Whoa, what’s happened for him to become so passive-aggressive toward me. “Hey, I’ll stay here,” I reply as I hold my hands up, complying with his tantrum.
He groans in frustration. “It’s been a hard night, Alexa.” I guess this is his way of apologizing.
“It’s cool.” I stretch again and look at Jude. “How’s the coughing?”
“Alright.” He shrugs one shoulder and heads in the direction of the bathroom. “I’m going for a shower, get Frank to get me a real coffee considering you won’t do it.”
“Oh, I’ll go with Frank then,” I announce, jumping to my feet in a sprightly way.
“Wait up.” Jude stops walking and turns to face Ronan and me. “You’re staying here,” he orders.
Here we go again. “No, I’m hungry, so I’ll go with Frank to get you a coffee, and I’ll get something for Frank and me to eat.”
Jude flicks Ronan a look. Ronan sighs and grumbles beneath his breath. “I’ll go with them.”
Jude nods triumphantly and I feel like a school kid who’s in trouble and needs her big brother everywhere she goes. Whatever, I’m hungry.
“Let’s go,” Ronan says as he holds the door open for me.
“Sorry you have to babysit me.” We head out of the room, and find Frank slumped in a chair, sleeping.
“Wake up, Frank.” Ronan nudges him.
Frank’s up on his feet in seconds and falls in beside me. “Mr. Jude okay?” he asks in a sleepy voice.
“Typical pain in the ass. So, yes, he is,” he answers to Frank. “And, don’t you be sorry,” he says, looking over his shoulder toward me. Ronan is walking so fast, I nearly have to jog to keep up with him. When we get in the elevator, he pulls his phone out and searches for something. Man, he’s obviously in a shit mood. “There’s a Starbucks nearby. We’ll go there and get everyone what they want.”
When we get down to the entrance, the driver who bought us to the hospital is waiting for us. “The car’s this way,” he says pointing out the front of the hospital.
We all get into the car, Ronan in the front passenger seat, Frank and I in the back. Frank taps my leg and makes a gesture as if to say, ‘why’s Ronan being an ass?’ I shrug my shoulders and turn to look out the window.
We get to the coffee shop, and the driver parks a few spots away. Ronan, Frank, and I all get out. My stomach rumbles loudly. “Sorry,” I mumble when Ronan glares over at me. “I’m hungry.” Ronan’s coming across as really pissed off. And I have no idea why. Screw this shit. I’m not going to take his crap. “Hey.” I grab onto his arm, stopping him from walking into Starbucks. “Why are you being such an ass today? Has something happened?”
He runs his tongue over his teeth while screwing up his mouth. “There’s a lot of shit going on.”
“I know that, I even know most of it has something to do with me.”
“Jude’s on the verge of losing the . . .” he stops talking and looks around, making sure only I can hear him. “Jude’s on the verge of losing everything he’s worked for.”
“How?”
“Because shit’s happening.”
“Like what?” I push.
“Shit you don’t have access to.”
“Seriously? Shit I don’t have access to? You are aware that I can find out anything I want at any given moment in time.” I place my hand on my hip and stand my ground.
Ronan steps back, and smirks at me. “I see it,” he says with his eyes wandering over my body.
“What?” Man, this guy is making me so mad.
“I see why he likes you. I get it. You don’t back down. You’re strong, for a chick.”
“For a chick?” My temper flares. What is it with Ronan today? I was liking him, but now he’s turning into an ass. “For a chick?” I say again. I straighten my back, clench my jaw and step forward. Ronan regards me with humor, which makes me even angrier. “I’m not strong, Ronan, but I’m damn powerful.” The hair on my arms stands to attention. “Probably the most powerful person you’ll ever meet. I’m the queen, the king, the rook, and the bishop all rolled into one. No one stands a chance against me.”
Holy shit.
Did I just admit my own worth to myself?
Ronan blinks at me, his body stiffening. A smirk stretches his features. “Yes, you are. About time you realize it, too.” He walks away from me into Starbucks.
Slowly, I make my way in, where Frank’s already in line. The line isn’t too long, only eight people ahead of us. “You okay, Miss Lexi?” he asks and looks over to Ronan who’s dragged out a chair and is sitting in it.
“I called myself more powerful than a queen, a king, a rook and a bishop.” I take out my hair tie, run my fingers through my hair and tie it up again. “What was I thinking?” I mumble to myself.
“You were thinking exactly what I think of you. You’re a force to be reckoned with.” He chuckles, and we shuffle forward as the next person gets served.
Frank is talking to me, but I’m not listening. Instead I’m zoning out to him, and thinking about me. Maybe I am lethal. Maybe I’m exactly what I said I was. I’m a queen—she has the ultimate power of being able to steal whoever she wants. I’m a king—I need to be protected and guarded. I’m a rook—fast and strong and considered a major player. And I’m a bishop—moving around to protect the power within the game.
“Do you know what you want, Miss Lexi?” Frank taps me on the shoulder, to ask.
My veins fill with shards of ice cold. The hair on the back of my neck stands while a wave of realization washes over me. I am powerful. I. Am. Powerful.
“Miss Lexi?”
“Um . . .” Looking up to the board, out of the corner of my eye, I notice Ronan moving toward me.
“Get Jude a coffee, and I’ll get one too.” Ronan looks up at the menu board. “And a breakfast sandwich.”
“Which one?” Frank asks.
“Whatever.” Ronan takes a roll of cash out of his pocket, and gives me three twenty-dollar bills.
There are a few people working behind the counter, and when it’s our turn we get called by a young guy. “How can I help you?” he asks.
He’s young, maybe my age or a year or so older. He’s got short blond hair, fair skin, and black eyes. I thought Jude’s eyes were dark, but this guy has the darkest eyes I’ve ever seen.
“Can I help you?” he asks again.
Frank gives him his order, and nudges me to tell the barista what I want. “Miss Lexi.”
I stare at the guy, something about him is familiar, but not. “Pumpkin bread and hot chocolate.”
He enters my order, all the time glancing at me. I want to know who he is and why I’m drawn toward him, like a moth to a beam of light.
“Miss,” he says as his eyes find mine.
“I’m Alexa,” I say as I hold my hand out to him.
He lifts a brow and stares at my offered hand. “Nick.” Hesitantly he extends his hand to me.
Our skin touches, and I get . . . nothing. Not a goddamn thing. Focusing on this moment, I’m still standing in Starbucks without going in a vision. Nick looks at me. There’s a twinge below his right eye.
He pulls his hand back, and looks down at the point of sale screen. “Is that all for today?” He turns around and starts preparing the coffees. His head is down, as he works to get our order ready.
There’s something about him. I don’t know what it is, but something is happening here.
Frank’s talking to me, but my eyes are glued to Nick. The inside of the store quietens; the voices of the patrons fade into nothing.
Turning to look around, I notice Ronan’s sitting at a table, still on the phone. There are now only a few people milling around in here.
Something’s wrong.
I look to Ronan and he catches my stare.
My stomach knots. My arms form goosebumps.
A black car slowly drives by. A man with dark glasses looks into the store.
I look back to Ronan. He hangs up
and stands. He can see how uneasy I am.
Turning, I look to Frank, then Nick. He’s still making our coffees, when I notice his entire back shudder. He drops what he’s holding, and he turns to face me. “You brought them here.”
“What?”
“Get down!” he yells at the top of his voice.
Everyone freezes. A frantic fear rises rapidly as the air erupts with a crackling intensity.
Ronan throws himself at me, and Frank falls next to me.
At first it sounds like a car is back firing, but I quickly realize the sound isn’t a car backfiring.
Gun shots.
Ronan is nearly suffocating me as he shifts his weight to cover more of my body. It’s all over in a few seconds, but it feels like hours. There’s someone screaming, and Frank asking me if I’m okay. Ronan lifts off my body, grabs my arms and yanks me up in a single movement.
“What happened?” he asks me.
Swinging around to look for Nick, my eyes dart everywhere.
He’s no longer behind the counter.
He’s gone.
Seconds before the gun fire started, he said to me, ‘You brought them here.’ How does he know about me? But most importantly, who is Nick?
“We’ve got to get out of here before the police arrive.” Ronan ushers me out through the front doors toward our waiting car.
“Wait,” I try to protest, looking over my shoulder in case I catch sight of Nick.
“No time to wait. Get in the car.” He pushes me in, Frank follows and Ronan jumps in the front. The car is in motion before Ronan’s even shut the door. He pulls out his phone, and dials someone’s number. “Have you got the tracker on us?” He waits, and I keep looking around us. “Hack into the store and delete all footage.”
How deep do Jude’s pockets go? Who is Ronan talking to?
“Get me a suite at the Ritz Carlton,” he stops talking, looks over his shoulder to me, then adds, “actually, get me two suites.”
“Wait!” I yell as the driver zooms down the road.
“What is it?” Ronan asks.
“The guy from Starbucks. I just saw him running, he’s heading down there.” I point out the window, and toward a narrow lane way we passed.
“Who cares about him?” Ronan states. “We have to get you somewhere safe.”
“Ronan, please. He knows about me. He had a vision, he saw them coming before they got there. He knows something.”
“I don’t care.”
“Ronan!” I yell. “Then let me out. I’ll find him and try to figure out what’s going on.”
Ronan looks at me and his jaw tenses as he lets out a deep breath. “Turn the car around, let’s find this kid.”
The driver spins the car, and I hold onto the handle above the door while the force of the car spinning around nearly throws me across the car. Thank God for seat belts.
I keep my eyes open as we near the alley where I saw him. As the driver turns in, I can’t see Nick anywhere.
Suddenly, I see someone running in my peripheral vision. That someone is Nick.
I jump out of the car, and head toward him. “Nick,” I shout.
“Alexa, get back in the car,” Ronan barks from behind me.
No way, I need to find Nick, figure out what he knows, and who he is. “Nick!” I yell again. He looks over his shoulder at me, then speeds up. Damn him and his fast running. But he’s no match for Ronan, who passes me, catches Nick, and tackles him to the ground.
“Where are you going, punk?” Ronan has him down, with a knee in his back.
“Ronan!” I yell once I catch up to them.
“What?” He looks up at me, and shrugs. “You wanted him, I’ve got him for you.”
“Just, get him up.” I step back, and Ronan lifts Nick by the back of his t-shirt. He looks at me angrily.
“Do you know what you’ve done?” he spits toward me with fury.
“I don’t have any idea what’s going on. The only thing I do know is you’re like me.”
He chuckles at me, and tries to get loose of Ronan’s restraint. “You’re nothing like me.” He smirks arrogantly.
“You can see the future. But, I noticed you don’t need to touch. I need you to tell me what you know and how you do it.”
“I’m not telling you shit. You brought them to me, which means now I need to run again.
Stunned, I stand and stare at him. “We can protect you,” I blurt.
“What?” Ronan says.
“What?” Nick says at the same time. Both stare at me in disbelief.
“Come with us, we can help you,” I offer again.
Nick looks over his shoulder to Ronan, then back to me. He tries to loosen the hold Ronan has on him, but he realizes it’s a fruitless attempt because Ronan is one strong guy. He pushes Nick toward the car, which has backed up. The passenger door’s still open. Frank’s sitting in the back while the driver keeps an eye on our surroundings.
“Do I have a choice?” Nick asks as Ronan pushes his head down and into the car.
“Nope,” he answers sarcastically. “Get in, and if he looks like he’s going to try to get out, I will shoot him.” He looks me straight in the eye, and I know by his tone and his look, he’s deadly serious.
“Try not to, I think he’s useful,” I whisper just before sliding in beside Nick.
Ronan and the driver both get in, and we head down the alley, like we haven’t just snatched a guy off the street.
When we get to the hotel, Ronan opens the glove department, takes out a set of cuffs and gives them to Nick. “I have two words for you. Bullet. Brain. You try to run, and I’ll kill you. Put them on.” He pointedly looks down at the handcuffs.
My stomach churns with anxiety as I watch Nick shake while he secures the cuffs. Man, Ronan is terrifying. I never realized how menacing, until this moment. I feel like I should apologize to Nick, but then I’d be undermining Ronan. And if I’m being honest, I need answers. And I think Nick can help me understand what’s been happening to me.
“Park the car below. I’ll go and check us in, then I’ll come down. Shoot him if he moves,” Ronan instructs the driver. The moment he’s out of the car, we take the driveway down to an underground parking area.
Ronan’s threat to kill Nick makes me believe he’s deadly serious.
We wait in the garage in complete silence. Nick is searching around him, looking at the lock on the car door and trying to map out his escape route. “He’ll kill you,” I say, desperately trying to hold him here.
He searches my eyes, then slowly closes his own. I watch as his body shudders, exactly like it did back in Starbucks.
He’s in a vision.
Watching intently, I lean into him, wanting to touch him to see what he can see. But, I have to hold back, because I can see the future a few hours ahead.
Except for that one time with Enzo. Maybe I can focus and go into his vision. Taking deep breaths, I too close my eyes and focus on my heart rate. I feel it increase, then it slows. My breath comes out softly, and I lift my hand to touch his.
The moment I make skin on skin contact, I’m being tumbled into a tunnel. A passageway of darkness. There’s a vision at the end of the long path. It’s bright and I can see it, I just need to get there.
With pure determination, I head toward the vision.
I’m thrown into the garage where we’re waiting. Nick is standing outside the car, watching. The moment I land beside him, he turns to look at me. “How did you do that?” he asks. He steps back and looks around the isolated garage.
“I have to see what you can see,” I answer, trying to step closer to him.
“How did you follow me in here?” he nearly shouts at me.
“Don’t run, Nick. I need answers, and you can help me.”
He looks around again, and we both see Ronan walking toward us. “If I run, will he kill me?”
I don’t know. Probably. “Yes.” I need him to stay.
He looks me up and down and
clenches his jaw tightly together. “I’ll stay.”
And just like that, he vanishes. I pull myself out of the vision, and bring myself back to the now. “Thank you,” I say to him.
“I’m not doing this for you, I’m doing this because I don’t want the gorilla to kill me.” He pointedly looks toward Ronan, who’s walking toward us.
Good enough reason for me. “Thank you, again,” I say, trying to impress upon him how important this is to me.
He flicks his eyes away and grumbles.
“Are you going to give me any problems? I’ve killed younger for less,” Ronan says to Nick.
“Nah,” he disdainfully scoffs.
“Good.” Ronan steps back as I exit the car. He then grabs Nick’s shirt and drags him out. Frank follows quietly, not saying anything but watching what’s happening. “Behind him,” Ronan says to the driver who obediently stands behind Nick. “Frank, to the side.”
“Yes, Sir, Mr. Ronan.” Frank isn’t a body guard, well I don’t think he is. But, he still does what Ronan tells him.
“Lexi, you go ahead, we’re on the entire twentieth floor. We’ll take the rooms at the end of the hall, twenty-fifteen, and twenty-sixteen. Here.” He hands me the key to one. “You’re in fifteen. Where do you want him?” He pulls on Nick, making him stumble.
Pleadingly, I stare at Ronan. “In my room.”
We get in the elevator, and Ronan reiterates to Nick, “Make one false move, and your brains will be all over this elevator.” Man, Ronan means business. The tone, his harshness, the fact he’s manhandling Nick, I know he’d kill him.
We exit on our floor, and thankfully no one is in the corridors. We get to my room. I open the door and Ronan roughly pulls Nick in. “Can you take the cuffs off him?” I ask.
“No, he’ll try to escape.”
He won’t. For some reason, I trust him, and I don’t think he’ll try to run. “If he does, then shoot him in the thigh.” I feel sick giving those instructions.
Ronan smirks at me. “I’ll shoot alright. Here, across the hall,” he says to Frank and the driver, whose name I still don’t know, handing them a card key. Both leave, closing the door behind them. “Turn around,” Ronan instructs Nick. He takes the cuffs off him, and goes to stand by the front door.
The Curse: The Butterfly Effect, Book 2. Page 16