He nodded.
I got up from the wheelchair, happy that I wasn’t too wobbly. “I’m
fine. I don’t need her help.”
Renee thanked my mother, hung up, and narrowed her eyes. I knew
she wanted to impart some wisdom that I should be delighted. The doctor, eyeing
us both, seemed to be the only thing stopping her.
“Have you seen Doctor Montgomery?” He asked.
As I didn’t know the name, I assumed no. “Why? He good with freaky
stuff?” It was nice to feel angry enough to overcome my fear of the doctor’s
resemblance to Sam.
“Not quite.” He flashed a charming smile my way. “
She
is
our psychia—”
“No chance.”
The doctor frowned but I turned on my heel. It wasn’t his fault. I
sighed and stopped at the door. “I’ve had enough folks thinking I’m crazy. I
don’t need a shrink.”
“Aeron,” Renee said, her voice far too calm for my liking. “You’ve
been through a lot.”
“I’m fine.” I smiled at her, hoping she wouldn’t take my mood as a
reason to get all icy on me again. “I’ll ask Nan. She’ll know.”
Renee sighed but walked over to me and nodded to the doctor.
“Thank you for your time, Smudge.”
“Why the weird nickname?” I asked, thinking I should shoot for
polite. No wonder the guy thought I was crazy. I’d gone from terrified to angry
to flashing smiles at Renee.
“Military,” he and Renee said in unison.
“We all have nicknames,” he added.
“Why Smudge?” It made no sense to me. The only nicknames I’d ever
had weren’t pleasant. That’s if you didn’t count Al, which is what Sam used to
call me . . . Cue more cold sweat.
“My hair.” He shrugged when I stared at him. “There were two
Andrews in my unit. The other was blonde.”
“Right.” Well, that was my attempt at manners. I turned, shot a
goodbye over my shoulder, and headed out into the corridor.
“What was all that about?” Renee asked as she caught up. I slowed
my strides, knowing that she was a shortstop.
“I didn’t want him to feel bad ’cause of me.”
Renee bumped my hip. “I meant with your mother. I understood the
sweet ladylike manners.”
Ladylike? I pulled a face and Renee laughed.
“You were in a better place with her back in St. Jude’s.”
“No, I was desperate. I wanted to fix you and she could help me.”
That had lasted until she gave me a full-frontal lecture in the bathroom about
healing people when they hadn’t asked. Coming from the woman who meddled in
people’s lives out of choice, it was rich.
“Have I thanked you for that by the way?” She spotted Sally at her
desk and I didn’t miss the space she put between me and her.
“Yes, but the whole ignoring me thing kinda contradicted it.” I
shoved my hands in my pockets. “You don’t want to be seen with me or
something?”
Renee stopped, frowned, and then sighed. “You know the whole I
have issues with sharing thing?”
“About being attracted to muscles?”
Renee shook her head and poked me for good measure. “You aren’t
going to let that one drop, are you?”
“Nope. So what’s the issue?”
She pulled me to walk toward the desk, closing the gap some but
still acting like I smelled funny. “Sally likes to gossip. People . . . well .
. . if they know about me . . .”
“Assume you’ve lost your marbles?” I tugged her arm to make her
walk closer.
“They might think that . . . well . . . that we . . .” She rubbed
the back of her neck.
“You think I care what anyone thinks?” Had she been paying
attention at all?
“No, but I’m in a position of responsibility and you’re Lilia’s
daughter to them . . . and . . . well . . .”
“Renee.” I stopped and gripped her shoulders. “Anyone would be
lucky to have you. It ain’t an insult but I can’t see how nobody would think
you’d stoop so low.”
Renee opened her mouth, then closed it.
“What would you want an oaf like me for anyhow?” It was crazy
talk. I got that gossips kinda did that to folks. They had an ability to make
anybody feel like they were harboring a guilty conscience.
“Don’t say things like that about yourself.” She frowned, her
hands on her hips. “You’re a beautiful, strong, heroic woman who is the
sweetest person I’ve ever—”
“Ladies?”
Renee leapt back like somebody had shot at her and I turned to
smile at Sally. She had the kind of look on her face that I knew from the folks
in Oppidum. Well, I had one answer for people like her. I pulled Renee over to
me, stuck my arm around her shoulder, and shot a “thanks for the help” at
Sally.
Renee tensed until I bumped her hip. Then a grin broke out and she
started to snigger. “Do you have any idea what she’ll tell people now?”
“Would it be worse than I’m a serial killer who is hunting the
town’s children and somehow caused tornados just because I got released?”
Renee squeezed me, her arm around my waist. “Good point.”
“Thought so. Now show me where my quarters are, neighbor.” My
stomach growled.
Renee smiled up at me. “We’ll stop at the store on the way. Better
feed that stomach of yours.”
We stepped out into the bright daylight and I squinted up at the
deep blue sky above. I shivered then felt woozy. “I don’t think I can walk all
that far.”
Renee whistled to a passing jeep. The guy stopped, got out, and
snapped to salute in front of her. “You can walk the rest of the way.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He ran off down the street.
I stared at Renee.
“Perks of rank, Lorelei,” she said, climbing in.
“That was nearly as cool as Ursula,” I mumbled, clambering in
beside her. It was an open top jeep so the breeze gushed over my face, reviving
me.
“Nearly?” She shot me a frown, pulled her sunglasses out, and slid
them on. “You want her to cook you dinner?”
I held up my hands as Renee drove us down the street. “So much cooler
than her. Ursula has nothing on you. Nope.”
Renee patted my knee. “Better, but for that you can wash up.”
I gave her a cheeky salute, thankful that she seemed back to the
Renee I knew and loved . . . at least for now. “Yes, ma’am.”
Chapter 5
THE NEXT MORNING as soon as the sun peeked its head up from the
horizon, Frei had Renee and me out on a deserted stretch down the mountain from
the CIG base. We both had on a load of medical equipment that Frei told us
would measure just how fit we were. I noticed she weren’t wearing nothing but
then I doubted Frei was anything but super-fit. The woman looked like a
machine.
The first thing she made us do was run. I hated running at the
best of times but when Frei got something in that spiky blonde head of hers,
nobody was gonna tell her different. As we ran, she pressed her radio earpiece
to her ear and stared at one of us. Medical updates, she’d done it in boot
camp. She seemed to scowl at Renee a lot.
It was weird. Normally I could at least get something off both of
them but this morning, they were unreadable. It was kinda neat jogging along
with the two coolest women to grace a uniform. For the first time I saw
Commander Renee Black instead of the woman I knew.
I noticed when Frei scowled, Renee upped her pace. The sweat
started to dribble down her neck. The further we went, the more her t-shirt
stuck to her. Frei looked pretty much as unfazed as if she were strolling down
the street.
I couldn’t even see an aura from Renee, which was strange as I
always
saw her aura. So I concentrated on their body language, well at least Renee’s,
and figured out what was going on.
They were being big kids is what. Competing.
Renee was gonna try and outrun a machine and they were dragging me
along for the show.
Not my idea of fun.
Some folks liked competition. They lived for it. They thrived on
pushing themselves further and harder than everyone else around them.
I was not one of those people. Period. I had no wish to outdo
nobody. I had enough worries of my own without looking around at everyone else
for more.
As they sped up, I didn’t bother to keep up. In fact, I turned
around and started back toward the mountain, hoping somebody would tell me how
to get back in to the camp. I was planning on sleeping. My back ached, my chest
ached, and my head felt like a foreign object. They could run for hours but I
was heading back to the poky excuse for a place they called my quarters.
I’d had a bigger cell.
Renee and Frei, unsurprisingly, didn’t even notice me stop. It was
a thing between them that they must have been doing for goodness knows how
long.
Have at it, ladies, I was going for a drink and a cool shower.
The sun was already sending the temperature up way past
comfortable and as I trundled along the dusty nothingness, I could see a truck
heading my way. I kinda hoped I could do what Renee had and force them to give
me a ride but then I saw it wasn’t military.
It was a pick-up truck, a civilian one and I hadn’t seen none of
them. I looked around. I was pretty sure civilians weren’t allowed anywhere
near the base. I knew there must be a road some place on the horizon but
nowhere near here.
I looked back at the disappearing forms of Renee and Frei and
sighed. Who knew? The pair of them could run to Arizona and back before they
gave in. Maybe we were in Arizona? Maybe we were in Mexico? We could have been
anywhere for all I knew.
The truck looked like it was speeding along and I shielded my eyes
to try and see . . . something . . .
It gave me the ’eebies as Nan would say. It shouldn’t be here,
wherever here was, and the way it was hurtling toward me made adrenaline surge.
I glanced around for something to hide my bulk behind until it was
safely past. There was nothing out here just dirt and flat.
And the truck was heading straight at me.
I squinted at the plate and panic started clattering about in my
heart sounding the alarm.
It read, “Jewels.”
It was Seth Jewel’s number plate. He lived way back in St. Jude’s,
Colorado. Last I’d heard, he was working off his debt to society after running
somebody over.
I couldn’t make out who was driving but they weren’t very old.
There had been two Jewel brothers and one had been killed. Had Seth broken out?
If so, what in Blackbear was he doing here?
The truck hurtled closer. I had nowhere to run. I didn’t know how
to get out of its way. The figure came into view as it got closer. It
was
Seth. I knew it had to be on account of how much he looked like his brother.
Closer. I glanced back. Renee and Frei nothing but distant
silhouettes. I started to jog, to the side, hoping that it would put me out of
harm’s way.
Nuh uh.
The truck turned to aim for me.
I ran the other way, faster. Jewel corrected to follow. I was sure
a truck going that speed wouldn’t be able to do that. I sped in the other
direction. He followed. The roar of his engine thundered through my chest.
It was impossible. Trucks didn’t move like that.
He reached me. I dived. My knee caught the side of his grill.
Agony shot right through my leg. I knew I was whimpering with it. Dirt in my
mouth. I crawled forward, desperate to get away.
“Aeron!”
I could hear Renee’s voice in the distance. I rolled onto my back
expecting Seth to be there, iron bar or weapon posed to swing at me.
No truck.
No Seth Jewel.
Just dirt.
Just open expanse.
My knee shot white daggers through me. It got worse until sweat
dribbled down my forehead. I tried to breathe through the pain. Breathe through
the sudden dizziness rocketing through me.
I felt something hit my side, my head, my back. I covered myself
up not able to see the attack and helpless to stop it.
“Aeron, don’t move.” Renee. She was closer.
She was fast.
The blows stopped. I risked turning my head enough to look. Frei
skidded to a stop beside me.
Guess she was faster.
“What happened?” I could hear someone chattering through her
earpiece.
“Jewel,” I said, groaning through the pain. “Seth Jewel . . . his
truck . . . hit me.”
Frei looked at me like I’d told her something stupid.
“Didn’t you see him? He came screeching up. You must have seen him
drive off?”
Frei looked back to Renee who caught up. “You see a vehicle?”
Renee wrinkled up her face. “Out here? You kidding me?”
“Seth Jewel . . .” I closed my eyes and slumped back down. “He hit
. . .” I snapped them back open. “He smashed up my knee.”
Renee touched my shoulder. “Aeron, Seth Jewel is—”
“I know.” I stared down at my knee. “My head .
. . My heart .
. . my knee . . .” I met Frei’s cool blue eyes. “I healed Renee,
my Dad.” He’d been close to a heart attack when I’d done it. “I healed Ronny.”
A boy back in St. Jude’s who Seth Jewel had hit with his truck. “Maybe it’s
somethin’ to do with that?”
Frei pulled out a radio from the waistband of her shorts and
started to fire off instructions into it as Renee knelt beside me. “Can you
move it? Are you okay?”
She ran her hand over the knee, flexing it, her eyebrows furrowed
in concentration.
“The pain is fading.” The more she moved it about, the more it
shook off the agony. Thank God.
“It’s fine,” she said, looking up at Frei who offered a curt nod
in response. “No swelling, no breaks.”
“Guess my mother was right about speaking to Nan, huh?”
Renee met my eyes, held out her hand, and helped me to my feet.
The pain had vanished as quickly as it had appeared. “You didn’t last night?”
Not wanting her to chew me out, I gave her my best attempt at
puppy-dog eyes. “I didn’t want to disturb her. She did a lot in St. Jude’s.”
“What are you worried about?” Renee asked, her voice gentle as she
brushed a strand of hair from my face.
“I don’t know the rules. I don’t know if anybody has ever been
like me before but Nan is supposed to be resting. If I keep dragging her back
here every five minutes to help me then she could get stuck or somethin’.”
At least that’s what I figured. Closest thing I could place her as
was an angel. I didn’t know a lot about those things but whenever she breezed
in, it felt like a wave of love had snuck up on me and given me a hug.
“Would she tell you if she was in danger of that?”
I shook my head. Nan would do what she thought would help and
forget what consequences she would suffer.
“So we rule out guardian angels for the moment.” Renee said it so
nonchalant that I smiled. It weren’t too long ago everything about me freaked
her right out. “We had your dad and his heart, Ronny and his leg . . .” Renee
frowned up at me. “What about the sheriff, didn’t you fix his leg
and
his stomach?”
I nodded. “I had a rough night.”
She blew out a breath. “Why didn’t you come and get me?”
“I’m fine.” Because I didn’t want her to think I was being a baby.
Because I had it pretty much figured that I was losing the plot. Because I was
sick of her thinking she had to fix everything for me.
Renee was a lot older and sometimes it felt like she saw me as a
dumb kid. Which was what I felt a lot of the time. I didn’t want to feel that
way no more. It gave me a stomach ache. Besides, I’d been hanging on to the bed
as blades of agony ploughed through my stomach. I’d barely felt my leg. I’d
just been begging to pass out.
Renee weren’t buying my answer by the unimpressed slant her mouth
was pulled up into. “Right,” she said, elongating the word with enough sarcasm
to make me shrug. “Who was after Ronny?”
I bit my lip.
Renee muttered up to the sky. “What did you heal exactly?”
“Aeron, we’re going to take you back to the hospital wing,” Frei
said. “Doctor Montgomery is going to keep an eye on you.”
The shrink. That made sense. Frei knew what Renee’s injuries had
been and she knew what I was about to relive. The thought made my hands dribble
with sweat. I’d healed up Renee’s slashed face, I’d healed her vision and . . .
I’d taken the pain out of the memories that she’d had from her time locked in
with a lunatic.
“Aeron?” Renee sounded like Nan when she used to scold me. “Why
are they taking you to the clinic?”
“I was locked in one for a decade?” I mumbled as I spotted a
helicopter roaring our way.
“Aeron, what did you do?”
Frei signaled to the chopper and shot me a “I wouldn’t if I were
you” look.
“I . . . er . . . just got some issues from when I saw . . . when
I got to you is all.” It was a blatant and pathetic lie. I started to hobble
over to Frei, not sure of the strength in my leg yet.
“Aeron Lorelei, you get back here right now.”
“It’s nothin’,” I murmured back at her. “I’ll be fine by the
morning, you’ll see.”
Renee’s hand closed around my elbow and I sighed. “Doctor
Montgomery wouldn’t lock you up if she wasn’t worried.”
Great, that made me feel better.
“Aeron, if you care about me at all, you’ll turn around and tell
me the truth.”
Ah man, how could I refuse that? Women seemed to get taught
emotional blackmail in high school or something I swore. How didn’t I ever get
that lesson?
Frei shot me a “good luck” glance and strode out to meet the
landing chopper.
“I got rid of some stuff for you is all.”
Renee put her hands on her hips. It didn’t help put me in the mood
for sharing. “Stuff?”
“You got scared a lot. It affected the way you lived your life.
You were so terrified back in St. Jude’s that you weren’t exactly thinkin’
straight, you know?”
Renee kept her eyes locked on mine. I still couldn’t see her aura
and I couldn’t tell if she was gonna throttle me or hug me.
“So?”
I took a breath. Frei was holding the door for me, giving me
space. Maybe I could jump in and shout the truth back at Renee so I could be in
hiding before she ran back to base?
“I took the fear and the pain out of what you went through.”
“What?”
I nodded, pretty sure that she may flatten me. “You still have the
memories of what happened to you with Yannick, both times, but I went through
every one and took . . . well . . . the sting out of it.” I shrugged. “It was
better than watch you cave in on yourself. Besides, I need you.”
Renee’s eyes glistened with tears, the beating sun glinted off
them. “You
saw
?”
Saw it, I’d lived through it with her, suffered every blow and now
I was going to have it in surround sound.
“I saw.”
I planted my feet, ready for her to lay it on me, and knew I was
holding my breath. Renee just stood there, staring at me. “Why do I get the
feeling you broke rules doing that.”