The Twelfth Keeper Boxed Set: Books 1-3

by Belle Malory

  “Well, say something,” Ashley said. “Neither of you have a reaction?”

  They both started talking almost simultaneously, wearing matching expressions of disbelief.

  “No way!” Reagan exclaimed. “I can’t believe it—Jake? Really? That’s great, Mom.”

  “Congratulations,” Kennedy chimed in. “What a totally unexpected surprise.”

  Sixteen

  Two Weeks Later…

  Kennedy adjusted the hood of her jacket over her blonde wig, then tightened her grip around the handle of her suitcase and walked out of the airport. She fought the urge to glance over her shoulder and lost. She paused behind a support beam, feeling her heart rate pick up at the sight of him.

  So Phoenix had come after all, and there he was, waiting for her. It was easy to pick him out since it was two o’clock in the morning Olympian time, and he was the only one surrounded by a small group of people.

  Kennedy suspected he might come but wasn’t sure. She hadn’t contacted him in weeks. That should’ve served as a big enough hint on its own, but he’d come anyway.

  A regretful sigh escaped her lips as she watched him from the safety of her hidden spot. Why did he have to look so handsome without even trying?

  He stood there with his hands in his pockets, rocking back on his heels, and every now again smiling politely at something someone said. For the most part, his eyes remained focused on the door, unless someone distracted him with a question. It was obvious he was looking for her. She must have slipped past him during one of those distracted moments, because she knew he would see through her disguise in a heartbeat. After all, he was the one who bought it for her.

  Kennedy felt her throat constrict. Watching him, knowing he was waiting for her made her want to run over, push through the crowd, and throw her arms around him. Despite the anger she felt, she hadn’t realized how much she missed him. She didn’t want to miss him, but she did.

  Get of here before you do something stupid.

  She turned around and forced her feet to move. It felt all wrong struggling against the magnetic force that pulled her in the opposite direction. The thought made her want to cry. Even her own body was against her.

  Bright neon signs glowed from all sides. They would lead her away from the airport and back to Section 9. As hard as she tried, she couldn’t focus on any of them.

  She took a moment to breathe, remembering why she was in this position. She remembered the pain she felt, and how her heart literally felt like it was being crushed beneath her chest. She didn’t know that guy over there, not like she thought she had. Between his plans to leave for a year and making out with Fang, Kennedy wondered if she had ever known him.

  Anger steeled her insides, allowing her to take a step, followed by another. Before she knew it, she was walking away from the airport. Away from Phoenix. “I don’t care,” she whispered as she removed her sphere from her purse. “The more I say it, the more I will believe it.” At the press of the button, her sphere inflated. She picked up her suitcase and stepped into it.

  The tunnels were pretty much empty, which should’ve made them all the more frightening, but the dark tubular passageways didn’t scare her as much as they used to. Thanks to a scarce nighttime crowd, she was in and out in less than a minute and back in Section 9.

  When she walked inside her apartment, Kennedy froze in the doorway, a woman’s outline waiting in the shadows.

  “Welcome home!”

  “Matilda?” The light switched on at the sound of her voice. “Is that you?”

  It sure didn’t look like Matilda. The woman’s frame and shape lacked the fluidity of natural movements, but they looked eerily more human than before. The head, in particular, was rounded and had a mat of curly brown hair attached to it.

  “Calm down, kid. Your heart rate is going through the roof. I’ve been given an upgrade. All the same programming, but the body is new. What do you think?”

  Kennedy swallowed, taking it in. It didn’t look bad, but it felt like a crime against nature. “I think I like the old one better.”

  “You’re freaked out.”

  “A little.” Hesitantly, she held her hand out and pressed her fingertips against Matilda’s face. Hard and cold, like metal.

  “Satisfied?”

  “This is going to take me a while to get used to.”

  “You’re telling me. I requested the body of a playmate. Imagine my surprise when I found out they designed me as middle-aged.” Matilda whirled around her, picking up her suitcase. “There’s a treat for you in the kitchen. I’ll put your things away.”

  Kennedy nodded, dazed. Matilda no longer rolled around on wheels anymore. She walked.

  Using her legs.

  This was way too much to process. It was already unsettling enough that Matilda’s programming had the capability to grow and learn like a human. Now they wanted her to look like one too?

  What’s next? Robotic pets?

  She could only imagine.

  In the kitchen, Kennedy found a plate stacked high with assorted cupcakes, decorated with the skill of a practiced pastry chef. She smiled, shaking her head. Despite the new body, Matilda was still the same.

  She hopped up on a barstool and unwrapped a chocolate cupcake, wondering what training was going to be like the next day. Over the last month, she’d fallen out of her normal routines. Totally her fault, too, since she had only worked out a handful of times at home. No doubt by tomorrow, her muscles would hate her for it.

  Staying away from Phoenix was also crucial. She wasn’t going to be the weak girl that melted as soon as he came near. There were no excuses for his actions. She had to remember that, and hopefully, it would get her through the day. And then the following day...and everyday after that for the rest of her life.

  Seventeen

  Phoenix gulped his protein shake and grimaced. He never liked the stuff, but he still drank it on a daily basis per DOE’s regulated dietary requirements. Whatever got the job done.

  While reading through the morning agenda, he prepared to fill in for Professor Mason, who was at yet another World Alliance conference. Fourth one this month. Word had it, the professor was desperately searching for information on the Sae-yers—where they came from, how many worlds they occupied, and what type of technology they possessed. Anything useful. And more importantly, anything that would help Earth survive an attack from them.

  So far they had nothing to go on. Not one bloody thing. Most of the life-bearing worlds Earth was in communication with had never even heard of the Sae-yers. Wherever they came from, it was from somewhere far outside of their reach. Possibly another galaxy. It was frustrating, but more than that, it was beginning to dishearten the entire department, him included.

  Phoenix could only hope today was the day Mason would find something. Otherwise, they wouldn’t know how to plan, how to coordinate, or how to defend themselves at all.

  Several keepers filed into the lobby. A few gathered around the coffee pot, and the rest sat on one of the sofas, waiting for the meeting to begin. Phoenix knew the exact moment when Kennedy arrived, sensing her presence before he saw her.

  He closed the agenda and stood. To his surprise, she breezed right past him and headed towards the coffee pot without looking up.

  Maybe she didn’t see him?

  He somehow doubted that and followed her. Several long moments passed while he watched her pour herself a mug. He knew she knew he was there, but she didn’t once acknowledge his presence. “Why haven’t you returned my calls?”

  Her face remained expressionless as she reached for the carton of soymilk, totally ignoring his question.

  “I put in for a request to transfer out of the Peri-Guard mission. Is that what this is about? Because that trip was planned a year ago, before I ever met you.”

  Her top lip twitched, but she still didn’t say anything. She just set the carton down and stirred her coffee. Lexie walked by them, pausing for a moment to tap Kennedy on
the shoulder. “Welcome back. How was your trip?”

  Kennedy smiled, her inactive face coming to life in front of Lexie. “Good. How was yours?”

  “Uh, dreadful. I was stuck with my parents and several flocks of sheep for an entire month. Anyway, we’ll have to catch up over lunch.”

  “Okay. See ya later.”

  Lexie walked away, and as soon as she did, Kennedy’s face morphed back into the expressionless void that it had been before.

  Unbelievable. He’d been a wreck these past few weeks, wondering why she kept her brace powered off and why she wouldn’t contact him, and here she was, pretending like he didn’t exist.

  “I waited for you at the airport,” he said, eyeing her closely. “I checked your schedule, and when you didn’t arrive when you were supposed to, I assumed you’d caught a later flight. I stayed there for hours.”

  He paused, gauging her reaction, but there was none.

  “I waited there until it was nearly morning because I was so bloody excited to see you.” He gripped the edge of the counter and leaned closer to her. “I’m confused, sleep-deprived, and I’ve got a shit-ton of work to do today, so the least you can do is tell me why you’ve suddenly lost your voice.” He practically growled the last part, making her flinch.

  When she picked up her mug and started to leave, Phoenix blocked her path. “Oh, no you don’t. You’re not going anywhere until I get an explanation.”

  For one panicked moment, he wondered if this had something to do with the boy-next-door. Did something happen after he left? Fear surged through him at the thought. Did she change her mind?

  “Why don’t you ask Fang?” she asked lightly, squashing that idea.

  Fang. All of the pieces settled into place. Memories of that day in the hallway replayed in his mind. The whole thing went down two weeks ago, the same time Kennedy turned off her brace. Right then and there, he understood. She hadn’t changed her mind. She was angry. Probably furious. And he could only imagine why.

  Kennedy is supposed to be a fling. Meaningless.

  Behind him, he caught Fang watching their every move. What did you do? he wondered, glaring at her. Acting innocent wasn’t her style. She simply shrugged a shoulder—her way of telling him this was justified retribution.

  He should’ve known. Fang was competitive by nature, and whether it was in the ring or out of it; if she didn’t think everyone was playing fairly, she would even the score herself. He usually respected her for it. This wasn’t one of those moments.

  When he turned back around, Kennedy no longer stood beside him. She sat on the couch, safely wedged between Alanna and Colton.

  “Nix, when you startin’ the meeting, man?” Davaris asked from the opposite couch, looking bored. “Everyone’s here, you know.”

  His first impulse was to cancel the damned thing, drag Kennedy to the next room, and force her to hear him out. He didn’t, as much as he wanted to. Too many important topics needed to be discussed. So instead, he rushed through the agenda, hoping to get done early. He could find a way to speak to her later. Hopefully.

  He finished up by talking about the land Maxwell Ryder bought from Penelope Little. “Mr. Ryder still has yet to return our calls, so from here on out, we’re taking matters into our own hands. That being said, I need some volunteers to help me survey the land. From what I understand, Mason has already spoken with Gabby about it. She knows the locale, speaks Spanish, and some Mayan as well. That will come in handy, since supposedly there are Mayan ruins onsite.” Looking up from his clipboard, he said. “Anyone else up for it?”

  Everyone in the room raised their hand. Everyone except Kennedy, who only a few weeks ago had practically begged him to let her go. Now she was inspecting her fingernails, uninterested. “Let’s see,” he said, roaming over the faces. “I’ll take a few Earth-manipulators. Gowan and Lexie, you two will be perfect. And I need one more…Kennedy. Yep, that should be enough. That’s all for now. Meeting closed.”

  Kennedy gaped at him furiously. As everyone else left the room, she marched over to him and said, “I didn’t volunteer. Choose someone else.”

  “I volunteered you.”

  “You can’t do that. I haven’t been approved for fieldwork.”

  “You have now. Mason trusts you. I’ll get him to sign the papers this week.”

  Getting her fieldwork approval would have made her ecstatic at one time. Now she stared at him through slit eyes like she was being punished. “I’m not going,” she swore. “You can approve whatever you’d like, but I won’t do it. I won’t go with you.”

  Hearing that made his chest ache. It took everything he had not to touch her, not to pull her in his arms and beg her to forgive him for whatever she was angry about. As much as he wanted to, he knew it would only make things worse. “Listen, you’re going whether you like it or not. You’re a keeper of this planet as much as I am.”

  She opened her mouth to say something but changed her mind. Turning on her heel to leave, she muttered, “Fine, whatever. I’ll go.”

  One corner of his mouth turned up. That was a long way off from the girl he met seven months ago who shied away from the responsibility that came with being a keeper. Pride filled him, thinking of how far she’d come, and how much further she was still capable of going.

  “Kennedy, wait,” he called, running to catch up to her. “Don’t you want to hear my side of things?”

  “Not really, no, I don’t.”

  She walked through the hallway briskly, trying to steer away from him, but he kept up with her pace easily. “So you would sentence a man to death before giving him a fair trial?”

  “Explanations mean less than nothing when I’ve seen the evidence with my own eyes.”

  “You could at least tell me why—” The door to the girl’s locker room automatically opened at her presence, shutting behind her and locking him out.

  He stared at the closed door for several long seconds, wondering what that meant. I’ve seen the evidence with my own eyes.

  All the guilt he felt at Fang’s expense was rapidly disappearing. He doubted Kennedy would believe simple words. Fang must have given her something incriminating—a picture, a video—anything capturing that moment in the hallway. It had to be that moment. What else could it be? Although he had no idea how Fang did it, he knew she was capable.

  Bloody hell, he didn’t have time for this. There was too much at stake, too many more important things to worry about. Maybe he should’ve listened to his conscience in the first place. Maybe he shouldn’t have gotten involved with Kennedy. Everything would be so much easier if he hadn’t.

  His stomach clenched. The thought of not being in Kennedy’s life was almost unbearable. Fighting for a world without her in it sounded like a lost cause. He wouldn’t have the energy to try.

  Christ. When had that happened? When had Calaya’s predictions become true?

  Phoenix sighed, deciding to wait for her to come around. Pushing her to hear him out was pointless. She wouldn’t do it; she was too angry right now. He could see it in every stiff line of her body. He could see it in the way she wouldn’t look at him while she spoke. Actually, now that he thought about it…

  For her to be that angry, it could only mean one thing. And he couldn’t help but grin at the realization. How had he not seen it before?

  She loved him.

  Eighteen

  “Talk to me, my love. Please.”

  This was even harder than she imagined. Keeping her eyes on her hands, Kennedy concentrated on wrapping her wrists, weaving the material around and around. She pretended Phoenix wasn’t standing there pleading with her. He didn’t exist anymore. He didn’t matter.

  It had been much easier to pretend he didn’t exist back home. Out of sight, out of mind. Well, the out of sight part was true anyway. But here, with him in her sight, it was agonizing. He didn’t even have to speak to her. During their five-mile run today, he stayed at her pace the entire time, just running beside her in s
ilence. When she sped up, he would too, and the same thing would happen when she slowed down. There was nothing she could do to get away from him either; he was the faster runner. The awful thing was, part of her enjoyed him being there. Part of her came alive at his presence. For a moment she could almost pretend nothing had happened. She could almost believe he hadn’t crushed her heart.

  “We can’t do this, Kennedy. You’re angry. Get it out. Yell at me if you want. Scream if it makes you feel better.”

  Ha. Screaming. What a joke.

  Screaming wouldn’t ease the pain. It wouldn’t dislodge the lump in the back of her throat that never went away no matter how many times she swallowed. And it damn sure wouldn’t change what he’d done.

  Hitting him, maybe…

  Hey now, that wasn’t a bad idea. Kennedy met his gaze for the first time in days. She was momentarily caught off guard by his appearance. He was sweating, having just finished a training match with Davaris. His blonde hair was in a mess of tangles, and his black eyes held onto hers miserably. He looked so upset that she started to reach for him, ready to forgive him for anything. And then she stopped herself and came to her senses, thank God.

  “Kennedy,” he whispered in a choked voice. “Say something.”

  She went back to wrapping her wrists. “Fine. I’ll fight you.”

  “What?” Confusion filled his voice.

  She finished wrapping up the last piece of material, clipped it into place and flexed her fingers. “I said I’ll fight you.” She didn’t bat an eye when she looked at him again. “You told me to get my anger out.”

  He shook his head. “I’m not fighting you, Kennedy. It wouldn’t be fair.”

  “Fair to whom?” She pushed him in the shoulder. “Trash your chauvinistic sense of fairness and let me have a shot.”

  His jaw clenched and he looked at his shoulder where she’d pushed him. She was getting to him. It was obvious he didn’t want to, but she wasn’t planning on taking no for an answer. If she had to, she would force him to fight—because she felt like ramming her fist into his face, dammit. “So fight me. Unless your afraid?”