by Shelly Crane
“My ability is none of your business. So now what? What does he want to do to her now?”
“Well. You remember he took Maggie’s blood,” she started. “He’s...” she sighed. “He’s trying to find a way to use it. He’s been experimenting on humans.” I gasped but she kept going. “He messed with your blood and gave it to three humans, all females, to try to spark some kind of reaction out of their bodies. But so far, he hasn’t come up with anything. He...well, he disposed of them. Now, he’s moved on to giving your blood to Aces.”
“Wait. He’s trying to make people have abilities just spring up because they have my blood in them?” I asked incredulously and completely grossed out.
“You remember the story I told you. It’s not so far fetched.”
“So, what does this have to do with us?”
“Well...he ran out of your blood so...he’s looking for ways to get more. He’s talking about reward money to the first person who can bring you to him alive. A lot of money.”
“I thought all the Ace clans were rich? Why would they want or need the money that badly?”
“Not all clans are as prominent as the Jacobson’s.” She made a face at Caleb. “The Watson’s, for instance, have been heading downhill for years. It’s gotten so bad that a few clans had people break off and go on their own; rogues.”
“How come I’ve never heard of this?” Caleb butted in.
“Well, you’re not exactly who we lowly underprivileged Aces would tell our problems to, now are you?”
“What does that mean?” he said, scowling.
“It means that you and your family have always worked hard and built up your little empires, played it safe. You’ve always been well off and you don’t take risks; the Watson’s do. In fact, the Watson’s are all about risk.”
“I know,” Caleb said impatiently. “The Watson’s run the stock market, so what?”
“We lost everything,” she whispered like it was shameful. “My uncles and father ruined us. They put everything our clan had into one stupid venture and it’s all gone. Just so they can be lazy and not actually work, we’re finished. And to top it off, we just learned our grandfather put up a second mortgage no one knew about on the land, the land where our compound sits. It’s in foreclosure.”
“How is he going to pay a reward if you have no money?” Caleb asked suspiciously.
“He doesn’t actually plan to pay it,” she said, guarded.
“Then how...never mind,” I said once I’d thought better of it.
“Ok, well.” Caleb wanted to feel sorry for her but couldn’t muster it. “What does that have to do with us, besides them coming for Maggie?”
Like hell.
“My uncle’s plan is to take Maggie again and ransom her to your family, after he’s taken lots of her blood, of course.”
“Ransom,” Caleb grit out angrily. “What?”
“We know you’re loaded, everyone does. He figures your family would give a few million for her.”
I shivered thinking about it and Caleb’s pulled me into his side.
“So you only came to warn us?” I asked.
“Yes, warn you that if I can find you, so can Sikes, eventually. I suggest you leave soon and go somewhere out of the country.”
Like the Reunification?
I don’t think that’s a good idea anymore, Maggie. The Watson’s would be there so would every other clan, all clans are invited. If they put a reward out for you it wouldn’t be safe to go. Clans have sanction there. We wouldn’t be able to harm them.
“Wow. Look at you two, going at it like old pros,” she muttered, breaking our talk.
“What?” I asked, baffled.
“The mind chatter, I can see it in your faces.” She smiled sadly. “My parents used to be like that. Anyway, I just wanted to give you a head’s up and now I’ve got to get back before someone notices I’m gone.”
I guessed that was our cue to get out.
“Ok. Thanks…I guess,” I muttered.
“Don’t thank me. I’m not your friend, I’m not on your side and I won’t help you again. It’s too dangerous for me. Now we’re even.”
“Fine,” I said.
“Be careful. Sikes is old and slow, but persistent and patient. Don’t let your guard down.”
I climbed out, making sure to cover my neck as I did so and accepted Caleb’s hand to help me.
“Oh,” she called, leaning out her window. “And I’d still not sleep by myself if I were you, not like you’d have a problem with that,” she said, pursing her lips and looking at Caleb in a way that had me barking mad. She licked her lips and I swear I even heard her purr. Purr!
“Hey! I’m right here,” I said hotly.
“Oh, sorry,” she said and she didn’t sound a bit sorry. “Anyway, Marcus isn’t going to leave you alone so I’d still make sure you always slept with hunky here.”
“Fine and bye.”
“Oh,” she laughed. “One little look at your boy toy and I’m dismissed? I told you before, it’s dirty to mess with rival clans. But it’s fine to look,” she explained, her eyes shifting back to him.
“We’re done here. Thanks for the help. Come on, Caleb.”
“Gladly,” he said and I heard him chuckle low in my mind.
You are freaking hot when you’re jealous.
I rolled my eyes and smiled up at him.
You’re crazy.
“Oh, and one more thing, Maggie,” she yelled in a sing song voice. “Though these guys have to bring you back alive,” I turned around to look at her once more, “that doesn’t mean they have to be nice about it. My advice is don’t get caught.”
“Got it,” I answered.
Then the limo drove off with a small squeal of tires that totally reflected my mood. What the heck was going on? The universe was hell bent on not making anything about this easy.
“It’s ok,” Caleb wrapped my arms around his neck and his hands went to my hips. “We know and can prepare now, its fine. I’m not gonna let anything happen to you,” he assured me for the hundredth time but for some reason I still needed it and I sighed long and loud.
“What about you and Jen, Kyle, Bish and Dad? What about everyone else?”
“We’re fine,” he insisted and pressed his forehead to mine. “My family can take care of themselves. If someone so much as tries to touch you I’ll…” He growled and shook his head. “Man, this isn’t getting easier. My body is screaming right now.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t you dare.” He pushed my hair back and looked in my eyes, the glow of yellow streetlamps lighting the blue in his. “I don’t know what her real motive for coming here was but we’ll take the information. We’ll be extra careful from now on. No one will get to you.” I nodded and he looked at me sternly. “I mean it. You feel safe with me don’t you?”
“Of course,” I answered.
“I won’t let anything happen to you,” he whispered and kissed my forehead.
“I know.” I looked around at the alley and wondered how long we’d been gone. “We better get back.”
“Yeah, we better. You ok? Marla picked a heck of a time to unload something like that, in a dark alley, in a limo, at the back of a club,” he said wryly.
“I’m fine. We just need to go back in there and act normal. Act like we weren’t just dragged into an alley and told that I was gonna be put up for a ransom reward, while sitting in a limo,” I said with a playful tone, trying to lighten the mood even thought I wasn’t really feeling it.
My veins started to burn a little as I saw a few ribbons dance in my peripheral as my emotions got worked up. No matter how hard I tried, I was losing it. Caleb put his hand on the back of my neck and I felt his calm invade me.
“Hold it together, baby, a little longer,” he said soothingly and I saw the ribbons begin to fizzle and crack away.
Wait, she said they dispose of them, the humans. He kills them, kills the humans once he tosses t
hem aside for not producing his results. All that because of me. Caleb’s touch no longer cured my rage and it burst forth in an audible buzz and heat, the light bulb to the backdoor of the club in the alley burst and shattered to the pavement. I barely heard it.
“Maggie, it’s ok,” he soothed though he was looking around in frightened awe. “We’ll get him, we’ll fix this.”
It didn’t matter, nothing worked. I felt Caleb’s hands all over me, my arms, my neck, my face, nothing.
People died. I caused someone’s death.
“No, you didn’t!” He jerked my face to look at him, framing my face with his big warm take charge hands. “Maggie, listen to me, it’s ok, calm down and let me help you.”
My skin was buzzing with energy. We didn’t need the light bulb anyway because all the blue energy glowed around us, lighting the alley and street in an eerie way. Caleb pushed into my mind, breaking through my barrier that I saw through him was pure devotion and adoration for him. I felt him tug my chin up and his lips took mine with delicious force that was totally different from any way he’d ever kissed me before. He was almost rough, frantic and hard and deep in his kisses and in the way his hands gripped me tightly. Soon, the limo and its wicked guest were long gone from my mind and I felt all the energy die off around me. It was like they cancelled each other out. One huge emotion took over the other.
I pushed him back a little to breath and his mind was wide open. It was the only thing he could think of, kissing me, to bring me down from the tidal wave of emotions. It worked, but now I was on fire for other reasons as I licked my lips. He was too and we were practically feeding off each other’s reactions and thoughts, fueling an already blazing fire.
I was still confused as to why this was happening. I wasn’t like this before so it had to be a Visionary thing.
He ran a thumb over my bottom lip.
“Better?”
“Kind of,” I said breathlessly.
He laughed softly.
“Yeah, me too but, we better go inside.”
“Let’s.” I grabbed his hand in between mine. “Thank you. I’m sorry, Caleb. I can’t control what goes on in my own head anymore. I didn’t mean to get so upset. I don’t know what’s happening.”
“I know that, it’s ok,” he said sweetly and repeated his thumb over my lip. “We’ll work it out and I’ll always be here to take those lips when you get too far gone,” he said jokingly and winked.
“Caleb,” I groaned, wishing we were home right now, on our couch bed.
“Maggie,” he groaned too. “Don’t say my name like that if you want to make it back inside,” he warned.
I laughed brokenly and pulled him to follow me.
“Come on, bodyguard, maybe we can get another dance in before it’s time to go.”
“Oh, I’ll guard your body all right,” he said playfully and I laughed loudly, it echoing through the brick tunnel of an alley and freeing my mood a little.
“Do girls usually fall for that?”
“Only one,” he said, dripping with sugar.
I smiled, knowing that even though we were playing, he was completely being honest too.
“I love you.”
“I love you,” he said and pushed my hair behind my ear. Then he reached behind me and opened the back door, ushering me in. Now, find everybody so we know if they missed us or not.
K.
I searched in my mind and found Bish right off. He was still trying not to watch Jen and had been approached several times by girls of all colors and sizes and variety but he remained firm in his resolve for relationship celibacy. He was so ready to go home and wondering where I was and was just about to look for me. Jen was at the bar, the bartender chatting her up. Beck and Ralph hadn’t left their necking spot.
We better go see Bish first.
Caleb nodded in agreement and we made our way over. I accidentally nudged a girl’s arm and was blinded by a vision of her coming home to a burglary. She was beaten and shot, barely made it to the hospital. She gasped and I reached my arm out to steady her.
“Don’t go home tonight,” I rasped.
She nodded, having no idea what happened, but she couldn’t deny what she had seen through me. She stumbled away and Caleb held me tightly from behind to keep me from falling over. The onset of the visions was swift, unpredictable and I felt everything they felt in them. It wasn’t fun.
“Are you ok?” Caleb asked into my hair.
“Yeah, it was just so real…I can’t control the visions.” I turned to him. “I’m ok,” I said, wiping my eyes and face. “It just sucks, I feel everything-”
I know. I felt it too.
You did?
I didn’t the first time. Maybe it’s because I was touching you this time. I’m sorry, Maggie. I know you don’t want this and I hate it that it hurts you.
It’s the Visionary’s to handle. I’ll be ok.
We’re a team, you said so yourself. You and I can handle this.
I smiled gratefully up to him.
“Hey, Bish, having fun?” I asked as we approached, playing off as normal as possible.
“Where have you been?” he roared over the music. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
“Oh, I’m sure,” I spouted sarcastically without thinking and kept going. “Since when do Jen and I look alike?”
I stopped and grimaced. I looked up at him and he was red with embarrassment, having no idea how he’d been caught.
“Whatever. Are ya’ll ready?”
“Not really.”
“Lighten up, man,” Caleb said easily. “Come on, it’s a club. Why don’t you go ask that girl to dance?” He pointed to a young girl, brunette, who was glancing our way. She saw she’d been caught and turned, biting her lip. “She’s definitely into you. Go for it, man.”
“Nah,” he said but looked over at her and smiled a little when their eyes met.
It’s not like I’ll ever see her again, pointless, but maybe they’re right. Maybe I’m too uptight and need some fun. Everyone else is certainly having some.
In his mind was a picture of Jen. She was the one having fun, the one most annoying to him. His gaze traveled over to the end of the bar where Jen was and he watched, pained, as she sipped her non-alcoholic drink from a little pink straw and laughed at something one of the guys there was saying.
Fine, she obviously doesn’t care and I have no idea why I do.
He got up without another word and walked over to the brunette that was looking at us before. Her smile was genuine and surprised when she turned to see who tapped on her shoulder. He sat on the stool next to her and immediately ordered a drink.
“So, I’m Jessica,” she was saying to him, I heard in their minds.
“Bish.”
“That’s unusual, I like it.”
“Thanks. My mother gave it to me.”
She laughed, tucking her hair behind her ear. Caleb took my hand and started to tow me away but I stopped him.
“Wait, I want to see if he’s ok.”
“Maggie, would you want him sitting around listening to us?” “No,” I answered truthfully. “But it’s…” I sighed in defeat, “ok, fine. I just feel so bad for him and Jen.”
And as if to prove my point, the second Jen decided to notice Bish, I felt a thorn of unease and disappointment go through me from her mind as we passed her. Caleb stopped in his tracks, feeling it too.
~ Fourteen ~
Just keep going. I can’t listen to this anymore, Caleb muttered.
Yeah, I wonder what Beck and Ralph are...never mind. I guess we won’t visit them either. Well, you wanna dance with me again? I promise not to step on your toes this time.
He pulled me into the circle of his arms and moved me with the music beat and pulse. He spoke to me, reassuring my turmoil.
They’ll be fine. They just need some distance.
Would it be so bad for them to be together? I thought carefully. What if she never imprints?
I know it does but what if she doesn’t? Do you really want her to be alone forever? Maria never to have a father?
It doesn’t matter what I want. It’s what’s best and what’s the safest for everyone.
I know it’s risky, but what’s love without risk anyway? Life is about risk. I hate to see two people who are so clearly attracted to each other not be able to have something that could be really good for them. What if you and I had never seen each other again after that first time? Would you have just forgotten about me?
Maggie, I can’t talk about this. It doesn’t make me feel good to think about it. I love my sister and I know you love Bish. I feel it, what they feel, but it’s not worth it to break the rules for it. Where does it stop? Who decides what rules are ok to break and what aren’t? Take Sikes, what he’s doing isn’t right but they’ve become so desperate, they’ll do anything. It probably started with something small but built up to this big thing. Once you open the door, it’s hard to close.
I know, I nodded. You’re right. I just hate it. And it’s easy for us to say for them to follow the rules, we already have each other.
I know.
He sighed and rubbed the end of my curls in between his fingers with a contemplative expression on his face. I felt his guilt, though it wasn’t our fault that we imprinted. He still wished there was something we could do and I was right there with him. His mind also flashed with images of the Watsons. They were trying to sneak into the house, grab me. Marla in the limo, looking all too eager to help but something just didn’t add up. Sikes with his demented mind so focused on aiding his clan and ending ours. Marcus…
I hated to see him upset so I ran my hands up his neck to his hair and massaged and rubbed, trying to take his mind off of everything but me. He closed his eyes, leaning his head against mine. This was exactly what he’d done for me not an hour ago.
Hey, I shook my head ‘no’. Stop, don’t do that.
I need to think. I need to be focused on keeping you safe. To be one step ahead of them at all times. I won’t even let them get close to you and I won’t hesitate the next time I see Marcus.
