by Marnee Blake
Too bad he had to include Jeremy. Not that he was a bad guy. But he always watched out for number one. Even now, he’d zoned in on Kitty. Probably saw an opening and decided to capitalize. That was the kind of guy he was.
He’d have to keep an eye on that. Kitty could hear him, sure, but he still didn’t trust the guy.
Finally, Jeremy stopped outside an apartment complex and swiped a key card. The gates swung open, and the Tahoe pulled through, following the curving roads around cookie-cutter buildings until he stopped at the one marked with the three hundreds.
They crawled out of the Tahoe, and Seth looked at his troops. Luke’s hair stood in every direction, and the circles under his eyes made the grief in them even starker. Even the chip on Jack’s shoulder seemed less pronounced when he was tired.
They needed some shut-eye.
But as he stepped onto the sidewalk, Blue stopped him.
She waited until the others began walking toward the buildings, far enough that they wouldn’t overhear. “I don’t trust that Jeremy guy. He’s too smooth. I mean, Kitty? She’s not…I mean, I don’t know if she’d…” Her brow furrowed.
“She’s not experienced with guys?”
She nodded. “No. Not at all.”
“I’d already planned to say something.” She nodded, but her brow remained scrunched. “What?”
“You’ll want to talk to them alone.”
“Yeah.” Already seeing the fight, he mounted his case. “Listen, they know me. I think they should hear it from me. And they’re sticking their necks out for us. It could be dangerous, us being here. They deserve an explanation.”
“Yeah. I know.”
“And they…” He stopped when he realized what she said. “Wait, you know?”
“Yeah. I think you should talk to them by yourself, too. As you say, they’re your friends. They should hear it from you. Maybe it’ll be easier, coming from you.”
“Right.”
She folded her arms over her ridiculous Hello Kitty T-shirt, biting her lip. She wanted to be in on that conversation, it was written all over her face. But she was doing her best to believe in him.
Her faith in him meant the world. It shouldn’t, but it did.
Before he second-guessed himself, he cupped the back of her head and pulled her close, kissing her full on the mouth. She stepped closer and wrapped her arms around his waist.
His body tightened, and his stomach coiled as her curves pressed against him. Warm, pliant, she fit him perfectly. He shouldn’t have done this—any of this—but at that moment, all of his determination to remain impartial flew out the window. And he didn’t care. As he pulled back, he gazed down into her beautiful eyes. His breath came faster than normal. “Thank you. It’s important.”
They might have continued like that if not for the wolf whistle. Seth pulled away but still held her next to him. Then he turned to glare at Jeremy. “Shut it, Rickles.”
Jeremy flipped him off, grinning. “Whatever, man.” He grabbed one of their bags out of the backseat and chuckled, going inside.
Guy really was a douche bag. He squeezed Blue’s arm. “Come on.”
Upstairs, Nick’s apartment looked like standard-issue bachelor’s pad. Two bedrooms, two baths, no real decor to speak of. He’d lived in numerous apartments like this. Beer can chic.
Nick’s bags were by the door, and one of the bedrooms had been stripped clean. He was ready to go to Bragg. Seth stifled his pang of guilt. They should go on to Bragg. But none of them had slept more than an hour or so in two days. They needed to stop.
“So, what’s going on?” Nick asked through the cutout to the galley kitchen. He was pulling bottles of water from under the counter, lining them up.
Seth glanced at the rest of them. They looked exhausted. “You got any food in this place?”
Nick lifted his brows and didn’t immediately comment on his non-answer. “We had Chinese last night, and there are some leftovers.”
“We’ll have to order out, then. Good pizza?” Seth dropped his stuff near the door. Not that he had much. None of them did.
“Yeah. Sal’s Pizza. Down the road.”
“They deliver?”
“Yeah.”
“Good.”
Seth looked around, took a deep breath. “We’ll need to stay here tonight.”
No surprise, Nick’s patience expired. “Fuck, Seth. You know we can’t do that.”
“I’ll explain. I swear. It’s only for tonight. We’ll leave for Bragg tomorrow. But we’ve been on the move for two days now. We need a good night’s sleep.”
“You need to tell me what the hell is going on. Now.”
“Fine.” There wasn’t any putting this off, it seemed. Seth sighed. The conversation was exhausting, and he hadn’t even started it yet. He turned to Blue. “You guys get settled, get some showers, and order some grub. You got a house line, Nick? We had to lose our phones.”
Nick said nothing, only jerked his head to the kitchen.
“I’ll take care of it,” Blue said, squeezing his hand, her eyes full of trust. His chest swelled with her support even as he turned away.
He opened the patio door and stepped out, Nick and Jeremy following him without a word.
Outside, the hot air hit him like a fist to the face. He crossed their tiny apartment patio to lean against the railing. He glanced around. No one. Their place wasn’t next to the parking lot, which was good. They shouldn’t be overheard.
Nick sat at the patio table, putting a Monster drink beside him, tucking his ankle on his knee. He nodded toward the door. “Strange collection of folks you got there, Campbell.” He popped the top on his drink. “Seem close to the blond girl.”
Seth avoided his friend’s eyes. He didn’t want to explain what Blue was to him yet. Because the truth was that she was too close. He cared about her too much. He didn’t need his friend to remind him of that.
Jeremy stretched out, hands behind his head, kicking his feet up on the chaise lounge. He nodded toward the sliding door. “Yo, next time leave the douche canoe where you found him.”
“Who, Jack?” Not that he had to ask, really. “He’s not that bad. Just having a rough week.” Was he really defending Jack?
“Whatever. Seems like a dickhead.”
Couldn’t argue with that. “You got neighbors?”
Nick pointed up. “One older lady upstairs.”
“She the nosy sort?”
“Nah. Thinks we’re sweet boys. Makes us cannoli. Watches Jeopardy and goes to bed.” Nick crossed his arms. “Talk.”
Where the hell to start?
He looked between them. He’d known Nick for years and trusted him with his life. Jeremy? Well, he’d have to take a chance.
He inhaled. “I stopped in Colorado, two nights ago, to sleep. At a bed-and-breakfast. Podunk town in the middle of nowhere called Glory, and I was poisoned.”
The story came out in fits at first, but his friends stayed quiet, and he hit his rhythm. The details were crazy—even he had to admit that. Spiked water and superpowers. Private security corporations and helicopters. He sounded like he was telling them about some movie he saw.
The story wound its way out until he finished with, “We assume Goldstone is watching. We’ve decided to go to the army in Bragg. We need help, both with the medical problems and to stop Goldstone.”
He looked between his friends. Jeremy had dropped his hands, blinking at him. Nick’s face had stormed over.
“So you are, what, like Superman now or some shit?” Jeremy’s face split into a smile. “Are you afraid of kryptonite, too?”
Seth scowled at him. “No, fuckwad. I’m not Superman.”
“Are you kidding me, Campbell?” Nick jumped up and grabbed Seth by the front of his shirt and got right in his face. “I’m two days late getting started—three by tomorrow—because you’ve lost your goddamned mind?”
Seth broke Nick’s hold on him and glared right back. “I haven’t lost my mind. I’m dead serious.
I can run, like forty miles an hour. And jump two floors up. Maybe more. I get hurt when I fall, so I haven’t tried. I heal fast, and I can punch like some sort of heavyweight fighter.” He put his hand on his hair, pulling at the strands. “Blue? She can move things with her mind. So can Luke. Jack’s like me. And Kitty? She can read your mind. Anything you thought in front of her, she heard.” He snorted at Jeremy, looking him over. “Hope you were a gentleman, asshole.”
Jeremy laughed, standing up. “This is rich. Seriously, Seth, I didn’t think you had this kind of stunt in you. You’re usually such a stiff.”
He gritted his teeth. “I’m not joking.”
Jeremy opened the screen door, stepping in where the rest of them were having pizza. They all looked up at him. The whole group of them looked rough, wrinkled, and tired.
“Hello, band of freaks!” Jeremy greeted them, opening his arms wide. “I’d like to welcome you, and Superman here, to our home.”
Seth glanced around him. The kids from Glory stared back. Luke had paused with his pizza on the way to his mouth. Kitty’s eyes were wide, frantic. Probably everyone’s brains had kicked up, giving her a good dose of all of their reactions.
Then he met Blue’s eyes as she dusted her hands on her pants.
Uh-oh.
“I see,” she said, crumpling her napkin up and putting it on her paper plate. Jeremy didn’t know, but her calm didn’t bode well for him.
It surprised Seth that he knew her that well. “Blue…”
Slowly, Jeremy lifted in the air. He wheeled his arms, going, “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” before he tilted onto his stomach above their heads. Then he swept from one end of the little living room to the other, cursing and carrying on, while Blue gathered her empty plate. “Who’s doing that?”
“That would be me.” She looked up and wiggled her fingers. “Now who’s Superman?” Suddenly, he dropped until he was a few inches from the ground. He stayed there for a long minute before he fell, flat on his face. Seth knew she could have laid him down gently. She was just being mean.
Jeremy sprang into action. “Jesus Christ!” He scuttled back until he hit the wall, his eyes wide and freaked out. His head swung between them all, as if he half expected one of them to jump out and bite him. “What the hell are you people?”
“I’m the same guy. Remember, we went to Vegas last year for Charles’s bachelor party.” Afraid Jeremy would do something rash, Seth stepped between him and the rest of them. “I told you. We were poisoned. Goldstone wiped out the town. And now we’re…different.”
“Shit.” Jeremy fell back on his butt, rubbing his head with his hands.
Silence fell over the little living room as they all stared at each other.
What the hell was he supposed to do now? This wasn’t how he’d planned the conversation to go. But still. These guys had seen some crazy shit before. Surely they would be able to get their heads around this.
“Well.” Kitty stood, smoothing out her clothes. Somehow, she made standing in the middle of a lame two-bedroom, wearing dirty jeans and a wrinkled T-shirt, look very proper. “It’s been lovely meeting you both. If you wouldn’t mind, I’d really like to take a shower, please, and find somewhere to sleep. I’m exhausted.”
Everyone seemed to hold their breath. Then Nick sighed. “Sure. Follow me.” He started across the room before turning back to him with a scowl. “Seth. We’re not done here.”
As he stalked from the room with Kitty trailing behind him, Seth wondered again whether he was doing the right thing.
Chapter Fourteen
Kitty followed Nick into an empty bedroom. As he looked around it, his frustration spiked again, but his voice remained calm. “You can sleep here, if you like. Let me get you some sheets.”
“No, no,” she added quickly. “No need. I’ll crash on the floor.”
He ran a hand over his head, rubbing the short-cut dark hair. His thoughts flitted across the subject. Can’t let a girl sleep on the floor in my home… My mom would kill me. Don’t know where the sheets are… Maybe the pullout sofa has sheets, if she can wait…
“It’s fine. Really. I don’t want to be trouble.”
His guilt lingered, but he nodded. She expected him to leave, and she wanted him to. She was exhausted. Large groups were particularly exhausting. She could usually manage when she had only one other person’s thoughts to contend with. But in a large group, the thoughts came at her like ice shards, each one pricking and hurting until she was overdone, an open wound.
All she wanted to do was lie down and tune all the voices in this apartment out.
But Nick didn’t leave right away. His thoughts were filled with conflict.
“Is there something you need?” She was trying to be polite. She really was.
“I’m not sure anyone else will say this, but…” Don’t sound like a dickhead. “My roommate. He’s not the kind of guy that…well…that’s friends with girls.” Yeah, that made sense, Degrassi. Try again. “I mean, he’s the kind of guy that hooks up with girls at bars and then never calls. I mean, he’s not an awful guy. He’s just not boyfriend material. I thought you should know.”
“You are warning me against your roommate?”
“I guess.” Yeah. How is this any of your business? She seems so nice. And pretty. Again the thought—that someone thought she was pretty—startled her. But some of these girls are so young and naive. I feel bad.
He felt bad for her? Thought she was naive? She smiled tightly. “Thanks for the heads-up. But this isn’t any of your business.”
His mouth tightened. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“Thanks. But I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.”
“Can you now?” He touched his eyebrow. So be it. “Then forget I said anything.” When am I going to learn that not everyone wants my help? Stupid hero complex.
“I’m sorry I snapped,” she sighed. Everything felt raw tonight. “I know you’re only trying to help.”
“Let me know if you need anything else. Good night.”
With a pang of guilt, Kitty watched him go. She forgot that other people’s behavior might not have anything to do with her. It sounded like Nick had his own demons. She probably hadn’t needed to snap at him that way. She was so tired of people making decisions for her.
She sighed, dropping her backpack on the ground next to the bed. She punched at it with angry stabs, trying to make it comfy, before dropping her head on top. Curling into the fetal position, she closed her eyes. In the other room, the sounds of six other people’s thoughts filled her mind. Again, she turned to her prayers for comfort.
She must have dozed off, because she was awakened later by someone putting a blanket over her. Through blurry eyes, she saw Nick duck back out of the room.
Seth came inside from the porch, shutting the slider and finding Blue rubbing a towel over her short hair. Their eyes met. She looked sexy and appealing, freshly scrubbed from the shower with no makeup on. The leggings she wore clung to her legs, to her butt, and he liked the way all of those curves looked. The pull was there, the attraction he had for this brave, impulsive girl.
These were things he shouldn’t be thinking at all.
He’d spent the past fifteen minutes letting Nick chew him out. Not that Nick didn’t deserve an explanation, but he couldn’t help thinking the entire situation could have gone better.
He glanced away, digging into his backpack.
“You know, I could have handled Jeremy.” He kept his voice low, trying not to be overheard. “I had it.”
“They’re going to help us, aren’t they?” she whispered back.
“Yeah, but you agreed to let me handle it. You made that much harder on me than it had to be.”
“Maybe I did, but your way wasn’t working.” Her jaw clenched. “That guy wasn’t going to help us unless he saw proof. I gave him proof.”
He might not like it, but she probably had a point. He changed tactics. “You don’t like him, and
you lashed out. If I can’t trust you to do what you say you’ll do, how is this going to work?” He didn’t know what he meant by “this.”
Her eyes widened, and she jerked back a little, surprised. “You’re right. I don’t like him. And yes, I did lash out. He was being a jerk, and it wasn’t necessary.” Her eyes softened, and he could see the hurt.
She glanced away, the towel gripped in her white-knuckled fingers. “My father killed himself when I was very young. And my mom went off the deep end because of it. Stuff like that…well, it’s a big deal in a small town.” She shrugged one shoulder, busying her hands with drying her hair again. “So, when people look at me like that…like I’m strange, well, it bothers me. A lot.”
As he stared at her downturned head, he felt like a jerk. He understood how it felt to be different from the other kids. He’d grown up in foster care, always the outsider.
He groaned, unable to stop himself from stepping forward and pulling her into his arms. “I’m sorry.” She stiffened and then softened into him, wrapping her arms around him, the towel dropping to the ground. “I know Jeremy’s an ass. And I’m sorry he made you feel like that. I get it. I really do.” He tucked her head under his chin and allowed himself, for only a moment, to find comfort in the warmth of her against him.
He forced himself to step away from her, even as his body immediately missed the warmth of hers. “But if we make a plan, I need you to stick with me.”
“Even if the plan doesn’t work?”
“The plan might have worked if you’d stuck to it.”
Her brow dropped, taking on the mulish look he was coming to equate with her when she dug her heels in.
This. This was exactly the problem. How could he expect to keep her alive if she wouldn’t even listen to him? She needed to see him as the leader, too, like the rest of them.
“I shouldn’t have kissed you, Blue.” Oh, man. Her eyes, so blue. He could see everything in them, and he tried not to gag on his own words. “It was a bad idea, and I shouldn’t have done it.”
She jerked back, as if he’d slapped her. “You think…it was a bad idea. To kiss me.” It was a statement, not a question.