by Celeste Raye
“It's a beautiful night, isn't it?”
“It is. I didn't even see you out here for a minute. You're so quiet.”
“You would think that after all that time by myself in the basement, I would want to have someone to talk to, but I find that I need the silence more than ever before. It has been a hell of a week, and Fran gave us a lot to think about.”
“Why are you still here?”
“Do you not want me here?”
“No, it's not that at all. I'm just wondering why you're here. After everything that's happened, I would have thought that you would be a mile away from here right now. You have been through a lot.”
“I just want to make sure that your kids are safe. I want to help. That’s what I got into babysitting for. Besides, I don't have much family to go back to. I would much rather stay and help, if you don't mind.”
Her small confession gave him questions and answers. He agreed almost instantly that he wanted her to stay. Jack felt more at ease with her there. She had an easy way about her, and he needed some of that right now. Especially when everything inside of him was trying to drive him crazy. How was he ever going to be able to be what his boys needed if he had no faith?
Mona was good at calming him, or as good as one could be given the circumstances.
Mona moved closer to him, and she wanted to know what was on his mind.
“I am just wondering where my kids are. I have a bond with them, and I would know if something had happened to them, but that still doesn't make me feel that much better. I wish I could see them, just to make sure.”
Mona understood. She didn't have kids but she did care about every one of them that she took care of. Mona had to believe that they would find them and that the boys would be fine.
“They are going to be okay.”
“Do you really believe that?”
“I do. I don't know what is going on or why they would take children, but I have to believe that they won't hurt them. Not even humans are that cruel. Kids are kids.”
While there was some truth to it, in his mind, Jack also knew that a lot of humans did not feel that way. They didn't even feel that way about other humans, let alone superhumans. Supernatural beings were like animals to them.
Her hand touched him, and he looked at her.
“I wish I would have met you first. I am sure the boys would have loved you.”
She was concerned with how he was using the past tense. She didn't want him to give up, but it sounded like in a way, he already was. He was very good at pretending he was ‘okay,’ but it was becoming clear to her that he was not.
Mona moved towards him for a hug. It obviously wasn't something that she would normally do, but at the end of the day, he was a man that was hurting and she just wanted to help.
She tried to ignore the small sensations that she noticed with him being so close to her.
“Thank you, Mona. I know that you didn't have to stay, but I am very glad that you did. I will be thankful when they are home, things are back to normal, and you can work with them. They will do well with you, I think. You have a very calming way about you.”
“Is that so?”
She pulled away and tried not to feel embarrassed for the way she had acted. It was meant as a gesture to make him feel better, but when she moved back away from him, it didn’t just feel friendly. It felt like something more. Her hands wouldn’t be sweaty, and her heart wouldn’t be racing if it were just that.
“Well, let me show you to your room.”
“My room?”
“Yes, you will need somewhere to stay while you are here. I mean...”
Mona waited to hear what he was going to say next, but he never finished the sentence. She wanted him to, even though Mona had a feeling that he was being naughty. She needed the distraction, and he needed it too.
“Anyway, let me show you where you can sleep tonight. I have a couple of people that I need to see. I'm going to put an investigator on this Franklin Organization that Fran was talking about. One way or another, we will have more answers when you wake up in the morning.”
“What about you?”
“What do you mean?”
“You haven't had any sleep. Don't you think you should sleep for a little bit?”
He shook his head. “There's no way that I'm going to be able to sleep right now. Not with everything going on. I can't just sit idly by and wait to see what happens; you know? I am just not built that way.”
Mona agreed. It was very clear to her that he was very distraught about all of it. As much as she wanted to believe that there was a way to forget about everything, it was going to be impossible for both of them. Mona went with him to the room and thanked him for it. He left her behind, and she looked around. It was pretty much what she would have imagined for a guy that had Jack’s money. It was obvious that he was rich, and considering how much she charged per hour, it was a given.
Alone, she began to recall the previous week. All she had was a few sips of water that were given to her at night when the witch would come check on her. She had never been so scared in all of her life, but now it was like none of it happened. Now she was sitting in her soft bed and thinking about her employer in a way that she shouldn't be.
The same employer that had just lost his children and was trying to find them. Everything that was going through her mind was not at all okay. She should not be thinking about him in such a way. Mona knew that she was wrong for it, and she was thankful that he couldn't read her mind. She could pretend like the thoughts that were running through her mind were not dirty at all.
Laying down in the bed, Mona tried to close her eyes and go to sleep for a little while. Her efforts were almost comical. There was no way that she was going to get any sleep. Her mind wouldn’t slow down enough to let her.
It got dark behind the curtains, and it was almost light when she finally got a little bit of sleep.
Chapter Seven
Mona woke up with a start and looked over at Jack. He had not been in the room very long, and she had woken up pretty quickly. It was almost like she knew he was there. Jack knew that Mona had not been asleep very long. She had been up tossing and turning, just like he had. Although Jack had realized very quickly that there was no point in trying to lay down.
So, he made calls all night and he was a little bit closer to where he needed to be in the morning. Although he wasn't quite there yet. He did not have an address. He had gotten in touch with a few other shifter families in the area, trying to get more information. Fran was not the only one who had heard about the Franklin Organization.
“Good morning.”
“Good morning, Jack. What are you doing in here?”
“I was about to leave for a little while, and I wanted to see if you wanted to come with. Either that or at least wanted to let you know that I was leaving, so you wouldn't wake up and wonder where I was.”
Mona wasn't even all the way awake yet, but she thanked him and tried to stifle her yawn.
“Thank you. I would not like to have awakened alone.”
“Well, if you want to get up and get ready, I am going to meet with a shifter family not too far from here. They have had a run-in with the Franklin Organization before, and I'm hoping that I can get some information that will help us find them.
“Do you really think it could be that easy?”
Jack did feel like it was all just a little too easy. Maybe the Franklin Organization wasn’t worried about him finding them, but he couldn't understand why. Why would they take children and not him? He was obviously a lot more dangerous than his kids were. Although Abel had a bit of a mean streak in him and he was full of mischief, that did not mean that he was a bad person. Samuel, in no way shape or form, had a bad bone in his body.
“I don't know; I can hope, I guess. I am just trying to move forward. I feel like I'm just standing still and Chris from the Trinity Clan is saying that he has some information. I just want to get it. Do you wan
t to come with?”
He was getting frustrated because she was acting like there was no point in going. Even if he didn't get any information, just the act of doing something was going to help Jack's mental stability. If he had to sit there and give up and let it all play out, he was never going to make it. He had to feel like he was doing something, even if nothing came of it.
“Of course, I will go with you. I would like to hear about them as well. From what Fran says, even though they have been operating for a long time, it sounds like there isn’t a lot that is substantial and verified about them. I hope we can find them. I want to know who did this to you and to me. I don’t care why, just that they are found and punished.”
He looked at her with a bit of interest.
“That sounds a bit rough. I thought you were more docile.”
“I can’t be when it comes to children. They could have taken you or me. It would have made more sense for their cause. They took the weaker ones, and I don’t like that tactic.”
He was so upset, and he could feel the same from Mona. It made him feel better to know that she cared.
“I am glad you’re here. Get dressed, and I will meet you in the kitchen. Do you drink coffee?”
“No, green tea or something herbal. Do you have any of that?”
“I don’t think so, but I will check.”
Jack had forgotten for a moment that Mona was a witch. She was, of course, into concoctions and shunned normal things like coffee. He went downstairs to see if he had green tea. Finally, he asked a maid to show him where it was. They had some, only because one of the drivers liked to drink it.
“Do you want me to make the tea for you, sir?”
“No, Maria, this is good, thank you.”
By the time he had the tea ready, she was coming downstairs, but she was still wearing his T-shirt and boxer shorts from the night before.
“Yeah, I didn't think that through, did I? We can stop on the way and get something if you want. I don't know if going back to your place would be the best idea right now. We don't know what these people are capable of and I would feel better if you stayed with me for a while and stayed away from your place.”
Mona completely agreed. The last thing she wanted to do was run into that witch again. Mona had a lot of power, but she did not have as much as the older witch had. That had become clear when she had been kept against her will. As much as she had tried, she had not been able to get the better of her.
“That sounds fine. I'm sure I can find something wherever we go.”
“Thanks.”
It was a little awkward for Mona to get into such a nice car wearing a shirt and some underwear. At least it was big enough and covered almost everything.
The driver gave her a bit of a look but she ignored it and asked Jack what he had figured out through the night. He had told her that he would have more information for her when she woke up, and so he did.
“Well, I found a couple of shifter clans that have dealt with them in the past. Most of the time, it did not end well, so this is why I want to talk to them, see if we can find something out that might be helpful later. Usually, if the Franklin Organization takes somebody, they just don't come back.”
That was the last thing that Mona wanted to hear. She did not want to think that something was going to happen to Jack's twin sons. She hadn't met them, but that didn't matter. They were just children.
“Just because it is happened that way before doesn’t mean that it’s going to be the that way this time. We are going to find them, and everything is going to be good.”
“I hope you are right, Mona. I can't even think about anything happening to my kids. It makes me sick to my stomach.”
She wanted to assure him that everything was going to be okay. It was just something that people said to other people, to make them feel better. The fact of the statement wasn’t the point.
They went to a local store to get Mona some clothes, and it was only when they were getting back to the car that she realized that she needed to put something on. She was a little nervous to take her clothes off in front of him. Mona did not know him after all. It was quite awkward, but he turned around and let her do so in peace.
When it was over, he turned back around like nothing had happened, and they talked more about the Organization. No one really knew who exactly ran it. Some thought the original Franklin woman still did, but that was hard to imagine.
“I’m more worried about facts at the moment, but ideas and theories are better than nothing I suppose.”
“And what about this guy that we're going to meet?”
“He runs another shifter clan not too far from here. Bears I believe. They had several members of their clan taken, and they believe it was the Franklin Organization that did so, but their people were never found. I want to make sure that it doesn't happen to us.”
Mona agreed. All she could do was try to be positive, even though there was a sinking feeling in her stomach. How could such bad people be able to exist, and what was this woman anyway?
She had never understood why the magic community didn’t use their powers more. They could do so much good with them.
“Yes, we will learn something new and get the information that we need. I have a good feeling about this.”
“I want to believe that you're right, Mona. I really do.”
His tone didn't have much conviction, but he tried. She just didn't know if it was for her sake or his.
Chapter Eight
It had been a while since Jack had been to see the other clans. He liked to believe that they were all connected because they were all shifters, but the truth of the matter was, that very few of them had time to get together as much as they wanted to. It was only when things were going wrong and help was needed that they came together.
The village was pushed back in the middle of the woods. Most shifters felt more comfortable by nature, and while his pack chose to stay more modern, he could appreciate the instant feeling of home that he got once he walked into the village.
There were children running around playing, and everyone felt safe. Jack would have given anything then to have let his kids feel the same way. Maybe if he would have kept things more traditional, the Franklin Organization would have never found them and they would be at home in bed, where there supposed to be.
As much as he didn't want to crumble, it was impossible for Jack not to play the what-if game as he walked out to the leader’s house. It was bigger than all the rest, and he knew that Chris would be there. He was just hoping that Chris would be able to answer some questions for him.
He looked over at the beautiful redheaded witch, and she seemed rather nervous.
“Are you alright, Mona? You don’t seem very comfortable.”
“You know, sometimes your kind doesn't like my kind very much.”
“As long as you are with me, nothing will happen to you.”
“Thank you. I’m just nervous is all.”
“There's nothing to be nervous about. I know that you have been through quite an ordeal, but you just being here is so helpful. I want you to know that.”
As much as she liked to believe that she was helping, Mona still wasn't sure, and Jack could see it on her face. There was no telling what had happened with the witch and he hated to imagine it. Whatever it was, it had scared Mona, and he didn't like her upset.
The door opened, and they weren't able to talk anymore. Chris was there, and he gave Jack a big hug. As soon as he pulled back from the hug, he eyed Mona, and she knew instantly that he knew what she was. It was hard to hide it when they had the senses that they did. More than that, it didn’t seem like he liked her all that well, or her kind rather.
“Who have you brought with you, Jack? I didn’t know that you were going to bring someone.”
By someone, he meant a witch. Mona could feel the shift in his mood, and she really tried not to let it get to her. Mona knew that it was something that most people were tau
ght when they were young. She was told to stick to her own kind, which she did for most of her life until recently, when she had started taking care of kids. It didn’t matter who or what they were. To Mona, kids were kids.
“This is my nanny. The one that was attacked and held hostage by one of the people from the Franklin Organization.”
“I didn’t know you had a nanny.”
Jack waved him off, and Mona was waiting for the information that they needed. Chris was still wary around her, but he seemed to calm down some. He asked Mona a couple of questions about what had happened, and Jack listened as well because he hadn’t gotten the full story. Mona didn’t like the attention, but she knew that it was necessary.
“Well, I had met with Fran, and she’d given me a time and date to start. It was the next day, and it was early. I got out of my car in front of Jack’s house, and out of nowhere, this old woman came out of the bushes. She caught me off guard with a spell, and I couldn’t move. I could feel, see, and hear, but I had no control over my body. She must have put some kind of immobilization spell on me. I have heard of them, but I have never experienced anything like that.”
Jack held her hand, and Mona caught the look that Chris gave her. It was like she was doing something wrong, even though Jack was just trying to be supportive. Instead of pulling her hand away, she got up like she couldn’t sit still for the rest of it. Her mind was trying to pick up any detail that she could, hoping that something would help.
“I don’t know how long I was there like that, but the sun was well up when she came back out. She moved me with magic to the basement and set me down. I was there for a week, I guess. The woman never said much of anything, but she always smelled like burning pine tar. I don’t know why, but that stuck in my head. She brought me water and a few crackers twice. That’s about it.”
The two men were silent for a time, and it made Mona feel awkward. She hadn’t even played it all out in her head that well. There had been a lot of time to think and the more she thought about it, the more upset she became.
