by SM Olivier
I pulled the curtain closed with barely concealed anger. “You’re kidding me! What is her problem? A month ago, she was lamenting about the fact that Gavin was splitting his attention between her and Sierra, and now she’s like a cat in heat. Poor Gavin’s been showering her with attention whenever he can.”
I poured some shampoo in my hand and rubbed it through my hair, scrunching up my nose when I realized some of the debris from earlier had clung to my wild curls.
“Honestly,” Dawn said a few feet away from me. She must have taken a seat on the bench outside of my stall. “I think she wants all of his attention. She’s tired of sharing him, and she wants to be the center of someone’s attention again.”
I rinsed my shampoo out. I really wanted to make this a quick shower since I was so hungry. “So, let me get this straight,” I said my voice dripping with sarcasm. “She knows Lincoln is my connected, but she’s still actively pursuing him. Even if we don’t click or never will click, she of all people understands how connections work.”
“I think she’s also jealous of you now, too,” Dawn confided quietly. “She loved Jaxson as a teen. She had a crush on Remy. She fantasized about Troy. Then she has had this huge fan girl crush on Lincoln since he played in his first starring role in These Two Hearts, and now you’re connected to him, too. Don’t get me wrong; I think you’re one lucky bitch, and I wish I could trade places with you, but it isn’t reality. My path is different than yours. I could never make them happy like you do.”
I rubbed some conditioner through my hair with a heavy sigh. I could see how Jemmy may feel. She grew up with my guys. It could have been so easy to harbor less than sisterly feelings towards them, because, technically, they weren’t related by blood.
“She needs help,” I finally said as I moved onto washing my body. “She has some deep-seated insecurities that are justifiable, but she needs help before she loses complete control. She’s going to ruin her relationship with Gavin, me, and the guys. And Gavin deserves more. If I didn’t know about connections, and I would have met him before I met my guys, I could have easily fallen in love with him.” I admitted truthfully.
Dawn made a noise of assent. “I agree. He’s a hottie and one of the sweetest guys I ever met. What man holds onto his V-card until he’s twenty-one?”
“The good ones,” I stated with a laugh.
Dawn and I sat on one of the prep tables against the walls, eating some fresh cut french fries and BLTs as we watched some reality television on Dawn’s tablet. We were keeping Drake and a couple of his kitchen staff company. Hazel, Megan, Cora, and Beth had already put the children to bed and were currently bunking down with them.
Almost everyone had already turned in except our core group. We already let them know that when they were hungry, we would have BLTs and french fries ready within moments. I had helped cut up the potatoes, and they were in fry baskets prepared to be dropped. Dawn had sliced the lettuce and tomatoes and placed them in containers in the reach-in fridge. Drake had cooked the bacon, and it was under the heat lamps.
Will had insisted we get some rest before he himself went to bed. Will and Paul had a rotating shift of people watching and securing the base. For now, we waited while we regrouped, trying to come up with our next plan of action. The enemy was currently camped out right outside of the facility, ten yards from the entrance, with tents set up and campfires burning. They were still trying to figure out how to infiltrate our base but were unsuccessful thus far
“That bacon smells amazing,” Noah groaned as he walked into the swinging doors.
I jumped down sliding into Drake’s too large sandals. My flip-flops hadn’t been packed, and I didn’t want to slip back into my boots. I couldn’t wear socks in the kitchen either.
“Sit down,” I insisted as I walked over to the toaster and bread. “White, wheat, rye, or sourdough?” I asked.
“You need to eat too,” Noah feebly protested. “Sourdough.”
I laughed. “I’ve had time to rest. You guys haven’t rested yet.”
Dawn hopped down from her spot. “I’ll drop the fries.”
The sound of Jemmy’s laughter, followed by Adams’ and then a lower, huskier laugh, came from outside the kitchen.
I glanced over at Noah with a raised brow.
“It’s times like this I miss our ability to silently talk,” he stated with a grimace.
The doors swung open, and Lincoln walked in with Adams and Jemmy flanking him.
“What’s for dinner or should I say breakfast,” Jemmy called enthusiastically.
“BLTs and fries,” Drake stated as he looked between Jemmy and me worriedly.
“Don’t you have anything healthier, like a salad?” Adams asked disdainfully before she looked over at Lincoln, licking her lips suggestively. “With a body like that, I’m sure you refrain from all that fatty, greasy food, too.”
I intentionally shoved a fry in my mouth. “The kitchen closed hours ago. Sandwiches, fruits, and vegetables were available until an hour ago, we let everyone know that” I reminded her. “We have white, wheat, rye, or sourdough if you want an LT, without the B.”
Dawn barely stifled her laughter. “Hold the mayo, too… it may be too fatty.”
“It’s pretty convenient that you can cook whenever and whatever you want,” Adams said in a slightly condescending tone.
“When it’s our food and my kitchen then, yes,” Drake stated calmly.
Adams took a seat away from Noah, Dawn, and me. “I’m good then,” she shrugged. She pulled out her phone, and I tried not to even pay attention to her. She never hung out with Jemmy or me. She was so transparent in her pursuit of Lincoln.
I almost wanted to laugh thinking how mad she was going to be when she found out he may be part of my ‘guy’ friend group, at least until my connection was made. If my linking was made.
“I’ll take a BLT on wheat please, extra bacon,” Lincoln chimed in.
“Fries?” Dawn asked with a smirk.
I respected Dawn more in that moment. I knew she was man crazy, and I knew how she had a fangirl crush on Lincoln, too, but she wasn’t going to flirt with him out of respect for me and our friendship.
“Yes, please,” Lincoln told Dawn as he took a seat on the prep table between Noah and my plate.
I placed wheat bread in the toaster as I pulled out the sourdough. “Jem, do you want white or sourdough?” I asked knowing her preferences. I was still mad at her, but I wasn’t going to let her push me away like she was everyone else.
“I’ll take wheat and fries too,” Jemmy said as she went to move my plate. I turned before she could see me roll my eyes. She hated wheat, and she was so annoyingly obvious.
“Jem,” Noah stated with a warning look.
Jemmy pouted but took the spot next to Noah.
A phone started going off, and we all looked at each other. I knew mine was back in my bag in the room.
Lincoln flashed an apologetic smile. “Sorry,” he stated before he pulled it out. “Hello,” he murmured into the phone warmly. “Well it’s nice to talk to you, too,” he said in fond exasperation. He held his phone out to me. “Blake it’s for you.” He shook his head and smiled.
My eyebrows knit in confusion as I took the phone from him. “Hello?” I asked tentatively as I placed Noah’s BLT in front of Dawn for the fries.
“Blake!” Anna squealed in my ear loud enough for me to hold it away from my ear. I grimaced and rubbed my ears.
I heard Lincoln’s low chuckle, and I rolled my eyes at him, shaking my head.
“Hey, Anna,” I brought the phone back to my ear as I held up the mayo to Lincoln.
He nodded, and I began to spread the mayo on his toast.
“Why haven’t you been answering your phone?” she asked mournfully.
I laughed. “Sorry, I was stuck in simulations this morning, then I kind of got hurt sparring today, and then–”
She quickly cut me off. “Why are you sparring when you so recentl
y got shot? Are you crazy, girl?”
“I still need to keep up my training,” I explained to her patiently. “Good news though! The Doc has me on lockdown, and I won’t be sparring anytime soon. I’m not even allowed to lift weights.”
“I doubt you’ll listen,” she said sagely.
“You’re right,” I admitted quietly.
She let out a sound of frustration. “Anyways, how’s Lincoln been?”
I laughed once more. I propped the phone onto my shoulder and cheek. I waited for Dawn to put the freshly fried and salted fries on the plates before I grabbed Noah’s plate and walked them over to Noah and Lincoln. “You barely said hello to him and asked for me. Why don’t you ask him?” I asked.
“You know what I mean!” she insisted.
I barely contained my yawn as I walked back over to the toaster to put mayo on Jemmy’s toast. “I know, I know,” I teased. “He’s in one piece, that’s a good thing.”
There was no way I was going to tell her we were currently under attack or all the other fun details of the day.
“Is he nice to you?” she asked.
I thought about it for a moment. He was still infuriating me, and he baited me, but he had helped out in so many ways today. “I plead the fifth,” I stated with another yawn, placing the bacon, lettuce, and tomato on Jemmy’s toast.
“Why are you so tired? Did he already carry you to bed and have his wicked way with you over and over again?” she asked hopefully.
I made a weird sound between a snort and a tone of shock at the images that flashed across my mind from just her words. “No,” I groaned. “You forget you are three hours behind us. It’s past midnight here, and it’s been a long day. Remember? Sparring, reopened my arm, visit to the clinic?”
“Oh yeah,” she said brightly. “Well, I’ll let you go. I hope you kicked the other person’s ass.”
I smiled. “I did win,” I informed her.
I heard Adams snort from the other side of the room. She apparently was eavesdropping on my conversation.
“Good!” she enthused. “Can I talk to Linc again?”
“Sure,” I agreed before I grabbed a couple bottles of water and Jemmy’s plate. I handed Jemmy her plate and gave the waters to Noah and Lincoln. “Linc it’s for you,” I leaned towards him.
“Thanks,” he murmured as he grabbed the phone. I couldn’t help but notice his casual caress of my neck as he did.
I looked up at him startled, but at his deadpan expression, I knew I must have imagined it.
“Jemmy, did you want a water or a can of pop?” I asked her as I went back over to the fridge.
“Pop’s good,” she stated.
“I’ll get it,” Drake insisted as he exited the walk in. “Please go eat, Blake. You too, Dawn. Thank you so much for your help.”
“You’ve been working hard tonight,” I said softly to him. “I can help out.”
“You also got hurt today,” he said as he tweaked my nose fondly. “Go eat, before I punish you,” he murmured in my ear suggestively.
I looked up at him with an impish smile. “It’s not a punishment if I like it,’ I murmured back to him.
He laughed and shook his head. “You’re in so much trouble next time I get my hands on you.”
“Promises, promises,” I said with tongue in cheek as I walked back over to the prep table.
“Back to Face Off?” Dawn asked as I took the milk crate and climbed back up next to her and Lincoln. I would have typically just jumped up, but my left arm was in pain, and I didn’t want to push it any further.
I tried not to notice how close Lincoln’s thighs were to mine as he continued to quietly talk on his phone and eat.
“Yes, please,” I told her. “Where has this show been all my life? I bet you Gavin, Micah, and Patrick would enjoy it, too.”
“It’s on Hulu,” she said as she pushed play. “I’ll give you my login, and they can start watching it.”
“Thanks,” I smiled as I took a bite of my now cold food. I didn’t care. It still tasted good.
I looked up as the doors swung open. Remy, Jace, Jaxson, Troy, Terrance, Gavin, and Sierra walked in.
“Is there any more food left?” Terrance asked hopefully as he rubbed his stomach.
“There is,” Drake stated. “White, wheat, rye, or sourdough?” he asked as he stood in front of the toaster.
Everyone rattled off their bread preference as Lincoln ended his phone call.
“What’cha watching?” Jaxson asked as he inserted himself into our personal spaces.
“Really, Jaxson?” Dawn laughed as she jokingly pushed him away. “Have you never heard about the bubble?”
“What’s a bubble?” Jaxson asked with feigned naivety.
“Seriously, he has no clue what the bubble is,” Remy stated dryly as he scrutinized me. “Shouldn’t you be sleeping?”
“Shouldn’t you?” I replied back with a playful grin.
“Did you take your antibiotics, painkiller, and change your dressing?” he asked, clearly not amused.
“Yes, no, and yes. I’m not taking the painkillers anymore,” I shrugged. “Gavin, have you ever heard of Face Off?” I asked, quickly hoping to change the subject.
“I love that show!” he enthused as he grabbed a bottle of water. “I just started Season 1, last week.”
“Dawn just introduced it to me. I’m on episode 3, and I’m hooked,” I said as I took a sip of water from my bottle.
“Let me know who’s your favorite,” he said brightly.
I smiled, remembering the conversations we put Collin through when he was spying on me. We had binge-watched Survivor and had a lively discussion on our favorite players. Back then we rarely disagreed on our favorites. My face fell, and I felt a tightness in my chest with the memory of Collin. He was just another person I felt like I had failed.
“Hey, Ake,” Gavin called softly in my head.
I still found it weird when he was able to mimic my gift when I was so weak. He couldn’t use it to its full potential and said it was faint, but he knew when he could tap into it.
You can’t feel responsible for his death. You tried. The blame falls on that dick’s shoulders. He abandoned him, he said insistently.
I looked up at him and feigned a smile. Seriously, why was Jemmy willing to throw him away so quickly? He really was a great guy and intuitive. He was the best guy friend a girl could ask for.
I still felt inadvertently responsible. I know it wasn’t my fault. I just wondered if I had been faster. If I had thought quicker. Maybe he would still be here today.
Chapter 16
I woke up with a searing pain in my arm. I hissed and tried not to wake up anyone nearby. I felt like I was going to be literally sick, the agony was so intense. I clumsily rolled out of bed and reached for my bag. My hands shook uncontrollably as I tried to unzip it. I could feel beads of sweat form on my brow as I attempted to open it once more. Hot tears burned the back of my eyes.
I felt hands brush my hands away and unzip my backpack. It was dark in the room. I was glad Drake found a nightlight to place by my bed, but I was unable to see who was assisting me. There was no way I was going to ask who it was, either, because if Remy woke up, he would be pissed, and I’d have proved him right.
A small light appeared over my bag before a bronze hand reached in to grab my medical kit. He shook a pill out and placed one in my shaking hands. I nearly dropped it, but he was quick to snatch it up. I saw the tablet illuminated towards my mouth before I got a brief glimpse of Lincoln’s face. I dutifully opened my mouth. He placed a bottle of water next to my lips, and I took a drink from it.
I laid back down on the cold hard ground, waiting for the shaking and pain to subside. Large hands pushed my hair out of my face, and I closed my eyes at the soothing touch. It felt like it took forever for the pill to take the edge of the pain off. It wasn’t completely gone, but I felt like I could somewhat function again.
“Thanks,” I whispe
red, attempting to sit back up to climb back into bed.
He didn’t utter a reply as he guided me back to bed, then covered me back up in the thin blankets they had provided us.
The next time I woke up my arm was still throbbing, but it was manageable. It took me a moment to notice the quiet shuffling throughout the room. I realized that some of the people in our bunkhouse were quietly getting dressed and preparing for the day.
“What’s the game plan?” I asked, peering up at Drake who had the bunk next to mine.
“I’m going to the kitchens before I head over to the war room. We’re waiting to hear back from the South Carolina team and Beau from back home,” he replied quietly.
I had only met Beau briefly a few times. He was a prominent member of the board and was heavily invested in Knightstown. He was running Knightstown in Will’s absence. They still talked daily, and they knew the ship was running smoothly with him at the helm.
I sat up and gingerly stretched. “I’ll go with you,” I volunteered.
“We were going to let you sleep in,” Drake sat down on the edge of my bed and grabbed the sides of my face before kissing me softly.
“I can’t sleep any longer,” I confided in him quietly. “My mind won’t let me.”
“Get dressed then,” he reluctantly acquiesced.
I slipped out of bed and went over to the chair next to the wall locker I had claimed. I had already set out my black cargo pants, belt, socks, boots, and a bra. I slid my bra on under my shirt and grimaced when I tried to twist it around.
“Can you help me?” I asked turning around.
He nodded and walked up behind me. I was surprised when he palmed my breast in his hands. His thumbs brushed against my nipples as he bent down and kissed the nape of my neck. I bit my lip refraining from moaning aloud. He had turned me on within seconds.
“Ready?” Troy asked quietly from behind us.
I stiffened while Drake chuckled, putting my bra back in place. “Just about,” he stated as he stepped back.
“Did I interrupt something?” Troy asked with laughter lacing his voice.
“You’re an ass,” I muttered to him as I pulled my pants on.