CHAPTER TEN
“Does anyone mind if I have the baseball scores on in the background?” Ripley called out from the living room with the remote in hand.
“I don’t mind,” Crystal answered from where she stood in the open archway near the dining room and opened the last carton of pad Thai.
Max accepted the stack of plates from Doc Kelly and set them on the table. Doc’s house was an explosion of color from the eggplant purple walls, to the yellow and pink pillows on the couches. She told them she preferred the rainbow effect because she was surrounded by so much white during the day. The floorplan was bright, vibrant, and open. Too open, in his opinion.
He eyed the massive floor-to-ceiling glass doors leading to the patio before closing the drapes tightly and selecting a chair where his back was to the wall. Since the night at Anthony’s house, sliding glass doors and massive windows open to the visible world made him twitchy.
“This smells fantastic.” Ripley sighed in appreciation and took a seat facing the television in the other room.
Max accepted the heaping plate Crystal handed him with a nod of thanks. “Ripley, when did you know you could shift?”
He wiped his mouth with a paper napkin before answering. “About four years ago. I was working with a group from Oregon State University who were studying the black bear population in the Cascades. Dusk had set in, and I was heading back to base camp. My boot caught on a root I didn’t see and I went tumbling down a hill, right into the path of a mama bear and her cubs.” A hint of a smile hovered on his lips. “Word of warning, don’t use a bear cub as a landing pad. The momma bear and I stared at each other in shock for about half a second before she reared up and slashed me across the chest with her claws. Obviously, I expected to have it sting like hell, but the pain was different. It was like I had grabbed onto a live wire charged with fifty thousand volts. This horrible nauseating feeling swept over me, and all of my bones started to snap and pop. The next thing I knew, I was standing toe to toe, or rather paw to paw, with her. I had shapeshifted.” His smile stretched wider. “Scared the shit out of both of us. The bears took off, and I collapsed in the dirt. When I woke up, morning had dawned, and I was lying naked in the forest.”
Ripley gestured at Doc. “That’s how I meet Doc here. She was part of the rescue team that was sent out after me when I hadn’t return to camp. She was the one who treated my wounds. I could tell something was different about her right away. She smelled different, like electricity. Just like you two smell.”
“Could you tell what had happened to him right away? That he was something different?” Max asked Doc. Despite the driving need to continue on his mission to take down his father, he couldn’t help but be fascinated at the prospect of other supers. Now that he was committed to this little chat, his mind was eager to soak up every bit of information.
“I could tell his physiology was different, but I didn’t know he could shapeshift. We danced around the possibility until it came down to an I’ll-show-you-my-talent-if-you-show-me-yours showdown. After that, we learned to trust each other.”
“So you can change into any animal?” Max asked.
“Any mammal,” Ripley clarified with a pointed jab of his fork. “I can become a dolphin, but not a fish or bird.”
“That’s amazing.” Crystal shook her head.
Max focused on Doc. “Then you’ve been able to heal for quite a while now if it’s been four years since Ripley transitioned.”
She nodded, pushing the noodles around on her plate. Her voice dropped to a husky murmur as she replied, “Almost seven years now. I was working the late shift in the ER. Some gangbangers were brought in after a drive-by at a party, and the rival gang burst in to finish the job. They opened fire, and I was hit in the shoulder. At first I thought I had been hit several times because I burned everywhere, but I realized later it must have been the change taking place. I passed out, and when I came to, my shoulder was healed. I knew I hadn’t imagined being shot because of the hole in my shirt and the blood everywhere.”
“That’s odd.” Crystal frowned down at her plate.
“What’s odd?” Max asked.
“I didn’t pass out. When I had my first vision, I had the same stomach-turning, electric sensation you two described, but I didn’t pass out.”
“Did you lose consciousness?” Doc asked Max.
“No. I was awake the entire time.” Unfortunately. “But I did experience a similar sensation.”
Doc nodded and folded her hands together on the tabletop. She was gearing up for something, Max could tell by the straight set of her shoulders, the glimmer in her eyes, and the way her lips pursed together as if she was forming a proposal he suspected he wasn’t going to like.
“I have a theory. It’s only a theory because the only people I’ve been able to do any research on is myself and Ripley.” Yep. Here it was. “I’ve run tests on our blood, skin, hair, everything trying to find out how and why we have developed these abilities. What I’ve discovered is that Ripley and I have several compounds in our molecular makeup in common that we shouldn’t, and I think the primary cause is our environment.”
Intrigued, Max sat back, even though he knew where she was leading and knew he wasn’t going to like it. “How so?”
“Look at the physiological makeup of the human body now and from twenty, thirty, a hundred years ago,” she began, hands pressed flat on the table. “The appendix has grown smaller, people as a whole are fatter. We drink hormones in our milk, there’re pesticides in our vegetables. The air we breathe and the water we drink has lord knows what exactly in it.” Each time she made a point, she tapped the table with the tip of her finger. “Humans, as a species, are going to have to evolve in order to survive these assaults on our bodies.”
She took a deep breath. “When I took the samples from Ripley and me and broke them down, I found three profound distinctions between ourselves and other random human samples I used as controls.”
“Wait.” Crystal raised her hand and leaned forward. “History major here. Science was not my strong suit. Go slow.”
Doc smiled. “I borrowed blood and tissue samples from several average people at the hospital—”
“Borrowed or stole?” Max cut in.
Her spine went ramrod straight and a flush graced her cheeks. “I prefer the term ‘pilfered.’ If a test was ordered, I’d take two. One for the hospital, one for me.”
Uh-huh. That’s what he thought. Even the good doctor wasn’t above using others for her own gain.
“Anyway, I cross-referenced those samples with Ripley’s and mine. In both of ours, I found a large quantity of phenylpropanolamine. It’s a decongestant used to treat asthma, but for a long time it was used as an ingredient in diet pills.”
“I take it neither of you suffer from asthma or use diet pills,” Max broke in, stroking his chin as his mind worked to catalog the information. “It doesn’t make sense that it’s in your bloodstream. It should have passed through your system within hours of ingesting it.”
“Exactly.” Doc nodded enthusiastically. “I also found large traces of epinephrine, which also should have long passed through our systems.”
“Epinephrine?” Crystal frowned. “Isn’t that a drug?”
“Yes, but it’s also another name for adrenaline,” Doc answered. “And I found feldspar.”
Crystal’s brows rose. “Like the mineral?”
“Yep. Feldspar, clinopynxene, and olivine. The research I dug up found these minerals are most prevalent in rock. More specifically—”
“Ash,” Max interrupted, the pieces of the puzzle falling into place.
“What?” Crystal asked.
All eyes turned to him. “Ash. Volcanic ash. Those elements are found in basalt magma. And when was the most recent case of widespread contamination of basalt magma, or volcanic ash in this area?”
“Mount St. Helen’s.” Crystal gasped. “I remember for science class. The fallout from that spread over the entire Northwest.”
Doc spread her hands out wide. “I believe our bodies have acted like an incubator for all of these molecules that have been changed by our environment. All four of us are from this area, all between the ages of twenty-five to forty. My mother took diet pills like they were candy. I took some myself in college.”
“My mother did too,” Ripley added.
“Mine too,” Crystal chimed in. “I’ve even tried them.”
Again, all eyes turned to Max. “My mother owned stock in Dexatrim. Seriously.”
“You see.” Doc nodded. “We’ve all been exposed to PPA, and volcanic ash, which conducts electricity. Crystal, what was the catalyst for your change?”
Crystal swallowed hard before answering in a soft voice. “I saw my father beat my mother to death.”
Doc’s breath caught, clearly not expecting such a tragic answer. “A traumatic event.”
“Yes.”
“And you, Max?” Doc asked.
If they thought he was going to open up and spill his heart in an Oprah show moment, they were sorely mistaken. He pushed his half-eaten dinner away, his appetite gone. “Similar to Crystal.”
“Just as I suspected.” Doc nodded and leaned back in her chair, her arms folded over her breasts as if she had solved the case. “We’ve all been exposed to chemicals and compounds that affect metabolism. We’ve all experienced a traumatic event. An event so catastrophic it caused a spike of adrenaline so great, it changed the molecular structure of our bodies.”
“But why? And why do we have different powers from each other?” Max asked.
Doc frowned and propped her hand on her chin. “That, I’m not certain. Because I’ve only been able to test on Ripley and me, I assumed it was because the change emphasized a talent or knowledge we already possessed. Crystal, did you have psychic tendencies before your change?”
“A little. My intuition was usually spot-on. And when I played around with tarot cards, they almost always came true.” She gasped and turned toward Max. “And Max is smart. Really, really, really smart. Is that why you’re telekinetic? Because you’re able to process knowledge so fast, you’re able to move things with your mind?”
“That information would support my theory,” Doc interjected. She was practically levitating off her chair in her excitement. “And why you two didn’t lose consciousness. You experienced an emotional trauma while Ripley and I had a physical one.”
Now that was an interesting theory. “Are you saying any spike of adrenaline will cause a manifestation of powers?”
“If that person has the same chemical cocktail as we do, and the spike is strong enough, I believe so,” she answered.
“And will that power increase if the person experiences another trauma?”
“Potentially, yes. Ripley has had some run-ins with wildlife while shifted and is now able to control what he shifts into, instead of mimicking the animal he is around. And I noticed my ability to focus my healing energy increased after an injury. One time I had a gurney roll over my foot with a rather weighty individual on it. Broke a few toes. And there was another time I was almost in a car accident on the way to work. When my heart rate slowed, I felt the energy I use to heal had grown stronger.”
Very interesting indeed.
Max hummed to himself and picked up his fork. Testing the weight in his palm, he then switched his grip so the tines were faced down as if he were holding an ice pick.
“Don’t you dare,” Crystal snapped and slapped at his arm. “Are you insane?”
“What?” he asked. “I’m just holding a fork.”
“You’re going to stab yourself to see if you can increase your powers.”
“Did you just see that in a vision?” What happened to her falling into that trance-like thing she did when she saw into the future? Or had her run-in with that cougar increase her power?
She tilted her head. “As if I needed to. You broadcasted your intentions just as surely as if you spoke them out loud.”
Well, that was disappointing. “Fine. So what if I was? What could be bad about increasing my powers?”
“Because it won’t work, man,” Ripley replied with a chuckle. He took a giant swig from his bottle of beer. “Believe me. I tried.”
“What happened to you when you did?” Max asked.
“I got a bunch of scars for my efforts, that’s what.”
“I begged him to stop after his third attempt,” Doc said. “Your pain receptors and body react differently when you anticipate the trauma. That’s why some people are better able to withstand things like piercings and tattoos.”
“So you’re saying I could jump Ripley when he wasn’t expecting, stab him, and his powers might grow?”
“In theory.”
“No, no, no, stop,” Crystal groused. “That’s just psychotic.”
“What? I can stab him, Doc could heal him? What could go wrong?”
“You could kill him, that’s what. Oh my God.” She ran her hand over her face. “Talk like that is just demented.”
Doc put her hands out as if she were refereeing a boxing match. “No one is stabbing anybody. I’m not above taking a few tissue samples from unsuspecting people, but I draw the line at human test trials.”
“Even if it gets you clearer results?” Max asked.
“Yes. I want to see how we came to be. Not create more of us.”
More? Now there was an idea almost as frightening as his father’s quest to take over the country. With an army of supers on his side, he’d be almost unstoppable.
Max’s attention was diverted from the nightmarish idea of a Dr. Doom version of his father when Doc continued, “If I ran tests on you two, I know I would find similarities with Ripley and me. I can confirm how we came to be.”
“What exactly do you want from us?” Did he really have to ask?
She blinked at him with all innocence. “Just a few bio samples. Blood, hair, skin…all bodily fluids.”
Yeah, right. “Sorry, Doc, but I’m not jacking off into a cup. Even if it is for science.”
“Max,” Crystal admonished. “There could be more people out there like us, or about to become like us. This could be a major discovery.”
“It already is. Her theory is sound and perfectly logical.” He raised a brow. “Are you willing to stick your feet in the stirrups and be internally swabbed?”
A flush spread across her cheeks. “If need be.”
He grunted and glanced back at Doc. “I understand what you are trying to do. Really. I’ll give you some hair, maybe a fingernail, but no needles and no fluids.” The last word came out twisted and bitter as if he had bit down on a bad snow pea.
Doc continued undeterred. “If I find a connection, will you agree to more testing?”
“Yes,” Crystal answered for him.
“I may be willing to reconsider. And that is a big may.” He leaned forward. “But whatever you discover, you cannot let your research become public knowledge. It’s one thing to learn and understand how we came to be, and potentially life-threatening if the information gets into the wrong hands. There will be some twisted fuck out there who will take that knowledge and do something stupid, like create their own supers. And you can be damned sure that I will do whatever it takes to prevent that from happening.” One nutcase playing God at a time was all he could handle.
“I understand.” Doc raised her hand in a Girl Scout pledge. “I’ve told no one about my research except Ripley, and I keep it entirely under lock and key.”
“No offense, Doc, but lock and key isn’t going to cut it. You’re going to need security and firewalls of epic proportions.”
“You’re exactly right.” Crystal latched onto his sleeve, excitement quivering in her voice. “That’s why we’re going to be with you, Doc.”
What that fuck did that mean?
“With you?” he echoed. “You mean us with her? Oh, no. I didn’t say that. I said nothing even remotely close to that,” he drawled out as a sinking sensation pulled his Thai food–laden stomach to his knees.
“Don’t you see, Max? This is why we’re here. To find others like us. To band together and fight the bad guys. Like your father.”
“Nope.” He was out of his chair in a heartbeat. “Absolutely not. I am not dragging anyone else into that. That’s my fight and my fight alone.”
Crystal jumped up and chased him into the living room, but he mentally shut her out and concentrated on the scores scrawling across the screen. The Mariners lost again. No surprise there.
“Max, you cannot face your father alone. I know you have the element of surprise on your side, but this is too big for just you. You’ll need help.” She grasped his arm, refusing to be ignored.
“Don’t go pledging others assistance without asking. And I’m not asking for help,” he snapped over his shoulder.
Ripley joined them. “What is Matthew Madden up to?”
Max turned in surprise. “How do you know he’s my father?”
He cocked his head to the side. “I might be part animal, but I do occasionally read the paper. Madden Financial is a major conglomerate, and how many people with the last name of Madden drive around in a Ferrari?”
Good guess. Which meant he was going to have to go deep undercover if a zoologist in Portland could make him out.
“It’s none of your business,” Max bit out.
“I beg to differ,” the big man continued to press. “If you, his own son, is about to fight him in something, it must be big.”
Max pinched his lips together. He was not going to go down this road.
Unfortunately, Crystal was more than ready to embark on that journey. “Max has evidence that Madden stole the billions of dollars that was supposedly lost in the housing and mortgage bust.”
“Motherfucker,” Max shouted. “Crystal! What are you doing?”
“What?” She threw her hands up in the air. “They deserve to know what is really happening in our country, what could happen. Tell them. Let them decide if they want to join us.”
Us? He dug both hands into his hair and pulled until his eyes watered. “Crystal, there is no us. Look, sweetheart, I know why you think you need to go with me, but it’s not going to bring your mother back.”
Her stricken expression told Max that a knife to the heart would have been less painful than his words. Blood rushed from her cheeks as her lips began to tremble. The fact that he was the one to put that look there made his hardened heart soften and reminded him of the bastard he usually was. Only this time, he wished he wasn’t one.
“Ah hell, honey.” He pulled her close and hugged her tight. “You want to help. I get that. It’s very noble. But I can’t put you at risk.”
Under her cotton shirt, her body felt delicate. Memories of the night Anthony was killed, the remembered scent of gun oil and blood filled his senses. If Madden ever got his hands on her, Max couldn’t begin to imagine the cruelties his father would subject her to.
While she was small in stature, there was no denying the strength of her character. She truly believed she could help him save the world, and part of him was afraid she would continue to try until the only thing that stopped her was death.
Just the thought of her in danger made him tighten his hold. “I don’t want you hurt.”
Her eyes turned green as she gazed up at him and whispered, “It’s my choice. I deserve a chance. Like you.”
Max closed his eyes with a quick prayer for patience, then spoke over Crystal’s head to the others. “Madden is building an army, buying up land all over the world, and developing who knows what type of weapons. He plans to take over the country.”
“Holy shit,” Doc gasped then slapped a hand over her mouth. “Pardon my French.”
Ripley’s eyes narrowed. “Why haven’t you gone to the authorities?”
“I had a friend who tried. He ended up dead. There’s too much corruption to know where to begin,” he answered bitterly.
“Max is trying to stop his father, only it’s not as easy as walking up and slapping a pair of cuffs on the man. It’s complicated and dangerous.” Crystal rubbed his back in long, comforting strokes.
It was the first time she had voluntarily touched him since that first handshake. Through the layer of cloth and leather, her touch burned him, made him ache for her.
How long had it been since he spent so much time in the company of others? The day he had spent with Crystal was a hint of what could be if he were more social. Showed him what it was like to be with someone, to tease, to argue with, to laugh. Max never thought he would want someone that way, until her. Being all on his own was, well, lonely.
He shook his head. No, he couldn’t place others in danger, especially Crystal.
“If serious shit is going down, I want to be a part of it.” Ripley folded his arms over his massive chest. “Madden has contacts, not just financial, but political as well. This isn’t just some wealthy bigshot with delusions of grandeur. If anyone could pull off a major coup, it would be Madden. Crystal’s right, you’re going to need help.”
“Yeah?” Max matched the hulk’s pose. “And just what exactly are your plans to stop him?”
Crystal smiled with that damn dimple creasing her cheek and answered for Ripley. “We’re going to find others like us and form our own army. We’re going to train, and research, and find a way to stop Madden.”
“And where do you propose we do all of that?”
“Your mountain.”
“You own an entire mountain?” Ripley asked with a choking laugh.
“Most of one,” Crystal replied. “He dug it out himself. It’s private and we can outfit it with whatever we need. A gym, a lab for Doc, sleeping quarters. It’s perfect.”
“You need to stop reading my mind,” Max growled.
“I don’t read minds, just memories,” she reminded him.
“Hold up. Jump back a second.” Ripley held up a hand and pointed at Crystal. “Explain that.”
She swallowed once then shrugged as if it was no big deal. “I can see a person’s memories if I touch their skin.”
“Seriously?”
“Yep.”
He shuddered. “Remind me to wear a full body condom the next time I touch you.”
The words next, touch, and condom went right into Max’s ear and ate a hole in his belly. Just because he was fighting his attraction to her didn’t mean he wanted other men to touch Crystal, platonically or sexually.
Crystal propped her hands on her hips and lifted her chin in a way that twisted him in knots. “Of course, Max, if you feel that strongly about being the Lone Ranger, I can’t stop you. After all, I know just about everything you do, remember? The three of us can form our own group. We’ll go after the organization, and you can go after your father. When we cross paths, it will be with a hearty wave and good wishes. How about that?” Her smile was as sweet as honey and just as sticky.
The manipulative little witch. She had him by the nuts, and he couldn’t help but admire her for it.
Max bit the inside of his cheek and counted to three, not certain if he was going to blow up with anger or laugh his head off. But now more than ever he needed his head to overrule his heart. He was a smart man, and it would be remiss to dismiss the idea without serious consideration.
Could he open his sanctuary to other people? Complete strangers? Other supers?
He stroked his chin and contemplated Ripley and Doc. A shifter and a healer would be great allies.
But Crystal…
What would it be like to have her in his home, see her every day? She’d be hell on his self-control and test him in ways he’d never been pushed before, that was for certain. She was a puzzle he eagerly wanted to solve.
Anticipation spiked so hard, the spicy flavor coated his tongue and he wanted more. He was up for the challenge, but was she?
“You said it yourself, Crystal. It’s not going to be easy. Someone will get hurt, maybe die. I meant what I said. I can’t watch you endanger yourself,” he said in a low tone, not caring that they had an audience.
“I can learn, I can train. You’re going to need all the help you can get, Max.”
“What about your job? What if you find your sister? She can’t know about the rest of us. It will be too dangerous.”
Ah-ha. A possibility she hadn’t counted on, he judged, based by her intake of breath and the hint of doubt in her eyes. She looked over at Doc Kelly and Ripley, then down at the floor.
He had her. No way would she give up a chance to find her only family.
And then she lifted her lashes and a spark of determination turned the color of her eyes to a smoky umber. Diamonds appeared more malleable than the set of her jaw and the line of her lips right then as she replied, “Then so be it.”
“Why?” How could she give up everything to put her lot in with him, a practical stranger? “Why do you care?”
“Because I—” She sucked in her lip, worrying the soft bit of flesh for a moment before turning those big eyes up at him. “Because this is my destiny. I’m supposed to do more than sling coffee and tell fortunes. I was given this power to save the world.”
He couldn’t resist pushing her. “Just like that? Just like that you’ll give up the life you’ve built? You’ll come live with me? Work by my side every day? And every night?” He let the implication rumble in his purr. She better be aware exactly what she was walking into, because he’d have enough going on to worry about keeping his attraction to her in check.
Crystal lifted her chin. Awareness, irritation, and desire swirled in her eyes that turned brown. “I can do it.”
He stepped in her personal space, daring her to back away. He held back his grin of satisfaction when she straightened to make herself seem taller. “I’ll be watching you. Every day. Just know that it won’t be because I fear for you.” A statement that wasn’t entirely true. “You’re asking a lot of me. I’ll be expecting a lot from you in return.” He focused his gaze on those plump lips, remembering their taste from earlier that day. If she wanted to place herself in his path, who was he not to take what he wanted.
“I will be the consummate professional.”
He did smile at that. And his grin grew when her eyes flashed and her nostrils flared as she realized how he took her statement.
“Hey, lovebirds.” Ripley turned up the television. “Look at this.” He rewound the DVR then pushed play.
Although the sports announcer was reading from a teleprompter, the excitement in his voice was tangible as he said, “There was excitement today at the NCAA track and field championships in Los Angeles, where everyone is talking about the amazing performance of WSU decathlete Chase Armitage.” The scene changed from inside the sports studio to one of sunny skies and an emerald green infield.
Preparing for the shot put was a young man, tall, handsome, the textbook definition of healthy. Long dark hair curled around his ears and brushed muscular shoulders kissed golden by the sun. His farm-boy good looks reminded Max of Clark Kent in his early years.
The young man craned his neck to the left, then right, then worked his arms back and forth, pinching his shoulder blades together. In his hands, the sixteen-pound shot put looked as light as a tennis ball as he rolled it between his palms before settling it against his neck. Once, twice, thrice he spun, then launched the rock into the air with a soft grunt.
He turned and waved at the cheering crowd without looking at where it landed. His smile showed confidence that he tossed it farther than anyone.
“After the first day of competition, Armitage is leading the pack by an enormous margin,” the announcer continued as more footage of the competition rolled. “The twenty-two-year-old senior from Centralia, Washington, has come out of nowhere and has shattered, no, obliterated every world record. Watch this replay of the hundred-meter dash.”
Armitage took an early lead, leaving the others in his dust, but Max noticed that it appeared as if he pulled short before crossing the finish line.
“Wow.” Doc whistled. “He made that look so easy.”
“Yeah.” Ripley wiggled his brows up and down. “Almost too easy?”
Crystal gasped and braced her hands against the couch. Max wrapped an arm around to steady her, waiting with hair-thin patience for her vision to recede and she returned to him. Damn, the first thing they were going to work on was her control. These spells left her too vulnerable and gave him a near heart attack each time.
Ah, fuck. She was so under his skin already. If he thought he could walk away from her now, the only person he was fooling was himself.
He held his breath until her shoulders relaxed and her vision refocused. “What did you see?”
She smiled. “We’re going to LA”