Chapter Twenty-Four
“Come on, you can barely keep your eyes open,” Devlin urged when he finally went back down into the library and found Eva with her head bowed and eyes shut.
She straightened up and blinked at him. “I’m running some calculations. Trying to get a better time frame of when the tsunami will hit the coastal areas.”
“How long will it take?”
“An hour maybe.”
“Okay, well didn’t you say that couch over there is a pull out?” he inclined his head in the corner.
“Yes.”
Devlin moved over to it pulled the pillows off and tossed them onto the floor. Eva came over and helped him pull the bed part of the couch out. It looked comfortable. He touched it. It was firm and soft at the same time.
Eva took off her boots and laid down. “At least our clothes aren’t covered in soot and ash. Being in the car tonight helped.”
“It’s also slowing down. The fire departments seem to be fighting nonstop to get it under control as best they can but it’s difficult to get the trucks into some areas. I saw a few trucks from Nevada, so we’re getting help from out of state.”
“Yeah, but still not sure how much good, like you said, that it’s really doing.”
He grabbed two of the throw pillows off the floor, gave her one, and placed the other one next to her head for them to use as pillows. He pulled his own boots off, removed the gun at his side and the knife at his calf, then placed them on the floor within easy reach. Then he laid down next to Eva. She scooted over until she was in his arms. He held onto her and kissed her forehead.
“I tried to reach my aunt but no go. Were you able to reach your people?” she asked.
“Yeah and I spoke at length with Samuel, so I’m sure he’ll pass it all on to your aunt. I told him everything we’ve found out. I also told him about the lost Chronicle and Michael. He said he’d see if your aunt has any information on him we might not have. He’s also going to try to check the real estate records to see if he can find where he might own property and could be holed up.”
“Good idea.” She yawned.
“Go on and shut your eyes. Once your program runs, you can get up and check it but then we both go upstairs and get a couple hours of rest. We’re going to need it, babe. We’re going to have to be ready for most anything.”
Even though he’d told her to sleep, he didn’t, not right away. He rested beside her, holding her in his arms, but he was unable to sleep. Samuel had told him the quake was felt as far away as Washington, D.C. Some buildings in New York lost a few bricks and the subway system came to a halt. The quake registered a 5 there. He wasn’t sure what it all meant but none of it would be good.
A beeping sound woke him up.
Eva turned just as he did and opened her eyes. “Crap, I guess that means it’s time to get up. I’m so damn tired. I can sleep for a week.” She snuggled closer to him. “How long were we out anyway?”
“Sleep is overrated.” He rubbed her arm and leaned forward to kiss her forehead. He could do with some more sleep himself. But it wasn’t happening. He glanced at the clock on her wall, they’d slept for a little over two hours. “Come on, check your equipment. The sooner you can, the sooner we can go upstairs and get in a real bed. This one isn’t quite as comfortable as I’d first thought.”
Evangeline sat up and stretched. “True.” She turned around to get up.
Suddenly, he grabbed her from behind and pulled her back down on the couch. Planting a kiss on her lips before releasing her. He stood up and stretched then sat back down to put on his boots. By the time he’d moved over to stand by her side, she was frowning again. “What is it? What’s wrong now?” He’d gotten to the point where he cringed to ask her those kinds of questions as nothing she would say was good.
“I’m not sure. See this spike here.” She pointed at an area on the graph that showed an outline of the coast and what he thought might be the ocean floor.
“Yeah.”
“That’s where an anomaly was detected, an explosion of sorts and see how it spirals out toward the California coast. Well, it’s more spread out than it had been before.”
“What does that mean?”
“Not sure how it happened but according to these projections, not only will a wave hit a wider area along the coast, but while it’s slowing down, it is building in intensity, in energy which would push it farther inland.” She turned around to face him. “Devlin, it’s going to be at least one hundred feet high.”
“Holy fuck! Let me see if Tony was able to reach anyone. Will that group who monitors earthquake be aware of this?”
“Yeah, they should be. Hopefully the authorities know and are already evacuating everyone.”
“I’ll check with Tony. How long?”
“If it stays at this rate, three maybe four hours.”
“Okay.”
“And Devlin, I think we’re going to need to find Michael. We don’t know where he is and if he’s got the other Chronicle, which I don’t think he does, otherwise he’d have given it to us, but he might know who does. I’m worried that with all this crap going on, it might get lost. If it does, then the lost Chronicle will stay that way.”
“Will that be such a bad thing?” he asked.
“Honestly, I don’t know. What I do know is the soulless shouldn’t be in possession of any of it.”
“Then we’re going to have to look harder for Michael.” There went any more sleep, good thing he could function on very little.
“I’m going to comb through the Chronicles we have on him and any soulless we’ve ever seen him with, see if I find a direction to even look for him in.”
“Good idea. Whenever you’re ready, we’ll leave. I’ll check on you in a bit.” Devlin raced up the stairs.
Tony and Mario were spread out in the living room now in the sleeping bags. Devlin assumed the shifts had changed and the other guys who’d been outside were now inside. He heard snoring coming from down the hall from the bedrooms and assumed the others had the guest rooms. He hated to do it but he had no choice. He bent down near Tony and shook his shoulder.
“Mmm…” the younger man opened his eyes and focused on him. “Hey, what up?”
“Were you able to reach everyone?”
“Yeah, some already knew about the tidal wave headed their way and had already evacuated and started moving farther inland. The ones neither Mario nor I could reach, we tried leaving texts for. Only one responded. We hope the others get the text. By the way though, Coronado was already evacuated.”
“Okay, that’s good. At least it means the authorities might know what Eva just told me.”
“What’s that man?”
“The wave headed that way is going to be over one hundred feet high and stretched farther out along the coast than we first thought.”
“Damn!” Tony rubbed his hand over his face.
“Eva and I are going to head out in a bit and search for Michael.”
“Michael? Why?”
Devlin told him about what Michael had done. “Do you have any ideas as to where we should look for him? Where anyone’s seen him around?”
“No. Until you had us watching him after he made contact with Evangeline, he’d never crossed our radar. And the one time I tried to tail him after he met her at the coffee shop that last time, he moved like the wind and blew past me.”
“What about Chris? I know he’d been spied multiple times.”
“Yeah, but since the quake, no one’s seen his sorry ass. But the last few times he was spotted in West Hollywood and that area’s been burning over forty-eight hours, so if he was there he’s not anymore.”
“Shit. Almost all of LA is burning and what might not be has been evacuated,” Devlin added.
“Yes, so I’d suggest you look in the areas where folks most likely would have been evacuated to. The soulless would follow the humans, the ones most vulnerable. Probably farther east of San Bernadino. They wouldn’t go north, they’d have to worry about wild fires, they’d head east. That would be the most likely destination.”
“Hmm, most likely across the border out of the state. But I do think you’re right and it would be in that general direction.”
Tony sat up. “Do you want me to come with you?”
“No. You’ve been up all night. Are Paul and Bobby outside now?”
“Yes. Since it’s light out now, you shouldn’t have to worry about any visitors so I’ll take them with me. You guys stay here until we get back. I’ll try to keep you updated on our whereabouts.”
“Okay. Sounds like a plan. Jason should be here soon too,” Tony said.
“Set them up in one of the guest bedrooms. When we get back, Eva can sit down with Jeannie and let her know what help she needs entering the Chronicles into the database. Also, use the empty house next door on the left Eva owns. If the tenants on the right are still around when we get back we’ll see about getting rid of them. If they leave before we do, use that one too. But anyone that needs a place have them come here and they can camp out next door.”
“How long do you think you guys will be gone?”
“A day or two. I’ll try to keep checking in with you all.”
“Okay.”
“Do you mind if I use your backpack?” Devlin asked Tony, spying it on the floor next to his head.
“Sure.” Tony dumped the contents out which consisted of a change of clothes, a small case, a sheathed knife, another gun and four boxes of cartridges.
Tony and Mario had each already given him an extra change of clothes. So thanks to them, he wasn’t in the soot-covered shirt and jeans he wore earlier. He’d have to pick up more as he was out and about. “Can I have one of those?” Devlin asked pointing to one of the boxes of cartridges.
Tony picked one up and tossed it at him.
“Thanks, man. We’re going to need more of these.” Devlin left and went into the kitchen. He put the box Tony had given him into the bag. Then packed a few water bottles, packages of trail mix, and snacks he found in the cupboard. They’d been lucky so far being able to find food and water when they’d gone out, but he knew as more time passed, there’d be less of it, and he couldn’t count on luck. They’d take his Jeep and not Eva’s tiny car. Hopefully, they’d be able to get around but not all the roads were passable and they may have to travel on foot. He left the pack in the kitchen and went back downstairs to let Eva know what he’d decided. They had to move out now.
She agreed with him. “Let me grab a few things from my room, and I’ll meet you all at the car.”
They both returned upstairs and he showed her what he’d put in his backpack. She approved. She kissed him quickly then went to her room to get whatever she needed.
Devlin grinned because she felt comfortable enough with their relationship not to hide it. Not that he’d let her. He went over to the chair where he’d dropped his light jacket earlier. His sword was in the sheath created for it on the inside of the jacket and his Glock was in there along with an extra clip. He checked the gun to see it was full. He had a knife strapped to his calf and another 9mm handgun in a side holster. He checked the clip in there too. It was only half full. He opened up the box of cartridges and filled up his clip, returning it to the holster just as Eva came around the corner from the bedrooms.
She had on a pair of black Doc Martins, her hair in two braids, one hanging over each shoulder, and she wore a cap over her hair. She looked damned adorable. She smiled when she saw him and opened up the jacket she wore. She had two holsters holding guns at her sides.
He smiled. She was one hell of a woman. Damned if he hadn’t loved her already, he would now. He was in for a world class hurting if she didn’t love him back.
They went out of the house and he opened up the passenger door for her. “I’ll just go get Paul and Bobby. They were the ones asleep on the floor earlier.” He’d already told her they’d be joining them. He wasn’t taking any chances with her safety, they’d run into enough to know it was the wild, wild west out there. The bonus was the more bodies searching, the more areas they could cover.
“Good idea. We have a better chance of finding Michael if more of us are looking. Do they know what he looks like?”
That’s not exactly why he was taking them along, but she had a point. “Yeah, they do. Tony’s a pretty good sketch artist and sent out an image to all the hunters of Michael. I’ll be right back.”
He returned a minute later with the other men, both had backpacks with them. He assumed they also carried a change of clothes and maybe more ammo or a gun or two. They hopped into the back seat.
“Eva, these scruffy guys are Paul Smith.”
Paul was the older of the two with a lot of gray in his short beard. “Pleasure,” he said.
“And the other one is Bobby Snesky.”
Bobby was the color of dark chocolate, he nodded and waved at Eva when she turned around. She said hello to both men.
“We ready to rock and roll?” Devlin asked.
“Hell, yeah!” Both men answered.
There was only one way out of her neighborhood but Devlin slowed to a stop when he spied something lying in the middle of the road. “Paul with me. Eva stay here.”
“Like hell.” She got out of the car with him.
It had only taken him a second to register what he was seeing, a bloodied, naked body in the center of the road.
“Oh my God! It’s a man,” Eva said as they neared.
“I think he’s dead,” Paul added.
Devlin was the first to reach the person. His back was to them but his body was curled up into a fetal position. He could see bite marks all over his back, marks that were healed but not completely. This man had been fed on by the soulless and they didn’t hide it. Had he been enthralled? It sometimes happened with humans, but the human would have to supply the soulless with the emotion he or she needed. Still, the way this guy had been fed upon looked like multiple bastards. But the blood came from the words carved onto his back: ‘I’m coming for you.’
“What the fuck?” Paul stated.
He guessed he may have read the wording too. Devlin reached out and touched the man’s neck, seeing the puncture wounds there but none were still bleeding. He gently rolled the man over. “Fuck!” Devlin cried.
“Christ!” Paul added.
“What? What’s going on? Who is it?” Eva asked.
“Chris,” Devlin said.
“Who would do such a thing?” Eva asked.
“Whoever keeps coming back to the house after you.” He waved Bobby over who was standing by the car keeping an eye on their rear. “It’s Chris,” he warned the big man, as he got closer, since he might not have heard the exchange before.
“You’re shitting me?” Bobby asked.
“Wish I was,” Devlin replied.
“What do we do with his body? We can’t leave him out here like this,” Eva stated.
“I don’t want him in the house either,” Devlin said. “For now, we can at least wrap him up in a sheet or something and stash him out in the backyard. We’ll take care of finding a place to bury him after we get back or I can have Tony and Mario do that after they get up.”
“Yes, the latter, please,” Eva said.
“We’ll put him in the back,” Bobby said nodding in Paul’s direction. “And let Tony know.”
Devlin was glad the trunk part of the Jeep was open so there wasn’t a covered trunk. He pulled up to the house and Paul and Bobby took Chris’s body around back then came around front to let Tony know what was happening. Eva didn’t have a back door. He kept the engine running knowing the men wouldn’t be long. He turned to Eva and fear snaked down his spine knowing this asshole was after her.
She was watching Devlin; he took her hand resting on the center console and squeezed it. “I won’t let that son of a bitch get near you.”
Eva smiled. “I can handle myself.”
“I know that but doesn’t matter, I’ll be there so you won’t have to.”
Devlin didn’t say anymore because Paul and Bobby were walking back to the car. Yet the entire time they were driving, ice coated his heart at the thought of her being a target. He didn’t say anything to her, but he wasn’t only searching for Michael’s place but also the bastard who’d targeted her. Devlin was making it his business to kill the fucker.
Driving turned out to be even worse than the last couple of days. Instead of cars stuck in traffic jams, many were now abandoned on the roads. Devlin would have been hard pressed to even be able to navigate the streets or sidewalks with the motorcycle. There were about four inches of ash in some areas while brick and stone littered the sidewalks. The world was crumbling around them. Finally, their driving luck ran out.
“I’ve tried every which way. It’s a no go. There are either cracks too wide in the road to drive across or abandoned cars blocking the road.”
“So we walk,” Eva stated.
Devlin pulled over into someone’s driveway and killed the engine. “We walk.”