“All my friends think I’m crazy,” she says.
“Oh, you’re far from crazy. May I ask you something?”
“Okay.”
“Did you go to the Virgin Islands a while back? Like maybe a year ago?”
“Yeah. How did you know?”
“Doesn’t matter. Did you by any chance find a necklace?”
Now her eyes narrow and she shoots me a suspicious look. “Hey, that wasn’t a shipwreck dive. I was collecting environmental samples and creating slides to establish a chronological log of the effect of pollutants on sea life. That necklace happened to be down there, and I saw it as I was getting ready to surface. Finders keepers and all that.”
“I know. I just needed to confirm that you are still in possession of it.”
“Well, yeah.”
Damn, it’s hard being Mr. Nice Guy. Right now I want to yell and scream at her. What’s left of the little bit of patience in my tiny bucket is close to being emptied out.
“Is it here?” I smile. I’m sure it looks more like a grimace.
She looks at me oddly.
“Where else would it be?”
“I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?”
She narrows her eyes. “Why do you want to know?”
I grit my teeth. “Serena, hear me out. This is important. Do not lend that necklace to anyone and wear it at all times. Do you understand me?”
She stands up and walks around a little, then sits back on the bed. “Of course I understand you, but that’s ridiculous. My friends love that necklace and like to borrow it.”
I clamp my teeth together so I don’t bark at her. My agitation and frustration have reached unprecedented levels. And for one of the very few times in my life, I am at a loss. So I do the only thing I know to do and yell at the top of my lungs, “RAFE!”
Serena leaps off the bed and plasters herself up against the wall. Minutes later Rafe walks in the room.
“Who the fuck are you people?” she wants to know, and rightly so.
I throw my hands up in the air and look at Rafe helplessly.
“No transparency, I see.”
“Long story. I’ll fill you in later,” I clip.
“Now I smell a tiny hint of lemon,” Serena says.
Rafe laughs.
I look at Rafe and say, “She wants to know why she needs to wear the necklace all the time and not lend it to her friends. My patience bucket is drained.” Rafe laughs even harder.
“You think this is funny?”
“I do. You always have an answer for everything. But not this.” He indicates Serena with his thumb over his shoulder.
“Hey, I’m not a this. I have a name.”
“See what I mean,” I say. “What do we do?”
“Take her with us.”
“Take her with us? Are you crazy? That is not a possible solution.”
“Why?”
And then I think, why? Because … because. Because nothing. Why can’t she go with us? She’d be safe. It would be a helluva lot easier on us than chasing her ass around the globe. And the damn Shaurok would never come to us. Then the Council might, just might let us bring Judgment Day back to its rightful place and we can stop all of this.
“You’re right. She’s coming with us.”
But Serena throws us a roadblock.
“I lied. I don’t have it here.”
Rafe and I spin to face her. We both exclaim, “WHAT?” The walls vibrate.
She shrinks into the corner. “I sort of lent it to my friend and she hasn’t given it back yet.”
“Then we’ll go and get it back,” I say.
She screws up her face and says, “We kind of had a falling out.”
“A what?” I say.
“A falling out.”
“Care to tell me what you fell out of?”
Now she looks at me strangely, like l have a large animal on my nose. Rafe grabs me and says, “Let me handle this.”
“What did you argue about?”
Oh, falling out equals girl fight. Silly me. Dumbass Sabin. Set your fucking jargon translator.
“Some stupid bullshit thing. She accused me of trying to steal her boyfriend. I would never do such a thing.”
“Do you know where she lives?” he asks.
“I’m pissed at her, not a fucktard.”
“Got that. Pack your stuff. You’re going with us,” he snaps.
“You’re crazy! I’m not going anywhere with you!”
Now it’s my turn to take over the show. I walk up to her and get in her personal space. “Yes, you are. It is our job to see that you do, and make no mistake, Serena, we will. And do you know why? Because my men saved your ass yesterday. Without them, you wouldn’t be here. You’d be dead, at the bottom of the lovely Atlantic, having bottom dwellers plucking at your flesh. You know it, I know it, and my men know it. We were sent to protect you and that’s what we’re going to do. But we need that necklace and if you stay alive long enough, maybe I’ll explain why. Now get that sweet ass of yours moving.”
She stands, puts her hand on her hip, and taps her toe. Her eyes rip into me and the palm of her hand gives my chest one hard shove to move me out of her way. It only pushes me slightly so she has to brush her body against mine to pass. And when she does, my cock leaps to attention and nearly whines. I don’t know what it is about her, other than her looks, but she fires up my blood in a way no one has in a long, long time.
When I walk into my apartment after a night out with Melody and some other friends, I smell cinnamon with a hint of spices. It’s exotic and deeply sexy, almost to the point where I’m becoming aroused. I hunt around because it wasn’t here when I left. Not finding the source, I strip and grab some ibuprofen from my handbag for my aching side. As I walk through my apartment, that scent wafts in the air again. I have to clench my thighs together as I brush my teeth and get ready for bed, but the fragrance is so potent in my room, I’m compelled to find its source. When I do, I uncover the shock of my life.
First, my hands feel the outline of a man’s body—a very large man—but he’s invisible. Then he appears, right before my eyes, and first, I nearly faint from fright. That is right before my legs turn into spaghetti. My brain says RUN. But I want to pinch myself because how can I accept what I just witnessed with my own eyes? Before I can do anything except scream, he clamps his hand over my mouth and binds me with his arms—they’re more like iron straps. I’m incapable of moving except for an inch or so. In a deep, hoarse voice, he tells me he’s here to keep me safe. Safe from what? From him? Like I’m supposed to believe that? He just turned into the invisible man—no wait! That’s backwards. He was invisible and now he’s visible. Am I going fucking crazy? Did that incident yesterday underwater deprive my brain of oxygen for too long and now am I losing it? When he starts spouting crap about that stupid necklace I found, I realize this dude knows! He knows about those scary things that attacked me in the water. He describes them! Part of me wants to trust him. The woman part of me, because this man is sex on a fucking stick. And then it nails me—that scent rolls off of him. Coupled with his voice, I’m embarrassed to say that I’m wet. How long has it been that this has happened? Well, I’ve never had this happen. But the wet thing? It’s been ages since I’ve had sex, other than the do-it-yourself kind. And I’ve never gotten wet from just smelling a man. What the hell is that all about? My slutty twin has emerged in full force. She’s rolled up her sleeves, unbuttoned her shirt, and is ready to play. Dark, dark eyes. Almost black and freakishly intense. They seem to tunnel all the way through to my soul. When he looks at me I have to remind myself to breathe. And his face. Gah! It’s one women dream about, and that includes the thin scar on his cheek that runs from his left eye to the corner of his mouth. At one point I have to stop myself from grabbing him and licking the thing. That was right before I home in on his mouth. Oh what a mouth it is, too. He has this way of twitching the right corner of it. It makes me want to bite his lower
lip. Tug that sucker right into my mouth and suck … hard. His black hair is thick and he wears it like he doesn’t give a damn about it. In fact, he probably doesn’t give a damn about any of his looks. He just is, take him or leave him. But I’d like to take him, hard and all night, if possible. With some chocolate sauce, whipped cream, and a cherry on top, please. Oh, please!
What the hell, Serena? These men—oh, did I mention another one joined him?—are taking me with them. They say they want to protect me. We’ll see. Honestly though, if they wanted to hurt me, it would be nothing for them to kill me immediately. Snap me in two. They’re huge. At least six feet three or four, I’d say.
“What’s your name? I would think if you expect me to travel with you, you’d at least mention your name.” There goes my smart mouth.
The corner of his mouth twitches. “Call me Sabin.”
“Hmm. Sabin. Is that your name or is that what I just call you?”
“It’s my name.”
“First or last?”
He cocks his head then glares at me. “Both,” he snaps.
“You trying to mimic Madonna?”
The other one named Rafe runs interference. “We all only have one name.”
“‘We all?’ How many of you are there?”
“Seven.” Rafe answers.
“Fuck that. Do you mean I have to put up with seven of you?”
Rafe laughs. “That’s correct.”
Sinfully sexy Sabin says, “Quit gossiping and finish packing.”
“It sounds like Mr. McGrumpy over there woke up on the wrong side of the bed.”
“Nah, he’s always like that.”
Sabin continues to glare at me. It doesn’t change the fact that I still want to see him naked. It’s almost as though I’ve spoken that thought out loud because his eyes momentarily widen and then his lids drop to half-mast. The left corner of his mouth curls and he sinks his teeth into his lower lip. But when his eyes skim my body, I suck my breath in between my teeth, making a hissing sound. My hand reaches for my mouth, and I blink, shake my head, and head back to my closet on wobbly legs. What the hell just happened? How did he know that?
Since my possessions are few, it doesn’t take me much time to pack my clothes in my suitcases. I place my textbooks in their plastic crates, pack up my SCUBA gear in the bag I have specifically for it, and put my laptop in its carrying case, and I’m all set to go.
“Rafe, you got everything?”
“Yep.”
Sabin turns to me and says, “Serena, can you come in here, please?”
I join him in the bedroom and he says, “Look at me. Into my eyes.”
The next thing I know, I’m waking up in a large bed. The room is dark except for one small lamp in the furthest corner from the bed, which casts the room in a soft glow. Bewildered is only the beginning. It’s that feeling I have again, like when I came to on Dan’s boat. Where am I? How long have I been here? I sit up and the realization that I need to pee hits me. There are a few doors so I venture forth, hunting the bathroom. Door number one is a closet. Can’t pee in there. Door number two and bingo. This place is odd. There are no windows anywhere so I don’t know if it’s daylight or dark. When I’m done, I spy a toothbrush by the sink, but it’s not mine so I don’t use it. I open a closet door and see another one still in a package. It has strange writing on it, but I don’t care. I rip into it and brush the hell out of my teeth. Now I’m ready to face the day … night … whatever.
I open door number three and find myself in a short hallway where I see another door at the end. When I open that door, I enter a new world. Computer screens are everywhere. Large ones, small ones. But they’re nothing like I’ve ever seen. There are no monitors and keyboards. And they … float in the air, motionless. And there are men. Large attractive men. Five pairs of eyes turn my way.
“Howdy, y’all,” I say with a little wave. What else do you do? These men are unlike any other men I’ve ever seen, other than Sabin and Rafe. They dress in black. All of them. Head to toe. And each one is huge. Just like Sabin and Rafe. They inspect me for a few seconds, and then resume whatever it was they were doing. That’s kind of rude. No hello, how are you, go to hell, nothing. I’m a bit put off. They force me to come with them; the least they can do is be nice. So I decide I’ll extend my southern hospitality.
“So, what’s up in here?” I bop into the room. “Wow, this place is amazing. What you got going on in here?” I am met with solid silence and five sets of hostile eyes. I’ve noticed Sabin and Rafe aren’t here. “Hey, is that the exterior of my apartment building? You all were watching that? Oh my god, that’s my diving facility. I can’t believe it. And the Marine Biology Center.”
One of them finally approaches me. “Yeah, like, you’re not supposed to be in here. This room is off limits to you.”
I look to my right and I’m immediately drawn into the most fascinating pair of eyes in existence. Oh my fucking heavens. They are deep brown with these amazing bright yellow-green striations in them. I am so fascinated by them, I stare like a dolt.
“I said, you’re not supposed to be in here.” Impatience oozes out of Gorgeous Eyes.
“I-I’m not? Why?” I drag my focus away from his irises and concentrate on his hair. It’s dark, like Sabin’s, and messy. He’s also stunning. My friends would go crazy in here. It would be playtime. This is a giant sandbox filled with toys.
“Are you listening to me?” he asks.
“Um, pardon?” I give myself a mental shake. He must think I’m an idiot.
He huffs out a breath. “I said, you can’t be in here because this is all, um, classified here. Yes, it’s all classified.” He smiles. He displays a perfect set of dazzling white teeth.
“Oh. Do you have a name?”
“A name?”
He actually looks dumfounded that I’ve asked him this.
“Yes, you know that thing people call you and identify you by?”
“Oh, yes, a name. Edge.”
“Edge? That’s your name? Like the edge of a cliff?”
“It is my name, yes.”
“Hello, Edge, I’m …”
“Serena Callahan. Yes, I am aware.”
“I suppose you are. Yes, well, do you have anything to eat around here? I’m starving.”
Edge appears a bit annoyed with me, but who else am I to ask? He quickly glances around to the other men, but they are busy doing other things.
“Come with me.”
We go back through the door I came in and he takes me into another room. “You’ll find everything you need in here. It’s our kitchen.” Then he’s gone before I even have a chance to thank him.
When I check the place out, I recognize nothing. No microwave, no stove, no oven, no coffee maker, not a damn thing. There isn’t even a refrigerator. How the hell am I supposed to find something to eat in here? There are a few cabinets so I rummage through them, hoping to find something. My dreams of an Eggo with butter and syrup quickly fade away. There are a few items in here, but I don’t have any idea what they are. The packages have writing on them but in a language I can’t read, exactly like the toothbrush I found. There is some kind of strange machine standing next to the sink, so I check it out. It’s large, about the size of a refrigerator, and has a number of different looking panels with glass buttons on it. I don’t know what they say, because again, they’re in that foreign language. It looks Greek to me. Who the hell are these people? I hunt around for a glass so I can at least get a drink of water, but I can’t put my hands on one of those either.
Now I’m aggravated on top of being super hungry. I keep checking out that machine. Maybe I should just take a stab at some of those buttons and see what happens. So I give it a try, and nothing. There are several panels in groups, so I tap out a series of things on each of the panels. Again, nothing. I probably should go back out there and ask that Edge guy. But then he said I wasn’t supposed to be in there. All I want is a damn waffle. So I yell at it.
“Can you just give me a fucking waffle with butter on it and syrup? Please?”
And then I point my finger and really poke those buttons. Suddenly, the thing starts making a loud buzzing noise. Stuff starts shooting out of this hidden door, which I didn’t see because it was hidden, of course, and I don’t know how to get it to stop. It’s a full-fledged five-alarm disaster now. The room fills up with seven men as they try to get the damn thing to shut up while it still spews goop all over the place. Someone finally shuts off the power, and then all sets of eyes turn to me accompanied by accusatory scowls. I know they’re going to give me hell.
“I didn’t know how it works. I was hungry. All I wanted was a damn Eggo.”
Sabin gets in my face and asks, “Who brought you in here?”
I learned early on that pointing fingers only makes enemies. There is no way I’m getting anyone in trouble and have them hate me even more than they already do.
“No one. I stumbled upon it myself.”
His glare burns through me. “And you didn’t think to ask anyone how to operate the damn thing?” he asks in a scathing tone.
“I thought I could figure it out. I’m not stupid.” Well, most of the time, anyway.
Edge steps forward and says, “She’s lying. I brought her in here. She woke up and came into the sec center. She said she was hungry so I brought her here and left her. Clearly, I was not thinking.”
Now his burning glare is redirected on Edge. “Clearly.” He turns to the others and says, “Get back to work. I’ll handle this.”
Then to me, he says, “Henceforth, you will no doubt discover there are certain things you are unfamiliar with. Please ask before you destroy them.” I help him clean up the mess.
“I’m sorry. I’m so hungry. I just wanted an Eggo.”
“What the hell is an Eggo?”
“A waffle.”
He expands his hands and tilts his head like he has to think for a second. “Sorry, we’re fresh out of Eggos.”
“What about pancakes?”
“Nope, we’re out of those, too.”
And it’s then with a crushing realization that I know Serena is not in Kansas anymore.
Sabin, A Seven Novel Page 5