On the other hand, Dec and Killian didn’t approve. Dec seemed amused by the whole thing and treated me like a favorite cousin. But he gave Sean a hard time when he thought I wasn’t listening. He didn’t approve, but he accepted us. Killian was angry with both of us. He spent his time glaring at me and bitching at Sean. I didn’t understand what his problem was. He acted like I wasn’t good enough for Sean, and that really hurt. Tonight we were playing pool downtown, and I was ready to murder Killian. He’d been scowling at me since he got here.
I finally snapped, “Killian, what is your problem?”
His eyebrows jumped up. “My problem? It’s not my problem you should be worried about. You have no idea what you’re messing with. You’re in way over your head.”
He stalked out before I could respond. Confused, I turned to Sean and Dec for answers. Cursing under his breath, Sean was clearly angry, and Dec was trying to smooth things over when the night took an even shittier turn. Scott and two of his friends sauntered into the room. Rolling my eyes back in my head, I thought, oh great! Perfect timing. I’d been dreading this moment for a week now. Officer Halliwell called us to let us know Scott was released early for good behavior. The state was too broke to hang on to such a model prisoner. I tried to steer Sean out of the room, but it was too late. He’d spotted Scott and crossed his arms with a dangerous gleam in his eyes. If Scott and his friends were street thugs, Sean and Dec were mercenaries. They stood, backs to the wall, sizing up the three thugs. My money was on them. They looked like they could rip the other guys into little pieces.
Scott spoke first. “So Mica, I see you’re still skanking around town. This your latest fuck-buddy?” He sized up Sean, and added snidely, “She’s good isn’t she, man? I wouldn’t mind taking another crack at that.”
One of Scott’s friends decided to chime in. “Man, I’m gonna take a piece of that after we kick the shit out of these two pussies here.”
Sean smiled, showing both canines, and suggested in a friendly tone, “Why don’t we go outside? I don’t want to get blood all over the bar.” He was already heading out the door before I could react.
My face went white. This was not good. Dani called for Aric and Kevin. Why couldn’t Scott just leave me alone? He was such a dick. I was tired of being afraid of him; at this point, I would help kick his ass.
Dani and I came running into the alley just in time to see Scott and Sean squaring off. Dec stood with arms crossed, daring the others to jump in. The cocky one made a kissing sound at me. Ricki let out a growl in her throat. I shushed her and patted my purse. I was carrying concealed now… My new stun gun would discourage Scott’s friends. I wasn’t going to be anyone’s victim--ever again.
Scott threw a punch at Sean’s face that caught him in the cheek. I winced at the sound. Sean didn’t even flinch. I couldn’t bear to watch, but I couldn’t look away either. From the beginning, Sean was in complete control. He moved with the precision and speed of a trained fighter. It was not a fair fight. Scott was strong but clumsy, throwing himself at Sean, hoping to take him down with sheer brutality. After the first blow, he didn’t land another shot. Sean worked him over with cold precision. The other thugs sized up him up and decided against getting involved. Dec’s expression turned mocking as he looked hopefully at the two guys. With wary expressions, they stood back and watched their buddy get the shit kicked out of him.
Scott was a mess. His face was bleeding from his nose, cuts above his eye, and one cheekbone. His gut had to be killing him. I was hoping for a few cracked ribs. He finally staggered to one side and collapsed to his knees. Sean raised his boot to kick him when Killian appeared out of nowhere.
“Sean! He’s down! You’ve made your point.” He glared around the alley, daring anyone to step in. No one said a word.
Ricki dug her nails into my arm with a sharp inhale. “Oh my freakin’ God!”
I couldn’t argue. He was fierce…
Grabbing Scott by the shirt and shoving him into his startled friend, Sean snarled, “Get this piece of shit out of my sight before I finish this permanently. And you, dirt bag, you might want to reconsider taking a piece of that if you want to keep your dick attached to your body.” The guy backed away, face white. Sean shot him a feral smile. “Just some friendly advice.”
The whole fight had taken less than three or four minutes, and the cops hadn’t made it there yet. Aric and Kevin regarded Killian and Sean with a cross between fear and respect. They backed out of the alley as the sound of sirens closing in broke the tension. We scattered and ran to the cars. In the confusion, Sean grabbed my hand and yanked me behind another store’s fence. He swung me around and kissed me hard. My head filled with little flashing lights as the current that was Sean coursed through my blood.
That was the first night I let him stay with me. I didn’t think it was a good idea, but he insisted. He must have been riding on some wave of testosterone because he was determined to stay.
“Mica, I don’t trust those guys. They’re not going to give up.” He was facing me in the front seat of his car, outlining all of the reasons I should let him spend the night.
I had no arguments that made sense. The truth was I was a wreck. My emotions were all over the place. I didn’t want to be alone in the dark. I didn’t want to face the nightmares that would surely come. They always did when I ran into him. I would get very little sleep once the dreams started. Sean could protect me, and I needed him tonight.
We lay on the bed, with Domino between us, talking until late in the night. We talked about everything and nothing at all. Eventually I dozed off, and the dream came back. I was running through the endless hallways again, but this time, I could clearly see Scott’s face behind me. He was carrying the hunting knife. I was screaming as usual. But this time I was screaming at him to come and get me. I stopped to face him with a gun in my hand. I was ready to fight back.
“Baby, wake up. You’re dreaming.” Sean shook me awake.
I snuggled against him, grateful to let the dream fade. “Can I ask you something?”
He rubbed his hand down my arm, and said, “You can ask me anything.”
“Okay, then. What are you doing here?”
“Lying in bed with a gorgeous creature… What kind of question is that?”
“No, not here, I mean here, in town. You and your friends… you aren’t like the other people around here. They’re all so country. That’s not who you are.”
He pulled away from me and sat up. “That must’ve been some dream. I’m not anything special, Mica. Don’t make too much out of me.”
“But what about the fight? You’ve had training, I can tell. And your accent? Come on, Killian is like this military commando guy. He probably kills people for fun. Say what you want to, but you aren’t from around here.” He didn’t respond. “Give me a break! I’m not an idiot.”
He was pacing by the window until the silence stretched. Finally he sat down beside me. He told me his story. It was true they weren’t from around here originally. Their parents came from the U.K. as political refugees after a terrorist attack nearly killed them. The U.S. government agreed to grant them asylum in exchange for the research information they would provide. Sean’s father, Killian’s mother, and Dec’s father were involved in biological research in Switzerland. He wasn’t allowed to give me any details on that though. I hung on his every word.
“So what are your parents doing here now? Are they still doing research?”
“Yes and no. I can’t talk about that. Let’s just say they are in and out of the country a lot so the three of us stick together. We’re all old enough to live alone so it’s okay for them to travel when they need to. We agreed to finish school here, and then we’ll be out on our own.”
“Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
“Not biological ones, no. But I think of Dec as my little brother. We’ve hung out since we were pretty young, and I try to keep him on a short leash, but you know him. He’s always doin
g something.”
Dec was a clown, and I wished he was my brother.
“What about Killian?” I couldn’t imagine him as anyone’s brother. I wasn’t even sure he was human!
A shadow passed over his eyes. “Uh, Killian’s complicated. He’s important--just like you are.” He paused, looking oddly regretful.
I reached over to squeeze his fingers. I didn’t like to see anyone sad, but I was a definite sucker for puppies and black-haired blue-eyed Irishmen named Sean. We sat for a long time, each lost in our own thoughts. My head was swimming with this new Sean. Some truth at last! He explained the accent and the secrecy. But that didn’t really explain everything… I thought back to the video tapes from the night I got home so mysteriously. Then there was the strange energy that surrounded him. There was definitely something more to him than he’s telling me. But for now, I would pretend to believe it and see what happens. I would have to hope he didn’t read minds!
As if on cue, Domino thumped her tail against my leg. I glanced over at Sean to find his eyes closed. Was he sleeping? His normal fierceness was gone, and in its place was a gentleness that was surprising. A rush of emotion brought a lump to my throat. I stared at his hand in mine. It was heavy with sleep, fingers long and beautifully shaped; a sprinkling of fine, black hair was scattered at the wrist. Hesitant to wake him, I stroked it softly. He hadn’t moved so I traced the muscle in his forearm, marveling at the blood pulsing close to the surface. That was funny. I’d never noticed that before. I considered my own arm. Did my skin feel that way? I couldn’t check though since I was still holding his hand.
His fingers twitched against my palm. I held my breath. Oh, please don’t wake up! I’m not done exploring yet! He relaxed again. Unable to resist the urge, I got really bold and ran the back of my hand along his arm. The fine hairs were soft against my hand. Once again, I could almost feel his blood surging like a river beneath his skin. Suddenly my fingertips started tingling. I rubbed them together, enjoying the sensation. Oddly numb… Puzzled, I dropped my eyes to his arm for clues and nearly fell off the damn bed in shock. Sean’s entire body was surrounded by a soft golden haze. I blinked several times, but the faint light was still there--and it was getting brighter by the second. What the hell?
Sean’s eyes snapped open in a startling blaze of blue fire.
I yelped and launched myself off of the bed. His hand flew out and grabbed me before I fell. I didn’t see him move. He reeled me in until we were up close and personal.
Nose to nose, he growled, “Oh, no you don’t. You’ve been playing with fire.”
I tried to squirm away, but he held me too tightly. I wasn’t going anywhere. I tried to wrench my wrist away and just managed to hurt myself. He was still tense, but his face was under control again. He didn’t look capable of setting me on fire with his eyes anymore. Surely that was a good sign?
“I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to wake you up or… whatever. You were so warm I couldn’t resist touching you. I’m sorry.” I really, really was. And scared out of my mind. Yep. That too.
Taking a deep breath, he sighed like a man praying for patience. After another second of staring into my eyes, he scrubbed his fingers through his hair, making it stand up in spikes like a porcupine. I stifled a smile. The worst must be over. He didn’t seem mad, and hey, he wasn’t glowing anymore. That was a relief.
His face went through a series of expressions so quickly that I almost burst out laughing in spite of the weirdness I just witnessed. Anger, frustration, guilt… then finally resignation and grudging amusement. When he spoke again, his harsh voice was smooth with the sexy Irish lilt again. “Mica, darlin’, I don’t know what to do with you. You’re making me crazy!”
I wriggled my hand, mumbling, “Yeah, well, if you’re not going to set me on fire, could I have my wrist back? I think I sprained it.”
The faraway growl of thunder woke me out of a heavy sleep. Groggy, I looked at the clock. It was 4:00 in the afternoon. I’d been sleeping for probably 12 hours. My stomach growled in protest. Yeah, yeah, you’re hungry; stop nagging. I got up to let Domino out, but she wasn’t there. Wandering to the bathroom, I called her. Nope, she’s not in here. Where was she? I threw on some shorts and started for the door when I saw a note from Sean. Aw, he was so sweet. He didn’t want Domino to wake me up today so he took her with him. He had to work but would bring her back tonight. Perfect! I wasn’t done grilling him just yet. I was in the opening stages of my interrogation when I fell asleep last night. I had more questions for my mystery man.
I was about to go to the house for some food when the rain started coming down in sheets. It sounded like a hurricane out there. Lightning flashed through the window, and the thunder was deafening. The light flickered but stayed on. I groaned out loud. I’m starving to death in here, and as I’m made of sugar, I can’t risk the rain. I settled for a granola bar and an apple. The mini-fridge was almost empty. I had some fruit and a couple of bottles of water left. My phone buzzed. It was Janet asking if I was okay over here. Yes, I said. I’m fine. I have enough food to last a little while. She laughed at me and told me to stay inside because it was going to be really bad tonight. She didn’t want me trying to drive in the storm. I promised her I’d stay in. Now I was worried about Domino. It was getting worse outside, and I was getting lonely. I sent a text to Sean and put on some Pink Floyd.
Journal Entry: 26 Jun
What to do about Sean? He’s amazing. He’s gentle and strong. He’s soft and hard. He’s protective, and he’s dangerous. He’s scaring me to death, but I can’t stay away. He brings light into my heart. My body’s on fire every time I’m near him. I can’t even imagine what being naked with him would be like. His body is ridiculous! I want to do things with him that I’m pretty sure aren’t even legal. I’m falling more in love with him and it should scare me… but it doesn’t.
A flash lit up the window outside just as someone pounded on the door. Expecting to see Sean, I yanked it open. My face fell like a rock. Oh, yay! What was he doing here? Without a word, Killian rudely pushed past me into the apartment. He carefully put Domino down. She shook herself off and pranced over to give me some love.
“Why are you here? Where’s Sean? Is he okay?”
He didn’t bother to answer my questions. Instead, he surveyed the room like he was planning to stay. He made a circuit from one end to the other, taking time to look at the pictures on the wall, the flowers in the little pottery cup, and the jewelry box my mother gave me. He actually smiled a little when he touched the tiny Dalmatian. Domino rubbed against him like a cat, and he gave her a strangely gentle pat on the head.
Before I could protest, he picked up my journal, glanced at the last page, and shook his head. “You have absolutely no sense of self-preservation. Your instincts are right, Mica! Why don’t you trust them? You should be scared. What you’re thinking is dangerous and to others besides you and Sean.”
I flew at him, trying to grab the journal. “Give me that, you animal! You have no right coming in here!”
Easily sidestepping me, he tossed the little book onto the bed with a cold laugh. “It won’t work, you know. You two will not be allowed to stay together.”
“What? Says who?”
“He has a job to do, and he will eventually have to leave here. We all will. You’re going to get hurt if you keep up these silly fantasies. There is no happily ever after.”
“I’m not going to argue with you. This is between Sean and me. If you don’t like it, stay away from us. Now get the fuck out!”
There was another flash of lightning and a crash of thunder rattled the windows. Domino started barking. I jumped out of my skin, and the lights went out. She was still barking when I finally turned on a flashlight and looked around for Killian. He was gone.
Chapter 7: Lost and Found
“SHOULD WE CALL NOAH?” I asked Dani.
“Seems like a good idea! Hey, I gotta get to work. Call me later?” She disconnected, and
I frowned at the phone. I was bored. I really, really hated being bored.
The rain came down so hard and for so long that I considered building an ark. The stormy weather lasted for days, and I had had enough. The walls started closing in on me so I went for a drive with Domino riding shotgun. She hopped in and stuck her nose under the seatbelt. I strapped her in so she’d be safe. I turned the car towards Giant Mountain. The rain was still coming down but not too hard. I stopped at a convenience store for water and a bag of chips. Okay, so not too healthy, but I was depressed. Depression called for chips. And chocolate, but I didn’t have enough money for both. Domino eyed my purchases with approval. Good call on the chips.
I let my mind wander as I sang along to the music. It had been a long week. After Killian left, I tried to reach Sean, but he didn’t answer his phone. I left a message: just one. No way was I leaving a bunch of whiny messages. I had been hurt too much already, and I wasn’t going to let Sean hurt me too. Yes, I really liked him. And yes, I was pretty sure I was in love with him. But I wasn’t so far gone yet that I was going to curl up and cry over him. Besides, I was more confused than ever. Killian’s words echoed in my memory. He has a job to do, and he will eventually have to leave here. We all will. You’re going to get hurt if you keep up these silly fantasies.
The Lost Soul Trilogy (Primani Book 5) Page 8