First and Only: Ember Lane (Book #1)

by Kelly Goode

  Ember laughed, and it was a pleasantly sincere sound. A sound he could get used to hearing, a sound that hit him hard in the chest. Deep inside a place where it had no right to affect a demon such as he.

  A place that was vacant.

  Ember didn’t notice his reaction and set off towards the food, hobbling slightly when she walked.

  ‘What happened?’ he asked, as he caught up with her.

  ‘Huh?’

  ‘You’re limping.’

  ‘Am I?’

  His eyes narrowed and she had the sense to look contrite.

  ‘It’s nothing,’ she admitted, almost begrudgingly. ‘Quite embarrassing really, I slipped in the shower.’

  Harvey tried to reject the images of Ember’s wet, naked body that his mind decided to conjure for him but it was no good.

  ‘How’d you fall over in the shower?’ he asked, clearing his throat a few times when he spoke.

  ‘I wasn’t concentrating.’

  ‘Probably too busy thinking about me, right?’

  Her green eyes flashed with guilt and Harvey was taken back by her reaction. He was about to question her further but the doors swung open and the moment was lost.

  14

  I took several sandwiches and found the closest empty seat. I tried my best not to eat like a cavewoman, but I was ravenous. The food was divine, as was the coffee, which was a premium brand and nothing like the dishwater they served at the detainment unit.

  Thankfully, I was too hungry to care that Harvey seemed more interested in watching me than eating his own food. I wished I’d never said anything about slipping in the shower. I should have lied and said I’d hurt myself in some other way.

  Mari sat beside me, nibbling her bread, not offering any conversation. Sasha had moved to the other end of the room as soon as Carter and his team joined us. I watched her fluff her hair and coyly touch the men’s biceps. She certainly had them hanging on her every word and made flirting seem so easy.

  Carter’s gaze met mine, and I thought I saw regret flicker in his blue eyes before he returned his attention to Sasha. She must have been asking him about the scars on his face as he rubbed the deep indentation on his cheekbone and shook his head at her.

  I was relieved when Chief Andrews walked into the room, and the laughing and fooling around stopped.

  It was putting me off my food.

  ‘I’m glad to see you all in civilian clothes,’ the chief said, his steely gaze sweeping the room.

  ‘I bet he’d like to see Sasha out of her civilian clothes,’ Harvey murmured to me and I gave him a stern look in reply.

  He found it amusing rather than reproachful, and I suppose the fact my mouth was full of chicken diluted the desired effect.

  ‘Where’s Gerrard?’ Harvey asked, finishing his coffee and getting to his feet. He ran his hands through his short black hair as he scanned the room for the Irishman.

  I could tell the bureaucratic Chief Andrews wasn’t used to being interrupted, but he managed to mask his displeasure behind an obviously fake smile.

  ‘Gerrard is having a psychological evaluation, as will you all eventually.’

  I spluttered as a piece of chicken lodged in my throat. Harvey was quick to react and he hit me sharply between the shoulder blades until I managed to swallow the offending item and catch my breath again.

  ‘Thanks,’ I wheezed.

  ‘Anytime, Red.’

  ‘Did he just say we need to see a psychologist?’ I asked.

  Harvey nodded. ‘Are you worried what the doctor is going to say about the state of your mind?’

  ‘Yes.’

  Harvey’s dark eyes once again clouded over.

  ‘Me too,’ he admitted, his jaw clenching tightly as he held my stare. ‘But nothing is going to stop me completing this assignment. Nothing and no one will stop me from walking out of here a free man.’

  I wished I shared his optimism.

  ‘What if they ask me about killing my husband?’ Mari whispered, discarding her half-eaten sandwich. ‘What should I say?’

  ‘Tell them you’re sorry and if you had the chance to go back, you wouldn’t do it again,’ I replied.

  Mari’s face seemed to crinkle in on itself until I could barely see her eyes.

  ‘But that would be a lie.’

  ‘Mari, you need to say whatever you can to convince them that you’re not a threat to society,’ Harvey said firmly. ‘We all do.’

  I nodded my agreement, wondering how much of what he’d say would be true. Was Harvey a threat to society? Was he a threat to the team?

  To me?

  ‘You’ll also be assessed physically,’ Chief Andrews said, regaining our attention. ‘Your handler has your timetable for the rest of the week and when all the tests are completed, we’ll meet again.’

  That wasn’t good enough for me, so I pushed back my chair and got to my feet too.

  ‘And then what?’ I blurted. ‘When are we going to find out what the hell you want us to do?’

  Chief Andrews didn’t bother to hide his disapproval at being challenged this time.

  ‘You’ll find out what your mission is when I’m satisfied, Ms Lane.’

  ‘Satisfied with what?’

  ‘That I made the right choice selecting you.’

  15

  Carter and his men directed us out of the briefing room, and I wished I’d eaten less as my stomach was churning like the choppiest ocean current. I felt physically sick as Sasha and Mari were told to take the corridor to the left while Harvey and I were ordered to the right.

  ‘She looks scared,’ I said, giving Mari what I hoped was an encouraging smile as she shuffled away.

  ‘You don’t look so good yourself, Red.’

  ‘I’m fine.’

  Harvey levelled me with a hard stare.

  ‘I told you before that you need to work on your poker face. It’s ok to admit you’re worried.’

  I mentally ran through the list of emotions I was feeling. Worry was there, but it wasn’t the forerunner.

  ‘We’re in this together now, Red.’

  Harvey reached for my hand and squeezed it. I recognised it as an act of solidarity, but rather than comforting me, it made me angry. Too many people I’d relied on in the past let me down.

  I snatched my hand away.

  ‘Don’t bullshit me, Harvey.’

  ‘I’m not.’

  My lips twisted cruelly. ‘We only met this morning so let’s not pretend there’s any real loyalty between us.’

  ‘That’s not fair.’

  ‘Come on, we both know we’d screw the other one over in a heartbeat to get out of here.’

  Harvey stopped walking, and I thought I saw anger in his dark eyes, but that quickly turned to resignation.

  ‘You’re right,’ he said with a sigh. ‘There’s no loyalty between criminals.’

  Hearing him say it aloud didn’t make me feel better as I’d thought it would. I’d entertained the notion that he might at least maintain his trustworthiness.

  ‘Experience has taught me that allegiances are easily formed under pressure,’ I murmured, ‘but quickly broken when tested. That’s all that will happen between us.’

  Harvey didn’t reply to that, but I felt the weight of his stare like a physical force as if he’d been hoping for more from me.

  Carter had kept a few paces back, chatting with another agent, but as he caught us up, he jabbed Harvey unnecessarily in the lower back.

  ‘Less chatting,’ Carter said. ‘More walking.’

  ‘Yes, sir,’ Harvey replied sarcastically.

  We continued down the corridor until we came to a set of double doors. Carter pressed his palm to the security panel to open it.

  ‘Ladies first,’ he said, gesturing me inside.

  I nodded in acknowledgement. Harvey tried to follow behind me, but Carter blocked him.

  ‘Your assessment is in the next room with Pete,’ he said coldly.

  I looked over
my shoulder in time to see Harvey’s look of disappointment before the door closed, shutting him out.

  The sound of the lock engaging put me back on edge.

  I really hated that noise.

  The room I found myself in was a well-equipped gym with several large running machines and fancy weight-lifting benches.

  ‘Don’t look so worried, Ember.’

  As Carter came to stand beside me, I reminded myself I had one weapon he couldn’t match with brute strength.

  My powers.

  I felt my arms heat up and my skin crackle with energy.

  ‘I’m not scared of you,’ I said with as much bravado as I could manage. Carter seemed surprised to hear me say that, but he recovered quickly and started laughing.

  ‘Just because you picked up the shooting we did earlier with ease, doesn’t mean you could take me on but you have spirit, Ember. I’ll give you that.’

  ‘I’ve got something better than spirit,’ I replied, lifting my right hand. Orange flames danced across my palm, and I saw Carter swallow deeply, mesmerised by the flares coming from my skin.

  It wasn’t a fancy display of power as I wasn’t entirely sure I could control anything bigger without blowing up the building. The coven of witches I’d joined before being arrested were teaching me spells to manipulate the fire, but I still had a long way to go before I knew what I was capable of.

  That’s why I preferred guns.

  ‘Take it easy,’ Carter warned. ‘I don’t think either one of us wants to see you back in the detainment unit.’

  I closed my hand, and the flames disappeared.

  ‘I’ve no intention of ever going back to those cells. I just wanted to show you that I’m not totally defenceless against you.’

  ‘Consider me shown.’

  Carter moved towards the running machine and pressed a few buttons until it lit up like a Christmas tree.

  ‘Stand on here,’ he ordered, and when I was in position, he slipped rubber bands, similar to watchstraps, over my wrists and then a larger one around my chest.

  ‘These collect the results from your examination,’ he continued, ‘and feed them directly to a central computer.’

  ‘What kind of results?’

  ‘Speed, distance, heart rate and so on. Let’s see how fit you are.’

  He was going to be disappointed. I’d spent weeks in the detainment unit, with minimal outdoor time. The closest I’d come to working out was when I’d paced my small cell or completed sit-ups before going to sleep.

  ‘Run,’ Carter chided, as I started with a fast walk.

  ‘And then what?’

  ‘And then run until you can’t run anymore.’

  Part Two - Evaluation

  16

  ‘Are you a bad person, Ember?’

  The woman I sat opposite gave off the impression that she was genuinely interested in my answer, but I wasn’t convinced. She smiled encouragingly before suddenly scribbling something into the small notepad that rested on her lap.

  The cynical part of me thought she was completing her shopping list, and after looking at my hair, it reminded her to buy radishes. That made me smile, and the woman mistook it as a sign that I was finally going to open up to her.

  After my daily physical assessments with Carter, I’d been meeting with Marilyn Quinn for an hour of so-called therapy.

  For the past five days, she’d been slowly attempting to chip away at my veneer with her incessant questions. The problem was I didn’t like Marilyn. I didn’t like her crimson lipstick and matching designer skirt suits. She held my fate in her manicured hands, and I wasn’t convinced she had my best interest at heart.

  Marilyn adjusted her glasses across the bridge of her nose and waited for me to speak. I thought back to what Harvey had told us.

  Say whatever you can to convince them that you’re not a threat to society.

  ‘I’m not a bad person,’ I said, licking my dry lips. ‘I just made some bad choices.’

  Marilyn seemed delighted by this answer. So much so that I half-expected her to furnish me with a gold star.

  ‘Tell me about those bad choices, Ember.’

  I squirmed in my chair. Carter was standing guard at the door. He was trying to appear uninterested, but I could tell he was listening to our conversation. Another reason why I didn’t think this woman was even a real doctor.

  A real doctor wouldn’t allow my confidentially to be violated in such a way.

  ‘I trusted the wrong man. A man who told me we were going to change the world but just used me for personal gain.’

  ‘Did he use you in a sexual way?’

  I saw Carter’s jaw twitch and felt my cheeks flame.

  ‘Our relationship wasn’t like that. He was a mentor to me. I looked up to him…and besides he was married. I wouldn’t sleep with someone else’s husband.’

  ‘Everyone says that, Ember, but love can make you do stupid things.’

  I was about to argue that I’d never been in love, but she switched topics.

  ‘Now let’s go back to your time with the coven. Do you regret helping them plan the bombings?’

  Marilyn scribbled something else in her notebook as she spoke. The scratch of her pen seemed loud in the quiet room. I knew what I was expected to say, but the words refused to come.

  ‘I didn’t help anyone plan a bombing,’ I whispered.

  The woman’s pen paused mid-flow as she looked up at me, studying my face. If she hoped I’d elaborate, she’d be disappointed. I was tired of talking about my past. I wanted to start living for my future.

  ‘Have you ever killed someone, Ember?’

  Marilyn’s question caused me to inhale sharply.

  ‘No,’ I lied, the word sticking in my throat like a boiled sweet that I couldn’t swallow.

  ‘How about your mother then?’

  An image of my mum’s face flashed through my mind. I recalled her delicate pale skin and her vivid green eyes. Eyes so similar to mine and yet haunted by secrets. I couldn’t remember her smile.

  Maybe she’d never smiled.

  ‘My mother is innocent,’ I said, trying to keep my voice even but knowing I was revealing far too much emotion.

  ‘Sally Lane is currently residing in the supernatural detainment unit accused of murder.’

  ‘She didn’t do it.’

  ‘Well someone murdered your father, Ember. If it wasn’t your mother, who was it?’

  My heart pounded in my chest, and I felt my palms heat up. I wondered if I could conjure a fireball and set Marilyn’s over-lacquered hair alight before Carter shot me.

  ‘I…I… don’t know who killed my father,’ I said. ‘But the first thing I’m going to do when I get out of this place is find out.’

  17

  It was only in the privacy of his room later that night that Carter had time to digest Ember’s latest therapy session. It was only natural that she found it uncomfortable talking about her mother. The knowledge that she was in the detainment unit piqued his curiosity enough for him to request a copy of the original case file from S.P.T.F.

  Ember had sounded convinced that her mother was innocent, but someone was guilty of slitting Roger Lane’s throat.

  Carter suspected Ember knew more about her father’s murder than she was letting on. She seemed to enjoy keeping secrets. Like how well she could shoot. He realised now that she’d played him during their first visit to the shooting range. Over the last few days, the skilful redhead had continued to handle a gun too easily to be a beginner.

  Carter remembered how perfectly her body had fitted against his as he helped her line up her first shot.

  Why hadn’t she told him there and then that she could shoot?

  He didn’t want to entertain the notion that it might be because she’d enjoyed the moment as much as he had, but it was there, hovering at the edge of his mind. He rolled over in bed, slamming the pillow over his head in an attempt to block out any thoughts of Ember so sleep would come q
uicker.

  Tomorrow was a big day for the team.

  Eventually, Carter’s breathing regulated and he felt himself relax into slumber. That was until he felt the bed dip as someone sat down beside him.

  He immediately flipped onto his back and grabbed the intruder. He expected to find a bulky man, armed and ready to attack, so was surprised when his hands connected with the soft, smooth skin of a slim neck.

  ‘What the hell?’ Carter said, releasing his stranglehold and reaching for the bedside lamp.

  Sasha barely even blinked as the room was illuminated, and neither did Carter. The woman was completely naked. Her full breasts were partially hidden by her cascading blonde hair, but he could see her pink nipples poking through the glossy strands, hardening under his inspection.

  ‘You shouldn’t be in here,’ he rasped, annoyed that his body was responding to the temptation Sasha portrayed.

  His cock twitched beneath the sheets as his gaze lingered on the junction between her legs where a strip of darker blonde hair hid an even greater treasure than her fabulous breasts.

  ‘I’m not here, Liam,’ Sasha said, crawling up the bed and straddling his hips. She leaned forward and kissed him. Her lips were hard and demanding, and Carter’s hands reached around to squeeze her bare buttocks, kneading her flesh as their tongues tangled together.

  ‘How did you get in here?’ he asked, eventually tearing his mouth away from hers.

  ‘I didn’t. This is a dream.’

  ‘It doesn’t feel like a dream.’

  ‘It feels like the best kind of dream to me,’ she breathed, resuming her assault. She kissed his lips, his jaw and his neck as he involuntarily bucked his hips, heightening the friction between their joined bodies.

  ‘We need to stop.’

  ‘We don’t need to stop because this isn’t really happening. Think about it logically. How could I possibly have breached the security system?’

  Carter’s brain was sending clear signals to his body that it was switching off so he could enjoy the ride. What Sasha said made sense. The only way to open his door from the outside was with his handprint. She couldn’t be here, and yet she felt so real.