I just want to go home. I can’t stay here. I need to get back. Oh my God, is that kid skinny dipping?
I stare out the window, trying my hardest to block out Willow’s thoughts. The car is completely silent, yet it feels as if she’s screaming. I can’t take it. This incessant whining has to stop. The interesting thing is I can block her out, but there are times when I can’t stop her thoughts from tangling with mine. It seems the closer she is to me, the easier her voice can slip through the cracks of my mind’s wall. I’m not sure I can hear her deeper thoughts, just the thoughts that bubble to the surface. They seem louder when she’s afraid or worried. Either way, it’s incredibly annoying.
Besides, she’s the one who dropped here. All of us have far more important things to do than getting her back to where she belongs.
Oh my God. What if Faye came by again? She’ll be worried sick, especially after that stupid basement nightmare. Oh—and Garrett! Damn it, Garrett. He has a key. He’s gonna see I’m not there. Didn’t tell him I was going out of town again either. What am I going tell him when I get back? He’s going to be pissed. Am I ever gonna get back? Yes, I have to. There has to be a way.
Garrett. I’ve heard her say that name—I’m not sure when, but it’s someone she knows. Someone she cares about. Either way, the name annoys me.
Veno drives slowly through Blackwater Village. We’re in the SUV, Maeve seated upfront. Willow is in the second row, wedged between me and Killian, and Rowan and Juniper are in the back row. I’d have taken the front seat, but Maeve is older and I’m courteous.
“I was going to wear that outfit to a party, you know.” Juniper places her chin on my shoulder, looking sideways at Willow.
“You were?” Willow looks over her shoulder. “I’m sorry—I told that Della woman that I didn’t want to wear these clothes, but she insisted.”
“Della is lucky she works for us,” Juniper gripes.
“Juniper, sit back.”
“Caz, will you shut up? I’m getting to know our new friend here!” I know Juniper has just rolled her eyes. She’s lucky she’s my damn cousin—the only person who gets away with telling me to shut up. “Anyway, Willow, I think it looks great on you. Suits you better than me.”
I press the pads of my fingers to Juniper’s forehead, pushing her back lightly to remove her head from my shoulder. I feel her scowling at the back of my head.
“You know I don’t like people touching me.” Which is why it’s taking everything in me not to lose my shit being in such a tight space, seated next to a woman I don’t even know. Her thigh is too close to mine, the heat of her skin radiating through the material of her clothes, and I feel her breathing. Not to mention she smells different…not like the women in Blackwater, who usually smell like sand and water. She carries a sweet smell, something subtle and foreign. I’ve never smelled anything like it before.
We should’ve driven separate cars.
“Why?” Willow asks, turning her head to look at me.
“What?” I meet her eyes.
“Why do we need separate cars?”
I rip my gaze away from hers. For the love of Vakeeli. How the fuck did she hear me?
“You’re not as quiet as you think you are,” she murmurs. I glance at her, and she rolls her eyes, then turns to look out the window next to Killian. “How long will it take to get to wherever we’re going?”
“Ten hours to Vanora from Blackwater,” Maeve says from the front.
“Great,” Willow replies sarcastically.
I don’t want to sit next to you either, trust me.
Willow whips her head and glares a hole into the side of mine. Why are you such an asshole?
I don’t acknowledge her. Instead, I look out the window again toward one of the villages as we pass it. Shadow Village. Darker buildings, sharper roofs, grumpier citizens.
Now you’re going to ignore me?
I roll my eyes. I need my wall again. I think of it—big rocks wrapping around my brain. My eyes close briefly as I draw in a breath, and then exhale.
“So, if you can read Caz’s mind, can you ask him if he’s the one who stole my TC-15?” Rowan asks from the back.
“You’re still going on about that damn gun!” Juniper laughs.
“Yes! That was a brand-new, high-quality TC-15! Highly rare, might I add! I killed Wesley with it, remember? That pig.”
“Why would Caz steal it?” Juniper asks.
“To sell it. I don’t know,” Rowan grumbles. “He has a habit of taking shit that doesn’t belong to him and tossing them on the barges.”
“Not from family,” Maeve says over her shoulder.
I don’t bother acknowledging either of them, but I can feel Willow looking at me.
“Veno, stop at the Barix,” I order.
“The Barix, sir?” Veno glances at me through the rearview mirror, confused.
“Yes. Now.”
“Yes, sir.”
“What are we stopping at the Barix for?” Maeve peers over her shoulder at me.
I don’t answer, but I feel all their eyes on me. It takes less than ten minutes to arrive at the Barix, and when Veno pulls into the vacant parking lot and unlocks the doors, I climb out and rush toward the building. The Barix is my third home in Blackwater, the tavern being my second and the mansion being my first. It’s where I keep my cars, my money, and many of my guns.
Slipping my hand into my pocket, I pull out a set of keys, finger to the designated one, unlock the metal door and swing it open, then I head for the keys hanging on the wall, belonging to my cars. I grab the key fob to my favorite black X-Stinger, then slam my fist on the garage door button to open it.
My X-Stinger sits beautifully in the garage, amongst other cars of various styles—SUVS, pick-ups, two-doors. All of them are mine, and I breathe a sigh of relief as I march to the first black one and climb behind the wheel. I reverse out of the garage, close it, and then tap a button to lock the building back up.
“Seriously?” Maeve shouts out the window. “A ten-hour trip won’t kill you, Caspian!”
“It will when I’m with this family. I’m driving alone. Don’t wait up.”
Maeve scoffs and rolls her eyes, but she doesn’t argue. She knows she won’t win. She tells Veno to go and he pulls off, hitting the main road that leads to Vanora.
I watch the car grow distant and allow my mind’s wall to lower. Just as I do, I hear Willow’s voice again, asking so many questions. None of them bother me but one: What the hell is wrong with him?
I drive, leaving the vacant lot of the Barix and trailing behind Veno. It’s a great question—one I’m sure she doesn’t want the answer to. Because if she knew, she’d never look me in the eyes again.
Vanora
