by I. T. Lucas
More than half an hour later, Anastasia climbed up the stairs. “Hi, Brody. Thanks for taking me to the train station.”
“No problem. I hope your father pulls through.”
“Yeah, me too.” She turned to the aisle, and her eyes widened.
Leon put a finger on his lips to shush her and motioned for her to join him in the back.
“How did you get in here?” She dropped her bag on the next seat over.
He waited until the bus cleared the gate and eased into the road. It was an old clunker, and the engine made enough noise to drown the sound of their conversation. “The same way you did. I climbed the stairs, walked in, and sat down.”
Waving an impatient hand, she sat next to him. “How did you get past Brody?”
“I hypnotized him to think that I was supposed to be on the bus.”
Anastasia narrowed her eyes at him. “You didn’t tell me that you could do that.”
“It’s part of my Jedi tricks.” He waved his hand in front of her eyes and mimicked Qui-Gon Jinn from Star Wars. “Credits will do fine.”
“No, they won’t-a.” She got the reference and answered as Watto. “Besides, you told me that you’re a ninja, not a Jedi.”
“I’m both.”
“How wonderful for you.” Her eyes narrowed into slits. “Did you use any of those tricks on me?”
“I didn’t.”
“Seriously. I would be very upset if I discovered that you hypnotized me into eloping with you.”
He arched a brow. “Was that a Freudian slip?”
“Don’t change the subject.”
“Okay. The truth is that I tried, and so did Marisol, who is even better at this than I am. But you are completely immune to hypnosis, which is quite rare.”
“I hardly exchanged more than two words with the woman. When did she try to hypnotize me?”
“When she told you to come with her. Usually, that’s all she has to do. Her voice has a hypnotic quality.”
“Really? I would have never guessed. She sounded abrasive to me.”
“That’s because you are immune.” He cupped her cheek. “Why are your eyes red? Have you been crying?”
She nodded.
“Why?”
She leaned into his palm. “I got so deep into the role-playing that at some point I actually believed that my father was in the hospital.”
He chuckled. “Does that happen to you often?”
“Not at all. I’m a lousy actress. Maybe that’s why I made myself believe in the lie so I could give a convincing performance.”
Leon doubted that was the reason. She was probably stressed about leaving the perceived safety of the cult.
“You don’t need to act any longer. I can handle Brody.”
“How are we going to get to Los Angeles?”
“I don’t know yet. We will find out when we get to the train station, and I retrieve my phone.”
“Don’t forget what you promised me. I get to call one of my friends.”
“I didn’t forget.”
“Good.” She rested her head on his shoulder. “So, where are you taking me?”
“My family owns a cabin in the mountains. If no one is staying there, we can use it. If not, I will find someplace else for us to stay.” If Kian said no to the cabin, he would take her to a hotel.
“Is it in L.A.? Is that why my father is supposed to be in Cedars-Sinai?”
“Obviously.”
61
Lokan
The first thing Lokan did upon entering his apartment wasn’t to put his luggage away or use the bathroom. Instead, he pulled the clan’s phone out of his coat pocket, walked out onto the balcony, and called Kian.
“Lokan, what a relief. I was worried about you.”
“I didn’t want to risk calling on the way. I waited until I got back home.”
“What did your father want?”
Lokan sat down on one of the outdoor chairs. “He wants me and Losham to move to China and start gaining influence there.”
For a long moment, his cousin didn’t respond. “I think the Fates are pulling the strings and directing our attention to China. It seems like lately it comes up in every other conversation.”
“Navuh is right, and for once, his concerns align with the clan’s. China is a major threat to both our futures, but the problem is that I don’t want to go. How am I going to hide Carol from Losham?”
“Do you think that Kalugal can compel him?”
“I’m not sure. The guy is too smart for his own good, and I can’t figure out whether he is under my father’s compulsion or just pretends to be like I do.”
“He’s not a compeller, we know that,” Kian said. “But he might be like Turner. Just too damn smart to be compelled.”
“Lokan switched the phone to his other ear. “Do you think that’s what protects them? Their insane IQ?”
“I don’t know Losham, but with Turner it could also be his diminished capacity to feel emotions.”
“Losham is not like that. He’s not an overly emotional guy, but he’s not as flat as Turner.”
Lokan still remembered how deeply Losham had mourned the death of his perverted adopted son, the same one who had tortured Carol. If the bastard wasn’t dead already, Lokan would have taken every iota of pain out of his hide multiplied by a thousand. The death Dalhu had dealt Sharim had been too swift and merciful.
“We need to test Losham,” Kian said. “Kalugal can call him and try it over the phone. He can pretend to be a telemarketer like he does with Roberts.”
“I would love to test this. If Kalugal can compel him, that would help, but it won’t solve my problem. My father plans to send a full contingent of warriors to the new center. He wants us to start trouble wherever we can.”
“What kind of trouble?”
“The usual. Find hotspots and escalate the situation. He wants us to destabilize the central control.”
“That’s one hell of a task.”
“I know, and I don’t think even Losham is up to it. I, for sure, don’t feel like I am. But on the other hand, the future of all immortals is hanging in the balance. My ambitions about the island would become irrelevant if we can no longer hide its existence, which could happen if China controls the globe. As much as privacy is a problem now, with them in charge, things would get much worse.”
“Can Losham handle it on his own?”
Lokan chuckled. “I don’t think that the two of us together could handle it even if we had the entire Brotherhood at our disposal. But Losham will most certainly need my help to compel cooperation.”
“That’s too bad. It seems like I need you there just as much as your father does, but you can’t leave Carol behind. It would devastate you both, and you won’t be able to function anyway. The mate bond can’t be stretched that far.”
“Tell me about it. I didn’t call her yet because I don’t know what to tell her. It’s a damn catch-22.”
“We need to talk to Turner. Maybe he can come up with a solution. But in any case, my offer stands. If you decide that it’s time to leave the Brotherhood and cross over, I’m not going to argue against it.”
“This time, I’m seriously considering it. Leaving Carol behind is not an option, and I can’t figure out how to hide her from Losham and a platoon of warriors. I think that I don’t have a choice, and I will have to take you up on your offer.”
62
Anastasia
“Good luck.” Brody opened the door. “I hope your father makes a full recovery.”
“Thank you.” Ana smiled at him before glancing back at Sam, who was a few steps behind her, holding all their luggage. “Are you coming?”
“I need a moment with Brody. Can you wait for me outside?”
“Okay. Just be careful.”
He was going to either release the guy from the hypnosis or hypnotize him again, and she didn’t know whether that was safe.
“Don’t worry.”
C
asting one last worried look at Brody, she slung her purse strap over her shoulder and went down the steps.
Sam had given her evasive answers when she’d asked him where he’d learned to hypnotize people, so she assumed it had been during his special ops period. He’d probably used it in his spying missions.
It was a shame that Sam couldn’t talk about it. He must have so many fascinating stories she could live through vicariously. Ana would have never had the guts to do what he had done.
Yawning, she stretched her arms over her head and twisted her torso from side to side. Sometime during the drive she’d fallen asleep on Sam’s shoulder, waking up only when the bus stopped at the train station, and her body felt stiff.
The truth was that she’d been exhausted. Ana had slept less than three hours last night, and the stress of putting on the charade and leaving Safe Haven had drained the last of her energy reserves.
It felt odd to be away.
Ana had expected to feel free, but instead, she felt lost. There weren’t that many people at the station, but there were enough to remind her how different the outside world was. No one was looking her way, smiling or waving hello, no one knew who she was. She was just one more person adrift in the sea of humanity. Alone.
A hand on her shoulder startled her. “Let’s find my locker.”
No, she wasn’t alone. She had Sam, but for how long?
And what would she do once he left too?
No one stuck around her for long. Her mother had died, her father was distant, and her only boyfriend had broken up with her. Before joining Safe Haven, Ana had accepted her fate and resigned herself to the loneliness, but she’d shed that armor in the community, and now she felt vulnerable again.
Schooling her features to hide the surge of panic, she flicked her gaze up to Sam. “How is Brody? Is he okay? Or did you turn him into a zombie?”
“He’s perfectly fine. I hypnotized him to forget that he’d ever seen me.”
“Isn’t that dangerous?”
“Not at all.” He lifted her bag and put it on top of his rolling suitcase. “I just wonder what they are going to think when they discover that I’m gone.”
“They’ll think that you hid on the bus. But you could’ve just walked into the office and told them that you wanted to leave. They don’t force people to complete the retreat. They would have most likely offered you a ride on the bus.”
“True. But they would have tried to convince me to stay, and I didn’t have the patience for that.”
“Poor Brody. He will be in so much trouble.”
“How will they know that I left on his bus? I could have also walked out the front gate and had someone pick me up.”
She shook her head. “They keep track of everyone who leaves the property. Hitching a ride on the bus was the only way you could have left incognito.”
“I feel bad now.”
Did he? She didn’t think so.
As they reached the row of lockers, Sam put their luggage down, pulled a key out of his pocket, and checked the number. “It’s that one.”
Walking over to the locker he’d pointed at, he opened the door and retrieved the only two items there. A phone, and a big-ass battery charger.
“I’m glad that Eleanor convinced us to get separate lockers.” He disconnected the phone from the charger and turned it on.
“Who’s Eleanor?”
There was a look of surprise in his eyes as he shifted them to her. “I guess it’s safe to tell you now. Marisol’s real name is Eleanor.”
If Eleanor had used a fake name, then Sam probably wasn’t his real name either. Should she ask?
He wasn’t going back to the retreat, so it was probably okay.
“Your name isn’t Sam, is it?”
Smiling sheepishly, he reached for her hand. “My real name is Leon, but I’m still the same guy.”
Ana tilted her head. “Leon suits you better. What’s Devlin’s real name?”
“Peter.”
“In his case, the fake name fits better. He has this devilish look about him.”
“That’s why he chose it.”
“Are your friends going to complete the retreat now that their mission is done?”
“They are going to stay a few more days.”
“Why?”
“You weren’t our only mission. The other one was to find out whether something fishy was going on in the cult. They will do some more snooping around and then leave.”
She didn’t like him referring to Safe Haven as a cult, but she understood why he thought so.
“Do you have reason to suspect it?”
“Nothing concrete. Just a gut feeling.” Sam, or rather Leon, let go of her hand to check his messages.
It would take some time to get used to the new name, and she hoped that would be the last surprise in store for her.
For some reason, she had a feeling that it wasn’t.
“My friend arranged for a private jet to pick us up from the airport. We can take an Uber there.”
“A private jet? That’s impressive. Even my father doesn’t have one. Who does it belong to?”
“My family.”
“Is your family rich?”
He seemed unsure about the answer. “Yeah, I guess we are.”
“You guess? What does that mean?”
“I’ve never given it much thought. My family has resources, but they are not spent on extravagant lifestyles. We are involved in a lot of philanthropic activity.”
“And yet you own a private jet.”
“Yeah, there is that.” His expression closed off as if he was uncomfortable talking about his family’s wealth.
Interesting.
Most of her father’s rich acquaintances, including her father, loved to flaunt their money. Even the charities they were involved in were for show.
Perhaps Leon was lying to her?
She still didn’t really know him, and her gut telling her that she could trust him could be motivated by raging hormones and an infatuation with an incredibly handsome guy, who had ninja and Jedi skills.
Ana extended her hand. “Can I have the phone now?”
“Yes, of course.” He handed her the device.
She dialed her friend’s number.
“Who is it?” As always, Megan sounded suspicious.
“It’s Ana. Can I ask you a favor?”
63
Leon
“This is a really nice jet.” Anastasia sat down and started playing with the seat controls. “Wow, it turns into a bed.” She glanced over at Leon. “It’s a shame that the armrests are in the way.”
“Why? What do you have in mind?”
She leaned closer. “I never thought that I could have the opportunity to join the mile-high club. But here we are.”
Damn. If her sexual appetite was an indicator, then Anastasia was a Dormant for sure. She could give immortal females a run for their money.
Charlie entering the cabin saved him from having to answer.
“Hello, Anastasia.” He offered her his hand. “I’m Charles, your pilot for this short flight.”
“Nice to meet you.” She shook it. “You look a little young for a pilot. How long have you been flying?”
The guy grinned. “I look young for my age. I’ve been flying this baby since we’ve got her seven years ago, and before that, I piloted her predecessor. You have nothing to worry about, but you should fasten your seatbelt nonetheless.”
“Of course.” She found the two ends and clicked the buckle into place.
Charlie leaned over Leon and pulled the bar compartment open. “Help yourselves to whatever is in there. You have about fifteen minutes until takeoff.”
“Thank you.” Anastasia looked over the selection. “Can I have some wine?”
Leon pulled out the bottle. “Are you nervous on planes?”
“A little,” she admitted. “Not the big ones, but this one is really small.”
“You are perfectly s
afe, little lady.” Charlie winked before pivoting on his heel and returning to the cockpit.
Leaning over Leon, Anastasia looked at Charlie until he closed the door behind him. “We have complete privacy in here.”
Leon chuckled. “I’ve created a monster.”
She blushed. “You did. I’ve never been like this with anyone.”
Reaching for her hand, he brought it to his lips and kissed the back of it. “I love how wild and lustful you are.”
She seemed relieved. “I’ve only been with one other guy, and it was good, but nothing like it is with you.” Her blush deepened. “Apparently, I’m into kink. I love it when you blindfold me and tie me up.”
Perhaps he should blindfold her right now because all that talk was having an effect on him. He hadn’t bitten her last night, which meant that his venom glands hadn’t emptied, and they were rapidly readying for action.
Dipping his head over her hand to hide his glowing eyes, Leon kissed it again. “I’m honored that you trust me enough to allow it.” He let go of her hand and pushed to his feet. “I need to visit the restroom, and I’d better do it before takeoff.”
He turned around without looking at her and ducked into the bathroom.
Leaning against the door, he closed his eyes and counted back from twenty. There was no way he could oblige her wish and make love to her on the jet. It had taken a monumental effort not to bite her last night, and he knew that he wouldn’t be able to refrain again.
What the hell was he going to do?
Obviously, he hadn’t thought it through when he’d come up with her extraction plan, and neither had Turner and Kian.
Otherwise, they wouldn’t have allowed him to accompany her. Which reminded him that he’d been supposed to call Turner once he’d gotten his phone.
