A Broken Jewel (Jade Book 1)

by Lucy Rains

  I was just finishing wiping off the faucet when I heard a noise in the hallway. I looked at myself in the mirror and stiffened. My sensitive hearing picked up the soft footsteps on the plush carpet before whoever it was had reached me. I wanted to flee, but knew it was pointless. I had been caught. I wiped at one last gel smudge on the faucet before I turned around to see Alex appear in the doorway. Shirtless, and bleary eyed. He hadn't noticed me apparently, as he hooked his thumbs in his blue sweats and I shrieked before he could pull them off.

  His head popped up and he flew backwards, “Schnikes! Jade!” His hand went to his heart, and he sucked in a breath. “Oh my gosh.” He gasped. His eyes went back to me and the toilet paper in my hand.

  “The hell are you doing?”

  I looked at the toilet paper I was holding and quickly threw it in the garbage under the sink. My hands wiped nervously on my denim thighs. My cheeks burned in embarrassment and I avoided his eyes. Why had I come in here? My mind was blank and my heart raced.

  “I'm sorry,” I started to walk past him. He put a hand on my stomach, keeping me in the bathroom. My eyes locked against my will on his cut abs, his thick pecs. “I'm, I...” stuttering words were all I could get out.

  “Were you cleaning our bathroom?” He asked, disbelief in his voice. I swallowed and pulled my eyes up to his. He squinted as narrowed his eyes on the counter behind me.

  I just nodded, “I'm sorry, I shouldn't have wandered -”

  He pressed a finger to my lip with his hand, the other one staying on my stomach, as he looked over my cleaning. I tried to calm the pounding in my chest, the flush rising to my cheeks, but it was no use.

  His head turned back to me, his eyes locking on me. “You can wander wherever you want in this house. Whenever you want.” He pulled his finger away from my mouth. His deep blue eyes burned into mine. “Okay?”

  I nodded mutely.

  “Okay, now I really gotta pee so you need to go.”

  He pulled his hand off my stomach and lightly pushed me out of the bathroom and closed the door behind me.

  My hair never did get gel.

  I went downstairs to find some breakfast before Kyson forced me to class with him. I ran a hand through my hair and tousled it while walking into the kitchen, bright with the morning light. Gavin stood in a corner, drinking a glass of milk while looking at his phone. He didn’t bother looking up at me when I entered.

  I had no idea what to eat, and wasn’t about to ask for help, so I opened up the fridge and looked inside. There was a jug of milk that Gavin had obviously gotten his beverage from, and I spied a few yogurts on the bottom shelf. I opted for one of those.

  “Those are mine,” Gavins voice growled behind me.

  My stomach sank. A morning confrontation was not how I wanted to start the day. I looked at the yogurt for a moment, debating about what to do next. Obstinance, or compliance?

  “I don’t see your name on it,” I turned the yogurt around in my hand, and then proceeded to pull the lid off the top.

  My 6th sense felt his annoyance spark and I couldn’t help myself. I turned to face his dark eyes that scowled at me, and proceeded to lick the lid. His eyes darkened as my tongue rolled over the foil.

  “You know, I could have forced you to put that back,” he said.

  I rolled my eyes and went in search of a spoon, opening drawers and sliding them shut. When I realized the drawer I wanted was inconveniently behind Gavin’s rear, I had to make eye contact with him.

  I put a hand on my hip. “Didn’t work so well for you at the hospital.”

  He set his glass down on the counter, “Don’t tell anyone, but I wasn’t trying that hard.”

  The meaning of his words sunk in, and I would be lying if I said they didn’t sting a little. No wonder I hadn’t felt any of his persuasion. He hadn’t put much effort behind his attempts in getting me to decide to come here. Because he didn’t want me here.

  I stood there, trying to brush off the sting of his words, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of feeling my hurt. Instead I glanced down at the silverware drawer and back up to his dark eyes, lined in thick eyebrows and long lashes.

  Anger pricked in my skin and I silently fumed. All I wanted was some damn breakfast. Instead I was getting a one on one with the household bear.

  I narrowed my eyes at him, “I don’t believe you. It would probably bruise your ego to admit that your power isn’t strong enough to work on me.” I stood a little taller and tilted my chin up, refusing to feel intimidated by him.

  He chuckled and looked down at his phone. “Don’t flatter yourself, princess.” The use of the pet name was mocking, and my cheeks burned.

  My lip curled and my fingers gripped my yogurt tighter. “Is that how you get anything in life? Having to use your persuasion? Must be because you aren’t able to take no for an answer.”

  Gavin’s face remained hard, showing no emotion. I should have stopped there but I couldn’t help myself. “You probably have to use your mental force to get a girl’s attention, don’t you?” I set the yogurt down on the counter next to him. “Because any girl would know better than to hook up with a jackass.”

  I turned to walk away, resolved to skip breakfast for the day. He had barely spoken 4 sentences to me, and yet my blood was boiling. I cursed my thin skin. Gavin hadn’t gotten to me before, so I didn’t know why he did this morning.

  I didn’t get far out of the kitchen when I felt his presence behind me. My body turned, almost tripping at the sight of Gavin’s form leaning over me. I took a few steps backwards as he backed me into a hallway corner.

  He leaned in close, his emotions thick and heated but I was too overwhelmed with his nearness to sort through them. I tried to meet his eyes but couldn’t. I should have controlled my temper and kept my mouth shut. Poking the bear had been foolish.

  The sudden closeness of his body had me tied up in knots. He breathed heavy and my own breaths quickened. I clenched my jaw, and kept my head away from his, my earlier confidence now lost.

  He stood there for a long minute, pinning me in place without even touching me. I inhaled his warm scent and tried not to like it. To love it.

  His voice was low when he spoke, “When I want something from you, princess, I won’t have to use my ability. And I won’t have to ask twice.” Gavin's words came out slowly, deliberate and sure.

  The implication of his words sped up my heart even more, and my stomach flip flopped. Shock filled me, as well as anger. Would Gavin want something from me in that way? He despised me, tolerated me at best. And better yet, I was nothing compared to his looks. He could get a supermodel without trying, they all could. But damn him for thinking he could bring me to my knees for him. Curse the pleasurable hum that warmed my chest.

  I didn’t bring my eyes up until he took a step away and put some distance between us. And when I saw the knowing smirk on his face, I glowered at him. He could feel my emotions as clear as I felt his.

  A voice cleared and we both turned to see Alex standing in the hallway, watching us. “That was super hot, can we do a replay?”

  Gavin strode past him, “Oh, piss off Alex.”

  I leaned back against the wall and blew out a long breath, releasing the build up tension. My head leaned back and I looked up at the ceiling. What was I doing?

  “Cheer up lass,” Alex smacked my arm, “you two are making progress.”

  *******************

  I sat silent on the way to school, the confrontation with Gavin replaying in my mind, over and over.

  I hated him. I wanted him. I wanted him to want me. I wanted to hit him. I wanted to inhale his scent again. I wanted to never see him again. I wanted to know his every thought about me.

  Kyson broke the silence, jarring me from my thoughts. “This is uncharted territory for him. For all of us.”

  I turned to look at him and then back towards the windshield. “What do you mean?”

  “Gavin doesn’t like anyone. The trauma
from the lab has scarred him to the point of self loathing that keeps out everyone around him. The rest of us have managed to get along with the rest of society but not him. He’s never attempted a relationship, or hell, any kind of ‘ship’ other then the bond we guys share. He doesn’t know how to handle these feelings that you have brought up.”

  I scoffed, “But it's more than that, isn’t it?”

  Kyson chewed on his bottom lip as he thought about his answer. “He definitely struggles the most with his internal wounds and who caused them.”

  My mother. I remind him of my mother and everything he went through. “Not much I can do about that,” I mumbled.

  I turned to look at him, curiosity rolling through me, but unsure of what questions I was allowed to ask. "Was it bad? In the lab?"

  He chewed the inside of his cheek, thinking, "It could have been worse I suppose."

  "How?"

  "I don’t know. I just try to tell myself that.”

  “What about after,” I asked, “When you were out?”

  "When we first got out of the lab, it took weeks, months, for reality to set in. To really know that we were safe. Thankfully we had each other, but it was still hard. Any normal human would have been broken and pushed to the point of insanity. The government agency that freed us provided therapists and counselors for several months, and it helped some of us more than others.”

  I swallowed, nervous to ask my next question. “Can you tell me about some of it?”

  Kyson’s jaw clenched and for a moment I was sure he would refuse me. But after I heard his response, I almost wished he had.

  “They wanted to test all of our healing capabilities. Their methods would vary every week. Scalding water, injected with poison, slits to our wrists, our necks…” A pause. ”They broke most of our bones to see how fast they would repair. Sometimes we were left alone for several days or a couple weeks, to regain our full health. Or sometimes they would test us every day for a week. New injuries added to the old. Sometimes we were locked in a room for days without food and water, to see if we could go longer than an average human without those necessities.”

  “Could you?”

  He shook his head.

  "Did you see my mother in there?"

  He nodded quietly.

  “Did she...participate?”

  He gave me a frown, “Do you think Gavin would be the way he is towards you if she hadn’t?”

  I sat silent for a moment, letting his information sink in. My heart was swollen with hurt for them. The life they had been forced in at a young age was truly painful to hear.

  “Thank you for telling me,” I said softly. Other then a short nod, he didn’t respond.

  I had pitied my own situation with the life I had lived with my mother. It paled in comparison to what the guys had been through.

  "Does she know where you guys live?"

  "Of course not.”

  "But, if she knew you had me..."

  "It would be very bad. For all of us.”

  “Why?”

  “Because she hated losing us in the first place. She fought the government proposition and tried everything she could to keep us. Offering money, and other bribes for the government’s support. But in the end she was out voted and lost.”

  I could just imagine the rage on my mother’s face at losing. Mother never lost. “But she wouldn’t have the power to bring you guys back into the lab again, would she? Not when you have the support of the government?”

  “Vera has ways and means of making us disappear. And when I say disappear, I mean back into her custody. Since we have left the lab, she has become more powerful in her position there, and she could easily make her own decisions when it comes to us. Alex has found digital tracks of her trying to locate us. It’s not a risk we would want to toy with.”

  He paused and when he spoke again, his voice was low and serious. “This is why we want, no, need, your help. Why we need you on our side. We don’t want to live a life worried about being taken into her possession again. We have some protection, yes, but not enough that we aren’t constantly looking over our shoulder to make sure we’re not being tracked by her people. That our lives aren’t being monitored. That we’re safe. It’s only a matter of time before she finds us. And the government group we’re contracted to help won’t let us leave. Ever.”

  “So, what are you going to do if you are successful in taking down the lab?”

  A small smile played on his mouth, “We disappear. We’ve been saving up enough money to disappear to a remote part of the world, with no one dictating our lives. No lab, no assignments, no one bitching at us, just freedom.”

  I sat back, wide eyed, and let my mind spin around everything he had just said. Any question I had once wanted to ask, now left me, and we rode through morning rush hour traffic in silence.

  CHAPTER 14

  For my first visit to a college campus, I had expected to be in a distracted state of awe and fascination. Like a kid at the zoo for the first time, or a dinosaur museum. And I would have, had I not just had such a somber discussion with Kyson that required me to make a decision I wasn’t ready for. I would have marveled at the wide grassy areas and towering trees, the architecture of the historic buildings, mixed with a modern setting. Instead I glanced around with little thought to my surroundings, my eyes unfocused out the window to my right. I wanted to go back to bed.

  Kyson swiftly pulled his Honda into a parking spot and threw the car into park. "Ready for a fascinating lecture on the microscopic study of the structure of tissues and organs?"

  He had moved on from our conversation so quickly it was almost disturbing. Talk of torture through experimentation, followed up with destruction and violence.

  I glanced at him and pulled my purse out of the car with me. "What?"

  He locked the car and shouldered his bag. "Human Histology. Basically helps you understand how things work inside your body and under a microscope."

  I fell into step beside him and let my eyes scan the area around me. The college campus was meticulously landscaped. Flowers were blooming in bright colors, trees had flower buds coming out, and the smell of fresh cut grass permeated my nose. Students mingled about on benches and stairways. Some were in a hurry to their next place, and some sat alone with their nose in a book.

  I didn't miss the side glances that were thrown at Kyson. Girls would stop talking mid sentence to say 'hi' to him. They were cute, pretty, flirting with their eyes and their glossed lips. I quickly forgot about the discussion in the car as jealousy wove its way around my stomach. I bit back a retort that would make me look childish.

  Kyson led me into a large auditorium lecture hall with tiered seating, and a projector screen set up high on the wall. We found a couple seats towards the back and set our things down. I let out a heavy sigh and got myself comfortable in my swivel chair.

  "Here," said Kyson, setting some catalogs in front of me, "I picked these up for you."

  I pulled them over to me, glancing over the covers. Class course listings for two different online colleges.

  "Um," I muttered, not sure what else to say. "Thank you."

  I stared blankly at the covers that laid in front of me. Happy young adults walking along grassy fields with the college titles standing out bold on the top of the cover. Did I want these? Did I want an online education? Did I want to do more schooling? I honestly didn’t know.

  He sat in his chair and leaned towards me, "I thought it might help, let you think about what you want to set your sights on, and start thinking ahead. Even though we don’t know where we will be in the next few months, at least you can start thinking about options."

  My eyes glazed over, where ‘we’ will be…

  "And the cost? I guess I could apply for grants and such,"

  Kyson grabbed my chin and brought his forehead close to mine. "Little Jewel, I know you don't want us to take care of everything for you. But let us handle what you can't, until you can."

&
nbsp; My breath caught in my throat and I got lost in his eyes, my eyes dipping down to his lips as he spoke. He smelled masculine, a crisp woodsy scent that made me want to bring my nose closer to his throat. This was not a time to be affected by him. I nodded, stopped breathing, and leaned back.

  He let go of my face and bent over his desk, scribbling on a notepad. The teacher welcomed the class and proceeded with the day’s lecture.

  My mind began spinning and I closed my eyes, brining my hands to the sides of my head, running my fingers through my hair. If I truly was out from under my mother’s thumb, a lot of doors were open for me, not just school. But what did I want? I couldn’t say just one thing. There were so many. I wanted to travel, I wanted to go swimming again. I wanted to go to a concert and try every restaurant in a ten mile radius. I wanted to try bowling and maybe even learn an instrument. I wanted to experience life. I wanted to make up for all the experiences I had missed out on, that had been restricted from me.

  The guys had to have felt the same way. Being locked in a lab their whole life, they had to have been desperate for the same thing. Wouldn’t they understand that?

  My stomach became making loud protests of missing breakfast and I swear I heard Kyson growl under his breath. A shuffling noise sounded and an apple appeared in front of me. I took it and began crunching without a word.

  I browsed through the catalogs, looked over course descriptions. There were a few areas that interested me but nothing I wanted to jump into. And what if I didn’t want to do an online degree? What if I wanted to go to a physical university, like the guys did? Would I have to give up that idea if I stayed with them? Helped them? Left with them? Question after question bobbed around in my mind, making it impossible to to settle on any one idea.

  The hour long lecture was over quicker than I expected. I was in the middle of reading about an accounting degree when Kyson slapped his notepad shut. “Let’s go grab some food. I have a study session in about 20 minutes.”

  I folded up the catalogs and slipped them into my bag. “Hey, maybe sometime soon, like today, I could go to a store and pick up a few things.”