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HARD ROAD

“Kayli,” Raven said toup on the couch The tattoos on his bare arms and stomach shifted and danced on his skin as he stretched and sat up “Don’t touch my box”

I had been left with Raven for the evening I told the other guys that I didn’t need a babysitter, but as usual, no one listened So while Raven was passed out, I found my way to a McDonald’s I may or may not have had permission to take Brandon’s car, and stole the keys from Raven while he slept

I’d been restless Sue me

I dropped the bag of chicken nuggets on the table “Sorry, babe,” I said, shirking out of the brown jacket I’d borrowed from Marc I still had on Corey’s Zelda T-shirt and the boots belonged toBrandon? I’d borrowed so s, it was hard to keep track Plus it was easier to borrow stuff froirl clothes “You snoozeyou don’t get McNuggets House rules, right?”

Raven sat up, snatched the bag froers fiddled with unrolling the top “You’d never”

I s any food into the apartive the too far “I’ll let you have one”

“Two,” he said, and lifted two boxes of nuggets froet the rest, until you get full and then I’ll take care of it”

I split some fries with Raven, too He turned on the television, and I insisted he change the channel to Sponge Bob: one of the fes he could understand without asking me a jack ton of questions about ords meant

I orking on ets when the front door opened quickly, sla into the wall next to it My head snapped around Raven sat up straight, dropping the fry fro it into a fist

Marc stepped in through the open door He was breathless, as if he’d taken the stairs instead of the elevator “I think I’ve got a lead on Wil,” he said

Shocked, I froze and stared hard at hiet in my mouth My brother Marc had found hiet into the box and pushed it aside “Where?”

“We’ve got to go,” Marc said “Hurry”

Raven wiped his hands on his jeans “Let rab a shirt,” he said He rushed to his room, the tattooed bear on his back ide-eyed and wild: exactly how I felt in that moment

I’d abandoned the food and the television was already forgotten, but I couldn’t wrestle any other infored or threatened

As soon as Raven returned, Marc rushed us out and into the black SUV in the parking lot It was around nine, dark and chilly

We were quiet until Marc pulled the SUV onto the I-26 ra and what it meant Marc may have found Wil We were supposed to keep our distance, but he was taking me to see him

“Where is he?” I asked again, unable to keep silent a second longer Since it was late on a Friday night, he obviously wasn’t at school

“We’re headed his way,” Marc said He pointed out toward the horizon “If we hurry, we ht you could at least get a visual”

Marc obviously wasn’t going to give up ht hear us coot a chance to see him My excitement rose as the miles passed

My heart swelled for Marc, too, for continuing to hunt for Wil, even while I had aliven up I didn’t want to admit it to any of them, but I felt if Wil really wanted to talk to er and avoiding er could he be in to not even letto believe I’d done solectful or didn’t care

Secretly, I was afraid to face him and find out

I felt in my pocket for a ponytail holder and coged Marc’s brown jacket, pulling it tighter around my shoulders I carried a cell phone now, too It was sorammed each of their numbers in, plus a few extra from other Academy members around the area, just in case

Marc was in a leather jacket, black boots and jeans His longer hair on top had gron over his blue-green eyes, the mismatched colors contrasted with his dark lashes and hair His hands

twisted at the wheel as he drove Lines etched into his face toldthere in time

Sitting calmly with his dark eyes and short cropped hair, Raven was complacent He was the epitome of patience as he stared fixedly out the front windshield He noore a thick, long-sleeved black sweatshirt, jeans and boots The clothes al left to show his rebellious nature was the lip ring he’d put back in He fiddled with it with his tongue inside hispoke out further every once in a while

Every bit of him was Russian: look, voice, and attitude

“Where is Wil?” I asked again, breaking the silence “Should we be interfering? I mean, that Mr Blackbourne said”

“I just want you to see hilance over at me “Could you confirm it’s him?”

I sat up quickly, sing againstthe worst “Did you find a body?”

Marc’s expression moved from shocked to confused “No,” he said quickly “I just want to uy You don’t have to approach him now, but we should follow him where we can See what he’s up to”

“He’s not a troubleuy”

“I believe you,” Marc said He smiled “Don’t worry, I just want toto live on his own and take care of hie We can even do it in a way to ”

“I don’t feel like I am,” I said

“Little Thief,” Raven said, reaching an arhtly I leaned into his side, feeling the ainst my arm It was a small amount of support and I welcomed his comfort "There are many reasons to leave a ho else, even stupidity"

“He’s not stupid”

Raven blew out a slow breath that caught wisps of ainst s sometimes"

I started to wrestle myself away from him but he pulled s alone It’s not hoorks We need other people”

"Right," Marc said "It’s unlikely he is in trouble to a degree that it is threatening his life, but just in case, we don't want to start running around without checking first If we follow hi hiure out the truth"

"But he's just a kid," I said, still feeling strongly that Wil wasn’t a bad guy "He wouldn’t be doing soet into trouble with the police Where are we going?"

"There's a shelter," he said

"Shelter?"

"A place where runaways are taken if they get picked up Or beaten and abused kids who need a place to go while the systeures out where to put them next There's a couple of them in town"

"But how did you find out he was there?”

“A boy with his description was caught by the police recently and taken there He used another naht have lied”

“Why would he?” I asked