“Rendevouz?” asked a bleary-sounding Ellie. “Who are we…rende-rendevouze…meeting up with?”
Joe maneuvered the car onto the dirt road. “Angel and Cooper and Enrique, honey. We’re taking you back to the farm.”
Ellie sounded confused, “Tonight? I thought—”
“Mouse, your aunt knows what happened, or at least, what might have happened. If I don’t get you back to her before sunrise, she’s going to turn into a vampire, fly up here, and suck out all my blood.” Ellie giggled at his analogy, then babbled something about him calling her Mouse.
Joe glanced into the mirror again. She was falling asleep. Maybe she was sixteen, but in her drowsy, vulnerable state, she might as well have been six again, the same little girl he used to push on the swings at the park and build sandcastles with on the beach. His shoulders sagged. He had missed a lot, and it had all been unnecessary. Regrets weren’t something he needed any more of in his life; he wasn’t going to let it happen again.
Nadia reached over, tapping his hand on the wheel. “You okay?”
He snapped back into the moment. “Yeah, yeah. I’m okay.” Damn. This one had definitely been absorbing her training. She was doing everything he wanted his Defenders to do—tuning into her environment, picking up on human emotions and frailties, sensing needs and desires, and anticipating what
might
happen, rather than just reacting to what had. He gave her a sidelong glance. Maybe he didn’t like being the object of her investigation, but he was proud and pleased that she was getting so good at it.
After another moment, they pulled into a clearing and parked. The jet was waiting for them, but not the other car. Nadia reached for the door handle. “I’ll do a quick sweep of the perimeter—”
“In those?” Joe motioned toward her strappy sandals with the three-inch heels.
Nadia made a face. “Oh yeah, forgot.” She wrinkled her forehead, then brightened. “I could do a thermal scan.”
Joe laughed; Nadia’s eagerness to please was downright charming. “I think we’re okay. They’ll be here any minute. Rique drives like a madman.”
She nodded. “Right.” Then, perhaps reminded that she was dressed semi-formally, she suddenly yanked down the lighted visor mirror and immediately set about repairing her hair and make-up with items from her beaded handbag.
For a moment, Joe was perplexed. Then he mentally rolled his eyes. Besides having the physique of the Incredible Hulk (in a more palatable shade), what was this magical effect Enrique Espinoza seemed to have on every female in the free world? Well, Nadia could primp all she wanted to. Even if Joe didn’t have a strict policy about his Defenders fraternizing, Rique did. He had told Joe, being a double-gene boy himself, he absolutely, positively wouldn’t chance bringing any more Two’s into this world. It was too hard, and too dangerous, to live like a ticking time bomb, never a hundred percent sure you could control your Gift and not have it control you.
The crunching of the car tires against the stones alerted them to the vehicle’s arrival. Joe and Nadia exited their car, preparing to greet the other three. It was a dark and still night, but a three-quarter moon had risen, throwing an eerie gray light around the area. As soon as the car stopped, Rique hopped out of the driver’s side and opened the rear door for Angel. He tried to help her out, but she shooed him away. “Riq, I’m fine!” She climbed out, a bit gingerly, holding a lumpy white package against her face.
“No, you’re not.” He looked at Joe. “She took one for the team, Dr. Joe. Will you make sure she’s all right?”
Joe nodded and smiled. “Yeah, I’ve got everything I need on the plane.”
Cooper, who had joined them, was looking around. “So where’s the kid? She okay?”
Nadia grinned and stepped away from the side of the car, where her body had been blocking the view of Ellie, crashed out against the car window. “Yeah, she seems fine. Just worn out.”
“She was really beat,” added Joe. “Couldn’t even tell us what happened before she passed out.”
Angel pulled the white package away from her face, revealing a red, swollen area around her left eye. Joe winced just looking at it, but Angel was smiling. “Yeah, well, she should be. Ellie’s suffering from post-hypermetabolic backlash.”
Joe’s eyes widened. “Wait, you mean—”
“Yup. The kid’s found her Gift. And she’s beat to hell from using it.”
“Well, what is it, Angel? What can she do? Tell us!” Joe demanded, his heart swelling.
Angel inclined her head toward the plane. “I’ll tell you all about it inside, Joe. We really need to get going. I feel awful about getting Ellie into this mess and scaring Grace half to death.”
“Hey, don’t blame yourself, Angel. We all missed it. I still don’t know how Carlo got involved in all this. From all our research, he has zero connection to anyone who might know who Ellie is.”
She gave them all a devilish grin, and said in a sing-songy tone, “Not
everyone
missed it.” She pointed toward the car window with Ellie’s sleeping face smashed against it.
Joe’s mouth fell open, “Ellie…knew? But—”
Angel stopped him, motioning toward the plane. “Vamos, amigo.”
Rique stepped over to her and kissed her non-swollen cheek. “Take care, sis. Te amo.”
“Te amo, tambien.”
She returned the kiss, but as she did, something seemed to catch Riq’s eye. He reached toward her throat and lifted a single stone pendant off her shirt. He wrinkled up his nose. “You never wear jewelry. Where’d you get this?”
Angel’s face flushed. She grabbed the stone from around her neck and tore it off. Through gritted teeth, she answered his question, “Carlo.” With a wry smile, she explained, “He said it was a real diamond. Probably lied about that, too.” She took Rique’s hand and dropped the chain and stone into it. Then she closed his fist over it. “Get rid of it. I don’t care what you do with it. Crush it, hock it, give it to one of your lady friends. I don’t care. Just make sure I never see it again.”
“Ange, are you sure?”
“Sure.” Her expression was darker than anything Joe could remember seeing on her before. She turned quickly and walked away, mumbling, “I’m gonna go check with the pilots.” Despite some obvious physical pain, her steps were swift, carrying her up the stairs and into the plane.
Rique’s face began turning rather red. His jaw was clenched as he spoke, “If I
ever
get my hands on that slimy little—” His eyes darted over toward Nadia, and he seemed to think better of finishing his sentence.
Joe laid a hand on his shoulder. “Take it easy, Riq. She’ll be fine. Your sister’s as tough as they come.”
“Well, she shouldn’t have to be. Someday, somebody’s gonna come along and see her for the Princess she really is…and treat her like it, too.”
Cooper looked longingly up toward the plane. “I’d be willing to give it a shot.” His dreamy-eyed expression broke the tension, and the other three laughed out loud.
Rique gave him a lopsided grin. “We’ll discuss that on the ride back, Coop.”
“So you won’t come with us, Riq?” Joe knew the answer, but it was always worth a try.
“Sorry, Joe. No go. You know me—glad to help out in a pinch, but otherwise, strictly a solo act. Give Gran a kiss for me, though, will ya?”
Joe nodded, then said, “But hey, can you do me one more favor tonight? Will you drive one of the cars back for us?”
Riq pointed at Nadia. “Can’t she—”
“Nope,” Nadia chimed in cheerfully. “Can’t drive. No license. Joe says it’s in everyone’s best interest.” Cooper snickered behind his hand, and after giving him a dirty look, Nadia went on, “Maybe you could give me a ride home, Riq?” She straightened up, planting a hand on her hip, and looked up at the large man, who was well over a foot taller than her, then batted her eyelashes profusely. Riq looked borderline terrified.
Joe worked to keep a straight face. “Yeah, actually, that would be great, Riq. Coop lives in the other direction…”
“Uh, sure. Glad to,” Riq said, though his face disagreed. “Here, let me get the kid for ya—” Riq moved toward the door where Ellie’s head was propped.
“Nah, thanks, Riq. I got this.” Joe walked around Riq, opened the door carefully, and caught Ellie’s limp body as it tumbled over. Her eyes fluttered open for one second, settling on his face, then dropped closed again. He slid his arms under her and pulled her out of the car, lifting her up and cradling her like a baby. Her head fell against his chest. She certainly wasn’t a baby anymore, in fact, a pretty good weight for a forty-something man to be lifting, but he didn’t care. Ellie’s whole life was about to change, even more dramatically than it already had, and Joe wanted to be the one helping her through it.
Chapter Thirteen: Insomnia
“Doo, you don’t have to stay. It’s almost two in the morning. You must be tired. Go on to bed.”
“Oh, no you don’t, Gracie. You stuck with me and Gilda when we needed you; I’m just returning the favor.” Doo wrapped his arm more tightly around Grace’s shoulder, settling back into one of the leather couches in the farmhouse library.
Granny peered over the top of her glasses from her seat in an old wing-back chair on the other side of the room. She was pretending to study something on her tablet, but was, in actuality, hanging on every word the two of them exchanged. Doo and Grace, who’d a thunk it? Granny smiled to herself, only sorry she hadn’t come up with the idea on her own. What better way to change Grace’s mind about letting Elodie stay at the farm than to give her a reason to stay herself.
Through assiduous but selective spying, and with Rishi’s help, of course, Granny had kept abreast of Grace’s romantic entanglements, or more accurately, lack thereof, over the many years that Grace had been Ellie’s guardian. While she admired Grace’s devotion to the child, no one should choose a life without love, as Grace seemed to have done. And, clearly, that choice had caught up to her. The minute she had just a few days free of the constant worry for Ellie’s safety, her heart had found another home. Or at least, some other parts of her anatomy had. Granny might be a hopeless romantic, but she wasn’t a fool. She’d been a randy young thing herself some decades ago, and she wasn’t a completely dried up old prune even now.
All three of them jumped and turned toward the door, as it burst open. Seeing the expectation, and then the disappointment, on their faces, Willow Begonia apologized, “Oh, sorry, folks, it’s just me. No sign of our weary travelers yet, but I got a call from Joe asking me to come down and be here when they arrived.”
“Why? Did he say? Is there something wrong with Ellie?” Grace swung her head around from questioning Willow to look at Granny. “Elmyra, is there something you’re not telling us?
Granny got up from her chair and walked closer to the couch. “No, dear, there’s not. I’m afraid they’re keeping me in the dark, too. All I know for sure is that Ellie is just fine. She’s sound asleep. Look.” Granny turned her tablet to show Doo, Grace, and Willow an image of Ellie, crashed out and covered with a blanket on one of the jet’s couches. Grace sat forward, inspecting the image, as though she needed more than Granny’s word to believe it. After a moment, she sighed and sank back against Doo.
Granny hid a grin, then beckoned to Willow to follow her to the other side of the room. They put their heads together over top of a chess and checkers table. “So he really didn’t tell you anything?” she asked Willow.
“No, just that he thought I might be able to help everyone over the hump. Those were his exact words.” Willow shrugged.
“Hmm, all he told me is that he knows what Ellie’s Gift is now, but the little turd wouldn’t tell me.” Willow laughed at Granny’s characterization of her long-time friend, then listened patiently as she went on, “Well, who does he think he is, keeping it a secret? Sheesh, what’s the big deal? We figure out people’s Gifts here every day. I mean, after all, I was the one who first broke the news to him that he was God’s gift to the healing arts.”
Willow gave her that condescending now-now-there-there look, and said, “Gran, I’m sure he has a good reason. Or maybe he wanted to be the one to tell Grace, and he knew if you knew, you couldn’t keep your mouth shut.”
Granny sat up straight, folded her arms across her chest, and glared at the woman. “I hate it when you’re right.”
With that, the library door opened again, and this time, the anticipated faces did appear—Joe, Angel, and Ellie. Grace leaped off the couch and clenched Ellie in a death-grip that could have suffocated the child. When she finally let go, Ellie looked dizzy from the loss of blood to her brain, so Grace quickly led her to the couch, which Doo had been kind enough and wise enough to vacate. Grace sat them both down together and then turned to Ellie, holding her face in her hands. “Are you all right, honey? I mean, really all right?”
Ellie sounded dazed and still sleepy, but she grinned. “Just peachy, Aunt Grace. Really.” Grace sighed and smushed the girl’s face into her neck, squeezing the life out of her again.
By that time, Granny and Willow had made it to the cozy couch area, as well. “Angel, you look a little worse for the wear,” Granny observed, noting a little swelling around Angel’s eye and tape wrapping her wrist. “Everything okay?”