Inborn (The Birthright Book 1)

Chapter 16

Mom came into my room the next morning to tell me I could stay home from school, but I actually insisted I wanted to go. I know, crazy. A perfectly legitimate excuse to stay home and I blew it off. But I had a valid reason. I wanted to collect Lachlan's DNA, but not for Bryce. For myself. I could test it with our equipment after everyone went to sleep. It might narrow down the suspects list. Or make it worse. Either way, it was an action I could take immediately, so I was doing it.

"Are you certain?" Disbelief colored her face. "You really want to go after all this?"

Well, no, I didn't really want to go after being terrorized by a mass murderer mimicking my mother and finding Kenji's dead body. But I had to. I had to solve this. "We need to keep up appearances, right?"

Mom gave me a drawn out, sidelong glance, perched next to me on my bed. "Sometimes, for us, that is important. But 'keeping up appearances' would normally include attending all your classes."

I wasn't sure where this was going, so I kept quiet.

Mom brushed invisible dust off her leg, exhaling loudly. "I got a call from the school that you've been MIA from several classes over the past few days. Now I know we've had a lot going on, but it's because of what's been going on that I'm deeply concerned about this. Care to volunteer an explanation?"

I swallowed. I wasn't sure what I should or should not offer to tell her. And frankly, after the day before, I felt odd even having her in my room. "I–I offered to help Earth Patrol."

"During school hours?"

"Well, I couldn't go anywhere but home after, so..."

Mom narrowed her eyes, her mouth puckering. "How are we supposed to protect you if you won't listen to us? This killer is incredibly dangerous. I haven't seen...we haven't seen anything like this."

"Believe me, I know he's dangerous." I focused on the pattern of my sheet, tracing a butterfly with my finger.

Mom cupped my chin, gently drawing me up to face her. "Dove, if you know something and you're afraid to tell us...I promise we won't let him hurt you."

I looked into her eyes, like endless caverns, and I wanted to tell her everything. But now I knew I couldn't be sure of anyone, even my own family. "I wish I did."

She nodded, brushing hair from my face. "All right, dove. All right."

"Kenji?" I asked before she left the room.

Her eyes dropped to the floor. "Working on it." She closed my door before I could ask more questions.

Xavier drummed his fingers on the steering wheel the whole ride to school like he was itching to move. But I knew it was taking all his self-control not to drill me with questions about the night before; I'd heard Mom tell him in her zero-tolerance voice not to ask me a thing. I couldn't really talk about it, anyway, so it was just as well.

I didn't see Lachlan's motorcycle, or him, when we got to school, and I wondered if he'd vamoosed as soon as he was free of the cage. However, I saw it as a chance to snag something with his DNA. Surely, he didn't take everything out of his locker before he left.

Instead of going to my first class, I hid in a bathroom stall until assured that the hallways were mostly clear. Then I snuck out and went to Lachlan's locker, using the high tech lock pick I'd lifted from our basement early that morning. I swung the door open, figuring he'd have something in there with his DNA–a brush, a water bottle, something. But his locker was totally empty. I mean, devoid of any sign that he'd ever been there.

"What are you doing?"

I spun around, just barely remembering to wrap my fingers around the lock pick. I lowered that hand, trying to discreetly put it behind my back when I realized it was Joss.