Chaos (Lanie Bross) - Lanie Bross Page 0,47

the parking lot, probably a sanitation worker, and she made it all the way to the entrance without seeing a soul. There was a bus stop just across the street, and Jasmine had to stand alone for only a couple of minutes before the bus pulled up.

She used the last of her coins and made the connection that would take her to Richmond. Before too long, she found herself in a familiar neighborhood. The street looked clearer than when she had left, and she easily ran to the steps of her building. Up two flights of stairs to the apartment door.

“Luc?” Her voice echoed in the empty apartment.

She knew immediately he wasn’t there. The apartment felt vacant and cold. Pancakes sat in sticky dried puddles of syrup on the plates. She couldn’t bring herself to clean them up. Anxiety felt like lead in her stomach. How many days had it been since Luc fobbed her off on Aunt Hillary? It was hard to tell. Was time skipping for Luc, too? Luc wasn’t one to disappear like this, without a word to Jasmine. Something must have happened. She knew he would never have left her if he’d known how much danger she was really in. He’d thought the Executors were after him.

It struck Jasmine that Luc had known more than he let on—he said he might know who they were, but had he known what they were? Executors? Hadn’t he basically said so?

The door to Luc’s room was open. He was probably the only teenage guy who actually kept his room neat and clean. His books were stacked on his desk next to a secondhand laptop he’d found on Craigslist. His bed was neatly made, and there were no clothes on the floor. The only thing hanging on his wall was a Giants poster.

It all looked like he was coming right back. So where was he?

Jas went back out to the kitchen and picked up the phone. There was a dial tone this time, and she had to push Luc’s number three times to get it right in her excitement.

“The number you have dialed is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later.”

Jas hung up and dialed again. The same message came across the line. What the hell did that mean?

Maybe a tower was down because of the earthquake. Still, the feeling of unease didn’t go away.

So what now?

Before she could make a decision, she froze. Someone was coming to the door. A girl—the sweet smell of flowery shampoo gave her away.

Was the Executor back already?

Jasmine grabbed a large kitchen knife off the counter. She was damned well not giving up without a fight. She tiptoed to the door and looked through the peephole.

Immediately, she felt like an idiot. It was only Karen, Luc’s girlfriend. Or ex-girlfriend. Karen was chewing on her bottom lip, which was frosted with pink. She raised a hand, hesitated, then knocked. “Luc?” she called out.

Jasmine tossed the knife onto a side table and yanked the door open—maybe a little too forcefully. Karen’s eyes went wide and she stepped back. “God, you scared me. Is Luc home?” Karen looked past Jasmine into the apartment.

Jas knew it was stupid, but she couldn’t help feeling embarrassed. They hardly ever had people over. Luc had never had Karen over as far as she knew. Drunk father aside, he hated the idea that she might pity him—or worse, laugh at him.

Jasmine grabbed her backpack and slipped into the hallway, closing the door behind her and sealing off Karen’s view of the apartment. “Luc’s super sick. Really bad stomach bug.”

Karen stared at the closed door for a few seconds, as if she was considering trying to burst through it. “He isn’t answering any of my calls. I mean … I guess I don’t blame him. But with the earthquake and everything …” Karen hugged herself. She was wearing a stupid pink sweatshirt with the word JUICY written across it, and she’d cheated on Luc. Still, she looked like she hadn’t slept in days, and Jas couldn’t help but feel bad for her. “I just wanted to make sure he was okay.”

Jas said nothing. Karen chewed on her bottom lip again. She looked out of place with a backdrop of peeling paint and bad lighting in the hallway.

“You must think I’m a total bitch, right?” Karen asked.

Jasmine did, kind of—she’d always thought Karen was a bitch. But she forced herself to say “No.”

Karen looked relieved. “I never meant to hurt him, seriously. He’s a great