Kumbaya Much Read online

  Chapter Six

  Gareth chafed at his convalescence and looked around the room for some distraction. Lani had stopped by earlier and Addison left to get a late dinner, but Seffy had yet to make an appearance. He wondered why.

  He also wondered why she wouldn't kiss him. They were close friends—always there for each other. Had he said something to upset her? Gareth shifted to get more comfortable. A shaft of pain made him wince. He still couldn't believe he'd been shot. He should've been more careful, more vigilant, but he'd been so tired. It seemed like he'd been holding his little group together for a long time, and despite his best efforts, things were going awry.

  He scratched his face and leaned his head back. The room was quiet aside from the periodic beep of a monitor hooked up to him somewhere. When would Addison get back? Why was she the only one who hung around? He was glad for the company, but a lot of the time she complained about Seffy and how crazy she'd been acting. He already knew about Seffy's problems and it bothered him that Addison was taking sides. They were supposed to be there for each other.

  Couldn't things just go back to the way they were in West Hollywood? Sunny, busy, happy. And they were happy, right? Gareth frowned, wishing he could be sure.

  A footfall outside the door caused him to turn his head in that direction. A silver suited medic walked through the door. Gareth looked askance. Since when did they need that kind of protection around him? Wasn't he about to be released? He suppressed a smile thinking of Seffy's nickname of the silver garbed men—the Haz-Mat team. Except she hadn't liked them so much.

  Addison strode in behind the medic and walked around the bed, plopping into the chair next to him. She sent a wry smile, then nodded toward the medic, who was going through a cabinet drawer. “Hey, Sef, why are you still wearing that thing? I'm starting to think you kinda like it.”

  Gareth's eyes widened. “That's Seffy in there?”

  “Yeah, she wore it the first few times she visited to get past the guards, but she didn't last time, so I don't know why she is now.”

  He looked across the room. “At least take off the top part so I can see your face.”

  Seffy turned and suddenly lunged toward him. Gareth put up his hands to brace for impact. “Hey, if you wanted a hug, you just had to—” He felt a searing pain slash across his shoulder. What the—?

  “Gareth, she has a knife!”

  “Seffy, get off me! Are you crazy! Addison, ring for the nurse!” He held Seffy off, but was weakening fast, especially since she was acting like a rabid weasel.

  Addy pushed the button. Seffy threw herself across his body toward Addison. Gareth watched in horror as she stabbed her in the chest. Addison screamed and tried to fight back and got her palm slashed for her pains.

  Gareth gripped Seffy around the waist and rolled her off the bed. He crashed on top of her onto the floor, feeling something tear across his hand. Seffy lay stunned as a nurse ambled in to the room. When the nurse saw the scene, she ran into the hall and yelled for security.

  Gareth looked across the room at Addy, who clutched at a bleeding wound below her neck. “Are you okay?”

  “I don't know!” she cried.

  He heard the nurse rushing back to the room and looked up. Suddenly Seffy slithered out from under him and bolted from the room, knocking the nurse into the two guards. By the time they regained their balance, Seffy was gone.

  The guards took off in pursuit while the nurse hurried to help him back into bed.

  “I'll be fine! Check Addy—she's bleeding!”

  The woman went to attend to Addison while he struggled back into the bed. He looked down at his hand and saw that his I.V. had been torn out. Blood pooled under the loose tape across his skin.

  What the hell just happened?

  “I'll get a doctor in here right away, miss, but I think you got lucky. The knife just missed puncturing your lung.” She pressed the button and requested the physician.

  Breathing hard, Addison looked at Gareth. “Now are you convinced that Seffy's off her rocker?”

  “Seffy?” the nurse said. “Isn't that the girl who tried to choke herself?”

  Addison and Gareth glanced at each other with surprised eyes.

  A man in a white lab coat strode in and was met by the nurse. She whispered something in his ear that made him tense up.

  “What do you know about Seffy?” Gareth asked, mentally taking the doctor's measure. “She's our friend.”

  He sent them both a reassuring smile. “Patty here got a little mixed up. She was talking about someone else.”

  ***

  Trent jerked awake at the sound of pounding. He looked around and realized he was on the couch...alone. “Sef?”

  “Trent are you in there? Open up or the guard will be unlocking your door!”

  He jumped off the couch and quickly checked the bathroom. Where was Seffy? He went to the door and opened it, finding a wild-eyed Addison.

  “Is Seffy here?” A guard pushed past him and entered his room, looking in the bathroom and closet and under the bed.

  “Hey, what's going on?”

  “Trent, focus. Is Seffy here?”

  He shook his head, staring at the bloodstain on her white shirt. “What happened to you?”

  “Seffy came in Gareth's room and attacked both of us!”

  “What?” His mind raced, trying to consider the possibility—and protect her at the same time. “Why did you come here? Didn't you check her room?”

  “Of course we checked her room. It was empty!”

  He took a calming breath. “Let me get this straight. Your bestie Sef walked into Gareth's room and tried to kill both of you. Are you sure you're not hallucinating?”

  “I saw her with my own eyes,” she snapped. “Plus, Seffy's the one who's been souped up on God knows what. She went nuts and we need to find her so we can finally stop her.”

  “But why would she hurt her friends?”

  Addison glared at him. “She hasn't cared about us in a long time. Maybe if you hung around a little more, you'd notice these things.”

  Trent resisted the impulse to defend Seffy further. But he wanted to keep their connection on the down low. “Have you checked on Lani? If you and Gareth were attacked, wouldn't she be next?”

  The redhead's face went sheet white. She called to the guard and together they took off. Once he was sure they were gone, he went into his closet and pushed at the panel revealing the passage. Trent took a couple of steps in and stopped, his breath catching in his throat.

  “Sef, what's going on?”

  She stood, staring at him, silent. Her dark eyes appeared black in the gloom. Her face was a pale disc, the marks on her neck lurid against the white of her skin. He started to wonder if she was a mirage. He walked up to her and touched her arm to make sure she was real. “Are you okay?”

  She nodded. “What's happening?”

  He took her hand and drew her back to his room. “Where were you?”

  She licked her lips. “Well, I woke up here, with you.”

  Trent remembered falling asleep in her arms and had a strong desire for a repeat. “Then?”

  “Then I went to my room to take a shower.”

  “When was that?”

  She shrugged stiffly. “Half an hour ago?”

  “Your hair is dry.”

  “Uh, I blow-dried it. Trent, what did Addison want?”

  He looked at her, wishing he didn't feel a qualm of unease. He wanted to be her unqualified champion, but he'd seen her go through too much to deny she could behave in unpredictable ways. “What did you hear?”

  “I heard someone banging on my door, and I got freaked, so I came into the passageway to hide.”

  “Addison is looking for you. She said you attacked her and Gareth.”

  Her brows inched up. “With what? My rapier wit?” Seffy shook her head. “What is she whining about now?”

  “She said you stabbed her with a knife. She was covered in blood, Sef.”<
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  Seffy's face went whiter than he thought possible. He slid an arm around her waist to steady her.

  “How could she say such a thing?”

  “She said she saw you with her own eyes.”

  Seffy gulped back a sob, shaking her head. “No, I was here, then I was in the shower. That's it, I swear!”

  “I know, I know.” He wished he felt as sure as he sounded. “Maybe she's under some drug influence like you've been.”

  Seffy's shoulders relaxed a little. “Yeah, maybe.” She twisted out from under his arm. “I'm going to go back to my room. I need to think.”

  He regarded her, wondering what was going through her mind, then decided to follow. Seffy entered her room and just as he was about to follow through her closet door, her main door swung open hard, banging against the opposite wall.

  “There you are!”

  Addison and the guard. Trent watched from the crack in the door, unsure how to proceed.

  “Where have you been?”

  Seffy lifted one shoulder. “Around. What's going on? What happened to you?”

  “Search her room again.” The guard began tearing through drawers.

  “Hey, what do you think you're doing?”

  Addison stabbed her in the chest with her finger. “I'm going to make sure you're kept under lock and key after this.”

  “After what?” Seffy snapped, shoving her hand away.

  “What happened to your neck? Where did you get those bruises, Sef?”

  Seffy's hand flew to her throat.

  “Feeling sorry for ourself, were we? Trying to end our pathetic little existence?”

  Trent sucked in a breath. What the hell?

  “And when you didn't have the guts to finish yourself off, you came after us.”

  Seffy stared at Addison, her expression wrecked. Trent heard enough. He raced down the passage toward his room and headed to Seffy's room via the hallway. He walked through the open door in time to see the guard shove aside her mattress and pull out a blood-stained Haz-Mat suit from between the mattress top and the box spring.

  “Why is that there?” Seffy asked, wiping away tears with a shaking hand.

  Trent wanted to ask the same thing. He remained quiet to see what transpired.

  “You tell me,” Addison seethed. “It's what you were wearing when you attacked Gareth and me.”

  Okay, he couldn't stay silent on that one. “You told me you saw Seffy with your own eyes, but if she was wearing that suit you wouldn't be able to identify who was in it.”

  Addison glared at him, her expression mulish. “She's come to see Gareth wearing it before.”

  “Then why would she hide it under the mattress if you've already seen her in it?”

  “Why are you here, Trent? This is none of your business.”

  “Is Lani okay?” he asked.

  “She's fine. Now butt out.”

  That was his cue to leave. He sent Seffy a meaningful look then turned to Addison with a shrug. “You're right. Nothing you people say makes sense. Just keep it down. I can hear you all the way around the corner.”

  Trent left, hoping Sef got the message.

  ***

  Seffy watched Trent leave, understanding why he did but not liking the reason one little bit. Then again, if Addison didn't know about them, she couldn't say even nastier things. Her grasp on her emotions was fragile at best.

  “Are you going to answer me?”

  Seffy focused on the issue at hand, still feeling confused why Addison and a guard were standing in her room. “Answer what?”

  “Why is there a Haz-Mat suit under your mattress?”

  Seffy stared at it. “I don't know. It was hanging in my closet.”

  Addison stood before her, face twisted. “You were wearing it when you tried to kill me and Gareth.”

  I'm so damn tired. She closed her eyes and struggled to think. “Addison, even when you're screaming in my face, I don't want to kill you, okay? I don't know who it was. Maybe someone's trying to set me up. Lord knows it wouldn't be the first time.”

  Seffy turned away and went to her bed. She shoved the skewed mattress back in place, crawled on top and curled onto her side with her back to the room.

  She sensed her friend and the guard staring at her in silent fury. Please go away.

  “We'll get to the bottom of this, Seffy. In the mean time, keep your psychotic hands to yourself!”

  Seffy lifted her hand and gave Addy the thumbs up sign. A slammed door was her reply. A few moments later, she heard the closet door opening, then, Trent's presence standing over her.

  “What?” she mumbled, really wanting to go to sleep. For, like, forever.

  Trent nudged her over onto her back and sat next to her. “Any idea what's going on?”

  “I think my evil twin tried to kill my friends, but I missed the action because I was in the shower...after I was dead.”

  His sad smile only made her feel worse.

  “I think you've had enough excitement for one day. I'll try to do some digging and see what I come up with.”

  Seffy gazed up at him. “I honestly don't care any more.”

  He gently tugged on her hair. “This is serious. Someone is trying to kill you guys. Since we know it's possible for bad guys to fall through the rip in space, maybe they're here to finish what they started in Tangent Land.”

  She bit her lip. “You're probably right. But that would mean you're a target too.”

  “I can take care of myself.”

  “The way you did in the other universe?”

  He frowned. “I was apparently broken-hearted that you'd died.”

  In the tangent universe they'd seen a newspaper article describing his death by heroin overdose after losing his girlfriend to a drive-by shooting. It seemed like a lifetime ago.

  “We don't know if it was me you were mourning.”

  He leaned closed, his voice low. “It was you. In fact, I've been thinking about that. I know I said nothing could've made me go back to the needle. But not being there to protect you? Failing you when you needed me most?” He paused. “Let's just say I would've found that difficult to live with.”

  “You can't know that,” she said, her voice strangled.

  “I do know that.”

  Seffy looked away, not even bothering to make sense of the whirl of conflicting emotions in her weary brain.

  “As long as I keep you alive, I'll be strong enough to fight.”

  She reached up and touched his arm. “You know you can't guarantee that. So far I'm still here pretty much out of pure dumb luck.”

  “Then let's hope your luck holds.” He pulled a pistol from his pocket. “And while I'm gone, I want you to keep this near.”

  Seffy accepted the gun with a sigh. “Aren't you afraid I might just do myself in to make things easier? After all, there's apparently a rumor that I tried to strangle myself.”

  Trent made a face. “I heard that and I think Olga must've mentioned it to a big-mouthed doctor. As much as she's helped us, she still works for the compound. We have to remember that.” He stood and held out his hand. “Stand up for a minute.”

  Seffy clambered from the bed, too tired to argue.

  He stood behind her and lightly placed his hands on either side of her neck. “Hmm.”

  She twisted around to face him. “What?”

  “By comparing my hands to the marks on your throat, whoever tried to kill you had rather small hands.”

  “And?”

  “Well, maybe a smaller person didn't have the strength to choke you all the way. What if adrenaline gave them the strength to just knock you out? Then it would simply be a matter of holding their hand over your nose and mouth until you stopped breathing.”

  She touched her neck. “How sick am I that I prefer that scenario to the self-death one?”

  Trent stared past her into the middle distance. “An average size man would have no problem doing you in.” He turned to her. “Did you fight?”<
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  Seffy clasped her hands together. “I don't remember. It happened so fast.”

  “Okay, I think it's safe to say you would've fought off an attacker. So maybe they had chloroform or something to subdue you quickly?”

  “So who's this little person sneaking around with a rag and bottle?”

  Trent snorted. “It has to be Fiona.”

  “Why? She could've had me killed a thousand different ways by now.”

  “You're right,” he said slowly. “So she wanted this to be subtle, under the radar—”

  “Trent I have visible bruising on my neck. How subtle is that?”

  He ran his hand through his already messy hair. “Yeah, that doesn't make sense either.”

  “Maybe Brenda is the jealous type.”

  Trent had the temerity to smile. “Please.”

  Seffy smirked. She didn't think little Miss Brenda could plan anything that complicated.

  “I'm going to go sniff around and see if I hear anything from my contacts.”

  Tucking the gun into her pocket, Seffy tried to make her expression communicate something supportive, but it felt a lot more like resignation. She watched as Trent brushed his lips against hers. Seffy felt the familiar stirring his touch induced, but she braced herself against it. He was too easy to give in to as it was.

  When he raised his head, his eyes told her he sensed her resistance. He sighed. Seffy listened to him leave after he checked the locks. She didn't move for several minutes. There was too much to process—Gareth wanting her to kiss him. Trent taking the liberty as if they were a couple. That whole choking and death thing. And now being accused of attempted murder.

  She touched the cold metal in her pocket. What do I want? Who do I want? Why do people want to kill me? Why do I want to live? Seffy snorted. When there are no answers, why bother asking questions? She didn't know why Gareth suddenly wanted her attention—and why she wasn't taking him up on it. She didn't know how Trent continued to draw her in despite her attempts to avoid his plots.

  If I could have anything right now, what would it be? Seffy closed her eyes and thought hard. Her previous life in West Hollywood beckoned, along with Gareth's uncomplicated affection. Except it wasn't as uncomplicated as she'd once thought. Now she had the chance to at least explore the option further. Why had she just shined him on earlier?