Center of the Universe (Twelfth Keeper)

by Malory, Belle

  “I don’t hide it from her,” she said in way of an explanation. “Tell her whatever you’re comfortable with.”

  Kennedy stirred her stew, lowering her eyes. “Um, it’s water.”

  Was this okay? No one had told her what to do in this situation. It wasn’t like she could deny it after Eva had seen proof with her own eyes. On the other hand, Mason would flip a switch if he found she was openly talking about keeper abilities.

  “How interesting.” Eva studied her. “What can you do with it? Nika explained that some of you can change the elements while some of you can move it.”

  Kennedy drew a stream of water out of Eva’s drinking glass, spinning it into little spirals. Small amounts like that were becoming second nature, while larger quantities took more effort.

  “Amazing,” Eva breathed, entranced.

  The water slowly streamed back into her glass.

  “Thanks. We’re uh, not supposed to talk about it outside of training.”

  “Oh I can imagine DOE would want to keep this under wraps. Don’t worry. I would never say anything.”

  It seemed like Eva was used to keeping that particular secret. Nika must have figured out what she could do as a little girl. No wonder she was so powerful.

  “So how is your new life?” Eva asked. “Do you like keeping the world safe?”

  When reporters asked that question, Kennedy won them over with blaring confidence and pride. But with Nika’s aunt, she decided to be honest. “I’m still adjusting. And I’m trying the best I can.”

  “You’re humble,” Eva said. “That’s a nice trait in a person.”

  Kennedy smiled, wishing she could accept her flattery for what it was, but knew it was unfounded. “It’s not about humility, trust me. My skills are mediocre at best.”

  “She’s doing just fine,” Nika told her aunt. “She pushes herself harder than everyone.”

  Kennedy glanced up, surprised by the praise. “Only because I’m so far behind.” She fidgeted with her napkin, twisting it in her lap. It was the truth. The rest of the keepers were warriors. Compared to them, her feet were barely wet.

  “Well, I think it’s admirable,” Eva insisted. “There may come a day when you girls are needed.”

  Little did Eva know, that day was fast approaching. Nika shot her a knowing look. Although she’d told her aunt a lot, apparently she hadn’t told her about the Sae-yers. Guess that subject was off limits.

  Headlights appeared through the front window. Kennedy’s entire body went tense.

  “Did someone follow you?” Nika asked, parting the curtains.

  She never suspected someone was following her. She took precautions to make sure it didn’t happen, even went so far as to take two separate cabs. Oh man. This couldn’t be good. Mason wouldn’t have sent someone, would he?

  The only other very real possibility was that Phoenix had found her. He was smart enough to follow her tracks, and if he was determined enough…

  “Great,” Dominika muttered. “It’s Oz.”

  Kennedy let out a sigh of relief. Or was that regret? She crossed her arms, wondering why in the world she would feel this way. This was a good thing.

  Not a DOE agent. Not Phoenix. It was Oz.

  Whoever that was.

  Nika ran to the door, throwing it open. “I don’t know how you found me, but get right back into your car and go home.” With that said, she slammed the door closed.

  Nika sunk back into her chair just as Eva headed to the door. When she saw what her aunt was doing, she said, “Auntie, don’t you dare open—”

  “Ozzie!” Eva cooed. “It’s so good to see you. Look at you. All grown up and sophisticated.”

  “It’s good to see you too, Eva.”

  Kennedy arched a brow at Nika. “Who is that?”

  “The son of the devil,” she said, rolling her eyes.

  “Son of the devil…do you mean that’s Maxwell Ryder’s son?”

  Nika nodded. “We were friends growing up. Best friends.” She stared into her stew, biting her bottom lip. Odd. Nika never looked uncomfortable. Most times she was either angry or closed off, but not like this. Who was this guy?

  After Eva finished hugging him, Oz stepped into the room. Kennedy felt her eyes widen. He was young, probably around Nika’s age since they’d grown up best friends, and he was wearing an expensive suit. He was also gorgeous. Kennedy wasn’t sure how she expected Ryder’s son to look, but this wasn’t it.

  His eyes touched on her for a second before finding Nika. His whole face relaxed, and he drank her up with his gaze.

  Kennedy pressed her lips together, knowing awkward tension when she saw it. What was going on here? And why did Eva just let Maxwell Ryder’s son into the house with open arms? Literally. She’d even called the man Ozzie, like his presence was accompanied by sunshine and warm little fuzzies.

  Oz settled into an empty chair at the table. “I knew I’d find you with Eva.”

  Nika didn’t respond to him. She took a bite of her stew, looking the other way.

  “Are you hungry, Oz?” Eva asked. “We have some stew left over.”

  “No, thanks,” he replied, smiling. It was a nice smile. Not the smile one expected from the son of a killer.

  “Well, I’ll leave you kids alone,” Eva said, then looked at Kennedy. “Nika will show you where the guest bedroom is when you’re finished. The sheets are clean and the mattress is soft.”

  “Thank you.”

  Eva headed up the staircase. “You’re very welcome. Goodnight.”

  As soon as her aunt was gone, Nika crooked her head at Oz. “What do you want?”

  “To finish the conversation we started.”

  “What would be the point of that?”

  Oz’s eyes flicked to Kennedy again. “Maybe we should wait until you don’t have company.”

  “Don’t hold back on her account.” Nika’s mouth curved into a sly smile. “This one intends to help me put your father’s head on a platter.”

  Awesome. He knew about their plans to murder his father. Should she introduce herself now or later?

  “Wait. Holy shit, I recognize her. Is she the twelfth?”

  Nika nodded. “She’s also my new best friend, in case you were wondering.”

  Oz scowled at that. Apparently the idea of someone taking his place didn’t sit well with him.

  Um. Okay. This might be a good time to leave. “I think I’ll go somewhere while the two of you—”

  “Sit down.”

  “But—”

  “Sit. Down.” Nika glared at her, daring her to move. “You said you wanted to help. Be helpful.”

  Kennedy lowered back into her chair. She wasn’t sure why Nika wanted her here listening to this, and God knows she didn’t want to be here listening to this. It had to be the most uncomfortable conversation she’d ever been apart of. But she stayed anyway. Because Nika told her to. And truthfully, she was a little afraid of that girl.

  “Please feel free to continue, Oz. Unless you’d rather leave?”

  He switched to Russian, but Nika cut him off. “It’s rude to speak another language in front of our guest.”

  Oh so she was a guest now. A few minutes ago, she hadn’t been invited and was almost kicked off the property. My, how things had changed in such a short time.

  The lines in Oz’s face hardened. “What the hell. We’ll do this your way.”

  Kennedy bit her bottom lip, looking around the house for possible exit routes.

  “Your father invented something for my father, Nikki. A technology he didn’t want getting out.” Oz leaned forward in his seat. “That’s why the bastard murdered your family. That’s what all of this has been about. A stupid invention.”

  If it wasn’t for the long sigh that followed that statement, Kennedy would wonder why Oz spoke of her family’s murder so casually. Now she realized he was only trying to get out what he wanted to say while he had the chance. Nika wasn’t exactly being patient with him. />
  “What kind of invention?”

  “Some type of communicator that expands over unbelievable distances. It can reach other galaxies, Nikki. And actually, it’s not stupid. It’s pretty fucking incredible…and your father built it. You should know that about your papa. He was an incredible man.”

  Nika blinked, looking away. She was trying to keep from falling apart, and doing a pretty good job too, considering everything she just found out.

  Nika leaned back into her chair, looking contemplative. “The only reason he would want to keep a communicator private is if he wanted to keep his communications private. Who…or what is he talking to, Oz?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “What kind of answer is that?”

  Oz winced, a troubled frown lining his brow. Kennedy could almost feel his desire to give Nika what she wanted. He wasn’t lying when he said he didn’t know.

  “I’m sorry, but I never found out. My father was furious I knew about the communicator. He should’ve known I would dig it up. I am his son, after all.”

  “So where do I go from here?” Nika asked, holding her hands up. “I could try to kill him, of course. But if I succeeded, I would never find out about Project 27. I would never find out about this communicator either.”

  “I wonder if they’re related.”

  Everyone’s eyes steered towards Kennedy. Only then did she realize she had voiced her thoughts out loud.

  “It wouldn’t surprise me if they were,” Nika said.

  “I can help you break into his office if you want,” Oz offered. “It’s the best way to find out.”

  She looked at him like he was crazy for suggesting that. “Ryder Industries is a vault. We’d never make it past security.”

  “I’m not talking about his office at Ryder Industries,” Oz said. “I meant his home office. That’s where he keeps anything that matters to him. He’s too paranoid to put it anywhere else.”

  Nika narrowed her gaze on Oz, tapping her fingers against the table. It seemed like she was evaluating him, trying to figure out if he could be trusted. “Why would you do that? Why would you help me expose him?”

  “Nikki, I would put the knife in the man’s back for you if I thought it would give you peace.”

  Kennedy parted her lips and laid a hand over her heart. There was something inherently wrong with her for feeling moved by Oz’s declaration. Come on, he basically offered to help Nika kill his own father. That was wrong on so many levels. She didn’t believe he could go through with it, but it was easy to see he wanted to, and that was enough. He truly cared about Nika. It was nice to see someone showing her that, even if it was coming from the son of the devil.

  “Fine. Can we go to his house tonight?”

  Oz shook his head. “Nah, he’ll be home. We could go tomorrow though. I read that he’s going to some charity event in Paris, which means he’ll be gone the rest of the weekend.”

  “How do we get in?”

  “As long as he hasn’t changed the locks in the last few years, we’re okay. I have an old key.”

  “If he’s as paranoid as you say, he probably has changed them.”

  Oz rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, if that’s the case, then I’ll break past his access codes. We might set off an alarm, but we’ll just have to work fast. Or I’ll do it on my own. It’s not like the old man would put his own son in jail.”

  Nika stood up, taking her bowl to the sink. When she came back to the table, she seemed unsure. She looked at Kennedy. “What do you think?”

  This new unsure and uncomfortable Nika wasn’t someone she was used to.

  Kennedy didn’t want to give any input; Nika needed to make this decision on her own. Then again, this wasn’t only about what Ryder had done to Nika’s family. They had responsibilities to the rest of the world, and those needed to come first. “We don’t have a warrant or clearance from DOE,” she pointed out. “That being said, I think it’s the right thing to do.”

  Nika nodded. It was the approval she needed. “Okay then. We’ll go tomorrow.”

  Twenty-Four

  Kennedy looked around and blinked several times.

  Where am I?

  She sat on the edge of a pool, trying to focus in on her surroundings. Ripples expanded within clear blue water beneath her feet. A drenched white dress clung tight to her body.

  Oh yeah. This was the Rec Center on Level 5. The same place she dreamt of Phoenix right before the building came crashing down and woke her up.

  She looked up at the high ceiling. It was intact. Cracks weren’t splitting the walls either, which helped her breathe a little better. Not that it could actually come tumbling down in space. On the other hand, if this were a dream…

  A pair of arms came around her waist from behind. She recognized the feel of those strong arms immediately. Phoenix.

  She turned, meeting his shadowy gaze. A lock of blonde hair fell across his forehead. He looked so…lost. What was wrong with him? When she’d left the other day, he was in a good mood, even to the point of cockiness. It aggravated her, sure, but she would rather see him like that than like this.

  He took her face in his hands. “You have no idea how much I’ve wanted to see this face again.” His voice was different, raspy, and laced with something dark.

  “Phoenix, are you okay? Are we dreaming?”

  His eyes scanned their surroundings before he nodded. “Yes, I suppose we are.”

  Water lapped out of the pool, skimming over their bare feet. It caught Phoenix’s attention for a second before he turned back to her. “We don’t have long now that we’re aware of it.”

  Kennedy felt an inexplicable panic fill her core. “Last time you said you were lost. You told me to find you—”

  Phoenix’s fingers worked their way into her hair. He pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her. “Let’s not talk about that. These are precious moments. No use wasting them.”

  She rested her head against his chest, wondering what that meant. He wasn’t lost in real life. It didn’t make sense.

  “What’s going on where you are, my love?” Phoenix asked.

  She pulled back slightly so she could look at him. “Um, you and I aren’t actually on the best of terms…” Water hit her ankles, causing her to look down. “Phoenix, the water—it’s flooding the floor.”

  He tilted her chin up. “Don’t look at that, okay?” He pointed to his eyes. “Stay right here. With me. Nothing else matters.”

  She sucked in a sharp breath, figuring out what he didn’t want to say. Her subconscious was pulling her out of the dream. Paying attention to it wouldn’t help. It would only bring her out faster.

  “Why aren’t we on good terms?” he asked, drawing her attention away from the water.

  “Well…”

  She bit her lip. It may not be a good idea to bring up their issues to Dream Phoenix. For all intents and purposes, he was innocent. Sort of.

  “I can guess,” he said, a smile pulling at his lips. “You’ve only ever been seriously mad at me once that I remember. It was when Fang tried to break us up.”

  She stared at him, wondering how her Dream Phoenix knew everything already. She supposed he could be a projection of her subconscious. Although for a dream, this felt incredibly lifelike. He was too tangible and too believable. It was hard to think of him as something she made up on her own.

  Water hit her knees. Feeling the cold water splash her legs, she tried her best not to tremble. They didn’t have long.

  Phoenix ran his fingers down the side of her neck, sending a wave of goose bumps over her skin. “Don’t pay attention to it,” he whispered, reminding her.

  She nodded, but gripped his arms tighter, afraid to feel him disappear again.

  “Can I make a request?” he asked.

  “Okay.” She waited for him to speak.

  “Ease up on him, the old me,” he said softly. “He’s already in love with you. I was already in love with you.”

&n
bsp; Kennedy swallowed, feeling a lump grow inside her throat. That wasn’t possible. Phoenix couldn’t love her. Love was beautiful. It was what her parents had while her father had been alive. It was filled with trust and joy. She didn’t feel either of those things. No. It was too hard to imagine.

  “He hurt me,” she said in a small voice.

  Phoenix flinched. “I know he did,” he sighed. “But I can promise you he’s sorry, and whatever pain you may feel, he’s being sufficiently tortured by it.”

  Tortured?

  She wondered if that were true, if this Dream Phoenix had special insight on the inner workings of the real Phoenix’s mind and heart. It bothered her to hear that, to even think he was hurting as much as she was.

  “I miss you,” she said, meaning it. With every fiber of her body, she meant it. “I miss you, and I miss the way things used to be.”

  While awake, it was something she would never admit. But here inside her dream, she felt safe saying it out loud.

  Phoenix stroked her hair, kissing the top of her head. “Kennedy, you have no idea how much I miss you.”

  “Where are you?” she asked. “Tell me so I can understand. I want to help you, even if you’re not real.”

  He stared at her strangely for a moment. “You don’t think I’m real?”

  “I’m not sure.” She looked around. “This is a dream. I don’t know what’s real and what’s not.”

  “I’m not part of your imagination, Kennedy,” he insisted. “There will be a day when you’ll understand. When that day comes, I want you to remember this moment. I love you. If you remember nothing else, remember that.”

  Water drifted to their waists, tugging at them and breaking their balance. Kennedy clutched Phoenix, steadying herself.

  I love you.

  Her breath caught in her chest. She wasn’t sure if it was the water or Phoenix’s words that knocked her off balance, but either way she knew one thing for sure. Feeling indifferent was never going to happen, not in her dreams or real life. She couldn’t pretend not to care when this version of Phoenix made her see how much she really did. “You’ve never told me that before.”