Hidden Worlds

by Kristie Cook

  Harrington grinned when Lucas walked in. “We’ve done it, Lucas!”

  “That we have, sir,” Lucas replied.

  The man walked over from where he’d been gazing out the window and clapped a big hand to Lucas’s shoulder. “Keeping Kate for ourselves was a brilliant idea. We are going to be the envy of every organization out there.”

  “Let’s not celebrate until we see how it goes.”

  Harrington waved him away. “I’m sure it will go smoothly.”

  “Famous last words.” Lucas ran his hand through his hair, surprised to find it was shaking. “When will they leave?”

  “They fly out in the morning. Six a.m. They’ll touch down by noon our time.”

  “Will they be safe?” Lucas asked, using Harrington’s ‘they’ even though he really only cared about Kate.

  “We’ll have eyes on them at all times,” Harrington explained.

  At least that was something. He would go insane not knowing if Kate was okay.

  Harrington slid a manila envelope across the table. “I’ll let you do the honor.”

  Lucas hesitated, but accepted the envelope. “Now or in the morning?”

  “Why wait?” Harrington boomed. “Let her beautiful mind sleep on it and play out all possible scenarios.”

  “I’ll bring it to them now,” Lucas said calmly. Inside, he trembled.

  This is it.

  It was training time. Lucas found them in the combat room, and stood watching through the window as Kate and Erik stalked in a circle around each other. Erik moved forward swiftly, but Kate was faster. They were both so intent on each other it was as if they were lost in a dance that no one else was allowed access to.

  Erik pivoted from his back foot to his front. He threw a flurry of punches, all which Kate blocked with ease.

  She flipped through the air and locked her legs around Erik’s throat, dropping him to the ground. Erik somehow managed to get free and sprang back to his feet.

  Lucas had seen enough. He couldn’t watch them function so smoothly, so perfectly together—both powerful and deadly. He pushed through the door, but neither even glanced his way. Kate was aware he was in the room—she was programmed to know—but he wasn’t a threat, Erik was.

  A flurry of punches were exchanged, and next thing Lucas knew, Kaitlyn was splayed across Erik’s body, and he was tapping out.

  The sight of her body pressed against Erik’s made Lucas’s blood boil, but he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He had to accept that Erik was part of her life now. He was also a lifeline, of sorts, for her.

  Kaitlyn jumped up and walked toward Lucas. She was so alive; energy radiated off her. He wanted to wrap his arms around her, but they were at work.

  Lucas held up the envelope. “You leave tomorrow.”

  “Really?” Kate’s eyes danced with excitement.

  Erik came closer, leaning his craggy face over Kaitlyn’s shoulder. He certainly wasn’t a handsome man, but his intensity seemed to draw women to him. Lucas had overheard the nurses talking about Erik on more than one occasion.

  It bothered Lucas that Kate didn’t mind the Marine in her personal space.

  “Where are we going?” Erik asked gruffly.

  Lucas shrugged. “It’s all in there. I’ll leave you two to go over the details.”

  Kaitlyn looked like she was about to explode with excitement. She bounced on the tips of her toes, clutching the envelope to her chest. “Thank you, Lucas. For believing in me.”

  “I will always believe in you,” he said softly, but she had already turned to open the envelope with her partner.

  Lucas left the room, his heart aching. He really needed to get his jealousy in check.

  Kaitlyn laid her head on Lucas’s shoulder, breathing in his musky scent. There was a time she had thought happiness was impossible for her, but she had been wrong. Life was better than she could have ever hoped. She had come to terms with her past, and looked forward to the future. She still missed her parents, but she felt it was best they thought she was gone.

  Lucas ran his hands through her hair and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I’ll be worried about you.”

  “Don’t be. You know I can take care of myself, and Erik will be there.”

  “Right. Erik.”

  Kaitlyn stared at Lucas, his face bathed in the moonlight that filtered through the curtains. His dark hair curled at the nape of his neck, and his strong jawbone drew her closer. She lightly kissed her way from the tip of his ear, down his jaw, and eagerly made her way to his full, warm lips.

  “Croatia is so far away,” Lucas said softly as he traced his finger around the plastic coating on her arm.

  “You saw the file. Human trafficking. All those young girls sold into slavery,” Kaitlyn replied, disgusted.

  “He’s a monster, and he has to be stopped,” Lucas agreed.

  “I’ll finally be able to use these skills for good.”

  Lucas turned to his side, his face serious. “Kate, I need to tell you something.”

  “Yes?” She propped herself on her elbow and stared down at him.

  “I’m in love with you, Kate.” The words came out in a rush. “I love you so much. The thought of losing you is like a weight crushing my chest.”

  She smiled, pushed him back, and climbed on top of him. “I know you love me, Lucas.” Pressing her lips to his, she ran her hands along his muscular chest. She could never get enough of him. Being so close, skin to skin, drove her completely crazy.

  “You know?” he asked, smiling against her lips. “I’ve wanted to say the words for months. I didn’t think you were ready.”

  She leaned down and whispered in his ear, “I love you, too.”

  “You do? Are you sure?” He gripped her by her arms and pushed her back so he could look her in the eye. “You don’t have to say it back because I said it first. I just wanted you to know. In case anything happened on the mission.”

  “I feel like I’ve always loved you. I thought that was obvious?”

  Lucas smiled. “I guess I needed to hear it out loud.”

  “I love you, Lucas. Should I say it again?”

  Lucas wrapped his arms around her, rolling her beneath him. “Maybe one more time.”

  To Be Continued

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  by

  Erica Cope

  Chapter One

  “Mia.” I hear a lyrical voice whisper my name but it’s so dark that I can’t see anything or anyone.

  I gasp audibly as I’m suddenly encased in a bright yellowish light and well, last time I checked, perfectly ordinary teenage girls didn’t glow in the dark. But here I am, glowing like the sun. I fruitlessly scan my surroundings trying to figure out where I am, but the dazzling golden light blinds me,

  “It’s time.”

  I jolt upright out of my lumpy old twin bed. The early morning sun streaming in through my window curtains casts a pinkish hue on my yellow bedspread. It was just a dream.

  Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I glance at the digital clock sitting on my bedside table. The glaring red numbers show that my alarm is set to go off in about 30 minutes. My heart is thumping too hard to even think about falling back asleep. After stretching and yawning some more, I make my bed. I’m the kind of girl who can’t really function for the rest of the day unless I know my bed is made. I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror and immediately regret staying up so late last night. The only cure for those dark circles under my eyes would be more sleep, but unfortunately, sleep isn’t an option since I have to be at work in a couple of hours. It’s times like this that I regret not paying more attention when Mom was giving me all those lessons on the art of applying make-up.

  This morning I feel more exhausted than usual as I sluggishly make my way down the hall to the bathroom. I wish I could blame it on the late game and the party that always follows a win, but alas, captain of the cheerleading squad or not,
I’m not much of a social butterfly and so I rarely attend any of the parties that my friends look forward to every weekend. Instead, I came straight home last night, curled up with my favorite book and stayed up way too late reading it. Every once in a while I’ll make an appearance at those social gatherings, but usually I feel too awkward to stay long. I’m not a big drinker and it’s really not all that fun watching everyone around you get hammered, while you sit back drinking your coke minus the rum. I just can’t make myself drink the stuff. Beer is gross and liquor is grosser.

  After a quick shower, I comb through my stick-straight hair, unable to completely tame that one lock of wayward hair that always kinks out funny from years of twirling it around my fingers. I pull my hair back in a ponytail then I throw on my black work pants and white button up shirt. I’ll save the ugly maroon vest until I actually get to the theater. I tip-toe down the hall, pass Maddie Rose’s room and sneak a peek at the sleeping baby before I make my way down to the kitchen to grab some breakfast.

  My sister will be two years old next month. Some people may think the fact that my mother has a 17-year-old and a 23-month-old baby girl is kind of weird. I mean, if I’m honest, I guess it kind of freaked me out at first too. But really, I wouldn’t trade Madeline Rose for anything.

  I was born at the end of my mom’s freshman year of college, the result of a summer fling gone sour. Apparently the guy just up and left without even saying good-bye and mom never heard from him again. When mom met Dr. Paul Carrington about five years ago, I was relieved. My mom is the best mother a girl could ask for, but I always felt like she had been cheated out of the great love story she so deserved. Paul is sort of perfect for her with his goofy charm. They got married, he adopted me, and a few years later Maddie Rose was born.

  Maddie has blonde hair like me, but my straight hair is more golden and her hair is so light it’s nearly white. She inherited our mother’s perfect curls. I’m more than a little jealous over that fact. Her hair is still pretty short, so her curls stick out in random places, but it only makes her that much more adorable. I know that most babies are cute, but Maddie is seriously beautiful. She has adorable chubby cheeks that are accentuated by sweet dimples. Her eyes are a stunning deep blue, almost like sapphires. Mom’s and Paul’s eyes are both blue too, but theirs are not as vivid as hers. I’m the oddball with my ever-changing hazel eyes. Some days my eyes look gray, other days they look brown, but they always have a greenish tint to them.

  I enter the kitchen where I find my mom bending over, looking for something underneath the sink. She is wearing her usual paint-splattered gray drawstring pants and an old faded blue tank top. Her long, light-brown hair is pulled up in a messy bun with a few of her pretty curls falling loose in the back and around her face.

  “Mornin’ Mom,” I greet her and she nearly jumps out of her skin.

  “Gah! You snuck up on me Mia. How do you make it down those stairs without so much as a creak?” she asks me, exasperated. This is almost an everyday occurrence. Apparently I’m just sneaky like that.

  “Sorry, I was trying to be quiet so I didn’t wake up Maddie Rose, but your scream probably took care of that.”

  At the same time, we pause and cock our ears toward the general direction of Maddie’s bedroom, listening for a minute. Since we don’t hear any indication that Sleeping Beauty has been disturbed, we continue talking, albeit a little more quietly. Crisis averted. As cute as Maddie may be, she can be a holy terror if she doesn’t get her beauty sleep.

  I grab a chocolate-coated, chocolate chip granola bar from the cupboard. My guilty pleasure. I figure I might as well take advantage of my superb metabolism while I can. I’m one of the fortunate ones who never has to worry about what I eat. I’ve always been petite, almost delicate looking. It’s the main reason I’m a good cheerleader. I’m pretty easy to toss up in those fancy stunts. My keen organizational skills have also earned me the spot as captain this year and the responsibility is a little daunting. Not only do I have to pretty much run the practices and plan all of our routines, I also have to organize all the Homecoming spirit week activities, all the pep rallies and even the try-outs for next year’s squad this spring. I’m beginning to wish I would have decided to take it easy this year but the girls voted for me and I don’t want to disappoint them.

  “What are your plans for today?” I ask my mom, knowing that everyone will be asleep by the time I come home.

  “Eh, just going to do some work on my new painting this morning while Maddie naps and then I thought about taking advantage of the pool today since the weather is still so hot.”

  This fall has been unseasonably warm. It’s already October but the temp hasn’t dropped below 90 degrees yet. I could blame global warming, but Kansas weather is usually pretty wonky. It can be 70 degrees on day and snow the next. Paul had an in-ground pool installed last summer which comes in handy since the public pools always close on Labor Day.

  “That sounds fun. Too bad I have to work,” I add grudgingly. I’d much rather spend the day at the pool.

  “Well, you know Paul would still give you an allowance if you would just accept it. Then you wouldn’t have to work so hard and you’d be able to enjoy the pool with Maddie and me today instead.”

  “And you know that I like to make my own money,” I remind her for the millionth time, though the offer is tempting. I just think I’m a little too old to be depending on my parents for all the things that I want. Besides, I kind of like my job. Most days anyway.

  Mom just shook her head. She didn’t understand my adamant refusal to take any of Paul’s money. It’s not that I’m a self-less person or anything. I just feel like he has already given me so much as it is that it seems wrong to take anything else from him. I’m already agreeing to let him pay for college and that was hard enough for me to accept.

  “Paul and I have a dinner to go to tonight with the director of that new art gallery about two of my new pieces, so Jessica is going to stay with Maddie.”

  Jessica is a sophomore and is on the JV cheerleading squad. I met her last year at tryouts. She is sweet and great with kids. Maddie Rose loves her so she quickly became her favorite sitter.

  “Ooh! Which two pieces?” I ask her excitedly.

  Mom has been painting for years. She is pretty well known for her landscapes but in the last year she has been experimenting with more abstract pieces which have attracted the interest of a few galleries. Her landscapes are my favorite because I never “get” the abstract stuff.

  She tells me all about which two pieces she is hoping the art gallery is interested in as I finish my not-so-good-for-me granola bar and chug some orange juice straight from the carton despite her glare. I laugh at her attempt to appear stern. It’s hard to take her seriously with a paint brush tucked behind her ear.

  “I better get going.”

  “Well, try not to work too hard!” she jokes.

  “Ha! I’ll try!” I respond as I start making my way to the front door.

  We both know that the movie theater is probably number two on the avid reader’s dream job list, number one being the library, of course. Most days at the theater, you work for about fifteen to thirty minutes before each show selling the tickets or working at the concession stand. Then you have the next couple of hours to do practically nothing while the patrons are watching the shows. Just about all of the employees bring books to read during these breaks.

  I grab my hideous, but required, vest and the book I started re-reading last night and head out the door. I can already tell today is going to be stifling. The heaviness of the muggy air suffocates me as I trudge toward my faded blue Civic that took me an entire year to save for. It’s sort of a piece of junk. The radio barely works, the windows have to be manually rolled down, and it doesn’t even have air conditioning. I seriously cannot wait until fall finally decides to make an appearance.

  We only live about fifteen minutes away from the theater, but sometimes when I have a little extra time to k
ill before my shift starts, I take the back roads. It’s especially invigorating on nice, crisp fall mornings when the air smells like burning leaves and dew. But this morning it just smells hot. I can’t wait for the cooler weather. These above average temperatures are ruining my favorite season. Regardless of the heat, the peaceful country scenery is a nice change of pace. I don’t understand how anyone could deny the beauty of Kansas. The flint hills, the tall grass, the wildflowers. I think it’s pretty wonderful. But of course, that may be because I’ve never been anywhere else so I have nothing to compare it to.

  Unfortunately, I can only continue on for so long before I have to get back on the highway that takes me to work. Just as I pull onto the main road, I recognize the tall figure ahead of me with chin length, greasy black hair.

  Brian is walking to work again.

  Ew.

  It’s not middle-of-summer-in-the-Midwest hot or anything. We see well over 100 degrees just about every day in the summer, and while it is definitely not that bad right now, it’s already way too hot to be considered pleasant this morning. I cringe at the thought of having to work with Brian smelling of B.O. all day. Even on his good days, when his car actually starts and he can drive to work in air conditioned comfort, he smells funky. It’s an unusual, earthy stench, almost like stale dirt. On the days he has to walk though...well, let’s just say I’m thankful I don’t have to work in the concession stand with him. Freshly-popped-buttery-popcorn and body odor do not mix well.

  He’s a couple of years older than me and he just started working at the movie theater a couple of weeks ago, so he doesn’t have many friends yet. I should probably be nice to him. With a sigh, I pull over next to him and roll down the window.

  “Need a ride?” I ask as I reach over to unlock the door.

  “Thanks.” He gets in and buckles the seat belt. His white shirt is stained yellow and his pants are worn thin. An amethyst pendant dangles over his vest, but when he notices me staring at it, he quickly shoves it underneath his shirt. I suppose if I were a boy wearing a purple necklace, I would probably hide it too. Well, actually, I probably just wouldn’t wear it. It must have some sort of sentimental value to him or something because he never seems to take it off.