Discovery

by Char Webster

  “I don’t like it, but I can accept that you didn’t tell me in the beginning. What I don’t accept is that you spent the whole night talking to me a few days ago and still didn’t tell me. You purposely lied to me.”

  “I didn’t lie. I just didn’t give you all the facts.”

  “Are you seriously trying that with me? Do you think I’m stupid?”

  He didn’t say anything to that comment.

  “Why?”

  “I knew you’d be mad.”

  “What are you, twelve? Kids pull crap like this, Nick, not adults!”

  “Hey, you asked, and that is the reason I didn’t tell you. I knew you’d be really angry that I didn’t tell you, and the more I got to know you, the less I wanted to tell you because I didn’t want this exact thing to happen.”

  Kate stalked closer to him. “So you left your nieces and nephew—the ones you grew up with in the same house—in the foster care program to be mistreated, lonely, and afraid? Did you know that Family Services was going to split them up if I hadn’t taken them?”

  “Kate, they were fine. I was keeping an eye on them. It never would have come to that.”

  “They weren’t fine! They were bounced around from home to home, never secure anywhere, and all because you were using them as bait!”

  “I would have never put them in danger,” he said calmly. He was trying to get her to listen to him, but he wasn’t doing a very good job.

  “They were in danger every day! What would have happened if one of them had accidently used their gifts, and it ended up hurting someone, or if someone had seen them do it? Did you ever think about that? They would have ended up in a research lab somewhere, being experimented on daily. They were in danger every day because you allowed them to live with complete strangers. There are all kinds of horror stories about kids being abused or worse in the system.”

  He didn’t have anything to say to that because he hadn’t thought about them using their gifts. He hadn’t thought about how, at their ages, it was difficult to control them fully.

  He had really screwed up.

  “You know I’m right,” she said after he remained silent. “Are you going to take the kids away from me?”

  “No, no, Kate. I won’t do that. I’m not going to take the kids away from you. I can see you guys need each other, and clearly, you’re better at this than I am.”

  “So now I have to live in fear that at one day you’re going to use your guardianship over me and take the kids. I’m telling you right now that I will fight you to the end. Those kids are staying with me.”

  “I would never do that, Kate.” He was losing this battle epically.

  “Is there anything else you haven’t told me?”

  He paused. He needed to come completely clean with her. “The Chancellor wants me to bring you in.” He had had a heated conversation with Pete last night. Pete insisted that they evaluate Kate for potential danger. Nick had assured him that she posed no threat, but Pete was adamant. They needed to be able to keep the Association’s secrets safe, and without knowing Kate’s potential, they couldn’t do that without evaluating her.

  Nick knew that she would flip about it, and he wasn’t going to tell her until he could not possibly delay things any longer. He put Pete off for a little while, saying that he needed her help with the kids and their situation, but he knew Pete would not wait for long. Now Kate was angry with him for keeping things from her, so he wasn’t going to keep anything else.

  Her eyes got huge. “EVALUATE ME?” she yelled. “Get out. Just go. No one is going to evaluate me. DO YOU HEAR ME? I’m sorry I ever met you. I’m sorry I ever let you in. LEAVE.”

  Nick was thinking the whole neighborhood could hear her but refrained from pointing that out. He sighed. Maybe she needed a day or two to cool down.

  He turned away but turned back to Kate and said, “No matter what you think right now, I won’t let anyone hurt you, Kate. I won’t let anyone hurt you or the kids. That’s my promise to you.”

  “No, you’re just going to let them lock me up and evaluate me just like you let them take Robert.”

  Kate’s words just hung in the air. Nick was stunned. How did she know what had happened with Robert? When did she talk to Robert? Was Robert telling the truth about spending the morning with Kate yesterday? What was their relationship? Did she like him, really like him romantically? Jealousy scorched through his veins. He wanted to hit something. He needed to leave before something truly horrible was said.

  “Believe whatever you want,” Nick said so quietly that he had almost whispered. “I want to talk to the kids before I leave.”

  “Fine. I’ll go get them,” Kate told him as she turned back to the house. She made it to the bottom of the steps when they came barreling down.

  “Your uncle wants to talk to you guys,” Kate told them and went upstairs to shower and dress.

  Kate crumpled into the chair in her bedroom. Her emotions were raging. She wished she could do that calming thing on herself. It would be great to just do that every time she felt her world go completely out of control.

  She was so angry that she didn’t know what to do. She thought Nick cared about her, but now she was second-guessing everything he had ever told her. Was any of it true? Were their kisses real or just some way for him to make her off-guard so that he could get information from her?

  She had felt so secure and cherished in his arms last night. Was that just his way of softening her up and worming his way into her trust, so that she would go quietly off to the Association for who knows what kinds of horrors? Could he really hand her over to them so easily?

  She meant what she had said to him about the kids. Somehow, in the last few weeks, they had become her kids. She was not going to give them up for anything.

  Kate sat back in the seat with her head back, trying to calm down. She was making all these plans to keep the kids, but what if they wanted to go with him? He was their legal guardian and uncle. He could take them from her, and they might want him to. Panic spread through her. She didn’t want to lose them.

  ~*~*~

  Alex and Zach came out to the porch to talk to their uncle, who they hadn’t seen in almost a year.

  Nick gave both kids another big hug. “I’ve missed you guys so much,” he told them. “It’s been too long.”

  “We’ve missed you, too,” Zach told him.

  “Where have you been? Why didn’t you come get us? We’ve been in horrible places,” Alex accused.

  “I’m sorry, guys. I’m so sorry about your parents. I loved them both so much,” Nick told them. “I didn’t find out right away about what happened. I was traveling out of the country for work, and when I got back you were already in foster care.”

  “Did you just get back?” Alex asked suspiciously.

  “No,” Nick paused. “I wasn’t going to tell you this, but I think you’re both old enough to hear it. I don’t think the car crash that killed your parents was an accident. Someone tampered with the car, and that caused the wreck. I’ve been trying to find out who did it.”

  “Someone killed our parents?” Zach asked, stunned.

  “Why would someone want to kill Mom and Dad?” Alex asked.

  “I don’t know yet, but I’m working on it,” Nick told them. He took a deep breath and said, “I need you guys to stay with Kate.”

  “Why? Don’t you want us?” Alex challenged.

  “Of course I want you. I love all three of you very much, and Kate loves you just as much as I do.” Nick didn’t want them to think he was abandoning them. “We’ll see each other all the time, but I need you to be safe. I’m not sure who killed your parents or why, and until I do, you may not be safe. I couldn’t handle it if something happened to you. I can’t investigate this and track down who killed your parents, and watch out for you at the same time.”

  “So you’re leaving again?” Zach asked.

  “No, I’ll be around. We’ll spend lots of time together,” N
ick said gently. “I’m worried about you and I want you to be happy.” Nick looked around and gestured toward the yard and pool. “This is a really nice place for you to be right now. Do you like it?”

  They both nodded, but Nick wanted more information. “It’s okay to like it here. It’s a great place. I know you have some friends here.” They both nodded again, and he asked them to tell him about their new friends. They talked about Eric and Emily a little bit and then Nick asked, “Do you like Kate?”

  “Yeah, she’s really cool,” Zach admitted.

  Alex smiled and said, “I like her a lot. Do you?”

  “Of course I like her,” Nick assured them.

  “Do you like like her?” Alex prodded. “Are you guys dating?”

  “I like her a lot as a friend and no, we’re not dating.” Nick felt a lump in his throat when he said that. It felt like acid in his mouth, and he had to force himself to not take back those words. They weren’t dating, and they were friends, but why did he hate that so much?

  “It sure looked like you’re dating her. You spent the night here,” Zach added.

  “I came here late last night and we ended up falling asleep while we were talking. I knew you were still sleeping next door, so we made breakfast to wait for you both.”

  “So why were you fighting?” Alex asked, not quite believing her uncle’s story.

  “Well, I didn’t quite tell her I was your uncle. That sort of surprised her.”

  “You didn’t tell her? You lied about who you are? Why would you do that?” Alex asked, getting irritated with Nick.

  “I didn’t lie to her; I just didn’t tell her everything. You call me what your dad called me. I told her my first name.” Nick was getting uncomfortable with their questions.

  “So you didn’t tell her that you’re our guardian?” Alex shook her head when Nick shrugged.

  “Okay, I need to go, and you need to talk to Kate,” Nick said, feeling really wiped out. “Here is my new phone number.” Both kids added it to their contacts.

  “I’ll see you later.” Nick turned and walked down the porch steps and out of their yard.

  Nick trudged back to his house, feeling horrible, especially after how great his morning had started out. He had a knot in his throat and his chest felt tight. He would never forget the look on Alex’s and Zach’s faces when he told them he was not going to take them with him. Their trusting faces fell into looks of suspicion and disappointment. Nick knew they understood he was trying to protect them, but they had been through so much lately that he hated adding to that. Kate was the best person for them to live with right then. He could protect them and she could give them the mothering they needed.

  Kate. He should have told her the truth sooner. He could have broken it to her easily, and not gotten her so riled up. Now she thought he was a liar. It was going to take a whole lot to convince her that she could trust him. It was worse than starting over. First, he needed to let her cool down enough for him to try to make amends. He didn’t like fighting with Kate, and he hated how things had ended.

  Right then, he needed to find Robert and have a little chat with him. Robert had better stay away from Kate. Nick would make sure Robert understood what would happen if he didn’t. He wasn’t playing around with him this time. Nick was glad that he had punched him. And what the heck did Robert say to her? How much did she know? How skewed was Robert’s version of events? Did she really think that I would have had Robert arrested?

  He wished he could go back to waking up with her in his arms and start the day over again.

  ~*~*~

  Brooks was sitting at his desk reading a faxed document. Faxes were much more difficult to trace, so he still used the old technology. No one would think to check for information over fax.

  Brooks was tired of waiting for Frank to get the kids. It was taking entirely too long, and he hated waiting. Frank usually came through with things, but after reading this police report, it was obvious that Frank had really screwed up this time.

  He crumpled up the paper and threw it in the fireplace. He would burn it later. Frank nearly getting caught beating a woman and not even finishing the job was not the level of professionalism Brooks demanded. She would regain consciousness at any time and be able to describe Frank to the police. Sure, he had people in the department that were on his payroll, but he shouldn’t have to expend his resources for sloppy crap like this. The woman needed to be silenced, and Frank needed a little reminder of what happened when he failed.

  Brooks picked up the phone and called Joel. “Get in here. Now.”

  He didn’t usually use Joel for things like this, but he needed someone that would follow his instructions exactly. Joel had always been a mousy, weak man who would cower in front of Brooks. Even now in his forties, the guy wouldn’t look Brooks in the eye. He hated weakness, especially in men.

  “Sir.” Joel was exceedingly thin and was balding severely, both of which made him look a lot older than his early forties. His clothes bagged on him and hung off his slender frame.

  “Joel, I have a job for you,” Brooks said slowly, so that the man in front of him would understand the seriousness of the job.

  “I need you to modify a memory.” Joel’s gift was one that Brooks found interesting. He could plant false memories in someone’s mind so that the person could be convinced something actually occurred when it had not. He was especially good at planting terrifying memories. Brooks liked that best, and he suspected that Joel did, as well. He had to step in a few times in the past and deal with Joel’s amusements, as Joel liked to call them. A few people never fully recovered from Joel’s fun. Thankfully, it never worked on their kind or he would have had Joel disposed of a long time ago.

  “There’s a woman in the hospital that I need you to take care of.” Brooks handed Joel a piece of paper with the woman’s name and hospital information on it.

  Joel’s eyes lit up. “How much taken care of do you mean?” Joel didn’t want Brooks angry again. His arm still ached from where Brooks had broken it a few years ago.

  “You can do whatever you want with her. I don’t care.” Brooks told him. “Do not get caught, and do not allow her to remember anything that had happened in the past week. Anything else is up to you.”

  Joel smiled sinisterly and walked out of the office. He was going to have some fun tonight.

  One problem taken care of, Brooks thought. Now, what should he do about Frank?

  Frank was loyal, but Frank was also sloppy. So many times over the years Brooks had had to clean up for him. It was going to have to stop. He could only allow so much. Brooks had never forgiven Frank for his role in Brooks’ scarring. The idiot threw up his shield too slowly and allowed Brooks to be injured. What good was having a shield if he failed to use it?

  Frank was fifteen when Brooks found him living on the streets. He was only a few years younger than Brooks. The kid was huge, well over six feet tall and extremely muscular. He showed potential as a bodyguard even then, so Brooks bought him dinner. He had learned that Frank had lived with his abusive mother until a few months before.

  He had never met his father, but knew that he came from a one-night stand his mother had at a drunken party. She had no idea who it was she had spent the night with. When he turned 14, he started to hear thoughts. His mother thought he was nuts and tried to have him committed. That was when he decided to run away.

  Brooks realized that he had stumbled upon a gifted kid purely by accident. That was when he decided to find others like Frank and start his collection. He remembered thinking that there had to be more kids who were gifted that came from troubled homes or who were abandoned by their non-gifted parents. He could create his own little empire and control everything.

  Now Frank was causing him problems and needed to be reminded of how Brooks dealt with the people who disappointed him. Brooks didn’t use his gift very often because he didn’t need to. People always did what he wanted. He saved it for those special circumsta
nces that warranted a different approach.

  Brooks could look into someone’s mind and figure out their deepest fear, then use that against them. He could also see the thing that person loved the most and use that as a weapon. Everyone had fears. It was time to see what Frank’s fear was.

  ~*~*~

  Zach and Alex were sitting in the family room when Kate came downstairs. She had wanted to give them some privacy to talk to their uncle, and she also didn’t want to hear if they had chosen to live with him instead of staying with her.

  She was nervous about talking to them and wanted to prolong it as much as possible.

  Both kids were looking a little uncomfortable and fidgeting in their seats.

  “It’s really early,” Kate said, stalling. “I didn’t get to ask you before. What are you guys doing back from Eric and Emily’s house? Is everything alright? Did something happen?”

  “Everything was fine. We stayed up all night playing video games and watching movies. We came back to get a movie they had brought over last week. We were going to go right back, but we texted and told them we would catch up later,” Alex answered.

  Kate took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Did your Uncle Bud leave?” Kate asked.

  “He left but said he’d be back soon.” Zach told her.

  “Are you guys dating? You were eating breakfast at 6:00 a.m.,” Alex questioned.

  “No!” Kate said a little too loudly. “Why would you even think that?”

  “It looks like you’re dating him. He spent the night,” Alex added.

  “This is not an appropriate conversation to be having right now.” Kate tried to steer the conversation back to a safer place.

  “Did you two have a date before he spent the night?” Alex asked.

  “Guys, we’re not talking about this,” Kate was getting exasperated.

  “Do you like him?” Zach asked.

  Right now, I want to clobber him, Kate thought, and then realized they could hear her thoughts.