Touch

by Rose Wulf

  The sight reminded Angela that, if everything went well, this was the second-to-last family dinner before Nate and Madison’s baby girl was born. The as-of-yet unnamed baby was expected in June. And by the end of the year, Angela would be an aunt three times over with the addition of Logan and Clare’s child.

  Her family was growing rapidly. She absolutely adored Kira and had no doubt in her mind that she would love her unborn nieces and nephews just as strongly. Her heart was warming toward Daniel and she had faith in his promises to maintain their renewed relationship. There wasn’t a person in the room Angela wouldn’t give her life for.

  Her eyes slid to the side, though she did her best to keep her head from turning, to sneak a glance at Vaughn. He was very much included in that thought. He was, in fact, higher on the list than more than a couple of those people. So why couldn’t she say it? What was holding her back?

  ****

  “I know this is a bit premature,” Daniel said as he kept pace beside Angela on Monday afternoon, “but I was thinking again about my plan to fly my family out for the holidays this year, and that got me to thinking about Lillian’s birthday. Seeing as how her birthday’s in December.”

  Angela turned her gaze slightly toward him, one eyebrow arched high on her forehead. He didn’t phrase it like a question, so she genuinely hoped he wasn’t trying to subtly prompt her for confirmation of his own sister’s birthday. “What about it?” she asked anyway, because he’d paused and she felt obligated to say something.

  Daniel’s shoulders lifted with an inhale. “Well, I realize it’s a little early, but do you think we could organize a surprise celebration for her? It is going to be her fiftieth, after all.”

  A quiet breath of relief escaped her. With the knowledge that he hadn’t forgotten her mother’s birthday easing her mind, Angela tilted her head back a little and looked up at the mostly clear sky. Daniel wasn’t the first to propose a surprise party, actually. Clare had put the idea out there a while ago. Everyone had easily agreed, but in light of more recent events, Angela had definitely forgotten. Not that it was exactly too late by any means. The only question that remained was whether or not Angela thought it would be a good idea to include Daniel in the planning stages.

  She absolutely did.

  Grinning, Angela replied, “Actually, some of us had already started talking about that. The planning hasn’t exactly picked up yet, though.”

  “That’s understandable!” Daniel exclaimed. He gestured toward the nearest empty park bench. “Let me tell you what I was thinking, and you can tell me if it sounds good.”

  Angela nodded, taking a seat beside him, and deposited her purse on the ground at her feet. This wasn’t at all how she’d originally thought she’d spend her Monday afternoon. But between a canceled class and the overwhelming feeling crippling her heart every time she tried thinking about the situation with Vaughn, when Daniel had asked if she wanted to go for a walk, she’d practically jumped out of her chair in her eagerness. She still didn’t know why she was so hesitant to admit, out loud, what she’d realized in her heart. Or why even thinking the words themselves made her stomach clench. She was pretty sure, though, that it wasn’t supposed to feel like that.

  What’s going on in my head?

  “For one thing,” Daniel said, unaware of Angela’s drifting thoughts, “we should definitely get Nicholas to fly up. I’m sure Lillian would like to see him again in person.”

  Angela dragged herself back into the conversation and nodded again. “Yeah. He hasn’t been to town in years.”

  “Exactly,” Daniel said. “And we’d need some kind of catering, so Lillian doesn’t feel obligated to help with the food or playing hostess. In fact, I was thinking we should rent some big venue, like take over a nice hotel in the city. Something of that nature. To make it a little more special.”

  “I hadn’t thought of that,” Angela admitted. “That all sounds good. But being December, we’ll need to book something as early as possible.”

  Daniel waved a hand in her direction. “I’m not too worried about that.” He paused and smiled almost sheepishly. “That’s all I’ve actually come up with so far, though.”

  “It’s more than we’ve got,” Angela assured him with a laugh.

  Her uncle shifted on the bench, leaning back and letting his own gaze slide up to the sky for a lingering second, but she got the distinct impression he was working up to something else. Something he was less comfortable talking about.

  Angela frowned and asked, “What is it?” Had something happened overnight that she didn’t know about yet? Was there an ulterior motive behind his quest to leave the house?

  Sighing, Daniel replied, “This probably isn’t my business, but the father in me can’t help but think about these kinds of things.”

  Angela blinked at him, thoroughly thrown. “What?”

  He looked back to her and awkwardly asked, “Your relationship with Vaughn, is it … serious?”

  That was not what she’d expected him to ask. It wasn’t anywhere on the list whatsoever.

  So much for the distraction. Heaving a sigh, Angela averted her gaze and mumbled, “Yeah, but it’s complicated.”

  “Complicated?” Daniel repeated. “How so? He didn’t seem especially uncomfortable yesterday.”

  Angela shook her head. “He probably wasn’t.” It was her turn to hesitate, and she cast her gaze around the mildly populated park in search of a way to articulate her thoughts. Part of her wanted to change the subject as quickly as possible, but another part of her was beginning to see this as an opportunity. “Uncle Daniel,” she said quietly, gaze falling to her lap, “how do you—” She cut herself off and swallowed heavily. “How do you decide you’re ready to spend your entire life with someone?”

  Beside her, Daniel shifted again. His voice was quieter when he asked, “Is that where you are?”

  “I don’t know where I am,” Angela admitted. She pulled in a difficult breath. “I … I think I’m in love with him, but I’m afraid if I tell him… I just think maybe he’s a little ahead of me, and I don’t want to hurt him.”

  Daniel nodded and covered her shoulder with one hand, prompting her to look into his eyes. The wisdom of a man who’d lived longer and seen more than she had shone back at her through the simple glasses on his nose. “Did he confess to you?”

  Angela nodded, somewhat amazed at herself for telling him even this much.

  “And you love him,” Daniel continued, this time not with a question. “But you’re not so sure you’re ready to settle down, is that it?”

  She looked away again and muttered, “Yes and no.” It was all a chain of events in her mind, and she was afraid to set the first piece into motion. Love led to proposals and marriage. Marriage, in her mind, led to family. And, for her, specifically, family meant five superpowered children. That was what she wasn’t ready for. She’d only just come to the realization—thanks to Vaughn—that she was more than the mother of the next generation of elementals. She wanted to see what that really meant. She wanted to explore the woman she was still growing in to, not dive into the matriarch she wasn’t.

  “Angela,” Daniel said calmly, “it doesn’t have to be all or nothing.”

  His words caught her attention. She jerked her gaze back up to his, but she said nothing.

  “If you don’t want to lose him,” Daniel said, “then you should give him something in return for his confession. Whether or not that something is a confession of your own is up to you. But even if it is, that doesn’t mean you have to resign yourself to a life of domesticity. You have plenty of time to settle down and raise a family, which means you’ve got lots of time to live a little, first.” He held up a finger, a teasing smile tipping his lips, and added, “Live smart, of course. I can’t in good conscience advocate anything too reckless!”

  Groaning and rolling her eyes, Angela looked away and mumbled, “Jeez, Uncle Daniel, I know that much.” Still… She had plenty of time? Did that
mean she could tell Vaughn how she felt without worrying about having to chase around quadruplet hellions by graduation?

  She was starting to think Daniel was on to something, that maybe the whole scene wasn’t as frightening as it originally seemed, when she realized her gaze had landed on a familiar figure. It was Eric. He was leaning against an old brick wall, at the edge of an alley between two businesses, and he was staring right at her unabashedly. Is he goading me? The very idea sent a wave of fury through her blood. The smug little bastard probably was goading her.

  “Angela?” Daniel asked. She realized, belatedly, it was the second time.

  “It’s Eric,” she said, eyes automatically narrowing as she pushed to her feet.

  “Eric?” Daniel’s voice was already more distant when he exclaimed, “Wait, Angela! What are you doing?”

  I’m going to give him a piece of my mind.

  Eric’s eyes narrowed for a second before a smirk curled his lips as he realized she was walking straight for him. He straightened and turned, his obnoxious leather jacket flashing for a moment in the sunlight before he disappeared into the shadow of the alley. He was baiting her and she knew it, but she wasn’t in the mood to care. It was his fault. More than anyone else, no matter how illogical, Eric was the one she blamed for everything that was happening to them. When she pictured the face of her enemy, his was the face she saw. His was the face that haunted her nightmares.

  “Angela!” Daniel called again as he caught hold of her wrist. She was barely five feet from the alley now. “Don’t be ridiculous. Chasing him down is suicide.”

  Angela tugged her arm free and glanced back at her uncle only long enough to reply, “Then don’t follow me. I’m sick and tired of playing his game.” And even if it landed her on bed rest for a few days, it would be worth getting to throw her fist in Eric’s face. Because there was more to her relationship hesitation than what she’d told Daniel. She was just plain insecure. She knew that. And she knew why. That was Eric’s fault, too. It was Eric’s fault that she could think she was in love with someone—could swear she trusted him completely—and yet still be afraid, in the back of her mind, that he would break her heart.

  She hadn’t loved Geoff. But she’d thought, in her stupid, teenaged heart, that she’d loved Eric. And just because she knew now what she’d felt for Eric wasn’t up to that level didn’t mean his double-betrayal hadn’t hurt. It had hurt like hell.

  “Ah, Angie,” Eric drawled when Angela caught sight of him again. He was waiting for her, his arms loose at his sides and his back to the chain link fence at the end of the alley. There was a dumpster to the right, between them and off to the side. Small, lightweight pieces of trash littered the ground from one side of the alley to the other. Come to think of it, she realized as she glanced around, this was the same alley where that heartbreak had started. This was the alley where she’d found him with another girl. “You’re not too bright, are you?”

  Angela sucked in a breath, fists clenching at her sides, and snapped, “Maybe you’re just not as frightening as you like to think you are.”

  “Let’s not make a scene,” Daniel suggested carefully, coming to a stop at Angela’s side. He held his hands out in a pacifying gesture, his gaze locked warily on Eric. “This could be a good opportunity to talk.”

  Eric arched a brow at him. “Who the hell are you?” He snorted, grinning again, and returned his focus to Angela. “What, decided to trade in your bodyguard for an older model?”

  “Daniel Page.”

  Angela barely managed not to cringe. It might have been smarter to keep Daniel’s identity a secret. Clearly, that thought hadn’t occurred to him.

  “Page?” Eric repeated slowly, the name obviously ringing a bell or three in his memory. As well it should have, since he’d have heard it from multiple sources. Angela knew she’d mentioned her Uncle Nicholas on more than one occasion, and there was always the tiny detail of how her other two uncles had been killed. The smirk returned to Eric’s lips after a long moment. “Well, this is a surprise. I never thought I’d get to meet a Page.” His eyes narrowed on Daniel and he added darkly, “You must be the one Father wasn’t able to find.”

  “I beg your pardon?” Daniel demanded, arms falling back to his sides.

  Eric’s sneer returned to Angela and he asked, “How’s Nicholas doing these days? Still soaking up the toasty warm Texas sun?”

  “You son of a bitch!” Angela cried, enraged that he would dare tease her about the grief his family had already caused hers. Enraged that he would even subtly threaten her already crippled uncle. Enraged that he and his family had the gall to dredge up and continue a war his ancestors had been responsible for starting. So much blood. How many lives had been lost to this senseless feud? It was impossible to know.

  And he just stood there, laughing about it.

  “Angela!” Daniel exclaimed, his voice startled.

  The red haze faded from her vision about the same time as she felt something hot give way beneath her fist.

  Her stomach rolled immediately, the sandwich she’d eaten less than half an hour earlier threatening to retrace its steps, and Angela stumbled back. Her whole hand was on fire, and though the flame was invisible, it licked up her arm, slowly taking all sensation entirely away. But even that was okay, because Eric had crashed into the chain link fence and was rubbing his jaw, glaring at her angrily. She’d landed a solid hit because he was arrogant enough to think she wouldn’t dare approach him.

  “That was pretty stupid,” Eric taunted, pushing himself properly to his feet. His still-splinted arm fell back to his side, fingers flexing, and Angela was all too aware of the thickening of the air around them. “I just asked a question.”

  Meeting his glare fearlessly, Angela ignored her churning stomach and too-cold arm. “Don’t you dare talk about my family, you monster.”

  “I’m the monster, huh? You’re the one who just hit me,” Eric returned with a sadistic grin.

  Daniel came up to Angela again, dropped both hands to her shoulders, and said firmly, “That’s enough. We’re going hom—”

  Thunder crashed overhead as lightning split the sky. Raw, wild electricity filled the air so quickly there wasn’t time to draw a breath.

  Angela cried out as she went flying backward. Her shoulders crashed into the brick wall and a different kind of pain suddenly exploded inside her. For a long, agonizing moment, Angela wasn’t sure whether she’d been struck with the lightning or not. It had come crashing down. She’d gone flying. Everything hurt.

  She wasn’t sure she was actually conscious until Eric’s dark chuckle washed over her ears and drowned out the not-so-distant sizzling that she assumed was herself. Still, she pried her eyes open, as much as she could, and forced her vision to focus enough to find Eric crouching beside her, hands in his pockets and arrogant smirk firmly in place. She groaned, attempted to speak—or move—but found both impossible.

  His smirk broadened and he said, “If you’re going to call me a monster, I figure I should earn it.” He paused and dragged his gaze over her. “That looks painful. I think I’ll let you live with it for a few days.” Then he pushed to his feet and strode out of her limited line of sight. Leaving her there, barely conscious, crumpled against the wall.

  Why? If she could manage to dig her phone from her pocket—and assuming it hadn’t gotten fried—she could call or text for help. She wasn’t just still alive, she was still conscious, at least for the moment, so why wouldn’t he finish her off? Doesn’t matter. She needed to take advantage of her consciousness while it lasted. She needed to work on reaching her phone. It probably wasn’t smart to assume Daniel could—Daniel!

  Angela sucked in as deep a breath as she could manage and swept her gaze further down the alley again, in search of the uncle who’d been standing directly beside her when the lightning fell. It didn’t take much effort to find him.

  “No…” she rasped, tears immediately rolling down her cheeks.

&n
bsp; The lightning hadn’t hit her. That was why she was still alive. That was what Eric had meant. The attack had been centered on her uncle.

  Daniel was on the ground, body half-supported by charred chain link. Smoke still wafted up from the blackened, burning remains of his corpse.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “You fool!” Jacob spat. Heavy footfalls accompanied his words and Sarah was sure that if she could see into the dining room, she’d find her husband pacing around the table, where Eric undoubtedly still sat. But, given Jacob’s tone, she wasn’t so sure this was a conversation she wanted to bear witness to.

  “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t yell at me all the damned time,” Eric returned.

  “I’ll stop yelling when you stop giving me cause,” Jacob snarled. Although, Sarah noted as she ran another dirty dinner plate beneath the hot water, he didn’t actually yell that time.

  “Come on,” Eric pushed, defending himself from his brother’s wrath. “I did us a favor. Can’t you see that?”

  “Oh, yes,” Jacob assured him coldly. “I see that. You killed an elemental, congratulations. That was your first actual kill, wasn’t it? I’d be impressed if it weren’t for the opportunity you shunned in the process!”

  Eric scoffed and his chair—Sarah assumed it was his, at least—slid back along the tile floor. “I was carrying on Father’s legacy! Daniel Page was the one that got away when Father went after them before, you know that!”

  Sarah cringed and shut off the water, listening intently for Jacob’s response. Whenever she dared mention her husband’s deceased father, it was as if she’d committed some grave sin. But perhaps Jacob would have a different perspective in this situation, since Victor had been Eric’s father, too. Anymore, she couldn’t predict what would or wouldn’t set him off.