by SM Olivier
Gifted Connections
Book 3
S.M. Olivier
Gifted Connections: Book 3
S.M. Olivier
All rights reserved.
Copyright 2018 by S.M. Olivier
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of characters, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The author holds exclusive rights to this work. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. No part of this book can be reproduced in any form, or by electronic means or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without the permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer who may quote short excerpts in a review.
Any trademark, service marks, product names, or names featured are assumed to be the property of their respective owners and are used only for reference. There is no implied endorsement if we use one of these terms.
Chapter 1
“This sucks,” Jemmy muttered as she sat down on her bed. “This is worse than the dorm rooms at the Academy.”
I looked around the room she was sharing with Dawn, Rachel, and Sierra. I couldn’t disagree with her, and I wasn’t even going to try and convince her otherwise. The room had two sets of bunk beds, one on each wall. On the opposite wall were four wall lockers. We were told they resembled the dorms in basic training.
It was befitting, considering that we now lived in a top-secret facility in the middle of the mountains. Our house was blown up, and we were hired by a private contractor to help them on the mission we were already on. The mission to take Horatio down. My biological father.
He had recently made the government take notice of us. The gifted. He was involved in kidnappings, human trafficking, murders, and a whole list of other crimes. He kidnapped children, hoping to raise them in his own little army. He kidnapped women, trying to create strongly gifted children. His last offence, we were recently made aware of, was that he had created a drug to inject into nongifted individuals. His ultimate goal was to create a force so strong that we no longer had to live in hiding. He wanted the nongifted to join him or die if they refused to.
People like Will, my connections father, wanted us to peacefully coexist like we had for years. We lived in communities where we were essentially free to be ourselves. We hadn’t felt the need to push our existence onto others. We were content the way we were.
Some members of the government wanted us to start registering ourselves. They wanted to start doing tests on us. They wanted to put us in camps because now we were being deemed as dangerous. We had lived among them for thousands of years, yet now they feared us.
Our hope was, if we eliminated him, they would forget about us. We hoped that they realized we couldn’t all be judged by the actions of a few.
“Tell me about it,” I muttered back. “Will had to fight with them to put us in an apartment.”
Our apartment comprised of three bedrooms with two double beds in each one. It had a small kitchenette, a bathroom, and sitting area. It was a tight fit with seven of us. The guys had never shared rooms with each other, but it was a sacrifice we had to make to stay with each other. Paul wouldn’t give us another apartment. We had already caused waves in their operations. Some people resented us for being given special allowance.
Paul was the government contractor that had recruited us. He was the reason we were here. He knew he wasn’t going to be able to take down Horatio without the help of gifted individuals.
Paul’s mom was gifted, but she hadn’t fully immersed herself into any of the communities. She never told him about how connections worked. From what he told us, she didn’t have a strong gift level. Megan was trying to educate him on how our community worked but it was slow going.
Megan was one of Will’s connections and Jace and Jaxson’s Aunt. They hadn’t been in touch for many years. Ironically enough Will had been trying to contact her in the regards to Ella, before they had found us. Now she was back in their lives.
Initially, Paul wanted to move me in with the girls and the guys into the single men dorms. Unless you were married or had a family, all the single people were put into the dorm rooms in the underground facility. Paul didn’t understand that our connection was important to us. It wasn’t me with six boyfriends; it was me with my connections.
In the gifted community, we had connections. A connection made us stronger. Some people had no connection, few of us had one, and there was a handful of us that had two. Somehow, though no one knew why, I had six.
I never knew how much six men could mean to me until I met them. They had become such an integral part of who I was. Remy, Jace, Troy, Noah, Drake, and Jaxson became pieces I hadn’t even known was missing. They were pieces of a puzzle that became our picture.
Jemmy gave me an annoyed but hurt look. “At least you’re still with them. Gavin is in the guy dorms, and he didn’t even try to put up a fight to be with me.”
Gavin was my friend. He had helped me after Horatio had tried to separate us. He had believed me when I didn’t think anyone could. When his minions wanted to isolate me, he had been there to support me and remind me what my goal was. He was also Jemmy’s connection. Unfortunately, they had hit a rough patch in their relationship.
Jemmy was Drake’s sister and someone I considered my best friend. She was beautiful. She was funny. She embraced life at full speed. Her flaws were that she tended to go over the top and push people. I normally just rolled with it. Regrettably, she still needed to learn how to compromise and learn how to be more empathetic to how others may feel.
I sighed. “Jemmy,” I said carefully. “Gavin doesn’t have a lot of experience with relationships. I understand that you want to take your relationship to the next level. He isn’t ready for that. When you pressure him into something he’s not ready for, you only push him away further. He cares for you a lot, and I know you care for him, so you need to show him.”
Jemmy gave me a mutinous look. “He’s my connection. Why does it matter how fast or slow we go if the end is still the same? We will be together. What guy turns down sex? It’s ridiculous! We’ve fooled around, and there’s no denying we have a chemistry. Why do I have to wait any longer? I know he wants it, and so do I.”
“Maybe that’s the problem,” I said quietly. “Maybe he just doesn’t want sex. Maybe he wants a deeper emotional connection. Being physical with someone is easy. It’s when you can be emotionally and physically connected that makes it more meaningful. You should be happy he wants more from you than just that.”
Jemmy snorted. “He knows I care for him a lot. What more does he want?”
“Then show him,” I stated emphatically. “Get to know him better. Let him get to know you better. If the end result is still the same, why the rush? What will it hurt for you to take the pace he wants to set? You have had time to get use to the idea. You’ve known you have been gifted for years now. He just found out. He’s still adjusting to it all.”
She sighed, tears coming to her eyes. “I see the way he looks at Sierra. He doesn’t even seem like he wants to get to know me better anymore. What happens if I already pushed him away? I was excited when I found out I had a connection. I liked the idea of being with someone forever. If someone like Will had both of his connections leave him, what’s going to stop Gavin from leaving me? My own mother didn’t want me. Why should he?”
I bit my lip. I was too aware of this situation. Noah had felt the same insecurities at one point. He didn’t think he was good enough for our connection. His parents choosing their careers over him had hurt him. He had used his ex-girlfriend, girls, and alcohol as a crutch instead of facing the real issue. His actions had pushed me away.
My best friend had the same insecurities, but she was cl
inging to Gavin instead of pushing him away. The issue was she wasn’t aware of who Sierra really was. How did I tell my best friend that she was in the situation she told me she would never want to be in? She wasn’t just part of a normal connection. She wasn’t even the nucleus. Gavin was, and Sierra was his other connection.
If she continued behaving the way she was, there was a possibility that Gavin would get a better emotional connection with Sierra. In the brief time I had gotten to know Sierra, it became quickly apparent she was almost the exact opposite of Jemmy. She was more world-wise and mature because of it. She was extremely laid back, book smart, and self-confident about who she was. In other words, she was the female version of Gavin.
I liked Sierra. I just wanted them to find a balance for their relationship. I could see how Gavin needed them both. Sometimes he was too serious, too focused, and driven. He forgot to live. He needed someone like Jemmy to remember to have a good time and laugh. Since Gavin had been in Jemmy’s life, he had already helped her find goals and work towards them. All three of them needed each other.
I didn’t know if I should tell Jemmy. Would it make her act even more erratically? Would she push Gavin further into Sierra’s arms?
I chickened out. I couldn’t tell her. Not yet. I didn’t think she was emotionally ready for it. I let her cry it out of her system before I finally reminded her that we had to go down to lunch. We have been here for over two weeks now and was still trying to adjust. If we hadn’t already given Paul our word, and if he didn’t have so many resources, I would have asked if we could leave.
I had experienced too many changes in the last few months, and I was having a hard time adjusting to this one. Through the help of Jace and my connections, my sister and I had been delivered from the stressful conditions of life with my step-mother, a life I thought I’d never we’d get out of. I had just gotten comfortable with my new life when Horatio had someone turn back time. I was sent back to the time before all my connections had been made. With the help of Gavin and a series of events, I had found my way back to them. Now I was forced into this new situation, and it wasn’t easy to get used to..
Monday through Friday we had the same schedule. Morning runs or cardio, breakfast, classes (for those still attending school), lunch, training, dinner, and then finally, free time. We weren’t prisoners here, but we might as well have been. We could run into town which was approximately twenty miles away, but we had been kept so busy we hadn’t had the desire to go just yet.
I still had responsibility over my siblings, as well. On top of our normal schedules, we had to spend quality time with Ella, Micah, and Alex. Will had gotten an apartment with them right across the hall from us. We made it a point to go over there every morning and bring them to breakfast. We than dropped them off at the educational room. We generally met them for dinner at the dining facility or DFAC, as they called it around here. After dinner we tried to help them adjust to our new environment.
“Oh, look they saved us a seat,” Jemmy said excitedly, but then I saw her face fall. Gavin and Sierra were already there and deep in conversation. They both had an infinity for computers, and although Jemmy had started to have an interest in it, she wasn’t on their level yet.
Currently, they were both working on simulation programs alongside other ‘techies’. Since Jemmy still took classes, it was hard for her to dedicate as much time to their current project. She confided in me that she felt like she was on the outside looking in.
We entered the line and got our food. We could have food and cook in our rooms, but we hadn’t made the time to run out yet, and this was more convenient. However, it left a lot to be desired, for sure.
“Can we go on a grocery run tomorrow?” I asked Drake as I sat down between him and Jace.
“Yes. Pops just had some vehicles delivered to us this morning, so that was the plan,” Drake said with a smile.
We had just lost nearly everything in the explosion. Will had been able to cut through most of the red tape, but it was slow going for the insurance companies to replace what we had lost. I know we had more vehicles stored at other locations, so I didn’t understand why it took so long to have them delivered.
It was a delicate balance between Paul and Will right now. They instantly respected each other but they didn’t necessarily see eye to eye all the time. Will made it known that, under no uncertain terms, we would work with them, but we wouldn’t be signing any contracts. We were capable of walking away from this commitment at any time. Paul and Will both were leaders and wealthy, so needless to say, they butted heads at times.
“I think that’s a great idea,” Jace stated as he squeezed my thigh. “However, I think we still need to eat here the majority of the time to assimilate to our environment.”
I instantly reacted to his touch. I hadn’t been intimate with any of my guys since we got here, and it was starting to wear on me. I was rarely alone with any of them long enough to get anything but casual caresses and kisses. Sharing rooms had also put a hamper on things. Jaxson, Noah, and Troy had jokingly—I knew they were serious, though—told me they had shared women before. Although the idea intrigued me, I was still slightly self-conscious about it.
He gave me a knowing smile, letting his hands linger a bit.
“Like we’re doing now,” Remy grunted from across the table. He made a pointed look to look around the DFAC, then back to us. He made a good point. We generally sat in the corner of the room, away from the majority of the other diners.
Admittedly, we kept to ourselves. We were the only gifted here. Our group consisted of Remy, Jace, Troy, Noah, Drake, Jaxson, Jemmy, Rachel, Gavin, Sierra, Terrance, Dawn, Marcel, and Sam. Will, Cora, and Beth were here, as well, but since the death of their connected, Cora was nearly unresponsive, and Beth and Will were busy trying to make sure their school was still operational and were also dealing with the political atmosphere here.
Dawn, Marcel, and Sam had decided to come here after with us after we lost our home, the three of them accepting positions with Paul. Dawn, Marcel, and Sam was originally assigned to be our body guards in essence. They were given additional duties to protect us and assist us when we didn’t know how far Horatio would go to get to us. We had created a bond over time and now they were like family.
We wanted them to have a decision about their lives. They had signed contracts when they became Knights, so technically, Will could have commanded their presence. He didn’t work that way. He wanted to let them feel like they had a choice. They told us that the choice had been an easy one. They wanted to be with the ‘team.’“It’s not that bad,” Jaxson, ever the peacekeeper, said, shrugging as he took another bite of his sandwich.
Jaxson and Noah made friends wherever they went. It was in their DNA. They had made friends within days of being here. It slightly annoyed me that a few females had already been drawn to them because of their outgoing, sociable personas. The guys made it clear they were unavailable but hadn’t gone into much detail.
We decided to keep the complexities of our gifted community under wraps for now. The guys were still affectionate with me, but we weren’t telling everybody that we were more than that just yet. We were still deciding how to approach the subject. It had been hard enough to explain it to Paul, and his mother had been gifted.
In fact, most of the people here were related or knew gifted people. From what we gathered, all the gifted people they knew weren’t really involved in the communities and liked to keep a low-key life. We assumed none of them had connections, and if they did, they had never found them, which would explain why most of them were considered low-level gifted.
“That’s easy for you to say,” I teased him. “You already built your little entourage.”
Jax gave me a long-suffering look. I knew he couldn’t help it, but it still rankled me. “What about Troy and Noah? They have their own entourages as well.” He grumbled.
“Leave us out of it,” Noah stated sipping on his water. He pointed his fo
rk at Jaxson. “We have one or two girls chasing us to your…ten.”
“I’m over this conversation.” I winked at Jaxson. I know he didn’t encourage their behavior. “So, shopping tomorrow?” I asked Drake.
“Let’s make a day of it,” Troy said. “I’m done sleeping with those scratchy sheets and wool blankets.”
I nearly groaned aloud at the thought of slipping into nonabrasive sheets and a warm down-filled comforter. The sheets and blankets weren’t the greatest quality, and it gave me a greater appreciation for those who volunteered their services to our country. They got shipped off to basic training and had to sleep in the most uncomfortable conditions.
“I would like to get a television for our spot, too, so we don’t have to go to the dayroom every night,” Noah agreed with a nod.
I had to agree with him there. I wanted to have the freedom to be affectionate with them without everyone watching us. They had a nice size dayroom for everyone to relax in. It had a large screen for viewing movies, but we were at the mercy of whoever got there first. Some of the movies were good, others not so much. They also had a few foosball and pool tables in there. Almost everyone that didn’t have families gathered there after dinner.
We migrated there some nights after we put Ella and Alex to bed. We allowed Micah to stay up longer, since he was older and more responsible. We allowed him to explore with Patrick, even though they spent most of their nights in the apartment reading comic books.
“Do you think they’ll have a comic book store?” I asked after I took another bite of my salad. “Micah and Patrick keep reading the same four or five comics.”
“We can look it up. Even if we don’t find it locally, we can go out further,” Remy replied. “I don’t imagine Beth taking them out any time soon.”
No one spoke about Cora. She was like the elephant in the room. She had completely withdrawn into herself since the death of Steven, her nucleus. She went through the motions of life, but she lost her purpose. She barely seemed to interact with Nadia or Patrick any longer. We knew she missed him terribly, and since Steven’s death, she had become weaker in her gift. When the nucleus died, their connections lost levels to the effectiveness of their gift. Most connections were a level eight through ten. After the nucleus died they were knocked down to below a five. To some, that seemed insignificant, but our gifts became a part of our identity.