“Actually I got a great offer I wanted to discuss with you.” He looked her dead in the eye, because he didn’t want there to be any lies between them.
“On the Skype session it sounded like you already made up your mind. It didn’t sound like you intended to talk it over.”
“Oh, I guess it didn’t.” She mulled over his statement. “I’m pretty used to acting on my own. I want us to be more than just lovers. I want us to be a couple. I want to live with you.” He breathed a sigh of relief.
“I’ll do you one better. I want us to get married. But first you have to have the best proposal known to mankind.” He saw tears gathering again.
“Those better be happy tears.”
“The happiest. Do you mean it?”
“You’ll just have to wait for the proposal.” She hit his chest, and she sure as hell didn’t hit like a girl. “So tell me about the offer.”
“Oh yeah. It’s with Max’s company up in Northern California. I should be able to telecommute some of the time. It’s definitely going to require some hands on. And it’s not just a job, it’s a vocation. I would be working to help people learn how to become better at diagnosing illnesses. It’s something I was really good at before I came into my found abilities. But now I have these abilities, I really have a handle on it and I could help others learn how to do it too.”
“Does he have some kind of set up for you to train others?”
“That’s the beauty of it. He was already setting up a group of people to learn from one another in all fields, and he knew I wanted to do more than just work at an individual level.”
“I thought you liked working with patients.”
“I do, and I would still be doing that, because otherwise I wouldn’t be able to train others how to do the diagnosing.”
“This sounds like a dream job for you. I don’t know how you could possibly pass it up.”
“If it means we’re not together then it would be easy to pass up.” She stroked his cheek and some of his tension eased. He caught her hand and kissed her palm.
“If you can telecommute some of the time, I think I can work to change where I’m posted. I can always ask to be stationed at Alameda, and then go down to San Diego when necessary.” He watched in horror as her eyes started to water. “Angel, what’s wrong?”
“I was so worried. I wanted my cake, and icing, and to lick the bowl. You’re giving me everything, Nate.”
“I’d give you the world if I could.” He kissed away the two tears that ffell. “I do plan to give you Stovers’ head on a platter.”
“That’d be good. I think you’re right. I think he plans to figure out a way to weaponize healers’ ability to drain energy. But I can’t conceive how he can do it. Seriously, I’m a healer, and a doctor, and I still can’t articulate how I can do the energy drain or the healing, so how the hell can he expect to?”
“But here’s what I don’t get, even if he figures out how you or Maricel does the energy drain, how can he recreate it? You are gifted. You’re found.”
“I think that’s where the nanotechnology comes in. We would have to ask Max if Dianysis does anything with nanotech, but I think if they were to use it to enhance a person with healing gifts, then yes, they could do it.”
“Who besides you and Maricel have healing gifts? Only the found have whoo whoo abilities.”
Sarah looked at him and actually giggled. Then looked away, and looked back and let out a huge laugh. “You poor, poor naïve little boy.”
“Don’t tell me you buy into the shit people have ESP?” He looked at her like she lost her mind.
“Oh my God, Nate Goodman, you want to marry a woman from an alternate reality and you don’t think people have ESP?” She laughed even harder, and he was beginning to get a little offended.
“Hey, I believe in the things I can see. I’ve seen what you can do. I’ve seen the things Kali, Noah, Seth and Max can do. Even Gabriella has powers, mostly over Kota’s dick, but they’re powers. So yeah, I believe in the found. I believe you came from an alternate reality. But those of us from this Earth are normal. I don’t care how many reality shows tell me differently, we’re normal, with no special powers, and there is no such thing as Bigfoot either.”
She stopped laughing as suddenly as she started. She laid the softest kiss on his chest, and kissed her way up his sternum towards his jaw. When she got to his neck, she traced the sensitive skin with her tongue, moving ever upwards until she met his mouth in a magical kiss. Their tongues tangled, he pulled her close against him. Finally she drew back and looked at him with chocolate caramel eyes.
“Don’t you know, you’re one of the people with those gifts. That’s the reason you’ve always been a step ahead in all those dangerous situations. How often have you had a feeling, a sense of knowing what the enemy was going to do, and saved yourself and your team?”
“First off, how do you know?” he asked her slowly.
“Your reputation preceded you. All of your team has talked about it.”
“That’s just intuition.” He really didn’t like where she was going with this.
“That’s having a gift. It made sense when we were touching you could feel my pain. But when you were in Miami and I was in California and you got ill the same time I did? I think it’s because you’re gifted, you have a little extra something that makes you more in tune than others.” She glided her hand up his arm, trying to lessen the impact of her words, knowing they would hit him hard.
Nate’s gut reaction was anger, but he realized it was irrational. He stopped to examine it. To roll it around in his head and taste it.
The first time he felt something other was when he worried about his mom, worried she was going to get into an accident and he had begged her to stay home. His dad had been so angry for his ‘whoo-whoo’ ideas. Come to think of it, that was when he first heard the term.
His dad told him he was a Goodman and he needed to have more restraint. That night his mother lost control of her car on an icy road and ended up in the hospital. His dad said it was his fault, because Nate made her nervous with all of his talk of an accident. He’d been six years old.
“Maybe I do. Maybe I can perceive things. But you’ll have to bear with me, it goes against some pretty strong conditioning to believe that kind of thing.” His voice was rough with emotion.
“I have all the time in the world.”
“So you really think with the nanotech and a gifted person of this Earth, Stovers can create a person who can kill someone?”
“Yes, I really do.” She nodded her head.
“It would be a hell of a weapon. All they’d have to do is touch them.” His brow creased as he considered what the results would be.
“Not really, it’s more than that. It would take a longer amount of time. I would say they’d have to lay hands on them for at least fifteen minutes. I don’t know how effective it would be.”
“But, Angel, think about it. If you worked at it, don’t you think with time you could probably get to the point you could do it faster?” He watched and her beautiful mocha skin paled. She nodded.
“The good news is, we aren’t going to give the bastard a chance to get his hands on any of you.”
“Amen.”
Chapter Sixteen
After many conversations, Kota and Gabriella were now in this dump of a bar in McAllen, Texas talking to a man who was known to do anything for the right amount of money. If he hadn’t been the man who picked up Maricel and her family, then he would know who did. Kota really didn’t want Gabriella anywhere near him, but she insisted she could get the truth. She pulled out the sketch of Maricel’s mother and brother the police artist had done for them. Cyrus arranged for Maricel to do it before they left Atlanta.
“I don’t recognize them,” the man said before Gabriella could ask her first question.
“I didn’t ask if you recognized them, now did I?” Gabriella asked in Spanish. Kota smiled. “I want to know if yo
u were paid to take them over the border.”
“I take a lot of people over the border.”
“Good, you’re telling the truth. Did you take this family over the border?” She pulled out a picture of Maricel, and they watched as the man flinched.
“I, I,” he looked at her helplessly.
“Answer me,” she demanded.
“Yes, yes I did.”
“Were you the one who threw them out of the truck?” Her questions coming out at a rapid fire pace.
“The girl was not thrown.” He gave a sour grin. It was obvious he worked hard to figure out how not to lie and not implicate himself.
“And the mother and boy? Did you toss them out like so much garbage?” He gritted his teeth, then choked out an answer.
“No, I was driving. It wasn’t me. I swear.” The man was sweating heavily. Kota could see he was trying to not answer the questions but was being compelled.
“Good, then you know where it was when they were thrown out.”
“Look, I…” He tried to stall.
“Answer the question,” Gabriella’s voice was steel.
“Mission. Just south of Mission on Hwy 83.” He stared at her wide eyed.
“What day was this?”
“I can’t remember.”
“Try.” She was relentless.
“It was July. Just before the fourth, maybe the second of July.” She turned to Kota.
“Gut him.”
Kota reached for his knife before he knew what he was doing. He shook his head, realizing the power of the woman at his side, the woman was a menace.
“Jesus, stop it,” he said in English. He looked at the man who made the sign of the cross, and then stumbled out of the bar.
“I am sorry. I lost my head.” He grasped her elbow in a light grip and guided her outside, thankful to be out in the light, even if it was in the brutal Texas heat. He was aware of the eyes on them and he wanted to get them into the car as fast as he could. Gabriella made quite an impression with the clientele and it was time for them to get the hell out of dodge.
He thought about the events in the bar as they headed over to Mission, Texas. He wanted to formulate his question correctly.
“How strong are you at mind control?”
When she didn’t answer, he glanced over and she was staring straight ahead, her jaw clenched. He looked at the road, and then at her, and saw her hands were gripped tightly into fists. He looked at the long expanse of Texas highway but held out his right hand. After a few long moments, Gabriella took it and he gently tangled his fingers with hers.
“Talk to me.”
“I’m a guardian, I was older when I came to this universe. I kept my memories, my abilities. It is my task to keep the younger ones safe, to guide them as they mature.”
“I know. Max explained his role months ago.” Her fingers tightened in his.
“It makes me different from you. It makes me…odd.” He spared her another glance, and saw her jaw was clamped even tighter.
“It makes you special.”
She pulled her hand out of his. “You’re right, it does. It makes me able to do the tasks I need to do. Protect my charges. But yes, I can do things that would make you uncomfortable Dakota.”
“Ellie…”
“Maybe you should go back to calling me Gabriella,” she said in a forlorn voice.
Well that would be a cold day in hell.
“We’re going to be working together for a while to find Maricel’s mother and brother. I don’t find you odd, and I’m not intimidated by your abilities.”
“You don’t know what I’m capable of.”
“Right back at you.” He felt her head turn to look at him. Sensing her discomfort, he changed the subject. “I say we start at the hospital in Mission. See if we can get the hospital records from two years ago in early July, does that sound good?”
“I agree.”
Damn right, the woman better get used to agreeing with him. He felt himself relax.
****
The first day Sarah was back in California she went over to the house in Laguna Beach overlooking the ocean where her friends Noah and Kali lived. She and Kali were sitting on the verandah overlooking the Pacific Ocean, and it was a perfect day. After they got settled, she told Kali how rotten she felt she there when her twins were born.
“Sarah Marie Johnson, are you out of your mind?” Kali roared. “I wasn’t on my death bed, I gave birth, for God’s sake. If it wasn’t for the twins Noah and I would have been in Atlanta. I was worried sick about you. I was perfectly healthy two days after the birth. You’re a doctor, you know how fast a woman recovers. Anyway, you were kind of busy being kidnapped and having raunchy sex with Nate.” Kali grabbed Sarah’s hand. “Can you talk about what happened?”
Besides Nate, Kali was the one person she could really talk to. Kali had been kidnapped the year before and would definitely understand. Sarah slowly told her story, including how absolutely terrified she’d been.
“Oh honey, I get it.” Kali told her details of her kidnapping, details Sarah never heard before. They sat for a long time, letting the peace of the air and sea wash over them.
“So now tell me about Nate.” Kali rubbed her hands together in anticipation and Sarah giggled.
“To start out, he’s wonderful.”
“Well I knew that. He’s Noah’s best friend. You two have been circling around one another for almost a year. What made you finally take the plunge?” Kali leaned in, obviously not wanting to miss any details.
“I think it was me leaving Newport Beach. It shook him up.”
“Figures. Do you love him?” Kali gave Sarah a searching look.
“So much. He’s everything to me. We’re going to get married.” Kali stretched over in her chair and hugged Sarah.
“Now tell me everything. I want to know exactly how this happened. It’s only been what three weeks, right?”
“Everything?” Sarah raised her eyebrow.
“Well everything but the raunchy sex.” Kali paused. “I take that back. I lied, I do want to hear every detail about the sex, I don’t get to have any for three more weeks, I need to live vicariously.” Sarah burst out laughing. “God, I’m so happy for you.” Sarah looked at the petite blonde woman tearing up, and decided it was time to change the subject.
“So when do I get to see the twins?”
“They’ll be up in an hour, then you’ll get an armful. They’re already so alert it’s amazing.” Kali paused and took a sip of her lemonade. “I’m thankful I already saw Nell, otherwise I would be freaked out, or think I was imagining it.”
“Imagining what, baby?” They looked up as Noah came from behind and kissed the top of Kali’s head.
“That the twins are so advanced and I’m not just a proud parent.” Noah sat in the chair next to Kali holding a baby monitor.
“Oh those munchkins are going to keep us on our toes. I can’t imagine what they’ll be like when they’re two. God help us.”
“I can’t wait to meet them. But what do you mean by alert. I’ve been in pediatrics for a while now, and all newborns do is eat and sleep.”
“Ours do more than that. They are aware who is holding them. They want either mom or dad, and they get cranky if they’re separated for long. I swear they are communicating with one another,” Kali said.
“How?” Sarah put down her drink and looked at the new parents in awe.
“They look at each other, and will both put out their arms, one to Noah and one to me at the exact same moment.”
“It’s true,” Noah confirmed. “It’s the weirdest damn thing.”
“I also think they are connected to me. They can feel what I’m feeling even when I’m not in the same room with them,” Kali said.
“What do you mean?” Sarah asked.
“There was this time I was crying. I was reading a book where the hero broke the trust of the heroine, and it was heartbreaking. I was in the other room. Grace let
out a cry. She wasn’t crying, she just let out a cry, then Joshua did. I went into their room and they had their arms out insisting I pick them up. They cuddled with me for a half an hour. I swear to you, they were comforting me.”
“That’s incredible. I believe you, and I can’t wait to meet the wonder twins. I was hoping to talk to you about another found baby.”
“Is this Alma?” Kali asked.
“Yes, she seems so much more advanced than a one year old should be.” Just then they heard activity on the baby monitor.
“I guess playtime is over. They probably knew we were talking about them.” Noah grinned. “Come on mom, let’s make the introductions. We can talk about Alma inside.” Sarah followed and Kali ushered her into the nursery. She watched in wonder as Joshua rolled over to greet his dad and held up his arms. There was no way a three week old baby should be able to roll over. When she said as much, Kali and Noah agreed.
“I’ve read all the baby books, and they are blowing away the normal milestones, we were hoping you could act as their pediatrician.”
“Ahhh, sure, that would probably be for the best. Can I hold Joshua?” The baby turned to her at the sound of his name and held out his arms. She couldn’t believe it. “Do you want me to hold you?” He smiled and Sarah swore it wasn’t gas.
“Why wouldn’t he want his godmother hold him?” Sarah whipped her head around to look at Kali.
“Godmother?”
“We want you and Nate to be his godparents.” Sarah stood there, her feet frozen to the floor.
“Sarah?” Noah prompted. “Are you okay with that?” She threw her arms around Noah.
“I’d be honored.” Joshua made a loud noise and kicked out his legs and wiggled his arms. “Okay little boy, I haven’t forgotten you.” Sarah picked up the baby and fell in love. She cuddled him close to her breast and he let out a sigh at the same moment she did.
Hours later when the twins were asleep again, Sarah explained her dilemma with Alma. “I need your help. I don’t know what’s going on. When she needs her diaper changed she goes stiff as a board. When it comes to meals, she grabs the spoon or bottle from Maricel’s hand and feeds herself. She tries to avoid all contact. When anyone tries to touch her she cowers in the corner of her crib. If someone attempts to pick her up she screams bloody murder.
Healed (The Found Book 3) Page 19
