According to Joel, when they’d called out for each other, that was a major sign they were Mirror Mates and had completed some kind of bond.
Melanie was still wrapping her head around the whole bonding process. She’d concede there was something there between them, but that didn’t mean they were some perfect match to go riding out into the sunset. This just meant they were stuck with each other a little more than she would have liked.
Right?
“When we bonded, your powers … they amplified. I don’t know what that means for you, I’m not an expert, and the encyclopedia Felix and I are creating doesn’t have every power known to man, yet. So we have no idea what this means for you, but we can figure it out together.”
She shoved another forkful of egg into her mouth, her mind tumbling over the idea of her powers changing. She didn’t know how to feel about that. She did know she was more relaxed than she’d been in a while, her powers the furthest thing from her mind. In fact, she’d been hoping for a mid-afternoon romp. She eyed the broken picture on the floor near the trashcan. The glass looked to have been swept up already. Melanie felt a pang of guilt for breaking one of Joel’s possessions during their lovemaking. She’d pay him back. She would be happy to pay him back with sex.
“You should practice on me,” he was saying, his hand held out to her, palm up on his table, urging her to take it and thus his powers.
She eyed it warily as she chewed her food. The thought of using her powers still made her stomach churn. “Can’t we do this another time?” she asked once she’d swallowed.
Joel shook his head firmly. “I don’t want to scare you, but the people who caused our accident yesterday might strike again. It’s good to know your abilities and limits.”
The way his face softened pulled at her heartstrings. No man had ever looked at her like that. Add in the fact that his face was even more swollen from the hit he took yesterday, and how could she say no?
She let out a puff of air. “Fine, but I want to know something first.” She took his hand and felt that electric shock that always happened when she touched Joel. It traveled up her arm and all down her body, heating her blood. “Who would be after you and why?”
He hesitated.
Melanie tightened the grip she had on his hand. “You avoided the question yesterday and I let it slide. Not today.”
His gaze dropped to the table. “His name is Vander Donahughe. He’s kind of the archenemy to the Guild of Truth.”
Melanie sat back and listened as Joel described the power-hungry CEO, his horrendous powers, and the horrible things he’d done to Joel and his friends.
“Why didn’t you tell me before?”
“Because I didn’t want to scare you off. I didn’t know if anything would become of us. It’s risky to know me.”
“Risky to my social standing, maybe.” She tried to lighten the mood.
His lips twitched. “I won’t tell anyone you’re a closet nerd who likes Call of Duty. Your secret is safe with me.”
Or at least until he learned what her real secret was.
Should she bring this information to Juliet? Juliet’s company already had the Kratos Corporation in their sights, so maybe it was possible for them to join forces with Joel’s guild and put a stop to them permanently.
One thing at a time. She wasn’t a superhero, not yet anyway. She didn’t go looking for trouble. She needed to dig herself out of the hole she was already in, or in this case get Nathan the help he needed and get out from under Juliet’s thumb as quick as possible.
She squeezed Joel’s fingers. “So, what am I supposed to be doing now?” She motioned to their conjoined hands.
Joel snapped into mentor mode.
“Try to activate your powers.”
She nudged her empty plate and closed her eyes. She concentrated on what he asked of her and pushed away as much of her fear as possible. Activating her powers was usually the hardest part—she didn’t know if it was because she was in Joel’s presence or because she was touching him, but her neck instantly began to tingle.
She inhaled deeply, trying to keep her heart calm. If Joel was right, she had no idea what she was capable of anymore, and the last thing she wanted to do was hurt him.
Why had she agreed to do this with him?
She would never forgive herself if she hurt him or anyone for that matter.
“I think they’re, uh, active.” She opened her eyes. She was stiff as a rod, afraid the slightest movement would do something horrible.
As if sensing her unease, he smiled warmly and squeezed her hand. “That’s good. Now imagine slowly pulling my powers into you. Slowly,” he stressed.
She licked her dry lips and did as he said.
She concentrated on pulling from his fingertips, letting his powers trickle into her hand, like water dripping from a faucet. Her hand started to grow warm, but she couldn’t tell if it was from her powers or the heat from Joel’s body.
“You’re doing great,” he encouraged her. “I can feel the pins and needles in my fingers and palm but it’s gradual, so keep it up.”
The heat was traveling up her arm now and she wanted to let go. She wanted to stop. How long did she have to do this? Wasn’t the first display of control enough?
From the living room her phone dinged in her purse.
Melanie pounced on the distraction and broke contact. “That’s my phone. What if it’s work?”
His level stare spoke volumes. “You can get it in a second. Try and use my powers now. Remember, your ability is kind of a two-parter. Take the powers; use them yourself.”
She nodded, knowing it was no use trying to get away from him now. “Right.” She might not have liked the part where she took from someone else, but she had to admit there was a small thrill when using Joel’s powers. She often forgot that he could freeze someone to the ground, literally, with nothing but a touch.
She eyed the tabletop—she’d start small. She grasped the napkin holder and relaxed her shoulders, letting the tingle in the back of her neck flare up again before it completely disappeared.
After a few seconds she released the napkin holder. “Well?” She gestured nervously for Joel to lift it.
He tried to shift it. It didn’t move. He tried to lift it. It didn’t budge.
Melanie felt herself mirroring his smile. She’d done it.
“See how easy that was?” Joel said. “You don’t have to be afraid of your powers.”
Her smile wavered.
The idea of not fearing her powers seemed an impossible dream. She’d always have to be mindful of them; she’d never know the life she had before. Already the time she’d spent with Joel was proof enough that there were risks to having supernatural abilities.
“I should check my phone.”
The text was from Juliet. No apology about leaving Melanie in the dark for so many days or for not answering her phone calls. It was a simple command.
Contact me as soon as possible.
Melanie wanted to ignore it out of spite but she couldn’t. She had to help Nathan.
She glanced over her shoulder. Joel piled a few dishes into the sink, and her heart gave a little flutter in her chest.
What if she could find Nathan’s soul mate?
She had no idea what Juliet had in store for her brother. She hadn’t mentioned anything about soul mates, and Melanie seriously doubted that was her organization’s mission. Juliet’s company wasn’t a matchmaking business. Melanie had to trust that Juliet had another method that would at least give Nathan a temporary reprieve. And if it wasn’t a permanent fix, Melanie vowed right here and now that she’d help him find his—what had Joel called them?—Mirror Mate.
“Was it work?” Joel asked.
Melanie fumbled her phone. “No, my parents,” she lied and instantly felt horrible about it.
Joel made a noncommittal noise. No doubt her answer didn’t need further questioning, given her family’s reaction last night at the ER.
/>
Once finished in the kitchen he came over to her, keys in hand. “I can drive you home to grab some clothes and take you to work. That way you won’t be late.”
He glanced meaningfully at the clock and she followed his lead. Dammit, she’d done it again—she had just over a half hour to get to work.
There was no time to feel timid or embarrassed about where she lived. Melanie simply gave Joel directions and rushed from the car to get changed once they arrived.
The house was empty, which was just as well since Melanie didn’t want to run into anyone at the moment and she didn’t want anyone running into Joel. He might figure out she lied about the text message.
She left the front door open for him as she sprinted for her room. Nathan lay on the bed, drugged to sleep if the empty Nyquil bottle was any indication.
Her chest constricted and she hastily threw her aunt’s clothes into the hamper and dug around for black slacks and a white top. She was pulling her top on when she heard Joel come in.
“I didn’t miss you changing yet, did I?” He was pretending to shield his eyes, a huge gap between his middle and ring finger. He wore a playful smile that instantly dropped off at the sight of her brother.
She knew how horrible everything must look to him. The cramped living spaces, furniture and belongings scattered everywhere. Clothing and sleeping bags in the TV room, a kitchen overflowing with boxes of mac and cheese, instant noodles, and dirty dishes in the sink. And the cherry on top: her brother drugged out on his bed.
She felt like splaying her arms and welcoming Joel to her glamorous life.
That attitude will get you nowhere. This was the hand life had dealt her and she was making the best of it. She stiffened her spine, bracing for any jokes Joel might have, but he wasn’t even looking at her. He made his way over to Nathan, his face as serious as she’d ever seen it.
He gently sat next to Nathan, studying him as if looking for a way to fix him. When there were no obvious cure-all buttons lying around, he placed his hand on Nathan’s shoulder. “We’re going to help you.” He picked up the Nyquil bottle and threw it in the garbage can that was already stuffed with beer bottles and over-the-counter medications.
She’d have to take it out soon, before the room started to smell.
Wordlessly, Joel got up and picked up the stray bottles on the floor and placed them within. Then he took the bag out and held it up. “Where should I put this?”
Emotion clogged her throat. She couldn’t speak. Nathan and Joel probably would have gotten along famously.
And they will.
Once Juliet helped Nathan.
She almost let it slip that Nathan was getting help, but Juliet had stressed the importance of secrecy. Melanie was in a different world now, and she definitely didn’t want to step on Juliet’s toes. Especially when those toes had men like Mr. Richardson working for them. The man was built like a linebacker, and powers or no powers, she didn’t want to get on his bad side.
“There’s a large dumpster outside,” she said and led Joel out the front.
With nothing left to do but leave Nathan to his hopefully dreamless sleep, Melanie climbed back into Joel’s mom’s car.
They arrived at the yogurt shop with a few minutes to spare.
“Thank you so much.” She leaned over and kissed Joel.
His warm hand cupped the back of her head, keeping her close longer than was decent. When he released her she was flushed and breathing heavily. There was no judgment in his eyes, no pity, only affection. Her body ached for him, and from the bulge in his jeans, she bet he ached for her, too.
“See you tomorrow at yoga?” She hoped her voice didn’t sound as needy as it did to her own ears.
Joel grinned. “And miss seeing you in those tight yoga pants?” He shook his head. “Never.”
She kissed him one more time.
“You better go before I make you really late for work,” he said when she regretfully pulled back.
She went to shove him playfully when her eyes caught on a figure in the distance, standing near one of the trees by the bus stop. Her blood turned to ice and her arm froze halfway to Joel’s chest.
Joel immediately went on high alert. “What?” He followed her line of sight and his body tensed. “Is that who I think it is?”
“Yeah.” Her voice came out breathless and she cleared her throat, shaking herself. “That’s Alexander,” she said in a stronger voice.
“Son of a bitch.” Joel reached for the door handle.
“No, don’t.” The last thing she needed was Joel to get all macho and try to intimidate her ex-boyfriend.
Joel halted. “I won’t hurt him. I was going to give him a little scare. You know, Lock his arms to his side and let him freak out for a bit. Or better yet, Lock him in place so you can call the police. You said there’s a restraining order on him, right?”
She drew back. “You can do all that?”
Would that be all it took to get rid of Alexander for good?
He rubbed his hand up and down her arm. “We have to solve this problem, and you’re calling the shots. Including leaving that rat bastard alone if that’s what you want. All I’m saying, though, is that if the police aren’t enough to scare him, maybe it’s time to go beyond the police. Supernaturally, of course.”
Something sparked in the back of her mind, like the Grinch when he got a wonderful, awful idea.
All the times she’d been frightened to leave her house, get on the bus, go to and from the community center and now to work. There was nowhere safe from Alexander. Maybe what she needed to do was scare him, like Joel said. Stand up to him.
“I’ll think on it,” she finally conceded, already getting a game plan ready in her mind.
Chapter 18
Joel parked his mother’s piece of junk car outside Syd’s clinic as the sun was dipping below the horizon. The buildings were cast in bright orange and yellow light.
Joel raised his hand in greeting to Tom staring out of the pizzeria window, smiling to himself at the look of horror Tom would no doubt wear if he ever found out he had a fan club two stores down. Joel still couldn’t believe that through all the years he’d dated Sydney, she never once mentioned the crush she’d had on the pizza man.
He gave a careless shrug to the night air—the thought didn’t hold as much power over him as it usually did.
He certainly felt lighter than he had in ages.
With an extra bounce in his step, he headed for the clinic, and for once found everyone already waiting for him when he entered.
Sydney’s hands instantly went to her mouth. “Oh no, Joel, your eye.” It looked like she wanted to rush to him and inspect it herself, but she refrained, for which he was grateful.
He might concede that he was getting over her romantically, but even a friendship still needed the trust she’d wrecked. And distance. Lots and lots of healthy distance.
“It looks a lot worse than it really is,” he told her.
Felix came close and stared at the bruise. “Let me guess, handiwork of Man in the Suit?”
“You got it.”
“These guys are getting more aggressive,” Cali said. “It might be good if we started taking some precautions here.”
Feeling Cali was right, Joel leaned back until he could touch the front door and Locked it.
“Now no one can get inside,” he said.
“Unless they’re already inside.” A new voice spoke up from the far side of the room.
Everyone jumped, except for Felix. He growled low in his throat. “Jente.”
The young Veiler gave a mock bow. Jente possessed the ability to go invisible, which made it possible for him to be there one second and gone the next. Or, in this case, lying in wait until he wanted to show himself.
Hostility radiated from Felix. Cali stood at his side, hand on his chest, as if to keep him from doing anything rash.
Jente eyed Felix with outright amusement, something that did nothing to calm Fe
lix.
Joel got his first real look at Jente and was shocked to see how young he appeared. He looked barely older than Luke, with jet-black hair that could have been styled by a Final Fantasy fanatic. He wore jeans and a hoodie with the sleeves pushed up his forearms, revealing tan skin despite the cool weather, which hinted at some kind of mixed heritage. But it was his eyes, one gray, one green, that caught Joel’s attention. They scanned the room, assessing everyone—for signs of violence? Joel didn’t know what the kid was looking for, but he seemed to deem it safe for himself when he stepped further into the room, away from the window.
“You could really work on your security around here,” he said conversationally, shooting a meaningful look at Joel.
Joel cracked his knuckles, and suddenly one of Cali’s hands pressed against his chest, too.
“What are you doing here?” Cali asked.
She was the only one who didn’t look upset at his appearance. And given her history with Jente, Joel guessed that it was warranted. Jente had saved her from Vander, which earned him a little bit of leeway. But not much. Anyone working in Vander’s employment was on his permanent shit list.
“I thought you’d like to know that the men you told me about have been poking their noses in places they shouldn’t be,” Jente said. “Also, some of my co-workers have gone missing.”
Everyone immediately perked up.
“You mean like they’re on vacation missing or … ?” Sydney left the sentence hanging.
Jente sucked in a lungful of air in an exaggerated manner that spoke volumes about what he thought of Sydney and her comment. “If their idea of a vacation is a cell with metal bars, then yes, they’re on vacation.”
Sydney ignored his sarcastic response and gulped nervously. She wound her arm through Merrick’s.
“Do you know where they were taken?” Merrick asked.
“Not a clue,” Jente deadpanned.
Did this douchebag even care where his co-workers were? It sure didn’t look like it.
Gee, what a team player.
Locked Out of Love Page 12
