Blindsided Read online

  “So here’s how it’ll work.” The Phantom reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a slick black card. When the lights hit it, an image of a jaguar gleams back. “The Torres syndicate is willing to overlook your trespassing under one condition. If you agree—I get to give you three million dollars.”

  Mom purses her lips. “Must be one hell of a condition.”

  “All Juan asks is that you do nothing.” The Phantom puts the card on the table and slides it over. “You can do that, right?”

  “You want us to ignore our orders? That’s it?” she asks.

  He nods.

  There has to be some kind of catch, though at the same time it does make sense. Juan wants to produce Radiasure first. Whoever does will clearly have the advantage. If we do nothing, that’s one less syndicate to worry about meddling. Except we’re not actually working for Dad…I frown, realizing there’s a bigger issue here.

  “We do nothing, and you can promise our safety as long as we’re in your territory?” Mom asks.

  “Of course.” The Phantom’s dark eyes gleam with anticipation. “What’s your answer?”

  “We’ll do nothing, but you can have this back.” To my surprise, Mom slides the card to him. “Safety is enough. I don’t want to owe Juan anything.”

  The Phantom takes it in his spindly hands. “You’re smarter than you look.”

  “Don’t forget it.” Mom stands, and I follow her outside. I’m about to head back to Seth’s car when she bursts out laughing. Then she leans in to say, “Well, that was easy enough—we don’t even have orders to ignore! Looks like as long as we lie low we can sail past this mess scot-free.”

  “Yeah,” I whisper, my mind reeling. Maybe we’re safer from Juan than I thought we could be, but I can’t escape one thought: Dad hasn’t sent a crew here to search the area. What could he be doing that is more important to him than reproducing Radiasure?

  Chapter 9

  At least Movie Night hasn’t changed much. Bea’s dad still makes amazing burgers. Her mom still prepares a spread of toppings. And of course there’s always fighting over which movie to watch. But her older brothers Joey and Tony haven’t come for a month because of demanding college classes. Plus, Bea and Brady are usually so distracted with each other they forget to protect me from Carlos.

  “So, Fiona,” Carlos says as he sits next to me at the picnic table. I glare at Bea, who is giggling and flirting with Brady by the condiments. So much for backup. “How do you feel about polyamorous relationships?”

  “I didn’t realize you knew such big words,” I reply.

  Hector makes a sizzling sound. “Nice burn, Fi.”

  “She’s avoiding the question,” Carlos says.

  Seth pulls me closer. “Stop asking my girlfriend inappropriate stuff. We’re together, and that’s not about to change.”

  “Plus I’m not interested in you.” I bite into my burger, which is filled with peppers and avocado and cheese.

  The guys laugh, though Carlos does look a little hurt by the news. I almost feel bad, but I’ve learned the boy can’t take a hint or even a direct statement. Why he’s decided to fixate on me of all people I’ll never know.

  “You need to move on, dude,” Hector says through a huge bite of burger, complete with barbecue sauce on his face. “There are tons more invisible girls out there for you to terrorize.”

  I snort. “If only.”

  After dinner, we spread blankets on the grass, set up the projector, and pick a movie. By the time we get everything ready it’s dark, thanks to the short winter days. Though it’s not freezing, it’s definitely cold enough that we huddle under blankets and drink cocoa.

  Bea hops up as the opening credits begin, pulling out the one device I hate more than anything—a camera. “Smile, everyone!”

  The camera flashes. I didn’t smile or even look at it, not like anyone will be able to tell. She takes a few more, and I have to restrain myself from yelling at her to stop. I know this is what normal people do, but I hate looking at my missing face next to everyone else.

  Seth nudges me. “Is it really so bad?”

  I’m not sure how to answer that when we’re surrounded by people who don’t know he can see me. It’s not like I can get into a lengthy discussion about how hollow and stupid those pictures make me feel. “Yeah, it is.”

  “I’m sorry, Fi.” He puts his arm around me, and I try to concentrate on the movie. But Bea and Brady are laughing while they take pictures together, and envy flares inside me like a hot coal. I know they aren’t, and yet it feels like they’re rubbing their visibility in my face. Seth squeezes my shoulder. “Should I ask for the camera next? Seems like you’re distracted by it.”

  “Why bother?” It sounds harsher than I intended. “It’ll just be you and some floating clothes.”

  He frowns. “What’s wrong with that?”

  “Everything.” Sometimes I hate that there are things I will never experience like other people. They are often tiny. They probably shouldn’t matter. But times like these make me feel inhuman.

  “Fi.” He leans in so he can whisper right in my ear. I still worry Hector could hear. “There is nothing wrong with being invisible.”

  He’s trying to comfort me, but I can’t help but be a little angry. “Easy for you to say, being visible and all.”

  Seth sighs. “You’re determined to let this bother you. Even after everything.”

  By “everything” I assume he means the fact that he’s told me what I look like, but he can’t say that with Hector so near. “I don’t want it to bother me—sorry I can’t figure out how to stop wanting to see myself.”

  He opens his mouth to say something, but a loud whooping sound cuts him off. I look up to the open sky, searching for whatever made the noise. That’s when I see the dark mass in the air. My first thought is that either the Army or The Phantom brought a flier to Madison, but then I catch the distinct scent of blueberries.

  “Miles! Graham!” I’m immediately on my feet and running to them as they touch down in the grass. Miles scoops me into a bear hug. Graham stands there awkwardly. We don’t do hugs—we barely do friendly nods. “What’re you doing here?”

  Miles sets me down. “Oh, you know, just seeing what our little sister is up to.”

  “And by that he means making sure you don’t do anything stupid,” Graham says with a glare. “Mom told us about The Phantom and your deal.”

  Bea’s jaw drops. “You made a deal with Juan’s guy?”

  That one sentence gets everyone up and surrounding us. Hector, Carlos, and Brady pummel me with questions about if I’m working for Juan or if I paid them off and what the hell is going on in Madison.

  “Whoa!” I hold my hands out, pushing them back. “Give me some space and time to answer.”

  Hector folds his arms, in full defensive mode. “You better answer quick, because I don’t want to think of you as a traitor.”

  “Keep your pants on.” I look from side to side, figuring now is as good a time as any to tell them what Seth and I discussed. I lower my voice. “Hector, do you hear anyone in the area that shouldn’t be here?”

  “Hold your breath.” Hector pulls his plugs out. I’ve never asked how far he can hear, but I figure he’ll pick up on any breathing around the house. After The Phantom telling me Juan’s been watching us, better safe than sorry. He shakes his head. “Just Mom and Dad inside.”

  “Okay, in the living room.” We shuffle inside, and that’s when I notice something. “Miles, you’re limping. What happened?”

  He looks down at his leg, as if he didn’t even notice. “Oh that? Just had a run in with some stairs. Twisted my ankle. It’s not that bad.”

  I’m not sure I buy it. “Since when did you get clumsy?”

  “I was late to class and miscalculated some steps.” He shrugs as he claims the single recliner for himself. “Should I report all my injuries to you from now on?”

  “Only ones that immobilize you,” I say.
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br />   Everyone crams onto the couches except for Graham, who floats on his permanent pillow of air. I stand before them, but it feels odd. Like I’m the leader. Since when? “Juan thinks Mom and I are still working for my dad, so The Phantom wanted us to ignore our orders in exchange for money. My mom told him we’d ignore our orders—because, of course, we don’t have any—and we didn’t take the money.”

  The Pack lets out a collective sigh.

  “Still doesn’t explain why they’re all here, though,” Hector points out. “And from the grilling we got from the Army at school, seems like it has to do with Radiasure.”

  I nod. “You remember what I told you that night we went to the factory?”

  “You mean when you ruined my brilliant plan?” Graham says.

  I wish he could see my glare. “Yes, that night. If only you’d explained you had a decoy store of Radiasure here to throw Dad off the trail sooner.”

  Graham rolls his eyes, but says nothing more. I don’t like him being here—and I’m sure my friends are still wary of him—but he knows about Rosa’s ability, the Navarro’s greatest secret, so he’s in the group whether we want it or not.

  I clear my throat. “The Phantom implied that the real Radiasure formula has been leaked to all the syndicates. So basically it’s a race to find something out in the desert that will allow them to produce the pills again.”

  They nod, as if they were expecting as much. Maybe I don’t give The Pack as much credit as I should. Even if they’ve never been part of a syndicate, it almost seems like their efforts to avoid Juan have taught them all they need to know.

  Seth puts his elbows to his knees, his face serious. “The Army held me for an hour because I knew stuff about the desert. Fiona and I were talking about whether or not we should cover our tracks out there.”

  “It wouldn’t be good to have the Army poking around,” Carlos says, more concerned than I expected. “Who knows what they’ll do if they know we not only know about the factory, but that we’ve spent time exploring it?”

  “They’ll detain us until we give them answers, that’s what.” Hector puts his hand over his mouth, like he just caught himself talking too loudly. We definitely don’t want their parents knowing about this. “Then we’d get attention from Juan and the Army. Not good.”

  “We just got out of trouble—I don’t want to get back in,” Brady says. “Once they start sweeping the area they’ll figure out those are my footprints all over the place.”

  Bea bites her lip. “What if we’ve been other places they don’t want us to know about? We don’t know how big the original factory site was.”

  “Exactly.” I put my hands on my hips, this conversation only proving what we need to do. “If we don’t want them digging into our business, we need to make sure nothing can be traced to us.”

  Graham sits up from his relaxed floating position. “Just what, exactly, do you know about that desert anyway?”

  We all look back and forth at each other, no one seeming particularly interested in answering him. This piques Miles’ interest. “Are you implying you know the location of what they’re looking for?”

  “No!” I blurt out, though it feels like a half truth. “I mean, we don’t even know what they’re looking for except that it has to do with Radiasure.”

  “But it’s possible that you’ve come across it.” Graham is practically salivating over the idea. “You could have actually seen what they’re looking for and not known it.”

  Miles swears. “That’s not good. Is there any particular place you’re worried about?”

  “Besides the factory? Maybe.” Seth tips his chin up. “Not sure I trust someone in here enough to talk about it.”

  “Who could you be referring to?” Graham asks sarcastically.

  Seth stares him down. “You.”

  Graham flies right up to Seth’s face, and I immediately get flashbacks of him grabbing my neck and squeezing so hard I thought I might die. “I’d start trusting me, because you’re stuck with me.”

  “That’s enough.” I shove myself between them. “Look, Graham, we could have made you leave and we didn’t. You made us trust your plan without explanations—guess you get to see how that feels now.”

  Graham’s nostrils flare, but it’s the first time I don’t shake in front of him. The Pack would never let him get away with hurting me. After what seems like an eternity, he finally relaxes. “I’m only going along with this because I don’t want you to get hurt. These soldiers and thugs could jeopardize everything we made here.”

  The sincerity in his expression takes me off guard. Part of me still doesn’t want to believe it, but Graham’s changing. Being free from Dad has done the same thing for him as it has for Mom and me. For the smallest moment, it feels like we’re family again. “Thank you.”

  “Of course.” He looks down, seeming embarrassed.

  “So we all agree on this?” I ask. Everyone nods. “Good, this is what we’re gonna do.”

  Chapter 10

  We split up into two teams—one to destroy any possible evidence around the factory, and another to obscure the trails we run south of town. I purposely put Graham on the factory team so he doesn’t get near the pools, along with Carlos to guide them in the dark with his night vision. Miles insisted on going with Graham, though I didn’t think he should with his twisted ankle. I couldn’t argue when he said he’d keep an eye out for anything suspicious from our older brother.

  Which means Seth, Brady, Bea, Hector, and I stand at the edge of town nearest the cave, where our secret pools lie deep underground. Surveying the land under an almost-full moon, I breathe in the cool air. The desert is quiet tonight, with barely a breeze to call wind. A coyote howls in the distance. There’s no sign that anyone’s been out here to search yet.

  The paths we use most are barely visible among the desert brush and pot holes left by Brady, but the faint footprints are enough. Surely any good tracker could find them, and the Army has to have brought at least one, if not many.

  “Hector,” I say. “Take the southern path with Bea and cover up any tracks or worn parts in the trail. Make sure we haven’t left anything under the interstate bridge. Seth and I will take the path to the little waterfall, while Brady tears up everything between here and the cave to hide his pot holes.”

  “Got it.” Hector holds up the shovel he brought. “C’mon, sis. Let’s get this done.”

  “Hell yeah. And don’t worry, Fi, you’ll be able to hear my scream no matter how far away we get.” Bea smiles at me reassuringly. How she knows I’m nervous is beyond me.

  “It’s not like I’ll miss anyone sneaking up on us,” Hector says.

  “I know.” I gulp, almost considering calling off the whole thing. This is the exact opposite of what Major Norton told me to do, and if he finds out…I can’t even think about how The Phantom might react. This is definitely not “doing nothing.” “Just be careful. If there’s any sign of someone following you, get out.”

  “Yup.” Hector heads south, Bea trailing right behind him.

  “Better get to destroying stuff.” Brady smiles with a disturbing amount of excitement. “It’s not every day I’m allowed to do this, you know.”

  “Try to be quiet?” I say.

  He laughs. “Yeah, right.”

  We head off down the biggest path, which is really just a thin snaking line. Right now it seems more dangerous than that, like a fuse leading to a bomb. I’ll sleep much better once I know the line has been cut.

  After about five minutes’ running, we stop at a big cactus surrounded by bunches of dry brush. This is where we turn to the right when we run to the cave, and I figure it’s a good place to break the trail. “Brady, start here. Seth and I will head left towards the waterfall now.”

  “Sounds good.” He motions for us to move away. “Watch out.”

  Seth grabs my hand and we step back several yards. Brady’s pale skin practically glows in the moonlight where it’s not covered by dark
fabric. His muscles flex, and then he slams his fist into the ground. The earth cracks and groans beneath his powerful arm, and the cactus threatens to fall over. The trail beneath Brady is gone. “That felt good. Meet you back at the house.”

  He’s off with a big leap. When he lands, the ground cracks again. Sure hope there’s no one around to hear, because that’s so not quiet.

  “Our turn.” Seth shuffles along the ground in the opposite direction of Brady, brushing the dirt to hide footprints and obscure the path. I can’t help but laugh because we must look ridiculous. “Shh, we’re supposed to be discreet,” he says.

  “But you look like a penguin!” I snort at that, and then he’s laughing, too.

  “Only you could laugh when we’re directly ignoring orders from a syndicate and the Army.”

  “Hey, you all seemed plenty eager to make sure no one suspected us more.” I jump off the path when I spot a crinkled water bottle. Picking it up, I come back and stuff it in Seth’s backpack.

  “You have a way of rallying people, Fi. You’re a natural leader.”

  I stop, the idea more upsetting to me than anything. All the leaders I know are horrible people. I don’t want to be like that. “No, I just want to protect what I have here.”

  “Lots of people don’t protect what they should, nor do they convince others to do the same.” He keeps sliding his feet along. “Let’s keep going—you’ll leave prints standing there like that.”

  “Oh, right.” I follow right behind him and try to ignore the growing pit in my stomach. No more thinking of who I could become if I keep leading. “So am I the only one who’s noticed that none of my dad’s people are here?”

  “I thought that was because of your deal,” Seth says.

  I put my hands on my hips, still scooting forward and searching for evidence. There should be a lot more at the waterfall. “Maybe I’m not giving him enough credit, but I don’t think he’s the kind of person who’d honor a deal if it meant losing a chance to produce Radiasure.”