“You’re so mysterious.” He gets up and refills our shot glasses. “Why do you do that? Are you in the witness relocation program?”
I smile. “Not likely. We moved around a lot; my father and I. Didn’t you ever want to pretend to be someone else?”
“I never thought about it. I guess there were times I wished I had a different life or a career path. Yes, I’ve often wanted to be someone else.”
“Changing my name helped me pretend to be someone else. A clean slate. Only now, I don’t want to do it any more. Hearing you call me Elysia is nice.”
“Did you turn her sons against her?”
“She’s delusional and blaming me for her shortcomings. Maybe my independence ignited an already strong desire in my cousins to seek theirs.”
“I think you bring out the best in people.” He interweaves his fingers in with mine.
“I doubt that. I tend to bring only storms and heartache.”
“That’s not true.”
“Thank you for the shot.” I gulp it down; the tension in my body subsides. “And thank you for staying to comfort me.”
“Thank you for letting me.” He leans and kisses me. It’s soft and sweet.
He stays until I can no longer keep my eyes open. He tucks me into bed and kisses me on the forehead. I hear the front door open and close as he leaves. I’m not sure I wanted him to until my thoughts drift to Colin and a calm settles over me. I fall asleep, listening to the rain patter against the cabin roof.
Clattering from the kitchen wakes me.
I walk into the living room. “What is going on in here?”
Fonso stops messing with a pot on the stove. Nadya is sitting on the couch next to a bag of clothes.
“Oh no.” I shake my head.
Nadya frowns. A tear falls down her cheek. “I think I’m the reason your father’s missing.”
Chapter 19
A static ringing in my ears blocks out my cousin’s words as she opens her mouth. The room spins. A dark blanket covers my eyes.
“Elysia. Elysia.” Fonso holds a cold cloth on my forehead.
“What…” An eerie dimness covers the room. Rain beats against the cabin and thunder booms.
“The lights went out. I think a bolt hit the transformer.” Fonso dabs my flushed cheeks. “You fainted.”
Nadya hugs her knees in the corner chair. Dark streaks of mascara run down her face. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”
I sit up. The back of my head throbs. “That hurts.” I feel the back of my head and a bump is starting to form.
“You hit your head when you fell. I couldn’t catch you in time.” Fonso helps me up. “It’s not Nadya’s fault, Elysia. She didn’t know what she was doing.”
An explosion rumbles above.
Nadya opens her mouth. I hold up a finger to stop her words from forming.
I breathe deeply and concentrate on my emotions, imagining the clouds rolling away and the clear sky blossoming in its wake. The rain and thunder begin to subside. I breathe in and out a few more times. “You said you’re the reason my father’s missing. What did you mean?”
Fonso sits next to me and hands me the cold cloth. I place it on the forming bump.
“Yesterday, when Ma and I went to the diner—”
“Yes. She was angry with me. No fault of my own, by the way.”
“She mentioned your dad’s name was Harman.” Nadya pauses.
“Yes, that’s his name.” I widen my eyes.
“His last name is Lovell?” The side of her mouth curves up.
“Yes. My dad’s name is Harman Lovell. Go on.”
“For as long as I can remember, Ma asked me at least once a year to locate a man named Harman Lovell. She said it was for a client and would help us. I didn’t question her for a long time. She had asked me to locate people before, but that name came up more often than any other.” She clears her scratchy throat. “I was beginning to think he was a ghost because he’s the only one she would ask me about continuously. I kept wondering why they hadn’t found him yet. Last year I asked her why. She insisted he was a druggie and often ran away.”
“My aunt?” Betrayal is a new feeling; one I don’t like.
Clunks of ice hitting the wooden boards cause a moment of silence.
“It’s hailing. Have you ever seen weather this strange in your life? Can it even hail in Florida?” Fonso shakes his head.
“She never asked about you,” Nadya ignores her brother and continues, “She was as surprised as we were when you showed up. I honestly think she didn’t know you existed.”
“Every year?” I ask. “She made you try to find him every year?”
Nadya nods.
“We had to move often because the Hunters always seemed to find us.” I lean back, placing my head on the cloth and the back of the couch. “Dad always knew they were coming. That was his gift. He knew trouble was coming.”
“Why didn’t he leave this time, then? Why did he get caught?” Fonso asks.
“The morning he came to get me, he seemed different. He was tense and frantic. I didn’t understand, I thought we were happy in Baton Rouge. But, he waited too long.” My thoughts jumble together. “I know he was tired of running, but he wouldn’t risk me being caught, so he made me flee alone.”
“Baton Rouge,” she says in a hushed voice. “That’s where I told Ma to look.” Her eyes meet mine for the first time. “I led them right to him.” Nadya’s voice rises. “The year before that, I led them to South Carolina. The year before Buffalo, New York.”
“Those were all places we lived.” I rise. The hail subsides. I stand at the window and look out at the seemingly desolate campground. “Why would Aunt Mirela betray us? Why would she work with the Hunters?”
“Money?” Fonso asks. “Money is the root of all evil. We’ve always been in a weak position. There’ve been times Ma didn’t have any work, even at the carnival. Not everyone is interested in knowing their past.”
“I guess so.” Nadya curls back up in a ball.
“Did you tell Aunt Mirela you were leaving?” I ask. “She must be even more pissed at me.”
“I went to get her last night. Ma threw a fit. I’ve never heard so much screaming in my life,” Fonso says.
“I was worried when I didn’t see your car when I got home.” I sigh. “She knew what she did to Dad from the moment she met me and said nothing. She didn’t bat an eyelash as she invited me into her home and introduced me to her family. All that time, she knew they had Dad.”
“Maybe she didn’t know.” Nadya looks at me. “You didn’t say anything to her about him missing until yesterday and she must have known about his gift.”
“I’m so mad.” The thunder rolls outside.
Fonso turns on the TV. The weatherman talks about a low chance of rain and nice sunny weather. “The science of meteorology sucks. They have no freaking idea what they’re talking about.” He glances out the window. “They’d be better off just looking up instead of depending on all that scientific crap.”
I smile. I breathe and think about the beach: the waves crashing against the shore, hoping to calm the churning and relentless storms outside.
I see Deena run from her camper to the campground office. I’ve forgotten to pay her and she’s too nice to come and get it. “I’ll be back.”
The clouds evaporate above me. I feel pride at learning to control my ever changing emotions. These last couple of weeks have tested me.
“Hi Alice.” Deena smiles when I enter. “How are you?”
I place two week’s rent on the counter. “I’m fine. I’m sorry I didn’t come yesterday.”
“I know where you live, so that’s not a problem.” She winks. “How’s your cousin? Did he find another job?”
“He did.” I turn to walk out and without thinking I ask, “Deena, have you ever felt lost?”
“Somehow I knew you’d ask me that.” She comes out from behind the counter and stands in front of me. “O
nce, when I was a little girl, my uncle wanted to take my two brothers and me on a hike. We were camping at a state park filled with tall pines by a canal. Gators were everywhere back then. We went on this hike with him. He was part Native American, and maybe he had a point to prove, I don’t know, but he took us off the known trail. We hiked for hours in deep brush. Our ankles were all cut up from the rough palmettos, and the insects were something horrible. It was late. My younger brothers and I were hungry, thirsty, and tired…too stubborn to admit it though, as my uncle was too stubborn to declare he was lost.”
“What did you do?”
“He finally acknowledged he got us lost. My brother suggested he climb a tree to see where we were. Such a simple thought and it came from the youngest in the group. Had my uncle not admitted he was lost, my brother might not have suggested it. My uncle climbed the nearest pine tree and saw where we were and where we needed to go.”
“That’s a neat story, but not what I meant by lost.” I smile.
“I know. It wasn’t so much about the story as it was about the message. Whenever you are lost, sometimes you need others to show you the way.” She rubs my back. “We all get lost from time to time. We stray from a path; have to overcome obstacles. It’s tougher when you do it alone. Trust me, I know. Well, at least I like to think I do.” She baulks out a laugh. “Hell, child, I thrive on a challenge, hence why I’m alone.”
An idea forms as I thank Deena.
I run back to the cabin and throw the door open.
“What?” Nadya jumps. “You scared the crap out of me.”
“You’re going to help me find my father.”
Chapter 20
Fonso and I wait outside. I peek through the window to see Nadya meditating as she faces the wall; finding a specific person isn’t easy for her, apparently.
“I didn’t realize it would be so difficult.” I rock in the chair on the porch. “It always seemed so easy for her to find things and people. She found my job, Roger’s keys—even found us at the mall.”
“It’s easier for her to find things, or people she’s close with, but finding complete strangers is different. It took her a week to find a missing person for one of Ma’s clients, but she ended up being dead.” Fonso uses his gift to launch pine cones into the air and smacking them against a tree.
“That’s not helping.”
“She’s located him before so it won’t be too hard for her…I hope.” He tries to levitate a large log.
“What if Deena or someone else sees you doing that?”
“She won’t. And besides, I need to practice.”
“Aren’t you supposed to start your new job soon?” I lean against the wooden railing.
“Yesterday.” He gives a lopsided grin.
“That’s nice.”
“There was a lot going on yesterday. I didn’t know what would happen.”
“I have to go to work today. I need to talk to Roger and see Kyle.” I peek in the window. Nadya is still meditating in the corner. “Will you call me as soon as you…as soon as she finds him?”
He nods.
“And practice around back so no one will see you accidently move a trailer or cabin with your mind. I can’t bare to bring another person into this crazy world of ours.”
“Do you want me to drive you into town?”
I shake my head. “Stay with Nadya. I’ll catch the bus.”
“Alright.”
Abby’s behind the register cashing out a customer. Roger sees me, shakes his head and lifts his finger to his lips as he nods toward Abby. He doesn’t want her to find out about last night.
I watch through the kitchen window as Sam turns over the kitchen to Kyle for the night shift.
“Alice.” Abby gives me a half-smile.
“Abby.” I clean the newly-emptied table. Abby goes into the back. It’s now or never. “Roger, I want to talk to you.”
“Can’t it wait till later?” He avoids eye contact.
“Why are you paying them? Why not go to the police?” I whisper. “You don’t need to do it.”
“Not now.” Roger pats me on the back.
Abby emerges from the back with her purse. “You coming?”
“I’m coming. Hold your britches.” Roger forces a smile.
They leave and I throw the dishes into the tub in the kitchen.
“What did those dishes ever do to you?” Kyle asks.
“They’re being extorted and used and they refuse to do anything about it.” I huff. “Did you talk with him?” I turn to see Kyle, purple surrounding his right, puffy eye.
“No. He wouldn’t talk to me, either.” Kyle flips a turkey burger. “Some people came in.”
“Kyle. I’m sorry about your eye.”
“No big deal. I’m sure I got some good hits in, too.”
I return to the front of the diner and wait on the newcomers.
In-between customers, I stand by the phone, hoping Fonso will call and tell me Nadya found Dad.
“Did you want to go out tonight?”
Kyle’s voice causes me to jump.
“I didn’t mean to startle you.” Kyle puts his hands on my shoulders. “You’re on edge.”
“I can’t tonight. My cousin, Nadya, is staying at my cabin and I need to get home to make sure it’s still in one piece.”
“Now you have two cousins there? Isn’t it getting crowded?”
“You have no idea.”
“Are you mad at me for not staying with you last night?” Kyle lowers his hands and leans against the archway. His white shirt clings to his torso, revealing his Herculean chest.
“No, not at all. It was nice you stayed with me for as long as you did.” I lower my head. “I must seem like the ultimate basket case.”
“You did ask, you know.” He grins sheepishly.
“I asked you to stay?”
He takes two long strides to me and wraps me in his arms. “You asked me to stay the night with you.”
“I did not. I think I’d remember something like that.”
“You did. Granted, you were practically asleep at the time, but it was a definite invitation.” He pulls me closer, leaning against the wall.
“I think you were dreaming.”
“Too bad I woke up, then.” He bends to kiss me, but the bell disturbs us. Two customers come in and have a seat in the far booth against the window.
The diner clears. The phone hasn’t rung once so I have no idea if Nadya found Dad or not. I tap my nails on the counter over and over again. “Kyle, tell me about your last relationship. How did she ever let you go?” I don’t know what made me blurt out the question.
“She didn’t have a choice.” Kyle hangs clean pots on the racks above his head. “She was one of the biggest bitches you’d ever meet. I do not say that lightly.”
I laugh. “Then why did you go out with her?”
“Why are we talking about this?” he asks with a twinge of curiosity in his tone.
“Because I want to know how someone was so lucky to catch you and then so unlucky to lose you.”
He laughs and clutches his chest. “So, what you’re saying is I’m a great catch?”
I smirk. “Just answer the question.”
“She wasn’t always awful. She had her sweet moments, but she became so consumed.”
“Consumed with what?”
“Work.”
“Oh, those types of career driven women aren’t your style?”
“Not even close.” He leans through the window and kisses me.
“You broke it off because she became consumed with her work?”
“That’s it in a nutshell.” He washes his hands. “We grew in different directions. She wanted one thing and I was looking to start a carefree lifestyle.”
“Was it serious?”
“It was.” He nods. “It’s now seriously over. What about you?”
“I’ve never been serious in a relationship. There’s been crushes, but nothing that lasted too
long.”
“Their loss is my gain.” Kyle wiggles his eyebrows.
Eleven o’clock nears. My feet ache. I walked too much yesterday and coupled with the stress, exhaustion hits me hard. I could use a good massage and bubble bath, but neither is likely to happen. “Do you need help back there?”
“Nah, I’ve got it,” Kyle yells from the rear. “Almost done.”
I sneak back to scare him…to see if I can get him to jump as he did earlier to me.
He’s on his phone. “No, I haven’t discovered the pack leader, yet. I think Colin is hiding him.”
Chapter 21
Kyle’s eyes widen when he sees me standing behind him. “I can explain.” The screen on his phone goes black and he shoves it in his pocket.
I raise my hand. “No!”
I dash out of the diner, past Roger, and into the dark parking lot.
Heading toward the bus stop, I look back to see Kyle running out of the diner. He spots me. I run faster.
Colin is leaning against his truck. He has one foot propped up against the running board. He seems so far at the other end of the street, but with Kyle trailing me, I run as fast as I can toward him. He stiffens when he sees me.
I run to the passenger side. “Can you give me a ride?” I ask, out of breath.
“Elysia!” Kyle yells. “Don’t!”
“Jump in.” Colin climbs into his truck.
I do. As I fasten my seatbelt, I turn to see Kyle stop on the opposite side of the street. He kicks a trach can as Colin takes off.
“Thank you.” I lean against the cloth headrest.
“You’re welcome.” His voice is deep and edged with concern.
“Don’t think I’ve forgiven you for what happened yesterday, or even the day before, or even—” I don’t finish as I cross my arms. “Why did you do it? Why did you tell Kyle we were intimate and together and warn him away from me? Why are you extorting money from Roger? He’s the nicest man around and doesn’t deserve it.” The questions rolled off my tongue as if I had planned this moment. I didn’t, but I didn’t stop. “If you take even one more penny from him again, I’ll kick your ass myself. Don’t think I can’t do it, because I can.” I rattle on, anger fueling me.
Lightning Struck (The Roaming Curse Book 1) Page 12
