Undeniable

by Kandle, Tawdra

  “Ah. Bradford is the stepfather?” She said it with such irony and distaste that I wanted to laugh.

  “Yeah, that’s him. He accused me of making my teachers change my grades, of messing with my mom and him. That’s why I ended up at my grandparents’ house in King.”

  “Because your mother and Bradford couldn’t deal with you?”

  I blew out a breath. “Bradford took a temporary job in Spain last year, and that was the official excuse for me moving to King. But it was convenient. They didn’t want me around, and I was sick to death of having to defend everything I did. Of seeing my mother looking at me like I was...” I glanced away. “A freak. Someone she was afraid of.”

  Zoe scowled. “And your mother allowed the stepfather to convince her of this? Raphael, my dear boy, I don’t want to insult you, but she must be a very weak-minded woman. I can’t imagine allowing anyone to separate me from my son.”

  “You won’t insult me.” I let my head drop on the chair back. “I don’t have any illusions about my mother. Gram says she loves me in her own way, as much as she can. She says it was easy when my dad was alive, because she felt safe and protected. But then when Dad was killed, Mom almost went crazy. And I guess maybe Bradford seemed like a good replacement. He makes sure she doesn’t have to deal with anything. Including me.”

  “Hmm.” Zoe fiddled with a pen on her desk blotter. “So you left California and moved to Florida, to live with your grandparents in your senior year of high school. That couldn’t have been easy.”

  “Gram and Gramps are—” I searched for the words to describe them. “They’re the best. They made me feel wanted, like they’d actually won a prize by me coming to live with them. So yeah, changing schools kind of sucked, but living with them was the best thing that could have happened to me.”

  “And did you have difficulties adjusting to the new school? Did you make friends?”

  I shrugged, but my stomach clenched. We were getting dangerously close to what I absolutely did not want to discuss. “Yeah, I guess. A few.”

  “Tell me about them. Did they know about your gifts? Were you able to be more open?”

  “Zoe, don’t fuck around with me, okay? If you want to ask me about Tasmyn, just come out and do it. Don’t insult me by thinking it’ll be easier if you dance around.”

  She smiled at me. “All right then. Rafe, will you tell me about your relationship with Tasmyn Vaughan?”

  I slammed a hand down on my knee. “Why? What does she have to do with anything? She’s in my past. Over and done.”

  “Exactly. She was part of what was a painful episode in your recent past, and as such, she is your vulnerability. If you’re working for us, we need to know up front where your weaknesses lie. Otherwise, they could be used against you—and us—when you’re on a mission.”

  “She’s nothing to me, and believe me, I’m less than nothing to her. She probably doesn’t even remember me.” I swallowed hard and dug my fingers into the side of my thigh, anything to keep my mind from dwelling there, on her.

  “I don’t believe that. Your reaction to her indicates otherwise. Now, if you would, I’d like you to lean back in your chair and try to be calm. Were you aware that while I asked you about Tasmyn, you were trying to manipulate my mind to stop saying her name?”

  I shook my head. “I wasn’t.”

  Zoe’s smile was a little sad. “You did. It was unintentional, but it happened. Please lean back, close your eyes, and answer my questions as simply as you can. Trust me.”

  The weird thing was, I did trust her. Maybe it was because I knew Joss did, or maybe it was just a vibe, but I laid my head back and shut my eyes.

  “Tell me when you first met Tasmyn.”

  So I did. I relived meeting her the first day of senior year at King High School, when I saw her in the Mustang and stopped her to ask about it. The car was fine, sure, but it was the girl I wanted to know better. And when she told me they both belonged to someone else, it hurt more than it should have.

  “So when you met, Tasmyn was dating someone else. Were you friends anyway?”

  I nodded, keeping my eyes closed, seeing those days in my mind. “Yeah. I wanted more, and I tried for more. I kissed her one day, and when she got mad, I erased her memory of it. That’s when we both found out what each other could do. But she introduced me to a few people, too. I went out with her friend Cara a couple of times.” I hadn’t thought of Cara for a long time. There was a little regret there still, for what I’d had to do.

  “But you didn’t have feelings for her?” Zoe’s voice floated into my consciousness.

  “Well, she was cool. Pretty girl, but a little weird. Her dad was a pastor, and he, uh...” I paused. This was not really my secret to tell, but it had to do with Tasmyn, and I figured it didn’t matter at this point.

  “Reverend Pryce had helped save Tas from this crazy girl, Nell, the year before, when Nell was trying to kill Tasmyn. But he thought she was a witch—Tasmyn, I mean. And then he kind of got obsessed with Tas being evil. He didn’t want Cara to have anything to do with her, and eventually, he tried to drown Tasmyn.” I remembered that day with eerie clarity—the sun glinting off the lake, seeing Tasmyn’s arms flailing against the man who tried to hold her under the water. I hadn’t been able to move fast enough, it seemed. And it had nearly destroyed Cara, seeing her dad like that.

  “You saved Tasmyn’s life that day. And then you used your powers to wipe the Pryces’ memories clean of everything that had happened.”

  I squirmed a little. “Tasmyn wanted me to. It seemed like the kindest thing to do. They ended up moving away, and I haven’t heard from Cara in a long, long time.”

  “Aha. Did saving her life affect your relationship with Tasmyn?”

  “Not really. Everything was pretty much the same until Christmas.”

  “Did you ever see Tasmyn and Michael together? Did you know him?”

  I felt my lip curl. “Yeah, I saw them a few times. At the bonfire at Thanksgiving break.” I could see it in my mind, the two of them outlined against the blaze of fire. She was in his arms, as close as was physically possible, as he kissed her neck, his hands tracing circles around her back. It made me feel nauseated even now, and I clenched my fists against the arms of the chair.

  “What happened after Christmas?”

  Pain twisted in my chest. “She broke up with Michael over the holiday. I was shocked. Everyone was, even him, I guess. I wanted it to be because she liked me, but it wasn’t. It was the witch. Lacusta. Turned out Tasmyn had been taking magic lessons from her since school started that year. I was the only one who knew. Well, I found out, anyway.”

  “And did you try to dissuade her? We’re familiar with Marcia Lacusta. We know a little about her goals.”

  “I tried to talk Tas out of it. I took her out on a date. Blackmailed her into it, I guess. I threatened to tell her parents what she was doing if she didn’t go out with me.” I ground my teeth. We were getting too close to the parts that hurt.

  “But once we were out, she asked me to keep her accountable. Tas isn’t stupid, and deep down she knew Marica couldn’t really be trusted. But it was tempting, too tempting to someone who had been forced to deny what she could do all her life. Her parents made her pretend to be someone else, and so when Marica offered her the chance to learn more...she jumped at it. But she knew it could be dangerous. So I was supposed to make sure she didn’t go crazy.”

  “That was rather unfair, wasn’t it? If Tasmyn knew how you felt about her, and given her abilities, I assume she did, it was cruel to ask you to be her spotter.”

  “I didn’t care. It gave me an excuse to see her, to hang around with her. Be close.” My heart pounded a little faster. “And then she went to thank me, and she touched me. My face. When I told her not to do anything that wasn’t real, she kissed me. For real. I thought...” I paused, willing my voice not to wobble. “I thought it was finally happening. We were finally going to be together. God, jus
t sitting there that night, with her leaning against me...” I had been so incredibly turned on that I was afraid she’d feel me against her back and freak out.

  “But it wasn’t real. For a few months, I was on the craziest roller coaster of my life. When things were good, I was happier than I’d ever been. When they weren’t, I felt like I was dying.”

  Zoe sighed, deep and empathetic. “Love is a terrible thing sometimes, isn’t it?”

  I barked a laugh. “Is that what it was? I don’t know. Anyway, she was getting out of control with the witch. That was one of the many things we argued about. And finally one day she lost it and threw Amber against a tree. Tasmyn thought she’d killed her. It shook her up enough to break off all the things in her life that she thought were mistakes. And I was one of those.”

  “Rafe, I am sorry. Sorry for your pain.”

  I opened my eyes and sat up a bit. “Yeah. Well.” I rubbed my fingers, sore from where I’d been gripping the chair, not realizing it.

  “It sounds trite to tell you that everything happens for a reason, but do you see that Tasmyn was wise to end your relationship when she did, knowing that she could never be the person you wanted? I don’t doubt the physical pull you both felt. But she had already given her heart elsewhere.”

  “You sound like my grandmother. She said the same thing. She wanted me to be happy, and she likes Tas, but she never felt that we were necessarily meant for each other.”

  “A wise woman, clearly.” Zoe stretched her small arms over her head. “Raphael, I believe we made a good beginning today. I would like to meet with you a few more times, talk about your, um, adventures this summer, and of course your relationship with Jocelyn.”

  I grimaced. “Really, Zoe? Haven’t you heard enough to clear me?”

  “To clear you for training, yes. For long-term missions, no.”

  “Fine.” I groaned, leaning forward. “But you really don’t need to talk about Joss, right? We’re just friends.”

  “Who more than once have shared a sexual relationship. Yes, I do want to talk about her. For her sake as much as for yours.”

  “Whatever.” I stood. “Are we finished?”

  “For now, Raphael. We’ll chat again next Monday, same time.”

  “Zoe, why do you call me that? My name really is just Rafe.”

  She smiled, a full-on beam. “I have my reasons, darling boy. I always have my reasons.”

  ***

  I NEEDED A nap after my session with Zoe, but instead, Cathryn met me in the hallway and led me downstairs to large airy room with wide windows that looked out over the green expanse behind the house. Joss was sitting in a chair, shuffling through a folder. She looked up and smiled at me, questioning in her eyes.

  Cathryn closed the door and held out a hand. “Have a seat, please, Rafe. Zoe gave you the green light for testing and training, so we’re going to play a little. Have some fun.”

  She smiled, and I realized it was the first time I’d seen that. Cathryn was actually a beautiful woman when the worry and ice faded from her eyes.

  “I’m up for fun. Wait, it’s not the same kind of ‘fun’ I had with Zoe, right?”

  Joss laughed. “No, this is about testing your limits. Seeing how far you can go. And how long you can go.” She winked at me, eyes full of suggestive laughter.

  I quirked an eyebrow. “All night, baby. And as far as you want. You know it.”

  Cathryn’s smile disappeared, and she put a hand to her throat as though sick. “Please. I don’t need to know any of that. And Jocelyn, if you can’t behave, I’ll find someone else to help us.”

  “Oh, all right, I’ll be good. I promise.” She stood and crossed her heart, offering Cathryn wide-eyes.

  “Fine. Rafe, we want to see the physical range of your influence. In other words, how close must you be to a subject to manipulate his mind? That’s our first test today. Do you have any idea about your range?”

  I shook my head. “Not really. It’s not something I ever tested. Usually if I’m trying to mess with someone’s mind, he—or she—is right in front of me. At least in the same room.”

  “Or even the same bed,” Joss muttered, and I grinned at her.

  Cathryn either didn’t hear or chose to ignore us. Seeing that she could hear our very thoughts, I decided it was probably the latter.

  “Fine. So what I want to do first is have you manipulate Jocelyn here in this room. Make her do something by influencing her mind. And then, using that as our baseline, we’ll move her further away and see what happens. Jocelyn, lower your blocking, please, so that Rafe can begin.”

  “Manipulate Joss. Hmm, this really could be fun.” I sat down, thinking. “I can make her do anything?”

  Cathryn rolled her eyes. “Within decorum and reason, please. Nothing lewd or—you know. Pretend your grandmother is in the room with us.”

  Shit, that did limit me. I looked into Joss’s eyes and smiled. She was hiding it well, but I could see the nerves. She played it off, but she really didn’t like being the guinea pig.

  A moment later, she stood, looking surprised, and moved to the mini-bar I’d noticed in the corner. She pulled out a glass, added ice, and splashed in what I took to be whiskey. As she turned back toward me, an odd smile formed on her lips. She handed me the drink and said, “Anything for you, my lord and master.”

  I grinned, slugged back the drink and let go of her mind. The smile vanished from her face, and she looked around in confusion. And then she punched my shoulder.

  “You’re a jerk, you know that?”

  I set down the drink and held up my hands. “Hey, it’s all in the interest of science, Joss. No need to get squiffy.”

  “Very amusing.” Cathryn was taking notes into a tablet. “That was fine, Rafe. Now, Jocelyn, would you please go into the library? We’ll call you when we want you to move again. Keep your blocks down, and let me know when you get there. I’ll be listening for you.”

  Joss eyed me with distrust. “Don’t let him do anything wild to me, Cathryn. I’m counting on you.” She stuck her tongue out at me and disappeared out the door.

  “Do you need to visualize her, or know how far away she is now?” Cathryn turned back to me.

  “I don’t think so. I can pick up her mind signature, you know what I mean? And then just try from there. Like I said, I don’t know if I’ve ever tried to do this without seeing the person.”

  “I do know what you mean about the mind signature. I can feel that myself.” She cocked her head just slightly. “All right, Jocelyn just let me know she’s in the library. What I’d like you to do is have her remove Tobin’s Spirit Guide from the shelf and carry it to the table, then turn to the chapter on Sahax.”

  I wrinkled my forehead, looking at Cathryn. “Really? That’s it? Okay.” I focused on Joss’s mind and found the beat that was unique to her. I gave her the nudge, adding in the specifics, and then waited.

  “I have someone in the library watching her and validating what she does.” Cathryn’s eyes lost their focus, and I could tell she was listening. A smile spread across her face. “She did it. Well done.”

  We repeated the exercise a few times, each time moving Joss a little further away. Finally, Cathryn turned off her tablet and nodded to me.

  “All right, last one. Bring Jocelyn back here to us. Have her walk back here, come in and sit down.”

  “Sure.” I was feeling a little cocky. Spreading my wings a little as far as my abilities went was fun. I hadn’t had anyone work with me like this since my dad died. I found Joss, gave her the new orders and stood up, stretching. I wandered to the window, looking out at the gardens and thinking I could use a little fresh air.

  The spray of gravel preceded a car pulling into the back lot. My heart seized and my throat tightened when I recognized the light blue Mustang that swung into a spot. I knew who was driving before the door swung open.

  “What the fuck, Cathryn? What are you doing? Why is she here?” I swung around, fury s
warming over me like a hive of angry bees.

  Cathryn frowned and stepped to join me at the window. I watched her face when she caught sight of Tasmyn stamping across the yard toward the back door, the staff entrance.

  “Shit.” The word sounded so incongruous coming out of Cathryn’s perfect lips that under any other circumstance, I probably would have laughed. As it was, I wanted to punch something.

  The door opened behind us, and Joss came in. “Hey, champ, so you nailed every one, even at a distance, huh?” She saw me, and her smile faded. “What’s wrong?”

  “Tasmyn is here.” Cathryn’s voice was tight with what sounded like fury. “Here at the manor.”

  “What the hell is she doing here?” Joss was bewildered. She was as surprised as I was, or she was an excellent actress.

  Cathryn shook her head. “God, I told her—no, she wouldn’t have even thought twice about coming up.” She raised a hand to her mouth, and I could see the wheels turning in her mind.

  “You want to fill us in here, Cathryn?” I steeled myself into control.

  She sank into a chair. “I didn’t intend to keep this from you forever, but I wanted to ease you into the idea. Rafe, Tasmyn works for Carruthers, too.”

  Joss’s mouth dropped. “Since when? And why wasn’t I told about this?”

  “Because I don’t feel the need to clear all of my hiring decisions through you, Jocelyn.” Cathryn bit out the words. “It happened while you were in New Orleans. You knew we’d been watching Tasmyn. The opportunity arose to approach her, and she decided to join us. She’s been training with Zoe and going on a few short assignments.”

  “And you didn’t think it might be a good idea to mention this to me before I decided to work with you?” I gritted my teeth.

  Cathryn shrugged. “It’s a privacy issue, at least in part. We don’t go around announcing new hires in the company. And with you, Rafe, a few other pressing concerns came first. Like getting you and Jocelyn out of New Orleans.”

  “Does she know?” I kept my voice low so that I didn’t explode.