“There’s a kidnapper on the loose. We don’t know what his motives are. I’m on bodyguard duty.” Connor flashed me a wide grin as he gave me a little shake.
“Fantastic,” I muttered, not trying to hide my sigh.
“Oh, come on. We haven’t had any time together.”
“And whose fault is that? You keep your tongue stuck down Jules’ throat. I don’t see either of you!” I pinched his stomach, or attempted to, but there wasn’t much to pinch. A cold wind had me tucking myself against him. If nothing else, he was a good wind block.
“Uh huh, like you don’t do the same with Jake. Or you’re hanging out with Carly.” I didn’t miss the hint of jealousy I heard when he said Carly’s name. “When’s your next class?”
“Two,” I replied, already figuring I’d have to adjust my plan to study during my four-hour break between classes. I gazed longingly toward the library, the warm library. It didn’t stay cold very long in Louisiana, but when it was, it was a bitter, icy cold that cut through any layer of clothing. I didn’t relish the idea of staying out in it any longer than necessary.
“Excellent. We have time then.” He whistled, tucking me in closer to him as he steered me toward the parking lot. At least the car would be warm, I thought to myself, not even bothering to ask what we were doing. Knowing Connor, it could be anything. Out of everyone who knew about my ability, he’d given me the hardest time about believing it, but he also happened to be the one who saw the most possibility in it. Granted, they weren’t always the most ethical possibilities.
He cranked the heat as soon as we got in the car, seeing me shiver.
“Jules talk to you?” he asked me abruptly as we sat in the idling car.
“Whoa,” I replied, giving him a wide-eyed stare. She hadn’t talked to me, not about what he was asking me about. I blinked at him, uncertain of what I thought about this new development. “Not about that.” A thought occurred to me as I remembered Jules unusual hesitation the previous night. “Maybe she intended to last night, but … have you talked about this?” My finger wiggled around in a circle at him, and he shrugged.
“Something about it might have slipped out.”
“Slipped out?” My disbelief was appropriate, considering the subject matter.
“Mentioned? In passing, but it felt right.”
I blinked at him, “Does Jake—” He interrupted me before I could complete the thought.
“NO!” He relaxed a bit, giving me an apologetic look. “I didn’t mean to shout, but I’ve barely wrapped my head around it. I mean, is it the right time? Am I jumping the gun here? Should we wait? Is she on the same page as me? I think she is, but this is big.”
“Hold up.” I pressed my fingers to my forehead. “Head rush.”
“Ooh, sorry. I didn’t mean to ask so many questions.”
“It’s alright, but have you talked to Jules? I mean that’s kinda key when talking about marriage.”
“It was one of those offhand comments you make. Ya’ know?” I didn’t know, since the word marriage rarely crossed my mind, let alone my lips. He caught my look and frowned, “Okay so maybe you don’t, but it’ll happen eventually. And I don’t envy Jake with that proposal.”
I glared at him.
“We’re not talking about me and Jake. We’re talking about you and Jules and MARRIAGE. This is a big deal.”
“I KNOW.”
We stared at each other in silence for a few minutes.
“I need a drink,” I finally muttered, my head starting to hurt from all the questions he’d asked and the implications I could see.
“Alright.” He put the car in gear and eased out of the lot.
A few minutes later, he turned into a gas station. I headed straight over to the fountain drinks and poured myself thirty-two ounces of Diet Coke. I sipped on it as I met Con in line.
“Which ones?” I glanced over at the lottery case behind the checkout lane. We’d perfected our shorthand over the months, after he’d finally persuaded me to start buying lottery tickets with him. I couldn’t predict lottery numbers, no matter how often he asked me what the winning numbers were, but scratch offs were another matter altogether.
“Bayou Bucks. Four of them,” I answered, sipping on my drink, even as he choked.
“Four! Those are ten bucks apiece. Do I look like I’m made of money? I earn a cop’s salary,” he grouched at me, pulling out his wallet to see if he had the cash.
“Go big or go home,” I told him with a smirk, knowing the ticket was worth it. “You’re getting my drink too.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
We made it to the front of the line, and Connor asked for four of the Bayou Bucks scratch offs, paying for my drink and a bag of peanut M&M’s, while he was at it.
Once we got to the car, he handed me the scratch offs. It was a game we played. I told him which ones to buy. He bought them, but refused to scratch them. He always gave them to me to scratch, still under some impression I was a lucky charm and not just psychic. I scratched them methodically, making sure I got the entire box before handing the ticket to him. I saved the best for last, enjoying watching him wait.
I laughed as he figured out how much he’d won.
“Hell yeah!” He seized me in an exuberant hug, giving me a smacking kiss on the head. “I can buy a ring with that kind of money.”
His words brought us right back to why we’d stopped there in the first place. I sighed and he frowned at me, his face sad.
“Don’t give me the puppy dog eyes!” I waved my hands at him, closing my own eyes against his look.
“You sighed! That’s not a good sign. I don’t want to know Jules doesn’t feel the same way. It causes the puppy dog face.”
I started laughing at his words and then punched him on the arm. “Just because I sigh, it doesn’t mean it’s bad. It only means I took a deep breath. And maybe I’m sad, but not for you. For me.”
He appeared confused at first, then his face cleared, and he gave me a knowing look. “Because you want it to be you and Jake?”
I groaned, laughing at his assumption. “No, because it means things will change. If you and Jules get married.”
“If?” He was panicked at my use of the word if.
“You do have to ask her first. So yes, if.”
“So I’m gonna ask her?”
“I don’t know, are you?” I laughed, already knowing the answer, but giving him a hard time.
“You’re a cruel woman,” he said, giving me a mock frown.
“Don’t I know it. And I’d wait till spring.” He gave me a quick glance out of the corner of his eye, one side of his mouth raising up in a smile.
“Spring?”
“To ask her. A spring proposal and a summer wedding sounds right.”
“This summer?” He blanched, and I collapsed into giggles at his expression.
“No, but for a man so ready to get married, you look a little scared.”
“That’s kinda sudden.” He rubbed his chest, anxiety written across his face.
“Next summer,” I reassured him. “It takes time to plan a wedding.” He gazed at me, unsure, and I gave him a confident smile. He nodded, looking relieved, as he drove back to the school.
I convinced him that I really did need to study, but he refused to leave me alone at the library, insisting on sitting with me, even as I expressed doubt that I would be kidnapped in broad daylight from the library.
“You don’t know. This person could be some type of weird sicko that gets off on girls reading books and shit.”
“You have such a way with words. Why does Jules put up with you again?”
“Cause I’m a stud in the bedroom.” His expression was dead serious, leading me to believe he wasn’t joking. Knowing Connor, he probably wasn’t.
“TMI.”
“You asked.” He smirked at me, and I laughed, until he said, “I could always ask you what Jules thinks of me in the bedroom. Remember that.”
“
Ugh, no!” I held my hands up in an attempt to ward the very thought away. He laughed at me, catching the attention of several girls studying a few tables over. I noticed none of them were irritated by his loudness, but instead had decided to check him out.
Not so subtly either. I glared over at them, and most turned back to their books. Connor caught me glaring and smiled, flexing his bicep.
“Don’t like it when other girls appreciate my hard work?”
I switched my glare to him saying tartly, “I’m doing my best friend duty. Jules would have gone over there and told them something.”
He gave me a sheepish look as he nodded. We’d both seen a jealous Jules in action, and it was something neither of us wanted to remember.
“You know we don’t even know why Deidre was kidnapped. It could have been opportunistic.” I was interrupted by Connor saying, “Look at you using big words.” I rolled my eyes at him and continued.
“She could have had a stalker. We don’t know. So you following me around is a little premature, at least until we have all the facts. You’re not just following me around because Jake is worried about me and my reaction yesterday?” I was suspicious, because this felt a lot like protective custody, something I was very familiar with. I’d experienced it before with Jake and had no desire to repeat it. I always carried my Taser and actually had a concealed carry permit. Jules and I practiced at the shooting range regularly. We also took turns sparring with Jake and Connor, to keep our defensive training current. I made it a point to be able to take care of myself. I had no desire to ever feel the same helplessness I’d felt when I thought I’d lose Jake.
“You know he worries.” Connor glanced up at me through his eyelashes, his expression commiserating, but resolute. I knew he’d probably heard it from both sides. Jules could be as ridiculously overprotective as her brother when it came to me.
“I do know! I worry about him every single day on the job.” My attempt to whisper obviously didn’t work when a guy at the next table shushed me. Connor turned to glare at the guy, and he decided to study elsewhere. Normally, that would make me laugh, but right now, I was aggravated at being seen as the weak one. Again.
“Yes, and it’s unnecessary. You know I’ve got his back.”
“I worry about you too!”
“Really?” I could feel his surprise at finding out I did actually worry about him and a certain warmth at the knowledge. I shook my head at him. “Of course I love you. You’re the brother I never had. I worry about you as much as I do Jake. Your job is dangerous.” I held his gaze, wanting the truth about his bodyguard duties. “Admit it. This is more about my fainting yesterday and the fact Jake thinks this is a repeat of freshman year.”
He winced, giving me all the answer I needed. I sat back with a deep sigh, glaring at nothing in particular, as I recalled those first few weeks on campus.
I’d decided to live on campus in the dorms, even though I only lived a few miles from the school. I’d wanted the whole experience of college life. Jake had told me about his college years; with a few edits I was sure, because Connor’s version didn’t quite match Jake’s. I was excited about the idea of living with a roommate, even if it wasn’t Carly, like we’d always planned. The only problem was; I hadn’t really considered the logistics of living on campus.
The constant barrage of people in classes, the dorms, and at the union, wore me down almost instantly. Living on a campus was vastly different from just attending classes at one. Questions came at me continuously. Just eating in the cafeteria was torturous, and I couldn’t even escape to my dorm room. My roommate would ask me questions, or chat on the phone, asking her friends questions.
At one point in the quad, I’d become surrounded by a group of people having an animated Q&A study session. Their back and forth questions had overwhelmed me and caused me to collapse in the middle of the quad. Jake had gone ballistic upon finding out. Granted, the students had called 911 when I collapsed, and Jake heard the call come in. I knew it had scared him … it had scared me. The idea that I couldn’t handle even being on a college campus ate at me. What if I couldn’t handle the real world? I’d never learned to turn my ability off. I wasn’t sure it was even possible.
I hadn’t told anyone of my difficulties living on campus, not wanting to appear weak, but after my collapse, Jake and Jules went into overprotective mode. I basically had one of them with me at all times, with Connor rotating in on occasion. Truthfully, that didn’t help matters either. Most people didn’t realize how often they phrased something as a question … and really, that was all it took.
Ask a question and I’d know the answer. It might not always make sense to me, but it was still there. Most of the time, I learned things I didn’t want to, or need to know. One of the things I did learn was that questions had layers. You could be asking someone something on the surface, but quite often there was an underlying question you didn’t ask.
Jake insisted I move out of the dorm, because living there wasn’t helping my situation. I’d known he was right, but resisted being told what to do. I wanted to make it work, but ultimately, I learned I couldn’t live with someone who didn’t know about my ability. It wasn’t like I could tell her to stop asking questions.
The situation had come to a head when Jake couldn’t get a hold of me on the phone one afternoon. He’d found me sitting at my desk in the dorm room, completely out of it. My roommate had been chatting on the phone, while I attempted to study. Her incessant questions about her boyfriend had sent me into an almost catatonic state. Jake had led me out of the room, and not knowing what else to do he’d brought me to his place. I didn’t remember any of it, and that had scared me enough to move back home. He’d said after a couple hours I’d come out of the daze I was in, seemingly no worse for wear. But the fact was, we were both frightened by what had happened.
I told my mom I was homesick, which was why I was moving back home. Jules bought me earbuds to wear while I was around people. They worked out great, since they blocked me from hearing any questions not directed to me. It didn’t look odd for me to be listening to music when I was walking between classes or eating at the union. It gave me back a sense of normalcy. The only thing missing from my college experience was dorm life, but I was wary to attempt it again. After enrolling in honors English for the next semester, I found it qualified me to live in the honors dorm, which had private dorm rooms for students. No sharing with a roommate meant I might actually be able to do it.
Jake had been hesitant, worried about what might happen, and I admitted I was concerned too. However, I wasn’t willing to let it stop me. We’d experimented with my ability on several occasions, Jake always stopped if he thought it was too much, but we’d learned ways for me to manage a sudden influx of questions. I had faith I could handle a private dorm room. I insisted, and they helped me move in over winter break. I’d been there ever since, and life had been good.
Until now.
“This is not the same,” I growled, frustrated at being perceived as weak again.
“I know that. I was there when you passed out yesterday, and back when school started. Very different, but the fact remains, he’s worried about you. Hell, so am I.” I glanced at him in surprise. “Yes, I worry about you too. You didn’t see yourself. I thought you were dying in front of me; from something I couldn’t see, hear, touch, or smell. The fear on your face …” He paused and leaned over the table toward me. “I don’t want to ever see fear like that again. Especially not from something I can’t fight.” He slapped his hand against the table causing me to jump at the noise. “What if someone had asked a random question in class about the missing girl and that happened?” I knew he didn’t mean to phrase it as a question, but he had and I saw what could happen. If I’d thought Jake’s reaction had been extreme, it had nothing on what would happen if I’d heard that same question in a class. “You’re not weak, Addie. Understand: we don’t think of you as weak. Hell, you might be the strongest person I know.
But that just means when I see you vulnerable, I’m even more protective. And Jake is the same way. You can’t fault him for that.”
I blinked, his words making me see things differently. I bit my lip, ashamed at my reaction over their protectiveness. It was hard for me to see it as anything but confining, when actually, it was nothing less than what I would do if the situation were reversed.
“You’re right.” He appeared shocked, and I smiled. “Bet you don’t hear that often.” He chuckled, and I shook my head. “But you are right. I have been looking at this wrong. I’m blessed to have friends like y’all. Thank you.”
He reached over and chucked me under the chin. “Anytime you want to tell me I’m right, I’m more than happy to hear it.” I laughed, and he continued, smiling because he got the reaction he wanted. “But there are things we can do. Such as figure out what happened to Deidre. Was her kidnapping intentional?”
“Yes.”
“Are there plans to kidnap more girls?”
The blackness swirled around me with his words, cries echoing at me.
“Addie!” Hands grasped my shoulders, shaking me. I blinked back to awareness to see Connor looking at me with a frightened expression.
“I’d say yes.” I managed to tell him as he let out a shaky sigh.
“I think we’re done for now.”
I nodded in agreement, sick from the blackness.
Chapter Four
Carly wiggled her fingers at Connor as he deposited me at the door to my next class.
“Hey, how are you?” she asked immediately, her concern obvious as we walked into class. She’d texted me early this morning to check on me, but we hadn’t seen each other since last night
“I’m good,” I reassured her, leaving out my earlier episode with Connor. I had a feeling he was on his way to tell Jake right now, and I’d hear all about it tonight. I was about to ask her how it went with Danny when she started gushing.
“So you’re okay. Yay! Danny and I talked forever last night. Well, twenty minutes, but that’s like forever with Danny.” I nodded, knowing I wasn’t getting a word in, until she stopped. “I kinda filled him in on what happened back when his brother got kidnapped. Well, he knew, but he didn’t know. You know what I mean? He didn’t know how your special ability came into play.” Her voice lowered when she mentioned my special ability. I hid my smile as she continued. “Anyway, he was really upset about what happened when he asked you the question. He had no idea it could affect you like that. I told him none of us knew. That was a pretty severe reaction. But he did promise he was coming tonight, so I get to see him again,” she grinned, her eyes sparkling as she finished with a sigh.
Hidden Lies (The Hidden Series Book 2) Page 3
