Day

by Jessica Florence

  I only got to hang out with him for about an hour before I had to run and stop a car chase that was coming toward his apartment complex. It was nice to be around someone so familiar, but I kept getting a weird feeling coming off of him, like he wanted to talk to me about something. Every moment he would attempt it, he ended up messing with me about Lilith or something else. My mind kept worrying over the worst, that something was wrong with his health. He hadn’t said anything to me about any new surgeries, or issues he might have been having, so I made sure to text him every day to make sure he was doing okay.

  So far, he’d been good.

  Everyone had been good.

  Draco tried not to leave headquarters often, and when he did he went out to his property surrounded by all the trees. He was definitely not a crowd person, so I could tell he was not a fan of the new situation with us. Rose was doing all right; most of them were still in secret about their powers, so the public wasn’t as into them as they were me. Phillip was doing what Phillip did—somehow managing everything like it was no sweat to him. He had let the people of the world know about what we were trying to do, and that was it, not going into details about anything else.

  Lilith wasn’t bothered in the least bit by any of it. She danced, did her thing, and that was that.

  Every night she slept in my bed, and every night we found a new way to explore each other.

  I was hopeful that everything would calm down soon.

  In the meantime, crime had almost stopped in the city. Maybe the bad guys were scared that someone was bigger and tougher than they were, or it was the calm before the storm.

  So I trained hard.

  I worked with Draco on fighting techniques, and controlling my powers more, trying to be prepared for whatever came our way.

  Phillip strolled out of the elevator as I was hitting the punching bag while Draco helped Rose on defeating a person with a knife. She was doing okay so far, but really Draco wouldn’t hurt her, so she had that going against her.

  “We’ve got a new member I want to introduce to you guys.” His eyes flicked to me with something I swore looked like remorse, but then his gaze turned back to the others. Okay then.

  I swiped my sweat rag and water before cleaning myself off a bit and heading toward Phillip.

  Rose and Draco were right behind me as the elevator opened again, and I felt my knees give out.

  “Charles?”

  Why was he here? I didn’t understand.

  My lungs felt like they were shriveling up, that breathing was an impossible task right now.

  “Charles designed your communicators, and will be officially working with us to create all sorts of gadgets we will need.” Phillip looked at Charles, who wheeled over to him, then at the two standing next to me, completely avoiding my eyes.

  “Leon, are you okay?” Rose put her hand on my shoulder. She wasn’t pushing any power in me to influence my emotions, she was just there as a friend.

  “Let’s go upstairs and let them talk,” Draco suggested, and Rose nodded. Draco usually knew what was best, and this time he was right. I had a lot I wanted to say to my friend right now. Phillip nodded at Charles and left with the others. I waited till the door to the elevator closed before letting out a string of curses.

  “Dude, what the fuck? Why are you here?”

  “I’m joining the team.” I looked at him like he was joking.

  “I’ve been doing some work for the military for a few years, and Phillip had hired me to do your communicators. Since then he’s been asking me to join. I’m sorry I’ve kept this side of my life away from you, but with your constant pity party going on, I just couldn’t even figure out when to tell you.” He was giving me a serious look and I wanted to roll my eyes.

  “I get it, I was a fucking shithead, but seriously? I told you everything about me.”

  “And I’ve been there for you through all of it. But you couldn’t see out of your own anger and guilt to see what was right in front of you. You have a good fucking life and every opportunity imaginable! But you wasted away on that crab boat, running from everything. At least now you’ve gotten your balls back and you’re living life for once.” He wasn’t angry but there had been some pent-up issues that were coming out now apparently. I scoffed even though he was right.

  “I lost my chance at football—hell, I lost my chance at doing lots of stuff in life. But I moved on. I found my silver lining. I’m a fucking genius when it comes to this shit, and I’ve been living my life the best I can. This is the best I can, doing something I’m good at. Something I believe in. Something I can do with my best friend.”

  His last words slayed me. I was being a selfish prick. Again.

  I knew words wouldn’t be enough, but it was like he just sucker-punched me in the gut. My legs were swift as I walked over to him and held my hand out for a manly shake. He smiled and quickly slapped my hand.

  “Welcome to the team,” I told him, and truly I wished I had said that when I first saw him, instead of acting like a dick to my best friend.

  “I’ve got so much shit planned for you guys.” He laughed in an evil genius kind of way, and I patting him on the shoulder.

  “I’m sorry I’m a shithead, Charles.” It had to be said. I was trying to not be that guy that ran away from everything; it was hard at times, since I’d been doing it for so long.

  “Someone’s gotta keep you off the ledge,” he laughed and started rolling toward the elevator.

  “Let’s get something to eat, and I’ll tell you all about it.” I walked behind him and pressed the button for the restaurant.

  Time to talk things out with my friend—apparently there was a lot I didn’t know, and I was ready to get to know the real Charles that he’d been keeping from me.

  This time when his face lit up about the devices he’d developed for the military that had saved lives, I smiled at him and told him I was proud of him. He hadn’t given up on living when he lost movement in his legs; he kept going and found what he was good at. This time when the feelings of being a shitty friend arose, I pushed them out of my head. They didn’t belong in my head anymore. Now I was aiming to be a better friend to the man who had stood by me while I tried to drag him down.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Lilith

  “Okay, let’s go over this again,” Leon asked as we all sat in the chill room discussing the news that AJ had found about the Raven.

  “First of all, let’s just call him Emanuel, please. I get messed up when we call him both Emanuel and the Raven. Emanuel pisses him off more so let’s keep it,” AJ said, rubbing his temples, and I felt bad for the kid. He’d been working so much, and not really taking any days off. He was like a machine, running on coffee and pizza. Hopefully I could still talk Mina into helping out, to give the poor boy some relief soon. They could share their unhealthy food habits and the workload.

  “Good idea,” Draco agreed, and then went back to stroking Rose’s back lovingly. Those two were adorable, really.

  They were sitting on the reading chair together, all snuggled up, Phillip in the chair across from them, then AJ, Leon, and I were sitting on the couch. Charles was absent for this meeting, working on something secret for the military tonight, but he would be up to date by the morning.

  That had been a pleasant surprise, to find out Charles joined our little club. He did a great job with the communicators, so I couldn’t wait to see what else he was going to do. Leon was happy he was around, and that was a nice change.

  “Back to what we’ve found. AJ and I had some suspicions that Emanuel had taken his new base to water. Lilith also confirmed what we were thinking. It’s taken some time, but we think we’ve found where it is.” Phillip leaned forward and the table that I thought was just a normal shiny table came to life as a screen. Handy. Maybe it had a cool fire pit screensaver. I really like those.

  He pulled up a map of the bay by the mainland, to the east of Seahill.

  “Lion Island.” He po
inted to a map where a tiny island was. Interesting, I didn’t know any of the islands were habitable.

  “There was an old fort there back when Seahill natives and the English tried to take it over. He’s camped up there. As far as we know, his end game is still the same: create a society to rule over everyone, recruit for his army and steal the powers of those who don’t sign up for his leadership. I haven’t seen anything with him using whoever he has to attack us or anyone yet, but things can always change.” Phillip pulled up a blueprint of a boat. Leon leaned in a little closer, interested in anything having to deal with boats and water.

  “This is his main transportation back and forth.”

  Rose said what we were all thinking.

  “It looks like a tour boat.”

  It really did. Very stealthy, I guess, and you could move people without anyone asking questions except where do I sign up. Yikes. Boat trip from hell.

  “So what’s the plan?” I asked and looked around. Weren’t we going to storm the fort and get rid of them?

  “It’s not easy. He can see any attack coming from the island. He’s taken lots of precautions this time. There is a fence underwater to prevent any entrance from there; he’s got guards, and a fully-functioning security system that lets him know if someone steps one foot on the beach. Laser grids, you name it. He’s taking no chances this time.” Phillip looked at the map of the island he brought back up so he could show us where all this booby trap stuff was.

  I looked it over, studied it for a good five minutes while the rest of them talked about what they could do.

  “We can do this.” I nodded, my plan solidifying as I lifted my head to look at everyone. Did they not see what I did?

  “Retired Spy Goddess Divine, please enlighten us.” Phillip smiled, and I grinned right back at his use of my fun name. I was a spy, and this was nothing compared to some of the situations I’d been in.

  “Leon and I sail out there a few times this week to get used to the area, and they get used to the boat. They won’t think anything of it as the week goes on. Climbing over the fence is no biggie; we just have to get there unseen. Leon can swim very fast.” I turned to wink at him then went back to my plan.

  “He gets me there with a cool gadget that will disrupt the signal from the lasers to the security system for just a few seconds, long enough for me to slip in and let you guys in. His fence will have a door somewhere, obviously, so he can get his boat in. We will come in that way. As far as once we are inside, kinda seems like we should be as stealthy as possible, but I’m also open to loud bangs and explosions. Quick and easy way to go.” I clapped my hands together, ready to get this plan into motion, but they were all just looking at me with a stumped look on their faces.

  “It’s all sound; trust me. I’ve done this kind of stuff before.” I nodded like it was going to help them believe me.

  “It’s the only plan we’ve got, and it really doesn’t sound too bad.” Phillip sat back in his chair, thinking over all his future knowledge.

  “I think her plan has the best shot of succeeding,” he announced after deliberating a few moments.

  “Okay, so once we are in, it’s pretty much just an as-we-go type of deal?” Rose looked a little uncomfortable with the plan, but she trusted her brother.

  “I can pull up a layout of the fort, and if Lilith can get me tapped into their system, I can do more.” AJ held out his hand for a high five, and I gave him an epic one. He was so cute, with his little skater-boy outfit. I probably would have been into him back in the days of old.

  “We can try to iron out more while they go sailing.” Sweet, I had Draco’s approval. My plan was a go!

  Leon hadn’t really said anything, and I took that as he didn’t have issues. He would have opened up about them if he did.

  “I’ll have Charles look into what could disable their signal. I’m sure he knows of something.” Phillip looked confident, and that made everyone feel more at ease.

  “Great job, guys. We’ve got this whole hero thing down,” I exclaimed as I relaxed back against the couch, hoping maybe we could watch a movie or something together like a happy family.

  We only had maybe thirty minutes together of peace before Phillip told Draco and Rose that they needed to get to the hospital, where a man was going to hold one of the nurses at gunpoint. Drugs were bad, and he had too many. Draco couldn’t die if he got shot, and Rose would be able to talk him down.

  So it was just me and the boys left. We watched a movie about three hundred Spartans fighting a large army, and I couldn’t take my eyes off of it. Movies were something I rarely got to enjoy as a youngin. But I caught up on most of the big ones, obviously somehow I missed this hot abs movie.

  “I think I was a Spartan woman in a past life.” They were complete badasses.

  “Interesting,” AJ commented while silently mouthing off all the words that the king was saying.

  “What, you don’t think so?” I shot back, and he lifted his fist in the air like the men in the movie.

  “I think you would have been like her, the queen of the Spartans. She’s pretty badass.” He complimented me in his statement. Sweet kid, maybe we could find him a girlfriend or something to make his life a little happier.

  Thinking about what girls were like at his age only made me change my mind. Maybe I would keep him away from girls for a while.

  My eyes watched him as he went all movie nerd with the action scenes, and I nodded to myself. Yep, AJ was now under my protection against teenage girls that would cause trouble for him.

  “You’re looking mischievous,” Leon whispered into my hair. Chills rose against my skin, and I pressed my head against his lips lightly, wanting a kiss. He knew it too, and gave me a soft peck against my hair. He was really good at the being-a-couple thing.

  “Are you accusing me of mischief?” Maybe it was all the testosterone happening on the TV, but I was suddenly wanting my own warrior to rough me up against the sheets.

  He shook his head, not even answering my question. Instead his hands gingerly lifted my head and turned it toward his lips. Oh, yeah, baby.

  “Seriously…It’s like we can’t escape people making out in here,” AJ groaned, but since he was now my new baby to take care of, I let it slide.

  “Don’t worry, they are about to leave.” Well, Phillip was right about that. Leon lifted me off the couch with him and walked us out of the room.

  “I need a girlfriend,” I heard AJ comment, making me pull back from Leon’s lips to shout back at the room.

  “Not until you’re thirty, mister!”

  There was laughter echoing down the hall as Leon stepped us into the elevator, and we ascended to his apartment to play in the sheets like I wanted.

  Leon told me how much of a star he was at football, but maybe I was part psychic calling him Star, because he was quite stellar in bed.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Leon

  “Take the helm,” I called over to a sweater-and-leggings-with-boots-clad Lilith.

  “That’s the steering wheel, right?” She wobbled over to the wheel. She was not much of a boat girl, but maybe she’d get the hang of it soon.

  “Yep. Now keep her steady.” I went below to grab us something to drink, trusting she wouldn’t do something stupid and kill us.

  We’d been out on the bay for an hour now in a boat that Phillip had borrowed for us. Slowly creeping toward the island, we would veer off soon so they wouldn’t think we were coming for them. Scout and get them used to our craft was the plan.

  She looked confident at the wheel with her cute captain’s hat on. Her sweater said I love Seamen on it, and all I could do was shake my head. She was something else.

  “Thank you.” She smiled as I handed her a bottle of Orange Crush, her favorite. She wasn’t much of a drinker if she could help it, so orange soda was her little guilty pleasure. I took a sip of my own, wanting to stay as sober as I could, and sat back on the cushions so she could keep driving
.

  “I can see why you like the water. It’s so peaceful.” Her big sunglasses covered her eyes completely, but I knew she was just taking everything in. The scenery was beautiful. Especially with her in it.

  There wasn’t even a wiggle of her hips while she steered; I’m guessing that meant she was just calm. The water did that to me, too.

  “How are you feeling about us, Star?” she asked randomly. Meanwhile my eyes were on my boots instead of looking at her like I had been.

  “I’m enjoying us.”

  I was; Lilith was great, and we were getting to know each other better. But I still didn’t know if I wanted to be married.

  “Only a week left,” she commented, and I’d thought about that too. Come Friday, we could get our marriage annulled, and I didn’t know what to do. Didn’t know what I wanted.

  There wasn’t any more I could say on the subject right now. We were having fun. I liked it and wanted it to keep going, but marriage was a different ballgame.

  She didn’t push me further on the topic and never gave me any inclination that it bothered her, but she was still a woman, despite being a badass, and she had feelings somewhere in there.

  We looked around the island as best as we could without looking like we were scouting. Lilith saw the fence in the water. Every once in a while, when the little waves would roll over, you would get a little glimmer of the metal reflecting. Two towers were stationed on each end of the island, and there was at least one guard in each. But for the most part, it was completely covered in rocks and trees. If I didn’t know differently, I wouldn’t have thought there was anything on it.

  After sailing around the area for another hour and a half, I pulled us back up to the dock, and got the boat all tied up.

  “Ready to go?” I asked Lilith while jumping off and turning to see if she needed help to step onto the dock. She didn’t.

  “Yep. Kinda hungry though.” She smiled, and then started walking toward the Jeep. Guess we were getting food.