Page 108 of A Duet of Darkness and Dreams

“What the hell do you want, Noblar?” he says.

“I . . . Emily called me. I think you should go and check on her. She seems . . .” I sigh. “She might try to hurt herself.”

“What the hell are you—”

“Sam, enough!” I shout. “You can hate me all you want but Iwould never want something bad to happen to either of you. Can you justlisten to me?”

There’s a stretch of silence.

“Where is she?” he asks.

“She didn’t say, but it sounded like she was at a house party. Know of any happening tonight?”

“Yeah, there’s one on the other side of the bridge,” he says slowly. “I’ll, uh, I’ll go check it out.”

Relief loosens the tightness in my chest. “Thank you.”

The line goes dead and I turn to slump against the wall, sinking to the floor so I can bury my face into my knees. Maybe Charlie’s right. Maybe I need to get away from here. Away from Emily and Sam. Away from my dad. Just . . . away. It’s not like anyone wants me here anyway.

“Everything okay?” Charlie asks, standing in front of me.

I look up at him, trying to blink away the moisture in my eyes. I push myself off the floor and wipe my nose. “Listen, I’m going to get out of here.”

He frowns. “Where are you going to go?”

I shrug. “I don’t know. But I can’t stay here. I’m going to load my kit into the car and I’ll be back in for my clothes, then I’ll be out of your hair.”

“Dave, it’s almost midnight. Just sleep here and you can head out in the morning.”

“No, man . . . I can’t—I’m just going to drive until morning and figure it out from there.”

I packall of the heavy drum equipment into my station wagon. It normally doesn’t take me this long, but between my frantic, racing thoughts and shaking hands, it’s slow going. When it’sdone, I head back into the house for my meager bag of clothes and toiletries.

“Are you sure you want to go right now?” Charlie asks.

I nod. “Yeah. Thanks for letting me crash for the week. Take care of yourself.” I hold out my hand. For a second I think he won’t shake it, but I’m surprised when he throws his arms around me for a hug.

“Drive safe, okay?”

He lets go and I offer him a small smile. I turn toward the door and I’m nearly there when the phone rings again. My stomach drops and I stop in my tracks. It’s almost one in the morning. No one would be calling this late, unless . . .

Charlie picks up the phone. “Hello?”

My heart is racing, sprinting like the roadrunner, completely at odds with the rest of me that can barely move.

“Sam, hold on. What do you mean?” Charlie asks.

I turn slowly, and find his face has turned as white as a sheet.

I don’t even know how the words come out of my mouth, but I manage to ask, “What happened?”

The receiver drops away from Charlie’s face. “There’s been an accident.”

CHAPTER 34

Strike of the Beast

ISABELLA

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