Free The Dream Walker by Carly Fall, Allison Itterly Page B

nameless sex, his needs were met, and there wasn’t any of this emotional crap.
    Fuck. That.
    Noah’s phone rang, and all three looked at it.
    “Answer it,” Noah mumbled, sliding it over to Blake. “Just let me know she’s okay.”
    Blake slid it back over to Noah. “You need to talk to her, man. You need to tell her how much you love her and you want her to come home. She needs to hear it.”
    Noah pushed the phone to Nico. “I don’t want to do that right now. I’m too fucked up.”
    Nico spun the phone back over to Blake.
    It stopped ringing, and all three sat in silence again.
    Then it started back up.
    Blake looked at the number. It was PRIVATE. Probably a telemarketer, but curiosity got the best of him, and he answered.
    “Is this Noah?”
    Well, well, well. A voice from the past.
    “Hey, Micah,” Blake said. Nico’s eyes got wide, and Noah sat up straight. “What’s shaking, you fuckface? Killed anyone in cold blood lately?”
    Micah was the leader of The Platoon, the ones who had killed Talin.
    There were a few beats of silence on the other end, and Blake thought he had hung up.
    “Is this Noah or not?”
    “No, it’s not, you murdering douchebag. It’s Blake, and Noah’s not available.”
    Noah closed his eyes and whispered, “Please don’t let him have Abby. Dear God, please.”
    “I want to speak with him. Can I give you my number and have him return my call?”
    Blake stared at the phone for a minute, then said, “So, what’s with the manners, Micah? Did you read some Dear Abby or some shit?”
    There was a sigh on the other end. “You’ve always been an insolent simpleton, Blake. Are you going to deliver my message or not?”
    Blake let out a whistle, angered at basically being called a dumb fuck, but he held back. He had to admit, his curiosity was piqued about why Micah was calling, and he didn’t want to make him too angry. However, he wasn’t going to let that one slide. “Big words for a big boy with a small cerebrum, Micah. Why don’t you tell me what you want, and maybe, just maybe, I’ll give Noah the message.”
    There was a beat of silence, then Micah said, “Tell Noah I’m talking about a possible cluster of Colonists and their offspring.”
    Blake’s blood ran cold, and he looked at Noah, then at Nico. A cluster of Colonists? And their offspring? Hell, it would be bad enough if it was just one Colonist and a bunch of offspring, but a cluster?
    But maybe this was a trap. If they ’d learned anything, it was that Micah and The Platoon could not be trusted. Maybe Micah was playing the Colonist card so he had the opportunity to kill the rest of the Saviors. As much as Blake wanted to believe that it was all bullshit, the sound of Micah’s voice made him think he was telling the truth. His mind also flashed back to the chart of rising crime in the area.
    Crap.
    “And what makes you think that?” Blake asked.
    “We patrol downtown Phoenix on an almost nightly basis, Blake. We’ve seen some strange things. ”
    “ That’s nothing new. You’re going to see strange things downtown at night no matter what city you’re in.”
    “ I’m aware of that, but this is different. We’ve followed some people. I believe this is bigger than the Saviors or The Platoon. We have one goal in common, and that’s to eradicate the Colonists and their offspring. Unfortunately, I think we’re going to have to work together on this one.”
    Blake’s head spun. The guy sounded so normal, so rational. Where was the ba t- shit crazy asshole they were used to dealing with? Could he actually be telling the truth, or was he so cracked that he was able to sound normal?
    “Can you deliver that message to him, Blake?”
    Blake stared at Noah a moment. Could he handle this right now? It seemed like he was one dose of bad news from breaking in half. Or, maybe having a purpose or something that really needed his attention would snap him out of the funk and get him focused again. Blake