Authors: M C Moore
“No, but we need to find out who he is, it’s a long story. I don’t know what my dad told you about what’s going on, but I am just feeling extra cautious lately.” Meckenzie paused wondering how much her dad had actually told Jeff. “Okay, let’s say hypothetically that we are long lost royalty from a war torn country. Let’s say the faction of this war that is against the royalty has decided to seek them out and kill them or something in that nature. So, we find out only this week that we are long lost royalty, the same day this kid shows up in my class. Then he asks me out within days of moving to the school. Coincidence? I just want to protect my family and it seems like finding out
who
this guy is, whether by the internet or by going on a date with him is something that would help.”
“Hypothetically, the date sounds like a horrible idea. If you just want information there are other ways of getting it. If you are determined to go on this date though, maybe I should go on it with you. We could tell him that your father has a big business deal going on and he thought it best to protect you.”
Meckenzie had actually already considered the possibility of Jeff coming with her on her date. “I think we should just run it by my father when he gets home. It might be worth it for you to be here tonight when Ty comes over to meet my dad.”
“I can pull some of the stills off the video equipment and call in a favor or two. We might be able to find something out before you actually have to go out with him.” Jeff seemed more than a little concerned at this point.
“May I ask you a personal question?” Meckenzie was starting
to
really like Jeff. She didn’t want to put him in danger. She really wanted to know how much experience he had.
“Maybe, ask and we’ll see if I can answer it.” Jeff smiled.
“How long have you been doing this?” Meckenzie started small.
“Two years.” Sadness flashed into Jeff’s eyes. It was as if something horrible had happened and it was buried behind those beautiful eyes. “I served in the Marines for six years. I was deployed overseas; I can’t really tell you where. Let’s just say after six years, I determined that I would rather be protecting people before the danger occurred. So a friend of mine had that gotten out a year before me got a job with a security firm here in New York. He wrote me a few times and told me I should come join him. The pay was excellent and the damage was minimal. Mostly we just do security for movie stars and
the such
when they come to town or have to go somewhere.”
“Really, so have you met anyone really famous?” Meckenzie decided a light change of subject was in order.
“Yes, but I can’t discuss our client list. Let’s just say I have shown up in the background of many tabloid photos.” Jeff laughed at this. He had a good laugh, a strong laugh that came from deep inside. Meckenzie had to be careful, she was very attracted to her body guard and he was at least ten years older than her.
“Well, I should probably do my homework, or work out. Hopefully you’ll be able to help us out tonight, and thank you Jeff for all your help this afternoon.” Meckenzie excused herself and headed downstairs to find Isabel. She knew that nothing could ever come of her crush, so she would just put it out of her mind.
Isabel was setting up a training dummy in the gym. She didn’t even turn around as Meckenzie came down the stairs, she just laughed.
“Your emotions will either help you or hurt you, but for sure, they amplify your thought transmission.”
Meckenzie blushed. She had been thinking about the way Jeff’s shirt hugged his chest and arms, and how strong he must be, plus what a wonderful smile he had.
“What’s on the agenda today?” She said.
“Well, so no one gets hurt, I thought we might take a few hits at the dummy. I think for you this will be easier for training purposes. I think for Kellan, it will make sure she doesn’t accidently kill someone.”
“Oh, Ty is coming over tonight to meet dad. I was hoping that you and Jeff could get a look at him. Jeff’s going to run a background check on him.”
“Jeff?” Isabel questioned, already knowing the answer.
“Yes, the body guard that dad hired. I asked him how we could find out about Ty and determine if he is who he says he is.”
“Not a bad idea. You know if he means you any ill will, the gnome hearts will let us know as soon as he enters the house.”
Meckenzie had almost forgotten about the magical alarm system that had been armed around all the entrances to their home. She hoped all the precautions she was taking would lead her to some answers regarding the effect Ty had on her.
Meckenzie decided to throw herself into her workout and started putting on her gear. She would learn as much as she could about fighting. Frankly, anything would be more than her current knowledge.
Isabel showed Meckenzie how to get the most power from her punches by using her body. She also taught her how to do a leg sweep and to break free from someone if they caught her from behind. Isabel was an excellent trainer; she was patient and had a ton of knowledge about the subject. Meckenzie could only imagine that somewhere in Aquanis there was a facility training fairies in hand to hand combat.
“Actually,” Isabel interrupted her thought, “there are several training facilities in Aquanis.
One for hand to hand combat, one for magical combat, one for weapons combat, and one for espionage.
At least those are the ones I was trained at. We should actually work on you protecting your thoughts while trying to fight. It seems the more concentrated you get on one subject, the more your thoughts seem to transmit. Try building the wall around your thoughts again,
then
think about one thing very hard. I will see if I can pick it out of your brain.”
Meckenzie starting putting up her mental wall.
She decided she would think about her mother and the conversation she was going to have with Morgan tonight. It would be nice to hear news from her mother. To know what was going on. She was very excited. As she went through her punches she tried to determine what she might want to ask of her mother. What questions did she have? Almost everything she came up with didn’t seem relevant to the battles at hand.
“Good.” Isabel interrupted her thought process. “I can’t hear anything.”
“Did you send word to my mom about the conversation with Morgan?” Meckenzie had been so excited about the possibility of talking to Morgan again, that she hadn’t even thought that she might not get to.
“Yes. We haven’t received any word back from them. So in this instance, no news is good news. I gave a password that Morgan should give you at the beginning of the conversation that tells you that it is alright to talk with her. We should go through a list of things that it might be important for them to know.”
Meckenzie had gotten distracted by her thoughts and the conversation with Isabel, so when she threw her last punch and it ricocheted off the dummy and the glove came back and hit her in the mouth, she was completely surprised. It was also unfortunate that Meckenzie had not put in her mouth piece, because the force of the glove off the dummy had cut her lip on her teeth. She tasted the cooper taste of blood as it started to pour out of her lip.
“Oh.” Isabel hurried to Meckenzie and began inspecting her mouth. “You got yourself pretty good. I think you should go wash your mouth out in the bathroom and get some ice on it before it begins to swell.”
Isabel started unlacing Meckenzie’s gloves. Just then Taggart came down the stairs and headed over to where Meckenzie was now pretty bloody.
“Oh crap.” Taggart exclaimed. “Did the dummy beat you up?”
“No, I can do that all on my own.” Meckenzie laughed at herself.
“Well as long as you got some punches in on someone.” Taggart was never going to let Meckenzie live this one down. She was a bit embarrassed by the whole thing, but she wouldn’t let that deter her from throwing
herself
right back into training.
“Meckenzie can you check the chicken I have in the oven when you go up?
Make sure it isn’t getting too dry. Just be sure to wash up before you go handling the food.” Isabel was trying to rescue Meckenzie from Taggart’s mockery, because Isabel then threw a pair of gloves at Taggart and tossed him his mouth piece. “It’s your turn big boy. Let’s see what you got.”
Meckenzie left the gym and headed upstairs to take care of her busted lip. It had already begun to throb with pain, so she decided to hit the pain reliever drawer their dad had in the kitchen. With a pack of frozen peas and a couple of ibuprofen, Meckenzie checked on dinner and then headed up to her room. She decided to knock out her homework and jump in the shower before dinner. It was going to be a long night and she didn’t want any loose ends that needed to be tied up.
Dinner went pretty smoothly. Kellan was still quiet, but at least she wasn’t outwardly angry at anyone. They briefly discussed Ty’s impeding visit and their father stated his objections once more. Meckenzie informed everyone that Jeff would be participating in the viewing so that he could gather information to run a background check. It was then determined that everyone would watch Ty’s arrival and interview with their father, in the media room upstairs. The TV up there was much larger and there was enough room for everyone to sit comfortably.
Taggart was super excited about getting to try out the equipment and after dinner he went and found Jeff so they could go through the cameras that they might need. Isabel and Meckenzie did the dishes while Kellan disappeared to the gym. Their father took his position in his study, where Meckenzie would ultimately take Ty for his interview.
Everything seemed to on track when the doorbell rang at seven o’clock announcing Ty’s arrival. Meckenzie took in a deep breath and headed for the door. She still felt so unprepared for this, like she was headed into a lion’s den for everyone else’s entertainment. She put on a big smile and opened the door. There Ty stood smiling back at her. Meckenzie felt a slight buzzing begin in the back of her head. She quickly concentrated on her mental walls.
“Hello Ty. It’s nice of you to come over. Won’t you come in?” Meckenzie couldn’t believe her own ability to act as if nothing was amiss. She stepped back and held out an arm indicating that Ty should step into the foyer. She braced herself for the magical alarm to sound, but nothing happened. Meckenzie wondered if the gnome’s hearts were even working, because she really had no doubt in her mind that this boy was up to no good.
As Ty stepped past her, he reached out and grabbed her hand to pull her in for a hug. As he touched her, the buzzing inside Meckenzie’s head intensified and was accompanied by several flashes of what she could only assume were thoughts going through his head. Meckenzie really couldn’t make out anything, she was just getting words. As Ty pulled her in for a hug, she braced herself for whatever would happen next. To her surprise, his lips dipped down and touched hers, sending electricity throughout her body. Her breath caught in her chest, she became light headed.
That’s when it happened; Meckenzie was plunged into his brain. She could see clearly Ty and two other people standing in the park.
A girl and boy with his dark hair and crystal blue eyes.
They were talking in a huddle, glancing every so often at Meckenzie’s house. Meckenzie couldn’t hear their words, but she could understand the intent. Ty was going to find out once and for all if these were the Trefoil triplets. She could feel the malevolence of his thoughts. The connection broke as he pulled away.
For a moment, Meckenzie had lost all sense of where she was
,
she swayed a little like she might faint. Ty reached out and took her arm trying to steady her, but all this did was reinstitute the connection that had been made by that intimate kiss. Meckenzie stepped back and leaned up against the wall trying to regain her composure.
“I’m fine,” She said. “I just got a little dizzy there. You have quite the effect on women don’t you.”
Ty laughed, though not all together a trusting
laugh
. He looked at her trying to discern what had just happened. The look on his face said he wasn’t sure that it was the kiss that had caused her dizziness. Though that was partially true, Meckenzie was going to swear that it was the kiss until she could speak to Isabel.
“My father is waiting for us in the study.” She led the way out of the entry and started towards the stairs.
“You have a lovely home, might I have a tour?” Ty asked.
“I’m sure we will have time after you meet my dad. We don’t want to keep him waiting; I believe he still has some business to attend to this evening.” Meckenzie was hoping this could go as quickly as possible. She didn’t really want to give him the tour, but maybe she could get Taggart to come down and go with them. Meckenzie heard Taggart’s laugh upstairs and wondered if she had been transmitting to him just now.
Her father was on the phone at his desk when they came in. He indicated that they should take a seat in the sitting area, so Meckenzie directed Ty to a seat. The office was open to the night and the air was helping to clear Meckenzie thoughts. She was still contemplating the image she had witnessed in Ty’s head during that kiss. Maybe Ty was planning on taking her tonight. Meckenzie knew that there were enough people here to make sure that didn’t happen, but she really had felt such hatred in his thoughts that she couldn’t imagine what else he was planning. Unless Ty meant to kill them all and the meeting was just a way for him to gain entry into the house.
Meckenzie began to panic; she felt a knot growing in her stomach. She didn’t want to do this anymore, she just wanted to go to bed so she could dream and talk to Morgan. Just as Meckenzie was about to completely freak out and ask Ty to leave, her father got off the phone.
“Hey kids, sorry about that, but when duty calls you best take the phone call.” Her father smiled and made his way over to the sitting area. “Now, what is this I hear about you wanting
to
take my daughter out on a date?”
“Yes sir, I would be most honored if I was allowed to take Meckenzie out tomorrow night. I have a simple evening planned. Dinner close by, then I thought some coffee at the shop around the corner, home by ten.” Ty was quite charming when he wanted to be, but Meckenzie wasn’t falling for it. She had felt the malevolence in his thoughts. Meckenzie knew that there would be no being home by ten.
“Well, I’d like to know a little more about you if that’s okay. Where did you move from? What do you parents do?”
“My parents are both in the export/import business. My mother focuses mainly on antiquities and art. My father has a wide range of materials that he imports. They have always lived in New York; I was at a boarding school in Connecticut for most of my life. I was set to graduate from there this fall, but my younger brother was in an accident there and my parents brought us both home. It was kind of a bummer. I had to leave my friends and it was the only school I’ve ever known. The one good thing that has come of the move is meeting Meckenzie.”
“What did you say your parent’s names were?” Lawrence Desmond asked, going through the list of questions that Jeff had written up for this evening’s interview.
“I didn’t sir, but they are Fredrick and Lillian Rabe.” Ty smiled, he must have felt like he was doing well. Meckenzie just smiled and followed the conversation. She didn’t feel like she could have spoken if she were asked to. She was still experiencing the buzzing that had been happening ever since Ty’s arrival.
“So what are your plans after high school?”
“Well, I will probably go to Brown, my father went there. I was planning on studying business administration, and then probably going into business with my dad. He will be ready in about five or six years to start taking some time off. My mother is always trying to get him to go on a vacation that doesn’t involve stopping over somewhere to visit a business contact, or to view a product.” Ty was giving answers to every question that would have calmed the woes of most parents. In fact it looked like Meckenzie’s father was falling for it as well. She just hoped that upstairs someone was doing everything they could to check out Ty’s story.
“Well, I don’t see any reason why you two can’t go out tomorrow night. You’ll have to take the security guard that is in charge of Meckenzie’s safety, but other than that, I hope the two of you have a nice time.” Meckenzie was floored by her father’s response. She thought there had to be more questions that needed to be answered. There had to be something that could be done to keep her from having to go out with Ty. Meckenzie realized she could have just said no, but what kind of help would she be if she didn’t try to find out everything she could to help her family.
“I guess I’ll give Ty a tour of the house now. Then I have some homework left to do before the evening is over.” Meckenzie walked over to her dad. She leaned down and kissed him gently on the cheek. She wasn’t sure why she did this, maybe as a way of letting her know she loved him in case something happened in the next few minutes.
As Meckenzie was leading Ty out of the study, Taggart came running down the stairs. He had a smile on his face and looked like he was ready to give her a hard time.
“Hey Ty, how are you doing?” Taggart stuck out his hand to shake Ty’s. Ty looked a little thrown off by this gesture. He stuck his hand out and Taggart gave him a hearty hand shake. “What are you guys up to?”
“Meckenzie was about to give me a tour of the house.” Ty responded.
“Oh she is no good at giving the tour; she forgets all the great details of how our grandmother built the house. Let me show you around.” Taggart took up the lead and explained the upstairs were our private living quarters and that it was a strict rule of our dads that no guys were allowed past the third floor. He showed off the spiral staircase and pointed out the dome at the top. He led Ty around the ground floor pointing out the hand carved features and the intricate tile work in the kitchen. He led Ty down to the garden level and explained that how our grandmother had entertained the elite of New York here. Taggart also mentioned how the trips would be having a birthday party there in a few weeks.
Taggart showed off the gym and the swimming pool, all to Meckenzie’s pleasure of not having to deal with it all. Just when Meckenzie thought she couldn’t take another moment of having to smile and pretend nice with Ty, Taggart led them back up the stairs and out to the entry way.
“Well, I know you must be getting back to your homework Meckenzie.” Ty said. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow night at seven.”
Meckenzie nodded, “Yes that would be nice. See you then.”
With that Ty was out of the house and Meckenzie was able to collapse right there in the entry way. Taggart leaned over her to check her pulse. She was fine, she had just been holding in all the anger and anguish she had felt from the moment Ty walked in the house.
“I’m fine, just help me up.” Meckenzie reached out her hand for a little assistance. Taggart pulled her up and put his arm around her shoulders in case she decided to take another spill onto the floor.
“So what the heck happened?” Taggart asked.
“I really only want to tell the story once, can we get Isabel first? I’ll meet you in the garden.” Meckenzie headed off to the garden and let Taggart locate and retrieve Isabel. It seemed like everyday something happened that required a family meeting. Meckenzie had always wished for adventure in her life. That’s why she and Kellan had made up all those stories about their mother. She just knew that there was adventure there somewhere if she looked hard enough. This might be one of those instances where you should be careful what you wish for because you just might get it. Meckenzie just wanted one day to collect her thoughts and be a normal teenager, but she was sure that those days were long gone and far behind her.
Taggart, Isabel, Kellan, and to Meckenzie’s surprise, Jeff came out to the garden. Meckenzie couldn’t imagine that Jeff was here for the magical meeting. Maybe it was just to get the low down on what was determined from the conversation that had happened between Ty and her father.
“I think I have enough to do a background check.
Though I would say that all the searching that I did while he was here indicated that he was telling the truth about his parents at least.”
Jeff started the conversation off with the pieces of information that he had.
“Though I will say it isn’t very hard to set up a background like that.
I mean he may or may not be the son of the people he indicated were his parents. I will do some more background research and get back to you in the morning. I think I’ll excuse myself if there is nothing else you need from me.”
Meckenzie really didn’t want him to leave, but she couldn’t think of anything to keep him there. She liked him being around, she felt safer.
“Thanks Jeff for all your work on this. It may just be me being overly cautious.”
Jeff smiled that million dollar smile, “There is no such thing as overly cautious. There is cautious, and there is that behavior that gets people in trouble.”
Taggart laughed, “Isn’t the saying, ‘There is cautious and there is dead.’”
Kellan hit Taggart in the shoulder indicating that he was being a jerk. He just laughed even harder.
“Well, I was hoping to avoid the word dead. I assume we are trying to avoid death by all of this. And I’m sure your sister really doesn’t want to think like that.” Jeff was still protecting Meckenzie. Maybe he felt something too. Meckenzie pushed that thought out of her head remembering how easily she had transmitted to Isabel this afternoon.
Jeff excused himself and everyone else took seats in the garden. It had been a long night for Meckenzie and she still had to go to sleep and talk to Morgan. She really was excited about that part of her day though. Meckenzie knew she would be communicating with her mother tonight, even if she was talking to Morgan.
“So what about that kiss?”
Kellan spoke her first words to Meckenzie in days. Were Kellan’s words meant to hurt her a little bit? Everyone was bound to have seen her reaction to the kiss and know that it was not a positive one.