by Lan Chan
Zeke’s expectant face greeted me when I went to sit back down. “He’s coming to get me in two hours. Wanna come?”
“I’m on babysitting duty,” Zeke said, a note of regret in his tone. That’s what we called sitting with Lily while she tinkered around in the lab. “Rotten luck.”
“Maybe not. I think this visit involves Abigail.”
Zeke blanched. “Never mind. Nothing is worth that.”
“Did anyone happen to get a message from Ryan in the last few days and maybe forget to tell me?” I asked. One guilty pair of pale blue eyes looked out the window. Another frowned.
“Sorry,” Oz said. “I was meant to jot it down and then forgot.” That I could believe.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea that you spend so much time with him,” Rich said.
“I don’t think it’s any of your business.” My shields were fully operational so that there was no chance he could feel my own apprehension at the idea. Somehow, I thought Rich would fight me more on the issue, but aside from the unhappy twist of his lips, he let the topic slide.
At ten to twelve, the perimeter scanner alerted us that there was a car approaching the gate. “Is it just me or does he get a flashier car every time I see him?” Adam observed. Gone was the black sedan and in its place was a silver sports car.
“It’s not just you,” I snorted. “What a monstrosity.”
“What? You’re not impressed by the machinery?”
I arched a brow at him. “Are you impressed by magic tricks?”
“Touché.”
“Magic doesn’t exist,” Lily said. “Have you told him about our theory regarding Second Sight? He was at the scene and might be able to give us further information.”
“Nobody is telling anybody else about this until we’ve got a better idea about how we’re going to handle it,” Rich said.
“And how is that coming along?”
“I’ll tell you when I figure it out. It’s not like there’s precedence for this kind of thing.”
Now was probably a good time to make myself scarce. Somebody else must have buzzed him in because he was waiting for me in the staff parking lot.
Having possibly changed my clothes three times before settling on my current black long-sleeved tee, I tried not to stare at the way his grey T-shirt practically moulded to his frame like a second skin. Or the way the dark brown leather jacket emphasized the gold in his hair. Get a grip!
“Any news?” I asked, sliding into the passenger seat.
“Hello to you too.” And then when he saw the tension etched in the tightness of my glare, he added, “He’s back. Though Julian’s had to stitch him up in a lot of places. He’s not walking at the moment. Still can’t believe they got Novak. Goddamned stiffs.”
I flexed my bunched-up fists. “He’s okay,” I repeated. “Good. Good.” That was all I could think of to say. My eyes closed momentarily, the relief almost a sharp pang in my gut. Gabe had killed Jasmine. There was no sugar coating what he’d done. I had no illusions about his moral code. Still, that didn’t change the fact that I was glad he was alive.
As Ryan drove, I debated whether to tell him about the piggyback dream. I really shouldn’t. He wasn’t Hyper, and the more people who knew about my connection to Second Sight, the more danger it put me in. Yet somehow, not telling him seemed like the wrong thing to do. Almost as though my safety and his involvement somehow coincided.
He manoeuvred the steering wheel with his right arm and changed gears with his left. It was roomier in here than I’d thought, but somehow, he seemed to take up more space than his physical body inhabited. Almost like his aura pulsated around him, daring anything to get in his way.
Then he turned his head and caught me staring. A slow, self-satisfied smile curved his lips. “Hey, darling. Want a picture for your nightstand?”
“Want a concussion?”
“Do you get violent with everyone or is it just me who brings out that adorable side of you? I’ve seen you hit, sweetheart. I think I can take it.”
The annoying thing was that he probably could. Bastard. “Oh God, we’re really doing this, aren’t we?” He’d taken a left turn at the highway towards Kew Gardens. Which meant we were heading towards his sister’s facility. Why? I wanted to wail. I thought I’d gotten out of this already. Then it hit me.
“Hang on a sec. Why would me coming with you today be a favour?” Then it clicked. “No, hell no. You need to change jobs. I’m not looking after her again while you’re gone.”
He didn’t even have the decency to be ashamed. He just put his foot on the gas at the next lights and tapped the steering wheel as though to music only he could hear in his head.
“A deal’s a deal.”
“You’re a bloody sneak. You used my fear about Gabe to trick me.”
“Darling, if I didn’t trick you into half of our interactions, I might not ever see you.”
“You know this is what groupies are for, right?”
“I thought that’s what I was doing?”
I jerked the steering wheel mentally until the car veered into oncoming traffic. A truck blared its horn as Ryan corrected course. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw his shoulders bouncing. He was laughing at me again. I needed new material.
Five minutes before we reached the mansion, he became pensive. “Do you really not want to do it?”
I scratched at my thighs, drawing faint white lines in my blue jeans. “If I say no, where does that leave her?”
“She’ll stay in the mansion the whole time. No one else can handle her.”
I blew out a breath. “This isn’t a fair trade.”
“It’s called a hustle, darling.”
He didn’t flinch at the glare I threw him, but he could have at least pretended not to stare so openly at my mouth. It was almost a relief to get out of the contained pressure in the car. I wasn’t sure how much longer we could go on without talking about the elephant in the room. All I knew was that it wasn’t a good idea to breathe a word of it in front of Abigail.
Now that we were here, I was almost curious how this would go down. When I heard the familiar click of a wheelchair, my palms broke out in a sweat. Far out! I had post-traumatic stress from this kid!
To calm my nerves while we waited, I took my usual tour of the activity rooms. This time, they were painting fruit in the art class. The kid whose easel was facing the window was phenomenal. Not least because he was painting with his foot. His drawing was better than the comics I drew. He turned around when I tapped on the glass, then smiled when I gave him the thumbs up.
It was a warmer reception than what the teacher gave me. Sheesh. Couldn’t even appreciate art around here. Walking back towards the reception, I peered in at the girl in the physiotherapy room. Today she was asleep and not giving me the evil eye.
When I looked at her, I couldn’t help wondering if that was what I might have been like if it weren’t for the nanobots. All it would take was one accident. I shuddered at the thought of being so fragile. Maybe it was the mood I was already in, but when I felt the hand land on my arm I jumped a mile.
A childish laugh filled the hallway. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t just seen it with my own eyes. Even then I rubbed them a couple of times to make sure I wasn’t actually dreaming. Ryan stood beside me with Abigail perched on his hip. The violent, devil child who had plagued me for a month was suddenly cute as a button. Not a tear in sight.
29
We stared at each other, both trying to suss out the situation. “Are you sure that’s your sister?” I asked Ryan. When he smiled, the resemblance was uncanny.
Before I could say so, Abigail reached out and took a bunch of my top near my shoulders. Her little nails dug in. Ha! I knew it was a ruse. “Ghost,” she whispered in my ear.
“Say what?”
It didn’t bode well that she was trembling. “She’s a ghost.” Up against my shield, she pushed the image of the girl in the room, Izzy, stalking the
halls late at night in a white dressing gown. Perfect. I wasn’t going to be able to get that scene from a horror movie out of my mind tonight.
I made a face. “She’s a quadriplegic. She can’t move.”
That cherubic face screwed up and I braced for the tantrum that usually followed it. But then Ryan tipped her chin up and kissed her lightly on the temple. “You’re a big girl now, Abby. Don’t cry, okay?”
And just like that, she was all smiles again. I suspected a trick to lull me into complacency. Well, it wasn’t going to work!
Sans wheelchair, Ryan carried her all the way to his car and deposited her in the back seat. “Is that safe?” I asked. “Shouldn’t she be harnessed?”
“What for? So she can barely move? How would you feel if you were strapped down the whole time?”
“What if we get into a car accident?”
“Nice as you are to look at, darling, there are other reasons I needed you here today.”
All the way to the Row, I waited for something to fly through the car and hit me on the back of the head. My reflexes were taut to the point of snapping but still nothing happened. Every once in a while, I caught a glimpse of her in the side mirror only to see she was just sitting contentedly playing with a raggedy doll. Meanwhile, I was dying, waiting for the shoe to drop. Literally. It would have calmed my nerves a little if she took off her tiny sneaker and used it as a projectile.
Ryan parked the car around the back entrance. After my last encounter with his mum, I wasn’t exactly itching to see her. Maybe it was my reticence or the fact that I’d barely said a word in the whole car ride here, but suddenly Ryan was at my door. He opened it and motioned for me to step out.
“I’m going to talk to Willow for a minute,” he told Abigail. “Don’t be scared. I’ll be right over here.”
She stuck her bottom lip out. Yuck, I heard her say in my head. Careful to keep a mental lock on the car, I let Ryan steer me a few metres down the block and into the little nature strip between the buildings that the residents used as a smoking alcove. My nose automatically scrunched at the waft of ash.
You going to jump at shadows the whole time? Ryan asked in my mind.
I could have kicked something. Where were my shields? Oh, there they were. Completely lowered and sparking uselessly. You’d think I wasn’t in the presence of another alpha or something.
Excuse me if your sister makes me a little uneasy.
Is it just her? Blue eyes suddenly darkened as they shuttered.
What else would it be? It was a good thing we weren’t vocally speaking because my mouth was suddenly as dry as the ashes around us. Ryan closed the distance between us. Stepping back, I ended up pressed against the ivy-covered wall. His arm twined around my waist as my foot slipped on moss-covered concrete.
I pressed both palms onto his sinfully sculpted chest, trying desperately to keep a lid on the electricity dancing over my skin. It wasn’t the kind generated by the nanobots but the ones controlled by the constricting muscle in my chest. This electricity was far more dangerous. As was the man who lowered his head until his nose pressed against my left cheek. The light stubble on his chin grazed my top lip, causing a shudder to spark down my spine.
Your sister, I thought desperately, trying wildly to find some excuse to stop this from happening.
Didn’t you hear her? Ryan thought. She thinks this is yuck. I tried to raise my shields but he feathered his telepathy over me and they crumbled in a pillowy heap.
This isn’t a good idea.
Who cares? I’ve wanted to touch you since the second I heard your voice on the phone.
Eeep!
The stupid, gorgeous, smug bastard drew his lips across mine and my resistance disintegrated. A million tiny starbursts danced across my eyelids as they fluttered closed, giving in to the delicious sensation of his tongue tangling with mine. His intoxicating woody scent filled my nose and invaded my thoughts, blocking out the smell of smoke that had caused me such discomfort.
Not for the first time, my mind betrayed me by giving up all the information on Second Sight. His grip on my hip grew tight. I whimpered at the wave of aggression that ignited in our shared thoughts. Ryan allowed it to rear for the smallest second before he reined it in, but in that brief time, I sensed the depths of his anger. The cage his arms made around me constricted as he pressed the length of his body against mine.
He pulled his lips away from my thoroughly sensitised ones and dotted little kisses across my cheeks and then rested his chin on the top of my head. My ear pressed against where his heart beat in furious thumps. In my mind his thoughts were a jumble but beneath them lay a current of steely purpose. The next time someone tried to hurt me would be the last time. I sighed.
I don’t need protection, I told him.
Sure you do, darling. Look at this flimsy shield of yours.
If ever there was a time I wanted to shock him, it would have been now. His bottom lip snagged between his teeth as though he was contemplating whether the pain of being shocked would convert to pleasure if he was kissing me.
When Abigail’s voice tugged at our minds, I almost sighed in relief. Are you finished doing yucky stuff? I’m bored. I want ice cream.
See what I mean? I thought. She’s a fricken terror.
He pushed me back out onto the street and strode towards the car. With Abigail securely on his hip, we made our way to Scarlet’s apartment.
The visit was blessedly uneventful. I even kept my mouth shut despite Scarlet’s many barbed comments and the small hissy fit she threw when she found out Ryan would be gone for two weeks and I was going to take his place.
Scarlet sniffed. “I assume you’ve heard about the Second Sight bust. Bet you’re real happy it’s over with.”
“Hardly,” I said. “Everyone knows there should be a backlash. Something strange is going on.”
She eyed me for a second. “I don’t know why I’m bothering to tell you this,” she said. “But it’s bad for business and the sooner it’s done the better.”
“What’s bad for business?”
“Curfew.”
I reeled back. “You’re joking. There hasn’t been a curfew in this city for ten years. Not since they introduced the drones.”
On the couch opposite me, I was very aware of a wide-eyed kid soaking in our words. “Oh well. I’m sure whatever is happening, the authorities will deal with it. Nothing to be afraid of.”
Scarlet snorted. “Not likely. If the King—” She stopped abruptly at the very steely glare Ryan levelled at her.
Colour me relieved when we got back into the car.
“Ice cream time!” Abigail said. The sullen expression that had darkened her features the whole time we were with her mum lifted. At least she was a good judge of character. I only hoped that it wouldn’t mess her up when she got older.
We stopped by an ice cream parlour in City Square. For a kid that small, she sure as hell ate a lot. Ryan bought her a chocolate sundae the size of my face and she was halfway through in about ten seconds flat.
“You sure you don’t want anything?” Ryan said. I shook my head. Normally, I’d be giving Abigail a run for her money, but ever since my nightmare involving Adam, ice cream had lost its appeal. That and the fact that I couldn’t get Scarlet’s information out of my head. A curfew mandated by the Kings was a prelude to war. Anyone caught in the crossfire was as good as dead.
That didn’t stop Ryan from buying me two huge tubs to take home. When he dropped me off first, Abigail scowled. “You’re supposed to come home with me.”
“The deal is I come get you on Sundays,” I said.
“No! You have to come stay with me. The bad men will come. The ghost will get me.”
I stared at Ryan, bewildered. He reached into the back seat and patted her head. This time it did little to soothe her. Fat teardrops rolled down her cheeks.
“You said,” she hiccupped. “You said she was coming to protect me.”
Dropping the
ice cream on the floor of the car, I squeezed into the back with her. She tried to squirm into my lap but the seat belt strapped her in place.
“I’m not allowed to leave this place without supervision,” I explained. She sniffed and swiped at a tear.
“You mean you’re a prisoner?” I couldn’t have said it better myself. But I supposed I should try and be diplomatic.
“Not exactly. I’m…closely monitored.”
“Because you’re dangerous.”
“In a way, yes.”
“Then you’re like me. I’m not allowed to go places either.” Her chubby hand came to rest on my arm. Through the contact, I read her unending frustration at being unable to walk. Because she was an esper but she couldn’t protect herself. The feelings made my breath catch. If I were in the same position, I would be a nightmare to everyone around me. Some people handled disability gracefully. Abby and I were not those people. “I can’t run if the bad men come after me.”
“They have no reason to come after you,” I said.
“They’re always coming to see me.”
I looked up at Ryan when she said this, only to have it confirmed in the deep scowl on his face. Now it became clear why he needed me to look after her while he was gone.
“How about this?” Reaching into her mind, I channelled a dense mass of my telepathy, coating it in booby traps and markers that would alert me if someone tried to reach her mind.
I’d done the same thing for Dad when we first moved to Melbourne. It didn’t stop him from being killed, but I’d learned from my mistakes. If someone tried to control her, the trap would spring and my telepathy would strike out at them. Thank you, Oz.
I didn’t think he’d intended for his teachings to be used so offensively, but then again, he probably should have expected it from me. “If anyone tries to get to you, this will explode in their faces.”
She touched at the ball of energy encased in my sparkling gold energy. “Cool. Can Ryan have one?” I heard him choke but didn’t look up.