Mari Mancusi - Scorched

“Come on!” Connor begged from below. “Hurry!”

The window began to creak.

Trinity sucked in a breath, realizing she had no choice. She closed her eyes and slipped off the roof. Air whooshed in her ears like thunder as she flailed to the ground, her mind spinning with visions of cracked ankles and smashed wrists—

Strong arms seized her, breaking her fall. She opened her eyes. Connor’s face was inches away, his mouth locked into a self-satisfied smirk. “See?” he said, setting her down onto the ground. “I told you.” He motioned to a motorcycle leaning against a dilapidated fence. “Get on behind me,” he instructed as he threw a leg over the bike.

She stared at him, her still half-asleep brain torn with confusion. “Where did you get a motorcycle?”

He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. Just come on! We’ve got to go, now!”

She reluctantly complied, climbing on behind him and holding on tight. Above them, the window shattered and a voice called out into the night.

“Trinity! Wait!”

She tried to look up, but the motorcycle took off, flying across her former front yard at way too fast a speed. Down the road, up the off ramp, and back onto the abandoned interstate without slowing down. She tightened her grip, clinging on for dear life as icy wind blasted her already frozen ears and the potholes from the abandoned highway caused the bike to bounce and weave dangerously.

As they passed old exit 13 without slowing down, Trinity bit her lower lip, worry worming through her insides. What had happened with her grandpa? Connor had promised her he’d get him. Did he now mean to leave him behind?

“Where are we going?” she tried to ask, her pulse kicking up in alarm.

But he either couldn’t hear her or chose not to answer.

“Connor! Could we please stop for a moment? I’m about to fall off the bike.”

The sun was rising, bruising the horizon with blues and pinks, as Trinity squirmed in her seat. They’d been riding for hours and she was sore and frozen, not to mention confused and scared. All she wanted to do was stop for two seconds and get some answers. Like why had they had to make such a quick escape? Who had come after them at her mother’s house? And, most importantly, what had happened with her grandpa and where was he now?

To her relief, Connor pulled the bike up to a stop sign, then dropped his feet to the ground. “Sorry,” he said, allowing her to dismount before parking the bike a few feet off the road. “I just wanted to make sure we put enough distance between us and them. We can rest here a few minutes.”

As he knelt down to check the bike, Trinity assessed their surroundings. They’d left the highway hours before, Connor choosing back roads over main thoroughfares in an apparent attempt to keep a low profile. Which was smart, she supposed, even though she found the desolation more than a bit creepy. From what she’d been able to tell, they’d crossed into New Mexico over an hour ago, and since then there’d been nothing but brown, empty desert, stretching out on both sides of the road, as far as the eye could see. The only signs of life were the beady-eyed vultures, circling the roadkill, and they hadn’t passed another car in hours. And here she’d thought Old Oak Grove was in the middle of nowhere. Her hometown was a bustling metropolis compared to this

Except…she squinted her eyes, peering south. Was that a small town out there, far in the distance? From here she could just make out the shadows of a few one-story buildings, scattered across the landscape. Some tiny, nothing town the rest of the world had forgotten, she supposed, just waking up, ready to face the day.

To celebrate Christmas, she realized dully. Because it was indeed Christmas morning, as much as it didn’t feel like it. She sighed. What was it about this particular holiday that seemed determined to make everything in her life go to hell? Next year—if they survived all this—she should just cancel the whole event.

The thought made her cringe. What was she doing here? All alone, in the middle of the desert, a fugitive from the law, with nothing more than the clothes on her back and a mythical dragon egg in her pouch. And her grandpa still MIA.

She fumbled for her phone. Maybe he’d left her a message…

“No!”

The phone was knocked from her hand. It skittered to the ground, the screen cracking on impact. Trinity turned to Connor in shock. “What are you—?” she started, but the words died in her throat as she caught the look in his eyes.

She dove for her phone. But he was too quick, grabbing it and slamming it down on the pavement. Trinity watched, horrified, as her only link to her grandpa smashed into a thousand useless pieces.

“What the hell did you do that for?” she demanded furiously.

Connor stared at her, his blue eyes wild. “You can’t let anyone know where we are!” He grabbed her roughly by the hand, his fingernails digging into her burn. She screeched in surprise and pain. “Now get back on the bike. We need to keep moving.”

She yanked her arm away, staring at him in disbelief and fury. What was going on here? This was not the same Connor from the night before. The one who’d held her close and comforted her—the one who’d kissed her softly and promised to keep her grandpa safe. It was as if he’d transformed into another person altogether.

“Connor, what’s wrong with you?” she demanded, the hurt in her voice impossible to hide. “You’re scaring me!”

Connor let out a frustrated breath, squeezing his hands into fists, then loosening them. “Look, I’m sorry,” he muttered. “It’s just…I don’t think you understand how much danger you’re in here. I’m only trying to protect you.”

“I know you’re trying to protect me,” she tried to reason. “But I also need some answers. Like where are we going, for one?”

He frowned. “To see some friends who can help us.”

Friends? Trinity cocked her head in confusion. He’d never mentioned any friends. In fact, it was pretty clear he’d been on a solo mission. She stared at him, warning bells going off in her head.

“What about the volcano?” she asked slowly.

A shadow of confusion flickered across his face before he was able to mask it with a reassuring smile. But it was enough. Fear cut her to the core. Oh God. She’d been such a fool.

“You’re not Connor,” she realized aloud. “You’re Caleb. His twin.”

He looked at her for a moment, as if trying to decide something. Then his mouth quirked to a grin. “At your service, m’lady,” he quipped, dropping to an exaggerated bow. He actually had the nerve to look pleased with himself. She squeezed her hands into fists.

“How dare you?” she cried, furious beyond belief—at him for tricking her, at herself for falling for such a stupid trick. “You can’t kidnap me!”

He raised an eyebrow. “Um, I think the word you’re looking for is ‘rescue.’ I rescued you.”

“Oh really? Since when is dragging someone out of their bed in the middle of the night considered a rescue?”

“Simple. When that someone is in the clutches of a guy who plans to kill her.”

She stared at him. Stunned. He gave her a smug smile, followed by an impish shrug. It was all she could do not to punch his lights out.

“You’re crazy,” she growled. “There’s no way Connor would…” She trailed off, doubtfully. Was she really so sure of that? After all, she’d only met the guy yesterday…

No. That was crazy. Connor had saved her life. More than once, in fact. If he’d wanted to kill her, he could have easily done it. He’d had a million opportunities.