Touched (Sense Thieves)

by Corrine Jackson

  Lucy and I rolled our eyes at each other. When the door opened unexpectedly, Ben found us doing a celebration dance in the entryway. He looked worried. “Maybe we shouldn’t go. With the crank calls, I don’t feel right leaving you girls alone.”

  Looping an arm around his waist, I reassured him. “Dad, go. Have fun. We haven’t had a single call since you changed our number. Lucy and I will be fine.”

  Lucy gave him a cheeky grin. “Besides, Remy and I will be heartbroken if you back out. It’s not often we get the run of the house. You know you can trust us.”

  He nodded and we pushed him out the door. “Keep the doors locked and the alarm on. Call us when you get home tonight. If you need anything, we’re less than two hours away.” Finally, he left, and Lucy and I waved until the car disappeared around a corner before resuming our celebration dance.

  Later that night, I proudly wore my necklace and let Lucy dress me up, even going so far as to wear heels with my red skirt. We had dinner at La Fleur. Tim seemed pleasant enough, and he obviously cared about Lucy. She practically glowed sitting next to him, and I could have liked him for that alone. After dinner, we all headed next door to the Broderick Theater, the only movie theater in town. The scent of buttered popcorn wafted through the building, making my mouth water. I couldn’t concentrate on the screen with Asher sitting next to me.

  We didn’t dare touch in the dark in case sparks flew. It would have been impossible to explain a sudden flare of green light that originated from us. The air between us almost sizzled anyway. At one point he turned to stare at me with the light from the movie screen flickering over his face. He took a deep breath before facing forward, the taut line of his unmoving body belying his tension. I followed his example and hoped the movie wasn’t an epic.

  A long time later, the lights came up in the theater. Asher’s hand slipped into mine, and green sparks lit across our skin.

  Lucy caught the glow out of the corner of her eye and gasped. “What was that?”

  “Static electricity. Asher shocked me. I heard there was a storm coming.”

  Lucy and Tim walked out ahead of us, and Asher glanced sideways at me. “Static electricity? That’s the best you can do?”

  I rolled my eyes. “I didn’t hear you offering up an explanation.”

  “Fourth of July came early?” His lips quirked.

  I snickered. “You really light up my life, Asher.”

  He laughed and tossed an arm around my shoulders. “That was awful.”

  Lucy turned and shouted, “Hey, you two. Catch up already. Let no man—or sister—get between me and ice cream.”

  We walked to Heavenly Ice Cream. Asher ordered me a scoop of Espresso Chip and a Triple Citrus Italian ice for himself. He grinned when I touched his hand so he could taste the dessert. His spoon dipped into my bowl so he could try mine, too.

  “Hey! No cross-contamination. Keep your citrus out of my espresso.”

  He grinned without apology. In retaliation, I dipped a finger in my ice cream and tapped the tip of his nose, leaving behind a smudge of tan cream. His eyes promised retribution. It wasn’t fair that he could look so gorgeous when anyone else would have looked silly.

  Asher leaned forward so only I could hear his whisper. “You’ve got that look you always do when you’re thinking about how handsome I am.”

  I scowled at him. “Ego much?”

  “Never before you. How can I help liking that you find me attractive? Especially when it’s mutual. Have I told you how beautiful you are in red? Honestly, I don’t think I can stop myself from kissing you.”

  I held my breath as he came closer. Instead of aiming for my lips, his nose brushed mine. Amused, I pulled away to wipe the ice cream off my face with a napkin. I swiped it across his face, too, and he laughed, ducking away.

  Tim shook his head with a rueful smile. “I thought Lucy and I were bad.”

  Lucy smirked. “Told you so. I am a diehard romantic, and Remy and Asher even manage to make me blush.”

  Asher and I both threw our napkins at her.

  “Says the sister who bet on when we wouldn’t be able to stay away from each other any longer,” I said.

  Lucy shrugged. “I seem to remember winning that bet and giving you half the pool the day you two caved.”

  Asher’s eyebrows rose as he pieced together what we were talking about. He looked at Lucy with new respect. “Smart woman. Remind me never to bet against you.”

  I spent the next ten minutes trying to puncture Lucy’s inflated ego until Asher’s sneeze distracted me. It took a full minute for it to register that Asher didn’t sneeze, shouldn’t sneeze, hadn’t sneezed in over a century. I twisted in my seat, and we stared at each other in shock while Tim continued to tease Lucy. As I watched, he grabbed a napkin and sneezed again.

  His tone sounded a comical mixture of incredulity and misery. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  I would never have wished the misery on him, but I couldn’t help it when my lips twitched.

  He glared at me. “Don’t you dare laugh.”

  Lucy shot us a curious look. “What’s so funny?”

  “I think Asher’s coming down with something.” There was no way I could explain that my immortal boyfriend hadn’t been sick in over a century, but I’d managed to give him the flu.

  Tim grimaced. “Oh, man. That sucks.”

  I touched Asher’s forehead and noticed the skin felt hotter than usual. “You have a fever. We should go. You’re going to need a lot of rest and fluids if you have what I did.”

  As we left the ice cream shop, Asher’s cell rang, and he held back to answer it. His miserable expression transformed from concerned to furious in an instant as he listened to the person on the other end. When he hung up and rejoined us, I was terrified I knew what he would say.

  “I have to head home to take care of some family stuff. Would you guys mind taking Remy home?”

  Tim nodded and Lucy asked, “Is everything okay?”

  Asher rolled his shoulders and gave her a distracted smile. “Yes. Just the usual family drama.”

  The usual family drama didn’t exist as far as the Blackwells were concerned. Asher stepped close and pulled the edge of my jacket closed against the cold. Too low for Lucy and Tim to hear, he said, “Something’s up with Lottie. Gabe wouldn’t tell me over the phone, but they need me to come home.” Asher sighed. “I’m sorry, Remy. I wanted this to be a normal date. If this is another of Lottie’s attempts to keep us apart, I’m going to throttle her.”

  I stroked a hand over his shadowed jaw. “Don’t worry about it. Go take care of your family.”

  “I’ll call you as soon as I can.” He sighed in frustration and dropped a kiss on my lips.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  Tim dropped us off at the house, and I waited impatiently for Asher to call. Two hours passed without news, and I knew something was wrong. I double-checked the alarm and door locks, trying not to worry Lucy. We called Ben and Laura to reassure them that we’d returned home safe and sound from our date. It sounded like they were having a blast, and I felt guilty for wishing them home.

  Lucy headed upstairs, and I paced restlessly through the living room. Finally, a knock sounded, and I peeked through the curtain to see Asher. I yanked open the front door, and he entered with Gabe on his heels.

  “Asher? What’s going on?”

  He didn’t speak right away, and fear skittered along my nerves. “It’s my sister, Remy. She’s betrayed us. She’s the one who’s been stalking you. The phone calls and the person you felt following you. She did it.”

  Shocked, I stared between him and Gabe. “Why would she—?”

  Asher touched my hand. “It gets worse. She called Spencer and Miranda and told where to find you. They’re on their way.”

  My knees buckled, and I sank down on the stairs. Lottie had looked at me like she hated my guts. I should have expected this. “When will they get here?” I said in a flat tone.

&n
bsp; “Tomorrow, we think. We haven’t been able to reach them.” He kneeled down in front of me, bringing his eyes level with mine. He looked tired and worried and feverish. “I’m sorry, Remy. She was scared, and she convinced herself she was protecting our family. She knew it was wrong as soon as she did it.”

  Gabe leaned against the closed front door watching us. “It wasn’t just Asher’s senses returning. Having you around has affected us all, and Lottie never wanted to be mortal again.” He shrugged as if he didn’t care one way or the other about his own mortality.

  Asher hit the wall. “I should’ve seen this coming!”

  “How could you have?” Gabe asked.

  I’d made Lottie vulnerable, and she’d hated me for it. I dropped my head into my hands, bracing my elbows on my knees. She must have been terrified when she began to feel things. At least Asher and I had been going through everything together. “Is she okay?”

  Asher’s laugh sounded bitter. “How can you even ask? We were supposed to protect you, not bring more danger into your life.”

  At least I knew my stalker’s identity. Dean could be discounted from the equation. I took a deep breath. “Do Spencer and Miranda know where I live?”

  Asher stood with his hands in fists at his side. “No. She told them she suspected a Healer lived in Blackwell Falls. That’s enough to bring them here to investigate. And if they come, they’ll find you.”

  “I thought they were family. Can’t you explain . . . ?”

  Gabe broke in. “If they’re coming to kill you, our ties won’t stop them. They’ll think we betrayed them by keeping you a secret.”

  “Right. I’m the enemy.”

  In a tortured voice, Asher continued, “Lottie called them today. They planned to catch the first flight from England in the morning. We’re leaving right now to cut them off in Portland.”

  I rose to my feet and wrapped my arms around myself. “My parents are gone, Asher. I’m responsible for Lucy. I can’t leave her alone.”

  Asher’s eyes took on a desolate look. “I know. Gabe and I are going alone. We’re going to head them off tomorrow afternoon when they get off the plane. We’ll tell them we found the Healer and killed her. Killed you. Whatever it takes to make them leave. I swear to you, Remy, I’ll fix this.”

  I scrubbed a hand over my face. “What if you can’t? What if they insist on coming here to see the proof? Oh, God. My family, Asher. I can’t . . . I wouldn’t be able to live . . .” I pictured Anna watching her home burn with her mother’s body inside.

  He cut me off. “Don’t go there. I’ll take care of it. I won’t let anything happen to you. I told you, I’ll do whatever it takes.”

  Acid churned in my stomach. I believed he would do everything in his power to keep us safe. The Protectors were coming to kill me, and he would try to stop them, while I waited here in agony. All my training had been for nothing because Asher would go in my place. I suddenly couldn’t drag enough air into my lungs.

  His arms engulfed me. “I promise everything will be okay. You can believe me,” he whispered.

  I didn’t believe in vows, but I heard myself asking for one, anyway. “This isn’t fair. I need you, Asher. Please, please promise you’ll come back.”

  He tugged me into the living room out of Gabe’s sight and trapped my face between his hands. “Nothing on this earth could keep me from you. Don’t you know? This isn’t a tragedy we’re in, mo chridhe. We get to live happily ever after.”

  “I love you.” My voice barely reached a whisper.

  He pulled me close in a desperate embrace. He’d never kissed me like this, with total abandon, not even the first time on the ferry. Like that time, though, my body began to heal him, and I tried to pull away. Asher wouldn’t let me go. His hands fisted in my hair, his lips pressed hard against mine, and I couldn’t get close enough to him. Too soon, he set me away from him, pain clear in his eyes. Green sparks sizzled between us as we separated.

  “I’ll come back, mo chridhe.” He backed away as if it took all his strength to walk away and disappeared out the front door past his brother.

  “Gabe?” He paused in the act of following Asher and looked at me. “What does mow-cry-uh mean?”

  The hardness in Gabe’s eyes softened. “It’s Gaelic for ‘my heart.’ My father started calling my mother that when he met her. He said his heart didn’t truly beat until he met her.”

  I grasped the doorway to stay upright when my legs threatened to crumple. Gabe met my harsh stare with cool eyes. “Return without him, and I’ll break every bone in your body.”

  He nodded. “And you remember your training, Healer. You brought my brother back to life. I’m rethinking my idea that the only good Healer is a dead Healer. Don’t make me wrong.”

  The door slammed closed behind him, and I prepared to live out the longest night and day of my life.

  Left on my own to guard Lucy, I sat in my room, jumping at shadows and listening for any weird noises. Despite Asher’s reassurances that Lottie was the stalker, I couldn’t shake the notion that something dark and twisted lurked outside, anticipating an opportunity to slither in.

  Asher called once during the night to let me know he’d reached Portland. He sounded miserable with the flu, and I wished I’d healed him before he left. He didn’t complain, but Gabe grumbled in the background that all bets were off if Asher got him sick and his threat almost made me smile.

  After we hung up, it was back to waiting. Morning brought a relief and dread. Lucy noticed my quiet mood and left me to my thoughts. When she mentioned going out with Tim for the day, I snapped to attention. I convinced her I had a sudden desire to drown in chick flicks, and she stayed home to keep me company. The day dissolved in a blur of microwave popcorn and pedicures. In the end, I didn’t fool Lucy.

  “What’s up with you and Asher?” she asked. “I heard his voice last night. Everything okay?”

  It occurred to me that Lucy had canceled her plans with Tim to stay home and cheer me up. My stilted smile folded under her concerned gaze, and I wondered if I’d be able to protect my sister when the chips were down.

  “Whoa. You didn’t break up or anything, did you? That would be really stupid of you. He’s different than I thought he’d be. It’s obvious to anyone with eyes in their head that you belong together.”

  I tried to regain control of my runaway emotions. “No. He’s going through some stuff with his family. He had to go to Portland last night. I’m worried about him, that’s all. He’s supposed to call soon.”

  She smiled and looped an arm around my shoulder. “Give him some time. He’ll call.”

  By six in the evening, I’d given up pretending interest in the movies and paced in front of the living room window. My phone rang, and I took it into the hallway for privacy.

  “Asher?”

  “It’s me. Everything’s okay, Remy. It went better than we could have hoped!” He sounded relieved and exhausted.

  “We’re safe?” It couldn’t have been that easy.

  “Yes. I saw them back on the plane myself. We convinced them that Lottie has been acting oddly. We told them we’d hunted for a Healer in town and hadn’t found one. They believed us. They had no reason not to when we’ve never lied to them before.” Regret roughened his voice. “To be safe, we’re going to wait until the plane takes off, and then we’ll be on our way back.”

  I slid down the wall until I sat on the floor. The bad feeling I’d had all night lingered. “Are you sure?”

  His voice caressed my raw nerves through the phone. “I’m sure. They’ll be back in a couple of months to visit, to check on Lottie. We’ll need to keep a low profile, so we don’t draw attention to ourselves, but we’re safe for now.”

  I tried to shake off the lingering sense of doom. “How long until you’re back?”

  “A few hours, at most.” He sneezed on the other end of the line.

  “I should’ve healed you before you left. You should go home to rest when you get
back. We’ll see each other tomorrow. It’s been a long day for everyone.”

  His voice dropped low. “I’ll sleep while Gabe drives. You okay?”

  Apparently, I wasn’t fooling anyone today. “Yeah. Just tired. I didn’t sleep last night. See you tomorrow?”

  “Yes. I love you.”

  “I love you, too. And Asher? Thank you.”

  “You have nothing to thank me for. We’re in this together, remember?”

  We hung up, and Lucy poked her head in the hall. I wondered what she’d heard. “Everything okay, now?”

  I clambered to my feet. “Sure. Want to get out of here and get some dinner? I’m going stir crazy.”

  She gave me a wicked smile. “Only if we can get Greek pizza with extra olives.”

  At my nod, she raced upstairs to dress, and I followed. My rotten mood faded as relief stole in. If Asher said the Protectors were leaving, I believed him. We were back at square one. With a lighter heart, I determined to have fun tonight with my sister to make up for my distraction today. When we’d bundled up in jeans, sweaters, and our coats, we headed down to Beachfront Pizza and shared an overloaded, salty pizza with sourdough crust while sitting in the crowded upstairs dining room overlooking Main Street.

  Eventually, we ate our fill and stopped in at Heavenly to take some Espresso Chip ice cream home for dessert. I pulled the Mustang into the garage, and Lucy raced ahead of me to the house. The alarm was off, and I wondered if I’d turned it on before we’d left. I almost bumped into my sister when I stepped into the kitchen behind her.

  “Lucy? What are you—?”