“As I was just saying,” she said, fuming, “there is no our appointment. I don’t want you to come with me.”
“Why do you even bother to lie to me?” he asked with genuine curiosity. “You’re terrified of stepping foot in that lab. You’d give anything to avoid confronting your sister, let alone do it on your own. You don’t want to leave this room at all. Although—” he bit back a grin, “that’s for a different reason.” He gave her facts. No emotion. No reason to run. He gave her something she needed desperately, the only gift she’d ever accept from him—something to fight. An enemy she could see, one she could confront and defeat. Something that made her forget her own helplessness, drown it out in anger, at least for a little while.
Hailey’s eyes started to glow, even in the brightening light of a new day. A bad sign. “The next time you let yourself into my brain without express invitation I will bite your throat out and shove it up your ass.”
“You have such sweet pillow talk.”
She snarled. Actually snarled, showing off her sharp fangs. Another bad sign. But better her anger than that sickening, desolate emptiness from earlier.
“Look. I have some business to attend to this morning but after noon we’re heading the same way. I don’t see any reason we can’t go together. And all of your reasons are irrational. So, for once, we do this my way.”
Hailey gaped. “When have I ever had things my way with you?”
Jeremy shrugged. “You should be getting used to it, then.”
“I hate you,” she said through gritted teeth. Her nails were claws now, curling at her sides, as if she imagined ripping off his face. He didn’t look too deeply at that thought.
“Keep telling yourself that.”
He left her standing there and went back to the bedroom to get dressed.
Chapter Fifteen
Jeremy didn’t lock her in this time. His sudden trust left her baffled. Did he think that she wouldn’t try to leave now that Amelia knew she was here and had arranged to see her? He’d been inside her thoughts. He had to know that she was a master at disappearing without a trace.
Even as she let herself out of the room Hailey thought it didn’t make sense. The way he’d changed, as if he’d just flipped a switch and shut down. One minute she’d thought they’d have a fight, that he’d try to argue that she should stay with him, and the next he’d been all aloof agent man just going about the business of escorting his charge to her final destination.
Hailey had wanted this. Jeremy was doing what she’d planned on, anyway—restoring the professional distance between them so that they could walk away without injury.
So why did she feel as if he’d just kicked her in the gut?
It felt like he’d given up on her. She would have preferred it if he’d locked her in the room. Even though the windows were near enough to the ground that she could jump down from them easily, that tiny little thing would have restored some balance between them. Instead he’d just walked out and left her to her own devices. Like he didn’t care anymore. Like she didn’t matter one whit.
Like she could do whatever the hell she wanted, run away, jump and land on her head, dance naked through the streets, and he wouldn’t spare her another thought.
This feeling sucked.
She was one hundred percent in self-pity mode all the way to the lobby.
Until she got down to the reception and the young man behind the antique-looking desk greeted her with a smile—by name. Shocked, Hailey gave him her best attempt at a smile and hurried away. Outside on the street, four more strangers greeted her as if they were old friends. What was this?
The last one, a short, busty old woman with round red cheeks and a cheery smile even went so far as to offer her a pear out of her basket. For nothing. Just to be nice.
“Thanks,” Hailey said awkwardly and took the pear, because the woman wouldn’t let her not take it. What the hell had the telepath done? Recruited the whole town to keep an eye on her? “Where am I?”
The woman scowled and shook her head grumbling, “I’ll turn that boy over my knee, I will.” Then she took Hailey by the elbow and steered her to a quaint little water well. Anywhere else she’d have called it purely decorative. Here, it was actually functional.
“You are on Torrey, girl,” the old woman said. “This town is called Amberley. Just over there—” she pointed down the street, far into the distance, “that’s English Village.”
Hailey looked at the little scattering of dark dots the woman referred to as a village. “Are you sure it’s not just an amusement park?”
The woman chuckled. “You get used to it. I’m Mary, by the way. I keep an orchard just outside the town. Lovely little bit of land. Made of sunshine and goodness.”
A man with a strange hat resting crookedly on his head and carrying a wooden box approached them. Hailey smelled what was inside even before he pulled back the dirty-looking gray cloth to show them. “Some fish today, Mary? Fresh from the lake.” He was all smiles, eyes glittering with mischief.
“Oh! Your timing couldn’t be better, John. I’ll need three. The children are coming for dinner.” The two of them ignored Hailey for a minute, making an art out of choosing just the right fish.
Hailey used that moment to slip away. She was frowning, looking at her feet, and the stomped dirt she walked on, rather than her surroundings. Could it be possible that she was still dreaming? Anything is possible. Except she remembered waking up. In more ways than one. And when she dug her dull nails into her palms, she felt it. Not a dream. This place was real.
It seemed to her like walking through a fairy tale. There was no hum of traffic here, no suffocating crowds, no buildings tall enough to obscure the noonday sun. Hailey stared at the pear Mary had given her. It looked … not as pretty as the ones she sometimes bought in a store. But, God, it smelled so much better.
She took a bite. It was so juicy a drop trickled down to her chin. She’d have been embarrassed if it wasn’t so damn good. Three huge bites later, the pear was gone and she was at the edge of the town.
Between Amberley and English Village was a vast open space. The first couple of miles were just green with grass and a scattering of trees. Beyond that, square plots of fields. Some were brown, others golden. It was beautiful to her, but somewhat intimidating to the beast. The leopard was curious but confused. A creature made for harsh mountains and winter climes wasn’t used to so much color and … plant life.
Hailey wanted to go see this English Village. She wanted to walk so she could take her time and look around properly. There was an occasional wagon passing between the two towns and the drivers also seemed to know each other. They waved or saluted in passing but never stopped. The road was too narrow; they’d block it if they stopped side by side.
And the horses!
Hailey had never seen one in person. They were gigantic. Those hooves would smash her skull to dust if they ever connected. Lucky she was spry. Also lucky that they seemed to want to give her a wide berth. One horse, leashed to a pathetic-looking wagon, pulled sideways to get away from her as he neared. The driver yanked on his reins to get him in line and, timid creature that he seemed to be, the horse obeyed. But his brown eyes were wide open in fright as he passed.
Hailey took pity on him and backed away toward an alley.
She made her way to the other side of town, which, though she walked slowly, took her all of twelve minutes, and waded into the hip-high grass. She climbed the first tree she came to, went as high as she could go to get a good view of her surroundings.
Here in blessed solitude she breathed deep of the clean air and turned her face up to the sun. Hailey had never felt out of place before. City after city, world after world, no one had ever bothered looking at her unless they wanted something or she approached them. She hadn’t realized how accustomed she’d become to being invisible.
Everywhere else, people were a hodgepodge. Blue hair, green skin, yellow eyes, people changing their bodies
to make a statement and stand out. All they did was blend in that much more. In a rainbow of colors, one specific hue could never stand out.
Here, people looked at Hailey and actually saw her. Because there was no one here like her. She was a woman in her twenties with hair as white as snow. People noticed that. She felt them notice. They looked and then looked away. They didn’t stare or point but they saw. And what they saw was difference.
All of these people had probably come here to get away from the chaos of city living and from crowds of people like Hailey. It didn’t take a genius to realize she didn’t fit in.
Yet Hailey somehow knew that these people were unlike any she’d ever met before. They were not going to judge her based on her looks but her actions. She didn’t know whether that was a good thing or not.
She saw Jeremy approaching from a distance. He was dressed casually and had his hands in his pockets; just a man out for a stroll in the early afternoon. He took his time too. As if he had all the time in the world.
Hailey didn’t like the look on his face. Too serene. He was planning something; she just knew it. Instead of waiting for him to get to her tree, she launched off the branch to jump down. Midflight, face first, she remembered she wasn’t a cat. Oh shit! She tried to get her feet under her but it was too late.
Hailey dropped with a thud on her hands and knees and a split second later down to her elbows and chin. Her entire body was jarred by the impact. Her knees burned—she’d probably skinned them—and her wrists felt broken.
Jeremy’s running footsteps stopped half a foot from her. It figured he’d be the one to witness how pathetic the leopard could make her look. “Are you okay?” he asked, and there was no hint of amusement in his voice.
“Ow.” Hailey rolled onto her back, rubbing her chin.
“What the hell was that?” Jeremy demanded.
Hailey glared at him. “What are you doing here?”
“Looking for you,” he said, just as irritated now. “What do you think I’m doing?” He took her hand and pulled, which made a grenade filled with needles explode in her wrist. Hailey gasped in pain and raised herself up just to relieve the pressure. Jeremy swore and transferred his hold to her elbow instead to help her stand. “You’re such an idiot sometimes,” he muttered.
“Not like I did it on purpose!”
“Yeah, the launch looked real accidental from where I was standing. Here, let me see that.” He reached for her hand again.
“Don’t touch!” She twisted to face away from him, cradling her hands against her chest.
“Looks like we’re going to see the good doc a little early. Come on.”
God, was there no justice in the world? Was this her punishment for trying to mess with Nature’s design? Bad enough that she was living with a ticking bomb inside her; did she have to keep embarrassing herself too?
Jeremy didn’t touch her again, just waited for her to fall into step beside him. He kept his hands in his pockets and his gaze shifting between the ground and her. He seemed to know the way by heart. Not that there was anywhere to get lost. “You know, it’s interesting.”
“What is?” she asked, dormant fangs aching in agitation.
“I’ve dated a lot of women in the past.” He pulled up short. “I mean… That’s not what I mean. Er… What I meant to say was—”
“Get to the point.”
He pointed a finger at her nose. “That is the point. In my experience, a woman finds out I know everything she’s thinking, the first thing she does is demand that I tell her what I’m thinking too. You?” He shook his head. “You just get mad that I waste your time with questions I already know the answers to.”
Hailey said nothing.
“Thank you for proving my point,” Jeremy said drily. “You’re not big on this whole sharing thing, are you?”
“I like to think of myself as a private person.”
“But you weren’t always.”
“Were you one? Ever?”
From the corner of her eye, she saw him frown.
Then all of a sudden…
The village was gone and she was in a dark, wet alley at night, hiding behind an overflowing Dumpster. It reeked of rot and death. Garbage hung like streamers at her back. She was shaking all over, trying to hide it from the little girl between her and the wall, even though it was useless. That little girl knew more about what was going on than Hailey ever would.
She cried out, squeezing her eyes shut to rid herself of the illusion but it wasn’t in the physical world; it was in her mind and closing her eyes did nothing. Backing away, she tripped and went down again. Jeremy caught her and sat her down. She couldn’t see him, just heard his voice cut through the scene playing out—the scene she wasn’t supposed to be part of.
“Don’t fight it,” he said. “I promise you nothing bad will happen to you. Just look.”
“W-what the hell is this?”
A pause. She felt his hesitation, how unsure he was. “My past,” he answered.
Then she heard no more, except the thoughts of a sixteen-year-old boy and his baby sister.
Hiding. Always hiding. Either that, or running.
He was so sick of it! Those damn social workers were always on their case with their fake smiles and their disgusting sugarcoated words that always left a sour taste in his mouth. Fucking bastards.
“Mom would spank you for talking like that.”
“Mom is dead!”
Killed for being who she was. For knowing too much. No one had ever told them why or how she’d died. But both of them had known the moment it had happened. Every. Last. Detail. How do you explain something like that to a three-year-old girl?
They didn’t need social workers. All that would get them was lifelong counseling and a team of assholes in white coats poking at their brains.
He looked out from behind the Dumpster, gagging at the sight of a bloody rag hanging right in front of him, obscuring his view. The alley was empty but he could still sense that guy a little up the main street.
Emma yanked on his sleeve.
He brushed her hands away, focusing on that guy. The one who’d found them in the safe house, two kids in the middle of a hundred of them, all huddling together for safety.
Emma yanked on his sleeve again.
“Not now!”
“He’s not going anywhere!”
Oh, he was going somewhere. Home, to the hospital, or to the gutter. Either way, Jeremy was getting his sister back to that safe house so she could get her doll and then they were out. Out of Gray Dublin. Out of the state. He doubted they could make it off world but, hey, a guy could dream.
“Jer!” The sleeve yanking continued.
“What?” he snapped.
“Talk to him.”
No way. They weren’t going anywhere near that guy. Jeremy had a bad feeling about this. It was like staring at a poised trap. His mouth might water for the goodies inside but his brain knew that if he got caught he’d never get out. He couldn’t do that to Emma. All they had was each other.
“I’m hungry,” she said tiredly.
His heart broke a little more. What sort of man was he if he couldn’t even provide for his little sister?
Emma curled her little hands in his sleeve, hugging his arm. He kissed the top of her head. “Just a little longer, sis. Just hold on.” She had to be cold. Jeremy pulled her into his arms, tucking her close to share what warmth he could. His blood felt as if it would boil but his skin was cold. Fear did that to a person. Heart pumping, blood rushing, but never where it was needed. Always just circling between heart and brain. Heart and brain. The first to nurture that fear, the second to tire itself out futilely trying to come up with a solution.
Jeremy looked down at his sister. She was so small … like a pixie child.
And she was right. The man wasn’t going anywhere. It was as if he knew they were trapped; that if he just waited they would eventually come to him. He knew because he was like them. A mind re
ader.
Emma was so small…
“All right, pixie,” he said, his words heavy with regret. “You win.”
She smiled, hiding her face in his shirt. She liked that nickname.
Jeremy held her close when he stood. His knees were shaky; he hadn’t eaten in days. But he made his way to the mouth of that alley and stepped out with his shoulders back.
The man was waiting a few feet away, coat unbuttoned, hands in his pockets, hat sitting crooked on his head, and a cigarette puffing smoke. He extinguished it against the wet wall as Jeremy came closer.
“I know what you are,” Jeremy told him boldly. “You think you can use us? Think again. I’ll kill you before I let you hurt my sister.”
The man studied him for a minute in silence. Then he reached under his coat. Jeremy flinched, expecting him to pull a gun, but what appeared in his hand was…
Emma’s doll.
The man gave it to the pixie without a word, even smiled. It was a sad smile, filled with pity but at least it was genuine. “Come on,” he said. “You can stay at my place tonight.”
“Why the hell would we fall for that?” Jeremy demanded. His arms were tiring holding his little sister but he was not about to back down.
The man shrugged. “Come or not,” he said. “It’s not my sister freezing and starving to death out here.”
Bastard!
The man tilted his head at that. Jeremy hadn’t exactly been subtle thinking it. “If it makes you feel better, my wife and kids will be there.”
“You don’t actually expect me to believe you, do you?”
The man tapped on his temple. “Just look.”
Just what Jeremy had been waiting for. He shoved himself into the man’s mind, wreaking havoc, flying everywhere at once. He looked at everything, past and present, real and imaginary. He saw what the guy wanted him to see, and much more. He forced his way into corners so dark they hadn’t been visited in years. What he found there made him shudder and nearly drop Emma.
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