“Where are you in pain?” Clarissa asked, sliding her arms down his. Kalen took his gun and stuck it in the back of his waistband on his jeans. His navy-blue T-shirt was torn in the sleeve, and he had dirt on his face. But she couldn’t see any blood.
“My feet. I didn’t have time to put on shoes.” Kalen grunted, hobbling toward the kitchen chair. “When the explosion shattered the windows and I had to chase after one of those guys, I ran over all the glass. I’m pretty sure I have enough glass in my feet to make another window.”
Clarissa followed him and bent down to see how bad the damage was. She hadn’t expected all the blood and torn flesh, and upon first sight of his feet, the room started to spin and she flailed her arms to catch herself. Ace was behind her and brought her to a standing position with his hands underneath her arms.
“A scientist who faints at the sight of blood?” Ace asked, his teasing voice laced with humor.
“I didn’t go to med school,” Clarissa mumbled, trying to blink away the image of Kalen’s feet. She thought he meant a couple pieces of glass, but he wasn’t kidding. There had to be at least twenty if the blood was anything to go by. “He needs help, Ace. We need to get him to a hospital.”
“Nah, Kalen will be just fine,” Ace reassured her, sitting her down in a chair. “We’ve become quite adept at patching each other up after missions. He’ll survive. I’m more worried about you.”
“You’re not the one in pain, you ass,” Kalen joked, winking over at her. Clarissa was pretty sure he was trying to put her at ease. There was no way in the world he could be happy and pain free. “I might have to reconsider calling you Doc now.”
Clarissa watched as Ace went to the counter and grabbed a bowl, washcloth, and soap. She glanced down at her hands and noticed they had started to shake. She thought back over the last twenty minutes and couldn’t believe all that had happened in that time frame. Ace and Kalen were acting like it was an everyday occurrence that explosions and gunshots rang out. When that man shot the bathroom door open, Clarissa thought her life was over. As surreal as seeing a gun pointed at her was, all she could think of was Ace and Kalen and how grateful she was for the time she spent with them. Her only regret was that she hadn’t gotten to experience what their loving would be like together.
Being put in that position made her see things from their perspective. She made them laugh with her incoordination, they liked having sex with her and teaching her new things, and they put up with her moodiness when she was working. They even forgave her for keeping her research a secret and stealing Ace’s and Tavia’s DNA. Clarissa could hang on to them for a long-term relationship. She just needed to make sure they stayed interested, and she was willing to do whatever it took to make that happen.
Clarissa jumped out of her seat when the door opened and a man with dirty-blond hair walked in. He would have reminded her of the typical “boy next door,” if it hadn’t been for his eyes. They might have been a warm brown, similar to hers, but they were cold. They looked lifeless and reminded her of a snake they used to have in the lab. His dirty-blond hair seemed to have no style, like that of a surfer, and hung into his eyes—which were now staring at her as if it were her fault he was there. It was the truth, and she started to bite her thumbnail to keep from leaving the room. She really didn’t want to leave Kalen and Ace.
“Sloane, everyone rounded up? How many were there?” Kalen took the towel Ace handed him and placed it under his feet to avoid getting any more blood on the hardwood floors. His toes wiggled, and Clarissa watched as he gently set them down on the towel. He had nice toes like Ace. Not too square and trimmed to perfection. She wasn’t sure when she developed such a foot fetish. At least the blood was on the bottom and not marring her view of the top. He had a few cute hairs that strayed a little too far down his leg.
“Stop biting your nails and sit back down,” Ace whispered in her ear before leaving the room. The quick hit of heat from his breath had sent shivers down her neck. Where was he going? And how could they get her body to react to them after such a dangerous situation? My God, she had been thinking about Kalen’s feet when there were important things to take care of.
“There were seven total,” Sloane said. Clarissa stared at him in amazement. Whether it was his boyish face or the fact that he wasn’t as tall as Kalen, she hadn’t been expecting such a deep voice from this man. Of course, the tone came across as threatening, which certainly matched his eyes. “Reed will oversee the interrogation, with Tavia’s assistance. The rest of the group has canvassed the area, and Jagger is requesting we stay until morning. At 0600 hours, a plane will land in the far field about a half mile from here. He’s taking you to the compound.”
“I want in on the interrogation,” Ace and Kalen said at the same time. Ace walked into the room with tweezers, slapping Sloane on the back. “Good to see you, man. For a split second, I thought we were in real trouble. Let me get twinkle toes all bandaged up, and we’ll be out in a minute.”
“Sloane, this is Clarissa Worthing. Clarissa, this is Sloane Field.” Kalen gave a shout when Ace started to tend to his injuries. “Fuck, Ace. Watch what you’re doing.”
“You are such a crybaby.” Ace started to pull out the slivers of glass. Clarissa had to look away when her stomach lurched again. She never did understand why working with lab animals didn’t phase her a bit, but seeing human blood always wanted to send her face down to meet the floor.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Clarissa offered, hoping weakness didn’t show in her voice. She gave a small smile, but Sloane didn’t return it. She let her lips fall and glanced nervously over at Kalen, who was too busy keeping his attention on what Ace was doing. She started to squirm in her seat, Sloane making her uncomfortable with that blank stare. Not knowing exactly what to say, she blurted out, “Thank you for helping us.”
“Anytime.” With that one word, Sloane turned and stalked out of the kitchen. Clarissa wondered if she had done something to make him mad. Was he angry that they had had to come and rescue them? Maybe he knew she was a scientist that had worked for the Fray and considered her his enemy. That thought sent a shudder down her spine, and not in the way Ace had. Clarissa wouldn’t want an enemy of someone like Sloane.
“I have gauze in one of the boxes I had sent here,” Clarissa said, standing up and thankful her legs held her up. She needed a little bit of space, and they needed Kalen’s shoes. She could kill two birds with one stone. “I’ll go get it and then grab Kalen’s boots. He shouldn’t walk around with just the bandages.”
“Grab your suitcase while you’re in there.” Clarissa looked toward the door where Tavia stood. “One of the guys broke and told us what he knows, but again, whoever is running this show only used the phone as a way of contact. Jagger wants the three of you out of here within the hour.”
“Which means they’re using a Locator,” Kalen gritted through his teeth when Ace pulled another sliver out. “Wouldn’t that put the compound at risk?”
“What’s a Locator?” Clarissa asked, not liking when she wasn’t kept informed.
“A Locator is someone who can find people. But Jagger doesn’t think they’re using a Locator,” Tavia answered. “After extensive research, we only found four Locators that are living. Two of them are now in constant contact with Jagger. The other two have been cleared.”
“So you’re telling us we have a leak? I don’t believe it. Everyone in our circle would lay down their lives for each other.” Ace used a washcloth to wipe away more blood. Clarissa looked away again and tried to focus on Tavia.
“Jagger says he has his suspicions, but needs you guys at the compound. He wants Clarissa to bring her research. From the sound of his voice, I think he’s done waiting for answers.”
Chapter Seven
Clarissa couldn’t help but stare at the three-month-old baby girl with her rosy cheeks, chubby hands, and a head full of jet-black hair. Her eyes were a dark blue that seemed to want to take everything in, but didn�
�t know where to look. Her little legs were kicking a mile a minute, and she seemed to be concentrating on blowing tiny bubbles between her perfectly bowed lips. A little pink bow that matched her outfit was placed directly on top of her head.
“Would you like to hold her?” Addison Latcher-Sutton asked, holding her daughter up and laying her in Clarissa’s arms before she could say no.
Clarissa had never been around children and looked helplessly after Addison, who bounced into the kitchen. She looked down at the little bundle in her arms and tried to give a smile, but knew it probably looked forced. Emily stared up at her like she was some sort of alien, and Clarissa was waiting for the wail to burst the bubble in between her lips. Instead, a smile lit up her face, and she waved her arms as if saying hello. The gesture made Clarissa feel a tad bit better, but she couldn’t seem to relax her muscles as she settled back onto the couch.
Two weeks had passed with no leads on who might want her dead. They had been brought to the Noble compound, which had been nicknamed Haven, and no one seemed to blink an eye when Ace and Kalen moved her stuff into their cabin. Haven was being turned into its own settlement, and construction was still going on. A main house was set in the middle, while at least ten cabins were being built on the outer perimeter but still inside the fortified fence. There were four guard points on all corners with enough land kept off to the side for a small landing strip. The mountaintop was the safest place she could be, but Clarissa still felt uncomfortable here.
It wasn’t so much the area as it was the people. They were very welcoming and nice, but Clarissa didn’t fit in here. First of all, everyone was a Noble except Jagger Malone. Second of all, the women were gorgeous. Clarissa felt like the ugly duckling in a pond full of swans. Reese Matthews was tall and slender, with long dark hair that reminded Clarissa of silk. Her exotic features only enhanced her beauty. Then there was Addison, a tiny blonde who had curls that Clarissa was envious of and a youthful appearance that was obviously genetically passed down from her mother. Addison’s mother, Cynthia Gray, was in her fifties but didn’t look a day over forty with her flawless skin and light shoulder-length hair. It wasn’t that Clarissa wasn’t pretty. It was how these women carried themselves. They had such confidence and poise, something she only felt when she was in a lab.
“How are you settling in?” Addison asked, bringing with her a bottle. Clarissa looked up in relief, knowing it was time to feed Emily, but dread set in when Addison just held out the bottle. She wanted her to feed Emily?
“Maybe she would be more comfortable with you feeding her,” Clarissa suggested, knowing she was sounding a little desperate. Emily was bound to cry sooner or later, and Clarissa would rather avoid the inevitable.
“Oh, stop worrying. She’s fine as long as she’s got a nipple in her mouth. I breast feed, but we are trying to sneak in bottles so that if I’m needed on a mission, Reese can take of Emily while I’m gone.”
Clarissa now knew that Addison had kept her power hidden the entire time she had been kept at the Fray’s facility so long ago. Addison was the balance to Reese’s power. Where Reese could kill with a single blast of energy, Addison could heal. That came in handy when they had arrived two weeks ago and Kalen was limping from his injury. Within a minute under Addison’s hands, Kalen’s feet were mended, and not a scar remained.
Addison was still standing in front of her, holding Emily’s bottle out for her to take. Reluctantly, Clarissa took it and placed the nipple to her mouth. Within seconds, Emily was sucking down the milk and her eyes were half-closed. Clarissa stared in amazement at the sudden change and finally felt herself relax. Maybe this wasn’t so bad after all.
“So, it’s been two weeks,” Addison said, as she sat in the brown leather chair and pulled some magazines into her lap. “Are you adjusting here? We haven’t really had a chance to talk, with Jagger pulling you into meeting after meeting to go over what you discovered.”
“Um, well, I probably won’t be here that much longer,” Clarissa said, still looking down at Emily. What kind of power would this beautiful girl possess? It should show itself around puberty, but it would be so easy to take samples from Addison and her husbands and run a test. She, like Reese, was in a three-way relationship. All Clarissa would need to do was figure out which one was the biological father and run their DNA through the system. But she left the decision in Jagger’s hands on whether or not to use such a method, and the odds were not in her favor. Clarissa noticed that Addison hadn’t responded to her statement and looked up to see Addison staring at her.
“Have you run that by Ace and Kalen?” Addison asked softly, as if she was aware this was a sensitive subject.
Clarissa had never really been one to have girlfriends. She went from high school to college to graduate school and then straight to work. Her schedule couldn’t really fit in friends, so she pretty much only confided in Einstein and Newton. It was pretty pathetic, especially when Clarissa saw how close Reese and Addison were. Clarissa didn’t even know if she could open up to another person, besides Ace and Kalen, and they were part of her problem.
“Clarissa, I know that we’re just getting to know one another, but with how fast life is moving and all the changes that are taking place within the Noble community, we need all the friends we can get.” Addison picked up the magazines and put them on the coffee table in front of her. Crossing her legs, she was tiny enough that she could snuggle in the chair and make it look comfortable. “I don’t think you are hesitant because they are Nobles, like me, because there doesn’t seem to be a discriminative bone in your body. So that leaves concerns over being involved with both of them?”
Emily was now down to the last ounce and seemed to be asleep with the nipple still in her mouth. Clarissa didn’t want to wake her, so she kept the bottle where it was and ignored the cramp in her hand from holding it up so long. How could she answer Addison? If she were honest, there were a lot of questions she wanted to throw her way regarding being with two men. But didn’t Addison see why she might not be the best thing for them?
“I don’t mean to push,” Addison said, sincerity shining through, “and if you don’t want to talk about it, I’ll lay off. I guess I’m just a romantic at heart and want to see everyone happy.”
“How can they remain happy with me, though?” Clarissa finally blurted out. “I’m older than them. I don’t have—well, a lot of experience with men. I work a lot and don’t like to be bothered when I am. I’m not a Noble. I don’t—”
“Clarissa,” Addison cut in, laughing softly as she spoke, “there is only one question you have to ask yourself, and then everything else doesn’t matter. Do you love them?”
Clarissa couldn’t get air into her lungs. There was that word that was hanging around every time Ace and Kalen looked at her. For two weeks, they had barely touched her, claiming they wanted to prove that they would be compatible. For someone who had hardly had sex before, going two weeks without it had been torture. During the day, they left Haven to follow up leads on who wanted the research and try to stop whoever it was that wanted her dead. At night, they would fly in at dinnertime and join her for the last meal of the day. They would sit outside on the porch, watching the sun set, and talk about anything that came to mind. And the entire time that she knew she should be enjoying that type of attention, all she could think of was that this sucked. She wanted them to take her to bed and show her what they promised. Clarissa knew they were setting out to prove something, but that didn’t mean she had to like it.
“How can someone fall in love within two days?” Clarissa needed to pace, but didn’t want to wake Emily. She wanted so bad to chew on her nails, but she didn’t want to move the bottle. She felt like she was crawling out of her skin, and she was helpless to do anything about it but talk. “We made love less than twelve hours after we met. They showed me things I never thought possible. And then, within thirty-six hours, they were talking about something long-term. Who does that? Now, it’s two weeks later a
nd they haven’t touched me since just to prove to me that it isn’t just the sex talking. I want to know what it’s like to be with both of them at the same time. You and Reese are constantly smiling, and don’t tell me that doesn’t have anything to do with it. Do you know how maddening that is? But it should take years to fall in love. People need to get to know each other before they decide to live their life together. We could live well into our eighties or nineties. And what then? What if we manage to get to our sixties and they decide they don’t like me anymore? What if they want children? I don’t know if I’m cut out to have children. You are a natural and I—well, I’m afraid to even move because I might wake her up. I like it better when she’s asleep.”
“Clarissa—”
“And I haven’t even taken into consideration that someone is trying to kill me. If they succeed, then all of this worrying is pointless anyway. And do Ace and Kalen really want to be the ones that are in a relationship with someone responsible for finding out that they could have any child they want and changing the way Nobles live? What if my DNA doesn’t cause their children to have anything? Although I’m sure they would still have some type of ability, but it won’t be as strong as if they created a child with another Noble.”
“Clarissa! I’m half Noble and half human, and look at me. I’m the Healer of this generation. Only one exists in each, and I’m it.”
“But—”
“No buts.” Addison gestured toward the coffee table. “Put the bottle down before you can’t even move your arm. Emily’s asleep and she’s not waking up anytime soon.”
Addison’s tone brooked no argument, so Clarissa did as she asked. Sure enough, Emily didn’t even so much as move. Her long lashes lay across her skin and didn’t stir. When she glanced back up, Addison was smiling.
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