Chapter 105

Mira

I stared at the phone in my hand, a chill running up my spine.

It could have been anyone calling, my number isn’t so hard to find, but somehow I just knew what this was going to be about.

“Are you going to answer it?”

Dominic’s voice sounded far away at first, and then I remembered where we were. And the phone kept buzzing. The need to know outweighed my fears.

I put the phone to my ear, reflexively turning partly away from Dominic. He remained still, not trying to pry in.

“Hello?”

“Don’t hang up,” the voice said, “and don’t tell your husband who is calling. You may say it is Rae.”

“Where are you calling from?”

“That shouldn’t be important,” he said to me, “though I know right where you are.”

It took all my composure not to react more. I could feel Dominic tensing a bit beside me, still not knowing what was going on.

“Oh I see, I see, hang on.”

I looked at Dominic, mouthing, “it’s Rae,” while pointing emphatically at the phone.

He lifted his head in understanding, then put his hand on my arm to offer any support I might need. Taking a step back, he moved toward the vans to debrief with his team.

I was sure to keep my face neutral, not displaying any more dismay than the rest of the events of the day would warrant.

“Did you do this?”

I spat the words into the phone through gritted teeth. The echoes of the moans and screams of the victims of the attack were still replaying in my head.

“Did I do what?” Malachi’s voice was even but slightly sharp. I thought of the raptor bird that signified his name. “I’ll tell you, doctor, at my age it can be hard to remember all the things I’ve been accused of doing.”

“People died.” I said in a harsh whisper, feeling the heat in my cheeks and pain in my chest. The armor I had been wearing while treating patients was wearing off, my empathy like an open wound. “There was no need for people to—“

“People die everyday, Doctor,” he said quickly, like a ruler to the hand. “Accidents happen.”

I almost exploded, but instead just turned away from the direction of the others. I look back at the wreckage, the truck blown apart and the blood soaking into the dark pavement.

“Why are you doing this? What do you want?”

He was silent, but I swear I could hear his thoughts through the phone.

“It’s never that simple,” he said, slowly, “as what one wants, believe me. We are all just trying to follow our path, our calling. We are similar in that way, you and I.”

“I’m nothing like you,” I growled at him.

I heard him smile, I almost felt it in my own face. “I think you’ll learn that’s not true, Mira.”

It was always unsettling when he used my actual name, like he was trying to be my friend or confidante.

“What do you want?”

“As it turns out, I have information you might want,” he said smugly.

“What is it?”

“Better not to speak of it on the phone, with all those people around,” said Malachi, “I’d like you to meet me.”

My heart stopped and started again. I peeked around to look at Dominic, and he was watching me. I tried to adjust my body language to tell the story of talking to Rae. I felt guilty that I would keep this from him, but I needed to do this on my own.

“It’s about your husband,” he said when I didn’t respond.

I hesitated. “When and where?”

“Tomorrow, I’ll send a location.”

“I’m bringing a Beta.”

“No, I’m afraid you cannot—“

“I am bringing a Beta.”

He huffed softly as he exhaled into the phone. “Fine, if you wish, though I can assure you, I mean you no harm.”

“Only harm to dozens of others, right?”

He chuckled and I felt bile in my throat.

“I am sure the authorities will determine who is responsible for these atrocities, don’t you worry.”

“You’re sick.”

“No, Mira, I am brilliant,” he said, believing fully every word he said. “And I hope soon you will see that we share that in common, too.”

And then the line went dead.

My hands were shaking when I got back to the car, so I gripped the strap of my medical bag tightly to my chest.

“Everything alright?”

Dominic reached to take the bag from me, and I resisted for a moment before releasing it to me. He knew the answer but he asked the question anyway.

“I’m okay, yeah,” I said, not really making eye contact with anyone. “Rae is…still healing, so…”

“Of course, she’s lucky to have you,” he said, putting out an arm to help me into the car.

Jacqueline was already inside, headphones in her ears and her head leaning against the window. I made a mental note to check in on her.

“She was asking if I could come out, tomorrow,” I said, the lie coming almost too easily. “She was talking about something with Julian, maybe reaching him, I don’t know it was hard to hear everything on the phone.”

“That’s a fine idea,” Dominic said.

Once I was in the seat in the car, he put his hand softly to my cheek. His touch was so soft like he worried he about holding me too tight. He didn’t say anything, and soon took his hand away and closed the car door.

“Did you find anything in the truck?” I asked as we started the drive home.

“Not much,” Dominic said.

“It was definitely a homemade device, but not in a rustic way,” Lucas said, his voice sounding more excited than I’d heard it maybe ever. “It could be black market, or designed by a engineering mastermind.”

“So what does that mean? Can you trace it?”

I was thinking about what Malachi had set about the trusting the authorities.

“Probably not, based on some of the material I was seeing,” Lucas said, still fascinated even though it was a negative for us. “But, that will also make it stand out if we see it again.”

“Let’s hope to the gods that we don’t see that again.”

Dominic’s voice was tense as he spoke from the front seat.

“Right, sir,” Lucas said, returning to his normal taciturn self.

The rest of the ride was quiet, and I was able to shut my eyes for a bit as I leaned my head back. I focused on meditative breathing to keep myself in the present moment, not wanting to worry about the future just yet.

My mind was pulled back out of my body when I heard sniffling beside me. Jacqueline was in the same position, but I could see a gentle shaking that confirmed she was crying. I reached a hand out and found hers, interlacing our fingers.

We stayed that way until we made it to the Pack, and Jacqueline gave me a hug before we dropped her off. I didn’t know if that meant we would be friends moving forward, but I was at least glad that she trusted me.

As we lay in bed that night, Dominic gently caressed my stomach my hair as I lay on my back. His arm lay heavy across my chest, providing it’s own comfort and security.

“Oh, can I take Wyatt tomorrow?”

My voice sounded loud even though I tried to whisper.

“Sure, if you need him.”

“I just don’t want to do the drive, maybe I’m lazy,” I said, realizing I hadn’t planned that part of the lie very well. “And the company will be nice.”

“I know you like hanging out with him more than me,” he teased.

“That’s the truth, finally I can come clean!”

“I see right through your lies.”

He kissed my temple and settled his body next to mine.

I was glad he couldn’t see my face in the dark, and soon I heard him snoring next to me.

I lay awake most of the night, staring at the ceiling, wondering if I had made a huge mistake.