My heart beat faster as panic crept inside. I took deep breaths to calm down. This wasn’t a disaster; it was just a slight setback. Zed’s cell had to be around here somewhere. At least I didn’t teleport into a room filled with security guards. I would have more than likely been shot. I went back into my zone. After another failed attempt into the wrong cell, I finally landed in the right one.
Zed freaked me out as I was expecting to find him sleeping on his cot but he was sitting with his back against a wall in the corner.
“Lacey!” he exclaimed.
I placed my finger on my lips to tell him to be quiet.
“Sorry,” he whispered rising up from the ground. He hugged me tightly.
I wasn’t used to Zed showing genuine emotion towards me. I was expecting a smart ass comment but he was acting very mature and serious. He was just as anxious to get the hell out of there as I was. I grabbed Zed’s hand and concentrated to where Taylor was waiting. I felt the usual tingling but something was off. I wasn’t able to connect with Zed and teleport with him. “What’s wrong?” asked Zed concerned.
“I don’t know. I feel like someone or something is blocking you from coming with me.” This was going to turn disastrous if I couldn’t get past this roadblock.
“Try again,” he whispered. He squeezed my hand tighter.
I tried but nothing happened. I wrapped my arms around him. Zed returned the embrace. As he was a taller than me, I looked up at him. We made eye contact and for a moment I was lost in his dark eyes. I couldn’t help myself from being attracted to him and that scared me. I loved Taylor with all my heart. I didn’t care for Zed in that way. His face moved closer to mine as if he was leaning in for a kiss. I forced myself to blink to break whatever hold he had over me.
I turned my head away from him but continued to hold his body tightly. The tingling enveloped our bodies. We were almost free when a loud alarm broke my concentration and the lights flicked on. I squinted my eyes.
A male voice yelled in our direction through the bars of the cell. “You two. Up against the wall if you know what’s good for you.”
A prison guard slapped his baton against the cell bars. “Open up cell 24,” he ordered to his coworkers.
Zed pulled me tighter into his body and wrapped one arm around my shoulders as if he could protect me from the guard. I snuggled into his chest and closed my eyes. I heard the metal hinges creak as the cell door opened and heavy boots walked towards us. I was going to be arrested. The mission was going to fail and I blew any chance of a future with Taylor.
I put away any thoughts of myself or Zed and concentrated solely on Taylor. Was he okay? Did they find him in the woods? As Zed and I held on to one another my extremities felt like they were being pricked by pins and needles. When I opened my eyes I was in the woods with Zed beside me.
“Amazing, Lacey! We’re free.” Zed touched my face with his hand. It felt warm against my cheek. My stomach turned. No, no way could I fall for someone like Zed. He wasn’t even my type. He was like an annoying brother to me. I did not have feelings for him. I refused to have feelings for him. Get a grip, damn it.
“Hey,” called a voice from deeper in the woods. Taylor motioned with his arm for us to follow him.
“They’re over there,” yelled a deep voice from the direction of the prison. I heard the dogs barking before I saw them.
Why didn’t we know about the dogs? This breakout was definitely not going according to plan. There was no time to wait to see what else could go wrong. We had to get to the truck. It was our only hope to get away from the pursuit of guards and dogs. The three of us ran as fast as we could through the woods. A sharp pain jabbed me in the side. Now was not the time for a runner’s cramp. That would teach me for not putting in the extra effort of my seldom workouts. If we made it out of this, I was going to keep up with my physical fitness. Barely able to breathe, I ran through the discomfort. Luckily, the truck wasn’t that much further.
“We’re almost there, Lacey,” urged Taylor. Zed was a few feet in front of him.
Excruciating pain resonated up my leg. It felt like a bite. I turned around as I kept running and saw a dog. The guard had let him off the leash to chase us. I waved my hand in the air and the dog flew back a couple of feet, not enough to hurt him but just enough to get him away from me. He let out a small yelp. Hopefully I bought enough time to make it to the truck.
Once the three of us were inside the safety of the truck, Taylor fumbled with the keys. “Come on man, they’re getting closer,” screamed Zed.
“I’m trying,” said Taylor. “Lacey, a little help here?”
I was of no use. The adrenaline prevented me from concentrating hard enough to start the truck. Finally Taylor got the key in the ignition but the truck still wouldn’t start. Seriously, what else could go wrong?
I spoke too soon. The truck was surrounded by prison guards who all had their weapons drawn. There were so many of them which meant they were expecting us. We had been set up just like Zed was. But how? Only Taylor and I knew the plan. There was no way for anyone else to know unless they were a gifted psychic. If the dark spirits had an amazing psychic working with them then they would be one step ahead of us no matter what we planned.
“Any ideas?” asked Taylor. “Because I’m fresh out of them.”
I grabbed each of them by an arm. I was not going to give up. My will was too strong. I pictured the farmhouse Taylor and I rented. It was such a peaceful place. No bad guys, no prison guards – it was freedom. My toes tingled and the sensation moved its way up my body. My skin radiated with a burning sensation. The last thing I heard was a gun shot.
BOOK TITLE
12.
OLD FRIEND
When I opened my eyes, the three of us were sitting in the barn next to the straw wall Taylor had built. I reached my hand to my nose and felt something wet. My fingers were covered with blood. Taylor rushed to me and handed me a piece of his shirt he had ripped off. I held it up to my nostril as he helped me to stand. I was light headed and just stood there for a second to get my bearings.
“How do you feel? Are you okay?” asked Taylor concerned.
I held up my free hand and nodded. It was just a nosebleed. No biggy.
“She has to be enchanted,” said Zed, speaking as if I wasn’t there again. “There’s no other explanation of how she was able to teleport the three of us.” He stood up and wiped the straw from his pants with both hands. Then he proceeded to raise both arms in front of him and simultaneously move them up and down in front of his chest chanting, “We’re not worthy, we’re not worthy.”
Of course Zed would try to turn the situation humorous. Taylor on the other hand was not impressed. “Knock it off, Zed. We could have been killed. Plus, Lacey’s bleeding.”
“Oh relax, Taylor. It all worked out,” replied Zed rolling his eyes. He turned to me to check out the severity of the nosebleed. As he neared I turned away from him, slightly embarrassed. Zed grabbed my shoulders in order for me to face him and lightly touched the end of my nose, paused then pulled his hand away. I dabbed my nostril with my clean hand. No blood.
I had forgotten that Zed was a healer. I thought back to the night I went behind Taylor’s back to rescue Sable. Zed broke protocol to come with me and Tawny. The leader cut Zed’s arms deeply but he used his skills on himself and there wasn’t even a scar. Though I was sure Taylor was glad of Zed’s ability, it didn’t change how pissed off he was then and now.
“This time it worked out. We were lucky. Extremely lucky,” lectured Taylor.
“You’re right. Sorry,” replied Zed. “Now that we’re safe, can we eat? I’m starving.” He rubbed his stomach to emphasize how hungry he was.
Zed did look like he had dropped a few pounds. Since he was accustomed to eating double what the normal person ate, prison must have been that much more difficult for him. He could have activated his numerical sequence to travel to the future but he chose to tough it out so he could assist
with the mission. For that, I admired him.
As we walked to the farmhouse, the adrenaline I experienced from the prison break had faded away. I could feel the burning on my leg from the dog bite and started to limp.
“Lacey, are you okay?” asked Taylor putting his hands around my waist.
“A dog bit me on the leg when we were running,” I replied wincing in pain.
Once inside the kitchen, Taylor grabbed a pair of scissors and cut my pant leg to expose the bite. I looked at the bleeding mess but quickly turned away. From Taylor’s expression, I could tell he thought it was quite severe.
“Lacey, get up on the table and lay on your stomach,” ordered Zed, his tone serious.
I did as instructed. Zed placed his hands on the bite and within seconds the burning sensation ceased. It was replaced by a slight itching feeling.
“It itches. Is that normal?” I asked still on my stomach.
“Yes, it means it’s healing,” answered Zed.
“That quickly?” I asked flipping myself up into a sitting position.
Zed nodded and smiled. Taylor thanked him and bandaged my wound to keep the dirt out while it continued to heal. I went up to bed while Zed and Taylor made something to eat. After washing up and brushing my teeth, I slipped off my pants and donned a new shirt. I slept on my side in order not to put pressure on my leg. It wasn’t long until I fell asleep.
I was standing inside a room with numerous computer screens. Each one had numbers on the upper right hand side. They were temperature gauges. The numbers kept increasing. Suddenly, loud alarms and sirens wailed. I tried to get out of the room but the door was locked.
I bolted awake. It was daylight and Taylor stirred beside me. I didn’t want to wake him so I quietly glided out of bed, put on pajama bottoms and crept into the kitchen where Zed was making coffee.
“Good morning,” he greeted pressing the switch on the coffee maker before turning around to face me. “How’s the leg?”
“It feels better, thanks.” I sat down at one of the kitchen chairs.
Zed knelt down on the floor. “Let me take a look.” He slowly rolled up my pajamas.
My leg pulled back involuntarily. Zed steadied it with one hand and carefully peeled back the bandage. He traced his finger around the wound. It tickled so I let out a quiet laugh. Zed laughed too and looked up at me. I couldn’t look away. His dark eyes had a hold on me. Again.
He continued to rub his hand farther up my leg and rested it at my knee. I should have moved his hand away. I don’t know why I didn’t. He inched his way closer to my mid inner thigh. Butterflies swirled in my stomach and my mouth went dry. Two signs that my body was excited by the touch of Zed. I sighed and then came to my senses and pushed Zed’s hand from me.
“Is that coffee I smell?” interrupted Taylor.
I turned my head in his direction. Our eyes met for a brief second. I prayed he didn’t read the guilt in my eyes. If he had an inkling about what was going on, he didn’t act on it. Instead he grabbed three mugs from the cupboard.
“Lacey’s leg looks much better today,” said Zed rolling down my pant leg. “She’s a real trooper.”
I didn’t look at Zed. Instead, I gazed out the kitchen window at a tiny bird perched on a tree limb. I envied that bird, so free and so innocent. The bird flew away. It was frightened by someone pulling into the driveway.
“Guys, who else knows we’re here?” I asked jumping up to see an unfamiliar black car park.
Taylor moved beside me to look out the window. “No one except the owner and that’s not his vehicle. That looks like a cop car!”
My pulse beat faster and faster. I couldn’t believe they had caught up to us already. “Maybe I can teleport us,” my voice cracked.
Taylor pulled me away from the window anticipating possible gun fire. We crouched to the floor in front of the stove. I expected Zed to follow suit; instead he walked towards the door.
“You’ll never take me alive,” he yelled out. His voice wasn’t tense like you would expect from somebody who was about to confront the police. It was more high pitched and sarcastic.
I stood up to look out the window and to confirm my suspicion that Zed knew the person in the driveway. After Zed released her from his arms, I instantly recognized the spider tattoo on her neck. Triona had finally escaped from Clear Waters and somehow managed to track us down.
Obviously, loosening metal bars wasn’t her only gift.
BOOK TITLE
13.
MESSAGE
Taylor and I joined Zed and Triona in the driveway. I stood at the side as Taylor and Triona hugged tightly. I was surprised when she jumped at me for an embrace. I reluctantly held her back as I was never the touchy feely type. Our one and only encounter had been brief. She was the first inmate to talk to me at Clear Waters right before she was locked up in the basement.
“I hope you guys have some beer because I’ve got a story for you,” she laughed. She looked at me and winked. “Mr. Creepy got his in the end.”
The night of the escape from Clear Waters, Taylor told me Triona would escape and get her revenge. At the time I figured I had seen the last of her and would never know the tale of payback. It was funny how things always seemed to circle back around. I tried to hide the smirk from my face but it was futile. I couldn’t wait to hear all about it.
Zed carried Triona’s bag upstairs and she followed in order to clean up. I had a feeling she would be hungry so I went into the kitchen to make a fruit salad, some hard boiled eggs, toast and oatmeal. If I was going to be with Taylor in my time, I would have to get used to cooking up a feast and be prepared to spend a fortune!
As I prepared breakfast, Taylor headed towards the barn. He was no doubt going to meditate so he could experience a psychic premonition. I had been receiving small flashes of the power plant in both the awakened state and in my dreams. The visions were too short to make any real sense of the situation. Hopefully with the aid of Zed and Triona, all would be revealed. And of course, a little bit of luck that we would succeed before the dark spirits caught up to us again would be nice.
Taylor walked into the kitchen just as I set the last plate at the table. He came up behind me and grabbed me by my waist. I slowly turned around to see his smiling face.
“Good session?” I asked brushing a piece of his blond hair from his eyes. I loved staring at him.
“Very enlightening,” he smiled.
“Oh, do tell,” I said playfully.
“I will later. Right now, I’m starving.”
He sat at the table and loaded his plate with food. I joined him but only took a small bowl of fruit salad. I ate with one hand and massaged my itchy leg with the other. I thought about Zed’s hands touching my leg, not in a healing capacity but in a sensual way.
A pang of guilt crept through me. I had no interest in Zed. No interest in my boyfriend’s best friend. It didn’t matter that Taylor had made out with Jade. I had forgiven him for an indiscretion that wasn’t his fault. My subtle attraction to Zed was over. I ordered myself not to let him manipulate me into caring for him that way. I wondered if Zed was aware of what he was doing or if it was calculating. Either way, I was now infuriated with him.
“Is everything okay?” asked Taylor concerned.
“Fine. Why do you ask?” I picked at my fruit.
“You just seem…….preoccupied.”
I forced a small smile. “I am a bit, I guess. Jail break, power plant, unexpected guest.”
“Nice. I’m starving,” interrupted Zed. He picked up a plate and grabbed some of everything. Instead of acting like a civilized person and eating at the table, he jumped up and sat on the counter.
A moment later, Triona appeared. She ran her hand through her short wet hair and sat at the table. She was skinnier than I remembered. Maybe it was because I saw her in a baggy t-shirt. Now she sported a black tank top. On her shoulder blades was another tattoo of a spider web. I’m sure there was some meaning to her tattoo
s but I didn’t ask.
I grabbed my bowl of half eaten food and brought it to the sink. I stared at Zed expecting him to make some sort of obscene gesture but he looked at Taylor instead who returned a smirk. It was more of a devious grin, as if there was an inside joke that would never be shared with me. It pissed me off when they did that. Stupid guy code.
I went upstairs to change. After sitting on the bottom step to put on my running shoes, I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. “I’m going for a run, I’ll see you guys in a bit,” I said. Three hands waved me off.
Even with sweat dripping down my back and the ache in my side, I really did miss running. I missed the high it gave me and the stress relief it provided. Only when I was running could I leave my worries behind and be at complete peace.
When I returned to the house, I ran upstairs to jump in the shower. I heard Triona and Taylor arguing in the bedroom.
“She deserves to know. It will mean so much to her,” pleaded Taylor.
“Of course, but I think we should wait until after the mission.”
A board in the floor creaked as I moved closer to hear more clearly. The voices stopped. They knew I was there. I could have played it two ways: pretend I didn’t hear a thing or demand they tell me what was going on.
Months ago I would have opted for the first choice as I tried to avoid confrontation as much as possible. But I was different now. I was stronger. More importantly, I deserved to know about everything that pertained to me. Taylor seemed to think so as well.
Besides, even if I blocked my thoughts, my eyes would give me away. It was easy to put on a brave face but the eyes were essentially the window to the soul.
Your eyes would always betray you; no wonder people avoided eye contact when they had something to hide. The eyes couldn’t fake emotions – surprise, happiness, betrayal, remorse. The list went on and on. Mine were probably screaming anticipation with a hint of irritation.
Broken - Afflictions of the Evolved (The Evolved Trilogy) Page 9