by Jane West
He cocked his head to the side as if surprised. “Why do you think it's someone from the Family?”
“Because I remember the MIB,” I nearly shouted as I shot green bullets at him. “They've been following Sara and me since I was a child.”
His brows knitted, “MIB?”
I rolled my eyes, “Men in black. Your guy, Zak, was tailing me at the fair that night I ran into you.”
“That explains your jumpiness. Why didn't you tell me then?”
“I didn't trust you and obviously with good reason.” I looked away at the stand of trees. “I recall the attack. That monster was going to kill me.” I shivered from just thinking about what could've happened. “Your uncle ordered him to stalk me!” I half whispered, “You knew I was in danger, and you didn't do anything to stop it!” I turned my back to him. I couldn't look him in the eye. How could I have cared for him when he'd been involved in a conspiracy to kill me? Yet that wasn't the worst, knowing he was protecting my father's murderer shattered my world completely.
An insufferable silence enshrouded us. The intensity was so thick you could slice it with a butter knife. Finally, I couldn't stand the quiet any longer. I tilted my chin to the side, keeping my back to him as I began an arsenal of accusations. “Will I die by your hand or some executioner from the dark ages?” To my ears, I sounded full of piss and vinegar, but if the truth told, I was already dead.
Unexpectedly, Bane swept me into his embrace. At first, I fought him, twisting in his arms and arching my body. I sought to get free. He was the last person I wanted touching me.
Yet when I lifted my eyes to his beautiful face, there was an unspoken anguish churning in his blues, and I calmed.
“Please stop saying that.” He rested his forehead against mine. His breath was warm as he spoke, “I didn't know that my uncle had you tailed. The thought of that goddamn Crypt touching you made my blood boil. I won't apologize for ending his life; I'd do it again a hundred times.” He bent his head back, catching my eyes to his. “I'm not taking your life.” He gathered my chin in his palm. “Since the moment I laid eyes on you, I've been trying to protect you. To keep you from—” His voice broke.
“How can you be protecting me when you're embarrassed to be seen with me?”
His brows shot up. “I'm not ashamed of you.”
“You're not? Then why did you have Jeffery drive me to school and throughout the day, you blew me off as if I didn't exist?”
“I didn't want Van coming after you. If he suspected that I had any interest in you, I feared he would've hurt you. That's why I kept my distance.”
“You don't mind being seen with me?” Could my assumption have been wrong?
“Are you kidding? I can't imagine having anyone else by my side than you.” His voice drifted into a whisper, “Only you.”
“You said you didn't like my company and that you are an unwanted participate and, and that you're not a one-woman man—”
“Yes, at first, I didn't want to like you but then—” he paused, “Then I found myself caring more for you than myself.”
“You care about me,” I barely whispered.
“Of course, silly,” he kissed my hand, “I would not have gone through all this trouble, keeping you out of trouble if I had not cared.” He paused as a smile played across his lips. “I can't imagine my life without you.”
I bit my bottom lip and then I remembered. “If what you're telling me is true, then why are you hiding my father's killer?”
“Once you know the answer, it will change your life forever. There won't be any going back, and I refuse to dust you again. So you better be damn sure this is what you want.”
I hesitated. Was I willing to step off a cliff? I inhaled and exhaled pointedly. Out of respect for my dad and the turmoil that his death had caused my family, I had no other choice. I whispered the only answer I could, “Yes, I am sure.”
Bane's eyes softened. “Princess, the answer has been right under your nose all along.” His voice was soft and tender. I wanted to melt into his arms and pretend the world was one big happy place. Yet no matter how much I wanted to look through rose-colored glasses, the reality was too profound to deny.
“I don't understand.” I shook my head, confused.
“Think about it.” Bane's gaze searched deep into mine.
All at once, like a house dropping from the sky. I knew. Bane was right! The answer had been right under my nose all this time. I barely whispered the two words, “My mother?” I looked to Bane searching for a plausible explanation. “Why didn't I see it?” I leaped to my feet.
Tears blasted through me worse than any plutonium bomb. I was utterly obliterated. Slowly, I raised my eyes back to Bane, “How long have you known?” An unexpected surge of rage ripped through me.
Bane reached for my hand. His fingers were warm and strong as he grasped mine. “Come back to the blanket and sit with me.” His brows drew together in an agonized expression.
“All right,” I snapped. I was going into shock, my brain function, body movements were locking up. If I could hold on a little longer, I needed to understand. “Why did Sara kill my father? If she'd been so unhappy, why didn't she leave?”
“I will explain everything. No stone will go unturned. You have my word. Please, join me.”
I nodded as he held my hand leading me to the blanket.
Bane blew out a disquieting sigh before he started. “Your father, Jon, once belonged to the same secret society as I, known as the Illuminati. We have many names and assume secrecy at all cost.
“But you're telling me.”
“Yes, you are one of us. Your true last name is Collins.”
“No, it's not. Ray is my last name.”
“Stevie, until a few hours ago, you thought my surname was Bane. It is our custom to hide our identity to outsiders. However, your father had other ideas for not taking his last name.”
“What other reasons?”
“He chose to use his middle name to break free from the Family.”
“The Family?”
“Yes. As I once explained, the Family is a collective of thirteen families, all different bloodlines. The chosen, thirteen each, brings a particular talent or skill to the table. Jon was a master at law. He graduated with honors, at the top of his class at Yale. He was a member of the Skull and Cross Bone fraternity, quite an impressive resume, a genius, in fact.”
“Wow! I'm beginning to wonder if I knew my dad at all.”
“You knew the parts that counted the most, Princess. He had a big heart, and it showed. Jon was a stand-up man. He voiced his opinions rather boldly. He didn't hide the fact that he didn't approve of the Family's unique traditions. Jon had different ideas for a New World Order, ones set apart from what the Family envisioned. When Jon realized he couldn't persuade the councilmen, he decided to break ties. It wasn't a hard decision.
He had fallen in love with Sara. The Family became enraged with Jon. It is forbidden to become unevenly yoked with unbelievers. The Family demanded that he dissolve his involvement at once. That was the deciding factor for Jon defecting.”
“What did he do?”
“Jon eloped with Sara and moved to a small town in Oklahoma.”
“Eufaula! That's my childhood town.”
“Yes, however, as the story unfolds, Sara was very displeased with her circumstances. Blind to Jon's decision of breaking free from the Family, she had much bigger plans. Of course, why would she think otherwise? Snatching a Collins boy, she'd hoped it would've put her on the map among the elite's social circles.”
“Sara, in her moment of weakness, mentioned that Dad disowned his family.”
“Yes, once Sara discovered the truth that your father no longer possessed wealth, she became enraged, although she didn't leave him. As an alternative, she found another avenue to the Family's fortune.
“Sara is a resourceful person.”
“I think that's an understatement. As I was saying, after a year of ma
rriage, Jon and Sara started trying to get pregnant, or at least that's what Jon wanted. Sara was on an entirely different page.”
“Yeah,” I scoffed. “Sara's on Sara's page. That's the only page I've ever known.” I swallowed the knot in my throat.
“Sadly, I agree.”
I felt a sudden rise if anger.
“Anyhow, the Family kept a careful watch over Jon. They were cognizant of his extensive knowledge of the law. They didn't want any surprises.
“However, the Family did discover something of value that could benefit them greatly, Sara's penchant for money. Shortly after that discovery, they soon unveiled a dark secret that Sara was secretly causing herself to miscarry. It was her sick way of getting back at Jon for denouncing his family's fortune.”
I wrapped my arms around my waist, shaking over the lack of humanity Sara's heart lacked. “She admitted to me about the miscarriages.”
Bane stopped and drew my hand into his palm. His blues filled with tenderness. “Do I need to give you a break?”
“No! I'm fine. I just need to hear this.” I smiled, though my bottom lip quivered.
He exhaled. “Let me get through this appalling story so I can stop torturing you. As I was saying, the Family seized the opportunity by approaching Sara with an irresistible offer. The Family presented a blood contract to Sara.”
“What did she agree to?”
“Hmm, circumstances became complicated. Through the unscrupulous persuasion of The Family, Sara pressured Jon to seek a specialist, an in-vitro fertilization specialist. Since Sara was a master at lying, she was more than convincing. As everything went accordingly, Jon agreed. What Jon didn't realize is that Sara had brought him to the Family's appointed doctor, an influential member of the ninth members of the councilmen. Dr. Astor is renowned for his advance science, top in his field. He is beyond light years ahead in alien technology and advanced pre-implantation genetic cloning.
I gaped. “Cloning?”
“Yes. The Order has connections that far exceed any of mankind's primitive technology. The Order's scientists are renowned for their evolutionary research in genetic engineering, alien engineering.”
“Alien! Like big ugly bugs?”
Bane cuffed his hand over his mouth. “What is it with you and bugs,” he laughed. “Not exactly, it's more like celestial.”
My brows dipped into a perplexed v. “You mean angel stuff?”
“Precisely. They call you, Project Dream Angel.”
“An angel,” I gaped at him blankly.
“Yes,” he curtly answered.
“How is that even possible?”
“I'm getting to that part.” Bane smiled. “As I was saying, once the blood contract solidified, Sara was locked into an in-frangible agreement.”
“A blood contract, is that what you mean?”
“A blood contract is no ordinary legal document. It is a contract under dark magick. Sara literally had to sign the contract in her blood.
“Why blood?”
“Blood magick is very powerful. After all, it is the source of life. Without it, one dies.”
“Did Sara understand the risk?”
“Yes, but it didn't matter. Wealth was the deciding factor for her regardless of the consequences. Anything after that concept didn't seem to concern her.”
“I reckon the Family wanted to use Sara as a lab rat?”
“I'm sorry but yes.” He paused. “This wasn't a normal in-vitro fertilization, our doctors have been researching and running tons of trials. However, all have failed. Since Sara agreed to take the plunge, she was the first human to be tested. The doctors busied themselves getting everything perfect for the trial to be successful. With the art of technology under an environmentally controlled chamber, the scientist extracted DNA from your father, Jon, and extracted DNA from a celestial being. With help from the alien advancement, we were able to create a special sperm and inject it into a celestial egg. Once the embryo had developed to term, Dr. Ashor transferred the embryo into Sara's womb.”
“Sara was telling the truth. She's not my biological mother.”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“What the hell am I?”
“You are amazing.” Bane hesitated as if to soften the blow, “We refer to you as a genetically altered angel. We call you Dream Angel.”
Shock swirled in my head. “I'm not human?” Despite how insane this all sounded, I had an innate feeling that Bane was right.
“Not entirely. You are a fraction.”
“Sara was okay with carrying a freak?”
His blues came to rest on my questioning eyes. “There is nothing about you that is even close to an abomination.”
“I think I'm pretty close to it.” There were so many uncertainties that it made my head swim and yet, I felt free for the first time ever. “All my life I'd been an outsider and now I know why. I'm a freaking freak!” I dropped my face into the palm of my hands, breathing so I wouldn't go into a panic. “Geez!”
“Shall I stop?” One dark brow arched as Bane stared at me.
“No, by all means, finish!” I hugged my waist, trying to hang on to my last thread of sanity.
Pausing, he gazed at me speculatively. “Okay, where was I? Oh yes, everything was going without a hitch. Sara was following the rules. Jon was impervious to Sara's lies, and her routine checkups on the surface looked like a normal pregnancy. The baby was growing as any healthy fetus. Then there was a complication.” Aidan's lips tightened. “In Sara's third trimester, the doctors detected her CBC count was off. They also noticed a difference in Sara's behavior. The test revealed a change in her DNA. This surprised the doctors. No one saw it coming. The alien fetus infected her with a virus that altered her genetic makeup. Since this was new, Dr. Ashor didn't know if after the baby's birth, the damage might reverse itself, or if it was a permanent condition. Even though this was unexplored territory, Dr. Ashor suspected it was highly improbable.”
“Is that why she's—?” the word couldn't pass my lips.
“A sociopath, partly,” he paused, “Which brings me to your father's end.”
I cringed, “My mom is ill because of me!” Tears welled spilling down my cheeks.
Bane gathered my chin in his fingers. “You are not responsible for Sara's illness.” He tilted his head back and let out a frustrating groan. “Look,” his eyes caught mine, “I didn't want to tell you this, but the infection only enhanced Sara's flaws. She wasn't a Samaritan before the affliction. So don't beat yourself up for her impropriety.”
“Sara said I ruined her life! At first, I didn't understand what she meant, but now that I do, it makes sense.”
“I see you're taking this hard. We can finish this another time.”
“No,” I nearly shouted. “You can't stop. Continue, please!” I nodded, giving him the go-ahead.
“Very well, if you insist,” Bane's eyes washed over me as he furthered the story, “Still under contract after your birth, Sara had the responsibility to care for you. As your handler, she was to see to all your needs. Secretly keeping Jon out of the loop, the Family set up a bank account in Sara's name; a very substantial cash flow.”
“Wait! Sara, had money all these years? While Dad was alive and even after his death?” I gaped.
“Yes. The Family provided well.”
“She let me go without food, and hardly the basics for living.” My eyes rounded in shock. “That explains how she was able to collect all her expensive clothes. She told me she'd stolen the merchandise.”
“Sara is a master of lies. She mishandled the money. That's why Zak and his comrade came to your house that early hour. Sara had been gambling. She'd lost it all. Zak left her a message of warning, and that's why she was running.
“Jesus! How could I have not known?” My eyes flickered to the forest, and then sliding back to Bane. “She ran out of money and that's why she was in such a tizzy to get me to Tangi. She wanted the rest of her money.”
“Yo
u're correct. A clause in the contract states that upon your eighteenth birthday, Sara is to relinquish you into my care. Once the transaction finalized, Sara would receive her final payment.”
“You agreed to this?”
An odd look glossed over Bane's face. “One doesn't argue with the Family. You simply do it.”
“Wow! That's very disturbing.” My stomach knotted.
“You may find it hard to accept but it is the Family's way, our way.”
“Sorry, but I'd never stoop to such barbarity.”
“Don't be quick to judge. When push comes to shove, instinct kicks in, and you will find yourself doing anything to survive.”
I suddenly remembered Van blackmailing Bane. There was more to this story than what Bane was telling me, and I wasn't sure I wanted to know. I'd decided it would be best to ask him another time.
“Anyhow, as the story unfolds, Sara was starting to avoid her responsibilities. She was spending the money unwisely. Jon by accident stumbled upon her stash of expensive jewels and designer clothing hid in the basement. This set Jon into a fury, launching a full-blown investigation into Sara. In only a matter of days, Jon discovered an account in her name with a very generous cash flow.”
“How much?” My brows dipped in ire.
“Pardon?”
“How much did my mother get?”
“Apart from her monthly payments covering your care, her fee was arranged in two installments, half the money after your birth and the final payment when you were deposited.”
“You still haven't answered my question.”
“Sara received twenty million.”
“Wow,” I breathed harshly. “I can't tell you how many times I'd missed meals because she claimed we were broke.” My eyes drifted to the fireflies for a moment then back to Bane, “Your money?”
“No! The Family paid.”
“Where is this mysterious Family?” Strangely, I'd never seen anyone except his uncle.
“The Family stays in hiding from each other. The only time we gather is during emergencies. It is easier to keep our anonymity.”