“Have a seat.” Juliet closed the door behind them and instantly the air conditioning turned on.
Melanie shivered as frigid air flowed through the vents. “Why are we in here?”
Juliet pulled out a chair and woke up the nearest computer. “There’s something I want to show you. You need to understand what my organization stands for, what our mission is.”
“And who is your organization again?” she asked while lowering herself into a nearby chair.
Juliet’s fingers flew across the keyboard. “We don’t have a name; it’s too easy to track down that way. We want to remain anonymous. I take it you can understand this?” She paused from her work and looked at her.
Melanie nodded. Message received. If she breathed a word of this to anyone, she would most likely end up at the bottom of the ocean. And after running into Mr. Richardson at the community center, she knew it’d be easy for them to keep tabs on her.
“Excellent. Now, there’s something here I’d like you to see.” She turned the monitor. The screen was filled with news clipping after news clipping of tragic stories, disasters, murders—
“What is all this?” Melanie scooted closer.
“This,” said Juliet, “is the destructive force of those who possess supernatural powers.”
Melanie reared back, but Juliet held up a hand before she could say anything.
“I’m not saying you are destructive, Melanie. I’m only here to show you this in the hope that you’ll help us. You see, all around us are those using their powers for personal gain, or those wasting away because they wish they didn’t have powers at all. Here.” She double-clicked on a link. “Last summer, a corporation known as Kratos was holding underground fighting tournaments to earn extra money. The main owner was a supernatural who bullied those weaker than him to do his bidding, and many people died. This woman,” she pointed to a different article, “killed a man who cut her off on the freeway by mentally shoving his vehicle off the road. And this is an article about a sixteen-year-old girl in an asylum because she claims she can hear people talking blocks away. She’s like your brother: no one to help her, no hope to have a normal life, imprisoned for life because no one will believe her.”
Melanie found herself leaning forward to see the monitor better. “How do you know these were all instances involving someone with powers?” A corrupt business owner wasn’t something unheard of. A car swerving off the freeway? It was sad, but it happened. And unfortunately there were plenty of people, teenagers included, who thought they heard voices in their heads. Nothing Juliet was telling her was new.
“You don’t believe they’re supernatural occurrences? What if I told you I’ve met some of them? The young girl could indeed hear a conversation going on two blocks away; we proved she could do what she claimed. And the woman who shoved the man’s car off the freeway? We observed her in the comfort of her own home and watched her pull the remote from the table right into her hand.” Juliet swiveled back around to the computer and pulled up a video feed. “I’ll prove it to you,” she said before playing the clip.
Melanie watched in stunned silence as a grainy camera zoomed into a small home window. A woman no older than forty sat on her couch, a tub of ice cream cradled in her arm. Melanie watched as the woman shoveled the dessert into her mouth before she stuck the spoon in the tub and held her hand out. The camera tried to follow her hand, but the window didn’t permit for them to see what she was reaching for. It wouldn’t have mattered. A few seconds later, a remote flew into her hand as if pulled there by a magnet.
Juliet stopped the video. “She killed a man and doesn’t feel the least bit responsible.”
Melanie didn’t speak.
Juliet must’ve realized she had Melanie on the fence because she pressed on. “The point I’m trying to make is that powers ruin lives.” There was something both bitter and painful in her voice as she said those words. What had happened to Juliet to make her feel that way so passionately? The woman wouldn’t have been in this line of work if she didn’t believe with every ounce of her being what she was saying.
But Juliet didn’t have to tell her that powers ruined lives—she knew firsthand.
“The world is better off without these abilities giving others an unfair advantage, or in some cases disadvantages, and you are an invaluable asset to help make that happen.”
Melanie jerked her head to the side to stare straight into Juliet’s blazing blue eyes. “How?”
“Your power. We’ve collected—helped people all across the country. We discovered your kind of ability nearly a year ago. And we found it’s the key to our success.”
Melanie frowned.
“Think about it: you take others’ powers.”
“But that’s only temporarily.” Wasn’t it? Suddenly, Melanie wasn’t sure of anything anymore.
“Help us,” Juliet avoided the question again, “help you. And help your brother.”
“Are you telling me that I could cure my brother?”
Juliet shook her head. “Not you specifically—that’ll take time—but we have others who can heal Nathan so his visions won’t bother him any longer. And all I ask in return is for you to get close to Joel Kegler, let him teach you how to use your abilities; he’s much better suited at it than I.”
Joel’s name was like a punch to the gut. “Why him?” Give her anyone else in the world, anyone except the man who made her heart hammer in her chest for no good reason. She glanced at the computer screen. Was there something about Joel and that … guild he was talking about, buried in all those articles?
But he’d said they’d only used their powers for good.
Good is in the eye of the beholder.
Still, she couldn’t help but ask, “Have Joel and his guild done anything … ?”
“He told you about his guild?”
Melanie shrugged. “Only bits and pieces really.”
Juliet tapped her chin in thought. “That’s good. Get close to him, get close to the guild,” she instructed.
“What has their guild done?”
Juliet’s stare was flat. Finally, Melanie’s brain caught up and it all fell into place. “You want to take their powers.”
“Don’t sound so horrified. You’ve seen the pain and suffering powers cause. Tell me, wouldn’t you want to be normal again? Don’t you want your brother to be normal again?”
Melanie dropped her head. She did want to be normal. She didn’t want to worry about a strange tingling in the back of her neck, or fear touching random strangers by accident and absorbing some new ability she couldn’t control. She wanted a normal family again. She wanted to look at her mother’s face and see the lines of worry erased.
I can give that to her.
So what was holding her back? All the proof she could ever want, showcasing the evil of supernatural abilities, was right in front of her. It was a curse, a curse she could help purge from her life and family.
“Fine,” she conceded. “I’ll do it.”
Chapter 6
“He was there? At the community center?” Felix sat with one arm wrapped protectively around Cali.
“Yeah.” Joel continued to walk in circles. He’d driven to Sydney’s veterinary clinic, the guild’s unofficial headquarters, to meet with everyone after he’d called Felix and explained what had happened.
“I still don’t understand how Melanie got away from you. I mean, didn’t you run after her right away?” Felix continued.
Joel had strategically left out the part about Melanie Locking him to the floor.
He glanced around the small lobby where six pairs of eyes waited for his answer. “That’s not important,” he brushed off the question. “What’s important is Melanie and finding her.” His gaze instantly sought Niella, their guild’s Dreamer. He knew she couldn’t control her Dreams, but sometimes, if she thought about a certain person long enough, she could steer her Dreams in a certain direction.
Niella’s hazel eyes narrowed. Sh
e threw up her hands, sending her wheelchair rocking. “I’m not everyone’s goddamn missing persons finder, okay?” she exploded. “I have enough on my plate. We have someone else now to help lessen that particular load.” She flung her hands in Merrick’s direction. “Ask him. He’s the one who can take information off an object, not to mention he’s a fucking PI. Can’t I go one day without needing to Dream?”
Joel stared in stunned silence.
Merrick eyed Niella worriedly.
Niella closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. She looked tired, on edge, and Joel had no idea why. She’d been getting worse, that much he knew. He’d heard through the grapevine that Niella was snapping at Sydney’s patients more and more, until Luke had to replace her at the reception desk. And when Niella wasn’t busy tidying up, she was frantically writing in a small notebook she kept in her purse.
It was the notebook that scared Joel. Last fall the guild had searched for a notebook belonging to another Dreamer. It had contained valuable information about Vander’s Mirror Mate that needed to be hidden, but Joel had also learned that the notebook was a way Dreamers kept themselves sane. With too many Dreams bombarding their minds, some Dreamers lost the sense of what was real and what wasn’t.
Was that happening to Niella now?
She’d always been snappish but never like this. It had been a gradual change over time and now Joel stared at her with fresh eyes.
Her face was more drawn, her cheekbones more pronounced, and dark circles stood out under her eyes. Her pixie cut lay flat against her head, as if she hadn’t had the energy to do her hair that morning.
And he felt like a real asshole for even asking her to use her powers for him.
“I’m sorry,” he said instantly. “I shouldn’t have assumed you could do that. I shouldn’t have even thought it. I’m sorry, Ell.” He adopted Felix’s nickname for her.
Niella opened her mouth as if to say something but shut it again. She waved him off, still rubbing her temples. Luke left the lobby and returned a few seconds later with a mini water bottle to offer her.
Niella stiffened. Everyone knew from experience that she hated to be coddled. Though Joel didn’t really think a bottle of water would constitute being coddled. But Luke was new. They’d rescued the twenty-year-old with Merrick in the fall and he’d instantly won the guild over with his quiet gentleness. Niella especially.
Instead of tearing Luke’s head off, she took the bottle from his hand and went back to massaging her temples.
The rest of the group let out a collective sigh of relief. Disaster averted.
“So,” Cali broke the silence. “How are you going to find your Mirror Mate?”
Sydney, sitting next to Merrick, jerked back in surprise.
Shit. Thanks a lot, Cali.
He’d only told Sydney that Melanie was a girl from the bar where he and Felix drank. And when they saw the same man from the bar poking around the clinic, they instantly thought she might be in danger. Hell, that’s the only story he wanted to stick with. He wasn’t even sure she was his Mirror Mate. Melanie was the first woman he'd been attracted to since Sydney. Not to mention he hadn't had sex in more than six months. Nine if he was to be exact. Sydney had stopped sleeping with him the moment she saw Merrick locked in a cell. That made for a lot of pent up energy on Joel's part. He was overdue when it came to urges. Wants. Needs. He didn’t need to add a label to Melanie; she was just someone he wanted. His gaze hesitantly rose to meet Sydney’s emerald one. Hurt stared back at him.
“This woman’s your Mirror Mate?” she asked in a small voice. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Despite Joel’s assurances that they were still friends, things changed when they broke up. He couldn’t drive to her house after a long day at work to tell her about exciting new projects or drag her along to midnight video game release parties—she had Merrick to do those kinds of things with now.
She’d kept the knowledge of her Mirror Mate from him for three months, secretly pining for another while she was dating him. That knowledge still left a nasty taste in his mouth. He’d say he was entitled to keep his Mirror Mate, if Melanie was even that, from her for a few weeks … hell, not even that. “I wanted to tell you in my own time.”
“And when would that have been? After everyone else knew?” She turned to Merrick. “Did you know?”
“Syd.” Joel tried to get her attention; he didn’t want her to be angry at Merrick. It was him she should be mad at.
But it was too late. There must’ve been something in Merrick’s eyes that gave him away. She pulled her hand from his. “I see,” was all she said as she stared down at her lap.
Joel shot Cali a dark look.
The last thing the guild needed to witness was Joel and Sydney still trying to smooth out their relationship.
My bad. Cali’s voice echoed in the recesses of his mind, meaning he was the only one she was directing her voice to. I didn’t mean to cause any trouble.
He wanted to rub his own temples in agitation but refrained. “Whatever,” he mumbled instead, knowing she’d hear him.
“So back onto the subject,” said Felix. “We need to know if our new goon works for Vander and if he took Melanie, right?”
Joel was glad to be back on topic. “Right.” He hoped Melanie had been able to get away. As soon as she left, his powers had returned and he’d Unlocked himself from the ground, but by the time he reached the front of the community center, there was no one in sight. He’d lost Melanie and the man in the suit. His hands fisted. He tried his best to ignore the ache pulsing in his chest. It means nothing, only that you’re worried about someone who might be in danger.
“Have there been any sightings of the men in black around here today?” Cali asked.
“Not that I’ve seen,” Luke spoke up. “Why?”
“Because if there was one creeping around, we could snatch him and question him.”
Sydney sighed. “I’ll get a clean cage prepped, just in case.”
“Meanwhile, you should return to the community center,” Felix said to Joel. “See if Melanie returns and if not … ” His expression turned sympathetic and Joel’s stomach cramped.
If she didn’t return, then they’d know she’d been taken.
He clenched his teeth and resumed his pacing, needing to burn off his nervous energy.
“If you still have that napkin, I’ll keep searching for a home address,” Merrick offered.
Joel nodded in thanks. “I’ll go to the Internet and see if I get any hits on her real name.”
And just like that the meeting was adjourned.
Joel headed to the door. There was no need to stick around. Sydney was upset with him, Niella was a ticking time bomb that refused help, Merrick would be busy dealing with Sydney, and Felix and Cali only reminded him of the empty feeling in his chest.
“Joel?”
He turned. Luke stood a few feet behind him.
Joel forced a smile to his face. “What’s up, Skywalker?” He’d dubbed Luke with the nickname months ago. With his mousy brown hair, blue eyes, and the small cleft in his chin, everyone agreed there was a similarity between the young Rejuvenator and the Star Wars character.
Luke didn’t even bat an eye at the nickname anymore. “Everyone is going home for the night, and I was wondering if you needed any help or anything.”
Joel didn’t need any help when it came to computer tracking. He opened his mouth to thank Luke for the offer, but the hopeful expression on his face stopped Joel cold. He knew Luke didn’t have any family. He’d been in the foster care system before Vander kidnapped him, and once he’d been rescued he had no desire to return home.
It must’ve been hard for the kid to return every night to an empty apartment.
And lonely.
Joel knew what that was like. “Go grab your stuff. I’ll wait for you out front.”
Luke beamed and scampered off to the back room to retrieve his belongings.
Joel rubbed his c
hest while he waited outside the clinic. It’d be nice to have someone else in the house besides himself. Briefly he wondered what it’d be like to have Melanie in his home, in his bed. Her cheeks flushed, her lips parted, her legs open—
His cock hardened painfully and he stifled a groan.
Patience, young Padawan.
Joel inhaled the cool, salty air in an attempt to snuff out his lust. Lust did not equal a soul mate. Love didn’t even equal a soul mate. He’d been in love before and that had ended in heartache. He needed to make sure Melanie was okay, needed to explore whatever this sexual attraction was between them. And if there was any more proof of who she was to him, he’d deal with that when he got to it. First, he needed to teach her how to survive in their world. He needed to earn her trust, and he’d be an idiot if he expected her to welcome him with open arms.
And once you earned her trust?
Did he dare explore this attraction?
It didn’t matter. He needed to gain her trust and he needed to go slow.
Chapter 7
Melanie clutched the straps of her backpack as she rushed off the bus and into the community center. She was never late to yoga class, but Ma had needed help around the house, and even though she hadn’t asked for it, Melanie put down her things to collect all the dirty dishes around the house and wash them.
The sun was starting to set and the wind kicked up to blow her jaw-length hair straight into her face. She hastily tucked the loose strands behind her ear and tried to ignore the slight tremble in her hand.
She was nervous. No, she was beyond nervous; she was downright anxious. The weekend had passed in a hazy blur. She’d even gotten a new job working at a frozen yogurt shop, but damned if she could recall the name of it. Her mind was focused around one thing. One person.
Joel.
She inhaled deeply but the tightness in her chest remained.
Locked Out of Love Page 4