She was speechless as she looked back and forth between the television and Tyler. “That’s so cool! How did you do that?”
Tyler grinned. “Just one of my many talents.”
“Well, thanks. I don’t suppose there’s anything you can do about the heat? It’s still freezing in here.”
“Let me take a look,” Eddie said. He fiddled with the dials on the heater, cranked up the fan, and held his hand over the vents, but it only blew out cold air.
Liliana peered over. “Is it broken?”
“Looks like it. Give me a minute. I should be able to do something with it.”
Liliana watched with curiosity as Eddie rested both hands on top of the heater and closed his eyes. A moment later he turned to her. “You cold? Come over here and stand by the heater for a minute. It’ll warm you right up.”
“You fixed it?” Even though she was exhausted, the prospect of heat was enough to get her off the bed, and she hurried to the heater in anticipation. “Oh my gosh, thank you!” She rubbed her hands over the blowing air and closed her eyes, allowing the heat to warm her through.
Eddie smiled. “You’re welcome. Now that we’re not freezing, maybe we’ll be able to get some sleep tonight.”
They watched TV until Liliana could no longer keep her eyes open. “I’m exhausted,” she said. “If you guys don’t mind, I think I’m going to bed.”
“I hear ya,” Eddie said. “It’s probably going to be another long day. We should get some rest.”
Curled up under the blankets, Liliana felt the cusp of sleep open its arms to greet her when Tyler’s silent voice filled her head. You asleep yet? he thought.
She smiled to herself as his thoughts invaded her mind. She had, in fact, been thinking of him before she had closed her eyes. Even though it was impractical, she felt an undeniable attraction for him. I was almost asleep.
Oh…sorry. I just thought you might be awake, still. I’ll let you go back to sleep. Night.
Wait, it’s okay…really. I probably won’t sleep that great anyway. I’ve got too much on my mind. I’d rather talk to you.
You would? He sounded both surprised and pleased.
Well…sure. I mean, I’ve never met anyone I could mentally communicate with. It’s kinda cool, don’t you think? But then again, I guess you’re used to it with your brother, huh? I suppose it’s no big deal for you.
Well, yeah. I mean, I can mentally communicate with my brother, but this is new for me, too. I’m not sure what I think. It’s fun, but I have to stay on my toes. I forget that you can hear what I’m thinking if I let my guard down. It’s one thing to have my brother in my head, but having a pretty girl in my head is a whole different ball game.
Liliana was glad that it was dark, so he couldn’t see her irrepressible grin. Pretty girl?
Well, you know what I mean. You’re a girl. I’m a guy. We think differently.
You’re scared what I might discover in that mind of yours? Liliana teased.
Something like that.
She tried to suppress a giggle but failed horribly.
You think that’s funny, do you? You’d better watch yourself. I might just start having thoughts you wish you’d never heard. You’ll wish that you had stayed out of my head.
She turned her face into her pillow in an attempt to stifle her laugh.
He threw a pillow from the couch. In the dark, his aim was amazingly accurate as it found its directed target and landed on her head.
“Ow!” she said, out loud. Silently she asked, What was that for?
Shhh… he thought, you’re going to wake up Eddie. Can I have my pillow back?
Why did you throw it? That hurt.
That did NOT hurt. It sounded like he tried to suppress his own laugh.
It did, she thought back. Would you like me to smack a pillow on your head so you can see how it feels?
If it would mean that I get my pillow back, then yes, please. Bring it on.
She smacked the pillow a few times, nice and loud, so he could hear. Hmm, I don’t think so. I kinda like this pillow. I think I’ll keep it. Thanks.
Oh, I see how it is. You’re going to leave me over here pillowless on this small, cramped couch. Now I’ll wake up in the morning with not only a sore back, but a crick in my neck, as well.
Are you whining?
Maybe. I think I deserve the right to whine a little, don’t you? My brother’s been kidnapped, I’m a thousand miles from home, there are people chasing us, and really, if I don’t find my brother, I don’t have much of a home to go back to.
Well, when you put it that way, I guess you do have a little reason to whine. Just don’t make it a habit, okay?
Tyler laughed out loud. Okay.
Do you want to tell me about it? About your family, I mean. You mentioned that you live with a foster family. What happened to your parents? You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. I’d understand.
It’s okay. I don’t mind. My mother died in an accident when I was four. My dad was a workaholic, so Toby and I stayed with my grandma most of the time. One day, our dad just decided that he wasn’t coming home. Personally, I think he missed my mother too much, and we reminded him too much of her. In any case, we never saw him again. A few months later, our grandma died, too. The state tried to locate our father, but they couldn’t find him. So they placed us in foster care. We were bounced around from one family to another for a while, and then eventually we landed with the Smith’s. I won’t go into details, but basically, the only reason they kept us around was for the money from the state and for the free help around the house. It was no secret that they couldn’t stand us.
I’m sorry. I imagine you must miss your brother a lot. How was it that he was kidnapped but you weren’t?
I wasn’t home at the time. A few years ago, I got into a little bit of trouble, and they sent me away to a sort of military school.
A little bit of trouble? What did you do?
I didn’t do anything…really.
Liliana laughed. Of course not, because boys who are innocent always get sent to military school.
No, really. I haven’t always been perfect, but in this case, I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I don’t know why I care so much that you believe me, but I just do.
Liliana was silent for a moment. She sensed his sincerity and wished that it wasn’t dark so that she could see his aura.
Without thinking, she grabbed his pillow and swung her legs over the side of the bed, bringing her feet to rest on the rough, threadbare motel carpet. Then she silently made her way to the sofa and knelt on the floor. She lifted his arm and secured the pillow beneath it. With her hand still on his arm, she gave it a gentle squeeze and whispered, “Here ya go.”
“What’s this for?” he whispered back.
“Maybe I felt sorry for you.”
“Oh, so my trick worked? You bought my poor, poor, pitiful me story?”
“What?” She snagged the pillow from under his arm and smacked it on his head. Then, she turned toward her bed.
He laughed and caught hold of her wrist to stop her. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. He tugged on her wrist to pull her down to the floor and then sat up on the sofa. He reached out for her other wrist and held both of her hands in his. The lighting was dim, but she could vaguely see that he had taken his shirt off. She could see the outline of his broad shoulders and muscular arms. His large hands held hers with a firm grip.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered again. “Everything I told you is true. Other than my brother, I have no family to speak of. And I swear I didn’t do anything wrong to get sent to military school.”
“Well, if you did something wrong or not, it doesn’t matter to me.”
“It matters to me that you believe me.”
“Why?”
“Because…I li—Because I’d like us to be friends.”
“I’d like us to be friends, too.” She wondered what he had been going to say. Because
I like you? She pushed the thought aside.
He squeezed her hands and then released them. “You’d better get some sleep.”
“You too. Sleep good…on the sofa.” She laughed softly and then hurried to crawl back under the warm blankets.
Sweet dreams, Tyler thought.
Same to you, she thought back. As she drifted off to sleep, visions of a shirtless Tyler lying alone on the sofa, were the last images to float through her mind.
*****
“Toby contacted me last night while you were sleeping,” Tyler informed them, in the morning. “The final name on the list is a girl named Grace. She lives in Salt Lake City.”
“Salt Lake, huh?” said Eddie. “Well then, I guess we'll go meet Sarah, this morning and then we’ll head back to the airport.”
“Well then, rise and shine, boys,” Liliana said. “It sounds like we have a fun day in store.” She glanced at Tyler and thought back to their conversation from the night before. In the moment, when he had held her hands, she had felt as though they had shared an emotional connection. She wondered how he would act around her this morning. She knew that he had to focus on finding his brother. Would he pretend that last night had never happened? She sighed. Only time would tell.
*****
The sunshine that had embraced the previous day was gone. In return, their morning was welcomed by thick clouds and a new wave of cold that seemed to declare that snow would soon be upon them.
Liliana stepped out to the sidewalk and held her palm up to the air. She wasn’t sure if it was from the fog or if it was actually starting to snow, but a few small, white flakes fell onto her outstretched hand.
She took a deep breath of the fresh mountain air and looked around. Her senses were filled with lush evergreens and damp, foggy air. The fog that had set in overnight seemed to envelop them. It felt as though ice crystals crawled on her exposed skin, crept down her coat, and up her pant leg.
“Right now, I’m all about getting out of the cold,” Tyler said. “I say we head over to the restaurant, get some food, and see if Sarah’s working yet.”
Liliana turned to Tyler. “What are we going to say to her?”
“I don’t know. I guess the same thing we told you. We’ll just explain to her who we are and what we’re doing here.”
“And what if she thinks we’re a bunch of freaks and won’t come with us? What then?”
Tyler was silent for a moment as he stared at the restaurant. It was kitty-corner from their motel room, on the other side of the dirt parking lot. “I don’t know. I don’t want to think about that possibility. We need her. Toby was insistent that it would take all of us to find him. He also said that his kidnappers are on their way, here. If she doesn’t come with us, they’re sure to find her. Then what?
He stared out across the parking lot for a moment, as though in deep thought and then shook his head. “No, she has to come with us. I can’t think of any other option, so let’s go and get this over with.” He headed down the sidewalk, toward the restaurant, and Liliana and Eddie followed behind.
They had walked only a few feet when Liliana noticed a blue four-door sedan in the parking lot. There was nothing particularly unusual about the car, but it seemed to stand out from the other vehicles. As she neared the car, it suddenly seemed brighter. She continued to stare and was overcome with a sense of dizziness. She grabbed on to Eddie’s arm to steady herself. “Stop for a second,” she said.
Eddie and Tyler halted mid-step and turned to look at her. As they did so, they followed her gaze to the car that had attracted her attention.
“What is it?” Eddie asked.
Tyler walked back and stopped by her side. “What’s up? I’m still freezing. Is this something that we can talk about once we get inside?”
“Something’s wrong. That car…”
Eddie looked at the vehicle in question. “You have a bad feeling about it?”
“Not necessarily a feeling. I’m not psychic. It’s just that…Well, remember I said that I can see auras?”
“Yeah,” Eddie said, slowly. “Do cars have auras?”
“Well, sort of…Sometimes they do.
“I thought it was just people or living things that have auras,” Tyler said.
“Not really,” Liliana began. “Auras are just a reflection of energy fields, and everything has an energy field, including inanimate objects. Inanimate objects give off a different sort of aura though. Their auras are more influenced by recent human contact. So, sometimes I get visions of auras from things like cars, or even jackets, or jewelry, and other times I don’t. It just depends how recently someone has been attached to it and what sort of emotion is connected to the object.”
“That’s all fascinating,” Tyler said, “but long story short, what does this have to do with that car?” His nose and ears had turned bright red from the cold, and he tapped his foot, impatiently.
Liliana smiled, amused at his physical discomfort. Tyler came across as strong and invincible. His intolerance to the cold made him seem vulnerable. She found his weakness to be cute, in an odd sort of way, and her attraction for him grew.
She looked back and forth from Eddie to Tyler. “Long story short? Simply put, that car has a bad aura. It stands out from all of the other cars in the parking lot. Something is definitely not right. Whoever has been in this car recently is not a good person.”
Eddie looked from the car back to her and frowned. “You think it might be the people who took Tyler’s brother?”
Liliana met his gaze and shrugged. “Could be. I don’t know. Like I said, I’m not psychic. I just see energy. And this car has some bad energy around it. If we walk in there and the kidnappers are already there…”
“We’re screwed,” Tyler concluded for her. “But, what choice do we have? We’ve come all this way to find Sarah. We don’t know for sure that the car belongs to the kidnappers. It could belong to any number of bad people who happen to be here, right?”
“Yeah, it could be anyone, but what if it’s not?”
“I’ll go,” Eddie said.
Tyler turned to him. “You’ll go? What about us?”
“You and Liliana should go back to the room and wait. I’ll find Sarah and talk to her. Then I can bring some breakfast back to the room for you.”
“Why do you get to go? Toby’s my brother. I’ve come all this way to help him.”
“I know,” Eddie said, patiently. “And it’s not going to do him or any of us any good if you get taken. The kidnappers know what you look like. You’re the spitting image of your brother. Chances are they don’t know what I look like. I’m safer. If they see you, they’ll be onto us. But, if I go in by myself, we might still have a chance.”
“You shouldn’t go alone,” Liliana said. “They probably don’t know what I look like, either. Let me go with you. Sarah might be more likely to listen to a girl, than some single guy. She might just think that you’re trying to hit on her.”
Eddie smiled. “She might, but it’s not worth jeopardizing your safety. Your parents are already going to be upset enough, if they find out that you’ve run away with me. If you get kidnapped under my supervision—”
Liliana took a step back. “Excuse me? Your supervision? I am not a little girl!”
“No, you’re not. But I am eighteen and you’re under age, which means I would be held responsible if anything should happen to you.”
“I see your point. I do. But you still need me. We’re all in this together, for better or worse. If we’re going to succeed, we’re going to have to help each other, however we can. I agree. Tyler should stay in the room so he’s not recognized, but I can help. You can’t hear thoughts—I can. If the kidnappers are in the restaurant, I should be able to hear their thoughts and spot them out before it’s too late.”
She frowned, folded her arms, and looked up at Eddie. He was at least a foot taller, but she stood her ground and fixed her best look of determination. She knew he didn’t want to p
ut her in danger, but he had to know that she had a valid point. The kidnappers could be anyone. He could sit right next to them and wouldn’t have a clue.
With obvious reluctance, Eddie said, “All right, you can come. But you have to promise to stay alert and pay attention.”
“I will.”
He reached into his pocket and handed Tyler a room key. “Here ya go. Go back to the room and wait. Put the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on the door and don’t answer it for anyone.”
Tyler frowned and with a deep sigh said, “Fine, but you’d better bring me back something to eat. I could go for some pancakes or a breakfast burrito.”
Eddie smiled. “I’ll see what I can do. I’ve got my phone. Call me if anything’s wrong or if you see anyone suspicious.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll stay hidden in the room, with the curtains closed. Just don’t take too long, okay?”
“No worries. We’ll grab a quick bite to eat, talk with Sarah if she’s there, and we’ll be back.”
“With my food,” Tyler reminded him.
“With your food,” Eddie said with a chuckle. Then he turned to her. “You ready?”
She took a deep breath. “Ready as I’ll ever be. Let’s go.”
CHAPTER 8: UNEXPECTED VISITORS
Designed to look like a log cabin, the restaurant boasted old soda bottles arranged on wooden shelves and a butter churn positioned in a nearby corner. The walls displayed black and white pictures of miners and old maps of the area. Amidst the antique, rustic décor was a six-foot-tall painting of Bigfoot on the far wall.
An inviting brick fireplace hosted a corner table, where they sat with a view of the entire restaurant.
While Eddie enjoyed the warmth of the crackling fire, Liliana listened to the thoughts of those around them. Every once in a while, she would share something she had learned about someone at a table nearby; otherwise, they sat in silence.
“The hostess is wondering if her boyfriend will send her flowers for Valentine’s Day,” Liliana whispered. “She’s wondering if he’s been secretly seeing the housekeeper from the motel.”
Indigo Incite (The Indigo Trilogy) Page 6
