by Alessa James
I watched in slow motion as Scott crouched low, like he was getting ready to push Will off the balcony. Screaming, I squeezed my eyes shut automatically. When I opened them again, I saw a bulky form hurtling through the air in the opposite direction and heard two more thuds and an awful cracking sound. I spun around dizzily, trying to make out shapes in the purplish light. Looking up, I was startled to find Will beside me. I looked up at him in confusion. He was in one piece. Staring across the room, I saw three crumpled figures in the shadows.
“How?”
“You have to trust me,” he said, taking my hand and propelling me toward the balcony’s railing. “Close your eyes now.”
Too numb to question him, I just shut my eyes and put my faith in someone I had met only a day before as his arm wrapped around my waist. I inhaled as my feet left the ground. It felt like I was levitating. Reluctantly, I opened my eyes and looked down. I was on solid ground. We were standing on the landscaped hillside at the back of the house. Warily, I looked up twenty feet or so to where we had been only moments ago. Clenching my teeth together, I commanded my dinner to stay where it was.
The echoes of the party sounded distant. Dazed and sick to my stomach, I looked a few feet away to where Will was standing. His eyes shone in the moonlight. The glowing, brilliant blue color was hypnotic, but a second later, the sound of a siren in the distance made me snap to attention, and I turned toward the noise. It was getting louder. I looked to Will again. In the pale moonlight, he looked like a ghost, and I almost expected him to disappear like a figment of my imagination.
“Shall we?” he said.
Before I could say anything, he took my hand again. I stumbled along beside him, trying not to fall flat on my face as we negotiated broken branches and stones littering the path through the woods bordering Jason Everett’s palatial house. After a few minutes, we came out onto an empty road adjacent to Jason’s street. I could still hear the music from the party, but just barely. Looking ahead, I saw a motorcycle parked a few yards away. The blood drained from my cheeks when Will began moving toward it.
“Would you like a ride?” he asked with the same playful tone from the evening before in the park.
I swallowed and stared uneasily at the motorcycle.
“Is it safe?” I gulped, still trying to gather my wits.
A voice in my head screamed back, Of course it isn’t, dumbass!
“I think almost anything is safer than the company you were keeping back there,” Will said, nodding in the direction of Jason’s house.
His voice betrayed an edge, but no malice—toward me at least. I nodded weakly, and seconds later a helmet appeared in his hands. He pulled it over my head before removing his jacket and sliding it over my shoulders. My jacket, I remembered with a jolt, was in Sean’s car. In my preoccupation, I didn’t even notice Will getting on the bike. He offered his hand, and without thinking, I reached out. Seconds later, I was behind him, my arms instinctively wrapped around his waist. The motorcycle roared to life, and I shivered. What am I doing? I thought desperately.
“Ready?” Will called over the smooth purr of the engine.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I mumbled a fraction of a second before we shot out onto the road.
This was the first time I had ever been on a motorcycle in my entire life, and I knew with absolute certainty that my dad would kill me—or at least never let me out of the house again—if he ever found out. I gripped Will fiercely, my body glued to his, afraid that if I loosened my stranglehold even slightly, I would go hurtling into the blackness.
I shivered as the night air whipped by. Through the visor of the helmet, I watched an endless stream of densely packed trees. We flew past the city limits, and after a few minutes I didn’t recognize where we were. It could have been another planet, for all I knew. Will maneuvered the bike expertly through increasingly hairpin turns as we climbed rapidly in elevation. I looked over his shoulder and shuddered when the speedometer’s needle reached past a hundred miles an hour on a straightaway. My heart hammered in my chest, but I was sure that I was safer on the back of his motorcycle than I had been with Scott Adams.
As though pulled by invisible strings, the bike unexpectedly veered off the main road onto an obviously lesser traveled path leading deeper into the hills and away from any sign of civilization. We hadn’t passed a single vehicle since crossing the city limits. Another minute passed before the bike abruptly broke through the trees and began to slow. I tried to relax my grip, but my muscles wouldn’t respond.
When the bike came to a smooth stop, Will waited while I pried my hands stiffly from his waist. He turned and held out his hand so I could climb down. I reached out shakily, but the instant my feet touched the ground, my knees buckled. Something shot out and grasped the back of Will’s jacket before I could topple over. I looked to the bike, but Will had already climbed off and was standing beside me. With his free hand, he unfastened the helmet, and I slid it off. My hands shook as I handed it to him. He studied me and then slowly released his hold on the back of his jacket. The sensation in my legs was peculiar, like I had just landed after flying.
“First time on a bike?” Will asked pleasantly, reading my mind.
My head was still spinning.
“Do you always drive like that? We could have died,” I gasped.
He smiled darkly, but said nothing. I looked around at our surroundings for the first time. The valley floor was spread out before us, twinkling lights interspersed with large patches of darkness. During the day, I imagined it was possible to see all the way to the coast from where we stood, but I still wasn’t sure where exactly that was. I tried to guess where Winters was in relation to where we were, but I had no freaking clue. I stared in awe at the view. It was beautiful, but there was something else magical about this spot. It felt like another sphere of reality.
“This is … incredible,” I whispered, awestruck.
“I thought you might enjoy the view.”
His voice came from farther away than I had expected, and I turned, searching for him. He stood several feet away from me. But he was staring in a way that made my breath catch. Flustered, I turned and took a few steps toward the view. Then, just as I was about to set my foot on the ground, Will’s hand shot out of nowhere and caught my arm.
“Let’s step back, shall we?” he asked evenly. “Unless you can fly, that is.”
He pointed down, and my heart thudded again as I looked and saw that we were standing precariously at the edge of a very sheer cliff. Will held my arm until we stepped several feet back. Then he let go. Looking around, I saw that the motorcycle was parked in front of a large field encircled by evergreens so tall that they appeared to blend in with the night sky. I walked to the grass and leaned over to pat the ground before sitting down. Will followed me, but he remained standing.
“How did you find this place?” I asked, looking around again.
We were definitely in the middle of nowhere.
“Intuition.”
He smiled enigmatically, and I smirked.
“My family lived here a long time ago,” he amended. “This is one of my favorite places.”
“I can see why. It’s beautiful.” I paused. “Wait. You’ve lived here before?”
“My family was one of the first to settle here.”
My mouth dropped open as I envisioned the house on Kincaid Lane.
“Was the street in town named after your family or something?”
“Something like that.”
“And that house—the huge, creepy old mansion … Is that your family’s?”
He grew quiet. Watching him, I still couldn’t get over how the moonlight highlighted his golden skin tone. He looked like a perfect statue until he spoke again.
“It was, but no one’s lived there for a long time,” he said finally.
My eyebrows pinched together as I thought it over.
“So, where do you live then?”
“I own a home out
side of town. I’m staying there.”
“You own a home?” I asked in disbelief.
My phone buzzed, and a jolt of panic raced through me.
“Oh my god! What time is it?”
“Eleven-thirty,” Will said without glancing at the expensive-looking watch on his wrist.
I took out my phone and saw a text from Sean. I groaned.
“I was supposed to go home with my friend tonight,” I explained.
I typed a message to Sean telling him that I had gotten a ride home, wincing when I remembered that we were supposed to get together tomorrow to study. Great. He was going to grill me endlessly about tonight.
“I’m sure your friend has more pressing concerns, given the police were on the way to that house. He’ll be too distracted to question your absence.”
Suddenly remembering exactly how and why we left the party, I jumped up.
“Tonight, how did you know—”
“Where to find you? I saw you upstairs, remember?”
“But how did you get into the room? The door was locked.”
Memories that suddenly seemed insane came rushing back to me. I had been so relieved by Will’s miraculous appearance that I hadn’t questioned the … impossible.
“I flew,” he said with a straight face.
I remembered closing my eyes, the sensation of my feet leaving the ground, and then instantaneously we were standing at the back of Jason’s house. I tried to remember seeing a rope, ladder, trellis—anything. But I couldn’t. It had been just twenty feet of empty air. I struggled to find some rational explanation. Will smiled again, and I smirked. Two can play this game.
“I see. And do you possess any other superpowers?”
“Would it change your opinion of me?” he asked in a strange way that made me shiver.
I stopped again, speechless, and stared at him. There was no question that he had saved me, but I had no idea why or how. Really, I didn’t know anything about him. I looked around. Here I was with a perfect stranger, miles from anything, and I still didn’t have the good sense to be afraid. Our conversation had taken a strange turn, and I was starting to feel the same way I had when Will first arrived in class—like I was slipping off the edge of the world.
Will took a step toward me. Standing only inches from him and staring into his eyes, I tried desperately to remember something that I had forgotten. But whatever it was evaporated as Will’s hand moved to the back of my neck. The smell of his cologne made me shiver. We stood completely still, Will’s eyes scorching mine. It took several seconds to comprehend that his expression had become one of absolute … rage. The careful mask of calm was completely gone, and something in his eyes looked wild, almost deranged. My breathing hitched in my chest, and my heart raced. I inhaled a ragged breath, afraid I really was going to faint. Will released me abruptly, and I stumbled backwards, catching my balance just before I fell.
Will shook his head, his expression almost as startled as I felt. A second later, his eyes became cold and his jaw clenched. I could still feel a buzz of electricity coursing through my veins even as rejection stung me. A moment ago, I had thought maybe he was going to kiss me. I looked down, embarrassed for even thinking it.
This wasn’t some fairy tale. Will wasn’t riding a white horse, and I definitely wasn’t a princess. Then I shivered, recalling the look on his face from a few seconds ago. It actually had looked more like he wanted to kill me than kiss me.
“I shouldn’t have brought you here,” he said. His voice sounded unsteady, regretful, but I barely noticed since I was still close to hyperventilating. “I’ll take you home now.”
I nodded, still unable to form a coherent thought, much less a sentence. He helped me with the helmet again and then held out his hand—which was still gloved—to help me onto the back of the bike. As Will’s motorcycle raced back through the hills toward the real world, my mind spun in half a million directions. Each time he looked at me, it felt like he could see somewhere deep inside me to a place that I hadn’t known existed before tonight—and I desperately wanted to hold onto that feeling.
As the scenery sped by in reverse, it felt like we were going back through time. What would happen when I woke up in the morning? I wondered. Would I find the entire night had been a surreal dream like Alice’s? The thought left me uneasy. Then, sooner than possible, we crossed the city limits again. Will adjusted his speed—only slightly—and moments later the motorcycle slid into a space a few blocks short of my house. He held out his hand for me to climb down.
“What would your father say if he saw you riding home on a motorcycle?” Will asked, his tone playful again.
I gave him a crooked smile, relieved for the lightness in his tone.
“The good thing is he’ll never find out,” I said, my voice full of warning.
I began to unzip Will’s jacket, but he shook his head before I could take it off.
“Keep it.”
“Aren’t you cold?”
He shook his head again. I studied him. He wore only a light sweater. I frowned, but kept the jacket wrapped tightly around me. It was freezing. I wondered how Will could stand it, but he seemed unaware of the cold, or at least unbothered by it.
“My dad, though. He’ll wonder where I got it.”
“I’m willing to wager your father has already gone to bed for the evening.”
My eyes narrowed as we began walking toward my house.
“Can you tell the future, too?” I smirked.
“I wish,” he said darkly. “It would make things so much easier.”
We stopped at my front door, and he looked at me with a strange, searching expression. As we stood in front of my house, I felt a wave of disappointment, like the night was being cut short. Ha! Like I hadn’t had enough danger and excitement for an entire lifetime.
“Do you think you can stay out of trouble until Monday?” Will asked.
His tone remained humorous, but I detected a note of doubt, and I resisted the urge to stick out my tongue.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means no more wandering off alone with strangers.”
“I didn’t wander off—I was dragged by Scott Adams. And I was alone with you, wasn’t I?”
He nodded, but he didn’t look happy about it. I sighed, wishing I could read his mind. I looked up at the window to my dad’s room. It was dark, just as Will had predicted. I paused and then turned back to Will. If I had been silly enough to expect something more, I would have been disappointed. He waited silently until I turned and climbed the stairs, and when I glanced back, he was gone.
Chapter 6: Partners
I opened my eyes and found a pair of chocolate eyes staring back at me.
Darcy was sitting at the side of my bed and had obviously been awake for a while, no doubt expecting another early morning run. Before I could pat him on the head, I heard a buzzing noise and jumped. Sean! I had forgotten all about him. I pulled the phone from my nightstand and read his text: What happened 2 u?
I sent back a hasty note: Told you. Got another ride. If I got really lucky, Sean would feel guilty for ditching me and wouldn’t ask for details about last night. I could hope, anyway. I dreaded the idea of explaining the incident with Scott Adams—it just wasn’t going to happen. Besides, anything I told Sean would only lead to more questions that I couldn’t answer. Then, with a sudden jolt, I wondered what had happened to Scott and the other two guys from last night. I tried to make sense of the vision of the three crumpled figures I had seen on the floor … seconds before Will Kincaid and I flew out the window.
Maybe I had dreamed the entire thing. Anything was possible with the wild dreams I had been having recently. The sound of a door opening and my dad’s footsteps coming down the hall made me jump. I looked at the clock and groaned. It was nearly ten.
“Aven, are you up yet?”
“Yeah … sort of,” I mumbled.
He tapped at the door.
“You dece
nt?”
“Sure, Dad.”
The door opened, and he poked his head in.
“I must have fallen asleep before you came in last night.” He smiled sheepishly. “Some overprotective dad I turned out to be, huh? How’d the party go?”
I should have expected his curiosity since this was the first time I had shared the company of people my age—not counting Sean—since we had moved.
“It was … fine,” I said, feeling instantly exasperated with my lack of a more descriptive, if not accurate, summary of the party.
“Meet any new friends?”
I swallowed. I wasn’t prepared for whether or not I was going to tell my dad about Will. How would I describe him? Unnervingly gorgeous stranger who had saved me from a potential rapist? Um, nope. Not happening.
“Not really,” I hedged.
Besides, I didn’t think Will could be classified as a friend.
“But you had a good time with Sean?”
I frowned at the hint of urgency in his tone. Every once in a while he got it into his head to interrogate me about my social life, obviously afraid I was turning into a shut-in.
“We kind of got separated, but it was fine.”
Realizing my mistake, I bit my lip, hoping he wouldn’t become curious about how I had gotten home.
“All right, sweetie. I just wanted to see how your night went. I’m going to head over to school to catch up on some paperwork, unless you want me to stick around.”
I shook my head.
“Sean and I are getting together to study.”
I was also planning on cleaning, which would be easier with my dad gone. Lately, cleaning the house fell exclusively to me, and as much as I hated it, it wasn’t going to get done by itself. Most Sundays, I tried to get through the bathroom and kitchen before I did schoolwork. Sitting back in bed, I listened as my dad gathered his things to go into the office. My thoughts immediately drifted to Will Kincaid, and it occurred to me that he had talked like he lived alone. It made me wonder if he had lost someone too as I remembered the look in his eyes the first day he came to class—steely and etched in ancient regret. But there had been something else in his eyes the night before—a feverish urgency that made my stomach pitch just thinking of it.
