Misfits, Inc.

by Holly Copella

  He suddenly snorted a laugh. “You may need me, but I certainly don’t need any of you.”

  Rafe walked away from Hailey and headed onto the beach, disappearing into the sunset. She found it difficult to believe she still wanted him, but his raw sex appeal just kept drawing her in.

  †

  The beach was quiet and abandoned as the sun was setting. The sunset glistened off the ocean, lending a romantic overtone. It was another breathtaking evening in paradise. In another hour, guests would return from dinner for romantic, moonlit strolls. Rafe sat casually reclined on the large rock not far from the surf. Hailey approached and stared out to the ocean in silence. She didn’t bother looking at him. He’d proven she couldn’t say anything that would change his view about her, the guys, or their unique situation. He cast a casual glance at her, although he didn’t make an effort to move.

  “If you’ve come out here to change my mind, you’re wasting your time.”

  Hailey still didn’t look at him. “I know that,” she informed him. “No point wasting my breath.”

  “Never stopped any woman before,” he muttered.

  She continued to stare out to the ocean rather than remark on his sexist comment. Her lack of interest seemed to peak Rafe’s curiosity. Hailey slowly lifted her hand and extended it toward the ocean. She shut her eyes and drew a deep breath. The waves gently crashed to shore then rolled back out again. They continued to roll out further and further from shore without returning. The sound of the rolling ocean was loud and unusual. Hailey’s hand trembled as she gasped softly while concentrating. Rafe slowly sat up and watched the water retreat with a bewildered look. A large wave nearly ten feet high formed beyond the horizon. Hailey lowered her hand and exhaled as if she’d been punched in the stomach. The large wave hurled to shore and crashed harshly past her and the rock upon which Rafe sat. The water ran past her as high as her knees then rolled back out again at its normal rate. Hailey drew a deep, shaken breath. It had taken a lot out of her, and she was almost surprised by what she was able to do. She glanced at Rafe with little expression.

  “Maybe I don’t need you after all,” she remarked then turned and walked back to the hotel.

  She couldn’t admit that her legs were weak and her lungs hurt. Her arms felt as if she’d lifted a thousand pounds, but she’d made her point. She just hoped her point made some impression on the hardened man.

  †

  The lobby was moderately busy for early evening as a flux of guests were finishing dinner and either returning to their rooms or heading outside to take nightly strolls on the beach. Cass was tending the front desk, appearing mostly bored. She attempted to hide her steamy romance novel beneath the desk as guests passed. Desi approached the desk in her finest, formfitting red dress and signature high heels. Despite having dressed for a fun evening, her look conveyed deep concern. Cass quickly hid her book and offered a cheerful smile to the approaching woman.

  “Good evening,” Cass announced, enthusiastic for something to do.

  “Is Marcus around?” Desi asked without returning the cheerful greeting.

  Cass noted the expression on Desi’s face and immediately turned concerned. “Is everything okay?”

  “I think I should talk to Marcus about the disappearance of my friends,” Desi replied.

  “Have they found them?” Cass asked with great interest. “I was sure they’d turn up--”

  “No, they didn’t,” she responded curtly and grew more impatient. “I heard some rumors about guests sneaking into the laundry room to play poker. I think Penny may have followed Amy’s guy into the basement. I think I should report it to Marcus.”

  “Of course,” Cass announced and picked up the phone without hesitation. “I’ll get someone from security right away.”

  Desi paced the area before the front desk while Cass spoke with security on the phone. Less than five minutes had passed before Delaney crossed the lobby and approached Desi at the desk.

  “It’s Desi, right?” Delaney announced politely although he was obviously concerned by Cass’s call. “Cass tells me you may have some information on your friends’ disappearance.”

  “The bartender told me Penny saw the man Amy left with the other night, and that she took off after him,” Desi informed him. “I ran into a guy who said he was playing poker in the laundry room. He said he saw a girl matching Penny’s description heading into that old elevator in the basement.” She wrenched her fingers together and shifted uncomfortably. “I’m concerned Penny confronted this man about Amy, and he did something to her. Those guys playing poker in the laundry room may know something.”

  “Did you get the name of Amy’s date?”

  “No, but I can give you a description,” she announced. “We were around him a couple of hours that night.”

  “I have a better idea,” Delaney announced with enthusiasm. “Why don’t we review some security tapes around the time your friend left the lounge last night? Maybe you’ll recognize Amy’s date and can point him out. Once we have a face, we’ll be able to come up with a name.”

  “That would be great,” Desi replied while releasing a deep sigh of relief.

  Delaney offered a gentle smile and extended his hand across the lobby toward the staff wing. Cass watched them leave together then shook her head while frowning.

  “Drama queen,” she scoffed under her breath then returned to her book.

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Hailey slept peacefully beneath the covers on her bed as moonlight was cast upon her through the crudely fixed balcony doors. The black cat slept curled by her feet. A dark figure hovered over her, casting a shadow across her. Her eyes opened as if she felt the presence of someone. Lucinda’s necklace dangled before her face. Hailey slowly sat up and looked at Rafe holding the necklace from where he stood alongside her bed. She was puzzled by his actions. It wasn’t as if she had any real proof he took the hideous thing, so why admit his guilt?

  “Why are you returning Lucinda’s necklace?” she asked while squinting at his outline through the moonlight.

  “To put things straight. I don’t want to return to that life,” he casually replied then appeared curious. “How did you know it was me?”

  She hid her smile and laughed softly at his question. “Seriously? As close as you were, you didn’t think I’d smell your cologne?” She continued to stare at him. “I’ll admit it did take me a while to figure out where I’d smelled that scent. I wasn’t positive it was you until I tasted your brandy. That’s when I knew. It was the same alcohol on your breath that night.”

  He stared at her and showed little reaction to the comment. “I knew I should have stayed retired,” he muttered. “I’m getting sloppy.” Rafe appeared curious. “If you suspected, why didn’t you tell Marcus?”

  “I almost did, but something troubled me,” she informed him. “I couldn’t stop wondering, why would you steal one worthless, old necklace?”

  Rafe casually sat on the edge of the bed while staring at her. She watched him closely. His presence on her bed made her heart pound, but she wasn’t sure why. She knew she was over him. Now if she could only convince the aching in her body--

  “I don’t really know. I’ve seen Lucinda wearing this worthless piece of junk a dozen times. It’s not like it’s worth anything,” he announced. “For some odd reason, at dinner the other night, I just felt the need to take it. Honestly, I wanted to take it and smash it, you know, just to be a prick.”

  “You really don’t know why you risked getting caught to steal that thing?”

  “Maybe I was just scratching an itch,” he replied without care. “I couldn’t get police work after my discharge from the Marines. There were too many questions, so I became a cat burglar and jewel thief instead. The pay was good, but the hours sucked, so I gave it up a few years ago.”

  “I can’t accept that you were just scratching an itch. I have to believe there’s more to it than that,” she informed him. “You need to hide that
necklace for now.”

  “I didn’t come here to be part of your team.”

  “And you didn’t come here to return the necklace,” she countered while raising her brows.

  Rafe placed the necklace in his pocket and stared at her a moment in silence. His look intrigued her because she couldn’t read it.

  “I did, but amuse me with your version,” he replied.

  Hailey hugged her knees to her chest over the covers and studied him. “When did you first notice your unique abilities?”

  Rafe appeared tense for the first time and seemed reluctant to share his story with her. He took a deep breath while staring at her and finally spoke.

  “My commander sent my unit on a suicide mission. I was shot while trying to save my buddy,” he replied. “I was convinced I’d died. I saw a bright light. A voice called me into it and everything. When I woke, enemy soldiers were standing around me. I don’t know what happened, but I displayed combat techniques I never knew existed.” There was a long pause. “When the rest of my unit finally found me, I’d taken out six enemy soldiers and had been shot and stabbed several times. The doctors didn’t know how I managed to survive.” He drew a deep breath and drifted out a moment. “It wouldn’t be the first time I cheated death.”

  She stared at him a moment in silence and was curious about what he’d left out. The thoughts racing through her mind were little more than faint dreams from a long time ago, and she wasn’t even sure if she’d actually dreamt them. Hailey decided to leave it to chance and play her hand, even though she didn’t know what cards she held.

  “What about the woman in the light?”

  He tensed while staring at her, almost showing his surprise to the comment, and then immediately covered his reaction with his usual arrogance.

  “I never said there was a woman in the light.”

  His reaction almost confirmed she hadn’t dreamt it. She was remembering experiences, possibly out of body experiences. Her dreams weren’t just dreams after all. The thought made her slightly tense, but she needed to press.

  “She kissed you, didn’t she?”

  Rafe’s expression dropped and, for a moment, he was unable to speak. He couldn’t control his startled reaction, which told her everything she needed to know.

  “How could you possibly know that?”

  “Because that’s how it happened in my dream eight years ago,” Hailey informed him. “Most of it is fuzzy, but it’s slowly coming back to me. It took years to find the perfect man to be the Guardian.” She shifted slightly at the thoughts racing through her mind. “Skyler considered you to be ‘tainted and corruptible’, but I knew you were the one.”

  Rafe stared at her a moment, not knowing how to respond. His harsh expression returned as if on cue.

  “If all of this is true, then you’ve misjudged me,” he boldly announced. “That pitiful team you’ve assembled will undoubtedly abandon you at the first sniff of danger.”

  “You’re wrong.”

  “You need to stop playing games before you get one of those idiots killed,” he boldly announced.

  “Could it be you actually care about those idiots?” Hailey remarked.

  He immediately turned defensive. “I don’t care about anyone,” Rafe informed her. “I’ve lost everyone I’ve ever given a damn about. That tends to sour a man.”

  “What happened on that mission wasn’t your fault,” she replied. “You have to know that.”

  “You want to psychoanalyze me?” he demanded. “After my high school graduation, I crashed my car killing four of my closest friends. Despite what little I remember about the accident, killing your friends isn’t something easily forgotten. That’s why I joined the Marines. I had to escape what I’d done. Then I lost nearly half my platoon in a senseless battle.” His glare was stern. “That’s what happens when you care about others. When you get those guys killed, I doubt you’ll be able to live with the guilt.”

  “Which is why you’re here,” she casually replied.

  Rafe leaned over her while uncomfortably close. His closeness caused her heart to pound with anticipation.

  “You want to know why I came here tonight?” he demanded while staring into her eyes and placed his mouth close to hers. “I came here to con my way into your bed. That’s the man I am.”

  Rafe pulled back just far enough to stare into her eyes but maintained his closeness. As she stared back into his eyes, the comment about seducing her sent shockwaves through her body and caused her heart to race. She tightened her grip on her knees just to keep from reacting. Hailey wanted desperately to throw her arms around him and feel his body against hers. She shamed herself for secretly wishing he actually had come to seduce her, but it wasn’t his intention, and she knew it. Thankfully, he couldn’t see the redness in her cheeks or read the lust in her eyes. She had to hide her true feelings from him.

  “If you came here to seduce me, what’s stopping you?” she asked while pulling off a casual lack of reaction, despite how she really felt. “You obviously have the upper hand.”

  Rafe tensed to the come-hither comment while staring into her eyes. His gaze briefly strayed to her mouth. She could almost hear his heart pounding in his chest along with his rapid breathing. For a moment, she was uncertain of his reaction as her body ached for what would certainly be a wild night of passion. She still wanted him, and she didn’t care if it was just a brief fling. Everyone was entitled to one fling in his or her life. To her disappointment but not surprisingly, he pulled away from her and composed himself.

  His look turned unnaturally hostile. “I don’t screw mentally unstable women,” he scoffed, although his voice lacked the necessary conviction.

  Rafe sprang up from the bed and headed for the balcony doors in a little more of a hurry than usual. She had successfully called his bluff, and he knew it. She watched as he effortlessly jumped onto the half wall to the balcony and leaped to his own balcony next door. Although disappointed that she wouldn’t feel his body against hers, Hailey smiled nonetheless.

  “Welcome aboard,” she announced softly.

  Chapter Twenty-three

  The faint glow of candles surrounding the altar partially brightened the large, eerie chamber. Desi lie on the altar in her lacy, red bra and matching panties. Blood streaked the side of her head from a scalp laceration. She slowly woke, realized she was shackled by her wrists and ankles to the stone slab, and immediately fought her restraints. Faint snarling was heard in the darkness not far from the altar. She gasped with alarm and looked around. A soft female groan followed by a giggle was heard. Desi again yanked on the shackles while attempting to see beyond the faint candlelight.

  “What are you doing?” she demanded, although her tone was frightened. “This isn’t funny. Let me go!”

  “I believe she’s awake,” came the soft, female murmur.

  Desi strained to follow the voice in the darkness. The woman was heard pacing the back of the room.

  “Who are you?” Desi cried out.

  Cass stepped into the dim glow surrounding the altar and smiled sweetly at Desi.

  “You?” Desi suddenly gasped with a look of surprise on her face. “But the last thing I remember--”

  Delaney appeared behind Cass and shared her devious grin. “I don’t think she remembers being hit after she entered the security office,” he informed Cass while gently cocking his head.

  “I’m just glad you didn’t accidentally kill her like you did that other girl,” Cass boldly remarked without looking back at him. She mocked Desi with her smile. “Don’t need to leave more leftovers for the snappers.”

  Desi stared at them, not understanding the comment, but she didn’t appear exactly curious at the moment either.

  “I don’t think she’s met a snapper yet,” he remarked then gave a general nod into the darkness.

  One of the large, black creatures stepped into the light from the candles. It snarled then licked its sharp, fanged teeth. Desi cried out and pull
ed sharply against her shackles. Cass placed her hand on Desi’s forehead and shushed her softly, as if attempting to comfort her.

  “Shh, it’s okay,” Cass cooed softly. “I won’t let that nasty snapper eat you.”

  “Please, let me go,” Desi gasped while not only struggling against her restraints but also the hand touching her head.

  Delaney moved against Cass from behind and ran his hands firmly along her hips and thighs. His hands pulled her skirt slow and seductively upward. Cass caressed Desi’s shoulder and sensually ran her hand along her arm to her shackled wrist. Desi stared in horror and silence as Delaney bent Cass over the altar in a compromising position. Cass pressed her face against Desi’s bra clad chest and ran her lips down her arm to the restrained wrist that she caressed. Delaney grinded slow and firmly against Cass, causing her to cry out softly in ecstasy. Desi stared with her mouth hanging open in disbelief and horror to what she was witnessing.

  Cass groaned her pleasure and lifted her head slightly to meet Desi’s stunned gaze. Cass smiled, revealing sharp fangs. Desi saw the fangs and screamed with horror. Cass’s fangs punctured Desi’s inner arm just above the shackles, tearing through her flesh and ripping into her veins. Desi screamed to the sharp, sudden pain. Cass groaned her pleasure while slurping the rapidly spilling blood from the screaming woman’s arm. There was nothing refined about lapping up the warm, sticky blood as it pulsated from her vein. The blood covered Cass’s entire lower face and ran down her chin. Cass slurped and groaned her intense pleasure as Delaney continued with his duties.

  The snapper paced the area near the altar, licking its fangs, and listening intently to the gruesome slurping sound. Desi’s screams became dull in comparison to Cass’s groans of delight. The snapper waited patiently while watching the scene on the altar. Desi let out a shrill, weak cry, gasped, and fell silent. The snapper sprang to attention. A blood-soaked heart was tossed from the altar. The snapper caught the pulsating organ and gnawed on it with its powerful jaws. It was tough to chew, but the snapper devoured it in only a few seconds. The creature waited patiently for more treats to come its way.