Jawbreaker (Four Point Universe Book 14)

by Max Ellendale

  She bumped into me suddenly, and I smiled when I looked over at her. With her bottom lip held between her teeth and the halo of the streetlights behind her, she appeared like a radiant siren rising to sing just for me. I could almost hear it if I attended to the way the wind bent around her form.

  "The way you look at me," she said, her voice slightly breathless. "Like you see something more than just me."

  "I do." My hands balled to fists in my pockets as we turned the corner toward the parking garage near the museum where she parked her car.

  "What do you see?" She bumped into me again, and I returned the playful gesture. A soft giggle escaped her as we headed through the rows of sporadically parked vehicles.

  "You," I said, my voice soft as we approached her car. "Just all of you."

  We paused by the driver's side, and she turned to face me, removing her hands from her jacket. "Will you have dinner with me again this weekend?"

  "Yes," I answered right away, and a sweet smile spread across her pink lips. "But Harlow, I have to tell—"

  I didn't get a chance to finish my confession before she rushed me. Delicate fingers tickled my cheeks as she pressed her lips to mine. I nearly exploded on the spot. Blinding white flashed across my field of vision, my skin caught fire with a trickling, tantalizing warmth that melted down my body. Everything about her, from the taste of her chocolatey lips to the sweet magnolia fragrance wrapping around me, walled me off from the rest of the world. Her pounding heart, hot body, and confident approach caught me off guard. I fumbled as I pulled her closer to me, and she slipped her hand across my neck to grab a handful of my hair. Butterflies birthed in my stomach, fluttering in circles until the sensation navigated downward toward the apex of my thighs.

  Her kiss nearly knocked me off my feet, and my heart pounded its jubilation along with hers. Never in my life had I experienced anything like this, and I never, ever wanted it to end. I moved my lips with hers, and her hand dropped from my face to grip my shirt. A soft gasp left her, ending our kiss as her mouth fell open a fraction. I pressed my palm to the small of her back, supporting her when a hard tremor wracked her torso. She braced herself against me, heavy puffs leaving her lips as we breathed each other's breath in tandem.

  My thoughts calmed, sliding me into an unusual peacefulness as I gazed at her pink cheeks where her lashes slept for a moment. She pressed her forehead against mine and I brushed my lips over hers, reveling in the shocks of pleasure the connection zapped through me.

  When she attempted to regain her composure, I stole the moment to imprint the image of her face in my memory. High, sharp cheek bones, thick lashes, petite lips, and solace that cradled her face between her layered locks. I tucked her hair behind her ear and traced my index finger along the curve of her jaw. She became the object of my study in barely a heartbeat.

  A smile tugged the corners of her mouth, and she opened her eyes, meeting my gaze right away while her knuckle stroked up and down my stomach. It quivered with each revolution, and a shiver rolled over my shoulders.

  "Wow," was all she said on the tails of a whisper.

  "How did you do that?" I asked, my voice soft as I allowed myself to slip under the spell that she cast.

  "I-I didn't." Her brow furrowed, but she didn't linger there long before she hugged me.

  I closed my eyes while wrapping my arms around her waist. I allowed myself to dance in the calm of her storm and brushed my nose against her neck. Whatever happened, whatever this was, I liked it and I wanted it way too much.

  "I better go," I said when we leaned back and the wave of guilt return to berate me.

  "Me too," she said, biting her lip through her smile. "I have your number now."

  "Yes." I brushed my thumb over her cheek as I dreaded leaving whatever comfort she conjured for the two of us.

  "I can drive you." She motioned to the car. "If you like."

  "I'm okay. I have a few errands to run before heading home, but thank you."

  "I'll text you tomorrow," she said, releasing me when the car door opened on its own.

  "Okay." I waited for her to settle in then headed for the sidewalk.

  She waved to me when her car hit the street beside me, and I smiled.

  As soon as she drove off, my body erupted with a searing ache as if my veins burned with venom. I bent over, my hands on my knees as I fought to catch my breath.

  Around my feet, dirt and rocks began to lift from the ground and the swirl of rushing air sent them in a spiral. Flashes of color assaulted my vision, and I knew I had to go. To run. To fly. To expend.

  I bolted down the street, tearing my jacket open as my feet pounded the pavement. My heart screamed for attention as the adrenaline rushed me, a shout bursting from my lips as I swung around a garbage bin into the alley. In one, two, three hops, I took off, a gust of wind launching my feet from the pavement. I didn't care who or what saw me as I rocketed into the air. Buildings, trees, and lights blew past me as I spiraled through the cool night.

  Away from the crowding structures and into the open, my eyes focused on the sky as I raised my fist toward the curve of the crescent moon. The altitude stole my breath, and I let go, allowing myself to soar toward the Space Needle. I landed on the outer ring with gusts of wind whipping my hair. My boots thudded on the metal, and I steadied myself on the precarious edge.

  I gazed out over the city as I fought the rush of sounds that filled my ears full of traffic, drones, and voices. I focused on the sound of Harlow's music blaring the vintage ballad of Check Yes, Juliet by We the Kings.

  I didn't know how far away she was, but the sound of her excited singing voice belting the lyrics left me with nothing but a smile.

  Chapter Five

  "Put it down," I commanded, from behind the raspy, hissing voice modulator hidden inside my mask. My breath left in distorted sounds through the respirator as I stared down the man with an automatic weapon strapped across his chest. "Don't do this, man. You can walk out of here. Nothing's happened yet."

  "Who the fuck are you to tell me what to do, you fucking piece of shit!" He waved the weapon in my direction and the half-dozen employees of the casino shrieked. Like me, he wore a half-mask, and thick glasses with flickers of digital communication scrolling passed his eyes. Our matching black-on-black outfits told nothing of our intentions, only of our desire to remain unseen.

  "I'm someone who knows you don't want to find yourself in a lifelong prison sentence. Put the gun down and walk out of here."

  "For what? So you can fucking chase me down and hand me over to the cops anyway?" He lifted the weapon, pointing the barrel directly at my chest.

  "Put the weapon down and walk out of here. Do you see any cops? They're not here yet. It's just me and these people right now. Put it down and I stay here while you try your luck at running without me chasing you. That's the deal." My cool, even tones left me in equal control of my breathing. My mind steadied as my vision zoomed in and out on the barrel of the gun. One bullet could tear these people to shreds, even with me as their intermediary object.

  "Are you fucking lying?"

  "Do I look like I'm lying? Go. Put the gun down and go." I pointed toward the door. "Just go."

  He hesitated and the text on his goggles stopped as he appeared to survey me. "If you move, I'll shoot you right in the fucking face."

  "Fine." I shrugged, holding my hands up beside me. "Not moving. Gun down and go."

  Even the walls seemed to hold their breath as, slowly, he set the weapon on the ground. Shadows swirled around his feet, and I knew he prepared to bolt. My legs twitched as I fought the instinct to chase. With one last glance in my direction, he dashed to the door.

  I shifted toward the workers gathered behind me, pressing them back behind the counter and into the well-lit area of the room. Some cried, others cursed, but I guarded them as best I could while the suspect burst through the glass of the front door. Shards crashed to the floor, littering the entrance of the building. Sirens
blared outside as the police arrived on scene, and hopefully few gave chase.

  Only when I sensed his presence far away from here, did I turn around and address the workers.

  "Everyone okay?" I asked, surveying their faces.

  "How-how did you know?" asked a man wearing a turban and a sleek black tuxedo.

  "Heard the silencer. Pretty sure he discharged the weapon in whatever room he was staying in here." I glanced over my shoulder when the uniformed officers rushed the scene.

  They secured the weapon, and ten sets of eyes stared at me. I hesitated, glancing over their frozen faces, before shifting past the workers and diving into the shadows.

  "Come back!" one of the officers shouted. "Shit."

  I rode the shadows at a run through the halls, spinning around the corner to ghost through the outer wall. My feet hit the pavement down the street from where the lights of the emergency response vehicles flashed in the distance.

  Remnants of the gun-toting Hybridian lingered in my senses. The foul sent of motor oil and tobacco mixed with the natural scent of someone who didn't keep his feet on Earth alone. I pursued him, keeping a distance behind as he jumped through the elements just like me.

  The terrible motor oil scent grew stronger as I slowed my pursuit to a jog in the darkness. His cussing voice echoed in my mind, and I closed my eyes, focusing on pinpointing his voice as the smell worsened. I couldn't hear him over the chaos of the city, and instead, I continued to follow my nose. I tried to concentrate and keep a cap on my rashness. Crimes committed by humans or psychopathic other species felt less personal than a crime committed by a Hybridian. I never understood the destruction some people celebrated.

  It didn't take me long to find him and I shifted through the darkness tucked between the vehicle repair shop and the liquor store in the crime-ridden neighborhood. He didn't notice me when I guided myself through the thin metal of the garage door in time to catch him tearing off his mask. He tossed it to the ground, cursing under his breath.

  "What were you thinking?" I spat, then enjoyed the moment when he started.

  "You fucking bitch. You said you wouldn't follow me!" His wild eyes searched the room until they landed on me by the door.

  "Kind of hard not to." I motioned around us. "You stink of oil."

  "Did you bring the cops?" He reached behind his back and whipped out a pistol, and for the third time in as many weeks, I found myself staring down the barrel of a gun.

  "What is it with everyone and guns lately? No. I didn't. I want to know what you think you're doing terrorizing people." I shoved his hand aside when I moved past him. "And you know that thing won't damage me."

  He grumbled and tucked it back in his pants. "It will hurt enough to annoy you."

  "Yeah, well, not worth it." I walked a circle around him. "Why'd you do it? Holding up a casino?"

  "Not your fucking business." Wild teal eyes appeared when he removed his glasses. "Get out."

  "It is my business. Your behavior puts all of us at risk, including me." I came to stand in front of him and folded my arms. "What's your name?"

  "If you weren't a girl, I'd punch you in the face." He spat, then swung around me to focus on his work bench.

  "All these gifts and this is what you choose." I followed him and ran my gloved finger over the mess on his bench. "Grease and guns."

  "Gifts?" He scoffed. "More like fucking curses. People treat us like shit once they figure out where Hybridians. A threat to humans, don't fit in with Offlanders, and what have we got?" He tore a flyer off his wall and shoved it at me. "Here's your fucking answer."

  I stumbled when he hit my shoulder, and I rolled with it, lifting the paper to stare at the writing. "It's not English."

  "Fucking wait a minute. Just look at it." He flicked the paper and I stared at the disjointed writing until, somehow, it made sense to me. It wasn't English, but it translated in my head like a telepathic projection to my psyche.

  "What is this?"

  "Andromedan. We're programmed to understand it or whatever, but this is why. A ship is heading on an expedition to Andromeda and there's a call for us to go, except we need to pay for it. It's forty-thousand dollars, which I don't have. Do you?"

  "It will take you a decade to get there. Or more! Even in the fastest ship. How do you even know what's there waiting for you? That it's even habitable." I thrust the flyer back into his hands. "Or that this isn't some sort of fucking scam to get your forty grand?"

  "I don't care." He shoved away from me. "Earth is a fucking wasteland and I want to go home."

  "Home to where you've never been? To a potential warzone that our ancestors escaped?" I laughed in his face and flopped my arms to my sides in exasperation. "And you'll threaten to murder a half-dozen people to do it. Pathetic."

  "What'd you call me?" He rushed me, slamming me back against the bench, but I caught myself.

  "Pathetic." I pushed him away and rolled free of his tirade. "You want to waste a decade of your limited life hurdling through space, fine. Have fun. But don't take other people down with you. Sell your fucking shit, get a damn job, and work for it like everyone else. Hell, you're a Hybridian. Make your own private investigation agency and charge exorbitant fees or something but do it without being a fucking asshole."

  "Bitch."

  "Tool."

  He flipped me off and I laughed at him before grasping the shadows and racing off into the night.

  ***

  "Where's my little cuddly baby?" I whispered after I snuck into Nalea's room through the window of the fire escape after she emerged from the bathroom.

  "Napping with her Mama in the living room," she said, kissing my cheek now that I was sans mask and hat. "Why do I have forty texts from my colleagues asking me to get in touch with a fated superheroing redhead that I'm known to cavort with?"

  "No reason." I shrugged and dropped down to sit on her bed. "Where are all the grandparents?"

  "They went out to dinner to give Audra a break for a nap." She narrowed her eyes at me. "What'd you do? And you've been gone all day without contacting me. What is this about?"

  "A Hybridian held up a casino. Talked him in to dropping his weapon, then let him go." I leaned back on my elbows while she gathered her braids over her shoulder.

  "Veyda." She propped her hands on her hips, a frown curving her mouth. "Again?"

  "Somewhat. I followed him anyway."

  "You've been reckless all week. What's going on?" She sat down beside me. "And reckless is not who you are."

  "I just want to keep busy. I'm going to change and have a visit with Elara, okay?"

  She shook her head, her gaze softening while she watched me. "This is my worried face. Do you see it?"

  "I see it…"

  "What happened with Harlow?"

  I folded my hands on my stomach while watching her. "I need to tell her what I am."

  "If you feel that's the right thing to do, Veyda, I'll support you, but be careful." She patted my arm and I started. "Whoa."

  "Sorry. Sensitive. My nerves are vibrating or something." I pulled the hat from my head. "How was today with everyone? You look a bit tired."

  "I am, but not overly. Our parents were great. Cooking will ensue tomorrow. I've been instructed to tell you, dinner promptly at seven." She chuckled and held her hand out to me. "Are you okay?"

  I nodded and accepted her gesture when we both rolled up to stand. "Yes. But I really like Harlow and I know I'm about to ruin what we started. It's been…a long time since I've met anyone I've been interested in so much."

  "I can tell. Your energy feels chaotic. But not when you're the best auntie in the galaxy though." She winked at me then urged me to follow her. "Let's go get you a dose of cuteness while we talk."

  "Okay." I smiled at the thought of it. "Let me change first."

  "'Kay."

  We parted and I headed off to wash up, change, and ditch my contacts before returning to the living room. Audra slept on her side with her arm dan
gling over the edge of the couch and lost inside the baby's basinet on the floor beside her. Elara slept peacefully, swaddled in a pastel rainbow blanket knitted by one of her grandmothers.

  "Can I pick her up?" I asked Nalea.

  "For the record, you never, ever have to ask that." Intensity laced her tone, shocking me slightly. "And yes. Always yes. She's going to be hungry soon, too."

  I nodded, blinking away the mist in my eyes that Nalea's passionate delivery caused. Elara cooed and grunted when I cautiously lifted her to my shoulder where she immediately snuggled against my neck. A smile spread across my face the moment her warm little body settled in my arms. Nalea motioned for me to take the armchair while she joined Audra on the sofa. Audra turned into her, snuggling up immediately as if she'd waited for her arrival forever.

  "Your mommies are very cute," I whispered to the baby.

  Nalea watched me while stroking Audra's hair, her lips pressed to her forehead. "What'd she say to that?"

  "She said she knows, and that she loves boobies as much as the rest of us." I snickered when I said it. The baby cooed and smacked her lips before moving them in a sucking fashion.

  "Boobs are her life right now," answered Nalea with a grin. "Do you think telepaths can talk to babies?"

  "Probably, but I bet they perceive it similarly to spoken word or sign language. Unless the telepath spoke fluent baby."

  "Totally possible. What do you read from her energy?"

  "Um…I don't read energy much, but I can usually sense unrest." I caressed her back in soft circles, with my chin pressed to the side of her warm, fuzzy head. She nuzzled me and it melted me to bits. "That she's comfortable, content. I can hear her heart pumping and her belly making squeaky noises. She carries the scent of Audra and you and me, and fabric softener. I can tell she had a bath because she doesn't smell like her grandparents anymore. Her diaper doesn't need changing." I paused while brushing my finger over her cheek. "Her touch doesn't overwhelm me at all. I like her close. Otherwise, her energy just shouts connect, hold, affection. No fear or discontent."