“The Tori I knew wouldn’t have hesitated to confide in her friends. It’s not like you did anything wrong, or did you?”
“What exactly are you implying?”
“Oh, it’s more than implication.” He grinds his teeth, leveling me with a look that’s part hurt and part venom. He starts ticking off his fingers. “Flirting with Cooper. Getting self- defense lessons from Maddox. Going for romantic walks with Beckett. What’s next? Keeping Dane’s bed warm at night? Or have you already gone there too?”
I slap him across the face, the sound resounding throughout the cafeteria. All conversation mutes at our table, and hushed whispers and inquisitive eyes are flung from all quarters in our direction. “I can’t believe you just said that.” Tears gather at the back of my eyes, but I refuse to indulge them.
“Why?” he asks, standing up. “Because the truth hurts?” He glances over his shoulder at the Roth brothers, his face pulling into a grimace. “I should’ve kicked their asses when I had the chance.” He looks down at me, and this time he can’t mask his hurt. “Now I don’t know if it’s even worth the effort.” Grabbing his tray, he storms out of the cafeteria, leaving me devastated with my heart crushed in my chest for the second time today.
Chapter 29
I’m somewhat surprised to find Maddox waiting for me on the running track when I turn up to practice at the end of the school day. “Tori,” Coach barks, wiggling his fingers at me when he spots me emerging from the tunnel. “A word, please.” I jog over to him. “You’re going to be training with Maddox from now on. I’ve squared it with his coach. We both agree you push each other in a way that’s productive. I’d like you to run the longer track today, the one that rims the perimeter of the forest. Take off as soon as you’ve warmed up.”
We set off five minutes later, only picking up our pace when we’re well out of sight of the school and away from prying eyes.
“Are you okay after what went down at lunch?” he asks, keeping his eyes on the path ahead.
“Not really.”
“We’ve had a lifetime to get used to our fate, but you don’t have the same luxury. I know this must be hard on you.”
“I’ve been in denial,” I admit honestly, “but I can’t avoid the decisions I must make.”
“I know how tempting it is to evade reality, but it always catches up to you, no matter how you try to outrun it.”
“It sounds like you’re talking from experience.” He makes an odd grunting sound in response. When I look over at him, his face has a haunted look, and it’s clear he doesn’t want to respond to my comment. I’ll let it go for now, but it’s another topic to be revisited in the future. We’re both quiet for a bit as we run. “What was it like for you guys? When you were little and first learning about your abilities and how to control them?”
“From the very beginning, they were talking to us about it. Every story we were read as babies and toddlers was, in part, related to the … to our planet. We learned the histories, the legacies, all the stories that were our birthright. I don’t ever remember a time when I didn’t know who I was and who I would become. We’ve talked about this, and none of us do.”
It doesn’t sound like they had much of a childhood. “That’s kinda sad.” He shrugs, and his discomfort feeds down the line of our connection. He whips his face to mine, and I wonder what emotion he’s sensing from me. I clear my throat. “Do you, uh, feel any differently around me in the last day?” He bobs his head. “So, I’m projecting my emotions through our bond as well?”
“It appears so.” His voice is clipped, and the level of his discomfort accelerates. “My brothers have mentioned it too, although we are only picking up your emotions.”
“You’re not actual brothers though, right? Because Beck said you were all adopted as babies, unless that’s just a cover for the humans?” Maddox gives me a small smile. “What?” I frown.
“I don’t know if you realize it, but you just referenced “humans,” and yesterday you made a comment about “our species.” It might seem small, but it’s an indication of how fast your mind is adapting to your new reality. It gives us all hope.”
“Hope for what?”
“Hope that this is going to work out. Hope that you’ll regain all the knowledge embedded inside you.”
I stop running, and he drops back to my side. “What do you mean work out? I don’t understand. Do you think I’m going to fail you somehow?”
“No, of course not. It’s just this is all new.” His brows knit together. “Can we keep running? My brain functions better when I’m doing something physical.”
We start sprinting again, and I let his cryptic comment go. “Was it difficult learning to control your gifts?”
“Not for the others.”
I cast a glance at him. “But it was for you?”
“Some of it was easy, some was challenging, and some is still a work in progress.”
Rampant anxiety trundles through the line, so I quickly change the subject. “Can I ask you about the superspeed thing? I love to run, and I’m glad you’re running with me now, because I’m terrified it’s going to happen when I’m out on the track, and I don’t want to be responsible for revealing my true identity. Can you explain how to control it?”
“It’s actually pretty simple. It works off intent and concentration.”
I think of my failed attempt at demonstrating the ability to Kylie. “That doesn’t work for me. I tried to show Kylie, and, like, I really wanted her to see it to know I wasn’t going insane, but nothing happened.”
“You were probably overthinking it.”
I mumble under my breath. His definition of “pretty simple” and mine must be vastly different. “I have to intend to run fast and concentrate on it, but I can’t overthink it either? That doesn’t sound simple to me.”
He sends me a sympathetic look. “It has to flow naturally, like a logical extension of who you are, something that’s instinctive, that will happen when you want to use it. Beck said you did it one day at the farm. Think back to that day. What were you thinking in the moments before the ability kicked in?”
I flip through the recesses of my mind. “I’d had a vision, the one where my parents were rushing to save me, and I was drawn to a crater in the ground.” I suck in a sharp breath as realization dawns—that was the place where my capsule crash landed.
“And?” Maddox prods, coaxing me back to the here and now.
“I was standing at the edge of the crater, strangely fascinated with it, and then I felt an overwhelming need to get as far away from it as possible.” My subconscious was clearly in denial too.
“Exactly, and you didn’t overthink it. You wanted to get away from there quickly and you did.”
My brow puckers as I mull it over.
“Let’s try it now,” he suggests. “No one can see us up here. You see the edge of the forest in the distance?” I nod. “I’ll race you to there.” He sends me a wolfish grin. “Remember, don’t overthink it.” Then he’s gone, and in a second, I’m racing after him, trees whizzing by so fast they don’t even blur—they barely register. Dirt kicks up at my heels as I follow in his wake, leaving a puff of smoke behind me.
He’s lounging against the fence, with a huge grin on his face, when I arrive.
“That wasn’t hard now, was it?”
“No.” I grin back at him.
“And it’s pretty cool, right?”
“Damn straight.”
Without stopping to think about it, I throw myself into his arms, squealing with delight. His arms come around me without hesitation, and suddenly the air changes, thickening and simmering with the energy crackling between us. His body is solid and hard against mine, and I’m conscious of every taut inch of him. His scent swirls around me, mixing with the earthy scents emanating from the forest behind us, and an ache—a potent yearning—builds in my chest. My heart is thudding against my ribcage, my fingers twitching with the craving to touch him.
&n
bsp; I jerk back at the thought, stepping away, my cheeks flaring fire-engine red. What the hell has gotten into me? I can’t seem to stop touching them, and it’s making me hugely uncomfortable even if the bond is jumping for joy every time I grow closer to them. His emotions trickle through the connection, mirroring my own longing and confusion.
At least I’m not the only one bamboozled by this.
“So, um, how far can we run like that?” I ask, deliberately avoiding acknowledging what just transpired between us.
“As far as you like, although, there are limits to all our abilities. When we get tired we need to stop and recharge.”
“How?” I ask, motioning him with a jerk of my head as I resume a normal speed.
“Rest. Sleep. Eating. Drinking. Much the same way it works with humans.”
“That’s why I was feeling so tired and ill after the freak attacked me,” I muse.
“Yes and no.” He looks sideways at me. “He cut you with a knife crafted from Tianore. It’s the only known toxin which can both weaken and kill our kind.”
I almost stumble over my feet, but he reacts fast, reaching out to steady me. I slam to a halt. “So I was dying?” He nods. “And you guys did … what did you guys do?”
“Dane sucked the toxin out of your bloodstream and injected a healing agent.”
“Oh my God.” I slump against the fence, holding my face as the magnitude of the situation hits home. “What if you guys hadn’t found me when you did?”
Taking my hand, he urges me forward, and we set off running at a gentler pace. “Then none of us would be here today,” he somberly admits after a bit.
Kylie is waiting in the parking lot for me after practice. “I thought you might need a ride home,” she explains. “And I wanted to see if you were okay after everything that went down with Jensen at lunch.”
“Everything’s a mess, Kylie. Everything.” I really want to confide in Kylie, but I’m torn. One part of me wants to share the burden with my bestie, but another part of me is scared to immerse her in my new world. If anything were to happen to Kylie, I’d never be able to live with myself. “And thanks for the offer, but I’m good. Maddox is giving me a ride.” Her eyes pop wide when I explain he’s training me in self-defense techniques and that I’ll be spending most of my spare time over at the Roth place.
“Is that the truth, Tori? Because you know you can tell me anything, and you haven’t returned any of my calls or messages since Saturday. What did they tell you? And why aren’t you sharing?”
I rub a tense spot between my brows, drawing an anguished breath. “It is the truth, well, half the truth. And I will fill you in, I promise,” I say, deciding to be supremely selfish. I need Kylie, and I know I can trust her to keep everything to herself.
Maddox pulls up to the curb, and I give her a quick hug. “I’ll call you later, and we’ll arrange something,” I assure her before jumping in the car.
Cooper opens the door when we pull up in front of the house, almost blinding me with a stunning smile. He jogs toward the passenger side in his socks, with no shoes on, and Maddox rolls his eyes. “He’s like an infatuated groupie,” he mumbles under his breath, and a rosy hue tinges my cheeks.
Cooper opens my door, scooping me up into his arms. “Miss me, beautiful?”
“Like a hole in the head,” Maddox retorts on my behalf, slamming his door shut with more force than necessary.
Cooper scowls at him before carrying me into the house.
“You can put me down now, thanks.”
“But I like carrying you.” He pouts.
“And it’s sweet, but I’m not an invalid, and I like walking on my own two feet.”
Reluctantly, he places me down, ever so gently, taking my hand in his and beaming at me as if I’m his most favorite person in the entire universe. The strength of his emotions power through the connection, leaving me in little doubt that I’m at least one of them. His happiness is infectious though, and I find myself grinning back at him and gripping his hand more firmly.
Dane pops his head out of a doorway at the end of the hall, to the right of the kitchen and living area. “I need a word with Tori.”
Cooper opens his mouth to argue, but Dane levels him with a look that might possibly kill mere mortals stone dead. Lifting me up, Cooper hugs me fiercely, while my feet dangle a couple inches off the ground. I hug him back, laughing off my embarrassment.
Propped against the doorframe, Dane has his arms folded and his legs crossed at the ankles, quirking a brow in Coop’s direction.
“I missed her. Shoot me.” Coop sticks his tongue out at Dane before spinning around, backing up into the kitchen, and blowing me a kiss in the process. “I’ll be in here, beautiful, don’t be too long.”
Nervously, I tuck my hair behind my ears, shaking my head as I follow Dane into his office. I twist my head around, inspecting every inch of the large room. Rows of shelving extend across the solid wall at the back of the room. The sturdy shelves are crammed full of books and small storage boxes with cream-colored lids. A large desk is flush against the opposite wall. It’s devoid of clutter, apart from a lamp, a black plastic tray, a pen holder, and a small waste paper basket underneath. A wall-mounted bulletin board is pinned to the righthand side of the desk. Papers, maps, and images cover the surface, all neatly and precisely arranged. Five black leather chairs surround a glossy walnut table to the left of the room.
It's the most organized workspace I’ve ever encountered, but it’s cold and hugely impersonal. I can’t imagine spending much time in here.
“If you’re done with your inspection, can we get started?” Dane asks, resting his butt on the edge of the desk.
I purse my lips but ignore his brusque tone. “Is this about the schedule?”
Silently, he hands me a white rectangular sheet of paper with a printed table on it. I skim over it quickly, trying to hide my shock. Dane has worked around school, practice, and chores, filling every bit of my spare time with sessions with all four guys.
“Is there a problem?” His tone almost begs me to argue.
“No problem.” I fold it up, sliding it in the back pocket of my jeans.
He tilts his head to the side, drilling a hole in my skull. “You want to ask me something?”
I fold my arms, sending a penetrating gaze back at him. “I do, but how could you tell?”
“My gift isn’t contained to physical sight. I get instincts about things. It’s one of the reasons I’m in charge of strategy and making important decisions. I can usually get a sense of whether something will work or not.”
“Doesn’t it get tiring? Having to make the decisions all the time?”
He narrows his eyes at me, flickers of gold filtering through the smoldering brown intensity. When he grips the edge of the desk, muscles strain in his biceps, instantly capturing my attention. His arms are a work of art, on full display under the short-sleeved T-shirt he’s wearing. Both arms are fully inked, and when I notice the same little pentagon symbol on his wrist, I’m across the room in a nanosecond, my fingers running lightly over the tattoo. “Cooper has this too. What does it mean?”
He wrenches his arm away, moving over to the table and bracing his arms on the back of a chair. You’d swear I was contaminated or something.
“We all have them. It’s a symbol of our bond.”
I examine my own unmarked wrist with a frown. “Why don’t I have one?”
He runs a hand through his hair, while leveling me with a look I can’t decipher. “That’s the million-dollar question.”
Chapter 30
“What exactly do you mean by that?”
“Nothing.” He walks to his desk, brushing against me as he eases himself into the seat. “Did you want something or are we done? I’m busy.”
I’m tempted to tell him to shove it, but I can’t put this off any longer. “I need to discuss something serious with you, but if you’re going to be an ass, I’ll just ask one of the others.”
I move to pull a chair over, but he reacts superfast, bringing one over before I’ve even blinked. “Thank you.” I drop into it, clasping my hands in my lap. I need to keep emotion out of this, which is why I came to Dane. “Coop mentioned something in passing to me, and I’m curious. What are the options available for wiping human memories, and how exactly does it work?”
He sits up straighter, piercing me with a penetrating lens. “Is this about Jensen?”
“Yes, and possibly Kylie,” I swallow the bitter lump in my throat. I can’t ignore the fact that I might need to do something I hate in order to keep my best friend safe, too. “Jensen is suspicious, and I don’t want him prying because this knowledge is dangerous. Kylie already knows a lot of stuff, and she’s cool with it, but I know there may come a point where I have to take steps to protect her, so I’d like to understand the options. While I trust them both implicitly, I won’t risk their lives.”
He nods in understanding, and grudging admiration filters through the bond.
“Is it something I can learn to do? Because I’ve had some success convincing people to do stuff once I’ve planted the idea in their mind,” I explain.
“That’s different. That’s you influencing someone for a specific purpose at a particular moment in time. Unless the person thinks back to that incident, or the subject arises again, nothing will seem unusual to them; however, if they do reflect on it at a later stage, they will be confused, wondering why they acted as they did.”
“So, it’s more of a fleeting, temporary thing?” He nods. “But couldn’t I work on prolonging it somehow?”
He worries his lip between his teeth as he thinks. “I don’t believe that’s within your capacity, but we don’t know what you’re fully capable of until you’ve stretched your mind and tested your ability.” He holds himself rigidly still, and I can almost see the cogs turning in his head. “The best option is memory erase serum. We’ve had reason to use it a few times with humans, and there appears to be no side effects.”
The Lost Savior Page 23