The Reckoning (26 page)

Mike glanced over at Glenda, the only witness to his father’s death. “Do you see him yet?”

She shook her head. “What if I don’t recognize him?” She glanced from the screen back up to him. “It’s been a long time.”

Mike patted her on the back. “You will. I’m sure of it.”

Mike was placing all of his chips on a woman whose life had been destroyed all those years ago. The father of her son had been taken away from her and shot in cold blood, just like their dad. Mike prayed that when Glenda saw the man again she’d recognize him.

“I hope you’re right.” Her voice broke as she turned back to the monitor and leaned forward.

Mike had his hand on the knob ready to turn it when Briggs jumped from his seat and held out a tiny device. “Dude, don’t forget your earpiece.”

Mike nodded, grabbing the piece, and gently placed it in his ear and walked from the room
. Time for the show.
 

Mike looked around the room, surveying the crowd that had shown up for the party. People talking and the clinking of glasses didn’t distract him from his mission. Mike’s eyes locked onto his prey, and he strolled with confidence and determination toward the one woman who was probably more stubborn than all of his sisters combined. He stopped in front of
Elizabeth
, nodded to the General, and pulled
Elizabeth
into his arms. He pressed his lips to hers, claiming what she thought she had taken away from him. His hand slid to her back, and he bent her backwards, deepening the kiss.

The talking in the room had stopped. He didn’t need to open his eyes to know that everyone was gawking at his public display. He leaned
Elizabeth
back. Her body trembled under his hands. He pulled his lips from hers. “I love you, Elizabeth Lister, and you’re not allowed to push me away.”

Elizabeth
remained silent. Her chest was rapidly rising and lowering trying to steady. Her fingers went to her lips. “But—”

Mike kissed her cheek. “Later, I have work to do.”

Mike nodded at the General, who gave him a satisfied grin. “Keep her safe.”

The General nodded back. “You’re smarter than I thought.”

Mike winked at
Elizabeth
and strolled away. The expressions of the party-goers were just as stunned as
Elizabeth
’s had been. Mike walked past a grinning
Lydia
, Thompson, and Claire who was standing next to Butch. Claire winked. “Well done, big brother.”

Mike laughed and kept walking toward the security guard at the door.

****

Lydia
glanced around the room, searching for the man from her vision. Her eyes scanned the room for the man who’d taken away her father before she’d ever had the chance to know him. She shook her head. In her vision, she hadn’t seen Mike kiss
Elizabeth
in the middle of the floor. That was a bad indication that she didn’t know what was about to happen. Something had changed; someone had made a decision altering when she’d seen Winter’s. It should have been now, over by the bar, but the bar was empty. Her gut clenched.

Thompson leaned down and whispered, “What’s wrong?”

Lydia
nodded toward
Elizabeth
. “That wasn’t supposed to happen. In my vision, he didn’t kiss her.”
Lydia
turned, glancing around the room. “This is all wrong.” Panic had taken hold, and she thought her legs might give out. “I don’t know what’s going to happen now.”

Claire took
Lydia
’s elbow. “Calm down. Just breathe.”

Lydia
inhaled a deep breath and exhaled. She needed to find her other sisters. She turned toward Butch. “Do you have the ear thingy in your ear? Can everyone hear you?”

Butch nodded and reached up, touching the piece. “Yes.”

Lydia
nodded. “Good, tell Abby and Emma to meet us in the kitchen.”

Lydia
walked over to
Elizabeth
and whispered in her ear. She gestured toward the kitchen and started walking, the general following right behind them.

She walked through the doors and turned to find Claire, Butch, Emma, Jake, Abby, Sam, Thompson,
Elizabeth
, and the General behind her.

“Claire, can you get everyone to give us some privacy?”
Lydia
nodded toward the wait staff.

“Sure.” Claire walked over to the event coordinator and spoke in hushed tones. The coordinator glanced up and nodded.

“Okay, people. Clear the area. The Bennett’s need the space for a quick meeting.”

Everyone stood around the island in the kitchen. Butch grabbed an eggroll and popped it in his mouth.
Elizabeth
shook her head and turned toward
Lydia
. “You want to tell us what this is about? We should be out there watching Mike’s back, not in here.”

Lydia
smiled at
Elizabeth
. She was going to make a fine sister-in-law. “I need for you to tell me what happened. Why did Mike kiss you like that?”

Elizabeth
’s cheeks pinkened under the stare of
Lydia
’s family.
Elizabeth
glanced up toward the general. He bumped her shoulder. “You might as well go ahead and confess, especially if it’s going to help.”

Elizabeth
nodded and held her chin high, meeting
Lydia
’s gaze. “Mike asked me to marry him, and I told him no.”

Claire and Emma gasped as Abby’s hand went to cover her mouth. Butch threw his head back and laughed. “From the looks of that kiss, it doesn’t seem like he understood your answer.”

Abby put her hands on her hips and glared. “Why would you do that? We all know that you love him and he loves you. Why would you break his heart?”

Elizabeth
held up her hands with her palms out.

The general put his arm around his daughter. “In her defense, she thought she was helping.” The general glanced down at
Elizabeth
. “She used to do it to me all the time. Right before a mission, she’d fight with me, make me mad as hell.”

The general leaned over and kissed
Elizabeth
’s head. “And it worked until I caught on to what she was doing. She did it to make me mad, make me more determined to come home and have the last word.”

Elizabeth
glanced down.

The general continued. “Mike caught on a lot quicker than I did. It took him mere minutes to figure out what Lizzy was doing.”

Elizabeth
looked up with a frown marring her lips. “I thought I was helping. I thought he’d be more determined to catch Winters and keep his head in the game if he wasn’t worried about me.”

Abby pulled
Elizabeth
into her arms and squeezed her. “Who knew the big dummy was so smart? I was wondering what stick got shoved up his butt. He came down the stairs as mean as a bear. I thought ya’ll just got into a fight.”

Lydia
bit her bottom lip.
“Crap.”

Elizabeth
pulled away from Abby. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

Lydia
glanced around the room, unsure how to tell
Elizabeth
that her vision and everything she knew about the night had been altered by that one decision.
Lydia
took a deep breath. “I had a vision.”

Lydia
glanced up at the general. “I guess sooner or later you’re going to want to know about those to, but right now it’s more important to focus on Mike.”

The General nodded. “Our talk can wait.”

“Last night I had a vision, and I had seen Winters. I knew where he was going to strike.”
Lydia
gestured toward
Elizabeth
. “In my vision, she’d said yes. He hadn’t kissed her like he was about to die. Everything has changed, and now I don’t know what’s going to happen or how to stop it.”

Claire took her hand and squeezed. Emma grabbed the other one and Abby ran her hand down her back. The energy in the room sizzled. She didn’t know if one sister was doing it or all of them, much less how to get it the hell out of her body. The energy from the combined gifts enhanced her own. The power looking for release,
Lydia
panicked and gazed up at Claire. “Make it stop.”

The panic in Abby’s gaze, had ratcheted her own panic. If Abby the fighter was worried, she knew she should be worried to. Abby’s voice was loud in her ear. “I can’t lift my hand. It’s like I’m connected.”

The General lifted his hand and touched
Lydia
’s arm. “It’s going to be all right
Lydia
. From what I’ve seen, I think that you have telekinesis and if I’m right, all you have to do is concentrate. ”

“Focus it,
Lydia
. Project on one thing and focus all of the extra energy there and using your mind, release it.”

Lydia
felt like she was going to combust, the energy too much for her to bear. She hadn’t seen this in her vision either. She’d known the sisters would work together to help Mike, but not like this. This wasn’t helping him.
Lydia
searched the room for an outlet to focus the energy coursing from the sisters’ touches into her body and listened to the General.
Lydia
focused the energy that she’d used years before to protect the soldier and aimed it at a potted plant at the opposite end of the room in the corner.

She whispered, “Lord, help me.”

She mentally focused on the energy, pushing it from her body toward the planter. The planter exploded, sending dirt and debris flying through the kitchen.

All of the sisters and Elizabeth collapsed. Butch caught Claire, Sam caught Abby, Jake caught Emma, the general caught
Elizabeth
, and
Lydia
fell into Thompson’s arms.

Lydia
could hear people screaming and Mike’s commands ordering everyone to leave as his voice got louder the closer he came to the kitchen. He burst through the door. “What the hell?”

He ran to
Elizabeth
and pulled her out of the general’s arms. “What happened?”

Lydia
struggled to stand, but Thompson held her in her arms. “I’ve got you. Just rest.”

****

When
Elizabeth
had opened her eyes, she found Mike sitting next to her on the bed. “What happened?”

“That little stunt you girls pulled ended the party and knocked you out. We carried each of you girls upstairs. The General thought it would be best if you all rested.”

Elizabeth
tried to push herself up into a sitting position but failed. Mike leaned over, grabbed a cup of coffee from the bedside table, lifted her head, and placed it against her lips.

“Small sips, baby. This miracle drink works wonders on my sisters.”

Elizabeth
took a sip of the steaming brew and looked up at Mike. “It’s coffee.”

He chuckled. “If you ask Emma or Abby, it’s the nectar of the gods.”

Elizabeth
leaned in for another sip and drained the whole cup. “I need my medical bag. Help me up so I can go check on your sisters.”

Mike pressed her back against the bed. “First things first.”

He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. “You scared me.”

Elizabeth
’s cheeks heated under his stare. “I’m sorry.”

Mike placed tiny kisses on her neck before he pulled back. “Marry me, Elizabeth. I love you, and it almost killed me when I thought something had happened to you. Please, say you’ll marry me.”

Elizabeth
nodded. “Of course I’ll marry you. Someone has to keep you in line.”

Mike grinned. He lowered his head and pressed his mouth to hers. Not a bone-crushing kiss, but a tender one. One that conveyed the love he felt for her. The kiss of a man in love, not a man in lust. His hands went to her side, and she rolled toward his body.

Mike pulled back. “Nuh uh, Doc. You don’t have enough energy.” Mike hopped up from the bed. “Just lie here and rest while I get your bag and more coffee.” He pulled the door open, turned to her, and winked. “We’ll pick this up later after I pump you full of caffeine.”

Elizabeth
grinned and fell back into the softness of the pillow. The sound of the door squeaking open had
Elizabeth
opening her eyes. There was no way Mike had been that quick. She felt her eyes widen. “What are you doing here?”

Doctor Powell stood just in the doorway. “I heard you got hurt, so I thought I’d come and check in on you.” He turned back toward the door. “I passed Mike in the hall. Where was he going?”

Elizabeth
scooted to sit up on the bed, leaning her back against the headboard. “He went to get my bag.”