the time, Ben’s panic had been foremost, he hadn’t given that fact the attention it deserved. Now, he stood with his back to the stone wall of the alley, so that he could give it proper consideration without leaving himself entirely open. Aki knows Nate’s moods. Nate was intending to stay at the club at the start of the night―and told Sandy he’d meet him after his shift. Something happened after Sandy left. Who? Century had reacted to the threat of vampires by taking Nate off the floor―but Nate had taken himself off the roster. The sheriff? Ben shook his head. Nate would dismiss the sheriff’s arguments about Sandy just like he’d dismissed Ben’s. He could feel the panic creeping in. Who would Nate talk to? There’s only―
Ethan.
If Ma was surprised at Ben calling so abruptly, she didn’t comment on it, passing the phone over immediately. “Ethan? Ben wants to talk to you.”
The pause before Ben heard the phone picked up was the longest wait of his life. “Why are you calling?”
Ben didn’t have time to spare for Ethan’s phone manners. “It’s important. Did Nate call tonight?”
“Yes.”
“Did he ask you if you’d chased Sandy away?”
“Yeah.”
Ben clutched his phone so tightly his fingers ached. “What did you tell him?”
“Everything.”
“Thanks.” Ben hung up. The relief was so dizzying, he actually swayed. Nate knew! His strongest argument in Sandy’s defense was gone! “That’s why he didn’t leave with Sandy! He suspected―and now he knows!”
But Nate’s current location was still a mystery―as was his state of mind. Can I be sure that Sandy still won’t be able to manipulate him? The tone of Nate’s voice as he talked about everything Sandy had done for him flashed into Ben’s head. The answer was no.
Ben replaced his phone in his pocket, thinking hard. Nate’s got to be hurting. Lost. Sandy had been a big part of his life and having that ripped away would leave him all kinds of confused. Aki’s his best friend! Why didn’t he turn to him?
Ben bit his lip. Aki had numerous good friend qualities―but sympathy was not among them. Which leaves what? This isn’t Little River. Where would Nate go if he was in trouble and wanted to think?
A place flashed into his mind, followed by an instant shudder. No. Not there. Ben forced himself to move even though every fiber of his body fought it. Mason’s Park.