Young Minds
Luna wanted to help him. She couldn’t help but want to help him. She felt so connected to him, like she had known him in another life or something, but that was ridiculous. She watched him handle the phone carefully as he handed it over to her.
Many images flooded through at once until finally she could see it. A new phone. The joy from a teen girl radiated. A new number. A new…life? What had this little girl agreed to? Who were they? She knew someone, trusted him. Someone close to her, like family. “Scott!”
No, definitely he is not family. Rivals. Family. Romeo and…
“Oh my God!” Luna dropped the phone and immediately stood up. Something she regretted just as quickly. She watched the room spin twice before blacking out.
“Luna? Luna?” He didn’t have to pat her on the cheeks but she felt the fingers tapping her lightly nonetheless. She opened her eyes and watched his go wide with surprise before settling into an expression of relief. “What happened? What did you see? Who’s Scott?”
“Oh my God, Scott!” She sat up and then stood. He stayed close to her, arms outstretched like he was chasing a toddler learning to walk. The image of that struck her and she felt wobbly so she sat down much to his relief. She could see it. He was worried about her. No one had been worried about her in a long time.
“Scott.” He prompted and she remembered everything.
“I need a piece of paper.” She grabbed the pen and he handed her a legal size notepad. Luna began unloading the information as she talked. “She…she has a new phone. His uncle has them. They think they are sneaking off for some little adventure. She has no idea. He has no idea. They are in so much danger. The person who had this phone after her…she knows him, he’s family. Who in her family would hand her over like that? I can’t really read him. It was just a moment before the phone was in a pocket or something. They are both in danger, Ryker. Real danger! They think they are doing a Romeo and Juliet move where everyone will think something happened to them and instead they escape.”
She could feel how fast her heart was pounding. She originally thought this was just a teen on a joy ride, but while the girl may think she is safe and having a little romantic escape, it was far from the truth. His hands settled on her shoulders and she looked up into those steady, dark eyes.
“Breathe, Luna. We are going to find her, them. Okay?” He seemed so sure of it she nodded. “Can you read the other items or do you need a break?”
She clenched her muscles throughout her entire body to brace herself. This was way out of her league, but she had to help him. Nodding, she suggested, “Maybe I should just get in the bed this time. I’ve never jumped up like that before. Probably because it wouldn’t be as easy to do. Do you mind?”
His lips parted and then closed twice before he finally made a visible gulp. “Of course. I want you to be comfortable. Go ahead and get settled. I’ll gather up the papers, make a call to headquarters and let them know we have two missing teens not just one, and be right in.”
She stepped out of her shoes and tried to be as casual as she could when she made her way to the bed. She knew, because he had slept in it, that she would invade his privacy as soon as she touched the sheets. Only, when she touched the sheets, there was nothing. It was as though he had been blocked from her view somehow.
It was the reason she had to touch him again. She never read people before him, only things. He placed the items on the nightstand and started to pull something from the plastic bag when she said, “Wait. Before you do that, will you sit with me one moment? Hold my hand. Tell me if it’s steady?”
She knew it was steady. She was tired from the drift with the phone, but the overwhelming urge to touch him was new and exciting, and honestly, a little scary. Luna had grown up on her own for the most part. Her grandmother was the only real family and she had died when Luna was twenty. Sure, she had dated a few guys, but working in Vegas had made her distrustful. Then the accident gave her a new life, a clear instinct and every fiber of her being was calling out to this particular man.
“Of course.” He was still in his suit minus the jacket. She noticed the watch on his wrist and thought about trying to get her fingers to it, but as he held out his hands waiting for her to touch him, she decided it would be best to just see if she was crazy or if she had a different bond with this man.
The moment her fingers touched his, she knew it was something special.
Luna knew the images in her mind were not real. She didn’t know if they had sat there a minute or two hours hand in hand before he let go. His furrowed brow and confused expression made her ask, “What did you see?”
“What did you see?” He shifted uncomfortably and she licked her lips. She saw a lot of things this time.
“Us. You, me, lips, hands…” She closed her eyes as he leaned in and kissed her.
Soft, smooth lips pressed against hers in a gentle brush before she pushed her fingers into his hair and pulled him closer, firmer against hers. She was ravenous. He seemed a little stunned, but quickly they were engaged in a battle of tongues, a clash of teeth, and a shift of bodies.
Hovering over her, he reached for the hem of her dress and the crunching of paper reminded them of where they were and what they were supposed to be doing. “Oh my God. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”
He was out of reach faster than she imagined possible. Pacing, he scolded himself. She could feel a twinge of guilt in her gut. “I’m sorry. I got carried away for a moment there. I know we need to focus on the case. I just…I’ve never shared anything like that before.”
“Are you saying you’re making me see us like that?” He tilted his head and she mirrored his reaction.
“See us together, under the stars, dancing, kissing…” She had seen the most romantic images of her life and she was a part of them.
“Uh, no. I didn’t see that. I saw you, me, and…Well there was kissing, but…it doesn’t matter.” He ran his hand thorugh his hair.
“It does.” She got off the bed and walked over to him. It was time to tell a little more truth. “I saw your past. I just pick up on the vibe you give right now and it’s…nice, warm, like you…care about me. I can’t see what you think so I told you what I think of the signals. It was better than telling you what I did see.”
He nodded. He apparently didn’t want to rehash his past and she didn’t blame him. It wasn’t a clear line, but he had so many traumas that it flashed in rapid succession until she found a soft line and grabbed it. That vague emotion led back to her. She was sure of that much. “You care about me. You don’t know why, but you do.”
He shrugged a shoulder, looked over her head, then puffed out a breath before looking her eye to eye. “I’m not good at this stuff.”
“Neither am I.” She bit into her lower lip and took a deep breath. “The last time I tried to go on a date, I was in a car accident and he died. Trust me. I’m nervous. I just know that with you, I feel safe.”
Luna stepped closer and slipped her hand up his chest until she could feel the rapid beat of his heart. He put his arms around her and pulled her in close. “I have to save her.”
“I know you do.” Luna had seen his cousin, his sister-like hero and how her death haunted him his entire life. She saw the men, the friends he had lost in the military. The people he had killed in the line of duty. The children he returned safely to their family. None of them were in nearly the kind of danger these kids were looking at. This was his first real case that resembled his cousin’s and he was scared to death he was going to fail at it.
Setting aside her desire for this man, she squeezed him tightly and let go. “I’m ready to read the next item. After this one, I’ll need to rest.