“Jesus, you haven’t listened to a word I’ve said, have you?”
“Not really.” The pills in my pocket weigh a thousand pounds as I fight the urge to snort another. I’ve gotten enough shit from Hadrian as it is. I don’t need more judgmental stares or, God forbid, the lecture I know he’s working up to.
“I’m looking for the owner of the car.”
“Yeah, okay. I’ll meet you downstairs,” I say, still not really getting why he gives a shit or why he thinks this will get us anywhere. If I weren’t so high, I’d be sick with worry over how doomed our prospects actually are, but right now, I can observe my doomed life rather than mourning it.
He doesn’t look like he’s fooled for a second. He shakes his head. “Right now, let’s go.”
I stand, not because I give a shit about Hadrian or frankly anything, other than Sable and the drugs, but because I’m curious. He was smart not to give me any details because now he’s got me motivated. The walk through Bellthorn to his car is a long one, and he repeatedly throws dirty looks over his shoulder. Once we’re inside the vehicle and rolling down the highway, I’m all out of patience.
“Where are we going?” I ask. “Why does this car matter?”
He looks at me in surprise. “I thought you’d never ask.”
“Well, I’m asking.”
“You remember that bitch Liliana?”
“Yeah, obviously.”
“I think I found her, or at least the woman who claimed to be her mom for years.” That’s interesting enough, but it doesn’t seem important.
“That’s not even her real name. How can she help us?” I shoot him a disbelieving glare, but he just smiles.
“I guess we’ll see, won’t we?” But there’s this arrogant tone from him that I remember.
We drive for a long time, maybe close to two hours, but it’s hard to tell when I didn’t make a note of what time we left. Hadrian doesn’t say anything to me, and honestly, I’m relieved. Not only is there nothing to say, but I’m done thinking, done doing anything beyond existing, and as soon as I can figure out how to get out of that, I’m done with it too. Eventually, we pull up outside of a shabby little house in a much sunnier part of thecountry. The siding is faded blue, and the garden is dead with winter, but someone takes a lot of pride in it.
We pull into a parking spot to the right of a bubblegum-pink Porsche. In the moment that Hadrian’s eyes are pointed at it, I dry swallow two pills. It won’t hit as hard this way, but at least I’ll have something to get me through dealing with this awful girl. Plus, I’m certain this is just going to be another goose chase. Hadrian gets out of the car first, and I wait so long to follow him that I think he’s going to come to my door and get me like a child.
He thinks I’m too fucked up to do anything, but he’s wrong. I’m not fucked up enough, and I’m scared shitless. These girls have already tried to kill Sable. Why the fuck would she help us? Does she know what Arabella did to me? We approach the front door. It’s so damn cold out here that I start to shake, and there’s absolutely no other reason for it.
“Let me take the lead,” Hadrian says.
“Sure.”
He knocks, and we wait for a few minutes. Several people move inside the house, and while they’re soft, their voices find their way to us. They turn quiet, and no one opens the door. Hadrian sighs in irritation as he knocks again.
Finally, “Liliana” herself opens the door. She jumps back with a nervous yelp when she sees who’s in front of her. She’s smart to be afraid. She looks us both up and down, and then side to side, as if checking to see just how many of us showed up. Maybe the car really does belong to her mother. I look behind her into the house and wonder how she would feel if she lost what she loves most in the world.
“Hi,Nina,” Hadrian says, dragging me from my homicidal thoughts and back to the present. I shoot him a confused look. Is that her name? Why didn’t he tell me? Her mouth falls open in a kind of shock that tells us he’s right. Hadrian pushes his way through the door, using her surprise to easily shove her out ofthe way. I follow past him, and she looks both ways, making sure no one saw before closing the door behind us.
“How the fuck did you find me?” she asks.
“Wasn’t that hard. You’re not as smart as you think,” Hadrian says, looking her up and down with open disdain. This girl conspired tokillSable. Why would she help us? Maybe killing her would make me feel better.
She smiles, which makes me slightly nervous.
“Maybe so,”Ninaagrees, but she looks him up and down like he’s something to eat. “What do you guys want?” she asks.
“You don’t know?” Hadrian asks.
“I’ve been busy.” She shrugs.
“We’re looking for Sable, and we have reason to think you know where she is,” Hadrian says.
She laughs, but her eyebrows push together like she really didn’t know. “Looking for her. Is she missing or something? I haven’t been keeping up on the Bellthorn crew lately.” She rolls her eyes, but she shoots a look at the back of the house like she’s worried about whoever she was speaking to.
