“Can I get something to drink?” Nick asks, too petrified to move toward the small bar-fridge.
Heading to the bar-fridge, I open it, grab a bottle of water, and throw it to Nick. At the same time, Ronan’s phone rings.
“Yeah,” he answers. He listens for a few seconds then says, “We’ve picked up a stray, I’ll send Frank and Mike to get you.” Oh, Mike must be the drivers’ name. “Yeah, you’ll see when you get here.” I look to Ronan and draw my brows in together. “She’s fine. She was the one who insisted we pick up the stray.” He must be talking to Jude. “I’ll send them now.”
He hangs up, and looks down to his phone. Then he looks up at both of us. Walking over to the sofa, I sit and wait for Nick. His shoulders are up high, and his spine is rigid, probably with fear. “Sit,” I offer toward one of the arm chairs in the small sitting area.
He looks to Ronan, then me. Slowly, he makes his way over to an available armchair and sinks down into it. “What do you want to know?” Taking the lid off the bottle, he has a quick drink then sets the bottle on the table beside him.
“I have a million questions, but I have no idea where to start. Can you wait until Jude arrives?”
“Do I have a choice?” he snidely asks.
“Well . . .” I shrug. “No, you don’t.”
Ronan keeps an eye on Nick, who keeps looking around the room, trying to plan his escape. But every time his eyes find Ronan, who’s glaring at him, I can see he changes his mind.
“How long have you lived here?” I finally ask after the silence becomes unbearable to me.
“For a while,” he replies.
“Do you move around a lot?”
He chuckles and nods. “You will too.”
“How long do you stay in one spot?”
He huffs an angry sigh. “Until I know they’ve found me.”
I’m itching to know who ‘they’ are, and how they find him. I’m desperately wanting to know everything. How he got his ability, how he stays ahead of them, how he lives . . . this is driving me crazy.
Standing, I begin to pace the length of the sitting room. So many crazy thoughts are going through my mind, I need to know everything.
As I pace, Ronan stands solidly by the front door, keeping his eyes on Nick. I can’t help but let all these emotions bounce through me. But, I keep it together, instead I let my nervous energy escape by pacing.
There’s a knock on the door, Ronan doesn’t turn to answer it, instead, he makes a phone call. “Yeah,” he says into the phone. He hangs up and opens the door.
Jude waltzes in, his eyes landing on me first, before taking in Nick. “Are you the stray we’ve picked up?” he asks Nick.
“Jude, please,” I beg.
He looks over to me and sighs. “Keep an eye on him,” he says to Ronan while pointing toward Nick. “Alexa, come with me.”
We leave the room and head across the hall to the other room. Frank and Mike are both lounging in arm chairs when we enter. The moment they see Jude and me, they jump to their feet. “Mr. Jude?” Frank asks. “Is everything okay?”
“Go to the other room,” he tells them. Both leave, and Jude turns to me. “What’s going on with the kid?”
“He’s like me, Jude. He can see the future, but differently. He said I led ‘them’ to him. He said . . .” I become overwhelmed as I’m talking. Excitedly, I bounce up and down, and all I want to do is get back to the room so we can figure out what’s happening.
“Okay, okay. Calm down a moment, and stand still. You’re giving me a headache from watching you bounce.”
Shaking my hands out, and rolling my neck, I take several deep breaths so I can calm my frantic heart down. “He’s like me, Jude. Do you know what this means? He may have answers.”
“And he may not. Don’t get ahead of yourself.”
“But . . . but . . . what if he does? What if he knows who’s behind this? What if he knows if it can be reversed?” Shit, now that the answer is so close to me, I’m really not sure I want it to be reversed.
Crap, crap, crap.
“He may have answers, or he may not. You have to be prepared for disappointment.”
“He said I led them to him. He has to know who ‘them’ is. He just has to.” I sound like an obsessed teenager. I suppose, I am.
“Okay, this is what we’re going to do. We’re going to go in there and we’re going to question him. We’ll see what he knows, then we’ll go from there.”
“Jude, don’t kill him.”
He smirks and looks away. “I won’t.” Yeah, right.
“And by don’t kill him, I mean don’t order anyone to kill him either.”
The other side of his mouth lifts with sarcastic laughter. He runs his hand to the back of his neck as he stares at me. “Alright,” he agrees. “But, I can’t guarantee I won’t hurt him,” he quickly adds.
“Jude,” I beg of him. “Please, this is important to me. If he doesn’t want to cooperate then we’re in no worse place than we were before him.”
“You drive a hard bargain, Miss Murphy, but as you wish. No hurting, and definitely no killing.”
“Okay,” I respond suddenly wary of how quickly Jude accepted what I’ve requested from him.
“Come on.” He jerks his head to the side toward the door, and waits until I’ve reached it before he opens the door, steps through, looks around then gives me the okay. We enter the suite, and Ronan gives Jude a small head nod, before he looks at me and winks. “Problems?”
Ronan shakes his head. “Nothing. The kid hasn’t even moved.”
Jude walks over to Nick, who’s looking between us. “Jude.” He holds his hand out to shake Nick’s.
“Nick.” They shake hands and I move to stand beside Jude.
“So,” I start, eager to know everything about Nick and his power. “I have no idea where to start. Um . . .” I look to Jude.
“How long have you had your ability?” Jude asks.
Nick looks uncomfortable and uneasy. “Just over a year.”
“Do you know how you got it?” I move to sit in the arm chair beside him so I can listen intently.
“I had an operation.” He rubs his throat. “Had my tonsils removed. Very routine, apparently.”
“I had an operation too.” I quickly recall the first time I awoke after my operation. “What happened?”
“When I woke, everything was different. I was seeing things happening before they actually happened. It was like I had precognition of things.”
At the exact same time, we say the identical thing, “Déjà vu.”
“Exactly. I thought I was losing my mind. I had no idea what was happening around me. I’d see someone do the same thing twice.”
“Who . . . how . . . what . . .” I have so many questions.
“Some guy and his assistant came in to see me, and they were asking me questions.”
“Did he have a beard? Was he wearing a suit?”
“Yeah, kinda older?” Nick asks. I confirm with a head nod. “There was something off about his assistant too.”
“I know this is weird, but was she wearing heels?”
“That’s exactly what I noticed. She had on these incredibly high heels,” Nick responds.
I look to Jude, as excitement begins to bubble. It sounds like they’re the same people who came to see me. “He said his name was Doctor Smith.”
“He told me his name was Doctor Patterson, but when my doctor came into the room, and I asked about Doctor Patterson, he said there wasn’t anyone there by that name.”
Sitting back in the chair, my mind is moving at a hundred miles an hour. It’s so fast I can barely think straight. “That’s kind of what happened with me.” I look over to Nick, who seems to want to ask me questions too. “Do you think there’s more of us out there?”
Nick shrugs. “I’ve never met anyone else, until you.” He leans forward and stares at me. “The first thing I noticed about you were your eyes. They’re incredible.” J
ude mumbles irately from where he’s standing. “What I didn’t notice was that eye . . .” He points to my right. “ . . . is nearly entirely blue, but has the smallest sliver of green. It almost looks like a colored contact, with a fragment that isn’t colored.”
“I did have green eyes. Now, I have a green eye and a blue eye.” I point to the respective colors.
“Freaky, but super cool.” He smiles at me. “When did your eye turn blue?”
“It started off with a small amount of blue, but the stronger my visions got, and the more I can do with them, the blue seems to take over.”
“What exactly can you do?” he asks me, interested.
“At first I wasn’t able to do much, but once I really accepted it, I’ve been doing a lot. I’m getting better at it, I’m able to pull out of a vision, or I can make myself go into one. I can move around, talk and be heard.”
“What do you mean by you can talk and be heard?”
“Exactly that. I can go into a vision, and I can talk to whoever is there and tell them things. They don’t hear it immediately, they hear it later, in the near future.”
Nick shakes his head. His mouth is screwed up in confusion, and he’s blinking at me, puzzled by what I’m saying. “How do your visions work? Aren’t they like mine?”
“I see the future by a few hours, I haven’t worked out the exact time limits yet. But I do know I’m starting to control myself so I can see anything in the future.”
“So, like tomorrow?”
“No, what I mean is I’ve been able to see from a few minutes to a few hours. It’s always been hours, but lately, I can concentrate and see minutes.”
“Wouldn’t that mean, if you keep practicing, you might be able to see days or even weeks ahead?”
I shrug, not really knowing what I’m capable of for sure. “I don’t know,” I add.
“How long have you been like this?”
“A few months, not long.”
He narrows his brows at me. “And you can do all of what you’ve said?” I nod my head. “You have untapped potential.” I shrug again as if to say, ‘s’pose so.’
“Have you met anyone else like us, Nick?”
“No. You’re not even like me, you’re so much more. You’re like a two-point-o version of me. An upgrade.”
“If you and I exist, then there have to be more of us.”
“Why would there be when you have unlimited power?” Chills run over my body. I don’t like the way he said that. It freaks me out, makes me feel like I’m more of a target, like my life is never going to be my own.
“I need to clear my head,” I abruptly say as I head into the adjoining room. I notice there’s a sliding door to a balcony, so I go out there, needing a few minutes to myself. My heart is racing crazily, and I’m nervous as hell. Nick has frightened me; he’s confirmed what I was most anxious about.
“Hey, are you okay?” Jude asks as he joins me out on the balcony, sliding the door shut behind him.
“Uh, let me think on that one,” I sarcastically retort. “He’s said what I’ve been thinking, and that scares the shit out of me.”
“We’ll face it together. I won’t let you get hurt.”
I chuckle at Jude. “It’s not about me getting hurt.”
“Then what?”
“Jude . . .” I cross my arms in front of my chest, and straighten my back as I stare into his darkened, worried eyes. “Whoever gave this to me will kill you to get to me. I have no doubt at all in my mind, you’ll be dead soon, and they’ll take me.”
“You underestimate me and what I’m capable of.”
Offering him a weak smile, I huff in frustration. “This actually isn’t even about you. It’s about me, and the promise of my ability. It’s what I can do with it. They’re not even interested in you, Jude. If you hold no value to them, they will kill you. Because whoever did this, has more power, more authority, and more skill then you do. They’ll get to me, and they’ll kill you in order to get to me.”
“I can handle myself,” he cockily replies.
“There’s a fine line between confidence, and arrogance. And right now, you’re being arrogant and not listening. Look how everything has turned out so far. If you think you can take care of yourself, then you’re a fool who’s going to end up dead.”
His face drops as do his shoulders. “I can handle myself,” he declares again.
He’s trying to be protective, and I get it. He wants to show me he can protect himself and me. But the reality of the situation is, he can’t.
These people, whoever they are, are more powerful, have deeper pockets and can get to anyone. “I think the only way for us to move forward, is to figure out how we find them.” I’m careful to insinuate ‘us,’ because I want Jude to think he’s moving forward with me.
But tonight, when he’s asleep, I’ll be leaving him so I can go in search of the people involved.
Jude seems to accept what I’ve said. “Okay.” He nods his head. “Then let’s get back in there and find out what we can.” He gestures to the sliding glass doors, and waits until I’m inside before grabbing me by my upper arm. “Promise me you’re not going to become a lone ranger and try to find these people without me.”
Damn it, I thought I was hiding my intention behind my words. I muster every ounce of acting ability I have before I open my mouth to say, “I promise.” God, I hate lying, but if it means I can get to them before they get to me, then I’m going to do whatever I can to make sure no one else is going to get hurt because of me.
Nick, Frank, Ronan, and Mike are all in the other room. Jude decided he was going to sleep in here with me. He’s in the shower, and I’m perched in the recliner in the sitting area, trying to decide how I’m going to get out of here without arousing Jude’s suspicions.
Leaning over, I open the small fridge, grab a bottle of water and a candy bar. I place them beside the fridge, so I can take them with me when I leave. But I know this isn’t going to be enough for me to last a few days out on the streets until I find these people.
Regretting my next actions, I try to reason with myself that it’s not stealing. I head into the bedroom, where Jude’s wallet, phone and watch are on the bedside table. “Sorry, Jude,” I whisper.
Opening his wallet, I see he has a wad of cash in there. Easily a thousand dollars, maybe even more. A sickening twist churns my stomach. I hate stealing, even as much as I hate lying.
“You’re doing this to save them,” I say in a low voice to myself. “To save him,” I correct myself.
Damn it. Why do I have to care about Jude? Why does he have to mean so much to me?
Stop it.
I shouldn’t go, I should stay here and find them with Jude.
If you stay, he’ll die.
Looking at the money, my mind argues with itself. Part of me wants to take it and run, and another part of me is screaming to stay and let Jude be involved in finding them. But I know what they’re capable of, that means they’ll stop at nothing to get me.
I have to run and hope Jude won’t follow.
Pushing my feelings of guilt to the side, I shove most of the cash in my pocket. “Sorry,” I say allowing that last twinge of guilt to course through me.
There’s no other way.
The water turns off, and I quickly put his wallet back as I found it. I hate myself for doing this, but this is the only way I can move forward and maybe, lead a normal life.
But my stomach and heart are both telling me, normal isn’t in my future.
Sitting up on the bed, I cross my ankles and attempt to look relaxed, though inside, my body is playing havoc. My damn heart races, while the blood pumps so furiously around my body I swear I can hear it echoing in my ears.
“You having a shower?” Jude asks when he emerges from the bathroom with a towel wrapped low around his hips.
Whoa. I’m taken aback by the sight of him fresh from the shower. I glance at the water dripping off the ends of his hair, and I gulp.
He looks good. Real good.
Swallowing back the sudden desire constricting my breathing, I look away and shift on the bed. Stop it, Lexi! “Yeah, when I’m ready.” After I finishing perving on you.
He crosses between the bed and the TV, and I catch a glimpse . . . okay an ogle, of how far down the towel is. And when he turns, I may be eyeballing the defined planes of his back muscles.
Crap, am I salivating?
Bringing my hand up, I run it over my neck, while my eyes are vigilantly watching how fluidly his body moves. The muscles in his back slightly contract and bulge when he runs his hand through his wet hair. Enthralled by his body, I feel myself leaning forward toward him.
Jude turns and catches my riveting gaze stuck on him. “Oh, so you’re enjoying the view?” he cheekily asks.
“Hell, yeah. Wait, what?” My face burns with embarrassment. Burying my face into my palms, I try to hide the awkwardness charging through me.
Jude laughs, which makes me want to peek through my fingers to look at him. But, I know my face is bright red, giving away my humiliation. “I like that you looked.”
Oh God. Please don’t respond, Lexi. “I liked what I saw.” Shut up, woman. Shut the hell up! I hear him clear his throat, and I decide to not be ashamed. So, I lift my head and stare at him. Big mistake, huge. Because my eyes are drawn to his obvious arousal toward me. “Shit,” I mumble and look away. Sliding off the bed, I head out to the sitting room. “I’m going to order room service, I’ll order something for you too.”
I don’t hear his response, but I swear I can hear him laughing as I close the door.
“What were you thinking?” I scold myself. Slapping my forehead, I take a moment to gather my wits. Finally, I’m calm enough to feel the redness in my face die down.
Picking up the menu, I can’t really concentrate on it while I still see images of Jude with a towel slung low on his hips. The first thing my eyes see, is what I’m going to order.
Burgers. Yep, they’ll do. Picking up the phone, I dial room service and give our order. Once I hang up, I contemplate going back into the bedroom, but I know if I do, I’ll want to touch Jude, and I’m in no way ready for a relationship with him. I have too many other things I need to focus on, like finding the people who’ve given me this ability.
The Curse: The Butterfly Effect, Book 2. Page 17