by Jena Leigh
Aiden harrumphed around a mouthful of pizza. “Feeling’s mutual.”
Nate asked Aiden about his trip to the docks that morning and the conversation shifted.
Beneath the level of the boys’ exchange, Alex asked, “You holding up okay?”
Jezza stopped chewing, surprised, and darted a glance at Alex before swallowing her bite of pizza. Her voice shook slightly as she whispered back, “I’m fine, New Girl. Eat your pizza.”
At the obvious lie, Alex could hear Cassie’s voice in her memory saying, “Fine? You know what that word means right?”
To which Alex would always sigh and reply, “Effed-up, insecure, neurotic, and emotional.”
And Cassie would smile knowingly and say, “Exactly. Now tell me how you really are.”
Alex didn’t know Jezza well enough to press her, so instead she opted for a slow nod and another bite of pizza.
Jezza set down her half-finished slice and cleared her throat.
The boys stopped talking.
“Speaking of jobs,” she said. “I’ve got one for you.”
Aiden perked up. “Oh? What’s it pay?”
The pink-haired girl smiled as though she’d been anticipating his question. “Endless adoration and gratitude from a city full of Variants in peril, and the sense of justice and satisfaction that accompanies a heroic job well done,” she said. “Oh. And I’ll totally buy you dinner and a round of drinks, next time we’re at the Wheelhouse.”
Nate visibly stiffened.
Scowling, Aiden opened his mouth to reply, only to snap it shut again. His expression softened. “You want us to go after the Scientist. For Sara.”
“For Sara.” Jezza confirmed. “I mean, that’s the sort of thing you do—right, Nate? Save people from danger? Hunt down other Variants gone rogue?”
A darkness overtook Nate’s features and Jezza stilled.
“Used to do,” he corrected.
Nate’s voice held an icy contempt that Alex had never heard before. The anger in his tone sent a chill through her and sparked a recent memory.
“He misses you, ya know,” Brian had said. “We all do.”
Nathaniel’s grimace had perplexed her at the time, but now she was beginning to understand. Whatever it was that had prompted Nate to relocate to the West Coast after graduation involved Grayson. And more than likely, it had involved a job gone wrong.
Way wrong, judging from Nate’s dark look.
Jezza’s eyes widened in surprise. “But I thought you—”
“I don’t work for John Grayson anymore,” Nate bit off. He deposited the bottle he’d been drinking in the sink before wordlessly stalking out of the kitchen. Sliding open the glass door, he disappeared onto the darkened balcony.
Alex’s eyes trailed after him, but she made no move to follow. His expression had made it abundantly clear that—as far as he was concerned—their conversation was over.
“What’s his problem?” asked Jezza.
Aiden blew out a breath. “It’s… complicated. Look, Jez, I’d love to help you with this.” At her disbelieving expression, he held his hands up in a gesture of surrender. “Honest, I would. But I don’t think you know what you’re asking, here. And let’s be real about this. Surely the cops are closing in on him by now. I mean, this whackjob has already killed five people.”
“Five Variants,” Jezza corrected. “And the cops in this city are all norms that don’t know shit about what they’re actually dealing with. For God’s sake, Aiden, even the Agency’s got nothing on this guy.”
She crossed her arms over her chest, matching his scowl with impressive vigor.
Aiden cocked his head to one side. “And how the hell do you know that?”
Jezza shrugged. “I’m friends with a guy who works at their site here in Seattle. Get enough Aristocrat in the poor schmuck and nondisclosure contracts cease to be an issue. But that part’s not important. What is important, is that you and Nate have both handled this sort of thing before.”
“Yeah,” said Aiden. “But only with Grayson’s help. Without his visions and his access to the case files, we’d hardly know where to begin.”
“Bull,” Jezza argued. “You are two of the most resourceful guys I know. You’d find a place to start. And don’t tell me it’s not making you crazy, what happened to Sara, because I know you, Aiden. And I know you’re itching to do something about it, just the same as I am.”
The kitchen fell silent.
Alex had overheard a conversation taking place in one of the clothing shops that morning where a woman had described Sara’s murder in gory detail. The woman’s brother lived in the same apartment building, she claimed, and he had heard the police talking to each other when they’d canvassed his floor looking for information.
Sara’s skin and muscles melted off her bones like she’d been given an acid bath, leaving nothing but a few stubborn tendons clinging to her exposed skeleton.
Alex’s stomach turned at the mental image. She abandoned the crust of her pizza as a lost cause.
The Scientist’s victims should never have died like that. Their families deserved justice.
And if the cops and the Agency couldn’t stop the guy, well…
“I think we should look into it,” said Alex. “I mean, it couldn’t hurt to at least go over the details of the cases with a fresh set of eyes. We might find something that the cops and the Agency investigators missed.”
Aiden raised an eyebrow. “I’m sorry, did you just say we?”
“I could be useful to you.” Alex looked to the darkened balcony. Nate was leaning against the railing, staring out at the water. “If Nate’s not up for it, then you can take me with you instead.”
Aiden gave her a long hard look. “Have you done stuff like this?” he asked. “You know, before?”
She blinked, unsure of how to answer the question.
Had she done anything like this before? She certainly hadn’t worked a case for Grayson, like Declan and the others had. Not officially, but she had been around long enough to know how they operated. Long enough to have a fair idea of how the job was done.
Alex nodded an affirmation.
Aiden rubbed the back of his neck and examined her closely as he tried to make up his mind.
Alex had been given a fair amount of training in the few months before she left. And if Aiden mistook her answer to mean that she’d gone out on actual jobs before, well, who was she to correct him?
“Alright,” he said, finally. “We’ll look into it. But I’m making absolutely no promises here, Jezza. If the cops can’t find anything on the guy, it may be because there’s nothing to be found yet. It could be that he’s yet to slip up and leave anything incriminating behind.”
Jezza’s relieved smile softened her features and alleviated some of the pain in her eyes. Turning, she did something that surprised everyone, Alex especially.
She reached out and drew Alex in for a tight hug. “Thanks, New Girl,” she whispered. “I owe you big.”
Fifteen
“I don’t think Nate’s too happy about all this,” Alex said, stepping out onto the balcony and sliding the glass door closed behind her.
Inside the apartment, Nate was busying himself with his computer and resolutely speaking to no one.
Aiden smiled, nudging the chair next to him with his foot, inviting her to sit. As Alex settled into the chair, her gaze drifted out over the glistening black waters of the Puget Sound.
“Nice night,” she said.
Generally speaking, this was one of those things people say even when it’s not true, in the hopes of sparking conversation. But tonight, Alex actually meant it.
The night sky was clear, though the lights from the city meant only a scattering of stars were visible twinkling above the Sound. After a full day of sunshine the temperatures had finally risen into the upper fifties, making her light gray jacket just enough to keep her warm. The cool breeze coming off the bay felt wonderful against her face.
Beside her, Aiden stared out over the water, rolling an unlit cigarette between his fingers.
“I never knew you smoked,” she said.
He held up the cigarette. The white paper caught the light coming from inside the apartment, causing it to glow.
“Well, that’s a good sign,” he said. “Maybe it means I finally quit for good. God knows I’ve been trying. But stress, y’know… makes it hard.”
Alex winced. The only time she’d seen him light up so far was on the night they’d arrived in Seattle—right after she’d gotten him fired.
She gestured toward the water. “I suppose being so close to Puget Sound helps you keep the anxiety at bay.”
He seemed bemused. “So you feel it too, huh?”
“The pulse of the water?” she asked. “Yeah. It’s nice. Soothing.”
Aiden nodded. “Not many water-wielders can sense that. Most aren’t strong enough. Though I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.” He shook his head, slowly. “You’re anything but normal.”
“Is that why you like living on the coast? Being so close to the water?”
Aiden shrugged. “Not quite the coast, Seattle, but it’s close enough. Plus there’s plenty of work to be found here for a deckhand. And it beats living trapped in a landlocked state, in a town where the largest body of water is a forty-foot-wide fishing hole.”
“Were you on the swim team back in high school?” she asked.
Aiden snorted, as though amused by the prospect. “No.”
“Why not?”
“Cause my mom would have shit a brick.”
“Not a sports fan?”
Even though Aiden had been the one to bring up the topic of his mother, Alex’s question elicited a grimace.
“It’s not that,” he said. “She just wasn’t a fan of anything she considered an ‘unnecessary risk.’ And allowing her Variant son access to a public swimming pool was about as risky as anything she could imagine.”
Alex furrowed a brow. “With your control? Why would it have been an issue?”
Aiden smiled, embarrassed. “I was, uh, well I was a little slow… developing my powers,” he managed.
At the announcement, Alex relaxed back into her seat.
This was the same Aiden who had so effortlessly taught her how to control the same ability?
Mr. I-Can-Count-the-Raindrops?
The same Aiden who had conducted her training like a drill sergeant instructing a clueless new recruit? The one who acted as though lifting the entire contents of an Olympic-sized swimming pool into the air and transforming it into a block of ice was a walk in the park.
He had once struggled to learn control?
Alex’s surprise must have shown in her expression because Aiden shrugged and added, “The ability didn’t show up until I was a freshman in high school. Actually, it wasn’t until the summer before my senior year that I really got a handle on things. And that might never have happened without Grayson’s help.”
“John Grayson?” she asked.
He nodded.
“The summer before…” she trailed off. “Was that when you went to live at the cabin in New York?”
Another grimace. “So you know about that, huh? Guess I’m not surprised.”
Alex studied his face for a long moment. She knew about Aiden’s time living at the cabin, sure.
What she didn’t know, was what had transpired during his time there that would have been worthy of the pained expression he now wore.
“You never told me,” she began hesitantly, “why you only lived there a for a short time. Surely Grayson would have allowed you to stay on. Maybe even helped you with getting into college. Why did you leave so soon after you graduated?”
His grimace transformed into a laugh.
“What’s so funny?” she asked.
“Nothing,” he said. “Nothing at all. You really don’t know the story? Nate didn’t—” Aiden cocked his head to one side. “I never told you about why I left?”
His smile had become strained at the corners of his mouth, a sliver of something Alex thought might be regret, sneaking in around the edges.
“No,” she said. “I guess it never really came up.”
Aiden leaned forward in his chair, hanging his head low as he rested his elbows on his knees. When he looked up, he sent her an appraising glance, as though he were trying to decide just how much of the story he wanted to tell her.
He dragged a thumb across his lower lip, then dropped his hand, leaned back in his chair and blew out a breath.
“My step-dad was an asshole,” he said, finally.
Alex blinked in surprise.
Wasn’t this story supposed to be about why he’d left the cabin?
Aiden picked up a bottle of beer from the patio table between them and turned it over in his hands, staring at the label. “In the four years I lived with him, I don’t think I ever saw him completely sober. Hungover, maybe, for about five minutes in the morning before he remedied that with a little hair of the dog.”
Alex frowned.
Cassie had hinted once before that Aiden hadn’t walked the easiest road in life, but Alex had been hesitant to press her for details.
“My mom—an O’Connell—didn’t inherit an ability,” said Aiden, taking another left turn in the story. “It was kind of a big deal. O’Connell’s have always been one of the most powerful Variant families out there. So for her to be born a norm, well, let’s just say it didn’t go over well.”
He set the bottle back on the table.
“My grandparents were both jumpers,” he continued. “So mom’s twin sister and her older brother—Declan and Kenzie’s dad—both inherited a teleportation ability. But mom was one of those unlucky few whose ability just never developed,” he snorted in disgust. “The Variant community has a name for kids like that. Genetic mishaps.”
Alex scowled.
A growing portion of the Variant community viewed their unusual gifts as evidence of their genetic superiority over humans. She could only imagine how the more fervent believers of this notion might treat someone they considered defective in that department.
Elitist jerks.
“My Gran and Gramps weren’t the sort that cared,” he said. “They loved her no matter what. Ability, or no ability. But the Variant community she grew up in? They were a little less understanding. When she was eighteen, she fell in love with my dad, a water-wielder who had something of a bad rep. Also an asshole. Mom never had the best taste in guys. He skipped out on her just after I was born. For a long time growing up, it was just her and me.”
He shook his head. “Anyway. Long story short, when I was about four, we moved to the States. Then, when I was 12, she married my step-dad, Hal. A little over a year later, my ability manifested.” He snorted in disgust. “Mom completely freaked. Hal was human, see. He had no clue that Variants existed and Mom was desperate to keep it that way. Trouble was, she had no idea how to help me gain control over my powers. Maybe if I had been born a jumper, but she had no idea how to manage a water-wielding ability. So instead, these ‘accidents’ kept happening. Busted pipes. Water freezing in their glasses on the dinner table. Rainwater inexplicably pooling around the trailer and seeping in through windows and doors. Crap like that. Hal blamed me, even though he could never explain how I was doing it.” Aiden sighed. “Used to beat the crap out of me every time something happened.”
Alex winced and looked down at her feet, a tightness in her chest as she pictured a younger version of Aiden, too scrawny to defend himself, facing such a brutal punishment every time he lost control.
“Somehow, Grayson learned about what was happening,” said Aiden. “I never found out how—whether he had a vision, or whether my mom called him one day and just told him everything—but the summer break after my junior year he showed up at our door, offering me a place with them at the cabin in New York, tuition for a private school, a summer job… the works.”
He reached for the bott
le and took another swig.
Alex sat quietly as she waited for him to continue.
“I flat-out refused. I didn’t want to leave my mom alone with Hal,” he said. “But Mom insisted I go. Begged me. Made me promise to give it a real shot. Swore to me that she would let me know if anything happened back home. To tell me if Hal ever…” he trailed off, then cleared his throat. “So I went. And it was great. Nate and I became friends. We both took a summer job in a nearby garage, working on cars. I learned to control my ability. When school finally began, classes sucked, but my grades were alright. I went out on some of Grayson’s jobs with Nate and Decks, helping people in trouble. Found something like a family, there at the cabin.”
Alex smiled. She knew well how wonderful it felt, to be a part of the Grayson clan.
The Graysons were a family bound not by blood, but by something much, much more powerful—love, friendship, and unconditional acceptance.
“And the whole damn time,” said Aiden. “Mom swore to me that things were good back home.”
Alex’s smile fell from her face. She knew what must be coming, but was afraid to hear him say it, nonetheless.
“In reality,” said Aiden, “The thing I’d feared the most had started happening the same day I left—Hal had traded one punching bag for another.”
He took another long swig from the bottle.
Unsure of what she could say, Alex remained silent, drawing her legs up into the chair and wrapping her arms around them. She laid her head against her knees and watched Aiden replace the bottle on the table.
“One afternoon that next spring, I was working at the garage. I swear I remember everything about that day. The smell of the rain pouring outside the open bay doors, the busted up Chevy on the lift above me whose tires I was rotating, and I can remember hearing the telephone ring in between the bursts of air coming from an impact wrench Nate was using on the car in the bay next to mine.
“Mike, the owner of the garage, walked over and told me I had a call from home,” Aiden gave a humorless laugh. “You know what my first thought was when he said that? ‘I wonder why Grayson’s calling me at work.’ I’d been there so long that, in my mind, the cabin was my home. But when I picked up that phone it was Hal, not Grayson, on the other end of the line. He was so drunk that at first I could barely understand the words he was slurring.”
