Authors: Venessa Kimball
His eyes are a bright, iridescent green from the tears. He answers softly, “Yes. I know.”
The remaining time in the car is silent except for the moist wind coming off of the ocean.
The silence is ended as Xander hits the steering wheel again with his palm. “Damn it!”
I can’t sense if he is cursing the situation or the fact that a very thick line of opposition
Xander pulls into a side parking lot next to Club Meridian. Sam’s car is already parked in front. Xander and I walk quickly toward the door, both determined and worried about what we will find. As we cross the street and are a few feet from the door, we are blocked by two bodies.
Nate and Ezra.
Nate reaches for me and grabs me by the wrist firmly but gently. Ezra stops Xander with his palm planted on his chest. Xander looks at him, not with hostility, but inquisitively. Xander knows him somehow.
I feel my body go numb. I can feel my jaw hanging open and quickly shut it, as I stare at Nate in shock.
I snap. “What are you two doing here?” I look from Ezra to the crowd in line a foot away from us. I don’t want to draw any attention.
Xander looks from them to me. “Of course, Kahn and his sidekick?”
Nate’s head snaps from me to Xander.
I quickly step between them toward Ezra and speak quickly. “Sam Crest has Corinna. He is going to teleport her to Balthazar if we don’t stop him. We can’t lose another to him, Ezra.”
My voice cracks a little. “Especially her, Ezra.”
Ezra thinks quickly.
We aren’t prepared, Jes.
I hear his thought and move past them. I push through the line and the doormen with intensity. The doormen don’t put up much of a fight. It appears to be more like a welcoming to me.
Ushering in all its glory.
Xander, Ezra, and Nate are close behind me. They scan the crowd for anyone that might prevent our progress. I know exactly where they are.
The back room off the hallway.
Ahead, two black suits block my path toward the hallway. I charge the two, striking one dead center in the nose. He stumbles back against the wall. Nate is on him within a millisecond. I turn to the other suit grabbing me by the back of the neck. I grab onto his arm with both of my hands and swing my left leg up and around. My foot strikes his head with such force he hits the wall and is immediately unconscious.
Nate releases a thought.
Show off.
On that thought, my head whips around to Nate. “I don’t need a damn babysitter, Nate!”
Nate just glares back. I turn on my heels, heading down the long hall to the last corridor. Nate waits up for Ezra and Xander, who are carrying up the flank.
When all appears clear from behind us, I start on a dead run down the hallway, passing everyone, including Jes. Woah, how did I do that? I feel the hairs on my arms stand on end suddenly.
What is going on with me?
Jesca pulls on my shoulder, stopping me from advancing. All of them, Ezra, Nate, and her are looking at me strangely.
I hear Jesca’s voice in my head. “
I heard him. Did you?”
She looks to Ezra. He nods then looks to Nate.
“Did you?”
Nate nods and glares at me.
“Yeah, I heard him.”
I pinch my eyes closed and whisper urgently, “How the hell can I hear you guys in my head?”
A struggle coming from the other side of the door brings us out of our internal thoughts.
Corinna whimpers, “Help!” Her voice is so slurred and weak.
I don’t waste time. I start pounding the weight of my body against the door. It only takes three lunges to unhinge the door from the frame. As I break through, three more of Sam’s bodyguards appear on the other side, ready to attack.
Nate grabs one and throws him like a rag doll against a mirror within the office.
Ezra has two ganging up on him. He sends one into a wall head first. Ezra simply snaps the other one’s neck with a quick twist of his hands.
Jesca combats the fourth with quick precision, taking him down hard and fast. All of this is achieved in a matter of seconds.
Silence. The only sound in the room is curtains flapping in the wind. We all scan the room quickly to see multiple windows open, sending curtains high up toward the ceiling. No sign of Sam or Corinna. There is a leather sofa, disheveled desk, toppled over lamp, nightstand, rumpled sheet on a cot with restraints, an empty vile and syringe. I move closer.
Ezra’s thoughts are apparent to everyone in the room.
He knew we would come here. He sedated her. He has taken her somewhere else.
The shift of a door in the corner of the room sets us on guard again. Ezra’s and Nate’s eyes immediately dart to the far back corner of the expansive room.
The familiar growl of a sports car’s engine sets me running past them all and down the stairs.
Corinna.
Nate, Xander, and Ezra are right behind me. All we can do is watch the car speed off.
My heart sinks. I mouth an inaudible whisper, “No.”
I run back into the office. The cot shows signs of a struggle. I can feel my eyes fill up with hot tears. “I shouldn’t have let her go with him!”
I see her bracelet on the bed. I sink to my knees and raise my hand to pick up the delicate keepsake. The tears are clouding my vision. Frustrated, I roughly wipe my eyes with the back of my free hand. I put the bracelet in the front pocket of my jacket.
Xander kneels next to me and puts his hand on my shoulder. The moment his hand touches me, I flip him over and pin him to the ground. Nate instantly tries to pull me off of him, but I shove him back and lock my eyes on Xander, needing to take out my pain on someone. Xander whispers raggedly. “I won’t fight you Jes. It is my fault. I’m sorry Jes.”
I feel the hot tears flowing freely from my eyes and pooling under my chin.
Ezra grabs a hold of my shoulders now. “Jesca, stop! He is just a pawn. This is all Sam’s doing. Balthazar’s doing. He didn’t know.”
I want to do something, throw him across the room. Instead, I release him hard against the ground, his head making a thudding sound as it hit. I jump up and turn on Ezra, still needing to release the pain and guilt I am feeling.
“Sam Crest! We could have saved all of those people, Ezra! Protected them!”
Xander sits up, rubbing the back of his head. “I know where he’s going.”
Nate yells at him. “Where?”
Xander slowly rises and staggers to the back door, ignoring Nate’s question. He quickly rights himself and starts running down the back stairs. Nate starts to run after him, but Ezra heads him off at the top of the stairs, stopping him from taking chase. “No, Nate, let him learn the truth.”
Nate looks at Ezra urgently. “We need to follow him! We need to try and save Corinna!”
Ezra grips his shoulders hard. “She is gone, Nate! Let Xander learn who he is and who he will need to become!”
Xander’s car speeds through the streets on the hilltop lined with estate homes. He knows Sam would head to the house. Sam’s car is in the circular. Xander pulls next to it and runs to the front door.
The house is silent. Xander feels Sam’s presence. His skin is crawling, and he gets a chill.
The basement.
As soon as Xander gets to the bottom of the stairs and is about to burst through the door, Sam opens it. “Hey there, Xan.”
He sounds so calm, normal.
Xander rages and pins Sam to the wall. “What did you do, Sam?”
Sam pushes Xander off of him and against the wall behind him, pinning him there. “Don’t.”
They are both breathing fast.
Xander struggles to remove Sam’s hand with no success.
Sam turns his head to reveal a huge gash. “This one put up a fight. Redheads!” Sam snickers and clicks his tongue. “So feisty.”
Xander’s anger is uncontainable now. He pushes Sam against the opposite wall and punches him.
Sam smiles and yells, “Yes! That’s the spirit, my boy! We will make a fighter out of you yet!”
Xander releases him and starts up the stairs.
Sam sighs. “Where are you going? To her? Jesca Gershon-Sera. The Dobrian?”
Xander keeps walking.
Sam pushes off of the wall and follows after him. “I saved you, Xander. You are my son. Where are you going to go, huh?”
Xander is at the top of the basement stairs when he turns to face Sam. “I need to think.”
Sam stands with both hands on either side of the staircase railing. He calmly smiles. “Of course. Cool off. Think. Then come home. Being a misfit in the world without a guide is like being blind without a walking stick. We can work through this together.”
Those words would have made Xander sick to his stomach if he had not become numb to everything Sam stood for now. Xander knows it is easier to just nod in agreement, even though he has no intention of returning.
Systematically, Xander walks up the stairs, enters his room, packs, and is out the front door and pulling away in a half hour.
Balthazar looks at Sam, who is sitting in the chair opposite him in front of the fireplace.
“Alexander is catching on quickly. It is time to entrust him with his abilities.”
Sam feels like he is being stabbed in the gut. “I did everything you said. I can’t read him, but I know he still thinks that his parents were Sondian guardians murdered by the Dobrians. I can keep him focused on our purpose.”
Since he first met Alexander, he could never get past his mental block. Sam couldn’t understand how he could maintain this block without knowing about his abilities. It made him feel inferior in comparison to Alexander’s strength.
“Sam, I still need your help.”
Inside, relief washes over Sam. “Thank you, Balthazar.” His grin quickly turns to a thin line. “Jesca Gershon. I’m sorry, I didn’t—”
Balthazar interrupts him. “The attempts to retrieve her in Georgia were also unsuccessful. The woods. By the diner.” His words are not angry. Just a reminder of Sam’s failures.
Balthazar reassures Sam. “Xander would have been lost to us if you had taken them both at the club tonight. You did award us with another Dobrian, though.”
Sam releases a small smile. “Corinna.”
Corinna Cain. Part of a long Dobrian line. It is no wonder why she and Jesca sought each other out so quickly upon Kahn’s and her arrival.”
Sam thinks for a moment. “What about Kahn?”
“Leave him. His demise after the collision will only make your revenge sweeter, Sam.”
Sam nods in agreement, but bites his lip, wishing he could have taken immediate vengeance.
“You are receiving a new child to groom, Sam.”
Sam’s visions of vengeance turn to confusion. “What about Alexander?”
Balthazar answers after a pause. “He needs his space. He told you that himself. I will keep an eye on him and intervene if necessary. I need you to groom Corrina Cain when she returns to Earth. She will be yours. She will have no recollection of her life, lineage, or family. Only that you saved her from the abductors that have been plaguing the night clubs. The suspects have been caught. An hour ago to be exact. The press was alerted that the two thugs with a laundry list of offenses and warrants are in custody. These suspects were caught with a slew of pharmaceuticals that would render a victim helpless. Then they subdued the victims long enough to empty their bank accounts and steal other valuable possessions.”
Sam runs his hand through his hair and grins at Balthazar’s quick work.
Balthazar’s smile now turns serious. “Someone is always watching, Sam.”
Sam blinks his eyes, and he is awake in his suite. Sam lies there taking in Balthazar’s last words.
Someone is always watching.
Jesca lets the shower run down her sore arms. She hangs her head under the stream. Her hands start moving over her body, searching for damage. Her hand finds a tender spot on her right side above her hip bone. She opens her eyes to take a look. The gash is about six inches long. The lower part of the wound is open, like a butterfly’d fillet. It is oozing blood and clots are being washed from it under the warm stream of water. She continues the inspection. Bruises on her left elbow, remnants of the blow to the first body guard at the club.
Thoughts of Corinna come flooding back into her mind. A lump develops in her throat. She tries to swallow it back. Jesca shuts off the faucet and gets out of the shower, grunting and wincing at every movement.
She doctors the wound as best she can with the gauze she finds in the medicine cabinet. She doesn’t want to bother Ezra or Nate with it. They have not spoken since Xander took off after Sam.
Nate sat next to her on the drive back to the house. Jesca’s eyes were closed, but she could feel his eyes watching her closely.
She overheard Nate and Ezra planning ahead. “Get her in the house. Watch her closely. She is in shock.”
Nate said, “Yeah, I will. Where are you going?”
Ezra replied, “I need to get in touch with Sebastian and tell him about the Cain girl. Her family needs to know what has happened.”
Jesca turns off the bathroom light and opens the door to her bedroom across the hall. She is able to slip on her undergarments and a long, button down night shirt. The nausea from that small amount of exerted energy is instant, and she needs to lie down. She starts to cross the room to her bed, when Nate knocks on the door and comes into the room carrying a tray. She is taken aback by Nate and shifts into a defensive position. She winces at the pain that surges to the wound at her side. Jesca reaches for her hip and sucks in her breath.
Nate sees her reaction and quickly sits the tray down on the dresser and walks over to Jesca cautiously. She is leaning against the bedpost now, breathing quickly.
Nate stands near her. “You’re hurt.”
Jesca snaps, “I’ve already bandaged it.”
Nate ruffles his wavy brown hair and blows out a breath. “It’s not nothing, Jes. I can…”
Jesca grimaces. “Yeah, I know. We are still linked, aren’t we? The moment I saw you I knew it wasn’t broken.”
Jes, let me heal you.
Nate looks at her, desperate for her permission.
Jesca feels his eyes on her heavy now. She winces again feeling defeated. “Fine.”
Nate helps her around to the side of the bed.
Jesca sits slowly with Nate’s help. She feels pain and immediately reaches her arms around Nate’s neck for support. “Ouch, Ouch!”
“It’s all right, Jes, I’ve got you.”
Jesca lets her body go limp in his arms. Nate lowers her the rest of the way onto the bed. Jesca is breathing deeply, trying to control the pain with every breath. Nate sits on the bed and starts to reach for her. Jesca’s eyes snap open.
Don’t, Nate.
His eyes don’t leave hers. “Jes. I’m trying to help.”
Nate reaches for her night shirt cautiously. Nate lifts her shirt far enough to see the wound on her hip.
Jesca feels her cheeks flush. Anticipation both of the pain and of Nate’s touch. Nate touches her skin, and she shivers. Jesca winces.
Nate whispers, “Sorry.”
Jesca nods, letting him know she is fine.
He peels back the gauze bandage and pulls the shirt back away from her skin a little more to reveal the extent of the wound.
“Damn it, Jesca! This is not a small wound!”
She immediately feels what he is going to say next. “I was being careful. I was totally expecting the bodyguards. I was not expecting you and Ezra. Especially you!”
Nate looks at her briefly, then back at the wound. “Ezra called me in. Sebastian’s orders. Things are heating up with the collision timetable apparently. Look, Jes, I get that you think you can do it all. Just remember what the mentors told us in the facility.”
Jesca knows in her heart that he is right. Beyond her super-sized pride, she was glad to have backup. Jesca repeats what they learned at the facility. “We are stronger together than we are on our own.”
There is no denying that both Nate’s and Jesca’s abilities are heightened when they work together.
Nate slowly shifts to kneel in front of Jesca. He puts his left hand on her elbow, swollen and bruised, and his right hand on her wounded side. His eyes look up into hers. “Put your hands on mine.”
Jesca takes in a deep breath.
Nate winks at her. “Don’t’ look at me that way. I promise I won’t try anything.”
Jesca smiles sarcastically and closes her eyes.
“Not unless you want me to, that is.”
Jesca eyes shoot open, and she tries to push his hands away. She winces from the brief strain. “Ugh!”
Nate smiles and puts his hands back in place. “Sorry. Sorry.”
Jesca continues to glare at him. This time she puts her hands on his just to make sure they stay where they are supposed to. Jesca’s eyes move back to his. His eyes are so comforting, like home.
Okay, Nate. I’m ready.
They both close their eyes.
Nate inhales a long breath. Then exhales. Jesca feels a surge of warmth course through her body. It is a steady flow. Jesca’s breath quickens. Soothing warmth centers in her core, her arms, her side, her legs. It radiates so quickly, she starts to feel light-headed. Jesca leans forward into Nate. He leans into her. Nate slips his arms around her waist, his hands on her skin, in an embrace. She can feel his breath on her neck now. Jesca begins to feel the energy melt away until everything is still.
Jesca and Nate don’t move. Not wanting to break this spell.
Nate speaks into Jesca’s ear. “I asked to come here.”
Jesca shifts to pull back and look at him.
“Since the facility, I have felt numb, Jesca. California is stable and has very little need for intelligence right now. I don’t think you need to be babysat.” Nate unexpectedly leans in and kisses Jesca’s cheek. His lips linger. He whispers, “Especially by Alexander Crest.”
Jesca pushes Nate back enough to look at him again. “Really! That was not necessary!” Jesca looks down. “I don’t think Xander knew what was going on. I don’t think he knew anything until tonight. Sam kept everything from him. And back at the club, when we felt and heard Xander’s thoughts at the door. You felt and heard him too!”
Jesca’s eyes start to well up at the thought of rehashing Corinna’s abduction. “He was as surprised as we were. I mean, he has abilities that Sam obviously has not told him about.”
Nate looks down briefly. Thinking through the logic. He doesn’t want to admit it. “I think you’re right. Just…be careful. He has had loyalty to Sam for so long and that is hard to break. And I’m sure he is confused about where he belongs.”
Jesca looks into Nate’s eyes. “I won’t. I will be careful.”
Nate sighs and starts to stand. “After healing those nasty wounds, that line doesn’t hold much water with me, Jes.”
Jes grabs his hands and pulls him back to eye level. “I mean it. I just feel that Xander has not been told so much. The way things truly are. I just hope he finds the truth soon.”
Nate touches her chin softly. It surprises Jesca.
Nate’s voice is soft. “That! That is what I missed. Your strength, faith, and hope.”
Jesca laughs a little. “Strength? Yeah, I really showed that today.”
Jesca’s smile is too brief as she remembers Corinna, and the knot forms in her throat again. Jesca tries to hide her expression, trying to maneuver around Nate.
Nate puts his hands on her hips to stop her from rising. He moves closer to her again. “Don’t do that! You have amazing strength. What happened to Corinna, you were caught off guard, it wasn’t your fault. Too many other factors were working against you.”
Jesca turns her head away from Nate to hide the tears. Her voice cracks. “This is too much. I can’t…I can’t handle all of this.” She looks up at the ceiling quickly, trying to hold the tears in.
Nate moves his hand to her face. He brushes her cheek with his thumb. Nate’s voice is strong and determined now. “You will, Jes. You can handle this. I will help you. I will be here for you. We can do this. Remember our strength together, back at the facility?”
Jesca nods quickly as she sucks in her breath. “Yes. I remember.”
She is breathless all of a sudden. Jesca remembers their time in the facility.
The kiss.
The thought slips out before she can block it.
Nate’s determined face softens. For a moment, he studies her. His hand still on her tear-streaked face. Nate leans closer, then pauses. First, to see her reaction, and second, to think about what he is starting again.
I can’t be without you, Jes.
Jesca’s hands go to Nate’s chest. Nate pulls her body into him. His lips touch hers softly at first. The kiss instantly deepens and becomes intense. Jesca feels Nate’s heart pounding under her hands as she grips his shirt and pulls him onto the bed with her.
I need you, Nate.
Nate pulls back for a moment and looks into her eyes. Jesca puts her hand around Nate’s neck and pulls him to her. Her mouth crashes into his. Nate’s hand runs along her face and down her neck. The kiss is deep and reckless.
A knock at the door catches them off guard.
Ezra calls from the other side of the door. “Hey, Jes, did Nate bring you food?”
The spell is broken. Nate rolls onto his elbow and climbs off the bed. He quietly moves toward the door. Jesca quickly sits up and shifts her nightshirt back into place. He looks at Jesca for a moment and sighs. He turns and opens the door.
Ezra looks up at Nate, then over at Jesca.
Nate clears his throat. “Yes. I brought her food. And I healed her.”
Nate looks down and puts his hand to his lips. He looks at Jes and speaks in a low voice. “I will check on you later.”
Jesca nods. She doesn’t speak. She is speechless. Her heart is still pounding out of her chest.
Nate turns to leave. Ezra shifts one way and Nate the other as he tries to get out the door. “Sorry.”
Ezra enters the room and closes the door softly behind him. “So. You and Nate okay?”
Jesca’s cheeks flush. “Uh, yes. Much better.”
“Well, I’m glad. You know you may not realize how great of a partner Nate will be for you. You and he share so much strength. You two together, it is…”
Jesca cuts him short. “I know. I mean, I know we are stronger together.”
She clams up again. She is still resentful about Ezra not telling her about Sam being the key to the operation earlier. She knows now that it won’t make her any stronger fighting with Ezra.
“I’m sorry I didn’t give you all the facts, Jes. I was trying to protect you, and I wound up leaving you more vulnerable.”
Jesca looks at him. “Please. Don’t keep me in the dark anymore. I’m a big girl. I can handle it.”
Ezra puffs out his upper lip and runs his hand through his hair. He takes off his reading glasses and places them on his head in one motion. Jesca knows he is holding something back.
“You’re right. You aren’t a child anymore.” Ezra walks over to the bed, pulls up a chair from her desk, and sits in front of Jesca. “I have something else to tell you.”
“What is it? Hit me with it.”
Ezra looks at her wearily. “Everything is part of a grand blueprint. But there are always key players. And I know I have withheld many of those from you. You must know that I was only withholding them to protect you, until the right time.”
Jesca has heard this so many times before from Ezra.
What is he going to tell me now?
“Your biological mother, Anna, was a high-ranking Dobrian. Her role was set into motion when she was your age. She was sent on a mission to infiltrate the Sondians by going undercover and learning as much as she could about their plans of the coming intersection. At that time, there was strong belief that we could stop it since the gravitational pull of the Earth had not shifted much.”
Ezra looked down. “She had to become involved with a Sondian, Sam Crest. Son of Rein and Victoria Crest. They both were Dobrian captains for years and worked as spies. They were slain by the Sondians they infiltrated when Sam was fourteen. Sam was taken under Balthazar’s wings. He groomed Sam in the Sondian fellowship.”
“Sam’s parents were Dobrians? Why didn’t Sebastian save him? Why would he let him be captured?”
“He didn’t let it happen. Balthazar got to him before Sebastian could.” Ezra pinches the bridge of his nose. He looks tired all of a sudden.
Ezra’s voice becomes agitated. “Anna. She went undercover. The deeper she went undercover as a Sondian, the more she lost herself. The line between which side was the right one began to blur for her. And she began to fall in love with Sam. Seeing Anna’s wavering patriotism to Dobria and the temptation of a charming Sondian, Sebastian sent in a partner. Her life was in such great jeopardy. One slip of Sam or Balthazar discovering she was there to destroy the second generation Copula and Balthazar would have her killed without a second thought.
“A partner went in and worked on getting Anna back. He slowly got Anna to refocus on her mission. In the same breath, Anna and her partner began to fall in love with each other. They began a love affair. Sam was a very territorial and possessive man. When Anna’s undercover routine began to change in the slightest, Sam knew something was wrong. One day, he followed her and caught her meeting with her partner, a known Dobrian. He was enraged to catch Anna with another man, let alone a Dobrian. Being a vengeful person, Sam was not going to make this easy for Anna. So Sam waited to approach her.”
Jesca feels like she is missing a part, a hole in the story. “There is something you aren’t telling me.”
Ezra raises his voice in irritation. “Well, I’m not finished yet! So there is a lot I’m not telling you if you don’t sit there and be quiet!”
Jesca throws her hands up, claiming her impatient attitude. She sits back and waits for Ezra to continue.