Christian (The Protectors Book 1)

by L. Ann Marie

  The pussy doesn’t answer, but Dean doesn’t care. “I need to ask Jessie apparently. Take your disgusting thoughts and stay at your post or station or whatever you call it, but keep away from me and the kids. Every one of us knows what is on your mind and we don’t like it. As a matter of fact, I’m just going to tell Jessie what you’re thinking, if the boys don’t first.” She bends to get the bin.

  The pussy is trying to move, but I hold him where he is. “You make trouble and you’ll see what’s on my mind.”

  She stands and walks closer to him making me proud. “You think threatening me will make this better. I thought the Club didn’t take stupid people. Every room has cameras in it. If they didn’t pick it up before they have it now. And just so you know, I’ve taken down men that are bigger than you. Take your stupid and your threats back out to the door WHERE YOU BELONG!”

  I walk closer and the pussy tries moving again. “Babe. You hitting him or am I?”

  She waves her hand. “You can, I have a damn class waiting for these supplies. He’s trying to get me in bed with him.” She gives him a look. “As if.” She walks away and I laugh.

  When I look back at the pussy I’m not laughing. “You know who I am?” He nods. “Then you know who she is. Every fuckin’ day I’m here. You should have clued in before now how this would end.” I roll pain through him and hold his scream.

  Jessie runs in with Taylor. “Jesus. I got him Brother.” Jessie walks toward him and I let him go. He falls to the floor and pisses himself. “Jesusfuckin’Christ. Coder I need Clean-up in here.” He cuffs the pussy.

  I don’t tell him it isn’t needed. He needs a body pickup. I find my little spitfire pixie and help her with the lesson she’s doing. We have a good time and I get my fix with the kids. Chance stays on my lap the whole time and for some reason this makes Mucimi happy.

  When I get back to Security, Prez is waiting. “You could have just hit him.”

  I shake my head no. “He was coming back for her and he saw Phoenix behind me.” I throw him the pussy’s thoughts. He winces and throws me chin.

  “MC needs you up there to explain shit to Pres. Ricky is pulling his hair out. Abel is ready when you are.”

  I nod. “I just talked to Jeremy. He didn’t say anything about me being needed.”

  His hand goes through his hair. “Since Pres apologized to him and Aubrey they’ve been steering clear of him. Aubrey said every time he sees them he’s trying to give them things. You know Jeremy. He doesn’t need anything so everything he gets he’s giving away. Aubrey thinks it’s funny because Jeremy gave Pres’s leather to some homeless guy in the City.”

  I turn around laughing. “Christian.” I stop with my hand on the door. “Mitch has the brace for you. I’ll let her know you’ll be at Security.”

  “Thanks, Prez.” We walk out and I suspend down the stairs and get Nekanis in the truck. “Let’s go see the crazy assed Brothers Nekanis.”

  Abel lands at MC-Baxter and tells us he’s waiting. I throw him chin. “I’ll call to you when I’m ready. Go eat or whatever, it will be a while.”

  That makes him happy. We go in and I don’t have to show ID this time. I see pictures and I’m glad they finally added me. At Pres’s office, I turn left and knock on Ricky’s door. “Thank fuck Brother. I swear the man forgot English all of a sudden.”

  “I don’t understand why I’m here. You, Devan, Elizabeth, Colt, Harley...”

  He puts his hand up. “You’re the guy that runs it, he wants to know what you do and how it works. Since I don’t do visions he wants a better understanding of how you know what the fuck is happening.”

  I shake my head. “I told him how the visions work.”

  He nods. “I think now he’s willing to hear it. He’s trying Brother. Elizabeth and Harley are partnered and running like Sheila and Eliza.” I nod already knowing this. They ran Ops, shocking the shit out of Uncle Steve and Pres, two days ago. You’d think he would have asked while I was here.

  He nods and I shield. “He’s got inner circle waiting and Mitch will be here in about an hour and a half. Amanda will cut your cast off in an hour and Prez has Jeremy showing with her.”

  I nod and follow him down to the meeting room. He laughs at the Brothers watching me suspend down the stairs. “Hopping up and down doesn’t work for me.”

  “It ain’t the Badass way,” he says thumbing us in.

  Pres’s hands go up in the air. “I was just going to send a Prospect to find you.”

  What? I just got here like five minutes ago. Rich laughs. “The newly enlightened Pres is a little impatient.”

  Uncle Danny and Geek laugh. “Have a seat Brother this may take a while.” Geek pushes a chair out and I raise me over it and sit.

  Ricky laughs. “Badass.”

  Pres watches then thinks Ricky’s right. I roll my eyes and wait. When I was here for the Ops he was asking Ricky shit that was pretty obvious. He didn’t need the answers he just wanted to make sure Ricky was on the same page. Now he’s all about Ricky like he was for Prez.

  “Are Danny and Ricky readers?” Fuck, the first fuckin’ question he has is this?

  “They’re not mine to tell Pres. I thought you wanted to know about Protectors?”

  Uncle Danny is relieved and Ricky just smiles. Pres throws his hands up. “Someday someone will answer that fuckin’ question.”

  I nod. “That’s not today. What do you want to know today?” Everyone laughs, but I keep my eyes on him. He has to understand I can only tell him so much.

  “How do you know what everyone is doing? I’ve watched Ally and she isn’t getting OCs or calls from you. Terry calls her, but she’s never talked directly to you, unless you’re here.” He thinks I should be impressed with his stalking of Ally.

  I smile and answer him in his head. ‘I talk to her every day just like this. You don’t need to be a reader for me to talk to you or even control your movements.’

  He’s surprised, but curious. “Show me.”

  “On you?” He’ll fuckin’ shoot me. He nods and I think I’ll never have this chance again. Smiling, I lift his arms up and suspend him from the ceiling. Everyone thinks this is funny.

  “Okay. I got that one.” He’s nervous I’m going to drop him so I set him down gently and release his arms. “That was fuckin’ weird.” I laugh. “So, you talk to everyone in their head every day and that’s how you know what’s going on?”

  “Yeah and we jump every couple of days, usually after training, so we connect and stay on the same page.”

  He nods with everything running through his head. I decide to shield and wait for his questions. “The kids that aren’t Indian jump?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Can anyone jump?”

  Fuck, I see where this is going and want to shut that down. I need to be honest since he’s seriously trying to work it all out in his head. “If they have a strong guide, yeah.”

  “You can take us to the wind?”

  Fuck. I look around Geek, Rich, Uncle Steve, Bob and Pres is a lot to carry. My dad and Uncle Danny can get themselves there and back. “I need Jeremy or Aubrey after.”

  “Why?”

  “It will drain me to carry everyone. If Mase is here he can help.”

  Pres looks at my dad. “Can’t you help?”

  “If you were a kid I could, but you’re all grown fuckin’ men.”

  Pres nods. “Geek find Mase and see when Jeremy is due in.” He looks at me. “Jeremy can help get us there too right?”

  Since Jeremy is trying to avoid him I don’t want to throw him under the bus, but I don’t want to lie either. “He can, but he’s focused on other things right now. Changing his focus puts people at risk.”

  “Will you explain that?”

  “Jeremy runs different than everyone else. He sees everything, but can focus on one thing while everything is going through his head. If he sees a threat or something that needs to be changed, he does it. If it’s bigger and he needs
to watch other things happening, he throws to me or whoever can make the change without changing an outcome to worse.”

  “A Protector?”

  I shake my head no. “He throws to Ricky, Jessie, Brantley, Taylor, Prez, Dakota, Uncle Danny, VP, Mase, Jacob or my dad.” I look at Rich and he nods. “And Rich.”

  He runs through the list. “They aren’t all readers or Protectors.”

  “No.”

  “Why are VP, Ricky, Danny, Taylor and Rich on the list?”

  I don’t look at him, but Uncle Danny throws HS. “They’re all HS, and Jeremy trusts them. He wouldn’t throw to someone he can’t be sure of. The outcome has to stay how he sees it. Changing a vision is risky at the best of times. With shit happening all around us we can’t chance mistakes.”

  This is all shit I’ve explained already and I have shit to do. ‘Your explanation will further the vision my Warrior Protector. Show him the patience he needs to further that. It will be a benefit to all of us.’

  “Yeah, thanks Brother.” Pres gives me a funny look. “Fuck. Dakota was giving me advice. Sorry Pres. Too much happening all at once.”

  “Dakota gives you advice about our meeting?”

  I push the vision away and raise up standing behind my chair. Nekanis walks beside me while I pace. “I had a vision running, Jeremy not wanting to stop at the Lab, Geek finding Mase pissed about being called in and you asking about stuff I already told you. Dakota was telling me to show you patience because it furthers the vision we live by. I didn’t mean to answer him out loud.”

  “Do you need a minute?”

  I look at him. “Yeah, I need to talk to Prez and Dakota.”

  He nods. I lean against the wall. ‘Dakota I need you to get Security to the school. Tell Prez the vision with Brandon is going to happen today.’

  ‘He is here Brother. HS will cover them.’

  I see the fight. HS makes it. “Mucimi. You see?”

  ‘Yeah.’

  “Throw to Aquyà and Phoenix.”

  ‘We see Christian.’

  “Get Holly and Dean to the back with the babies and girls. Wait there for Jessie.”

  ‘You see?’ Aquyà asks.

  They have everyone moving now. “Good job Little Brothers. Throw to Dakota or Prez. I’ll keep watch.”

  I stand up and look at Pres. “I’m ready. Jeremy will be here in ten and Mase is here.” Fuck! He looks stricken. “Without a threat, I sometimes talk out loud.” Jesus I’m fuckin’ losing it.

  “There’s a run on the kids and you’re ready?”

  “I’ll watch, but HS makes it.”

  He nods, not believing me. I look at the board and throw the school with the kids in the back then Jessie and Taylor riding toward it. Eliza is running in the door. I stop throwing and look at him. “Sheila is already in.”

  He watches me for a minute then his mind settles. “Can any of the kids here put up a threat like that so we can see it?”

  “You only have Jeremy and Aubrey that get visions like that. Elizabeth gets pieces from everyone else like Prez. Judy has no interest in HS and has never offered so no.”

  “Jeremy and Aubrey.”

  I shake my head no. “Jeremy can’t be tied to a chair to throw visions on a board Pres. If you try to keep his mind on something like that, he can’t see the other things happening. Aubrey is linked into Jeremy, they’re bound and work together like one mind.”

  He doesn’t understand. I shield him and watch the school. When they’re clear I sit.

  “Kids safe.”

  I nod to Uncle Steve. Mase walks in and sits by me.

  “You can put the visions on the board for us,” Pres says and I laugh.

  “Sorry, I’m not sitting in a chair throwing visions for anyone.”

  He’s getting pissed. “Why?”

  I throw the original vision and let them see. “If all I do is throw the visions then they happen.” The table explodes when Brandon gets hit. “You can’t keep thinking that tying our hands to one specific job will keep everyone safe. We aren’t just HS with one job to complete. Too many other things are happening for us to stop for that one job.”

  He nods finally getting it. “You seeing the kids, talking to Dakota, Jeremy and Mase plus answering me plays all at once.”

  “Yeah and Aiyana is happy with the Vets at the pipeline, Terry wants to know if the threat was linked here or if it’s the lunatics, and Colt is asking if he’s out for the day because Mase is here.”

  “Anything else fitting in there?” Geek asks.

  “Nekanis needs to go out.”

  They laugh. Pres watches me. I wait. “So, all the kids have more than what I see as a threat, but can’t always say what the threat is and may react and do things to keep us safe that I never know?”

  “Thank fuck!” Uncle Danny says and I nod.

  “How will I ever know what the fuck is going on with them?”

  “Ricky knows and they’re all HS and loyal to the Club. Plus, they’re the Officers’ kids. Why would you ever think they’d do something that isn’t keeping you, the Club or other people safe?”

  He’s stunned by the question. “I never thought about it that way.”

  “Maybe you need to trust that Wall’s vision is just as important to us as it is to you.”

  I raise up and stand again. “Look Pres, we can keep going around in circles, but I can’t give you vision, or make you a reader. Your purpose is to keep the vision alive and ours is to make sure that happens. Just like with Wall, that vision will be passed down. Those words he said to you were true. You gave that to Prez and now Ricky. They will pass it to others and the rest of us will make sure our Officers stay alive to see more and guide us in the right direction. Like VP, Uncle Danny, Geek and Tiny. Their purpose is to keep you alive—that means keeping the vision alive. For the kids, we’ve been doing it a different way, but the purpose is the same. It’s always been the same. You need to trust the younger generation to do their part and do it without you understanding every step we take to accomplish it. You have no clue how to program, but you have no problem letting Geek do that job. You need to have the same faith in us. Jeremy should be your example.” I stop pacing and look at him.

  “When the fuck did you grow up?”

  “The point is we all did and you need to see we have your back—remembering the lessons of our fathers and yours.” I wait for him to go through all I said and look for a Prospect. When he’s at the door I open it and tell him to take Nekanis out, get him water and wait with him until I open the door again.

  VP laughs and I shrug. Pres is still reeling from all I said. “I don’t mean to rush you, but I don’t have much time. If you’re serious about jumping, we need to do that now.”

  He nods. “What do I need to do?”

  “Relax. I’m going to put everyone on the table. You’ll all take forever if I don’t.” I lift them and put them all above the table. “Sitting is best.” I lower them then sit with them. “Mase stay with Pres. Dad settle everyone so we don’t lose them. Keep your hand on the people next to you and don’t let go. Spinning and black is normal. Just feel and relax.” I close my eyes. “Now.” We jump and I feel the push from Dakota. “Thank you, Dakota.” We fly over the reservation and they’re all quiet. “The rock Mase.” We land and sit. “The ancestors guide us in our purpose. They heal, giving strength and peace when we are in need. Giving their wisdom is not an obligation to them. They share that knowledge freely if we are of pure heart and mind. We will never be given abilities if our purpose is destruction.”

  Pres nods and his breath catches. “Wall and Hawk?”

  I nod seeing them across the lake. “Ancestors.” I see Nunánuk walk to them. “They guide us in all we do Pres.”

  “The ancestors are pleased my wise Protector. You have shown their guidance and wisdom has not been wasted on you.”

  “Thank you Co and Nunánuk for allowing our visit and showing what needs to be seen. As always, appreciation is
felt for our fathers and their lessons.”

  “Are you in need of guidance Christian?”

  “Not at the moment, Nunánuk. It is enough to see and feel all who have passed before us. Their guidance and strength will always be welcome and appreciated.”

  “You need to return Christian before you are too weak. Jeremy waits,” Co says and I’m starting to feel it.

  “Thank you my wise Shaman.” I look at everyone. Pres, Uncle Steve, Uncle Danny and Geek are still staring at Wall. Catching Mase’s eye I nod. “We need to jump back.” My dad throws me chin. “Now.”

  The ancestors and Co push and I feel Jeremy pulling. When I open my eyes, I lay down. Jeremy puts his hand on my arm. “Stupid.”

  “He needed to see. It will do more than me telling him shit over and over.”

  My dad leans over. “You’re right. I’m so fuckin’ proud of the man you’ve become Son.”

  I smile and close my eyes. They talk around me excited about seeing Wall. I don’t hear anything from Pres and look. He’s thinking about the vision and making sure it passes to the kids and grands. ‘Trust in us to keep those that carry it safe Pres. We are ready to give our lives for the vision.’

  “I see that now. You brought me so I could see what you’ve been telling me is true?”

  I turn my head so I can see him. “Yeah. I could have brought just you, but they needed to see too. Nunánuk helped me give you the language so you understood all that was said.

  When I can, I sit. “Pres, if you have anything else, Ricky can answer or knows where to find the answers. There is nothing more I can give you, but to say trust in your people. They wouldn’t be here if they didn’t believe in you.”

  He throws me chin. “Thank you Christian. I won’t let you or your ancestors down again.”

  I push the vision away. “Je, I need to get to Amanda.”

  He nods. “Locker room.”

  “Fuckin’ great.” I look around for my little man. “Mucimi, can you help Mase get me to the locker room?”

  I’m lifted and laugh. Pres watches smiling, my dad opens the door. “Come Nekanis.”

  Amanda cuts the cast off and washes my leg. I can’t take much more of her touching me. Jeremy is doing what he can to help, but I’m still feeling the jump.