Possessed (7 page)

His
keys and his cell were in the kitchen. He grabbed them up and put them in his
pocket. Locking the door behind himself, he pretended he didn’t hear his
neighbor as she called him. That was no deterrent to her. She sashayed over in
a pair of brief shorts and a shirt that could have been spray painted onto her
small frame.

“Hi!
On your way out?”

“Um,
yeah.”

She
grinned. “Saw you a few minutes ago in your window.”

Sebastian
ran the heel of his hand over his chest, but stopped when her eyes followed his
hand. “Um, yeah, I’m sorry about that. I guess I forgot about the lack of
curtains. I’ll get some up.”

“No
need to rush on my account.” She gave him a flirtatious smile and a slow once-over.

Sebastian
ignored the blatant come-on. “Thanks for your patience.” He jingled his keys.
“Well, I’ve got to go.”

“Who’s
the lucky girl?”

“No
girl. A friend is throwing a party.”

Her
eyes lit up. “Really? Can I come?”

Sebastian
debated it for a moment. He wouldn’t know anyone at the party, but then he
didn’t really know her either. She’d introduced herself soon after he’d bought
the house, but he couldn’t recall her name. And he didn’t want to encourage
her. He wasn’t interested in a relationship and since he couldn’t keep his cock
out of Keva’s pussy, he at least owed it to her to not put her at risk of
contracting a sexually transmitted disease. He refused to acknowledge the fact
that he didn’t want anyone else. His sex drive was pretty high, but of late,
with the exception of yesterday’s lapse, he’d been handling it himself. He
couldn’t believe Keva hadn’t slapped him for some of the things he’d said and
done to her. He’d wanted her to. He’d deserved it.

“Maybe
some other time. I don’t know these people that well.”

“I’ll
hold you to that.” She gave him a coquettish wave before turning and going back
to her own yard.

Sebastian
nodded. Hell, he might have to move into a hotel faster than he thought. He got
into his truck and backed out of the driveway.

****

Sebastian
once again tried to create some space between himself and Brittany, his gaze searching
the room desperately for their host. Luke had sent her over and suggested that
she introduce herself. Not that she needed much in the way of encouragement.
She refused to acknowledge his subtle hints that he wasn’t interested.

He
guessed that Luke’s method of therapy was to get him a woman. When he’d
arrived, Luke had given him a beer, pointed out his wife and told him that she
was off-limits but that all the other women were fair game. And there were
quite a few beauties here tonight. Despite his casual demeanor and his
disinterested air, Brittany was determined. She’d sort of glommed onto him. He’d
managed to shake two other women tonight with his lack of interest, but not
Brittany. She followed him from the den to the kitchen and back again, chatting
away, oblivious to his silence. He wasn’t good at small talk. In the past,
before he’d given up on having a normal relationship, whenever he dated a
woman, the first thing she’d complain about was his lack of social skills. It
was like his looks blinded them for a while, but he couldn’t hide who he was
and what he wasn’t forever. And he wasn’t normal.

The
thought pissed him off. He plunked his beer down on the nearest flat surface.
It was still full because he didn’t want to know what he’d do if he got so much
as a slight buzz. The crowd shifted near the television. Spotting Luke,
Sebastian made a beeline for him, Brittany trailing him. “I’m leaving. Thanks
for inviting me.”

Luke
glanced at Brittany behind him and chuckled. “You’re welcome.” He bumped his
arm with his. “Mike told me you were a ladies’ man, but damn, you work quick.”

“No,
I’m going home alone. I appreciate what you were trying to do, but I don’t need
a setup.”

“Whoa,
I didn’t set up anything. You should give Brit here a chance. If she’s been
chatting you up, it’s because she likes you.”

“I’m
not interested.” He turned to Brittany. “I’m sort of seeing someone.” What he
had for Keva wasn’t conventional and it couldn’t really be called a
relationship. But whatever it was, he didn’t want anyone else. Just because it
wouldn’t work in the end didn’t lessen his feelings for her or make him desire
her less. If anything, the impossibility of it, made him yearn for Keva even
more.

“Why
didn’t you say so?” Brittany glared at him and flounced off with a toss of her
long, brown hair.

“Mike
said you didn’t know anybody in the area and asked me to introduce you around.
I assumed that meant you were single.”

“I
wanted her to give up. The last thing I need in my life is a clingy woman.”

Luke
shrugged. “See you around.”

Sebastian
nodded and headed out. Brittany already had another guy cornered. She made a
special point of ignoring him, shifting to give him her back as she expelled a
loud and utterly fake laugh. Shaking his head, Sebastian fished his keys out of
his pocket and exited the house. On the drive back to his project house, he
couldn’t help but wonder what Keva was doing tonight. Where was she? What was
she doing? Out having fun with friends? Was she seeing someone else? The
thought brought a pain to his chest and caused a churning in his belly.

At
the house again, Sebastian got a bottle of water out of the fridge. His violin
was propped against the wall. He’d put the stringed instrument in a storage
unit. It had popped up a week ago. He woke up one morning on the floor with it
lying next to him. He’d known what it meant but hadn’t been able to stop
himself from going after Keva.

The
only solution he could come up with to protect her was to encourage her to
protect herself from him. He wasn’t strong enough. She’d have to have strength
enough for the both of them.

Being
cruel to her was the hardest thing he’d ever done. He’d thought of her as a
companion since the initial vision. For years, he wasn’t even sure if she
actually existed. That she wasn’t just a dream or an imaginary friend. After the
separation from his parents, he’d finally searched for her online. He’d needed
someone he could hold on to. The connection with her and his friendships with
Mike and Ken had kept him going when times became tough.

It
wasn’t until he met her that he realized that he’d been in love with her for
years. If he wasn’t such a weak, selfish bastard, he would have turned her
away, as had been his intention. He didn’t want her burdened with his problems.

I
should leave Vegas
, he thought not for the first time. Leave
and get as far from Keva as possible.

****

Keva
booted up her computer and wished that she’d taken the time to make coffee
before coming down to the office. She checked her schedule and was shocked to
find it empty. On a Monday, that was practically unheard of. Checking her
e-mail, she found the reason why. She was being summoned to a Channel review
meeting.
Shit!
She glanced at her watch. She had an hour to prepare. Panic
threatened to overwhelm her. She had to stay calm not only for Sebastian but
also for the sake of her job. Her office mates migrated in and out, both busy.
They were probably shouldering some of her workload along with the other
Channels. She wondered if they knew about the meeting.

The
time quickly evaporated. She soon found herself heading down white hallways. The
conference room was a fraction larger than their office. An oval wood table
took up the majority of the space. The back wall was floor-to-ceiling windows.
Keva was directed to take a seat at the end of the table. Drs. Larsen, Garcia,
and Green sat at the other end shuffling through papers or glancing at their
tablets. Dr. Larsen gave her an encouraging smile as she joined them.

She
folded her hands in her lap and waited for them to begin.

Dr.
Green, the most senior staff member among the doctors, pushed thick-lensed
glasses up the bridge of his nose. Sunshine glinted off his scalp through his
thinning, salt-and-pepper hair. He cleared his throat. “Thank you for joining
us today, Ms.…” He glanced down. “Lane. This is merely a formality. Please just
answer questions to the best of your ability.” He nodded to Dr. Garcia.

Helen
Garcia gave her a wintery smile before beginning. Her emotionless, black eyes
were sharp and reminded Keva of a carnivorous bird. “Miss Lane, we spoke
briefly concerning your file.” She referred to her tablet and gave Keva the
file number and the date in June when it was created. Since she hadn’t been
able to access the file, the information was of no assistance to her. “We’d
like you to recite the sequence of events to us.”

“It
was two months ago.”

“Yet
it is the only emergency case you’ve handled in the last six months,” Dr.
Garcia rejoined.

“Just
do the best you can,” Dr. Larsen interjected, his voice kind. This earned him a
glare from Dr. Garcia.

Keva
took a deep breath. “I received the call from—”

Cutting
her off, Dr. Garcia said, “For the sake of expediency, you may skip to the time
of your arrival at the subject’s home.”

“I
was greeted by my patient’s friends.” She placed special emphasis on the word
patient. Calling them subjects made her think of lab rats instead of people.
“After receiving a brief history from his friends, I went up to see the
patient. He was in obvious pain—”

“What
sort of history? There is none noted here.” Dr. Garcia’s fingers slid over the
screen of her tablet.

“It
wasn’t the sort of thing we keep track of. It was emotional history. His
parents…were not accepting of his abilities. Neither of his friends knew his
exact talent or his level for that matter.”

“You
estimated him to be a B level yet in the notes from scheduling, I see that they
estimated him to be an A. Any particular reason for the discrepancy?”

Keva
shook her head. “He’d never been tested. I based my estimation on what I felt
during the connection.” She paused to see if there would be further questions.
When she was met with silence, she continued. She hoped by keeping her details
concise she would avoid raising suspicions. “We established a connection. I
stayed for dinner. I came back home. Since it was late, I turned in my report
the next day.”

“Let’s
go back a step,” Dr. Green said. “You had no trouble establishing a
connection?”

“No,”
she lied. He seemed satisfied.

“Any
reason you didn’t get a name for your patient?” Dr. Garcia asked in a cool
tone.

“It
goes back to his issues with his parents. He doesn’t give his trust easily.”

“All
the more reason for you to have mentioned his state of mind in your report,
don’t you think?” Dr. Garcia asked with a raised brow. “Upon review of your
other files, I noticed no such hesitancy on your part. Only on that of this
patient. Why is that?”

Keva
shrugged, searching her brain for a plausible answer. She knew it was true that
Sebastian’s file was very different from her norm. Her reports could often be
confused with novels. She was convinced they’d instituted a word limit because
of her. “It was the next day. I didn’t recall as many details since it was no
longer fresh in my mind.” She knew a moment of triumph as Dr. Garcia pressed
her lips together and Dr. Larsen gave her a big grin.

“Any
further questions?” Dr. Green asked after a long moment of silence.

“Not
at this time,” Dr. Garcia said.

“Helen,
we can’t keep dragging this out forever,” Dr. Larsen complained.

She
turned to him with a glare. “I reserve the right to explore this again.”

“Fine.”
Dr. Green gathered his papers. “This matter is closed. Dr. Garcia’s
reservations aside, we shouldn’t have to revisit this matter.”

Keva
breathed a sigh of relief.

Keva
sipped her water and watched as Amy was swallowed up on the dance floor. From
her position in their booth, she could barely see her hand over the sea of
bodies as the other woman waved at her. Dean sat across from her, his thumbs
busy on his cell as he sent and received text messages.

This
was Amy’s fault. She’d convinced her that she needed to celebrate her win
against the wicked witch Dr. Garcia on Monday. She’d needled Keva the entire
week. By this afternoon, she couldn’t take any more and had agreed to the trek
into Vegas. So far, the only one celebrating was Amy. She’d ordered a buttery
nipple and aside from two breaks to order more drinks, Amy had spent the
evening on the dance floor.

Keva
glanced down at her watch. They’d been here for less than an hour and she was
ready to go home. She wished she hadn’t given in to peer pressure. Right now
she could have been finishing up
Silas Marner
while curled up on her
comfortable couch instead of being bombarded by loud music while sitting across
from an unsociable Dean.