Page 60 of Shine On Oklahoma

Was that a contraction?

She couldn’t rest. She had to keep moving.Caine would send his henchman after her. She had to get Diana tosafety. So she clenched her jaw, and she ran.

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Dax had never seen Kendra’s eyes look the waythey did, perfectly round and kind of hollow. Like something hadsucked all the life out of her.

They were hiking through the woods about ahundred yards out from the old hunting cabin where Kiley’s watchwas. Their goal was to circle behind the place and come in from therear. They had the furthest distance to walk, but when they reachedtheir goal spot, according to the GPS on his phone, no one else hadyet checked in. Kendra brought the walkie-talkie up and pressed itsbutton. “We’re in place. Why aren’t the rest of you?”

“Kendra, come on.” Dax said it softly. Hetook the radio and said, “It’s Dax and Kendra,” he said. “We’reready.”

“This is Rob, Joe and I are ready on the eastside.”

“Jason here. Sunny and I are ready on thewest.”

“Move in slow and quiet,” Chief Corona said.“See if you can get a look inside,” I’ll assess. Do not do anythingelse until and unless I give the word.”

“Hear that, Rob?” Dax asked, but his eyeswere on Kendra.

Rob didn’t reply, and Kendra didn’t say aword either. She didn’t have to. If she spotted her sister, she wasgoing in, come hell or high water. He didn’t know if he could stopher. He didn’t know if heshould.

He clipped the radio to his jeans. “I get whyyou’ve been deceiving me.”

Kendra pushed a limb down to peer at thecabin. “I should’ve just told you the truth. That they had myfather. Or that Ithoughtthey had my father.” Shaking herhead slowly, she said, “I can’t believe he lied to me. I should’veknown. Kiley’s right, I have a blind spot where he’sconcerned.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Dax said. “I mean, asfar as you and me.”

“You and me? No, Dax. There is no you and me.Look at this, look at what I do to people. It’s my fault all thiscame down on my sister. And sweet little Diana. And Rob. And you.”She looked up at him, tears brimming in her eyes. Tears. He didn’tthink he’d ever seen her cry before. “You’re good, Dax. I’mjust…I’m bad. I’m bad, and, it’s contagious. I can’t wash it offlike my sister did. It goes too deep in me. And it stains anythinggood that comes too close. I can’t be with you, Dax. I’llruinyou. I’ll ruin them, too.”

“That’s such a pile of horseshit.” He reachedfor her, but she ducked away, turning from him and pressing theheel of her hand to her wet cheek.

“I’ve been kidding myself with this marketingthing, thinking I could live straight. Thinking I could change myown DNA.”

“Kiley’s your identical twin. Same DNA,right?”

“And yet my eyes are green, and hers areblue. We’re opposites. Yin and Yang.” She wiped a tear from hercheek like she was mad at it. “I’ve gotta go get my sister.” Thenshe took off toward the back of the cabin like a ninja rabbit,staying low and darting from juniper to pinion pine. There were notall grasses or brambles in between the trees. Just rich red earth,under a layer of decaying tree litter. Needles, leaves, twigs.Blossoms and berries, cones and bark. Every footfall released awaft of fragrance as he ran to catch up. He got a hand on hershoulder just as she reached the cabin’s back wall, and pulled herinto a crouch beside him underneath a window.

It wasn’t a cabin so much as a shack. Itsbarn-board sides were so old the wood was bleached to Gandalf gray.The tin roof looked like it had been in a rusty rainstorm. Therewere two windows in the back, both made of thick plastic-glass. Ithad been there so long it was hazy.

“Easy now,” Dax said. “You went too fast. Theothers aren’t—”

She popped up, stopping with her eyes justabove the bottom of the foggy plastic. “I can see a little. Jack’sin there!” She dropped into a low crouch again, breathing fast. “Hedoesn’t look good.”

Dax rose just enough to see inside. A tallman in a suit paced back and forth in front of a rickety chair,smoking a cigar almost violently. Jack Kellogg was occupying saidrickety chair. He looked like a duct tape mummy. His head was theonly part of him not taped to the chair. His face was turningpurple.

Dax looked around the inside of the cabin.One room. No partitions. There was a second man there, a big guy.He didn’t see Kiley. Not unless she was hiding in a rear corner,beyond his line of sight.

Crouching low again, he took Kendra’s handand pulled her with him a few yards back, to the nearest tree. Frombehind it, he keyed the walkie-talkie. “I can see Jack Kellogg,duct taped to a chair and not looking too healthy. There are twoother men, one I’m presuming to be Vester Caine. The other must beone of his goons. No sign of Kiley.”

“Same here,” came over the cracklingradio.

“Same.”

“Ditto.”

“Where the hell is she?” That was Rob’svoice. Dax didn’t think he’d ever heard so much anguish in hislife.

“Fuck this,” Kendra said. “I’m done tiptoeingaround these assholes.” And like a shot, she was off and runningtoward the cabin. She didn’t stop at the back this time, but dartedaround it toward the front.

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