Gifted Connections: Book 2 by SM Olivier (3)

Jace gave them an annoyed but joking look.  “I was fourteen,” he explained in exasperation. 

“She wouldn’t go near him or talk to him for months,” Troy nearly had tears rolling down his face.

Another scream from the den, silenced us all.  Rachel grabbed Jemmy’s hand and they ran down the steps.  Then they crept down the hallway.  They placed their heads against the door, trying to eavesdrop.

It didn’t surprise me that they had clicked instantly again.  I was still trying to find my niche with them again.  I wasn’t uncomfortable around them.  I just didn’t feel as close to them as I once had.  I knew we would get there, I just hoped it was sooner than later.

They were only standing there for a few moments before both of their mouths dropped open and their eyes bugged out.

“Holy crap, she’s pregnant,” Jemmy blurted out. 

Two things happened simultaneously.  Collin cursed as he slapped his hands over his eyes, and Jemmy and Rachel screamed as they fell to the floor; the door that they had been leaning against was yanked open, causing them to tumble forward.

“Grow up, Jemmy,” I heard Rose screech as she took a step into the hall.  “This is a private conversation.  You all need to—" She stopped midsentence, her face flushed white.  “Collin,” she said quietly.  “What are you doing here?”

“Whose baby is it?” he asked with deadly quietness.

“It’s—” Drake came out of the room behind her.  His eyes widened as he looked between Collin and Rose.

“I think all of you need to go talk,” I stated.  “Maybe where the kids can’t hear you.”

“The music room is sound proof,” Jace suggested to them, his eyes narrowed on Collin and Rose.

 

Drake, Collin, and Rose still hadn’t emerged from the music room when we had finished eating, showering, and getting the kids ready.  Micah, Alex, Chip, Jace, Jaxson, Gavin, and Noah left in the Land Rover, while Rachel, Jemmy, Ella, and I took the other Tahoe. 

Jemmy was beyond excited at the idea of shopping, since Remy and Will had given us the credit cards with no limitations.  She had every intention of buying herself some new clothes and shoes as well.  Will had even insisted that I get some additional items. 

I didn’t think I would be getting much.  Maybe a new pair of sneakers since I abhorred my pink pair.  Ella, like always, was beyond excited to go shopping.  Sometimes I wondered if we were even related.

The boys told us to meet them at the food court at 1 pm so we can eat lunch and see if we had any other errands to run.

“Can we call Nadia over today?” Ella asked from the back seat.

“Maybe,” I told her noncommittedly.  “It’s a school night,” I explained to her.  “Her parents might not like her to go out on a school night.”

“But I’m outnumbered,” Ella said sullenly. 

“Have they been picking on you?” Rachel asked teasingly.

“No, but,” Ella stuttered.  “They fart and are smelly.” She reasoned as only a 7-year-old could.

Jemmy giggled, “That would never change.”

“You fart,” I said with a teasing grin.

“Ugh!” Ella groaned in frustration.

Rachel reached over and squeezed her hand.  “They’re family.  I know what it’s like to be the only girl, but one day when or if they’re gone, you’re going to miss them.”

I could hear the pain in her voice as she looked at Ella pointedly.

“How would you know?” Ella scoffed.

“Well,” Rachel said hesitantly.  “I lost my brothers, and as annoying and smelly as they were, I miss them every day.”

“But they’re not all gone,” Ella said mutinously.

“Ella,” I said with warning.  “Rachel’s brothers were taken from her, and we have to be respectful of her loss.”

Ella rolled her eyes as if we were dense.  “But they’re not gone.  Not all of them.”

Rachel’s head snapped around.  “What are you saying, Ella?” she said her voice filled with hope and despair.

“Herman is alive,” she shrugged nonchalantly.  “Oh, and your dad.”

A pin dropping could have been heard in the vehicle.  “Ella, did you see this.  When does it happen?”  Rachel asked eagerly.

Ella shrugged again, her little eyebrows knitting.  “I don’t know.”

“Ella do you ever see the same visons twice?” I asked gently.

She nodded.  “Sometimes.  I saw Chip and you together all the time.” She grinned at me.  “Now you guys are!”

“Ella, can you tell me next time you get that vision, if you get it again?  Maybe you can remember more details if you tell me right away.” Rachel sounded almost dejected.

Ella nodded.  “Sure.”

I don’t think she realized how much she had changed the mood in the car.

 

When we finally met the guys for lunch, we had already made two trips back to the car.  In true Rachel fashion, she had shaken her forlorn thoughts and had dove head first in our shopping expedition.  She seemed happy not to look at price tags as she picked up a complete wardrobe and then some.  I remembered when I had been shocked at Jemmy’s blasé attitude with money. I had hated when she insisted on loading me down with clothes.  Ella and Rachel had no such reticence. 

The longer I spent with them the more natural it felt to be with them.  We fell easily back into the way we use to be.  I wasn’t crazy about going shopping, but I was happy to feel closer to normal again.

It was as we were heading towards the food court that Jemmy stopped in front of a Halloween store.  “You know Halloween’s in a few weeks,” she smiled at us suggestively. 

“It is,” Rachel said excitedly.  “Oooh, look at that Harley Quin costume!”

“I was thinking more of that cat woman costume!” Jemmy exclaimed.  “Come on, let’s get our costumes.  We can all be super hero characters!”

“Two things,” I tried to stop them.  “Super heroes, don’t you think that’s slightly cliché, and where in the world and when would we wear them?”

“To the Halloween party we’re going to have at our house,” Jemmy said as if I was dense.

“I think we need to ask Pops,” I insisted.  “With everything going on, he might not want to have a party.”

Jemmy waved a hand at me.  “Then we get them now and return them if he says no.”

“I want to be a cat too!” Ella exclaimed.

It was clear I was out-voted, and like always, I was steamed rolled into a costume I would have never picked out for myself.

 

Over lunch, I explained to the guys what Ella had told us in the car.  They seemed to be as concerned as we were.

After a few minutes of silence Jace finally spoke up.  “What if Ella was taught how to draw,” he suggested.  “Remember how that boy told us that he draws things and they come true in dreams?  What if we were to get them together, and he can explain how he does it.  When she has a vision, she can draw it immediately, so we can have a better idea what may come to fruition.”

I smiled.  “That’s a brilliant idea, let’s find out where that boy was placed, and we can start having ‘play dates.’”

Jace gave me a knowing smile and a wink.

 

By the time we got back to the house, we had already broken the news to the children about their security guards and asked them if they would be okay with their blood being drawn.  Ella wasn’t too keen on the idea, but Alex and Micah assured her that they would hold her hand, so she seemed more receptive to the idea. 

I wanted to get home sooner because Will had planned a big dinner for us to meet our security detail and get familiarized with them.  I didn’t know how Drake would be after having that huge bombshell dropped on him, and I wanted to help him with dinner.  It wasn’t until we were on our way home that I found out Steven, Cora, Beth, and Nadia would be there as well.

Troy and Remy should be done with their improvised training program for the Knights and swipe team.  They were going to present their plans tonight as well.

We had two hours remaining before our guests were to arrive.  Drake was telling me how he was thinking about making some lasagna, garlic bread, and fresh tossed salad.  He said he was going to make a chocolate cake with chocolate icing as well.  As he told me this, I wondered if he remembered that was the first meal he made us, when Ella and I had been adopted.

When I walked into the house, it was eerily quiet.  I’m sure Will had liked the rare quiet, especially since my brood had come along.  I took my bags up to my room and made my way back downstairs.  Noah, Jemmy, Gavin, Rachel, and Jaxson had already told the children to get dressed so they could spend some time in the pool before dinner.  The indoor Olympic size pool came in handy.  Especially when you wanted them to burn off any access energy.

I wanted to text Drake to see if he was okay, but our phones hadn’t been returned.  Troy had turned our phones in to one of his security teams to see if he could get any information off it.  Plus, I no longer had his phone number.  Will had once lamented how technology was great and convenient, but it also made us lazy.  Thus, the reason why he still read an actual newspaper and memorized all the phone numbers of his closest contacts.  I had never bothered remembering anyone’s numbers accept Judge Myers and Ella’s old burner phone number. 

I pulled out the romaine lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, and red onion for the salad.  It could be made ahead of time and stored easily in the commercial grade refrigerator.  I pulled out the metal serving dishes and began to slice the lettuce up, lining two pans with it.  I added all the other ingredients and gently tossed it. 

I looked up at the clock and wondered, once again, where Drake was.  I decided to head down to the basement where Jace had joined Troy and Remy.  The basement was better than any professional gym.  To the right of the stairs was a bathroom, complete with a shower.  To the right of the stairs was a sauna.  Straight ahead you could see treadmills, ellipticals, and stationary bikes lining one wall.  On the opposite wall were several different varieties of lifting equipment and free weights, with mirrors so you could watch your form.  Around the corner, heavy bags and speed bags hung from the ceiling, and unique flooring was installed throughout the area.  Mirrors lined the wall and a ballet barre was connected to it.  Televisions were strategically placed, along with a state of the art sound system.  Right now, it was blasting hard rock.

They must have been done their collaborations, because all three of them were lifting weights.  Jace had a changed his clothing down here; he was now laying on his back on a bench press as Remy spotted him.  Troy was shirtless with loose fitting pants as he placed hard, fast kicks to the heavy bags.  It was an art in and of itself as he did sidekicks, round house kicks, butterfly kicks, jumping sidekicks, all fluidly and effortlessly.

I had to snap my jaw shut.  Too much hotness in one room for me.  As I watched, a rivulet of sweat drip down Troy’s chest.  I longed to lick it away, taste his salty maleness.  Jace made a deep sexy sound deep in his throat as he strained to push the bar of weights back into its cradle.  I remembered the sounds of pleasure he would make when he was between my legs, and I felt a warmth pool in my stomach.  Remy was the largest and most muscular one of my connections.  He wore a sleeveless t-shirt where his muscles looked larger from his recent work out.  I wanted to wrap my hands around it, knowing there was no way my fingers would touch.

The only time I had felt this acutely aroused was when I was straining, and I hadn’t used any of my gifts today.

“Blake,” Jace groaned out.

“What?!” I squeaked as if my hands were caught in the cookie jar.

“You need to learn how to control that, or I’m going to have to carry you off and take care of it,” his lips told me he was teasing me, but the look on his face was unmistakable. 

“What are you talking about,” Troy asked with an amused smile.

“I can feel it,” Remy grunted as he turned to look at me, his eyes undressing me.

Troy walked closer to them, and his lips parted when he turned to look at me.  He licked his lips slowly, and I knew what was on his mind.  I followed the path of his tongue and it took everything within me to not ask him to let me feel his tongue on me.

“Ever since she made her last connection, my gift has been stronger, but I feel her more acutely,” Jace almost let out a strained groan as he buried his face into his hands. 

“Yeah, I noticed,” Troy said as he held his hands up.  In the past his fire orbs were the size of a soccer ball.  I gasped in awe as the orbs grew to the size of exercise balls.

“So, you’re gonna feel me, every time, I…” I trailed off, feeling my cheeks burn.

“Probably,” he stated, “Unless you learn how to control it, if you can control it.”

“Well, um, I guess I’ll go back up and start dinner,” I mumbled as I hastily beat a retreat.

I shouldn’t have been shocked that one of them would have followed me up the stairs.  I almost made it to the top before I was gently pushed against the wall, and warm firm lips captured mine before I could even gasp in surprise.

The lips that moved across my own were firm, assured and demanding.  I almost cried out bereft, when they were pulled away.

“I want you, now,” Jace growled in my ear.

I nodded mutely and grabbed his face, so I could taste his lips once more.  “Where?” I asked breathlessly.

He grabbed my hand and pulled me up the stairs, through the kitchen, through the living room, and up the stairs.  He pulled me down the hall to his bedroom.  Before the door even closed he had me back against the wall.  His hands were above my head as his lips sought mine once more.  I needed to feel his skin against mine and I greedily sought out the feel of it with my fingertips.  I scraped my finger nails across his chest and his abs.  When my fingers felt the waist band of his shorts, I didn’t hesitate to slip my hands under them.  I grabbed his hard glutes before reaching around to feel the warm length of him.  He was hot steel in my hands.  I rubbed him, knowing the exact rhythm that got him off.

“No,” he gasped.  He pushed my hands up.  He picked me up and lightly tossed me on the bed.  He pulled my top off with impatience, his hands were sure as they worked the zip down on my jeans.  As he pulled them down his lips found my stomach, then my hips.  I hissed as he kissed the sensitive spot on my inner thighs.

“Please Jace,” I begged as I pushed my hips towards the warmth of his mouth.

“Do you want this?” he asked as he hovered over my core.

“Please,” I gasped.

He ripped the fabric of my panties away, and I didn’t care that they were beyond repair as the warmth of his mouth found me.  I nearly shot off the bed at the desire that tore through me.  He brought me to the edge several times, knowing each time, but he refused to give me what I wanted.  I gripped his head.

“Jace,” I pleaded.

“What do you want?” he growled.

“You,” I panted.   

He didn’t make me wait any longer as he plunged into me.  After two strokes I was already falling apart around him, but he wasn’t done with me.  He continued to slide in and out of me, his size stretching me to a pleasant sort of pain.  He made me fall apart two more times, each time more intense than the last, before he allowed himself his own release.

 

We took a quick shower, barely able to keep our hands to each other before I firmly, but reluctantly, told him I needed to get back down to the kitchen to finish dinner. 

“How’s Drake?” I asked as I slid my clothing back on.

He frowned.  “Not good.  He’s going to take this break up hard.  He told Rose he’ll accompany her to any Dr. appointments, along with Collin, until the DNA test comes back.  Then they’ll all take it from there.”

I sighed.  “When do you think they’ll get that done?”

“She’s refusing to get one done until after the child is born.  She denied any intimate relationship with Collin until he showed Drake their text messages.  I think she may have burned both bridges in her denial.  She’s still holding out for Drake,” Jace’s lips twisted in derision.

“Well if Ella’s prediction is correct, it’s not Drake’s.  But what happens if she was wrong…?” I grimaced, as I crossed my arms across my chest.  “What happens if it is his?”

He enfolded me in an embrace, dropping a kiss on the top of my head.  “He’s done with her.  Remy told Drake about the time she hit on him, plus he doesn’t believe Collin’s her first indiscretion.  He thought he loved her, and I’m sure in a way he still does, but she killed any more affection he may feel for her.  Her betrayal cut too deep.  If she came clean immediately, he may have forgiven her, but he can never trust her again.  If—and there’s a big if—it is Drake’s child, he’ll do the right thing and take care of them, but he’s not going to want a relationship with her.  Will you be okay with that?”

I nodded without hesitation.  “If that’s the case, I can’t deny him a relationship with his own child.  Taking care of the baby would be the right thing to do.  I’m not happy about it, but a child shouldn’t suffer because of any of my insecurities.  I guess I’ll give him time to decide where he stands in our connections, but technically, it was already made…”

Jace gave me a gentle squeeze.  “We’re moths to your flame, none of us is strong enough to avoid you.  We’re all drawn to you.  You’re our nucleus.”

 

I found Drake pulling the last of the home-made lasagna noodles out of the pot of boiling water.  I joined him at the counter and started to layer the lasagna with the finished noodles, meat sauce, and spinach ricotta mixture.

“Thanks for making the salads for me while I was out shopping,” he said quietly as he began layering his own pan of lasagna. 

“Are you okay?” I asked gently as I reached out and ran a hand along his back.

He gave me a crooked smile; his bright blue eyes behind his wire framed glances studied me for a moment.  “I will be, not today, not tomorrow, but some day.  I hope you’ll be patient with me.”

“I’m not rushing you,” I said resolutely.  “I know your situation just got a whole lot more complicated, but I’ll be there for you whenever you need me to be.  If you need to talk or vent, I’ll be there for you.”

“Her first appointment is this Friday,” he said hesitantly.  “She thinks she about 10 weeks along.”

“How do you feel about that?” I asked gently.

He gave me another crooked little grin.  “Are you psychoanalyzing me?  You do remember that I am the psyche major?”

I giggled.  “I know!”

“I feel…trapped, angry, betrayed,” he spoke after a few minutes of silence.  “I knew she seemed preoccupied at times, and some of her stories didn’t add up.  Now she’s…pregnant and maybe, just maybe, if you weren’t around I would marry her.  Deceptions and all.  Now, if it is my child, I can only be a part time father and that’s not how I imagined my life, when or if I ever decided to have children.”

“Well let’s hope Ella’s prediction is correct and it isn’t your baby,” I frowned.

His eyes rounded.  “She had a premonition,” he whispered hopefully.

I nodded, but I had to clarify things.  “That’s what she told me, before time was changed.  However, some of her other premonitions didn’t come true.”

I placed my pan of lasagna in the oven and pulled out the loaves of ciabatta bread to begin making the garlic toast.

“Most precogs are accurate,” Will stated as he came into the room.  “Sorry for eavesdropping,” his mouth said, but his eyes said otherwise.  “We have the power to change our destinies, but with every vision, the truth was in there somewhere. She’s unique,” he informed me.  “I’ve met other precogs capable of seeing 5 minutes into the future, 10 minutes into the future, even days into the future.  I’ve never encountered anyone who was able to see weeks, and even months, into the future.  Especially at such a tender age and with no formal training.”

“So, is there a chance it’s not my child?” Drake said with wonder.

“I’ll say it’s a 50/50 chance,” Collin said with self-deprecation.

I looked warily at the two of them.  Wondering how they were able to still be civil towards each other.  Especially Drake.

I was even more shocked when Drake leaned his head back and laughed.

 

Chapter 17

 

Dinner was a success, and I could honestly say I thought the Knights chosen for us seemed to fit in well, apart from two of them.  Ned seemed reluctant to have to be detailed with caring for the children.  He was obviously fresh out of school and felt it beneath him to be a glorified babysitter.  He seemed bitter that he wasn’t out in the thick of the ‘real’ action.  He had become accustomed to it. Since he was the newest member on his team though, his supervisor was the one calling the shots.  His supervisor, Terrance, tasked him with the children along with Michael.

Dawn was the other Knight I didn’t care for and there was no obvious reason.  She was going to be with Jemmy, Rachel, and Jaxson.  I never thought I was a jealous type of person, or easily intimidated, but she was a tall, well built, female.  She seemed too familiar with the guys, Remy in particular.  I didn’t like her knowing glances and secret smiles she kept throwing his way, and I hadn’t missed the glances the guys kept throwing each other.

By dessert I had seen enough. 

“Are you hooking up with her?” I projected to Remy.

He looked at me and shook his head.

“But you have?” I questioned.

He nodded.

“No more,” I stated firmly.  “I am your connected.  Not anyone else.”

I remember when I first found out about my connections.  I had been understanding to the guys’ situations.  Some of them had been seeing or dating their girls for years.  I had thought it was selfish for me to have my cake and eat it too.   How was I supposed to expect them to be with me and only me, when I had all 6 of them?  Since time had went back, I realized the error of my ways.  I wouldn’t be sharing any longer.  No girls were coming between us ever again.  Even if, and it was a huge if, Rose was carrying Drake’s baby, I could be mature enough to allow them to have a decent relationship for the sake of the child, along as they never crossed certain boundaries.  

Remy raised an eyebrow, grinned, and then nodded.  He almost seemed to relax after our ‘conversation.’

 

Another plus to our dinner was Steven, Cora, and Beth had brought their new ward, Patrick.  Patrick was the 12 year-old boy who drew pictures that came true in dreams.  His parents had been contacted and they seemed reluctant to bring him back home, especially with three younger children at home.  They weren’t gifted and had no clue that he didn’t suffer from a freaky mental disorder.  They were relieved when they found a family willing to help him with his ‘disorder.’

Since her revelation, Beth seemed to have a change of heart where children were concerned.  She was finally receptive to taking other children into her house.  Now that we were aware of Horatio’s activities, we knew the possibility of an influx of children were a huge probability. 

Will had a meeting with all his trusted friends and asked them to consider opening their homes to the children, especially since the normal families that took them in, were full.  Some of the families had three or four children on top of their own, and although he thought they were perfectly capable of caring for them, he didn’t want to stretch them thin.

Patrick seemed somewhat disgruntled by his parents’ decision, but he also seemed more confident in his abilities.  He was thriving under Beth, Steven, and Cora’s care.  He seemed reassured that he wasn’t a freak and that there were so many other people out there like him.  He and Micah clicked right away, and we could tell they were going to be fast friends.

  “Patrick,” Jace said as we were getting ready to eat our cake.  The younger children had already run off to swim in the pool.  “Do you think you can teach someone how to draw?”

Patrick squirmed for a moment before he looked over at Beth.  She nodded slightly.  “I don’t want to draw dreadful things anymore,” he finally mumbled.

“Patrick,” Steven said slowly.  “We’ve discussed this.  The things you draw isn’t coming from your imagination.  They come from things that have happened.  Terrible things that other people have done.  If we work on it maybe we can figure out if the drawings and dreams can help others.”

Cora sighed as she looked at us.  “He showed us one of his drawings.  The police closed the case thinking it was a murder suicide.  Patrick drew another man in the mirror.  It was clear that he was also at the scene of the crime.  We don’t think it was a murder suicide.”  She reached over and hugged Patrick.  “You have an amazing gift, even if it doesn’t seem like it.  You can help so many people with it.  What did you have in mind?” she turned to Jace.

I know I wasn’t the only one surprised by this revelation.  I was still new to the gifted community.  There was a lot of gifts I had never even thought was possible, but people like Patrick proved me wrong.

“As you know, Ella is a precog.   She’s having these dreams, but no way to express them.   Accept for with words.  I was thinking if she knew how to draw, maybe she can draw her premonitions.  She can add details that she’s incapable of communicating,” Jace stated as he took a bite of his chocolate cake.

“That’s a wonderful idea,” Will said clapping his hands.  “Do you think you can teach Ella how to draw?”

Patrick shrugged.  “Drawing is easy,” he said confidently.

“So, you’ll do it?” Beth encouraged.

Patrick shoved a large mouthful of cake in his mouth.  “Yeah, I can do that.”

 

It was when we started getting comfortable and our guards began to slip, we learned greater things were happening beyond our knowledge. 

All our guest had left, and the children were put in their showers, their clothes set out for the next morning, and we were reading them their bed time stories.  Jemmy and Gavin had volunteered to read to Ella and Nadia (after much begging, Steven had allowed his little girl to convince him to a sleep over).  Rachel, Jaxson, and I were reading to the Micah, Patrick, Chip, and Alex.

Their room had been transformed while we were out.  Two sets of bunk beds had been purchased, along with dressers for each boy (save Patrick).   Micah said he wanted to be with the younger boys to ‘watch’ them, but I think he secretly didn’t want to be alone.  We knew one day, when he was more comfortable, he would want his own space, but for now this worked for all of us.  He had naturally protective instincts, and Alex thrived on his new-found relationship with his brother. 

Micah and Patrick tried to grumble about being read to like babies, but I couldn’t help smiling as they leaned forward to listen to Jaxson read them Harry Potter- The Philosopher’s Stone.  They wanted to act all big and bad, but they had missed moments like this growing up.  They were getting into it just as much, if not more, than the younger boys.

When we finished reading a chapter, they all groaned when we told them they would have to wait for more.  Despite Micah and Patrick’s protest, I still gave them each a kiss on their foreheads before turning off the lights and closing their door.  I pretended not to see a flashlight turn on beneath the door, nor Patrick’s changing voice as he continued reading where we had left off.  

Rachel raised an eyebrow, and Jaxson went to reopen their door when I put my hands on his arm and shook my head with a smile.  “They’re fine,” I mouthed.

We headed back to see how the girls were doing when Will came running up the stairs.  “We need to go,” he said urgently.  “We already have four teams out on a mission and three too far away to make it up on time.  We have intel that they found one of Horatio’s facilities.  There are four women that were abducted from one of our communities out west.  Plus, their lead research scientist is there.  He’s rarely seen nowadays.”

“Do you think I’ll be needed?” Rachel asked.  “I can stay with the children.”

Will nodded and smiled.  “That would be great.  I didn’t want to call the Karns or Sue to come sit with them.  If we need you, it probably won’t be until we get back.”

Rachel nodded.  “Okay, let me know.”

“Suit up,” Will said to Jaxson and me.

I realized in that moment that Will and Steven must have found a way to find out exactly what Horatio was working on.  If we were to acquire the scientist and his research, we would know exactly what we were up against.  I just couldn’t believe how fast they worked.

 

When I finished getting dressed, I went downstairs to see everyone was suited up.  jumped into the lead vehicle.  were in the vehicle behind us. When we pulled up into the parking lot across from the facility, were already there waiting on us.

I was more nervous than I had ever felt.  This was not just a mission to get my brothers.  This was a mission for people I didn’t know.  I still felt like it was my responsibility to help those in trouble, but the stakes were a bit different.  Jace must have felt my anxiety because he reached over and grabbed my hand.  Feelings of calm engulfed me, and for the first time ever, I wasn’t annoyed that he used his gift without asking.

Terrance, the lead, pulled out a map of the facility. “There are six guards walking the perimeter,” he said pointing along the fence line. “Then two guard shacks here and here.” He pointed to two different points on the map. “There are eight cameras watching the perimeter in these locations.  The control room for the outside is here.  We’re unsure where the cameras are located inside, but their control room is here.” He continued pointing.  “We heard the girls are being held in the basement. The girls are lightly guarded down below; the best point of entrance to get them will be here.” He pointed to a spot on the map.  “All the labs are located on the first and second floor.  The best point of entry is here. Dr. Neil, the head research scientist, and his team are in his office right now, on the top floor.” He pointed to the one of the rooms on the map labeled Top Floor.  “I think if we utilize the rear stairs we’ll have the element of surprise.  It’s the first time he’s been seen in months.  He has a lot of vital information located on his lap top.” He pointed to the rear stairs he had mentioned.  He held up a picture of an older, skinny, pale-faced man with wispy blond hair on top, but cold and calculating chestnut brown eyes.

“Gavin, Jemmy, and John,” Will started directing us.  “I need you to disable the outside perimeter control room and cameras. Then I need you to fall into another team. Noah , I would like you to stand back, just in case we need you.  Terrance, Dawn, Jaxson, Collin, I want you with me.  We’re going after Dr. Neil.  Collin, I need you to try and block Neil before he even knows we’re hear; if he vanishes, I’m not sure how long we’ll have to wait to see him again.  Drake, Troy, Ned, and Marcel, I would like you to secure the labs and capture who we can safely.  Blake, Jace, Remy, and Michael, I want you rescuing any of the females located in the experiments.  Are you okay with this?” Will looked at Terrance.  Terrance nodded.  “Are the busses on standby?” Will asked.

“They’re down the street, waiting for our call,” Marcel confirmed.

On the way over, I was filled in on how normal operations were done.  Generally, two fifteen passenger vans were waiting for the Knights.  One van had a medical team member on it and would head to the hospital.  The other van generally had a gifted person that had the ability to block gifts.  They generally weren’t as talented as Collin was, but for the close confines of the van their gift was sufficient.  They commonly headed straight to the mountain facility two hours away from here.  It was a high security facility and it had been years since anyone broke out and no one was senseless enough to try and break into it…yet.

We were all handed head sets and mics to communicate and it started to feel more real.  The butterflies in my stomach took flight once more.  When Jace gave me a questioning look, I shook my head.  I instinctively knew I needed the edge.  If I was too relaxed, I might drop down my guard and I needed all my wits about me. 

I could feel sweat drip down my back as we stood there waiting for Jemmy’s cue to begin taking out the perimeter guards.  The guards were ungifted, so they didn’t have any clue what went on in the brick building.  We were told to neutralize them without killing them.  I was fine with that.  When my family wasn’t in danger, my blood lust wasn’t as high.

Finally, we saw Jemmy’s flashlight turn off and on.  We all moved with caution but quickly to the fence surrounding the perimeter.   I reached out to the closest guards to me and told them to go take a nap, that they were very tired.  “Two napping in their shack,” I whispered in my headset depressing the button on my hip. 

“One secured,” another voice chimed in.

“Two more secured,” Jaxson could barely keep the laughter out of his voice, so I could only imagine how he secured them.

“Last one, down,” Terrance informed us.

I hadn’t tried all my gifts since my last connection was made, so I was interested to see how this mission was going to be.  I imagined the bonfire I once sat around, singing, feeling like a teenager for the first time ever.  I remembered the heat and held my hands up against the fence.  I almost gasped as the large beach ball size orbs, burst from my hands, melting the fence on contact.  I looked over at Troy and saw the cocky little grin he shot me.  All the teams squeezed through the two openings.

We split up into our teams once we got through the fence.  I fell into step with Remy and Jace and understood now why keeping in shape might be of importance.  It was important that we were fast, quiet and stealthy.  The whole team could suffer if someone was trailing behind.  I noticed Michael was behind us quite a bit.  We had to wait for him to reach us when we got near our point of entry.

“I’m taking the door off. Jace, Blake, and Michael, be ready for any hostiles,” Remy whispered to us, taking point, and we all nodded in agreement. 

Remy held three fingers up and slowly dropped them.  He made a fist and dropped it at the same time he ripped the double doors clear off the hinges, throwing them across the way we had just came as if they were frisbees.  My eyes widened, never seeing his gift in action.  Jace looked at him with amazement as well; I guess he hadn’t been that strong before.  Now I understood what they were saying when they said their gifts had gotten stronger.

Jemmy joined us right before we entered the building.  She was a bundle of unfettered energy.  She bounced up and down on the tips of her toes like she was chomping at the bit.  I could tell the idea of finding the cameras and control room was one huge scavenger hunt to her, so we let her go do her thing. 

Upon entering the building, I nearly doubled in pain feeling the pain, despair, and hopelessness.

Jace put a hand on my back.  “You have to shut it out,” he said quietly.  “Push it away.  We’ll get them soon enough.”

As I began to clear my mind and try to push the feelings out, I saw two guards laughing as they rounded the corner.  The anger within me rose.  These men were laughing and having a good old time while people were suffering nearby.  They saw us as we tried to melt into the shadows.  They pulled out tasers as they brought walkie talkies up to their mouth.  The anger within me wanted to set them on fire, but I didn’t want to make any unnecessary sounds. 

“Shoot him,” I commanded them.  When they opened their mouths, I knew they were going to scream as the bright bolts of current flickered off the ends of the weapons.  “Silence!” I commanded them.

 

“What did you do?” Michael asked in awe as he looked at me.  “You have more than one gift,” he said almost accusingly.

I laughed dryly.  “Oh, they didn’t tell you.”

The men were convulsing on the ground at this point, so Remy and Jace rushed over to them and restrained them, stripped them of their socks to stuff their mouths, then dragged them to the nearest utility closet.

We proceeded down the hall where I heard the distinct sound of a woman sobbing.  I held up my hand and pointed at the door. Remy put a well-placed shoulder to the door and his other hand on the door knob; he barely flexed as the door came clean off the hinges.  He gently placed this one down as Jace ran into the room.

I watched in incredulity as Michael walked through the door across from the other one like he was a ghost, like the door wasn’t even there.  He popped back out and looked grim.  “We have one in here,” he whispered to me.  “We need a key to open the door, it doesn’t have a lock.”

I held my hand out to the door knob and imagined it melting.  The metal became a gelatinous mess as I heard the distinct click of the lock unengaging.  Michael gingerly kicked it open, so he didn’t get burned and give away our location.

I proceeded into the room, and the woman lying there looked like she was approximately four or five months pregnant.  She also looked like she was high on something.  She barely acknowledged us as we came into the room.

I moved to her bed and placed a hand on her arm.  She was unrestrained.  I looked everywhere, mystified.  I shrugged and allowed Michael to lift her up.  It wasn’t until we neared the exit that she started screaming like a wild banshee.

“No, no.  Can’t go!” she screamed.

I held my hands on her back and thought calm thoughts.  I could feel her fighting me, but finally she calmed down.

Jace came running out of the room and sighed in relief when he saw us standing inside the door.  “They have implants in them.  It has a dual purpose that can work independently of each other or simultaneously.  It works like a shock collar with an electric fence and releases a drug into their system.   They become nearly catatonic with it, and facilities like this also have boxes that activate if they move too far from them. If they get too far, it releases a poison and kills them instantaneously.”  

I looked at him in shock.  “What do we do?”

“The girl in the other room is too strong for the implants to last long, she knows where the units that trigger the poison are located.  At least they can’t be poisoned.  We just need Jemmy to fry them.”  Jace explained.  “Jemmy, come in,” Jace talked into his mic.

She was silent for a few moments before she said, “The eyes are off!” I can hear the giddiness in her voice.

“Great,” Jace said with amused dryness.  “Now, please return, and if your team is available, we need your assistance.”

 

Jemmy, Gavin, and John made quick work of frying the units.  Remy had secured some of the metal balls that they implanted in the girls so we could have someone dissect it and figure out how they worked.  He also grabbed the syringe-looking instruments they used to implant them.

In the end, we were able to locate a total of twelve females ranging from 16 to 28 years of age, from our estimation.  None of the females had names or records that we could find. 

The other two guards were dispatched with no problems.  I was taking one of the last girls out to the waiting bus when I heard the alarms from the building go off. 

“He is running,” a voice full of frustration filled my ear.

“I just lost him on the stairs.” I heard someone else curse.

I didn’t think as I ran towards the building, not believing that not too long ago, I was laid up in a hospital bed, sick.  Maybe it was the adrenaline of the night that kept me going.  Jace and Remy fell into step beside me.

“They took those steps up,” Remy stated as he pointed to the stairwell to the far side of the building.

As Jace ripped open the door, bullets whizzed towards us.  I knew none of our guys carried guns, so I immediately threw up a force field to protect us.  I could see our guys taking out our threats from behind.

“Where did he go?” Terrance called down to us.  “Did you see him?”

“He’s using his gift.” Jaxson sighed as he ran a frustrated hand through his hair.

“He threw off my block,” Collin said as he entered the stairwell.   I could see the self-doubt in his eyes—he had thought he was powerful.  I was able to throw off his block, and now, so had Dr. Neil.

I dropped the force field and grabbed Jace’s hand.  “He’s invisible, right, but could we still feel him?”

“If he bumped into us,” Remy said slowly as realization dawned in his eyes.

“Maybe we can feel him,” I whispered urgently to Jace.  I imagined the picture of the man I had seen.  I imagined feeling him.  I imagined how he may be feeling.

With our hands connected, our gifts’ energy started wrapping around us. I could feel it.  I could almost hear it as it buzzed with intangible vigor.  Physically, I wasn’t aware of moving, but mentally, I felt myself moving, continuing my hold on Jace.  Instinctively, I knew with our hands linked we were more powerful.  We were both the positive and negative energy to jumpstart the gift within. 

We moved as one unit up one set of stairs and opened the door. My senses picked up distant yelling, but the panicked beating of a heart drew me.  I was oblivious to everything else.  It reminded me of the rapid heartbeat of a cornered rabbit.  It was him.  I recognized it without a shadow of a doubt.  We opened a door to the left and the sound got louder.  I almost had to cover my ears at the intensity.

“Reveal yourself,” I commanded him.

I hadn’t realized Remy, Terrance, Collin, Jaxson, Michael, and Will had followed us into the room until I heard the audible gasp.  I looked back at the man cowered under the table.  I could see him vainly attempt to vanish once more, but he was powerless to under my compulsion. 

We had his lap top, we had his research, and most importantly, we had him.

 

Clean up was no fun, now that the adrenaline of the chase was wearing off.   Most of us was returning to the building to get our restrained prisoners.  Others were up in the labs, grabbing what we needed and destroying what we didn’t.   As I walked back into the building, I looked down at my watch and was surprised to see that it wasn’t even midnight yet.  The mission so far was a success, only taking three hours or less.

I should have known to knock on wood.  I should have known better than to tempt fate.

I felt the building shake and reached out to steady myself, nearly smacking my head on the door frame.  I looked up to see the ceiling tiles shift above me.

“Dammit,” I heard Ned bark in my ear.

“The buildings collapsing!  Get out now!” I heard Troy yell.  “Someone was hiding down below.  He planted bombs.  The support beams have been compromised.”

Collin and Ned were running my way as the building shook once more.   Collin fell to the ground and Ned ran right past him.  “Grab him,” I yelled.

Ned looked panicked and shook his head and ran right passed me.  “We need to get out,” He tried to grab my arm and drag me out.

“No,” I insisted.  “We can’t just leave him.” I pulled my arm out of his grasp and he let me go.  He never bothered looking back.

I cursed and ran towards Collin; he was trying to get back up as the building shook again.  I watched in horror as I saw a metal rod dislodge itself and come straight at Collin.  I dove to pick him up, hoping I got to him on time.  I threw him over my shoulders in a fireman’s carry and grunted in surprise.  He outweighed me by at least 80 lbs., but I felt nothing.  I ran the rest of the way out of the building towards the waiting vans and vehicles.

I felt a warm stickiness begin to drip down my chest and back, and I looked down in horror to see that I was covered in blood, but I knew it wasn’t mine.  I willed my legs to go faster, but the vans seemed too far away still.

“Noah!” I screamed as I came closer to the chaos awaiting me.

Remy and Troy turned to see me running towards them and immediately ran towards me.  Remy took Collin away from me and gently laid him on the ground as Troy began to frantically search me for wounds.

“It’s not mine,” I cried out in panic pushing him away.  I may have still had the gift of super strength coursing through my veins as he flew a few feet back.

Noah was by my side in seconds.  “What’s wrong?” he asked looking me over rapidly.

“It’s not mine!” I insisted as I dropped down by Collins side, noticing the gaping hole, roughly two inches in diameter, with blood pouring out of it, right above the chest plate of his suit.

I took the material of his suit in my hands and tore it open.  “Help me,” I pleaded to Noah as I grabbed Noah’s hand. 

I had never healed any one before, but I had seen Noah do it often.  He always seemed serene and calm when he laid his hands on people.  I willed the panicked thoughts away and embraced the peace.  I breathed in through my nose and exhaled it out my mouth.  As I exhaled the third time, I felt the gift from within rise.  It felt like how it felt earlier.  I felt more centered, more powerful, with holding my connections hands.  I could feel the gentle breeze in the air as it bounded our gifts together.  I moved our hands over the open wound, seeing the invisible threads behind my eyelids as they knitted his flesh back together again.

I opened my eyes when I felt the gift leave us.  I expected to see the gentle rise and fall of Collins chest.  I didn’t expect to see his sightless eyes.

“No!” I yelled in shock, anger, and helplessness.

Noah quickly wrapped me in his arms, his eyes full of pain and sorrow.  I could feel his feelings so close to mine.  “It was too late, Blake.  It was too late, Love.  No matter what we did.  He was already gone,” he whispered urgently in my ear.

Great pain ripped through me as I sobbed quietly in Noah’s arms.  He rocked me and crooned to me.  He told me repeatedly that I did everything I could.  He told me sometimes we lost people.  He told me how much he cared for me, and together we could get through this.

When I finally looked up, I realized we were in the middle of an audience.  I could see fear, surprise, awe, pride, envy, and a full range of emotions across everyone’s faces.  I didn’t know everyone had stopped what they were doing and watched as Noah and I had tried to save the only person we had lost that night.  I continued looking around, not sure how I should react to their attention, until my eyes lit on the face full of guilt.

I stood up, anger motivating my movements.  “It’s all your fault!” I screamed as I launched myself at Ned.  “You ran right past him! He was fine then! He didn’t have a hole in his chest! You wouldn’t help me go get him.  You left him!  You left me!  You left us!”

I wildly swung at him.  I was seeing him through tunnel vision.  I saw blood.  I didn’t care.  It wasn’t until Remy, the only one strong enough to handle me right now, picked me up did I feel all the anger leave me in a rush.  I was tired.  I had tapped into my gifts one too many times tonight.  I felt a giant wave of exhaustion hit me all at once.  I saw the blackness threatening to close in on me and I let it.

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 18

 

I vaguely recalled the truck ride home.  I felt myself being lifted out of the vehicle and taken up to my bathroom.  I was cradled in someone’s arms as the sound of water reached my ears.  I felt someone else’s hands disrobe me.

“Trash it,” I heard Jace command.

I was transferred to someone else’s arms and carried somewhere else.  I felt warm water begin to wash over me.  Someone’s hands put something in my hair, lathering it up.  I watched as I saw diluted blood run down the drain.  Someone was running my loofah along my body, as I laid cradled in one of their arms.

“Sleep,” I muttered.  “Hungry.”  I wanted to sleep but my stomach was cramping horribly with hunger.  My other needs within were taking the back seat tonight. 

“Is Drake done with her soup?” Noah asked as continued lathering up my body.

“He should be,” Jaxson grunted as he shifted my weight to the other side so that Noah could reach other places.

“I have her towel ready,” Jace said softly.  Like he was in a library, not wanting to disturb anyone.

“She still has blood in her hair,” Remy stated as he lathered more shampoo in my hair.

We all stood under the sprays of my shower for a few more minutes.  Or it could have been hours.  I lost all track of time.

“Drake is back,” Troy said as he came back into the room.

I was shifted once more, the chilly air hitting me as we left the confines of my shower.  Jace wrapped me in the warm towel and sat down on the edge of my bed as Troy rubbed a towel over my hair, repeatedly. 

“Here’s some clothes,” Jaxson stated as I was laid on the bed.  He pulled my arm through a shirt, too big on me, and slid some underwear over my legs.  I vaguely recognized his smell on the shirt. 

Remy propped pillows under my head.

“Blake, I brought you something,” Drake said soothingly.  A warm spoon was placed against my lips and I eagerly opened it.  A warm onion and beef broth filled my mouth, before I swallowed.

I mechanically let Drake feed me before I heard Jace say.  “I think she’s had enough.  Let her sleep.”

“I’m staying here,” Noah insisted as I felt his warm body slide in beside me.

“Me too,” Jaxson stated as I felt his bare hard chest press against her my back.

“I guess I’ll pull out some air mattresses,” Jace sighed.

“I’ll take her couch,” Remy grunted.

“I’ll grab the pillows and blanket,” Troy volunteered.

“I’m going to clean up the kitchen, and then I’ll be back,” Drake said before I heard the rattling of the spoon in the bowl.

 

I woke up to several annoying alarms going off.  I felt physically warm, but emotionally numb.  I had every reason to despise Collin, but it was hard to separate the boy who had been sweet to me and the man who he had become.  I didn’t know if he would have remained loyal to us, but deep down I believed he had been trying.  Didn’t that count for something?

I mourned at the loss of a young life, too soon to part from earth.  I mourned for the man he had been trying to be.  I even felt sadness at the possibility that his child would grow up never knowing him.  It was proven yet, but deep down I felt the child was his. 

Sadness was quickly replaced by anger.  Anger at Horatio.  Anger at Ned.  I didn’t want that selfish prick near me or the children.  How could I trust a man willing to abandon a team member?  He had already shown his true colors.  His self-preservation outweighed his ability to sacrifice for others.  I knew without a shadow of a doubt that if he’d only taken the extra five seconds to lean down and help Collin up, Collin would still be alive this morning. 

Remy stood up first and stretched.  He rubbed a weary hand across his face.  “Time to get up.  Day 1 of training starts today,” his voice boomed filling the room.

I turned and buried my head in Noah’s chest.  “No,” I said resolutely.

Noah rubbed my back languidly.  “Maybe we should start tomorrow,” he said with a big yawn.

“It’s 6 a.m., we just fell asleep a few hours ago,” Jaxson groaned as he placed one of his hands up my shirt and onto my bare hip.

“Do you think Horatio is waiting until tomorrow?  Do you think he cares if we aren’t ready for whatever he may have coming for us?” Jace spoke as he stood up.

I snapped my head around and met his piercing blue eyes.  “That’s not fair.”

“But it’s true,” Troy groaned as he twisted his body back and forth, attempting to stretch out his back.

“I’ll grab us some protein bars,” Drake yawned. 

“What’s going to happen?” I asked sitting up as I pushed my wild curls off my face.

“We get up, we get dressed, we start day one of training, we get the children ready for school, some of you will go to school, and at 4 o’clock we meet up at the Knights facility for the second part of our training,” Remy said with determination. 

“I meant about Collin,” I bit my bottom lip.  “Who’s going to tell his parents?  Who’s going to tell Rose?”

“Pops and Steven are heading to his parents’ house this morning,” Troy frowned, sadness lingering in his eyes.

“I’m going to tell Rose,” Drake sighed decisively. 

“That’s it?” I asked my eyebrows knitted.  “What are they going to tell his parents?”

“We’re holding a memorial for him tomorrow afternoon, if his parents elect to take him home,” Jace explained slowly.  “His parents are gifted so we can tell them the truth, mostly.  He died with honor, protecting our way of life.”

Several alarms went off once more, reminding us to get moving.

 

We went downstairs where Jemmy, Gavin, and Rachel stood waiting for us.  They kept casting glances my way, making me feel more self-conscious.  I didn’t know what we were waiting on until Terrance, John, Michael, Dawn, Marcel, and some other guy I didn’t recognize, came strolling in.  They were dressed in their running gear.  Everyone looked as tired as I felt.              

 It came increasingly evident I was still under the microscope.  I could tell all eyes were on me.  I had lost it last night.  I couldn’t remember all the details, but I remembered enough.

After pouring a glass of orange juice, I looked at the team, an eyebrow raised.  Terrance had a look of respect in his eyes, John had a look of wonder, Michael’s eyes were filled with envy and reverence, Marcel’s eyes were fearful, Dawn’s eyes held admiration, and the last guy looked leery, like he expected me to blow up at any minute.

Heck, I didn’t blame him.  I still felt on the edge.   I felt trapped within my own body.  There was a part of me that wanted to wallow in grief, and the other part wanted to get rid of this anger brewing beneath the surface.

I imagined he was Ned’s replacement.  Hopefully he was better at his job then Ned was.  I held my hand out to him.  “I’m Blake, who are you?”

I heard Jaxson snicker and watched as Marcel took a step away from the new guy.  The new guy looked like he was barely older than me, average height, with a slightly rounded belly, closely shorn brown hair, and brown eyes.

“I’m Sam,” he stated as he attempted to give me a fist pump instead of a hand shake.

“The rumors have already started circulating,” Dawn explained in amusement as she gave a pointed look at Marcel and Michael.  “So, half of the Knights believe you are either insane and dangerous, and the other half envies us for seeing you in action last night.”

“Wonderful,” I said dryly.  “Well, Sam, you should know a few things from the start.  I am fiercely protective of my friends and family.  If anyone wants to harm them or threatens them, I will show my displeasure.  If you are tasked with watching my sister, brother, and our new ward, I expect you to not be a coward, but protect them.  Can you do that?  If you can’t, leave now.”

“Yea-yea-yes,” Sam finally stuttered.

Terrence dropped his large black hand on my shoulder.  His height and size rivaled Remy’s.  “He’s proven himself in the past to me,” he said softly.  “I’ve briefed my team once more this morning; we’re going to take our jobs seriously.”

“Too bad it’s too late for Collin, since Ned didn’t take it seriously,” I choked out before turning on my heel and leaving.

I already knew the route we were going to take for our morning runs.   We were running down the driveway out the gates and down to the first stop sign and back.  Remy and Troy had calculated the distance to a little over four miles.  As I ran, all I could think about was Collin’s insistence on running with me when he thought I had been oblivious to his deception.  I know now I had caught occasional glimpses into who he really was.

He had lived the life of a typical only child; spoiled and sheltered.  However, that also left room for his parents to expect more from him.  His dad had pushed him the hardest.  His Dad had hired the extra tutors to make sure he excelled in classes.  His dad had pushed him in sports at an early age.  His dad tried to live vicariously through his son.  Always seeking to regain his glory days.

His mother had been concerned that her son would never receive his gifts, until she realized she could never use her gifts around him.  They pushed him further into the local gifted community, where he met Bridgette.  He had dated her for years because that’s what was expected of him.  He had admitted to me on one of these runs, that his interest in me was the first act of rebellion.

Maybe this was another sign for me, not to take life for granted.  That I needed to live it to the fullest, with no regrets.  I needed to take the time to let those I loved and cared for know how much they meant to me.  I had already lost my ‘family’ once, and I had a lot of regrets.  I never let them know verbally how much they meant to me.  From this day forward, I wasn’t going to let the past define my future.  I didn’t need to remain broken. 

I looked up from my musings and noticed Remy and Rachel had fallen in step beside me.  I looked back and noticed that Jace, Troy, and Terrance were steps behind us.  Bringing up the rear were poor Jemmy and Sam.  I felt bad for the way I came off this morning.  I shouldn’t have been so hard on Sam.  He wasn’t Ned.  It was unfair for me to judge him without letting him prove himself.

I dropped back and fell into step with Jemmy and Sam.  “This is torture.  Who gets up before the sun?  I’ll tell you who, the Devil.  The Devil loves the dark,” Jemmy groaned.  “I should be sleeping.  Whose idea was this?” Jemmy wailed dramatically.

I could see Sam was making a conscious effort of not looking at me, so I decided to give him some time and ran on the other side of Jemmy.

“Suck it up, butter cup,” I gently ribbed her.  “You do realize my legs are a quarter of yours.  You should be up there with Remy and Rachel.”

She stuck her tongue out at me.  “I was blessed with good genetics.  I manipulate electronics.  I don’t need to be a fast runner or any runner, for that matter,” she grumbled.

“It helps our endurance as well,” I tried to reason with her.  “Imagine if we had a tougher mission last night, would you been able to handle it?”

“What did Gavin tell you,” Jemmy asked with narrowed eyes. 

“Nothing,” I said in a high-pitched voice, acting like I knew something, when in truth I knew nothing.

She mocked growled.  “I am going to kill him.  I was a little winded, so what? I could have kept going.”

I laughed, “He didn’t tell me anything, but I run almost every day, and I was starting to feel it.”

“You also became Super Gifted Girl.  You were doing things I didn’t think was possible.  I wanted to hump you, well if I swung that way,” she said tongue in cheek.

I rolled my eyes.  “I missed your dramatics.”

She gave me a saucy grin.  “I wish I could remember, but I already knew you were going to be my BFF the moment I saw you.  Although…I was a little jealous of you at first because I thought Gavin was crushing on you.”

I snorted.  “Hardly, you should have seen how horrified he was when he thought he might be one of my six connections.”

I heard a strangled sound come out of Sam’s mouth before he tripped over his own feet and landed on the pavement with a resounding smack.

I ran back to him as he was wincing and staring down at his hands and knees.  He looked slightly embarrassed as I kneeled next to him.

“Let me help,” I said soothingly as I held my hands over his knees first.  I imagined peaceful, serene thoughts and felt the warmth radiate from my hands.  I watched as the scrapes disappeared.  It wasn’t as intense as last night, but it was no less awe inspiring.

I turned his hands over and placed my hands over his hands, feeling the warmth flow out once more.

“Is it true?” he asked with a voice full of awe and fear.

“What’s that?” I asked deliberately acting obtuse. 

“You have six connections…” he said hesitantly, like he was treading on thin ice.

I stood up and held a hand out to him.  He took it cautiously.  I waited for him to begin running once more and fell into step beside him.

“I do,” I finally answered him, noticing he was horribly out of shape as he panted beside me.

“You made fire, you made that scientist reveal himself, you put up a force field, you carried a man twice your size, and you healed a dead man,” he must have noticed the faux paus of his last comment, because he blushed furiously.  “I’m sorry,” he mumbled quickly.

I looked at him in consideration.  “There aren’t many people that know the true nature of my abilities and the fact that I have six connections.”

“But that’s impossible,” he spluttered.

“It should be,” I shrugged nonchalantly, but even I could see how it was unbelievable.  If I wasn’t living it, I would find it hard to believe

Remy and Rachel had already reached the stop sign and was headed back to the house.

“We should pick up our pace if we want to get back to get the children to school on time,” I encouraged him.

“Running is just not my thing,” he muttered.  “I think Jemmy is my spirit animal,” he grumbled.

I giggled.  I think we were on the right track now. 

 

Running had helped me take my mind off things for a moment, but it hadn’t lasted long.  I took a quick shower after my run and got dressed in a pair of jeans, long sleeve grey Henley, and a white vest with a hoodie attached to it.  I grabbed my heather-gray boots as I walked out of the room.  I was so thankful for the family I had found.  Especially where the children were concerned.  There was no way I would have had the time to get ready and get them ready as well.

I rushed down to the den to meet Micah’s tutor before heading to the kitchen.  She seemed bright and had a solid game plan to get him ready by next year.  Micah didn’t seem very happy about not being able to go to school with the other kids, but he also understood that he wasn’t ready to join other children his age.  There was no way he was willing to be stuck in a classroom full of kids much younger than him, either.  He was disappointed, but he still had an upbeat and confident attitude. 

The team had brought their change of clothing with them, so they could shower from here.  Breakfast was a simple affair this morning—bagels, fruit, and muffins.  The children eagerly grabbed the muffins.

The kitchen was packed once again.  I had to dodge in and out of people just to grab a bagel to throw in the toaster.  Will had left long ago to tell Collin’s parents the tragic news.  I had paused in the doorway, fully expecting to see him at the bar, drinking his coffee, eating his toast, and reading his newspaper.  My stomach clenched at the thought of what he had to do.  My heart sank.  I no longer had an appetite, but I didn’t want to land in the hospital again, and I had some weight to gain.

“Don’t forget you have your audition this morning,” Jace reminded me with a kiss to the back of my head.

“I’m not going.  I already emailed the school my apologies,” I said as I spread cream cheese on my jalapeno cheddar bagel.

I took a bite of my bagel and noticed, once again, all eyes were on me.  “You love music,” Gavin finally spoke up.  “You went through a lot to get that audition again.”

I refused to meet his eyes as I took a thermos of coffee from Troy.  It hadn’t taken him long to remember how I liked my coffee.  “I really haven’t had the time to practice all weekend, and I’m not ready.”

Jace seemed to be searching his memory for something.  “You really didn’t need the practice.  You could do that song in your sleep.”

I shook my head and took another bite of few.  I took my time chewing it before swallowing.  “I’m not embarrassing myself.”

“Every time before a game, I always psyched myself out too.  You just need to trust yourself, you know you can do it,” Jaxson hugged me briefly.

“I’m not ready,” I repeated myself with a shrug.

“Listen Blake,” Noah said slowly.  “I know how hard it is…but you need to continue…living.”

I was irrationally irritated at this point.  “I said I’m not ready,” I said forcefully.  “Can’t you guys respect that!”

“Blake—" Ella came skipping up to me. 

“What?!” I snapped and realized I had.  I felt guilty immediately.  “I’m sorry, Ella, what would you like, hon?”

She handed me picture.  “Look, I drew you a picture.”

“Great, thanks,” I forced a smile, not bothering to look at the picture before I shoved it in my messenger bag.  I would look at it later.

 

I remember in my previous high school, always feeling like a freak.  Back then, I had down-played my figure, wore black, hid behind baggy layers of clothing.  In a world full of appearances mattering, I hadn’t mattered much.  Now, thanks to Jemmy and Collin, my clothing was current and even flattering.  I never expected my gifts would cause the stir I felt passing through the hall ways.  I could feel people staring at me and whispering behind their hands. 

I was flanked by Noah on one side and Drake and Gavin on the other.  “Ignore them,” Drake whispered reassuringly. 

“Easier said than done,” I muttered back.

“People always fear and talk about things they don’t understand,” Gavin said as he glared at a couple of people that wasn’t even trying to hide their rudeness.  I knew he spoke from experience.  “I just didn’t think in a school predominately gifted you would face this kind of scrutiny.”

“Me either,” I said tersely.

I heard a commotion behind me, and before I could even figure out what was happening and turn around, I felt my hair being grabbed from behind.  I felt the sharp pain in my scalp as my neck was snapped back.

Before I could even react, whoever had grabbed me was off me.  I turned to see Terrance holding Rose’s arms behind her.  She looked like she had been crying, her face was red.  Behind her pain was fury.

“It’s all your fault, you stupid little bitch!” she screamed at me.  “It wasn’t enough that you took Drake from the girl pregnant with his baby.  You also got my best friend killed.  You did nothing to save him!”

I blinked at her for a moment, surprised at her attack.  I winced as I saw the amount of people that believed the lies spewing from her mouth. I could physically feel their disdain and loathing. I bent over in pain.

I hadn’t realized Gavin moved closer to me until his hand was on my lower back. He imitated my empath gift.  I could feel the quiet envelope me, and I felt restored.  I glanced at him and gave him a crooked little smile. 

Drake stepped forward, and I could barely hear the words he hissed at her.  “We know the truth.  We know the baby may not be mine.  I’m sorry for your loss.  I know how you feel, but it’s not fair to take it out on Blake, she did everything possible to save Collin.  She tried to save him, when…when someone else abandoned him.”

She broke free from Terrance’s loose grasp—to be fair she weighed a whole 100 pounds to his 220, and slapped Drake across his face.  “She did all this!” she screeched.  “I won’t believe her lies.  All of you are so blinded by her and why?!”

“She is my connected,” Drake said with coldness.  “I will not tolerate another attack on her.  Ever.”

“So, you’re picking her over your own child?!” she screamed maniacally. 

“You don’t even know if it’s his,” Noah said in the silence of the hallway.

She flushed white, “Is that what he told you, because he’s lying!  He just doesn’t want to take responsibility. He wants to believe he has a connection out there, and he’ll believe anyone that tells him that they’re his.  He’s 21 years old.  If he hasn’t found his connection before, he never would.”

I calmly turned around and lifted my hair, clearly revealing my mark.  Anyone that had ever seen him with his shirt off would recognize it.  “Believe him now,” I stated.  “Anyone,” I looked around at the crowd, “that knows Drake, knows he would never turn his back on his responsibilities.  If it was his.”  I took a few menacing steps towards her.  “And if I ever hear or see you raise a hand to him again, you will regret it,” I hissed, before I turned my back on her and went to my first class.

 

The rest of the day went no better.  Everywhere I went, people pointed and talked about me.  I never felt so alone, even though I was always surrounded by Gavin, Drake, Noah, Terrance, and John.  I was ready to go home, but we had training this afternoon at the Knights training facility.

This training included every Knight not on duty.  Troy and Remy were putting everyone through the paces, including the instructors.  It was up to the instructors to disseminate the information to everyone else.

I changed into a pair of yoga pants and a long sleeve t-shirt.  As I put my hair up, I noticed my head still smarted from Rose’s attack.  I walked back out of the locker room and headed towards the gym.  I found a seat on the bleachers.  Remy and Troy were already there talking to the instructors. 

Troy noticed me first and came over to me.  “I heard you had a difficult day,” he said softly.

I grunted, “You could say that.  I’m not going back,” I stated resolutely.

I thought about it all day long, and as the day progressed, I recognized the only solution to my problem was to not return.  I had already talked to a few of my professors; I was going to do online classes until the rumors died down.

“Do you really think hiding from your problems is the best solution?” Troy said carefully.

I nodded, feeling the tears I had been holding back all day, burning at the back of my eyes.  “I can’t think of any other.”

“Maybe you can stick it out for another week,” Jace advised from behind me.  “You’ve been through worse, but this time you have us, well most of us, around you.”

I turned and looked at him in his gray muscle tee and black gym shorts. I frowned.  “It’s not the same.  I didn’t care if I was considered a freak before.  Now I am a freak, and people just like me are so much harsher than the ungifted ever were.”

“They are only intimidated by you,” Jaxson stated as he joined in on the conversation.  “Once the newest rumor starts, they’ll forget all about you.”

“They think I took Drake from his pregnant girlfriend and I killed Collin,” I mumbled.

Noah came up behind me and threw an arm around my shoulder.  “Collin wasn’t the first person I lost,” he said softly.  “And I’m sure he won’t be the last.  It happens, their number was called, we can’t let it eat us up.”

I sighed knowing they wanted me to pick myself up, brush myself off and walk on with my head up high.  I was too tired.  I had been strong for too long.  I was too tired to continue to allow the water to roll off my back.

Luckily, Remy clapped his hand, calling class in session. 

 

I didn’t realize that Remy and Troy secretly loved torturing us.  They had created a mixed martial arts program that was no joke.  We were taught individual stances and basic punches and kicks. 

Then we were taught how to fall—yes, how to fall.  Remy, Troy, and another instructor well versed in martial arts took turns throwing us.  After being thrown for the fiftieth or hundredth time, my whole body ached down to my toes.

Jemmy finally stood up and groaned.  “Why do we even know this?! We’re gifted!”

“No kidding,” Dawn lamented as she blew a piece of hair out of her face.  She even sweated prettily.  It was hard to dislike her, the more I got to know her.

“We know she doesn’t need this,” Michael joked as he pointed at me. 

I rolled my eyes.  I knew he was joking, but after the day I had, I knew I was being sensitive.  “Want me to show you how much I don’t need this?” I threatened him.

“Rule number 1, no gifts allowed,” he said smugly. 

I turned my back on him, but I smiled maliciously.  With a little concentration I had Michael barking.  When one of the instructors yelled at him, I had him barking, too.  Everyone thought it was funny, accept the instructor that was getting increasingly mad.

“Blake,” Troy chided me in my ear.

“What?” I said with an innocent expression.  “How do you know it was me?”

He gave me a pointed look, and I smiled sweetly at him.

Jemmy and Dawn came up to me, still giggling.  “I think class just got a whole lot more interesting.”

I nodded.  “I think so too.”

Poor Michael was just forced to be the butt of my difficult day.  I hadn’t lashed out as I’m sure some of them expected me too, but I had lashed out.  It still gave me a perverse sense of satisfaction.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 19

 

We decided to grab Japanese on the way home.  No one was in the mood to wait to eat or cook.  The restaurant probably thought we were feeding an army as we ordered three party platters of sushi, five chicken teriyakis, three shrimp teriyakis, and ten orders of egg rolls.  My mouth watered at the thought of eating.  I barely had time to eat breakfast this morning, and I couldn’t stomach lunch, no matter how many times Noah and Gavin got on me.

Will was home by the time we got home, and he looked older than I had ever seen him.  He fondly watched over the kids as they played, but I could see the weight of the world lying on his shoulders today.

We hastily unloaded all our food on the dining room table and dug in immediately.  I grabbed some sushi rolls, mixed the wasabi with the soy sauce, and dug in with gusto.  I tried to shut all the negative of the day out, but Will finally spoke up after we had put a huge dent into the food.

“Blake, did I hear that you are thinking about dropping out of your classes and doing online courses?”  he asked gently with an inscrutable look.

I swallowed the spicy tuna I had been eating. My chopsticks were poised over my next piece.  “Yes.  Today was…difficult, and I’m not sure I want to subject myself to it anymore.”

“I want to drop out too,” Alex piped up with a mutinous look.  “The teacher made me read out loud, and the kids laughed at me when I didn’t say the words right.”

“You just need to practice,” Ella said sagely as she stabbed a piece of broccoli with her fork. 

They were in the same class, but it was clear after day one that Alex took a little while to warm up to others.  Plus, it didn’t help that his school district was one of the worst in the state, so he was slightly behind his other peers.

“How was your day?” I asked Micah, hoping to divert more attention away from myself.

He shrugged.  “Ms. Tanya is great.  She’s really patient and didn’t make me feel dumb.” He eye-balled the California roll I had put on his plate to try.

“That’s good,” I told him with a smile.

“Maybe it is a good idea,” Will finally said after a moment pause.  “You can do your class work during the day, and if you’re caught up and bored, you can come with me to the clinic.  Jace was busy all day with some of those females we brought in…” his voice trailed off.

“Do you think you should just let her bullies win?” Gavin asked incredulously.

Gavin had told us earlier that he had talked to his parents to let them know he was staying here now.  They had taken it surprisingly well.  He had set up a schedule with them so that he could still do some hours in at the shelter.  Jemmy and Rachel had volunteered to go with him.

Will chocked his head to the side as he took a sip of his wine.  “We can look at it that way, or we can realize that she may have a larger target on her back now.  By now, everyone knows that her gifts and connections make her powerful.  Some people may look at that as a challenge.”

Gavin eyes widened as he nodded in understanding.

“We don’t have training until tomorrow afternoon,” Troy stated.  “Maybe we can go to the clinic as well.”

“That’ll be great,” Will smiled with relief.  “I’m stretched thin,” he rubbed his eyes.  “With Horatio’s activities increasing, ours has as well.”

“I can drop out of school too,” Drake said quietly from the end of the table.  Everyone looked at him in stunned silence and he shrugged.  “You all know I never felt passionate about being a psyche major.  Maybe this is my sign to back out.  Remy, are you still looking for an executive chef at your new We 7?”

“Can you cook?” Remy joked.

“I can throw together a dish or two,” Drake shrugged nonchalantly.

“You already put in a lot of time into school to just walk away from it,” Jemmy frowned.  “I mean, I know your heart wasn’t completely in it before, but you’re not using this as an excuse to get away from Rose, are you?” she asked with narrowed eyes.

“Says the girl who still doesn’t know what she wants to be when she grows up,” Jaxson scoffed with a teasing grin.  “If he wants to drop out of school and pursue his actual dream, I don’t see the issue.”

“Shut up!” Jemmy stuck her tongue out at him as she threw a piece of broccoli at him.  “I do know, thank you very much.  Gavin’s been showing me coding and other cool stuff on the computer, and I like it.”

“You can barely download music,” Jaxson continued to tease her.  “I know you can manipulate electronics and all, but…”

“She’s actually really good at it,” Gavin finally spoke up with a smile.  “Although I think she’s been cheating and using her gifts often.”

Jemmy smiled mischievously and shrugged.  “It still gets done.  Is he really allowed to drop out, Pops?” Jemmy asked.

Will smiled into his glass.  “I don’t see why not.  We go to school to get a career we want to pursue.  Drake already has a talent with cooking and an excellent job waiting for him, and he’s an adult.  So, I’ll support whatever decision he makes.”

“I’ve been eighteen for two months.  I’m an adult.  Can I finally get my nose, tongue, and belly button pierced?” Jemmy smiled hopefully.

“Nope,” several male voices chimed in at once.

 

I rushed through getting the kids down to sleep that night.  I felt the piano calling me, and I felt relief at Will’s support in me dropping out of school.  I was still going to go to school, but now I wasn’t forced to be around people that didn’t like me or know me. 

I kissed Ella goodnight and went to close her door, when she called out to me.  “Blake did you look at my drawing?”

I felt like hitting my forehead.  “Not yet,” I didn’t feel like lying to her.  “I’ll look at it soon.   I love you.  Goodnight, sleep tight.”

“Don’t let the bed bugs bite,” she chimed in quietly, her voice sounded disappointed.

I immediately felt guilty.  I think I had stuffed it in my locker at school when I put my books in there.  I would look at it tomorrow when I went to clean out my locker.

I went into my room, rinsed my body off, and slipped into a pair of boy shorts, a tank top, and a sweatshirt that naturally fell off one of my shoulders.  I know almost everyone had retired for the night.  We had a long night the night before, and today had been a physically and emotionally draining day.  Drake and Remy had volunteered to put down the boys, and I had gladly accepted it.

I saw the under-cabinet lights and the blue glow of the pool in the back yard coming in through the living room as I made my way down the stairs.  I ran my fingers along the walls of the hallway as I let myself into the music room.  I sighed taking a deep breath in.  It had been way too long.  I turned the lamp beside the piano on.  It was dim but  I didn’t need much light.  I wasn’t reading music and my fingers knew the keys all too well.

I warmed up my fingers before I got to the song that had been replaying itself in my head all day.  It was hauntingly beautiful and perfect for the way I felt.   I began to sing softly as my fingers found the right keys to The Sound of Silence by Simon & Garfunkel.

 After the last key was played, and the last note sung, I felt somewhat at peace.  I sighed, leaning against the piano, letting the silent tears fall.  I thought finally finding out who I was, would make things easier, but it had only made things more complicated.  I knew having my gifts were a blessing. Having the Bells walk into my life was a blessing.  Meeting my connections was a blessing.  I had a deep belief that everything happened for a reason, but I couldn’t see it right now.  I was drowning in the silence.

Why did I have this ability to heal, if the first person I tried to heal died?  I slammed my hands on the piano, raging in silence.  It wasn’t fair.  It wasn’t fair that Collin was dead, and it wasn’t fair that my gift hadn’t helped me when I needed it most.  Noah had reassured me several times that it was inevitable, but it didn’t make it any easier.             

I felt long, lean, muscular arms wrap around me, and for a moment I resisted.  I didn’t deserve to be comforted.  Collin’s parents had lost their only son.  They would never know the embrace of their son ever again. 

Finally, I felt myself melting against his embrace.  By his smell, I knew it was Drake.  I allowed him to pick me up and cradle me against his chest.  I tried to draw from his quiet, enduring, forgiving-to-a-fault, demeanor.   Finally, I felt my tears abate; it had been a cleansing cry.  A much-needed release.

Drake stroked my back the whole time. He didn’t speak, and I appreciated it.  Every now and then I didn’t need words.  From time to time, I just needed to know someone was there.  I didn’t need empty platitudes or the fake sense of sympathy. I despised when people automatically assumed they understood the struggle the person grieving felt, even if they knew the pain of loss.  Grief wasn’t one size fits all.  Everyone experienced grief differently.  No two scars of death left the same mark.  I had lost my father at an early age.  Drake had lost his father at an early age, but I am sure we had grieved differently.  Our fathers had been unique to us, just as our expression of grief was unique to us.

When my sobs quieted down, and the shudders stopped coursing through my body, he finally spoke.

“I was thinking about throwing together some French toast for tomorrow morning, want to help me?  We can put them in the oven before our run, and they should be finished by the time we get back,” Drake asked hesitantly.

I giggled.   “Yes, that sounds like a plan.”

 

Drake was so meticulous and organized when he cooked.  He hated a messy work station, so it always surprised me when he pulled out his numerous binders of recipes that were thrown in all haphazardly. The cabinet above the ovens were packed with recipes he had been collecting since he was 11. 

Light reading for him was pouring over cookbooks with a notebook perched in his lap.  He scribbled in his notebook, tweaking the recipes to his liking. 

We worked in companionable silence for a while before I looked over at him.  “Do you really want to pursue this career in cooking, or are you running away from Rose?”

He gave me a contemplative look before he spoke slowly.  “I have to admit, not having to see Rose every day has helped make this decision easier, but I have been living a lie for years.  I let Rose dictate my life for a long time.  I love children, and I find the human mind fascinating, but after doing my rotation in the children’s mental ward, I began having my doubts.  How do you fix something that’s broken?  I have a deep belief that some of these children are born broken.  I’ve seen loving mothers and fathers, and then they have this child filled with rage and instabilities.  They say and do things that creep even me out.  I can’t see that, day in and day out, without it affecting me some day.”

I cleared my throat.  “When I was 10, I was admitted to a mental health facility.  My step mother caught me talking to Jaxson.  Back then, I didn’t know I could communicate with him silently.  She sent me away.   They believed I had created an imaginary person to help me cope with my father’s death.  Nothing was wrong with me.   Jaxson was real.  There was this little boy I was in there with that was slightly older than me.  He would tell us about accidently killing his neighbor’s cat.  He felt no remorse.  It was like he couldn’t express it.  It was like he was broken.  Then he went on to hurting other neighbors’ animals.  He would lure them away into the woods and hurt them.  He had a false sense of power from it.  One day, he was playing with his friend and his friend wouldn’t let him borrow his baseball mitt.  He took a rock and hit him numerous times.  His friend died.  When I met him, he still thought it was his friend’s fault.  He believed he should have just let him borrow the mitt and he wouldn’t be dead.  He couldn’t even pretend to feel remorse or guilt.  It was like there was a void within him.”

Drake barely suppressed a shudder.  “There’s been a few cases I’ve seen like that.”  

“So, yeah, cooking doesn’t give you nightmares,” I laughed uneasily.

“No, it does not,” he gave me a crooked smile.  “Can I ask you a favor?” he asked hesitantly.

“Sure,” I said as I placed my pan of French toast into the refrigerator.

  “Can I sleep with you or will you sleep with me?  Just sleeping,” he held up his hands.  “I just want to hold you and go to sleep.”

I smiled up at him.  “Yes.  I would like that.”

As much as I wanted to know how it would feel with him physically, right now wasn’t the right time.  With Rose unwilling to have a DNA test we had no clue of knowing if the child she carried was his; Ella’s prediction or not.  We didn’t need to muddy the waters any more than what it was. 

I had come to care for him deeply.  Sometimes, he was my quiet in a storm that raged on.  I didn’t want to fall for him anymore than I already had.  We would be free to be ourselves with each other when Rose was finally out of the picture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 20

 

“Up in the mornin’ with the rising sun,” Jemmy sang out as our feet pounded on the pavement.   The early morning sun was just beginning to rise.  It really was a site to behold.

It had been two weeks since we began our training program.  Our group of 16 had grown to a group of 30 or so.  Some of the instructors had taken to joining our runs, and some of the other Knights as well.  We still had to push Jemmy to get out of bed every day, but I think she was secretly enjoying the rewards of her work.

Today she began to sing a cadence, and I knew she was up to no good.  Everyone humored her, repeating her words back except for Remy and Jace.  They just tossed her back a warning look.  The gaps between runners had narrowed, and Sam wasn’t in the back anymore.  That was still Jemmy.

“Don’t know why we gotta run all day, since we’re the gifted ones,” she called out.  She was barely breathless.  I was impressed.  I heard a few snickers as the group repeated after her. “Remy and Troy are sons of guns,” she giggled at her own joke as everyone repeated after. “Gonna make us run just for fun.”

I found myself singing along, and Remy and Troy gave me mock annoyed faces. 

“One, two, three, four, sound off.”

“One, two, three, four,” we all shouted back at her.

It seemed to help us as she continued to shout out made up cadences.  I could tell she had spent a lot of time researching them.

When I looked down at my watch, I noticed we had made excellent time getting back to the house.   Drake and I had plenty of time to get breakfast ready before everyone went to school. 

I found my new schedule to be amazing.  I wasn’t as tense or anxious.  We had our morning runs during the week.  If time permitted, we had breakfast ready for everyone by the time they got ready for school.  Everyone pitched in, getting the children ready.  I didn’t worry about taking a shower until we were finished with getting everyone out the door.  I generally got showered and dressed, then headed down to the den to do my class work on the computer.  Micah often joined me on the laptop as Ms. Tanya—or Tanya, as I called her—looked over his shoulder.  Then I headed to the recovery center and observed the despondent females.  After that, I would head over to the training facility.

I was generally done with all my school work by noon every day.  With zero distractions like changing classes or interacting with my peers, a lot of unnecessary chatter died down, so my work was completed sooner.  All my professors were working well with me.  I was already ahead in my History of Performance Arts class and English Literature class.  I didn’t have to wait for other students to understand the material, so I was able to zip right along to my comfort level.

I was even able to focus on the children more.  Alex and Micah were thriving.  However, Ella and Chip were becoming a concern of ours. 

Alex was a miniature version of Jaxson, in a way.  He was a class clown and liked making people laugh and happy.  He loved the attention and told us he already had girlfriends.  His grades were improving, and he was grasping more of his learning material.  He had clung onto Jaxson and began emulating him as much as possible.

Micah was making leaps and bounds with his work.  Tanya had no doubt he would be ready to attend school in the fall.  He had begun filling out, but he still ate like he had a tapeworm residing in him.  The haunted look in his eyes had faded, and he was becoming more outgoing and open.  The person he seemed to like to imitate was Remy.  He requested permission to join us in our training program and lifted weights with Remy every day.  Remy had created a reasonable plan for him to follow. We also agreed that we found no harm in Micah training with us. 

  Chip was becoming more and more surly, since we were still unable to locate his mother.  He was acting up in school, and almost every other day one of us had to go to the school and pick him up.  He was picking on other children and getting into physical altercations.  It was getting bad enough that we were considering pulling him and home schooling him as well.  The only thing we had going for us was he hadn’t been using his gifts in school…yet.

Ella spent her days drawing in a sketch book Noah had given her.  Occasionally, she would play video games or go swimming with the other children, but she preferred staying in her room and drawing.  We thought she was just trying to perfect her abilities to draw.  Patrick had given a few pointers to her, and that’s all she needed.  When we looked at her drawings it was just a picture of a boy—or teen, more like it.  We all thought she might have her first crush, but we didn’t know who it was.

The pictures of the boy became more and more detailed.   Jace had purchased her a set of premium colored pencils.  The teen looked to be around fourteen or fifteen years old.  He had dark hair and dark eyes and appeared to be mixed with white and Hispanic.  In most of her drawings, he looked desolate and sad.

When we asked her who it was, she was unsure.  She had no clue who it was.  When we asked too many questions, she became more withdrawn.

This morning we were making breakfast burritos, homemade potato pancakes, and tortillas.  Drake tasked me with making the filling.  I sautéed some onions and red peppers while I browned some ground sausage.  When the onions and peppers were cooked sufficiently, I added my whisked eggs.  When they were done, I added shredded pepper jack and cheddar cheese.

“Do you have any tortillas ready?” I asked Drake. 

“Sure do,” he said as he slid me a plate full of them in front of me, briefly squeezing my waist.             

He would embrace me or touch me, but that’s as far as we would go right now.   Especially with Rose still hovering in the background.  He had told her clearly that he wasn’t interested in a relationship with her any longer, even if the baby ended up being his.  Will had a lawyer working on the details, thankfully.

Drake and Jemmy had accompanied Rose to her first doctor’s appointment.  She was 14 weeks pregnant, which hadn’t worked in her favor.  Drake had been gone for 3 of those weeks during the estimated time of conception.  With the death of Collin, she had lost her option B. 

She was becoming increasingly irrational and unstable.  She was upset that he had left school.  She had no way of seeing him other than her appointments.  He refused to see her otherwise.  She sent him baby names daily.  She was asking for funds for the nursery.  She tried to guilt him.  In the past, he might have fell for it.  He didn’t any longer.  She had been toxic, and his rose-colored glasses had been removed.

“What smells so amazing?” Terrance asked as he came into the room.  Our family had grown over night.  The Knights assigned to us seemed to be here as often as the family.  I secretly thought they liked the homemade meals.  They had even started contributing to the grocery bill. 

Will didn’t seem to mind, since he was rarely home.  He had gotten back into the labs with Cora. They were busy trying to analyze our blood.  Dr. Neil had been transferred to the mountain facility and still wasn’t talking.  His computer was full of research, but it was written in code, and no one seemed able to crack it. 

“Breakfast burritos,” I informed him as I put one on the plate for him.

Drake slid a potato pancake on the plate beside it.  “There’s mild, medium, and hot salsa in the fridge, and sour cream,” he explained. 

“Thank you kindly.” He smiled wide and took his plate into the dining room.

“Yum, I’m starved,” Troy said, strolling into the room, dropping a kiss on my cheek.

“Good, because we have food.” I smiled. 

I continued to roll the burritos and placing them on a serving dish.  As everyone came in, they grabbed a plate and loaded their plates up, thanking us, and took a seat in the dining room or at the bar.

Jaxson was the last to arrive, with Alex following.  Alex’s eyes seemed bright and his skin flushed.  “I don’t think my little buddy is feeling good,” Jaxson stated as he picked Alex up and set him on the counter beside me.

I put the back of my hand on his forehead.  “Aww, little man, are you getting sick?  You do feel a little warm.”

He shrugged.  “I’m fine.  I want to go to school.  Kimmy is bringing me a cookie.  She promised.”

I laughed.  “I don’t think it’s a clever idea for you to go.  I don’t want you to get the other children sick.”

“Here, buddy, open up,” Jace came to stand in front of Alex with a thermometer.  “Put it under your tongue…and close.”

Alex obliged and swung his legs back and forth.  His stockinged feet hitting the cabinets beneath him.  The thermometer beeped after a few seconds.

“100.9,” Jace explained.  “He’s running a low-grade fever, but maybe’s it’s best if he stays home.”

“Can I stay home?”  Chip asked hopefully.

I shook my head.  “Sorry, buddy, I know you don’t like going, but you need your education, and Alex isn’t feeling good.”  At his crestfallen look, I tried to cheer him up.  “It’s Friday, so maybe after school we can go get some Halloween candy and your costumes for tomorrow night.”

He seemed to cheer up at the promise of getting a costume.  He was looking forward to trick or treating and dressing up.

“Where are we having a party?” Jemmy asked excitedly.

“Dad said we couldn’t have it here again because we left a mess for Sue to clean up last time” Jaxson said forlornly.  I had to resist the urge to snort.  I remember the aftermath of his last party, when I had been there. I had guilted the others into helping me clean up. Not intentionally, mind you.

“But Steven, Cora, and Beth already volunteered to watch the kids after trick or treating,” Jemmy groaned.

“If, and I mean a big if,” Remy said sternly, “you set up and do all the clean-up, you can have it at the new We 7.  It could be our soft open.  Then we don’t have that far to walk to my house.  The painters just finished in there, and the furniture hasn’t been delivered yet, but you can sleep on air mattresses and sleeping bags.” 

“Yes!” Jemmy cried out in excitement.  “We’re having a party!  At Remy’s!  Are you coming?” She turned to Dawn.

Dawn smiled.  “Technically I’m off duty, so sure.”

Jemmy squealed again and started singing, “We’re having a party!  We’re going to dress up! After school I’m going to go shopping!” she turned to Remy.  “For decorations.”

“Remember, whatever you put up, you’re going to have to clean up.  I’ll provide food and soft drinks.  NO one, and I mean no one, underage will be purchasing alcohol at my bar.” Remy stated firmly. 

Jemmy frowned.  “What happens if they bring their own?”

Remy gave her a pointed look.

“Fine, fine,” she grumbled, but the look in her eyes told me differently.  Knowing her, she was going to find a way around it.

 

I finished my school work in no time and was able to get a rare moment of quiet time on the couch.  I had to watch Trolls, but I didn’t mind; it was a cute movie.  Alex was in rare form and wanted to cuddle.  I didn’t mind at all.  He was normally a million miles a minute, and it was enjoyable to spend some quality time with just him.  As I was forced to relax, I thought maybe I should try to set some time every week for each child, like a play date with them, some time to make sure they didn’t get lost in the mix.

That led me to thinking about my connections, too.  They were all made, but maybe we needed to work on us as well.  We should be setting up time for some alone one-on-one time.  More than what we already did.  Drake and I had time to ourselves when we cooked.  Jace and I found time to slip off into the music room on occasion.  Remy and I had our Saturday morning runs by ourselves.  Troy and I fit private lessons down in the basement for additional martial arts classes (which I was thoroughly enjoying).  I couldn’t count quality time with Jaxson when we had our inner conversations.  It was normally right before we fell asleep at night, and to be honest, we normally fell asleep in the middle of it.  Noah and I found time to work on performance arts projects, but it still wasn’t enough.  I needed to focus on my connections more.

I was making lunch when my new phone rang.

“Hello,” I answered it.

“Hey Blake,” Remy responded.  “I know Alex isn’t feeling the greatest, but some of the females are coming off whatever they were implanted with and they’re acting irrationally and irritable.  Jace has his hands full, and we need some back up.  Gavin’s on his way in, but we would like you to come in as well.  How’s Alex feeling?”

“Better,” I retorted honestly as I pulled our macaroni and cheese from the oven. “As soon as I finish lunch, I’ll make my way over.  Is someone coming to get me?”

“That would work,” Remy said with a smile in his voice.  “Is there enough for me?”

I giggled.  “Yes, there’s enough for you.  Can Alex come along?”

“He listens fairly well, so I don’t see an issue with it,” Remy agreed.

“Okay, great.” I smiled.  “See you soon!”

I pulled out some honey baked ham and cut thick slices for Micah, Tanya, and myself.  I added the sautéed green beans to our plates. For Alex, I cut the ham into bite-size pieces.  Some days, he and Ella wanted to act independently and scoffed at being treated like a ‘baby,’ and other days they wanted the extra coddling. 

 “Lunch!” I called out into the living room.

Time away from school was helping my psyche immensely.  It was times like these that I realized how much of an ambivert I was.  When I had been singing with the guys, I had loved the energy and excitement I got on the stage.  I had thrived on it, but I also needed moments, days, and weeks like this.  I needed to unplug, unwind, and just be.

Although I should see if Jemmy had invited Ben, Taylor, Rick, and Mike to the party.  I would like to get back to the band. Jemmy said they had been booking gigs, but it wasn’t on the scale we had been on.  She even showed me their Facebook page, and they didn’t have ten percent of the followers we had.

I was ready to get back on that ride and see where it took me.

 

Alex came running into the room first, and I pulled out the first aid kit.  Jace had shown me that they kept their thermometer in there. 

“Let’s check your temp, buddy,” I said after he scrambled into his seat.  He automatically opened his mouth.

When the thermometer beeped, I nodded in satisfaction.  “You seem better.  I’ll pack you some juice boxes and we’ll keep you hydrated.”

Alex frowned.  “Do I have to go to school?” He gave me a crestfallen look.

“No.” I gave him an indulgent smile.  “But I need to go to the clinic.  Want to come with me?”

Alex nodded eagerly.   “I like spending time with you,” he stated as he scooped some macaroni and cheese on his fork.

I smiled at him placing a kiss on his head.  “I like spending time with you too!”

“Did you know the most venomous jellyfish in the world is named the Irukandji and is smaller than your fingernail?” Micah asked as he came into the kitchen.

“He’s been fascinated by biology,” Tanya explained as she grabbed a plate and sat at the bar.  “Thanks for lunch.”

“No, thank you for your help with Micah, he’s improved greatly already.  I figured we needed something heavier today, since it’s chilly outside.” I smiled.  “Alex and I are running out shortly.  Noah should be home before you leave for the day.”

Micah frowned.  “Can I go with you?  I’ve taken all of my tests today.”

I looked over at Tanya and she smiled with a nod.

I nodded.  “I don’t see why not.  Maybe you can keep an eye on Alex while I help Gavin and Jace.  Looks like you have the afternoon off,” I smiled at Tanya.

“Can we borrow Ella’s Wii U?” Micah asked hopefully.

“Sure,” I answered.   We had agreed to restrict screen time during the week, so the kids hadn’t played on any game systems since Sunday night.

“Chip will let me borrow his,” Alex piped up.

I nodded.  “That’s fine.  We can do that.”

Remy came walking in the door not too long afterwards.  He kissed me on my head and ran a suggestive hand on my butt.

I blinked up in surprise.  He was affectionate when it came to embracing me, playing with my hair, or wanting me to sit on his lap, but he never initiated any intimate contact to that degree since I returned.  I was left wondering if he was trying to tell me something.  Was he tired of waiting for us to reconnect on a more intimate level? 

He pretended like it hadn’t happened as he grabbed a plate and sat down next to Alex.  He reached over and held the back of his hand to his forehead.  “How do you feel?” he asked.

Alex, for some reason, showed apprehension around the big guys Terrance and Remy.  I don’t know if it was because his father had been a big man, or that they were the size of mountains.  “Good,” he responded before he took another bite of his food.

“Blake said we can go with you,” Micah said excitedly.

“Awesome, man,” Remy reached over and fist bumped Micah.

“I’m going to grab the game systems and maybe pack some snacks and drinks for the boys,” I jumped up and grabbed a lunch box out of one of the cabinets.

“I heard there were some boys with birthdays coming up, and so is Christmas,” Remy said with a sly grin.  “Maybe sharing won’t be necessary soon.”

“Mine is in two weeks!” Micah said excitedly.  His birthday was close to my original birthday.

“Mine is after Christmas, and Christmas is such a looooong time away,” Alex said dramatically.  Willing to forget his fear of Remy in that moment. 

To their credit, Remy and Terrance made it a mission to draw Alex to them.  They gave him extra attention in hopes that he would be comfortable around them. 

“Well maybe if your report card comes back with good grades…” Remy trailed off.

“You guys need to stop spoiling the children,” I said with mock sternness.  I was torn about the whole situation, honestly.  One part of me believed that they deserved to get spoiled, but the other part of me didn’t want them to become materialistic.  I didn’t want them to take the trivial things for granted.  I didn’t want them to believe everything should just be given to them and not earned.

“I’m really smart,” Alex said confidently.

“Well, smart boy, hurry up and finish eating so we can go,” I ruffled his dark curls and ran upstairs to get the game systems.

 

The drive to the facility wasn’t a far one.  We took the children to Cora’s office. She rarely used it; she spent most of her time in the lab.  It was a spacious office complete with a desk, oversized chair behind it, two winged-back chairs in front of it, a little sitting area with a large leather couch, a television, and a unique looking coffee table with matching end tables on either side of the couch.  She had some animated movie playing on her television and cookies sitting on the coffee table.

The boys seemed to like this treat to come along with us and hang out at the clinic.  They had animatedly talked the whole time there.  I wanted to question Remy about his caress earlier, but with their constant chatter and their presence, I really couldn’t.

We made sure the boys were settled, and then I headed towards the wing where we kept the woman we had brought in.  It was busy in here today.  Healers were buzzing around everywhere.  Remy gave my hand a little squeeze before heading to the elevators.  I knew he was helping Will down in the lab.

Gavin came out of one of the rooms looking harried and drained.  “I don’t know what he did to them, but it was a number.”

We had a team of techies and scientists still trying to dissect the implants that the women had, but we weren’t any closer to figuring out what they were made of, the long-term effects of them or how to remove them without harming the patients.  Most of the females still acted like they were in a comatose state.  They mechanically ate and used the bathroom.  They wouldn’t communicate with anyone and seemed like they existed in a world of their own.  The only female that was able to resist the implant, didn’t have too many recollections.  She did say she felt out of it and trapped in her own body when it had worked, but that’s all she could tell us.  She had volunteered to stick around and let us draw her blood for testing.

Ashley Foles had admitted that she was a teenage runaway after she had come into her gift and her parents had kicked her out.  She had gone through a downward spiral of sex, drugs, and alcohol.  She told us she heard rumors of a facility that gave money for testing drugs for a pharmaceutical company.  She hadn’t realized what she had signed up for.  The girls she had gone with were never to be seen again, but she had been forced to get clean, then injected with the implant.  She had woken in the facility, her mind clear of the drugs she had been hooked on, and pregnant.  She was street smart, so she had played the game.  She had observed everything. 

Every day they were ‘woken’ up, fed breakfast, taken on walks in the yard or on the treadmill, seen by a doctor, fed lunch, went on another walk, rested in their beds, fed dinner, taken on a walk, showered, and then put to bed.  Ashley told us that she didn’t know how she got pregnant or by whom.  She said she had seen a few females leave when they went into labor, but they never returned. 

Every female that we had rescued from that facility had been pregnant.  They were in various stages of their pregnancy.  All of them seemed to be progressing along nicely up until this point.  With the behavior they were exhibiting now, I was assuming that the implants didn’t last long.

“Blake,” Gavin said again.  He must have called my name more than once, but I had been lost in my own thoughts.

“Sorry.” I gave him an apologetic smile.  “I’ll get right to work.”

I rushed into one of the rooms and saw a woman who was slightly older than me and approximately six or seven months pregnant, yelling and flopping around.  Ashley hadn’t been able to tell us any of their names, so we were left in the dark.  Their patient charts had them listed as patient one, patient two—so on and so forth.  

“No, don’t want to die.  I want to go back!” she screamed as she thrashed around.

“Stop,” I said gently as I placed my hands on her.  I could feel her fear and her panic.  “You’re okay,” I crooned as I placed my hands on her.  I pushed feelings of calm and peace into her.

After a few more minutes of pushing my feelings into her, she finally calmed down.  “What’s your name?” I asked softly.

“Pam,” she said softly.

“How old are you, Pam?” I asked trying to keep her mind busy. 

“19,” she said in a small voice.

As she sat there, I could slowly see the panic recede from her eyes replaced by clarity. She looked around in wonder, like she was just realizing where she was.  I could see the moment she realized she was pregnant and her eyes rounded in horror.  When she looked like she was going to leap out of the bed, I put my hand on her.

“We found you in a facility.  We aren’t the bad guys,” I said urgently.  We needed her to believe me.  We needed her to find out what Horatio was up to, besides the obvious. I could see the distrust and hysteria in her eyes.  “We found you along with eleven other women.  You were all implanted with something.  We think it had drugs in them.  You’ve been here for a couple of weeks now.  Do you remember anything that happened there?”  I asked as I felt her suspicion and fear recede. 

“I needed the money,” fat tears ran down her face.  “I’m never going to get high again, I promise,” she said in horror as she looked down at her stomach.  “How?! How?!”

I felt her anxiety rising again and I pushed the calm back to her again.  “We’re trying to figure that out.” I stroked her hand.  “We’re going to help you, we promise.”

“Get it out,” she said despondently.

My heart sank.  “You’re afraid and rightfully so, but we can’t do that until you talk to some of our doctors here.  We also have crisis counselors and have helped many people just like you.  We want to help you.”

“Then kill me,” she said dejectedly.

“No,” I said resolutely.  “I know this seems hopeless, but you aren’t giving up yet.  You’ve already been through too much not to survive this, too.”

Under all her fear and panic, I could feel the fighter within her.  I didn’t know her past, but she had been a fighter once upon a time.  We just needed to give her the love and support she needed so she could find another reason to keep fighting.

 

There was a commotion down the hall when I finally exited Pam’s room.  I ran down there to find out what was going on.  I hadn’t expected to see a woman in the corner of the room and screaming.

“I want my son, give me back my son,” she was a woman of average height and stature, with beautiful long blond hair.  Her features were quirky, but it only added to her unusual beauty.

Gavin was trying to approach her, but she continued to try and throw anything possible his way, but without her hands. Small objects flew from the cabinet doors and from her food tray left uneaten.

“She won’t let me near her,” he said in frustration.

“I got this,” I reassured him.  “Go ahead and go to the next one.”

He nodded, seemingly relieved.

I slowly approached her dodging a sandwich.  “It’s okay,” I said soothingly.  “We’re not here to hurt you, we want to help you.”

“Give me back my son,” she cried out, tears rolling down her face.

“He’s at school,” Alex said calmly from the doorway.

I looked up startled to find him perched in the doorway.

Micah came to a skidding halt behind him.  “I’m so sorry, Blake.  We were playing and suddenly, he started clutching his head and getting agitated.  I couldn’t stop him.  He came running this way.”

I looked over at the woman and she was looking at Alex with a look of complete sadness and despair.  “Where’s my baby?” she asked softly.

“He’s at school,” he smiled serenely.  “He’s going to be so happy that you’re home, Miss. Amy.”

“You’re lying,” she said distrustfully as she stroked her slightly rounded belly.

Alex advanced toward her, but she didn’t try to stop him.  He finally reached out his hand and grasped her hand.  Amy’s eyes closed before a large smile spread across her face.  Her eyes opened, tears in them. 

“You have my Chippy, you helped him,” her legs seemed to collapse under her as she began crying tears of joy.

My own eyes began to fill with tears as I rushed over to her, embracing her.  “We do, and you never gave up hope that you would find him.  He’s going to be so happy we finally found you.  Do you remember what happened?”

She shook her head slowly.  “No.  I just remember men coming into our home and taking my boy and then… I was here.”

Alex grabbed our hands without warning, and I could see the night clearly.  She had just put him to sleep.  She was cleaning their dinner dishes when a group of masked men came busting through the back door.  One of them slipped behind her and injected her with the implant.  Through drug filled eyes, she saw some of the men dragging a screaming, crying and hysterical Chip. When the kitchen utensils started hurling their way towards the men, one of them knocked him out.  She was loaded in a vehicle, while her son was loaded in another. 

The next scene showed her in a drug filled stupor.  She was on a cold, metal table, her hands strapped down to the table, feet strapped in stirrups as a man with a paper mask covering his face did something behind the sheet draped over her legs.

“Healthy female, no history of drug use, healthy son delivered nine years ago,” a young woman stated holding a clip board.

“Implantation of Male B,” the man said in a cold nasally voice.

The nurse scribbled something furiously on the clipboard.

“I thought she was supposed to get Male A,” another man came into the picture, a paper mask covering his face.

The first man made a scoffing sound.  “I’m done implanting these subjects with his.  He needs to stop living in denial.  He has produced two children with the same subject.  It hasn’t been his specimen impregnating these subjects in years.”

“But he thinks he has,” the second man spluttered.

“We tell him what he wants to hear, so he leaves us alone,” the first man stated. 

“But what about—" and that’s where Amy had blacked out once more.

 

When I opened my eyes, Amy looked slightly horrified.  “Is this why I’m pregnant?  I couldn’t have any more children.” She wiped away the tears on her face.  “Chip’s father wanted more children. I couldn’t give him anymore.”

“Because you’re gifted,” I stated softly. 

She nodded.  “He never knew that, though.  I never found my connected.   With each year I didn’t find him, I had gotten weaker.  Today is the most I’ve been able to do in a very long time.  I loved Chip’s father.  I thought he was worth me not finding my connected. He left us when Chip was three.  He’s happily remarried with three other children now.  He doesn’t need or want Chip anymore.”  She looked troubled for a moment, before she looked up and smiled at me.  “He loves the attention he’s been getting now.  Who’s the handsome man with the dark hair and eyes?”

I squirmed slightly at the reference to Troy.  Once again, I knew all my guys were attractive, but I still didn’t like the attention they were still getting.  Especially from some of the females in the gifted community that were aware of who I was by now.  “That’s Troy, he’s one of my connections,” I stated.

“Oh, you have more than one?” she asked with interest.

“I do,” I stated.  “I have six.”

She gasped.  “That’s not possible.”

“It is with her.” Alex looked up at me with an adoring grin.

Amy stopped her next train of thoughts as she gasped.  I turned to see Micah holding Chips hand.

“Woah, dude,” Chip said, not noticing his mother yet.  “Can you sneak me out of school every day like that?”

Micah colored.  “I made sure no one saw me, but you might want to call the school.” Micah stated with a pointed look at me.

Chip turned around looking guilty, until his eyes widened, and the brooding boy was no more.  “Mommy!” he screamed as he ran across the room.

There were plenty of tears shed in that room as we watched their reunion.   Amy asked us to continue watching Chip until she got better and could decide what she wanted to do.  I wasn’t sure what Will had planned for all these pregnant women.  They would need continued prenatal care, and we couldn’t just let them go, knowing Horatio was still out there.

“Why can’t you come home with us?” Chip asked in a sullen voice.

“Because Mommy has something in her, that she needs to get taken out,” Amy said hesitantly as she looked over at me.

“Are we going to take the baby home with us?” Chip asked hopefully.  He didn’t need to know that his mother never wanted the child to begin with.  He didn’t need to know how it had gotten there.

“Eventually,” Amy said carefully.  “But I wasn’t talking about the baby.  Mommy had something else put in her.”

“Noah, Blake, and Chip can get it out,” Alex stated.

I had forgotten that Micah and Alex had taken seats in the window to play their video games.  I looked up startled.  “What do you mean?” I asked.

“Chip can pull the pieces out, and you and Noah have to hold hands to heal her,” Alex barely looked up from his video game as he explained this to me.

“How do you know this?” I asked in surprise.  Had he seen it in our heads?

“No,” he said in exasperation, finally looking up.  “Ella drew you the picture.  She gave it to you.”

I put my hand up to my mouth.  I had forgotten all about it.  I had been so preoccupied with my problems, I had brushed her off, not realizing the importance of one little drawing. 

“Oh, my goodness, that’s it,” I stated as I pulled out my phone to text Noah.

 

We didn’t have to wait long before Noah was there.  I had already filled Will, Jace, and Gavin in about the implants.  Amy volunteered to be the first ‘patient.’  We had been working with Chip to help him learn how to control his gift, but it had only been training.  He never had to search for the objects, until now.

Amy laid down on the table and smiled at her son reassuringly.  Cora slipped up beside her and administered some anesthesia.  We didn’t know how painful the process was going to be, so we didn’t want to take the chance.  Noah came to stand beside me and smiled down at me, squeezing my hand.  I hadn’t tried to heal anyone since Collin.  It brought up too many bad memories.

I looked over at the glass and saw Will, Jace, Gavin, Drake, Micah, Alex, and Remy on the other side of it.  We were in an observation surgery room.  Will gave me a confident nod.

I feigned a smile.  “Go ahead, Chip,” I said gently.

He gave me a nervous nod before he placed his hand where Alex and I had seen her get implanted.  I could see his little brows furrow and his eyes get intense.  It wasn’t long before a small round ball dislodged from her.  The blood came soon afterwards.

“No, Mommy,” Chip cried in terror. 

“It’s okay,” Cora quickly grabbed him.  “Remember we talked about this.”

I was staring at the blood in shock.  Frozen to the spot.  I couldn’t move.  I knew I should.  All I could see was Collin’s sightless eyes staring up at me.

“Blake!” I heard Jaxson’s voice demand inside my head.  “Come back!”

“Blake!” I heard Chip cry out to me.  “Please Blake, help my mommy.”

I snapped out of it.  

I looked up and saw Noah standing above Amy, shaking with concentration.  I stepped forward and grabbed his other hand.  I closed my eyes and focused on his gift, focused on mine.  I could feel the air from the vent caress our skin.  My senses heightened acutely.   I focused on pushing out the healing warmth from our hands.  I felt the vein, that the ball had severed, close.  I felt her blood continue to flow through the fixed vein.  I imagined her skin stitching back up now that we knew that she was healed from within.

When the feeling left, I opened my eyes.  I looked at Noah and smiled.  “One down, eleven more to go,” I said softly.

“Are you sure?” Noah said hesitantly.  “We can wait until you’re ready.”

I nodded.  “I am.  I’m ready.”  All I could remember is Pam’s face earlier.  How did I expect her to fight her demons and find her strength from within while I hid from mine?

 

By the time we were done with our last patient, I was hungry, tired, and straining. 

“Let’s go take a shower,” Noah said as he looked down at our scrubs.  We had to change them with each new patient, but a feeling of uncleanliness still clung to us.

“Together?” I asked suggestively as I looked down at my watch.  We had 30 minutes before we had to get Ella, Patrick, and Nadia.  We were going to take them tonight for the Karn’s date night, so they could take our brood tomorrow night.

He grabbed me by the waist and pulled my body up against his.  I could feel his arousal pushing against my stomach.  “Seriously?” he asked with a wicked grin. 

“Seriously,” I wiggled against him.  “Now.” I demanded.

I didn’t have to tell him twice before we were making our ways through the halls and up to a floor I had never been on.  He pulled me down the hall into another office. 

“Dad shouldn’t be back for a while,” he muttered before he started pulling my clothes off my body. 

I impatiently started to try and remove his clothing.  “You still need to dance for me one day,” I muttered as I ran my hands over his bare shoulders, down his arms, over his chest and his abs.  He pulled away from me before I could pull down his pants and grab his manhood. 

He pulled me into the bathroom, shut the door.  He pushed me down on the closed toilet lid.  “How ‘bout now,” he muttered.  He pulled his phone from somewhere and soon the song Pony from Ginuwine played through it.

“I don’t know if I can wait,” I know I sounded whiny and needy, but I didn’t care.

My jaw dropped as he began to sway his hips.  His eyes intense, his lip between his teeth.  I think if any other man tried to pull his look off right now, it wouldn’t work.  I would have laughed.  I was incapable of laughing at this moment.  He pulled his pants lower on his hips as he started to grind himself on my lap.  I was transfixed.  I couldn’t look away.  My hunger was building.

He surprised me when he picked me up and made my core straddle his face.  He was moving me around like it caused him no effort.  He finally turned me around, so I was facing the wall.  His hands skimmed my body as he grinded and swayed his hips against me.   When I went to turn around to see him better, he grabbed me by my hair and pulled my head back.  I could feel the warmth of his lips on my neck and the back of my ear, but he still hadn’t touched me with them.

“Noah,” I gasped in need.

“Is the show to your pleasure, ma’am?” he asked thickly as he finally turned me around.  His body continued to dance as his lips began to hover over several erogenous spots on my body without licking, sucking, or kissing.

 “It could be better,” I groaned in frustration. 

“Is that so?” he drawled, before I could even answer him, he bent down, lifted me, so I had to wrap my legs around his body, and the he drove into me.

I couldn’t answer him.  I was so turned on by his dance, then the forcefulness of him taking me against the wall.  I ran my hands through his hair as he took one of my nipples into his mouth and sucked on them.  I hissed out in pleasure, wanting to meet his vigor with my own.  When he nipped on me I pulled his head back by his hair.

“Next time, don’t make me wait so long,” I demanded.

His eyes darkened further.  “What are you going to do about it?” he asked as he stopped his movements in me.

My eyes widened for a moment as I grabbed his shoulders and used my legs to lift myself onto him, rocking forward.  “Give me more,” I demanded in his ear as I gently bit his earlobe.

He needed no further bidding as he picked up the pace.  His hands gripping my butt as he lifted me on and off his manhood.  Pushing me against the wall.  He was rocking me against him in such a way, I knew I was getting close.

“So close,” I breathed in his ear.

I had thought he was already setting a hard, fast pace until he showed me differently.  I pressed my lips against his neck, stifling my screams, I completely unraveled.  He soon followed me.  “Noah,” I sighed as my body tingled in replete satisfaction.

He carried me into the shower and I kept my legs wrapped around his waist, too tired to move.  “We need to get away sometime,” he said his voice filled with fulfillment.  “I want to hear you scream my name in abandon.”

I licked and nipped his neck and ear.  “I’m sure we can arrange that.”  I had been thinking along those same lines earlier in the day.  One-on-one time with each one of them. 

“Good,” he muttered, and my eyes widened in surprise as he impaled me once more.  This time he took his time bringing me to completion.  His movements were leisurely less hurried, but no less intense when we fell apart together.   Our mouths meeting, trying to swallow each other’s sounds of pleasure. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 21

 

I knew it was going to be a loud boisterous night the moment the children got into the Land Rover.  Nadia and Ella climbed into their booster seats in the rear of the vehicle.  Patrick climbed in beside Micah.  Only Micah had accompanied me to go get the rest of the children with Noah, while Chip and Alex were going to meet us at the store with Jemmy, Gavin, and Jaxson.  Remy was heading to the new We 7 with Jace, Drake, and Troy.  They were going to rearrange the restaurant to be more conducive to a party and meet with the kitchen and wait staff.

Remy was trying to keep this casual.  It wasn’t going to be opened to the public, just family, friends, and employees and their families.  Those who chose to work during it were going to be paid handsomely.  He was going to set the food up buffet-style and only needed two servers to ensure the food stayed stocked.

I had received a lot of texts from Jemmy and Rachel today, so I had a feeling they were going over the top with their preparations.   They had invited a lot of people from the high school and told them it was a $5 cover with a cash prize for best costume.  I told her to clear it with Remy, but I doubt that she had.  I had a feeling Remy was going to be regretting this come Sunday morning.

“I’m going to be a butterfly,” Nadia was saying with excitement as we pulled up in front of the Halloween store.

“I want to be a butterfly too,” Ella said fervently.  She seemed like she was almost back to her old self.

“But we already got your costume, remember,” I gently reminded her.

“Oh yeah.” She frowned.  “Can we take it back?”

“Sure can,” Noah said immediately.  “You know, Ella, you helped a lot of woman today.”

Ella perked up.  “Is that what I saw?” she asked.  “I didn’t do anything really.  Chip, Blake, and you did all the work,” she said confidently.

I hopped out of the truck and waited for them to unbuckle themselves.  I took Ella and Nadia’s hand to walk them across the parking lot.  “But we wouldn’t have known what to do, if it wasn’t for you,” I stated.

Ella gave me a smile full of pride. 

When we entered the store, Jemmy and Rachel were already filling their carts with decorations.  Gavin was patiently walking the boys through the aisle with boy costumes.

Chip seemed more animated and happy than I had ever seen him.  I allowed the girls to walk ahead of me to find the butterfly costume for Ella.

“What are you going to be?” Noah asked as he grabbed my hand.

“I can’t tell you,” I smiled mysteriously.  “I promised the girls.  Our costumes are under wraps.” I added quickly.

“Can you give me an idea?”  Noah prodded.

I shook my head.  “Nope.” I smiled.

“Grrr,” he growled.  “I’ll just go ask Gavin.”

“He doesn’t know,” I insisted with little conviction.

Noah raised an eyebrow.  “We are talking about Jemmy.”

“Oh yeah,” I groaned.  “But I’m still not telling you.” I added with a smile.

Noah slapped my butt and went to catch up with Gavin and the boys.

“But I’m purple, you can be pink.” Nadia stood with her hands on her hips in the middle of one of the aisles.

“You know I hate pink,” Ella scoffed.  “Why can’t we both be purple?”

“You can be blue,” I quickly interjected.  “It matches your eyes.”

Ella crossed her arms with a mutinous expression.  “I want to be purple.”

“But the purple one doesn’t have ballet slippers in your size,” I tried to cajole her as I picked up a pair of slippers.

She shrugged.  “Okay.  Can I wear this blue make up?” she asked hopefully.

I giggled.  “Yes, that’s fine.”

“Yay!” She jumped up and down.

“I don’t have slippers or make up.” Nadia frowned.

“Do they have your size?” I asked trying to prevent another melt down as I picked up the purple glittery make up.

I pulled out my phone. 

Blake: Would you mind if I picked up matching slippers and make up for Nadia?

Beth: Not at all.  We can pay you when you drop them off tomorrow night.  Thanks again for watching them tonight and taking them trick or treating.

Blake: Don’t worry about it!  Thanks for watching ours tomorrow night :) We’ll send pics!

Beth: Thanks!  

“Found them!” Nadia cried happily as she pulled a pair off the shelf.

I put my phone in my back pocket. “Great!  Let’s see if the girls are ready so we can figure out what’s for dinner!” I said gathering up all our purchases.

 

Thankfully by the time we got to We 7, Drake had dinner ready for us.  I was surprised to see Will there.  He rarely made any meals with us anymore.  He seemed more relaxed than I had seen him in some time. 

Drake had made an assortment of appetizers, entrées, and desserts.  He said he was having us decide what was going to be on the menu tomorrow night.  My mouth salivated at the little wontons, eggrolls, chicken wings, stuffed meatballs, chicken cordon bleus, asparagus sweet potato chicken, jambalaya, and many creative desserts.  I couldn’t believe Drake and a few chefs had accomplished this in just 3 hours.

“Why can’t you make this all again?” Jemmy asked as she piled her plate up.

Drake gave her a long-suffering look.  “If you volunteer to be in the kitchen, start to finish, we can do all the dishes again.”

Jemmy huffed.  “You know everyone would get food poisoning if I cook,” she scoffed.

We all laughed because it was true. 

“Maybe if you would try to learn,” Jaxson joked.

“Blah, blah, blah.” Jemmy rolled her eyes. 

“One of us has to learn,” Gavin gently ribbed her.

Her mouth dropped open in mock outrage as she turned on him.  “I’m not.  Take out’s always available, or,” she looked over at me slyly.  “We can live with Blake and her connections, forever.  We’ll never go hungry.”

“No, nope, not going to happen,” Jaxson said with a wicked grin.  “We’ve decided to become nudists.”

I looked over at Jaxson and playfully rolled my eyes at him. 

“I think that’s a brilliant idea,” Troy whispered in my ear as he squeezed my upper thigh.

My startled gaze met his.  I had just been with Noah, but my body still craved Troy’s touch.  He must have seen something in my eyes, because his darkened with desire. 

“What’s a nudist?  Do I have to become a nudist?” Ella asked in confusion.

All the adults busted up in laughter, much to her confusion.  Jace plucked Ella from her chair.  “No poppet,” he gave Jaxson a pointed look.  “We aren’t becoming nudists.  Jaxson’s just…making up stories.”

“I don’t get it,” Ella screwed up her face, before shrugging her shoulders and popping a wonton in her mouth. We laughed again, and she gave us an annoyed huff before continuing to eat. 

“I love these egg rolls!” Alex was doing a little happy dance in his seat.  Everyone laughed once more, happily latching onto the subject change. 

“I do too!” Rachel said, and everyone agreed that it was going to be added to the menu.

It was hard to determine what our final menu was going to be, but in the end, we finally made our decisions.  Jemmy, Rachel, and Gavin talked Remy into allowing them to spend the night at his house.  They wanted to get a head start on the decorating. 

 

I was blissfully contented shortly after we returned home.  We had all ran upstairs to change into our pajamas.  I chose the button up shirt that the boys placed on me the night they had cleaned me up and put me to bed.  That night left a bad taste in my mouth, but I loved wearing their clothing.  It heightened our intimacy.  I missed Remy’s hoodie he had given me before.  I was determined to get it back and several other articles of clothing from them. 

I knew it was Jaxson’s shirt they had placed on me.  I had seen him wear the mint green top before.  I had laundered it, so it no longer smelled like him, unfortunately; but I refused to give it back to him.  I pulled on a pair of white boy shorts to go with them and a pair of Jemmy’s knee high socks.

I giggled at my reflection.  My image reminding me of Tom Cruise in Risky Business.  Jemmy was obsessed with 80’s movies, so I had become familiar with that movie along with several others.  All the guys groaned and moaned when it was her turn to pick a movie, but I knew some of them secretly liked them. 

Tonight, we were going to let the kids decide what we were watching.  We were going to allow the younger children to stay up for one movie, then put them to bed. It was Troy’s turn to pick, so I imagined we were going to be watching a movie with war in it.  He had a thing for anything military affiliated.  I needed to ask him about that; I wondered why he had never joined.

I made my way downstairs and saw that I was the last one there.  Everyone, including William was seated in the living room. Micah and Patrick were sharing the oversized recliner, talking and whispering over comic books.  I made a mental note to get some for Micah.  It never occurred to me that, other than clothing, he didn’t really get that many things to call his own on his recent shopping trip.  I could see where he could be drawn to comic books.  Most of them revolved around people with super powers. It wasn’t too far of a stretch than what we did. 

I was surprised to see three monster sized bean bag chairs now scattered in the living room.  Noah and Chip were sitting in one of them, laying identically with their hands linked behind their heads and their feet crossed.  Ella, Nadia, and Alex were cuddled up like little puppies around one another.  Drake laid in another one reading.  Jace was uncharacteristically sprawled on the other side of the couch.  I rarely saw him in relaxed repose.    

Troy patted the seat beside him and I sat down between him and Remy.  Remy grabbed my feet and was started working his magic on them.  I couldn’t help but notice how big his hands were compared to my feet.

“Do you even have anything under that?” Troy whispered in my ear.

I turned and winked at him, leaving him to wonder.  He visibly gulped before he pushed play on the Blu Ray player.  Ella left her seat on the floor and curled up on me, leaning her head on my shoulders.   I didn’t think she was going to last long with her constant yawning and burrowing into me.

Jaxson left his seat and brought a plush throw blanket to drape on us, and I smiled my thanks to him as he plopped down in front of me.  He grabbed my hand and placed it on his head.  He couldn’t be more obvious.  I stifled a giggle and began to run my nails across his scalp and neck.  He shuddered and groaned, and I knew he was enjoying it.    

I sighed.   This was a nice respite from our normal chaotic nightly routines.  I was content.  It was so nice to have all the guys together around me.  I didn’t like the fact that I had been separated from them, but Horatio’s plan had back fired on him.  He wanted to separate us and alienate me, but we were closer than we had ever been, and we now had the opportunity to work on us.  We were given a do over.

 

  It wasn’t long before the younger kids started to fade.  Their movie wasn’t even finished yet.  Will quickly volunteered to carry one of them up before he headed to bed himself.  Noah, Jace, and Drake took the other ones up.  The older boys asked us if they could go in the den and continue pouring over Patrick’s comic books, and we didn’t find a problem in it.

Troy decided to light a fire in the fireplace.  I decided to head to the kitchen to grab some snacks for us.  Remy followed me into the kitchen to grab some drinks.

I was putting some popcorn in the microwave, when I felt a warm, large, hard body press into the back of me.  I didn’t have to turn to know it was Remy.  I felt his hands slide along my ribs, grasp my hips, and stroked his way down my thighs.  It took me a second to realize his goal as I felt his warm sure hands. 

“You do have panties on.” His voice was gravelly as he husked in my ear.

I leaned back into him.  “I couldn’t wear no panties with the kids around.”

He hummed in the back of his throat as he continued to rub his hands along my thighs and began to kiss the side of my neck.  I was putty in his hands.  I had noticed a change in him the most since my last connection was made.  He was physically affectionate before, but never physically forward with me.

Remy was a hard read.  I didn’t know if he was more physical with me because he had ‘lost’ me once, or if the increased power of his gifts affected his libido.   All further thoughts flew out of my head as he turned me around to capture my lips with his own.  His lips were commanding and domineering as they closed over mine.  I opened my mouth in a gasp as he tilted my chin up to deepen our kiss.  I linked my hands through his jaw-length blond hair and arched my back into him.

He let out a satisfied growl as he lifted me against him.  I wrapped my legs around his waist, wanting to get even closer to him.

The sound of the doorbell had us breaking apart from our steamy make out session.  Remy lifted his head and growled in frustration.  He slowly lowered me to the ground.  My breathing was ragged as I gripped the front of his shirt, bracing my forehead on his chest, my legs barely able to hold me up.  I could hear murmurings of voices in the hallway, and I felt Remy stiffen.

I lifted my head in confusion.  I looked up at Remy and his face was closed off.  I could feel the tension radiating from him.  What made him do a complete 180 in a matter of seconds and who the heck would be ringing the doorbell at nearly 9 o’clock at night?   I stepped back away from him in bewilderment and felt somewhat hurt when he didn’t try to stop me.

Jace came into the room looking slightly uncomfortable, followed by a tall, breathtakingly beautiful woman.   It was my turn to stiffen as Molly Hunt came into the kitchen.   She was once Jace’s on again, off again girlfriend.  She was also a lingerie model, and one of the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.  She was tall, with natural curves, and had platinum blond hair and light grey, almost silver eyes.

“Remy!” she gushed with a lilting voice.  She could be one of those 900 number operators, with a voice like that.

She embraced him and turned to look at me.  “Hello there.  I’m Molly, are you one of Jemmy’s friends?”

I blushed under her kind appraisal.  There was no malice in her tone.  It was like I was so inconsequential.  That there was no way I could be involved with any of the guys. Admittedly I was sans makeup, so I’m sure I looked younger, but the assumption still stung.

Remy and Jace exchanged an indecipherable look.  “Well, no. This is Blake. She’s our connected,” Remy finally grunted.  “What are you doing here?”

I was struck by two things, the silence in the room and Remy’s behavior.  His tone surprised me.  When Molly was mentioned in the past, he never seemed to have any reservations about her.   Jemmy had also told me there was a possibility that I would be seeing her around, since she still had ties to the family. 

“Oh great!  You met your connected,” she gushed as she nudged her elbow into his chest, with a familiarity.  “And at your age!”

Jace cleared his throat.  “No, Molly, she’s our connected.  All of ours; Remy, Jaxson, Noah, Troy, Drake…and I.”

She let out a tinkling laugh, looking between Jace and Remy.  Jaxson, Troy, Noah, and Drake chose that moment to join Jace in the opening of the kitchen.  “Oh,” she gulped, sadness flitted across her features before she pasted on a wide smile.  It looked effortless.  I imagined if you spend hours in front of a camera, you became an expert on how to hide your true feelings.  “Well congratulations.”

I could tell she was making a conscious effort not to look at Jace. 

“How?” Then her eyes widened before she closed them.  “The tattoos,” she said quietly.

I shifted uncomfortably, feeling like I was intruding on a private conversation.  In that moment I felt sorry for her.  Jemmy sincerely liked her, and Jemmy was always a great judge of character.  I had been jealous of Molly’s relationship with Jace in the past, especially after they showed up on every gossip rag in the country, but there had to be a reason she was still considered family…right?

“Yeah, the tattoos,” Jace confirmed.  He came up behind me and pulled me close to him.  “Do you mind if Remy and I take this into the den?”

I looked at them uncertainly.  Was there a reason they didn’t want to have this conversation in front of me?  Not that I wanted to be there.  I was super uncomfortable right now.  I didn’t want to repeat our past mistakes, but at the same time, trust had to be established at some point. 

“No,” I shook my head.  It was my turn to see if I was any good at my acting skills.  “Go ahead.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 22

 

They had been in there for less than 5 minutes, before Remy came slamming out of the room and stormed down to the basement.  When I went to stand up and follow him, Jaxson pulled me back into him and shook his head.

“He needs to work it out on his own,” he said quietly resituating me into the curve of his body.

When another half hour passed, I looked at the den door in confusion.  What could be taking Jace so long?

Troy sighed and paused his movie.  Not that any of us had been watching it.  I was too busy watching the den door and looking towards the basement door.  They were warily watching me. 

Troy picked up his bean bag chair and placed it in front of me.  “When we figured out we had a connection out there, we decided to hide it,” he said slowly as if he was gathering his thoughts.  “By then, Molly and Jace had been dating for some time.”

I felt sick to my stomach as I looked down at my finger nails.  I had felt insecure about their relationship before and those feelings still lingered. 

He reached out and squeezed my leg.  “He made a valiant effort to separate himself from her.  He really did.  Everyone, except for Jaxson, thought we were past the point of getting one.  Especially Remy.

“Jace made the final break with her when he chose to leave the state and start teaching.  I think she hoped that he would still come back to her. He’s just having a long overdue discussion.  He’s probably clearing the air so that she knows he’s committed to you.  In the past, he told her they needed space apart, and find themselves. 

“When he got that teaching job, he was surprised when he found you.  His student. He wanted to make sure you were the one we had been searching for.” He rubbed his head.  “I remember a phone call between us, shortly after he got there, but everything is foggy after that.”

Drake sat down in front of me. “I wasn’t there to confirm our connection like I had been the first time.  Jace was worried about your safety, and he wanted to speed our meeting up. I saw our connection the first time and the second time.  I knew she was the one,” Drake said to us all, looking guilty.  “I thought I was going crazy again.  I would be walking in the halls at school, and I would see a faint wisp of green, like a thread.  I followed it once and saw you as you were walking into a class.  I let it go, then I saw you in the quad and I knew.  I should have told you guys,” he looked apologetically at Troy, Jaxson, and Noah.

“When Noah introduced us, I recognized your voice, but something was off, “Jaxson said.  “We talked together for years, but when I met you in person, it was like I thought maybe it had been a dream.  It wasn’t until after you guys connected,” Jaxson pointed at Noah and me.  “That I knew you hadn’t been a dream.”

Troy reached out and patted him on his back.  “We’re all learning. We all realize our mistakes. We got our Misty now.”

I looked at him in shock.  He hadn’t called me by that nickname since we had been reunited.  Misty was short for Silvermist.  Jemmy said I reminded her of Silvermist, Tinkerbell’s friend.  She had told me the guys were like my own lost boys.

I smiled at him and then looked at the door.  “Should someone go check on Remy?”

“No,” Troy shook his head. “Molly’s like family to us, but she is Remy’s cousin.  Sometimes when she comes around, he doesn’t want to hear what she has to say.”

I knew they weren’t telling me something, but I was more concerned by the fact I was just now learning about Remy and Molly’s relationship.  “Why wasn’t I told this before?” At their looks of confusion, I sighed.  “Before time was taken from us, I was told about Molly.  Molly and Jace had been on gossip magazines together, but no one told me she was related to Remy and why or how he came to be here.”

Jaxson frowned.  “We all have our own secrets, some of them shared secrets, maybe we didn’t want to push you away.”

I felt even more confused by his statement.  I felt Jaxson was my open book.  He never seemed like anything bothered him.  He was always laughing or trying to make other people laugh.  I thought he never expressed any negative feelings because he never let anything get to him.  His statement made me realize, that sometimes, the happiest people could be the ones hiding the most pain.

“It was my secrets that pushed her away,” Noah snorted self-deprecatingly.

I reached over and grabbed his hand.  “We got a second chance.  We’re better now.” I reassured him.

“But it was our secrets that drove us apart,” Troy said quietly.  “You know mine, but maybe I should have been more upfront with you.   I should have communicated better with you.  I wish we could tell you why we may have kept it from you, but some of those secrets aren’t ours to tell.”    

I nodded in understanding.  I was the queen of secrets.  At least I had been.  I felt like we needed transparency in our relationship.  However, I wasn’t going to force them to tell me everything.  My short stint in the mental health facility had thought me that.  Some people needed to come around when they were ready, not when other people thought they should be.

They had tried to force me to talk about my father.  They thought if I talked about him often, it would help me cope with my pain better and my ‘voices’ would go away.  I hadn’t wanted to talk about him.  I hadn’t been ready.  Everyone’s grieving process wasn’t on a specific time schedule.

 

We had turned the movie back on and watched twenty more minutes of it before Jace came back out with Molly.  She looked like she had been crying, but she stopped and waved at us.  “Goodnight, all.  It was great meeting you, Blake.  You take care of these guys, will ya?  You’re one lucky girl.” Her voice nearly broke as she hurried out the door.

I looked over at Jace, and without a word, he came over to me, picked me up, and started walking me up the stairs.  “Night guys,” he called down to them as we headed towards his bedroom. I was a bit confused at his cave man tactics, but I had a feeling he was going to fill me in on his conversation with Molly.

When we reached his bedroom, he closed the door, without saying a word to me.  He quietly undressed down to his boxers and then placed me in his bed.  He pulled me to his chest and began stroking my arm.  “Molly was the first and only girl I had loved.” I felt like he had stabbed me with the admission.  “She and Remy didn’t have the greatest upbringing, and she was so introverted and broken, I wanted to fix her.”

“Do you want to fix me?” I asked in a small voice.  Yes, I was broken, but did I want him to fix me?  Is that the only reason he wanted me in his life?  Was I a poor substitute for the feelings he had for Molly?

He sat up on his elbows and stroked my face.  “It has always been you.  When we were kids, I always wanted to protect you.  I failed you so many times.  Then you were gone. It always haunted me.” He leaned down and kissed my lips gently. I felt myself responding but he pulled back.  “When I met Molly, she reminded me a lot of you.  I thought God had given me a second chance to help you, inadvertently. She had been painfully introverted, suffered from anxiety, and had a whole list of insecurities.  She still suffers from those afflictions to this day.  She’s just learned to cope with them.  I did all that I could do to help her.

“When I decided to take the teaching job, and she went off to New York City, I felt like my job was finished.  The day I met you, again, I knew it was you.  I knew you were our Amanda, but it took me time to suspect that you were our nucleus. 

“I could see you had more shadows in your eyes.  You came in one day with a bruise on your shoulder.  I accidentally brushed you.  I knew two things in that moment.  You were in trouble and I was inexplicitly drawn to you.  I wanted to protect you and care for you once more but do it right this time around.  I also thought it was morally wrong to be attracted to you.  I was your teacher.  Even if you were only a few years younger than me.  I wanted to wait until you were 18 before I told you about me, about us, but I knew time was running out.  Your feelings of stress and hopelessness were increasing.

“I had to call the guys to confirm our connection.  I wanted to make sure you weren’t just the girl that Jaxson and I once knew, but you were the girl who belonged to us.  I didn’t want to continually fall for you if you weren’t the one.  Even if you weren’t, I was going to find a way to get you out of there.  Then Drake confirmed our connection and I felt…whole.”

  He had basically told me that he had already started to fall in love with me.  I didn’t know if I was ready to label it yet, but I knew I cared for him deeply. I cared for them all deeply.   I had spent years building my wall.  I didn’t want to get hurt anymore, but I knew with the guys’ help, they could help me dismantle it brick by brick.  They had already shown me the many ways they wanted to protect me and make me happy.

They helped me care for my siblings.  They let me set my own pace without pushing me beyond my comfort level.  We still had work to do, but we all were taking steps in the right direction.  Drake would need time, but this time we would have it.  I hoped. 

“Is Molly…okay?” I finally asked.  I couldn’t help but feel some sympathy for her.  I could only imagine myself in her shoes.  She met Jace as a teenager.  I could see how easy it had been to fall in love with him.  I could only imagine how she had ingratiated herself into the family (beyond her obvious relationship with Remy).  She probably hung out here and was made to feel welcome.  She probably saw this as home, as I had.

He sighed.  “She will be.  She’s been dating some guy the last few months, but she had hoped I would come back around.”

I couldn’t silence the voice that tried to tell me I couldn’t compete with a girl like Molly.  She could give Jace all the attention he deserved.  If he was still with her, he wouldn’t have to compete for my attention.  I couldn’t forget the fact that they even looked like they were the perfect couple. 

He noticed my quietness and gave me a long lingering kiss.  “You’re my connection.  You’re the one I want.” 

I believed the sincerity and conviction in his voice.

 

I blinked around in confusion.  I stood in the door way of an office of a large room with book shelves lining the wall.  An expensive mahogany desk sat in the middle of the room dominating it.  There were files and papers strewn across it.  The carpet beneath my feet was a rich burgundy. Where was I?  I felt my anxiety rise and tried to run.  I couldn’t move.

I felt a large hand take mine, a warm hard chest, pressed against my back.  “Blake?  Where are we?”  Jaxson asked in a hushed tone.

I looked up at him startled.  It looked like he had just woken up.  His dark hair was tousled.  His steel grey eyes were heavy with sleep.  I couldn’t help but notice that he wasn’t wearing a shirt with his flannel pajama bottoms.  “I don’t know.  How did we get here?  I just fell asleep, next to Jace.”

Jaxson gave me a dimpled smile at my ogling before he frowned.  “We’re in your dream.”

“How?” I asked him in shock.  “We’ve nev—"

“I brought you,” Alex explained as he strolled into the room from another door.  “Cade asked me too.”  He pointed behind him.

In strolled a handsome teen of mixed heritage.  I gasped as I recognized the boy from Ella’s drawings.  Jaxson squeezed my hand, and I knew he recognized him as well.  He wasn’t as tall as Micah, but definitely taller than me (which wasn’t hard, let’s be real).  His hair was as dark as mine but had a shininess that Hispanics or Asians stereotypically had.  It had a slight wave to it as one side continued falling into his eye.  His eyes were dark, but there was something familiar about the shape of them and his nose.

“Who’s Cade?” I asked Alex slowly, wanting to snatch him closer to me. 

Cade looked over his shoulder with paranoia.  “I’m your brother,” he said hurriedly in hushed tones.  “I don’t have much time, but I had to reach you before it’s too late.  Right now, I’m in Horatio’s office, he’s really angry at you guys.  He is going to set some traps the next few days.  He’s convinced some of your operatives of the locations of some women in danger, but he’s already moved them.” He hurried to the desk and pointed to the papers strewn across it.  “Remember these addresses.  These are the right ones.  He had forty-two more unwilling females in his facilities.  They need you.”

“How do I know you’re telling me the truth?” I asked him suspiciously as Jaxson held onto me tightly.

Alex crossed the room and grabbed my hand and squeezed it.  “He is.  I know he is.  Please help him.”

Something in his eyes convinced me that he was telling me the truth.  I had so many questions.  Alex told me he talked to our brother when we first met, but never told me about any further conversations.  I guess I should have pressed him more. 

I walked over to the desk and tried to commit everything to memory.  “How am I supposed to remember all this?”  I asked baffled.

I quickly perused the correspondences, emails, and papers on the desk.  There was a possibility that this was all a set up, but instinctively I knew it wasn’t.  I was actually standing in one of Horatio’s office.  I tried not to get distracted by the other papers.

There was a sound down the hall.   Cade paled.  “Someone’s coming.  Remember what you can,” he whispered.  He visibly relaxed.  “They went the other way, but you still need to hurry.”

If we were in my dream, with the help of Alex, who could possibly hear us, why was he whispering?  We weren’t physically here.  We only existed in Alex’s head.  My head was spinning.  None of this made sense.

“Why are you here?” Jaxson asked as I tried my best to remember all the details.  Gavin and I had a way of memorizing things.   We liked to think of a story that would make sense to us.  I began making up my stories.

“Horatio killed my parents.” At my sharp look, he said quickly.  “My adoptive parents.” A sad look crossed his face.  “I didn’t even know.” He almost seemed to be talking to himself.   “A few years ago, I noticed I was different, but I didn’t tell anyone.  Who would believe me?  About a month ago, we were headed home from my football game.  One minute I was looking out the window, looking up at the stars, and the next, the car was spinning out of control.” He swallowed loudly, his eyes were bright with unshed tears.  “We hit a tree. I remember the limp body of my sister next to me and the sightless eyes of my parents. I blacked out.  Then I woke up here.  Horatio was waiting for me. He’s had me trapped here.  The drugs he has me on is starting to lose its effectiveness, but he doesn’t realize that yet, so I figured I would help you.  I listen when he thinks I can’t hear him or can’t understand him.  He’s an evil man, and he needs to be stopped.” There was a look of determination in his eyes.

“We can come and get you,” Jaxson said with conviction.  “Where are you?”

Cade shook his head resolutely.  “These people need you more than I do right now.  I don’t even know where I am.  I should soon, though.  Micah needs to figure out how to teleport further distances just in case.  I’ll let Alex know when I’m ready.”

Jaxson looked like he wanted to argue with him further, but he could see the determination in Cade’s eyes, and came over to me.  He was looking over my shoulder and I could see his mouth silently moving.  I smiled as I went back to memorizing the addresses.

“I need to go,” Cade said turning to leave, but then he stopped.  “I’m so glad to finally meet you, Blake.” He smiled sadly before running out the door.

Just as quickly as I arrived, I was yanked back.

 

I sat up with a gasp.  Jace was in a deep sleep and he went to reach for me, but I quickly and quietly tried to slip away from his grasp.  I needed to find a pen and paper.  I needed to see Alex and Jaxson. That felt too real to be a dream.

As I slipped out of Jace’s room, Jaxson was exiting his room.  He came over to me and drew me into an embrace.  “Did that just happen?”

I nodded numbly.  “I guess it did.  I need to get a pen and paper.  We need to write the addresses down and tell your dad in the morning.”

Alex came walking down the hall.  “Did you remember it all?”

I gave him a narrowed look.  “I think so.  Why didn’t you tell me you have been talking to Cade?”

Alex shrugged.  “You’ve been busy, and when I talked to him before he was happy.  He didn’t want to leave his mom and dad,” he frowned.  “Horatio isn’t a nice man.”

Jaxson pulled me into his room and pulled his book bag out of the closet.  He handed me a notebook and brought one out for himself.  “No, buddy he isn’t,” Jaxson lifted him up and put him in the middle of the bed.  “How did I get there, buddy?”

Alex shrugged his eyebrows knit in confusion.  “I don’t know.  I wasn’t trying to get you.  I just brought Blake.”

I paused in my writing.  “I think I brought you there…accidently.  I panicked, and you have always been there for me,” I said softly.

He reached out and caressed my cheek, giving me a lopsided smile.  “I’m glad you feel like you can still turn to me, but that was super weird.”

I giggled.  “Who are you telling?  I fell asleep, and next thing I know, I have to memorize addresses. Then I finally get to meet my other brother.”  I frowned.  “I really wish we can get him now.  I wished I hadn’t been so caught up in everything else and tried to look for him harder.”

“He’ll be fine,” Alex said confidently.  “Plus, like I said, he didn’t want to meet us the first time I found him.”

“Did you stop looking for him?” I asked with a raised brow.  “How did you know he was looking for us?”

Alex ducked his head.  “I kept going back to him, but his mind was…weird.  It felt all fuzzy and foggy.  I knew Ella was worried about him, but I didn’t want to say anything until I knew if he was okay.”

“Why do you think Ella keeps drawing pictures of him?” I asked Jaxson as I continued to write down the addresses.  “She’s a precog, but none of her drawings tell us anything.”

“Well, she’s still learning how to work with her gift.  Maybe she knew he’ll be in our lives soon…”  Jaxson hypothesized. 

“Hmm,” I said thoughtfully.

We finished writing in silence and then sat next to each other, comparing our addresses.

“These two are a little bit different,” I pointed to the two addresses.

“We can always give these to Dad and he can verify them thoroughly.  Come up with a game plan,” Jaxson yawned.

I nodded thoughtfully.  “If we strike them all at once, he wouldn’t know what hit him.  He won’t have time to move them again.”

Jaxson drew me in his arms and buried his head in my neck.  “I agree, but now sleep,” he looked down at his watch and groaned.  “It’s 4 o’clock in the morning.  We should try to get some more sleep.  Sleepover in my room,” he wagged his eyebrows suggestively.

I giggled and rubbed my hands across his bare chest.  I could feel the warmth radiating off his skin.  “Raincheck,” I promised him as I looked over at Alex, who had already passed out in the middle of the bed.  “Besides, you already have a guest,” I said tongue in cheek.

“Fine,” he grumbled good naturedly.  “But, I want some Jaxson and Blake time.”

I reached up and kissed him on his mouth.  I could tell I surprised him as his eyes widened.  “Promise,” I said softly before leaving his room. 

I felt bad that he felt like he wasn’t getting enough attention.  Maybe I took our relationship for granted.  Technically, he knew me the most.  He had been my confidant and beacon of hope in my darkest hours.  He had helped me feel like someone, cared for me, and made me feel like I wasn’t invisible.

I knew it was going to be a constant struggle to give them all the attention they deserved.  I was only one girl; I was outnumbered by testosterone-driven gifted men.  I needed to find our balance.  I wanted them to each know how much they had come to mean to me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 23

 

I woke up to soft kisses on the back of my neck, and I purred at all the sensations.  My neck had always been a highly sensitive area.  I scooted back into Jace’s obvious reaction.   His warm hands found their way under my shirt and he reverently ran them along my body, cupping the weight of my breasts in his hands.

I gasped when his thumbs found my nipples and started to barely touch them with the tips of his finger.  We hadn’t been intimate the night before, but I wanted nothing more to be with him right now.

He growled in my ear.  “We need to work on your barriers.  You turn me on, but feeling how much you want me turns me on more.”

Soon I was flipped onto my back, and I watched Jace lean back on his haunches.  His intense blue eyes were devouring me with desire.  He was so sexy with his tousled hair, bedroom eyes, and his five o’clock shadow dusting his strong jaw line and high cheek bones.  He resembled a caged panther.  Dark.  Sleek.  Muscled.  Wild.

Before I could reach for him he was pulling my panties down my leg.  “Jace,” I breathed.

“Shh,” he demanded.  “I want to taste you,” he husked before he began to kiss the skin of my inner thighs.

His stubble was leaving a burn, but I didn’t care.  He was never selfish when it came to this.  It was as if he got as much pleasure giving it than I did receiving it.  Finally, his mouth found my core and I nearly bucked off the bed in pleasure.  He made a deep sound of satisfaction in his throat.  It didn’t take me much to get ready for him—for any of them. 

“Sweet as honey,” he said in contentment as he continued to lick and suck on me.  He was a pro.  If this was an Olympic sport, he would win Gold, every time.

He chuckled against me and the vibrations felt good.  “Gold, eh?” he sat back as he raised an eyebrow at me.

I groaned in mortification as I found a pillow to bury my head under it.  Did I really say that out loud?!

My chagrin was soon forgotten when he added his fingers into the mix.  I knew I wasn’t going to last that long.  I was glad for the pillow covering my mouth as I screamed into it.

I felt Jace shift so his head was on my stomach.  He lazily traced his fingers across my skin.  I was just trying to come down from my orgasm.  My arms and legs felt like jelly.

There was a pounding on the door, and I sat up slightly irritated at the interruption.  I straddled Jace’s lap.  “Let’s pretend they’re not there,” I whispered in his ear.

He groaned as someone insistently pounded again.  “It’s 6:30 in the morning,” he cursed.

“Wake up Blake,” Jaxson called through the door.  “I know you’re in there,” he called out in smug satisfaction.

“I am going to beat him,” I muttered.

“Not if I beat him first,” Jace ground out before he stood up. 

I could see he was still hard and ready.  “We can make him wait,” I smiled suggestively.

A lighter, softer knock sounded on the door.  “Come on, Blake.  Pops is up.”  Alex called through the door.

It was my turn to moan in frustration.  “You made me forget,” I said in mock irritations.  I stood up to find my panties.

“Leave them.” Jace slid up behind me.  “I’ll find them later.  Besides, I like to think of you naked under that shirt.”

“I wish something else was under my shirt, or should I say, in me.” I leaned against him.

He cursed.  “You need to stop saying that or I’m locking us in here all day.”

Another knock.

“Jaxson James,” Jace growled loudly.  “I swear, if you knock one more time, I’m breaking off your hands.”

“Mine too?” Alex chirped with no fear.

Jace threw on a pair of sweats, before opening the door.  “No little man,” Jace was adept at hiding his frustration, but as Alex and Jaxson exchanged conspiratorial looks, he bent down so that he was on eye level with him.  “I’ll just let the girls put their makeup on you,” he said with mock seriousness.  He knew better than to joke about beating or breaking anything with Alex.  Alex knew all too well what it was like to get unnecessary beatings.

Alex eyes widened before he took off down the hall, yelling.

Jaxson gave us a smug smile.  “I hope I wasn’t interrupting anything, but Alex woke me up, and I didn’t think it was fair if I was the only one up, suffering.”

“I’ll take care of you later,” Jace said with annoyed look. 

Jaxson laughed before he jabbed Jace with a fist.  “I’m not afraid of you anymore, big brother,” he said but took off running the moment Jace went to retaliate.

 

“Are you sure it’s not a trap?  Are you sure he’s your brother?” Will asked in consternation as he looked down at our addresses.

“He’s our brother,” Alex said doggedly as he took a bite of his banana.

I had given him a snack while I began whisking the pancake batter.  We were the only ones up, but I knew it wouldn’t be that way for long.  I decided to do a banana foster topping and strawberry with whip cream topping (my favorite).

“I don’t think it’s a trap,” I stated as I started slicing up the fruit.

We had just filled Will and Jace in on what happened last night.  To say Will was flummoxed would be putting it lightly.  He had been gifted for many years.  He was immersed in the culture for a very long time.  In a short while, we had rocked all his preconceived notions.  I had six connections and had gained their gifts, while retaining my own.  Micah, Ella, and Alex were showing an ability to handle their gifts far exceeding many children or teens twice as old as them.

Jace slid up behind me and handed me my coffee with a kiss on my cheek.  “Did he tell you this, little man?”

“They did resemble each other,” Jaxson stated as he took a sip of his own coffee.

I paused, momentarily distracted by Jaxson and Jace standing by each other in their sculpted beauty.  Both were sans shirt.  They resembled each other in many ways.  Jace had harder, more angular features.  Jaxson was wider in the chest and shoulders.   I really wished we could implement a mandatory shirt rule.  Especially this early in the morning.  They were proving to be a distraction.  

In that moment, Troy came into the room without a shirt on, wearing a pair of his martial arts pants.  I was vaguely aware of Will saying something, but I was so preoccupied with the sight of them that I was incapable of processing his words.

“Blake?” Will called my name again.

I blushed and ducked my head.  “I’m sorry,” I mumbled.  “Just waiting for the coffee to kick in.  What did you say?”

“Coffee?” Troy gave me a knowing grin.

“Do you believe we should trust your brother?  Do you think we can trust his intel?” Will repeated as he gave the boys a narrowed gaze.

“Which one?” Troy asked in confusion before he plucked a piece of strawberry off my cutting board.

“Cade,” I explained to him.  “Jaxson and I got to meet him last night through Alex.  He warned us some of the intel we received may be incorrect, and he gave us the locations of the actual facilities with the rest of the females he has.  Yes, I believe him.”

“Wait, what?” Troy raised an eyebrow.

“I found Cade, and he wanted to meet Blake,” Alex explained patiently.  “She brought Jaxson somehow,” he shrugged.

“Have you done that before?” Troy asked.

“No,” Alex said.

“These things you do,” Will said affectionately rubbing a hand through Alex’s curls, “They’re beyond me.  I feel we should be preparing you more, but I don’t know how.”

“Cade told us that we needed to prepare Micah to travel longer distances.  We probably should be setting up classes for the children every day,” Jace frowned.  “It’s not like they are getting them in school.”

“I can do that,” Troy volunteered.  “I’m not really needed in the hospital as much any longer.  I can set up a schedule to work with Micah.”

“Do we know any precogs that may be able to help Ella?” Jaxson asked.  “Who can help Alex?”

“I can work with Alex.  I was with Horatio when he worked on his,” Will explained.  He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.  “I might be able to find someone for Ella.” Will frowned.  “I haven’t talked to Megan in years, and I’m not sure she will want to talk to me, but it wouldn’t hurt to try.”

“Does Aunt Megan,” Jaxson cleared his throat uncomfortably.  “Even talk to mom anymore?”

My head snapped up as I looked at Jaxson and Jace.  They never talked about their mother.  I always assumed she was dead.  I thought they just didn’t want to talk about her.

I could see the tightening in Jace’s jaw.  Clearly, he didn’t like talking about his mother or anyone that may be associated to her.  “That’s not necessary,” he said his eyes ice cold.  I felt a chill run down my spine.   “I’m sure one of the communities have someone that can help her.”

Jaxson was staring down at his feet.  “It wouldn’t hurt to try.”

Will ran an agitated hand over his face.  “She is the only high level precog I know. I must swallow my pride.  For Ella’s sake.”

“She left us before that woman left us.  I don’t want her anywhere near Ella,” Jace crossed his arms across his chest.

“She can help us,” Jaxson squared up across his brother.  “Aunt Megan loved us, and she left long before mom did.  She never liked the institute.  She knew it was harming us.”

Jace shook his head.  “I understand you still miss that woman, but her sister isn’t a replacement.”

“That’s a low blow Jace,” Jaxson said balling up his fist by his side.

“That’s enough,” Troy stood in between them as he gave a pointed look at Alex.  Alex looked frightened as he gripped Will’s arm. “Jace, go for a run, think about this with a level head.  Jaxson, can you get Alex in the shower, before breakfast?  He skipped his bath last night.”

I had never seen any of the guys fight with each other.  They joked with each other.  They teased each other.  They argued, but they never came close to a physical altercation.   It was kind of scary seeing them this livid.  Jace was the first one to turn and leave.  Jaxson took a deep breath before he turned to Alex.

“Come on, buddy,” he bade.  “Let’s get in the shower so our breakfast doesn’t get cold.”

Alex pouted.  “Do I have to?  I can take one tonight.”

“Tonight’s trick or treating and we’re getting our pumpkins to carve after breakfast,” Will said gently.             

Alex jumped off the barstool with a whoop—the argument, in his eyes, forgotten—and ran up the stairs.

When they left, I looked at Will and Troy.  Troy broke eye contact with me and turned to get some coffee.  Will looked immensely troubled.  “Without going into much detail, because I feel the boys need to tell you…First, their aunt left them because of the institute, and it hurt them.  Then their mother left us when we decided to leave the institute.  That devastated them.  Jaxson was a Mama’s boy, so he still misses her.  Jace was older. He saw and heard more things.  He had a better understanding of the situation.  He handled them leaving differently.  But Megan was a good woman.  I wouldn’t reach out to her if I felt she would harm Ella.”

I felt like another bombshell was dropped.  It only further showed me how much more I needed to get to know my guys.

 

After breakfast, Will took Micah, Patrick, Alex, Ella, Chip, and Nadia to the pumpkin patch a few miles down the road.  He declined any of us going with him, so I helped Drake clean up the kitchen before I went to find Remy.  I hadn’t seen him since last night, and it wasn’t like him to skip our Saturday morning run.

After looking in his room, I decided to head to the basement.  Drake was out in the pool doing his morning laps.  I knew Troy, Jaxson, Noah, and Jace had gone down to the basement to work out.

“Has anyone seen Remy?” I asked as I came down to the bottom step.  “He’s not answering my text.”

I could tell that Jaxson and Jace was still at odds with each other.  They were squared off once more.  Troy and Noah had their arms crossed over their chest, in between them.  All the conversation abruptly stopped.

No, it’s not obvious that I’m the topic of conversation, I inwardly snorted to myself. 

Jace looked over at me with an inscrutable look.  “I think he went to We 7.”

I nodded.  All these secrets shrouding us was suffocating me.  “Okay, well I’m going for a run.”  It kind of hurt me that Remy hadn’t even let me know that he wasn’t going to be here.

I had a feeling Molly’s visit had upset him in some way, but I hated feeling like I was constantly being shut out.  I hated that Jaxson and Jace had never told me about their mother.  I understood their need to handle their emotions the way they felt was best, but it also made me feel like they didn’t feel like I was worth the effort to be confided in. 

I tightened my shoe strings on my running shoes and did a quick warm up, put on my headset, and turned on Drake’s iPod before I headed out towards the road.  My feet on the pavement was oddly therapeutic.   I was still troubled, but at least I had an outlet for all these negative feelings.

I should have been more aware of my surroundings, but I was careless.  I hadn’t seen the dark van parked off on an old access road beneath the billboard advertising Knightstown.  My music was blaring in my ears, and I knew I was running at a much faster pace than I generally did. I was pushing myself hard.  I was running from the demons and insecurities in my head.

One moment I was running on the road, and the next it felt like I had hit an ice patch.  My feet went out from under me, and I didn’t have the time to stop myself from falling hard to the pavement.  I felt and heard the resounding crack to my head.  I tried to roll over to my knees and blinked in confusion, my vision blurring.  What the hell happened?

I saw five pairs of feet and legs surround me.  “Quick, someone inject her before she can protect herself,” a timid nasally voice demanded in a panicked voice.

I tried to compel them to leave.  Nothing.  I then tried to erect my forcefield.  Nothing.  I held up a shaking arm, trying to produce a fireball.  Nothing. I took a deep breath trying to focus on any of my gifts, but they were eluding me.  

Through the fog in my head I saw a beautiful girl with black cropped hair squat down in front of me, her elbows braced on her thighs.  She wore black makeup, including her lipstick.  Her eyebrows, nose, lip, and ears were covered in piercings.  She gave me a cruel smile before she looked up at her companions. 

“This little thing is someone I should fear?” she scoffed as she extended a finger towards me.  An electric bolt shot from her fingertip, and I felt like I was struck by lightning as my body convulsed uncontrollably in pain.  My hands went out from under me and my face connected with the pavement this time.  

I gasped in pain as the residual effects of her gift wracked my body.  My vision was doubled.  I felt a warm stickiness running down the back of my head and neck from my original fall.  My whole right side of my cheek was already swelling.  It made it even harder to look out of my right eye.

“Knock it off, Static,” another voice reprimanded her.  “The boss wants her in one piece.”

Real original nickname, I scoffed inwardly.