Illicit Senses (Illicit Minds Book 1)

by Rebecca Royce

  Addison stood up next to him and grabbed Spencer’s arm even as she spoke to Roman. “How did you get in here? Did my grandfather let you in?”

  Roman laughed, a cold, sputtering sound. “No, Ms. Wade, I am not here in an official capacity. If I were, you’d be hauled in to Safe Dawn for evaluation. I thought the goal here was to find Jeremy. Am I wrong?”

  Addison stepped forward, but Spencer grabbed her by her forearm to pull her back. Roman might have been his brother, but he didn’t trust him, not at all. “I just told you, I found his signature.”

  “That’s impressive, Brother, but you’re still not going to be able to find him.”

  “And why is that?”

  “Because someone on the council has him, and this conspiracy goes so deep, even your skills in the shadows won’t shed light on it.”

  Twelve

  “Well, aren’t you just a ray of sunshine.” Spencer rolled his eyes and Addison, pulling out of his grasp, finally managed to step forward.

  “Tell me what you found, Roman, please.”

  She was going to do whatever it took to find her nephew, no matter what their sibling issues were. Roman’s arrival might actually turn out to be fortuitous. She and Spencer had come dangerously close to having something spark between them. When his head had been pressed to her chest, it had taken all her willpower not to bend down and kiss him.

  But she couldn’t focus on that, because she had to deal with his startling brother, who kept appearing at the most inconvenient times.

  Roman wore a black leather bag slung over his right shoulder. It matched the rest of his outfit, and she realized he was completely decked out in black, like a cat burglar. Had he scaled the building? As she watched, he swung the bag onto the ground and squatted on the floor next to it, opening the carrier.

  He pulled out a dark red folder and placed the contents on the floor. Three stacks of white computer paper lay in front of him. Black-and-white photos stared up at her. Two of the people she didn’t recognize, but one of them she did: Loretta. Her heart fell a little. Had she really been foolish enough to hope that somehow Loretta wasn’t involved? Yep, her torn up soul told her, she certainly had.

  Roman stood, then pointed to the one furthest to the left. “Daniel Monroe. Age: thirty years old. Resident of Safe Dawn.” Next to her, Spencer stared silently at the papers and shifted his weight from his left foot to his right. “Did you know him? Were you tested together?” Roman looked directly at Spencer.

  “He’s dead.”

  Addison waited for Spencer to say more, but he didn’t. The proclamation of death, however, at least seemed to imply that Spencer knew who he was.

  “No body was buried.”

  “I watched him die.” Spencer lowered his voice, and she shivered at the tone. If she could go her entire life without ever hearing that much animosity directed at her by him, she would be grateful. Even when he’d baited her, he hadn’t sounded so full of malice.

  “I repeat. No body was buried. Are you sure he was dead?”

  “There was blood everywhere.”

  “But dead?” Roman ran his hand through his blond hair. “What was the method of death? Suicide, right? He shot himself in the head? Could barely recognize his face.”

  Spencer shook his head. “I don’t like what you’re saying here. I watched him shoot himself in the head.”

  “Did you? Or did you watch the illusion of him shooting himself?”

  Spencer fell silent.

  Addison cleared her throat. She hated to interrupt, but she wasn’t following the conversation.

  “It’s impossible.” Spencer pointed to the third photo, one she didn’t recognize. “I know she’s dead.”

  “Do you? Did you see her die? Weren’t you in dark space when that happened? What happened to you just now when you came out? Were you in complete control of your mind?”

  “No, but I was deep in there without a path back for a few minutes. That would make anyone disoriented.”

  Roman shrugged. “I’ll have to take your word on that. I’m not that powerful.”

  Enough. Addison shook her head. “What the hell are you getting at? Loretta is the third picture. Tell me what’s going on here.”

  Raising an eyebrow, Roman regarded Spencer. “Do you want to tell her?”

  “My brother is suggesting that Daniel, Priscilla and Loretta aren’t dead or missing and are, instead, working as part of this conspiracy.”

  Roman sighed. “There are no bodies. None.”

  “Did you go to the graveyard? Are you digging up bodies now?” Spencer turned his back on them and stalked to the window. He reminded her of a caged lion she had once seen at the zoo. It had moved back and forth in its enclosure, deceptively calm. She had known without a doubt that the creature was furious just by the look in its eyes. Never before in her life had she been so glad to have walls and a moat between her and another living thing. Spencer gave off the same sensation.

  He was dangerous.

  “Not personally, no, but Rhodes has been looking into inconsistencies in things for some time now. I’m involved in it.”

  “Rhodes is looking into a conspiracy, and instead of telling me about it he went to you?” Spencer swung around to look at Roman.

  “Because since Priscilla’s death—quote, unquote—you’ve been so reasonable to deal with? So apt to make the right decision on things? I’d bet there’s a lot Rhodes doesn’t tell you, even if you are his golden boy.”

  “Okay. Okay.” Addison put herself directly between them, as she could feel violence escalating in the room even though no one had made a physical move. “Let me see if I’ve followed this, shall I? That man, Daniel, Spencer knows him from Safe Dawn. He was an illusionist? I’ve read about them. They’re never allowed out because they can make you see things that aren’t real.”

  “That’s right.” Spencer nodded and took a step toward her even as his eyes were still on Roman. “Don’t be sure about the not-getting-out part. I think you might find, despite members of the Fury’s best efforts, that we do lots of things we aren’t supposed to.” He said Fury with so much venom she was surprised Roman didn’t shrivel up. By contrast, Roman hardly seemed to notice.

  She continued, trying to keep the conversation moving forward. “But he killed himself?”

  Spencer nodded. “Yes.”

  “No,” Roman disagreed.

  Addison held up her hand. “You.” She looked at Roman. “You think that he didn’t. Instead, he gave everyone the illusion of his death. His face was so destroyed no one could recognize him. It could have been anyone, and no body was buried.” Turning her back to them, she walked to the closet. She needed a little space, some room to breathe, to sort things out in her own mind.

  “Your girlfriend is smarter than you are, little brother.”

  “She’s too good to be my girlfriend.”

  Addison’s cheeks heated. She was glad her back was to Spencer and that the room was darkly lit, so maybe Roman wouldn’t notice her blush.

  “So Loretta pretended to die too, then, to escape the institution? Before she came to work with Jeremy?”

  “She would have been the first to fake her death. Rhodes suspected that Daniel and Priscilla’s deaths were not as they seemed. He knows nothing about Loretta, because she wasn’t one of his residents. Loretta is from Pine Valley, the one in Arizona.” Addison was sure he’d added that last bit of information for her benefit, as Spencer would know exactly where Pine Valley was located. “No one knew anything about her. Tory, the head of Loretta’s institution, kept her abilities secret. Loretta was practically shut away from sunlight for most of her life.”

  “She was so good with Jeremy.”

  “That was her job in Pine Valley; she took care of the children.”

  Addison took two steps back toward the brothers. “She had impeccable references.”

  Roman nodded. “Of course she did. That just means someone with power is manipulating this whole thing.
”

  She narrowed her eyes and let her gaze travel from Spencer to Roman.

  “Someone with more power than a Wade?”

  “Seems that way.” Roman zipped up his pack and swung it over his shoulder.

  Anger surged through her veins, and she had no outlet for it. Raising a hand to massage her throbbing forehead, she stared at Spencer. “What? No obnoxious Wade remark?”

  The kindness in Spencer’s eyes unnerved her, and she turned around so she didn’t have to look at him. “Well.” She cleared her throat, something that was on its way to becoming a nervous habit. “There goes our theory about Jeremy just accidentally showing his condition in front of Loretta.”

  Spencer moved behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders. “Not necessarily. Roman said she was good with kids. She might have been sent here just for that reason. When Jeremy accidentally alerted her to what he could do, her other talent became of use, and the plan changed to kidnapping.”

  His hands felt good on her shoulders and the slight pressure he was using to massage her was even better. She closed her eyes and let herself feel him for a few seconds. Yes, she could do this; she could stay there with Spencer rubbing her shoulders for the rest of her life.

  “Not to interrupt the moment you and the girl who’s too good for you are sharing, but if we could just focus on the fact that there are three people not dead. Those three people all have the ability to make it impossible for you to get Jeremy back.”

  Spencer let go, and she immediately felt bereft. “Rhodes put you on it; you handle it.” Was that bitterness she detected in his voice?

  “Upset that he kept something from you?”

  “A little bit, yes.”

  Roman opened and closed his mouth, evidently unsure what to say in the face of that honesty. Finally, he looked down before speaking again. “Has Will ever mentioned Guy McKidd?”

  Spencer sighed. “No, I’ve never heard that name before. Who is he?”

  “It’s another thing your mentor should have told you about, should have told all of his charges about, and hasn’t. Ms. Wade, if my brother ever comes to his senses and acknowledges what would be obvious to anyone spending two seconds in the same room with you, give him this.”

  Roman dug in his pocket and pulled out a business card. Spotting a red crayon on Jeremy’s desk, he walked over, flipped over the card, and wrote something. His eyes determined, he walked over to her and held out the card. “And just in case he never comes to his senses, you keep it. I think you’re resourceful and you’ll figure out what it means.”

  “So I take it you’re leaving?” Spencer moved to block Roman’s exit from the room.

  Addison rolled her eyes. She’d just gotten everything calmed down, and now they were going to get all macho again? She looked down at the paper he’d handed her. Four numbers were written on it: 18, 22, 64, and 50.

  “I have no idea what these numbers mean.”

  Roman moved out of Spencer’s way, obviously not taking the bait. “I hear you sent your aunt to the Caribbean, Ms. Wade. It’s beautiful down there this time of year.”

  Addison shook her head. Okay, she had no idea what that meant either, but Roman had gone. Taking a deep breath, she stared at Spencer for a moment. “Your brother is an odd man.”

  He smiled, and her heart fluttered. “You have no idea. He basically answers to no one. I don’t even know who controls the Fury. They must all have someone they report to, right? Maybe it’s Roman.”

  “I thought none of the Fury knew each other so they could never gang up and take everything over.”

  Spencer grasped a strand of her hair between his thumb and index finger. “That is exactly correct.” He moved closer, and she could feel the heat from his body against hers. “About what you said before…”

  “What specifically?” She couldn’t help the little tremor that shook in her voice.

  Spencer was very close, very hot, and very much invading her personal space.

  “About my making a rude comment regarding the Wades.”

  “What about it?”

  “I’m done doing that, okay? You don’t judge me based on my family, and I won’t judge you based on yours.”

  Addison stared deeply into the swirls of his eyes. How had no one ever told him they did that? Staring into those depths was hypnotic. It was a few moments before she realized she hadn’t answered him. Only the sound of his light breathing filled her ears. It was intimate in a way nothing had ever been before.

  “I could hardly judge you by your family, Spence. I have no idea what to make of Roman. He handed me this random business card with a set of four numbers and expected me to know what to do with it, you hate him, and he keeps showing up at inopportune moments. He’s the definition of an enigma.”

  “There’s not even a year between our ages.” Spencer sighed, and the sound moved through her like a wave traveling to the shoreline.

  She smiled. “Your poor mother.”

  “We don’t know whether we have the same father. Neither of us can ever remember there being a man around, so whoever he was, or they were, had left the scene before our long-term memories came in. Lewis was her last name. Elizabeth Lewis. I have a vague memory of people calling her Betty. She was blonde, tall, and chubby.”

  “Was she a good mother?”

  “I don’t know. My memories of her are somewhat skewed.”

  “You talk about her in the past tense.”

  “That’s on purpose. She’s dead. Has been for the last twenty-five years.”

  There was no pain in his voice. She counted backward in her head and realized he would have been five when she died. A long time to live without someone, but Addison knew from personal experience that there were some losses you never got over, no matter how long you tried. Time did not heal all wounds.

  “How did she die?”

  “I’m not sure of all the details. She’d turned us over the year before to the institutions. It was my fault; I kept exposing my condition in public. My eyes kept turning black.”

  She reached out and grabbed his arm. “You were a child.”

  “True, but so was Roman—and truth is he’s probably more powerful than I am—and he could hide his oddities.”

  “Maybe yours were harder to hide.”

  He shrugged. “Maybe I’m not good at pretend or secrets.” He was probably right.

  “Anyway, she took us to a local supermarket where they had collection and evaluation facilities.”

  “I’ve heard of those places.”

  “We’d been on the run for over a year, and she must have been exhausted with two little boys. I guess I was a month over four and Roman must have just turned five. Maybe she thought they’d help us or something. We were in Columbus, Ohio. Roman kept trying to pull out of her grip. He can sense things. It’s one of the reasons he’s such a good Fury. He can pass someone on the street and know they’re Conditioned. It’s really weird.”

  “What you can do is more impressive.”

  It was at that moment she realized she’d fallen in love with him. She could have laughed out loud. Decisions always came so fast for her. She’d decided to go get Spencer, so she’d gone to Safe Dawn to do it. She’d decided she’d wanted to run her grandfather’s company, so she’d trained to do it. Where other people needed time to muse these things out, she never did. Major revelations came to her and she stuck to them, which was how she knew that even though it had been fast, she would love Spencer from that moment forward without a second thought. It was just how she was built, the crux of her internal nature, the one she rarely showed to the world.

  She tried to hide her reaction to the thought as she looked down. Her hands started to sweat and her pulse kicked up a notch. It didn’t matter, she told herself. There was no time for love, and he couldn’t love her back anyway. Even with his proclamation about not caring that she was a Wade, she knew there were too many differences that Spencer wouldn’t be able to get over.


  “You okay?” He narrowed his gaze as he looked at her.

  “I’m fine. Go on.” She wanted to hear the rest of his story. Spencer didn’t strike her as the type of person to open up very often. If she lost this opportunity, she might never get another one.

  “We got to the front of the line. They were taking children and putting them in the back of this big gray van. I guess they’d had more turn out that month than they’d anticipated, because they were really piled in.” He shook his head, and Addison realized he was caught up in the memory. “Mom must have gotten scared then. Maybe the exhaustion wore off or she suddenly came to her senses. Who knows? I was four. I can’t believe she took us there to begin with, so I can’t even begin to fathom her thought processes.”

  “It must be awful to think about. My dad hid me.”

  “To give her some credit, she had been trying to do just that for some time, but there were two small children to care for, and I was difficult.”

  “Someday you’re going to have to forgive yourself for being a child in circumstances you couldn’t control.”

  One side of his mouth curved up in a smile. “Maybe. I’m not good at being out of control.” He laughed, one hard spurt of sound. “Anyway, she got scared and tried to pull us out of line but the men were there to stop her. Back then it wasn’t the Fury; it was members of the National Guard. One of them grabbed her and held her. He was just trying to get her to calm down. Roman took that opportunity to run. He pulled out of Mom’s hands, grabbed me, and we managed somehow to get lost in the crowd. She had dry skin; that’s my last memory of her. I was holding her hand, and then I wasn’t. I was running with Roman.”

  “Where did you go from there?” He’d been Jeremy’s age. No wonder he was so interested in helping children, so invested in it. In fact, he’d nearly lost his life going unguided too far into dark space.

  “I can hardly remember. Roman was in charge. He was, after all, five years old.” The last bit was said in a voice laced with irony. “I think we spent several nights in an abandoned warehouse. Roman would leave and then he would return with food. I don’t know how he got it. A few days later, the guard caught up with us and we were taken to Safe Dawn.”