“Don’t worry, I’m not here to hurt you,” he drawled, offering me that easy smile again. "I just want to ask you a question, and I’ll be on my way.”
I bristled internally, but he stayed the same—cold and unreadable. I felt exposed, vulnerable. I took a step back from him and my fingertips touched the door.
“Fine. You can ask me your question, but then you’re going to leave. Or I will make you leave.” I surprised myself with how steady I sounded.
The light sparkle in his eye faltered slightly, the jaunty charm he kept around himself slipped. His tone was flatter when he finally spoke again. "I was just wondering if you knew where Hawthorn House was located," he asked with ease, like he was asking for directions to the highway.
The words hit like a punch to my stomach, and alarm swept through me like wildfire. My heart began to hammer in my chest. I pictured the sweeping highway we took to get there, the rocky decline to the lighthouse, the trapdoor hidden cleverly in the fridge. Yeah, I knew where Hawthorn was, but I wasn't going to tell him.
“No.” I erased all the emotion from my face and managed to keep my voice neutral. “I don’t.”
"Yeah, I thought you might say that." The agent stared at me for a moment longer, looking at my hair, my cheeks and my shoulders. Finally, his dark eyes leveled on mine. They were almost as black as his hair, and gave nothing away. Beneath his cold exterior, something warm blossomed. The wall of his emotions was momentarily exposed. I felt satisfaction; subtle but electric, and a smugness he had no right to.
Panic fluttered in my chest like a wounded bird.
I felt Cash behind me, and heard him call to me, nervously. “Liv?”
“I’ve got it,” I said quietly, but Cash didn’t move. I moved my hand to his and wrapped my fingers around his clenched fist, giving it a tiny squeeze. “Really. Go back inside.”
He started to protest, but I gave him a little mental push. When his eyes met mine, they were dark, brewing and unsure.
“Please?” I added, and with his lips pressed firmly together, Cash resigned and nodded, stepping back into the Lair.
The agent watched him go, hands tucked idly into the front pockets of his pants. A lock of his hair fell across his forehead into his eyes, and he carelessly brushed it back into place. “Nice kid," he mused. “He seems to like you something fierce.”
“You need to leave now,” I said, my voice no longer strong. I wanted him as far away from the Lair as possible.
"Alright.” The coldness was back, the satisfaction and the smugness hidden from me again. He shrugged casually and turned, but stopped himself and swung back around toward me.
"I'll tell you what. Why don't you go ahead and keep my card? Just in case something jogs your memory. You can give me a call at that number right there." He pulled out a black leather wallet, producing a little white card. He held it out to me. I read the name quickly.
Garrett Devereaux.
I crumpled the card and dropped in on the ground. A breeze fluttered past me and picked it up, scuttling it across the sand. Devereaux shrugged and tucked his wallet back into his pants pocket.
"You have a good night," he murmured as he strolled away. He headed toward a black Escalade. I watched as he ducked into the driver's seat, started the car, and eased back up the road.
When he was finally far enough away, my breath rushed out of me. I stepped shakily back into the Lair where Cash, Charlie, Dozer and Glitch were all waiting. Relief swept over Cash when he saw I was alone and unharmed.
“He’s gone.” I stammered in the doorway.
“What did he want?” Charlie asked, pulling her robe tighter around her. She wasn't cold. She was scared.
“He wanted to know where Hawthorn was.”
"That's all?" Glitch asked, almost amused.
"Who was it?" Dozer asked.
"Garrett Devereaux. Do you know him?" I focused on Dozer, desperate to analyze his reaction. I needed to know the truth.
"I know the name, but not much else. He's got a much higher clearance level."
I believed him. There was no nervous flutter or deceit in his response. "I think we're okay," I said quietly.
"Were you leaving?" Cash asked, his tone accusatory, laced with hurt. I saw his eyes shift down to my bag on the doorstep.
"Yes," I admitted, my voice small, ashamed.
"Why?" Charlie asked.
"I just thought it would be better if I left. You guys would be safer here without me." I looked right at Dozer, hoping he'd back me up. He felt guilty, almost remorseful. His eyes left mine and focused anywhere else.
I looked back at Cash. He was just staring at me like he thought he could read me.
"What's going on?" Headset came ambling down the stairs, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"Nothing. Buddy. Let's go back to bed," Dozer said, reaching for him.
"I got it," Charlie cut him off and picked Headset up.
"Can I have something to drink?" Headset asked, and Charlie obliged, bringing him into the kitchen. Charlie's eyes met mine. Her lips were in a firm, frightened line, her pretty features pulled taut and tense by nerves. I looked away first. She was asking me a question I didn’t quite have the heart to answer.
"Liv? Were you really leaving without saying anything?" Glitch asked. His voice and emotions were full of hurt and betrayal. Knowing I hurt him that way stung me. I guess I must have known he'd feel that way, but I hoped he'd have understood they were all safer without me.
"Glitch, I..." I started, but couldn't find the words. Nothing I said would have been good enough.
"Give us a minute?" Cash asked Glitch and Dozer.
The boys nodded and headed into the kitchen, leaving Cash and I at the door, my bag at my feet, the evidence of my betrayal. Cash's voice was low and even toned, as he struggled to hide his emotions from me.
"Where were you going?" He asked.
"I don't really know."
Cash inched closer to me, like he was afraid I'd just bolt and he'd have to catch me.
"I just thought it would be safer if I left. We all know if I stay here, ACT will come for me." My voice was trembling and I felt the tears starting.
"Liv, no." He sighed and looked up to the ceiling like he couldn't stand to look at me say something like that. Then he leveled his gaze on me again and I felt his sway without him having to speak.
"Yes, Cash." I turned my face away from him. I didn't want to look in his eyes as he pleaded for me to stay. I couldn't do it. Not again. "Wasn't that proof enough for you?"
Cash cupped my face between his hands. He focused his eyes on mine and I couldn't look away. I didn't want to anymore either. I released the breath I hadn’t even realized I’d been holding, my hands finding his wrists.
"Do you really think leaving was going to keep ACT away? They already sent someone to watch us, to actually live with us and report back to them. They would have come for us eventually. If you hadn't come along we wouldn't be any safer. We wouldn't have met..."
I felt his heart pick up and felt this urging feeling to speak, to say something, like his time was running out, but he couldn't.
"Stay," Cash said softly, taking my hand and placing it over his chest. I felt his heart beating beneath my palm.
"I know you've had a rough past, and you're scared. I get that. Running away is easy, but you belong here. You belong with us. I know you feel it too. I may not be able to feel your emotions, but I can see it in your eyes. Just give this a chance."
Every word from Cash’s mouth sounded like poetry spoken with the most fervent passion one could conjure up. Captivated by each breath in between his words, I found myself tracing the lines of his face over and over and leaning into him.
The moment had drawn us together like magnets, planetary masses caught in the same gravitational field. I could feel the push of his warm breath against my cheeks, caressing my cold lips.
Cash laughed sweetly and inhaled nervously as he gently removed my hand from hi
s thigh. I'd fallen under the sway of his voice, yet again.
I averted my eyes.
“Oh, damn it. I'm sorry. I can’t believe I did that.”
“Again,” he added, a small amused smile curving his lips.
“Again,” I agreed, risking a glance up at him.
In that moment our eyes caught and we both froze. The laughter died, but our smiles remained. We were still so close together, his hand still cupping my cheek, his fingertips a rough contrast. The mood changed between us, morphing from something light and fun to something richer, something heated.
His gaze dipped to my mouth, and he started to lean in. He was so close that I could feel the tingle of his lips just barely against mine. Then, all of a sudden, tension leaked into the air, heavy and mournful. Then, it shifted into anger. I no longer felt safe and drunk from Cash. Instead, jealousy set fire to my blood, eating at my nerves like battery acid. My chest heaved as I breathed harder against my own will. I curled away from Cash, dipping my head down, squeezing my eyes shut against the awful sensations flowing through me.
“Liv? Are you okay?” I heard Cash’s voice, but he sounded far-off, like he was shouting at me from across the room. The air pulsed and rippled around me as I raised my eyes to the entrance of the living room. Standing in the doorway, hands balled into tight fists at his side, Jason’s heart broke in front of me.
“Liv, what’s wrong? What’s happened?” Cash hadn’t noticed him yet. He was so focused on me. He was so utterly concerned and confused, until he followed my gaze and saw Jason standing there. Cash positioned himself closer to me, clearly perplexed about who Jason was, but determined to protect me regardless.
Seeing this, Jason’s jaw tensed hard. The betrayal he felt burrowed in deeper.
“Who are you? What do you want?” Cash demanded.
“Jason,” I managed, my voice weak. I took a step toward him, my knees shaking like crazy.
Cash turned to look at me, arching a brow. “You know this guy?” He asked. Then it sunk in, and realization dawned on him, as well as disappointment. He closed his mouth, his jaw squaring as he turned to look back at Jason.
“Hi,” Cash greeted, although he sounded much less impassioned. He shifted nervously, waiting for Jason to make his move, waiting for him to breathe. Jason stood there as still as a statue, his knuckles white from how tight he was clenching his hands.
“Do you want to come in?” Cash asked, attempting to break the thickening tension.
Jason composed himself. I could feel his head pulsing and muscles tighten in my own neck. He was definitely coming down from an extraction.
“What’s going on?” Charlie asked, her voice wary to match her emotions. She was standing in the kitchen, blue eyes wide and body unconsciously tensed like a fearful deer. She had one arm slightly out, keeping Headset behind her. Dozer had taken a stance next to her. None of his concern showed on his face, but Dozer was afraid. I felt him readying himself for a fight. His eyes were hard and set, his lips pressed firmly together. It didn’t matter that Charlie didn’t want to be near him right then. He wasn’t leaving her side.
When Glitch finally saw Jason, his entire expression lit up, oblivious to the tension around him as he came forward with open arms.
“Jason! Dude! What are you doing here?” He asked, but instead of receiving the warm welcome he’d expected, Jason pinned him with a cold look. Glitch stopped in his tracks, confusion filling him. He stopped advancing; lowering his arms as he realized this was no happy reunion.
Jason began to walk slowly around the room, his gaze falling to each and every face that stared at him, daring them to move. Nobody did. I heard Headset whimper and a tiny bolt of anger broke through me, releasing me from my paralysis. Jason could be mad at me, but he had no right to scare them.
Sensing my reaction, he slid his eyes toward Cash. Immediate worry filled my gut, and he felt it. A smug, dark grin tipped his lips. He was taking pleasure in the thought of hurting Cash, and he was taking even more pleasure in the fact that I knew he could and would.
I felt the telltale signs of a recent extraction and Genesis injection buried inside him. He was sick, weaker than normal. His head was throbbing and the leash he had on his anger pulled tight to the point of snapping. When he was done glaring everyone down, he did one last scan, assessing the danger present. Finding none, he turned back to me, and our eyes met.
“Let’s go,” Jason’s voice was firm, startling me.
My response was instantaneous. “I’m not going back there, Jason.”
He took a step toward me, but I knew it wasn’t in anger. He was still hurt by my apparent betrayal, and my refusal to rejoin him wasn’t helping.
“What? You’d rather stay here with them?” He sneered. He clearly meant Cash.
“It’s not like that, Jason. I can’t go back. I told you that when I left. Or don’t you remember why I left?”
The last part stung him and he grew frustrated. He took another step toward me, quicker this time, and it was like the whole room shifted with him. Cash came in closer to me, and Charlie and Dozer swept Headset back, anticipating danger.
“It’s the only way to keep us safe." Jason lowered his voice and pleaded, "I’m only trying to protect what we have. Please, Liv? Come back with me?”
I swallowed hard, because I felt Jason's reaction to my answer before I even said it. My heart fluttered in my chest, and my nerves twisted like cold snakes in my gut.
“No.”
“God damn it, Liv!” His voice boomed, and I felt it reverberating in my chest. His face grew red and his expression twisted. His stance became more aggressive.
Startled, I took a step backward, but Cash pushed forward, foolishly insinuating himself directly in front of me, his shoulders squared off against Jason. I could feel the fear radiating through him, but he was determined to stand his ground. Jason saw that fear too. He laughed, taking another step toward Cash, closing the gap dangerously. All of a sudden, Cash wasn’t standing alone. A hard-faced Glitch was at his side. Jason’s laugh cut off immediately when he saw his old friend standing against him.
“You will move out of my way right now, or I will move you. She’s coming back with me.” His expression was almost remorseful. “I don’t want to hurt you, Glitch.”
Headset gasped and Charlie turned to him, grabbing him up in her arms, holding him close to her so that his face was tucked into her neck. She was terrified, but anger filled her until it burst out from her. “You're not going to hurt anyone.” Charlie snapped sharply, which effectively drew Jason’s attention away from Cash and Glitch. He blinked, momentarily caught off guard by her. She was hardly the equivalent of a toothpick to him and yet somehow, in that moment, she stilled him.
I couldn’t stand by anymore and watch the scene. “Jason, that’s enough.” I carefully slipped between Cash and Glitch, standing before Jason. Cash gave me a warning look, pleading for me to step back.
“I can take care of myself,” I assured him in a soft voice, my eyes still fixed on Jason. It didn’t do much to quell Cash’s concern, but he didn’t attempt to get between us again.
“I’m not going to hurt you, Liv. Just come back with me.” His anger subsided slightly. “I need you,” he said softly, lowering his head in resignation.
As mad as I was at him for his intrusion and his behavior, he was still Jason, and I didn’t like to see him in pain. Especially not when I was the cause of it. “I’ll talk to you, but not in here.” I nodded toward the front door and felt the alarm ripple through the Nomads. I turned and gave them a reassuring look before following Jason outside.
The air was cold and clear. The moon highlighted everything in muted midnight shades, sparing just enough light so that I could make out the terrain. I saw the silent silhouette of Jason’s Mercedes several yards away. I remembered how the warm summer air had felt kissing my cheeks as I’d leaned out its window.
I’d been staring at his car, so lost in my thoughts that I ha
dn’t noticed how close to me he was. He was at my back, his fingertips trailed lightly down my arm, and I felt the instantaneous quelling effect it had on his mood.
I turned and peered up at him, trying to let him see the guilt I felt. “I’m sorry for what you saw in there,” I said quietly, the wind stealing my voice away.
He stiffened and I felt the hurt crash over him again as he turned away from me and walked toward one of the large weather-beaten trees that spotted the area around the Lair. He took a seat down on the sandy ground, resting his back up against a large fallen branch as he looked off at the ocean. I sat next to him, waiting for him to say something. He didn't.
“It isn’t what it looked like,” I said quietly, but it sounded weak, even to me.
“I know what he is.” Jason dragged his hand through the ground, sifting through old splinters and dead blades of grass to find the fine bits of sand. He let the smooth grains slip through his fingers.
“How?”
“We have files. On all of them, actually. We’ve known where Glitch was all this time. When his sensor went out, I knew you had to be here. There’s no way Glitch would have gotten it into his mind to remove that thing on his own.” A sardonic half-smile curled his lips.
"You lied to me about that too."
"Add it to the list." Jason grumbled, defeated. He knew there was nothing he could say to defend his lies, so he didn't even try. And I knew there was no point in arguing them anymore, so I didn't.
“You should give Glitch more credit than that. He’s brilliant sometimes.”
“Is that so?”
I glanced over at him. In that moment the hurt slipped away and he reached out, enclosing my hand in his. His palms were rough, cross-hatched with old calluses from lifting tons upon tons of weight. I was torn between pulling away and leaning into him. In the end, I settled on just holding his hand and enjoying the momentary reprieve from all the drama. He ran his thumb across my knuckles, slowly warming them.
“One of the guys in there is working for ACT. They’ve been watching you. They’ll come for you if you stay here,” he said sullenly and looked back out across the ocean.
Shift (Anomaly Book 2) Page 9