by Marie Harte
“I’ll help.”
He beamed. And that’s why I’m keeping you.
She wanted to tell him she felt the same, but since she didn’t think he’d intended to share that last, she kept her joy to herself. She and Alex had started because of a crappy situation, but she’d be damned if she’d let Lang or his buddies ruin what might be the best thing to happen to her in a long time.
And don’t worry, Charlie. I’m still coming for you. If it’s the last thing I do.
******
Charlie Willis wrapped her arms around her ribs, trying to contain the pain. That bastard Yates had a real thing for her cousin, but no matter how many times he tried to rape Charlie to reinforce his order that she help him find Kennedy, he couldn’t get it up.
Not that she looked forward to her beatings, but seeing him frustrated helped. He was humiliated; she remained unviolated. It was a quasi win-win—if she discounted bruises and broken ribs.
As if Nivia’s telekinetic beatings hadn’t been bad enough.
Her warped sense of humor seemed to improve the longer she remained with Lang and Smith and their bevy of criminals who tortured “in the name of science.” No matter how many blood, tissue, and hair samples they took, they still couldn’t seem to nail down how her brain worked. The many brain scans Lang had done yielded him little in the way of results. Since he didn’t want to chance interfering with her clairvoyance, he’d thus far refrained from cutting into her brain. But it was only a matter of time before he dissected his way into her future.
Until then, she had a plan. One Kennedy wouldn’t like, but Charlie could only take so much. And while her cousin was finding love among the beasts, Charlie was tired of hurting. Self-sacrifice was all well and good so long as the end game promised survival.
Another day passed. Then another. No sign of her cousin. The beatings continued. But what scared her most: she healed without help from anyone. And they beat her even more. Then they drugged her, forcing her to sleep.
Charlie’s days consisted of pain, sleep, and more pain.
After a bland lunch of noodles and a limp salad, she waited in her room for a dreaded meeting to occur. Instead of Yates or Myers this time—thank God—Dr. Lang joined her in the lab. So, well, not much better. But at least Smith hadn’t come. He gave her the creeps bigtime.
“I’m sure you’re wondering why I’ve come.” Lang waited. He could wait until hell froze over. She didn’t use her abilities unless he forced her to. “Unless you already know why I’m here?” More silence. He sighed. “So you continue to deny your talents.”
Yep. Just like she kept denying that freaky new consciousness inside her. The one she’d foreseen a very long time ago, during one of her rare instances of distant foresight about herself.
“Fine.” Dr. Lang sighed again. She didn’t understand how he could look so normal yet be such a vile piece of humanity. He fiddled with his glasses, a sure sign of his agitation. “It’s time we had Kennedy back. I’m sure you’re aware that Robert Yates has been unable to have intercourse with you.”
“Intercourse? Really? Is that what you call it?” How she managed not to laugh in his face was a mystery. “I’d call it rape, Dr. Lang.”
He waved a hand, dismissing her correction. “The point is, my new formula has worked. I’ve been able to identify and isolate certain receptors in the male Circ’s brain which are attuned to mating. In this way I’ve introduced Kennedy’s genetic material to match to his. Or at least, to convince him that she’s his only mate. His beast now identifies only her a potential breeder. And the Circ’s prime objective is to procreate.”
“I thought killing anything that moved was its prime objective.” From what she’d seen of the fiends around here, that was what she’d come to believe.
“No. The Circ is a creature all about perpetuating its own species. To that end, it eliminates threats around it before endeavoring in conception. The other packs I created see this as a safe place, hence their desire to—”
“Rape.”
“—impregnate their females.” He frowned. “The others in the B series aren’t as set on Kennedy, not like Yates is. But for them to be successful, I’ll need her back. Make the call.”
She knew he expected her to refuse. As she’d been doing since Kennedy had escaped. “Fine. But I want a few conditions met before I do.”
He blinked in surprise but rebounded quickly. “What are they?”
She listed them, and though not understanding—not yet—he acceded, as she’d known he would.
“Fine. But that call must occur as promised, with delivery of them both.”
“Palmer and my cousin. Right. No problem. But you hold to your end.” She smiled, focused, and saw a potential future. Then she lied. “I hope you realize your future depends on me having mine.”
He studied her, as if unsure. But what could he say? His best bet was to keep her alive, at least long enough to capture Alexander Palmer and Kennedy.
Kennedy would forgive her at some point. And if not, well, at least she’d be alive. Mostly.
Probably.
Hopefully.
Charlie swore and prayed she hadn’t agreed to do something irrevocable.
Chapter Thirteen
TWO DAYS LATER, Alex and Kennedy sat outside, alone together, some distance from the house on a bench overlooking the wonder of the mountains in the far distance.
Alex watched his new mate with pride. She fit in so well with the others. Even Carter had taken to her, and it hadn’t mandated the pair having sex. What Gideon had done in the gym had settled his psychic scent over her, bringing her into the group.
As promised, Bailey hadn’t been upset or strange about anything. She acted more excited about having Kennedy around than he’d imagined she might. Guess she’d been telling the truth about dying to have another girl in the group.
The affection between him and Kennedy felt real. Since their bonding two days ago, she’d been open, caring, and she smiled a lot. Seeing her grin made him happier than he’d been since even before losing Katie. It was as if Kennedy turned on a light inside him that had been dim for too long.
“So now I know that you like Kung Fu movies, white chocolate over dark, and redheads.” She smiled at his fake leer. She added, her voice gentle, “I’d like you to tell me about Katie.”
He’d known this was coming. But sharing intimate details had to happen if he had a hope in hell of keeping her with him long after they took care of Lang and his asshole friends.
Alex blew out a breath. “Katie. Man, I still miss her.”
She squeezed his hand. Surrounded by trees and overlooking a running stream, with the weather growing colder and the air crisp and clean, he felt like they had their own tiny spot of heaven to themselves. What better place than to speak of Katie while the sun shone brightly down over them?
“Katie got into more scrapes growing up, but I was always there to bail her out.” His heart hurt remembering her bright gray eyes and laughing smile. “She always had to champion the underdog. Probably because she and I felt like underdogs our whole lives.”
When Kennedy remained quiet, he continued, “Our parents were good people. Dad was an insurance adjuster, mom a teacher. Average, decent, hardworking. But they had no idea what to do with two kids who could know things no one else could. It didn’t take long for Katie and me to realize our gifts bothered our parents. They took us to church a lot at first. I wasn’t a fan. Had trouble sitting still as a kid.”
Kennedy smiled. “I can just see you sitting in church, squirming to be set free.”
He grinned. “Yeah. Katie hated it too. Though she was younger than me by three years, we were flip sides of the same coin. I see images, catch glimpses of knowledge about a thing through touch. Katie would see the future by touching people. Somehow she met someone connected to Lang’s project, and that sent her off to work at U-Ground under a fake name.
“When I lost track of her, it about drove me insane. Th
en I found her at U-Ground, and she relented to talk to me because she needed help. She knew bad things were happening, but I don’t think she knew how bad until she experience it, for all that she could see the future.” His eyes grew moist, imaging the hell she must have gone through there at the end. “I saw what they did to her. A few months ago, I fought Myers, and he was holding the knife he’d used to kill Katie. My sister sent me a message through it. She’d known her end was coming. Damn, Kennedy. How could she do that? Just leave me out of the loop when I could have helped her?”
“She loved you.”
“But not enough to try.” He was surprised to feel so angry. “You don’t understand. Our whole lives, it was just us against everyone else. We used our abilities in tandem, and we protected each other. Same as we protected the little guy, you know?” She nodded, and he had to tell her the rest. “She always knew who to protect in school, which kid needed help from social services or to be saved from entering an abusive relationship.
“I guess we saw ourselves as low scale heroes. Sounds arrogant, but it gave us purpose.”
“It isn’t arrogant. You helped people.”
“But I didn’t help the one that mattered.” He released her hand, afraid he’d crush it if he held on too tight. Damn it, Katie. Why? Why couldn’t you have trusted me to help you?
“You know, a smart guy once told me to stop taking responsibility for things I can’t change.” She stroked his shoulder. “Seems to me like Katie made her choice. She’s gone, and you know, Alex, she’s at peace now. Her gift couldn’t have been easy to live with.”
“No, it wasn’t.” Was that why she’d refused to let him save her? Because she’d wanted to end things?
“But she was more than just a woman who could see into the future. What did she do for fun? What was her favorite food? Or better yet, what’s the one thing she did that annoyed you most?”
Alex gave a slow smile as memories overtook the sadness and anger. “Katie loved practical jokes. She was always trying to one-up me.” He chuckled. “She had a thing about trying to make me sit on a whoopee cushion. And I mean, when she was thirty. Not just when she was a kid.” He shook his head, smiling. “She played other pranks, but I got so sick of that stupid pink cushion. I was paranoid about sitting down. Like, even now, I doublecheck my seat before I take it.”
Kennedy grinned, her blue eyes sparkling. “That’s hilarious.”
“She was funny, I’ll give her that.” He thought about his sister’s big heart, the joy that masked a deep loneliness inside. “But she was sad a lot too. I guess I liked thinking she’d rather laugh than cry, but I think Katie was alone, wrapped up in her own mind too much. Our parents’ bland acceptance hurt her. I was used to it, and I took comfort in my sister. She was enough for me. But I don’t think I was enough for her.”
Kennedy wriggled an arm around his waist and squeezed.
“She loved my mom and dad so much. A daddy’s girl, really. But my dad thought his role as father extended to providing financially, with an ‘attaboy’ or ‘attagirl’ and a pat on the head all he could handle. He left the emotional stuff to my mom, who was usually exhausted by the end of her day. We knew we could talk to her, but it had to be about normal things. Nothing psychic-related, nothing deep like child abuse or sexual assault, the stuff we saw on a daily basis. It was a difficult childhood,” he said, surprised to realize the truth.
He’d grown a hard shell, becoming a man who protected the innocent to compensate for not being able to let his own guard down and be vulnerable. Katie had gone the other way, devoting too much of herself to others, so consumed with saving the helpless she’d become a victim herself. Then, because she hadn’t seen any other way out, she’d let herself go under rather than fight for the love she should have had.
“I think she wanted a partner, a boyfriend or lover, someone who was all hers. But she didn’t think she’d ever have that. We never had meaningful relationships with other people, only each other,” Alex said, thoughtful. “It didn’t bother me, because I’m an asshole and like my space.”
“Alex.”
“Well, how about, I was an ass.” He shrugged but put an arm around her shoulders, keeping her close. The scent of her made everything right. “I never had tight friends like Gideon and the others. Just Katie. But maybe I was too closed off for her.”
“What happened wasn’t your fault.”
“I think I know that now.” And he did, talking it out, hearing the truth. “I could turn off my abilities, but I don’t know that Katie could as easily. It takes a lot of energy not to know who sat on this bench, what you were doing when you put on your jacket. Objects carry the echoes of energy from those who handle them. If I focus, I can feel Eli sitting here from last week.” He curled his fingers around the bench.
“Wow. Really?”
“Yeah. But my Circ helps a lot. It knows too much stimulus will drive me insane. So it helps barricade my mind. You know, the Circ part, it’s good if you let it in all the way.”
She laid her head on his shoulder. “I know. Bailey has helped me get to know my new self. She loves you, by the way.”
“Who, Bailey?” His heart raced.
“No, goofball. My beast. It’s so gone for you it’s not funny.”
So one hurdle down. “What about you, Kennedy? How do you feel?”
She pulled back from his shoulder and looked at him. “I, well, I like you too. More than like, I think. But it’s all so soon. Being in a person’s mind makes me feel closer than I would normally. With you, it’s like we connected on a deeper level than even a mind to mind. And to be honest, it scares me a little.”
“Me too.”
She looked surprised. “Really?”
“Did you not just hear me say I don’t commit to people? That it’s hard for me to be open? But with you, there’s no door shutting you out. I want you to know all of me, and that terrifies me, because I have a feeling you won’t like what you see.”
“I’ve already seen you, and I’m head over heels,” she grumbled. “My problem is you seem too good to be true. What happens when you decide you’re not into redheads anymore and you want—”
She let out a soft gasp when he yanked her close, staring at her nose to nose. “You listen up, Kennedy Knight. I am only going to say this once. I fucking love you. It scares the shit out of me. I still think you’ve got one foot out the door, but I can’t help feeling this way.”
She softened. “Oh, Alex. I think I love you too. And I’m a mess. Ask anyone.”
His heart clenched, and he drew her in for a kiss that showed her how much he felt. “You get to me, baby. I don’t ever want to let you go. I don’t care what color your hair is, or what kind of crappy candy you like. I love you, the funny, smart, control freak—”
“Hey.”
“—who won’t give up the TV remote and who folds her socks and underwear and stacks them just so in my drawers. I’ve noticed you folded mine too. Thanks.”
She blushed. “Sorry. You’re so disorganized.”
He laughed. “That’s not what the team says. According to them I’m a little compulsive.”
“And that’s a problem?”
He laughed some more. “You’re wonderful, you know that? For growing up an only child, then losing your parents and going to live with your cousin’s family, you seem pretty damn well adjusted. You’re kind, and not in a doormat kind of way. You’re a genuinely nice person. I’ve seen inside you, too. You care, sweetheart. And that’s rare in this day and age.”
“Oh please.” Her cheeks were pink. “You sound like you’re a hundred and two. You’re only a few years older than I am.”
He did the math. “Seven, I think. So that makes me always right.”
She snorted.
He tickled her. She fought back through laughter and smiles.
And Alex had the best time of his life in those few precious moments before the world went to hell.
******
&
nbsp; “We’ve spotted Yates in the city,” Eli told them as they walked back into the house.
Kennedy froze. “He’s here?”
Eli nodded, his expression grim. “Yeah, and he’s not the only one. A gas station blew up downtown, killing five. Cameras spotted someone looking a lot like Sheer nearby.”
“They know we’re here.” Alex squeezed her hand.
“I’d say that’s a yes.”
“Fuck.” Alex gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Where’s Gideon?”
“In the war room with the others.” Eli glanced at Kennedy. “He’s waiting for you.”
Kennedy knew things had been too good for too long. “I’ll be with you guys in a minute, okay?”
Alex gave her a hard look. You sure you’re okay? he projected. And not all that hard. So attuned to him, Kennedy easily caught his thoughts if he so much as mentioned her name or imagined her smile. She tried not to do that, because half the images in his mind involved little in the way of clothing and Alex inside her in one way or another.
I’m fine. I need the bathroom is all.
He nodded and left her, following Eli down the hall.
Left alone, she hurried to their room, needing more than a moment to see to her needs, and ditched her jacket on the bed. After she finished, she sat the bed, breathing in the scent of her mate to calm her nerves.
Yates and company had to be searching for her. Though Dr. Lang would be happy to capture his old test subjects, his A series, she had a feeling Yates wanted her more than the others. She could hear his thoughts if she listened hard enough, and that shocked her. Normally she had to be in the general proximity of those she could hear. But something in Yates boosted his mind, and it wasn’t like the soul-to-soul connection she shared with Alex. Something psychic coated Yates’s energy, masking a sickness of sorts.
You belong to me, sweetie. Come on, Kennedy. Come home and we’ll leave your new Circ friends alone. We’ll let your cousin go. I need you. You’re mine. Pack. I swear, I’ll take care of you. The sad thing was Yates sounded sincere. Lang must have done something to him, because he seemed way too intent, and she knew Yates didn’t get that way about the females he used. Nivia and Charlie had told her much about the pervert, and “nice” didn’t enter the picture.