My bald companion stayed glued to my side the entire morning, opting to sit next to me in the lecture instead of standing in the back of the room with the other agents. Despite his closeness, he refused to engage in conversation, replying with short monotone answers while his eyes constantly scanned our surroundings. I eventually just started to ignore him.
He stayed one step behind me as I walked between classes, got myself a coffee, and picked up a book from the library. He was still half a step behind me as I headed to a café in a quieter part of campus to meet Dot and Charlie for lunch.
It was the same café where Dot had interrogated me about Alec while Charlie watched with careful interest. It seemed fitting it would be the place I would meet yet another new friend. Charlie’s boyfriend, Eduardo, had landed late the previous night.
The three of them were already seated at one of the outside tables, coffees steaming in front of them, outdoor heaters keeping the chill at bay. I picked up my pace, my shadow sticking to my side.
“Hey!” I waved as I reached them, slightly winded. “I’m so sorry I’m late. My last class was on the other side of campus.”
“Totally fine, girl.” Dot jumped up to give me a hug, and I held her tightly for a moment. The horrific shit I was seeing in the news every day made me want to hold all my loved ones a little tighter. “We ordered you a latte.”
“I love you!” I was hungry, but I needed coffee just as badly.
“Hey, Beau! Haven’t seen you in a while, man. How’ve you been?” Charlie shared an enthusiastic handshake with my shadow, and the man’s seemingly permanent scowl actually relaxed.
“Good to see you up and about, Charlie. I had to take some medical leave after rescuing your ass in Thailand. Had a couple broken ribs and shit.”
Charlie laughed. “Well, thanks, man, and good to see you back on the job too. Wanna join us for lunch?”
Beau flicked his gaze to me before straightening his posture. “Thanks, but I’m on duty. Better get back to it.” With a nod, he stepped back and positioned himself near the corner of the building, where he could see the whole square and keep me in easy reach.
“Eve!” Charlie didn’t miss a beat. He was more animated and talkative than I’d seen him . . . probably ever. “Meet Eduardo.”
He reached his arm out. A guy with short curly hair and a tan complexion stepped into Charlie’s embrace and smiled at me shyly, his dark eyes meeting mine for only a fraction of a second.
“Hello.” His voice was smooth and masculine but soft, almost hard to hear.
“Hi. I’m Evelyn. It’s so nice to meet you!” I stuck my hand out and plastered a wide, genuine smile to my face.
He stepped away from Charlie and squared his shoulders, but instead of shaking my hand, he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me in for a hug.
“Oh!” He seemed so shy and quiet. The sudden display of familiarity took me aback.
I returned the hug, but he pulled back quickly.
“Thank you, Evelyn.” He had a slight Spanish accent. “You saved our lives. More and more Vitals were not coming back from the lab. I don’t know how much time we had left before he went too far and . . . I don’t know how to repay you.”
Now it was me who was unable to keep eye contact. I’d received multiple emails and DMs on social media from grateful Vitals and their families. Many people had approached me at Bradford Hills with the same depth of gratitude Eduardo was showing now. It always surprised me.
“You’re welcome.” I smiled, keeping it simple.
“For someone who hounded Alec for months trying to deliver your own ‘thanks for saving my life’ speech, you sure don’t know how to take it,” Dot teased, breaking the moment.
“Hey! At least I accepted the thanks.” I wagged a finger at her, and we all settled into our seats and ordered.
Once our food arrived, I turned to Charlie’s new boyfriend, eager to get to know him. “So, Eduardo—”
“Please,” he cut me off, “call me Ed.”
“Ed.” I smiled. “Your brother is your Variant?”
“Yes.” He swallowed his bite of pasta before continuing. “He has a strength ability. It was hard for him to have me leave again, but he couldn’t get time off work, and I had to see Charlie.”
“I wish you could stay longer.” Charlie pouted.
“I’m staying for a whole month!” Ed laughed but rubbed Charlie’s knee.
We chatted easily for the next half hour, the sun pleasantly warm on my back. As the waitress cleared our table, a familiar noodle of fluff caught my attention. Squiggles came running out of the trees. She scampered up Dot’s leg but then immediately shot across the table straight at Eduardo.
“Hey, girl!” I reached out to give her a little pat—we were becoming friends, despite only being able to communicate through Dot. She usually went straight to me after checking in with her.
Dot groaned, throwing her head back. “She can’t even talk to you! How was she supposed to let you know?” She bugged her eyes out at Squiggles, and the ferret gave her a death stare, lifting her little paws onto Ed’s chest.
“What’s going on?” I chuckled.
“She’s upset we didn’t tell her we were having lunch. Really she’s upset she lost sight of Ed for an hour. It’s not my fault you don’t like the food I buy you and insist on hunting your own.” Dot rolled her eyes.
“Squiggles has taken a liking to Ed,” Charlie explained as Ed started to scratch her little head.
“It’s because I give the best head scratches,” Ed cooed at the ferret.
“He does.” Charlie nodded seriously, as if we were discussing Ed’s qualifications for a high-paying job. “He gives the best head scratches.”
Ed just smiled and lifted his other hand to the back of Charlie’s head, giving him the same treatment. Both Charlie and Squiggles closed their eyes and melted into his touch.
Dot bugged her eyes at me and shook her head. Can you believe this shit?
I laughed silently, my shoulders shaking. Who cares? I’m happy they’re happy.
I really was. It warmed my heart more than I could describe. Charlie still struggled with what happened to him, but he was seeing a therapist specializing in trauma, and he was safe and happy. That would always make me smile.
My phone vibrated on the table, and I picked it up and opened the email without thinking.
Dear Miss Maynard,
You don’t know me, and I hope you don’t mind me messaging you out of the blue. But I saw the footage of you where you glowed, and it was so similar to my own experience that I just had to reach out and . . .
The smile fell from my face, and I exited the email without finishing it, dropping my phone on the table a little harder than intended.
“What’s the matter?” Dot’s voice was heavy with concern. A split second later, Squiggles leaped into my lap, her little face looking up at me.
I stroked her back, feeling the soft fur under my fingers. “Nothing really. I’m fine. Just keep getting these emails.”
“What emails?” Charlie leaned forward. “Is someone bothering you?”
I waved him off. “It’s nothing like that. I just keep getting messages from people claiming . . . They’re from other Vitals saying they can glow like me.”
“Have you been replying?” Charlie reached down for the messenger bag he usually had with him—the one with his computer. He was already going into super-hacker mode, ready to look into it, but he didn’t have his computer with him. With a frown, he returned his hand to the table.
“No, I’ve just been ignoring them. After everything that’s happened, how can I trust any of them are genuine? I mean, statistically I know it’s improbable that I’m the only one with this . . . quirk. But any one of them could be Davis trying to lure me in. It’s too risky and too convenient. Why have none of them come forward before? How is there absolutely no mention of this glowing bullshit anywhere? Like, none whatsoever?” I was starting to ramble
, frustration leaking into my words as I gestured wildly.
Charlie caught one of my hands and held it on the table between us. I took a deep breath and returned the other to Squiggles’s fur.
“You’re right to be suspicious, Eve.” Charlie gave me a hard look. “But I’m sure some part of you is curious?”
“Of course! But with Davis breathing down our necks, Variants and humans tearing each other to pieces, my GPA needing to be kept up, and Alec’s stubborn ass refusing to have sex with me . . .”
I clamped my mouth shut. I couldn’t believe I’d just blurted that out. Dot knew most of it anyway, and I didn’t mind talking to Charlie about it, but the last thing I wanted to do was make Ed uncomfortable. When I looked in his direction though, his expression was nothing but concerned, if a little amused.
“We can deal with the Master of Pain’s sexual hang-ups another day.” Dot waved her hand.
“And we can deal with the emails whenever you want.” Charlie patted my arm. “I can look into them, do some digging, see if they’re at least legit people. But you’re entitled to a private life, Eve. You don’t have to answer them if you don’t want to.”
I nodded and let Dot change the topic. I could see Charlie’s point; I was under no obligation to reply to any of these people. But the main reason I was avoiding the emails wasn’t privacy—it was fear. The idea that this was another way for Davis to suck me into his clutches again—that it could put my Variants, my friends, my family in danger—terrified me.
But my mind was naturally curious. Surely some of them were legitimate, honest calls for help? If these people were telling the truth, they were likely just as scared and confused about their glowing as I was. Maybe getting together could help us solve the riddle of what the glowing was. Was that worth putting us all in potential danger again?
On the other hand, could I live with making decisions out of fear, especially at the expense of truth and knowledge? Did I want to live like that?
Four
The morning of my nineteenth birthday, I wasn’t entirely sure how to feel. I’d found the answers to questions I’d been living with for years. I had my Bond, and we were getting stronger every day. For the first time in my life, I was introducing myself as Evelyn Maynard. I was even starting to feel as if I was part of a family.
Yet the first thing I thought about was the fact that it had been two years since I lost my mom.
I missed her so much.
I wanted to remember all the good things about her, not the gut-wrenching way her hand had been yanked out of mine as she fell to her death. That was the visual my brain kept replaying in vivid detail.
Regardless of all the positives in my life, bad things always happened around my birthday. Why should that change now?
Shit could go horribly wrong in so many different ways. Maybe this was the day Davis ordered another attack by Variant Valor. Maybe Zara would come for me with Rick’s lightning ability. Maybe some other horrific thing would happen—something my mind couldn’t even fathom. I was tempted to stay in bed with the curtains drawn.
But I also had people to spend my birthday with now. I knew my guys would have something planned, despite my telling them how I felt about birthdays. They would all be downstairs, waiting for me. Tyler and Alec would’ve taken the day off work. Ethan would be planning an elaborate feast. Josh had probably put an insane amount of thought into a present. I couldn’t pass that up.
Ignoring the whispering what-ifs in the back of my head, I got out of bed. I brushed my teeth, stuffed my feet into my astronaut boot slippers, and headed downstairs.
As soon as I reached the bottom, Lucian came out of the corridor leading to the west wing.
“Good morning, Evie.” He rolled to a stop in front of me and smiled. “Happy birthday.”
I smiled back, but it didn’t reach my eyes. “Thank you.”
Before I could continue to the kitchen, he spoke again. “I know this day is incredibly difficult for you.” He took my hand. I was expecting it to be awkward, but it was comforting. “I was hoping you would let me take you out for breakfast.”
“Oh.” My eyebrows rose in surprise. “Like, all of us or . . . ?” I could hear the espresso machine working in the kitchen, several male voices chatting.
“Uh, that’s not what I had in mind, no. But if that’s what you’d prefer . . .” He dropped my hand, gripped the wheels of his chair, and cleared his throat. “When the boys came to live with me, we kind of started a new tradition. On their birthdays I take them out, and we spend some one-on-one time together. Sometimes it’s just a meal or a coffee. Other times it’s a movie or an entire day. The idea is to have some quality time that’s just theirs. You’re a part of this family, and I’d very much like to include you in this tradition. Of course you should spend the day with your Bond, but I’d love to at least take you for coffee.”
I swallowed around the lump in my throat. “I’d really like that.”
I gave him my first genuine smile of the morning. I had a feeling Lucian would’ve been a great father. Then I realized that’s exactly what he was. He was a father to the four orphaned men in the next room.
He was being a father to me.
It was the best birthday present I’d ever received.
“I’ll just go get dressed.” I turned for the stairs just as Ethan burst out of the kitchen.
“You’re up!” He headed straight for me as he yelled over his shoulder, “Guys! She’s up!”
Ethan lifted me off the ground with a firm grip around my waist and planted a dramatic kiss on my lips. “Happy birthday, sugarplum.” He flashed me his dimples.
“Thanks, honey bear.”
He set me back on my feet. Tyler wrapped his arms around me from behind and gave me the sweetest kiss on the cheek, whispering “Happy birthday” in my ear. I melted into his embrace, closing my eyes.
But the next thing I knew, the distinct sensation of Josh’s ability tugged along my skin, and I was pulled out of Tyler’s arms and straight into Josh’s.
A burst of joyful laughter bubbled out of me. Josh’s hugs were always a little too firm—as if he thought I’d disappear if he didn’t hold on tightly enough—but I loved them.
After a barely there kiss, he whispered “Happy birthday” against my lips and slowly, reluctantly released me.
I looked over his shoulder. Alec stood slightly apart from the group, his hands in his pockets, his bright eyes watching. His strong features were relaxed—not frowning or scowling—as he waited patiently.
He’d spent a long time waiting for me.
He extended his hand, and I stepped forward and took it. As he pulled me to him, a little pang of excited nervousness shot down my spine. Would he kiss me tenderly and whisper in that honey voice? Would he bruise my lips with his intensity? I never knew.
It turned out to be a combination of the two. His sexy smirk appeared, and my honey-voiced stranger told me, “Happy birthday, Evie.” He pulled me against his chest and threaded his hand into the back of my hair. Then Alec Zacarias, Master of Pain himself, kissed me silly. I sighed, my arms brushing against the prickles of his closely cropped hair.
Someone cleared their throat. I froze and extracted myself from Alec’s grip, taking a moment to catch my breath before turning back to the rest of my Bond and Uncle Lucian.
Ethan clapped his hands, the booming sound bouncing off the walls. “OK. Pancakes for breakfast?”
“Actually,” I said, and they all pulled up short, “I have plans.”
“Plans?” Tyler arched a brow, but Josh’s eyes flew to the kind man in the wheelchair, and his lips turned up in a smile.
“Yeah. I promise I’ll spend the day with you guys, but Uncle Lucian is taking me out for breakfast. Just the two of us.”
I couldn’t stop the grin. I hadn’t intended to call him Uncle Lucian, but now that it was out there, it felt right. If things had turned out differently, I may have grown up calling him Dad, maybe never even knowin
g he wasn’t my birth father. But that title didn’t sit right. Calling him what the guys did felt natural.
I ducked my head to hide my goofy grin and made my way back upstairs before anyone could say anything.
Twenty minutes later, my hair was brushed, and I was dressed in jeans and a long, thick cardigan, an oversized scarf wrapped around my neck to ward off the cold. Lucian’s driver chauffeured us—in a brand-new, wheelchair-friendly vehicle—to the little café that made the best coffee in town. The waiter seated us at a corner table and handed us some menus.
Two agents sat at a nearby table, but the rest of the security detail remained outside.
After perusing for only a few seconds, Lucian dropped the menu back on the table. “Pancakes,” he breathed sadly. I frowned. “Maybe we should’ve stayed at home, had Ethan make you pancakes. I’m sorry . . . I forgot . . . She kept it going, right? She mentioned it several times, that she still made pancakes for you every year and . . .”
“Yes, she kept it going.” I reached out and covered his hand with mine. “You know, come to think of it, I’ve never missed a year. Even last year, when I was in foster care with this older couple—Marty and Baz—Marty made me pancakes.” I smiled fondly, reminding myself to send them an email when I got home. “They weren’t Mom’s pancakes, and all it did was make me think harder about the fact that she’s gone, but I appreciated the gesture.”
Lucian opened his mouth to say something just as our waiter walked up to the table.
“Ready to order, folks?”
“I’ll have the pancakes and a latte.” I didn’t hesitate as I handed over my menu.
“I’ll have the same.” Lucian nodded. “But make mine an English breakfast tea, milk on the side.”
The waiter took our menus and moved off.
I made a disgusted face. “English breakfast tea?”
Vivid Avowed (The Evelyn Maynard Trilogy Book 3) Page 5
