HARD LIMIT

by Chloe Fischer

  She snorted. Loudly. How could he still think she’d take him back after he cheated on her? Hell would freeze over – twice, before he would step foot in her place again. She needed to get her locks changed, she realized.

  He hadn’t even tried to apologize when she had found out about him and one of the secretaries down at his precinct. Snit? Is that how he remembers it? she thought, but she said nothing. There was no sense in arguing with the egomaniac. It was psychology 101.

  “I’m starving. You have any food here?” he asked, turning towards the fridge.

  Did I really have a relationship with him for an entire year? Was I medicated? I should have been. Jennica warned you that he was way beneath you from the second she met him.

  “You know where there’s food?” she said sweetly. “Burger King. It’s open twenty-four hours.”

  He blinked, a wry smile on his face.

  “What?”

  “Get out, Patrick,” she growled, placing her hands on her hips. “But first, give me your key.”

  The grin remained plastered on his face, but it no longer met his eyes.

  “You still ‘need space’, huh? Even after all this time?” he demanded. “You need me.”

  He really thinks he’s the greatest lover that ever walked the planet.

  “Yes,” Sage replied, tired of trying to make him see that she was never going to take him back. “I still need space. Lots and lots of space. Like, forever space.”

  He seemed temporarily lost for words.

  “Enjoy your Whopper,” she told him cheerfully and finally, he lost the arrogant smile.

  “You know, Sage, I won’t be around forever. One day, you’re going to want me, and I will have moved on.”

  At that moment, she couldn’t think of a more exciting prospect.

  Except maybe if Aiden were to actually show up in my bedroom.

  “I’m leaving…” Pat continued, placing her key on the counter as he walked past. Sage stared at him, wondering what was taking him so long. She realized he was waiting for her to change her mind.

  He scowled and stomped out the door. Sage flopped back against her couch, hoping to herself that this was the last time she would see the cheating bastard.

  Note to self: change the locks on the weekend.

  When she was sure he was gone, she returned to her bed and reached under her nightstand for her laptop.

  Even with the arrival and departure of her ex, her mind was still on Aiden and Audrey Van Hoyt.

  More the father than the daughter, she realized, a slight tinge of shame touching her.

  She realized how bad it was that she was focused on the handsome stranger when her entire reason for going there that evening was to help Audrey.

  Learning everything about the family is a part of helping the girl, she told herself firmly, but she wondered who she was lying to exactly, if not herself.

  She began to delve into the history of the Van Hoyts from what she could find online. There were endless articles about the murder of the parents, about Sarah and Xander but not much about Aiden.

  He owned a successful accounting firm in Baltimore and seemed to keep a low profile from what Sage could see, but she couldn’t help but think there was a lot more to the story than what she could find online.

  A part of her felt disloyal looking into the history of both of them, but given what she had learned, she knew she needed to be informed of what she had wrapped herself up in.

  Maybe I should have listened to Jennica and stayed out of it, she thought, gritting her teeth together. But Sage knew there would be no going back, not when she was already so obsessed with the idea of him, er, them, and her sessions with Audrey hadn’t even started yet.

  Exhaling, Sage repeated her steps, this time punching in Xander Van Hoyt’s name.

  If she couldn’t find much on Aiden, his twin was probably the next best avenue to investigate.

  Again, her eyes were assaulted with hundreds of articles pertaining to the murders of Charles and Lisa, the back and forth between Xander and Sarah.

  I wonder what the real story is there, she thought, but her gut instinct told her that whatever it was had nothing to do with Aiden.

  Still, with a family dynamic like that, Audrey has to be affected greatly. Coupled with losing her mother, she must be carrying a lot of baggage.

  Rubbing her eyes, Sage went to close the screen when a name jumped out at her. The hairs on her arms prickled as her heartrate quickened.

  No, she thought. That can’t be right.

  But as she enlarged the article, nervousness overwhelmed her as she reread the name.

  Lead investigator, Patrick Keyes believes that the siblings may have been in conspiracy to commit the murders…

  Shock jolted through her body and she slammed the computer shut.

  Did I know that Pat worked this case? She asked herself.

  She wracked her mind for an answer, or a memory that he had ever mentioned having such a sensational case, but the more she thought about their relationship, the more she realized they had never discussed anything of any true importance.

  Neither of us wanted to bring our work home with us so we only talked about the most mundane and inconsequential things. And let’s face it – it’s not they had ever had any great connection. The relationship had been more about convenience, really.

  Sage swallowed the lump in her throat and closed her eyes, the wheels about to derail in her head at the rate they were turning.

  I can’t touch this case. It’s too close, a conflict of interest at best, a massive clusterfuck at worst.

  She took a shaky breath, her lids parting.

  Of course, that’s only if Pat ever finds out about it. I only learned about this by complete fluke. He doesn’t need to know. We’re not together anyway.

  There were several ways she could justify it if need be.

  Sage pushed the laptop aside and curled onto her side, willing herself to fall asleep.

  I’m not doing anything wrong, she lied to herself.

  She hoped it wouldn’t all blow up in her face.

  After all, the Van Hoyts did not have a good track record of being forgiving.

  Interlude

  The orderly stepped inside the room with him, but the doctor waved the man away.

  “I won’t be needing you,” he intoned, peering at the tablet in his hand as if he was looking over the patient’s notes.

  “Are you sure, Dr. Cruthers? She can be – “

  “She has been my patient for almost five years, Andy. I think I know what she can and cannot do.”

  Andy hesitated until the psychiatrist raised his head, piercing blue eyes boring into the orderly until the man backed off and went into the hallway.

  “I’ll just be out here if you – “

  “Thank you, Andy.”

  The door closed in his face before the younger man could finish his sentence.

  Dr. Cruthers turned back to the patient, a cold smile on his wrinkled face.

  “How are you feeling today, Sarah?” he asked without emotion.

  She stared up at him with haunted blue eyes, unspeaking.

  “Are you sleeping enough?” he asked, and she dropped her gaze to her hands, her face pale.

  “You can talk to me, Sarah. Why are you so quiet today? We have been making such good progress the last few weeks.”

  She did not speak but he saw a muscle in her slender jaw twitch.

  “Did something happen, Sarah?” he asked cajolingly. “Did you remember something else you wanted to tell me? Something about your brothers?”

  She raised her head and glared defiantly at him.

  “You forced that information out of me,” she spat. “None of it was true.”

  He maintained the stoic expression on his face.

  “No?” he asked pleasantly, perched on the edge of the bed at her side. “Are you sure?”

  Sarah whimpered softly.

  “Please, no more,” she be
gged him. “Leave me alone. Leave us all alone! We’ve been through enough!”

  Dr. Cruthers made a commiserating noise.

  “Of course you have, Sarah. You are so strong, just like Xander and Aiden, aren’t you? I have good news for you.”

  She eyed him warily, disgust puckering her face. Sarah trusted no one, that much was obvious.

  “What good news?” she demanded, inching away from him as she pulled the sheets around her.

  “Aiden is coming to visit this weekend.”

  A glimmer of suspicious hope fluttered through her face and she shook her head.

  “I don’t believe you,” she whispered. “He hasn’t come in so long!”

  “He’s coming,” Dr. Cruthers assured her. “And when he does, all your suffering will finally be over. You will be able to live in the peace you deserve.”

  He saw the fear in her expression and he lunged toward her, jabbing the hypodermic needle into her neck.

  She lashed out too late, the combination of lorazepam and sodium pentothal overtaking her in seconds.

  Sarah fell back against the limp pillows, her panicked expression falling away into that of a serene pool, no ripples or emotions in sight.

  “There you are, sweetie,” he cooed, adjusting the sheets around her comfortably. “Just take it easy now. Isn’t that better?”

  She nodded dumbly, the truth serum turning her into a puppet.

  “Now, you’ve told me about Xander and Aiden’s powers. Let’s talk about Audrey.”

  Half an hour later, Dr. Cruthers exited the room, nodding to Andy who stared after him.

  “Any problems, doc?”

  “None whatsoever,” he replied, smiling.

  As he turned the corner, he reached into his lab coat and withdrew the black burner phone.

  After one ring it was answered.

  “It’s Cruthers. I was right. The Van Hoyt twins are the missing Conway twins. I’m sure of it.”

  “Is that a fact?” rasped the voice on the other end of the phone. “It is time to move then.”

  “There’s more,” Cruthers continued.

  “You know where the others are?”

  “Yes and no,” he replied smugly.

  “Stop speaking in riddles,” the voice snapped. “What do you know, Eli?”

  “Aiden Conway has a child and she is just like them.”

  There was a sharp intake of breath.

  “She?” he echoed. “It’s a girl?”

  “Audrey. Eight years old.”

  “What can she do?”

  “I’m not sure…” Cruthers faltered. “This is the first time she has mentioned the girl having abilities at all. Do you want me to try and find out more?”

  “You can try, but don’t compromise her,” he ordered and for the first time in the years that he’d known the Contact, Cruthers heard excitement in his voice.

  “I will see what I can do but I want you to know that Aiden will be here this weekend. It would be a good time to take him. He may even have his daughter.”

  “I’ll decide this, not you. The last time my men went in blind, they died – leaving me without valuable resources. I was not happy. I need to know what they are up against.”

  “I thought you had a drug,” Cruthers said in surprise. “Just stab them with that and -”

  “Just do what you’re told, Eli.”

  The call disconnected in Dr. Cruthers’ ear and he was left with the wheels of his own mind turning.

  After all this time, I have finally brought them a missing Conway and they still treat me like a lowly lab rat. I’m going to demand a raise and a better working environment. Five years of handling crazies in the middle of fucking nowhere. I deserve better than this –

  He felt a prick behind his ear and his hand flew up to touch the spot.

  A bee sting?

  He turned quickly, but as he did, his breathing suddenly became laboured, and his windpipe started to close.

  “How’s it going, Dr. C?” Andy asked, stepping back as he fell to his knees. “It’s peanuts that kill you, right? Major nut allergy, am I right?”

  Eli gasped, clawing at this throat as the anaphylactic shock continued to shut down his breathing. He fumbled for his Epi pen, but Andy wagged a finger, smiling softly.

  “No use,” he sighed. “You’re fresh out.”

  The lumbering orderly watched as Dr. Cruthers’ face turned purple, his airways failing.

  When he was sure the psychiatrist was on his last breath, he spoke again.

  “Oculus thanks you for your dedicated service,” he intoned before leaving the fresh corpse on the floor of the hospital, literal seconds away from equipment which would have saved his life.

  Chapter Five

  His anxiety was mounting as he sat in the waiting room, studying his hands.

  Aiden would be blind not to notice the stares he was getting from other patients as he waited for Audrey to finish with Dr. Pierce, but he was far too distracted to care.

  His mind was only on what his daughter was saying to the woman just beyond the door. A part of him wanted to burst inside and call an end to the session but of course that was just stupidity talking.

  Audrey knows the dangers, he tried to tell himself, but he could not forget the fact that she was only eight years old.

  What did we know at her age? He thought nervously, his sea-green eyes darting around the jovially decorated lobby. What did Xander and I know about how to handle our ‘talents’, and who we could talk to about them? Obviously, there had never been an inclination to speak with their adoptive parents – abusive assholes that they were. He wracked his mind, trying to remember ever being so young.

  Aiden wondered if him and his brother would have spilled their secrets if a caring adult like Dr. Pierce had tried to talk to them. Maybe, he thought. But he remembered that they always seemed to know that they couldn’t talk about it – like it was just part of them, to keep the secret. Maybe that’s because we had each other to talk to though. Audrey doesn’t have a sibling…or a twin.

  He looked up again, catching the accusing eye of a woman sitting across from him.

  They think I’m Xander, he thought, a familiar anger growing in him. He had hoped that moving towns would have alleviated some of scrutiny, but that had been wishful thinking. As long as they stayed in Maryland, he and Audrey would forever be linked to the double murder, no matter how much they tried to maintain a life of normalcy.

  I should have taken her out of here. Things will never get better, no matter how much time has passed. As long as I hold onto this last name and face, there will always be a connection.

  It didn’t matter that Aiden sported a full head of black hair and no visible tattoos; his face was identical to the convicted killer who was his twin.

  But if he left, it meant leaving Sarah also and that was something he could not bring himself to do, not when all of this had been thrust on her; the horrible parents, the brothers who could do strange things that she wasn’t allowed to talk about. And if he had her transferred, it would be just like starting all over again, no matter how carefully they read her records.

  But maybe she needs a second opinion, Aiden reasoned. Maybe there is another way - other than electroshock therapy.

  He was not looking forward to the trip to Catonsville the following day, but it had to be done. Sarah deserved to know what was coming and why.

  She doesn’t deserve any of this.

  “Mr. Van Hoyt?”

  He raised his eyes as Dr. Pierce exited the back room, Audrey in tow.

  Forcing a smile, he rose to his feet.

  “How did it go, pumpkin?” he asked. His daughter shrugged indifferently and moved past him to flop onto a plastic chair.

  “I thought you and I could chat for a moment,” Dr. Pierce said, and Aiden nodded in agreement.

  “Of course.”

  “There are some books and coloring books over there if you want, Audrey,” the psychologist told her. �
�We won’t be long.”

  Audrey muttered something which Dr. Pierce could not have heard but Aiden did, and he scowled warningly at her.

  Watch your mouth, he told her silently. Her pout only deepened as she folded her arms over her chest, but she didn’t respond.

  “Right this way.”

  Aiden followed her into a tastefully decorated office and he could see the appeal it would have to children.

  It was a fun room with bright colors. Everywhere he looked, there was something to see; teddy bears, dolls, artwork and crafts.

  He looked around, unsure of where to sit, noting only a child-sized table and a loveseat, neither which seemed appropriate for a professional meeting.

  She saved him from having to ask and gestured at the sofa.

  “I just wanted to follow up with our first session,” she told him, and Aiden nodded, the anxiety returning in a wave as he perched on the edge of the sofa.

  “Did she say anything?” Aiden asked before he could stop himself. He wished he could snatch the words back from the air where they landed.

  The doctor’s intelligent eyes researched his face as if she was trying to memorize the details for later and Aiden caught her gaze.

  To his surprise, she blushed and looked away, clearing her throat lightly.

  “She resents having to be here,” she began. “But that’s to be expected. Any child in her position would fight this.”

  Aiden knew the words were supposed to be a comfort, but they only fueled his guilt.

  Audrey has something else to be angry about now, he thought, trying not to display his emotions.

  “But after about half an hour, I think Audrey realized that I am not here to judge her or fill her with platitudes and she began opening up to me.”

  Aiden was sure his back was going to snap, his spine was so rigid.

  “Did she?” he asked nonchalantly. “About what?”

  Dr. Pierce shrugged, leaning her deliciously full rear against the desk and inadvertently, Aiden found his eyes glancing to the curve of her waist.

  “School mostly,” she replied but she did not elaborate, despite Aiden’s inquisitive stare.

  “And?” he encouraged.

  She smiled and lowered her eyes again.