by I. T. Lucas
“Thank you.” Vlad handed the Guardian his guitar case and duffle bag.
“We have perimeter cameras,” Leon said. “You can check on Wendy using my laptop.”
“I’d rather find her and bring her back. How long ago did she leave?”
“Less than ten minutes.” Leon walked into the kitchen. “I’m heating up lunch.” He opened the fridge and grinned. “Thank the Fates for Okidu. He made enough to last us the entire week.”
Even though Vlad was hungry, the urgency quickening his steps had nothing to do with lunch. Wendy was all alone out there, and she might get attacked by a pack of coyotes before he got to her.
What had possessed Leon to let her go out by herself?
After completing one circle around the cabin, Vlad realized that he was wasting precious time. Sighting Wendy was not the only way to find her. He could use his hearing and sense of smell as well.
He stopped and listened, and after a few moments of intense concentration, he heard what he hoped was Wendy stepping over twigs and fallen leaves.
It could also be a bear.
Sprinting toward the sound, he didn’t care about the noise he was making. On the contrary, if he was heading toward a bear, the sound of his boots crushing everything in their path might scare the animal.
Less than a minute later, he found Wendy.
Rooted on the spot, doe eyes peeled wide, she gaped at him. “You scared the shit out of me. What are you doing here?”
“Making sure that you don’t get eaten by coyotes or a bear or whatever else is lurking in these woods.” Relieved to find Wendy unharmed, Vlad wanted to pull her into his arms and never let go.
Instead, he tucked his hands into his pockets.
“That’s nice of you.” She lowered her eyes. “But why do you care about what happens to me?”
“I don’t know. But I care.”
She shook her head. “You are too nice for your own good. Besides, what can you do to protect me? Do you have a gun?”
“I don’t need one.”
Damn. He wanted to tell her who and what he was and be done with the charades. If they were going to erase her memories anyway, why continue with the story?
Despite the way he looked, he was a powerful immortal, physically and mentally. Maybe if he showed Wendy what he could really do, she would realize that by pushing him away, she was giving up a fierce protector.
“Right.” Wendy rolled her eyes. “Leon said the same thing. What are you going to do? Hypnotize the beasts?”
“I could do that.”
She started walking. “I know that I said it many times before, but I’m really sorry for deceiving you. You are a good person, Vlad, and you didn’t deserve it.”
He fell into step with her. “Was any of it real? Did you even like me?”
She looked up at him. “I still like you, and I don’t blame you for being mad at me.”
“What about…?” He hesitated, the question lodging in his throat like a lump of coal. “You know. Was it more than like?”
Letting out a tormented sigh, Wendy nodded. “It scared me. I vowed to never enter into a relationship with a guy, and when things between us moved from friendship to more, I knew that I had to put a stop to it before it was too late. I couldn’t allow myself to get attached to you.”
“Why? Because you wanted to go back to the program?”
“That was the main reason. My future is secure there. I don’t need to depend on anyone. I don’t need to settle on a guy, get married, and then discover that I made a huge mistake. I can have friends who have paranormal talents like me, and it can be a good, quiet life.”
Wendy was so naive.
“You might be safe during the training period, but after that, you’d get sent out on spying missions, and there is nothing safe or peaceful about that. Why do you think the government is collecting paranormal talents?”
“My talent is not that useful for spying. At best, I might be part of a team of spies.”
“You’re an empath. You can feel intentions and warn your teammates when you sense danger.”
“That’s why I said that I could be part of a team. On my own, I’m quite useless.”
15
Wendy
Wendy’s heart was beating so fast that she was sure Vlad could hear it.
Since arriving back at her underground jail, she’d thought about him constantly, but her memory didn’t do him justice. He was so much more handsome in person.
Perhaps it was the puffer jacket he was wearing. It made him look less skinny.
She was happy to see that he still kept his hair combed back instead of draping his bangs over one eye to hide the fact that it wasn’t the same color as the other. They were both beautiful, and the black lashes framing them were so long that they looked fake, and because they were also thick, they created a dark outline around his eyes that looked like he’d put on eyeliner.
If he weren’t still so angry at her, she would have pulled him into her arms and never let go.
“You are not useless. You can study psychology and become a great therapist, and if you don’t want to deal with adults, you can specialize in helping children. Wouldn’t that be a worthier career than spying?”
“It wouldn’t pay nearly as much.”
“So what? I’m sure it will pay enough to cover your expenses. If you never have a family, what are you going to spend all that money they are paying you on?”
Wendy shrugged. “I can travel to interesting places, stay at fancy hotels, and eat at the best restaurants.”
He snorted. “As if they would let you do that. The only travel you are going to do is for all-expenses-paid spying missions.”
Spoken like someone who had never lacked for anything. Vlad might have been raised by a single mother, but she loved him and bought him stuff and paid for music lessons and everything else he needed.
He’d never experienced what she had.
Not having the same privileges as her friends wouldn’t have bothered Wendy half as much if her father was poor and couldn’t afford it. But he wasn’t. He just hated her and didn’t want to spend a cent more than what he deemed necessary to maintain the façade of a loving father.
“Who is going to pay for my school? And who will support me while I go to school?”
Vlad hesitated for a moment. “Our organization.”
“Why?”
“Because we need more people like us. We are building a community.”
“Of paranormals?”
He nodded. “It’s not easy for people like us on the outside. We need to hide who we are and what we can do. Being part of a community of only paranormals is liberating.” He hesitated again. “There aren’t many of us, and since marrying an untalented outsider is problematic, we prefer to form relationships within our community. The more people who join, the more variety there is.”
Wendy snorted. “Vanessa and Jin both tried to persuade me that I’d be better off with your people because Director Simmons wants to use me for breeding. But it looks like your organization wants me for the same reason. So, what’s the difference?”
“Freedom of choice. From what I was told, you were compelled to do things that you didn’t want. That wouldn't happen with us. You’ll be free to choose whoever you want or not choose at all. If you want to remain single, that’s fine too.”
“That’s what you are saying now. The reality might be different. When I joined the program, no one told me that I would be used as a broodmare, or that I would be compelled to do exactly as I was told.”
Wendy still couldn’t get over that betrayal, and as much as she wanted to dismiss what Jacki and Jin had said, she had proof that it was all true. She’d felt the difference once Lokan removed the compulsion from her, and Richard hadn’t faked his outrage over being compelled to leave his fiancée. Jin and he had hooked up in the program, but as soon as Marisol’s compulsion was removed from them, they’d parted as friends.
Vlad
let out a breath. “If you would stop being so stubborn, open your heart, and use your paranormal senses, you would know that everything I said was true.”
He wasn’t entirely wrong. In fact, he might be right.
She was desperately clinging to the only safety net she’d ever had, even after learning that it was full of holes.
But even a torn net was better than none, and what loomed underneath was a bottomless abyss.
“I want to believe you, but I’m too scared to do that.”
He nodded. “I understand.”
“You do?”
“The organization is my home, and if I was forced to leave it behind, I would be terrified. There is no place for a weirdo like me among normal humans.”
16
Vlad
Wendy released an indignant huff. “You are not a weirdo. You are a sweet, talented guy, who happens to look a little different.”
“Thank you. But there is no need to cheer me up. I see the way people look away when I get close. Even guys, but mostly the girls.”
“Superficial jerks.”
It felt so good to hear Wendy say those things, but Vlad couldn’t allow himself to lower his guard. What if she was using him again? Buttering him up so he would soften toward her?
“We should head back. Leon is heating up lunch.”
“Oh, yeah? Who cooked it?”
“Okidu.”
She grimaced. “That guy freaks me out. He’s like a store mannequin. He has no emotions at all.”
Vlad stifled a chuckle. “Some people are immune to mind manipulation, like Jacki, and others can shield their emotions. Both are useful talents. I know a guy who has both. Or maybe he lacks both? I don’t know. Anyway, I've heard people say that Turner is better than a computer. He takes into account variables no one would have thought to program the computer with.”
He was rambling on, trying to keep the conversation on things that had nothing to do with him and Wendy.
When they reached the cabin, Wendy smiled up at him. “Thank you for coming to save me from all the wild beasts.”
He opened the door. “You’re welcome.”
Inside, Richard and the two Guardians were already sitting at the table.
“Good, you are back,” Leon said. “Wash your hands and sit down.”
“Yes, sir.” Vlad took his coat off, hung it on one of the pegs by the front door, and walked up to the kitchen sink.
As Wendy ducked into the bedroom, he sat next to Bowen. “What’s there to eat?”
The Guardian lifted the lid off a glass container. “Beef with onions and mushrooms.”
“Smells good.”
Richard eyed him from across the table. “How did it go?”
“I found her before the coyotes did.”
“Are you okay?” Bowen whispered.
“Yeah, I’m fine. It went better than I expected.”
“Good.”
He had to agree with what most of his friends had said about Wendy. She was just a young girl, terrified of an unknown future and clinging to the only safe haven she’d ever known.
Fear was a powerful motivator, and so was self-preservation. When scared, people often did stupid things. Even immortals.
Stepping out of her bedroom, Wendy looked as if she’d brushed her hair. “You shouldn’t have waited for me.” She sat next to Vlad and tucked a strand of it behind her ear.
Had she done it for him?
“Let’s eat.” Bowen scooped a large portion onto his plate and then passed the dish to Richard.
Apparently the guy had either never heard of ladies first, or he didn’t consider Wendy a lady.
When Richard passed the container to Vlad, he made sure to rectify the situation. “Would you like me to serve you some?”
Wendy rewarded him with a bright smile. “Yes, please.”
He put some on her plate. “More?”
“No, that’s enough. Thank you.”
Vlad filled his own plate and passed the container to Leon.
It seemed that things were going to be okay. He still felt a little awkward with Wendy, but it wasn’t as bad as he’d imagined.
Now that he understood her better, the betrayal didn’t sting as badly, and he could find it in his heart to forgive her. The question was whether he would ever be able to trust her again.
Perhaps.
But it would probably take a long time, during which he would constantly test her.
Wendy put her fork down and reached for one of the bottles of water. “Leon told me that your mom is going to join us tomorrow. I’m looking forward to meeting her.” She looked down at her half-full plate. “I hope she doesn’t hate me.”
“She doesn’t know you.”
“You know what I mean. Because I hurt your feelings.”
“It’s possible. But my mom is different.” Vlad chuckled. “As is her son. She often doesn’t react the way other people do.” He glanced at Richard. “She can get upset over trivial things like forgetting to buy something for the costumes she makes, but she’s usually chill.”
“What kind of costumes?” Wendy asked.
“For theater productions. The one before last was Beauty and the Beast. She won an award for it.”
“That’s awesome.”
“Not really.”
Immortals didn’t need the attention such events garnered, especially when pictures were taken and published in magazines or online.
“Why not?”
He’d forgotten that Wendy still didn’t know about who they were.
“My mom doesn’t like the attention.”
That was such a lie. Stella lived for it, but she couldn’t have it, which was one of the reasons for her occasional outbursts. Her frustrations needed an outlet.
“How old is your mom?” Richard asked.
“She’s thirty-six.” The lie tumbled out of Vlad’s mouth.
The guy grinned. “So young?”
“Yeah, she was a teenage mom.”
Wendy shook her head. “And she raised you all alone and has done such a great job of it. It’s remarkable.”
“My mom didn’t do it alone. She had the support of our community.”
“Your organization is that old?” Richard asked. “I thought it was new.”
“It’s hundreds of years old,” Bowen said. “It started in Scotland and has grown in numbers ever since.”
That was as close to the truth as Bowen could get, and even that was too much. Perhaps someone needed to talk to Kian and ask his permission to reveal the secret.
Except, the usual prerequisite for the reveal was falling in love, and Richard hadn’t even met Stella yet.
Vlad cast Wendy a sidelong glance. Was he in love with her?
Considering the panic that had gripped him when he’d heard that she was alone out in the woods, the answer was probably yes.
17
Kian
Syssi wrapped her arms around Kian’s neck. “I’m so glad that you decided to take me along.”
He put his hand on her waist and drew her against his body. “I didn’t want to spend even one night without you, and flying back and forth didn’t appeal to me either.”
She smiled. “I just hope Amanda will be okay without me.”
“Classes have been canceled, and testing for paranormal abilities doesn’t qualify as an essential service.”
“I know. She can stay in the village and run her online classes from home. But she wanted me to help her restructure her lectures, and I’m bailing on her.”
“She’ll manage. What I’m worried about is the café. With Wonder and Callie both gone, and Jackson running around even more than usual, organizing deliveries, there will be no one to manage it.”
“Tessa said that she can take time off from the agency and help out. There isn’t much activity going on over there either.” Syssi chuckled. “Eva has been trying to convince Jin to come work for her after she transitions. She needs someone who speaks Chinese an
d can blend in, but naturally, that’s irrelevant at the moment.”
“Jin doesn’t want to be a spy, and she doesn’t speak Chinese.”
“That’s what she told Eva.” Syssi pulled out of his arms and went back into the closet. “I scheduled spa appointments for all the ladies. I hope the hotel will not cancel them.” She came out with several more outfits draped over her arm. “By the way, I checked out the suite that Shai booked for us, and it’s enormous. We can hold the summit there.”
“I’m not letting Kalugal anywhere near you. This is just so our group can hang out together. I liked having everyone in the same cabin at the ski resort, and I told Shai to find a presidential suite with four bedrooms.”
Syssi looked up at him. “You know what’s the downside of that, right? No privacy.”
Kian smirked. “All four bedrooms have jacuzzi tubs. I checked.”
In the chalet they’d shared with the others, only the master bedroom was equipped with a noisy tub, which allowed him and Syssi some measure of privacy. This time, the other three couples would enjoy the same.
“Did William make special earpieces for all of us?”
“He didn’t have time. He barely managed to complete the three for me, Anandur and Brundar. Turner, naturally, doesn’t need to block Kalugal’s voice.”
She shook her head. “That’s a shame. I was hoping to see Jacki.”
“It can still be arranged, just without Kalugal present.”
“He’s not going to agree to that. Who did you choose to be Lokan’s bodyguards?”
“Magnus, Oidche, and Gregor. They are staying at the motel.”
“You should let Magnus go home. He and Vivian are probably miserable without each other.”
Kian raked his fingers through his hair.
“I don’t know why she still refuses to take Parker over there. Turner even checked with his friend that it was okay to bring the dog to the motel. Parker is homeschooled, so it doesn’t matter where he stays. And the boy is immortal, so it’s not like the damn virus is a concern.”