by Wendi Wilson
Breathing a sigh of relief, I leaned against the back of the elevator car. Tension drained from me, leaving me exhausted. My limbs felt like they were made of lead and my stomach grumbled.
I hoped Dr. Patton brought a flask of blood. I was going to need it.
Chapter Fourteen
“You did an excellent job, my dear.”
Every time he called me “my dear,” my stomach churned. If I was so dear to him, why was he blackmailing me? Why was he threatening my parents? Threatening my boys? If I was dear to him, how could he leave me alone with the monster we called president?
“Are we heading back to the house now?” I asked, ignoring his praise as I watched the scenery zip by through the dark tinted window.
“Yes,” he answered. “You can get a good night’s rest, then tomorrow we’ll have our meeting with President Worth.”
“Tomorrow?!” I exclaimed, my body jerking up as I swung around to meet his eyes.
His smile grew wide. “Yes. I told you, you did an excellent job. The president found me right away and set up a meeting. We’ll be visiting the oval office tomorrow at noon.”
“I… I can’t,” I said, forcing my teeth not to chatter.
“What do you mean, you can’t? You can and you will.”
“I’m sorry,” I gritted out, grinding my teeth through the apology. “It’s too soon. I can’t face him again after…”
“After what?” The expression on his face was part curiosity, but mostly aggravation.
“He tried to have sex with me,” I admitted, my voice low.
“So? I told you he likes the younger girls. You obviously used that attraction to secure the meeting.”
My jaw dropped open in shock. I didn’t know why I was surprised. Despite spending so much time with me over the last several months, he barely knew me. All he knew was I was an Alt and that he hated my kind. He also knew what I could do for him. That was it.
“I most certainly did not use his attraction to me. He used his Alts to try to persuade me into giving him what he wanted. Oh, and I was also ordered to enjoy whatever he did to me and forget all about it afterward. He’s been raping girls and they have no idea.”
Dr. Patton shrugged. “So, you see, now, why I feel the need to rid the world of Alts? Their existence messes with the natural balance that God created.”
“You’re insane,” I spat. “The president is responsible for his own actions. Those kids probably feel like they have no choice.”
“Watch your tone with me, child. I still hold the fate of your parents in my hands.”
I shut up then, turning to glare out the window once more. I decided against telling him I slapped the president. I didn’t know how he would react and I wasn’t taking any chances with my parents’ lives at stake.
I grabbed the contact lens case from the seat between us, unscrewing the lids on each side. It took me about five minutes, but I managed to get them out and back into the plastic case, which I then chucked to the floor with more force than was really necessary. My eyes stung and I closed them as I leaned my forehead against the cool window.
Before long, the car turned into the driveway of Dr. Patton’s temporary home. The curtains on every window were drawn, but I could see the outline of yellow light around the edges of each one. It looked like my mom and dad were waiting up for me.
I climbed from the car and Dr. Patton followed me out, swinging the door closed behind us. The limo pulled from the driveway and headed down the street. We walked in silence up the steps to the front door. I grabbed the knob and twisted it, and the door unlatched, swinging inward.
As I stepped through, a hand snaked out from the left side of the door. Before I could react, it latched onto my wrist and jerked me to the side. A second hand sealed itself across my mouth, muffling my squeal of shock.
The smell of wood and soap filled my nostrils, and my body relaxed back against the one holding me. I would know that scent anywhere. I looked over my shoulder, my eyes meeting the silver-gray orbs I expected to see.
“Wyatt,” I murmured, but it came out muffled against his palm.
He didn’t move. Didn’t release his grip on my wrist or mouth. Didn’t hug me or tell me everything was okay. And worst of all, he didn’t smile.
“What is the meaning of—”
A deep grunt cut off the end of Dr. Patton’s tirade. My eye’s zipped from Wyatt’s face to the source of the sound. The doctor was bent over at the waist, Jett’s fist buried in his midsection. Before I could blink, Jett pulled it back and let it fly right into his uncle’s nose. A crack echoed through the room just before red blood spurted from the orifice.
I looked around nervously, finally spotting my parents on the other side of the room, huddled behind Silas and Slade. I breathed a sigh of relief that they were okay. A quick glance to the left and I spotted Beckett tying the hands of one of Dr. Patton’s goons behind his back.
Wyatt’s hands released me and I turned to face him. I lifted my arms to wrap him up, but he took a quick step back. My heart sank in my chest, landing with a thud somewhere below my stomach.
He was pissed.
I knew he would be. I knew they all would be. But they came to rescue me. That meant that even though they were angry, they still cared about me. My brow furrowed at the thought.
How, exactly, is it they care about me? I persuaded them to not care.
Thin arms wrapped around me and I turned, getting a whiff of Lizzie’s baby powder scent just before my nose smashed against her shoulder. After a moment’s shock, I slipped my arms around her waist and hugged her back.
“Thank God, you’re okay,” she mumbled against my hair.
A loud smashing noise startled us, making us jump and we pulled apart, looking for its source. Jett stood there heaving, his hands balled into fists at his sides. Glass was scattered across the carpet and Dr. Patton lay inside the skeleton of the former coffee table. He was out cold.
“We should get out of here,” Beckett said, drawing my attention.
I watched him walk across the room, leaving a tied-up guard on the floor behind him, and my heart sank even further. He didn’t make eye contact with me. Not once.
Maybe my persuasion wasn’t broken. Maybe Lizzie and the twins had convinced them to come after me. That had to be it. My persuasion was still in effect. They didn’t love me. They were just doing a favor for their friends.
Sucking up my anguish, I crossed the room toward my parents. I mouthed words of thanks to the twins, who nodded and moved to the side so I could get to Mom and Dad. They sandwiched me between them, tears streaming down Mom’s face and Dad whispering words of encouragement about our impending freedom.
“Let’s go,” someone said. My ears were muffled against my parents’ bodies, so I wasn’t sure who it was.
As everyone filed through the front door, I grabbed my keys from the hook by the door. Outside in the driveway, I held them up to my Mom.
“I guess you want your car back?” I asked, jingling them. Earlier in the day, Dr. Patton had sent two of his men to go pick it up from the parking lot where I’d left it.
A hand reached from my side and snatched them from the air. I turned to see Jett, his face blank as he looked into my dad’s eyes.
“Actually,” he said, “we really need to speak with Savanna. If it’s okay, may we please take your car and you can ride with Lizzie and the guys?”
He jerked a thumb over his shoulder and I looked in that direction. Across the street was the Madsen’s minivan, parked in a dark area where the streetlight’s glow didn’t reach. When I looked back, my Mom and Dad were staring at me.
I nodded in response to his silent question. Dad kissed my cheek and Mom hugged me tightly before they headed across the street to where Lizzie and the Madsen twins waited. Without another word, Jett turned and headed for my mom’s car.
I started forward, my head down and my feet scuffing the ground. I lifted my eyes and watched as Wyatt climbed into th
e passenger seat and Beckett hopped into the back, sliding across to the other side. I climbed in and looked over at him, crowded against the opposite door.
As far away from me as he could possibly get.
“I’m sor—”
“Not yet, Savanna,” Jett snapped, his voice harsh with emotion.
My own anger started to spiral, as it usually did when I was in the wrong and I knew it. I felt the need to get defensive, but I squashed it down. Something in my gut told me that I was wrong before. The persuasion was not still in effect.
Somehow, they’d broken free of it. And they were angry.
Jett pulled into the parking lot of a cheap motel, much like the one I’d stayed in the night before. Had it really only been thirty hours since I’d seen them? Since I’d persuaded them not to love me and to let me go? It seemed like an eternity had passed.
The boys climbed from the car and headed toward the door directly in front of it. I climbed out as well, turning to swing the car door closed. By the time I turned back, all three of them were inside the room and the door was closed.
“They are really pissed,” I mumbled before pressing down on the handle and swinging the door inward.
“Well, what did you expect?” Jett demanded as soon as the door closed behind me.
“Wh-wh-what?” I stuttered out.
“You mumbled about us being pissed, like it surprises you,” he gritted out. “What else did you expect?”
“I expected you to not care,” I murmured.
“Just like you persuaded us, right?” Beckett asked, his voice harsher than I’d ever heard it, making me flinch.
“I just wanted to keep you safe,” I said, my voice pleading with them to understand.
“Do you think we’re weak?” Wyatt asked. “That we can’t take care of ourselves?” His voice deepened, sounding dangerous. “That we can’t take care of you?”
My rigid body deflated. “No. I know you can.” I looked at each of them, begging them with my eyes to understand. “It was a knee-jerk reaction. I couldn’t see past the possibility of him hurting you because of me. I had to keep you out of it, to protect you. Last night, after some serious thought, I realized I handled it all wrong. That you are, after all, grown men who can obviously take care of yourselves. By then, though, it was too late. The deed was done.” Tears stung my eyes and I didn’t try to hold them back. “I’m so sorry.”
They didn’t seem the least bit fazed by my words or the tears. They held their ground, their identical bodies rigid. My vision blurred and I dropped my eyes to the blue paisley carpet. I took a couple of deep breaths, attempting to pull my emotions under control.
“Savanna,” Beckett’s deep voice said softly, “loving someone means respecting their choices and not taking those choices away. We’ve never done that to you.”
“I know,” I muttered, my eyes still tracing the pattern of the ugly carpet.
“And we never will,” Jett added.
My eyes zipped up to meet his. “Does that mean you still love me?”
“Are you crazy?!?” Wyatt shouted, pulling my attention to him. “Of course, we still love you. Why do you think we’re so mad? Why do you think we drove half way down the coastline to rescue you?”
“To yell at me?”
Wyatt’s face went blank for a moment before one side of his mouth tugged up slightly. His arms, having been crossed over his chest, unwound and dropped to his sides where he held them loosely. I took that as an invitation and flew forward, throwing myself against his chest.
He stood, frozen, for a few seconds. Then his breath huffed out of his chest and his arms wrapped around me, pulling me in closer. My tears started anew, this time spurred on by relief instead of grief or shame. Great sobs wracked my chest, leaving me almost breathless.
Wyatt’s mouth moved close to my ear, whispering words of comfort, love and forgiveness. I knew I didn’t deserve it. I deserved to be tortured, at least for a while longer, for what I’d done to them. I knew it, and I wouldn’t have held it against any of them if they’d stayed angry forever.
But that’s the beauty of love. It goes hand in hand with forgiveness.
A hand squeezed my shoulder and I pulled my face from Wyatt’s chest. Beckett stood there, arms wide and a soft smile on his lips. I released Wyatt and turned into him, the warmth of his body engulfing me, making me feel safe. He heaved a shuddering breath and fresh tears sprung from my eyes.
“Don’t ever do that again,” he whispered.
My head shook vigorously against his chest, my mouth unable to form words. I tightened my grip on him, an unspoken promise. I would never persuade them without permission again. No matter what.
Beckett’s arms loosened around me and I pulled back to look into his eyes. He leaned in and brushed his lips against mine, the barest whisper of a kiss. My cracked heart healed a little in that moment.
Taking a bolstering breath, I pulled away and turned to face Jett. His face was still a mask of anger, his arms crossed over his chest. I met his eyes, but otherwise didn’t move. Of the three of them, he was the most likely to hold onto his anger. I had to let him get to forgiveness on his own.
“You hurt us,” he accused, his voice stern but not overly angry. “You used your power to make us weak.”
I sucked in a breath. “You could never be weak,” I pronounced as I released it.
“Without you, without us,” he said, circling his finger to encompass everyone, “we are weak. Our bond makes us strong and you broke it.”
“I know,” I said, attempting to own my mistake. “And I regretted it almost instantly.” I paused for a moment, letting my eyes plead with him, to try to make him understand. “I was consumed with fear. Fear for my parents. Fear for the Madsens and Lizzie. But most of all, fear for you. The three of you are everything to me. If anything happened to you…”
“You don’t think we feel the same way?!” Jett shouted when my words trailed off. “You made us forget we love you, Savanna! You took off and left us. You left us.”
I flinched, his words hitting home, I felt like the dumbest person on the planet. Those damn tears started again, and I swiped at them angrily. I would not be one of those girls who used tears to get what she wanted. I deserved his angry words, and more.
“I know,” I said, getting my emotions under control and stopping the flow of tears. “I’m sorry.”
Jett leaned his head back, closing his eyes as his he breathed in harshly. His groan echoed through the motel room as he burst into motion. Taking two quick steps forward, he yanked me into his arms, crushing me against him.
The waterworks I’d been attempting to hold back flooded out against my will. I sobbed against his chest, relief coursing through me as his soft lips pressed against my temple. I turned my face up and captured his lips with mine. He kissed me, hard, before a hand wound into my hair and pressed my head back against his chest.
I felt Wyatt and Beckett close in around me. The three of them formed a circle, a group hug with me in the center. I was right where I belonged, surrounded by my boys.
Finally, I was home.
Chapter Fifteen
I slept like the dead.
We didn’t talk the rest of the night. I was pulled into bed and sandwiched between Jett and Wyatt, while Beckett sat at the small table by the door. When I looked at him with question in my eyes, he nodded.
“Sleep. I’ll keep watch for a while.”
I wanted to argue that there were no less than three different locks on the door, but I was too exhausted. I just smiled at him and snuggled into Wyatt’s chest. Jett scooted in close to my back, his arm draping over my waist.
The next thing I knew, it was morning. My right arm tingled from sleeping on it. I flexed my fingers as I opened my eyes. Jett had taken Wyatt’s spot in front of me and a glance over my shoulder confirmed Beckett was snoring softly behind me.
I spotted Wyatt by the door, staring at his phone. He must have caught my movement from t
he corner of his eye because he looked over at me with a smile.
“Good morning, beautiful,” he whispered.
Despite his attempt to be quiet, his brothers jerked awake. I shot Wyatt a withering look, but he just grinned, unrepentant.
“Sorry,” I said in a low voice, looking from Jett to Beckett as I sat up. “It’s early.”
I looked down at myself, my fancy purple dress wrinkled beyond repair. And I was sure my face was a mess with all the crying I’d done the night before. My eyes stung, and I was glad I’d taken the contacts out on the way back from the party. I ran a hand over my hair, attempting to smooth what I knew must be a total rat’s nest.
“I brought in your bag,” Beckett murmured, pointing toward the floor by the bathroom. “It was still in the car.”
“Thank you,” I replied as he rolled out of the bed and held out a hand to me.
Letting him help me up, I squeezed his fingers before letting go. I grabbed the handle of my duffle and headed into the bathroom. I turned, my hand on the door, and paused. I took in the sight of them, all sleep ruffled and bleary eyed and gorgeous.
“I love you, boys,” I vowed, then swung the door closed before they could respond.
I felt like a new woman after a shower and slipping into my own clothes. I scrubbed my face and brushed my teeth before throwing my hair up into a ponytail. When I reentered the main room, Jett was missing. Wyatt and Beckett were there with wet hair and clean clothes.
“We have two rooms here,” Wyatt explained without my having to ask. “Silas, Slade, Lizzie and your parents stayed next door last night.”
“How did you find us?” I asked. “How did you break the persuasion in the first place?”
The questions flew from my mouth, with a dozen more swirling in my head. Beckett held up a hand, stopping my flow of words.
“It’s better if we wait until we’re all together. That way, everyone will get the whole story.”
I nodded, even though my first impulse was to beg them to tell me right then. But I could be patient. Maybe.