by SM Olivier
Damn, my ribs hurt. I had my ribs fractured before. One of Heidi’s boyfriends kicked me once. He thought it was funny when I feared him. He was a big man. I was eleven, maybe. I could barely breath and Heidi wouldn’t take me to the hospital. It hurt to breath. It hurts to breath now.
“Blake!” Drake’s voice sounded so far away as his face came into my vision. I loved the sound of his voice. I mean, all my guys had great voices, but Drake had this Zen, relaxing, musical quality to his.
“Blake,” Drake repeated. Why did he sound so scared? I hated seeing him scared. His mom did a number on him. Why did she leave him? Who would ever want to leave him? Who would ever want to hurt him, period? He’s sensitive. I loved that about him.
“Blake.”
I heard his voice again, and it finally seemed to clear my mind of all its ramblings. Everything came rushing back to me. I remembered how the water had churned. How waves had appeared from nowhere. I lost my balance, dropped my barriers, panicked, and then I almost drowned. Drake’s hair was wet soaking wet, his hair dripped into his face, so I assumed he had jumped in after me.
I blinked again and tried to sit up. “Oww,” I hissed in pain. “What happened? Why were there waves?”
“That bitch is what happened!” Jemmy screamed across to the other side. My head felt fuzzy, I had no clue what she was talking about.
I vaguely saw the other team on the opposite team screaming and crying.
“Enough, Jemmy, let’s go,” Drake said looking at me with guilt-filled eyes. “Blake, do you want me to carry you to the finish line? We’re almost there.”
I nodded, too tired, too hungry, too cold. My teeth chattered. My body shook. No matter what I tried, I couldn’t stop it.
“You two need to get out of those clothes,” Jace insisted as he tore off his sweatshirt.
“Everyone in a circle around her, backs turned unless you’re her connected,” Terrance said gruffly.
The sky was blotted out as the other members from my team formed a circle around us. I was touched by their thoughtfulness. My guys knelt around me within their circle.
Remy lifted me by while Jace took off my sopping wet clothing. “Noah,” Jace stated as he pointed to my ribs.
I hissed as the chilly air hit my bare skin.
Noah placed his hands on my ribs, and I felt the warmth seep in at his touch. The pain in my ribs receded.
I watched Drake strip down to his boxers and couldn’t help but admire his broad shoulders and lean muscled build. He blushed when he caught me looking at him. I attempted to grin at him.
Troy came into my view, dressed only in his sweatshirt and boxers. “Here, Misty,” he insisted as he slid his sweatpants on me.
“She’s good, let’s go,” Jace stated urgently as some of the other team members started crossing the obstacle.
“I got your clothes, babe,” Remy grunted beside us as Drake lifted me. “Want me to take her?” he offered.
“No, no I got her,” Drake insisted, guilt in his eyes once more. Why did he look so guilty?
Remy looked at him for a moment then nodded. Damn their bro code and their silent conversations. I inwardly rolled my eyes. They had been together for so long, they often communicated with each other with no words.
I was lulled to comfort by Drake’s easy gait. I was warming up. I looked around and noticed my guys surrounding me as they ran. I looked down at my newly acquired sweatshirt. I breathed in the neckline. Citrus, leather, and Jace. He had clearly sweat in it, but it still smelled good, manly. Troy’s pants were too big on me, but the lining was warm and thick. I looked over Drakes shoulder and noticed Troy running along in just his boxers, occasionally I saw the flash of his manhood. I started to giggle, not able to help myself.
Jaxson raised a brow at me.
“Well, boys,” I said. “I like wearing your clothes. It makes me feel close to you, even if you’re not around, but this isn’t really what I had in mind. And…” I paused dramatically. “Troy, I thought your pimping days were over.” At his questioning look, I supplied my answer. “You’re flashing everyone.” I extended my pointer finger in and out several times in the direction of his manhood.
The sound of my guys laughing was music to my ears.
Before the race had started, we had made and agreement. We were going to run as a team. We were going to finish as a team. All sixteen of us. They denied the petition, but there were ways around it. As we neared the finish line, we stopped and linked arms with a member of the opposite team. We would lead with our left foot and cross with our right foot. Sam, from the other team, had to go by himself since Drake insisted on not letting me down, but we were still synchronized with John. We were last. They would have to call it as a tie. We were all together, and we all crossed together.
Steven and Will gave us exasperated looks, but amusement lingered in their eyes, before they saw me in Drake’s arms. My hair was a sopping mess.
“What happened?” Will asked as they advanced on us.
“That last obstacle, Rose rushed forward as we were crossing the river, and caused waves in it. One of the waves crashed across Blake, and then she slipped off the rock,” Jemmy said indignantly.
“Was it intentional?” Steven asked slowly as he looked at Drake pointedly.
Drake nodded.
“It looked like it to me,” Terrance said as he stepped forward.
“Those are pretty serious accusations,” another board member came over to us.
I tugged on Drake to set me down. I was tired, I was hungry, and I was cold, but I felt at a disadvantage. At the look of hurt on Drake’s face, I quickly grabbed his arms and wrapped his arms around me. I no longer wanted to be held, but I needed his strength.
“Well it’s a good thing we have monitors and cameras on the course,” Will said resolutely.
The female board member I had never met, gasped. “Why would there be cameras on the course? That’s an invasion of their privacy.”
She was tall and almost resembled a bird in her fragile appearance, with a pointed nose and chin. Her hair was jet black and was cut severely to her chin, not a perfect strand was out of place. Her best features were her sapphire blue eyes. I didn’t like the feeling I got around her.
“Ms. Bullock, when they signed their contracts, they were made aware of the possibility of us recording them while on the facility or on a job, for training purposes. Why wouldn’t we record it to learn everyone’s strengths and weaknesses for mission readiness?” Will said patiently, but I could see the annoyance in his eyes.
“But you didn’t tell them they were being recorded today,” Ms. Bullock argued. “Don’t you think that’s an invasion of their privacy? We had monitors out there. Wasn’t that enough?”
Steven narrowed his gaze on her. “Why are you so opposed to this? When you have never had an issue with it in the past. Are you hiding something? Do you know something we don’t?”
Ms. Bullock pulled herself to her full height. “No! This is ridiculous. Is this what we’ve become?” she asked before storming off.
“And that is a lie,” I heard Rachel murmur to Will and Steven.
Out of good sportsmanship, we decided to wait for all the other teams to come back in. They tried to convince me to go home, but I refused to leave. If Rose did this to me, and I suspected she did, I wasn’t going to let her run me off that easily.
The rain had started to come down in sheets. Will had erected tents and ushered us under one of them. Blankets were brought out and distributed. Jace had hunted down some towels for Drake and me.
I was glad they had the forethought to have food catered in. They had ordered food from the We 7 down the street. Remy had his General Manager pick a menu and deliver it to the facility. I found myself huddled on the ground, picnic style, between Drake and Troy. I leaned my head against Drake as I ate my wild mushroom and chicken penne. Once my stomach was full, I found my eyes wanted to close, but I could also feel my other appetite rising.
> I began stroking Drakes leg. I could feel the guilt in him. The fear he had felt. I tried to rise my empath barriers, but I couldn’t. I had once been very sensitive to Drake’s feelings. I had always felt his pain, anxiety, and desolation, until I learned how to build my barriers against it. I waited until he was done his food, before I crawled into his lap.
I know he was shocked by my behavior. Other than the other night, I had never initiated our interactions. I never wanted to rush him, but he was my connected and I knew I had to reassure him.
“It’s not your fault,” I murmured against his neck.
He tightened his arms around me and arranged my blanket around us. “She used to be my girlfriend, and I know…it was her attacking you today. If she wasn’t carrying my child, possibly, I would have already called the cops on her.
“She keeps calling me, texting me, showing up at my job. I loved her once, but any residual feelings I have for her are long dead. She’s driven me away. I don’t know how to proceed. If she is carrying my child, I don’t want to give her any ammo to take my child away from me.
“Now she’s targeting you, and it’s tearing me apart. I want to protect you. I want to be with you, but she’s still between us. I can’t wait to find out if this baby is mine or not.”
I kissed the side of his neck. “You’re my connection. You’re my forever. She can’t drive me away. Let her crazy ass try.”
He sighed and pulled me in closer. “Why don’t you get some sleep? I’ll wake you up when the last team gets in.”
I stroked his inner thigh and felt him tense up as he hissed a breath out. “I don’t want to sleep.” I said petulantly.
“I wish I could have you right now,” he groaned in my ear, his voice sounding pained. “But you need your sleep right now.”
Troy pulled my feet into his lap and slid in closer to us.
I started to mumble another protest but the warm cocoon of Drake’s embrace, the blankets draped around me, Troy rubbing my feet, and the rain falling on the tarped roof, lulled me to sleep.
I woke up when I was being loaded into the vehicle. Troy slid over on the bench seat and helped me in the truck.
“Is everyone done?” I asked drowsily as I yawned and leaned into him.
Troy chuckled. “The last team came in two hours after we did.”
“What happened to the meeting?” I asked sitting up suddenly.
Jace turned from the front seat. “Will and Steven called a change on the play. Terrance’s team is picking up the kids. Dad and Steven are pulling all the tapes and bringing them to our house. Beth and Cora are meeting us there. We’re going to have Micah and Patrick mind the younger kids. Gavin and Jemmy are picking up Japanese. The meeting is moving to our house. After today’s events and some of the board members responses, we have to make sure our rescue mission goes off without a hitch.”
“Sushi?” I asked hopefully.
Remy chuckled from the front seat. “After all that, all you heard was food?”
I stuck my tongue out at him. “I heard everything, but I’m starving.”
“Don’t stick that out, unless you plan to use it,” Remy challenged me, raising an eyebrow at me from the review mirror.
“You know, I used a lot of my gifts today, so I may very well use it…later,” I said coyly.
There was a collective groan in the truck. “You’re going to kill us, Blake,” Troy muttered.
“Good,” I replied smugly. “Just want to keep you on your toes.”
I had time to take a hot shower when we got home. I came out of my bathroom and noticed a few sweatshirts, sweat pants, and t-shirts lying on my bed. I giggled. The guys had given me some of their favorite articles of clothing.
They always were sharp dressers. Especially when we were out in public. I felt like they almost had dual personalities like their clothing. They seemed formidable and untouchable when they were out in public. They wore their button up shirts, polos, and nice slacks. At home, they were more laid-back, relaxed, and their barriers were down. That’s when the ‘comfy’ clothes came out.
I slid on Jace’s black Knightstown sweatpants and rolled them up on my waist so I wasn’t stepping on them. I put on my own tank top and Drake’s junior Olympics hoodie. I snatched my hair up into a messy bun and didn’t bother putting on my makeup. I almost died twice in a 3-day period; I could do what I wanted, and right now, I wanted no makeup.
I was pleased to see that I wasn’t the last one to arrive. We were missing quite a few people, but at least the food was here. I did a little happy dance when I noticed they had gotten sushi.
“It was confirmed that Rose did tamper with the water,” Terrance stated as he slid next to me.
I looked up with a frown. “So, what does that mean?”
“Her team was disqualified from the race and will receive the lowest marks,” Terrance explained.
“Even though they came in second?” I frowned. She needed to be reprimanded, but I didn’t want her whole team to suffer. Even though I thought half of them were arrogant pricks.
Terrance nodded as he eyed a piece of tuna skeptically. “They knew the rules. Needless to say, she isn’t going to be popular for a while. She claimed that she was hormonal and affected by the empath. She said he made her do it.”
“Hmm,” I said thoughtfully as I placed a piece of a California roll and another cooked roll on his plate. “Try it. It’s cooked.” I giggled at his look of disgust. “Who was the empath? I wouldn’t put it past her, but you see how Ms. Bullock reacted. Something is going on. What if the empath amplified her hate for me.”
“It’s a possibility,” Jace startled me from behind. He slid behind me, so his chest was against my back. He slid a hand down my back and onto my hip, giving me a gentle squeeze. “That’s why Rachel is headed into the facility as we speak with Beth.”
“What is going to happen to the person responsible?” I asked as I leaned into his touch.
“If it’s the empath involved, we may have to go to extreme measures to figure out what his motive was. If it was Rose, then she will never be allowed to go on another assignment, ever again. It’s a necessity, working as a team. Sometimes we are obligated to collaborate with other teams. We need to know whoever has our back, has our back,” Jace explained. “Especially with the missions coming up.”
“Hope she has a backup plan, with the baby coming along,” Jemmy said tartly as she began grabbing some food. “‘Cause she ain’t bleeding my brother dry.”
“Jemmy,” Drake said with exasperation as he came up behind her.
“What? The kid isn’t yours. That’s why she won’t take the DNA test until after the baby is born and keeps trying to get money from you,” Jemmy said stubbornly.
“Jemmy,” I said gently as I looked at Drake. “I don’t think your brother wants talk about it right now.”
She snorted. “Well someone has to.”
I wondered what put her in such a foul mood. I looked over at Gavin and noticed he wasn’t by her side as he normally was. Uh oh, looks like I needed to talk to him.
“Don’t let her put your name on the birth certificate, bro,” Marcel suggested to Drake.
I set my plate to the side and leaned up to Jace. “I’ll be back,” I whispered to him.
He looked at Gavin, then Jemmy and nodded. I marched over to Gavin and grabbed his hand and dragged him to the den.
“What’s going on?” I demanded with my hands on my hips.
“I might move out for a little while,” he said tentatively as he stuffed one hand in his pocket and the other grasped the back of his neck. He wouldn’t look at me. He seemed fascinated by the floor suddenly.
“Why?” I gasped.
He flushed red. “I’m not sure…Jemmy and I are going to work…”
“Are you nuts?” I asked him in bewilderment. “You do realize you’re connected, right? Of course it’s going to work.”
He looked up at me, with a shrewdness in his eyes. “Like you a
nd Drake are? Like you and Noah did?”
I felt momentarily hurt, like he was attacking me. “That’s not fair,” I said quietly. “Drake and I are really good friends, and when this Rose crap has blown over, I know we’ll be amazing lovers. Noah and I had problems connecting initially because of my naivety, and I essentially gave him permission to continue seeing Stacey. We had issues we both had to get through, but we’re better now. We were given a second chance, and we’re better than ever. All relationships take work, but we’re lucky because we know who we are destined to be with—our connections.”
“I’m sorry, Blake.” He grabbed my shoulders gently. “I shouldn’t have lashed out at you to protect my own insecurities. The truth is, Jemmy and I are in two different places in life. I want to wait before we finally seal the deal. I want to get to know her more. I want her to turn 18. I know she’s had quite a few boyfriends, but she’s my first real girlfriend.” He blushed. “She was fine with that at first, but now she’s starting to take it more personally. She sees how you guys have gotten stronger through your connections, and she wants to see if we can or will get stronger. I don’t want that to be the driving factor for us.”
“You guys haven’t…” At his uncomfortable look, I scrunched up my nose. “I’m sorry. I just thought you guys were. I thought you guys were sharing a room.”
He shook his head. “No, we’ve fooled around, and we’ve had sleep overs, but like I said, I’m not ready for that.”
I hugged him. “You are such a rare man, and I adore you for that. Talk to her. You guys can and will work this out. You belong together.”
“Hey, guys?” Jaxson popped his head in the room. “Dad’s back, and we’re going to start going over the tapes.”
When we walked back into the living room, I was surprised to see three white boards. Will was eating with one hand and putting up 4 x 6 pictures on the board with the other. Jace was at one of the boards making four columns, and on the top of each column was a picture of himself, Terrance, Will, and Steven. I sat down between Drake and Noah and smiled when Drake handed me my plate of food.