Reckoning (The Variant Series, #4)

by Jena Leigh

  Jezza’s eyes blinked open and Trent jerked back in surprise.

  Her normally blue eyes were completely black. Even the whites had vanished beneath an ink-like sheen.

  Jezza raised her head, blinked once, and stared back at him from behind a beautiful pair of azure eyes once again.

  “It’s just a headache, sugar,” she said with a slow smile. “I think I tweaked my neck somehow before we left Seattle. Nothing to worry about. The pain rarely lasts long. I’ll probably be all healed up in another day or two.”

  He stared back at her, then forced a smile, unable to shake the unsettling sensation that was taking up root in his chest.

  Had he imagined it? Or had her eyes really been black?

  Any other night he would have dismissed it as a trick of the fading light.

  As an unfounded worry.

  As nothing at all.

  Jezza snagged him by the shirtfront and pulled him close, kissing him softly on the lips.

  Trent glanced over Jezza’s shoulder, back toward the encroaching storm.

  A light rain began to fall. Jezza reached down and took Trent gently by the hand, leading him away from the courtyard and toward the front door of the main house.

  Trent had a sinking suspicion that, one way or another, he’d have his answers soon enough.

  * * *

  Thunder echoed in the distance. The storm that rolled through earlier in the night had been vicious but fast-moving, passing over them quickly after sunset with only a brief downpour. It later stalled out in the distance, close to the ridge line, settling in until the low pressure system could be fully spent. As time passed, the quiet rumbles became fewer and farther between.

  John Grayson moved to his office window, undid the locks and raised it wide, allowing the breeze to slide into the too warm room. The night outside was damp and cool, still smelling faintly of smoke from the campfire the others had lit hours before, after the rains passed.

  He swirled the whiskey in his hand, the glass cold against his fingertips, ice clinking against the sides, and stared out into the night. The tumbler was half full—just as it had been when he first poured the glass for himself twenty minutes earlier.

  The evening ritual was a comfort, but unnecessary. He wouldn’t be needing a night cap to help him sleep tonight.

  If anything, he needed a strong cup of coffee. Something to sharpen his senses and keep him on his toes.

  A Red-level cup, he thought, allowing himself a small smile.

  Brian had once ranked the different Grayson family members by their median levels of caffeination. A “boss-level” cup held all the punch of a strong cup of chamomile tea. His daughter’s level, however, would inevitably leave you red-eyed and twitching for hours to come.

  My daughter.

  His smile fell as he mentally corrected the error. Mackenzie was his adopted daughter. He would never—could never—earn the right to be considered a father to the girl. Not after what he’d done.

  The thought inevitably brought memories of Liam and Fiona O’Connell rushing to the surface. Of James and Nora Parker. Of Mary and Lillian. Of Gwen Palladino. Of Robert, Derek, and Hana.

  Of Samuel.

  Of the team members, and the families, Grayson failed to protect. Of his family. Forever broken because of his past mistakes.

  Because of his blindness.

  Because of his weakness.

  And because the curse that came with John Grayson’s gift was two-fold. First, it blinded him to the potential fate of anyone who grew too close to him… and then it inevitably left him alone and wracked with guilt as he struggled to pick up the pieces.

  He’d lied, earlier, when he told Cecilia that it was a person’s proximity that triggered his ability’s blind spot and prevented him from seeing visions of an individual’s future.

  Ten feet or ten thousand miles, it wouldn’t make much difference. It was only when he let them in—only when he found himself caring a little too much and their fate became inextricably entwined with his own—that they disappeared from his visions.

  From the very day his son was born, Brian’s future became hidden from Grayson’s sight. There would be no fixing that.

  But the other children…

  Any time he began to see less of their futures, he would simply work to distance himself again. It made for a difficult road while serving as their guardian, but it had proven effective.

  For the most part.

  He still worried often about all the things he might be missing.

  Tonight, for example, was one of those nights where he found himself worrying incessantly, unable to tame his anxiety.

  Because if he had missed something…

  Grayson stared out into the darkness, unable to discern much of anything within the gloom. Backlit as he was by the lamp on his desk, there was only a small, illuminated swath of the training field and his own towering shadow, stretching out along the grass.

  Another crack of thunder sounded, this one louder and closer than the rest.

  He sighed.

  It’s time.

  The wooden floorboards creaked softly as someone traversed the hallway outside his office, headed for the side door in the laundry room. Grayson turned, catching a glimpse of the person as they passed.

  “Aiden?” he called out.

  Footsteps approached the cracked door of his office and pushed it open wide.

  Aiden poked his head around the corner. “Yeah, boss?”

  “Can you fetch Kenzie for me? I need to speak with her.”

  “Are you sure, boss?” A crease formed between the young man’s eyes as he pulled his cell phone from a pocket and checked the time. “The girls went to bed ages ago. If I wake Red up without a sacrificial offering of caffeine in hand… Well, let’s be honest. She hasn’t had coffee in almost forty-eight hours. I may end up as the sacrificial offering.”

  Grayson forced a smile. “I’m certain. Tell her it’s urgent, would you?”

  Aiden looked dubious, but nodded. He disappeared back down the hallway.

  Grayson picked up the tablet on his desk and started typing a short message.

  He was just pressing send on the two sentence e-mail roughly three minutes later—loudly cursing autocorrect and his lack of a proper keyboard—when someone knocked tentatively on the open door.

  Kenzie stood in the entryway, clad in bright-green sleep shorts and a gray tank top, her hair slightly tousled from sleep. She was wide awake—and decidedly unhappy about it, though she was careful to keep her expression neutral.

  He knew his adopted daughter well enough to read the annoyance in her stance, anyway.

  “You wanted to talk to me, boss?”

  “Get changed,” he said. “You’re headed out.”

  “Out?” Kenzie repeated slowly.

  “Yes,” said Grayson. “Out. As in someplace other than here. A place where your pajamas will not count as appropriate attire.”

  Her brow furrowed. “An op? In the middle of the night? Is something wrong?”

  “Not an op.”

  Kenzie looked momentarily relieved, before slipping past that and settling on “wary” instead.

  “Then what, exactly, will this midnight outing consist of?”

  “Supply run,” he explained.

  Kenzie smiled wide and stood up a little straighter. “I am so down for that. Who’s coming with me and providing transportation? Alex? Miss Cross? Dec—”

  “Ozzie.”

  Her excitement wavered before returning full force. “For the sake of our team’s continued caffeination, I’ll happily accept the mission, boss man.”

  “Thought you might.”

  “When do we leave?”

  A flash of light near the living area heralded the arrival of a jumper.

  “How many times must I say it, Jonathan?” Ozzie’s nasally tenor radiated down the hall as he approached. “If you want results, then you must stop interrupting me. Honestly, trying to get through to you
is like trying to explain the finer points of quantum physics to an underdeveloped four-year-old.”

  The diminutive man appeared in the doorway behind Kenzie.

  “Out of the way, Miss O’Connell,” Ozzie ordered, shunting her to one side as he entered the room.

  Kenzie sighed, turning to leave. “I’ll just… go get ready.”

  Grayson watched her go with a strange tightening in his chest… and prayed to whatever God might be listening that, this time, he hadn’t missed anything.

  Eighteen

  Declan deposited himself in one of the chairs positioned in front of Grayson’s desk and commenced to wait.

  Less than a minute ago, he’d bumped into the boss in the hall—and immediately found himself saddled with his sister’s former job of maintaining the telepathic scan. Grayson wanted Declan keeping an eye out for intruders while Kenzie and Oz were away.

  It was an easy enough job. One that he could, quite literally, do in his sleep. And it would have been a simple enough task to have Alex take over the scan for a while so he could sneak away and pick up his purchase from Benji…

  Except for the fact that being called into an unexpected meeting with Grayson had blown a pretty massive hole in his initial plans.

  After assigning Declan to his new task, Grayson asked him to go take a seat in his office and promised he’d be along shortly. Apparently, the boss wanted to talk about something and it couldn’t wait until morning.

  Reaching out with his thoughts, Declan located Alex in her room on the other side of the building. Cassie was close by, seemingly lost to dreaming, but Lex’s telepathic signature was far too active for her to be asleep.

  He sent a gentle projection her way asking, You awake, babe?

  Declan was soon rewarded with a reluctant—and vaguely grouchy—acknowledgment.

  Aiden came knocking at the door earlier looking for Kenzie, she projected. Been awake ever since. It’s a shame, too. I was having a really nice dream.

  There was something decidedly coy about Alex’s last sentence that left Declan wondering what, exactly, she might have been dreaming about… and overwhelmingly tempted to go digging in her recent memories in order to find out.

  He stopped just short of checking to see if her telepathic walls were still in place—and then mentally shook himself, remembering why he’d started the conversation in the first place.

  Red just left with Ozzie on a supply run, he said.

  Oh. Are you leaving for The Corner Pocket soon? Do you need me to cover for you?

  Not exactly, he replied. The boss put me in charge of scanning for outsiders while my sister’s away like we expected… and then he ordered me to go wait for him in his office. Apparently, he wants to have a chat.

  Ah.

  Yeah. I can’t leave. By the time I’m finished with Grayson, Red could already be on her way back. We’re going to need a new plan.

  There was a pause.

  I’ll go, she said. It’s already bought and paid for, right? I’ll just explain to Benji that you were busy and that you sent me in your place.

  Grayson walked back into the office just as Declan was attempting to string together an explanation for why that would be an exceedingly bad idea.

  I really don’t think you—

  “I wanted to get your opinion on Trent’s abilities as a shade,” said Grayson, prompting Declan to cut himself off mid-projection. The boss settled into his chair behind the desk. “It’s a difficult thing to assess just by watching him on the training field. You’ve known Trent the longest. How capable would you say he is?”

  It’ll be fine, Decks, Alex replied. Honestly, you worry too much. I can handle myself.

  It wasn’t Alex he was worried about. It was everyone else she might run into at The Corner Pocket. The place wasn’t exactly filled with her kind of crowd.

  “Trent?” Declan said aloud. “He’s, uh… He’s capable.”

  “Yes, but how capable, exactly? How would you rank his strength? His composure under pressure?” Grayson asked. “I’ll need to have a better idea of his strengths and weaknesses before I’ll feel comfortable sending him out into the field as a member of your team.”

  Declan flashed back to their time in Bay View, when Trent had kept all five members of their group cloaked in invisibility, at times for up to twenty minutes at a stretch. And then he thought back to their nearly forty-five-minute-long incursion into an Agency facility in Seattle, wherein Trent had kept himself, Declan, and Alex cloaked nearly for the duration—and played a key role in making sure they made their quick escape from the building entirely undetected.

  I just have to show up and ask for Benji, right? Alex projected.

  Yeah, but I don’t like this, Lex. I’d rather you not go alone.

  Too late. I’m already dressed and ready to go. I’m doing this.

  Declan hesitated. Grayson was still waiting for his reply.

  “I’d trust Trent with my life, boss,” Declan said. “I already have. More than once. As to the extent of his abilities… He might not be the most powerful shade I’ve ever met, but he’s always cool under pressure. And he’s capable of concealing a small group of, say, four or five people for up to half an hour before needing to rest.”

  Grayson nodded.

  I’m heading out, handsome.

  Declan repressed a sigh. Fine, just… please be careful. And make it quick, if you can. Tell Benji that if he gives you trouble, I’ll make sure he regrets it.

  Alex seemed amused by his posturing.

  I’ll be there and back before you know it, she replied. Oh, and I’m stealing your jacket.

  Declan struggled to keep his face expressionless as he balanced both conversations.

  Okay, he projected. Wait, what? What happened to yours?

  “Declan?” Grayson stared at him expectantly.

  “Hmm? Sorry, what?”

  I got caught in that downpour earlier. It’s soaked… But yours is nice and dry! Need anything from the pockets before I leave?

  “I asked if you had anything else to add to the subject,” said Grayson.

  No, boss.

  “No, babe,” he said aloud.

  Declan cringed.

  Grayson’s brow furrowed. “I beg your pardon?”

  He could practically hear Alex’s smile.

  ‘Boss,’ huh? she projected. I could get used to that.

  “Sorry, boss,” said Declan.

  “Bit distracted, are we?”

  I’ll be back in a flash, she said. Be safe.

  Declan pointed to his temple. “Alex was just asking me a question. Got a little… confusing, for a second.”

  Just before he sensed her teleport, Alex sent a wave of distilled emotion directly into Declan’s thoughts.

  Warmth. Affection. Joyfulness. Amusement. Connection.

  Love, in its purest form.

  He felt his lips curve into a smile.

  The bemused creases lining Grayson’s forehead had yet to disappear.

  “Clearly,” said Grayson. “Since we appear to be on the subject, how is she doing? Anything going on that I should be made aware of?”

  Declan’s smile fell and he shook his head.

  “Alex is fine,” he said. “Practically good as new.”

  Grayson studied him in the silence that followed. “And her night terrors?”

  “No longer an issue. She seems to be bouncing back quickly now that she’s sleeping and eating regularly again.”

  “Glad to hear it,” he said. “We’re going to need to rely on her skills even more, going forward. I just want to be certain that you’ll warn me if she experiences another… setback. For the sake of her wellbeing, as much as for ours.”

  Declan nodded. “Of course.”

  “Tell me, Jonathan,” said a voice from behind Declan. “Seeing as how you’ve suddenly found yourself so concerned with Miss Parker’s welfare, exactly how much longer do you intend to leave her in the dark?”

  Declan tur
ned in his seat to find Brandt lurking in the doorway to Grayson’s office, leaning heavily against the frame. The odd note of accusation in the man’s voice snagged at his attention.

  “What’s he talking about?” Declan asked.

  “Nothing of importance,” said Grayson, his voice taking on a steely edge.

  “I must admit”—Brandt continued on as though he hadn't heard the obvious warning in the boss’s tone—“I’m having a hard time understanding your reasoning on this one. Shouldn’t the girl be made aware of the Agency’s plans for her at some point?”

  “Carson.”

  Again, Brandt ignored him. “Or would you rather it all just come as a delightful surprise to her?”

  “What Agency plans?” Declan demanded. “What haven’t you told us, boss? What doesn’t Alex know?”

  “She’ll find out in due time,” said Grayson.

  Brandt snorted in disgust. “Will that be before or after she’s tricked into outing us all to the norms in order to save one of our useless necks?”

  “What?” Declan asked.

  The Agency was going to use Alex to reveal the existence of Variants? What kind of insane plan was that? He failed to see how either side could benefit from the chaos that would inevitably result.

  And why the hell hadn’t Grayson told the rest of them about it yet? Clearly, Declan had been correct in his earlier assumption that the boss was still holding back during their daily briefings… but this was a bitch of a secret to have been keeping from the team—and from Alex, in particular.

  “Is that how it will all play out, Carson?” Grayson arched a surprised brow. “I hadn’t realized.”

  Brandt pushed off the door frame and took an angry step into the room. “That girl would never put us all at risk just to save herself. Even a blind fool can see the great, gaping hole where her sense of self-preservation should be. The only way to force her to use her abilities in full view of the norms is to threaten someone she cares about… Which begs the question, Jonathan, who else are you putting on the line by not telling her?”

  Grayson said nothing.

  Brandt scoffed.

  “Yes, well. ‘Theirs not to reason why,’ I suppose.” As Brandt turned to leave, he added, “Do let me know when we reach the valley, general. I’d prefer to greet Death with a smile.”