I didn’t hear a response before Alec kept speaking. “If you use your ability and any of the men and women coming your way are harmed, you will spend the rest of your life rotting in a windowless cell.” Most people wouldn’t have picked up on the emotion in his voice, but I detected the hint of anger in the slight growl in his throat, the way his free hand curled into a fist.
“Harvey,” he continued, “just stay out of the way, man. And show them your hands so they know you’re not a threat.”
Without warning, he hung up. I took the phone numbly as he sat down next to me.
“You hung up?” I stared at the phone, then at him as prickles of panic started to poke at me again. “Wait . . . what . . . why?”
Alec put an arm around me and spoke in a low, soothing tone. “Our team was thirty seconds out. She can’t get away now, and Harvey will be better off if he’s not distracted. It’s handled. Wanna go grab some lunch?”
“Do I want to . . . what?”
I guess he was used to dealing with life-and-death situations, putting it out of his mind once he’d done what he could, trusting the people on the ground. But I wasn’t. My mind and heart were still in that dark room in Australia.
“Evie.” He nudged my chin until I was facing him, then gently held the side of my neck. “There’s nothing more we can do. The team will report as soon as it’s done. You need to clear your mind. Focus on me. Look at my eyes, precious.”
My mind beat against his words, my thoughts going faster than I could articulate them. But I made myself look into Alec’s piercing eyes. His stare had always been arresting, but now when he looked at me, love permeated his gaze, not hostility. My shoulders relaxed slightly as my breathing slowed to match his.
He smiled, then leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on my lips. Pulling away just a fraction, he spoke in almost a whisper. “Feel the cold breeze on your skin.”
I listened, feeling the breeze.
“Listen to the voices, the leaves, the cars in the distance.”
I listened, remembering where we were. The people, the sounds, the sun streaming through the leaves—everything slowly came back into focus. Alec’s honey voice and strong hands calmed me down despite myself.
He leaned away, a faint smile on his face, just as Charlie walked up to join us.
“Good work.” Alec fist-bumped him, and Charlie gave a smug smile.
“What was that all about? Or should we not discuss it in public?” Charlie looked around. The courtyard was clearing again as students and staff moved off for their next classes and commitments.
“I think we’re safe,” Alec answered.
I sat up a little straighter. “Wait, that was you? Tracking the call?”
“Yeah.” Charlie shrugged before casually sitting down on my other side. “So why was I tracking a call from your ex-boyfriend to your ex-boyfriend’s house?” He raised his eyebrows, his amused gaze moving to Alec. “Interesting use of Melior Group resources.”
Alec leaned around me and smacked his cousin on the shoulder. “Smartass. Zara surfaced.”
Charlie whistled low. They were both men of few words, and while it was annoying sometimes, it had its benefits when you were discussing sensitive information in public.
“I thought your stalking ways had reignited. But, just for the record, she saved my life, so my allegiance is to her now.” Charlie gave me a warm smile.
I smiled back and looked down. “I didn’t really do anything. Just helped find you.”
“Always so modest,” Charlie teased.
“Wait, what do you mean about stalking?” Something clicked in my mind as I remembered what Alec had told me about the year I spent in Idaho. I pushed the residual hurt down as Alec ran his hand over his buzzed hair.
“How you gonna throw me into it like that, man?”
“I told you. I’m on her side now. Besides, what difference does it make? She already knows most of it.”
“Yeah, well, maybe it’s better not to rehash old—”
“It was you?” I cut Alec off, staring at Charlie. “That year I lived in Nampa? You were the one blocking me from finding Alec.”
It made sense now that I knew how Alec’s mind worked. He wouldn’t have wanted it to be easily traced by Melior Group, nor would he have wanted to justify the use of resources, but he would’ve needed someone he trusted to do it. Charlie was the obvious choice.
“Yep. Kept you well away from this asshole but kept him informed of your every damn move. Made a good amount of money that year. He really wanted to keep you a secret, and he was willing to pay well.”
I smacked him on the shoulder too. “Charlie!”
“But!” He leaned out of my reach. “In my defense, I put a stop to it.”
“What?” Alec and I both said.
“Why do you think you were offered a scholarship here?”
“I’m gonna fucking kill you,” Alec growled, but I was pretty sure he wasn’t serious. “I want my money back.”
I just gaped, a smile tugging on my lips as Charlie argued, “Technically, you paid me to block her from finding you and to report on her movements and ‘anything suspicious.’” He used air quotes. “You never expressly said I couldn’t do anything to help her out a little.”
“Wait.” I finally found my voice. “So I didn’t actually earn my scholarship? You just . . . hacked me into the system?”
“Oh, Eve, no!” Charlie waved his hand. “All I did was bring you and your brilliant science mind to the attention of the admissions board, nudge them to get in contact with your school. The rest was all you, babe!”
I let out a relieved sigh. Of course I belonged here. The idea that I didn’t get into Bradford Hills Institute on merit should’ve never crossed my mind. If there was one thing about myself I was sure of, it was my intelligence. I was excelling in all my classes, even despite the constant disruptions and catastrophic, traumatizing events.
I pulled Charlie into a tight hug. My gratitude was threatening to burst out of me—pop open my seams and pour out like the stuffing in a teddy bear. “Thank you, Charlie. You changed my life.”
“Well, you saved mine, so we’ll call it even.”
I chuckled and pulled away, taking a deep breath to ease the persistent pressure of tears behind my eyes. Charlie’s eyes looked a bit misty too.
“Are you two crying?” Alec sounded perplexed, and we both burst into quiet laughter.
I cleared my throat. “I really appreciate it, Charlie, but why?”
“I didn’t know you were Evelyn Maynard, or Alec’s Vital, but I knew you were damn important to him. For him to spend that kind of money and insist I keep it confidential under threat of excruciating pain, not to mention that he went out there every chance he got to keep an eye on you himself . . . I knew you were something special. Secrets never last long, and the sooner they come out the less damage they do.”
“I was handling it,” Alec grumbled.
“No, you were sticking your head in the sand while developing an obsession. I know I meddled, but I did what I thought was best for everyone. I did it because I love you.” Alec just grunted, but Charlie kept speaking. “When I saw you two meet for the first time in the square that day, I knew who and what you were.”
“Holy shit.” Charlie knew I was a Vital before I did. He knew my true identity and kept it to himself. “You knew the whole time? But Dot said she told you.”
He chuckled. “She did when she figured it out, but I already knew.”
“Oh man, don’t tell her she was actually the last one to figure it out. She’ll hate that.”
Charlie cringed. “Yeah, good point.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I was a virtual stranger. I may have known a lot about you, but you’d only just met me. What would you’ve done if I’d walked up to you and announced I knew your real name and oh, by the way, you’re a Vital and this asshole is your Variant?”
“Yeah, fair point, I would�
�ve disappeared.”
“No, you would’ve tried. I was never letting you out of my sight again,” Alec declared, and because I’m just a little fucked up, I felt warm and fuzzy at his stalkerish declaration.
“Plus”—Charlie shrugged—“much as I wanted to give Alec a push, there was a good reason he was keeping it all a secret. I may have meddled a little, but once you were in the same place, it was up to you.”
Alec and I both scoffed. If it wasn’t for Charlie “pushing things,” who knows where we would’ve ended up?
Before we could continue the conversation, both their phones went off. They glanced at the screens and got up.
“What’s going on?” I slung my backpack over my shoulder.
“We’re being summoned.” Alec took my hand and pulled me in the direction of the admin building. “The team in Australia has checked in with an update.”
The anxiety Alec and Charlie had so expertly distracted me from flooded back, and I picked up the pace, leading the way to Tyler’s office.
Eight
It was unseasonably warm for April, warm enough to be outside in shorts and a tank top while Ethan grilled hamburgers for lunch. Ed, Josh, Tyler, and Charlie played some fast-paced card game on the patio table that had them shouting and laughing while half the cards ended up on the ground.
Dot and I sat by the pool. She flipped through the latest edition of Modern Variant while I perused Josh’s copy of God is Dead by Nietzsche—a welcome break from the complex scientific theories I usually read. It’d been a long, taxing week.
Alec and his team were at work. Zara had landed at a secure private airstrip the day before, and they’d been tasked with getting her safely to Melior Group HQ. Another two teams had assisted, along with Dana. With Dana there, Zara would be as harmless as any other twenty-year-old college student, but they weren’t taking any chances.
Alec had checked in a few hours earlier; everything had gone off without a hitch. Zara was secure in a specially built cell, protecting her from abilities outside of it and protecting everyone else from her. Alec wanted to be present for her questioning that afternoon.
I wasn’t sure if I was more worried about him or her.
Josh’s, Ethan’s, and my clearance hadn’t come though yet, so he couldn’t give us too many details. I suspected Victor was dragging the process out—just to show me he was in charge. I’d mentioned it to Lucian over breakfast, and after raising his brows in surprise, he’d grumbled, “Leave it to me,” then disappeared once more behind his newspaper.
I had a feeling the clearance would be sorted out quickly.
But ultimately it didn’t matter. Alec would tell me whatever I wanted to know, right after he crawled into my bed in the middle of the night and we had sex. Again. Since our first time together, hardly a day had gone by that I didn’t have him inside me.
Even though the intimacy levels with the others remained the same, I still wanted him. I wanted them all. I was insatiable, as if we were making up for lost time—playing catch-up on all the sex we could’ve been having if it wasn’t for the secrets and the pain and the holding back.
“Do you think Zara did it on purpose?” Dot’s voice was sad, her eyes downcast but not focused on the magazine.
“What do you mean? It’s not like she tripped and accidentally nudged me into a van with people who wanted to kidnap me.”
“No, I know.” She turned her almost too big eyes on me, and the scowl on my face melted away. “It’s just . . . I don’t even know what I’m saying. Forget it.”
She waved her hand and turned back to the magazine, but she wasn’t even remotely reading it. It was upside down.
“Dot. What’s going on? Talk to me.”
“I know she didn’t do anything to me directly.” She stared at her lap. “She didn’t shove me into a van or stand by while I was experimented on. But after Beth died, I felt like I was getting her back as a friend, you know? Like the three of us were getting really close. It felt almost like old times. It just hurts to know it was all a lie. And I also feel like I should’ve known. Out of everyone, I should’ve picked up that something wasn’t right with her. I guess when I say I wonder if she did it on purpose, I’m hoping maybe it wasn’t her. Like maybe Davis had some kind of mind-control Variant or machine that made her do all those things.”
I sighed. Zara’s actions had affected so many people, in ways I didn’t even fully comprehend. The fact that Dot was hurting made me so fucking mad . . . but I breathed through it. I needed to be there for her.
“I wish I could tell you that was the case—that Zara’s as much a victim as we are—but we both know there are no recorded cases of Variants with mind-control abilities. And when I spoke to her on the phone, she said, ‘I fucked up.’ She owned it. I’m sorry, Dot, but she did this, and now she has to pay for it.”
“I know. I’m not suggesting she should get away with it. I just . . . I don’t know!” She threw her arms up and let them flop back down to her lap. “This whole situation is so fucked up. What happened to Charlie is fucked up. What happened to you is fucked up. What Zara did is fucked up. Her whole childhood was fucked up. I mean, it wasn’t a surprise to anyone that her parents were involved with Variant Valor from the start. They’re about as elitist and bigoted as you can get. And they were so hard on her. So mean. I remember this one time I was at Zara’s place—we must’ve been, like, thirteen—and her mother came right out and said, ‘You don’t even have an inkling of an ability; you’re a disappointment and a waste of space.’ It was awful. I can’t imagine the kind of shit they said when no one else was around. I just wonder if she would’ve done all those terrible things if she’d had a better family life.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. Zara couldn’t choose her parents, and neither could I. But at some point, we have to stop making excuses.” Maybe it was a harsh way to look at things, but I just couldn’t accept any argument that absolved Zara of the responsibility she had for her own actions. I was simply too angry.
We settled back into silence. I didn’t want to argue with Dot or take my anger out on her. None of this was her fault.
She reached a hand between the loungers, and I took it without hesitation, squeezing her fingers. We held hands until the rage in my chest subsided, until she stopped staring into her lap as if the weight of sadness made her head impossible to lift, until the warmth of the sun and the sound of laughter behind us reminded us we had things to be happy about.
The silence once again turned comfortable, and we got back to reading.
After barely ten minutes, Dot let her magazine flop onto her chest and gazed at the glistening pool. “That water looks so inviting.”
I dropped my book to the ground beside me. “It really does. I’m just trying to figure out if it’s warm enough.”
“Food’s up!” Ethan yelled, sending a flock of birds flying out of some nearby oaks.
My stomach grumbled.
“Let’s test the water after we eat.” Dot led the way to the outdoor dining area.
We spent a relaxed few hours eating, drinking, joking around, and decidedly not talking about Zara, Variant Valor, the Human Empowerment Network, or Davis.
We did brave the pool in the end, Ed leading the charge as he pulled his shirt off. “I’ve been dying to get into that pool since I got here, but it’s been too damn cold!”
His defined, tanned chest was narrower and more delicate than Charlie’s, sprinkled with black chest hair that matched the curls on his head, but the two of them had one distinct thing in common. It wasn’t until Ed ran for the pool that I saw his scars. Charlie’s burn scars covered his right side, but Ed’s were mostly on his back, starting at his shoulder blades and disappearing into the waistband of his shorts.
“I passed out from the smoke, and he shielded me from the fire with his body until they came to get us out. I’m so lucky to have him.” Charlie stood next to me as the others stripped down and jumped in after Ed.
I took Charlie�
��s hand. He gave me a squeeze back, and we shared a sad smile. There were so many things I could’ve said, questions I could’ve asked. But the best way—the only way—to get Charlie to talk was to just listen. I waited patiently, happy to abandon the rest of the afternoon and sit with him as long as he needed.
Instead, his smile widened, and he pulled me toward the pool. He wasn’t ready to talk more about it, and that was completely fine. He knew I was there whenever he needed me. We all were.
I followed Dot’s lead and stripped down to my simple black bra and underwear, not wanting to waste any time hunting for a bathing suit. I was the last one in . . . and apparently a rotten egg . . . because apparently we were all in elementary school again.
We splashed around and joked and then started getting out one by one.
The sun peeked in and out between fluffy white clouds. The heat that had made it just warm enough to be in the water was fading fast, chased away by a cold breeze.
As everyone else ran for the house, shivering, I huddled under the water. If I stayed there, the cold wind couldn’t freeze me to death.
Apart from me, Ethan was the last to pull himself out of the pool, the fire tattoo dancing as his muscles bulged under his weight. Naturally, he didn’t seem to feel the cold.
“You coming?” He half turned to check.
I shook my head and crouched farther, dipping my neck and chin into the water.
He laughed, flashing me a dimpled grin, and launched himself back in.
I screamed and jumped up, trying to avoid getting my head drenched from the tsunami he’d caused with his cannonball.
He swam to my side underwater before emerging, his jet-black hair plastered to his head. “What do you feel like for dinner?”
That boy always had food on his mind. I smiled and waded around, trying to ward off the chill. “What do you feel like making?” I rarely got a craving for a particular food. Whatever he chose to make was always delicious.
He flashed me another brilliant smile, leaning his elbows on the edge of the pool. “I found one of my mom’s Mediterranean cookbooks, and I’ve been wanting to try some more stuff. I really want to do the moussaka, but I’ve never made it before and I’m not sure I have time to experiment, so I was thinking I could do this pasta dish. Now, I know what you’re going to say—pasta’s not really original, and there’s more to Mediterranean food than just Italian, but . . .”
Vivid Avowed (The Evelyn Maynard Trilogy Book 3) Page 10