What the Heart Takes (40 page)

“What’s going on?” Heaven asked, searching each face that looked in her direction. All had one thing in common. Guilt. They were keeping something from her. “Why would your mom or my mom lift your restriction?”

Layne’s mouth parted. He struggled to come up with an answer, but it was her father that cleared his throat and approached her. “It’s nothing for you to worry about, darling.”

“Well, I
am
worried. Layla said it would be a few more days before he’s completely healed. He needs to take it easy and rest.”

Her father placed his hand on her shoulder, giving it a soft squeeze. “Heaven, I understand your concern, but if you want you and your little one to be safe, you’ll let Layne do what he has to do to improve your chances. That’s what we’re doing today. We’re improving your chances.”

She wanted to argue more, but her father shook his head. His eyes pierced her with the firm, fatherly look she knew all too well. It was his serious look. The old, what-I-say-is-final look.

There was nothing else to do but nod at him. He gave her shoulder another squeeze and moved for the door. Dane followed behind him, as did Layne. The mere sight of him walking away from her made her chest constrict. She lowered her eyes, unable to watch him disappear. Her lips pressed tighter, her only defense in keeping her emotions from spilling over, until they were gone. Then she could cry, could cry over the fact that his callous attitude broke her heart.

Another ripple of energy flared around her, tugging at her soul. She gazed up, half expecting to see an empty room, but Layne hesitated in the doorway. His eyes locked on hers. He looked as though he wanted to tell her something. Even his energy said the same, but he shook his head and walked out the door instead.

Heavy sobs broke Heaven’s silence a second later.

CHAPTER 25

The crisp, cool air flooded Layne’s lungs as he drew in a breath. He held it in his chest, noting the way it clashed with the heat smoldering inside of him. That same heat released into a cloud of steam when he finally exhaled. It gathered near his nose and mouth, making it difficult to concentrate on the unlit torch near the wood line.

“Clear your thoughts.”

He ignored Spencer’s voice. Didn’t he realize he was concentrating as best as he could? While he appreciated having another Keeper around, he knew he wasn’t as skilled as Spencer. Delia’s Keeper had years to perfect his abilities. He couldn’t expect Layne to snap his fingers and have his under control, not after discovering his abilities just six months ago.

The six months that followed hadn’t been easy either. He’d spent that time trying to keep his distance from Heaven, the rest, tiptoeing around Dylan every time they were in the same room. It made focusing on his abilities a challenge. Regardless of how much time he spent outside trying to learn about his powers, the stress of it all consumed him.

“You’re not tapping into your source,” Spencer grumbled from his seat at the picnic table. “Do you know what your source is?”

“Yes,” Layne huffed. The thought of Spencer asking him to name that source sent a surge of fire coursing through Layne. He refused to share that information with him or anyone else standing in the backyard.

“If you know what it is, focus on it. Draw power from it and light the torch.”

It was easier said than done when the source of his power was also the source of his frustration.

His thoughts shifted to Heaven. He couldn’t deny the amount of hurt he’d sensed in their connection when he’d all but growled at her earlier. That same pain increased when he left her standing in the room.

Walking out the door had been anything but easy. Knowing she was on the verge of crying ripped him apart. Didn’t she understand that he had to go, that he was doing this for her, for the innocent life she carried inside her?

He had to leave. Staying inside the room did nothing for either of them but increase the ache in his soul, the ache that she inspired. He’d done everything he could to make sure they weren’t alone together. They couldn’t be. Not after the…

No. He refused to think about this, about her. She had no idea about the things that went through his thoughts while he was unconscious, but the images were forever burned in his mind.

The whole ordeal felt like a dream. The dark abyss he’d awakened in was blinding and cold. It brought about a certain level of fear like he’d never known, his only concern, never seeing Heaven again. Death itself didn’t matter. He only had one purpose in life—saving her. If death required payment, he’d gladly pay the debt.

Yet he had sensed her presence. Her voice had washed over him like she’d been standing beside him the entire time, just out of sight. The darkness faded. Warmth and light had surrounded him, giving him hope. Within that hope, he found determination to hold on, to fight through the fear entrapping him and make his way back.

It was hard to believe what seemed like hours turned out to be weeks. Knowing that she’d sat by his side for two straight weeks, waiting, left him in a wake of confusion. It made him want the images in his mind to be real.

“You’re on the right track,” Spencer announced, cutting into his thoughts. “It’s getting warmer out here.”

Layne agreed. The temperature had shifted. The air was moister—warmer—than when they first came outside. Even with the revelation, he couldn’t stop thinking about Heaven.

Images cascaded through his mind, images he’d created within the dream. It felt strange to call it that. It all seemed so real. How he found himself in bed, his surroundings of little importance after he discovered Heaven lying next to him. Seeing her there, her eyes closed, breath steady, made his heart race. The moment she spoke to him, his fire stoked back to life.

As the fire consumed him, so had the tug of her energy. It overpowered him, making it impossible to resist wanting her, or kissing her, or touching her. God, had he touched her, every part of her he’d wanted to touch from the first day he’d met her.

The wait had been worth it, to see her face contort in pleasure, pleasure he’d given her, pleasure she willingly accepted from him. Feeling her body rock above his, hearing his name on her lips as she came for him…it made it difficult not to reach his own release.

Even now, his body reacted to the thoughts. The fire within blazed around him, coursing through his veins. It increased each second he stared at the torch in the distance, each second that Heaven’s quivering body flitted through his mind.

His breath grew labored. He swallowed hard, but the dryness in his throat constricted it. He couldn’t think, could only resist the urge to run into the house and find Heaven. Because if he did, he’d not only devour her lips with his, he’d make sure the dream became a reality.

When the urge grew out of control, something within him snapped. Crackling split the air, erasing the silence that had formed amongst the bystanders. Their sudden gasps were a compliment in themselves, but Layne didn’t need flattery. He needed his Seeker. The blazing torch, along with the surrounding trees, said as much.

* * *

Laughter echoed through the den from multiple directions, but Layne didn’t make a sound. He sat on the cushioned area by the bay window, turning his eyes toward the driveway as well as the grounds. Raphe was still out there somewhere, looking for them. There was no way he couldn’t be. If Nicholas had managed to find them, Raphe had found the men he’d set on fire.

The blurred memory of their attack struggled to form in his mind. Another one replaced it, the one of Nicholas and his father showing him the newspaper with Heaven and Dylan’s retreating forms. Heaven had blocked the camera’s view of him, but the article mentioned his name, regardless. Making the front page of a national paper, as well as Internet news sites, meant that Nate had seen it. He never missed any articles involving them. It’s one of the reasons why they’d left The States after Dylan and Heaven’s wedding.

A certain level of eeriness lay in the thought that Nate knew they were in the area, yet made no attempts to call or contact his son. It wasn’t like him to leave Dylan alone. He hadn’t in the past, because this wasn’t the first time Dylan had tried avoiding him.

The thoughts faded from Layne’s mind. His mother’s voice drew his attention back to their conversation, but he kept his eyes locked on the window. He listened as she explained how she and his father knew Heaven and Dylan’s parents from college. They’d all been a part of a secret fraternity made up of
gifted
people.

Layne never knew his parents had lived in Ohio. He’d been born in California, had the birth certificate to prove it, but his mother explained that too. He listened to each word she said, how she and his father graduated a year before the others, only because of their degrees. She recounted even further the details of how she almost didn’t graduate. She’d not only discovered she was pregnant with him, but the pregnancy had been high-risk. They moved to L.A. that summer, but it wasn’t the last time they saw each other. At least, not the last time she saw Delia and Nate.

Delia’s voice cut in at that moment. She explained how Nate had left for a trip to L.A. She didn’t know it was for an interview or that Layne’s parents offered him a place to stay while he was there. Had Nate not stayed an extra day, he wouldn’t have discovered their future home, the one right beside Layne’s parents.

The loathing Delia felt for her ex was detectable in her voice. She kept gritting out certain words, snorting, grumbling, overall complaining, especially about how Nate came home from his trip and informed her they were moving.

He gritted his teeth when she went on to explain how she hated separating Heaven and Dylan, but she knew it was the best way to keep them safe. Layne wondered if his mother regretted moving him away too, or did she not know his destiny?

There were times he wished he still didn’t know it.

The urge to laugh bubbled in his throat when Delia explained how everything worked out in the end, even for her. She’d found her Keeper after they moved.

Spencer chimed in. He talked about the first time he saw Delia, how he couldn’t believe they were going to be neighbors, how he’d sensed a need to keep her safe from that same moment, and followed through on his word.

Out of everyone who’d been chatting for the last hour, it was Spencer’s story that interested Layne the most. He couldn’t believe that Delia had kept her relationship with him hidden for so many years. Being part of the unfortunate pair gave her the opportunity to be happy with someone else. Layne wished he’d been a part of the unfortunate pair. Then he could end the ache that wanting his Seeker caused.

He should have known better than to think about her. The very instant she crept into his mind, her energy tugged at him. The urge he had to be near her chipped away at his resolve. He caved a second later.

Turning his eyes back to the room, he let them drift over the furniture, as well as the bodies, until he found the one he wanted most. Seeing Heaven brought no relief. She was sitting on the couch, her mother on one side, Dylan on the other, his arms wrapped about her. He had that goofy-looking smile on his face. Even so, if it meant Layne could hold Heaven the way Dylan was, he’d wear a goofier expression. Whatever it took to get her to look at him the way she was looking at Dylan. The smile on her face, the twinkle in her eye, the way their joined hands caressed her stomach.

His shoulders curled over his chest as he closed his eyes and bowed his head. Why did he have to care so much? Why couldn’t he care about her safety without caring about her? This new life he’d been given was weakening him. Never in a million years would he have wanted to be tied down with a family. Then again, never in a million years did he think he’d meet someone like Heaven. She got under his skin so deep he’d have to bleed out to remove her.

He shouldn’t think about her this way, or the way he had when he’d used his abilities to catch the torch and woods on fire. She was pregnant, about-to-deliver-in-a-month pregnant. He shouldn’t think about kissing her, much less touching her. At least she hadn’t been pregnant in the dream…

Yeah,
the dream
. Is that what it was? He couldn’t think of anything else it could be or how Heaven knew he’d had it. Worse than that, she knew the details, or at least some of them. The fact that she knew it involved her and the bed was bad enough.

Movement to his left drew his eyes up to the figure heading his way. His father moved toward the cushion beside him, plopping onto it a moment later. He stretched his legs, crossing them at the ankles and then his arms over his chest.

His father gave him a knowing look as he nodded his head toward Heaven. “I understand, son. She’s beautiful. Her mother was too. Still is.”

“You did not just say that,” Layne mumbled. A frown covered his face, making it feel heavy, but the thought of his father admiring Anna made him nauseous. Not because it was Anna, but because it was his dad.

His father chuckled, aware of the fact that he’d embarrassed him. The sound of his laughter lightened the air, as well as Layne’s mood. “I’m proud of what you did today. It’s a big accomplishment to start a fire with your mind.”

While he appreciated his dad’s support, he knew it wasn’t anything to be proud of. It was sloppy and weak. Had Heaven been there, he would have formed a flame in his hand. Had she been there, he would have kept control, would have only lit the torch, not the maple trees around it.

“Thanks,” he finally grumbled.

“Don’t sell yourself short, Layne. You’ll have your abilities mastered by the time you need them.”

“I needed them weeks ago. Maybe I wouldn’t have wound up with an arrow in my chest if I’d had them under control.”

Silence fell between them again. Layne moved his eyes back to Heaven, the scar on his chest a burning reminder that she wouldn’t be there had he not darted in front of her. The arrow would have hit her instead. Then she’d be dead.

He gulped down a breath, resisting the urge to rush out of the room. The thought of Heaven’s death made his stomach cramp. There was no way she could have survived the attack. He’d barely survived, wouldn’t have if it weren’t for her. At least that’s what his mother told him after he woke up.