“I have a card.” Grace stepped out from their hiding place and back into the street, in full view of the spilled gallery crowd and police. Evan followed her cautiously. For a moment, he thought he’d scared her off, but then she spoke. “My purse is around here somewhere. My phone got stolen the other day, but I have a card in there for the hospital and the clinic. Wait. I can’t see it. Have you got my purse? It was right here.”
Both their heads swiveled as they searched the street.
Grace slapped her forehead. “Great. Just great. She stole my purse. Not again, I’ve already been mugged this week.”
Mugged? He would dissect the thief. Wait… “She has your purse. Was your ID in there?”
“Yes.”
“Shit.”
Grace flinched at his anger.
“It’s no big deal,” she said. “Really, I’ll just cancel my cards when I get home. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“She has your ID, Grace. She knows where you live.”
They stared at each other, letting the fact sink in.
“I’ll walk you home,” Evan stated.
This made her eyes widen further. “No, I’m fine. I’ll manage on my own. I have my keys in my jeans pocket, even if she did come to my place for some strange reason, she can’t get in. I’m four floors up.”
“Evan,” Parker boomed from the gallery entrance. “Get your ass here.”
Evan ignored him and opened his mouth to insist Grace let him take her home.
“Don’t ignore me little brother.” Parker’s deep voice oozed authority as he walked over, ensnaring Evan’s attention.
Evan had no choice but to acknowledge his eldest brother.
“Parker.”
“Where have you been? There’s a naked dead body in the storeroom.”
“I know. Sara did it.”
Parker’s shrewd gaze tracked somewhere behind Evan. “Who was your lady friend?”
Evan’s gaze whipped back around. Grace was gone.
Nine
Mary stood idly by The Painting Within, grumbling to her husband Flint every few minutes about the incompetence of the forensic team sweeping the site. Truthfully, what annoyed her most was her lack of foresight to predict the drama. Not once in the past week had she had a new vision. She was drying up like a vieja bruja. Her worst nightmare becoming a reality. She always knew one day that her body would fail her that her gift would wither and become defective. She’d only hoped to have the children prepared before it got to this point but, as it stood, the family was in turmoil.
“Tony, get your lips off that glass and go help find your brother,” she growled.
He shook his head. “Nope. I’m here as Tony Lazarus. Movie stars don’t give a shit.”
She wanted to throttle him.
“He’ll turn up,” Flint said, always the voice of reason.
Stools and chairs were strewn over the room, evidence of the mass hysteria that had played out earlier. Mary was more concerned that not only was a woman dead, but Evan had disappeared suddenly. She flicked a glance to where the police interviewed the beaming Azaria. Notoriety could do wonders for the art world, she probably imagined all the publicity her gallery would receive.
Two men entered the gallery at that moment. Evan surveyed the scene, and Parker spotted them and indicated for Evan to follow him.
“It’s Evan.” Mary nudged Flint who’d almost fallen asleep standing up. It was getting late and he’d been in the workshop all day working with Parker on some new tech designs for suit improvements. It was all hush-hush at the moment, but they’d reveal their plans soon enough. First, there had to be a team to use the suits, but one of Mary’s last visions showed the family united… all because of the doctor Evan had seen. She had hope.
“Right. Evan.” Flint blinked. “Dead body in the storeroom. Got it.”
“What do you boys think?” Mary asked.
Evan strode up to them, eyes intense as he surveyed his family. “Obviously Sara did it. Did any of you see her?”
“Christ, Evan,” Parker said as he joined his brother. “Give it up. We’re trying to have a proper adult conversation here, and you’re making shit up as you go.”
“You call this make believe?” Evan gestured at his tattered shirt. “She attacked me in the street. Grace was there. She saw it all. In fact, she recognized Sara. Said she witnessed her at the bombing. Blowing. The. Place. Up.” Evan jabbed his finger in his brother’s chest, a hard jab for each word.
“Bullshit,” Parker said.
“She has the scarred arms to prove it. I believe her. She was there.”
Parker poked Evan back. “You’re balancing on a razor’s edge, brother. One more push and you’re gone. I won’t protect you when Wyatt gets word of this. Not again.”
Evan narrowed his eyes.
The last time Evan brought this up, the fight that ensued split the family into pieces. They all used to live together in a privately owned luxury apartment complex above a restaurant Parker owned. Now Evan lived somewhere else, Tony was rarely home. Parker vacayed at his office. Sloan never left the entertainment quarters. Since that fight, it was all a mess. Mary remembered that night with a shiver. Wyatt had tried to beat the living shit out of Evan, and Parker had stood between them, negotiating peace. The result had Evan moving out, despite Mary’s protests to keep the family together.
Stubborn, stubborn children. They need her visions. She couldn’t be drying up now. She wasn’t ready.
“What’s it going to take for you to see the truth?” Evan asked Parker. “Are you so full of pride you can’t admit when you’ve been wrong?”
“I’m never wrong.” The words came out confident, but Parker hid his wrist behind his back.
“Sara cut up my arm, my chest, sliced up my girl.”
Parker’s eyebrow arched. “Your girl? Since when do you have a girl.”
“Don’t fuck with me tonight, Parks. I’m warning you. Don’t push me.”
“Or what?” Parker shoved him.
It was all Evan needed to explode. He released the storm brewing in his veins. Lightning, thunder and heat sparked from his hands and jolted Parker’s chest. Parker flew backward, into the painting, knocking it from the wall. Tiny tendrils of smoke curled from two scorched handprints on his shirt, and his shoulder-length hair lifted with unshed static.
“Evan!” Mary cried. What the hell was that?
Everything Gloria had said from her deathbed in the lab years ago came crashing back. She’d just given birth to Evan, the last of her children. They were waiting for Flint to give the signal so Mary could spirit them all away before the guards outside noticed. Gloria had been weak, pale, and glazed eyed as she spoke to Mary.
When they meet a mate who embodies their exact opposite, their special ability will manifest.
Mary remembered being so worried about Gloria. How would she survive the escape so soon after giving birth? Looking back, she should have known her intentions to sacrifice herself. Her last words were filled with anguish and hidden meaning.
You promise me you stick with Flint and you show these children what they’re looking for. You show them with every ounce of your being. They need to see what true love looks like so when they find their mate, they latch on with two hands. They save themselves. Promise me. Promise me you’ll take care of them.
It was clear now that Gloria knew she wouldn’t survive the escape.
It’s all about balance, Mary. They will grow to be saviors, but unstable and in the wrong hands, they will bring destruction.
“He started it.” Evan’s voice broke through Mary’s thoughts. His fists clenched and crackled at his side.
“Evan,” Flint warned. “People are watching.”
“I don’t care. He deserved it.”
“But none of you deserve to be exposed,” Mary hissed with a pointed look at the people watching them. “Don’t think I didn’t notice, Evan. You’ve been keeping secrets, and we’ll discuss that later.
”
He may tower over her, but he’d always be her youngest child. She’d raised him from birth and she expected honesty from all of them. She’d overseen his training. At some time in her youth, she had completed the training herself with all the instructors, and the ones she hadn’t, she’d vetted thoroughly. Most of their savings had gone to pay for the training. The instructors were well compensated, so each had kept her in the loop. It pained Mary to see the children fighting and keeping secrets. She’d mentored them, loved them.
“Both of you stop it. Remember where you are, who you are.”
Parker stayed on the ground, refusing to get up, eyes pointedly on Evan’s crackling fists. Stubborn, stubborn boys.
Evan’s guilty eyes shot to Mary and then he shoved his hands in his pockets.
Before she could continue with the stern rebuking, the insidious art dealer came running over, glaring at Evan. “What have you done? The painting is ruined.”
The police officer who’d interviewed her ambled along in her wake, taking the new commotion in his stride. He had his big jacket on and chewed on gum. It made his mustache bounce around his mouth. He kept a wary eye on Evan, but turned to Parker. “Everything all right Mr. Lazarus?”
Evan rolled his eyes, no doubt annoyed at the first attention going to his brother, not him.
Parker, still recovering from the electric shock, accepted a hand up from Tony. “Yes. Apologies for the family dispute. We’ve got it sorted.”
“He destroyed a very expensive painting!” Azaria whined, chopping her hand in the direction of the fallen piece of artwork. Her tightly stretched face looked even more comical with the rise in eyebrows almost hitting her hairline.
“I’ll pay for it,” Parker said, and whipped out his credit card.
Azaria took it, glared at Evan, then huffed away.
The cop flicked his gaze up and down Evan. “I’m talking to you next. Don’t go anywhere.”
Evan saluted him with two fingers to his forehead. The cop’s mustache twitched, then he moved away to where his partner finished interviewing some waitstaff.
“What the fuck was that?” Parker hissed under his breath.
“You know exactly what it was.” Evan folded his arms, in a silent challenge. Think you’re so good, so smart? Figure it out, his body language said.
Mary shot Parker a warning glare. Don’t rise to the bait.
Parker’s jaw worked as he ran a hand through his hair. His gaze flicked to the door. “It was the woman.”
“Damn straight,” Evan said. “The very woman you accused of lying, of not existing—making things up as I go, my ass. You just don’t like to admit you were wrong. That someone else got there before you.”
“I'm not the envious one, Evan.”
“But you are blinded by pride.” Evan shoved his wrist out, displaying the Yin-Yang, still equal parts black and white. “You saw what that looked like yesterday, Mary.”
She didn’t look at his arm, she looked into his eyes and studied. Yes, despite the turmoil in his outward appearance, there was something else inside. A confidence she’d been waiting to see for a long time. She smiled, palms lifting to either side of his face. Finally, she’d kept her promise to Gloria. Now she just had to make sure Evan didn’t mess things up. “I’m so glad, Evan. You deserve a bit of happiness.”
Evan’s eyes narrowed on her. “You knew, didn’t you? It’s why you turned up at the hospital without having been called. You’d had a vision.”
Mary dropped her palms with a crooked smile and an off handed shrug. He was right. The vision had come months ago. She’d seen a newspaper headline, the hospital, the woman and the lightning. “Maybe.”
“Well, did you see Sara?”
Her smile disappeared.
“Don’t use that tone on your mother,” Flint said.
“The only Sara I saw was in your paintings. It doesn’t mean she wasn’t there. I’m just not the same as I used to be.”
“I’m sorry,” Tony said, slurring his words, a little intoxicated from all the champagne. “I’m still trying to wrap my head around this. Can we go back a few steps? Are you telling us what I think you’re telling us?”
“That my second sight is failing.” Mary slumped into Flint’s awaiting arms.
“No, well, that sucks too, but I meant that Sara is actually alive. That we didn’t kill all those people in the building collapse like the world thinks. She did,” Tony added.
Silence descended.
“Wow,” Tony said. “Just wow. I come out tonight hoping for a couple of nice drinks, blow off some steam before the big shoot tomorrow, and then end up with a dead body and a conspiracy theory. We’ll never be rid of this life will we?”
Mary’s jaw clenched. “You think those poor innocent people who died in the bombing wanted that life? Do you think that poor woman who got murdered while we were sipping on champagne and looking at paintings wanted her life to end?”
Tony paled. “No.”
“Do you think I wanted visions showing me a world torn in two if you all got into the wrong hands? I’m not sure hiding is enough anymore. You all need to get off your asses and back into uniform.”
Flint placed a steady hand on Mary’s shoulders and she squeezed her eyes shut. She hadn’t told her children about the worst of the visions. Over the past few years, she’d seen the same frightening future getting worse and worse and the reality of it terrified her. The sacrifices they’d all made to get here could be for nothing. Flint’s grip squeezed gently, and she sank into him. It was the calming reassurance she needed to force her heart rate down to an acceptable level. What had she done wrong to have them running from their responsibilities? She took a deep breath and looked her children in the eyes. “I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again. I’ll never force you to be the protectors this city needs. It has to be your decision. But you’ve been born with incredible gifts. You didn’t choose this life, but you have it. Maybe, just maybe if you’d all listened to your calling, perhaps that woman didn’t have to die.”
Evan’s palm rested on his mother’s arm. “Whatever Sara is up to, we’ll figure it out. We’ll clear our names and get back to the business of saving the city. I will, anyway.”
The unspoken challenge lining his words weren’t missed by his brothers. Pity the rest of the family weren’t there to hear it.
“Hold your horses,” Parker said, lifting a hand. “If what you’re saying is true—and that’s a big if—Wyatt was going to marry an evil psycho bitch who likes murdering people. There has to be a reason behind that. Before we go telling everyone, we have to be sure. We need proof.”
“My girl’s word is proof enough.”
“No offense bro, but she’s not your girl, yet.”
“You’re right,” Evan said. “We’re not together. Yet. But that’s beside the point. She’s not a liar. So, here’s what I propose. We have a family meeting so everyone is on the same page. In the mean time, I’ll work on collecting evidence. Sara took Grace’s purse. If she dumped it after she got what she needed, it could be around the area. All we need are her fingerprints, and that will be enough to prove to you all she’s alive. Flint, can you please work with Sloan to see if there are any cameras in the area? Some might have caught Sara as she fled.”
His father nodded grimly. “I’ll get Sloan to help. God knows she needs time away from her console. She’s been morose ever since she missed the first meet up with her online friend.”
A little ache flared in Mary’s chest as she remembered the best friend her daughter had never met. They’d planned to meet in real life, then they’d received the call out about the white-robed menaces damaging property downtown. Of course, it ended in the building collapse, Sara’s death and the team being devastated. When the papers came out the next day, and the public blamed the Deadly Seven. Sloan never made that meeting with her friend, and he’d stopped engaging online.
Evan’s fists clenched.
Mary couldn
’t be prouder of him. Parker looked her way, and knew it, too.
“I’m going out patrolling tonight,” Evan said and met the eyes of his brothers. “Are you two coming?”
Parker lifted a brow. “After what you just did to me? I’ll investigate this on my own.”
He kissed Mary on the cheek, and patted Flint on the shoulder, then left.
Evan turned to Tony.
“I have to be on set at five tomorrow. Sorry, bro.” Then Tony left too.
Evan looked at his parents. “I’m doing this on my own, aren’t I?”
“Parker said he’d investigate,” Flint said. “You know he will. We’ll help anyway we can.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow for training,” Mary added. “Those new skills need honing. We should really get you into the lab for testing. We’ll work on your brothers and sisters. Don’t worry. And Evan—”
“Yes?”
“—your work is perfection. Always so many layers to the art. Every time I look at them, I see something new.”
“Well done, son.” Flint patted Evan on the shoulder.
Mary took her husband’s warm, large hand and left the gallery, casting a last glance over her shoulder as she left, trying to ignore the scowl in Evan’s eyes as he glared at the ruined painting.
Ten
Cardinal City was basically an island shaped like a bird, with only the tip of its tail connecting to the mainland. At its crown, you found the docks and markets. Its beak, Chinatown. The business and municipal districts were at the neck, and along the east coast, up high on the bird’s back, lived the city’s rich and elite on the rocky mountain cliffs overlooking Menagerie River. At the center of the bird’s body you found the city’s heart—four districts where people went to be entertained, fed, clothed and housed. Known as The Quadrant, the area pumped life into the waning city, but below its border was where the city’s scum went to live and die, the cesspit of criminal activity, and the epicenter of sin.
None of it really mattered to Sara. She was but a blip of breath in the city’s current life-cycle. She’d died in a blink, and after a few articles in the paper, she was a distant memory. You were born alone, and you died alone. Everything else in between was just trying not to be alone.
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