Her expression must’ve betrayed her because Joel reached for her, concern on his face. “Are you okay? Don’t worry, it’s nothing to be afraid of. Felix put it back wherever it came from. He gains more control every time he uses his powers. We all trust him.”
“But does he trust himself?”
Joel sat back. “What does that mean?”
“He must be terrified all the time, wielding that kind of unpredictable power.”
“It’s not unpredictable. He’s got control over it.”
She stared at him. “And what happens if he brings back another monstrosity when he uses his powers? If he keeps using them all over the place, it’s only a matter of time.”
Anger sparked in his eyes. “Hey now, Felix doesn’t use his powers all over the place.” He gestured with his hands. “He’s very conscientious of when he uses them and who he’s around.”
“He used them during a basketball game,” she pointed out. “That kind of carelessness is dangerous.”
He gaped at her. “Carelessness? He brought the ball back instantly. That’s not carelessness, that’s being mindful of what he’s doing and understanding his ability’s limitations. You saw him demonstrate the knowledge of his own power. He kept the ball longer and it came back in ruins, which was why he didn’t keep it there longer than necessary during our game.”
“And did you see the look in his eye when that basketball returned destroyed? He’s afraid of his own power. What kind of a life is that? What if he could get help?”
“Felix has had a long time to deal with his powers. He doesn’t need help. They aren’t a curse, Melanie. You can’t keep focusing on the bad.”
It was a direct hit. Her mouth snapped shut.
Was he right? Was she nothing but a biased party who would never see her abilities as anything more than a negative?
That afternoon on the basketball court had been the first time she’d felt accepted, like she could belong. Was she holding herself back from happiness by refusing to accept her abilities as part of who she was?
“Shit, I’m sorry,” said Joel after a few silent seconds.
“No, I—”
“Son of a bitch,” Joel cut her off.
“Excuse me?” Melanie’s gaze shot up, but Joel wasn’t looking at her.
She jerked her attention to where Joel was staring out the window.
Alexander.
He stood on the curb, probably waiting for a bus or taxi. He smiled when their eyes met. Melanie felt her temper rise.
“Give me your hand.” She laid her arm across the table, palm up for Joel without even looking his way. She didn’t want Alexander to get away. Not this time.
She’d tried everything—avoidance, contacting the police—and she was sick of it. If she ever wanted her life back, she needed to stand up for what she wanted. And she didn’t want Alexander.
She turned to Joel.
Her neck prickled with her powers.
“What are you planning on doing?”
“I’m taking hold of my supernatural ability. I’m going to do what you suggested and scare him.” She wanted to use her powers. She wanted to give them the chance that Joel kept inspiring within her. She couldn’t have someone fight her battles for her. If Joel faced Alexander, her ex would just misinterpret it as Joel was keeping Melanie from him. She knew she wasn’t supposed to confront Alexander—that it could only encourage him—but she had to try something.
Joel studied her for a moment before giving her his hand. “Remember,” he said calmly, “control. A little bit goes a long way. I’ll take care of our check, then I’ll be right behind you.”
She nodded and wrapped her hand around his. She did as he asked and controlled the pull of his power into her. The heady sensation flooded her body. She amped up the trickle of power into her until it was a steady flow, and when that wasn’t enough, she—
Joel yanked his hand away. “That’s enough.” He shook his arm and cradled it to his chest, eyes guarded.
Melanie didn’t have time to question what she saw in his face. She left the restaurant, hunting for Alexander. He wasn’t by the curb any longer. She jogged down the sidewalk as best she could in her heels and stopped when she saw something out of the corner of her eye.
It was him.
He slipped into a parking lot.
Melanie followed, her neck practically throbbing. She needed to come up with a plan. She’d never willingly walk into Alexander’s arms and he knew it too. If she tried to instigate any kind of contact, he’d know something was up.
But what did it matter?
A quick touch was all she needed.
She could jump him.
She shook the thought away. If she missed, her opportunity was lost. She couldn’t risk it.
She had to act like normal but with a hint of vulnerability to draw him out.
“Alexander?” she called hopefully into the evening light. The sun was setting, casting long shadows and brilliant yellow and orange colors. The wind had picked up and her skirt fluttered around her legs, as restless as she was.
He didn’t respond.
Had he kept going?
“Alexander, please, I need to talk to you.” She swallowed her pride and continued. “This can’t be a coincidence. I keep running into you. Something wants me to see you. To speak with you.”
He stepped out from behind an Escalade, a smirk firmly in place, arms crossed. He didn’t come any closer. He was too far for Melanie to touch, so she kept her pursuit slow, taking baby steps toward him.
“Why are you here?” she asked.
“Like you said, we keep running into each other. It’s uncanny, isn’t it?”
Uncanny, my ass. He was a stalker, plain and simple, which meant he knew where she was and who she was with.
The familiar lick of fear that accompanied that realization went through her, igniting her anger. She was done fearing him. Done looking over her shoulder and worrying.
She got a few feet closer. “Yes, very uncanny,” she drawled. “I’ve tried to move on. I pushed you away as best I could, but you keep coming back.”
This time he came toward her, narrowing the gap between them. “I’ll always come back for you. You’re mine.” He grasped her upper arms. “My soul mate.”
She clenched her jaw. It was Alexander’s fault those words were tainted. She briefly wondered how she would have reacted to meeting Joel and learning everything she had in the past couple of weeks if she’d never encountered Alexander. Would she have accepted the idea of Mirror Mates? Embraced it?
She’d never know, and it was all this man’s fault. She wanted to jump from his touch as his fingers dug into her skin.
“You really will never leave me alone, will you?” She took his hands in hers and lowered his arms to his sides. “You just don’t get it, do you? When a woman says no, all you hear is yes. You crave the power you get when you see the fear in our eyes. Well, I’m here to tell you that I’m done being afraid of you.” She reached for Joel’s powers and visualized shooting them straight through Alexander’s entire body.
His eyes widened, his body instantly stiffening. “Wh—what have you done?” His eyes darted around wildly, though his head never moved.
She stepped back, admiring the way he looked like a kid ready to do a pencil dive into a pool.
“What I’ve done,” she said, “is show you that if you come near me ever again, you’ll feel more of my anger than what I’ve demonstrated today.”
Alexander’s breaths started coming quicker. “I-I can’t—I can’t—”
“Move?” she interrupted with a sickly sweet smile. “No, you can’t, because I won’t let you, just like you never let me have a life when I tried to get away from you. You trapped me into this cage of fear.” She stepped into his face, rage burning through her as she saw everything she ever hated about her life in him. “Now I’m returning the favor. And if I ever see you again, I’m going to do more than trap you. I’ll impris
on you permanently!”
“Melanie!”
Strong hands tore her away from Alexander. His eyes were bloodshot, his face purple, a strange wheezing sound coming from him.
“Jesus, what the fuck are you doing?” Joel stared at Alexander in horror.
“Can’t,” Alexander’s voice was ragged, “ … breathe.”
His eyes rolled into his head and he dropped like a board.
Melanie screamed at the sickening thud.
“Call 9-1-1,” Joel shouted at her as he rushed to Alexander’s side. He hovered over him, hands on his body. “What did you do to him, Melanie?”
“Nothing.” Tears tracked down her face. “I just Locked him like you said.”
“I didn’t tell you to do this!” Joel shot back. “Shit! His chest isn’t moving. You Locked his lungs, that’s why he can’t breathe—his rib cage and lungs can’t expand.”
Joel shut his eyes and kept his hands firmly on top of Alexander’s chest. A few moments later his chest lifted, expanding completely to suck in as much oxygen as possible.
She waited for Alexander’s eyes to snap open, for him to jack-knife into a sitting position and accuse her of nearly killing him.
He didn’t move.
A small pool of blood started to spread on the cement behind his head.
Joel noticed it moments after Melanie. “Shit.” He glanced her way. “Did you call the ambulance yet?”
She jolted into action. Her hands shook so much she nearly fumbled her phone twice. She told the dispatcher only the bare minimum.
“Are they on their way?” Joel asked as he stayed crouched next to Alexander. His hands kept clenching and unclenching, as if he was fighting the urge to pick him up and assess his head injury.
“Don’t move him,” Melanie told him.
Joel’s jaw twitched. “I know, but what if it’s serious? We can’t just stand here—we should try and stop the bleeding.”
“The ambulance is on its way.” Already in the distance she could hear the wail of the sirens.
“Shit.” Joel shot to his feet and rubbed his face. He turned on her. “What the fuck happened?” He paced back and forth. “And don’t leave anything out, because we need to get our story straight for the hospital.” He paused and swore again. “And the police.”
Chapter 24
Joel found himself in the ER.
Again.
And he still wasn’t quite sure how it had happened.
He stared down at his hands. A smudge of blood ran along the outside of his thumb. The paramedics had given him wipes for his hands after helping cart Alexander into the ambulance. He’d missed a spot.
He stared at the dark red splotch as it dried.
Alexander was in the ER. Because of him.
No.
Because of the silver blonde next to him.
Melanie sat hunched over in her chair, arms around herself, rocking. Joel had tried to console her, but she shrugged off each and every one of his attempts.
His phone vibrated in his pocket, and with one last look at Melanie, he left the no cell phone area.
“You answered,” Felix’s voice came over the line. “You weren’t supposed to answer. You’re supposed to be getting lucky. How was the date?”
“Fan-fucking-tastic. I’m back in the ER.”
“What?”
Joel held the phone away from his head. “Quiet,” he hissed when Felix’s outburst was over. “I’m back in the ER. I’m okay. It’s Melanie, she had an … episode.”
Felix was silent on the other end. “What kind of episode?” he asked at last.
The kind where she nearly killed her stalker ex-boyfriend.
“Doesn’t matter,” Felix cut in before Joel could open his mouth. “We’ll be there soon.”
“What?” Joel checked his voice as a few nurses sent him dirty looks behind the reception desk. “No, there’s no need. Really.”
“Joel,” Felix said patiently. “We weren’t there for you the last time. This time we will be. So sit tight, you can explain it all when we get there.” A smile came into his voice. “That way I don’t have to relay the whole thing to the guild.”
He hung up before Joel could sputter another word. The whole guild? Shit. He rubbed his jaw. He shouldn’t have answered his damn phone.
Melanie looked up as he returned to his seat next to her. “Who was on the phone?” The tip of her nose was pink. Her crystal blue eyes were puffy and red from crying. But behind the worry and remorse he saw a flicker of revulsion. Not at him, but at herself.
He felt helpless. This wasn’t a physical battle he could win for her. He was stuck on the sidelines as she battled whatever inner demons were haunting her. It tore him up and emotion clogged his throat.
He cupped her face and was relieved when she allowed him to. He rubbed his thumb across her cheek. Already he felt so much for her.
Logic told him to be cautious. He’d admitted she was his Mirror Mate, but he still refused to jump without looking, to risk his heart without testing the waters. He’d been bitten in the ass too many times when he rushed headfirst into things. This time he was going to do it right.
“How are you holding up?” he asked gently.
Her face crumpled, and she shook her head as if too afraid to speak. He pulled her to him and reveled in the feel of her in his arms. “I will always be here for you,” he told her fiercely. “Also,” he said after a few minutes, “you should know that the guild is coming soon.”
She leaned back, her jaw slack. “The guild? As in … the entire guild?”
He nodded.
“Why? What did you tell them?” Her face went pale. “They’re going to think the very worst of me.”
“Hey.” He grasped her shoulders and waited until her eyes reached his. “They will understand you better than anyone. They’re concerned, that’s all.” He paused. “Well, they’re also nosy, and overwhelming, and can be a complete pain in the ass sometimes, but they know what you’re going through. I’m sure with so many heads together we’ll be able to think of something to keep this from happening again.”
She glanced away, something flickering in her eyes too quickly for him to make out. “You’re right,” she said quietly. “This will never happen again.”
Something in her tone didn’t sit well with him. “Melanie?”
She tilted her head and looked at him, her eyes no longer clouded. Instead they blazed with conviction. “You were wrong earlier when you said powers weren’t a curse. They are. I tried to use them for good, I really did, Joel, but you saw what happened.” She moved her arm to indicate their current location. “Look at where we ended up when we used them. We think we’re using them for good, but all we really do is hurt one another. We use them to instill fear in others, or win a game, or to come out ahead in life. We never really use them selflessly. Money, power, those are the real reasons. What kind of good can we actually do with them?”
He shook his head. “You don’t believe that.”
“But I do.”
“No. You don’t. You’re scared right now. But in our group, the Guild of Truth, we use our abilities to fight the evil that would use theirs against others.”
Now it was her turn to shake her head. “And who are you to say that the others are wrong and you’re right? This isn’t black and white, Joel. This isn’t a comic book where you’re the hero and everyone else is the villain. I’m sure other people have their own reasons, their own good reasons, for doing what they’re doing. You can’t condemn them because they’re different. No one deserves this kind of power.”
Joel frowned. “What are you talking about? I haven’t condemned anyone. Who—?”
He was cut off as the ER doors opened and six familiar faces came in.
Their timing couldn’t have been worse. As usual.
Joel sighed and got up to greet them.
Felix was first to him. He grasped his hand and brought him in for a hug. “How’re you holding up?”
Joel gave a half-hearted shrug. “I’ve been better.”
Felix studied him for a moment, his eyes going to Melanie and then back again. He dropped his voice. “Can I talk to you in private later?”
The rest of the guild buzzed around them. Cali went to Melanie, effectively bringing all the other females along, including a grumpy-looking Niella.
Joel continued to stare at Felix, unease working its way into his system. “Sure,” he said at last.
Felix gave a stiff nod and headed toward Melanie, his seriousness replaced with an easy smile and a sympathetic touch.
Joel shook himself.
“Hey.” Merrick clapped him on the shoulder. “We came as soon as we heard. Everything okay?”
“For now,” was all Joel could think to say. He didn’t know where they could all go that would offer them a safe place to talk.
He turned to see how Melanie was taking the sudden onslaught. Her smile was stiff, not quite reaching her eyes, but she kept it firmly in place as she shook Sydney’s hand. When Syd stepped away to give Niella room, Melanie’s face paled as if she’d seen a ghost.
She wobbled on her feet.
Joel rushed to her side, tucking his hand beneath her elbow to keep her steady. “You okay?” he whispered into her ear.
“Huh?” She stared at him as if she didn’t know how he’d gotten there.
Melanie’s attention went back to Niella, who was watching her carefully behind her red glasses. “Have we met before?” Niella asked. “You appear as if you know me.”
That couldn’t be right; Joel was certain they’d never met.
I’ve only known Melanie a couple of weeks though.
True, but if it was as simple as running into Niella at the supermarket, why did Melanie look so horrified?
Unbidden, Joel’s eyes met Felix’s. His friend’s mouth was set in a grim line, eyes hard.
Sydney took control of the situation. “Maybe we should give Melanie some space.”
Joel shot her a grateful look. She smiled in return and ushered everyone over to a row of unoccupied chairs.
Locked Out of Love Page 17
