The Complete Lost Children Series

by Krista Street

  I swallowed tightly. I hated lying to her, but I didn’t really have a choice. “I’m fine. Really. Talk to you tomorrow?”

  “Okay, but you know you can talk to me if something’s wrong. Right?”

  “Yeah, I know. Thanks, bestie.”

  We hung up, and guilt filled me. I just hoped we found this guy soon so we could get back to our normal lives, which didn’t involve lying to my best friend.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  My conversation with Grace filled my mind as I raced to catch up with everyone else. My secret ability and my family’s beginnings had been an awkward point to navigate a few times in our friendship, but it had never been like this. I’d never downright lied to Grace before. I chewed my lip as I stuffed my feet into my boots.

  “Everything okay?” Flint’s dark gaze bored into mine as he stood by me in the entryway.

  After a quick glance out the window, I saw that Mica, Jet, Jasper, and Raven were already in the parking lot, waiting in the SUV. Flint had obviously stayed behind to wait for me.

  “Not really. I just lied to Grace.”

  Flint cocked his head. “Did you lie about where you went after the restaurant?”

  I nodded and swung my coat on.

  He put his hands on his hips. “Well, that’s another good reason to never do something like that again. You wouldn’t need to lie to your best friend.”

  I made a face at him as I pulled the door open. “Thanks for making me feel better.”

  His scowl followed me as we trailed down the hall. “But I’m right, Lena. What you did tonight was dangerous, and now you’re feeling guilty over how you treated Grace. If you’d thought of that before you shot out of the restaurant, none of this would have happened.”

  With a huff, I pushed open the stairwell door. “And if I hadn’t, we would have no idea where this girl lived. That guy could be intent on attacking her tonight, and now we may be able to stop him.”

  Flint’s energy pounded into my back. “Or you could have alerted him to your interest. What if he backs off now?”

  I bit my lip. I hadn’t thought of that. “I guess we’ll find out tonight.”

  Flint’s disapproval continued to wash over me. As I pushed through the exterior door to the parking lot, I welled up my energy inside me, pulled my cloud off my shoulders, and wrapped it protectively around my body. Cool evening air swirled outside.

  Our feet tapped on the pavement as we walked briskly to the car. It wasn’t the first time my impulsiveness had gotten me in trouble, and it wasn’t the first time Flint had been angry with me for acting without thinking.

  However, it was the first time in months that we’d been butting heads like this. Every day, we had an argument which was not like us.

  “About time!” Mica exclaimed when Flint and I slid into the vehicle.

  Flint and I sat in the very back of the large SUV. Raven and Jasper sat in the middle, while Mica and Jet occupied the front seats.

  Jet sat behind the wheel. He kept looking through the front windshield as his eyes wandered up and down the road.

  “What are you looking for?” I asked as I clicked my seat belt into place.

  “Susannah still isn’t back.”

  Jasper smirked. “I know you’re pretending to be concerned for her safety, but you don’t fool me. It’s really your car you’re thinking about, isn’t it?”

  Jet scowled at him, which got a laugh from Mica.

  “Just own it, bro,” Mica said from the front passenger seat. “We all know Susannah is more than capable in her eagle form. She’ll be fine.”

  Jet sighed and ran a hand through his curly dark hair. His blue eyes flashed in the light from the parking-lot lamp. “Fine. Yes, it’s my car I’m worried about. I see now I probably shouldn’t have loaned it to her.”

  “Let’s discuss this later.” Flint’s clipped reply stopped their banter.

  Since I was directly behind Raven, the brothers were closest to me. However, their energies couldn’t be more different. Flint’s energy was raw and pounding, whereas Raven’s was calm and soothing.

  I inched forward, closer to Raven.

  The drive back to the girl’s apartment building was quick. She didn’t live far from the university, and considering I’d first seen the dark-clouded man following her on campus, I knew she was a student.

  “So what’s the plan?” Jet parked at the curb a block from her building. The wind still rustled through the streets. The gusts were particularly strong tonight.

  Raven put a knit cap on. “I say we surround the building and keep an eye on all of the exits and entrances. That way, if the guy comes back, we’ll be able to see him coming or going.”

  Mica angled her body closer to the windshield and looked up. Her eyes narrowed. “There’s a metal stairwell attached to the side of the building. I thought I saw something poking up from the roof. So that’s another angle he could use to enter the building. Who’s to say he won’t break in through a window?”

  I tried to see whatever Mica had seen but couldn’t. She’d probably zoomed in on the object using her enhanced eyesight.

  I straightened in my seat before saying, “So there’s a stairwell up the side of the building that he could use to access a window, and there are probably several entrances and exits.”

  Jasper tapped a finger on his chin. “It’s not just windows he could use. Do you think it’s possible to get on top of the building? Perhaps there’s a door up there for maintenance access.”

  “Possibly,” Jet replied. “Flint would have an easy time getting on the roof to watch that.”

  “So we all split up?” I asked. “Flint will obviously go up the stairwell to the roof. Does everybody have their phones so we can keep in touch?”

  Flint scowled heavily at me. “I think it would be better if we stayed in pairs. Especially since this guy has seen you, Lena. Who’s to say he wouldn’t do something to you if he saw you again?”

  Jasper shrugged. “He has a point. Okay. Pairs it is, and if Jet and I split up, we can keep in touch with each other. That would eliminate needing to text or call. Mica?” Jasper winked at his girlfriend. “You gonna be my partner in crime?”

  “You know it!” She beamed.

  “I’ll go with Lena,” Flint said before I could suggest teaming up with Raven.

  Mica gave me an amused look and whispered, “Surprise, surprise.”

  I rolled my eyes but nodded at my—overprotective, incredibly sexy, drove-me-crazy-at-times-but-I-still-couldn’t-live-without-him—boyfriend. “You must think my climbing-metal-stairwell skills are up to par.”

  His eyes glittered in the dim cab before he dipped his head down and brushed his lips against my ears. “I have a solution to that.”

  My traitorous body shivered when his lips grazed my neck. He pulled back and gave me a knowing look.

  Jet jutted his chin toward Raven. “Guess that leaves you and me, bro.”

  “Works for me,” Raven replied.

  “Anyone want to take bets about this guy showing up tonight?” Jet rubbed his hands together and grinned. “I bet he does, and I bet Lena takes him down. I’d love to see his face when Lena blasts him with an energy ball. That would be priceless!”

  The twins chuckled, which got a scowl from Flint. “This isn’t a game, you two. Somebody could get seriously hurt.”

  That declaration sobered the twins.

  “So Jet and Raven go to the back of the building, and Jasper and I go to the front?” Mica raised her eyebrows. “Since apparently Lena and Flint are taking the roof?”

  “Sounds like a plan, man.” Jet opened his door, and a rush of cool air swirled into the cab.

  “Everybody put your phones on silent, but leave them on vibrate so we don’t miss any text messages or calls.” Flint pulled out his phone to change the sound settings. Everyone else followed.

  Raven gave my arm a brief squeeze before he and Jet departed. I could tell from the sympathetic look in his eyes that he kn
ew Flint and I had been arguing.

  “Everything okay between you two?” he asked quietly.

  I shrugged. “As okay as it can be, considering.”

  He gave me one last squeeze before letting go.

  “Should we meet back here around dawn if he never shows up?” Mica zipped her jacket all the way up. It was definitely getting cooler.

  Flint nodded. “That’s a good meeting time.”

  “Stay warm, folks!” Jet saluted everyone before turning.

  I watched as Raven and Jet walked away. Physically, Raven closely resembled Flint. They were both tall with broad shoulders, strong lean builds, and olive complexions. Personality-wise, they were similar too, but Raven wasn’t quite as hotheaded as Flint. If anything, the younger brother was more sensitive. He had an uncanny knack of picking up on people’s emotions. For someone who had grown up isolated in a mansion, he was surprisingly in tune with the people around him.

  Jasper and Mica took off next. Flint and I waited a few minutes before following.

  I knew a long night awaited, and we would be tired come morning, but I didn’t care. I wanted to catch this guy more than anything. The last time I’d felt this kind of anger and resentment had been when Marcus had imprisoned me in California before transporting me to his mansion.

  Our feet tapped on the sidewalk as we walked toward the building.

  I peeked up at my boyfriend. “We’ll need to be careful so nobody sees us. Who knows how rickety that fire escape is. If any of her neighbors hear us climbing up it, they may call the police.”

  Flint nodded. “I was just thinking the same thing.”

  Considering the energy coming off him was dark and strong, I knew he was still mad at me.

  I sighed heavily. I didn’t like the animosity flowing between us, but I would be damned if I apologized. I would have redone everything tonight if I’d had to. Even though Flint didn’t want to see it my way, I knew I was right. If I hadn’t followed the dark-clouded man, we wouldn’t have known where the girl lived.

  When we reached the edge of the brick apartment building, Flint discreetly pulled me into the alleyway. It was dark and damp. Small puddles of rainwater sloshed against our feet when we walked quietly back to the fire escape.

  The apartment buildings around here were all similar, mostly brick and around three stories tall. Each building probably held twelve individual apartments. They weren’t big, but they still had a lot of windows that could be broken into.

  “At least it’s not raining.” I gave Flint a nudge as our feet tapped quietly on the asphalt.

  A reluctant smile spread across his face. “I guess you have a point.”

  His energy dipped a little as I felt the mood between us shift.

  When we reached the stairwell, we stopped. The sound of a car driving by drifted into the alleyway, and someone two stories up was playing music. An Ed Sheeran song was faint through their windows.

  “What’s the best way to reach that?” I nodded at the ladder, which was ten feet above us. In the event of a fire, the occupants inside the building could release it from above, but it would cause quite a ruckus if we tried to pull it down.

  “I thought that would be obvious.” Flint gave me a crooked smile. “I’ll jump us up there.”

  A thrill ran through me. Normally, we kept our powers under wraps. It was too much of a risk to alert people to our abilities if we didn’t keep them hidden. But every now and then, we let loose. If we were at our secluded cabin in the Canadian Rockies, or if we ventured back to Pete and Val’s ranch for a weekend visit and wandered into the woods, we didn’t need to hide anything. Those excursions were so freeing.

  Flint swung me onto his back, and I locked my arms and legs around his neck and waist. Another thrill that had nothing to do with our adventure shot through me. The feel of his hard body and shifting muscles beneath my limbs created a swell of desire inside me.

  “Ready?” His voice turned husky.

  I nodded and leaned down to nibble his ear. “Whenever you are.” This was so much better than arguing.

  His large hands curled around my thighs and squeezed. Heat seared off his palms. “Try not to distract me. I won’t be quiet with you doing things like that.”

  I giggled softly before obeying his request.

  With a bend of his knees, Flint launched us into the air. The air whooshed around me as gravity pushed me down. The next second, we were standing on the stairwell platform. Flint landed as lightly as a cat, his joints flexing like well-oiled hinges.

  He didn’t stop. With movements so quick that we became a blur, he raced up the stairs, and the next thing I knew, we were standing on the building’s roof.

  My breath caught in my throat as familiar nausea rolled in my stomach. Regardless of the hundreds of times Flint had moved me at his speed, I still wasn’t used to it. It always caused me to feel a little sick.

  “Are you okay?” His soft question pulled me back to the present when he slid me down his back.

  In a flash, he turned and had his arms around me to keep me steady.

  I tilted my face up to meet his and smiled. “Just give me a minute. I’ll be fine.”

  He pushed my long dark-red curls behind my shoulder and leaned down to kiss me softly on the mouth. “Sorry. I know it’s jarring for you.”

  I mumbled something halfway intelligible. He was now doing amazing things to my neck. So much better than fighting!

  After planting a soft kiss just below my ear, he said, “I hate when we argue. Can we try to forget our earlier argument?”

  It seemed I wasn’t the only one wishing things were smoother between us. I curled my fingers around the nape of his neck and pulled him closer. “Of course. I’d much rather be doing this with you.”

  He chuckled softly before kissing me again.

  ~ ~ ~

  The next four hours passed slowly. Thankfully, our agreement to stop arguing had held. For the first time in days, the mood between us felt normal.

  To pass the time and keep watch, Flint and I wandered back and forth across the roof to keep an eye on the apartment-building windows. My earlier suspicions about the building’s size seemed correct. It didn’t appear to be a large structure. I guessed no more than a dozen apartments filled the building. A few times, residents came and went through the front doors, but other than that, it was pretty quiet.

  Each time an occupant came or went, Mica sent me a text to describe each person’s appearances. None of them fit the description of the dark-clouded man or the girl he had been following.

  From our rooftop view, keeping an eye on the twins, Mica and Raven, was easy. Mica and Jasper were stationed across the street from the front of the building. They hid from view behind a dumpster in an alleyway. Conversely, Raven and Jet hid behind large utility boxes in the back of the building in the small parking lot.

  Around eleven at night, I jumped when the same girl I’d seen earlier, reappeared on the asphalt in the back parking lot. She had changed. Sweatpants and a loose T-shirt covered her frame, but I still recognized her. From the apartment door, she dashed to a parked car. After retrieving a bag from the trunk, she hurried back inside.

  I scrambled to pick up my phone. “That’s her!” I nearly yelled when Raven picked up.

  Below, Raven bolted to a standing position. When the girl retreated back to the apartment building, he followed her.

  I held my breath.

  From above, Flint and I watched Raven slip into the building after her. She seemed oblivious to him.

  I gritted my teeth. This girl really needs to take a class in being aware of her surroundings.

  “What’s he doing?” I asked Flint.

  “Not sure.”

  A few minutes passed by, and Raven appeared again. He slipped out of the building as silently as he’d gone in.

  I typed in a quick text. What did you do?

  His reply came back immediately. I followed her to her apartment so we’d know which one is he
rs. She lives on the east side, second floor, toward the back.

  A grin spread across my face. “He followed her to her apartment! She lives on this side, floor two.” I pointed down the side of the building. “Those are the windows we should watch.”

  In the moonlight, Flint’s gaze shone with pride. “Someone thinks quickly on his feet.”

  The moon and constellations trailed across the night sky as Flint and I kept watch over the girl’s apartment. Since we knew which one was hers, keeping watch over her was much easier.

  But with each minute that passed, my disappointment grew. We had yet to see the dark-clouded man, and a sinking feeling in my stomach made me wonder if Flint was right. Maybe seeing me earlier had spooked him away.

  In which case, we may never catch him. If he had any concerns that we were on to him, he’d probably find a new victim. It was possible we wouldn’t stop him at all.

  “I think I should get into the building.” Flint’s abrupt words carried through the night breeze.

  My cell phone declared the time as one in the morning.

  “What do you want to do in the building?” I wrapped my arms around myself as a shiver struck me. Despite summer being around the corner, nighttime still felt cool.

  “Since we know what apartment she’s in, with any luck we can find her name on her mailbox. With her name, we can hack into the university database and figure out her class schedule. It will give us something to go off of. If we know her class schedule, we know where she’ll be. It will make following her easier.”

  I grinned. “That’s a great idea! But how are you going to get into the building? You need a key.”

  Flint unzipped his jacket and pulled something from his pocket. “I may have come prepared.”

  My smile grew when I saw the small packet of lock-picking tools. I lunged the distance between us and wrapped my arms around his neck before giving him a huge kiss. “I love when you surprise me like that.”

  He chuckled deeply before kissing me back. “The night wouldn’t be complete unless we did something illegal.”