02 Hunted - The Chosen
Page 12
“Emma, sit down. You’re making a scene. I told you I’m not going to hurt you.” His voice was soft and soothing, but firm in its command.
Emma felt her body relaxing, in spite of her anxiety.
“There you go, my love. Sit down. Let me explain.”
“I am not your love, so stop calling me that.” Emma sat on the edge of her chair. “Have you been watching me?”
“There’s not an easy way to answer that.”
“Actually, it’s quite easy. It’s a yes or no question. Have you been watching me?”
“Yes.”
She knew she shouldn’t be surprised, yet the confirmation frightened her. “Did the Vinco Potentia hire you?”
His eyes widened in surprise before he curled his lip. “No, I haven’t been hired by anyone.”
“Then why?”
“Let’s just say I have a special interest in making sure you’re safe. I’ve been like a… guardian angel at times.” He smirked and leaned over the table, resting his weight on his elbow. Dark, curly hair hung close to his head and his eyes were so dark they looked black against his dark complexion.
“Ha. You don’t look like any guardian angel I’ve ever seen.”
He lifted a corner of his mouth. “And exactly how many guardian angels have you met?”
Why was she always getting mixed up with arrogant assholes? “I don’t need a guardian so I suggest you stop stalking me or I’ll make sure you wished you had. Besides, Will has the protection job covered.” But the thought of Will stoked her irritation. First, she had taken care of herself for so long, she didn’t want to think she actually needed someone to protect her. And second, she wasn’t so sure Raphael should know that piece of information.
Raphael’s eyes darkened and his face contorted with rage. His eyes bore into hers. “He’s incompetent. Where is he now if he’s supposed to protect you? Will is too dense to grasp your worth. If he did, he would have an army protecting you.” He paused leaning closer. “If I were your protector, I would never leave your side,” he said seductively, his eyes holding hers.
Emma felt her stomach tighten and flip-flop with his words. She turned toward the lake, breaking eye contact. Self-loathing rolled through her. Why did she react to him this way? She turned back with a glare. “Will is doing the best he can. If he had an army at his disposal, I wouldn’t put it past him to use it. He’s only one man.”
Raphael raised his palms in surrender and sat back in his chair. “I apologize if I spoke out of turn.”
“Why are you following me?”
He crossed his arms with an amused smile. “You seem to be asking all the questions and that’s not our arrangement. I’ll give you some answers, but I need to ask some questions of my own first. How did you heal Will?”
She found his question irritating. He said he was going to help her. Shouldn’t he know the answer? She lifted her chin in defiance. “I have no idea.”
He raised his eyebrows, obviously questioning her honesty.
“I’m not lying. I really don’t know.”
“Tell me what happened.”
After she told him, Raphael watched her for a moment. “You were lucky you didn’t kill him… or yourself. What were your thoughts when you touched him? Did you say any words?”
“I think I said heal him.”
“In English?”
“What? Does it work better in Spanish?” Her sarcasm was biting.
He chuckled.
“So what happened? How did I heal him?”
“I don’t know.”
She stood and glowered over him. “You said youdid know. You said you had answers. You fucking liar. I’m done.” She walked out of the restaurant into the parking lot.
“Emma.”
She ignored him, walking toward the bus stop.
“Emmanuella.” He stood behind her, practically breathing in her ear.
Her heart raced when he used her name. She whirled around to face him. He was so close she nearly bumped into him. “You lied to me!”
“No, Emma. I swear, I didn’t lie. You didn’t let me finish. Calm down and let me finish.”
She tried to catch her breath as she took a step back. “Finish what? You said you didn’t know!”
He reached out and grasped her hand. “I can’t tell you, Emma. You have to figure this out for yourself. That’s the way it works.”
His touch sent waves of desire rippling up her arm, spreading throughout her body. She jerked her arm out of his grasp. “I told you not to touch me,” she spit through gritted teeth.
He lifted his hands and took a step back. “I’m sorry.”
She inhaled a shaky breath and ran her fingers through her hair, trying to focus. “So there’s a process for learning this? You know what it is and won’t help me?”
He shook his head. “No, I can’t and you have no idea how quickly I want you to learn but every moment I spend with you inhibits your progress.” His voice lowered into a soothing tone. “Come back so we can discuss this. I’ll tell you what I can.” His hand reached for her neck, stroking lightly.
Her head swam. “You’re touching me,” she murmured. “You promised not to touch me.” But she didn’t pull away, mesmerized by his dark eyes.
“I said I wouldn’t. I’m not foolish enough to promise.” He stepped closer, his chest touching hers as his hand slid up and caressed her cheek. His fingertips left tingles in their wake, igniting a fire in her stomach.
“Why do you feel so familiar?” Emma whispered, her face inches from his.
“You’ll figure it out when you’re ready.”
This is wrong.
She stepped back and his hand dropped, breaking the magnetic pull. “Stay the fuck away from me. I don’t know what you’re doing but stop it right now.” How could she feel simultaneously drawn to him, yet revolted by the thought? She shook her head, trying to clear out the last webs of attraction. “You said no one could help me with my process. Why not?”
“Let’s just say you are special and extraordinary, and no one near you is capable of giving you what you need.”
“And let’s just say that sounds like a load of bullshit.”
He laughed. “Come inside and we’ll discuss this more.”
“No way. I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“You want to discuss the secrets of your power in the parking lot of the Griddlecakes Cafe?”
She threw her hands into the air. “Sure. Why the fuck not? It’s not like anything else in my life has come with tea and crumpets.”
Pity replaced the arrogance in his eyes.”And you have no idea how sorry I am about that.” He looked over her shoulder down the street. “Okay, we won’t go back inside. But there’s a bench half a block down. We can sit there and try to add a little dignity to the mysteries of your life.”
She nodded and they walked to the bench in silence. She sat at the edge of one end and Raphael, taking her cue, sat on the opposite end.
“Back to your power,” he said. “What else can you do?”
“Occasionally Will and I can sense each other in our minds.”
“You said occasionally, not all the time?”
“No, usually we just feel the other person. Once we could actually talk.”
“And why was that situation different?”
“Will had left me with the Vinco Potentia and Jake’s father, who I hadn’t seen since...” She shook her head. “He walked in my room. I was shocked and upset and without even thinking about it, I reached out to Will in my mind. We could hear each other’s thoughts. It was the only time it happened.”
The veins on Raphael’s neck bulged. “Will left you there with him?”
“You’re not being fair. He was trying to protect me and Will didn’t know that Alex was there. Wait. You know about Alex?”
Raphael’s eyes darkened. Emma could almost swear his pupils were tinged with red. “Yes, I know Alex Warren. He is a very dangerous man.” He turned away from
her and took several deep breaths. “Have you discovered any other talents?”
“Can you call sudden and debilitating nausea a talent? When the Cavallo would get close, I got severely ill.”
“When did you start noticing any of this?
“After Will showed up. That’s when Jake started changing too.”
“And the next talent, sensing each other, when did it show up?”
“Around the time I was shot.”
“And did you ever get sick again after that?”
“No…but it could just be because I wasn’t around the Cavallo anymore.”
“But you were around the other group, also your enemies, and you weren’t sick? Yet you could communicate with Will telepathically?”
“Yes.”
“Then you received another gift? You healed Will.”
“Yes.”
“The nausea confuses me. But nausea is a primal reaction and it served as a warning system, but it’s rudimentary. It could be that as your powers mature, you could lose the primitive ones.”
She only hoped it was true. “And I’ll have other powers?”
“Most assuredly, yes.”
“What will they be?”
“That’s for you to determine.”
She groaned in frustration. “That’s not very helpful.”
“I’m sorry.”
She scowled. “You said it was for me to figure out my abilities. How do I find them?”
“Practice. Play with it and discover what you can do. Don’t let your conceptual mind limit the possibilities. Let your imagination have free reign.” Raphael paused. “So, the baby. It’s true?”
Emma’s face burned. “Yes, I think so.” Why could she admit this to him but not Will?
“And how do you feel about it?”
“Scared, sad, angry that people want me because of a poor defenseless baby. The Vinco Potentia doesn’t realize that I have powers. Not yet, anyway. Will says they think my only purpose is to have this baby. He doesn’t want them to find out.”
“That is one thing we both agree upon.” His voice softened. “Emma, I bring this up only to point out the obvious. You haven’t told me what you think about the baby so this might offend you and I apologize in advance.”
He stopped and she turned to look at him. His eyes locked on hers, his hypnotic pull returning. “You are hunted by men because of the potential of the baby. They don’t know of your powers. I can assure you of that.” He paused again. “You need Will because of the baby. If there’s no baby, you don’t need Will forever. Do you understand what I’m saying? You don’t have to have this baby.”
Emma’s heart sputtered.
“You do need Will to continue the development of your powers, as much as it pains me to tell you that. But once your powers are developed, if there’s no baby, you can free him.”
The blood rushed from her head. She didn’t need Will? Wasn’t that what she wanted, to not need him? She had thought so, but contemplating a life without Will seemed empty. And what about the baby? She bit her lip as she struggled with her war of emotions.
“What do you think about what I told you?” he asked, his voice soft in her ear.
“The baby part, I have no idea. It wasn’t like I planned to get pregnant, but I’m not so callous that I can casually think about ending a pregnancy.” She paused and took a deep breath. “But Will…” Her heart ached at the mere thought of losing him.
Raphael’s gaze changed, his desire evident, and all breath squeezed from her lungs.
“Emma, I assure you, you would not be lonely.”
She jumped up from the bench. “I have to go.” She whirled away and started down the street.
“You can’t go,” he called after her. “You still need Will.”
She stopped, her back to him.
“I hate to say this, but you still need him to gain your powers.”
Her heart twisted in confusion. How could she want Will, yet be so eager to run away from him too? She spun to face Raphael. “I refuse to go back to James’s house.”
“I agree with you. I don’t want you there either. By tonight I’m sure James will have called Will and told him you’re missing. I suspect he’ll return by tomorrow morning. You can stay here in town and I can drop you off at James’s tomorrow.”
“Why? Why would you do that?”
“Emma, I already admitted I have a vested interest in your well-being,” he said, raising his hand as she prepared to speak. “However, I can’t tell you why. You’ll find out soon enough.”
She put her hand on her hip, weighing her options.
“I’m staying at a lodge next to the lake. Why don’t you get a room there for tonight and I promise to take you back first thing in the morning,”
“I’m not spending the night with you.”
“And I’m not proposing that. You’ll have your own room. As much as I would love to spend the rest of the afternoon and night with you, I can’t. I’ve spent too much time in contact with you as it is.” He smiled, a cross between a seductive grin and a patronizing gaze.
She sighed in frustration. When had she sunk so low that she let men dictate her actions? But there was no valid reason to refuse his suggestion other than obstinacy.
God, if this didn’t smack of when I first met Will….
“Fine,” she huffed, shaking her head.
They got in his car and drove the short distance to the lodge. Raphael waited outside while she went inside and signed in under an alias she had picked up somewhere along the way. Raphael walked her to her room, insisting on carrying her backpack.
“This is it.” She waved to the door. “Can I have my bag now?”
He handed her the pack, but grabbed her free hand, bringing it to his lips. His face raised, shining with a playful grin. His tongue darted out and licked lightly as a fire ignited in her abdomen. “Until tomorrow.”
She jerked her hand away and shut the door behind her, wondering if she’d just made a pact with the devil.
***
Will had watched the compound through binoculars for several hours. A nine-hour drive brought him there in the early evening. Most business was probably done for the day, not that he expected much to happen. Kramer himself had said members of their group didn’t visit very often.
Will hoped to make note of delivery schedules and use that to his advantage. Later, in the dead of morning, he planned to check out the private airstrip where the helicopter they flew in a few weeks ago had landed.
He twisted the cap off a bottle of water and took a swig as the phone in his pocket vibrated. Emma. It surprised him that she hadn’t called sooner to cuss him out. He dug out the phone and checked the screen, confirming James’ number. His shoulders tensed, preparing for the verbal onslaught. “Hello.”
“Will.”
James’ tense voice on the other end stuck Will’s breath in his chest and he choked on his words. “Oh, God, Emma.”
“I’m sure she’s fine, Will. She got pissed at me and took off. I figured she took a walk down by the lake, but when she didn’t come back by dinner, I started looking for her. I have no idea where she is.”
“How long has she been gone?”
James hesitated. “Since late morning.”
Will’s heart jumped into overdrive. “And you’re just now calling me? Anything could have happened to her in the last twelve hours.” Will threw his items in his bag and tossed them in the car, thrusting his keys in the ignition. “I gave you a simple job. How could you possibly fucking lose her?”
“I didn’t ask for this job, you shithead. Now calm your ass down. Freaking out isn’t going to do any good.”
Will took several deep breaths as he tried to regain control. James was right. He needed to calm down and think this through. Where would she have gone? What would Emma do? He remembered when he first met her. She had planned to take a bus after her car got a flat tire.
“Is there a bus station in town?”
Will looked down at his speedometer, realizing he was driving twenty miles over the speed limit. He eased off the gas. He couldn’t afford to be pulled over. “Thompson, Emma Thompson. But I guarantee she won’t be using her real name. She’s too smart for that.” It never occurred to him to ask her what alias she might have used in the past. He slammed his hand down on the steering wheel. Goddamn it, he never should have left her. “Fuck!”
“Okay, calm down. She couldn’t have gotten very far. I’ll make some calls and I’ll call you back when I know anything. I presume you’re coming back.”
“I’m already on my fucking way.”
James hung up and Will hoped he was right, that she hadn’t gotten very far. He remembered how he had sensed her before, when he worried about her safety. But they had only been about fifty feet away, not six hundred miles. He cursed himself again, and decided he had nothing to lose by trying. Besides, Emma had done it with Jake and there had likely been more distance between them.
He concentrated on the mark, picturing her in bed this morning, the pain of the memory sucking his breath away. He felt a twinge of her presence. Forcing himself to remain calm, he thought of her again, reaching out and calling to her. The presence of her slammed into him with a force he hadn’t expected, consolation washing over him in waves. He tried calling to her again but only heard silence. He had the impression that he could have talked to her if she were conscious. Terror stabbed his chest at the thought and he glanced at the clock on the dash. Eleven-thirty. She was most likely asleep, as tired as she had been lately. He concentrated and felt her slow even breathing. His shoulders shook with relief. She was sleeping. He had no idea where she was, but it had to be enough for now.
He drove to Minnesota, swearing to never let her out of his sight again.
Chapter Thirteen
Dreams plagued Emma’s sleep. She had spent most of the afternoon hiking around the lake in an attempt to avoid Raphael. After picking up dinner at the lodge’s restaurant, she returned to her room, where she fell asleep by nine o’clock.