Binds

by Rebecca Espinoza

  “Lady, I know,” Jinx cuts in. “It’s been four years anyway, the time for words is over. Spencer tells me you had nothing to do with it then you had nothing to do with it. You want to have our people’s back now and so I’ll have yours, even if it’s a pain in the ass to keep up with all the extra work I have to do now that you’re around. Just…” he smiles playfully and I can see him four years ago, a happy, carefree kid running around this place causing Spencer grief. “I know you white girls are all touchy feely, but, could you not? Every time you touch me, I feel like I’m a felon on death row. It’s like, damn, can I at least get a last meal before getting hooked up to the electric chair?”

  I laugh, but it’s a strange thought that my spark might bug him as much as Spencer’s bothers me. “All right, I forgot about that with you, since you don’t have a spark. I’ll promise to keep my hands off in the future.”

  He accepts the assurance by not acknowledging it at all but by putting his phone up to his ear to answer a call.

  “Hey, it’s not my fault.” I hear him tell whoever is on the line. “Ophelia just wanted to have a heart to heart with me—that’s what’s taking so long. What do you mean, keep my mouth shut, fool? I know what’s up…all right, we’ll be right there.” He shoves his phone into his pocket and scowls at me. “Great, Boss Man is pissy. Seems like he always is now that you’re here. Let’s go, everyone is in the ops room waiting on us.”

  Great, Spencer is in a bad mood because of me. Well, what’s new? I can handle that, but I feel a little queasy knowing that we will soon be out of this building taking on our opponent. I second-guess myself and my power, but I know I have to put all doubts behind me now. The time has come for me to prove to myself that I won’t back down, and I damn well won’t let anyone else fight this battle for me.

  We exit the garage in four sleek black Acura TLs that smell like they just recently drove off the dealer’s lot. I ended up in the group with Spencer headed for the capitol, much to Reece’s chagrin, although Spencer’s explanation for the separation made sense. If the NWO is looking for Reece in connection to me, it’s probably best that we’re not seen out together again.

  I kept catching Reece giving me these weird yearning looks as Spencer gave a briefing about rendezvous points and passed out some high tech walkie talkies that Jinx had jinxed to keep our contact from being intercepted. As the meeting broke and everyone started heading for the parking garage, via either the stairway or elevator, Reece pulled me aside and I got the feeling that he wanted to tell me something important. Before he got the chance, Cass came up to us to make sure she could ride in the same car as him. He ended up only giving me another look full of longing and what appeared to be worry, telling me to be careful and to stay with Spencer no matter what happened.

  As we weave through the darkened streets of downtown and draw closer to our destination, I can’t help but speculate on what Reece might have wanted to tell me. Over the course of one day, he has been kind of hot and cold with me, and I really don’t know what to make of it. I wonder if I'm reading too much into it, I mean, we are about to go confront an armed police force who has orders to kill any of us on sight—that’s enough to drive anyone to mood swings. Reece has just always been unerringly friendly with me, so it’s unnerving to see the moodier side of him that he displayed back in the arms’ room.

  I am in the backseat, wedged between two Mages that I have seen around the apartment, while Spencer drives and Trey rides in the front passenger seat. An identical car carrying the rest of our capitol bound group is following an inconspicuous five or so car lengths to our rear. There is a stocky man with dirty blond hair and a strong smell of cologne on my right and a woman with curly black hair, fierce blue eyes, and a nose ring on the left. There's something about the way she keeps giving me wary looks out of the corner of her eye as we drive, that makes me think she is even more nervous about this mission than I am. She’s drilling her short black lacquered fingernails on the grey leather seat and looking out both side windows erratically. I pick up the nerves in her as if they’re currents vibrating out of her skin, but I also feel a strong resolve in the set of her shoulders that tells me she is ready for whatever we are about to face. I wish I could say the same for myself.

  By the sporadic light of the passing streetlights, I check my shoulder holster again and make sure that I will be able to draw my weapon quickly if the time comes that it’s needed. Then I sit back in the seat and take a deep breath, trying to convince myself that I’ll be able to get through this night unscathed. I start feeling like I’m being watched again and peer over to Blondie, only to see that he’s looking out his window. I shift my eyes to the rearview mirror and see the glow of Spencer’s steely blues illuminated by the headlights of a passing car before he quickly flicks them away from me and back on the road.

  We come upon the capitol and Spencer pulls off on a side street, a short distance away from the offices of the Chancellor. It’s a quiet night and we haven’t seen many others out on the streets, I guess the commons have decided to stay indoors tonight. I wish I could be among them, safe and sound and ignorant of the malice in the night just beyond their doors.

  As the car’s tires crunch over the gravel and come to a stop, Spencer speaks into the walkie talkie to the other car of Mages who continued past us down the street and turned a corner. “We’re going to split up and search the area for any NWO officers or commons who may be about. If you come across an officer, I want you to take every precaution to not be seen, however if you are, don’t hesitate to use force. It’s either you or them; don’t be afraid to protect yourselves. Now, that being said—try to avoid any fatal shots. If you can take them down, disarm them and then radio for me. I’d like to question every person we come across tonight. If you run into a common who appears innocent, use caution, but attempt to subdue them by Bind or force until I can be reached.” His words sound rushed as he tries to pack as much as he can into the directions. I can tell that he’s nervous, but I doubt it’s for himself. The safety of these people is in his hands. The sheen of sweat on his brow on this chilly evening is evidence that he realizes just what is at stake.

  We exit the car and Spencer motions for Trey, Blondie, and the woman to go in one direction, while the two of us take off the opposite way. We walk silently for about ten minutes, and I’m beginning to wonder exactly what we’re doing out here. I don’t see anyone; in fact, I’m starting to wonder why that is. This area is normally highly guarded and we haven’t even come across one of the normal rent-a-cops who circle around the capitol mall. You’d think with all of the crap going down tonight that the Chancellor would have beefed up security, but maybe he didn’t think any of us would be so brazen as to come directly to the seat of his power and challenge him. I wonder how Reece and his group are faring over in the entertainment district. As much as I believe that we need to bring this fight to the Brands, I hope it’s quiet over there, too. I could use another day of planning and preparation for this miniscule revolt, I hate feeling unprepared.

  Just as I am musing about what might be happening with Reece, Spencer grabs my hand and pulls me behind a covering of bushes and trees. I was too busy contemplating Reece’s situation to be faithfully monitoring ours and didn’t notice the twin beams heading in our direction. Headlights of a slow moving sedan that could quite possibly be one of those rent-a-cops I was wondering about earlier. As it makes its way closer to us, I am suddenly realizing how close Spencer pulled me into himself to hide us both behind this foliage. I’m tucked into his chest with my head pressed in below his chin. After being stuck next to eau de toilette of Blondie in the car earlier, I can honestly say that Spencer smells wonderful. It’s not cologne, just his own natural scent mixed with the clean smell of his clothes and the fresh fragrance of one of those manly soaps or maybe it’s his deodorant, I don’t know, but the mixture works. I am having a hard time forcing myself to not stick my nose up into his neck and get a proper whiff, I can’t help it �
� it’s one of those scents that once you get one sniff of it, you want more.

  The headlights are directly by us and Spencer reaches his hands around me, pulling me into a tight embrace. I don’t move or try to wrangle myself out of the situation because it’s exactly what I was hoping for a moment ago. I’m definitely close enough that the smell of his skin is enveloping me now, and also, I figure he is just trying to hide us from the approaching car and I don’t want to do anything to alert them of our whereabouts … yeah, that’s why I’m feeling completely relaxed in his arms, the only reason.

  As the car passes us by, I feel Spencer’s chest rumbling and he breaks the embrace with a chuckle. “You really enjoyed that one, didn’t you?” he says as he steps back from me. I can already feel the cool night air replacing the warmth that his body left on mine. I look to his eyes to give him a biting retort, but see something there … a longing? It can’t be. His eyes betray the humor he is trying to project from them because I could swear that I see the same kind of hunger that is probably blatantly evident in my own.

  I can’t allow this. It’s Spencer. The person who has tormented me for the past couple of weeks, the person who knows all there is to know about me—the good, the bad, and the horrifically ugly—and still somewhat wants me around. The person who has protected me from my husband even when all of his people wanted to hand me over, and the person who has helped give me back my natural born powers. He’s an arrogant ass … but do I really hate him? No, I don’t and seeing that look in his eyes makes me wonder about his true feelings for me as well.

  Reece… I think to myself, remember Reece. If it weren’t for him, I might still be with Donovan right now. Cass told me Reece was defying Spencer’s orders when he took me from that dinner those few weeks (that now feel like years) ago. There must have been a change in my expression as I think these thoughts, because Spencer captures my chin with his hand and locks his eyes with mine in an attempt to bring me back to the previous moment.

  “Ophelia,” he starts, “I enjoyed it too.” His eyes convey an honesty that I haven’t seen from him since the day he took me to see the reformatory and broke the news that his child had been taken and his wife murdered at the orders of my father-in-law. It takes an infinitesimal second for the expression to break before he adopts a goofy look, but I can’t deny that I saw it. “It’s not every day that I have a beautiful woman inhaling me like a giant scratch and sniff sticker,” he jibes, but I can tell that he only tacked that last bit on to save face and I allow him to do it. As much as I feel this draw to him, I can’t trust him or his motives when it comes to me. He could be trying to control my emotions so that he can use me for his own purposes, and there is no way I am going to allow another man to have that kind of power over me again.

  It’s in this circumstance that I realize that I have picked my pony, and the pony’s name is Reece. He may be the type of man who thinks I need saving and I don’t want to be saved, but he is also the man who has stood by me through all of this and answered every question I have had honestly. He seems to care about my wellbeing and me as a person, not just as some tool that may be used in the future, but as someone that wants me in his life.

  I step away from Spencer with a slight shake, trying to brush off any feelings I might have been beginning to develop for this guarded man in front of me. “Did you see what the car looked like?” I ask. “Was it the NWO or a guard?”

  Spencer must feel the shift into more formality between us because his face hardens and his voice is clipped when he responds. “No, it was a white convertible. Probably just a straggling tourist who doesn’t know about the new mandate or doesn’t sense the danger of being out. Come on, let’s head back to the others, there’s nothing going on here.” He turns away from me and begins to march back to where we left the car. He’s keeping a good three feet of space between us with his hurried pace, so I barely catch the gentle sound from the walkie talkie and Jinx’s voice.

  “Come in, Boss Man, this is Jinx, over.”

  “What is it, Jinx?” Spencer replies gruffly, perhaps annoyed by the interruption of his fit.

  “There’s something going down with the other crew,” Jinx says. “I just caught communication from Cass, but it was too loud in the background to get much of what she said. From the little I heard, it sounded like a riot, people’s voices yelling, and I could hear a megaphone or something in the background. The only thing I heard from her was that there were commons about. Thought you guys might want to check it out, if you’re not too busy over there at the capitol.”

  “Thanks, Jinx,” Spencer replies. “We’ll regroup and head over there. Let me know if there are any further attempts at communication in the meantime.” He radios the other members of our group to meet back at the car and tells the other car to do the same, then puts the walkie-talkie back in the pocket of his coat and turns to me. “Well, I guess I chose the wrong stakeout. I should have known that Oberon would strike at a place full of innocent commons to get a reaction out of us.”

  We are by the car now, but the others haven’t made it back yet. I can’t help but let slip the question that I’ve had since getting the message from Jinx: “Why would there be commons out? They’ve been pretty good about following the Chancellor’s mandates so far. What would bring them out on a night like this?”

  “Your guess is as good as mine, Mrs. Brand,” Spencer replies. The way he says my name feels like a blow. He knows how much it bothers me, so I guess we’re both back to square one now, him regarding me as formally as possible and me keeping him farther than an arm’s length away at all times. It’s for the best. I can’t give anything more to this man, and I can’t afford to be wrong about his intentions for me.

  “Why wouldn’t Reece have radioed to us himself if they’re in trouble?” I suddenly have a very bad feeling about this. Cass is not the leadership type, even if they weren’t able to reach us, it should have been Reece who sent the message out to Jinx. If it wasn’t him, there has to be a reason for it. God, I hope he’s okay.

  “We’ll know soon enough, here come the others. Ophelia…” Spencer turns back to me before the three get close enough to hear and sternly says, “Listen, I know we’ve had our differences, but I need you to stay by my side no matter what happens over there, okay? If Reece’s ass is in trouble, you have to stay away. I will try to aid him as much as I can, but you getting in the way will only cause more problems for everyone involved, and even worse if you run off after him. Your undying devotion for your knight in shining armor will only add more trouble if I’m distracted by looking for you. You understand?”

  Like hell I do. I’m about to open my mouth and give his wanna-be babysitting ass a piece of my mind, when he cuts me off, “Oh, how I wish you knew everything … I’d love to see that indignant expression on Reece’s behalf wiped off your pretty face.” His expression betrays the smugness in his voice. He looks haggard, as if this night has aged him a couple years and this conversation is adding more as each word emerges from our mouths.

  I no longer care about keeping my distance, I put my face in his and jab a pointed finger into his chest. “I’m getting so tired of you bashing Reece with no cause. You say you wish I knew everything, well … here’s your chance … tell me. What is it that I don’t know? This isn’t the first time you’ve dangled half-information and truth in front of me like a carrot. Stop playing games and give it to me, here I am … what’s the hold up, huh?” I push him a little but he doesn’t move an inch except for his face that stretches closer towards mine, if that is at all possible. We are now sharing angry breaths and shooting daggers at each other with our eyes.

  “It’s not my truth to tell and even if it were, you may not believe me, but I’d be unwilling to break you in that way.” He steps back with a repentant shake of his head and weariness enters his tone. “The next time you’re alone, ask Lover Boy for yourself what he’s keeping from you. I’ll be surprised if he has grown the balls to tell you, but look him
in his eyes when you ask and you’ll see something there. He’s really not a bad person, I know that for sure, the same way I know about you, so his conscience should be vividly displayed in those green eyes of his. Just look for it.”

  “Convenient, Spencer … really convenient. It’s easy to accuse Reece of being secretive when he isn’t around to defend himself.” I grab hold of his shirt right at the chest. The fabric balls in my fist and I pull his torso closer to me so that I can feel his heartbeat when I say what’s next. “Even though you don’t seem to have any boundaries when it comes to taking them, most people have secrets that they don’t want anyone to know. Just because you have the ability to learn them all, doesn’t make you the number one decision maker of who tells who what. You know what I think?”

  Spencer is so close to me now that his lips rub along mine when he says, “No, I don’t know what you think. If you haven’t noticed, I haven’t known what you think since that first day when you allowed me to … and yes, you DID allow me to do so, just as Reece did before you. But go on, Princess. Enlighten me further. I’m enjoying this.”

  “Oh you smug … arrogant... no, those words are too good for you. I think that it’s you who is keeping something from me and everyone. I think you go to bed at night relieved that you were the one given the power to see us all naked to the core because if it was you who we were given a flash of, you would be sorely lacking.”

  I raise my eyebrow to indicate that I’m not just talking about his past or his secrets, but before I have the chance to even laugh at my own joke, his lips are on mine and his hands are pulling me into his body. I can feel them as they slide down my back and draw my hips into his groin.