Patrick was shaking his head and laughing silently. “Boy does she have you pegged. That’s what you get for picking a smart girl, William.”
William sighed, but the unreadable expression dropped to display the discomfort hiding behind it. “The rumor is—” William stopped short when Patrick turned his head and raised his brows in disapproval.
“Okay . . . what most likely happened,” he sneered at Patrick, and continued, “was that John had Julianna, his wife of twenty years, killed a few years back.” William paused, looking at me carefully, but I was keeping all my shock locked within me. “John and the Council said that Julianna ran off, although she’s not been seen or heard from ever since.”
“Why would John do something like that?” I asked. This caused William’s face to wince. Patrick even seemed uncomfortable with my question, as he tried to separate himself from the conversation to gaze out the window with feigned curiosity.
“John has a”—he looked as if he were trying to select the right word—“preference for more than one woman. Julianna supposedly discovered this, and threatened to expose his adultery to the Immortal community . . .”
I reached across the seat for his hand and squeezed it. “I see,” I assured him, so he wouldn’t have to go into anymore of the gruesome details he was so uncomfortable sharing with me. Despite the reassurance my voice had managed, I felt anything but, as I imagined this poor woman at the mercy and whims of John Townsend.
We all remained quiet for awhile after that, gazing with artificial interest at the passing scenery. The Oregon countryside was beautiful, but I couldn’t enjoy it right away. I was too chilled by the knowledge William and just imparted on me, and busy checking behind us, paranoid that John would appear out of nowhere and make us go back.
Patrick started humming some tune I wasn’t familiar with, and keeping beat with his thumbs over the steering wheel. I sighed and closed my eyes, reassured that if we’d already made it this far without being turned around and sent back, we were in the clear.
I felt a sudden surge of electricity as my eyes opened, and William was beside me, wrapping his arm around me. “I told you,” he whispered in my ear. I leaned into him, resting my head on his chest, and was immediately lost in him. My worries of the Council were gone by the time I felt the first heartbeat pound in his chest.
He kissed the top of my head and lingered there for awhile. “I would have had an aneurism, if it were possible, when you walked out of your room this morning,” he whispered. “You look so good, I’m having a tough time being good.”
“Alright you guys, I’m trying to drive without throwing-up, could you cut it out, please?” Patrick whined from the front seat. “Let’s not forget I’m doing you a favor. If I wouldn’t have gone, there’s no way John would have let the two of you out of there together.”
Patrick was probably right, but I wasn’t in the mood for his melodrama, nor particularly concerned about his gag reflexes; and to prove it, I lifted my head from William’s chest and pressed my lips forcefully to his, not in a hurry to remove them. I saw the initial look of surprise in William’s eyes turn swiftly into that burning I’d become so familiar with when his lips moved over mine in reciprocation.
I noticed Patrick peering at us through the rear-view mirror. When my eyes caught his, he flashed them away and to the road again. I was pretty sure I saw some color added to his cheeks, but I couldn’t miss my opportunity to pay him back for all his jesting at our expense.
I placed one final kiss on the corner of William’s mouth before turning my head forward. I smiled coyly. “See anything you like back here, Patrick?” William muffled his laugh into my shoulder.
Patrick colored even deeper, and he muttered something under his breath about not being paid enough to supervise a lover’s weekend getaway.
I smiled, pleased I’d rendered a counter-attack on the all-too-quick and witty man in the front seat. For the moment, I’d had the last word, but I knew it wouldn’t last long.
I found my way back to the haven of William’s arms and let my mind fast forward over the possibilities the next couple of days could hold.
“Where are we going?” I asked, having no idea.
“We’ll be staying in Pacific City tonight and we’ll drive down to Corvallis in the morning,” William answered.
I lifted my head and looked at him with a serious expression. “Has your plan formulated as to what you’ll say to Paul tomorrow?”
While Paul and I were far from best friends, he was the closest thing to a friend I had at OSU, and someone who’d shown an exceptional level of concern and kindness for me. I wasn’t going to let an ill-formed plan lead to his demise.
William’s face fixed in concentration, as if thinking how to best respond.
Patrick spoke up first. “Oh come on, just admit to her you don’t have a clue what you’re going to do with our smitten Paul.” He winked at William through the rear view mirror. “Although, after seeing a picture of the strapping young lad and his zeal for finding Bryn, I understand why you wouldn’t want to come up with a plan for him either . . . why you’d want John to take care of him for you.” Patrick laughed wickedly.
William heaved forward and smacked the side of Patrick’s head, throwing it into the side of the Bronco.
“Geez, you’ve really had a string of over-reactions lately,” Patrick whined, rubbing his head. “You should be happy to know I don’t think you caused any permanent damage.”
William reached across me and rubbed the small indentation Patrick’s steel-like head had left into the frame of his Bronco. “I don’t care about your head, but stop hurting my car,” he complained, fingering the dent.
Patrick glanced at the dent and shook his head while chuckling. “Oops, sorry about that. I’ll have Henry fix that when we get back. He’s getting pretty familiar with this vehicle.”
I didn’t allow their rough-housing to detour me from my objective. “So . . .”—I turned to William, examining his face carefully—“do you, or do you not, have a plan for Paul?”
His eyes turned down and he shook his head. “No, I don’t. I’ve been so focused and consumed with trying to keep you out of John’s way, and as far removed from the Council as possible, that I haven’t spent more than a minute’s time on Paul.”
“Alright then,” I announced formally, sitting up straight in my seat. “I’ve got a plan. It’s a little different . . . but I really think it’s the only thing that will work . . . and since it’s the only plan we’ve got, I say we run with it.”
William looked at me with a mixture of confusion and enjoyment written on his face.
Patrick lifted his eyebrows in speculation. “Let’s hear it.”
I was more than a little nervous to voice the plan that had taken shape in my head last night. I already knew how adamantly against it William would be, and Patrick would probably just laugh and call it ridiculous. I also knew it probably wasn’t the best plan, and if it back fired, it would be extremely dangerous for all parties involved, but it was all we had . . . and with that knowledge, I proceeded.
“Paul is already convinced that I’m alive, and there’s little either one of you could say to convince him otherwise. If eyewitness accounts aren’t enough to convince him, I’m certain neither one of your assurances or guarantees that I am in fact dead, will do anything to change his mind.” I looked at both of them, waiting for some argument, but none came . . .yet. “So, I think the only thing that would work here, and get him to disband the search efforts is to confirm what he already believes.” I waited again, knowing that surely both of them would break into bouts of protest.
All I saw were a couple of puzzled faces, so I continued, attempting to be more specific. “He already believes I’m still alive, so let’s show him that I am.”
And that was the tipping point. They both simultaneously erupted—Patrick throwing around profanities and speculations that I was insane, while William shouted that there was no way he was going to allow that; intermingled with warnings to Patrick to watch his language.
I remained the calm in the middle of the storm. Their arguments with my plan were not legitimate; insanity, my protection . . . these were not relevant objections to detour us from saving an innocent person’s life, and they knew it as well as I did.
William turned to me. “I can’t allow that, Bryn. If John or the Council found out, their punishment would be . . .” He hesitated, not wanting to say the words.
“The punishment would be quick and severe,” Patrick, not caring if he scared, terrified or chastised me, spoke what William could not. “Are you so ready to meet that possibility head on, Bryn?”
I thought about that for a few moments before answering. “Yes, I am.” I was indeed. If this possible consequence was all that would keep us from saving Paul from a certain death, then yes; I was more than willing.
Patrick huffed in the front seat, and William sat silent beside me.
“Girl’s got guts, William. I say we hear the rest.” I was taken aback by Patrick’s half compliment, but ecstatic to have gained an ally.
William threw a look of hatred Patrick’s way.
“William, please . . .” I rested my hand on the side of his stone hard face. “You know there’s no other way.” I placed my hand over his heart, feeling its anxiety-induced thrumming. “This is the only way to save Paul from whatever John has planned for him, and while you’ve not vocalized it to me, I’m fairly sure what John’s plan is, and I cannot allow it. I will not allow it.”
His face was contorting into a slew of unpleasant emotions I hated to see, but I couldn’t give up now, not with Paul’s life on the line. I stirred up the last bit of courage I had as I stared into the anguished face I loved beyond reason, and continued, “I’ll tell Paul that I ran away—that I was tired of school, my friends, and everything. That I needed to let go of everything from my past and start fresh somewhere else. Once Paul sees I’m alright and I impress upon him the necessity to keep quiet, I know he will keep silent. I trust that about him.”
William’s eyes blazed slightly with a new intensity of emotion I’d not seen there before—jealously, perhaps?
“The only reason he’s doing this is because he cares about me. Once he knows I’m safe and all is well, he will stop all of this, and we can all go on with our lives—his Mortally, and ours Immortally,” I finished, looking at him expectantly.
He let out a distressed sigh, his eyes looking defeated. Before he opened his mouth, I knew I’d won. Patrick was already on my side, and William knew I was right, no matter how much angst it caused him.
“Alright, we’ll try it your way,” he said with hesitancy. Then his eyes flamed. “But if I suspect even the slightest danger to you, I’m getting you out of there and we’re aborting this ridiculous plan,” he warned. “Do you understand?”