City of the Lost (Rockton 1)

"Take me to him."

He nods and grabs my coat. I put it on and follow him out.

SIXTY-THREE

It's dusk now, darkening into night. Normally, we'd take lanterns, but we don't bother with those, using the flashlights we keep in our jackets instead. As we walk into the forest, I still tell myself I'm wrong. I have to be, because if I'm not, what does that mean for ...

Eric.

Oh God, Eric.

I keep going back to that moment in my house, when I saw Anders reading Mick's list and the look on his face when I caught him.

"Since I'm professionally allowed to be nosy, I'm guessing that's a list of real names?"

"Hmm?"

"Real names of locals."

"Something like that."

Something like that.

As soon as I can take advantage of the narrowing path, I fall behind him. We're about a kilometre in. I go another hundred steps--yes, I count every damned one of them. Then I say, "Calvin?"

I expect a "Huh?" I hope for one. Desperately, desperately hope. But he jerks to a halt, his shoulders stiffening, and he stands there with his back to me.

"It is Calvin, isn't it?"

He turns then, and in his face I expect to see the final proof. Cold anger or maybe even a twisted smirk.

Yep, you got me, Casey.

But there's none of that. He turns, and all I see is Will Anders. Even when he notices the gun, pointing straight at him, he only closes his eyes and dips his chin, and says, "Okay," and it's not as if he's saying, "Okay, you're right," but, "Okay, go ahead."

Okay, pull the trigger.

"Where is he?" I say.

He opens his eyes. "What?"

"Where is Eric? What have you done with him?"

He blinks hard, as if trying to process what I've said. "Eric? You think--? No. I didn't--" He starts toward me, but I raise the gun and he stops. "I would never do anything to Eric, Casey. Never."

"Because he saved you."

Emphatic nods. "Right. He did. He--"

"So he knows what you did."

Silence.

"He knows who you are and what you did? Yet he trusted that you'd never do anything to him? You. The man who murdered his last commanding officer."

"That--" He stops. Swallows.

"That was different? The other guy deserved it and Eric doesn't?"