Tangled Minds (Society of Exalted Minds Book 1)

by A. M. Mahler

  The guys thought I was just looking to go where no man had gone before, if you get my drift. They thought I just wanted to bag a virgin and who could blame me? To them, Olivia was hot in that quiet, artsy kind of way and, therefore, it was always the quiet girls that were the wildest in between the sheets. They were lucky I didn’t punch them. I would have too if I could explain I’d done it because I knew what they were thinking. That story was most likely to fly like a rock.

  None of these kids could possibly understand what Olivia and I were to each other. The boys would never appreciate that I survived for her. Everything I did, I did for her. I lived for her. I was born for her. There was no other path for me, but hers.

  That was a heady thing for an eighteen-year-old boy to realize. Those were thoughts of a man. While the boys were thinking about rushing fraternities in the fall and all the college women they could bag, I was thinking about how I would take care of Livvy. Thanks to Jeremiah and his Ninja mind tricks, I had full access to my trust account, and my father could not get his hands on it. I had a fake identity to go with the money, and it was almost entirely in offshore accounts.

  As I sat in English class, I had no idea what my teacher was droning on about. I knew it was about Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice because that’s what we had to read for homework ... but damn it all if I understood any of it. I glanced down at my notebook in front of me at the notes I’d taken. They didn’t make any sense either. I needed to get my head back in the game. I couldn’t let all this consume me so much or people were going to notice. Olivia was right. We couldn’t draw attention to ourselves, and I’d already had a lot on me given my social status.

  “Jagger!”

  My elbow slid off my desk as I immediately reacted to the distress in her tone. Her fear was rolling over me in waves. I quickly began gathering up my books.

  “Mr. DeWinter?” The teacher asked. “Is there a problem?” God, I hoped not.

  “Yeah, I, uh, need to get to the nurse,” I stammered and fumbled my stuff, breaking out in a sweat.

  “Dude, are you okay?” Mike asked. “You’re wigging out, man.”

  Grabbing the rest of my books, whispers of, “accident,” and, “not the same since,” followed me as I ran out the door.

  I’m coming, baby. Where are you?

  “Hurry, Jagger! By the gym. Oh, God, hurry. I’m going to be sick!”

  I tore through the hallways, my heart pounding hard. The gym was a pretty secluded part of the school. It was out of the way and not passed by the general population of students.

  Olivia was upset and terrified, in genuine fear. It made me run harder. I skidded to a halt outside the boys’ locker room and saw them.

  Mason had Olivia cornered and pinned up against the wall. She faced away from him, squinting her eyes shut and breathing heavily. Trailing a finger down her arm, his hand slid over her waist.

  I saw red.

  “What the hell, man?” I demanded. Dropping my bag, I moved like lighting to throw him off her. I planted myself right in front of Olivia and stared Mason down.

  “I just wanted to see what the big deal was about,” Mason laughed. Something wasn’t right with his eyes. They looked dilated and a little ... crazed. “She’s got you enthralled, dude. You’ve been blowing off your friends, not coming to practice. I figured she’s the reason.”

  “Don’t ever come near her again,” I seethed in a low voice that I didn’t recognize as my own. Olivia buried her head in my back, her hands clutching at my shirt. Her relief at my presence was evident as she sagged against me. My breathing grew heavier and my heart ran sprints. Something inside me was changing, and I didn’t know if I could stop it—if I should stop it.

  “Come on,” Mason said, pushing himself off the wall and squaring off with me. “We’re friends. Friends share their toys.” My fists clenched, the knuckles going white. I wanted to hurt him, to put him in the hospital. I’d never wanted to do harm to anyone as badly as I did him and that included my piece of shit father.

  “If I ever catch you near her again,” I said on a growl. “I will kill you.”

  Mason flinched and the color drained from his face. Something in his eyes changed again. Maybe he was sobering up. I didn’t know what was going on, but suddenly, he looked terrified and confused. I was deadly serious, and now he could see it plain as day. He and I were finished. He knew it.

  But something even stranger happened then. The more I stared him down in anger, the more I realized I needed to hurt him. I needed to punish him—actually, physically inflict damage for threatening Olivia, for causing her fear and for whatever deviant intentions against her he held.

  Mason clutched his head and his face pinched up in agony. Dropping to his knees, his mouth opened in a silent scream. He looked like he was in unbearable pain, and I wanted him to feel even worse than that. Soon, he was on the floor curled in a fetal position and shaking. He couldn’t speak. I wasn’t even sure if he was breathing.

  “Jagger,” Olivia said quickly, grabbing my arm. “Jagger, let him go. I’m okay. You have to let him go.” Her voice cut through my rage-filled brain and Mason’s body began to relax. He pushed himself to his knees and tears ran down his face.

  “I’m sorry, man, I’m sorry,” he gasped, stumbling to his feet. “I don’t know what came over me. I—I have to go to the nurse.” He tripped away, still clutching his head, as I stared after him in fury. I did this. I put her in this position.

  Olivia and I stood there in the hall for a few minutes in our same spots. Then she slowly intertwined her fingers with mine. “Jagger,” she whispered. “We have to leave. Now. You can’t stay here like this.”

  “You’re right.” I said almost in a daze. What had just happened? Did I do that to Mason? Did I hurt him like that? Did he really feel pain? “I don’t know what happened just now.”

  “I do,” Olivia said, her voice shaky. She leaned down and picked up her backpack then reached for mine before she passed it to me and held her shaking hand out. “Jagger.”

  I pulled my gaze from the hallway Mason had just stumbled down and looked at her. Taking my hand, she led us right out the door in front of us. As we ran to my car, I felt like I had no idea what was going on. I felt out of control and that scared me. I said nothing as she grabbed my keys and pushed me towards the passenger side. I couldn’t even see straight, let alone drive a car. My vision was blurry, and my head was ringing.

  Was that what Jeremiah could do? He’d never taught me that. It came out of nowhere.

  It came from my blinding, all-encompassing anger—something I had never felt before. Sure, I got mad, but that wasn’t the same as what I just experienced.

  It was only eleven o’clock as Olivia pulled out of the parking lot and raced down the school driveway. “We need to see my grandfather,” she said. “He’ll know what to do. He’ll know how this happened. I didn’t know you could do that, too. Jagger, you just threw pain.”

  “I did that? I forced him into pain? I hurt him like that? That’s what Jeremiah can do?” Jesus, that was some kind of superpower.

  “You didn’t hurt him,” she rushed to explain. “You made him think he was in pain. You didn’t actually hurt him. But while you had that link with him, he truly believed he was in and felt excruciating pain.”

  My body was starting to shake. It was like I was going to burst out of my own skin and there would be pieces of my guts everywhere. I rolled down the window, stuck my head out, and took gulping breaths of fresh air. It did little to help.

  “Don’t worry, okay?” She leaned over, grabbed my hand, and squeezed. “Don’t worry. My grandfather will know what happened.”

  I pulled our joined hands to my chest and looked out the window. Her hand was a lifeline to me. What was I going to do? I couldn’t be around people with that inside me, especially if I couldn’t control it. I couldn’t be around Olivia like that. I couldn’t risk causing her that kind of pain.

  A terrifying thought came int
o my mind.

  “Did you feel that, too,” I whispered.

  “No, Jagger,” she said. “I swear. I only knew you were mad, really, really angry. I promise.”

  I kissed her fingertips and dropped our hands back to my chest. That was something at least.

  Except I couldn’t go to school tomorrow like this. I would not go anywhere until I had a handle on whatever this was. Why hadn’t it shown up before? Was it because I was never that angry? I tried to recall the last time I was as mad as that and nothing came to mind. With the exception of my father, I didn’t get angry at people. I was a good-natured guy for the most part. I didn’t even know I had that in me.

  Mason had scared Olivia, and I wanted him to pay. He wanted to hurt her, and I wanted him completely debilitated. I didn’t just want him on his knees; I wanted him on the floor, and that’s right where I had him. What would have happened to him if I had continued? What if Olivia wasn’t there to pull me out of that trance? Could I have killed him or caused some other damage? How long could a mind defend against that kind of pain?

  It struck me as we pulled down the wooded lane to Olivia’s secluded house, that I had an extremely effective weapon with which to protect her. I just needed to learn how to use it.

  “GRANDPA,” OLIVIA SHOUTED as we walked in her front door. The house was quiet, and she dragged me along. “Don’t worry, Jagger. He’ll know what to do.” At this point, I suspected she was reassuring herself more than me. I hoped she wasn’t scared of me now because I was scared of myself. My fear I could handle; hers might just kill me.

  She continued to call for Jeremiah as we moved through the house. Something didn’t feel right—I mean, other than the obvious. There was a strange energy in the air. I could feel it in my bones.

  Finally, we came to the bedrooms. Slowly, Olivia pushed the door to her grandfather’s room open. Gasping, she rushed forward to where Jeremiah was lying in bed, pale and sweaty, his breathing labored.

  “I can fix this, grandpa! I can fix this.” Desperately, she laid her hands on his chest, tears streaming down her cheeks.

  “No, sweetie,” Jeremiah rasped. “It’s time. I gave my power to Jagger. There’s nothing left for me.”

  “You did that?” I was astonished. That certainly explained why I’d never felt that before. I didn’t know it was possible to give someone that kind of power. The amount of knowledge I had on any of this was woefully lacking, and the one man with all the answers was dying.

  “You needed help,” Jeremiah said to Olivia, reaching his hand out and touching her cheek. Olivia brought her hand up to cover his. “I couldn’t get there in time, but Jagger could. I gave it to him. He has everything he needs to protect you now, Livvy. You have to let me go.”

  “I can’t.” She cried, dropping her face to her grandfather’s chest. “I’m not ready. We still have so many questions.” That was an understatement.

  Jeremiah looked at me. Our gazes held for a long moment before he spoke. “They’re coming for her, Jagger. You’re the only thing stopping them now from taking my sweet girl. She knows where the money is. Between what I have saved and what you have, you’ll be fine. Take it and leave tonight. Don’t tell anyone where you’re going or where you are. After you leave, dump your phones. Get out of town as soon as possible.”

  “I won’t leave you alone.” Olivia said sitting up. “I can’t let you die alone.”

  “I won’t.” Jeremiah patted her hand. “Call 9-1-1 before you leave. They’ll take me to the hospital, and I’ll go there.”

  “It’s the same thing.” Olivia cried. My heart hurt for her. She was so close with her grandfather. He took care of her for so long and their relationship ending this way was traumatic. Hell, I hardly knew the guy and I was tearing up.

  Jeremiah looked back at me and nodded, an understanding passing between us. It was time to step up. “Olivia,” I said, gently. “Where’s the money? Let’s get our bags.” She looked up at me and shook her head, heavy tears dripping off her face. “We have to listen to your grandfather. You said he’d know what to do, and this is what he’s telling you to do. Hurry up. Go get the money. If we get caught, all his hard work will be for nothing. His death will be for nothing. Don’t take that from him.”

  Olivia looked at me for a long moment.

  “I’m sorry, baby. I’m so sorry. I wish you could be spared this pain. It’s out of my hands. It was his decision.”

  She nodded to me and kissed her grandfather on the forehead. Without a word, she left the room.

  “How do I control this?” I asked.

  “Practice,” he wheezed. “You have to focus it. You’ll be able to use it on more than one person at a time. Visualize it like a net and cast it out. The wider the net, the more people you can catch.”

  “Who’s after her?”

  “Never too sure.” He said with a cough. “There are others out there. If you can find them, you can work together. She was too young for me to try to find them, but they do other things. They’re like you and yet a little different. Keep your ear to the ground.”

  “In what circles?” I asked incredulously. “We’re only eighteen years old.” I couldn’t very well sidle up to a bar and ask the guy next to me if he had heard of any telepaths in the area recently.

  “You’ll be all right. Keep your wits about you.”

  Olivia came back in dragging our bags and a leather tote bag. I took them all from her.

  “What’s going to happen to the house?” She asked.

  “It goes to you,” Jeremiah said. “But don’t you stay here. I don’t know what’ll happen to it. Doesn’t matter. It’s just stuff. You’re what’s important. Go baby girl. Don’t let me down. Don’t let this sacrifice be for nothing.”

  “I love you, grandpa.” Leaning down, she pressed one last kiss to his forehead.

  “I love you, too. Call 9-1-1 and go.”

  With great reluctance, she finally did as she was told. While she was on the phone, totally on impulse, I ran back to her room and grabbed the sunflower painting.

  Olivia

  My emotions were all over the place and my heart ached. Half of me was screaming to go back to my grandfather and heal him. The three of us could leave together. But if he really had transferred his talent to Jagger, what was he going to be able to do? As much as I hated to think of it, he would be a hindrance.

  The other half of me was in survival mode. Who was coming? Were they already in town? How did Jeremiah know? Was there a phone call? Someone dead in the woods by my house? My adrenaline was somewhere up in the stratosphere. Fight or flight was in full force. We were nowhere near ready to fight, so we were choosing flight.

  I’d expected some sort of deathbed confession. I knew my grandfather had always been holding something back from me. Though whatever it was, he was taking it to his grave, and I was beyond frustrated by that.

  Well, I don’t know how much of a choice we had. Jeremiah had ordered our flight. The town was a blur as Jagger sped through the streets.

  “Jagger, you have to slow down.” I said. “We can’t get pulled over. If someone is in town already, you’re making it obvious who we are.”

  Letting out a long breath, he eased up on the gas and slowed the car to the speed limit. “You’re right.” He said. “I’m just freaking out. I don’t know what to do. Where do we go? We can’t go back to school. We sure as shit aren’t staying with my family. Jeremiah wanted us to get out of town, but where?”

  “1014 Falling Pine Road.” I rattled off robotically.

  Jagger snapped his head to the side to look at me. “What? What is that? Why is this the first time I’m hearing of this?”

  “It’s an address outside of town that my grandfather made me memorize. If I ever had to run, that’s where I was supposed to go.” I explained.

  “What is it? Another house?” He asked. I was stunned to see he was turning back into the driveway of the school.

  “I have no idea. I’ve never be
en there. Jagger, why are we back at school? You’re not planning on going in, are you?”

  “No.” He backed into a spot in front of the school, facing the doors and pulled out his cell phone. “I need to tell my sister I’m leaving. I need her and my mom to know that I left on my own.”

  It was dangerous to come here. If Mason had said anything about what happened, Jagger could be arrested. But I also respected his decision. He loved his mother and sister and wouldn’t want them to be worried that something bad had happened to him. Of course, we had no idea what we were dealing with and even if he just skipped town, they’d likely always wonder what had really happened to him.

  We waited in silence, watching the front door of the school for dismissal. Our lives changed dramatically today. We had no direction. All we knew was that we needed to leave town. We had no idea where would be safe to go. Maybe we could hide out at this address. Maybe it was a safehouse of some kind. But if it was, how would we get in? Was somebody already living there? Were we supposed to put our trust in a complete stranger? Each question I came up with only led to more frustrating ones. We were eighteen years old and on the run. Our school absences would be reported immediately, and a search would begin. Jagger was the son of a prominent Denver attorney. Our pictures would likely be splashed across every kind of screen—the news, social media, flyers. Preston DeWinter would never allow Jagger out of his control and would be desperate to get him back if only to beat the hell out of him. Men like his father didn’t lose. Beyond an abusive husband and father, there was something evil about that man. It made me scared to leave his sister there without Jagger to protect her.

  As the final bell rang and the doors to the school opened, Willow DeWinter was one of the first ones out. She ran straight for Jagger’s car, long chestnut hair streaming behind her, backpack bouncing around her elbow. She climbed in the back seat and barely had the door closed before Jagger was out of the spot and on his way back down the driveway.