Unmemorable (Unmemorable Series)

by A. P. Jensen

  “Let me go!” she screamed and was immediately drowned out by the chaos around her. “That’s him!”

  The guy got to his feet, staring at her with wide eyes. Cain whipped her around and tossed his weight around to get to the elevator. They rode to their floor and when she tried to talk, he clapped a hand over her mouth. He wouldn’t let her walk when the elevator doors opened. Instead, he tossed her over his shoulder as he walked down the hall. No one paid them any mind. When he unlocked the door to the suite, he marched into the bedroom and dropped her roughly on the bed. She reared up as he clapped a handcuff on her right wrist and the other to the headboard before he marched out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

  “Hey!” she shouted.

  No response. She yanked on the cuffs, examined them and knew they were the real deal. Her body was still shaking from her encounter with the psycho adrenaline junkie. As she sat cuffed to the bed, she stared out the windows at the Eiffel Tower and remembered that horrifying free fall. She dropped her head on her up drawn knees and prayed she wouldn’t puke. That guy had power. Maybe he was like Cain? That was the only way he could dematerialize through the metal, but he could fly as well?

  “Cain! Get in here, now!” Raven roared.

  The door opened so forcefully, she knew there was going to be a dent in the wall. Cain stalked over to the bed and faced her with his hands on his hips. The muscle in his jaw flickered and she took a deep breath.

  “I just needed some air-.”

  Cain moved so fast he was a blur. His hand circled her throat as he leaned over her and their noses touched. She felt the faint tremble in his body and knew he was angrier than she’d ever seen him.

  “I know I fucked up with Rich and my mom but if you need air, I go with you. Do you want to get snatched again?”

  “No, but-.”

  “No buts!” he hissed. “One wrong move and you’re gone forever. Do you understand that? This isn’t a fucking game.”

  “I know, but-.”

  “I’m trying not to hurt you right now so shut up.”

  She ground her back teeth and waited for him to calm down. His eyes roved over her face and his hand twined through her hair, gripped and stayed that way.

  “I need to tell you-,” she began.

  Cain covered her mouth with his. With her free hand she pulled on his shirt and felt only relief when his body pressed against hers. Nearly dying made her desperate to feel this again and she kissed him back hungrily. Two near death experiences in one night deserved some kind of affirmation that she was alive. It felt like someone pressed the fast forward button on her life and she was desperately trying to survive. No matter what she did, she ended up nearly dying. Despite her misgivings where Cain was concerned, she needed him. Now.

  Cain fumbled with the handcuffs and a moment later, she heard the clang of metal as he unlocked it. She waited for him to release her wrist, but he was too busy pulling off her clothes and his own. She forgot about the cuffs when he slammed into her, teeth bared and head thrown back in ecstasy. He took her hard, first on her knees and then on her back. She came twice and when he finally climaxed and rested over her, he tugged her wrist up. Raven heard a click and her eyes flew open when she realized he’d cuffed her to the bed again. She looked at Cain for an explanation, but he only shook his head.

  “I can’t.”

  “You can’t what?” she said, tugging on her arm.

  “I can’t let you disappear again.”

  “I’m not! I told you, I just needed to go out for some air.”

  Cain shook his head. “I thought you ran. I didn’t know what to do.”

  They fell silent and she felt sorry for him… almost. She glared at him and didn’t like the thought of being cuffed to the bed, but she was alive and sated and so damn tired.

  Something pricked her senses and she shifted restlessly against Cain who mumbled something and tightened his hold on her. She opened her eyes and blinked. She was flat on her back with Cain half draped over her. Her left arm was stretched above her head and she shimmied up on the bed to give herself some slack. The glow from the Paris hotel cast the room in an orange glow. She scanned the room, turned her head towards the armchair and stiffened. She saw the gleam of leather and half of the guy’s face. He was sitting on the back of the chair, feet planted on the seat cushion. He had a hand propped on his knee and he was staring at her.

  “You remember me?” he said, not bothering to lower his voice.

  Raven tried to lunge at him and belatedly remembered she was handcuffed. She groaned when her arm snapped backwards.

  “I’m not about to forget you, am I?” Raven retorted.

  She looked down at Cain who slumped across her lap. Alarm bells went off and she slapped his face. His eyes flickered but he didn’t wake. He was breathing but deeper than he should be. She looked at the young guy who hadn’t moved his eyes off of her.

  “What did you do to him?” she demanded.

  “Tranquilized him. He’s pretty big,” he said with a shrug.

  “Who are you and what the fuck do you want?” Raven snapped.

  He held his hands up. “I thought you’d be happy I put him to sleep. You’re handcuffed, babe.” His mouth quirked. “Unless you like it like that.”

  “What do you want?” she bit out.

  “You remember what happened at the Eiffel Tower?”

  “No shit. You think I’d forget free falling over five hundred feet? You little-.” She tried to stand again, but the handcuffs kept her in place. She felt Cain’s arms twitch around her as if he were fighting the drug and trying to keep her calm.

  “You remember everything?” he persisted.

  “Yeah! What do you want now? You want to finish me off or something?” she said sarcastically.

  Cain’s hand dug into her thigh in warning but she didn’t listen. She was so pissed off that she was half tempted to chew through her cuffs and pound the shit out of the little bastard.

  The adrenaline junkie scrubbed his hands over his face, got up and paced to the window. Cain’s hold around her waist tightened and she ran her hand over him to see if he was loaded but he was naked, like her. On that thought, she snatched his shirt and shrugged it on as their uninvited visitor muttered to himself.

  “This is fucking unbelievable,” he said and walked into the bathroom.

  Raven hit Cain’s shoulder. “Key?”

  Cain mumbled and she hissed as the guy walked out again and came to her side of the bed. His eyes gleamed with the same manic quality he had before he pulled his trick on the Eiffel Tower.

  “You remember me?” he said.

  “Is there a point to this or can I go back to sleep?” Raven snapped.

  “You’re the one.”

  “Yup. That’s me, the one. I’m the one that’s going to kill you!”

  He ran his hands through his hair and pulled a small key out of his pocket and walked right up to her. She was so startled, she didn’t make a move and that quickly he unlocked her handcuffs and stepped back again. Cain’s hands flexed and she cocked her head as she looked at the guy in leather.

  “What’s going on?” she said warily.

  “You don’t understand! No female has ever remembered me!”

  Raven stared blankly at him for a full minute before what he said registered. She got up slowly, mouth suddenly dry.

  “You’re an Unmemorable?”

  Even as he nodded, Cain lurched up from the bed and launched himself at the much smaller guy. Both men went down with a loud thump. Cain wasn’t coordinated enough to fight, but he yanked on the guy’s hair and the Unmemorable yelped in protest and swung at Cain’s face and shoved him to the side. Cain lay still as death, face down on the carpet and when Raven tried to go to him, the Unmemorable held up a gun.

  “Get dressed. We’re leaving.”

  Raven looked from Cain to the armed Unmemorable. “But-.”

  “Now.”

  She didn’t want to argue
in a shirt so she walked to the bathroom and paused in the doorway. “If you kill him, I’ll beat the shit out of you.”

  “I don’t care about him.”

  She nodded, closed the door, cleaned herself up and dressed. She came out less than two minutes later and the Unmemorable grabbed her arm and hustled her out of the bedroom. She dug her heels into the carpet in the living room and shoved away from him. The gun was nowhere in sight so she thought it was the time to ask a few questions.

  “What’s your name?” she asked.

  He blinked. “Jackie.”

  “Where are you taking me?”

  “To the guys! When they hear that you’re the one we’ve been waiting for, they’re going to flip!”

  Her heart leapt in her throat. “There’s other Unmemorables?”

  “About forty.”

  She blew out a breath. “I’m an Unmemorable too.”

  His eyes rounded. “No shit?”

  “No.”

  “He holding you captive?” Jackie jerked his head back at the bedroom.

  “No. He’s good… for the most part. He was mad at me for leaving the hotel room,” she gestured at Jackie and giggled a little hysterically, “and he was right!”

  Jackie looked her over critically. “He didn’t hurt you?”

  “No.”

  Before he knew what was happening, Raven took a step forward and slapped him upside the head. She pointed a shaking finger in his face.

  “Don’t you ever skydive with me again, you hear me?”

  He rubbed his ear. “Yes, ma’am.”

  She liked the sound of that. Jackie was watching her more warily now.

  “You know, there’s never been a female Unmemorable?”

  “So I’ve heard. I didn’t know anything until the Battalion gunned my apartment and Cain,” she pointed at the bedroom, “saved me.”

  Jackie’s eyes narrowed. “Cain’s connected to the Council.”

  She nodded grimly. “I know.”

  Jackie’s lips lifted in a sneer. “We don’t pledge to either side.”

  “So I’ve heard.”

  “Let’s get out of here.”

  She twisted her hands together. This was what she’d been waiting for- meeting another Unmemorable and now that he was standing in front of her… She didn’t know Jackie. He was a crazy adrenaline junkie that caused a power outage that the police were still trying to bring to order. But, the genuine astonishment on Jackie’s face when he realized she remembered him was something she could relate to. Seeing recognition in another person’s eyes was everything and the only person she’d had that with was Cain, who was lying helpless on the ground in the bedroom.

  Jackie waved a hand. “You can call him later if you want. I swear, I don’t understand women at all.”

  “How long will he be out?”

  “It’s supposed to put him under for at least three hours, but he managed to attack me so… ten minutes at the most.”

  “I’ll call him later,” she decided.

  “Good.”

  They rode down to the elevator, looking at each other curiously. When they landed in the lobby, Raven saw there was still some madness going on. There were employees everywhere cleaning up the destroyed hotel, which looked like elephants trampled through it.

  “We’re probably related somehow,” Jackie said.

  She glanced at him. “You think?”

  “Unmemorables come from the same family line. If you’re a female Unmemorable…”

  She shifted her shoulders restlessly and tried to ignore the nagging feeling of being watched as they stepped out of the hotel. Jackie linked his arm through hers. Her face felt frozen and the slight breeze made it feel as if it was ten degrees outside. Snow sprinkled over them and they both pulled up their collars. She thrust her hands in her pockets and glanced back at the Bellagio and wondered if Cain could see them. Had he gotten his strength back yet? She would be back, she just needed to meet the others and then she would call him.

  “All of you stick together?” she asked.

  “Yup. Whenever we find out a woman gets pregnant, we wait to see if it’s going to be a boy. If it is, the mom usually forgets about him after she leaves the hospital. We take him in, raise him.”

  “You just go around getting women pregnant?” she snapped angrily.

  He looked affronted. “Of course not. We do safe sex. We’re careful, but life happens anyway. We’re the guys that women love to have one-night stands with. Even if we wanted something more we can’t-”

  “Because she won’t remember you in the morning,” Raven finished.

  “Right.”

  They rounded the fountain, weaving in and around people. They passed people dressed as Santa and Playboy bunnies. Snow drifted down and that same frenzied energy was still in the air- the lingering excitement and fear from the power outage. Raven looked ahead and her instincts screamed as she scanned the crowd. Jackie sensed her fear and stopped as well.

  A man jumped out of the crowd and Raven caught a glimpse of sky blue eyes beneath a dark hood. She screamed and stumbled back as he raised a knife. As Angel’s knife slashed down, Jackie appeared between them and took the stab meant for her. Jackie took the wound in his arm and reached for his gun. Raven’s stomach lurched when she saw Angel raise the bloody knife to his lips. She leapt forward and kicked the knife out of his hands. It went skidding over the sidewalk and Angel shoved people out of his way in pursuit of the bloody blade. Raven reached the knife first, grabbed it and ran.

  “You’re putting off the inevitable,” Angel taunted.

  She knew he was right behind her as she dodged between people and even dashed onto the street because the crowd was too dense. When she met a wall of people, she turned and saw Angel reaching for her, eyes gleaming from beneath his hood. Before he made contact, Jackie ran up behind Angel and shot him in the back of the head. As Angel dropped to his knees, people scattered and Jackie calmly grabbed her arm and walked away from the crowd around Angel.

  “Why the hell did you run like that? I had a gun and he only nicked me,” Jackie said, jostling his injured arm.

  “He’s not dead. Nothing can kill him,” Raven rasped. “He only cut you to get your blood.”

  Jackie glanced back and she felt his alarm. She turned and saw Angel shoving his way through the gawkers. Jackie reached for his gun again, but Raven slapped his hand.

  “It won’t work. We need to get back to the hotel.”

  “But I can-”

  Gunshots broke out and they both ducked. Raven wasn’t sure where it was coming from but at the moment she didn’t care. She knew she had to get back to Cain. Damn it, every time she stepped away from him, something bad happened. Jackie covered her with his body as they used the crowd for cover. At one point, she saw Angel in the street using a taxi for cover as Bernt used a high powered rifle. Jackie hustled them back into the Bellagio where people scattered like mice.

  “Who the hell was that?” Jackie demanded once they were in the elevator.

  “Angel. He’s the leader of the Battalion.”

  “And he can’t be killed?”

  “I sliced him across the throat and watched it heal in less than twenty seconds.”

  Jackie looked more intrigued than scared. When they got out of the elevator on her floor, he pulled her to a stop.

  “Why are you going back to him?” he asked, gesturing at the door at the end of the hall.

  “I trust him.”

  “And you don’t trust me?” he asked, offended.

  She remembered him stepping in front of her when Angel lunged and squeezed his hand. “I just met you and you tossed me off the Eiffel Tower.”

  He snorted. “I gotta respect that.”

  “I don’t know what to do. All I know is every time I step away from Cain, something bad happens. We need to get someone to look at your arm.”

  “Nah. I’ve had worse. You said Angel wanted my blood?”

  “To remember you.�
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  Jackie blinked. “What the hell does that mean?”

  Raven slid the keycard into the slot, but the door opened before the button could flash green. Cain, looking murderous and dangerous, grabbed her by the lapels of her coat and dragged her into the room. He shoved her behind him and snatched Jackie before he could get away and shoved him up against the wall. Jackie’s feet dangled four inches off the floor.

  “She doesn’t go anywhere without me, got it?” Cain hissed.

  “Cain, I’m fine,” Raven said, trying to calm her heartbeat.

  Cain turned, dropping Jackie who crumpled to the ground. Cain’s eyes were so light they were nearly silver.

  “Don’t lie to me! Grandpa just called me. He said he saw a vision of Angel stabbing someone in a crowd, trying to lick blood off the blade!”

  Raven couldn’t respond to that and Cain’s hands clenched and unclenched. He turned to Jackie again who was staring up at him, astonished that Cain remembered him. Raven remembered how Cain tackled Jackie when he was still drugged and realized he must have yanked out some of his hair. Cain’s rage pulsed in the air and she knew he was going to beat Jackie bloody- or try to, but she had a feeling Jackie had enough experience to bloody Cain back. She stepped between the two men and put her hand on Cain’s chest.

  “It’s fine. Angel didn’t get our blood. I kicked the knife out of his hand.”

  Cain stared at her for a moment before he turned, stalked to the wall and put his fist through it. Raven stared at him, dumbfounded. He was even madder than the last time she left the room and went on her first sky diving experience.