The Bearens' Hope: Book Four of the Soul-Linked Saga

by Laura Jo Phillips

  “No, you have to take the Bearens with you,” Harlan insisted.

  “Harlan, I don’t understand any of this,” Ellicia said, starting to feel a little grumpy. “You keep telling me I have to do things, and then you won’t explain why. I don’t know why I listen to you at all any more.”

  “I’m sorry, Angel,” Harlan said. “I wish I could explain. Please, just trust me on this.”

  “All right, Harlan,” Ellicia said with a wave of her hand as she walked to the bathroom. “I promised I’d go, and I’ll take the Bearens with me. Excuse me a minute,” she added as she stepped into the bathroom and closed the door. When she came out a few minutes later, Harlan was gone.

  “Dammit,” she said softly as she turned around and went back into the bathroom to start the shower. “That man is getting to be far too mysterious. If he doesn’t start explaining things, then he needs to just go away and stay away this time.”

  Ellicia rushed through her shower and threw on some clothes, stopping in the kitchen just long enough to make herself a cup of hot tea and some toast which she wolfed down hungrily. What she really wanted was coffee, but her doctor had forbidden that until after the babies were born.

  I really need to eat better, she admonished herself as she grabbed her purse and let herself out of her apartment. She locked up, then crossed the hall and knocked on the door to the Bearens’ apartment. The door opened almost at once, the aroma of hot food wafting through the doorway causing her stomach to growl.

  “Come on in, Ellicia,” Rob said. “You’re just in time for breakfast.”

  “Thanks, but I just ate something,” Ellicia replied as she stepped inside. Her stomach rumbled again and Rob grinned.

  “Whatever it was, it wasn’t enough,” he said. “Come on, we were feeling so badly about not feeding you yesterday, so the least you could do is let us feed you now.”

  Ellicia laughed, surprising herself. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d laughed out loud. But Rob’s expression was oh-so innocent and his smile far too charming as he tried to guilt her into doing what he wanted. She rolled her eyes at him, making him laugh as he guided her into the kitchen.

  “Good morning, Ellicia,” Jackson and Clark greeted, standing up as the entered.

  “Good morning guys,” Ellicia replied. “Please sit down and eat your breakfasts.” She decided that she kind of liked their old-fashioned manners, even if she wasn’t always sure how to respond to them.

  “I’ve invited Ellicia to eat with us,” Rob said as he pulled out a chair for her. Ellicia took the seat, half expecting her traitorous stomach to announce itself again, but this time it remained silent.

  “Excellent,” Clark said as he got up to get her some dishes. He handed a plate to Jackson who began heaping scrambled eggs with cheese, bacon, potatoes and she wasn’t sure what else onto a plate. Whatever it was, it smelled wonderful. Clark put a tall glass of orange juice in front of her and Rob gave her a fork and a knife just as Jackson set a full plate before her.

  “Thanks, guys,” she said. “This smells wonderful.”

  “We are sorry we didn’t feed you yesterday,” Jackson said.

  Ellicia glanced at Rob, realizing that he hadn’t been kidding about that after all. She smiled. “It isn’t your job to feed me,” she said. “But I appreciate your concern.”

  She picked up her fork and dug in, realizing at the first bite that she was far hungrier than she’d thought. They all ate quietly for a few minutes. When Ellicia put down her fork and reached for her juice, she noticed that the guys were all watching her.

  “What?” she asked.

  “We’re just a little worried about you,” Jackson said. “You look tired. Did you get enough sleep last night?”

  “Yes, actually, I did,” Ellicia replied. “I went to bed as soon as I got home and only woke up about an hour ago. Which brings me to why I came over this morning.”

  “Yes?” Jackson asked.

  Ellicia opened her mouth, then closed it as she realized there were some things she couldn’t say. She was surprised at herself. She hadn’t come so close to accidentally revealing a secret since she’d taken an oath of secrecy prior to becoming an Agent.

  She sipped her juice, buying time while she thought quickly. She couldn’t lie, so she was going to have to be careful with the truth.

  “I spoke with Hope’s cousin this morning,” she said. “He told me that Hope wears a pair of pearl earrings that her mother gave her when she was a child. I want to go back to her apartment this morning and look for them.”

  “Ellicia, we are willing to do almost anything to find our Arima,” Jackson said. “Except cause you harm. We will not sacrifice you, your children, or your health for any reason.”

  “I appreciate that,” Ellicia said, touched that would care so much about her after such a short time.

  “I have no desire to harm myself, and I certainly won’t do anything to harm my babies,” she said. “But I have to do this for reasons that have nothing to do with you guys.”

  “Can you share those reasons with us?” Jackson asked.

  Ellicia hesitated. For some reason, she actually wanted to tell them the truth, which was very unusual for her. She had never been big on sharing her private thoughts and feelings. After all, if she shared them, they were no longer private. And she liked her privacy.

  “Whatever you tell us, Ellicia, stays with us,” Jackson said. “That’s a promise.”

  “All right,” she said, deciding to tell them part of it. Just part. “Harlan is my babies’ father,” she said. “Hope is his cousin, and he is the one that asked me to go and check on her.”

  “Why couldn’t he check on her?” Jackson asked, choosing his words carefully. What he really wanted to ask was why this Harlan didn’t live with, and care for the woman carrying his children. But he sensed that was a question that would cause Ellicia pain, so he restricted himself to asking about Hope.

  “He couldn’t,” Ellicia said. “I can’t tell you why, so please, don’t ask me.”

  “He doesn’t work for the wrong side, does he?” Clark asked.

  “No,” Ellicia replied. “He was an Agent. Definitely one of the good guys.”

  “Was?” Clark asked, trying to keep the suspicion out of his voice. He didn’t do a very good job of it though as Ellicia had no trouble hearing it. What surprised her was not the suspicion, but her reaction to it. Instead of being angry or offended, she understood it.

  “A few months ago, there was an attack on a group of Agents. Many died. Many were injured so badly that death would have been a blessing. I spent three months in a healing tank, and nearly lost my leg. I was lucky. Harlan was not so lucky.”

  “I’m sorry, Ellicia,” Clark said. “That must have been very difficult for you.”

  “It was rough for awhile, but I’m doing better now. You’re the first people I’ve actually told about this, and I didn’t fall apart at all. And it’s not like Harlan is really gone.”

  “That’s good news,” Jackson said carefully. There were a dozen questions he would have liked to ask her, but he could see she wasn’t quite ready for that. He decided to steer the conversation back to Hope, for Ellicia’s sake. “I still don’t understand why you feel you must find Hope.”

  “I have to do it for Harlan, and for my children. She and Harlan are cousins, but they grew up together like brother and sister. They had no family other than each other, just like Lariah and I have no one besides each other. It’s very important to me that we find Hope.”

  “I thought you said you didn’t know Hope,” Rob said.

  “I don’t,” Ellicia replied. “I met Harlan several months before Hope left for Jasan, but he didn’t tell me about her until later. She was worried about the Directorate forcing her to work for them because she has a psychic talent, so Harlan promised her he wouldn’t tell anyone about her.”

  “They force women to work for them?” Clark asked with a soft growl.

 
“No, they absolutely do not,” Ellicia said vehemently. “There are a lot of people who think they do, and Harlan admitted he once thought that, until he started working for the Directorate himself. When Harlan told me about Hope I promised that I would keep her secret, and check on her myself.”

  “As I said, we will keep your secret,” Jackson said. “We want to find her at least as much as you, probably more. But we also cannot help but be concerned about you. Is there any way you could send us back to the apartment for whatever it is you need?”

  “No, Jackson,” Ellicia replied. “I need to do this myself. And I’m fine. You don’t need to worry so much about me.”

  Jackson nodded. “All right Ellicia, we’ll go over there, but you are not spending the entire day there like you did yesterday.”

  Ellicia rolled her eyes. She was not used to being coddled, and she was definitely not used to being told what to do. But she couldn’t be offended by Jackson, Clark and Rob’s concern for her. She knew it came from a genuine place within them, and wasn’t meant to be bossy or condescending. They were truly good men. She knew that down to her soul, though she didn’t know how or why she knew it.

  “Let’s go then,” she said, starting to push her chair back.

  “Just a moment,” Jackson said quickly, “there is something we wish to discuss with you before we go.

  “All right,” Ellicia said.

  “When a male-set identifies their Arima, even if they have never laid eyes on her yet, they have a difficult time controlling their emotions, particularly if she is in any danger. Prolonged stress of this type can lead to what we call a blood-rage. And yes, it is as bad as it sounds.”

  Ellicia studied Jackson, Clark and Rob carefully for a long moment. “I don’t understand,” she said. “You guys seem calm enough to me. Maybe a little tense, but no more than that. Does this mean that Hope is not really your Arima?”

  “No,” Jackson replied. “There is no doubting that. But we have discovered that if we go further than about a mile from you, our tension and anger begins to build quickly toward a blood-rage. As soon as we get closer to you, we become calm again.”

  “Me?” Ellicia asked in surprise. “What do I have to do with it?”

  “We aren’t sure,” Jackson replied. “We know only that we have a connection to you that we don’t understand, and you to us. We also know that without you, we would probably go insane long before we could find our Arima.”

  “Well, I guess that means you guys need to stay close to me then,” Ellicia said matter-of-factly.

  “This doesn’t bother you?” Jackson asked. “We would understand if it did. Especially since we have no real answers or information to explain what is happening here.”

  “No, it doesn’t bother me,” Ellicia replied. “I’m glad that you have a way to control your emotions so that you can help me find Hope.”

  Jackson, Clark and Rob rose to their feet, placed their right hands to their hearts and bowed solemnly. “We thank you for your understanding, Ellicia Daniels,” Jackson said formally. “And for your assistance.”

  Ellicia smiled and stood up as well. “You’re welcome, but it’s not like I actually did anything so stop bowing all over the place. Do you guys bow to Lariah like that?”

  The Bearens grinned. “Of course we do,” Jackson replied. “I can’t say she is comfortable with it, which for some reason compels us to bow to her at every opportunity.”

  “Wait until I tell Lari!” Ellicia laughed as she stepped away from her chair. She looked down at the table covered with dishes. “When we get back, I’ll wash up for you guys since you fed me.”

  “It’s a deal,” Rob said with a big grin.

  Ellicia laughed, surprising herself yet again as she followed the guys out of the apartment. She wondered why it was that being with these three men made her feel so relaxed. Almost happy. As though all of her worries and fears were just...gone. She shook her head at her own imagination as they stepped out of the elevator into the parking garage.

  “I’ll drive,” Clark offered. Ellicia handed him the ignition card and let Rob guide her into the back seat. Usually she preferred to drive herself but it felt nice to let someone else drive for a change. Besides, she hadn’t checked in with the Director at all since leaving his office the previous morning, and this was a good time to do that.

  She reached into her purse and fished out her vox, put it to her ear and requested the Director as Clark pulled away from the curb and merged into the morning traffic.

  “Good morning, Director,” Ellicia said into the vox.

  “Good morning, Ell,” the Director said. “Can you speak freely?”

  “Yes, I’m with the Bearens now. We checked on that woman I mentioned yesterday, and discovered that she’s missing. We spent the day trying to find some clue as to where she went, but no luck so far. We’re on our way back to her apartment now. There are a few things I want to check again.”

  “Do you think you’ll be able to track this woman?” the Director asked.

  “Yes, I think so. I have a couple of ideas that I want to try. Her name is Hope Strigida,” Ellicia said.

  “Oh hell,” the Director said. “I received a message from the Dracons this morning requesting that we check on her specifically. Apparently she just returned from Jasan, and they think she may be special in some way.”

  “I wonder why they asked about her in particular,” Ellicia said.

  “Prince Garen said that the woman who runs Bride House gave him the names of four women that she thinks might be special. Hope Strigida is the most recent.”

  “They’re right about her being special,” Ellicia said. “When the Bearens entered her home, they instantly recognized her as their Arima.”

  “Damn,” the Director said, sounding tired already though it was still early morning. “Do what you can, Ell, but update me now and then, will you?”

  “All right, we’ll check back in a little while,” Ellicia replied.

  Ellicia tapped the vox to disconnect and put it back in her purse. “Your Princes sent a message to the Director requesting that we check on Hope Strigida,” she told the Bearens.

  “Why would they do that?” Jackson wondered.

  Ellicia repeated what the Director had told her. “Right now we need to focus on Hope, not only because she is your Arima, but also because, of the four, she is the one who returned from Jasan most recently. I’ll need to get the names of the other three women soon and check them as well.”

  Jackson frowned thoughtfully as he gazed out the window, turning the matter over in his mind. He felt as though he had some pieces to a puzzle, but not enough to guess at what the final picture was going to be.

  Clark parked the ground car in front of Hope’s building a few minutes later and they all climbed out and went inside where they rode the elevator up to Hope’s apartment. Jackson let them in with the key, and they all filed into the living room where they stood and stared at the mural for a few moments. There was something about it that drew Jackson, Clark and Rob.

  “All right guys,” Ellicia said, pulling their attention from the mural. “I need to check all of the table tops, sinks, and shelves, anywhere that Hope might have placed her jewelry when she wasn’t wearing it. If you guys want to help, you can look for an earring.”

  “What does it look like?” Jackson asked.

  “All I know is that it has a pearl on it,” Ellicia replied. “Harlan said that Hope’s mother gave it to her for her twelfth birthday, so I would guess it’s a small earring. But that’s all I know.”

  “I’m sorry, Ellicia,” Jackson said, looking uncomfortable, “but what does a pearl look like?”

  Ellicia blinked in surprise, then smiled. Oysters never got as far as Jasan, she supposed. “Sorry, guys. A pearl is usually round, and usually light colored. Most often white, or cream. They can also be pink, black and even blue, but white is by far the most common.”

  Jackson nodded doubtfully. “How about you ju
st look for anything that might be jewelry?” Ellicia suggested.

  Jackson grinned with some relief. “I think we can manage that.”

  “All right, you guys start in here, and I’ll start in Hope’s bedroom.”

  Jackson nodded again, and they all got to work.

  Chapter 28

  Earth, Los Angeles, California

  Darck Winicke was proud of himself. He had handled the berezi pull perfectly, if he did say so himself. The potentials were safely ensconced at the old compound along with those bozos, Garid and Lenny. If he wasn’t sure that the desert itself was enough to keep the women from escaping, he might have been worried about their competence. As it was, he knew he had nothing to worry about, so as soon as he got home he celebrated with a few drinks.

  By the time Darck awoke just before noon the following day, his head ached so badly it hurt to open his eyes. He stumbled around his apartment with his eyes closed as much as possible while he tried to make himself some coffee and find something to eat. He knocked over several items of furniture in the process but he hurt too much to care.

  After gulping several cups of hot coffee and eating some leftover food from the chiller that he was just as glad he couldn’t really see or taste, he laid down on the sofa and dozed for awhile. When he woke up again a couple of hours later, his head still hurt, but at least he could see. He sat up and looked around his apartment with a groan.

  Neatness was never Darck’s strong suit, but the mess he was now looking at was too much even for him. It looked like a tornado had blown through, knocking over everything but the couch and sofa. He knew he needed to put things back to rights, but his head still hurt too much for that. Instead he studied the mess, trying to see if there was anything that actually needed to be picked up. After a few moments he decided that the only thing he really had to deal with was the transfer machine, which was currently lying on its side underneath a small table that had once stood next to the couch.

  After a few more minutes during which he mentally braced himself for actual physical movement, Darck stood up slowly and carefully. His head pounded a few times, then eased up a little so he tried walking. Moving very slowly he shuffled across the ratty debris covered carpet and slowly lowered himself to the floor next to the transfer machine.