"And if I don't want to talk to you?" I crossed my arms in front of me, hoping he could see how annoyed I was.
"I'll call your father. He'll be on you before you can say cheese." The grin on his face reminded me of a cat who had eaten the canary.
I swallowed, weighing my options. It would be nice to know whom I should blame for the breach in our security. There had to be a breach because Alan wouldn't have known otherwise when and where to show up. Oliver was going to be so pissed off about that. Could I trust Alan? Nope, definitely not.
"Alright." The voice didn't sound quite like my own when I said it, probably because I wasn't sure in my decision. Alan took a step back so I could get out of the car and he rubbed his hands together. Closing the window, I grabbed my purse and keys and slowly got out, constantly keeping an eye on Alan. Maybe there wasn't anyone with him or he hadn't called for help, but that didn't mean he wouldn't hit me in the head when I wasn't looking and drag me to my father himself. Was that what this was about? Did he want to get credit for bringing me in?
"Stop looking at me like that." Alan chuckled, and my car beeped to indicate the doors were locked. Yeah, I totally adopted that car Oliver had given us to come to Earthwind.
"Like what?" I sidestepped a puddle of melting snow.
"Like I'm going to kill you."
"I have no idea why that surprises you." Had he taken some pills and gotten amnesia? Seriously, the man was insane if he thought I'd drop my guard around him.
"I've never thought I'd have so much trouble with you." Amusement flickered in his eyes. "You were supposed to be Richard's perfect daughter."
"And you were supposed to protect Adrian, not sell him out like his life means nothing," I said through my teeth as we reached the small bar, which looked like a cottage.
"After you." Alan opened the door for me, and I welcomed the warmth and the delicious smell of coffee. Everyone's heads turned in our direction for a fraction of a second and the world seemed to stop to watch us. After Alan closed the door, the time started again and people resumed talking, drinking and whatever they'd been doing. Ugh, I hated small towns.
We found a free table in the darkest corner, farthest away from the other tables. The chatter and the clinking of glasses and cups was loud enough to distort our words and prevent anyone from listening in to our conversation. Taking off my coat, I draped it over a free chair, hoping it wouldn't get wrinkled.
The blond waitress hopped over to us, a big smile plastered to her face as she held the empty tray pressed against her chest. "What can I get you?"
"Two coffees, please," Alan said, trying to get comfortable in the sturdy wooden chair. For some reason, he kept his coat on. I just hoped he didn't have anything life-endangering in it.
"Right away," she chirped, heading for the bar.
"So, tell me, how did you find me?" I put my elbows on the table, leaning forward so I could look him in the eyes while he spoke. He was a great liar, but, hopefully, my proximity would unnerve him.
"As you can see, it took me a while." He smirked. "You're the one who helped me to find you."
"Me?" I raised an eyebrow at him.
"You ordered an expensive dress from your favorite brand. No one buys clothes like that here. Of course, I couldn't be sure it was really you, but the dress matched your usual style and orders, so I came to check."
The waitress returned with our coffees, and I pulled back so she could place them on the table. Provided that Alan wasn't lying, I'd really messed up with the damn dress.
"I can't believe they gave you all that information," I said when the waitress was gone, anger coursing through my veins. "I'm never buying anything from them again. They're supposed to protect their customers' privacy!"
"Oh, don't blame them. Your mother gave all the details about your shopping and other habits, and your father used his position as the president to force the designers to reveal where to they were sending the clothing," Alan said calmly.
"You lied! My parents know I'm here!" I started to get up, but Alan's fingers tightly wrapped around my wrist.
"No, they do not. They sent me here to investigate. I swear I haven't contacted them." He let go of me and I sat back, my movements followed by the curious looks from the people in the café. Even the waitress glanced our way.
"My father would never send you alone if he believed I was here." I hid half of my face behind the blond curls. "It doesn't make any sense. You would never catch me on your own, and by the time the others came, I could be far, far away."
"That's because I told him I had escort." He lowered his voice. "And even though the purchases of those designer dresses are rare, there are still a few orders scattered across the country. No one believed you'd be in some small town because you prefer large cities. Not to mention that it's harder to hide in a place where everyone knows everyone. Your parents believe you went out of the country. Nice wig, by the way."
"You wouldn't have recognized me if it weren't for the stupid shopping bags. They have the brand name written all over them, don't they?" I hadn't paid any attention to the damn bags.
"Yes, they do."
"Of course." I gave him a half-smile that lasted for a nanosecond. "But you're wrong about the town. It isn't that small. No one asked me too many questions or even noticed me."
"Well, you don't exactly live in the town, do you?" He searched for something in my face and I tried my best to look blank. "Where are your friends?"
"That's none of your business." I took a sip of coffee, which was surprisingly delicious. "Why don't you tell me the reason for withholding information from my father? From what I gathered you are really close."
"You could say that we had common goals, but not anymore." Alan reached for his cup and nearly spilled some of the coffee. Was he nervous behind that perfect, composed and calm mask?
"Let me guess," a smile crept up my face, "my father doesn't know your loyalties lie somewhere else."
Alan nodded. "You're hiding many things from him too, so I think I can trust you with what I'm going to say." He drew his chair closer to the table, turning his back to the rest of the café, probably so no one could read his lips. Wow, more secrets. I should have known.
"Go on," I said casually. It was true that I couldn't retell the information to my father without revealing my location and putting myself in danger if Alan mentioned the Pandora's Box, but Alan didn't know about my brother's involvement in the whole thing. If it benefited me, I could always relate Alan's secrets to Oliver.
"Your father wasn't supposed to become the president of the Element Preservers; I was." The way he said it, with his head held high, told me how convinced he had been that he'd be the president.
"But how?" I frowned. "You are Adrian's guardian." I assumed Alan couldn't become a president just like he couldn't be the member of the Council while he was a guardian.
Alan gave me a meaningful look. "Exactly. The Element Preservers wasn't an overnight idea. We've known about it and planned it for years."
"You thought Adrian would be dead by then," I stated the obvious. "And when that didn't happen and the organization needed the president, you forced Adrian into a confession about his sub-element and wanted to give him to the labs."
"Yeah, but things didn't go as planned. They had already chosen the president without my knowledge, and by the time I received the news, my plan had been set in motion and Adrian was gone." Alan sighed. "My acquaintances in the lab would have gladly taken Adrian and faked his death. I even had a story for the media and the university."
"The whole 'Adrian murdered someone' thing, right? Was that even real?" It unnerved me how easily he could speak about Adrian as if all those years he'd been his guardian didn't mean squat to him.
"No, but it would have been if I had needed it." Alan shrugged. "Anyhow, I'd been a couple of weeks late."
"They wouldn't have chosen you." I snorted, twisting a curl of my wig between my fingers. "They think you sympathize too much with
magic disease carriers because of Adrian. Besides, how would you explain that Adrian turned into a murderer right at the most convenient moment for you?"
"You're partly right, but it was worth a try."
I wanted to smack him in the face for saying such a thing. The elements around me became a bit stronger despite the fact that I'd been away from people long enough to be able to keep my disease in check for a while. I'd trained with my elements so they wouldn't accidentally slip out, but I wasn't sure I could stand Alan droning on and on how he'd get rid of Adrian at the first opportunity he got. "Partly? I'm totally right."
"No, you're not right about everyone thinking I could sympathize with people like Adrian. They know my opinion on magic disease carriers because they were there with me while I was in the labs. I did what I had to as a guardian, I suppose, but Adrian should have known I would put my own desires above his well-being."
"You're a monster," I spat, my mind spinning just at the thought that Alan had contributed to Adrian's misery back in the lab. He could have stopped the experiments on Adrian, but he hadn't done so until it suited him. At least now I could reproach him about that and didn't have to keep quiet like back at the university.
"Don't be so quick to judge. Your lover would be dead if it weren't for me." He took another sip of his coffee, but this time his hand was steady.
"Maybe he wouldn't be if your stupid plan actually worked!" I raised my voice and Alan's dark eyes flashed a warning at me. Honestly, I had no idea why I was still talking to this heartless bastard. We'd spent enough time in the café for me to be sure that my father's forces weren't coming.
"Easy, Ria. There's no need to get upset."
"Fine." I took a shuddery breath, trying to keep my voice low. "Why didn't you tell anyone about Adrian and me being near the Pandora's Box and why did you even tell us about sub-elements?"
"That's because you always need to have a plan B, no matter what." He tapped his fingers against the table, and I had to look away or he'd drive me insane. "Now I can ask you for your help and you'll have to listen to me because of that little secret I know about you."
"Are you going to tell me what you want or bore me to tears?" I wanted to hear what he had in mind and leave before he discovered my biggest secret. Unfortunately, I still couldn't count on my elements behaving.
"You don't look bored to me." The gleam in Alan's eyes told me that he enjoyed tormenting me. I'd known there couldn't be anything good in a nosy university counselor.
"Stop beating around the bush." Whatever he had to say must be something crazy or he wouldn't be hesitating so much.
"I'd like you to help me take away the presidency from your father." He clasped his hands on the table, waiting for my reaction.
A bubble of laughter burst out of my mouth. "I'm sorry, what? I have no clue how you think I'm supposed to achieve that. Last time I checked, I was a runaway."
"I know, I know." He tsked. "But you should be aware of the fact that you can't hide forever, and neither can your friends. You only need to show up with Adrian in public and your father's career will be ruined. It would be a scandal and a disgrace for your family big enough for the Element Preservers' members to ask for a new election."
Oh, God, did everyone want me to ruin my father's career these days? "Oh come on, I don't believe you don't have anything else against my father if you spent so much time around him."
"I do, but he could deny everything or stop me from revealing his secrets. You're the only walking and talking proof that your father isn't fit for the president."
"Are you kidding me? My father would sooner kill me. Besides, who says he wouldn't cover up the whole thing, invent a plausible lie or something? Don't you get it that you just can't win? Deal with it and give up already!" My coffee was starting to get cold, and I was close to getting up and forgetting Alan even existed.
"I'd get a good position in the Element Preservers if one of my friends became the president instead of your father. That friend, unlike Richard, doesn't forget people who have been of use to him." The lines around Alan's mouth became more prominent, making him seem older than he was. "Once he is in charge, we could even confirm the story that Adrian never really had the disease. Scientists would come up with some sort of an explanation for that. Genetic mistakes happen, and so does cheating. You'd be free to do whatever you want and you wouldn't have to hide. Adrian would have to be extra careful, and if he does give in to the disease one day, we could write it off as an accident."
I didn't even have to ask Adrian what he thought about launching the story about his mother cheating on his father. People would probably buy it, especially since Adrian had been in the university without any problem, but I refused to believe it was so easy. "President or not, my father would hunt me down. He'd never forgive me."
"We can always frame him for something and throw him in jail." Alan ran a hand through his short brown hair, revealing more gray hairs.
"No. I won't risk my life for you." I focused on my coffee, warming it up a bit. All that practice had paid off because the cup didn't explode and the coffee didn't start bubbling. "Your plan is ridiculous, actually. Doesn't the government pay you enough already? Or you only want to get rid of Adrian? Or is there something else you're not telling me?"
Alan opened his mouth, but he didn't say anything. So I'd managed to surprise him. Great.
"There are things beyond your comprehension, I'm afraid," he finally said. "You shouldn't concern yourself with politics."
"Can I think about your offer?" I needed to go because it was harder and harder to breathe among all the elements. Even Alan's usually quiet element, earth, felt like it was squeezing its invisible fingers around my throat.
"You want to consult with your friends. I get it." Alan gave me a look full of contempt, as if I wasn't capable of making my own decision. I wondered was that his way of trying to coax me into agreeing to whatever he proposed.
"Yeah." I nodded, a small smile appearing on my lips. "Can you give me a number to contact you?"
"Sure." He reached for a notepad and a pen from the inner pocket of his coat, and scribbled something down. Ripping out a small piece of paper, he handed it to me. A cell phone number was written across it in a neat handwriting.
"Umm, I'll give you a call then." I stuffed the paper into my purse, intent on never, ever using the number.
"Good." Alan pressed his lips together in a tight line, but his brown eyes seemed to sparkle. Whatever he planned to achieve didn't have anything to do with what he had told me. That much I was sure of. There just had to be something bigger, but I didn't have time to ponder on that.
"Thanks for the coffee." I got up, shrugging on my coat and grabbing my purse. The world tilted around me for a second, and then I was walking out of the café, the elements raining down on me. Who was the moron who'd said staying away from people made you stronger? Or that rule didn't apply to me because I had two highly unstable elements? As I strode through the fresh layer of bright white snow, I realized I might never be able to fully control my elements.
Chapter 03
"If he found me, then someone else can too. The decision has been made. I'm coming as soon as Oliver lets me," I said after I finished retelling Adrian about my little reunion with his guardian, or would that be ex-guardian?
"You shouldn't have gone to the town." Adrian sighed over the phone, and I could already picture a slight crease between his brows as he gave me a disapproving look.
"Yeah, I was supposed to be trapped for eternity." I melted the snow around the house as I went, since it didn't matter anymore if someone saw it. I had to pack my things and put some distance between Alan and me. "Maybe it was better he found me in town and not here in the house. I made sure he didn't follow me, but I have no clue if someone pasted a tracker on the car while we were in the café. I don't trust him."
"Your brother is probably sending someone to pick you up a few miles away from the town. You'll have to dump the car so
mewhere on the way. Whatever you do, don't leave it near the house. We don't want someone to sniff around too much."
"You think Alan is not alone, huh?" Adrian knew Alan better than I did, so I trusted his judgment more than I trusted my own instincts.
"No, he'd never go alone." Adrian paused, and I could hear doors opening and closing. He probably thought he needed more privacy to continue our conversation. "I wouldn't be surprised if he had a whole team with him."
"My father's team?" Squeezing my phone between my shoulder and my ear, I unlocked the door, which made a horrible scraping noise as I opened it. Stupid winter and snow had made the door even more rusty, and I couldn't even open it without pulling it slightly forward, turning the key and then pushing it. Sometimes I worried it'd never open again, but I guessed it no longer matter since I was leaving anyway.
"No, his own team." Adrian sounded weary.
"His own team? Who the hell is he to have a team? What kind of a team?" I stopped in the hall, straining my ears and eyes to notice any sort of movement in the darkness of the rooms. Of course, I'd been yelling loud enough to alert everyone of my presence, so they could as well be hiding, but I didn't feel any elements. That didn't mean someone with a special suit couldn't be waiting for me around the corner, so I had to be extra careful.
"His paycheck has been pretty decent over the years. The guy has two jobs, after all." The tone of Adrian's voice told me that decent was an understatement of the year. Maybe Alan earned his pay for being a counselor at the university, but he failed miserably at his job as a guardian. "I believe he still pays some guys to be his bodyguards. He sometimes had them around when we traveled, partly to protect himself from me if I turned into a cold-blooded murderer and partly to prevent any attacks from those who saw him as a traitor for taking care of a magic disease carrier."
"Oh, God." I groaned. "But Alan didn't really take care of you. He let the scientists do with you whatever they wanted, didn't he?"
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