Kai

 

The sun had sunk below the horizon and I was sitting on the top Balt’s truck, the gutter rack pressing into my feet as I stared out across the desert. Cold had rushed up as the light vanished and I pulled the jacket I had on closer, trying not to shiver.

In the distance, almost at the base of one of the mountains, was a glow of light. I knew it was a trick of the eye that made it seem like the buildings were snug against it – from the aerial shots earlier that we’d studied – the land was empty all around it.

I tried to focus on the plan, to be patient and calm. Steady. Breathe.

But no matter what I did, my thoughts constantly turned to Isla and my sister. Were they okay? Were they together? Had Isla been tested? Would she be given the treatment tonight?

Finally – as one of the SoA agents outside of this fiasco asked – was this a trap? Had they found Isla’s phone and placed it here as a lure?

My pulse pounded thickly. In that case, Isla could be anywhere. They could be doing anything to her. Nausea roiled in my gut as dark memories nipped at the corners of my brain.

“Get off my truck,” Balt said irritably, appearing out of the shadows. Around us were a silent convoy of SoA trucks and SUV’s, filled with agents ready to ambush this place.

I’d wanted to go during the day, but Balt had warned against that. We needed as much of an element of surprise as we could get. The terrain was to their advantage, not ours. Further, there was an airfield not far from the buildings. At any sign of trouble, TLO could vanish to the stars.

Sliding down, I stared up at him. Balt had always been taller and stronger than me, never needing me for anything but a laugh. “I’ve always wished you were my real brother,” I said.

He gave me a startled look and then let out a weak chuckle. “Trying to distract me? Or cheer me up? Don’t throw a guy too sad a bone, Kai.”

“I mean it, Balt,” I said, hunching my shoulders and feeling childish. “Then maybe you could lean on me sometimes instead of it always being the other way around.”

“Okay, Kai,” Balt said, obviously humoring me as he opened the truck door and began to rummage inside. “You do not need to worry about me.”

“You could be though, you know,” I added, hoping he wasn’t about to turn around and punch me in the face for saying this aloud. “Once you told her.”

Balt went completely still, his back rigid. For several seconds, neither of us moved and then he slowly turned around. There was a tight smile on his face and his eyes flashed. “Worry about your own love story, Kai.”

Both Soraya and Balt had scented there was something amiss on the wind last night – Isla running off seemed to prove it to them. Soraya had been a little haughty towards me all day, giving me side-eye and huffing when I was around.

Balt was far blunter.

“It’s like SoA 101 to keep a witness calm and happy, dumbass. What are you picking fights with her for?” he’d asked irritably. “You’re her boyfriend, yeah, but you’re SoA first.”

“I’m retired,” I’d said snidely.

Balt had cracked his knuckles and given me a glare. “Oh, you asking to stay behind, then?”

That had shut me up real fast.

“I am worried,” I said to him now. I was – filled with a screaming anxiety that wouldn’t let me nap or rest – as I both tortured myself and tried not to let the horrors get to me. “But I trust Isla,” I said. “I wish she didn’t do it, but I know why she did.”

She’d done it for Piper, but she’d also done it for me. Even after I’d said I couldn’t be with her, Isla was determined to prove me wrong.

Always taking me by surprise, I thought with a small grin.

When Balt didn’t reply, going back to doing what he was doing, I continued, “Isla was the one who pointed out the obvious to me. I can’t believe I didn’t see it before.”

“Kai,” Balt said, leaning back and closing his eyes. “Stop. Please. You think–” He paused. “There are good reasons for why I – this has to stay a secret. And this truly isn’t the time.”

“If you don’t tell her, I will,” I said, more to piss him off than actually meaning it.

It worked. Balt seized my collar and dragged me close. “You do that and I will rip off your balls. Then I’ll feed them to the sharks and maybe toss you in as well.” His gaze flattened. “Or I’ll tell Isla about your awkward stage in middle school, how about that? The play in sixth grade?”

“Easy, lion,” I said, still grinning, though my heart was pounding uneasily in my chest. Geez, low blow, Balt. “I wouldn’t do that to you. I only said it to prove a point.”

Making a face, Balt let me go and shook his head. “And what would that be?”

“Look at you, Balt,” I said. “This isn’t you. Picking fights, losing your temper? You’re the calmest and nicest guy in the room, not a half-cocked WWE wrestler spoiling for a fight.” He raised his eyebrow in imitation of Dwayne the Rock and I had to work hard to keep from bursting out laughing. “What I’m trying to say is – what are you gonna do when Piper winds up with someone else? And all because you never said anything? You know she’s an ostrich when it comes to this kinda stuff. Remember Jon K in High School? He hit on her and she laughed at him. I think the poor guy had a nervous breakdown a few months later. You want that to be you?”

“Charming,” Balt said, but his big shoulders slumped.

“Balt, brother, I don’t want you to go to jail for ripping off some other guy’s balls on his wedding night because you didn’t tell–”

Suddenly I was seized in an enormous hug. “Kai,” Balt said as he broke my spine in half. “You’re a Weslark through and through, you know that? Even with your girl in the hands of the TLO, you're over here worrying about me. You are my brother, kid. My pain in the ass, goofy kid brother.” He paused. “I’m sorry that you found me out – I tried to hide it from you.”

“Why?” I asked, suddenly feeling fourteen again as he let me go.

“Because of this. I knew you’d–” Balt gave me a sad smile. “I can’t, Kai. And you need to leave it alone. For my sake and your sister’s.”

“But–” I spluttered, unable to believe that was that.

An exasperated look crossed Balt’s face, but his eyes were filled with an old grief. “Do you honestly think I don’t have an excellent reason for keeping something like that to myself for all these years?”

“Years?” I echoed, startled. I’d thought maybe this was a new thing. But no.

His eyes slid to the distance, where the glow of light was growing stronger and I saw the weary patience so starkly then, it made my gut twist. It was that of a man who’d been denied for time out of mind. Someone who’d tried to stop wanting – yet only barely managed to keep those desires contained. Who wanted not to want.

It was yearning that seared through him, hidden under Balt’s easy-going façade.

How had I never seen it?

Not only that, but it was a look I’d seen on my own face. Especially within the last two years, when sometimes the prospect of loneliness in the future, even a future in paradise, was too much to take. When I thought about what I could never have.

And now I had her.

“I hope Piper finds a good man one of these days,” he said, interrupting my train of thought. His mouth curved down. “Someone who appreciates and loves her. Who makes her laugh like you make Isla laugh.” With that, he clapped me on the shoulder and gave me a crooked smile. “Please, Kai. Keep my secret. Not that I think I need to ask because I trust you, little brother.”

I nodded, feeling dumbstruck and hollowed out inside. I didn’t understand it. Balt was that good man, wasn’t he? What the hell could be holding him back?

Awe filled me now. I didn’t know if I could be that selfless when it came to Isla.

If she didn’t know how I felt, yeah. Or if she didn’t love me, I thought. I’d want her to be happy.

“Do you think I should be with Isla?” I asked suddenly.

“What?” Balt asked, giving me a perplexed look. “Of course. You two are in love.”

“But I’m…” I hesitated. “A liability. A fraud.” Balt’s hand was still on my shoulder and his fingers dug in, almost causing me to yelp. “Balt, that friggin hurts, dude.”

“Sorry,” he said, letting go and making a face. “That’s it. I’m done with this lie.” His breathing became harsh and he growled, “You were honest with me, I’ll be honest with you. This was one of mine and Piper’s ugliest fights to date, I’ll have you know.”

“You and Piper fight?” I asked. “Damn, I’m discovering all kinds of juicy skeletons.”

“Occasionally, yes,” Balt said shortly. “And when she decided that you needed to be moved out of the reach of the TLO – her main worry was that you wouldn’t agree to it. I understood where she was coming from – you were pretty determined and focused back then, working all the time and running yourself ragged. Taking dumb risks.” He raised his eyebrows. “I could see why Piper and Elias convinced themselves that you could only be tricked into leaving LA.”

“Excuse me?” I asked, a little lost.

“Kai, you were never a liability. And there is nothing wrong with you. Elias and Piper thought it was the only way to get you to agree to go to Maui. They were scared for you.” Balt folded his arms and gave me a solemn look. “I was, too.”

I was conscious of a strange rushing feeling going through my body as Balt told me this. For a moment, I felt a whirlwind of rage, threatening to pull me down into it. My fists clenched, then unclenched and it was gone. Calm settled over me as I slowly nodded.

Balt was giving me a concerned look at my long silence and I finally said, “That does sound like my weirdo family.” I paused. “You know, I think after this, I will go see Dr. Hakedo.”

“About damn time,” Balt said with a relieved grin.

“I’m still gonna live in Maui though,” I said with a grin back. “That island’s got a hold of me.”

“What are you two grinning about?” Soraya asked, appearing with another SoA agent, Isiah Guerro. “It’s almost time to go.”

Instantly, I snapped into the present and focused on Soraya as she whispered last-minute instructions to us. I noticed Isiah was scowling and when he met my eyes, he looked away.

“You okay, Iz?” I asked as Balt asked Soraya a question. We’d been buds back in the day and some of that camaraderie had returned. “What’s wrong?”

“TLO had my girl. I didn’t even know. And now we can’t find her. I just can’t wait to nail these suckers,” Isiah said in an undertone.

“Izzy, I’m so sorry,” I said, wincing. “I’m in the same boat. Isla’s, she’s my, well she’s–”

“Isla DeLuca?” Isiah interrupted, his eyes going wide.

“Well, yeah,” I said. “Didn’t everyone know that?”

“No, Kai, they didn’t,” Soraya interrupted harshly. “Sorry, Isiah, we needed to keep her safe, only a handful of people knew about her – and most only knew her first name.”

“No, you don’t understand,” Isiah said, getting agitated. “Isla was friends with Tina!”

“Tina Ruyes?” I asked and Isiah gripped my arm.

“Do you know – did she say anything? Is Tina safe?” Isiah demanded.

“Guerro,” Balt said in a deep calming voice and Isiah immediately let me go. “I know you’re upset, but we cannot afford to let ourselves get distracted. Not now. And maybe I shouldn’t be telling you this, but I believe Tina might be there tonight.”

I raised my eyebrows at Balt, but bit my tongue before I said, pot calling the kettle black?

Soraya nodded. “When someone checked her apartment, it was empty.”

Isiah turned and glared at the glow of light. “Let’s get these bastards.”

Ten minutes later and the trucks were bouncing over rocks and dirt as the convoy surrounded the base about two miles away. Sliding down out of the truck, I listened, but the night was silent. If anyone else was listening, they wouldn’t know we were here.

One by one, I saw people shift and streak into the night. Following Soraya and Balt, I did the same, and the two miles melted like liquid under our paws. Balt’s giant golden form was humming with intensity and Soraya’s slunk by me, an almost invisible clouded leopard.

Balt went still and we both followed. Ahead of us, the doors of the building had opened and a group of people was streaming out, their shadows huge against the desert. Then lights in the building began to flick off and torches were lit, then held high.

Most of them were robed and hooded, causing my pulse to race. It looked like they were going to perform the treatment ritual tonight on Isla. From here, I could see the shine of Frost’s white-blonde hair and I snarled slightly. Hunter was on the other side and next to him was a small brunette wearing an old-school California surfing sweatshirt. My sweatshirt.

Isla!

I almost leaped forward, but Soraya had moved into my way and glared at me. Nodding, I stared over her back, watching as they began to move towards a group of low hills in the distance. More torches lit up and Balt began to move, creeping after them.

Staring ahead, I tried to make out what they were headed for.

That’s when I saw it – a space marked with the sacred and the profane. Suddenly, a soft and pained moan escaped. Burr. And I saw her.

A golden jaguar, her lips curling back at the sight of the procession and tossing her head.

Piper, my sister, locked in a cage.