by Lucy Rains
Pierce brought his hands to my face and kissed me quick and hard before pulling me up to a standing position.
He leaned down to press a kiss to my neck, his lips opening, his tongue grazing my skin, while his hands cupped my butt, pulling me closer to him. My body responded in renewed warmth through my core and my hands gripped to his belt as a lifeline.
He pulled away and smiled down at me. “I need to go change,” he whispered. “And I’m guessing you do too.” He backed away and glanced down at my panties before opening my door and disappearing through it.
I rolled my eyes and ran a hand through my hair as I went to my bathroom. Closing the lid on the toilet I sat there for a few minutes, letting my body recover from what just happened so unexpectedly.
After getting dressed into grey leggings and a black t-shirt I walked downstairs to eat whatever was available. My stomach twisted in hunger at the smells coming from the kitchen. Gavin and Alex sat at the table, talking and clearing their plates. Both stopped talking to peer up and at me when I walked by.
“What?” My cheeks turning pink at what they might have heard. Then when I realized they could feel my emotions through the past half hour of what just happened, I closed my eyes in painful embarrassment.
Alex was kind enough to look down to his plate but Gavin’s eyes held mine and took a bite of chicken without breaking eye contact. A humorous smile pulled on his mouth and I worked hard to keep my expression blank.
Alex shoved a fork full of food into his mouth and chewed for a moment before asking, “You gonna be able to handle tonight?”
I let out a big sigh, both from relief at the change of topic and nerves from his question, and walked to the kitchen to fill my own plate. Someone had made a simple version of an asian chicken stir fry and I could taste the sesame oil on my tongue already. I piled it onto my plate, grabbing a fork and knife. When I came back to the dining area and sat down, Kyson had also joined them.
“I’ll be fine.” I stole Alex’s bottle of water and took a drink. “Don’t worry about me.”
Alex and Gavin glanced at each other, looking back at me as I took a bite of food.
Pierce walked into the room at that point and sat down next to me in a chair. “We’ve been tracking her movements through various resources over the past week. She’s been going home every night at about 10:30, leaving the next morning at 6am.”
“Alex and I will go through the garage,” Kyson chimed in. “ Gavin will watch the front. Pierce will check the outside of the house. Jade you stay with me.”
“Charles is not to be harmed,” I stated.
“Hopefully he doesn’t try to intervene,” Pierce responded.
I leveled him with a look and repeated “Charles is not to be harmed. At all.”
Pierce doesn’t respond to this, and I cast a look to the other guys to make sure they heard. “And also, I want answers from her first, before we do anything.”
Kyson shook his head, “Not gonna happen, she's not going to cooperate.”
“I agree,” Alex said, “She’s not going to give you anything you want to know.”
“What would you even ask?” Pierce asked.
“About our past?” I suggested in exasperation. “What about our donor parents information? What about our reproduction and chemistry? Anything!”
“She’ll never talk,” Alex mumbled under his breath.
“I’m just saying, it would be nice to maybe try for some information that you haven’t been able to pull from the lab network.”
Gavin spoke up, while twisting the lid onto his water bottle. “That’s why we’re going to check out her home computer while we’re there. See if there’s any information being stored on there we haven’t accessed.”
“We don’t want to take any chances,” Pierce said. “We want this to be a quick job. In and out.”
I swallowed my last bite of food and set my fork down. Pierce’s words unsettling my stomach. I knew I wasn’t ready for this. The shock of my attempted abductions that week before had worn off and my resolve to do something about my mother seemed unimportant now. Ending my mother’s life was a heavy stone in my chest and I knew I wasn’t ready for that step.
“It’s for the best,” Gavin said, my eyes coming up to meet his. His stone expression set in place, his emotions full of anticipation.
“Best for who?” I snapped at him.
“For you. For all of us.”
I leaned back into my chair and folded my arms. “Are we ready for all hell to break loose afterwards? For the repercussions from your agency?”
“The agency,” Alex answered, “won’t know it was us. At least while we’re still here. And if we hide the body, it will buy us some time.”
I groaned and wiped my hands over my face.
“Grow a backbone,” Gavin muttered.
His comment lit a fire in me and I glared daggers at his impassive face. “How about I break your bones?”
His smile turned into a smirk that I wanted to smack off his face. “Your talk of a better life for us, where we can live freely, it ain’t gonna happen with Vera still walking and breathing. So yes, you need to toughen up, and accept what needs to be done.”
I leaned forward on my elbows, “I don’t expect you to understand what I’m going through. Just like you don’t expect me to understand what you have gone through. And just like you want my respect for your issues, you damn well better be respectful of mine.”
He copied my posture and leaned forward on his elbows as well, “Your issues are holding up your ability to move on and do what needs to be done.”
“And yours aren’t?!” I laughed. He scowled and leaned away from me.
Pierce laid a hand on my back to calm me. I closed my eyes and leaned away from Gavin, knowing our conversation was going in a direction better suited for another time.
“Let’s touch on events from earlier this evening,” Pierce suggested, steering the conversation in another direction.
“How can we even trust this guy?” Alex asked.
“It would probably help if you had been there in person,” Pierce said, “So you could tell if he was completely truthful.”
“But honestly,” Kyson spoke up, “Are we even going to be around much longer?”
“What do you mean,” Pierce asked.
Kyson glanced towards me and back to Pierce, “We want to get out of here, right? Disappear? We aren’t going to hang around waiting to be contacted, and to conspire with this guy to take out Jason and the agency. And if we move ahead with plans to take out the lab in the next day or two, we really can’t stay in town.”
“So maybe we shouldn’t move on our plans for tonight?” I suggested.
“No,” Pierce and Gavin said in unison.
I raised my hands in defense. “So you’re saying we need to not put any thought or consideration into what Mr. Bruno is offering?”
Pierce shook his head, “If he contacts us before we leave, we’ll go from there. Otherwise, we continue with our own plans. We can’t put everything on hold for him.”
My eyes gazed off, thinking about our conversation with him earlier that evening. “I wonder what he knows,” I pondered quietly. “The information he has, that Jason desperately wants.” I looked up into Pierce’s eyes, they looked at me with concern.
He shook his head slowly. “We can’t risk it.”
I nodded, understanding his words. We couldn’t risk any more threats from my mother, from the lab, from Jason, to hang around and wait for contact from Mr. Bruno. I understood that, but I didn’t agree wholeheartedly.
Kyson rubbed his chin with his index finger, lost in thought. “Interesting that Jason had a lab project in his employment.” He paused his hand to look up to Pierce. “Wonder if he has others?”
Silence filled the room as everyone considered his comments.
Alex was the first to break the stillness. He grabbed my plate and stacked it onto his, cleaning up the table from our dinner. Gavin
followed his actions, casting me a side glance before leaving the dining room. I glared and rolled my fingers into fists to keep my energy in check.
Pierce stood up from the table, checking his phone. “We leave in 30.”
********************
I sat in the back seat of Pierce’s truck, sandwiched between Alex and Gavin, with a locked jaw and tight mouth. My eyes were on the road but I saw nothing, as I was lost in my mind with conflicted thoughts, emotions, memories.
I couldn’t grasp what we were about to do, what I was playing a part in. Ending my mother’s life. But not my mother. I thought of the last time I saw her, was it only a couple weeks ago? It felt like months. Years. Her anger at my attendance of Mia’s party, her threats, her lack of motherly affection. She had always been indifferent to my life unless it revolved around my health, grades or accomplishments. I searched my mind for pleasant memories and then stopped. It was best not to pull up anything that would make tonight’s mission harder. I needed to focus on her secrets she kept from me, her past actions towards the guys, her attempts of my abduction. I needed to remember that she treated me as a project she raised, not as a daughter she loved.
I glanced at myself in the rear view mirror at the front of the truck. I hadn’t had time to get off all of my makeup. My eyes were still slightly rimmed in black liner and my cheeks still glistened in the passing street lights. I stared at myself, seeing a young woman that was unsure of herself, and her place in life.
My hand came up and touched my stained lips, tracing to my blemish free cheek and then my chin. How different would my life have been, had I been raised as the guys. Would I be bitter like Gavin? Or tender like Kyson? Or what if I had been brought up in a normal family, like my friends? Around and around my emotions went between bitter and wistful.
Alex snapped a cartridge into a gun, drawing my attention away from myself.
“How come I don’t get a gun?” I whined.
“Psh, you don’t need a gun.” Alex tucked the gun into the back of his pants. “You have an offensive ability that protects you. Better than any of us guys.”
I didn’t reply and looked out the front of the window again.
“You seem nervous,” Alex comments.
“I’m fine.”
“Yeah,” he drew the word out slowly.
I look at him and he looks over my curiously.
“What?” I ask.
He stares at me for a moment longer and then blinks. “You’re not only nervous, you’re conflicted. And you're afraid. But you don’t want to admit that to seem weak in front of us.”
My eyes open wide and I glared at him.
“Shut-”
“I’m sorry,” he interrupts, looking surprised with himself. “I’ve never gotten that much info off of someone before.” He looks to the front of the van. “Kyson, think of something else you wish you were doing right now.”
Kyson turns his head slightly, “Why?”
“Just humour me.”
Kyson thinks for a moment. “I would rather be sleeping.”
Alex closed his eyes and snaps his fingers, “While that is partially true, it's not what you would really rather be doing.”
Kyson looks behind his shoulder at us, “What?”
Alex keeps his eyes closed, “There is one other thing you would much rather be doing.”
Kyson clears his throat and shifts uncomfortably in his seat, “Keep it to yourself, dude.”
Alex opened his eyes and smiled smugly.
“Your ability is changing,” I stated.
“It seems like it. It feels...deeper, more in tune. Gavin, think of a number and tell me the wrong one.”
“3,489” Gavin mumbles while looking out the window.
Alex face lights up, “You were actually thinking of 3,488!”
“Whoa.” I comment.
Gavin turns his head towards Alex, his eyes also full of interest at Alex’s improved gift.
“Are you reading our minds?” I ask.
“No, the truth just seems to come to me. I don’t know how to explain it, it's still too new.”
I nodded, intrigued with his gift. My energy had become stronger, more pliable. Pierce could communicate telepathically. I wondered about Gavin and Kyson’s abilities.
“But let's get back to the first points of interest,” Alex said while adjusting his vest. “You know you can talk to us about anything, without us judging you.”
I rolled my eyes, “What about calling me babezilla?”
“That, my dear, Is an appreciation of your feisty-ness when you are angry. No judging there.”
“It's a dumb name,” I grumbled.
I could tell all four guys were suddenly intently focused on anything that came out of my mouth at that point. Seeing as Alex could call my bluff at any moment, I figured simple truth would be best.
“We have been together for less than a week. And while our bond is stronger between each other than a normal relationship between people, I might not feel completely comfortable around everyone yet. And that goes for sharing my concerns and fears.”
The cabin was silent for a minute before Kyson spoke up. “But your fears?”
I sighed in annoyance, “Of course I’m nervous for tonight.”
“Why?” he probed.
“I don’t know how I am going to feel when I see her. I don’t want anything bad to happen to any of us. I don’t trust her.” I was silent for a moment, “I don’t know if I trust myself.”
Alex wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me into his chest. I angled my body and leaned my back into him. I put my feet up on the seat, and Gavin surprised me by pulling them into his lap.
“We can handle her.” Alex promised.
“Why did you wait until now?” I asked. “Why didn’t you do this years ago? You could have taken her long before now.”
“We needed you first,” Gavin spoke softly, still not quite looking at me. “We couldn’t bust in there, take her out, and then expect you to trust us. That would make us look like the enemy, even with the bond that you feel with us.”
“But still, you could have pulled me away from her a year ago?”
“We figured it was best to wait until you were legally an adult. We didn’t realize that was also the date she was waiting for to launch her reproductive tests.”
Alex ran a hand softly over my pony tail, playing with the ends. I cringed at Gavin’s explanation. Visions of being strapped to a table, drugged, restrained, and impregnated with a needle made my stomach wind tight.
“Thank you,” I whispered. Gavin turned his head and looked at me. “For getting me away from her.”
From what I could see in the darkness, his eyes softened and his emotions turned warm. His hand tightened slightly on my ankle and then relaxed again as he turned back towards the window.
We rode in silence for the rest of the way. I sat up when Pierce took the exit that would take us through my old neighborhood. The nerves in my stomach clenched tight, my body on edge.
Pierce parked in a dark cul de sac around the block from my house and I knew we would be walking the rest of the way.
“She still there?” Pierce asked.
Alex looked over his phone, quickly tapping on it. “Yes.”
We all hopped out of the truck, silently closing the doors behind us. The night air was cool, the stars and moon were hidden behind a blanket of clouds. The houses we passed by were quiet, most had their front porch lights on. A dog barked in the distance, quieting down after a minute.
I didn’t know what to expect when I walked through my old neighborhood, but in that moment I was too nervous to feel much of anything. It wasn’t like I felt sentimental at the life I had left behind. I wanted to complete our task and then be out of here, to hopefully never return.
As we rounded the corner and made our way to my house, something was immediately off to me. The front lighted entrance pillars weren’t on. Those were never off.
As
we came closer, I narrowed my eyes at my front gates. They were open. As long as I could remember, the front gates were never left open.
As we closed the final space to my driveway I stopped in my tracks, the guys following my action.
My eyes stared in front of me, trying to make sense of what I was seeing. The blinds to the house were open. A single light on somewhere lighting up the house enough so that we could see the front rooms were completely empty. A few boxes and scattered items in the driveway seemed completely out of place in what was usually an impeccably kept home.
The gate beside me creaked as a breeze blew by.
The house had been abandoned.
CHAPTER 33
The entrance gate creaked sharply as a breeze blew past, also causing a plastic bag rustle in a neighboring yard. I scanned the empty area, unable to understand the scene before me. My feet began moving forward without thinking.
“Whoa Jade,” Alex murmured, grabbing my hand.
I tuned my ears towards the house, throwing out my 6th sense, feeling for someone inside. But it was empty.
“No one’s home,” I stated absentmindedly.
Where was my mother? Charles? This didn’t make sense. Why wouldn’t they be home?
I glanced behind me. Pierce, Gavin and Kyson were still, looking around the property, trying to decide what to do. I saw no reason to stand there any longer, pulling my hand away from Alex and turning forward, I picked up my stride. The boxes on the driveway were open and I peered inside. They held tools and other mechanical pieces that I couldn’t quite identify.
While I punched in the garage code, Pierce and Gavin disappeared around the side of the house, passed the flower bed Charles had been weeding those days just before the guys had stepped into my world. It felt like a lifetime ago.
As the garage lifted, I was startled to see my mother’s Audi in the garage, mine missing. Probably at a repair shop still. My footsteps echoed in the wide space. I stopped, looking around for a moment, letting Alex and Kyson catch up with me before I went inside.
The sound of a gun clicked behind me, and I turned to see Kyson and Alex both holding a weapon.