by Jody Klaire
“You sure you gonna be okay?”
She knocked back another glass of juice and took a long breath. “No, but I can’t protect you if I’m not on the bike with you.” She waved off my look and tapped me on the chin with her finger. “Still protecting you whether you like it or not, Lorelei.”
We stepped outside into the sun and she stopped at the sight of the Harley. She couldn’t hide her grin and neither could I. It meant so much that she loved it too.
“Professional, really professional,” she muttered, slamming shut her eyes. I knew she weren’t talking to me so I guessed it was something to do with Frei.
I slipped on my helmet, handed her one, and helped her onto the bike. She rested her head on my shoulder when I started the engine, gripping on like she would fly away.
“You trust me?”
She sighed, making the earpiece crackle. I was kinda surprised they worked at all with me. “Do I have to open my eyes?”
I gave her hands a squeeze. “Nope, but it’ll be more fun if you do.” As I roared off, Renee gave me an excited squeal and I knew she’d cut loose and enjoy it. “Been told life begins at thirty-five, right?”
For that, I got a poke in my shoulder and the order to go faster.
I knew she’d get it.
THE MORNING PASSED by with a lot of laughter. Renee was one of those people who shone when she let happiness in. It had been good to watch it. I’d spoiled her as much as I could to make up for not knowing about her birthday and took her out to dinner. It was in the tiny café in the base but she seemed pretty pleased with it and then I took her back to my house where I played as many tunes as I could think of. Part of me was hoping that she’d see that you could have fun without the need for a hangover.
Frei must have known Renee would be out of action as she didn’t come and find us all day. It was only when I’d bid an exhausted Renee good night and headed back to my quarters next door that Frei was leaning against a wall waiting for me.
It was weird that she hadn’t bothered seeing Renee or making any kind of noise about it being her birthday. I knew that they were work colleagues but still, Frei and Renee had been through everything together and went beyond duty for each other.
“I know what you’re thinking, Lorelei.” Frei surveyed me with those cool blues of hers. She had on her trusty battered old bomber jacket. “I have my reasons for not saying anything to her.”
Was she the empath now? I shoved my hands in my pockets, wondering why she felt the need to explain to me. It was Renee not me she should be talking to.
Frei’s turtle neck peeked over the top of her collar. Her skin looked milkier in the moonlight. “I need to ask something. I want you to think about it and if you have any doubt at all, you can say no.”
Not the greatest way to inspire confidence but I’d hear her out at least. “Okay?”
“Long or short version?” Frei motioned to the door as if to prompt me to invite her in.
“You do long versions?” I doubted Frei gave anything about herself away unless necessary. She made Renee look like a blabbermouth.
Frei shot me a brief, tight smile as I let her in. “Let me talk and stop reading me.”
I swallowed back my answer. Probably would be a good idea to tell her that my burdens had been removed and I was as useful as a squirrel at a nut factory. A big fat squirrel who ate all the produce.
“Here’s the deal,” Frei said as she closed the door behind her and stalked to the center of the living area. “I told you how I grew up.”
I took a seat and pulled off my jacket. I hoped that if I relaxed, she would.
“I was owned by a man named Huber. There were two kinds of slaves, useful ones and well . . .” She sighed, unzipping her bomber jacket. “Kids who didn’t have skills.”
I took off my boots, already starting to overheat. I hoped it would give her time to think how she was gonna explain.
Frei went to the thermostat and smacked it a few times, then sighed. I’d been tempted to try beating it myself but with my paws, I’d have knocked a hole through the wall. “The kids who looked like they were useful were sent to academies. Vicious places. Places that were designed to weed out the weak ones.” She always stood as if she was on parade but she looked even tenser than that. “The good ones, the promising ones, were auctioned off at sixteen. If their owner was rich enough to keep them they ignored the bids and used them.”
“What kind of skills?” I couldn’t see weird and wacky ones like mine being heralded somehow.
“I was one of those kids,” she said as if she hadn’t heard me speak. “My sister wasn’t.” She shook her head and fiddled with a silver ring on her finger. “She didn’t even have a name.”
She stared into space but I could see every single flash of pain ripple across her eyes. It was unnerving to watch someone so composed show that amount of hurt. “Didn’t have?”
Frei snapped her eyes to mine. “It doesn’t matter now. There’s always auctions.” She tapped at the ring with her thumb. “Always kids who are bought and sold. They grow up that way, they live that way. Nothing changes.”
I got the icky feeling I knew where this was headed. “But you want to change that?”
“Stop reading me.” Her eyes got all icy.
I held up my hands. “I can’t but I know when somebody has a bee in their butt-cheeks about somethin’.”
Frei narrowed her eyes. “Really?”
She lunged at me.
I jumped and yelped in fright.
Frei stood back and cocked her head. “You’re telling the truth.”
“Yeah,” I snapped, rubbing a hand over my chest. Good thing I’d had my ticker checked out. “What you do that for?”
She dropped to her haunches in front of me. I didn’t know what she was gonna do next so I gripped my legs. “No, I mean, you can’t read me at all.”
“I said that already.”
She shook her head. “You lost your gifts.”
“You want it in writing or somethin’?”
She stayed there and studied me. I felt like she was scouring inside my head for my thoughts or something. “How long?”
“Nan just said until I knew how to be responsible or somethin’ like that.” I folded my arms to make me feel better. “Best thing ever.”
“For now.” She smiled at me like I was a dumb kid. “Renee and especially Lilia can’t know. They’ll both blame Renee.”
That didn’t sound fair. “It weren’t her fault.”
Frei stood and pushed the sleeves of her jacket up. “They’ll think it is.”
Annoyed that she was closer to the truth than I’d like, I sunk back into the sofa. “So, what’s this favor?”
Her jaw defined as if she was clenching her teeth. She looked away, tapping her thumb on her ring once more. “Huber called me to tell me that two kids with great promise will be auctioned from an academy soon.” She sighed. “He wants them for himself but if I get him them, I could save the other twenty-eight of their classmates.”
I blinked at her, wondering if I’d heard right because, to me, any kids being bought was terrible.
“I can’t risk those kids. The people bidding for them are the kind who I can’t take on.” She dropped her chin and stared down at her feet. “If I could, I swear I would.”
I didn’t need to see an aura to know it was the truth, I could hear it in her voice. It was kinda hard to wrap my sizeable skull around. “If Huber is one of these people then why don’t he just bid for them.”
Frei headed to the chair to my left and perched on the edge. “Huber likes to acquire not buy. No one will argue if he does it because otherwise he’ll turn his beady eyes on what they have.” She tapped the ring again. “He’s the kind of pest most don’t want to stir.”
“And you think giving him two kids is a good idea.”
Frei glared at me like she was thinking of impaling me on something sharp, slowly. “No, I don’t, but those kids are beyond my he
lp. The twenty-eight others aren’t.” She leaned forward, clasping her hands together. “CIG can make sure they are safe.”
“And how will CIG help. They’d want all thirty.”
Frei laughed. Something I hadn’t ever seen before but she had a real nice set of teeth. They looked pretty Hollywood.
“Even without the gifts, you’re still sharp.” She smiled at me. That made me nervous. “Quick summary: I can get those kids out, twenty-eight and CIG can give them new identities.” She looked at me as if waiting for me to catch up. “They just need a reason to get involved without attempting to go after the hornets’ nest.”
“Hornets?”
Frei sighed. “If Lilia or anyone else realizes that this goes on, they will want to stop it.” She smiled a thin-lipped smile. “They can’t stop it. It’s too big and it’s not our mission.”
I held up my hand. “Don’t yell, but why not?”
“In short, national level, too dangerous, too many powerful people involved.” She fixed me with a stare. “And you bring one down, another sets up.”
“Hopeful picture.” I wasn’t sure why she was bothering then. “Why do you want to get involved?”
“I was one of those kids. I know what will happen to them. Caprock is one of the most respected.” She smiled. This time it was cheeky. “We may not be able to bring them down but kicking them where it hurts makes me feel better.”
At least she was being honest about it.
“I need a team. I need you and Renee more to the point. I need Renee to protect those kids and stop anyone hurting them.” She stretched out her back. Her gaze raked over something outside the window.
I held up my hand. “Excuse me?”
Frei sighed. “Auctions are like a statement of power. Those who can’t afford the kids on sale will find a way to get back at the ones who can.”
This got more horrible every second. “Hurt them?”
“At the very least,” Frei said with a nod. “I need you to help me convince Renee to go in there. I also need you as a wing man.”
“But I ain’t got no burdens.”
Frei blew out a breath. I knew I wasn’t being dumb so why was she looking at me like I was? “Lorelei, you being freakish is the least of your skills.”
“It is?” News to me.
“I’m not pampering you.” Frei’s tone felt like she was trying to cut me with it.
“What do you want me to do?” I shot back with as much cutting curtness as I could manage. Take that, Frei.
“Teach kids to lift weights and build muscle.”
“What?”
Frei rubbed her nose. “Do I have to repeat everything?”
Probably. It was alright for her, she knew what was going on. I felt like I needed to read the book or something. “How would that help you save kids?”
“Skills. The more you can build them up and teach them, the more they will be worth.” She held up her hand. “It buys me time. If we can get as many through to the auction. There’s a window of opportunity to get them out.”
“What would you be doing?” It sounded risky and well, I weren’t sure just how I could pull that off.
“Teaching the same kids to be useful in other ways.” She held my gaze. “A few of them will understand what will happen when they get to auction. They will all think it’s a private school and they have a sponsor who is paying for it.”
“So it’s a cover?” Sneaky and sly and well . . . sneaky.
“Yes, the majority of the staff won’t know either.”
“And Renee can’t know why?” I felt more confused than I had done in math class.
“For Renee’s cover to be safe, she just needs to think she’s protecting kids. She doesn’t need to know who from or why. If CIG thinks this is a simple POI mission, they won’t look further.”
“Which will keep them from looking where they’ll get hurt?” I picked at my thumb. I didn’t know if I liked it. I could see why Frei was being cautious but I’d have to lie to Renee.
The thought of Renee finding out made me shiver. She’d go looking to bring the entire thing down, no matter what. She was gung-ho like that.
Frei nodded as if to say, “finally, dumbass,” and sat back in the rocker. “To the academy, I’ll be there as Huber’s representative. You will be there as an ex-con I’ve recruited.”
“And Renee?” I didn’t know how she wouldn’t notice all of it in ten seconds.
“Just a teacher. Nothing to do with us.”
How was that going to work? Sure, Renee could cope but I couldn’t pull that off. “So you want me to lie to her, pretend I don’t know her as she protects kids for sale?”
Frei smiled. “Now you’re getting it. Renee will think we’re there to protect two gifted children being sent threatening letters.”
Oh man, this sounded like one huge lie. “How will she know that?”
Frei raised her eyebrows.
“Oh no, Lilia knows I don’t get visions. Renee will see right through me. I can’t fake that. I can’t lie for nothin’.”
“My sister wasn’t useful but she was beautiful. She was sold to a man . . . do you need me to continue?”
I swallowed.
Frei stared down at her hands. “I feel responsible. I will always feel responsible.”
I’d seen the way Yasmin had been in Serenity. I’d seen what damage that being someone’s property had done. I couldn’t bear thinking that those kids were going to be treated that way. I didn’t want them to end up like she had. Burdens or no burdens, I could help them.
I met her eyes, hoping she wouldn’t throw something at me. “What happened to you?”
“Huber is a pig but I was the best. He treated me well, like a person sometimes. He’s vile to everyone else but I was useful. Too useful to touch.” Frei seemed pretty nonchalant about the fact she’d just described herself like she was a prize motorcycle. “If those kids are as good as he thinks, they will be better off with him than anyone else.”
“I’ll help . . . on one condition.” I was pretty certain I was gonna help anyway. I couldn’t not help. Whether I had burdens or not, if I could stop people getting hurt . . . I guess it was just part of me.
“Name it.”
“That everything you’re telling me is the truth and that means knowing what you were so good at.”
Frei reached inside her jacket. She pulled a small padlock from her pocket and flipped it open. Her eyes flickered with memories, with a ripple of energy I’d never seen. She was letting me beyond the barrier into a deeper layer of her. “I acquired things.”
“A thief?”
“The best.” She seemed a bit too proud of that but I’d been locked up with way worse than thieves. “My skills made sure Renee got out.”
I could deal with that. That was good enough for me. “So, how do I go convincing my mother that I had a vision and what do I need to see.”
Frei sat forward. “Lilia often talks in snippets. In St. Jude’s she talked about random things like fish and touching the stars.”
I shivered. I’d had that vision. No, no, it weren’t really a vision. I didn’t get them like that. But, stuff in that weird . . . well . . . dream thing, had made sense, afterward.
“So, I need to see . . .” I waved my hand, hoping she’d help.
“A violinist, female and a genius, male.” She frowned. “Think scrub land, dust storms, cotton country. Think open expanse you can see for miles. Think prestigious school.”
I looked for a pen to write it down but Frei shook her head. “No notes.”
I sighed. Right. Make up stuff and try to remember what I’d said. It had been easier when I was committing crimes with Sam. Then again, I’d always got busted for it.
“Okay so a stringed girl and a bright star stand on a huge flat stretch.” Hey, that was so good I could see it. “The school hangs on the edge, its walls hide truth from prying eyes.”
Ooh, I was getting into it. “Letters make them hide
and hands reach out, money thrust at them. It’s too bright, the light, they cower from greedy hands. Broken lock, noble heart, and shield understand with faith how they can soar. Heart and faith holds firm. A solid foundation holds her steady when others break apart.” I rubbed my head, feeling kinda woozy. Where had that come from?
“Hands recoil as shield, heart, and lock hold firm and all bright stars safely fly on solid wings.” I shook my head. Not getting where it was all coming from. I was making it up. I knew that but it felt a bit too much like the real thing. “That good enough?”
Frei handed me a glass of water. I guess I hadn’t seen her move. “Great.”
I swigged down the water, hoping it would make me feel better. It tasted like it had sugar in it, a lot of sugar. “So did you have a job title?”
Frei smiled, handing me some iron tablets the doc had prescribed. “The Locksmith.”
I slammed back the rest of the water. Oh, way too close to a vision.
Frei tidied the collar of her jacket and headed for the door. “They called me Locks.”
“Oh.” That didn’t make any sense.
Frei laughed. She had a laugh that said she could be trouble when she wanted to be. “They named you by trade. I was Locks because no one could keep me out with them.”
My hands trembled and I sucked in my breaths, trying to calm myself. “I need to see somebody first. Nan said I needed a foundation.”
Guess burdens or no burdens, I still had my fair share of freaky. I was going to take Nan’s advice and go and see Father James McLaughlin. Nan had mentioned grounding myself and I had a feeling that I knew what shield, lock, and noble heart meant already and in that case, I would need solid ground.
LILIA SMILED WHEN she listened to what Frei had told her. It was an interesting development.
“So she is claiming to have visions now?”
She knew more about the young Ursula Frei than anyone realized. If Renee thought she could cover up Frei’s lifetime of criminal enterprise from her, she was sadly mistaken. However, it was amusing how she’d tried.
