The Wilde Expedition

24. wilde child getaway

Copyright © 2015. All Rights Reserved.

〮CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR 〮

We parked the van a few blocks away, and after giving Gavin a few pointers, like putting his hood up, wearing sunglasses, and taking his handy-dandy taser, I sent him off into the world. It was impossible to tell if Beron's crew was still lingering around Haight Ashbury, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't so much as pick up an inkling of their trace from this far away.

"But can't they, like, smell me or something?" Gavin asked, whispering unnecessarily. If they were around, we were far enough away to mask our regular voices.

I rolled my eyes and said, "Were you not listening? I mean, yeah, they have wicked smell, but that's only if they wolf out, ya know? You'll be fine. Just get the necklace and get back here. Don't act suspicious, don't run, and have the shop keys handy. You'll be fine."

He threw his arms down and gave me an exhausted look, like he didn't believe a word I was saying. For emphasis, I added, "Humans don't have as strong a scent as werewolves do. I probably smell like wet dog to them, and you're, like, a pear."

"What does that even mean?"

"Pears don't smell like anything. They smell like water, don't they?" I said, and urged him to go ahead. The longer we stayed here, the more of a chance we had of being sensed. Beron was probably all ears right now, and by that I meant he was hunting me down by the Alpha vibes that could only be diluted by Blake's necklace.

Which mean Gavin had to hurry, and fast.

Eventually, Gavin ducked out and turned the corner of the sidewalk. I waited until I couldn't see him anymore before shutting the door and locking it, and every other door in the van. I urged Gavin to take his phone, as well as the van keys so I couldn't tell the time. It had to have been at least eight by now. He reassured me, though, that Harley was a notorious sleep-iner, so it wouldn't be unusual for her to wake up at noon. That's how I normally functioned, but Scarlett was different. She was always on top of things, and had to open up the shop by nine or else. She usually got up a half-hour before to go about the opening ritual.

So as time ticked by and there was still no sign of Gavin, I found myself lying practically half off the cushion, my entire torso underneath the dash so only my eyes could view the road in front of me. I tried to track the amount of time it would take for him to reach the door—at a brisk pace, a minute to the inside the shop—and the amount of time it would take to navigate up the stairs—twenty seconds, probably more. There was no telling without X-ray vision that could see through walls.

At least five minutes passed and I was getting nervous. Could he find the necklace? Was Scarlett already awake? Who knows! It could be any number of possibilities that delayed him. But who was I kidding—five minutes was probably unrealistic to hope anyway when it came to a human's pace.

In the event of total distraction, it's safe to assume that one cannot focus on anything but the task on his or her mind. If this is the case, it was entirely possible that I was victim to total distraction and failed to look anywhere but in front of me the second I saw Gavin round the corner of the sidewalk.

In that same moment, I saw that look on his face a lot of people get when standing in a basement far from the stairs, and are plunged into darkness. Of course he's going to run, there's no telling what is in that darkness that could harm him. In this case, however, Gavin was just beginning to understand exactly the horrors of the uncontrolled phenomena of supernatural darkness, and was entirely aware of who was after him.

I panic as soon as I see him running—had I missed something? Were they behind the van? Nonetheless I spring up in my seat and flounder for the lock on the door, swift to push it open just seconds before Gavin swings inside, one hand grasping the necklace, and the other on the door.