“Yeah, but now...”
My eyes fell on the towel around Jaiden’s waist. Shit. Whoever was watching the showers couldn’t exactly see our bodies through the glass, only blurs, but they could see colors, and Jaiden’s white towel would definitely be visible. My underwear was hidden enough because I was behind Jaiden, who had his back to the door.
“Jaiden? The boss wants to talk to you!” The guy’s voice became louder and I knew he was coming closer.
“Just go with it,” I whispered to Jaiden, whose brows drew together in confusion. Before he could say anything, I reached for his towel and in one quick tug pulled it off him. He gasped, his eyes wide, his hands flying to cover himself. I kept my eyes on his, stifling a laugh.
“No,” I said, gripping his wrists and shoving him hard against the shower door.
“Jaiden?” the guy repeated, coming even closer.
“He’s busy. Go away!” I yelled at the top of my lungs, pinning Jaiden’s hands above his head. Hot water poured all over my back and shoulders as I ended up directly under its spray.
“Oh,” the guy said. “Umm, sorry. I’ll tell him that you’ll c...”
Don’t say ‘come’. Just don’t say it. I pressed my mouth against Jaiden’s chest to stop myself from doubling over in laughter, which ended up sounding like a suppressed moan. Sometimes I hated my mind.
“...see him later.” As the guy trudged off, I could feel the rapid fall and rising of Jaiden’s chest under my cheek. When I looked up at him again, he was staring at me, his lips parted.
I realized I was still holding his wrists, so I let go, taking a step back.
“What now?” he breathed.
“I’ll go with your plan.” I flashed him a smile. “As long as it doesn’t get me in trouble.”
He nodded. “Umm, would you mind... turning around?”
“Sure.” I did as he asked and turned off the water.
“Okay, I’ll come for you tonight when the air is clear. You can go now.” He stepped aside, the soaked towel hugging his waist.
“Did you say that to all the girls that were here with you?” I asked as I brushed past him to the door. He bit his lip, avoiding my gaze. Great. As I picked up my things and went to change out of my wet underwear, I tried to come up with as many ways as possible to get myself out of trouble in case Jaiden betrayed me again.
Chapter 10
Most of the lights had gone out by the time Jaiden arrived at my room. My heart thudded in my chest as we hurried through the halls to the elevator, our fingers intertwined as if we were a real couple. A green button flashed on the panel when Jaiden pressed his bracelet to it. I’d have asked Jaiden how he planned to get into the office that was probably heavily guarded, but I couldn’t risk it.
The elevator opened into a dark hall, and Jaiden dipped his head, his fingers curling into my hair. His soft lips brushed against mine, and as the lights turned on, I saw the hall was blocked by a large black door.
“Come.” Jaiden smiled, pulling me toward a panel on the wall. He pressed his bracelet against it and traced his finger over the screen that offered multiple options. “Give me your hand.”
I let him raise my bracelet toward the panel, which started to glow red. Jaiden pressed something, and the red changed into green, and the black door parted, revealing a long hall. “Your room is up there?” I asked, toying with a strand of my hair.
“Yeah.”
I caught the front of his shirt and pulled him close to me, my lips brushing his ear. “It’s a trap, isn’t it? Or you really want me to believe an agent, even the best agent, would have access to private offices with many devices that could be used against the organization? And have a room somewhere on the private floor? And even have the ability to allow someone else to go there? I think not.”
Jaiden closed his eyes, grimacing as if he’d swallowed something sour.
“Tell me. You and the boss? What’s your connection?”
“You’re not supposed to know that. They’ll kill you if...”
“Too late for that now. Either you tell me or...”
“He’s my father, okay?” His whole body tensed, his eyes unreadable.
My mouth fell open as I tried to process what he’d just said. I’d expected him to say he was family or someone close, but not that close. “And you let him treat you like that or it’s all fake?” I glanced toward the bracelet on his wrist.
“You don’t understand.”
“Of course I don’t.” If I were the child of the person running an organization like Elemontera, I’d turn everything upside down. Hell, with abilities like Jaiden’s, I’d turn Elemontera into whatever I wanted it to be.
“If you want to leave...” He started to pull away from me, but I held him back.
“No, let’s do this.” Maybe I was crazy, but the fact that Jaiden was the boss’ son and the most powerful elemental here could help me. If we got caught, it would be Jaiden’s fault for letting me in. Without proof, he wouldn’t be able to lay the blame on me without implicating himself. Besides, I could always say he used his status, if not his mind, to coerce me into stealing the device because he saw me as a threat. Somehow, I didn’t believe it would come to that. If nothing else, he’d want me to keep his secret... or secrets. I still wasn’t sure what his deal was, especially after this little revelation, but my priority was to get the device so I could save my friends.
Jaiden pressed his forehead against mine, tracing his fingers across my face. We so didn’t have time for this. Fighting the urge to roll my eyes, I crushed my mouth to his, parting his lips with my tongue. My fingers buried into his shirt, I pushed him toward the door. His strong arms closed around me, and he lifted me up, kissing me with fervor I hadn’t thought he had in him.
My back hit the wall hard, knocking my breath out, but I only laughed, sliding my fingers through his soft hair. He spun me around, pulling me in for another bruising kiss. His shoulder collided with a black door, which seemed to open all by itself.
Stumbling forward, Jaiden carried me toward the desk. Various things crashed to the floor as he laid me on the desk, his mouth tracing a hot path of kisses down my neck. I threw my head back, allowing myself to close my eyes for a moment. God, I didn’t even have to fake I was enjoying this. The only problem seemed to be how we could convincingly interrupt this before things went too far.
Warmth shot up my body as Jaiden’s hand slid down my thigh. His other hand was tangled in my hair and I could tell he was reaching for something that was near my head. Hopefully, the device we needed hadn’t ended up on the floor. A moan escaped my lips as Jaiden’s hand slipped under my shirt, something cold pressing into my skin and making me shiver. He’d found the device, and as far as I could tell, it wasn’t bigger than a coin or a round ring box. Cupping my breast, he tucked it into my bra.
“What the fuck is going on here?” an angry voice said, making us both jump. Jaiden immediately let go of me, and I pushed myself up, pulling my shirt down. The boss’ cold gray eyes surveyed the state of the room, his face reddening.
“Go,” Jaiden whispered to me as he took a step forward, partially shielding me from his father’s sight. Just how exactly did he plan for me to pass around the man who looked like a volcano about to erupt?
“I’m sorry. We were just... I’ll clean it up,” Jaiden said as I slowly moved away from the desk, careful not to step on any of the things that were scattered all over the floor.
The boss’ lips curled in disgust, and he crossed the room in a couple of quick strides, straight toward me. I backed away, but before he could reach me, Jaiden blocked his advance.
“Please. It’s not her fault,” Jaiden said.
“Get out of my way,” his father said coldly, a vein pulsing in his neck.
“Just let her go and...”
“I said, get out of my fucking way!” His father backhanded him so hard that his head snapped back. I gasped, my bracelet burning on my wrist and reminding me I couldn’t
use my elements in here. Jaiden stumbled back, catching himself on the desk, blood trickling in the corner of his mouth. His father roughly clasped his fingers around my arm and took something that looked like a phone out of his suit jacket, placing it against my bracelet. My heart skipped a beat as something beeped.
“You’re no longer allowed to come anywhere near here, got it?” The boss gave me a warning look. “Now get lost.”
I glanced at Jaiden, who gave me a brief nod. I ran for the door as if a pack of wild dogs were chasing me. As soon as I was out in the hall, the door slammed shut.
“I always knew you were stupid, but this?” I heard Jaiden’s father yell and something shattered against the floor or the wall. My vision blurring with tears, I rushed for the elevator before someone decided to search me.
Chapter 11
I didn’t want to think about Jaiden, but I couldn’t help it. Even the shrill sound of the alarm clock that usually pissed me off made me happy. My mind was so foggy that I couldn’t even tell if I’d been sleeping or only dozing. After getting dressed as quickly as possible, I dashed into the hall. Jaiden was nowhere in sight, so I prayed I’d find him somewhere on the only other floor I could visit.
A group of agents passed me by, their laughter echoing in the hall. I waited until they were gone to go into another hall. Jaiden was leaning against the wall directly under one of the cameras, his arm draped over his chest, his face a grimace of pain. The tension seeped out of my shoulders. At least he was more or less fine.
His eyes lifted to mine as I strode toward him and he immediately straightened his back, wiping any emotion off his face, his arm dropping to his side.
“Are you okay?” I asked softly.
“Why wouldn’t I be?” His lips quirked up, but his whole body was rigid, his chest barely moving, as if breathing was painful or difficult. I sighed, seizing the edge of his shirt and forcing it up. Jaiden’s fingers closed around my wrist, but I’d already seen the dark purplish bruises covering his chest.
“Jaiden...” I didn’t know what to say because I couldn’t speak openly in here, so I leaned forward, lowering my head so my hair would cover my lips. “You didn’t want to come back here, did you?”
“Leave me alone,” he hissed, lightly pushing me away. “Go prepare for our mission or something.” He sauntered down the hall.
“If you need anything, you know where to find me,” I yelled after him and decided to go back to my room. As I came out of the elevator, I almost bumped into Nick.
“Oh, it’s you. Sheridan wants to see you,” he said, his face radiating happiness.
“Great,” I said, wondering if I was in trouble because of what had happened last night. “Why are you looking so cheerful?” I couldn’t help but ask, because that rarely happened with Nick.
“Just got permission for some time off.” His lips widened into a grin.
“Have fun, then!”
“Oh, I most certainly will.” He waved at me and hurried to the elevator.
I reluctantly dragged myself to Sheridan’s office and knocked on the door, which immediately opened. “Umm, you wanted to see me?” I said when I saw her serious face.
“Yeah, I did. Sit down.” She pressed a button to close the door, and I plopped into the chair. Leaning her elbows on the table, she sighed heavily. “I truly hope you’re hooking up with Jaiden so he’d teach you mind control and not because you’re falling for him.” She slowly shook her head, her lips curled in disgust.
I opted for remaining quiet and keeping my face expressionless.
“I can help you with mind control, you know? I even trained Jaiden at one point.”
“I’m not sure my abilities are that good.” Being able to mind control someone would definitely be useful and could help me escape, but if Elemontera trained me and knew about all of my abilities, then they’d find a way to block them as they did with Jaiden’s. I couldn’t let that happen.
“You’re underestimating yourself. I’m sure you could be even more powerful than Jaiden.” A ghost of a smile traced Sheridan’s lips. “Think about what you could do.”
“Umm, I guess I could try, but I wouldn’t get my hopes up.” I shrugged.
“Okay.” Sheridan clasped her hands, picking up a tablet and quickly selecting something on the screen. “We can start right away.”
I clutched my arms to my chest, my palms sweating. Did she want me to try mind-controlling someone right now? Just like that? Only an instant later, the door swished open and two guards came in, dragging an unknown guy with them.
“Please, don’t hurt me! I’ll do whatever you want,” the guy said as they forced him to stand in the middle of the room. He was a skinny, short guy with hazel eyes and short light brown hair.
“Oh, don’t worry, dear. We won’t hurt you. Just stand here and keep your mouth shut,” Sheridan said, and turned her head to look at me. “All you have to do is reach out with your air toward him, get inside his head, and make him tell you his name.”
I gaped at her. “I don’t know how to do that.”
“You’ll figure it out. Use your air around him and you’ll see.” She gave me an encouraging smile.
Taking a deep breath, I focused my attention on the guy, who eyed me suspiciously, his bound hands trembling slightly. I pushed my air out of me and let it swirl around the guy, ruffling his hair. Just how was I supposed to reach into his mind? My air shimmered around his head, but nothing else happened. I was about to give up when I remembered Jaiden had usually used one shimmering thread of air instead of pushing at the person with his whole element.
Forcing my air to become thinner, I guided it gently toward the guy’s parted lips and slipped it inside his mouth. Instead of pushing down like I’d do if I were trying to get him to breathe or choke him, I shoved it up. Still, nothing happened. Clenching my fingers in frustration, I closed my eyes and pictured my air turning into something entirely else; a thread of invisible signals and brain waves.
White light flashed behind my eyes, a loud pop filling my ears. I could see my air like a tiny dot in a field of sparkling signals that flew with incredible speed and force, occasionally bumping into my air and trying to rip it apart.
“Don’t block her out!” I heard Sheridan’s voice. “Moira, be careful.”
What was I supposed to do now? Ah, yes, find out the guy’s name. I did my best to avoid the signals, aimlessly pushing my air around. But maybe that wasn’t how it was done. Something inside of me agreed, and my air rose itself slightly and captured one of the signals. “What’s your name?” I felt my mouth form the words, but my voice was distant. The signal flickered and then burst through my air.
“Steven,” the guy said.
A smile tugged at my lips. I’d done it! But my air wanted more, and adrenaline rushed through my body, making me giddy. Suddenly, everything was perfectly clear. If I captured two more signals, I could force the guy to tell me where he lived. The signals on my left would give me control of his body.
“Moira, hey,” Sheridan said, snapping her fingers. “Mind control is a delicate thing. Don’t let your element control you.”
Her words held no meaning to me as my air dove through the signals. This was beautiful. I could do whatever I... That made me pause. I could make the guy do whatever I wanted. There was absolutely nothing I could see or feel about what he wanted. Oh God, what was I doing? A wave of nausea hit me and I called my element back, locking it safely inside of me.
I blinked, the room tilting around me. My forehead was beaded with sweat, my breathing ragged.
“That was amazing!” Sheridan laughed, motioning the guards to take the guy away. “Jaiden said that once you do it, it becomes easier but also takes more energy to stay in control of the element.”
“I’m sorry, I...” I ran my hand across my forehead. “May I go to my room now? I’m not feeling well.”
“Yes, of course.” She smiled radiantly. “Get some rest. We can practice again tomorrow.”
>
I was so not looking forward to that.
Chapter 12
I walked down the hall in a daze, small tremors running through my body. Not far from my room, I spotted a familiar face.
“Hey, are you okay?” Noah’s brow creased in concern.
“Yeah, just a bit lightheaded from using my element.” I managed a small smile.
“I was just going to grab some lunch. Wanna join me?”
At the mention of food, I felt as if I had a hole in my stomach. Using my air for mind control must have taken more of my energy than I was aware of. I was glad that we no longer had to eat our lunches alone in our rooms like when we had been new recruits. “Yeah, sure.”
“I’ll be going with you after the elementals.” His blue eyes met mine.
“That’s great.” I had so much to tell him, but I couldn’t do anything with so many cameras and eavesdropping devices around us. The lunchroom was mostly empty, so we got some food and went to sit at a table in the far corner.
“So, do you have a plan to capture the elementals?” Noah twirled a fry between his fingers and popped it into his mouth.
“Yeah, Jaiden has a plan. I guess he’ll tell us more once the elementals show up.”
Noah’s brow furrowed. “Jaiden? Are you sure it’s smart to listen to any of his plans? He’s too confident in his abilities. Maybe we should come up with our own plan.”
“No, I actually think Jaiden’s plan could work.” I took a sip of water. So Noah didn’t trust Jaiden, but that didn’t surprise me. I didn’t trust Jaiden either, but I didn’t know how to use the device we’d stolen. With Noah’s help, I believed we could find a way to help our friends even if Jaiden changed his mind at the last moment.
“You do?” Noah eyed me suspiciously. “Is it because you truly think it’s a good plan or because you two share a very intimate bond?” he mocked.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I cocked my head at him, my voice tinged with anger.
“Nothing. I’m sorry.” He lowered his head. “I’m just nervous because it’ll be my first mission and I want to do it right.”
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