“You want me to send this stuff to you?”
“Yeah.Nothing on Rydel?Did you try—”
“I tried different spellings.I tried just going with the letter R.I just pulled up all the Welkers in the state and sorted by name.He’s never had a driver’s license.He’s never registered a vehicle.”Her voice softened slightly.“I’m sorry, honey.”
They disconnected, and a moment later, messages came through with screenshots of the information Tinajas had acquired.Jem glanced at them, but the print was small, and he was tired, and he wasn’t going to see anything that Tinajas hadn’t already told him.Whistling for Scipio, he got to his feet and went inside.
The water in the shower was running, which meant Tean was cleaning up.Jem heeled off his ROOS, dropped onto the sofa, and waited for his turn.Scipio had long ago decided that a sofa or bed of any size was always meant for two, and so he climbed up, hip-checked Jem, and created a spot for himself through sheer force of will.The Lab was warm, still breathing quickly, and he rested his head on Jem’s leg.
Tean still kept his Xanax in the medicine cabinet.Because he trusted Jem.Because it was a way of showing he trusted Jem.Not that they’d ever talked about it.
No, nope, no thanks.And he closed his eyes, like somehow that made it final.
He was in the farmhouse again, only it was LouElla’s house, too.And it was an apartment he barely remembered.He was running, throwing open the doors.And everyone was gone.
When Jem opened his eyes again, the room was dark, and Scipio was whining.
“Not right now,” Tean was saying.Whispering, really.Because, a muzzy part of Jem realized, he was trying not to wake Jem.“I’ll be back soon, boy.”
Scipio’s whining intensified.As Jem’s brain came online, more facts made their way in: he had fallen asleep; he had lost time—hours, to judge by the light—and the Lab was no longer pressed against him on the sofa.Jem flopped over so he could get a look at the front door.
Dressed for the cold, Tean was easing the door open, ignoring Scipio’s whimpers as the Lab tried to convince Tean to take him with him.
“Hey,” Jem said.His voice was fuzzy.“What’s going on?”
The slight pause in Tean’s movements was the only hint of a reaction.When Tean answered, his voice was low and even.“Just a walk.Go back to sleep.”
“What time is it?”Jem grabbed for his phone and couldn’t find it.“What do you mean, you’re going on a walk?”
“I can’t sleep,” Tean said.He got the door open and had to use one leg to prevent Scipio from pressing through the opening.His elbow thunked against the storm door.“I just need to take a walk.”
“Yeah,” Jem said.He pushed himself upright.“Okay.Just a second.”
“No, you don’t have to come.”
Jem glanced around.Shoes.Where were his shoes?
“I won’t be gone long,” Tean said.“Scipio, no.”
“I just need to find my shoes,” Jem said.
“It’s fine—”
“It’s not fine!”The words came out more loudly than Jem intended.He got to his feet.There, in the kitchen, his ROOS.His body felt stiff as he moved toward them.His clothes felt stiff, too.When Jem thought he could sound like a rational human being, he said, “Somebody tried to kill us last night.It’s not safe for you to go out there by yourself.”
“You think this Rydel guy is still looking for us?That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Fine, it doesn’t make any sense.I’ll still feel better if I go with you.”
“Jem—” Frustration twisted Tean’s voice.Whatever he’d been about to say, he changed it to “It’s perfectly safe.”
“Good.We’ll have a nice walk then.”
Tean wrapped his arms around himself.“No.”
“How cold is it?”
“Jem, I just want to take a walk by myself.”