Exhausted, I slumped in my office chair. One thing was for sure, women were making my life hell on earth.
Scott spun around in his chair, eyebrows raised in question, but I only shook my head, silently communicating that Cassie’s problem was not an illness as he’d suspected. Scott’s brows furrowed further, but I would make good on my promise not to tell anyone until Cassie was ready to reveal her secret.
Who was the guy who knocked her up? My thing with Cassie was over, but I still felt the urge to find the motherfucker and teach him a lesson. I couldn’t stop wondering when it happened. In all my hours during surveillance duty, I hadn’t seen Cassie leave the compound. Had someone visited her?
My eyes darted up as Haylie entered the main quarters, a few sheets of paper in her hand.
“Hey, Haylie,” Scott called, “I’ve collected some scientific texts about the physics of gravity. Have a quick look at them. I think they could be helpful.”
“Sure,” she said, giving me one of her breathtaking smiles in passing. My heart skipped a beat at seeing her full, red lips curling for me. I remembered seeing her nervous and uncomfortable whenever we saw each other. Not so anymore.
I refocused on the monitors in front of me before risking my thoughts to wander back to my conversation with Lisa earlier this morning. I needed a time-out.
One of the monitors showed Chris and Lauren striding down the aisles. Chris was heavily gesturing with his hands, showing Lauren a defensive move she tried to imitate. Chris nodded in approval, and Lauren beamed up at him. Well, at least Chris’ attention found another female target.
My fingers tapped restlessly on the computer mouse. I wanted to find some information about Cassie, so I typed on my keyboard to check some older footage. Collecting the files from the weekends, I filtered the ones from during the week from six in the evening until three in the morning. As Cassie had training duties on weekdays from morning until afternoon, that would be a wide enough timeframe to find out when Cassie had snuck out.
Nearly three hours later, I’d gone through every recording of the last months, some of them even twice, but there was no proof Cassie had left the compound, except for the one time she’d joined Jimmy on his mission to get Haylie here.
Thus, that left two options. One, she’d changed her appearance to sneak out, which wouldn’t make any sense. Or two, the most likely option, she’d had sex with someone inside the compound, which left me curious about who—
A sudden beep sounded behind me coming from Phil’s computer.
“They’re here,” Phil said, the announcement apparently directed at Jimmy, as I had no clue who he was talking about.
“Excellent,” Jimmy replied in excitement, folding the newspapers he’d been reading. “Phil, show them the way, please.” Phil nodded and left.
“Who’s here?” Scott asked, still going through several textbooks with Haylie sitting next to him. She looked as if she understood only half of what she was reading, her hands covered with streaks from neon markers.
“The guards I requested from Serena.”
Ah yes. We’d agreed to ask for external security guards from Serena’s Department of Roe Security. Hopefully, they’d fill in the holes of the areas where cameras couldn’t cover the grounds.
“How many did she send us?” I wanted to know.
“Seven in total. Six, plus a supervisor.”
Good. Seven pairs of eyes more wouldn’t harm. “Abilities?” I hoped Serena had sent us some skilled Racers. Usually, Watchers and Catchers were assigned for guard duties, but if you asked me, Racers were more practical.
“We’re about to find out,” Jimmy said before the door opened, and Phil entered, followed by a few unfamiliar faces—male and female.
One of them was familiar, though. In fact, it was a face I wouldn’t forget so fast, and one I definitely hadn’t expected to ever see again.
It seemed like Serena had granted my wish. She’d sent us at least one powerful Racer, only he was the last one I would want close, least of all inside this compound.
“You,” I fumed, slowly rising from my chair. The guy who was the same height as me grinned at seeing my shocked face.
“My, my… That’s not how you greet an old friend,” he mocked, taking a step forward. “You’re not still holding a grudge against me, are you?”
My hand itched to smack that asshole’s face, but Jimmy was suddenly next to me. His eyes flicked between the two of us, trying to figure out what was going on.
“I take it you know each other,” Jimmy stated with a dry undertone, apparently sensing the building tension.
The entire room had gone so silent, you could have heard a pin drop. All eyes were directed at us, our own still riveted on each other. At that moment, I wished for the ability to shoot laser rays with my eyes and burn the man standing opposite me to ashes.
“Oh, I think that’s an understatement. I mean, we practically lived together for years,” he replied with a mischievous grin, which only enraged me further.
Before I could fire back a witty retort, Jimmy intervened, clearly sensing an escalation. “Alright, let’s leave this for later, okay?”
“Sure. Cole Thompson, Racer.” He stretched out his hand, which Jimmy took in greeting. “Serena sent me with my team to help you out. We’re at your service,” he added with a tiny bow.
I nearly choked on my tongue. His team? No way was Cole working for the government. This must have been a cruel joke.
“Nice to meet you,” Jimmy replied. “Mind introducing the others?”
“Not at all. Patricia, Racer. Kim, Regenerator. Tamara, Tracer.”
The one named Patricia could have been mistaken for Cassie if it weren’t for the height difference. She had the same blonde, shoulder-length hair and similar features, but she was at least one head shorter. The second one, Kim, had a sweet face framed with a sleek brown bob. She cast fearful glances at me, clearly intimidated. The last female, Tamara, was the exact opposite. She stood with self-confidence, her dark brown hair hanging like a straight curtain over one shoulder, one side shaved in a brutal side-cut. Her face was all sharp angles and high cheekbones, making her look scarier than the rest of them.
Then Cole introduced the men. “Harvey, Catcher. Ian, Shifter. And Xanders, Catcher.”
Harvey seemed to be the oldest, probably near in his forties. His mouse-brown hair was cut short, but what caught my attention was his scarred face. Half of it was marked with wax-like skin—definitely burns. The second guy, Ian, was bold, small, and chubby. He looked completely out of place. And the third, Xanders, was all long and thin limbs. His platinum blond, curly hair nearly blended with his white skin.
I skeptically eyed each of them. Some didn’t even look old enough to be through the Awakening. It seemed like Serena had sent us the most disposable ones. Figures.
“Status?” Jimmy wanted to know.
“Patricia, Tamara, and Harvey are Professionals. Kim and Xanders are Intermediates, and Ian is still Freshman.”
This time, I couldn’t refrain from snorting. A Freshman, really? Ian shot me a dark look, his feelings clearly hurt.
“You would be surprised at what he’s able to do,” Cole said with an edge to his voice. “He may still be at the beginning of training, but he’s skilled nonetheless.”
“You’re training him?” I asked, my jaw tight.
Cole nodded. “I am.”
“In what? How to stab someone in the back?” I snapped, taking a warning step closer.
Cole chuckled, scratching over the dark stubble on his chin. His leather jacket crunched with the movement. “Still the same old Dylan as the first time we met. Did you get your rage attacks under control? Or are you still touchy about… uh… what was her name…” Cole muttered, clicking with his fingers a few times and acting as if trying hard to remember. “Jay… Jen… Ah, Jenna, it was, right?”
That made my control snap. With an outcry of rage, I dove forward, determined to crush Cole’s skull to pieces for even thinking her name, but a hand on my shoulder froze me in place.
“Dylan,” a calm voice cautioned.
It was funny how my name on her lips eased the fury consuming me within the fracture of a second. I so badly wanted to teach Cole a lesson, but I held back—for Haylie’s sake.
“Oh, what do we have here?” Cole drawled, his eyes suddenly riveted on her, hungrily eyeing her up and down. It made my rage resurface a second time, but Haylie had her fingers clawed warningly into the muscles between my neck and shoulders, sensing what was going on in my head and silently telling me to stay put.
“I’ve heard so much about you. The Natural with the power to defy gravity. It’s nice to see different eyes with the Flare, for once.” Cole’s grin was so wide, it seemed to be permanently plastered on his too handsome face. If that guy only touched her once… “And you’re even more beautiful than I—”
“Yes, and she’s off limits,” came a sharp voice from behind us.
I would have worded it differently, most likely adding a few more profanities and threats of murder, but Chris beat me to it. I hadn’t even noticed him enter.
Looking bored, Cole turned to see who had spoken to him. “And you are?”
“A Fighter who could snap your jaw in two before your Racer brain even registers it.”
I grinned smugly at Chris’ reply. At least I could count on Chris when it came to Haylie’s protection.
“Alright, guys. I have no idea what’s going on here, but we should all take a breather for a sec. Phil, why don’t you show Cole and his team around?”
Phil nodded and gestured for the others to follow. Cole was the last one to trail behind, making sure to give Chris a hostile glare and Haylie a wink before walking out. As soon as the door shut behind him, I let out a breath in relief. I couldn’t stand to be in the same room with Cole.
“Okay, what’s going on?” Jimmy demanded to know, stepping up to me. Now that the immediate danger was over, Haylie’s hand slipped away, and the warmth of it disappeared. She stood next to me with concern edging her features.
“Cole and I have a past.”
“No shit,” Jimmy retorted, clearly pissed. He barely ever cursed. “What did he mean you ‘lived together for years?’”
Putting two fingers on the bridge of my nose, I tried my best to keep my composure. I was beyond exhausted. Every hour of this damned day seemed to be more torturous than the last. “We shared the same cell,” I revealed finally. I sensed Haylie gulp, but Jimmy stayed unfazed.
“And?”
“And he can’t be trusted. He can’t stay here.”
“Serena told me he was one of her best Racers. I trust her on this. I won’t send him away just because you have a problem with it.”
“You don’t know him.”
“I don’t need to. He’s not part of my team, he has his own. He’s here to do his job, nothing more.”
“Didn’t you hear what he—”
“I don’t care about your issues with him, Dylan,” Jimmy interrupted, his patience slipping away, and his voice getting slightly louder. “You’ll sort this out. You already did once,” he said, eyeing Haylie knowingly. I huffed. That was so not comparable. I was about to retort, but Haylie put her hand on my shoulder again.
“Why don’t we go outside for a few? We could both use some air,” she suggested, tugging on my sweater. As usual, I got lost in her mesmerizing eyes for a second. They were staring back at me pleadingly. I needed a break, so I agreed, and we both made our way through the main hall and the tunnels to exit the compound to the cemetery.
The bright sky blinded me momentarily. The rain had stopped, and as the sun was setting, she threw her last rays on the glistening grass and trees. Then, a different light caught my eye—the sun lighting up Haylie’s hair. The orange glow made a particular thick strand next to her cheekbone shine in a fiery gold, throwing streaks of amber over her soft features.
I’d never seen her in the sun. I swear, the shades in her eyes were suddenly coming to life as if the sunrays had flipped a switch to activate them. She nearly took my breath away, she was that beautiful.
“What happened between you and him?” Haylie asked when she turned to look at me. The question immediately soured my mood again.
“I’d rather not talk about him right now.” I dragged a hand over my jaw in frustration. “It’s been a shitty day. I can’t wait for it to be over.”
“Okay,” Haylie said quietly, a tiny amount of disappointment showing on her face. After a few seconds of collective silence, she broke it. “Wanna know what I learned about my ability yesterday?”
Prying my eyes away from Ricky’s grave, I focused on Haylie. “What?”
“I’m still not very good at it. It’s like a totally new part of my ability,” she excused and stretched out her hand to let it hover palm down in front of her.
At first, I had no idea what she was up to, but after following her gaze to a fist-sized stone on the ground, I noticed it starting to vibrate. The tremors increased until the stone flipped over its axis. Then, it began to hover an inch above the grass, slipping dangerously low a few times until falling back to the ground.
Haylie huffed in annoyance. “I’d like to make an object fly into my hand, but I’m always losing the grip.”
“Hey, that was great. I didn’t know you could wield gravity in the other direction already,” I complimented.
“Yeah, I had a bit of enlightenment in my last lesson with Lisa,” Haylie explained with a smile. “I became a little more aware of what the ability in my center looks like. It’s like tiny particles of pyramids always pointing downward with the tip, an indication of gravity naturally flowing in that direction. I figured out I was able to flip these particles over so the tips are directed upward, which would reduce gravity—technically, that is. In fact, I can flip them in any direction I want with enough practice.”
Fascinating. Her ability consisted of so much more complexity than mine. I gave her a reassuring smile. “I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it soon.”
“Well, I do have more struggles with this side of gravity.”
“Why? Shouldn’t it be same, only the other way around?”
“No, because it’s not just reducing gravity, it’s flipping the scales completely.”
“What do you mean?” I asked curiously, completely lost in her and hanging on to every word coming from her lips.
“Well, Scott explained it to me like this… Compare it to swimming in a river. The river naturally flows in one direction, just like gravity does. If I increase gravity, I’m swimming downstream faster. If I want to swim upstream, though, I need double the amount of energy to get in the other direction. So, if I switch on my power and tackle you to the ground, like I did last time,” when you were lying on top of me, and I couldn’t think of anything except ravishing you, I added mentally, “then that’s easier. But when I’m doing it the other way around, like making that stone hover in the air, it requires a lot more energy.”
Made sense. Her body wasn’t the center of gravity, it was still Earth’s core, so it naturally flew in one direction—downward. Pulling it the other way required more strength. Making things heavier was easier than making them lighter, so to speak.
Haylie kicked at the stone with the top of her boot, and we watched it bounce over gravel and earth.
I threw Haylie a sideways glance. If only for a minute, she had taken a burden off my shoulders. She’d tried to get me to talk to her, to open up to her, but I’d turned her down. Why?
“I shared a cell with Cole during my entire stay in prison,” I explained, causing Haylie’s head to snap in my direction. I could see a hundred questions burning on her tongue, but she waited for me to tell the story. “We were cell buddies for nearly two years and close friends for a long time.” I heaved a sigh. “That was, until he turned against me.”
“He turned against you?”
I tapped the tip of my boot on the muddy earth beneath me just for something to do. “Cole is a Racer and a damn good one on top. They nicked him because he robbed a dozen casinos.”
“Really? He didn’t strike me as that type of guy. What happened?” she asked, trying again to move a branch with her outstretched hand. It began to hover in the air, but it slipped and fell to the ground. She started with the task again.
“He forged weapons with some screws from the metal frame of his bed and handles from plastic spoons, but he was careless. The guards checked our cell, and before they could find the weapons sticking under the duckboard of his bed, he’d made some use of his power and palmed it off on me, hiding them under my pillow without anyone noticing. No chance to persuade the guards of my innocence, of course, and I nearly got a few more years added to my sentence because of Cole’s shit.”
“Shit. How did you get out of it?”
This time, the branch flew closer to Haylie’s hand, but it lowered again. Her face contorted in concentration and with a twitch of her fingers, she prevented the branch from dropping back down, making it stop mid-air and hovering an inch above the grass.
“I made a deal with one of the guards that included a lot of cash and doing the guy’s dirty work for a year. I got transferred into another cell after getting into a really bad fight with Cole.” I skipped the part where I’d nearly kicked Cole into a coma after what that son of a bitch pulled off. She didn’t need to know about the man I once was.
“Wow, that’s fucked up,” she commented, clearly concerned for me.
Then, so suddenly I nearly came too late, the branch she was playing with whooshed up, it’s sharp tip aiming for the center of her palm. Before the stick of wood could pierce her hand, I snatched out my own, closing my fingers around it at the last second. Haylie gasped in shock.
“That was close… Maybe you should try it with some rubber balls for starters,” I advised.
The screeching of the trap door made us turn around, and we saw Chris step out, followed by Lauren.
“Oh, wow,” Lauren exclaimed when taking in the view. “It’s in the middle of a huge cemetery, and you exit through a tree, how cool is that!” Chris laughed, delighted by Lauren’s excitement.
“We didn’t interrupt anything, did we?” Chris asked when they came closer.
“No, of course not. How’re you doing?” Haylie asked Lauren.
“Great. Chris suggested I train with this outside for a little bit,” Lauren explained, lifting the crossbow she was holding. It was Haylie’s.
“You’re already training her with weapons?” I asked Chris, surprised. I’d expected him to teach her some basic defense moves for starters. Chris chuckled, clearly amused.
“No, I’m not. I guess she doesn’t need my help for that.”
“Lauren has a hand for everything that shoots,” Haylie explained with pride. “She grabbed my crossbow the day they cleaned her house. I told her to keep it. She’s better at it than me, anyway.”
“You know how to handle crossbows?” I directed at Lauren, impressed.
“I used to do archery, and I was always one of the best snipers in paintball. I have a talent for aiming. Although, I’ve never tried my luck with a crossbow until a few days ago.”
“Yeah, she still had a hit rate of ninety-eight percent when she tested it out,” Chris informed us.
“Well then, let’s see what you can do,” I suggested, striding forward to a tree about thirty yards away. Taking aim, I punched a fist-sized hole into the trunk at eye level, bark flying everywhere. “Try to hit the mark,” I yelled, taking a few steps back to get out of the target line.
Positioning the crossbow with its shaft on her shoulder blade, she concentrated for a few seconds and pulled the trigger. The arrow buzzed through the air before it hit its mark in the center.
“Impressive,” I muttered.
“Told ya,” Chris chimed in, and Haylie gave Lauren a high-five. I handed Lauren the arrow, and she shot three more times. One flew somewhere into the woods, but the other two also landed in the middle of the hole.
“You sure do know how to aim,” I complimented, walking back toward them. “I don’t know anyone here who is as good at handling long-range weapons as you are. Could be useful.”
“Thank you,” Lauren said with a proud smile on her face.
“Hey, what’s that?” Chris asked, jogging to a spot behind a bush. He bent low and lifted an oval, dirty thing. “That’s the football we lost last year. Never thought we’d find it, ha! Are you game?” he challenged, throwing the ball up and catching it with his other hand.
The trap door opened a second time, and Scott, Josh, Sarah, and Jared crawled out.
“Jimmy told us you were all outside,” Scott said.
“Hey, you found the football,” Sarah exclaimed when spotting the object in Chris’ hands.
“Wanna play?”
“Hell, yeah!” she shouted in excitement.
“You, too?” Chris asked Haylie and Lauren.
“Sure.”
“Okay, let’s make two teams,” Sarah announced, clapping her hands. “How about the ones with active abilities against the rest? Dylan, Chris, and Jared on one team, and Haylie, Lauren, Josh, Scott, and me on the other. I take it you won’t play with your ability, right?” Sarah asked Haylie who shook her head vehemently.
“I’d rather not.”
“Five against three? Don’t you think that’s a little unfair?” Chris complained.
“We’re three girls, and I’m not a Roe, so shut up and start playing,” Lauren snapped, making her point by putting one hand on her hip.
Chris held up his hands in surrender. “Alright, alright. So, everyone ready?” He waited for us to nod. “Okay, go!”
~~~
Unsurprisingly, our team had the upper hand, although I admit, it turned out to be a challenge. Lauren also proved her talent for aiming in this game. Her passes never missed. However, Josh was unskilled in handling a football, so he lost the ball more times than he caught it.
Haylie was good at protecting it, though. Her flexibility allowed her to outmaneuver most tackles. She once even jumped on Chris’ back, who landed face first in the muddy earth. Lauren laughed so hard, we had to stop the game, everyone chiming in.
But it was Jared who was no match for anyone. He caught most of the balls due to his incredibly fast reflexes. He tried not to tackle any of the girls with his additional speed, but one time he stopped too late, diving into Haylie so fast they both flew in an arc until landing in a puddle of rain water. Lauren gasped in shock, and I feared for Haylie being hurt, but a second later, both emerged unharmed and covered in mud from head to toe.
Haylie took revenge, and before Jared was back on his feet, she yanked his leg away and tackled him back to the ground. Chris cheered Jared on, while Lauren and Sarah cheered Haylie on. In the end, they wrestled over ten minutes, which resulted in both of them panting and calling for a time out.
Haylie wiped some dirt from her eyebrows, scrunching her face in disgust when she tugged a dead earthworm out. We all burst into a fit of laughter until Jared grabbed some mud, throwing it directly in Scott’s face, apparently declaring war. A second of shocked silence, and then everything erupted into chaos as we all lost ourselves in wrestling, tackling, and mud throwing. Lauren even collected some berries, which she then rubbed into Chris’ face, streaking it with purple.
All of a sudden, something landed on my back, and legs wound around my torso.
“Take this!” Sarah shouted and clutched two hands full of mud into my face. I spat out dirt and wiped a hand over my face to remove the mud from my cheeks.
“Oh, you’re going to regret this,” I warned. Unbuckling her legs, I threw her over my shoulder with ease, then grabbed her by one ankle and let her dangle over the ground. Sarah shrieked as her hair dipped into a puddle of mud below her. “Now, apologize.”
Sarah struggled in my grip, but her attempts to free herself were futile. “Never!”
I grinned and dipped her lower until her nose dove under the muddy water. Sarah shrieked louder.
“You were saying?” I challenged.
“How about this!” Haylie shouted from a distance, a coy smile playing on her lips. Her hand outstretched, she used her ability and managed to get some mud off the ground, letting it fly in my direction with one swipe of her arm. Most of it didn’t hit me, but a few drops splattered over my nose and mouth.
“Ha!” Sarah yelled mischievously and used Haylie’s distraction to bite into my shin.
“Ow!” My grip loosened, and Sarah tumbled awkwardly to the ground, landing directly in the puddle. Another ball of mud hit me in the chest, and I just looked up in time to see Haylie charging me.
I sidestepped her attack and blocked her, but Haylie spun around and drove her foot into the hollow of my knee, just as I’d taught the Freshmen class some time ago. Within a second, the mud-throwing game turned into a fighting session.
“Let’s see what you’ve got,” I challenged, eager to see where this was going.
Tapping into her ability, Haylie threw a set of hard punches into my abdomen, making me stumble a few steps backward. Catching her arm, I twisted it so she was forced to bend over. Before she could execute a kick, I gripped her shoulders and made her trip over my outstretched leg, so she tumbled against me, and my arm came up to get her into a headlock from behind.
“How do you plan on getting out of this?” I whispered in her ear, turning the playful fight into a training lesson and trying not to lose my focus by the flowery scent of her hair.
Haylie grunted from the effort, and I saw her eyes close in concentration. I gave her the time she needed, curious as to how she intended to free herself.
Suddenly, my stomach started to churn as she transferred her power to me. She was switching gravity, using it to her advantage. A battle cry came out of her and with one powerful swing, she miraculously flipped me over her shoulder as if I weighed nothing more than a sack of potatoes.
I landed in the mud with my back but rolled forward immediately to get back to my feet just as Haylie pounced on me, landing in the spot I’d occupied seconds before. I aimed for grabbing her ankle, but she snatched her knees back, making a backward roll.
As soon as she was back on her feet, I charged her, but she dodged the fist coming at her. Just as she was about to drive the edge of her hand into my neck, I grabbed her upper arm to shove her away, but in the end—I didn’t know how or why—I ended up pulling her closer.
Close enough for our noses to touch.
Haylie’s face froze in shock, and I stopped short in my tracks as my mind went blank. Her face was streaked with dirt, hair dripping with mud, but it didn’t dim the glow of her jaylior eyes, which were raking down until landing on my lips. My sole focus centered on her mouth, and the need to kiss her while inhaling the breaths coming from her parted lips became unbearable.
A harrumph brought me out of the delirium and reminded me of the fact that, sadly, we weren’t alone. I hadn’t even noticed everyone had stopped wrestling and was now watching us, probably since we’d started our one-against-one combat.
“Well, that was… dirty,” Lauren purred, clearly meaning it in the suggestive sense, and Haylie snorted before she started to laugh so hard tears welled up her eyes, and she let herself fall back into the mud.
The others chimed in, and soon, our game was forgotten.