Healing Minds (The Shifter Chronicles 5)

by M. D. Grimm

  Morning couldn’t come soon enough.

  They were on the road again and crossed the border into Utah a mile back. The landscape was similar to that of Colorado and New Mexico. Most of the land was flat and mountains could always be seen in the distance. They rose up, monoliths shadowing everything around them. Creations of nature that mocked the structures of humans. No matter how well or how tall humans built, their structures would never compare to that of Mother Nature’s. Utah had more to offer in the sense of fascinating structures, however: the red rock that seemed to have been sculpted by an eccentric artist’s hands. Josh stared at them, wondering how nature had created them. They appeared to sprout out of the ground, distinctly different from the distant mountains in color and shape. The sun shone down, and it grew rather hot. Josh rolled down the window a fraction. The dry air hit his face, carrying with it strange scents he wasn’t used to. He suspected it was the scent of unpolluted air.

  They were now heading northwest before they would turn south again. Xavier told Josh the back roads were working well, and the lack of traffic was encouraging. Josh thought it good fortune the vehicles they kept stealing had GPS in them. They’d left in the early morning and eaten in the car. Well, now it was a truck. They’d stolen another vehicle. All the supplies were latched and strapped in the back of the truck, fresh ice was packed in the coolers, and they were on their way to the Nevada deserts.

  Josh hoped he bought enough sunblock.

  Xavier hadn’t spoken much after that very ill-advised kiss. Josh’s lips still tingled from it. The more he tried not to think about it, the more it stayed in his mind. His heart had broken when Xavier shouted at the voice in his head, when he struggled so hard to resist the shift. The agony he must have been in… Josh couldn’t imagine. He didn’t want to. It occurred to him that he hadn’t been afraid of Xavier during that fit. He’d felt scared for Xavier, but he hadn’t felt fear for himself. What did that mean? That he was reckless? Or maybe his instincts finally understood that Xavier wasn’t a threat to him.

  Well, maybe not a threat as in violence, but certainly a threat in another way. Attraction.

  Josh glanced at Xavier. He’d joined the Agency without hesitation, even when he was told intimate partnerships were forbidden. An agent was alone, married to the Agency and the mission. They could be assigned partners, but many agents worked alone. Josh always saw the Agency as the family he’d been deprived of. They gave him a purpose. They trained him. They had abilities like he did. They’d welcomed him with open arms. He felt so comfortable and needed there. He’d met so many amazing people and had learned so many amazing things. He knew things ordinary people didn’t. The Agency was a godsend.

  So why was he now feeling doubt about his place in it? Why was it that when he looked at Xavier, he began to wonder? To wonder what exactly he’d given up to be a part of the Agency.

  “Could you talk, please?” Xavier said.

  Josh blinked and smiled slightly. “You know, hearing that just seems so odd. I’m used to people telling me to shut up. Most foster parents would rather see you, not hear you.”

  “Well, I’m not them,” Xavier said firmly. “And you know why.”

  Josh nodded. Afternoon was descending, and they hadn’t stopped very often. Josh felt cramped, and his muscles wanted movement. Might as well talk and keep his mind occupied.

  “Any requests?” he asked.

  Xavier’s mouth twitched. “Why don’t you tell me about the shifters I… the shifters who were killed.”

  Josh bit his lower lip. “Are you sure? I mean, you sure you want to hear about this now?”

  Xavier jerked his shoulders in a shrug. “Might as well sooner rather than later. The sooner I know everything, the sooner I can heal. Hopefully.”

  Josh nodded slowly, though if he started to fall into a fit, Josh would stop.

  “Well, I’m afraid it was about a dozen country-wide.” He watched Xavier closely and caught the slight tightening of his hands on the steering wheel as well as the clenching of his jaw. But he said nothing, and he stared straight ahead.

  “Most of them were wolf shifters. But there were two cougar shifters, one deer. A coyote.”

  “What were their names?” Xavier asked, his voice rasping.

  “Xavier, don’t do this to yourself.”

  Xavier growled. “Tell me.”

  Josh swallowed hard. He hesitated, knowing Xavier deserved the entire truth. “Most were men with a couple of women. There was a Julius Mitchell from Illinois, a Keith Davis from Alabama, a Teresa O’Keefe from Montanta….”

  Josh named each one. He knew their names, where they were from, and their occupations. Most had been either petty criminals or auto mechanics. Agent Poe attempted to understand a pattern, but there didn’t appear to be one. None of the shifters had known each other; all of them had lived in different cities or states. What connected them other than their killer?

  “The last one you killed was Connor Matthews in―”

  “South Dakota,” Xavier whispered.

  Josh blinked. Xavier had grown sickly pale and drawn, his eyes darkening, though not in anger. In grief.

  Josh opened his mouth and before he could speak, Xavier yanked the steering wheel and drove the truck down a gravel road. They were on a road that wasn’t frequently used, and their surroundings were swallowed up by the darkness of night. He slammed on the brake and wrenched the parking brake back before laying his forehead against the steering wheel. He started to shake. A strange sound issued from him.

  It took Josh a moment to realize Xavier was crying. Sobbing. Heart breaking all over again, he undid his seatbelt, scooted closer, and wrapped his arms around Xavier. He could guess to the cause of Xavier’s grief. What if he’d known the victims before he’d been taken? What if they’d been former associates? Lovers?

  Josh closed his eyes and held Xavier tighter. The sobs were wrenched from his core, shaking his entire body, tensing his muscles. Josh felt it all, and he laid his head on Xavier’s bent back. He stroked Xavier’s shoulders, his lower back, trying to give what comfort he could. It was probably a lame attempt, but what else could he do? He couldn’t make the victims un-dead.

  Xavier wrenched away and shot out of the truck. Josh followed a heartbeat later. He kicked up dust as he ran around the truck to stop in front of Xavier.

  “Xavier, wait!”

  “I killed them. I fucking killed them all!” Xavier kicked one of the truck’s tire violently several times. Josh thought frantically how he was going to calm the shifter down. The grief had turned to fury. The gold had vanished from his eyes and they now flashed a dark green, the madness coming to the forefront. His eyes glowed faintly in the growing darkness, and Josh tried not to let panic rule his actions.

  “Xavier, you have to fight it. You can’t give in to the voice!”

  “This isn’t about the voice, Josh!” Xavier roared and trembled in impotent rage. His skin rippled violently, and Josh felt the air shimmer, could see the lengthening of Xavier’s teeth. His fingers.

  “Xavier―” Josh gripped his arm.

  Xavier backhanded him. Completely shocked, he fell to the ground as Xavier turned away, stripping. He ran and shifted rapidly before bounding away as a large black wolf. Away from Josh. The darkness swallowed him up.

  Josh sat up. He rubbed his cheek. The sting hurt, but he figured he should have seen it coming. Maybe Xavier needed to shift to get the anger out, the feeling of impotence. Josh just prayed no one got hurt because of it. Though, as he looked around, he knew they were miles from the nearest town or city. They were, essentially, in the middle of nowhere.

  Slowly standing, he gathered up Xavier’s clothes and got back in the truck. This time they’d managed to steal a truck whose owner had been stupid enough to leave the keys in the ignition. The older gentleman had hopped out of the truck at a nearly-deserted gas station and walked into the small shop. As he’d flirted with the young cashier, Xavier had taken advantage. They�
��d stolen the truck right under the man’s nose. Josh still felt guilty and always would, but really, the guy should have paid better attention.

  Josh folded the clothes for something to do and laid them on the driver’s seat. He got out and grabbed a blanket and pillow from the back before climbing back into the cab again. He was confident Xavier would return when he had a better grip on his brain. Josh wrapped the blanket around himself and sighed. The night turned the air chilly, and he rolled up the window. He wanted to keep moving. He wondered if the Agency was on their tail yet or if the Knights had been taken down. How many escaped? Would they be after Xavier again? Did Poe finally take down Arcas, the leader of the Knights? That was the biggest problem with being a fugitive―he was so completely out of the loop.

  The fact they might be followed was why they were taking such a roundabout way to get to Las Vegas. They took back roads, double backed, stopped infrequently. He lost track of exactly where they were but had confidence in Xavier. Xavier made sure the vehicles they stole were never the same type and that no pattern could be recognized if someone was to take a harder look at the thefts.

  Josh closed his eyes. He ended up dozing. It was full night when he heard a tap at his window. He’d locked the doors because he wasn’t stupid. Not quite sure who it might be, maybe a cop, Josh was coming up with an excuse when he lifted his eyes to the driver’s side window. Xavier stood there in the darkness, his eyes bright, his body pale.

  With relief washing over him again, Josh grinned and crawled over the seat to unlock the door. Xavier opened it. The overhead light came on, and Josh, wholly unintentionally, got an eyeful of naked wolf shifter. Pale, tight skin over muscles Xavier had worked on in his cage. Defined chest with a light sprinkling of dark hair, a flat stomach, and…. Josh blushed fiercely and shoved away from the shifter. He yanked his gaze away and forced himself to stare out the passenger window. But the sight was burned into his retinas. Dark, curly hair encircled a long, slim penis that Josh could only imagine too well erect and throbbing.

  Xavier said nothing. Josh was grateful.

  “I think you should drive.”

  Josh glanced over, relieved Xavier was fully dressed. He squashed the ridiculous little germ of disappointment.

  “Okay. Sure.”

  He scooted over, and Xavier walked around the truck. They both clicked on their seatbelts. Josh turned around and found the road they’d been journeying on. He turned right, heading north, and put on the gas.

  Xavier spoke first after several miles of silence. “I am so sorry for hitting you.”

  Josh nodded. “I know.”

  “I don’t want to hurt you, Josh,” Xavier said. “I never have. I just…. I hate to say it, but I couldn’t control myself. I needed you to let me go. I just needed to run.”

  “You didn’t hurt anyone?”

  “No.”

  Josh let out a relieved breath. “That’s good. And should you hit me again, just know that I will hit back. With a tire iron. Wielded by my head.”

  He glanced at Xavier. He frowned for a moment, then smiled, though it didn’t reach his eyes. “Oh, right. Telekinesis. I hope you do. My head might need a good smack.”

  Josh chuckled. Silence fell again, but this time it was easy. He glanced over, and Xavier’s eyes were closed. His head was leaning back, his mouth slightly open. Josh smiled. It was good that he slept. Josh turned his attention back to the road and turned on the radio, keeping the volume low. He didn’t like driving in the dark, but this didn’t seem the time to complain about that.

  It was only at a gas station in the late morning that Xavier finally told Josh why he’d cried. Josh’s suspicions had been correct.

  Xavier held the gas nozzle, and Josh stretched with a slight moan of relief.

  “They were all ex-lovers. Ex-associates. I’d worked jobs with them, or I’d had one-nighters.”

  Josh shook his head. “I don’t know what to say.”

  “There’s nothing to say.”

  The Knights had messed with Xavier’s head and made him kill those he once knew. Those he were once intimate with. If Josh wasn’t so focused on keeping Xavier from seeking revenge on the Knights, he would be the one to search them out. He wanted to strangle the murderous lot of them with his own hands. He wanted to watch as Xavier tore and gutted them, chewed on their bones….

  “Josh,” Xavier barked.

  Josh jerked and realized everything not bolted down, which included the truck, were floating several inches in the air. Cringing, he took a calming breath and consciously lowered everything back to the ground. Xavier wasn’t affected because, for Josh, moving inanimate things with telekinesis was far easier than moving live things.

  “Sorry,” he mumbled and rubbed the back of his neck.

  “There’s no need, since I’m sure we were thinking the same thing.” Xavier’s eyes glowed brightly, and Josh gave him a reproachful look.

  “It won’t help us, Xavier. The Knights are disbanded.”

  “But not all of them are dead.”

  “No.”

  “So, we simply kill the ones still alive.” Xavier made it sound so simple.

  “No,” Josh said. “Stop thinking that way, Xavier. You can’t fall into a fit again.”

  Xavier glowered but stopped pushing the issue. “I’m impressed by your ability,” he said a moment later. He set the gas hose back to the tank and closed the gas cap on the truck. “Can you move anything with it?”

  Josh cleared his throat, willing to change the subject if Xavier was. “Nearly. Loose things are easier than anything bolted to the ground. But moving a can or bottle is obviously easier than moving an entire house. And moving living things is the hardest.”

  “Why?”

  He shrugged. “Not sure. It just always has been for me.”

  Xavier nodded, and they got back into the truck. “So, you couldn’t lift and throw me across the room?”

  “Not unless you really deserved it.”

  Xavier chuckled. Josh smiled.

  They ended up stopping at another motel, which charged by the hour. Josh felt a little skeezy being in it, but he really wanted a shower. They both did. So, he said nothing and got a hot shower and more time to stretch and move his long limbs.

  Were they making any progress? Josh thought they were―Xavier hadn’t attacked a shifter. But that wasn’t without trying. That voice still had a firm hold over Xavier. Josh stood by his theory that it was magic of some sort. No one really knew much about Arcas, and Josh remembered what the three knights had said about Xavier―their master wanted his pet back. He was certain Arcas had done this to Xavier personally. It was most likely his voice that tried to control Xavier. But why? What did he get out of Xavier killing other shifters except sick pleasure?

  Josh shut down his anger before his ability could take over. He finished his shower quickly and dried with equal speed.

  Arcas would get a kick out of shifters killing shifters at his command. Fucking bastard.

  Fully dressed and feeling nicely clean, Josh checked on his bruise before walking out of the bathroom. It was looking much better. It was still slightly green, but it should disappear sometime in the following days. Great. He walked into the bedroom only to nearly be shot as the window exploded. Josh dropped to the floor. Gunfire sounded just outside the room, and he trembled. Where was Xavier? Had knights found them? The Agency? Frantic with worry, he moved closer to the door even though instinct was screaming at him to run to the bathroom and lock himself inside. Xavier said he was going to look at the parking lot and see if there was a vehicle they could steal.

  Where is he now?

  Josh hugged the floor and crawled to the front door. Lying low, he pressed his ear against the door. The gunfire stopped. Taking a steadying breath, calling himself an idiot, he reached up slowly and turned the doorknob. He opened the door just a crack and peeked out.

  His jaw dropped at the sight.

  Xavier stood among several bodies, which
lay still on the ground. He had a gun in his hand, and his eyes were bright. Suddenly, another man came at him. Josh suspected the gunfight had been gang related. But as the man ran toward Xavier with a knife in his hand, Xavier dropped to a crouch. He swung around and didn’t shoot the gun, instead using it to smack the knife out of the attacker’s hand. With quick and precise movements, Xavier disabled the man and punched him hard in the side of the head. The attacker went down, limp and still. Then Xavier froze, cocking his head this way and that. Josh realized he was listening. When nothing happened for several moments, Xavier dropped the gun and sprinted toward the room where Josh lay. He barely managed to push clear of the door before Xavier shoved inside.

  “Josh―”

  “Here.”

  Xavier swung around, and Josh was shocked at the fear in those expressive eyes. The shifter lunged toward him. He could only gape as Xavier began to touch him everywhere, his expression grim.

  “Are you shot? Did they shoot you?”

  “No, no. Stop.” Josh pushed against him. “I’m fine. Stop it.”

  Xavier stilled. He stared. Then he swept his arms around Josh and crushed him to his chest. Josh gasped. Xavier rocked both of them.

  “By Fenris’ blood, that scared the shit out of me. I was just outside and heard the gunfire. Then… then I saw a shot hit the window and….” Xavier pushed his face into Josh’s hair and took such a deep breath Josh was thankful he was fresh from a shower.

  “I’m fine, really. But what about you?” Josh tilted his head back. Their gazes met. “How’d you disarm all those men? They had guns, for Christ’s sake, and you―”

  “I told you. My pack trained me.” Xavier’s eyes darkened. “Nothing will keep me from protecting what is mine.”

  Oh. Uh. Huh?

  Xavier shook himself and closed his eyes. Then, as abruptly as the embrace had come, it was gone. Xavier let go and stood. Josh wobbled and sat fully on his butt, staring up in confusion. And fear.

  His? Protecting what was his? Did the shifter… no way. But he didn’t imagine what Xavier said. This was really, really not good.