Jet glared at his brother.
“I’ll pay to have it fixed.” Susannah peeked up at Jet.
Raven gave her a sympathetic look. “Your trust fund can certainly handle it since you never use it.”
“Yeah, yeah. Don’t worry about the money.” Jet lifted his head. “Is it at least drivable?”
Susannah nodded vigorously. “Oh, yes. Definitely. It’s just a small dent. Really, I swear.”
Turning away from Jet, Susannah addressed the rest of us. “So what did you all find? I saw you all around her apartment building earlier in the evening when I was circling it. It didn’t seem to be very exciting. None of you moved, and I never saw anyone else lurking around there.”
I summed up the evening for her as succinctly as possible.
Susannah’s eyes widened. “I left before all of that began. So with you on his back, Flint really jumped from building to building to get away from the police?”
“Yep.” I eyed my boyfriend. “It was pretty exhilarating.”
Excitement danced in Susannah’s eyes. “Sounds like fun.”
Heavy footsteps sounded from the back of our apartment. Luke appeared at the room’s edge, standing in the dim hallway. He was bare chested and wore only a pair of shorts. Shoulders three feet wide brushed against the walls as taut muscles rippled in his abdomen. “How were your adventures?” He yawned loudly and scratched his belly.
Di gave him a heated look. “You could have been more help, you know.”
Luke shuffled into the living room and sat at Susannah’s free side. The cushion sank so deeply in his direction when he plopped down that Susannah fell into him.
He merely pushed her upright before raising his eyebrows at the rest of us. “Had a little run-in with the cops, huh?”
Di crossed her arms. “I take it you knew earlier than I did?”
“Uh-huh.” Luke tapped his head. “Saw it all up here a few hours ago.”
Di muttered a sound of disgust and rolled her eyes. Luke just laughed, the sound rumbling deep in his chest.
I wasn’t surprised that Luke knew our evening had gone sour. He, Edgar, and Susannah all had extra abilities that the original eight of us didn’t. Since the three of them had been drugged more heavily than we had, and survived it, they were truly superhumans. That also wasn’t the first glimpse we’d had of Luke’s psychic abilities. When we first met him, he’d intrinsically known what all of us were capable of before we’d told him.
“A heads-up would have been nice.” Flint came around the chair from behind me and hunkered down at my side. He eyed the werewolf. “Or did you not see it in time?”
Luke shrugged. “Yeah, I saw it an hour or so before it happened, but I also knew none of you were going to get arrested, so I didn’t worry too much about it.”
Mica and I both laughed simultaneously at his nonchalant attitude.
“Thanks for your concern, as always, dearest Luke,” Mica said sweetly after she wiped the tears from her eyes.
Luke’s caramel-colored eyes twinkled before his expression turned serious. “I have bigger things to worry about right now. My mate isn’t sleeping well, and our little pup is really causing her worry. My energies seemed better spent in that department tonight.”
His words wiped the smile from my face. Frowning, I replied, “I couldn’t agree more.”
Jet still grumbled. “You could have at least warned me that Susannah was going to wreck my car.”
Luke grinned, revealing a mouth full of straight white teeth. “Now where would the fun be in that?”
Jasper laughed before stretching and yawning loudly. “So what are we going to do now?”
I straightened in my seat. “Flint found her name—A. Jonas. We’ll need you hackers to find her class schedule in the school system database. Tomorrow, we can start following her. With any luck, the dark-clouded man will show up on his own, and Susannah can watch from above and tell us where he lives, or Luke can track him with his weird psychic thing, or if Amber gets close enough, she can use her scenting ability to track him. Either way, we’ll find where he lives. Then we can start watching him.”
Jasper rubbed his hands together in anticipation and eyed the clock. Despite the time, he suddenly looked wide-awake. “Come to think of it, I’m not that tired. Flint, where’s your laptop?”
~ ~ ~
The next morning, we set out early despite only getting a few hours of sleep. Scents of coffee hung in the air. All of us had chugged a few cups before getting dressed.
Flint and Jasper had been able to uncover the woman’s class schedule and information the night before.
Her name was Abigail Jonas, and she was a junior at the university. She was twenty-one years old, originally from Phoenix, and had been attending college in Colorado for the past three years.
After hacking into the university’s database, Flint and Jasper had then tackled the DMV’s. According to their records, Abigail was of medium build, weighed around one hundred thirty pounds, and had run a stoplight when she was nineteen. Beyond that, she didn’t have a very interesting record.
Our plan that morning was to drive Susannah to a remote location so she could transform before taking to the skies. From there, seven of us would venture to campus while two would return to Abigail’s apartment.
Since we’d made so much progress with finding information, our original plan to continue watching her had changed. Now that we knew her schedule and exactly who she was, everyone was helping—except Amber. Amber’s cold had grown worse, which meant her sense of smell was compromised. Everyone agreed she should stay back to get better.
“Does everybody have Abigail’s schedule in their phone?” Di slipped into her black two-inch-heeled boots. After that, she pulled on a black fleece jacket before zipping it up. The day was cool. According to the weatherman, the temperature would only reach the low sixties.
Mica nodded before pulling up the hoodie on her university sweatshirt. The black-and-gold clothing practically swallowed her. I had a feeling it was Jasper’s sweatshirt.
“Yeah, we’ve got everything we need, Di. Don’t sweat it.” Mica winked.
Di eyed her coolly.
“Are you ready to go, Jet?” Raven asked. He and Jet had volunteered to be the two who hung around Abigail’s building in case the dark-clouded man tried to break in while she was in class.
The twin nodded and pulled on a sweatshirt. “Let’s rock and roll.”
Luke slipped his massive feet into a pair of outdoor-style loafers. In addition to that, he wore jeans and a T-shirt.
Flint was in similar attire. Since the two of them had such high metabolisms, they rarely grew cold. The two of them often wore shorts in the dead of winter.
Jet opened the door with a flourish. “Shall we?” He made a grand gesture with his arm toward the hallway.
Mica laughed as she, Jet, and Raven set out. Jasper followed and their voices carried from the hallway.
A cough sounded from the back bedroom. Poor Amber was buried under the guest bed’s thick comforter.
I cast a glance in her direction before sliding on my sneakers. Too bad Jacinda’s not here. She’d happily stay back and take care of her.
Thinking of my sister made me frown. According to Luke, Jacinda had experienced another sleepless night. Apparently, the baby had been kicking vigorously until the wee hours of the morning, which had been enough movement that Jacinda feared something was really wrong. She’d woken Father to do an ultrasound. Luckily, the ultrasound revealed only a very awake fetus and nothing more.
I could only hope that everything would turn out okay with the baby. Though I’d tried to remain optimistic, worry was starting to creep into my gut. Jacinda was convinced that something was wrong.
“Lena? You coming?” Flint stood in the doorway. From the sound of it, everyone else was already walking down the stairs to the parking lot.
“Yeah. Coming.”
We didn’t waste time getting to campus. After
dropping Susannah off, the seven of us hightailed it back into town in two vehicles. Di drove one, and Flint the other.
Cool springtime wind whipped through the trees when we stepped onto the sidewalk on campus. A buzz emitted from my pocket. I knew who it was before I pulled my phone out.
Sure enough, a text from Grace appeared.
Where are you?
I grimaced. That sick feeling in my stomach returned.
“What is it?” Flint asked.
As Jasper, Mica, Flint, Di, Edgar, Luke, and I stood on the sidewalk, Di surveyed our surroundings. I tilted my phone’s screen toward Flint so he could read the text. “It’s Grace.”
“You didn’t tell her you were skipping class today?”
“I forgot to.”
I hastily typed in a reply while knowing I’d get an earful from her later. She hated when I ditched class. In a way, she was good for my GPA. I usually never skipped lectures because of her.
Decided to sleep in so not going to make it. See you later?
When a response didn’t immediately arrive, I shoved my phone back in my pocket. The guilty feeling in my stomach grew.
“All right, let’s split up.” Di’s long olive-toned fingers brushed her hair behind her ears. “Her first class is calculus. A few of us should go to that building to keep an eye on her, and the rest of us can stay outside. Try not to draw attention to yourselves.”
Mica’s eyebrows rose as she looked Luke up and down. “You do realize who we’re with, right?”
Luke grinned, his golden eyes flickering. “What are you saying? That I draw attention or something?”
Mica and I both laughed. Luke’s immense bulk always drew attention.
Di raised her voice. “As I was saying . . . let’s split up and try not to draw attention to ourselves.”
We were already getting looks from students walking by us. Since we were standing in the middle of the sidewalk, blocking traffic, that wasn’t surprising.
“Should we split up in groups of twos or go off alone?” I asked.
Edgar shrugged. “It’s the middle of the day. Probably just fine to spli’ up. We’ve all got our phones. If we need to get in contact with each other, we can.”
Flint glowered, and I could tell he was about to open his mouth, but Jasper said, “We won’t be far from one another. And if we all split up, we may be able to see more.”
Di nodded briskly. “All right. That sounds like a good plan. You’re all familiar with his description. Stocky build, with dark hair. If any of you sees a man meeting that description following Abigail, let the rest of us know immediately. If Luke gets close enough, he may be able to catch his scent. Edgar?” Di turned her gaze to the bald-headed man. “Are you willing to use your extra abilities to help track him down?”
Edgar grimaced and shoved his hands awkwardly into his pockets. Of the three lost children we’d rescued from O’Brien, Edgar was the most normal in the sense that he hated using his extra abilities. I’d never once seen him in his otter form, and I’d never known him to willingly use any of his powers—whatever those powers were.
“Uh . . .” He wouldn’t meet Di’s gaze.
For a long time, I hadn’t known why Edgar shied away from his powers, but then one night he’d confessed that he hated using them. It reminded him of what had been done to him as a child, and it also reminded him that he would never be a normal human.
Di crossed her arms and tapped her fingers on her forearm. “Well?”
Edgar pulled a hand from his pocket to rub his bald head. “If I have to, I will, but as you know, I prefer not to.”
I placed my hand on his arm and squeezed. “Hopefully, Luke can do the tracking aspect for us. You just keep an eye out.”
He gave me a grateful smile. “Deal.”
“Fine. We’ll leave the tracking to Luke.” Di turned my way. “Lena, it’s imperative you snap a picture of this man if you see him. You are the only one who will know it’s him even though we have a vague description of him. None of us can sense his cloud.”
I jutted my chin out. “I will.”
Everyone took off in opposite directions, but before I could, Flint leaned closer and pressed his lips against my temple. “Promise me you’re not going to do anything stupid.” Worry rolled off him like a storm rolling in from the sea.
“I promise to find you before I go chasing after him again, if that’s what you mean.” I squeezed his hand.
His worry remained. “I’ll have Luke track you if you take off on your own again.”
A hint of annoyance filled me even though I knew Flint’s overprotectiveness stemmed from love. “Why am I not surprised?”
He gave my hand a tight squeeze and growled, “Be good.”
My cheeks flushed as I balled my fists.
When I opened my mouth to give him a tart reply, he said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. That was condescending. It’s just . . .” He raked a hand through his hair. “Shit. Just . . . don’t go anywhere without me. Okay?”
I sighed heavily but managed a curt nod.
Flint stuffed his hands into his jean pockets and strolled away down the sidewalk. Despite our being on the brink of another argument, I paused to admire the view.
In a plain T-shirt, Flint’s shoulders stretched and moved with his movements, and his long legs and firm backside looked nice in his jeans.
Of course, as usual, I wasn’t the only one admiring the view. Several university students, mostly female, although there was a male as well, turned to watch Flint as he walked past them.
Also, as was the norm, Flint ignored them. I had no idea if he was conscious of the attention he drew, but he never paid it any mind. Even after all of these years, he still only had eyes for me.
Damn my overprotective, incredibly sexy, drives-me-crazy-at-times-but-I-still-can’t-live-without-him boyfriend! Why did he have to be so perfect in so many other ways? Even though he was driving me crazy at the moment with his overbearingness, my pulse still quickened at the sight of his strong physique.
Okay, Lena. Look away and get to work.
After all, I needed to concentrate. My job was the most important one this morning. Until I correctly identified the dark-clouded man, Luke would not be able to track him.
Once Flint disappeared from view, I settled on a bench just outside Abigail’s building. The campus grounds grew less busy by the second. The first class of the day had started, but a few wayward students were still racing to their buildings. All their clouds were white, ivory, or light gray.
Mica and Jasper opened the door to go inside Abigail’s building. They planned to join her class and sit in the back. At least we knew what she looked like, thanks to her driver’s license photo and her university picture. Only the dark-clouded man remained a mystery.
A few minutes passed before another buzz sounded in my pocket. I pulled out my phone to see a text from Flint.
You’re looking rather sexy sitting on that bench.
My head whipped around as I groaned. When I didn’t see Flint, I typed in a reply. You’re supposed to be watching for him, not me!
What can I say? My priorities are different.
I huffed and turned away so I could watch the remaining students mingling outside. Their clouds floated around them, and clouds bubbled above all of the plants too. Seeing clouds around every living life force was now so easy for me. That hadn’t always been the case. Two years ago, I’d struggled to see any clouds around plants and animals.
When I spotted Flint’s orange, blue, and pale green cloud, I wasn’t surprised to see that he hadn’t gone far. He stood behind a large tree about a hundred yards away. His shoulders and watchful eyes peered out from the side of the trunk.
Of course he didn’t go far. He may pretend to be giving me space to claim my independence, but he’s really not. He’s still spying on me.
Even though I could kiss him since he loved me so much, I also wanted to throttle him.
I was
about to text again and remind him why we were here, when a pulsing feeling washed over me. My eyes widened. All thoughts of texting Flint vanished.
He was near.
The sensation was the same icky and oily feeling I’d felt from his cloud last evening outside the Thai restaurant. Keeping my vision in its altered eyesight, I scanned the buildings and grounds for him.
I didn’t see him.
I stood from the bench and tried to act casual as I strolled toward where I felt the cloud. After slipping on a pair of sunglasses, I hastily rang Di’s cell phone.
“Keep your eyes peeled,” I said. “He’s close.”
“Do you see him?”
“No. But I feel him.”
“I’ll let the others know. Keep looking.”
I pocketed my phone. In the distance, Flint straightened from his position behind the tree. From the tense way he stood, I guessed he knew something was up.
My gaze shifted left and right as I carried on down the sidewalk. Wind whistled through the trees as the sun continued to climb. But no matter which way I looked, I couldn’t see him. But I felt him.
So what does that mean?
He had to be hiding somewhere if I couldn’t see his cloud. If he were out in the open, his dark pulsing aura would appear readily even if it was in the distance.
A queasy feeling in my stomach grew. An image of confronting him last night on the sidewalk flashed through my mind. He’d seen my face. He knew what I looked like.
But I still didn’t know who he was.
I circled the building twice. The feeling of his cloud stayed, but it was always behind me, and it felt higher up. Is he watching from one of the buildings? Three times I twirled around, expecting to see him a few feet away, only to encounter an empty sidewalk. So what does that mean? That his energy is growing because he’s planning something?
My stomach churned. Another buzz sounded from my pocket. Di was calling again.
She didn’t bother with a greeting. “Any sign of him?”
“No, not yet.”
I shoved my phone into my pocket and retreated to the bench at the front of the building. Another twenty minutes of class time loomed. He must be out here waiting somewhere for her.
The Complete Lost Children Series Page 85
