Smoked by Mari Mancusi Read Free Book Online Page A

up at one end. To her right was the restaurant Connor had mentioned, and Scarlet breathed in deeply, rejoicing in the smell of pizza being baked in a brick oven. It’d been a long, long time since she’d had a slice of pepperoni, and her mouth was watering.
    â€œWell, hello there.”
    She looked up to see a middle-aged man step out from the restaurant. He was tall and thin, with wild salt-and-pepper hair and dark eyes that crinkled at the corners. He came around the counter, walking with a pronounced limp.
    â€œHi,” Scarlet replied, feeling shy all of a sudden.
    â€œYou must be Scarlet,” the man said. “I’m Cameron, Trinity’s father.” He gave her a kind smile. “Are you hungry? Can I make you something?”
    The offer was more than tempting. The pizza smelled ridiculously good. But she knew she wouldn’t be able to relax and enjoy it. Not yet.
    â€œDo you know where Caleb is?” she asked instead, her heart thumping in her chest.
    Trinity’s father gave her a curious look. Then he shrugged. “He’s down the corridor,” he told her. “Third door from the left.”
    Scarlet nodded wordlessly, then forced her feet to move, one after another, in the direction he pointed. As she walked down the hall, her heart started beating faster and faster in her chest. By the time she reached the third door, she could barely breathe.
    She paused for a moment, sucked in a breath, then pushed open the door and stepped inside.
    The room was sterile. Cold, almost, with no furnishings save for a hospital-style bed in the center and a metal folding chair set up beside it. The walls were white and blank, and the windows were boarded up. It was bleak. Depressing. But what did it matter? she asked herself. Caleb’s body might be here, but his mind is elsewhere. He could be in the most luxurious palace right now, and he wouldn’t even know.
    She turned to the figure on the bed, and her breath caught in her throat. He looked so still, his eyes closed, his skin pale. Like a sleeping angel. Her heart squeezed.
    â€œOh, Bad Seed,” she whispered, using her old nickname for him. She stepped forward until she reached the bed, dropping to the chair by his side. Reaching out, she took his hand in hers, horrified at how clammy and cold it felt, how translucent the skin. She stroked his fingers, trying to warm them, while peering down at his face, searching for some sign of life. Some hidden spark, deep down, that told her he was still in there, still holding out, waiting for her to return.
    But she saw nothing. Just a deathly pallor that chilled her to the bone. She bit her lower lip, feeling the tears leak from her eyes. Could Connor be right? Was he really gone? Was this only the shell of the boy who had held her in his arms and kissed her as she’d begged him to help her save the world?
    No. She frowned, brushing the tears away with an angry swipe. She refused to believe that. Let the others think what they would—she knew he was still in there somewhere, still fighting to get free.
    â€œI’m here now, Caleb,” she whispered, still holding his hand. “I’m back and I’m not going to leave. I know you’re in there somewhere, and I’m not going to give up on you.”
    On impulse, she leaned down. As her lips brushed across his cheek, she heard the clearing of a throat behind her. She jumped out of her seat, startled, dropping Caleb’s hand like a hot potato. When she turned around, she saw Trinity, silhouetted in the doorway.
    â€œOh. You scared me,” Scarlet said with an uneasy laugh. Her heart pattered nervously in her chest. How long had she been standing there? How much had she heard?
    Trinity didn’t smile back. “What are you doing in here?” she asked instead.
    â€œNothing.” Scarlet felt her face heat. “I was just… Your father said he was