Free Crimson Echo by Dusty Burns Page B

pulled me to my feet and held me until I regained my balance again. “This lady, what did she say? You have to remember everything exactly the way she said it, word for word.”
    “I can’t remember exactly what she said.” I hesitated.
    “Try, you have to try.”
    “She said something about a storm coming. I can’t word it right.” I frowned.
    “You’re doing great. Now tell me, is there anything else she said?”
    “‘We’ve been waiting for you.’ I think that’s what she said. She freaked me out, I tried not to pay her much attention, I’m sorry.”
    “Was this before or after her eyes turned black?” He asked calmly as he paced back to the window.
    “After.”
    “They have someone on the inside!” He said through his teeth. “Is that all she said?”
    “That’s it, that’s all she said.” I joined him at the window. “How did she know about a storm coming?”
    “It’s not that kind of storm,” he informed me. “It’s called The Coming Storm. It’s in reference to a showdown.”
    “She told me to be ready. Why would I need to be ready?”
    “She must have seen us together. This is exactly what I didn’t want to happen and now it has.” His eyebrows creased into hard furrows. “We’ve got to come up with a plan to hide you.”
                He quickly moved to the kitchen table and sat on the edge of a chair as he silently tried to formulate a plan. The muscles in his forearms writhed beneath the surface of his olive skin when he balled his hand into a fist and slammed it against the table. The table groaned under his hand and I jumped as it brought me out of my clouded thoughts.
               In my head I was already weaving a web of lies to tell my parents. Making up elaborate stories to tell them— excuses for my absence, should anything go wrong. It was hitting me now, the reality of what was happening. Would I ever see Kane again? Would whoever is after Kane and his family ever find me and silence me— silence me for something I didn’t even know about. That was the hardest part, not knowing.
    “I’m sorry.” He whispered solemnly without turning around to face me.
                 I closed the curtains, turned away from the window and made my way over to him. My body felt weighed down and my feet felt as if I had cement blocks attached to them. His back was tense under the white shirt he wore and the veins in the side of his neck were starting to protrude. I sat down beside him and stared him in the eyes. His eyes were full of anger, but he didn’t let it show on his face.
    “Kane, we’re going to figure this out.” I knew I was lying and not that well.
                We weren’t going to figure anything out. I wasn’t allowed to know anything about what was going on. I hated being kept in the dark, but maybe Kane was right, maybe it would be better if I didn’t know what was going on. He stayed motionless for what seemed like hours, still as a statue. The only thing that keyed me in on the fact that he hadn’t killed over from a heart attack was his eyes— they blinked and shifted like he was reading an invisible book.
               He was deep in concentration, manufacturing a detailed plan— the way I had earlier as I stared out the window. My hands trembled as I waited for him to figure out what his plan was. He took a deep breath and then shot out of the chair sending it rolling across the room.
    Then he spoke in fast , jagged breaths. “Get your things together. Do you have anywhere you can stay tonight?” He asked pulling me up the stairs to my bedroom.
    “I should be able to spend the night with Faith, but I’d have to clear it with my parents first.” I stammered as I was yanked up the staircase two steps at a time.
    “ Don’t worry about that right now, just grab some things so it looks like you’re really having a sleep over.”
                 I pulled a lime green overnight bag from the top