Isla

 

Chest heaving, tears threatening to choke me up, I was pacing around the guest room and trying not to rip my hair out by the roots. The doorknob rattled and I whirled.

“You locked it?” Kai asked incredulously. “Haven’t we established locks mean nothing to me?”

Stalking over, I leaned against the wall by the door and folded my arms. “It means you need to leave me alone, Kai. I’m not in the mood.”

“Oh, and I am?” Kai asked, his voice becoming sharp for a second. Then he sighed and knocked politely. “Isla, please, can I come in?”

Growling to myself, I yanked open the door and Kai almost tumbled in. “What?” I snapped.

“Isla,” he said, reaching for me, but I pulled away. “You think I like this? Balt is sending me packing, too.”

“Are you actually going to listen to him, though?” I asked.

Rubbing his chin, Kai shrugged and moved over to sit on my bed. “I don’t know. I don’t want to. But I also don’t want to leave you alone or disrespect what my sister would want me to do.”

I slowly meandered over. “Which is?”

Intense brown eyes met mine. “Staying with you.”

My heart gave a throb and I let myself fall against Kai. He held me on his lap, pressing his face into my shoulder and wrapping his arms around my waist. A little of the weight in my chest lessened and the world didn’t seem so hopeless for a moment.

“What do they want with me? With her? This is insane,” I said in a broken voice.

“I know,” he murmured. “Believe me, I get it. What you’re feeling right now – that was me before I was sent away. It’s like your heart is about to burst from the rage, fear, and pain."

That was exactly it. So much adrenaline, energy, and anger, I didn’t know what to do with myself.

Unable to think of a response, I slipped an arm around Kai's neck and buried my hand in his curls. Somehow, he still smelled like the beach and for a second, I pretended we were still in Maui. That everything was fine. That tomorrow we’d wake up and have a glorious day of surfing.

Kai shifted and raised his head. “Do you mind if I go back down there? Someone should know what’s going to be happening in the next few days.”

I nodded and stood up. Kai got to his feet and took my shoulders. Pressing a kiss to my forehead, he then moved out of the room and I watched him go.

When the door closed behind him, I was seized with a sudden and inexplicable urge. Grabbing up a piece of paper and pen from the desk, I scrawled Isla’s List as requested by Kai, everything I need to be happy. Then, I paused and began to write again.

 

When I woke the next morning, Kai was gone. I’d no idea if he’d even slept in here.

For almost an hour, I lay in bed, apathetic and worrying about Piper. Then, slowly, I got up and wandered over to the window. There was a sleek red convertible in the driveway and I knew on sight that it belonged to Soraya.

Getting dressed, I headed downstairs and found her sitting at the counter with a laptop. She waved me over, grinning as she did so and her glasses sparkled in the morning sunshine. Today she was dressed in a 50’s vibe – complete with a polka dot tube top, high-waisted shorts, and chunky red heels.

“Someday, please, you have to take me shopping,” I said, trying to sound lighter than I felt.

“Sure,” Soraya responded, her cheeriness almost believable. “How’d you sleep? There’s fresh coffee in the pot and lemon poppy-seed muffins in that striped box.”

“I actually slept, though I don’t feel like I did,” I said, grabbing a muffin and a mug of coffee, before coming to sit across from her. “I feel restless. Unsettled.”

“I know what you mean,” Soraya bit her lip. “Honestly, I thought Piper would be back by now. Usually, I’m not one to worry, or show it, rather – but I think the show is about to curtain call.” She sighed and shook her head. “Have to be strong, though. Don’t want to worry the fam.”

“You being calm is helping me,” I confessed. “I don’t know how you do it.”

“Eldest privilege,” she murmured, frowning at the computer and adjusting her cat-eye glasses. “In this family, I’m expected to be the rock everyone leans on.” Her eyes twinkled. “Even the indomitable Piper. And I’m not complaining, but I… I don’t know. She’s also mine.”

“Well, I’m not family,” I said.

“Not yet,” Soraya interjected slyly and I flushed.

“All I meant was, if you need to vent or need someone to lean on, I’m happy to be that person,” I said, “In fact, I’d love to be that person.”

“Oh, I know,” Soraya said with a smile. “Hence the confessional confab.”

I laughed, surprising myself. “You’re like Kai. Or is most of your family like that?”

“Like what?”

“Able to figure out what someone needs in one glance,” I said softly. “It’s nice.”

“Oh, that. Well, probably mostly me and Kai. My dad is like that some of the time. But it was Aunt Pali – that’s Kai and Piper’s mom – she was the best at it. I swear, I used to think she could read minds.” Soraya cupped her chin in her hands. “It was like a superpower – Smile Woman! Always making people laugh and helping them. She was incredible.”

I nodded, drinking my coffee and nibbling at the muffin. I was torn between enjoying finding out more about Kai’s family and wishing it didn’t have to be under these kinds of circumstances.

“Hey, Soraya, can I ask you something?” I spoke up, swishing the coffee in the bottom of the mug around. “You can say no or I mean, you don’t have to answer it.”

“Isla.” I looked up at her worried tone. “Yes, of course. What’s wrong?”

“I know this is kind of weird to ask with everything else going on, but you wouldn’t be able to tell me anything about what happened to a friend of mine, would you? She was in the TLO with me and she was sent to North Cali a week before I was supposed to…” I trailed off.

“What’s her name?” Soraya prompted, her fingers flying over the keyboard.

“Tina Ruyes,” I replied quickly.

“Oh,” Soraya said and her hands stopped, poised over the keyboard. “Yes, Piper had me look into her.” She hesitated and then began to slowly type. “She’s back in LA.”

“Oh. Is that good? Bad? What happened?” I pressed, my heart speeding up.

Soraya bit her lip and then shook her head, not meeting my eyes. “It’s hard to say. As far as we can tell, she’s perfectly safe and out of the TLO web. But she’s also become quite withdrawn and depressed. You have to understand, Isla, what people experience through the TLO will depend on what they tell them. Sometimes they don’t even get tested… Well, anyway, as far as we know, Tina was merely led to believe money ran out for her music tour and that’s it.”

“None of the weird medical stuff?” I asked.

"No," Soraya said slowly. "Although, I don't know if I believe her. At first, I thought the reason she was so down was due to career disappointment, but now I'm not so sure."

“Why?” I asked.

“Gut,” Soraya replied, patting her belly. “That’s it.”

My brain was on fast forward and my heart began to pound. “Soraya, when you guys interview people, do you go in as members of the police or something?”

Soraya looked surprised but nodded. "Depends on the case. This time we were LAPD.”

“No wonder why you thought there was more,” I rushed to say. “Tina doesn’t trust the system – her dad was sent to jail for two years on a wrongful conviction when she was a kid. He’d been a dealer, but got clean and was doing well. But by the time the courts figured it out, he was hooked again and struggled with addiction for several years. She wouldn’t have told you anything.”

“Oh, damn. Poor girl,” Soraya said. “Well, I’ll make a note of that and someone will check back in with her after all this madness is over.”

“Let me talk to her,” I burst out.

“Excuse me?” Soraya sat up straighter.

“Maybe I can get something out of her that you guys couldn’t! Maybe a lead to Piper!” I was speaking so fast, I was tripping over my words. “Plus, if Tina’s in a bad place, I’d like to talk to her. After all, we both got screwed over by the same people.”

Instead of a flat no, as I expected, Soraya sat back and considered it. “Hm, I have to say, that’s actually not a bad idea. The only thing is the whole keeping you safe aspect. Letting you go out in public would be a big risk for such a big maybe.”

“What if you were right there?” I asked. “At another booth, in disguise?”

“Well, obviously,” Soraya said. “But I mean, we’ve been creating a false trail implying you’re no longer in the country. I don’t know, Isla.”

“Please, Soraya. Let me help at least one of my friends who the TLO messed with.”

Silver flashed in her eyes and she nodded. My heart leaped. 

“Let me make a call, gorgeous,” she said.

 

Three hours later and Soraya and I were watching Tina walk into a nearly empty café. Soraya looked over at me and nodded. Tugging up the hood of my jacket, I opened the door of the sleek black sedan and quickly ran across the street.

Once inside, I glanced around. It was a cheap kind of place, smelling of burnt coffee and bread. Balt was already sitting at a table in the corner – I recognized him from the shoulders alone – the rest of him was hidden behind a wig and hood. Tina was sitting on the opposite side and I slowly walked over. My heart was acting strangely in my chest as I lowered my hood.

“Hey, Tina. I thought that was you.”

Tina looked up, her hair flying as she stared at me. “Isla! What are you doing here?”

“I know, I know. I didn’t realize you were back in LA, too,” I said, leaning on the bench.

“Yeah, I uh, I meant to call…” Tina shook her head. “Here, oh, please sit down.”

"No worries, it's been kind of a hectic month for me, too," I lied smoothly. "Japan got canceled last minute. Totally sucks."

She sat back and eyed me. “Money?”

“Yup,” I said. “Nothing like timing.”

“No kidding,” she groaned.

At that moment, the waiter came over and we both ordered. Once he’d walked away, I leaned forward. “So, what are you up to now?” Tina shrugged, glancing down and my heart squeezed. “Hey, T, is everything okay? You know you’re gonna have your big break, right?”

“Like that matters,” she muttered.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Oh, Isla, I don’t want to complain and bitch within the first five minutes of seeing you,” Tina said, looking up and attempting a smile.

“Tina, you know I don’t care about stuff like that,” I said quickly. “Why doesn’t your music matter anymore? You were so excited.” I hesitated, worrying that I was diving in too quick, as Soraya had warned against. “Was it something with the TLO?”

She tilted her head and a tight smile played across her lips. “Do you trust them?”

“No,” I burst out. “No. Not after…” I shook my head. “Never mind.”

Tina leaned forward and whispered. “Do you know – about them?”

“TLO?” I asked, feigning puzzlement.

“Like what those letters actually stand for. Who they are. What they really do. I’m guessing you’re like me, right? And treatment didn’t take.” Tina sounded bitter. “Promises, promises.”

My skin went cold. “Tina, you-you know about all of that?”

She nodded, eyes bright. “I overheard them saying you were the best prospect – the best they’d had in seven years. But I guess you’re just like me.” Tina gave me a ghastly smile. “Hey, who wants to be a shifter, right?”

Lips parting, I stared at her as a buzzing began to roar in my ears. Every breath was painful to pull in and I put a hand to my chest to try to ease the ache.

“It – they’re trying to… You become a shifter?” I asked.

Tina looked alarmed and suspicious. “You didn’t know? But you know what shifters are?”

I shrugged, mind still reeling. Why did Kai keep this from me?

“I, uh, no I didn’t know the treatment was for that. I wasn’t told much of anything. And how I know what shifters are – it’s a long story.” I paused. “Well, not that long. My grandmother told me about them.”

"Oh," Tina said, her face clearing. "You must be a descendant, then, like me. I had a few great-grandparents who were, but no one has been in my family for a long time." She swallowed. "I never thought it mattered. They were cool stories, right? Nothing more.”

“Until…?” I asked softly.

Tina closed her eyes. “Until Isiah.”

“Your boyfriend is a shifter?” I’d only met him once or twice. He was a nice kid, with a quick smile and bright dark eyes. “But what does that have to do with–”

“His family doesn’t want him to marry or be with someone like me. A non-shifter. Especially one whose bloodline has apparently run out of the good stuff. I know most people don’t know what TLO is about, but I always did.” Tina paused. “I found them – they didn’t find me.”

I was gaping at her, my mind spinning now.

“They offered me everything. Music and shifting. So, yeah, I didn’t get involved only for music, but for love,” Tina was saying miserably. “I was in love with a shifter and I wanted to be with him. Have a family. I let myself be poked and prodded, needles shoved in my arm. And it didn’t work.” Her lips twisted. “Then, Isiah just takes off on me. Now I have nothing. Screw the TLO. And screw the shifters. Thinking they’re so high and mighty – above the rest of us. God forbid they be with someone normal. Especially since they’re so freakish and wrong.”

“Oh, Tina,” I murmured, reaching for her hand, but she flinched back.

“I’m sorry, I have to go,” Tina said, reaching for her bag and standing up. “Watch out for them, Isla. All I did was hear them talk about you.” She threw money on the table and headed out the door, her head bent.

Our orders hadn’t even arrived.

Shaking myself awake, I grabbed my purse and ran out after her. “Wait, Tina, I need to ask you something,” I called and she turned back to me. “The place they took you – do you remember an address, landmarks?”

“Why?” Tina asked, walking back slowly, her eyes hard.

Swallowing, I hesitated. I’d never seen Tina like this. Finally, I said in a low voice, “They took a friend of mine. You don’t know her, but I think she’s in big trouble. Please, Tina.”

Nodding, Tina glanced around and then whispered an address in my ear.

“Thank you,” I said.

“See you around, Isla,” Tina murmured, walking away. “And be careful.” Her words were so devoid of the vivacity I usually associated with her and it made my blood run cold.

In my mind, all I could hear was that bitter question on repeat, piercing straight through my heart. Who wants to be a shifter, right?