“I’m not going with him,” she fussed.
“Ma’am-“ Auggy started.
“Don’t you ma’am me Augustine. How dare you send my niece out on this mission! How dare you risk her sixteen year old life while you sit behind your cushy desk and study military maps all day! You can turn your butt right around and go back where you came from,” Aunt Claire exclaimed. I’d never seen her so worked up. I stood frozen off to the side. I should have been embarrassed, but I wasn’t. She had a valid point from a parent’s perspective.
“Well, I see where you got your mouth Lexi,” Auggy said, not an ounce of inflection in his voice.
“Get him out of here!” Aunt Claire yelled, throwing a pointed finger at the door.
“How dare you talk to me like that! Did you forget who you’re dealing with here lady? I could buy, sell and imprison you at the snap of my fingers.”
“You wouldn’t dare! And if you did, good luck pawning my niece into doing your dirty work again!” Aunt Claire was nearly screeching by this point. I looked to Al who seemed just as lost as I was as to what to do. John, of course, was amused by it all.
“Well then Auggy, I’m just going to be heading out old man. It seems like you’ve finally met your match and I’d rather not be privy to all the gory love making details on the flight. I’ll book my own. Catch you on the flip side Lex,” John waved as he left the room, throwing on a pair of Aviator glasses on his way out.
“Bye,” I waved.
It was when he left that I finally realized what had been an overwhelming pull towards John had dissipated. It was gone as quickly as it came. Imara’s words about misinterpretation flashed in my mind. The only thing that had happened was that I’d saved his life in the warehouse. This was definitely an angle to consider. Maybe I felt a strong connection to the people I was meant to save. But that would mean I was meant to save Mel, Kai and Kellan’s lives at some point as well. I would have to reevaluate it all later, after I dealt with Jack.
“Lexi, you wouldn’t really torture your wonderful, lovable aunt by sending me with him, would you?” Aunt Claire asked, eyes wide and trying to feign innocence.
“Torture! You haven’t even begun to experience torture woman!” Auggy yelled, his neck colored red as his vein bulged.
“Well being forced to sit next to you in tight quarters for God knows how long will be the closest thing to it I’ve ever experienced!”
“Well it’s my fucking plane so you sure as hell aren’t kicking me off it!”
“Um, guys?”
“What?!” they both yelled in unison.
“Nothing,” I shook my head. “Nevermind.” I looked to Al who gave me the same raised brow I was giving him.
“Children, they think they can monopolize your attention for nothing these days,” Auggy scoffed.
“Tell me about it,” Aunt Claire laughed. The atmosphere of the room abruptly changed.
“Now we’re going to go get on that plane and fly back to our London base where I’ll be sure that Dr. Higlenburge takes extra special care of you little lady. Then, once you’ve recouped, I think you owe me dinner. It’s the least you can do to apologize for your rudeness earlier,” Auggy said as he lifted Aunt Claire into his arms.
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Apologize? I never apologize, especially when the man has acted like an ogre,” she snipped.
“Well this ogre apparently has more manners than you.”
“Manners? Do you even know the definition of the word? Last I heard you bossed everyone around without so much as a please or thank you, right Al?”
“I’d rather not get involved.”
“Smart man,” Auggy stated. “Bancroft, report to me once you’ve completed the mission. It seems my time will be monopolized by a needy woman at least until then.”
“Needy! I don’t need any man. In fact, put me down and I’ll charter my own plane you… you…” Her face scrunched as she prepared to launch another word attack on him.
“Aunt Claire!” I shouted. “I… love you, and I’ll see you again soon. Please, please, please be good. Listen to the doctor,” I pleaded.
“Honestly Lex, I’m the adult and you’re the child. I don’t need instructions or pampering, especially from an ogre!” She emphasized the last part, returning her attention to Auggy.
“You’re really trying my patience woman,” Auggy bit out.
“Good, because you’ve already run through mine in under five minutes,” she countered.
“What’s the record? Two?”
“I happen to be a very patient person,” she claimed. I tried not to role my eyes.
“Hm. We’ll see how patient you are when I tie you to my bed and teach you the meaning of the word torture,” Auggy said, leaning in and nipping Aunt Claire’s flushed neck. Oh God. They like each other. Auggy like –likes my aunt, and she apparently feels the same way if the goose bumps that just broke out on her skin or her suddenly erratic breathing were any indication.
“Um, be safe Lexi,” Aunt Claire said, her eyes locked on Auggy the entire time she spoke it though.
“You too Aunt Claire. Auggy, you better take good care of my aunt in whatever way she wants or else I’ll hunt you down and sabotage your institution from the inside out; after all, I do have a security clearance,” I smirked. That got his attention.
“Believe it or not I do know how to take care of a woman,” he frowned.
“Oh I’m sure you do. I know you’re not innocent. But I’m not talking about any woman; I’m talking about my aunt. Now stop doddling you two and run along. The sooner Dr. H looks her over, the better,” I said, shooing them out the door.
“Love you honey,” Aunt Claire beamed, winking as Auggy headed straight for the door. “What about my luggage?”
“I’ll buy you a new wardrobe,” Auggy replied.
“I don’t think the army can afford my taste sweetie.”
“Maybe not the army, but I can,” he assured her.
“Bye guys,” I waved.
“Bye,” Auggy gruffly stated. “Hey Claire, reach in my pocket and grab the radio for me.” The door closed behind them and the room suddenly felt too quiet.
“Wow. Who would have thought? Aunt Claire and Auggy. Never pictured them two together,” I stated.
“There are a lot of odd couplings on this earth Lexi. What matters is that the love is there,” Al stated, looking poignantly at me.
“You don’t have to worry Al. I love Kellan.”
“I’m not worried about him Lexi. I’m worried about you. You’re a lot like Beth. You love too easily, even the ones who don’t deserve your love.”
I couldn’t argue. I didn’t know if he was right given the amount of hatred I’d built for Mike before I lashed out at him, but I couldn’t find an example to prove him wrong with either.
“Thanks Al. I really do appreciate everything you’ve done to help us.”
“You’re like a daughter to me Lexi. I’m not warm and fuzzy like Beth, but it doesn’t mean I don’t care.”
“I’ve known. I don’t think you would be here if you didn’t.” He nodded, shoving his hands in the pockets of his trousers. “Thanks again.” Giving in to my whim, I hugged him. His arms went around me, reminiscent of my own father. The tears immediately began to gather at the thought of him. I tried not to think about my parents because they would always be my vulnerable spot. I’d accepted that I couldn’t have changed what happened, but I didn’t accept what happened quite yet either. I pulled away, running my fingers beneath my lids to stop any tears from falling.
“Go relax for a bit. I’ll be over later.”
“Ok.” I was ready to escape the room and the emotional truth that hung there.
Chapter 27
“Hey,” I smiled as I fell into the spot beside Kellan on the sofa. I curled up into him and pulled out the red iPod nano; I’d stopped to get it from our room on my way back. I handed him one of the ear buds and placed the other one inside my ear a
nd flipped it on. He studied me for a minute as the music started.
“You ok babe?”
“Yea. Just trying not to avoid remembering a lot of what’s happened over the last couple months.” He gently removed my hair scrunchy and allowed my hair to fall around my shoulders. He ran his fingers through my strands, soothing me with the motion. I closed my eyes, enjoying him, allowing the music and Kellan to surround me as I blocked everything else out. Sometimes we all need a little meditation time.
I left my mind open so Kellan knew exactly where I was at that point. Communication was one of the most important parts of a relationship, and despite being able to connect at any second and read each other, we often didn’t. We kept the barriers between us. I always found that when we did release them though, tossing caution to the wind, unrestricting our thoughts, we grew closer, stronger.
Already Kellan instinctively knew just what I needed most of the time, but every relationship has a disconnect from time to time. It’s holding on through the hard times, through the misunderstandings and emotional low points, that secure your relationship for eternity. If facing your problems is more than you’re willing to bear, then you’re not with the right person. I couldn’t imagine going to hell and back with anyone else, for anyone else. Regardless of his heated moments, I couldn’t picture myself consciously walking away from Kellan.
Given my age, it’s normal for me to stray; after all, this was supposed to be the prime of my life. I was supposed to date around and have fun, not tie myself down. But I did. And I knew I made the right decision because I didn’t regret it. I didn’t feel like I was missing anything with Kai. I didn’t feel like I was missing anything with another guy. Occasionally I found someone else attractive, my eyes would travel, but they were never better than Kellan. The best way I could put it was my mind would stray, but my heart would stay. He was my foundation, my anchor. I always came back to him, and always would.
He leaned down and kissed my head, as if acknowledging that he’d heard all of that. I rolled over and lay down so my head rested on his thighs. I gazed up into his brilliant green eyes; they were crystal clear despite a dark teal ring settling in indicating his desire for me. His pupils dilated as he continued to play with my hair.
I smiled back up at him, feeling like a giddy puppy. He beamed back at me, his dimple on full display; his full lips were stretched, yet retained their pouty pucker. Would I ever grow tired of looking at him?
“I hope not.”
I laughed. “I don’t think I will.”
“Good.”
My face shot to the right at the sound of someone clearing their throat beside us. “Hey Kai,” I greeted, sitting up.
“We couldn’t get a flight out tonight. Earliest flight is tomorrow morning.”
“That’s fine,” I shrugged.
“It’s a commercial flight that stops in Miami before continuing on to San Juan.”
“Ok. Do you need me to do anything? I know Kalel is still tapped into the cameras around the city. Want me to monitor them?”
“No. He disconnected from them. We never caught the assassins on them anyways. They know how to avoid them.”
“Is there anything I can do? I feel like you guys have done almost everything.”
“Prepare yourself. We’ve searched and El Yunque is a large rainforest with mountains, caves, waterfalls and absolutely no cell phone service. Once we’re in, we’ll have no way of contacting anyone on the outside.”
I felt the life drain from my face. Jack was setting us up good. We wouldn’t know how many of his men we were going to face until we were in, and we wouldn’t be able to call for back up at all. We were alone; this was it.
“We need to take as many weapons as we can carry. By chance, do you think we could get the same outfits we used the last time, the ones that stopped me from being burned?”
“Yea. I’ll have Art ship them overnight to the hotel.”
“Thanks.” I looked down at my necklace. It’d been a random thought I’d had, and given Kai’s feelings towards him, he was probably the best person to ask. “Kai, do you think Ralph is working with Jack? My necklace doesn’t work with the ninjas around, almost as if they know exactly what it’s made of and what to do to deactivate it.”
“That’s crossed my mind a few times,” he sighed. I scooted over to sit in Kellan’s lap as Kai sat down beside him.
“Does Ralph have access to your card records? To the Bladang’s expenses?”
“Only for the company card because he has to purchase so many parts and pieces.”
“You and Kalel have been charging the hotel bills to your company cards, haven’t you?”
I knew the second everything pieced together for him. “Shit! I knew I never should have trusted him. I only keep him because he’s Gabi’s cousin, and ok, so he is brilliant with technology, but he’s not worth the trouble. I’ve never trusted the twerp.”
“Twerp?” I chuckled. “Never heard you use that word before.”
“I reserve it for him.” Kai pinched the bridge of his nose. I nearly jumped when he leapt up and yanked his phone from his pocket. “Cancel Ralph as an authorized user on the AmEx right now! I want him on 24/7 surveillance and I need a log of all of his computer activity.” There was a pause. “I don’t care if you have to hire someone completely new to crack his security codes and encryptions. I want it done immediately. Call me when you get something.”
“You really think he did it?” Gabi asked, stepping into the conversation ring.
“I don’t know Gabi, but I don’t think it’s a coincidence that my necklace has worked with everyone except Jack’s team.”
“I don’t take offense to it. I mean we’re barely blood relatives in my eyes, and he drives me insane with his fat word musings, but I also don’t picture him as the type to make business deals. He’s more of a behind the scenes kind of guy.”
“You think someone else in the lab set it up and Ralph is just going along with it?” I checked.
“I don’t buy that. The guy is a lot more conniving than you give him credit for Gab,” Kai scowled.
“I’ll admit he’s not as innocent as he looks, but he’s also not as devious as you’re making him out to be.”
“How well do you really know your cousin Gab?” I asked, recalling the bad vibes I got when I met him. She remained silent, which meant not well. “Listen Gab, I’m not saying he’s a criminal; innocent until proven guilty and all. But he is the only one with access to the credit card charges and my necklace, which is pretty incriminating.”
“I know,” she sighed. “I just can’t believe that he would be so stupid. He’s deathly afraid of Kalel.”
“People are unpredictable,” I shrugged.
She took a deep breath. “Ok, so you cut him off from viewing the accounts, but was that before or after you booked the flights?”
“Shit!” was the expletive that exploded from Kai.
“Calm down. You can’t change it. Have you booked the hotel yet?”
“Kalel was doing that.” I was waiting for Kai to rip out a chunk of his curly brown hair the way he was tugging on it, nearly turning his shoulder length hair into an afro. I reached out and placed my hand on his forearm to stop him. “Sorry,” he said, letting go of his hair.
“It’s ok Kai. We’ll figure it out. It’s no different than what we’ve faced so far.”
“I just can’t believe it’s one of my own fucking employees screwing us over. A family member at that!” He abruptly turned and punched the wall, the entire structure shaking as he connected with and crumbled concrete. I had this innate notion to hug him like a mother would her angry child. I yanked him into my arms, pinning his arms to his sides. He scrunched his brow, taking deep breaths that did nothing to calm him.
“Kai, stop. You can’t change it. I know you’re mad, but breaking walls isn’t going to change things. It is what it is; what’s done is done. From here on out, we’ll just have to be more careful. Only th
ose who are with us can see where we are, even Art. Sadly, it’s as much our fault for being careless as it is his for betraying you.”
He relaxed in my arms and looked down at me. “How old are you?” he smirked. I rolled my eyes and took a step away from him.
“Ok, now I’m really ready to kick some ass. My family betrayed us; Rafi died,” her voice caught at the mention of him, “And I’m ready for revenge. None of what we’ve gone through should be in vain.”
“You know, that’s part of the problem between vampeens and vampires. We’re always trying to vindicate each other’s actions. It’s always about revenge, isn’t it?”
“Don’t go all churchy on me Lex,” Gabi squared off with me, hands on her hips as she pursed her lips.
“I’m not going churchy on you Gab. I’m just stating what I’ve been oblivious to. Why are you still on this mission Gab?”
“To get revenge for Rafi,” she replied.
“Kai, why are you on this mission?”
“To get revenge on the fucker for your parents and for trying to mess up my operation.” He said it as if it was a no-brainer, as if I should have known that all along.
“Kellan?”
“I’m ready to get back at the pendejo for messing with my woman,” he declared.
“Oh God. This is a revenge mission,” I groaned. “That’s not what I wanted at all.” I sighed, closing my eyes to the truth. We were no better than Jack the way we were using our negative experiences to fuel our attacks. Here I was thinking we were protecting other vamps, when really it was a selfish mission all along.
“We’re selfish creatures Lex. We don’t have human hearts or compassion,” Kai stated.
“That’s not true, otherwise you wouldn’t be on this mission with me. You have compassion when it comes to me,” I challenged.
“Whatever helps you sleep at night,” he shrugged.
3 Hit the Road Jack Page 19