Mindsurge (Mindspeak Book 3) (3 page)

I stiffened in his arms.

“Just distance yourself from him until we know what she has planned. Or what’s on the video. Do you think Jack’s going to be excited that the man who raised him—with whom he shares identical DNA—was the one to murder your dad?”

A big part of me knew Jonas was right. But I couldn’t hurt Jack. And until I knew what Sandra meant by her threat, I would continue to fear what she could do.

“Hi, Jonas, Lexi.”

Jonas’s head lifted slightly at the sound of Briana’s voice behind me. He stared over my shoulder, and the taut muscles in his cheeks seemed to relax.

I turned. “Hi, Bree.” Unlike mine, her mask was attached to her head with a satin ribbon, but there was no mistaking her red, wavy locks. “You’ve done an amazing job with the party,” I told her. “And now, you should enjoy yourself. Here…” I pulled Jonas’s hand forward and forced it to link with hers. “…dance with Jonas.”

We aren’t done here,
Jonas mindspoke.

We never are.

Don’t go far
, he warned
. I’ve got a bad feeling about whatever it is Sandra’s got planned.

“Thanks, Lexi.” Briana smiled, oblivious to our mental conversation. “Oh, and happy birthday.”

My eyes widened, then darted to Jonas’s. I had kept my birthday a secret, and Briana knew I didn’t want others to know.

“It’s your birthday?”
Why didn’t you tell me?

“It’s just another day.”

“What are you staring at?” I asked Addison as I approached her from behind. She wore a short sapphire dress with a glittery and sequined bodice and full mesh skirt. Her black hair hung in loose strands down her back. From behind, she looked like any other Wellington student, tall for her young age of eight. But when she twirled around in ballet flats and faced me, I was reminded by her youthful face that she wasn’t even old enough to attend Wellington.

“Jack. He’s in the courtyard.”

“By himself?”

She shook her head, fear in her eyes. I took two hesitant steps closer to the window and peered down. Sure enough, Jack was there. With the same mysterious girl with scarlet lips and red-streaked hair that I saw earlier but didn’t recognize.

They were standing close together; Jack’s back was to me. Lace still covered half the girl’s face. “Do you know who she is?”

“I’ve never met her.”

“That’s not what I asked.” When Addison said nothing, I turned slowly to find her hands shaking, tears in her eyes. “Addi? What is it? Who is she?”

“Jack has been having me track your whereabouts lately. I’m sorry—it’s just that he’s been worried. Anyway, he asked me to find you about ten minutes ago. I told him you were walking toward the courtyard, coming from the dorms. And then I saw you dancing with Jonas.”

“What are you saying?” I grabbed both of Addison’s shoulders, the realization dawning on me. “Who is that down there with Jack?”

Her eyes looked frightened. “I thought it was you.”

I released her. Stumbling back, I pressed a hand to my stomach, the taste of bile rising to my throat. “Me? Why would you think that was me?”

But I already knew the answer. This was my present from Sandra.

“I should have predicted this,” I said. We’d already seen duplicates of Jack, Briana, and Jonas. Why not me? I turned back to the window, trying to get a better look at a second human clone of the infamous Sandra Whitmeyer.

A thousand thoughts ran through my head. Where had this girl been living? Did Jonas know she existed? Did Jack think he was staring at
me
?

I swallowed hard against the burning sensation at the back of my throat, then faced Addison again. “Tell no one. You hear me? Not even Jack. I will take care of this.” If he didn’t already know.

~~~~~

I nearly fell as I ran down the stairs and flew out the door. High heels were not my thing, but they went with the costume.

The temperature had fallen over the last hour. Cool air pinched my cheeks, and I could see my breath. Steam rose from the fountain I stumbled toward.

I slowed at the entrance to the courtyard and looked up at the windows where the Halloween party continued. Addison no longer stood there. The muffled sound of music drowned out all other sounds.

Jack was at the opposite side of the courtyard with his back to me. A large stone fountain separated us, and between the fountain and his tall frame, I was blocked from seeing the mystery clone in front of him.

One by one, I slipped my heels off and threw them into the dormant rose bushes to my right. I padded quietly across the brick sidewalk and ducked behind a line of tall boxwoods. I hoped the dark color of my gown and the barrier of the shrubs would hide me from Jack and my clone.

As I got closer, Jack’s voice rose above the music of the dance.

“You’ve shut me out completely for two weeks. I thought we had finally gotten somewhere after our run today, but now you’re back to avoiding me. Enough’s enough, Lex.”

My heart thudded in my chest. For a moment, I forgot it wasn’t me he was speaking to. The clone was standing with her back to Jack. If she faced him, surely he would recognize her for the fraud she was. I directed a thought to only her.
Turn around. Face Jack.

She did as I ordered. But when she did, a smile stretched across her face. A genuine smile. Anyone else looking at the two of them would think it was Jack and me, taking a romantic moment alone, away from the party. I had to stop this. My mind raced with how to confront this stranger.
 

“I’m sorry I’ve avoided you,” she said. “You just made me so angry. But I’m ready to put it all behind us. Let’s start over, okay?”

She sounded exactly like me. She
looked
exactly like me, except for the dark red streaks painted through her hair. Of course she did. I wanted to scream in frustration. Did Jack think I had just magically colored my hair in the three hours since he last saw me? I wanted to march over and jerk that lace mask off her face. Surely
something
was different about her. Jack knew me better than anyone. He would figure out that this fraud was just
pretending
to be me.

I tried to move, but couldn’t. A part of me wanted to just storm forward and confront her, but another, calmer part of me realized that I needed to know more about this clone before exposing her. So I watched. I watched in horror as Jack moved closer to her—close enough to smell her scent. Didn’t he know my scent?

“I would love that.” He brushed his fingers along the side of her face; she leaned into his touch. “We can fix this,” he said. “I know we can. I didn’t keep your mom’s reappearance a secret to hurt you. You know that now, right?”

The girl nodded. Jack stroked her cheek with his thumb. Was her skin the same texture as mine? I would know the feel of Jack’s face with my eyes closed. The way his brows furrowed when I ran my fingers along his forehead. The way a dimple formed when he smiled, but only on the right side.

I focused hard on the girl’s head, bringing the image of her brain before me. I could see that her brain was firing at a rapid pace, in small golden bursts, and most of the activity seemed to be originating from one place. I squinted my eyes, zooming in.

That’s when I found it. This girl had a tracker.

I dropped the image and focused once again on the couple before me. Was this clone being controlled? Had she been sent to hurt Jack? My pulse was racing out of control.

Jack framed her face with both of his hands. He tilted his head and leaned in just slightly. He was going to kiss her. I had to do something.

Did he not know I would never wear that horrid shade of red lipstick?

Jonas! Go to the window overlooking the courtyard. Now!

I’m busy.

You’re not too busy for this.

Fine. I’m at the win—
Jonas stopped mid-word.
You called me to the window to watch Jack kiss you. That’s low, even for you.

I turned and looked up at the window.
That’s not me, you idiot.

Even my mindspeak came out through gritted teeth.

Jonas’s eyes darted from Jack and the clone to where I stood behind a large bush, then back to the clone.
Who is that? Oh, my… Is that who I think it is?

Bang on the windows. Get Jack to look up at you.

I stepped toward Jack and the clone—but it was too late. Jack leaned in and kissed her, and I hadn’t done enough to stop it.

Their lips touched once, then two times. I could see him press harder, increasing the intensity of the kiss.

Jonas banged on the windows. Jack broke contact with the girl and looked up. The color of fresh blood was smeared across his lips.

I watched as realization dawned on him—probably with a few mindspoken words from Jonas. His smile faded, and his eyes darted around the courtyard.

I wanted to run, but I knew I couldn’t. I had to face this clone and find out who she was, how she got the tracker. Would our troubles with rogue clones ever end?

At last I stepped out from behind the boxwoods and took a few steps toward the clone and Jack.

Jack saw me, then turned back to the clone. “Who are you?”

Instead of answering, she smiled. Not the sweet smile from earlier, but a knowing grin that screamed victory. She pushed past Jack and walked toward me, tugging on the lacy sleeves of her dress as she did so. The passionate kiss had dulled her lipstick a bit. When she reached me, she bowed her head, gathered a section of her dress, and curtsied. “Hello, Lexi. It’s so nice to finally meet the princess of clones.”

“You know who I am?” I already hated this girl.

“Of course I do. You’re my long-lost sister clone. Sandra swears we’ll get along famously, but I’m here to promise you… I have no intention of becoming your friend, let alone your sister.”

“You have a tracker at the base of your skull. Who put that there?”

Her smile faltered. “How did you… Oh, right. You can see inside our brains.”

“She has a tracker?” Jonas now stood behind me, and Briana hovered a short distance behind him. “Are you being controlled? Did someone lead you here?”

“Don’t be so dramatic. No one forced me to come here. I volunteered. As far as who put the tracker inside my head…?” She turned to me. “You should ask your mother.”

I gasped, and my spine tightened.

Jack reached out and grabbed the girl’s arm. “Why are you here? And what the hell was that?”

She batted her eyes at him. “That… was ‘Hello,’” she said in a low, sexy purr. Then with a wink, she patted his cheek. “Don’t worry, sweetie. You’ll be seeing a lot more of me. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” With another small curtsy, she turned and exited the courtyard.

A Lincoln Town Car I hadn’t noticed before was at the turnabout waiting for her. We all watched wordlessly as a man opened the back door for her, she disappeared inside, and they drove off.

We watched the Town Car drive toward the gated entrance of Wellington. By the time the brake lights faded and the car pulled away from the school, Jack, Jonas, Briana, and I were all facing my cloned twin’s grand exit.

I stretched my fingers out straight before curling them into tight fists.

“Someone tell me what the hell just happened,” Jack finally said.

I couldn’t look at him. I squeezed my eyes shut. As I did, I was reminded of two things: Jack kissing another girl—my twin clone, a “gift” from Sandra—and the thumb drive that I’d received from Sandra earlier that day.

This had been Sandra letting me know that her note was no bluff.

“Apparently, there are two of each of us. Well… there
were
two of each of us.” Jonas’s voice was quiet. He stood right behind me.

My eyes snapped open, and I turned to face him. “Did you know about her? That clone of me?”

Jonas just stared at me, pinned by my glare.
 

“You
did
know.”
This is what Sandra meant when she claimed you could give me the password. That clone was the second part of my gift.

I knew a second clone of Sandra existed,
Jonas mindspoke back,
but that doesn’t mean I purposely hid her identity from you. You keep distancing yourself from everyone around you, Lexi. Keep picking fights. Eventually, you’ll push us all away.

Jonas turned to Bree as if his conversation with me was over. “Bree, how about we finish that dance?”

She nodded, and he reached out and grabbed her hand. But before they walked away, he looked at me again. The wide look in his eyes demanded my attention. “Just because we managed to run Sandra out of town doesn’t mean she’s gone from our lives,” he said. “Obviously she’s finding ways back in, and she’s seeing to it that we’re all at odds. This battle we’re in isn’t over, and we’re all going to need each other.”

Golden specks flickered like fire in the dark amber of his eyes.
If you need to break up with Jack, then do it. But stop pushing him and the rest of us away under the guise of mistrust. It’s not
us
that you mistrust. We’re just the ones within reach.
He and Bree walked off, hand in hand, back toward a party that was supposed to be a new beginning for all of us.

Jonas was right. I didn’t want to push Jack away, but Sandra gave me no choice. She’d always get to us. And I knew she meant what she’d said.

Wait, Jonas. I need the password to the thumb drive.

I’ll meet you later.

I practically growled when he brushed me off. Nothing was ever urgent with him. And he knew I wouldn’t come after him right now, since Jack still didn’t know the thumb drive existed, and I didn’t want Jonas with me when I pulled up the files Sandra had sent. Sandra wouldn’t have sent anything unless she had a plan to hurt one of us. And I wouldn’t let Sandra hurt anyone else I loved.
 

“Why’d you do it?” Jack’s voice was low, barely loud enough to be heard above the wind and the music from the party. “Why’d you let me kiss her?”

I swallowed hard. There was so much more going on here than that kiss, although Jack’s lips on that clone of me would haunt me forever. “I don’t know. I guess I wanted to see if you would know it wasn’t me.” I raised my fingers and wiped the cherry red from his lips.