by I. T. Lucas
That didn’t make sense.
As someone who obviously valued his privacy, Emmett had to have a way to come and go undetected. The answer was probably in the underground structure. Just like the keep’s underground had several tunnels leading to buildings across the street, Emmett’s basement probably had a tunnel leading someplace outside of Safe Haven’s enclosure.
Finding a spot between the bushes hugging the fence and a rock pile, Peter crouched low and dropped the shroud. An hour or so later, he changed positions and sat on the damp cold ground.
It was about two in the morning, and he wondered whether Emmett kept his guests overnight or sent them back once he was done with them. It would have been better if he could have seen them coming in instead of waiting for them to leave, but that was too difficult to pull off. He and Eleanor would have had to sneak into Emmett’s office while the common room was still bustling with activity, and the chances of them getting caught would have been much greater.
Besides, he wanted to witness first-hand the state in which Emmett’s partners left his bed. After all, they were basing their suspicions on one guy’s testimony, and Anastasia’s speculation about her friend.
The rest was his gut feeling that something was afoot.
Another hour passed before a light went on in the cottage, and a moment later, the front door opened.
Peter drew the shroud around him but didn’t leave his hiding spot just yet. If Emmett was an immune and he escorted his companion out, he might see through him.
Except, it wasn’t Safe Haven’s leader who came out through the door. Two men and four women spilled out, and all six seemed to be either drunk or high on something. They looked like people who had partied a little too hard, and given the giggling and smiling, they’d had a good time.
When the last one closed the door behind him, Peter left his hiding place and silently followed behind them, paying close attention to the women. One of them looked more the worse for wear than the others, leaning on one of the men who was propping her up and practically dragging her along.
Was she just drunk?
Peter’s night vision was excellent, and he couldn’t see any bruises on her, but who knew what was hidden by her clothing?
Switching to his other senses, he sniffed for tears or other scents of distress, but all he smelled was the sex, and what he picked up of the more subtle smells was post-coital satisfaction.
Apparently, everyone had had a good time.
Following them into the office, he waited until they exited through the other door before dropping his shroud. “Well, that was a lot of wasted time.”
Eleanor rose up from behind the couch. “It looked like he had a party down there.”
“And everyone had a great time. All I could smell on them was sex. Did you find anything interesting in his file cabinet?”
She shrugged. “He’s old-fashioned, making hand notes, and his handwriting is neat. He has some grading system that he uses for each member, but I couldn’t decipher what it meant.”
“Show me.”
Eleanor walked up to the file cabinet and pulled out a file. “This is Anastasia’s.” She handed it to him.
The file contained a picture and a couple of printed sheets with Anastasia’s basic information, but there was also a handwritten pink post-it note. It had two columns, one of which was numbers, and the other symbols. Eleanor was right that it was a grading system since the numbers rated from five to ten. But that was as much as he was able to figure out. The symbols meant nothing to him.
“I wish I had my phone so I could take a picture of this. Maybe William could figure out what this means.”
Eleanor chuckled. “As an old immortal, you should still remember the old days when people copied things by hand.” She opened a drawer and pulled out a post-it pad and a pen.
He handed the file back to her. “Make sure to copy the symbols exactly as he drew them.”
“Do you want to do it?”
“No, I’m sure you’ll do a better job.”
“You’re too kind.” She copied the note and then showed it to him. “Good?”
“Excellent.” He folded it and tucked it into his pocket. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Does it mean that we can go home now?”
“Not yet.”
“Bummer.”
20
Leon
Leon had caught Anastasia touching her neck several times during breakfast, her fingers sliding over the spot and a look of confusion pulling her brows together.
Hopefully, she would start transitioning soon so he wouldn’t have to make up crazy stories to explain the bites. So far, he was skittering on the edge of truth, calling them love-bites and little nips. That could be regarded as an understatement, but not an outright lie, something that could later become a problem in their relationship.
Yeah, as if not getting Anastasia’s consent to the induction wouldn’t be a big problem that was sure to bite him on the ass.
“Are you up for a morning walk?” She pushed to her feet and collected their plates.
This morning, she’d put on a pair of tight black pants that hugged her beautiful ass perfectly, and a dark green sweater that complemented the red tones of her hair. Black boots completed her outfit.
She looked good in the designer clothes Amanda had gotten for her. Anastasia wasn’t the kind of woman who should wear the Safe-Haven-approved crap.
She was a princess, and she should dress like one.
“Always.” Leon got up and helped collect the rest. “I don’t like being cooped up indoors.” He leaned and planted a quick kiss on her cheek. “Although, I’m more than happy to be cooped up with you.”
“Nice save.” Anastasia’s lips twisted in a grimace. “Am I boring you?”
“What gave you that impression?”
She shrugged. “We don’t have much in common.” She turned the water on and rinsed out their plates. “It’s all about sex with us. Not that I’m complaining, it’s great, but I don’t know if it’s enough to build a relationship on.”
Someone had woken up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.
“It’s just our third day together. Isn’t it too early to be examining our relationship?”
Letting out a breath, Anastasia dried her hands with a towel. “Ignore me. For some reason, I feel cranky today. Maybe it’s because ever since I came to this cabin, the damn voices decided to be quiet. Usually, I would have been overjoyed, but I want answers, and you are the only one who can provide them. Except, you can’t if I don’t hear anything.”
He pulled her into his arms. “Perhaps it’s a good thing. Wouldn’t you like to be rid of them forever?”
“I would, but I also want some kind of a logical explanation.”
Caressing her back, he kissed the top of her head. “There is nothing logical about Jin’s or Mey’s paranormal abilities, but they are real nonetheless. There are aspects of reality that our science hasn’t discovered yet or has no explanation for, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t exist.”
She lifted her eyes to him. “Why do you think the voices have stopped?”
“It’s obviously the sex. You are falling asleep right after, so you don’t have that quiet time before. But don’t you dare suggest that we stop making love just so you can hear them again.”
That wrested a smile out of her. “Trust me, I won’t. I don’t think I could even if I wanted to. You’ve turned me into a nymphomaniac.”
“I consider that one of my greatest accomplishments.”
“Oh, yeah?” She tilted her head sideways. “I hope that your other achievements are not in a related field.”
“Jealous?” He kissed the tip of her nose. “Possessive?”
Anastasia nodded. “I never expected it to be so difficult not to feel possessive about someone I care for.”
A grin spread over his face. “So, you admit that you care for me.”
“Of course I do. I woul
dn’t be here if I didn’t.”
He pursed his lips. “You wanted to find out more about the voices. If I were a less confident man, I would have thought that was your main reason for coming here with me.”
Shaking her head, she pushed on his chest. “Then it’s good that you have an overinflated ego. Let’s put our coats on and continue this pointless conversation on our walk.”
The woman had a sharp tongue and wasn’t afraid to use it. Why the hell had he thought that she was timid?
Anastasia wasn’t bashful. She was outspoken and assertive, but she was also fearful and self-conscious. She was afraid of swimming in the ocean, of riding a motorcycle, of falling in love, of living.
Pulling her coat off the hook by the door, he helped her put it on before taking his. “It’s sunny outside, but you might want to put your gloves on.”
“What about you?”
“I’m not that sensitive to the cold.”
Pulling her gloves out of the pocket of her coat, she rolled her eyes. “Macho, macho man,” she sang. “I got myself a macho man.”
Leon laughed. “That song came out long before you were born.”
“It’s a classic.” She followed him out the door. “I’ve never asked you what kind of music you like.”
“I like all kinds.” He took her hand and led her down the steps.
“That’s not an answer.”
“But it’s the truth. I like songs from every decade and in almost every genre.”
“What’s your favorite one?” she asked.
“The Sound of Silence, but not the original rendition by Simon and Garfunkel. That old one was good, but I like Disturb’s cover better.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard it.”
“The original or the cover?”
“The cover. I know the original, and I like it, but it’s a little sad. It evokes images of loneliness and alienation.”
He pulled out his phone. “Then you are going to like this cover. It turns the sadness and loneliness into a battle cry.”
21
Anastasia
“Wow,” Ana said when the song ended. “You weren’t kidding about the battle cry. He turned the song into something entirely different.”
She wondered what it said about Leon that this was his favorite song.
Was he lonely but fought not to be?
Did he hate silence?
Or maybe it wasn’t personal but a metaphor for the state of the world?
“What is it about that song that moves you?”
He shrugged. “The melody is beautiful, and the singer’s voice is powerful.”
“So it’s not about the lyrics?”
“That too. I feel like the singer is waging war against the silence, against turning a blind eye to suffering, against those who turn to false prophets for guidance instead of thinking for themselves.” He smiled down at her. “But in the end, it’s just a song with a hauntingly beautiful melody.”
“Sometimes I think that the ability to create music is the only part of humans that has a touch of the divine. It’s what separates us from the other chimps that we essentially are.”
“Chimps?” He arched a brow.
“Primates.”
“Not much of an improvement. You don’t have a high opinion of people, do you?”
“I don’t.” She kicked up a stone. “I’d rather not talk about it.”
“Why not?”
“Because I sound depressed when I do, and no one wants to hang with a sad chick.”
He chuckled. “Eleanor said the same thing, but I disagree. It is not a woman’s job to be the cheerleader in a relationship. If you have something on your mind, say it. I want to know all of your thoughts, not just the happy ones.”
She eyed him skeptically. “You might believe that, but trust me, you don’t want my depressing thoughts. People enjoy the company of those who are upbeat and can make them feel better about themselves and the world. There is enough crap in everyone’s life as it is, and no one needs an extra dose of it.”
He stopped and turned to her. “I want to know everything about you, not just the best you choose to show the world. I’ll take the sad with the happy, the beautiful with the ugly, the brave with the fearful, and everything else.”
It was like he’d dug deep into her soul and found the thing she was craving the most. Complete and unconditional acceptance. But she’d learned long ago that it didn’t exist. Anastasia didn’t remember much about her relationship with her mother, but she remembered trying to make her laugh, to please her. It hadn’t been as difficult to do as it had been with her father, but it had still been an effort.
No one had ever accepted her for what and who she was.
Tears stinging the back of her eyes, she shook her head. “Don’t say things that you don’t mean.”
“I really hate it when you accuse me of lying.”
“Are you always truthful?”
“I try to be. I might keep things from you that I can’t talk about, but I didn’t tell you any untruths.”
He sounded sincere, and what he was offering her was too tempting to refuse. It would be so liberating to just say whatever was on her mind.
Ana started walking again. “Sometimes I think how pointless life is. Most of the things people are chasing after are so meaningless. Career, prestige, money being considered sexy and beautiful. It’s all fleeting. And what’s really important is so hard to get.”
“What’s important to you?”
“Being loved and accepted for who I am. I might be pleasant to look at now, but I won’t be in fifty years, if I even get to live that long. I want the people in my life to love me regardless of how I look, or what I achieve, but that’s not how it works. We are always being judged and appraised based on those things, and I’m guilty of the same, so I can’t even get all sanctimonious about it. I’m here with you because you are hot and because you make me feel alive. I doubt that I would have followed a scrawny accountant from Utah no matter how beautiful his soul was. So I’m a chimp too, and I don’t like that about myself.”
Leon chuckled. “I’m starting to get the picture. You are a perfectionist, and you think that you don’t deserve to be happy unless you are perfect in every way. But I have news for you. You are allowed to be imperfect. In fact, perfect people are even more of a drag than depressed ones. Your flaws make you an interesting individual, not a boring carbon copy of some unachievable ideal.”
“And you said that you didn’t believe in Emmett’s teachings. That little speech could have been written by him.”
Leon grimaced. “But it wasn’t, right? I don’t remember hearing anyone saying that during the retreat.”
“Maybe not the exact words, but it was in the spirit of his teachings.”
“The best lies are those that are mostly truth. That’s how cults get you.”
She stopped and turned to him. “How many times do I need to say it? Safe Haven is not a cult.”
“Oh, yeah? Define cult for me.”
“Religious fanatics who worship their leader to the point of being willing to die for him. It’s true that we all worship Emmett, but I assure you that no one in the community is willing to die for him.”
“Let’s check the definition, shall we?” Leon pulled out his phone and typed in his inquiry. “A misplaced or excessive admiration for a particular person or object.” He arched a brow. “You can’t tell me that description doesn’t describe Safe Haven and its members.”
“The admiration for Emmett might be a bit excessive, but it’s not misplaced. He created a safe place for people that didn’t fit in anywhere else.”
22
Leon
Leon was tired of Anastasia defending the cult, especially since he knew that she had doubts, and that she didn’t buy wholeheartedly into the propaganda.
“You are saying that it’s not a cult, but members have to wear community-approved colors, are not allowed to strive for anything other
than what Emmett says is worthwhile, and committing to an exclusive, romantic relationship is considered a crime.” He shook his head. “Give me a break, Anastasia.”
Her lips thinning into a stubborn line, she shifted her gaze away from him and started walking faster.
He fell into step with her. “Are you running away from me?”
“I couldn’t even if I wanted to. Your legs are longer and you are in top shape. I just don’t want to argue about Safe Haven anymore. You have your opinion, and I have mine, and neither of us is going to change the other’s mind. So why waste energy on it?”
“I couldn’t agree more.”
She slanted him a look from under her eyelashes. “That was too easy. Since when do you agree with me?”
“When what you say makes sense.”
“I’m not even going to answer that because it will just lead to another argument. Apparently, we only get along in bed.”
He chuckled. “I can think of several other places in which we’ve gotten along splendidly, like in the limousine, the private jet, or on the dining-room table. And there are still plenty of other options…”
Leon stopped as a suspicious rustling alerted his attention. Scanning the bushes, he pulled Anastasia behind him.
“What is it?”
“Probably an animal.”
A moment later, a bear cub stumbled out of a bush, stopped, and regarded them curiously. The little guy should have known better and made a hasty retreat, but sometimes young ones' curiosity overrode their survival instincts.
“Oh, how cute.” Anastasia sidestepped him.
He threw out his arm. “Stay behind me and don’t move. Where there is a cub, there is also a mama bear, and they are dangerous when their young are threatened.”
“We are not threatening the cub.”
“Do you want to explain that to the mother? I don’t think she will listen patiently.”