by SM Olivier
Rachel, Troy, and I exchanged glances. “Can you tell us anything more about the facility you were held in?”
She frowned. “I wish I could remember its location. They gave me additional drugs before we were transported. There are a lot of people in there that need help. He has girls like me that he wants to impregnate. Then he’s bringing people in and injecting them with a serum. He’s trying to make gifted people. He thinks he’s God. Most of these people are dying less than twenty-four hours after their injection. The others,” she shuddered. “They might as well be dead.”
I looked over at Rachel and she nodded. Everything Sierra said was the truth.
We finally got the call around midnight. We rushed to our rendezvous point after leaving a generous tip to our waitress.
Micah looked around us as we walked to the darkened side of the diner. We all held on to him, and soon we transported once more. I had to blink to let my eyes adjust. We were standing in the middle of a field. Lights from the waiting airplane, nearly blinded me.
Will had found a small airport in a town called Marine City that had a little airstrip. It had taken a while to reach the owner, but he had gladly allowed us the use of it, once he found out the amount of money Will would pay him.
I watched as five men came off the airplane. I could barely see, but I knew who they were immediately. I broke down in tears as I ran towards them. I was immediately crushed in between them. All the events of the day came rushing to me. The fear, the grief, the hopelessness, and finally, the relief of knowing we were all safe.
I could see the joy in Rachel’s face as they pulled her in for a hug next. I was kind of disappointed not to see Jemmy and Gavin. I really hoped they had already kissed and made up.
I looked up and saw Will’s grief-stricken face before he pulled me in for a tight hug. “I’m sorry, Blake,” he said fiercely. “I never should have put you in that situation.”
I hugged him back after a moment of surprise. “You didn’t put me in that situation. I have gifts. I need to use my gifts for good. I couldn’t stand by and allow men like Horatio continue to wreak havoc, while I sit by idly. We found out so much from Sierra tonight,” I informed him.
He squeezed me one more time. “Let’s go, dear, we got some worried children waiting for you at home.”
I nodded and turned to join my guys once more. The myriad of emotions on their faces, made me realize how important I was to them. I looked at them and hoped they realized how important they were to me.
Will and Remy went to collect Steven from the place we had put him; their steps heavy and their heads cast down. It wasn’t long before they returned. Will insisted on helping to carry his longtime friend, despite Remy’s polite protests.
Before we boarded the plane, I looked over at Sierra and motioned for her to follow us. I could see the curiosity and sadness in her eyes as she watched our reunion. I had a feeling when she lost her Grandmother, she had lost the last blood relative she had. She was like most of us. Another lost boy.
“I’ll make introductions when we get on the plane,” I said. “But for now, everyone, this is Sierra. She and Micah helped us immensely today. Sierra, this is everyone.”
Everyone gave her a warm welcome, and I could see she was slightly overwhelmed but ready for wherever we were going to take her. I noticed a more mature and analytical nature in her. She was always watching and soaking things in. She was strong and had a fire within her.
She seemed reticent for a moment as she looked at the private jet, then us, before she shrugged and boarded the plane in front of me.
I grabbed Jaxson’s hand as we walked towards the plane.
I love you, I told him once again.
His pale grey eyes turned on me, lighting up, and his gorgeous dimple appeared as he smiled at me.
I love you more than you’ll ever know, he responded.
It was as we were walking up the steps when I barely stifled my gasp. Jaxson was holding my hand and he looked up at me questioningly. Sierra was climbing the stairs in front of us, and the back of her shirt had ridden up. The glow from the interior lights illuminated her back.
Do you see what I see? I asked tentatively.
Jaxson looked confused before realization dawned. His eyes grew round as saucers.
Shit! His inner voice muttered.
Yup I agreed.
Sierra, our new-found acquaintance, had a trident the size of a half dollar on her lower back. The situation between Jemmy and Gavin just got a whole lot more complicated.
It was almost two o’clock in the morning when I was finally able to relax. I had just taken a shower, and I had a bowl of Drake’s amazing chicken noodle soup in my lap, despite my protest of not being hungry. Patrick, Nadia, and Ella had just fallen asleep on one of the bean bag chairs. They had been distraught.
Will had left with Beth to break the news to all the families that had lost someone tonight. Including Michael. Cora was nearly inconsolable. She had been given a sedative to calm her down, for the sake of the children. Beth was handling this with stoutness. I could see the pain and devastation in her eyes, but I knew she was trying to be strong for the children. She was trying to be strong for their family.
Micah and Alex were sleeping on another bean bag chair. Drake had already covered them with blankets after we determined there was no use moving them. We were just as tired, but unable to fall asleep.
Sierra had insisted that she wanted to tell us everything she possibly could. She wanted to be involved with our operations. She wanted to help everyone that she had seen in the facility. Jace and Terrance was acting like Will’s second in commands and were currently drilling her for information. They were sitting at the dining room table. I couldn’t help but notice how many times Jace would look up from their conversation to look at me, as if he was afraid I might disappear.
I was comfortably ensconced between Remy and Noah. Drake and Jaxson were comforting Rachel. She had broken down again when she had seen how broken the children were. She waited until they fell asleep before sobbing once more. I didn’t feel threatened at them comforting her, in fact, it made my heart warm seeing their compassion. After all, Rachel was family now. She should be treated as such. Gavin and Jemmy were cuddled up to one of the couches, but I could see and feel the tension radiating from them.
I wanted to tell them that they needed to get their crap together. Didn’t they realize they shouldn’t take life for granted anymore? We weren’t promised tomorrow. Even with Horatio gone, we never knew if he had others working for him that were willing to pick up the torch and continue his work. We had been targets before, now we were made into larger ones.
We had taken a lot of his test subjects. We had taken Dr. Neil. We might not have taken down his whole operation, but we definitely put a hurting on it. Tomorrow, we would regroup and figure out if we could find this other facility. From the sounds of it, it worked like the main base of Horatio’s operations.
In the past, they had told me Horatio was notorious for buying and selling property. He had hundreds in his name. He had people that worked for him that had several properties in their names. We found out he had other aliases. Who knows how many properties were listed under their names.
Sierra was a font of information. I guess she knew more than what she realized. Rachel had volunteered to help with the questioning, but we told her it wasn’t necessary. We didn’t trust Sierra per se, but somehow, I had a feeling she was going to be sticking around for a little while. Especially when we told Gavin he had another connection.
I looked over at Gavin and my morbid sense of humor almost wanted to rise. He had been so horrified at the concept of having multiple connections, and here he had two. He was going to flip. I felt sorry for him, but at the same time I found it humorous. I guess he should have thought harder before teasing me about fostering more than one relationship. Karma was coming in full circle for him.
I still hadn’t told the guys about Sierra’s mark. I loo
ked over at Jaxson.
When do we tell them? I asked.
I’m not sure now is the right time Jaxson said hesitantly.
They’re going to know soon. Gavin keeps looking at Sierra, and Sierra keeps looking at him. Jemmy see’s it too, I sighed. They’ve been so distant lately, yet since we came downstairs, she won’t leave his side.
Troy came back downstairs with our air mattresses, interrupting our conversation. “We really need to just build Blake a bed large enough for all of us,” he grumbled good naturedly. He was trying valiantly to get us out of dark morose moods.
“I’m not into you guys watching me when I… well you know,” Drake blushed.
I smiled at him as the guys chuckled at him.
I secretly liked the idea of a bed large enough for all of us. I was with Drake. I wasn’t certain if I was ready for anyone to watch me in my intimate moments with any of them, but I wasn’t ruling out the idea just yet. The idea of us all sleeping together on nights like this, in the comfort of my bed, was appealing though.
“Seal the deal, do the horizontal mambo, knock boots, rock her world…” Noah teased him, and poor Drake got even more red.
“You guys leave Drake alone,” Rachel said defiantly as she leaned into him.
“We wouldn’t have sleepovers every night,” Noah stated with a grin. “Just occasionally, like tonight, because I’m not leaving her side. Is anyone else?”
All the guys said no or shook their head. Even Jace had paused in his interrogation to look at me with intensity. His look was clear. He wouldn’t be leaving me either.
“I’ll take measurements tomorrow and start building the frame and headboard sometime this week,” Remy said as he began to run his large hands through my hair.
I had forgotten that, before his grandfather had passed away and before his mother had met his step father, his grandfather would take him to his wood-working shop. He had loved and missed those times with him. His grandfather had imparted quite a bit of knowledge in him. And at Will’s insistence, he had even been able to take a wood shop class in high school.
I had just found out recently that all the bars in every single one of his restaurants were made by his hands. I would have to insist on watching him work on the bed frame and headboard—shirtless, of course. Maybe with a tool belt tied on his waist, wearing jeans that were low on his hips. I could feel myself getting aroused, and Remy growled in my ear before I quickly erected my barriers.
I gave him an apologetic smile. I wanted one of them, but they had all told me that I needed to eat and rest more than I needed to give in to my baser urges. I didn’t know who was suffering more, me or them. We had all used our gifts tonight. We all felt that sensation within us that craved intimacy.
None of the guys had wanted to leave my side since coming home. They even sat in my bathroom as I showered after Noah had healed me. I didn’t mind. My normal inhibitions were gone. These were my connections. Life was too tenuous. I needed them as much as they needed me.
“Gavin has another connection. It’s Sierra,” I said in the silence of the room as I watched the flames dance in the fireplace and the shadows on the wall.
“Crap,” Drake muttered at my back. He was curled up behind me.
“My thoughts exactly,” I muttered as I linked one of my hands with his. I pushed my rear further into him and I heard him hiss. His reaction was immediate, and I could feel my desire rise instantly.
“How did—” Noah started to ask. He was lying in front of me, one of his hands cradling my hip.
“We saw her mark as we were boarding the plane,” Jaxson stated on the couch.
I wanted to lay next to him, especially after our confessions, but he unselfishly told me to let Drake and Noah lay with me, since they had freaked out the most after my SOS.
“Jemmy’s not going to like that much,” Jace stated with a sigh. “She never was known to share well with others. Even as a child, she hoarded all her stuff so she could play with ours.”
“Because mom never gave her anything, and if she did, her nose was rubbed in it for weeks,” Drake said bitterly.
I squeezed his hand. My heart broke for him and Jemmy.
“We might have went overboard spoiling her,” Remy said huskily. I could tell he had been on the cusp of fallen asleep before I finally blurted out my secret.
“She deserved it,” Jaxson said with a frown in his voice.
“That’s why she fell in love with you the most,” Troy said with a chuckle. “She learned to fake cry so you would give her anything she wanted.”
“Bro—" Jaxson said with warning.
I giggled, knowing he hadn’t wanted me to know. “Jemmy already told me. She admitted to wanting you the first time I met her.” Then I sobered up once more. “She’s already having issues with Gavin…”
“What’s going on there? I’ve been meaning to ask you,” Jaxson said before reaching down to grab a piece of my hair. He rubbed it between his fingers.
“She wants to move faster than he’s prepared to. He wants to build their relationship, before they are completely intimate. She wants to make their connection now. She wants to see if they could increase their gift levels if they do. He thinks it’s for the wrong reasons,” I said carefully.
Troy groaned. “Tell Jemmy no and she’s like a dog with a bone, she won’t let go, and she’ll keep pushing until she gets what she wants.”
“Which will only drive Gavin further away,” Jace said pragmatically.
“This is his first real relationship, so…” my voice trailed off.
“So, in comes another pretty girl, that may give him the time and space he needs, and she’ll win his affection,” Noah sighed.
“You think she’s pretty?” I jokingly teased him.
“Well…” Noah stuttered.
I began to giggle and heard a few of the guys chuckle. “Got you,” I whispered to him, then shrugged. “She is beautiful, and she’s almost the exact opposite of Jemmy. How does that even work with connections? Has the nucleus preferred one connection over the other? Has it hurt their overall relationship?”
“Do you prefer one of us over the other?” Troy wickedly joked, but I could hear the seriousness in his words as well.
“No,” I didn’t even hesitate with my answer. There was no thinking about it. “You each fulfill a different need within me. You all share similarities, but it’s your differences that set you apart and draw me to you in other ways.”
Noah groaned. “Why did we all agree to this self-imposed celibacy? I want to be fulfilling other needs,” he teased.
“Shut up,” Jace and Remy bit out simultaneously.
We all laughed accept for Noah and Jaxson.
Jaxson cleared his throat. I hadn’t noticed how quiet he had gotten. “Dad preferred mom over Megan and it hurt their relationship. Mom was all glitz and glamour. Megan was—"
I gasped. I never knew Will had two connections—and they had been sisters—until that moment.
“Megan was younger, sweeter, she was in way over her head, with those two. They were toxic together, and they didn’t belong together. They poisoned everything they touched. Megan knew that, and she had to leave for her own self-preservation,” Jace said gruffly but I heard a true fondness for the aunt he had been cursing just weeks ago.
I saw it as a step in the right direction. He still hadn’t talked to me about the whole situation, but I saw a growth in him since he had last talked about her.
We had just fallen asleep when we were rudely awakened. I heard the panic screams of the kids as a bright flashlight was shown in my eyes. I could hear the guys yelling and grunting around me.
“We have the subject,” I heard a gruff voice say as he leaned over me.
“Leo, what the hell,” I heard Troy curse before I felt a sharp sting in the side of my neck. Then darkness.
Chapter 30
I woke up in a cinder block room. I gasped in panic as I looked around. This room reminded me of
the cells we were kept in when I was in the mental institute. It had a single door with a small glass window in it. It was no better than a prison cell. There was a toilet in the corner of the room and a sink beside it. I was laying on a cot, on a thin mattress.
I sat up quickly. My head spun with dizziness, and my mouth was extremely dry. I clasped my head as I noticed I was now wearing a white jumpsuit and a pair of matching white shoes. I was no longer wearing Troy’s t-shirt and Jaxson’s sweat pants.
Where was I? Did Horatio finally find me? I needed to get out of here. I couldn’t be separated from my guys…again!
I needed water. My body was demanding it. On shaking knees, I stood up. I gripped the wall and started to stumble to the sink. I turned the tap on and bent down to drink the water, straight from the faucet.
The door behind me opened, and I spun around quickly, immediately regretting it as my head spun once more. When the world righted itself, I opened my eyes and glared at the two men standing in the doorway. They were dressed in all black; black cargo pants, black t-shirts, and black combat boots.
I immediately tried to compel them and tell them to take me to the guys. I groaned as my head pounded on and my gift wouldn’t come forth.
“Follow us,” one of the men said gruffly. “And don’t try to do anything funny. Your gifts are useless here.”
I stared at them obstinately and leaned my head against the wall. “Nah, I’m good,” I snorted.
Why should I listen to them? They kidnapped me from my home in the middle of the night and now they wanted me to follow them?
“Follow us, or we’ll just carry you out,” he rolled his eyes at me. They were both bigger and a lot taller than me, so I’m sure they could easily carry out their threats.
I tried in vain to call my gifts again and my heart sank when I realized he spoke the truth. I couldn’t call upon them.
I gaped at him. When he advanced towards me, I held my hands out towards him. “Fine, fine I’m coming.”
I knew I was being childish as I dragged my feet behind me. I was led to a door not too far from mine. When the door opened, I was gently pushed inside. The room was dark, but at least it looked more inviting then the room they had put me in. There was one of those two-way mirrors located to the left of the room. Two men sat at a table. One was dressed smartly in a suit and tie, and the other one was dressed like the other two that brought me here. They were sitting at a nice mahogany table with a small flat screen television sitting on the end.