Once we’re off the phone I turn to Lukas with wide eyes.
“An hour? We are not even close to ready! Are we going through with the kidnapping plan? How are we meant to do it? If we get him where are we taking him? And we don’t even have a car here. There is no way we have time to go get your car and we can’t exactly call a taxi like, hey, can you help us out with our KIDNAPPING? No big deal!” I rant. Lukas raises an eyebrow and says nothing, he just sits and watches me ramble.
“Or maybe we can. There is that Cole guy. Is it weird that I don’t think he would have any issue helping out with a kidnapping? And I guess if we called Rina and Torin we could take Wren to the bar… Anywhere other than another demon’s territory I’m fairly sure Solem would find him immediately. At least with Torin there we would have a chance. We have the bracelet as… Well, basically bait. But how do we actually kidnap him? Do you think he would come with us if he didn’t know the plan? Or maybe I could say I left the bracelet in the car and trick him into following us there? If Roxy came along then between the three of us we could probably make it work… I don’t know, this is all crazy and-” I pause, realising that Lukas isn’t even listening. He’s on his phone.
“You aren’t even listening to me! Lukas! We don’t have time to mess around, we need to figure this out and I’m the only one even trying to come up with a plan!” I say agitatedly. Lukas shrugs.
“Yes, but you’re doing a fairly good job of it. So I’m texting Rina and Torin to update them on the plan. I’ve also sent a text to Cole.” He says gently and I blink in surprise.
“Oh. Why didn’t you stop me?” I ask guiltily.
“I enjoy listening to you talk. Your words line up so closely with your actual thoughts. It’s comforting. Plus I enjoy your thoughts, I knew eventually you would stop on your own.” He says affectionately. I narrow my eyes. Normally when people say they like how I talk they’re mocking me. Or there’s a ‘but’ to accompany it. BUT I can only handle it in small doses, BUT I wish you would slow down sometimes, BUT I wish you spoke a little quieter. Lukas isn’t touching me right now, so he isn’t reading my thoughts. But apparently he knows me well enough to guess because he shrugs again. His expression changes to a blank, straight face.
“I mean it. I’m happy just being by your side beautiful.” He says firmly. Then he glances back to the pillows of my bed and a tiny hint of a smile creeps into his expression.
“Although, I would also accept under you. Or on top.” He adds. I start to stammer and object but he just gets to his feet.
“I’ll feed Roxy and Princess. You might want to get dressed. Cole answered, he will be here in about fifteen minutes.” Lukas informs me. My eyes widen and without another word I rush off to get ready. I manage to get dressed and ready in less than ten minutes. I have no makeup on. My outfit is basic and my hair is pulled back in a messy bun. I have to fight the urge to cringe when I realise my roots are showing. I need to fix my hair soon. By my usual standards, I’m a mess. But that’s fine. I FEEL like a mess right now, and no amount of lipstick and hairspray is going to make me feel in control.
I’m well aware that we’re on a serious time crunch right now, and as I pace the small space, I can barely keep still, I’m practically bouncing in place. Every second feels like an eternity. I didn’t even hear Cole’s taxi pull up, but as promised, he arrives exactly fifteen minutes on the dot. As we climb into the car, I take a deep breath.
“So… when we get back, we’re going to have a third person with us. This person might be a little… Resistant, but I swear we’re trying to help him.” I announce anxiously, my voice trembles with urgency, and I watch Cole for a reaction. All I get is a noncommittal, almost indifferent humming noise from him. Shit, that’s not reassuring at all. Frustration bubbles up, and I continue desperately.
“You were right, about the whole good people in bad situations thing.” Cole nods slowly, and then, with a half smile of resigned curiosity, he answers me.
“Aah, so you found the necromancer then.” He says slowly. I bob my head in affirmation, my heart pounding in anxious agreement.
“Yeah. Although, if you’d known who he was all along, you could’ve said something.” I blurt out, my tone suddenly laced with anger. The thought that he might have saved us a lot of time, and spared us a ton of worry, burns in me. Cole’s voice remains calm and measured as he explains,
“I didn’t know for sure I had the right person. I suspected, plus there was always a chance I misunderstood the situation. The boy might have been there of his own free will, he’s old enough to make that kind of choice.” His calm reasonableness only makes my frustration grow. I’m not feeling calm or reasonable right now. I want to argue, to demand answers, but I know we need his help. Instead, I grab Lukas’s hand and launch into a quiet rant.
*Even if he only suspected, he could have said something. We could have been helping Wren much sooner. What else does Cole know that he isn’t telling us? If this guy wasn’t so damn HELPFUL, I wouldn’t be relying on him right now. The problem is, we still know practically NOTHING about him, other than the fact that he drives a taxi! We need him at this moment, but once all of this is over, I am going to need answers.* I conclude. Then I mentally compile a list of every reason Cole is completely suspicious, his casual attitude, his cryptic nods, the way he always seems to know more than he lets on. Meanwhile, my leg keeps bouncing in place, inadvertently knocking into Roxy, and I can’t help but keep glancing nervously out the window. We were supposed to have one solid hour. We spent roughly five minutes making a plan and another fifteen getting ready, that’s about twenty minutes total, but I round it up to half an hour just to be sure. Then the trip to the cafe probably takes another twenty minutes. By the time we get out of the car, make it to the alley, and get everything set, there’s practically no time left. We’re already late! Would it be wrong if I asked Cole to drive a little faster?
Cole parks and I practically leap out of the car. Lukas chats to Cole briefly about waiting for us but I just head straight to the alley, power walking past the cafe. Roxy follows after mw, sensing my urgency, Or maybe she’s just excited to be out and about.
“Lukas! Hurry up! I call out to him. He casually wanders closer and I fight the urge to grab him and drag him. When we reach the alley I’m breathless from rushing. We made it! How long do we have? I pull out my phone to check, he must be due any moment! Oh… We still have like twenty minutes. I guess we weren’t running as late as I thought, it was just the pressure making me feel hurried. Oops.