The Mind Games

Book 3

Copyright 2012 Published by Lori Brighton

www.LoriBrighton.com

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The Mind Readers Series:

The Mind Readers, book 1

The Mind Thieves, book 2

The Mind Games, book 3

The Mind Games

Book 3

by

Lori Brighton

For Aaron, the real Aaron.

What would you do if someone told you that your past and everything you believed was a lie?

Chapter 1

The silence woke me.

A deathly, heavy silence that settled upon my chest and sat there like a bully pinning down a smaller child.An unnatural silence. A silence full of questions. Full of doubts.

When you could read minds, the very thoughts that shifted from a person’s brain—their hopes, their dreams, their fears— the world was never quiet. Chatter was constant, like a radio left on a static station.

But not here, not now. Something was definitely wrong.

Slowly, my lashes lifted and I stared at the dimly lit ceiling wavering in and out of focus. Where the hell was I? What had happened? My body seemed numb. I felt nothing. No form, no thought. It was as if the world was waiting for me to catch up, catch on, and to understand what had happened. But my mind was too muddled to care.

My hands curled at my sides, digging into the cot underneath me. The blanket was soft and smooth against my fingertips. But the room was chill, and the scent of mildew and condensation assaulted my senses. From somewhere a light glowed. I swallowed hard, my dry throat convulsing in protest. It was the quiet that got to me.

Immediately my instincts went into overdrive. I’d spent the last eighteen years of my life learning how to block the thoughts of others just so I could get some peace and quiet. But this silence…this silence was different. This silence told me I was alone. Completely and utterly alone.

I didn’t dare move, but remained still like a wild animal testing her surroundings. My mouth was dry and my eyes were blurry as if I’d been sleeping for a long time. How long? What had happened?

Just like that, I caught up to the world. Memories flashed through my mind, so quickly I had to grab hold before they took flight, disappearing forever.

Vaguely, I remembered running for my life. I remembered a cottage that was more of a shack than home. A place where I’d stayed the night, hidden from those who wished to use my powers for their own benefit.

Vaguely, I remembered running through a field, the sun so bright, it burned my eyes. Still, I kept running, running, chased by those who would do me harm.

Vaguely, I remembered…Lewis. My heart skipped a beat. Lewis, lying upon the ground, blood spreading across his white t-shirt.

“No,” I whispered, a sob catching in my throat.

Lewis.

The guy I had loved. The guy I still loved…shot in that field.

The memory came rushing back like a raging river, bursting and overflowing with emotion. My stomach clenched painfully, and I thought I might get sick. I rolled onto my side, the small cot creaking with the movement. How? How could this have happened?

Desperate, I shoved aside the thin blanket that covered my trembling body, momentarily struck dumb as I noticed my outfit. I wore cotton pants and a long-sleeved cotton shirt, both dark blue. Thick socks were on my feet. Somehow my clothing had changed, but I didn’t remember undressing.

“No,” I whispered, pressing my hands to my throbbing temples. “No.”

“Go, hurry,” Lewis’ words whispered through my mind. “They won’t hurt you.”

My heart hammered wildly in my chest, the image of Lewis upon the ground startling. I settled my feet on the cold stone floor and bolted upright. “No. No. No.”

He couldn’t be dead. I wouldn’t believe it. I’d know, deep down, wouldn’t I?

I would find Lewis. He was here…somewhere.

Determined, I pressed my hands to the damp stone wall and closed my eyes, searching for the feel of him—his very energy. The only sound was the soft drip of condensation from somewhere above.

Nothing else. But I wasn’t defeated. Stone was a natural insulator for people who could read minds. Just because I couldn’t feel him, didn’t mean he wasn’t here. I stumbled toward the center of my small room.

No sounds of footsteps. No murmur of conversation. No one.

Confused, I searched my small prison for an indication of where I was. For a weapon. For anything. But with the movement, the room wavered. I’d slept too much, or too little. Or maybe my reaction was from the tranquilizer. The memory rushed back powered by a surge of anger. Nora, the woman I’d grown to think of as a friend. The woman who had shot me.

Nora had stood before me, a silver gun gleaming from the tips of her fingers. Before I could even comprehend her actions, her finger twitched. “It will just hurt for a second.”

The dart hit my side, a sharp, stinging pain like someone had stuck me with a needle. I stumbled back a step.

“Sorry Cameron,” she said, but her words had come out warbled, like a song bird.

I hadn’t seen it coming.

Lewis had been right all along, I never should have trusted her. Because of me, Lewis was injured, or worse…

Anger and fear combined in an acidic swirl that burned in the pit of my belly. I would find Nora and this time, she would pay. I surged forward, traveling the square room. The walls were made of large cut stone. It was like I was in a prison cell…or dungeon…or buried alive. Panic had me turning and rushing toward the wooden door. I wrapped my hands around the iron handle, the metal chill and damp, and pulled. The door creaked open so easily that for a stunned moment I merely stood there staring out onto the dark hall.

Shock was an understatement. I sure as heck hadn’t expected the door to be unlocked. A shiver of unease tiptoed down my spine, warning me not to trust the lack of security. Someone was setting me up. Yet, anger and curiosity spurred me forward.

I stepped hesitantly into the hall. The corridor was long and narrow, made of the same dark stone as my room. Every twenty feet or so, an iron sconce threw dull light against glistening walls. I reached out, pressing my fingers to either side. The stone was damp, old. Where the heck was I?

The soft murmur of singing voices suddenly echoed down the hall, a low buzz, like a swarm of bees that rose and fell with each breath.

I froze.

The sound was pure, so beautiful, that for a moment I thought I might have actually died and gone to heaven. I turned toward the music and started mindlessly down the hall. The song called to me. Voices like those of a men’s choir, but so pure it resonated from deep within. I followed the holy music as if in a trance. They drew me near with their song, as if the heavens were speaking directly to me. At the end of the corridor a narrow staircase curved up into darkness.

I paused for only a moment, then followed those steps to the top. There was no door, only a wall in front of me and a grate above where dim light managed to pierce the gloominess. No way in, no way out. Confused, I stood on tiptoe, slipped my fingers through the grate and pulled. It didn’t budge. But the music was coming from that grate and whoever was above.

“You won’t find a door,” a voice said from behind me.

Startled, I spun around, only to teeter on the edge of the steps.

“Careful.”

I pressed my hands to the damp wall, regaining my balance. A man stood at the bottom of the stairway, his pale face weathered with age, but there was a kindness in his smile, an ease in the set of his shoulders as he waited patiently for me.

“Who are you?” I demanded.

“Hello Cameron, I’m Father Myron.”

The fact that he knew my name didn’t worry me. Most people I came into contact with seemed to know more about my life than I did, thanks to Grandma keeping me in the dark most of my childhood. In fact, I expected to be confused at this point.

“Where am I?” I asked.

He folded his hands politely in front of his white robes. In the dimly lit corridor he practically glowed like a ghost. Hell, maybe he was some long, lost spirit. “You’re in Savannah, Georgia.”

Savannah. The name of the girl who had died almost a year ago in my small Maine town. The death that had started it all… acceptance of my powers, my relationship with Lewis. How weird.

“Savannah,” I whispered.

“Yes.”

I started slowly down the steps. “How?”

“I’m sorry, but it was the only way we could get you here. Time was running out. Your father was headed your way with reinforcements. We had hoped you would trust us, trust Nora, and come of your own free will.”

Trust Nora? Trust anyone? Ha, I’d learned not to trust anyone long ago. I reached out with my mind, gently testing his brain. No thoughts escaped. But it wasn’t a hard, mental block like someone had put a chip in his brain. Holy Hell, this priest was a mind reader.

“And because I didn’t trust you, you kidnapped me?”

Some man of God.

There was no guilt upon his face, he fully accepted responsibility. “It was for your own protection.”

I paused in front of him and crossed my arms over my chest. I wasn’t the least bit intimidated by this man of the cloth. “Yeah, I’ve heard that before.”

In fact, I’d heard that most of my life.

He turned to the side, pressing his back to the wall and giving me space. “Come, let us walk. There are others eager to see you.”

I didn’t give a crap who wanted to see me. I knew who these “others” would be, more people wanting to use and abuse my powers. All I cared about at this point was my freedom.

“Where’s Lewis?” I demanded, not moving an inch.

He sighed, his easy-going nature slipping into the truth—a man exhausted by age or circumstances. “Lewis is alive.”

My entire body trembled with relief, but I didn’t dare let him see how his words affected me. “Where is he?”

“We shall discuss everything very soon. Don’t worry.” He waved me forward. “Now, if you’d like to know more, I suggest you follow me. Talking in the halls is dangerous. We don’t want to be overheard.”

Before I could question him further, he turned and started down the corridor. I surged forward, my stocking feet whispering over the cold stone. “Where, exactly, are we in Savannah?”

His footsteps were soft and sure. “Underground.”

Startled, I stumbled. “As in under the earth?”

He smiled, his blue eyes crinkling at the corners. “Savannah has underground tunnels. It’s no secret, although most people have found only remnants. The tunnels have been here for hundreds of years.”

I’d been to Savannah once with Grandma. I was only eight, but I remembered it so clearly because she had left me in the car alone. She never left me alone. I’d been with her for most of my childhood, hopping from place to place, always together, always running from some unknown enemy.

But, for thirty minutes on that trip to Savannah, she’d been gone, disappearing inside some building. She’d returned and we’d left. She’d never explained why or what she’d done. But then again, she explained little to me.

The bright spot had been when we’d stopped for lunch at a restaurant that used to be a pub for pirates. I’d been thrilled as we rarely went anywhere cool. I could still remember the story of the tunnels uncovered underneath that restaurant. Tunnels pirates had supposedly used to kidnap victims and escape the law.

But this tunnel was long, narrow…different.

“You use the tunnels?” I asked.

He nodded as we turned a corner, heading down yet another dimly lit corridor, this one with wooden doors spaced every so often. “We took use of them decades ago. No one but us knows about the corridors.”

I couldn’t help but wonder what was behind all those doors. More people like me? Kidnapped, used? I wrapped my arms around my waist, shivering. “What do you use them for?”

“We house those like us. Those who are in trouble or in pain. And we use some of the rooms for meetings and research.”

Those like us. Mind readers. Up until a year ago I’d thought Grandma and I were the only people on the planet who could read minds. It was still difficult for me to process the fact that there were actually thousands.

“The singing?” I rubbed my forehead, my skull beginning to throb from too much information, and too many unanswered questions. I only wanted to find Lewis and leave. He’d been right all along. We should have fled, we should have trusted only each other.

“Ah, yes, you were underneath the floor of a church. The church where I practice.”

Nothing made sense. Underground Savannah? Mystery rooms? Mind reading priests? “I want to see Lewis.”

“You will.”

“When?”

“Soon, hopefully.”

I released a puff of air, frustrated with his lack of information. “Where are we now?”

He looked thoughtful for a moment as he glanced up at the ceiling as if reading a map on the carved blocks of stone. “I’d say we’re under Johnson Square.”

The words meant nothing to me, but I made a mental note to check a map as soon as possible. It was hard to believe that just above us there were cars driving, people walking, clueless as to what hid below. Hard to believe that somehow I’d traveled to Savannah without waking. I reached toward my right side where the muscle ached, a reminder of the tranquilizer Nora had shot into me.

“Why not just tell me the truth? Why send Nora to lie to me?”

We paused outside a wooden door. “Because we feared if we told you the truth you wouldn’t come.”

Warning bells rang through my body, clamoring an alarm in my head. I knew, if they’d kept the truth from me, it must be something major. “What truth?” I demanded.

He pushed the door wide. Inside, the room was much like mine, only larger. Stone walls, dimly lit, no décor. In the middle of the room was a large wooden table that seated twelve. Only one chair was occupied. Nora stood as I entered. My hands fisted, heated anger rushing through my blood fueled by pure hatred.

She looked nervous, unsure. That smirk she’d always worn was gone, replaced with obvious discomfort. Her bravado had disappeared. “Hey.”

My God, she was afraid… of me. The realization made me feel better, but not much. I still wanted to hurt her. It was all I could do not to lunge forward and show her exactly how I felt about her little tranquilizer stunt in Massachusetts. “Where’s Lewis?”

“He’s okay. Don’t worry.” She shoved her hands into her jean pockets. “You’re safe now, that’s all that matters.”

How dare she act like she cared about me. “No.” I started toward her. She actually took a step back. “What matters is you tell me what the hell is going on. What matters is that you tell me where Lewis is. What matters is—”

“I know.” She held up her hands, warning me off. “I understand why you’re angry. And you can say whatever you want, but first I need you to meet someone.”

I paused, too damn curious for my own good. “Who?”

She took in a deep trembling breath. “Cameron,” Nora turned toward the far wall. “My mom.”

Confused, I spun around.

A woman stood there, arms crossed, relaxed, as if watching a play. She was too far away and the room too dimly lit for me to get a good look at her. How long she’d stood there, I hadn’t a clue. Most likely she’d heard our argument, but I didn’t care.

The woman stepped away from the shadows and into the light, her movements fluid and easy, like a graceful dancer. A tingle of awareness whispered over my body. A warning that told me there was something important I’d missed. Even before I saw her completely…I knew.

My heart warred with my rational mind.

Her dark hair glimmered in loose familiar waves that ran down her back. Her blue eyes found me and she smiled, a slow, easy smile. A smile so familiar my heart squeezed painfully as it denied what my brain knew to be true.

“Hello, Cameron,” she said softly, the voice achingly familiar.

“Mom?” I whispered.

Chapter 2

My mother was still alive.

The realization shook me to my very core, but none of these things affected me in the way they should have. Maybe I was finally going insane. Maybe I was so used to being shocked, that nothing surprised me anymore. Or maybe I just didn’t care.

I jerked my gaze toward Nora. “Where’s Lewis?”

I didn’t miss the nervous glance Father Myron shot my mom. I knew what they were thinking. Maybe I hadn’t heard them. Maybe I was so stupid I didn’t understand. Or maybe I was too surprised to piece the facts together. But I knew the facts…

I had a father. John.

I had a mother. Katherine.

I had a sister. Nora.

I knew. I just didn’t care.

“He…” Nora paused and glanced toward our mother, who remained oddly still. It was obvious she was seeking permission from Mommie Dearest. I swore, if they didn’t tell me soon where Lewis was, I’d start hurting people.

“Katherine,” Father Myron said, almost pleading with my mother. “Tell her.”

My mom gave a curt nod and Nora focused on me once more. “I had to leave him.”

Okay, so apparently I could still feel some surprise. But the shock quickly gave way to boiling anger. “What?”

Nora sighed, pacing across the large room, her feet echoing annoyingly against the stone floor. “I had to leave him Cameron. I could only take you. They were coming, and hell, I was dragging you across the field—”

“Where is he?” I didn’t give a crap about her excuses. I didn’t give a crap that my mother still lived despite the fact that I’d been told she’d died years ago. I didn’t care that Nora was my sister, a sister I didn’t even remember. I wanted answers and I wanted them now.

“They have him.”

“They who?” I demanded.

“John and his people,” Mom broke in.

The woman who had abandoned me.The woman who supposedly had a drug problem. Supposedly overdosed. Supposedly dead. I felt angry and sick and devastated all at once. The one thing, the only thing I wanted to do was get the hell away from them. “Where are my clothes?”

“There’s a chest full of clothes in your room.”

She was so calm about it all that I wanted to hurl something, anything, at them. Instead, I turned and swept out the door. I concentrated on my footsteps, concentrated on remembering the way down that dimly lit corridor and back to my room. If I allowed myself to think about anything else, I knew I might just have a break down. And I couldn’t let that happen, at least not yet. I turned the corner. Easy enough, but which door was mine?

“Cameron,” Nora called out. I could hear the thump of her feet as she followed me. “Please understand that I had to choose. I knew you wouldn’t come with me, I knew you wouldn’t believe the truth. I mean, who would? So I didn’t tell you. You’d abandoned me and ran off with Lewis.”

She said it as if I should feel ashamed. As if all of this was my fault. And I suppose it was… for trusting the wrong people, for trusting anyone. I kept walking, ignoring her, studying the doors I passed. She was nothing to me, an annoying gnat.

“I could only take you. I couldn’t take you both, and I knew Lewis wouldn’t trust me. I knew you would pick him over me.”

I swirled around to face her, overcome with the emotion boiling within. “And so you left him there to bleed to death?” I seethed between clenched teeth, cursing myself for speaking at all. “He could be dead!”

She shook her head. “No. We have people inside S.P.I. who secretly work for us. He’s okay. S.P.I. won’t hurt him, they’ll eventually want to use his powers.”

“That makes me feel so much better,” I snapped.

She sighed, obviously frustrated with my lack of acceptance. “Don’t you remember me, at all?”

“No.” I spun around and pushed open the closest door. An empty room. I pulled the door shut and I tried the next. It was full of boxes.

“I remember you,” she said. “I remember letting you play with my dolls, I remember swimming at the beach…”

An shimmer of awareness whispered through my brain. A memory? I pushed the thought aside. “How sweet. Now where the hell’s my room?”

She shouldered her way past me and pushed open the next door, all softness gone from her face. “I had to choose you. You’re my sister.”

I pushed by her and swept into my room. Was she joking? Was she seriously going to try to play the family card now? She’d known about me for God only knew how long and she’d never cared before.

I turned around to face her, the threshold dividing us. “Remember this, you are nothing to me. Nothing.” With those words I slammed the door shut in her face.

I didn’t need to ask, I knew Lewis would be at the compound, and within a couple days, I would be too. I moved around the bed and there, hidden behind the footboard was indeed a trunk. I lifted the lid, the hinges squeaking in protest. A variety of clothing was stacked neatly inside. More clothing than I’d worn. Clothing that didn’t belong to me. I had nothing left, not even my own jeans. Had they taken those from me too?

But it didn’t matter. No, the only thing that mattered was finding Lewis. And I would. No matter who I had to go through. There was a soft knock on my door right before it opened. My mom stepped inside. Seeing her jolted me and for a moment I was five years old again.

“Momma, where are we going?”

She glanced at me briefly as we drove out of town, but it was long enough for me to notice the tears in her eyes. “Don’t worry about it baby, okay?”

Startled, I froze for a moment. It was a memory I’d never had before. Was it real, or something she’d implanted? It didn’t matter, I had to remind myself. Ignoring her, I pulled my shirt over my head and tossed it to the cot.

“We need to talk,” she said softly, closing the door behind her.

I grabbed a blue long-sleeved T-shirt and pulled it on all the while formulating a plan. I’d talk to my dad. Yeah, he was most likely pissed at me for leaving him without a goodbye, but surely he’d at least listen to reason. If not, I’d go to Tara, his wife. I’d threaten to expose the fact that she too, was a mind reader. Something my father didn’t know.

I pulled off my sweatpants and grabbed a pair of jeans.

“I need to explain,” Mom continued. As if there was any explanation she could give me that would make right the wrongs she’d done. She’d abandoned me. She’d kept Nora and abandoned me with a grandmother who obviously hadn’t wanted me.

“I don’t think you understand,” I said, finally looking at her. “Whatever your reasoning is, I don’t care. I. Don’t. Care.”

I tore my gaze away and sat on my cot. Looking her in the eyes had been much more emotionally draining than I’d expected. I put on the gray and blue Adidas that had been left by the trunk.

“I don’t know what they’ve told you,” she said, crossing her arms over the leather jacket she wore. She was just as thin as I remembered her, but more muscular, maybe. Her hair was still long and I remembered wrapping my small hands around the silky strands when I was tired.

But it was the age on her face that got to me the most. Don’t get me wrong, she still looked wonderful. There was no gray in her hair, and she obviously kept in shape. But there were the slightest creases at the corners of her eyes. She’d aged. I’d grown up. I’d missed out on having a mother when I’d needed her the most. No going back. I dropped my gaze to the ground.

“They said you were a drug addict,” I said, tying my shoes.

“I was.”

I looked up, surprised. Okay, so I hadn’t been expecting that. She was totally serious.

Slowly, I stood, waiting for her to explain.

She shrugged, showing no shame. “I was young. I had two little girls. I’d just found out my husband was working for the enemy. I couldn’t take it. I couldn’t take the pain. I couldn’t control my powers. I couldn’t take the thoughts. The horrible, terrible thoughts coming from everywhere…I couldn’t silence them.”

There was a part of me that related in some way. I pushed that part down, squashed it under my feet. “And so you gave me to Grandma.”

“There were reasons.”

I released a wry laugh. “There are always reasons with you people.” I grabbed a sweatshirt from the trunk and punched my arms through the sleeves. “What about Nora?”

“She stayed with me.”

Just as I’d assumed, but hearing the words tore at my heart. So Nora had grown up with one parent, at least. Swell and dandy for her.

I zipped my sweatshirt. “I don’t remember her.”

I knew how Lewis had felt when I’d arrived with stories about him he didn’t remember or believe. Lewis. I ignored the sudden sting of tears.

“You were so young,” her voice softened, as if trying to draw me in with kindness and understanding. “I’m not surprised.”

I ignored her and started toward the door. My entire body was trembling, my bones shivering underneath my muscles. I had to get away from her, from them, from the entire situation.

“Cameron, I was coming for you when you and your Grandma disappeared to the islands.”

“Save it.” I’d heard it before with my dad. Didn’t these people have anything new? “I don’t care about the past. I don’t care about any of this. I’m leaving.”

She followed me into the hall. I could sense her determination to keep me there, although why, I wasn’t sure. She hadn’t wanted me before, why now? “And where will you go?”

“North Carolina.”

“Cameron, be serious. You can’t return to the compound.”

I didn’t bother to respond, but started down the hall, back toward that large room. Okay, so I had no clue where I was going, and I had no money. I knew one thing, there had to be a way out of these freaking tunnels.

“Cameron, your father won’t forgive you. He won’t trust you now that you’ve left. If you go there, it will be as the enemy.”

I fought the sensation of anxiety that washed over me. I wouldn’t let her think she had any control over my emotions. Frustrated and lost, I paused in the hall. “How do I get out?”

“You’re not leaving!” It was the first time she’d raised her voice and the sound echoed down the hall, bouncing off the stone walls before the area settled into silence once more.

Slowly, I turned and faced her. Anger overtook any anxiety. “You lost the power to tell me what to do when you abandoned me.”

I ignored the hurt in her eyes and turned toward that large meeting room where I’d first seen my mother. So what if I’d crushed her feelings? She deserved it. Besides, she was the least of my worries. Maybe Nora would tell me how to escape. If not, I’d walk until I found a door, even if it took all day and all night.

I could hear the soft murmur of voices and knew my mom had stayed behind and was talking to Father Myron, most likely discussing the best way to subdue me.

The large conference room was empty. I continued down the hall, turning left and silence settled heavy in the corridors. I pressed my fingers to the damp stone. The walls were thick and soundproof. I felt trapped. Buried. Watched.

“You won’t be able to find your way out.” I glanced at Nora who stood, arms crossed, in the doorway of another large room. “And besides, there are guards posted at every entrance.”

“Get the hell away from me.”

She sighed and stepped into the hall, blocking my exit. “Just follow me.”

I hesitated for only a moment, but realizing I was getting nowhere fast, and I was losing valuable time, I hurried after her. We turned right and there, at the end of the hall, a short stone stairway curved up to a wooden door. Nora had already typed a code into the keypad before I made it to her side. She pushed the door open and brilliant sunlight pierced the darkness. Blinking rapidly, I hesitated, confused.

“Come on.”

I followed her into a small living room; into someone’s home. Curious, I turned just as she was shutting the door, which was actually a bookshelf. Clever. A nice hiding place. It made me wonder where the other entrances and exits were located. They could be all over the city.

I crossed my arms over my chest, feeling lost and disoriented. “Where are we?”

“This is our home.”

Their home? They had a home. Mom and Nora. Irritation flared. How great for them. My jaw clenched as I took in the room. An oversized sofa with a knitted blanket. A fireplace with the pictures on the mantel. Nora’s school photos, Nora and mom at the beach. My gaze slid around the room. Nora and my mom’s jackets hung on the coat rack. It was completely and totally lived in. They were settled, and obviously had been for years. Anger and hurt combined.

Without a word I started toward the front door. I wouldn’t let her see me upset. I wouldn’t let her think she had affected me or that I cared. Unfortunately, I could hear Nora following. I pushed the door wide and stepped into the crisp morning. Although I could smell the fumes of the city, the open air brought with it a calm that I desperately needed. I started down the steps and onto the sidewalk.

My mother’s home was a beautiful Victorian rowhouse, painted a clean white with a small front porch. It must have been built in the 1800s, or maybe even later. A cute dollhouse sort of home with roses climbing up trellises next to windows with blue shutters. The sort of home I would have loved as a child. But I was no longer a child. It was time to give up foolish dreams that would never happen.

I jogged across the street and started through a square; one of the many garden squares that made up Savannah. There was a fountain on one side and a large monument in the middle. A few trees gave the square shade, and people already took advantage of the benches, reading their newspapers, or chatting with other travelers; at ease with life and the world. It made me sick to think that they were all so clueless.

“So, you’re just going to head to North Carolina?” Nora called out, following me.

I didn’t respond, but headed across the square toward the fountain.

“And how will you get there?” She caught up to me. “You have no car, no money. Nothing.”

I slid her a glance and hoped the hatred I felt for her was apparent in my eyes. “Gee, thanks for the reminder. I’ll hitchhike. I’ll use my powers. That’s what you all do, isn’t it? Use your powers for your own gain?”

“You can’t.” She grabbed my arm. “You don’t know where you’re going. You don’t know—”

“Shut up!” I jerked away from her and sank onto a marble bench honoring some dead white guy. “Just shut up.”

Why? Why couldn’t they all just leave me alone? I rested my elbows on my knees, my head in my hands. She was right, but I would die before I’d admit it. What was I doing? Where would I go? Even if I could make it to the compound, how would I get inside? Would my dad really accept my apology? Or would he know I lied? I didn’t know if I had it in me to pretend to be someone I wasn’t, pretend to agree with my dad’s beliefs. Smile and pretend to be part of a happy family, as Tara seemed to be capable of doing.

But I had to rescue Lewis. I had to save him. I had to.

Nora was quiet as she sank onto the bench beside me. Instead of a smirk in my direction or some condescending remark, she just watched the tourists stroll the grounds, laughing and taking pictures of each other. Normal families on normal vacations.

“I can’t leave him there,” I whispered.

Lewis was out in the world somewhere. Probably only five hours away.

Lewis.

I closed my eyes. Lewis, who had been injured. Lewis, who must still be alive. He had to be. And I would find him, and we would be free of all of this insanity…maybe move to an island somewhere south. Maybe escape to Canada. I didn’t really care, as long as we were free.

“Stay,” Nora said softly. “Stay here and train. Just for a week. You need to be able to use your powers to their fullest potential. Become as strong as you can while Lewis heals. You wouldn’t be able to escape now anyway, not with him injured. You’ll have a better chance when he’s healed.”

“And how do you know he will heal?” I shifted, facing her fully. “How do you know they haven’t already killed him?”

“I told you, we have people who work for us on the inside.” She shrugged, looking unconcerned. “But I also know because they want to use his powers. He’s more valuable alive, than dead.”

“I can’t sit here and do nothing.” I surged to my feet. “I can’t let Lewis rot in prison for a week. It would be wrong, don’t you get that?”

She stood as well. “Yeah, I get it, but you’re using your heart, not your head. If you go there now, you won’t be prepared, and I promise you’ll end up as one of their prisoners. Besides, Lewis is in no condition to travel.”

I briefly closed my eyes, my stomach aching. Lewis was in no shape because he was hurt and alone and it was my fault.

“If you want to save Lewis, stay here. Train, learn about your powers and about the compound from me.”

I opened my eyes, anger and frustration surging through me. How did I know I could trust them? More importantly, why should I? “What the hell could I possibly learn from you?”

“A lot.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I know that place. I know the cells. I know the land.”

“How?” I released a harsh laugh. “What, were you raised on S.P.I. knowledge 101? Was it a prerequisite at your school?”

She narrowed her eyes, obviously annoyed. “No, smartass. I know the S.P.I. compound because I was a prisoner there for two years.”

Chapter 3

The early morning sun pierced the white curtains that hung over the guest room windows. A guest room, and it was mine for now because I had no bedroom here in this house where my sister and mother lived. I was the guest.

In those tunnels I’d wanted to do nothing more than escape the smothering earth. Now here, I wished I could burrow back into the dark and welcome the crush of rock. The sun seemed to mock me, to delight in the fact that it was brilliant and hopeful while I was depressed and pathetic.

I hadn’t slept at all. I hadn’t even drifted off. I hadn’t cried, which I knew was strange, but I felt numb. I lay upon the bed and stared at the windows and thought about Lewis; worried he wasn’t well. Worried he was dying. Worried that I’d never get him back.

And I thought about Nora, and how she’d been taken captive eight years ago by our very own father. I thought about what she’d told me in such a casual way, as if it hadn’t affected her in the least. How he had tortured her, attempting to uncover the extent of her abilities.

I pulled the white duvet higher, attempting to get warm, but it was a fruitless effort. I was chilled to my very core. Chilled by my new knowledge and circumstances. Nora didn’t say more and I didn’t ask. She might have sounded blasé about it all, but I knew better. I’d seen Nora and my father together months ago in Florida, before I’d known she was my sister. I’d witnessed the anger in her eyes, heard the pain in her voice. I hadn’t understood it then, but I certainly did now. I knew deep down he would do the same to me, but it didn’t change the fact that I’d risk it all to save Lewis.

With a sigh of frustration I shoved aside the blanket. Last night I’d returned to the house defeated, realizing I couldn’t fight my father alone… at least not yet. I’d sat quietly at the kitchen table as my mom, Nora and Father Myron had discussed my powers as if I wasn’t even there. They seemed to think I could do so much more than I realized.

Although I’d been numb and lost, their conversation had stirred something within me. When I thought back through the years, I realized there had been times when I’d surprised myself. Only a couple weeks ago I’d moved that gun across the floor at my father’s compound without touching the weapon. Only a few days ago I’d mentally caused that man pain who had tried to attack Lewis. Last year I’d broken into Maddox’s mind. Maybe, just maybe, they’d been right, and with training, I could take on my dad, S.P.I. and even Maddox.

I curled on my side, my heart full of pain and anger. Maddox. The man I’d trusted. The man who had taken sides and it hadn’t been mine. I sniffed back the sudden sting of tears, refusing to cry. If I did, I feared I’d never stop. Instead, I focused on the curtains, light as air, and poured out my energy, picturing the linens moving. Nora said I needed practice, so I’d practice.

I was more than surprised when they fluttered, then slid open allowing even more brilliant light into the gloomy room. I frowned and pushed myself up. Why did my powers work sometimes, and not others?

A soft knock broke through the serenity of morning. I jerked my attention toward the door and searched with my mind, but of course no thoughts came. Another mind reader stood there, either Nora or my mother, neither of which I wanted to see. I hesitated as long as I could, avoiding the new day. I hated being under their watchful gazes. They acted like I was a caged animal that might at any moment go wild.

The knock sounded again. She wasn’t going away.

I sighed. “Come in.”

The door creaked open and mom stepped inside. Her dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail, the jeans and dark blue T-shirt she wore fit her lean body like a glove. “Hi.” She smiled, but it was a hesitant smile. “Breakfast is ready.”

I nodded, suddenly too overcome to speak. The emotions hit me like a bulldozer; unwanted emotions I’d been ignoring since yesterday. They wouldn’t be ignored any longer. I curled my hands, my fingernails biting into my sensitive palms. I refused to give in while she still stood there.

She paused for what seemed like forever, as if she wanted to say more. Why wouldn’t she leave? Tears stung my eyes and I wished she’d leave, prayed she’d leave.

As if sensing my desperation, she gave a quick nod, turned and left, closing the door.

I spun around and pressed my face into my pillow as a sob tore from my throat. Oh God, my mom. My mom was here. My mom was alive.

No. No. No.

I drew my knees to my chest and allowed the tears to drop from my face and soak my pillow. I couldn’t stop them. I couldn’t do anything other than cry. Everything I’d tried to bury, everything that lay deep within like a boulder, broke free, and crumbled from my body into those tears.

For at least five minutes the world didn’t exist… only my sorrow. But as my body drained of tears and emotions, I finally relaxed into a depleted heap. She was alive, and for some reason, she hadn’t wanted me. End of story. Time to move on.

Yet, for another five minutes I merely lay there, too spent to move. I had cried. I had cried for the first time in a long while and for some reason it made me feel better. Yeah, I’d released some emotions, but it was more than that. I felt…human again. No Tin Man here, I apparently still had a heart. I hadn’t become my father.

I took in a deep shuddering breath and stared out the window. The sun looked warm, the day hopeful. For some reason, crying had given me the strength I needed.

I had to save Lewis. It was my fault he was imprisoned. I would never, ever get my childhood back. I would never get the parents I wanted. I might not ever see Grandma again. I couldn’t change the past, but I would sure as hell focus on the future.

And my future would be saving Lewis.

I sniffed and sat up, swiping my forearms against my damp cheeks. From outside I could hear the soft buzz of the city; cars rolling up and down the roads, tourists strolling the square and chatting excitedly about their day. A sparrow landed on my windowsill. He fluffed his feathers, turning his head this way and that, then noticing me, took flight. The world went on…always, and so would I.

I stood, stretching my arms overhead and working out my stiff back. A week. I would give them a week. A week for Lewis to heal. Then I would leave. I turned and pulled open the door. Nora was coming out of her room at the same time. She wore a white tank top and pink boxer shorts, her blonde hair sleepily mussed. She paused. I paused. I could feel the rawness of my skin from crying and embarrassment flushed my face. If she mocked me, I’d punch her.

I turned, averting my gaze and moved into the bathroom. I certainly didn’t want to confront my newfound family looking like I’d just bawled my eyes out. They thought I was too weak to face my father, and my swollen eyes would only confirm my weakness.

I turned on the cold water and splashed my face, even as I sensed Nora following me into the bathroom. Although I felt no connection to her, I couldn’t help but admit that we had an awful lot in common. Our parents, for one. I slid her a glance out of the corner of my eye. She leaned against the doorframe, crossing her arms over her chest. I couldn’t imagine what it had been like to be tortured by your own father. Would he have done the same to me? The thought was a bit sickening.

“After breakfast, put on some shorts and a T-shirt,” she said, her voice still groggy with sleep. I had a feeling she wasn’t a morning person. “It’s going to be eighty-five today and we’re going to the beach.”

Annoyed I jerked a clean towel from the bar. “I thought we were training.”

“We are.” She grinned, shoving past me and grabbing her toothbrush. “But if we’re going to train, might as well be at the beach.”

It was a small bathroom, too small for two people. I watched her warily. I’d never shared a bathroom with someone, especially not someone who didn’t know anything about personal space. She pulled her hair back and started brushing her teeth, not in the least caring that I stood there.

If they thought to make this some sort of family reunion, they’d learn soon enough that I needed no family. I needed no one.

****

Twenty minutes later my mom pulled into the driveway of an ocean-front cottage. Although it was small, the white paint on the clapboard siding was clean and fresh. Potted plants were settled around the front stoop, the flowers in full bloom with daisies, roses and a variety of other colorful blossoms I didn’t recognize. It was picture perfect and I was immediately suspicious.

“Where are we?” I asked.

“Tybee Island,” Nora provided from the front seat where she had called out shotgun. I’d been only too eager to have the back all to myself, the furthest away from my happy little family as I could get. I’d spent most of the drive staring at my mom’s head, wondering how in the hell she could possibly be alive, and wondering why I cared when she so obviously didn’t care about me.

Still, as Mom put the car in park, I sat up straighter, peering through the car window over the wavering sea grass. Even though the water was much fiercer than the Caribbean, it was still the ocean and I was eager to be close to the waves.

The sea had always pulled to me; promised to take me anywhere, promised comfort within its mysterious depths. I pushed my door open and stepped outside, breathing deeply. Salt water peppered the air and made me feel alive, made me feel at home.

I didn’t wait for my mom and Nora but quickly found a boardwalk that led around the small cottage and followed it to a beach. It was still too early for tourists, but there were a few locals who strolled the shore looking for sand dollars and remnants of shells. I kicked off my flip-flops and stepped into the sand. The tiny crystals seeped between my toes, cooled my feet. The water looked cold, rough, unforgiving. This was not the gentle sea of the Caribbean. This was the roar and crash of the east coast.

It made me miss the warmth of my island. It made me miss Grandma. Made me miss the life I thought I’d finally had. A life that had slipped away, much like the sandcastle a child had made yesterday, now crushed under the tide.

I felt someone approach and I immediately stiffened, annoyed that they were interrupting. Nora paused beside me, her blond hair pulled into a preppy ponytail, a large bag over her shoulder. She looked like a freaking all American cheerleader.

“Deborah’s been imprisoned at the S.P.I. camp,” I said, assuming she would know the woman who worked with Aaron, the man who had erased my memory. The man who had destroyed my life. They were like one big incestuous pool. Enemies, friends, they all seemed to know each other.

Nora nodded. “We know.”

I swallowed hard. Deborah had been in charge of the children at Aaron’s estate. If she had been captured… “The children?”

Nora sighed and shoved her hands into the back pockets on her shorts. “They were taken captive.”

I felt ill. “I’d promised Caroline I’d come back for her.”

My father had them, and who knew what he would do to innocent children. I looked up at the sky, fighting my guilt. Why had I ever promised Caroline that I’d save her? Why had I ever left her in Aaron’s obviously incapable hands? Now she was gone, perhaps for good.

“Life constantly changes,” Nora said. “You can’t take things personally. You made a promise and sometimes you have to break them.”

I jerked around, facing her. “No, you don’t understand. I made her a promise and I keep my promises. Maybe I haven’t saved her yet, but I will.”

Nora narrowed her eyes. I’d obviously pushed her too far. “Listen Miss High and Mighty, before you put yourself on that pedestal, let me tell you something. You have no freaking idea what my life has been like, so stop judging me based on your saintly ways.”

I wanted to snap back something sarcastic and mean, but I didn’t because Nora was right. I hadn’t a clue what her life was like. But I knew one thing, she had been tortured by her own father. I had no right to judge what she did and didn’t do now. My sudden compassion flustered me.

“Whose house?” I asked, deciding to change the subject for both of our benefits.

The cottage was small, but I knew it had cost a pretty penny, being right on the beach. Up on stilts, there was a deck that ran the length of the back. A variety of plants stood in pots and swayed on the ocean breeze. And there, in the middle was a stone statue of Buddha.

Nora’s gaze softened a little as she focused on the cottage. “Sierra’s place.”

An older woman with tanned skin and long, white hair stepped from the French doors followed by my mother. They paused on the deck, looking out at us as they spoke softly. I could only imagine what Mom was telling her.

“She’s sort of a grandmotherly figure for us all,” Nora explained.

But I didn’t need another grandmother. Funny enough, I wanted my old one back. Mom and Sierra moved down the weathered steps and started toward us, Sierra’s long, white dress whispering across the sand. The old woman’s gaze was on me and although I should have felt uneasy, there was nothing malicious in her faded blue eyes.

“Cameron,” Sierra said, a light accent to her voice, although I couldn’t place it. She took both my hands in hers and looked unflinchingly into my eyes. “It’s wonderful to finally meet you.”

Her smile was natural and warm and I felt like she meant it…she actually was pleased to see me, which was more than my own mother had seemed. Still, I wasn’t here to make friends and small talk.

She pulled back, dropping her hold. “Shall we head toward the water?”

I slid Nora a glance, but she was oblivious to my confusion, following after Sierra and Mom like a little lapdog. Irritation fought to the forefront. How would we train on a beach with tourists strolling by?

Reluctantly, I followed them to the shore. My leg muscles pulled, tightening as I stepped through the sand, but quickly found a natural rhythm. My body and my mind remembered the beach. Nora threw some towels upon the ground and we settled in an uneasy circle. My patience grew thin. This was ridiculous. Hanging out on the beach was fun and all, but were we seriously going to sunbathe like college students on spring break?

“I thought we were here to train?” I said immediately.

“We will,” my mom replied, slipping off her jacket and tossing it aside. “Nora told you she was imprisoned?”

I nodded, wondering what their agenda was by discussing this now, and I knew there was an agenda. I had a feeling there was always an agenda with these people. A week, I thought to myself. I only had a week and I’d be free of these people.

“Over eight years ago, your father decided to attack. He’d found out where I was located, and that I still had Nora.” She glanced at Nora. “We weren’t expecting it. We’d lived in peace for such a long time…”

She looked away, out to the ocean. I could sense the heaviness of her energy pulsing around me, as if my abilities had kicked into overdrive. I curled my fingers, confused by the sudden tingly feeling that swept over my body.

“I was…high.”

Startled, I wasn’t sure where to look. Mom had been drugged out while Nora had been abducted? So much for that Mom of the Year mug I’d been planning to give her.

“I’d just turned twelve.” Nora smiled, a sad smile that got to me, even though I’d never admit it. “They attacked at night. We were living near Boston at the time.”

“Over and done with before I’d even had time to prepare,” Mom whispered, picking up a smooth pebble. “Others had warned me not to be so trustworthy. They said we’d be protected if we joined the Savannah league, but I had refused. I’d wanted my space; my freedom.”

If I had been with her, would I have been abducted as well? The thought left me cold.

Nora picked up a broken shell and threw it toward the water. “First, he tried to pretend he loved me. Tried to pretend he cared. I didn’t fall for it.”

A heated flush crawled up my neck. Unlike me. I’d fallen for Dad’s pretty words, hadn’t I? But to be fair, I hadn’t grown up knowing our past. No, thanks to Mom, Dad, and Grandma, I’d been totally clueless. I’d been easy prey for his charm.

“I’m sorry,” I said, not wanting to hear anymore. “I am, but what does this have to do with me?”

“Nora was his daughter, she was a child,” my mom said, dropping the pebble she held. “I don’t want the same thing to happen to you.”

“Yeah, but I’m not a child.”

“Not even adults do well against S.P.I.,” Mom insisted. “Just because you’re eighteen doesn’t mean you’ll win if you take on your father.”

“Deborah ring a bell?” Nora butted in.

And here I’d actually felt sorry for her. I should have known better than to feel anything for these people. “I have to save Lewis.”

Mom shook her head, releasing a harsh laugh. “You won’t listen to reason?”

I rose to my feet. This was a waste of time, I should have known they weren’t really going to train me. “I’m saving Lewis, so if you have nothing valuable to add, I’m leaving.”

Nora stood. “I’m going with her.”

“No,” I snapped at the same time as Mom.

I jerked my gaze toward her. Mom’s response caught me more off guard than Nora’s. So, we agreed on something, anyway. “Exactly,” I said, returning my attention to Nora. “I don’t need your help.” And I certainly didn’t need the guilt if she was caught and tortured again. “Now, if you guys don’t have anything useful for me, I’m leaving.”

First things first, I’d have to find a way off this damn island.

“Don’t get your panties in a knot,” Nora said.

“Screw you,” I threw over my shoulder as I started for the boardwalk, even more determined to get off this island, away from these people.

“Ladies,” Sierra called out. I planned on ignoring the woman, until she called to me directly. “Cameron, please stop.”

There was something about her voice, about her very being, that forced me to stop. For one long moment I just stood there, my back to them. Pride begged me to flee. Rationality told me to stick it out, see what they had to say. Not like I had some great plan anyway.

“Cameron, please, just come here and listen,” my mother begged.

I released a puff of air that sent a loose lock of hair bouncing out of my eyes. How badly I wanted to ignore them and walk away. I closed my eyes and focused on the warm breeze coming off the ocean, rustling my clothing. One week. One week and maybe I’d actually have a chance at saving Lewis.

Please, my mom’s voice whispered through my mind. Just listen.

I wasn’t sure why, but for some reason, I turned. They were watching me expectantly. My instincts were on high alert. I knew there was some hidden purpose to whatever she would say. Why did they want me here so badly?

Mom picked up a reed. “There are three buildings, right?”

I nodded, moving unwillingly closer.

“The first are the offices.” She drew a rectangle in the sand with the reed. “Behind it, the interrogation rooms.” She drew another rectangle. “Finally, the last building.” She drew another. Three buildings in a row. “Where they keep the prisoners.”

I nodded and crossed my arms over my chest. I already knew all this; what was her point?

“Around these buildings is a fence. Electric, barbed wire, whatever you can imagine. Cameras every ten feet, infrared, heat, keypads that use hand prints.”

“Right.” Okay, I hadn’t known that, but I’d assumed it would be highly secure. And yeah, I wasn’t exactly sure how I’d get around all the high tech electronics, but I’d think of something. Maybe.

“So,” my mom looked up at me. “How will you get in?”

A heated flush crawled up my neck. “I’ll use my abilities.”

She dropped the reed and stood, wiping her hands on her shorts. “The people who work for John have chips that keep mind readers out. You can’t use your powers against them.”

That’s where she was wrong. I felt awfully smug as I stated, “I can break through them.”

She paused for a moment, her brows drawing together. I’d surprised her, shocked them all silent. “How many times have you done it?” my mom finally asked.

I shrugged, wondering if maybe I shouldn’t have been so eager to divulge that piece of information. “Maybe a couple. Dad used me. He had me break into the prisoner’s minds.”

They were all eerily silent for a long moment, watching me until I wanted to squirm under their attention. I felt like a circus freak, as if any moment they’d shout, “Gather round!”

Finally Mom sighed, shaking her head. “So you can break through one at a time. If ten men come at you, there’s no way you can stop them all. If you expend that much energy, it would probably destroy you.”

Sierra watched us closely, not saying a word, but I had a feeling she knew more and understood more than any of us. I shifted, uneasy. How would I break in? I had to tell them something, and something they might actually buy.

That last night at the cottage with Grandma flashed to mind. Maddox had thrown a grenade into the yard so we could escape. Why not? “I’ll create a diversion,” I blurted out. So, I didn’t have the details yet, I’d leave that for later. “I’ll find a way in. I’m going. If you have nothing to actually offer, I’m leaving.”

I turned once more but before I could take a step, Nora blurted out, “The prison ward is a fake.”

“What do you mean?” I hated myself for asking, for caring at all about what they had to say.

She shook her head, her long blonde hair floating on the ocean breeze. “They aren’t kept on the main floor of the third bunker. Not the high risk. High risks are kept underground. Better protected.”

“And Lewis—”

“Will be high risk,” Mom added. “If not because of his powers, because they know you’ll try to rescue him.” She said the words in a finite way that made me realize she thought she had me; she thought I’d give up.

“Where are they kept?”

“Under the other floors, underground,” Nora admitted. “There is a second level, a basement of sorts.”

Obviously they’d kept her there. I pushed aside the picture of a young, frightened Nora and focused on my mission. I couldn’t prevent what had happened to her, but I could save Lewis and maybe, just maybe, if I could pull this off, Lewis wasn’t the only one I might be able to save.

Nora tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear. “I can draw you a map—”

“No!” Mom snapped, her blue eyes flashing with anger and desperation. “This ends here, now.” I could feel her irritation in the energy around me, it practically vibrated the sand.

“He has children,” I said quite calmly. “Little kids younger than Nora had been when she was captured. They’re most likely in cells like criminals. Probably being tortured.”

I’d deliberately painted a horrifying picture and it worked…at least on Nora.

She swallowed hard, shoving her trembling hands into the back pockets of her shorts. I almost felt bad for upsetting her. “She’s right.”

“You are not leaving,” Mom stated quite firmly.

I was so startled by her sudden urge to actually parent me, that I stood there mute. Without another word, she turned and started toward the cottage.

Sierra rested her hand lightly upon my arm. “It will work out, don’t worry.” She lifted the hem of her gown and followed Mom.

I watched them go, unsure if I should feel bad over the fact that I’d obviously upset them all, angry that they were so close-minded, or frustrated because they were so obtuse.

I crossed my arms over my chest, glaring after her. How dare she tell me what I could and couldn’t do. How dare she pretend to care about my welfare when I hadn’t gotten so much as a card from her in the past thirteen years.

“I’m leaving within a week,” I said, glancing at Nora, the only one left. “Will you train me or not?”

“You’ll go even if you’ll most likely be captured?” she asked. “Even if you have to go alone?”

She didn’t get it; I’d been alone most of my life. I didn’t need anyone else. I turned and started down the beach, walking away from my worries, even if for five minutes. “Even if I have to go alone.”

Chapter 4

It was while hovering between sleep and consciousness that I first heard the voices. Mumbled words that faded in and out of focus, hard to decipher, but loud enough that it felt as if they were standing next to me. At the very least, in my room.

I knew I was still in the guest room. I could feel the warmth of my blankets, vaguely hear the chirp of birds outside and tourists chatting from the square below. Yet, at the same time I felt like I was elsewhere, like my energy had left my body.

“You can’t let her go.” It was Aaron’s voice.

A voice I knew well. But then you probably never forgot the person who tortured you.

“You know how important she is. If you let her go and he understands what she is capable of…if she finds out that she’s a carrier—”

“You think he doesn’t already know?” My mom interrupted, sounding frustrated and angry. “We don’t need to worry about John, we need to worry about what will happen when she realizes what she can do.”

A sudden clanging noise jerked me from my uneasy slumber. The noise rattled through my mind like a church bell directly overhead. I jerked my eyes open and stared at the ceiling. The voices had disappeared.

The beep of a garbage truck broke the serenity of the morning. For a brief moment I merely lay there, attempting to make sense of my dream. It had been a dream, hadn’t it?

Confused, I rolled onto my side. The clock on the table glared 10 a.m. Late for me. I’d never been one to sleep in. I pushed myself up, my body not my own. I felt disconnected, disorientated. I’d slept for eleven hours. I knew I needed the rest, but hated how buzzed it made me feel.

I tucked my loose hair behind my ears, attempting to make sense of the conversation I’d heard. The dream had been odd, to say the least. They’d obviously been talking about me, or Nora. But had it been just a dream, a vision? A memory? What? I never seemed to know anymore, and I sure as heck wouldn’t trust their response if I asked.

I shoved aside my blanket and settled my feet on the cold floorboards. Day two and I was still no better prepared to save Lewis. I moved to the windows and brushed aside the curtains. Such a beautiful town. Such beautiful homes around such beautiful garden squares. Some of the houses were large ornate Victorian mansions worth millions. Even my mom’s smaller row house had to be worth quite a bit, and I wondered where her money came from. As far as I could tell, she didn’t work.

A family strolled across the square, grabbing my attention. A mother, father and their three boys. The mother forced the boys to stand in front of the monument, attempting to gain their attention, and take that perfect family photo. I’d never taken a vacation, although I’d seen more of this country than most. No, our trips were frantic escapes; constantly looking over my shoulder. No time to see the sites. No time to enjoy the world. Certainly no time for a cheerful family photo.

For me the world hadn’t been a place full of exciting adventures and beautiful scenery. The world had been something to fear. Except the ocean… the ocean had been the one place where they couldn’t touch me. When I swam within those waves, with the fish and over the coral it was just me in the water, enveloped in secrecy.

The family walked away, pulling me from my thoughts. I took in a deep breath and released it through pursed lips. Today was the day I’d decide if I was going to stay for the week or not. If I didn’t learn anything, I was leaving.

I grabbed my jeans and T-shirt and quickly dressed. What I wouldn’t do for my own clothing. My own place. Even a job. I hadn’t the least desire to stay here with Mommy Dearest. I had accepted, at some point, that I might not ever see Grandma again. Who knew if Lewis would even want to lay eyes on me once all of this was said and done.

I pulled my hair into a ponytail, slipped on tennis shoes. Time to face the firing squad. I made a quick detour to brush my teeth, all the while listening for voices from downstairs. As I headed down the steps, the soft murmur of conversation paused and I knew, with no surprise, I’d been the topic of conversation. I could hear the scrap of chairs and clatter of dishes and headed for the kitchen.

Bright sunlight streamed in through French doors. I saw my mom first, her face as unreadable as always as she stood near the stainless steel oven. Nora sat at the small kitchenette table, a spoon of cereal halfway to her mouth. Her gaze nervously flickered from me, to our mother. Father Myron was seated across from her, a hesitant smile upon his weathered face as he sipped his coffee.

“Good morning,” he called out cheerfully.

I started to respond when out of the corner of my eye I noticed someone move near the refrigerator. Surprised, I turned toward the man. Tall, blonde, sickeningly familiar.

Aaron.

He closed the refrigerator door, setting a carton of orange juice upon the counter. My heart skipped a beat, only to stop for a brief moment. Everyone disappeared. The only sound was the roar of blood and denial to my ears. The very man who had erased my memory, who had erased Lewis’ memory. The very man who had destroyed my life.

“Cameron,” my mom’s voice sounded far away. “Do you remember Aaron?”

I didn’t respond, I couldn’t respond. Anger burned through my body, singeing my skin from the inside out, urging me to act, urging me to get revenge.

“Cameron,” his voice sent everything back into crystal-clear focus. “I hope we can put this behind us. I hope you realize that I did what I thought was best.”

The condescending tone, the blasé attitude…it drove me to the brink of insanity. My entire body trembled. Vaguely I was aware of my mom coming toward me, as if she sensed my anger, sensed I was about to erupt.

“I hope,” he continued, “that we can move on from here, and…”

And just like that I lost control. Energy burst from me, burning through my body on a heated wave of lava. It hit him full force. I saw his eyes widen, his knees buckle but instead of being afraid of my own strength, I felt amazing. He cried out and stumbled, as if I’d punched him when I hadn’t even lifted my hand.

“Cameron,” my mother snapped out. “Stop!”

I was vaguely aware of Nora’s mouth hanging open. Vaguely aware of Father Myron rushing to Aaron’s side. I didn’t care. I didn’t care that they were looking at me like I was the very devil. I didn’t care that blood trailed from Aaron’s mouth.

My mother latched onto my shoulders and shook me. Her touch jerked me back into reality. I’d lost control. The energy had surged through me in a way that left me overwhelmed, as if it would have drowned me, had I not released it. Confused and frustrated, I spun away and rushed to the front door.

“Are you okay?” I heard my mom ask Aaron.

She wasn’t worried about me. Nope, just him. I was the outsider here. An outsider who had attacked them. I opened the front door and stepped outside. The morning air was cool, but did little to ease my aching chest. I pressed my hand to my collarbones; it felt tight, my lungs constricted. I needed to leave, to escape. I stumbled down the steps, unsure where I was going.

When I was ten, I remembered finding a squirrel trapped in our garage. I felt like that animal now, wild and confused, nowhere to go, but looking for somewhere, anywhere. I had to leave. I couldn’t stay. But the moment I stepped into the middle of the square, I paused.

Where would I go? How would I get there? I sank onto a cold, marble bench and stared at the pigeons, their head bobbing as if to some music only they could hear. I had nowhere to go.

“Mind if I sit?” Father Myron stood in front of me, looking as serene as always. Did anything rile him? Apparently not.

I didn’t respond. I couldn’t seem to find the words. But he sat anyway.

“I like to sit in the squares, and imagine the past,” he said with a smile. “The carriages that might have traveled these very roads. The men in their suits and women in their fancy dresses.”

It was on the tip of my tongue to ask him if he had a point. Could he not see I was on the cusp of freaking out here? I’d lost control of my powers. I’d never lost control. At the time it had felt awesome, now that I’d had time to cool down it made me nervous.

“We’ve been here for a couple hundred years, you know. Those like us. We’ve used those tunnels for centuries.”

Surprised, I slid him a glance. I suppose I’d never really thought about it, but now I wondered… where did our powers come from? How long had they been in existence? “Why can we read minds?”

He shrugged. “Some say we were an alien race.”

I released a wry laugh, hoping he was joking. “Aliens? Are you kidding?”

He smiled, a little mysteriously, as if he knew he had me hooked. “Some say we descended from an ancient Celtic religion. Some say Greek. And some believe we’re descended from Angels sent to earth.”

I rolled my eyes. I could only imagine which he believed. “Great, so we’re all special. Why me, then?”

His white brows drew together. “What do you mean?”

I stood and paced the area in front of the bench. “Why was it so important that I leave my mother when I was five? Why does everyone want my powers so badly? I mean, yeah, I seem to be able to do a little more than other mind readers; is that why?”

“What more?” Father Myron folded his hands in front of him, looking as calm as always, but I didn’t miss the interest in his eyes.

I shrugged, crossing my arms over my chest. Dare I trust him? I could tell him about moving objects, about breaking through chips… “You, all of you, were in the kitchen,” I blurted out, unsure why I was telling him this. “Aaron said you needed to tell me something, but Mom was worried about what I’d do if I knew the truth. Aaron said I was a carrier.”

He didn’t even bother to hide his interest now, but leaned forward, his eyes sparkling. “Where did you hear that?”

I shrugged. “I…dreamt it.”

He stood. “That was no dream. Dear God, your mother was right all along.” He released a long, trembling breath. “I think it’s time you visit with Sierra.” He started toward the road. Realizing I hadn’t followed, he paused and glanced back. “Well, would you rather stay here?”

“No.” And because I wanted answers, because I had nowhere else to go, I followed.

****

Twenty minutes later I found myself outside of Sierra’s small cottage. Father Myron had hailed a taxi, told me that he’d explain to my Mother where I’d gone. Without any other word, he’d shut the taxi door and the car had sped away from the city, toward the island.

I’d been tempted to head to the beach, but knew it would be rude of me not to at least announce myself, and see why Father Myron thought I belonged here. A narrow boardwalk wove through the reeds to the white cottage. I paused at the door and knocked. Potted plants stood welcomingly on the stoop, but the house sat silently. A few tourists rode their bikes by, nodding in greeting. Frustrated, I knocked again. No one answered. The taxi was long gone. I sure as heck couldn’t walk back to Savannah. With nothing else to do, I followed the boardwalk to the back of the house.

I didn’t see her at first, standing amongst the waves so still, so silent. She could have been one of those white cranes in Florida, lean and elegant. Sierra stood on a rock that had managed to avoid the tide, the stone jutting sharply from the ocean waves. Her long, white gown billowed on the breeze; her hair braided down her back lay as still as her body.

What was she doing?

Frowning, I started toward the shore. The tide was in, had been for at least an hour, the water splashing up and licking at her toes, yet, her dress wasn’t soaked. The hem not even damp. She couldn’t have walked out there. No way she could jump that far. Had she been standing on that rock since the tide had come in?

“Excuse me. Sierra, do you need help?”

She didn’t respond, merely started moving her arms in long, fluid circles around her body, doing some sort of martial arts or Tai Chi. I waited for at least ten minutes, impatiently, until the water pulled away from my feet and headed back out to sea… until the water reached Sierra’s rock and further.

Heck, it was my own special version of The Karate Kid. Finally, after I had settled into the sand for what seemed like forever, and the sun beat down on me, burning my face, she turned. Those eerie pale eyes met mine and she smiled as if delighted to see me, as if she hadn’t known I was there.

She was so bizarre, where had she come from? I hadn’t a clue how old she was. She had smooth skin, but white hair. The slightest wrinkles were around her eyes, but nothing too deep. She stepped gingerly from the rocks and practically floated toward me.

I stumbled to my feet, my butt numb from sitting. “Father Myron sent me.”

“I know.” Reaching me, she pressed her hands together, bowed her head and said, “Welcome. Follow me.”

Considering I really had no other choice, I turned and started toward the deck attached to the back of the house. The cottage was raised on beams like most homes along the shore. That Buddhist statue sat smiling mockingly up at me. I looked away, annoyed. What the heck did he find so amusing?

So far I’d been here for two days and still hadn’t improved my training. I noticed her shoes outside the French doors, and so I slipped off my tennis shoes, leaving them beside hers. The doors were open, white curtains billowing on the breeze. The living room spread into the kitchen, an open floor plan. The place was uncluttered and clean, the walls painted a light blue. The plush couch was white, and a variety of shells were placed on glass tables around the area. All in all, it was actually a comfortable and welcoming place that put me at ease the moment I stepped inside.

“Sit.” She waved toward the couch.

But I didn’t want to be at ease. I wanted to find Lewis. I settled impatiently on the sofa, watching the way the white curtains fluttered on the wind. “Father Myron said you could answer some questions for me.”

“Depends upon the questions.”

I rubbed my aching forehead. In the corner of the room a clock ticked, the sound like a hammer tapping against my skull. “Listen, I don’t have time for games. I have someone to save.”

She moved into the kitchen and started filling a tea kettle. “Yes, Lewis. Of course.”

I stiffened. “You know him?”

She nodded. “You needn’t worry. He’s fine. He’s healing well.” She set the kettle on the stove. “You can’t move him now. He needs rest and healing, and he’s getting that at the compound.”

“He’s in jail! It’s not a freaking spa!”

She lifted a brow, making me feel guilty for raising my voice. “Yes, but he’s safe at the moment. If you move him now, you risk injuring him more.”

I surged to my feet and paced the room. It smelled like vanilla and the scent was oddly distracting. I had a feeling she was trying to manipulate me into calming down. “So I’m just supposed to just sit here?”

“No, you train, you prepare.”

“Yeah, everyone keeps telling me to train, yet no one actually offers any advice.” I rested my hands on my hips. “So, will you help me?” It was a dare. I fully expected her to mutter an excuse; to mention something about the time getting away and how I should probably call my mother.

Instead, she inclined her head. “If you wish.”

I certainly hadn’t expected her to agree, but I admit the relief I felt was immediate. I sank onto her couch. I sure as heck wasn’t going to stay at my mom’s while Aaron was there. I hadn’t asked, but I hoped Sierra would let me stay with her for the week.

“Why am I so special?” I blurted out.

“Everyone is special.”

I sighed. Great response, old wise one. “I understand,” I said. “But they keep saying I’m different. Why?”

The kettle let off a shrill whistle and she went to work, preparing our tea. “What is your power?”

“My what?”

She headed toward me, a tray in hand. “Mind reading, yes. But specifically, what is your specialty?”

I wasn’t quite sure what she was asking. Instead of responding, to give myself time to think, I took a sip of the hot tea, burning my tongue in the process. Flinching I set the cup back on the saucer. Her questions and roundabout way of answering mine was making my headache worse.

She settled next to me. “You’ve heard that all mind readers have special gifts.”

“Yeah.”

She sipped her tea with ease. “Well, what is yours?”

I scratched the back of my neck. “I don’t know. I mean…a few things.”

“Exactly.” She set her cup on the saucer and used silver tongs to drop a cube of sugar into my cup, then hers. “Most people only have one special ability. Two if they’re lucky.”

I’d heard it before when traveling with Nora. All mind readers had a specialty that made them unique. Which was great, if we worked together. Of course instead, everyone fought, guarding their secret power like it was gold.

She took a sip of tea. “Tell me about the last time you had something wonderful happen?”

I picked up my cup, wrapping my fingers around the warm porcelain. My island had been wonderful, but that life hadn’t been real. I searched through my memory, realizing how sad it was that I could think of nothing, no magical moment. Then Lewis flashed to mind. Days ago when I’d seen him standing on that dock. It was as if finding a long lost love. As if coming home.

“Not romance,” she said, laughing and reaching out to pat my knee.

I flushed, wondering if she’d read my mind.

“You have the look in your eyes,” she said, pointing to my face. “No, no romance. I meant something unexpected with your powers. Something you didn’t believe you could do.”

“Well,” I started, thinking of Aaron in my mom’s kitchen. “I’ve caused pain.” Not exactly something I was proud of, but something I hadn’t realized I was capable of until about a year ago. “And at times I’m able to move things with my mind.” Which, I had to admit was pretty cool.

She lifted a brow. “And when this happens are you alone?”

“Sometimes… maybe.” I couldn’t quite remember, but wondered why she’d asked.

She set her cup upon the saucer. “If I were a betting sort of woman, I would bet that when your powers have flared and become stronger, there has always been someone around you. Another mind reader.”

I shrugged, trying to remember. “Maybe.”

“You, my dear, have power like everyone else. But you are also able to draw on the powers of others. You are able to use their gifts as well as your own. That is what makes you special.”

I merely sat there for one long moment, watching her casually drink her tea, as if she hadn’t just totally stunned me. It made sense. Suddenly everything was starting to make sense. This was why my father wanted me so badly. I was different; I could have any power I wanted if I was near the right person.

Her cup empty, Sierra stood. “Come, we must start training if you want to save your Lewis.”

“Sierra,” I called out. She paused near the doors, the sun shining brightly behind her and giving her a heavenly glow. “What is a carrier?”

She smiled, pressing her hands together over her heart as if overjoyed. “You, my dear, are a carrier.”

Chapter 5

“You’ll have to concentrate if you want to save him.”

“I am,” I snapped, my patience with the older woman at a near end. It was awfully hard to concentrate when every time I closed my eyes I imagined Lewis bleeding to death, or being tortured by my father.

Who knew she’d be so pushy?

I’d been at Sierra’s for two days and for two days she’d made me stand on that rock for hours at a time, until my legs went numb and my body shook from exhaustion. I assumed she’d called my mom to let her know I was staying as I’d woken up yesterday morning and a bag with my clothing was sitting by the door. Or maybe Father Myron had told her. I honestly didn’t care. If I had to live in that little cottage with no television to numb my brain, if I had to eat Tofu and drink green tea all day, if I had to stand on a damn rock for hours in order to get Lewis, I would. But as the daylight faded, my worry and impatience began to escalate.

The wind tugged at the white sundress I wore, making me sway. I shifted my weight, curling my toes around the smooth surface of the stone. The waves headed toward me, splashing up onto my toes and chilling my feet. I wouldn’t last much longer, but Sierra hadn’t told me I could rest. When I’d asked her more about being the carrier, she’d said I needed to experience it, and so our training had begun. So far all I’d experienced was annoyance.

“Close your eyes,” Sierra demanded from her beach blanket behind me, where she was sitting comfortably and reading a novel.

I closed my eyes and drew in a deep breath. Almost immediately my body relaxed, so used to the concept of meditation that it took no practice. The world around me faded and all I could hear was the soft roar of the ocean and the buzz of energy.

“Feel that life pulse through you,” Sierra said, her voice a soft drone. “Feel your powers. Draw from the energy of the vast ocean. What does it feel like?”

My skin practically vibrated. “A hum, almost. Like a thousand bees in my stomach.”

“Beautiful. If you can control your mind, you can control your world.”

Cold water licked at my toes, startling me. I opened my eyes.

“You must concentrate.” I heard her stand and a soft thump as she closed her book. “Your goal is to make it ashore without getting wet.”

“What?” I spun around to face her, nearly toppling over in the process. I waved my arms around me, regaining my balance. Sierra had already started toward the cottage, intent on leaving me behind. With a sigh, I studied my surroundings. A few tourists were walking by, watching me curiously. I gave them a stiff smile before turning my attention back to the task at hand.

There was as at least three inches of water. I couldn’t jump far enough to dry land. How could I avoid the waves and make it ashore?

“Water is made of energy, the same as everything else. Control the water, you won’t get wet,” Sierra called out.

My hands curled in frustration, but that was a common feeling in my life lately. I had the sudden urge to lift my hand, give her the finger and tell her to control that.

Sierra disappeared inside, the tourists had moved on, and I was left alone. I could say screw it, and walk through the water. What did she expect of me anyway? To hover over the waves? But the stubborn me didn’t want to give up. The stubborn me wanted to prove that I was capable of being the carrier, whatever that meant.

First and foremost, I made sure the tourists were gone and I was completely alone. I took in a deep breath and ignored the cry of the gulls overhead. Ignored the aching of my legs, the coldness of the water nipping at my toes. Releasing the air I held, I sent my energy forward. The water before me wavered, as if an unseen breeze had swept across the waves, or my very breath had moved the water. A tingle of awareness and success shot through my body. I dampened down the giddiness, attempting to keep control of my emotions and the situation.

Taking in a deep breath, I concentrated. When I released the energy, the water wavered aside until I could see the sand beneath; the pebbles and shells that lay at the bottom. Gingerly, I stepped onto the damp sand, marveling over my newfound power. Sierra had been right.

Slowly, I made my way to the shore, sending my energy pulsing from me, pushing back the waves. Sweat broke out on my forehead and my body trembled with exertion. It wasn’t far, and it wasn’t deep, but it was damn difficult to hold the water away. I felt my energy waver, and the water started to seep back, hitting my feet before I’d completely made it to shore. But I’d made it all the same. I spun around, gazing out onto the sea. The water had fallen easily back into place, covering the path I’d just walked. For a moment I wondered if I’d dreamt the entire situation.

But no, I’d actually moved water! What else could I control? The wind? The rain?

My giddiness was short-lived when my mother spoke up from behind me. “I haven’t seen you in some time. Are you coming home soon?”

Home? Was she joking? I didn’t have a home. Just like that, my good mood took a quick dive. With a sigh, I turned to face her. She didn’t look happy. Her dark hair was loose, blowing on the wind, and even in her shorts and a white t-shirt there was an elegance about her that I envied. I only wished I could be as cool and confident as she seemed to be.

“I don’t have a home. Thanks to you I never have.”

“I did—”

“Yeah, yeah. You did what was right for me. You were only trying to protect me. Been there, heard that.”

I moved around her, heading toward Sierra’s cottage. I wasn’t sure what angered me the most, the fact that I was a carrier and she hadn’t told me, the fact that she had been alive and hadn’t told me, or the fact that she was friends with Aaron and hadn’t told me… I had plenty to pick from.

I could hear her following me. “Cameron, we need to talk.”

I gritted my teeth. Funny how I’d wanted to do nothing more than get answers from my Dad, but that ship had sailed. I was done talking, done hearing their half-truths. Why have a conversation when it would be the same lies from a different person? I stopped short when I noticed Nora on the deck, chatting with Sierra. Gah, I had nowhere to go. I was surrounded.

Annoyed, I turned to face my Mom. “What do you want? I’m sort of busy training.”

She didn’t look hurt. No matter how hateful my words, she always seemed to be in control of her emotions. It sort of drove me nuts.

“Your father thinks I’m dead. A few years back, after we rescued Nora, I faked my own death.”

So, dad hadn’t lied for once, he really did think Mom was dead. “Why?”

“I wanted to start over. I wanted a new life.”

“And what about Nora’s life? What about mine?”

“It was for both of you. I faked Nora’s death as well. Unfortunately he now knows Nora is alive. It couldn’t be helped, she needed to save you.”

It was on the tip of my tongue to snap back that I could save myself, but she was right. I probably wouldn’t have made it out without Nora, as much as I was loathe to admit it.

“As for you… at the time I thought the best thing would be to send you away with your grandmother.”

“So you sent me away with the enemy?”

“No.” She raked her hands through her hair, showing her first signs of frustration. “His mother…she’s gruff, yeah, but she’s not like that. She’s always been on our side.”

Of course I hadn’t known because no one had bothered to tell me anything. “Yeah, well, I don’t know if she keeps you in the loop, but for about two months Grandma and I were living peacefully on an island in the Caribbean. Things were actually going pretty well. Then Maddox showed up, you know, that guy who works with dad, our supposed enemy. Guess what, Grandma never indicated I shouldn’t go with Maddox. In fact, she pushed me to leave with him, handed me over without a fight!”

She sighed. “Perhaps she knew she couldn’t win. Maddox wasn’t the only one there. He had backup ready to help. You really think your father would have only sent him? She knew she was outnumbered. She played the game, as we’d planned long ago so your father wouldn’t know she was on our side. She had no other choice. She knew you weren’t alone. She knew Nora was following him.”

I sank into the sand, drawing my knees to my chest. Grandma and my father were enemies. The realization was startling. What kind of monster was my father? How could I have the same blood as someone so evil? Everything was upside down. People who were supposed to be my enemies were suddenly my friends, and I still didn’t know who to trust.

“It is the duty of a mother, every mother, to do whatever it takes to protect her child. Everything I did, have done, was to protect you and Nora.” She swallowed hard, as if fighting back emotions. “It hasn’t always worked, but that was the intention.”

Funny enough, I believed her, and I wasn’t sure how to feel about that. “Where’s Grandma now?”

“We don’t know. We haven’t heard from her.”

My stomach clenched. She could be dead, and all because she had tried to protect me. Why? Why couldn’t they have just left me with Mom? How different my life could have been. If I’d had a family. If we’d been normal.

“He said you died from a drug overdose. They said you were a junkie. Was that lie?”

She settled next to me. “No.”

I hadn’t been this close to her since I was a child. She’d hugged me then, holding me so close I could feel her heart beat against mine. She’d smoothed down my hair and pressed soft kisses to my face. She had smelled like the roses that she grew in the front of our small house. And I had felt loved, I remembered it well. But the memory felt almost like a dream now; something that had happened to another person.

“I was miserable,” she said. “I hated what your father was doing. I knew it was wrong. I knew he was betraying the others. I started doing drugs to forget. To block out my powers. To block out my life. Aaron saved me.”

I gritted my teeth and looked at the sand. Aaron had saved her. I wanted to gag. Was this the point of her story, to glorify the man who had erased my memory? “So I should just forgive him?”

“No. I didn’t say that. I’m just stating the facts. Listen, your father has been searching for you for years, which is why his mother was constantly on the run. Still, he hadn’t realized she was reporting back to us. At least up until a couple years ago when we lost touch. He didn’t attack because he was waiting for you to come into your powers. The perfect time.”

I watched a gull race across the beach after a piece of debris someone had left behind. Dad only wanted to use me. I’d sensed it, hadn’t I? Why hadn’t I listened to my instincts? “How am I supposed to trust you when everyone in my life has lied to me?”

“I don’t expect you to.” She smiled at me. A smile I vaguely remembered from childhood. Mom had been fun then. Dad had been the serious one, always wanting to follow the rules, but not Mom. Mom had been silly and ridiculous, and always ready for a good time. Maybe it had been the drugs making her act that way, but I remembered she had loved me. But then again I’d thought Dad had loved me as well.

“You’re too smart to trust me, someone you barely know.”

I wouldn’t fall for her compliment. She hadn’t a clue how intelligent I was or wasn’t. She didn’t know me. And she was right, I barely knew her.

She sighed and drew her knees to her chest. “My point in telling you all of this is that if you go back to your dad, if they break into your mind, he will know that I still live. He will know about the tunnels. He will know we’re located in Savannah. He will know everything you know. I realize you’re eager to save Lewis, but if you’re captured you’ll be putting every one of us in jeopardy.”

I jumped to my feet, anger and frustration spurring me into action. I should have known she had an ulterior motive. “What do you want from me? To leave Lewis to rot?”

She stood. “No. If you stay a little longer, we might be able to formulate a plan.”

“How long?”

She tucked her hair behind her ears, ears that matched mine. “I’m not sure. A month.”

“A month? No!”

She sighed, looking out over the waves. “It’s not just about you and your guilt.” Those blue eyes pierced mine. “You’re being selfish.”

“And you’re telling me that Lewis’ life isn’t worth anything.”

Her jaw clenched. Was she just like Aaron? Sacrifice others for the greater good? Just like my father? Just like all of them?

“I know you don’t care about me, but what about your sister?” She was playing the guilt card. “Nora has already gone through enough. Would you really risk endangering her again?”

I wondered for a brief moment if she even cared about my life. Or was this all about Nora? Obviously they were close; they’d lived together for years. But the realization that I was an afterthought still stung.

“Why me?” I whispered, hating the way my voice had cracked with emotion. “Why send only me away; why not Nora?”

“Because you’re the carrier, Cameron.”

Exasperated, I spread my arms wide. “What does that even mean?”

“What did Sierra tell you?”

“Just that…that I’m a carrier. I can use other people’s powers for my own. Big deal.”

“It is a big deal.” She glanced toward the cottage where Nora and Sierra were still chatting. “Let’s walk.”

I wanted answers. I didn’t want to stroll along the beach chatting with my mom. But she started down the shore and because I needed to know, I followed. The beach was empty; tourists had headed toward town for dinner. On the horizon the sun was a fiery ball of orange and pink. I liked the ocean here; it reminded me more of Maine and the moment when I’d first met Lewis. The waves dark and mysterious, threatening and powerful. I’d missed the suspense of the rough water.

“Do you feel the energy, coming off the waves?” my mom asked, as if sensing the way of my thoughts. “The energy from the moon? The energy that keeps the planets in balance?”

I nodded. Even now I could feel that energy. I’d always felt it… that pull. That low hum that pulsed through my blood; that connected me to the world and kept me sane when my life seemed to be falling apart.

“Everything is made up of energy. We are made up of energy. It’s what connects us together.”

Chilled, I crossed my arms over my chest, the skirt of my dress whipping around my legs. “If everyone has energy, why am I so special? What does this have to do with being the carrier?”

“It’s true, everyone has energy, but only a few carry that energy like a host. The energy that you have, that Nora has, that all of my family has comes from me. I am the carrier, the source.”

I shook my head, confused and paused near a breaker of large rocks. “What do you mean?”

“The ability to carry the energy to others is passed down through generations. The universe chooses who it seems fit. I was chosen to carry the energy for my family, and now you have been chosen as well. You are the next carrier, the next source of power.”

Chapter 6

That night I dreamt.

I was in a field of purple wildflowers, a place vaguely familiar, although I couldn’t place it, or maybe I didn’t want to place it. Sitting on a blanket, I waited. Who or what I waited for, I wasn’t sure.

There was no clue around me. The sun was warm, and white fluffy clouds floated lazily across a brilliant blue sky. It was a peaceful setting, but I grew impatient.

I shoved my hands into the red plaid and stood, realizing I wore the T-shirt and shorts I’d put on for bed, my feet still bare. I wasn’t even sure who I looked for, but knew it was someone important. The sun was bright, too bright and I could barely see. I shaded my eyes and searched the field. Only swaying grass, and on the perimeter, a thick, dark woods.

“Cameron,” a familiar voice called softly from behind me.

I spun around, my heart leaping in my chest. “Lewis?”

From the brilliant light of the sun, Lewis stepped forward. “It’s me. I’m okay.”

I raced toward him, the wildflowers whispering against my legs, and threw my arms around his neck. He stumbled back under the force of me. I didn’t care if I was dreaming, didn’t care if I’d gone insane. I laughed, so happy I could barely breathe. Afraid he’d disappear, I squeezed him close and lifted on tiptoes, pressing my lips to his. The heat of his skin startled me, and I leaned away.

“You’re okay? You’re sure?”

When he didn’t answer, I stepped back and studied him. He wore a gray jumpsuit, the same sort of jumpsuit the prisoners wore at the S.P.I. compound. He was pale, and if possible, he seemed thinner than when I’d seen him less than a week ago. A shiver of unease whispered over my skin. I crossed my arms, trying to hug myself.

“Tell me the truth,” I insisted, feeling suddenly cold.

He smiled that half smile. “I’ll be okay. But don’t come after me, please, just stay here.”

The sun disappeared, covered by a large dark cloud, throwing the field into shadows that lurked along the edges as if waiting to pounce. Had my mom somehow gotten to him? Was this dream her doing? “What do you mean?”

He reached for me, but I stepped back, away from him, afraid that if he touched me I’d lose sense of reality. “Please, I don’t want you to put yourself in danger. You would never make it through the fence.  Just let me go.”

“No!”

“Cameron…” He started to fade, the trees visible through his shimmering body.

“Lewis?” I surged forward but just as I reached him the world around me disappeared.

The arguing woke me. It surged over the roar of the waves coming through the open window, and startled me from slumber. For one long moment I merely lay there in the dark, listening to my own harsh breathing, the thrum of blood through my veins.

“Lewis,” I whispered. “No.”

Squeezing my eyes shut, I curled into a ball. I didn’t want the dream to end. I didn’t want Lewis to disappear. Lewis. I’d dreamt of Lewis. Lewis, who had looked so ill. Lewis, who had told me to leave him to the wolves; to accept that I would never see him again.

It was a dream. Just a dream. He certainly hadn’t meant it.

Slowly, I opened my eyes and studied Sierra’s guest room I was sharing with Nora. She slept in the twin bed next to mine, her breathing soft and even.

I rubbed my forehead. Had I been dreaming? He’d felt so real, looked so real. I pressed my fingers to my lips. I could still feel the pressure of our kiss.

The dream of Aaron and my mom in her kitchen had been real; what if this dream with Lewis was real as well? No, I couldn’t accept that it was real. I shoved aside my blanket, suddenly hot.

There it was again… murmured voices that echoed through the window. I bolted upright, and brushed my hair from my face. Between the open curtains I could see a small bonfire on the beach. Slowly, I stood and moved toward the windows. Aaron and my mom sat in the sand, while Sierra stood near the water’s edge, gazing out at the dark ocean. Above, the moon glowed brightly, highlighting the tense scene with an eerie glow.

I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but it was obvious they were upset. Aaron jumped to his feet and began pacing while my mom shook her head. I narrowed my eyes and tried to focus on their murmured voices, tried to hear them as I’d heard them that day when they were in the kitchen. Mom turned, looking directly at the window. Startled, I stumbled back into the darkness.

Shoot, had she sensed me?

The murmuring continued and I relaxed somewhat. Unable to help myself, I slipped on my flip-flops and moved into the living room. The French doors were open, allowing the cool night breeze to flutter those white curtains like ghostly dwellers. Buddha sat in the middle of the deck, grinning up at me as if knowing something I didn’t. I ignored the statue and moved across the deck, following the light of the moon. Beyond the campfire the sky was black, mysterious, peppered with tiny white stars.

Sierra had settled near the campfire, and watched me walk toward them. But Mom and Aaron were still arguing, completely oblivious to the fact that I was headed their way.

“I want Lewis back as much as the rest of you, but there is no way we can reach him,” Aaron said harshly.

Was he joking? Since when did he want Lewis back? Since when did he care? Anger quickened my steps. “You want Lewis back?”

They turned toward me.

“He’s there because of you!”

I could feel the pulse of Aaron’s annoyance; it came at me like the waves currently crashing upon the shore. “No, he was safely in Massachusetts where I left him.”

I narrowed my eyes, was he blaming me?

“Stop,” my mom demanded, standing. “Just stop. I’m tired of the lies, tired of keeping secrets, tired of the fighting. No more trying to control each other.”

Aaron pointed toward me. “If she goes to the compound, she will be caught. If she’s caught, she’ll be tortured. Nora barely escaped and she’s better qualified then Cameron.”

“You don’t know how qualified I am.”

“Did she tell you?” he asked, settling his hands on his hips. “Did your sister tell you about the pain she went through?”

“I think I know a little about pain.”

“The pain you felt when I erased your memory is nothing compared to what they will do.”

Despite myself, a shiver raced over my body. I’d tortured prisoners, hadn’t I? Probably even killed one or two while I’d been at the compound, working for my dad. Was this karma coming back to kick me in the butt?

“You think you’re so qualified,” Aaron sneered. “Can you keep me out?”

I barely had time to reinforce my mental wall when I felt him come after me. The force of his mental invasion sent me stumbling back, although he hadn’t physically touched me. For a brief moment everything went black and I fell onto my butt into the cold sand.

I stared unblinkingly up at the dark sky, the voices of my Mother and Sierra a muffled murmur. As I lay there, stunned, I knew I had to regain control and fast. I had to prove to them that I was capable of helping Lewis.

I clawed my way through the darkness, forced myself to feel the strength of my body, the strength of my energy. Gritting my teeth, I jumped to my feet and reinforced my mental wall that had crumbled so easily. The world came roaring back, leaving behind a dull ache in the back of my skull. The firelight danced and blurred before me. My mom was arguing with Aaron, their voices overly harsh. Sierra stood to the side, merely watching.

Aaron, who had hurt me with ease, no reservations. A man who I swore took delight in torturing others and abusing his power. He hadn’t even bothered to glance my way to make sure I was all right. It would be his mistake.

With a mental roar, I threw my energy forward, directed the source right at him. I took perverse satisfaction in watching Aaron cry out and fall to his knees. When he gripped his head in his hands, I only grew more delighted.

“Cameron, stop!” my mom was suddenly in front of me. “You don’t understand your own strength! Now stop!”

When I didn’t immediately cease, she gripped my shoulder and shook me. I pulled back my energy and jerked away from her, my giddiness turning to anger. “Why? He wanted to see what I could do; I showed him.”

Aaron was breathing harshly as he regained his feet. A trickle of blood trailed from the corner of his mouth and glistened in the moonlight. The sight of that blood made me ill. I looked away, realizing what I’d done, the same thing my father had me do to his prisoners. What the hell was wrong with me? Why couldn’t I stop myself?

“I see you’ve learned something new since you left Maine.” He swiped the blood with the back of his hand, smearing it across his pale skin.

Left him? As if I’d had a choice. The anger I thought I could control had returned.

“More than one thing.” I swiped my arm through the air, sending my energy toward the fire pit. A log lifted. I jerked my arm left and the log took off toward Aaron, twirling and spinning through the air like a baton on fire.

Aaron gasped, stumbling out of the way.

The log fell harmlessly to the sand, embers bursting into the air like fireworks.

Aaron’s attention snapped to me. “Anything else you want to share?”

“I am ready. As ready as I can be.”

My mom sighed, rubbing her hands over her face. “Do you understand how secure their compound is?”

“I’m touched you care,” I said wryly.

The cool breeze shifted as a dark cloud rolled over the moon. It was as if the weather matched our moods.

“I do care,” Mom insisted.

I dismissed her comment. The weight of her words meant nothing, at least that’s what I told myself. “I was there; I know the lay of the land.”

Mom kicked sand over the fire pit, extinguishing the flames and throwing the beach into darkness. “Whatever you saw was the basics. There’s more. There is no way to get in and out without being seen. Tara can’t help you; you’ll be on your own.” Mom shook her head. “I’m sorry Cameron. We can’t risk it. We can’t lose you again. You’re not going.”

She turned and started for the house, Aaron following. Just like that, they thought they could actually tell me what to do? I was eighteen, for God’s sake. She didn’t have the right to control me, not after she’d abandoned me.

For one long moment, Sierra and I merely stood there, the soft murmur of the ocean waves our only company. As my mom disappeared into the house, so did my anger, leaving me lost and confused.

“Well,” Sierra said softly. “That was quite dramatic.”

I slid a wary glance her way, wondering what her point was.

She started toward the cottage. “I’m off to bed. You better get some sleep, you’ll have a long drive ahead of you tomorrow.”

I stiffened at her comment, watching with some shock as she moved toward the deck. How had she known I was planning to leave with or without my mom’s permission? I shook my head in exasperation and started toward the cottage. It didn’t matter what Sierra knew. What mattered was she was obviously not going to tell Mom.

It was settled; in the morning, I would save Lewis.

****

While the rest of the house slept, I shoved a pair of jeans, an extra T-shirt, and my measly fifty bucks in a backpack. The sun had yet to rise, but the sky had turned from black to gray, indicating dawn would soon make an appearance. I didn’t plan to be here when that sun peeked over the horizon.

“They’ll most likely catch you,” Nora said, her voice unnaturally loud in the quiet morning.

Startled, I glanced toward her bed. She was wide awake, sitting up and watching me. So much for sneaking out. Seriously, was I being punished for some crappy past life where I’d murdered bunnies or something? I wondered how much I’d have to pay to keep her mouth shut.

She drew her knees to her chest and leaned back against the headboard. “And if they catch you, they will torture you.”

How many times would they try that line? The threat hadn’t worked when Mom and Aaron said it, and it wasn’t working now. I pulled the backpack straps over my shoulders. “I can handle the pain.”

She released a wry laugh as she jumped from bed. “Right. So your plan is to stroll in there and rescue the damsel in distress? No problem.” She grabbed her jeans and T-shirt and started dressing.

I frowned, wondering if she was going to tell Mom and the others. “Yep, that’s the plan.” Okay, I was acting completely blasé about the entire situation, but I knew enough to show no fear. Any weakness and they’d pounce.

She flipped on the bedside lamp, adding a soft glow to the dark room. “Aaron thinks I should tell you in detail what they did to me so you’ll drop this asinine plan.”

My face flushed with annoyance. Ignoring her, I turned and started toward the door, but she was too quick and stepped in front of me, blocking my exit. Dressed in jeans and a baby blue T-shirt, she pulled on her tennis shoes as if she had plans to go somewhere. My instincts clamored in warning.

“Here.” She lifted her hair, pulling the strands away from her face. Even in the low lamp light I could see the thin white scar that followed her hairline under her ear and down around the back of her skull.

A shiver of unease raced across my scalp, as if I’d been the one to have the surgery.

“The first thing they did was crack open my skull.” She let her hair fall back into place, hiding the damage. “Dad didn’t know. Although I’m not sure he would’ve stopped them even if he had.”

I felt ill, my knees suddenly weak. Were they doing the same thing to Lewis even now? If she’d thought to talk me out of leaving, she was only doing the opposite. In fact, I should have left days ago.

She grabbed her purse and pulled the strap over her shoulders, letting it fall diagonally across her chest. “They placed some sort of implants in my head, to collect my brain waves. After I healed they used me to break into the thoughts of other mind readers.”

The same thing they’d done to me, except I hadn’t been forced.

She grabbed her own overnight bag and hefted it upon her shoulder. “Mom had a surgeon friend, another mind reader, who extracted the implants once I escaped and returned home.”

She’d had two bouts of brain surgery. Yeah, you could say I felt like a wimp for whining about the things that had happened to me. I shook off my dread, replacing it with a driving need to save Lewis. “I have to go.”

Nora opened the bedroom door. “Then let’s go.”

“Wait a minute. Go where?” I demanded, confused.

“Shhh,” she whispered as she moved into the living room.

With a frustrated sigh, I followed. The house was silent. Mom and Aaron were sleeping in the other guest room. Gross. I prayed they were just sharing the bed as friends. Sierra was somewhere, probably talking to spirits, meditating or something equally as spiritual.

“The pain was unbearable,” Nora whispered, scooping up the car keys Mom had left on the coffee table. They clanked together, the sound so loud it made me cringe; I was sure we’d be caught. I glanced at Mom’s door, but the room remained silent, thank God.

“I lost count of how many times I blacked out,” she continued. “They broke into my mind, shifted through my memories to find answers. It was like a rake clawing over your brain.”

Bile rose in my throat. I didn’t want to know any of this, yet I couldn’t help but ask, “And Dad knew about the break-ins?”

She released a soft chuckle. “He planned them.”

I wasn’t sure if I could believe her. Yeah, Dad had his issues, but torturing his own daughter? I wondered if there was more to the story, and I wasn’t sure who to believe. She started to the front door and I followed, wondering where the heck she was going.

“How’d you escape?” I whispered.

A dark look hooded her gaze. A weary look, as if she’d seen too much in life, experienced too much. “I had help. There was no way I could have escaped without help.” She paused, her hand on the doorknob. “You won’t have any. If you go, you’ll be totally alone.”

I gave a quick nod. “I understand, but you haven’t talked me out of anything.”

“I know.” She opened the door, a breeze of early morning air sweeping inside. “My point wasn’t to talk you out of going, it was to tell you that if you love Lewis, truly love him, you have to save him. Injured, he won’t last long. He certainly won’t last if they do to him what they did to me. We need to leave now.”

My mouth dropped open as she moved onto the front stoop.

“Wait, we?” I started after her, but came up short when she stopped.

“Sierra,” she said in an overly cheerful voice. It was obvious she wasn’t expecting the old woman. “Good morning.”

Oh hell, Sierra? I inched around Nora. Sure enough Sierra was seated on the front stoop looking fully awake and cheerful, a cup of tea in hand and two brown lunch bags at her side.

“Lovely day, isn’t it?” She clutched the bags and lifted them toward us. “Breakfast. I didn’t want you to leave hungry.”

I slid Nora a glance. She hesitated, then took the bags, the paper crinkling in her hand. “Thanks.”

Sierra had known all along I was going to leave, but why hadn’t she warned my mom? Did she actually want us to save Lewis and the others?

“Go on then, before your mother senses your energy.” She turned and made her way toward the boardwalk and around the house.

“Weird,” I whispered.

“Totally.” Nora shook her head as if shaking off the experience, and headed toward Mom’s car. “Get in.”

I hesitated for the briefest of moments. The plan wasn’t to take anyone along. But I could admit I needed the help, even if it was just a ride to North Carolina.

She pulled open the driver’s side door, tossed the bags inside, and glanced expectantly at me. “Come on.”

Hey, if she wanted to offer help, who was I to deny her? Shrugging off my backpack, I pulled open the passenger side door and settled on the leather seat. When she started the car and we drove away from the cottage, I could finally breathe with some normalcy. We’d escaped the house. Next on the list… break into the compound. As we headed away from the island and back toward Savannah, I opened Sierra’s breakfast bags.

“I’m guessing they aren’t pop tarts and cinnamon rolls?” Nora said sarcastically.

I held up an apple and what looked to be a bran muffin.

Nora shook her head. “Least she could do is give us junk food for what could be our last meal.”

I ignored her comment. “One thing,” I said. “You can come along, but you’re not going into the compound with me.”

She shot me a curious glance, as if trying to read my thoughts. Instead of arguing, she just nodded her agreement. I had enough guilt on my conscience; I didn’t want to see her tortured again.

“So what’s your plan?” she asked, rolling down the windows and letting the crisp morning air burst into the car, a whirlwind that had papers scattering and our hair billowing. The sun peeked over the horizon; a brilliant half-circle of orange and pink that sent light tiptoeing across the landscape.

I took in a deep, cleansing breath and gazed out over the marshland, watching a white egret move slowly through the water. The bird reminded me of Sierra. “No idea.”

She laughed and reached forward, turning the radio onto a pop station. “That’s okay; that’s why you have me.”

I sank my teeth into the apple, but the sweet flavor was lost on me and the food would barely go down my dry throat. Still, I forced myself to eat, knowing I’d need the strength. “You have a plan?”

Her eyes lit up with wicked glee. “You know what’s easier than trying to sneak in?”

I shook my head, her Cheshire grin worrying me.

“Getting caught on purpose.”

Chapter 7

Six hours later we’d stopped at a roadside restaurant for lunch. When I’d fiddled with the silverware, then two seconds later almost knocked over my glass of water, Nora had asked our waitress to pack our order to go.

Nora claimed I looked so nervous, they thought I was going to rob the place. So, instead, we settled at a small table outside the restaurant. It was better this way. If we needed to make a quick escape, the car was right there, waiting.

I forced myself to bite into the greasy hamburger, watching the cars zoom by on the highway not far from us. It was loud, noisy with sounds of travelers peppering the air. But not ten miles from this highway, my father lurked. Soon, I’d be traipsing through the woods, who knew when I’d have time to eat again. I took another bite. The sun had found its way over the mountains and the day was starting to get hot, or maybe it was my nerves making me sweat.

“We could go see a movie,” Nora said, pulling a fry from her bag. “Or go to the outlet mall not far from here.”

I slid her a glance. “Right, because that’s exactly what I want to do.”

Of course she was joking, I hoped. She said she supported me, but she’d been dropping little hints about returning home throughout our drive. I’d lost count of how many times she’d said I could change my mind. Finally I’d told her to shut up already.

“He could be dead.”

I sucked in a sharp breath, shooting her a glare. “He’s not.”

She held up her hands in surrender. “Okay.”

He wasn’t dead. I was sure of it. I took in a deep trembling breath and gazed up at the blue sky. Although I didn’t dare admit it to anyone for fear they’d think I’d gone insane, I swore I could feel his energy. I would know if he’d died. Wouldn’t I? Confused and unsure, I set my hamburger on the wrapper. Damn her for making me doubt myself.

“You’re sure you want to do this?” Nora stood and tossed her garbage into the trash. I didn’t miss the way she watched every car that pulled into the parking lot; studied every vehicle that got off on this exit. She was good at this sort of life, but then she’d been born into it. Yeah, I’d been taught not to trust people, how to make a quick escape. But I hadn’t been taught how to protect myself; how to fight like Nora.

“I have no choice.” I took a drink of pop, watching the cars speed down the highway. A variety of emotions bombarded me. I felt fear, worry, excitement. But mostly I felt determined. Saving Lewis was something that had to be done…like sleeping.

“We always have a choice.”

I rolled my eyes. “Spear me your ethics.”

“It’s true.” She sighed, sticking her hands in her back pockets. “Hey, I have to at least get you to think twice.”

“Why?” I asked. “I thought you were all gung ho about me saving Lewis.”

What I really wanted to ask her was why she cared if I went in there or not.

“I am eager for you to save him.” She played with the lid of her water bottle, twisting and turning the white cap. “Because I know what will happen to him if you don’t. But you’re…” She glanced up at me through her lashes. “You’re my sister, and honestly I’m worried.”

Heat rushed to my cheeks. I was so not good with emotions thanks to Grandma, who had also doubled as a heartless robot for most of my childhood. My instinct was to say something sarcastic, even deny the relationship. Instead, I bit my tongue. I wouldn’t have what could be our last moment together turn into an argument. Truth was even I knew that I might not ever see her again. Might not ever see my mom. Might not even see Lewis.

She glanced toward the road. “We need to get going. Mom has most likely sent a search party, hoping to catch us before we reach the compound.”

I jumped up and threw my half-eaten hamburger into the trash. “You think she knows where we’re going?”

Nora opened the door. “She knows.”

I slid into the passenger seat, my heart hammering so fiercely I was sure it was going to explode all over the windshield, leaving the glass a bloody mess that no cleaning fluid would get rid of.

“She’s worried about you,” I said, mostly to make conversation. “And I suppose I’d be worried too if the daughter who had been tortured was headed back into the lion’s den.”

“Oh please.” She didn’t get on the highway, but turned left instead, starting down a country road. “She’s worried about you. You’re the important one. You’re the carrier.”

An awkward silence fell between us. She’d said the words in a way that made it seem as if she didn’t care. But I had a feeling she did. How could she not? I’d swept into Savannah and suddenly everything was about me. It didn’t matter that I didn’t want to be a part of this mess. I looked out the window, not really seeing the mountains. They claimed I was important. I didn’t feel important. I felt like…me. Just a girl stuck in a really crappy situation.

“She’ll never forgive me,” I said. “Especially if they tap into my brain and find out she’s still alive and in Savannah.”

She shrugged, turning right. “You’ll just have to make sure they don’t get any information.”

Yeah, we both knew that was going to be easier said than done. She turned again, heading up a steep hill. She didn’t remember the way; she’d memorized it via maps and satellite photos online. According to Nora, everyone who worked for Mom knew the coordinates of the S.P. I. compound.

“Don’t worry, we have people on the inside,” Nora said. “You won’t be completely alone.”

I thought of Tara and Jake; two people I’d grown to actually like while living with Dad. “Mom said they wouldn’t help.”

“Maybe not Tara, but some of the guards work for us. They won’t help, unless it’s desperate.”

I almost laughed. As far as I was concerned, the situation was already desperate. “They helped you?”

She nodded. Sure, they’d helped Nora, Mom’s supposed only daughter. They knew nothing about me. Would they be so willing to risk their lives for a stranger? There were so many things to worry about that the ten minutes rushed by and I knew we were getting close. Not that I remembered the area well, but I felt my energy level change. I didn’t understand it, but it was there. My entire body started to tingle, an awareness that whispered down my spine like a ghostly hand.

“You promise you’ll do everything you can to protect Savannah?” I asked, sounding slightly desperate.

She glanced at me, and I could see the concern in her eyes. She was worried I’d freak out. Who knew, maybe I would. “If I see movement, or sense anything at all, I’ll call and warn them to leave the city.”

I looked at my lap, feeling guilty. Mom was right; I was putting everyone in danger. “And they’ll have to leave their homes.”

She turned again, so many turns I felt like we were going in a circle. Thick evergreens sprung up alongside the road. “Yeah, but a life, Lewis’ life, is more important than a building, right?”

I nodded, thinking of not only Lewis, but Caroline. How many children did my dad have locked away? How many children were being tortured? “If I can, I’ll help as many people escape as possible.”

“No, worry about you and Lewis.” She turned left, driving down a dirt road. A rocky wall rose up on my right side, fir trees on the left. I stretched my hands, fingertips tingling with awareness.

Nora started to slow. “You sure you don’t want me to go with?”

“Yeah.Fewer people to worry about when the time comes.”

And I would worry about her. I might not like admitting it, but I would.

My heart slammed wildly in my chest…fear, worry, anticipation, all fighting for control. I wasn’t just nervous about seeing my dad. I knew without a doubt I’d have to face Maddox as well. The agent had been a friend at one time; I doubt he’d be so kind to me now.

“How’d you meet Maddox?” I asked, partly out of curiosity and partly to bide the time.

“College.”

“I know. Saw his memories. But how, exactly? I mean a S.P.I. agent and a Mind Reader? That’s a Romeo and Juliette story if I’ve ever heard one.”

She grinned. “I didn’t exactly just run into him. Our eyes didn’t meet across a crowded frat party.”

The trees were growing thick on either side of the road. I was desperate to talk about something, anything other than the impending death and destruction that was sure to come. “They sent you to spy on him.”

She nodded, her smile falling. Maybe when she’d first met Maddox she hadn’t cared, but it was obvious she’d fallen for him. I couldn’t believe I’d made out with my sister’s ex-boyfriend. I could just imagine how she’d react if she found out. Forget waiting here for me, she’d leave me to rot.

“Mom didn’t want me to go, after what had happened, but I went anyway.”

Nora had had revenge on her mind. She’d wanted to get back at my father, instead she’d fallen for his number one agent. Falling for the enemy; such a romance movie cliché. But then I wasn’t much better.

“You sure you don’t want me to go through that gate with you?” Nora asked, her fingers tight around the steering wheel. I wasn’t the only one who was nervous.

The car bounced along the road, making my already upset stomach clench. “Yeah, I think it will be better if I go alone.”

She nodded. “I’ll drop you off and you’ll head through the woods. When they come after you, run. Make it look like you’re trying to evade capture. There’s a quicker way to the compound, but this is the back entrance.”

She slowed the car and my pulse kicked up a notch. Although the air conditioner was on, sweat gathered between my shoulder blades. “Got it.”

“You can trick them for a while…until they break into your mind.” She sighed. “Once that happens—”

“My secrets will be out.”

She stopped the car alongside the road. “All our secrets.”

I wondered if she was having second thoughts. “I’ll escape before it gets that far.”

“Make sure you do.”

She turned off the car, the area falling silent. We sat for one long moment, neither of us in a hurry to move. Although the air inside the car was cool, the morning felt heavy, oppressive. The sun wasn’t high enough to add light, and the forest held ghostly shadows that made it difficult to tell tree from man.

“You’ll head two miles in,” Nora whispered, as if afraid of being overheard. “Keep northwest.”

I nodded and slipped my hand into my pocket. The metal compass she’d given me earlier reassuring against my fingertips.

“You’ll hit a shallow stream about half a mile before you’ll reach the fence.”

I took in a deep shaky breath. “Got it.”

She turned toward me, her face pale. “You remember our meeting place?”

I nodded.

“That end of the compound is much closer to the road,” she warned. “Which means there will be more guards. When you escape, you and Lewis jump into the car and we take off.”

That simple.

I knew I could wait; if I waited, if I truly thought about what I was going to do, I’d never leave the car. Nothing else to say, no reason to resist. With trembling hands, I grabbed my backpack and shoved my door wide.

“If I’m not there, I’ve been captured,” she warned. “Head straight to Savannah.”

I stepped from the car, my knees practically buckling as my feet hit the dirt. “Understood.” I slung my backpack over my shoulders and started toward the side of the road. The woods were silent, empty, watchful.

“Cameron,” Nora called out.

I paused at the bumper. “Yeah?”

She was hanging out the window. I saw no amusement, no annoyance, nothing but genuine concern on her face. “Be careful.”

I nodded and started for the trees. The car roared to life as Nora took off. For a long moment, I watched her go. Watched until the cloud of dust she’d stirred settled back to the dirt road and the silence of the woods fell around me.

From somewhere above a bird tweeted.

I had nowhere to go. Couldn’t turn back now. I jumped over a ditch and into the woods, grateful for the protection of the trees. Sticks crunched under foot, unnaturally loud in the quiet. Could they hear me? Were their cameras watching my every move even now? I wouldn’t be surprised. But it didn’t matter. I wanted to get caught.

I moved slowly through the forest, allowing my eyes to adjust to the shadows. Two miles; at least thirty minutes of hiking to save the guy I loved. All in a day’s work.

****

I ducked under a branch, trying to watch my compass and keep from running into a tree at the same time. I’d been walking for almost an hour, the hills and trees slowing my progress and making my arrival later than I’d assumed. It had given me plenty of time to think, and plenty of time to worry about how this would all play out.

Me, lying still upon the forest floor with a multitude of gunshot wounds peppering my body kept coming to mind. Let’s face it, I might not even make it to the compound. How pathetic would that be? Killed before I’d even set foot over the perimeter.

I swiped the sweat from my forehead, and took a moment to glance around. I was thankful for the jeans that protected my legs from more than one thorny vine, but the day had become uncomfortably hot. The ground sloped upward. Hills and trees, hills and trees…everything looked exactly the same and if I hadn’t had the compass, I’d be totally lost.

A few birds had chirped, leaves had rustled when a squirrel darted by, but I hadn’t heard anything in at least twenty minutes. The silence made me nervous. I peered through the forest. The shadows pressed against me, ever watchful. I wondered if even now my dad studied my movements on some hidden camera in some protected office. Hell, maybe Nora had set me up. I wouldn’t be surprised.

I swiped at my forehead again. Even the breeze, what little there had been, seemed to have disappeared. The area was deadly silent. The only sound was my harsh breath and the occasional snap of a branch as I shuffled through the trees, pretending to know what the heck I was doing.

As time ticked by, the landscape blurred together into shadows. I felt trapped in a world of nothingness; as if I would never see the end. I paused, exhausted. Anxiety gave way to annoyance. At this point I’d wished they’d just kill me and get it over with already.

I trudged up yet another hill, around a large oak tree and that’s when I saw it… the sparkle of metal fencing. I froze. Was it my imagination? A desperate attempt to see something other than trees? Or had I actually made it to the compound?

I stumbled forward once more, climbing over a fallen long. The rotten wood crumbled under my hands, leaving dirt and debris on my palms. I brushed them against my legs and continued downhill. An odd gurgling sound brought me up short.

I hadn’t imagined it. The stream sparkled under the weak light that managed to pierce the thick canopy of branches and leaves above.

I had made it.

My heart hammered madly. I’d made it, yet couldn’t seem to go on. Once I crossed that creek, I knew they’d arrive. For one incredibly brief moment Nora’s words came back to haunt me.

“The first thing they did was crack open my skull.”

I could leave. Turn around and run for the road.

“Keep it together, Cameron,” I whispered to myself.

I closed my eyes, and took in a deep breath. I couldn’t leave Lewis. I couldn’t. I opened my eyes. Besides, my father most likely knew I had arrived. If he was waiting for my next move, I’d give it to him. Determined, I started across the stream. The water sloshed over my shoes, trailing down my ankles and soaking my socks. I hated wet socks.

I climbed up another small hill and there it was…the fence, sparkling and shining under the brilliant sun. Rows and rows of barbed wire curled along the top. From where I stood, I could make out guards patrolling the area. I hadn’t seen this high-tech security when I’d been here, but then I’d never been this close to the perimeter either.

Even in the shadows, I felt like a spotlight shone on me. I swallowed hard and started forward. Nora had told me the fence had electricity running through and I knew about the motion detectors and cameras scattered around the area. But I didn’t have plans to climb the fence. I planned on going in the easy way, escorted.

A twig snapped from somewhere behind me. I froze. An animal? Or had they found me already? Slowly, I turned, but could see nothing in the shadows of the trees. If nothing was there, why did my heart feel ready to explode? I closed my eyes and searched for the energy that marked every living being. It had worked before, but could I sense them now?

Nothing.Emptiness.

Frustrated, I turned toward the fence. A wall of human forms stood in front of me. Dressed in dark clothes, they stood so still that for a moment, I thought I might be imagining them. As if given some silent command, they shifted their legs apart and lifted the rifles in their arms, pointing all five guns directly at me.

“You are on government land,” the man in the middle growled out. “Turn around, leave, and we will not press charges.”

Pure panic raced through me. They were real. Way too real. I stumbled back, tripped on a root and almost lost my footing. Crap, I wasn’t supposed to be shot down before I’d even had a chance. Realizing they might actually kill me, I had to rethink my plan.

Get rid of their guns, then I could focus on getting caught peacefully. I sent my energy through the air. Three of the guns broke free and flew across the woods. The empty-handed guards dove for their weapons, leaving only two behind.

“Don’t move,” one of the remaining men said, lifting his rifle higher and peering through the scope. I realized with some nervousness that he had the gun pointed at my forehead. I did the only thing I could. I bolted.

Branches snapped and popped underneath my feet and giving away my location. Not that I should have cared, but I did. I wanted to get caught, right? At the moment I was sure. I dove behind a tree and pressed my right shoulder to the rough bark. I just needed some time to think. Time to formulate a new plan because this one wasn’t working.

“Stop!” a familiar voice call out.

“Maddox,” I whispered, my breath catching. “No. Not him.” I leaned my head against the tree, staring up into the branches. I’d rather my father take me in than Maddox.

“Abandon orders,” he snapped. “You’re to capture her alive.”

“Oh God,” I muttered.

Obviously they’d identified me. At least they weren’t going to kill me. This is what I’d wanted to happen, right? For them to take me captive? But for some reason it was worse now that Maddox was here. A man I used to count as a friend. A man who had kissed me, brought up mixed feelings within. A man I’d betrayed when I’d escaped the compound. A man who was now the enemy.

“You’ll have to make it look like it’s an accident.” The memory of Nora’s words came back to me.

“Right,” I muttered. “Right. Make it look like I don’t want to be caught.” I took in a deep breath and bolted to the next tree.

“Cameron,” Maddox called out. “I don’t know what the hell you’re doing, but you know you can’t escape.”

“Oh really?” I spat out. “Because I have before!”

I could hear the ever so slight thump of feet. They were scattering. I tilted my head left, then right, attempting to uncover their route. It was impossible. There were too many.

“If you’re here to help Lewis, it’s not going to happen.”

Maddox’s voice came from the right. I didn’t respond, but shoved away from the tree and followed the fence line, my feet thundering against the ground. My instincts screamed at me to run, while my mind told me to slow the heck down.

I want to be caught. I want to be caught.

A branch snagged at the strap of my backpack, jerking me backward. With a growl, I shrugged the pack from my shoulders, dropping the bag and freeing my body from the weight. Sweat trailed down my temples, my breathing so harsh, that surely they heard me.

Where to go? I swallowed hard and studied the woods. Left was the fence, right were the woods.

“Cameron!”

More pounding feet and breaking branches.

So this is what it felt like to be a deer during hunting season.

“Your father is worried about you, Cameron. You shouldn’t have left.” Maddox’s voice came from the left now, not far… too close.

Instinct spurred me forward. I knew I had to head toward the woods in order to make it look realistic; make it look like I was trying to escape. I shifted my weight, spinning toward the trees. Keeping my mind free of emotion, I turned into a robot, instinct forcing me forward.

I held up my hands, protecting my face as I burst through branches. The more I ran, the more I seemed to calm down. I could do this, I could be captured. Lewis and I would escape. We would make it back to Savannah.

I ran around a tree and came up short. Three men stood directly in front of me, blocking my exit.

Slightly intimidated, I took one step back.

“Stop!” one of the men called out.

“Yeah, no thanks.” I spun around and ran directly into a hard chest.

A familiar scent swirled around me… the light musky scent of aftershave, the heady scent of leather from the jacket he wore when riding his motorcycle. The sickening scent of gun power. I tilted my head back and looked directly into his gray eyes.

“You shouldn’t have come back,” Maddox whispered.

I’d done it…I’d been caught.

It was my last thought before Maddox lifted a small stun gun and pressed it to my neck. I felt the metal probes seconds before the pain sliced through my brain, branching down my spine and toward my limbs, burning me from the inside out.

I screamed, fading into darkness.

Chapter 8

I was vaguely aware of being carried on some sort of stretcher. Vaguely aware of men and women with hard faces hovering over me like some nightmarish dream. Voices and faces that faded in and out, as I faded in and out, pulsing in time with the pound of my head.

I tried desperately to concentrate, to focus on their features and their words, but it was as if my brain was working through mud, crawling…sloshing… I couldn’t make it work.

“…near the fence…” Maddox said to someone as he trudged beside me. He wore a black vest, black pants, thick black boots that crushed tree branches and weeds with no thought. With a rifle slung over his shoulder, he looked every bit the secret agent sent to kill and destroy.

“Why is she here?” someone else asked.

I didn’t hear the answer; I must have blacked out because somehow I’d made it through the woods, the fence and into the compound when I managed to open my eyes once more. But where exactly was I? A tunnel, a white corridor of some kind. I might have thought I’d died if it weren’t for the pain. Desperate, I reached out with my energy—nothing happened. I felt empty inside.

My powers were gone. I couldn’t even use my physical body, let alone my energy. So much for being a carrier of the source. Panic swept bitterly cold through my veins. I tried to curl my hands; nothing happened. I tried to lift my head; nothing. I couldn’t even grit my teeth in frustration.

This is what I’d wanted.

This is what I’d wanted.

We turned left. The movement of the stretcher, back and forth, made my stomach clench. I wanted to moan and curl up on my side; I couldn’t do a damn thing.

“How far did she get?” someone asked.

“Not far…”

I needed to focus on something, anything, other than the roiling of my stomach. Desperately I tried to remember the layout of the compound. There were three buildings. The first had offices. The second held rooms for torture, or questioning, as my dad liked to call it. The third building held the prisoners. I’d never been inside the third building; my father had said it was too dangerous. I knew now he was just trying to prevent me from uncovering the truth.

Considering I didn’t recognize this place, I assumed I was in building three. Hooray for small victories. I forced my eyes to stay open. Watched the fluorescent lights on the ceiling, counting each one we passed. When I grew tired of counting, I focused on the faces hovering over me, attempting to appeal to their humanity. Would any of them help me when the time came? But they were faces of stone, features with no sympathy. Even Maddox stared straight ahead, as if I was just another prisoner, no one special.

Exhausted, I gave into temptation and allowed my lashes to drift down. The darkness called to me. How badly I wanted to sink into oblivion. Forget where I was. Pretend to be elsewhere. But I was in that third building, the place where the prisoners were kept; a place I’d never been before. I had to pay attention…

Lewis was here…somewhere.

I swore, even through the darkness swallowing me whole, I could feel him. It wasn’t the electric sensation of my powers, but a knowing deep within. I heard hinges squeak as a door was opened. I managed to crack my eyelids and realized they were taking me into a cell, barred door and all. Firm hands gripped my ankles and under my arms. For a brief moment I was lifted and then settled on a cot near a cement wall. The motion stopped, but my mind kept spinning. Bile rose in my throat and I feared I’d choke on my own vomit.

“You’re sure she’ll be okay?” I heard Maddox ask someone as he hovered over me.

Was that an actual crease of worry between his dark brows? Was he joking? He’d caught me, the bastard, and now he was acting as if he cared. I wanted to hit him. I wanted to curse at him. I wanted to use my powers and knock him on his ass. I could do nothing but glare.

“Yes,” a voice replied. A voice that sounded so familiar…so very familiar. “Cameron, look at me.”

Unwillingly, I shifted my gaze left. The face before me was blurry through my exhausted eyes, but I recognized that brown hair, that slim body. The queasy feeling I’d been trying so hard to keep at bay, struggled up my throat.

“You remember me?” he asked.

Unfortunately, yes. My father. Any unease I felt faded, replaced with pure hatred. How could he do this to me? How could he sit there not caring that I’d been paralyzed?

But then again, this was the same man who tortured Nora. I realized, in that moment, that I hadn’t truly believed what my sister had told me. I knew the truth now, my father was a monster. But I couldn’t respond to his question, I couldn’t even move my lips to tell him to go screw himself.

He shook his head. “You shouldn’t have run, Cameron. You never should have switched sides.” He brushed his hand over my hair, like a father reprimanding his little daughter for doing something silly. “I can’t help you now. You’re on your own.”

All the while, Maddox just stood there looking dour, arms crossed over his broad chest. I wanted to slap their faces. And if I could’ve lifted my arm, I would have. But my father stood and walked toward the barred door before I had a chance.

“You’ll feel better tomorrow.”

“Wwwhat…” I couldn’t finish the sentence, my tongue refused to move, my lips refused to part.

He paused and glanced back. “What did we do? We had to paralyze you. It was for your own good, and our safety.” Three guards stood in the corridor; at my father’s approach, they turned and followed him, leaving me alone with Maddox. I wanted to demand he help me, tell him he was so wrong to believe in this cause but I knew it would be pointless.

And my eyes felt so heavy. My lashes drifted down… I sank into the cot, so very heavy. Vaguely, I was aware of the thump of footsteps as Maddox came near. His scent swirled around me and he leaned so close, I could feel the heat of his body.

“Why?” Maddox whispered, surprising me.

I managed to open my eyes once more and stare into his silver gaze. He was kneeling next to my cot, his jaw clenched in concern, or maybe it was anger. I wasn’t sure and I didn’t really care.

“Was he really worth returning for?”

I knew who “he” was. “Y..y…yes,” I managed to stutter, feeling quite proud of myself.

Maddox shook his head and stood. I didn’t miss the flash of hurt and disappointment that crossed his gray eyes. “I hope he’s worth dying for too.”

He was so sure I’d not escape. So sure they’d torture me to death. He turned and moved into the hall, shutting the gate and locking it behind him.

I’d show him what I was capable of… just as soon as I rested. Finally alone, I let go, and sank into the welcoming darkness.

****

I dreamt of Lewis.

Lewis calling to me.Lewis’ sweet voice saying my name over and over. I wanted to dive into the dream, to never leave.

“Cameron,” he whispered.

I tried to reply, but the darkness pulled me under and promised escape from my worries. I wanted this empty future full of nothingness. No pain. No worry. No fear of tomorrow.

“Cameron, wake up.”

But the voice called again and the words pierced my foggy reality, tearing me from the cocoon of slumber. Loud. Too loud. Startled, I pried open my lashes. My eyes were dry, painful. I blinked, attempting to clear the heaviness of slumber. The flickering fluorescent lights above throbbed against my head with every pulse. Where the hell was I?

Suddenly everything came rushing back on a wave of head-pounding pain. I groaned and brought my knees to my chest, curling upon the small cot. The cement walls wavered in and out of focus. There were no windows, only three walls of cement and one of thick metal bars. I was truly in a prison.

My home, until I found a way to escape. A narrow door interrupted the back wall. I shoved my hands into the cot and managed to sit up, setting my feet upon the floor. The room spun around me. My shoes were gone, although they hadn’t undressed me. Thank God for small favors.

I braced a hand against the cement wall and stood, my legs trembling like a toddler just learning to walk. Slowly, I shuffled toward the narrow door. It was a bathroom. A toilet, a shower and sink. No mirror. No door on the shower, and no door hiding the toilet, but I supposed I should be thankful that I even had one. I started to move toward the sink when I heard a shuffle behind me. I froze.

“Cameron.”

Had the stun gun made me crazy? Had I imagined him calling my name?

“Lewis,” I whispered.

“Cam?”

I spun around. Through the bars at the front of my cell, I could see him. Lewis, in another cell across from me. He stood half-hidden in the shadows where the fluorescent lights didn’t quite reach. But there was no mistaking that body, that face.

“Lewis!” I stumbled forward and grabbed the bars of my cell for support. “Lewis?”

He was alive. My knees went weak and I sank to the cement floor, still gripping the bars, afraid to let go, afraid this was all a dream. I’d never been so relieved in my life. I wanted to grab his hand and run. I slid my arm through the bars, but he was too far away. Defeated, I let my arm slump to my side.

“You’re here.” My throat clogged with a myriad of emotions, some of which I couldn’t even identify; had never felt before.

“Are you okay?” he asked, taking a hesitant step closer to his bars, acting strangely standoffish. He didn’t seem surprised to see me, and he didn’t seem exactly thrilled either.

He wore the gray jumpsuit that all prisoners wore, making him looked washed out and pale. But as the light hit his face, the circles under his eyes were so dark he almost looked like a football player trying to block the glare of the sun. It was his shaved head that startled me the most.

My happiness faded. “Yes…yes, fine. You?”

Maybe they’d shaved his head because they did it with all male prisoners. Or maybe, just maybe, they were going to go into his brain as they had with Nora.

He nodded. “I’m okay.”

For a breathless moment, we didn’t speak. I couldn’t help but notice how he had his left arm wrapped around his waist, his palm flat to his right side. He was hurt. I swallowed hard and shifted my gaze to his shoulder where that bullet had hit. “Your wound?”

He rolled his shoulders. “Good. It’s healing. Just a bit stiff.”

What was wrong with him, because I could sense that something was different? Did he blame me for putting him in this mess? “Why?” I snapped, gripping the bars more tightly. “Why did you step in front of that bullet? Of all the stupid things!”

He gave me a crooked smile, a smile I knew well. A smile that made my blood warm. “I couldn’t let him hurt you.”

I felt the sudden sting of tears, but was determined to ignore them. “You could have died.”

“I’m okay.”

But he didn’t look okay. He looked like a pale reflection of who he’d been; almost as if I talked to a ghost. I swore, even though it had been less than a week, he seemed thinner. And he was acting different. Something was definitely wrong.

“What is it?” I demanded, tired of the secrets, tired of the games.

He raked his hand over his shaved head, obviously flustered. “Why are you here? Did you not get my message?”

Confused, I frowned. “Message?” Suddenly it dawned on me…the dream when we’d kissed in that field. My eyes widened. “It was real?”

He nodded hesitantly, as if he wasn’t quite sure himself.

“How?”

He lowered his arm and shuffled toward his cot like a man decrepit and broken with age. “I don’t know, but when I stood in that field with you, I just knew it was real.”

This conversation was becoming way too personal. I glanced up and down the hall, looking for cameras but saw none. Still, I knew we were being watched; most likely they could hear us talking. I had to be careful about what I said. “I had to try and save you.”

He closed his eyes and hung his head so his chin rested near his chest. “It was stupid Cameron. There was no way you’d break me out. It was stupid to come here. You’ve only put yourself in danger as well.”

“Gee, thanks,” I said. His words stung. I couldn’t very well tell him that I’d gotten caught on purpose. I stepped away from the bars and paced, trying to work the numbness from my body. I still felt weird, off balance. My mind seemed too…silent. I paused, bemused.

“Oh God, my powers,” I whispered.

That’s what was different! I closed my eyes, took in a deep breath and tried to reach out to Lewis with a mental message. What did they do to me?

The message went nowhere. I was like a person yelling into an empty room; echoing, bouncing back. It was…wrong. Frowning, I opened my eyes and looked at Lewis. My powers weren’t working. Fear chilled my veins; I’d never felt more insecure and alone. “What did they do to me? Why don’t my powers work?”

“I think it’s something newly invented.” He shook his head. “A type of stun gun. It messes with your brain and basically your powers. They seemed pretty excited about its success rate.”

Goosebumps formed on my skin. I crossed my arms over my chest, trying to draw warmth from my body. “How long does it last?”

He shrugged. “It took about two days for mine to return. I think. I barely remember arriving here, and I was in and out of it over the past few days.”

The guilt hit me hard. How badly I wanted to tell him everything; to promise him we’d escape. But I couldn’t. I couldn’t because the cameras would overhear us, but also because for the first time since taking this journey, my confidence wavered. I felt like I was slowly losing the life I knew, piece by piece. And Lewis… Lewis was disappearing from me. God, he could barely even look my way.

“What have they done to you?” my voice came out rough with emotion.

He stood and started toward the doorway of his bathroom. “Not much…yet.”

Not much, but something. I assumed they hadn’t invited him up for cookies and milk. He was putting on a brave face, trying to protect me. But they would eventually arrive, and then I’d learn the truth. I watched the way he hunched over his little sink and cupped water into his hands to drink. His back was to me, but I didn’t miss the flinch of pain that crossed his face when he’d moved.

Finished, he turned toward me, leaning against the door jamb of his bathroom. “They’re waiting for me to heal, I think.”

But he looked tired. So tired. I wanted to ask him if they’d been feeding him well, if they’d had a doctor to see to his wound. I wanted to slide my fingers over his face, press my lips to his and tell him not to worry; I would save the both of us. I would make it up to him.

“Why would they place us so close?” The cells next to Lewis were empty, and as I’d yet to hear another person nearby, I assumed the cells next to me were empty as well.

He glanced down the hall. “They want us to talk. They’re hoping to uncover information.”

Of course. I followed his gaze, scanning the empty corridor. It felt as if we were the only two people in the world, yet forever separated by our cages. “Is there anyone else down here?”

He shuffled forward and gripped the bars of his cell. “Two guards at each end.”

“Other prisoners?”

He nodded. “A woman with black hair. I saw her the first day I arrived. At least I think I did. Hell, maybe I was hallucinating.”

“Deborah,” I whispered, more to myself than him. It made sense that she would be high risk, but then where were the kids?

“Who’s Deborah?”

Startled, I glanced at him. He’d known her before I had. He didn’t remember, but I shouldn’t have been surprised. Aaron had erased his memory. I had been his only link to this crazy world. A link I should have cut. Instead, I’d selfishly pulled him back into this life.

“She works with Aaron.”

“The man who raised me?”

“Yes.”

We were silent for some time, the only sound was the buzz of the fluorescent lights. There were so many things I wanted to say to him, but couldn’t. They would listen, and my powers wouldn’t work. Overwhelmed, I turned away and moved to my cot. I hadn’t expected the stun gun. I hadn’t expected to lose my powers. I was a helpless newborn.

“Who are these people?” he asked. “What do they want with us?”

I lay back on my cot and stared at the water-stained ceiling. “They call themselves S.P.I.; Society for Paranormal investigation. Some of them are normal humans, some of them are mind readers.”

“What do they want?”

“To use us.”

It was blunt, but it was true. I could hear him shuffle to his own cot, the creek of the frame as he settled on the small bed. I wondered what he was thinking. Slowly, I turned to face him. He was staring away from me, at the wall of his cell. How many hours had he spent staring at those cement blocks? How many hours had he wondered why he was here? Wondered how he had gotten pulled into this life?

“The man who runs this place is my father.”

He jerked his head toward me, the surprise evident although I could barely make out his features through the shadows. “Did you just say—”

“Yeah.”

He hardly moved; didn’t say a word. Did he hate me now? Did he blame me for this situation? It didn’t matter, I blamed myself.

“Will he eventually release you?” he asked.

In other words, did my father even care about me?

“No,” I whispered. I didn’t dare tell him the truth; my father would kill me before he’d let me go. “But it will be okay.”

Obviously that was a lie, but Lewis didn’t need to know that. I took in a deep breath and closed my eyes. I had the sickening feeling that Mom and Aaron had been right. I would never get out.

My father had tortured Nora. I knew I was next. I didn’t even have my powers.

Nothing was going to be okay.

Chapter 9

The corridor went dark.

I had no idea what time it happened, but at some point the lights went out. There was no warning, no nothing. I’d been in the tiny bathroom, splashing cold water onto my face, attempting to clean away the fogginess of the stun gun, when it had gone pitch-black. With my hands extended, I managed to shuffle to my cot without slamming my face into the cement wall.

“They go out every night when it gets dark outside,” Lewis said.

We hadn’t talked since our first conversation, and I was beginning to worry he’d had enough of me and my crazy family. “How do you know it’s night outside?”

There were no windows, no doors that I could see.

“A few days ago they took me upstairs where I’d managed to glance out a window. When they brought me down here, I counted, keeping time. Not exactly accurate, but I know it’s night when the lights go out.”

So I’d only been captive about seven hours, although it felt like days. I’d been so exhausted I’d slept some of that time, but as I lay back on my cot, feeling way too tense to sleep, I wished I would have stayed awake to keep on track. I wanted to scream, hit something, anything. It wasn’t supposed to be this way; they were supposed to question me, take me to the torture rooms, anyplace where I’d have a chance to escape. Not leave me to rot in a prison.

I curled my hands. A weird tingling sensation swept through me, as if I’d been electrocuted. I froze, startled. Was it possible my powers were already returning? I closed my eyes, took in a deep breath and sent a mental message to Lewis. Did you try to break out? Did you try to use your powers to unlock your cell?

It felt different this time, my brain open, the message free as it floated through time and space.

I waited with bated breath for one long moment.

Finally he replied. “I did, when I knew the mechanics of the locks. They’ve changed them since.”

“And?” I bolted upright, relieved.

And they caught me.

He didn’t say more, he didn’t need to. I could imagine what they’d done to prevent him from escaping again. I lay back down, and curled into a ball, wrapping my arms over my roiling stomach. If Lewis hadn’t tried to escape again, their punishment must have been horrible.

“How did we meet?” Lewis’ voice whispered across the corridor, so quiet that for a moment I thought I might have imagined his question.

I rolled on my side to face him. Although I could see nothing in the dark, I felt closer to him this way. As if it was just Lewis and me. I knew whatever we said could be heard. Most likely they had night vision cameras on us even now. But it didn’t matter. All that mattered was that Lewis was here, talking to me.

“I’d spent almost my entire childhood with my Grandma,” I started, the journey of my life sad and pathetic, in my opinion. A story I’d dwelt on for way too long. “We traveled a lot and I knew little about my father and mother. I barely had friends and I was so desperate to belong, I would have befriended anyone. But it didn’t matter who I talked to, who I became close to, I still felt alone. And then I met you. I didn’t feel alone anymore.”

He didn’t respond and I wondered if he still listened. Heck, he might have fallen sleep and I was the idiot for continuing to spill my guts into the dark. But once I’d started, I couldn’t seem to shut up.

“With you I didn’t feel like a freak. I felt…normal for the first time in my life.” I rolled onto my back and stared up at the black ceiling wondering how far down the corridor Deborah was located. Could she hear us? I hoped not.

“What happened?” he whispered.

So, he was still listening. “I…I fell for you, but I started questioning the way Aaron was running things. I couldn’t accept his beliefs, his rules any longer. He said I could leave, but if I left my mind would be erased.”

We were silent for a long moment. The only sound the soft buzz of the ventilation systems. My body was exhausted, my muscles ached. I curled into a ball, having no blanket to keep me warm. I’d apparently missed dinner and my stomach growled with the need for nourishment. Or maybe they didn’t bother to feed us.

I wasn’t sure if Lewis was still awake, but I kept talking, needing to think of something other than hunger and impending doom. “I tried to escape. I was caught. They erased my memory.”

I heard his breath hitch. “I betrayed you.”

Sudden tears stung my eyes. “No. You tried to save me.” How wrong I’d been about him, thinking he had taken Aaron’s side.

“I failed.”

“No.” I took in a trembling breath, forcing the tears not to fall. “I escaped and that’s all that matters.”

I had escaped, but Lewis hadn’t. Who knew what Aaron had done to him because of me. I hadn’t been there to find out, and Lewis wouldn’t remember. And who knew what my dad would do to him here, now.

“Is it back?” he whispered.

I knew what he was asking…my memory. “I think so. Most of it anyway.” I felt guilty for answering; guilty that my normal mind had returned, while he remained lost in the dark.

“Do you think mine will come back?”

No. “I don’t know.”

Could he hear the lie in my voice? The place was so still, I thought my heart would explode. I could barely take it. What was he thinking? How did he feel about me? My fingers curled into the cot as I resisted the urge to demand he say something, anything.

“Cameron,” he said, as if hearing my plea.

My breath hitched. “Yeah?”

“Were we… in love?”

I swallowed hard, tears stinging my eyes. “Yeah.”

“Tell me. Tell me something, anything about our past together.”

I sat up, confused. He wanted a memory, a memory that only we shared. Perhaps he wanted to know what he had missed, perhaps he wanted to feel less alone. Whatever his reasoning, I was desperate to give him what he wanted.

“Describe to me a memory.”

I could do one better. “Open your mind.”

I closed my eyes and thought back, flipped through the memories in my mind like index cards on a rolodex, until I found the perfect one.

“Are you open?” I whispered.

“Yeah.”

I released my hold and sent the memory flying across the cell.

Suddenly we were at Aaron’s compound in Maine once more. It was as if I hovered over the home, hovered over the memory.

Lewis shoved open the back door and we stumbled outside. “He won’t notice.” He paused and I fell into his chest. My legs were weak, my balance off. I wasn’t sure if it was because of the heels, or because I was so close to Lewis. Our laughter faded as a sense of solitude wrapped around us. Only us. His face was serious, his gaze warm under the glow of the backdoor light.

“You’re cold,” he said softly.

“I’m all right.” Even though I wasn’t, I was afraid if I told him I was cold, we’d return to the party.

He shrugged off his jacket and placed it around my shoulders, his warmth and scent clinging to the material. It was totally romantic and my heart swelled with the act. He pulled the edges of the jacket closed, at the same time tugging me closer to him. I knew if I looked up into his eyes, he’d kiss me. My heart hammered, warring with my rational mind.

I looked up.

For one moment we merely stared at each other. Finally, just as I was getting ready to bite the bullet and kiss him, he lowered his head. My eyes closed and I held my breath, waiting. His lips met mine. A soft kiss, a wonderful kiss. My toes curled in my shoes, my heart jumping madly against my ribs. I’d been kissed before, but never had it felt this…soft, warm, intense.

All too soon, he pulled back, then just as quickly, leaned forward and pressed his mouth to mine again…as if he just couldn’t help himself.

“It was our first kiss,” I whispered, letting the memory linger, before closing off my mind once more.

He didn’t respond, and after five minutes of silence, I stopped waiting for him to. I wondered what he was thinking, but was too afraid to ask.

Instead, I closed my eyes and forced the tears not to fall. I’d cried enough in the past year. The worst that could happen had happened. There was nothing more to cry about.

****

The lights burst to life.

“Wake up,” someone demanded.

I jumped, startled, confused. A woman stood outside my bars, two male security guards behind her, guns in hand. It was a quick and sickening reminder of where I was.

“Put this on.” The female guard shoved a folded gray jumpsuit and black shoes through the bars.

So, I was truly a prisoner now, uniform and all. I thought I’d remembered seeing her walking the compound when I’d worked here, but couldn’t be sure.

I stumbled toward her, my legs still slightly numb, and took my new fancy outfit through the bars. Lewis was sitting up, watching with a weariness that worried me. I knew they weren’t here merely to keep me abreast of the latest prison fashion trend. They were here to take me to my dad. Lewis’ worried look said it all.

I went into my small bathroom and changed, hating the fact that my hands trembled. My mind felt less muddled, but my body was still exhausted. Was it morning already? How long had I slept?

“Bring me your clothes,” the woman demanded.

“Only if you say please,” I said, pausing in the bathroom doorway.

She didn’t respond, merely glared at me.

The jump suit was soft and smooth against my skin. Although it wasn’t exactly fashionable, I was thankful to get out of the dirty and torn clothing I’d worn since trudging through the woods.

I sighed long and loud. “Fine, but I’m sure your mother would be very disappointed in your lack of manners.” I carried my clothes back to her.

She took them and handed them off to another guard. “Arms through the bars.”

Stacking my hands atop each other, I slid them through. She slapped handcuffs over my wrists, the metal cold and heavy against my skin.

“Step back.”

“Hey assholes,” Lewis taunted. “Why don’t you pick on someone your own size?”

I glanced at Lewis; his face furious. With his shaved head and that scruff on his cheeks he looked dangerous. As dangerous as he looked, I knew he wouldn’t last much longer. Especially if they planned to slice into his brain.

I pulled my arms back and waited as she pressed her hand to a keypad, then opened the door. Finally, we were moving. This is the moment I’d been waiting for, a moment to act, or at least study my surroundings. I glanced at Lewis. He gripped the bars so tightly, his knuckles had turned white. I wanted to give him a smile for reassurance, but I couldn’t quite manage it.

I made my way into the corridor and paused, resisting the urge to reach out to him. He was close, so close. His fingers twitched around the bars, as if he too wanted to reach out. Someone nudged me in the back, sending me stumbling forward. So much for saying goodbye.

The corridor was long, the lights intensely harsh, and I was exhausted. I counted the steps I took, counted the cells (five in all), I even counted the lights above. It was at the second cell from the door that I noticed Deborah. She stood at the bars, pale, serious, looking much different from the last time I’d seen her arrogant, beautiful face.

Don’t tell them anything…

The words whispered through my head as I moved past her. Maybe I imagined them. I didn’t dare glance her way, worried if the message had been real they’d know we were communicating.

Don’t tell them…

Would I have a choice? I took in a deep, trembling breath. I was powerful, I reminded myself. More powerful than most mind readers or Dad wouldn’t have gone to the extreme to get me here. Maybe I could hold them off. If not, if they broke through and learned our secrets, I could only pray Nora would send warning to Savannah.

They shoved open a steel door and we stepped into an empty stairwell. I did my best to memorize every detail of the place. All brick, all cement floors; electric keypads at every door that used hand prints to open. No windows. Fluorescent lights. But nothing I noticed would really help me in the long run. I needed weapons. I needed an escape route. I needed friends who would help me in my time of need.

Surprisingly they didn’t take me outside of the building, but up another flight of steps. I couldn’t tell if we paused on the second or third floor and I wondered how far underground they’d been keeping me. At the top of the steps we paused outside another steel door. The female guard pressed her hand to the keypad. The door popped open and she made quick work of shoving me inside, almost as if she feared being in my presence.

I’d barely had time to regain my balance when I noticed my dad. He sat behind a metal table; the same tables I remembered sitting behind when I had questioned people. The same table I’d sat behind when I’d tortured other mind readers. Payback was certainly a bitch.

It was a nondescript room. No windows. One door. Only that metal table, two chairs, my dad and two guards standing behind him.

“Sit, please,” my dad said with a nod toward the empty chair across from him.

I sank onto the cold metal. To say I felt uneasy would be an understatement. He watched me with a combination of disappointment and resignation, as if he’d known all along I’d turn on him. “If you were unhappy, you could have come to me.”

Unhappy? I wanted to laugh. Instead, I didn’t respond. What was there to say? “Hey Dad, you know how we torture people? Yeah, not feeling it anymore.”

He drummed his fingers against the tabletop. Was he nervous, or just bored? “Did you come here merely to spy?”

“No,” I stated firmly, which was the truth. “To spy would mean I give a shit.” I leaned closer to him. “And I don’t care about you, or this place.”

He didn’t say a word, merely watched me. I kept his gaze, feeling like we were playing a childish game of who would blink first.

“Then why did you leave?” he finally asked.

I knew my best bet would be to tell the truth. “Because I had to see Lewis.”

He laughed. “And you couldn’t have asked me to take you?”

“As if you would have.” I shoved away from the table and stood. The guards stiffened, but with a quick nod from my father, they stayed put like pathetic lapdogs.

I paced the room, knowing he thought I was nervous. In reality I was looking for something, anything that would give me a hint as to my location. “Nora said if I went with her, I’d know the truth.”

My dad crossed his arms over his chest, wrinkling the perfectly pressed blue shirt. A shirt ironed by his dutiful wife. A wife who didn’t love him. A wife who was working against him. And he’d know it, if he broke into my mind. Not only would I put those in Savannah in danger, but also those here who worked for us. I turned my back to him, but the room held nothing. It was even worse than my cell. Not even James Bond could break into this place.

“So you found him. Why not come back after?”

Frustrated, I spun around to face him. “Because you sent your goons after me!”

He leaned forward, pressing his palms to the metal table. “I sent my goons to find you and protect you.”

I released a wry laugh. Nice try. “They tried to kill us.”

“They were not trying to kill you.”

I understood the implication of his words. They weren’t trying to kill me, but they were trying to kill Lewis and Nora. It was a startling truth. He only wanted me alive to use me. I realized I had to get Lewis out of here as soon as possible, before it was too late.

“Just let us go. Let us go and we won’t bother you again.” Yeah, it was a stupid suggestion, but I had to try. Besides, by sounding pathetic, maybe he’d underestimate me.

He looked at me as if looking at a child who had just discovered the Easter Bunny wasn’t real. As if he actually felt sorry for me. “I can’t do that. Not when you know our compound.”

Okay, Nora had been right. He didn’t give a crap about any of us. Back to plan A. “So what will you do? Keep me here forever? Kill me as a traitor?”

“What happens to you will be your decision.” He settled back, crossing his arms over his chest. “We need to know details about Aaron’s compound.”

“Why?”

“Because we need to be able to protect ourselves from an attack.”

“Are you serious?” I laughed like a lunatic; I couldn’t help myself. They were all so ridiculous with their egos and fears, like little bullies on a playground. “Seriously, let’s get real. Since I’ve been here, I’ve seen no one attack you.”

His face was flushed with impatience. “Just because you haven’t seen it, doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened. You have no idea what they’ve done to us in the past.”

And here we were again… us versus them, the eternal showdown that would never end. I moved toward the table, my handcuffs clinking together. “No, I don’t. But I know what you’ve done. I know you betrayed your friends.”

His jaw clenched and a sick part of me thrilled over the fact that I could get to him. He might have killed his friends, but I’d just stuck a knife in his back.

“That’s right, daddy dear, I know they died because of you.” I shook my head, clicking my tongue. “What does it feel like to betray your best friends?”

His gaze slid to the guards. “Let him in.”

Without hesitation, one of the men moved around the table and opened the door. I stiffened in surprise when Jake walked inside. Even though Dad obviously thought Jake was there to do me harm, I wondered if he’d come to help me escape. I hoped. The guy did work for us, at least he used to. I kept my face blank, not wanting to give away my confusing emotions.

“Show Cameron how it’s going to feel if she doesn’t tell us the truth.”

Jake stopped in front of me; we stood, face to face.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

I had only a split second to prepare when I felt the push to my mental wall. Startled, I reinforced the block, determined to keep him out; determined to win this battle of wills. Obviously he wasn’t going to help me escape.

We focused on each other and the room faded. I wasn’t about to let him in. I wasn’t sure how long we stood there, staring each other down, but I wasn’t about to give up. Sweat broke out on my forehead, my body trembled. I was weaker than normal. Maybe from lack of sleep, or maybe from that stupid stun-gun, but I couldn’t lose. I wouldn’t lose.

Suddenly my mental wall weakened. Panicked, I struggled to keep it in place, to rebuild the crumbling protection. He’d won. Pain sliced through my brain. I cried out, stumbling and falling to my knees. For a brief moment, the world went black. The metallic taste of my own blood brought me back to reality. Fluorescent lights pulsed above, voices fading in and out of focus, but my heart continued to beat in my ears, drowning out all noise.

I’m sorry, Jake’s thought whispered through my mind as he left the room.

Strong hands gripped my upper arms and jerked me to my feet. The area came sharply back into focus. Dad stood in front of me, his face stone. “This is only a pittance compared to what you’re going to experience.”

I jerked away from the guards holding me and swiped the blood from my nose. “The least you could do is have the balls to hurt me yourself. Or do you not have the power?” I mocked.

He didn’t respond, but turned toward the guards. “Take her back.”

As if he hadn’t a care in the world, I watched my dad smooth down his shirt and saunter off, while the guards dragged me from the room.

Chapter 10

I didn’t bother to fight as they pushed me back down the steps and past the many empty cells. Didn’t bother to look at Deborah, who watched me from her cot. Nor Lewis, who stood near his bars, as if he hadn’t moved an inch since I’d left.

I didn’t bother because I was embarrassed and angry. Angry that Jake had gotten through my mental wall; embarrassed that I’d folded so easily. And that damn blood trailing from my nose said to all who saw me that I’d failed. I lifted my arms and swiped my nose with the back of my hand, a smear of blood across the pale skin. What was the point of being the Source if everyone and their mother could beat you at these ridiculous games?

The female guard shoved me forward, sending me stumbling back into my cell. “Hands.”

I managed to catch myself. The door clanged shut with a force that vibrated the walls around me.

“Hands,” she snapped again.

“Three against one? Someone’s scared,” Lewis said in an even tone.

The two male guards threw him a glare, but Miss High and Mighty didn’t even look as if she cared. I slid my arms through the bars and they unhooked me. My throat tightened as I resisted the urge to tell her exactly what I thought about her and the entire compound. At least I was away from Dad and his arrogant smirk.

“Don’t worry,” one of the male guards grinned at Lewis. “You’re next. Prepare for hell.”

“I’ll see you there,” Lewis hissed.

I rubbed my wrists, the skin raw from the handcuffs, and slid Lewis a glance as the guards walked away. “Stop,” I whispered. “Stop trying to take their attention from me and onto you. It won’t work.”

He ignored me, shoving away from the bars and pacing the small cell. It wasn’t until we heard the door shut that Lewis finally spoke to me. “What happened?”

“Jake,” I said.

He frowned. “Jake?”

I settled on the edge of my cot, my body weak from the attack. I kept forgetting how little Lewis knew and I wasn’t up for a multitude of questions. I just wanted to lay back and try to sleep, try to forget for a few moments.

“Blond guy, our age,” I said, knowing he needed answers. “I met him about a month ago when I lived with my dad. I knew he was powerful, but didn’t realize how powerful. He…broke into my mind.” A heated flush of embarrassment raced to my cheeks. Silly, that after all that had happened something like this would shame me.

“You’re weakened from the stun-gun,” he said. “It’s not surprising he was able to break into your mind. It’s why they use it, to lower your defenses.”

I knew he was trying to make me feel better, it didn’t work. But then Lewis didn’t know I was the freaking carrier of the source. I was supposed to be the all-knowing, all-powerful.

“Did he get anything important?”

I rubbed my temples, wondering when the pounding ache would fade, if ever. “I don’t think they got anything. It was more of a warning.”

He pushed away from the bars and paced his cell, obviously agitated. He’d changed so much since that first time I’d met him in Maine. His face more angular, hair so short it was almost gone, he even had scruff along his cheeks and chin. But in this last week he’d changed even more, not just physically, but something within. There was almost a hardened look in his gaze; a look that said he’d seen and experienced too much. The same look I’d seen on Nora’s face upon occasion.

I squeezed my eyes shut and lay on my side, tucking my knees to my chest. This was my fault. If I hadn’t been so gung ho about finding him, if I had just left him to his pleasant life in Massachusetts, he wouldn’t be here now. He wouldn’t know me. He wouldn’t hate me.

“I’m sorry.” I said it so softly I hadn’t expected him to hear.

“About what?”

I opened my eyes to see him standing at the bars again.

“It’s my fault you were caught. If I’d only left you alone—”

“Cameron.” He sighed and rested his forehead to the bars. “I was going insane in Massachusetts. I didn’t know where I came from, why I was there, who I was. Do you have any idea what it feels like to know practically nothing about your past?”

I stood and moved as close to him as possible. “You’re just trying to make me feel better.”

“No, I mean it.”

We were so close, yet distanced by those thick, steel bars. How badly I wanted to touch him. Maybe if I could just hold his hand I’d know the truth. I thought I’d lost everything when Lewis’ mind had been erased. Now I realized I had so much more left to lose. He might not remember me or our relationship, but it was still there…that connection between us. Wasn’t it?

“I’m just sorry you got caught,” he whispered.

For the love of God, will you two shut up and start planning an escape?

The voice invaded my brain, startling me. Lewis looked just as shocked as I felt.

“Did you…” he couldn’t seem to go on.

I shook my head. No, I hadn’t said the words, but there was only one other mind reader in attendance. Slowly, I turned, looking down the hall. Deborah?

No, it’s God. I could hear the sarcasm even through my mind.

I glanced back at Lewis, feeling the sudden urge to laugh. Deborah was here; her normal biting self. Lewis watched me with a combination of confusion and leeriness. He didn’t understand; with Deborah here, able to communicate with us, we had more in our corner…maybe.

“It’s Deborah,” I said, as if that explained it all.

“Deborah?”

The one and only, she replied. I see my reputation supersedes me.

I ignored her. “She’s the one I told you about, the one who works with Aaron. The woman who worked with…you.”

He released a harsh laugh and shoved away from the bars, pacing his small room like a wild animal contained. I could feel his frustration from across the cell. He was angry that he couldn’t remember her. Angry that he was so lost. I knew how he felt, but my memory had come back. I doubted his ever would.

So what’s the plan? she asked.

Why do you assume there’s one? Yeah, I was slightly suspicious of her. At this point I’d be totally stupid not to be.

Please, you wouldn’t have returned if you didn’t have a plan. I’m assuming you found Aaron. I’m assuming you made some sort of plan to rescue your precious Lewis, which is why you’re here. I also assume they didn’t approve of your plan.

I glanced at Lewis to see how he was taking this information. He had stilled in the middle of his cell, his arms crossed over his chest, a dark scowl upon his face. Annoyed, frustrated, impatient, I could read it all in his blue eyes.

So, she continued. I assume you have little to no help. But you also must have some sort of a plan.

I pushed away from the bars and began to pace my own cell. I didn’t like her; I didn’t trust her. But I had so few people on my side. What do they know? I asked, ignoring her question. What have they gotten out of you?

Not much as Aaron erased vital information before I came here.

I froze. Dear God, he had erased parts of her memory too? But the difference was that she had wanted it. The memories hadn’t been torn from her mind. Why did you come here?

To help the children escape.

I sank onto the edge of my cot. The children had been here the entire time? All those weeks I’d spent with my dad, the children had been here, imprisoned, so close. Caroline?

Yes, and others.

How many?

Ten were abducted, but I can’t be sure they all ended up here. Who knows?

She didn’t seem overly concerned.

Children? Lewis asked. Here, in this compound, there are little children?

I nodded, collapsing back onto my cot. I didn’t know what exactly Deborah remembered, or Lewis knew. And I didn’t dare tell them much for fear that when they were questioned, S.P.I. would get the information they needed. But I knew one thing, I wasn’t leaving this compound without Lewis and without Caroline. The child had trusted me; she had begged me to return for her. I would save her, even if it meant giving up my own life.

The lights went out, throwing the prison into darkness once more.

Better get to sleep, Deborah said. They’ll be coming for you soon, and you’ll need all the rest you can get.

****

The lights burst on, startling me from an uneasy slumber. Confused, I bolted upright. I knew I had gotten only a couple hours of sleep, at the most. My mind felt buzzed, my body almost numb from lack of rest.

“Hell,” I muttered, pressing my hands to my temples.

The thump of my heart mirrored the thump of feet coming closer…closer. I shoved my hands into the cot, trying to stand, but the cell spun, and I ended up falling back to the bed. I needed rest. I needed food. One meal a day wasn’t doing me any good. And I needed answers. Not knowing what they would do to me next was maddening. But I supposed the suspense of it all gave them the upper hand.

The guard arrived with her silent entourage. “Hands.”

With a glare, I stood. Lewis was sitting up on his cot, watching me helplessly. I read the despair in his eyes and it practically killed me. I knew the feeling well. He wanted to stop them; he hated the fact that he could do nothing. How often had I felt helpless in my life? I moved casually to the bars and slid my arms through. She slapped the cuffs over my wrists.

“Tell him I’ve got information,” Lewis demanded, his voice echoing down the hall.

He lied, and obviously they knew it as well. He was trying to get them to take him instead and I appreciated his effort, but knew it wouldn’t work. He didn’t realize I was the carrier and my father wanted no one but me.

“Step back,” she demanded.

I moved back and she pressed her hand to the keypad to unlock my door. I glanced once more at Lewis, realizing that this could be the last time I’d see him. How I wanted to act cocky, cool, but my nerves flared with every step down that corridor I took. Truth was I had no real plan, and I knew I had to come up with one fast. I wasn’t sure how many more of these attacks I could handle, and I knew they’d only get worse.

I moved past Deborah’s cell. She was watching me with sad resignation. If you have a plan, better put it in place soon.

I sent her a glare right before I was shoved out the door. I was taken up those steps, but we didn’t go through the door I expected, instead we stopped at a level below the interrogation room. Before I had time to question our new location, the guard shoved open the door.

A long, narrow room spread out before me. Twin beds were placed along the left side of the room, desks on the right. At least ten children were seated at those desks, facing adult S.P.I. agents. I took it all in with a sort of stupefied shock. Agents were holding up cards, while the children guessed what was printed on the back. Other children wore skullcaps with wires that connected to computers.

None of the children looked injured. Yet, I knew what their future held; either join the ranks, or suffer the consequences. A few of the children looked my way. Some, I swore I recognized from Aaron’s home that year ago. What sickened me most was realizing that they had been so close this entire time.

“Why am I here?” I demanded.

A chair screeched across the linoleum floor and my father stood up; he’d been half-hidden behind another agent. He smiled as he strolled toward me with an easy gait that made me more than nervous. This was not a man worried; this was a man sure he would win.

“Why am I here?” I repeated the question.

Dad stopped a few feet from me. “Why, I merely wanted to show you some of our team players.”

I laughed, drawing more attention. “Team players? Please, you kidnapped these children and are forcing them to work for you.”

“Cameron!” someone called out excitedly.

I jerked my head right just as a blonde child rushed toward me. She was a golden blur of hope. Her warm body hit mine with such force, that I staggered back. “Caroline?”

She looked up at me and grinned. “I knew you’d come for me.”

Her complete trust made me ill.

“Cameron has something important to do, my dear,” my father explained.

The female guard who had led me into the room shoved Caroline aside. It was then that Caroline’s gaze fell to my handcuffs. The child’s smile disappeared as the truth settled in. How I wanted to tell her not to worry, but I couldn’t say a damn thing. Couldn’t even send a telepathic message for fear that her reaction would betray us.

“Come along.” My father swept outside and I was forced to follow, shoved unceremoniously by yet another guard into the stairwell.

We didn’t go far, but moved through another door, reaching the room where Jake had broken my mind. I wasn’t surprised they were going to try again. Lewis and Deborah were useless to them. Their memories had been tampered. I was the only one who could give them the information they needed. I knew it. They knew it. Dad sat behind his usual table while the two guards took up residence in the corners of the room.

“What was the point of showing me the children?” I asked.

“As I said, merely to—”

“Bull.” I didn’t sit, but stood, towering over him.

He paused for a long moment, just watching me, his fingers steepled together as if he was deep in thought. “Then you tell me what you think. Why did I show you the children?”

I smirked down at him, refusing to give him the satisfaction of showing any fear. “I think it was a warning.”

He lifted a dark brow.

“You were showing me potential casualties if I don’t obey.”

“Cameron.” He shook his head and chuckled. “You have a very vivid imagination. You seem to think we’re out to destroy innocent people, when, in fact, we are merely trying to protect the ones we love.”

Heated anger flushed through me. “Let’s get to the point of my visit.” I jerked the chair away from the table and sat across from him. “No more bull.”

“Very well.” Dad gave a nod toward the guards and even before the door opened, I knew who’d arrived.

“Surprise, surprise,” I muttered as Jake shuffled into the room.

God, how I wanted to hate him, but as I got a look at his young face, my anger wavered. He was pale as he glanced at me from under his eyelashes. That arrogant set of his shoulders had been replaced with an awkward stoop. I’d never seen Jake this way, and I realized that he, like so many others, was just a pawn in these games my dad and I played.

“What’s it today?” I asked my dad. “Father and daughter dance coming up? You want to coordinate our outfits?”

Dad stood and moved aside, ignoring me. “Sit down Jake. Get comfortable.”

He sat, not even hesitating. That arrogant bravado was gone. He’d turned into a little lapdog just like Maddox.

“You know the drill, Cameron,” my father said, pacing the small room. “We can do this the hard way, or the easy.”

Yes, indeed I knew, for I’d said the very same thing only a few weeks ago to the prisoners here. A few weeks ago, when I’d believed my father was good, and all the prisoners were evil. “Easy? You mean betray my friends and family?”

“Since when is Aaron your friend?” My dad crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall. “Last I heard you hated the man who had erased your memory.”

“Yeah, well, when I compare him to others in my life, he’s actually not all that bad.”

Jake just sat there, his gaze on the table, his face flushed with misery.

“You had so many opportunities Cameron,” my dad said, sounding extremely disappointed in me. “And you’ve thrown them all away.”

I didn’t respond, what was the point? We’d never agree; he’d never see reason and he didn’t seem to care much what I thought.

Dad sighed. “Let’s start, Jake.”

Jake nodded, and lifted his head, meeting my gaze. I braced myself. From the corner of my eye I could see my dad stroll to the far side of the room. I wondered why he didn’t do the deed himself. Too weak, or was he a coward? I felt the push to my mental wall and stiffened. Jake might have broken into my mind once, he wouldn’t do it again. I pushed back, throwing my energy forward with such force that he actually jumped in his chair.

Let me in! his voice whispered through my mind. I don’t want to hurt you.

Like hell!

Jake surged to his feet, glaring at me. Damn it, Cameron.

A mental shove sent me back. I jumped to my feet just as my chair tilted, clanging to the floor. I heard the startled gasp of the security guards. I didn’t miss a beat, but focused all my mental energy on that chair. It flew across the room. My dad ducked just in time. The chair hit the wall with a bang, then fell to the floor.

“Cameron, don’t!” Jake begged me.

“Screw you!”

“Stop her now!” My dad demanded.

Guards surged forward. Firm fingers bit into my upper arms, jerking me backwards. With a strength I didn’t know I had, I managed to break free. One guard cried out, hitting the wall, thrown by my energy. I’d apparently turned into the Incredible freaking Hulk.

The chaos was immediate. An alarm went off, a high-pitched screech that made me cringe. The door flew open and three more guards rushed inside. I spun around, attempting to outrun them, which was hard to do in a twenty by twenty room. I knew my capture was coming, but that didn’t stop me from trying to escape.

I felt someone come up behind me a moment too late. Just as I started to turn, those wire probes pressed into my neck. Electricity shot through my body, taking over my system. I cried out, losing control of my muscles, and falling hard to my knees. With a groan, I fell back. The lights wavered in and out of focus, human faces that appeared, then disappeared.

Jake leaned down close, so close I could feel the heat of his breath on my face. You idiot. I’m trying to help you.

It was the last thing I heard before I drifted off into the darkness.

Chapter 11

“Cameron. Cameron, wake up.”

I felt a sharp nudge to my thigh, a persistent nudge that tore me from the dredges of unconsciousness. For a brief moment I thought I was back in Savannah, but I remembered all too soon where I was truly located. I groaned and brought my knees to my chest. I only wanted to sleep, to be left alone, to sink into the darkness, but whoever stood next to me wouldn’t allow it.

“Cameron, wake up now.” I lifted my lashes to see Maddox kneeling next to me.

I smiled slightly. “Maddox.” Maybe he’d decided to change sides and was going to help me escape.

“Wake up.”

The hardness of his tone startled me, brought me back into reality. I bolted upright, but the movement sent my mind spinning, my body off balance. I clutched the frame of the cot for support as Maddox’s serious face blurred in and out of focus. I blinked, then kept blinking until the cell came into clear view. How long had I been out? Frantically I tried to recall the moments leading up to my current situation.

Jake. I remembered Jake trying to break into my mind. The chair. I’d thrown a chair across the room, then the stun gun.

“Damn it,” I yelled, my voice echoing across the cell. I shoved my hands into Maddox’s chest, but I was so weak he didn’t even budge. “Did you stun me again?” My words came out mumbled, as if I’d been numbed at the dentist, but he still understood.

“No, I didn’t. But I would have to keep you from getting injured.”

I rubbed my jaw, trying to make my mouth work properly. “Oh yes, you care so much about me.”

He stood, stepping back. “Whether you believe me or not, I do.”

His kind words caught me off guard, made me feel highly confused. I’d labeled him; he was the enemy. But it was hard to remember that when he looked at me with such a softness in his eyes. Craving Lewis’ reassuring presence, I shifted my attention toward his cell. It was empty.

Panic shot bitterly cold through my body. “Where is he?” I demanded.

Maddox glanced at Lewis’ empty cell, his face revealing no emotion. “He’s gone.”

“Gone where?” I jumped to my feet, stumbling as the room spun. He started to reach for me, but I jerked back. I didn’t want him to touch me, couldn’t stand for him to put his hands on me.

With a sigh of frustration, he moved away and paced the small space. It was then that I noticed Maddox wore a dark suit, an expensive suit, and the memory of the party at the compound came back to haunt me. Maddox, the Maddox I thought I had known. How could he do this to me? Was it payback for choosing Lewis?

He dragged his fingers through his hair. “Why? Why the hell did you return?”

“You know why!” I sank onto my cot and covered my face with my hands, too exhausted to deal with him now. The sleep deprivation was driving me insane. My skin itched, my insides were numb, my head muddled.

“Yeah, I do know why, to save your boyfriend. Problem is he’s worse off now!”

I jerked upright. “What do you mean?”

He flung his arms wide. “Where do you think he is? Getting a freaking massage and seaweed wrap? You think they’re not going to use him to get to you?”

I shivered. I believed him, but I also didn’t dare trust him. There had to be a reason why he was spilling his guts, and I didn’t believe for a second that he cared. “You’re just trying to scare me.” I surged to my feet. “I know they’ve got cameras on us. I know they can hear everything you say. You’re just telling me this to frighten me and get what you want.”

He stepped closer, seething. “Yeah, they now know I’ve told you, but I’m only here to warn you, nothing more. I’m telling you because at one time we were friends.”

“Yeah, great friends who betray each other. Just like you and Nora, huh?”

He actually flinched at the comment, and I wondered for a brief moment if he still cared about her.

“At one time we might have been friends, but no longer. I trust you as much as I trust my dad.”

He shook his head. “You won’t listen to reason, but you’ll see soon enough.”

Without another word, he turned and opened the cell door. I wanted to call out to him, to beg him to help us, but my pride wouldn’t allow it. He locked the door behind him and left. I waited…waited until his heavy footsteps fell silent and the corridor went empty.

What does he mean? I threw the mental message down the corridor, hoping Deborah would catch it. For a brief moment only silence met my question, and I feared they’d taken her as well.

I believe they’re trying to break into Lewis’ memory again.

I gripped the bars to my cage. But he doesn’t have any memories!

But by trying, they can cause pain, and not call it out-right torture.

I wrapped my arms around my stomach and stumbled back to my cot, feeling completely ill. Maddox had been telling the truth after all. It’s because of me, isn’t it? They’re torturing him so I’ll give up.

She didn’t bother to spare my feelings. Pretty much.

I sank onto my cot, curling into a ball. I wanted to cry, I wanted to hit someone, I wanted to find my father and make him pay.

It comes with the territory, Cameron. You want to be with us, this is what happens.

I jumped to my feet, anger spurring me toward the cell bars. I don’t want to be with any of you! Not my dad, not Aaron, not…

I almost slipped and mentioned my mom. Damn, I was losing it. They were getting to me; making me weak and stupid. I took in a deep breath and managed to control my thoughts. I assumed Aaron had erased my mom from Deborah’s mind. Frustrated, I slammed my fists against the bars.

What kind of people are you? I asked. Do you have no conscience? No soul? You torture each other, torture your own family, for what?

For freedom.To be able to live without fear.

I gripped the bars and shook them, although they didn’t budge. But you’re just creating more fear!

I don’t expect you to understand. You’re new to this life. You’re young. Yeah, people get hurt, but there are always casualties in war.

How could they not see how stupid they were being? I thought S.P.I. was bad, but you’re worse because you supposedly still have souls, yet you perpetuate this nightmare.

She didn’t respond and I felt no thrill of victory over my win. I spun around and paced the small cell, worried about Lewis, thinking about Maddox. I’d missed something, I knew it. A shiver of awareness that told me I’d not noticed a vital clue. But what?

A door screeched open from somewhere in the prison. I stiffened, waiting.

Hard footsteps thumped down the corridor. Two? Three? No, at least four. From the shadows the hulking forms appeared, dragging Lewis with them. His head hung down, his chin at his chest; his body unmoving. I couldn’t see his face, for some reason I needed to see his face. I stepped as close to the bars as I could get.

Lewis? I called out mentally to him.

No response.

Panic tore at my insides, a tortured scream that burned deep within, but refused to be released.

They wouldn’t bring him back if he was dead, Deborah said, and I believed her, because I had to for my own sanity.

They opened his cell door, laid him upon the cot, and I finally got a good look at his face. Blood trailed from the corner of his mouth, contrasting starkly against his pale skin. Without a word, they turned and left. I waited until their footsteps faded and the door closed.

“Lewis?” I snapped.

Nothing.

I gripped the bars and looked up at the ceiling, hoping to spot a camera. “Let me help him, damn you!”

My voice echoed down the hall, bouncing eerily off the walls. But no one responded. No one came.

The lights went out, the prison dark. Lewis lay still and quiet. I could do nothing.

Overwhelmed, I slid down the bars to the floor, tears burning my eyes.

I knew, without a doubt, this was all my fault. All my fault.

****

As some point I’d fallen asleep upon the cement floor. I wasn’t sure how many hours had passed, or what had woken me, but I suddenly became alert, awake almost instantly. I pressed my hands into the cold ground and sat up. The cells were silent, pitch-black. My foggy head was gone, my mind clear. But the thing that stood out the most was my body…tingling with energy. My powers were back.

I jerked my gaze toward Lewis’ cell, but could see nothing. He was still there, I could sense his energy and almost cried out with relief. “Lewis?”

For a breathless moment there was no response.

Then ever so slightly, I heard the whisper of someone shifting. “I’m here.”

A lump of emotion rose up in my throat, nearly choking me. He was here; he was alive. Tears stung my eyes, sliding down my cheeks; this time tears of relief. Biting my lower lip, I pressed my forehead to the bars. By the sound of his voice, I could tell he was sitting on the floor in his own cell directly across from me. How I wished I could actually see him, touch him, kiss him.

I forced my tears back and managed to keep my voice steady. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.”

He’d obviously tried to sound reassuring, but he’d said the words a little too quickly. Of course he wasn’t okay, I’d seen him before the lights went out; I’d seen the blood. “What did they do?”

He paused, and I knew he was trying to spare my feelings. “They tried to find the lost memories.”

I swallowed hard, acid rising up my throat. The pain he must have gone through… I swore in that moment, I vowed to see my father pay. “Did they succeed?”

“No.” There was a pause. “The memories are gone.”

I felt his sadness all the way from my cell. He wanted to remember. I wanted him to remember his past…and me. But not this way. Not by being tortured.

“They’re going to try surgery next,” he said softly. “If that doesn’t work, they’re sending me to another prison.”

No, they couldn’t cut his head open because I knew without a doubt they would kill him. I gripped the bars tightly, as if I could pull them part if I just tried hard enough. “No!”

“I’m sorry, Cameron,” he said softly. “Sorry I couldn’t protect you. Sorry I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.”

“No.” I swiped angrily at my tears. I wouldn’t have what could be our last moment together wallowing in self-pity and despair. We would survive this, we would escape. “Let me try something, okay?”

He hesitated for a moment. “What?”

I shifted, kneeling before the bars. “Let down your wall. Let me in.”

When he didn’t answer I sighed in frustration. I knew how he felt. When someone had forced their way into your mind, your innermost thoughts, it was hard to trust. But he’d let me show him the memory, I could only hope he’d trust me again. “Please.”

“Alright.”

I took in a deep breath and closed my eyes. It would work; it had to work. I reached out mentally and felt the subtlest shift of his energy, like a dam that had cracked and the water had started to flow. I didn’t know if it would work, but I wanted to try. Needed to try.

Our energy merged together in a swirl of electricity. Quickly, before I lost control, I pictured the field we were in that night he came to me in the dream. Around me a wall of trees sprung to life, and a wide open field formed at my feet. I’d just created my own world. I spun around in amazement, reaching out, and brushing my hands over the flowers, their petals soft and velvety against my palm. They felt so real.

“Do you see it?” I asked, breathless.

“The field?”

I turned toward his voice and there he stood in the field with me. Lewis. “Exactly.”

I’d never been so happy to see him. A warm breeze rushed through the grasses, rustling the flowers around us. We wore our gray jumpsuits, the color washing out Lewis’ pale face. Any excitement I felt disappeared.

I reached up and rested my hand against his cheek, the scruff tickling my palm. “You don’t look well.”

“I’m fine.”

I smiled up at him, sliding my hands over his shaved hair. My body heated under his intense gaze. Those intense blue eyes matched the color of the sky. Without thought, I stood on tiptoe and leaned toward him. I felt his warm breath right before our lips met. A shiver of electricity coursed through my body, heating me inside out. It felt real, so real.

Needing to feel more of him, I slid my hands up his chest and wrapped my arms around his neck. Lewis groaned, pressing his palms to my back and pulling me closer. When I parted my lips our tongues met, the kiss deepening. How I wanted to stay here with him forever, but it wasn’t real. My body trembled, and it wasn’t because of Lewis’ kiss. My energy was fading fast.

I pulled back and looked at him one last time. “It’ll be okay,” I whispered.

The field and Lewis disappeared. Color faded to black, as if a watercolor painting had been drenched with rain. Instantly I was aware of the cold cell floor beneath me. We were back in our prison, the darkness heavy, depressing.

Defeated, I leaned against the bars, silent, unmoving. I was in no hurry to speak for I didn’t want to ruin the moment. I wanted to cling to the memory for as long as I could.

“Cameron,” Lewis whispered. “I know you returned for me.”

Dare I lie? I sighed, there was no point in it. Lying would do no good. We’d all spent too much time trying to hide the truth. “I had to.”

“Promise me something.”

I released a puff of air. “Okay.”

“You swear?”

I paused. “Yeah.”

Leave me behind.

I stiffened. “What do you mean?”

I know you’re planning something. I know you can escape, but you can’t with me. I’m too weak. Leave me behind.

“No!” the word echoed down the hall.

You don’t understand, I have no life! I have no one, not even my memories! There’s nothing to return to. I won’t hold you back when you have a chance to escape.

I slipped my arm through the bars, reaching for him, even though I knew we were too far away to touch, and all I felt was cold air. “You have me, and we’ll make new memories.”

He hesitated for a long moment, then I heard him shift, felt him reach out to me. So close… I could practically feel the energy coming off his fingertips.

“I won’t leave you,” I whispered. “Not ever again.”

Time stretched, but we remained on the cold floor. After some time I could hear the soft, even breath of sleep and knew Lewis had finally given into temptation. His exhausted body had betrayed him.

I moved, trying to get more comfortable but it was impossible. Time was running out. Lewis might be transferred. Worse, tortured again, and I knew he couldn’t handle another round with my dad.

It was time to act. I closed my eyes, preparing to sleep there, on the floor with Lewis, when a sudden thought flashed to mind… Maddox had been wearing a suit. A dark, fancy suit.

Startled, I sat up. Why was it important?

Suddenly it hit me.

Chapter 12

I was waiting when they arrived.

The lights burst on, highlighting the ugliness of the cells. I blinked rapidly, giving my eyes time to adjust to the flash. In the middle of the night, Lewis and I had gone to our respective cots, but I hadn’t slept.

“Wake up,” the female guard snapped out.

I rolled onto my back, moaning, my body aching and exhausted. They did it on purpose, Deborah had told me the other night. They liked to tear you from slumber, when you were most vulnerable. It was a way to keep you guessing. Almost a form of torture, and it worked.

I pushed myself up slowly. “What? Is it time for my midnight snack?”

They didn’t respond, they never did.

Watching them closely, I stood and moved toward the bars. From the corner of my eye I could see Lewis on his cot; he was more slumped over than sitting up but at least his eyes were open. He hadn’t died in the middle of the night. I slipped my arms through the bars and the guard slapped the cuffs around my wrists. I was becoming so used to their weight that I barely noticed them anymore.

As they opened the door, I allowed myself a quick peek at Lewis. He looked worse than I’d expected and I had to force myself not to react. Bruises marred the area under his eyes and his skin was so pale, it was almost translucent.

I stepped into the hall, resisting the urge to throw the guards against the bars, grab Lewis and run like hell. But no, not now, not yet.

Don’t come back, Cameron. Don’t come back for me.

I didn’t bother to respond to his mental message. He had to know I wouldn’t be such a coward. I stared straight ahead and followed the guards down the hall. Deborah watched me, although she didn’t say a word, she didn’t need to. I knew without reading her mind what she was thinking: the same thing as Lewis. Escape.

And I would. Before it was too late. Too late for all of us. But I wouldn’t go alone. We moved out the steel door and up the stairs. My heart hammered madly in my chest, threatening to break through my ribs. Was I strong enough?

I took in a deep breath as we started up a second flight of steps. Just when I assumed I knew where we were going we turned left instead of right. We bypassed the torture room my father was so fond of, and instead the guard pushed through a new door. Another prison floor… this one with just as many cells as our prison, but these cells were full.

There were no catcalls or cursed words thrown at us as we walked down the corridor. No one beating metal cups against the bars. Except for the thump of our footsteps, the area was deathly quiet. Pale faces stared at me from the corners of cells, hopeless faces. Some stood at the bars, some sat on their cots. All looked like they had given up on life.

Guilt shook me to the core. These were the people I had helped my father torture. Yeah, some were bad, but some were also normal mind readers…like me. I jerked my gaze away. The worst part was knowing that even if I managed to escape, there was no way I could help these men as well.

At the end of the hall we pushed through a double set of barred gates. A man sat at a desk, barely glancing away from his security monitor as we moved by him. Desperately, I studied my surroundings. Where were they taking me? Why?

They opened a steel door and the cool night air swept into the room. Sweet, cool air! I swear to God, I almost cried out in happiness. I wasn’t positive how many days had gone by since my imprisonment, since I’d seen the outside world, but it felt like years. I wanted to drop to my knees and kiss the soft grass. The door shut with a thump and the dark night surrounded us, cloaking me in a false sense of safety.

“Did she resist at all?” My father’s voice emerged from the darkness and my hope fled. It would be a million times more difficult to escape with my father here.

“No, sir.”

“Very good.” He stepped into the light, another two guards with him. “You will behave, if you wish to see your friends.”

But the arrogance of my father’s tone was completely forgotten as hope bloomed within me. I’d been right all along. He wore the same suit he’d worn that night they’d had the party here. The night I’d truly felt like a puppet in my father’s madness. The night I’d known I would eventually leave this hell.

The memory whispered through my mind. It had been only a couple weeks ago, although it felt like another lifetime. I’d dressed to impress, following my father like I was some sort of enamored puppy dog.

“There will be some important people here,” he had said.

I was counting on those same important people being here tonight. I glanced around the open area, spotting the parking lot and the many cars. They were having another gathering and just like last time, I was the main attraction. Only on this night, I wore a prison gray jumpsuit, instead of a dress.

My father spun on his heels and started toward compound two. “Bring her along.”

Firm fingers bit into my arms and jerked me forward. The fence went around the entire perimeter, and beyond that, another fence. Large spotlights lit up the grounds and guards strolled the area. They wore dress suits, no guns in hand, but it was obvious they were there to protect their esteemed guests. They didn’t worry me. The guards around the compound meant there were fewer in the woods and surrounding areas.

Dare I try to escape now?

Not yet, the words whispered through my mind. Where the message came from, I hadn’t a clue. My own consciousness, the universe? I wasn’t sure, but for some reason I trusted it.

They opened the door to compound two and I was led inside. Helen sat behind her desk; a woman who had barely paid attention to me when I’d worked here, but now watched me curiously. I knew what she was thinking even though she had a chip in her brain that blocked her thoughts.

Traitor.

I could see the contempt in her eyes.

I looked away, disgusted with her. As if I cared what she thought about me.

“Are they settled, Helen?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Very good.”

They opened the gate behind her and led me down the hall. Each thump of footsteps sent me closer to my demise, the sound mocking me, ticking off the time. We moved by the many rooms where they questioned and tortured prisoners. Where I’d questioned and tortured prisoners. Maybe this was payback for what I’d done.

Damn, why hadn’t I tried to escape while we’d been outside and I’d had the chance?

My father shoved open a door and we moved into an empty room. There was that typical chair and metal table, but the tinted window across the room was larger than I’d remembered. I knew without a doubt there were men and women behind that window. Lots, if the pulsing energy I felt was any indication. I was the new toy, and Dad was using me to show off to the investors. I wasn’t surprised.

But I was shocked when Maddox strolled into the room, his scent heartbreakingly familiar, although his presence didn’t offer the comfort it used to.

He barely met my gaze as he demanded, “Sit.”

I wanted to punch him, kick him, demand he look me in the eyes if he was going to help destroy me. He shoved me back. My knees buckled and I sank to the chair. Whatever. Maddox didn’t matter; none of these people mattered. I scanned the room through my lashes…five in all and two more outside in the hall. Who knew how many on the other side of that window.

“Good, very good,” my father said, as if he was looking over crops. He strolled from the room and it was all I could do not to lunge for him, teeth barred like some wild animal. He paused in the hall and looked back. “Remember, Cameron, your friends.”

In other words, if I didn’t open up, Caroline, Lewis, everyone would suffer. Screw you, dangled from the tip of my tongue, but I managed to keep my opinion to myself.

Turning his back to me, my dad started talking to one of the guards in a low voice that bespoke of secrecy. I shifted, tilting my head to get a better look. The guard was blond, tall, familiar in some way. Who was he? As if sensing my attention, his hazel gaze met mine. I snapped my head forward, facing the window. But I knew, deep down, somehow I knew him and it left me strangely uneasy.

Maddox knelt on one knee in front of me, drawing my attention to him.

“I’m sorry,” I said sweetly, “I can’t marry you. We’re from two different worlds; it would never work.”

He glared up at me as he lifted a chain that was bolted to the floor.

“Wow,” I laughed. “Chaining me to the floor? You guys must think I’m really powerful, or you must just be really weak.”

He slapped manacles around my ankles. “Tap into his powers,” Maddox whispered his voice barely audible over the rattle of the chain.

I frowned. “What?”

He tugged at the chain, as if testing its strength and in a voice just as quiet, whispered, “You can tap into their energy. Use their powers.”

“But…”

He glanced at the guards, as if making sure we hadn’t been overheard. “It’s how you moved the gun. You tapped into your dad’s powers.”

“I…I can’t,” I whispered.

He stood slowly. “You have to. It’s your last chance.”

Stunned, I merely sat there watching him walk away. I wanted to ignore his words; he had betrayed me, after all. But I admit I felt a keen sense of hope as he moved into the corridor, disappearing from view. Was he trying to save me, or set me up?

Suddenly I was back in Sierra’s living room. I could feel those eerie light-colored eyes on me. “If I were a betting sort of woman, I would bet that when your powers have flared and become stronger, there has always been someone around you. Another mind reader. You, my dear, have power like everyone else. But you are also able to draw on the powers of others. You are able to use their gifts.”

My father stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. “Shall we begin?” So, Jake wasn’t doing the dirty work; my father was actually going to show off his skills and try to break into my mind. He settled at the table across from me.

Could I use my father’s powers? Had I used them that day I’d moved the pistol? My heart hammered madly as I lifted my gaze and stared into my dad’s familiar face. His lips were moving; he was talking, but I couldn’t hear the words over the roar of blood to my ears. I glanced at the window, knowing Maddox was behind that glass with the rest of them, watching, waiting for me to act.

“You can leave,” my father said, his voice finally penetrating my senses. But he wasn’t talking to me. The guards nodded and the door closed behind them. We were alone.

Suddenly, it was merely Dad and me, and it dawned that he believed I wouldn’t try to escape because of Lewis and Caroline. Or he wanted to show off. He wouldn’t want the guards in the room. No, he’d want those men and woman behind the glass to think he had total control. Control meant they’d trust him. Trusting him meant more money and power. If there was one thing I’d learned about my dad, it was that he craved power. I planned to use that weakness to destroy him.

It’s time, the words whispered through my mind, and I knew they were true.

My dad shifted, leaning toward me. “You have one last chance, Cameron, to tell me where Aaron is located.”

Arrogance practically oozed from his pores. I didn’t say a word; he was trying to prove his loyalty. He’d hurt Nora. He would hurt me. He’d give up his own family to the cause. So much for blood being thicker than water. To think I’d grown up wondering what my dad was like; wishing my father had been there for me. But as I had sadly come to realize, just because someone was your family, didn’t mean they had your best interests at heart.

“As you know,” he started. “We need to uncover the location of the cells. You, in particular, know what Aaron is capable of as you’ve experienced the harm he can do. He needs to be brought to justice before he destroys others.”

“And who will bring you to justice for the things you’ve done?” I asked softly.

His face didn’t change, but I saw the flicker of anger in his hazel eyes. Eyes that matched mine in color. It was the only thing we had in common.

“One more chance,” he said just as softly.

I leaned forward, my chains rattling, and peered directly into his eyes. “Go to hell.”

His mental energy hit me full force. I gasped, falling back against my seat. It felt like someone had slammed a boulder into my chest. The entire world faded as pain radiated through my body. Instantly, he’d invaded my mind. I screamed inside, scrambling to push him back, but I couldn’t. He was too powerful, suddenly so very powerful.

My memories were sucked from me, as if we watched a movie on fast-forward. The few memories I had of my mom and dad. The memory of being left with Grandma. Memories of the many schools I’d attended. Memories of moving, trying to evade those who wished to capture us. Recent memories of the time I’d spent here, at the compound.

He saw it all. What I had seen when he’d arrived. What I had heard. What I had felt. Then the memories slowed. Nora… at the shopping center. Nora coming for me, and I knew in only seconds he’d know Grandma worked with us. And I knew, in moments, he’d know that my mother was only five hours away in Savannah.

And then she was there…hovering in my mind, and the memory was painfully slow.

My mother.

As if we were connected, I felt his shock all the way to my bones.

“No,” I thought I heard him whisper.

“You, my dear, have power like everyone else. But you are also able to draw on the powers of others. You are able to use their gifts,” Sierra’s words whispered through my mind once more. This was the moment I needed, while he was caught off guard.

I dove inside where the source swirled, where the energy connected me to the world…the universe. I floated there and didn’t want to leave, but I knew I had to. I knew I had to gather the power and return. Lewis needed me. Mom needed me.

I dredged up the energy and rushed forward. It was like diving off a twenty story building and hitting the concrete below. His mental wall held hard, but I swore I felt his energy waver. Fear and anger spurred me forward. Failure sure as hell wasn’t an option. My own energy pulsed through my veins, burning my skin; my insides felt on fire but I wouldn’t stop.

I swore in the distance I heard someone cry out. My father? I couldn’t see, I had no sense of time, the world had disappeared. Just as suddenly as my memories rushed through my mind, I saw his bursting into color and I realized I had broken through his wall.

A young boy growing up in a compound much like this one. I saw him leaving for college. I saw him purposefully meeting Aaron and becoming friends with the man. I saw him purposefully meeting my mother and marrying her. It had been an act. His entire life had been an act orchestrated in order to get closer to other mind readers. He’d been born and bred for this lifestyle. Horrible, disgusting memories that flipped through my mind like a dealer flipping through playing cards.

Then suddenly the memories shifted, slowing… a memory he’d tried hard to block, a memory he didn’t want me to see.

A guard dressed in black stood in the doorway of my father’s office. “Sir, we found your mother.”

My father, seated behind his desk, glanced up. “Does she have the girl?”

“Yes.”

My father nodded, stacking some paperwork together, his movements sure, unhurried, as if he had all the time in the world. “Get the girl. Make sure she’s alive.”

The guard hesitated in the doorway. “And your mother?”

My dad leaned back in his chair, and crossed his arms over his chest. “Whatever happens, happens.”

The guard hesitated, looking highly uncomfortable. “Just to make sure, you’re okay if she’s a casualty?”

My father turned slightly and picked up his phone, already dismissing the man and thinking of his next meeting. “Understood.”

The guard nodded and left. The memory ended.

Startled, I pulled back from his mind. My lungs expanded, my pupils flared. I felt like I was on an alien planet and my body had yet to adjust. Vaguely I was aware of voices outside in the hall, but the words were muffled. My father sat across from me, sweat trailing down the sides of his face, his eyes blazing.

“It was an act,” I whispered, the words buzzing in my mind so that I wasn’t sure if I spoke them out loud. “Your marriage, your friendships…”

You know nothing.

He’d spoken to me through his mind and I wondered if he was afraid that his coworkers would know the truth about him. I shoved my chair back and stood, the chains rattling. Loosened by Maddox, they fell to the floor, taking the handcuffs with them. I was free.

“You gave the okay to kill your own mother!”

He stumbled from his chair, weaving about the room like a drunken man. He was trying to get as far away from me as possible, and I realized with some shock that he was afraid.

“She betrayed me!”

“Yeah, well, like mother like daughter.” I threw my energy forward. The chair he’d been sitting in flew across the room, hitting him across the chest and sending him back into the wall. There was no mistaking it now…they knew I’d gone crazy.

A siren screeched to life, the noise piercing and irritating. I had to resist the urge to cover my ears. The door flew open, but there were no guards … no, instead Maddox stood there.

“Come on!”

I didn’t question his loyalty but dashed toward the door. I felt no weakness, but amazingly well considering what I’d done. I’d battled my father and won. My body practically buzzed with the urge to run, to live, to be. But I knew my arrogance would only trip me up. I needed to focus.

“Hurry.” Maddox grabbed my arm and jerked me forward. “The only reason you were able to break out is because your father underestimated your powers. He won’t again.”

“Why are you helping me?” I asked as we raced down the hall past guards who didn’t even bat an eyelash because they assumed Maddox was taking me back to the cells. They hadn’t yet realized I was the escapee, but they would soon.

“Don’t really have an option, now do I?”

“We always have a choice,” I said, repeating the words Nora had said to me days ago. So why had he done it? For the first time in days I felt the inkling of hope. Maybe Maddox could change. Maybe my father hadn’t brainwashed him so completely that he was beyond redemption.

We reached the gate and Maddox pressed his palm to the keypad. As the door opened, Ellen surged to her feet. “Stop!” A pistol gleamed from the end of her fingertips, but her arms were shaking with nerves. She obviously hadn’t shot a gun often.

“Calm down,” Maddox said, his palms out in surrender.

“I order you to stop!”

She wasn’t a true guard; she was merely the woman behind the desk. If I could defeat my father, I sure as heck could defeat her. I focused on that gun and threw my energy across the room. Easy peasy. The pistol tore from her hands and went skittering across the room. Maddox scooped it up and we raced out the door.

“You’re outnumbered,” she said. “There is no way you can escape.”

“Watch us,” I hissed, shoving my way out the door.

The yard had erupted into chaos. Lights were flashing, the siren’s blaring. Maddox grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the parking lot. Guards were screaming out orders, their figures dark and intimidating in the night.

Maddox shoved me behind a Tahoe. I fell to the ground; pebbles biting into my hands.

“We run north.” He shrugged off his jacket and tossed it to the ground, then pulled a pistol from a holster on his back.

I jumped to my feet. “No!”

He jerked his gaze toward me.  “What the hell do you mean?”

“We have to get Lewis and the children.”

He latched onto my arm, pulling me so close I could feel his warm breath on my lips. “We don’t have time!”

I tore away from his hold and stumbled back a few steps. “I’m not leaving without him.”

He was silent for a long moment, staring hard at me while the sirens blared and the guards rushed around us. It was like we were the calm center of the storm. “Go to the north end of the fence. I’ll try to cut the electricity and hold them back as long as I can.” His jaw clenched, his eyes unreadable. “Then you’re on your own.”

I nodded, feeling the sting of tears. He was doing this for me, although he’d probably get caught. This would most likely be the last time I’d see him.

“Do you understand?”

“I understand.” Without another word, without time for regret, I turned and raced back toward compound three.

Chapter 13

Light flooded the area illuminating the grounds; large spotlights that made the night look like day. I grasped the door handle of Compound Three with trembling hands, but it wouldn’t budge. Nothing. Lewis, Deborah, and Caroline were all trapped inside.

The siren continued to blare until I wanted to scratch at my ears in relief. The cacophony made it impossible to hear the approaching guards who ran around the grounds, shouting out orders. They were coming for me and soon it would be too late. If captured again, this time Maddox wouldn’t be there to help.

I pounded at the door. “Come on, come on!”

The shouts grew closer. I didn’t dare look back. Lewis had been able to unlock doors with his mind, but he knew the mechanics. I hadn’t a clue how the keypad worked, but maybe I could destroy it. I closed my eyes, blocking out the shouts, ignoring the panic that pounded through my body. Taking in a deep breath, I focused all my energy down my arm, to my fingertips and pressed my hand to the keypad. My insides grew warm; my skin tingled as the world around me faded. I floated in a sea of pure energy. This was me. This was the source.

My powers came quickly this time. I focused on the circuits I knew were located behind that wall. Poured the energy from my body, from the universe, into the board. A sudden pop had me jumping back. Smoke curled from the keypad.

“Crap,” I whispered. I hadn’t expected that. What else could I do?

I didn’t have time to marvel at my own abilities. An alarm above the door screamed out in warning, red lights flashing from the bulb on the wall proclaiming my location to all. I flinched, pressing my hands to my ears. When the door clicked open I didn’t dare pause but raced inside to level one where the prisoners were kept. Unfortunately, I wasn’t alone.

Seeing me, the guard jumped up from behind his desk. “What the hell?”

My thoughts exactly. He reached for the pistol at his side, and as he grappled with the weapon, I knew I had only a split second. I didn’t have time to pause and think things over. I reached out with my mind, but his mental wall was intact, that chip in place.

I’d broken through my father’s mind and Maddox’s. Surely I could take on this guard. My anxiety and anger combined, clawing its way through my body; an energy stronger than the rest. An energy that frightened me as much as it empowered me.

My father had said there was no such thing as good and evil… that the world was gray. Perhaps he was right, in some instances. But I knew one thing… it wasn’t right to torture children and I would do whatever it took to see them free.

I felt the guard’s mental wall crumble and a rush of emotions and memories flooded my body. His memories, his emotions.

He screamed out in pain, the sound tearing me from the world of energy and placing me smack dab in the middle of hell. The room came sharply into focus. I could hear the shrill sound of the siren outside, but inside my body it was oddly still.

The guard lay unmoving upon the floor, his eyes closed. I knew without checking he was near death. I pressed my hand to the keypad at the barred gate until the lock clicked open. I had no time for guilt. Averting my attention, I raced through the double gates, and down the corridor past the many prisoners. Alert now, they stood at their bars, attempting to uncover the cause of commotion.

“What’s happening?” someone asked.

“Help us!”

I ignored their pleas, even as guilt begged me to stop. I’d need Lewis and Deborah to rescue the children. Sweat snaked down my back between my shoulder blades. I shoved open the door and stumbled down the stairwell. The door closed behind me, blocking the sound of the sirens. My breathing echoed heavily against the cement walls in the quiet stairwell; so loud I could barely think.

At the bottom of the steps was another keypad. This time it was easier to destroy the lock. It was as if I’d tapped into the source and it flowed freely through my body. I felt invincible, I felt stronger than I’d ever felt before. I shoved open the door only to stop short. Two guards stood in front of me, their pistols pointed at my chest.

“Drop to the ground right now!” one of the men said, his aim unwavering.

I felt no fear; I merely focused on the gun and sent it flying.

Startled, the guard stumbled back a step.

The other guard wasn’t so easy to intimidate. “Drop, in the name of the U.S. government.”

I used my energy to rip the gun from his hands and sent it sliding down the corridor.  He didn’t cower. Instead he surged toward me. With a cry, I threw out my energy full-force. The waves hit him hard, sending him into the cement wall. Unconscious, he fell to the floor.

The guard who was still conscious stumbled to his feet. “Please don’t,” he whispered, trembling. “I have children.”

I curled my lips in disgust. He sure as hell didn’t care about the children upstairs, children forced to live in a prison. I scooped up the two pistols and raced by him. Deborah’s cell was first. I somehow managed to juggle the guns and press my hand to the keypad on her door.

“Cameron?”

“Shhh!” I closed my eyes, wrapping my fingers around the keypad. Heat singed my very fingertips. Although it burned like hell, I didn’t release my hold. It was only when smoke curled from the keypad that I stepped back.

“We need to help the children.” I didn’t wait for her, but shoved a pistol into her hands and raced down the hall toward Lewis’s cell.

“Cameron, wait!” Deborah called out.

“We don’t have time.”

Lewis was sitting up on his cot, his shoulders hunched, his face pale. I brushed aside my nervousness and pressed my hand to the keypad. “We’re leaving.”

He didn’t question me, didn’t even hesitate, but managed to stand. I couldn’t help but notice the way his body trembled as he came toward me. Ignoring my unease, I pressed my hand to the keypad and concentrated. The energy came faster now; I barely had to think about it. The keypad hissed and the smell of burnt metal and plastic trailed into the air. Success! If only the rest of the escape could be so easy, but I had a feeling my luck was going to eventually run out.

I pulled open the cell door. “Can you make it?”

He nodded. “I will.”

His answer wasn’t exactly reassuring, and the fact that he was limping as he shuffled out of his cell didn’t help matters.

“The children,” I said, turning toward Deborah. “They’re upstairs.”

She shook her head. “We don’t have time.”

“Then go!” I slipped my arm around Lewis’ waist and we started down the corridor. “But I won’t abandon them.”

I heard her long drawn-out sigh and knew she would follow. If Deborah was anything, she was loyal to the cause. She slipped her arm around Lewis, and together we helped him past the comatose guard and up the steps. The other guard was gone, no doubt warning the others.

“How much time do you think we have?” I asked.

Deborah gritted her teeth, shifting Lewis’ weight as we started up the steps. “I expect to be caught any moment now.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“Cameron, this is pointless. There’s no way—”

“I have help,” I snapped.

Her brows rose in obvious surprise, but fortunately she didn’t question me further. I wasn’t sure what Maddox had done, but he must have done something major because we hadn’t been swarmed yet. I owed him my life and I hated that I had more guilt to add. Annoyed, I tightened my hold on Lewis and helped him up the steps. The stairway seemed to go on forever; at each step Lewis grew heavier.

“Why don’t we just break everyone out; make it a party,” Deborah panted as we paused outside the children’s door.

Lewis swallowed hard and slumped against the wall. “She has a point. If we release the adults, they might create a diversion.”

“I thought of that.” I pressed my hand to the keypad. “But they also might make things worse. I read some of their minds. Not all the men behind those bars are trustworthy. Some are downright evil. We have enough people to worry about; I won’t have the children in more danger than they already are.”

Deborah sighed. “All right then, get to work.”

I closed my eyes and focused, but before I had time to destroy the keypad, something shifted within me. A wave of energy that wasn’t my own invaded my very being like some parasite, sucking on my soul.

“He’s coming,” I whispered.

Deborah grasped my arm. “Who?”

“My father. It’s like…I can sense him. We’re connected in some way.”

“Did you tap into his energy?” She shook me, gaining my flagging attention. “Cameron, when you escaped, did you use his powers against him?”

I nodded. “Yes.”

“Damn.” She raked her hands through her dark hair. “That’s why. Hurry, open the door. Using someone’s energy is great, if they don’t know about it. If they do, they can attach to you. Brand you.”

I knew I didn’t have time to question her further, at least not at the moment. Instead, I closed my eyes, ignored the feel of my father’s energy, and focused on the keypad. It took a few moments longer than the others, but soon enough I smelled the scent of smoke.

Deborah shoved me aside and tore open the door. “You’re connected. And if you can track him, if you can sense him coming, then he can track you.”

My skin crawled and frantically, I searched out Lewis, needing his calm reassurance. He slipped his hand into mine. Instead of making me feel better, his touch only made me feel worse. His skin felt clammy, cold and the pulse beating from his wrist was weak at best.

“We shouldn’t risk saving the children,” Deborah muttered as she swept into the room. The lights were already on, but the beds empty.

I moved away from Lewis and grabbed onto Deborah’s arm in a hard grip, jerking her to a stop. “I’m not leaving Caroline.”

She shook off my hold. “Fine. Then you take care of the guards.”

“What…” I followed her gaze. Three guards were racing toward us, running between the rows of beds. But the children were huddled in the far corner, the sirens and chaos, no doubt, terrifying.

“Cameron?” Caroline’s sweet voice called to me.

“Stay back!” I demanded. The last thing I needed was Caroline running into the line of fire. I focused on the guards, wondering if I could take them all at once. My body still hummed with energy, but the power had faded. How much longer would my high last?

“Hurry,” Deborah ordered before rushing toward the children. I knew I wouldn’t have to worry about them with Deborah there. Instead, I could focus on the guards.

“Stop! You are surrounded,” one man said.

Lewis took my hand once more. “I’m right here. Let me help you.”

I was grateful for his presence, but I knew that when it came down to it, Lewis would be of little assistance. I took in a deep breath and focused. “No. I may need you later,” I lied. “You need to conserve your strength.”

“Drop to the ground now!” the guard demanded, lifting his rifle and pointing it directly at me. His friends followed his lead.

I felt Lewis shift, and held out my arm, blocking him from stepping in front of me. “Don’t.”

I took in a deep breath, trying to focus but my energy was unstable. I could feel my dad coming closer…closer, taking over my senses. I shook my head, as if to clear my thoughts. We had to escape before Dad made it here because frankly, I wasn’t sure if I could defeat him again.

I released the air I held and threw my energy forward. Disarming them would be pointless; they could rush me without guns. But I had more tricks up my sleeve. Pain. I could cause pain. I’d done it before, hopefully I could do it again.

My energy hit the chip in their brains and paused, hovering. With a yell, I pushed forward until I felt their mental walls break. The closest guard fell almost immediately. The other two hesitated, unsure if they should help their fellow guard or stop me.

Their thoughts made me sick, for it wasn’t just fear, but fear combined with the desire to win. They wanted me as their trophy. It was a game, and they knew they’d be promoted if they caught the most powerful prisoner they had. The second man groaned, and fell to his knees. I wanted to gloat, but didn’t have time. Would the third man run? Would he beg for mercy?

He scooped up his fallen comrade’s rifle. With a gun in each hand, he looked like some overly-muscled Captain America come to life. He didn’t realize that guns held nothing on me.

“Go,” I said to Lewis, keeping eye contact with the remaining guard. “Help Deborah get the kids out.”

This guard was no secretary sent to watch video monitors, he knew what he was doing and he wouldn’t relent. From the corner of my eye I could see Lewis and Deborah ushering the children toward the door.

“You won’t escape,” the guard said, and to give him credit, he kept his voice even. “Even now your father is on his way.”

“I know, but if you think you scare me, you don’t. I am leaving; sadly you aren’t.” I threw my energy forward. The force hit him so hard he actually staggered back a few steps. With a cry, his face crumpled, and he fell to his knees. My conscience screamed at me to stop, but rationality warned I couldn’t yield. Vaguely I was aware of Deborah and Lewis ushering the children toward the door.

The guard fell forward, hitting the floor with a thud. I buried down my guilt and spun around, following the kids into the stairwell. Caroline glanced back, her pale face full of fear and worry.

“I’m coming,” I assured her, although she probably didn’t hear me over the thunder of feet down the steps.

“The back door,” Caroline said, pointing toward the right when we’d intended to go left.

We all paused at the landing and stared at the steel door. Some of the children were crying, some whimpering. The older ones were doing their best to comfort the younger. But the constant noise made it hard to concentrate. “You’re sure?”

She nodded, those blue eyes wide and sincere. “Yes.”

I took in a deep breath and pressed my hand to the keypad, hoping it would be the last time. My energy was waning fast. The heat traveled down my arm more slowly. I ignored the harsh breathing and whimper of children behind me and focused. The heat left my fingers and seeped into the keypad. The all too familiar scent of burning metal and plastic invaded my nostrils.

I coughed, stepping back. Deborah tore open the door and the children filed out into the crisp night air. Caroline had been right; we’d found the back of the building. I studied the area around us. North, we had to find north. Hopefully Maddox had done his job. Now if only I could do mine and get everyone out unharmed.

“Hurry,” I said, pushing them toward the fence line.

Deborah took up the front, while I stayed in the back with Lewis. He stumbled and my worry escalated. I knew it was taking all the energy he had left for him to stay upright. The hatred I felt for my father burned through me in a heated wave. But Lewis wasn’t the only one influenced by my father’s power. The children were stumbling over their own feet, lost and scared in the darkness. Their many emotions were racing through me, confusing my already riotous mind.

“North,” I said. “We need to find north.”

We’d all be caught if we didn’t do something fast. Shouts broke through the night, interrupting the screech of the sirens. They were coming.

“Take Lewis and go,” I said, turning to confront the guards; dark hulking beasts who were scouring the surrounding area in search of us. “I’ll catch up with you.”

Of course we both knew that if I stayed behind, I’d never leave here again.

“No!” Deborah grabbed tightly to my arm, so tight it startled me. “You don’t understand!”

“Understand what?” I paused, scanning the trees. North end. Which was the north corner? “That you’re willing to sacrifice the children, yourself, Lewis? Don’t argue for once,” I snapped. “Just go!”

“We’re not leaving you.” Her gripped tightened, stinging.

I jerked my head toward her, shocked. Deborah had never cared about me before. “Why?”

“I don’t know why… damn it, it’s like a lost memory, but I know you’re important.”

I cursed and jerked away from her. That damn source crap again. “The north end. Maddox said the north end of the fence; we have no alternative but to trust him.”

“What do you mean?” Lewis asked, breathless beside me. “Why is she important?”

He was holding his side as if in pain, and sweat trailed down his temples. God, he wouldn’t last much longer. I shifted my gaze to the children who stood eerily still, huddled together, waiting for my response.

“She needs to escape,” Deborah insisted. “I don’t know why, but she needs to.”

“She carries the source,” Caroline’s sweet voice whispered from behind us.

I groaned, looking heavenward. Why’d she have to say it? We didn’t need the extra trouble. “Listen, it doesn’t matter. We’re all in this together, and we’re going to escape together.”

“Oh my God,” Deborah gasped. “That’s it!”

“What’s the source?” Lewis demanded.

“We don’t have time for this!” I took off, racing along the fence line as if I could outrun their questions, outrun who I was, outrun the source. “We need to find the north corner.”

“This way.” Deborah sprinted past me. “There!”

Underneath the brilliant spotlights I could see it, behind a cropping of trees, the slightest curl of the fence where someone had cut the wires. Maddox had come through. The giddiness I felt was overridden by a deep sadness. I glanced back, wondering where he was at this very moment. Had they already caught him?

“Come on,” Deborah demanded.

I reached for the wire praying Maddox had managed to turn off the electricity. When I wrapped my fingers around the cold metal and nothing happened, I laughed with some relief. “Go!” I urged, holding up the wire. It was too easy, too perfect.

The children slid through, Lewis and Deborah following. I was last. Before I slid underneath the wire, I glanced back one more time. “Too easy,” I muttered. Although I didn’t trust the ease of our escape, I slid under the wire and down the embankment.

Deborah grabbed my arm, jerking me to my feet. “Cameron, you need to leave now!”

I shoved past her, and took Caroline’s hand. “We’re leaving together.”

We started down across the woods, half-running, half-tripping. I glanced back to make sure they followed. They stood there as if frozen, the children’s eyes wide and white in the moonlight.

Realizing I wasn’t listening, Deborah had latched onto Lewis. “Get her out of here.”

“If anyone should leave, it should be you guys. I’m the only one who can hold them back!” I felt the weak energy pulsing from the group. I could feel the children’s little hearts beating. They were nervous, so incredibly nervous and so innocent. They would be no help, and we were wasting time.

“Cameron, they’re coming, and whether you want to admit it or not, you are the most important. We can’t survive unless you do.”

Deborah tugged me back toward an outcropping of rock where the brilliant spotlights swinging around the forest couldn’t reach. I could hear shouting in the distance, branches breaking as the guards raced toward us. Startled, I glanced back toward the fence. I knew time was running out. I felt like a ticking time bomb was in my chest, ready to explode.

“Go!” Deborah demanded, pushing me. “We need to split up! I’ll take the children and we’ll meet back in Savannah.”

I took Caroline’s hand. “No! I’m not leaving you guys; you’ll never make it.”

Deborah grabbed Caroline, yanking her from my grasp while the rest of the children stood with wide-eyed wonder. “Damn it, Cameron, you don’t understand. You have to escape. Without you, we’re all good as dead!”

I shook my head. “I can’t leave you.”

“Go,” Caroline whispered, her face so serious, so beyond her years.

“Caroline, I promised—”

“Get her out of here!” Deborah demanded, talking to Lewis. “Get her as far away as you can.”

Lewis latched onto my arm, surprisingly strong for a guy in his condition. I could have fought him, and I would have won. But as I watched Deborah guide the children in the opposite direction until they faded into the darkness, I realized that I knew, deep down, she was right.

I needed to return to Savannah.

“Cameron, hurry,” Lewis urged.

I’ll see you again, Cameron. Don’t worry. Caroline’s message whispered through the woods and into my mind as Lewis jerked me in the opposite direction. I could only hope she was right.

Chapter 14

Lewis and I slid down yet another embankment, landing in a shallow creek. The water seeped over the top of my shoes and soaked my socks. I felt numb as we splashed through the water and crashed through the vegetation. The screech of the siren faded and the only sound was the snap of the branches beneath our feet. I wasn’t sure if we were being followed and I didn’t dare look back.

“We need to head northwest,” I said. “Nora will be waiting for us.” I hoped. How many days had I been captive? I could barely remember. I prayed Nora hadn’t abandoned me and headed back to Savannah already.

Lewis stumbled, falling to his hands and knees. When he didn’t immediately jump back up, I knew we were in big trouble. I knelt beside him, his breath harsh on my cheek. “You’re hurt.”

“Go,” he demanded harshly. “I have enough power to hold a few of them back while you escape.”

“Don’t be stupid.” I knew he’d fight to the death, but I wouldn’t let that happen. “I came here for you; we’re both getting the hell out of here.”

I grabbed his jumpsuit, tearing open the buttons to check his chest. No marks. I smoothed my hands over the muscles, ribs… There were no wounds. There weren’t even bruises. Which meant his lack of energy was due to something internal.

He latched onto my arms, his grip tight as he hissed at me. “Listen!”

Startled, I met his gaze. His face held such a harsh determination, that it frightened me. “We don’t have time.”

He jerked me so close I practically fell atop him. It was the first time we’d touched in days and I realized he’d lost weight in that short week he’d been here. “I might not remember much,” he said. “But I know you’re important. I know you need to escape.”

“I’m no more important than you!” I tried to pull away, but his desperation made him surprisingly strong.

“You are.” He dropped his hold and cupped the sides of my face. “Your memory returned, mine didn’t and probably won’t.”

I shook my head, tears stinging my eyes. “I will not leave you. I left you once and look what happened, you ended up in jail and I had to break in to save your sorry ass.”

He released a harsh laugh, his teeth flashing white in the darkness. I had the insane urge to kiss him then and there. “I mean it, Lewis, I’m not leaving you.”

The alarm suddenly went silent. Neither of us breathed. I could hear shouts in the distance, coming closer. The frantic urge to run overwhelmed me.

“Please, just let me help you the little bit that I can,” he said desperately.

“No.” I started to grow annoyed. “I don’t need your help. Now shut up and stand.”

He knew he didn’t have time to argue, or maybe he finally realized I wasn’t going to leave him, but he shoved his hands into the damp earth and struggled to his feet. I slipped my arm around his waist, taking as much of his weight as I could. I was much smaller than him, and I knew as well as he that we would never make it to the road before they found us. But I would sure as heck try.

Shouts from nearby sent my pulse racing. “Hurry,” I couldn’t help but whisper, even knowing he was going as fast as he could.

He tripped, making us stumble, but I managed to keep him upright. Where was that curve in the road where Nora would be? I peered through the woods, searching for the street, a dark ribbon of asphalt. Anything.

“Can you still sense your father?”

I concentrated as we shoved branches aside, and attempted to see the forest floor in the dark. It was as if Dad had some invisible line attached to me. His energy practically nipped at my heels like a ferocious dog. “Yeah.”

“Cameron—”

“Don’t say it, Lewis. Don’t tell me this is the end and good bye and all that melodramatic crap. And don’t tell me we’re going to get caught.”

He rested his palm against an elm tree. “I was just going to say that I think there’s a road ahead.”

My relief was immediate. I wanted to cry out with the luck of it all, but I knew we weren’t in the clear yet. The road was dark, no cars in sight. Almost there, but if Nora wasn’t waiting with the car… then what? It didn’t matter, we’d worry about it when we reached the road.

“Almost…” Something suddenly snagged around my ankle, a tight grip that had me crying out as I stumbled toward the ground, taking Lewis with me. His hard body landed atop mine, burying me in the musty earth. Oh God, I couldn’t move my legs. I wiggled out from beneath him and drew my knees to my chest. Some sort of rope had been thrown around my ankles.

Lewis pushed himself up, and with trembling fingers helped me unwind the bond, but we both knew it was too late. Boots crushed through underbrush, coming closer…closer.

“Hurry.” Lewis helped me to my feet. We raced forward, diving behind an outcropping of trees. Sweat trailed lines of silver down the sides of his face. I could tell by his harsh breath that helping me had taken its toll.

“We can’t outrun them, we have to fight them.” And by we, I meant myself. Lewis was in no shape to do much of anything but stay out of my way.

“Just go, please!” Lewis begged, shoving me with the remaining strength he had left, which wasn’t much.

“You know I won’t do that.” I spun around him, out of reach. “Besides, what will it give me? Three minutes?”

“Enough time to escape.”

“If Nora is there,” I whispered, and both of us knew we couldn’t count on my sister being ready and waiting. “Then yeah, maybe we’d have a head start, but I doubt it would be enough.”

“So what do we do?”

“We fight.”

“Cameron,” my father’s voice echoed through the woods.

I cringed as if he’d touched me when he was still some distance away. Just the sound of his voice sent a shiver across my skin. Too late to leave now. I pressed my back to the rough bark of a tree, standing next to Lewis. Huddled behind thick vegetation, I tried to keep my mind still; hoped Lewis could keep his mental wall in place so they couldn’t track us by way of our thoughts.

“Just wait,” I whispered near Lewis’ ear, praying I could beat my father and his men; praying Lewis would last long enough for me to get him back to Savannah.

“You have nowhere to go,” my father said from only about fifteen feet in front of us.

Lewis stiffened.

I pressed my hand to his chest, silently telling him to stay put. It was too dark to see them; I’d have to use my powers. I closed my eyes and drew in a deep breath. I could feel them… sense their energy surrounding us…coming closer. How many? Four? No, five, and more in the distance.

“Crap,” I whispered, feeling the sinking sensation of dread.

“Problems?” Lewis whispered. I didn’t appreciate the smugness of his tone. I knew exactly what he was thinking; I should have run when I’d had the chance. He certainly didn’t need to rub it in.

“Not at all.” I closed my eyes and reached out with my mind. I could feel each person; separate individuals; everyone had their own distinct energy field. Two were close…closer than the rest. The other three were spread out around and behind us. Hell, we were trapped but that didn’t mean I would give up.

Wait for it, I mentally said to Lewis.

He didn’t move, but I knew he wanted to react; I prayed he wouldn’t.

Stay still, let me take care of this.

Their hearts beat close, I could hear the thumping. Their energy pulsing around them… closer…closer. I waited until I could see their eyes gleaming white in the moonlight. Then sucking in a sharp breath, I jumped to my feet and threw out my powers… the energy that burned low in my body; a power not fully mine, but a mixture of all those around me.

Those microchips easily crumpled against the force and a flood of memories and feelings came surging toward me. I stumbled back as they fell to their knees. Three were on the ground, crying out in pain, but two were still running toward us. They didn’t fall. Why wouldn’t they fall? I concentrated harder. Another man cried out and stumbled. One to go.

Vaguely I was aware of Lewis shifting beside me. It wasn’t until he surged forward, a branch in hand, that I jumped back, startled. Lewis swung the stick; it hit the guard’s head with a thump. The man stumbled forward and fell next to his cohort…both still.

“Sometimes,” Lewis breathed heavily, dropping the stick. “You just have to do it the easy way.”

Where was my dad? I grabbed his hand and we darted into the trees. I knew the road was close; I could hear the creak gurgling ahead, but would Nora be there?

We splashed through more water and clambered up the slippery creek bed. Shouts from guards peppered the air, interrupting the still night. “Don’t look back.”

Together, we climbed the small incline that would take us to the road. It was close, so damn close. The mud was slick and I slipped, nearly falling to my face. Lewis used the rest of his strength to haul me to my feet.

“Keep going,” he demanded, shoving me forward.

I reached out with my mind, attempting to concentrate and run at the same time. “One coming left, one right,” I gasped out.

Sweat trailed down Lewis’ face and even in the moonlight I could tell his eyes had become almost glassy with pain and exhaustion. “Your father?”

“Behind us.” I hoped.

I hadn’t a clue what I would do to the guards following us, let alone my dad. My body was shaking from the exertion; I could probably take down the two agents coming toward us on either side, but my dad? Our feet hit the asphalt and I froze. No car. No Nora. I wasn’t surprised, I was defeated.

A dark feeling of dread sucked any remaining hope from me. “No,” I whispered, jerking my head left, then right. Nothing but inky black. “No!”

A dark form burst through the brush at our left. The agent raced toward Lewis.

“Stop!” I searched for a weapon and found a piece of broken road. Nothing else was nearby. I threw my energy at the chuck of asphalt. It burst forward, hitting the man in the head with a satisfying thunk. He fell onto his back, unmoving.

A dark pool of blood spread out from underneath him. Bile rose to my throat. I wasn’t sure which shocked me more, that I’d moved a freaking chunk of asphalt with my mind, or that I was pretty sure I’d just killed a man.

“It’s okay,” Lewis said, as if sensing my agitation. He grasped my arm and pulled me down the road. “Come on.”

But it was too late. I could feel my father near, and I knew others were coming from both directions. Lewis couldn’t run anymore, and frankly I was about ready to collapse as well.

I pulled away from him. “Lewis, just stop.”

He paused, his shoulders rising with each harsh breath. For one long moment, we merely stood in the middle of the road and stared at each other.

“Go,” I whispered. They didn’t want him, they wanted me. Maybe, just maybe, if they captured me, they’d let him go. “Just leave. I don’t want you to get hurt, and if you stay with me, you’ll get hurt.”

“I’m not leaving you.”

I sucked in a hiss of frustration. “They’re coming, lots of them, and I’m not going down without a fight.”

He gave me a sad half-smile. “Me neither.”

“Please—”

He gripped my shoulders and pulled me forward, pressing his lips to mine. I soaked in his essence, tried to remember the feel of him, his scent, his taste, for I knew this would probably be the last time we’d kiss.

A branch snapped from behind us. I tore away from Lewis, leaping in front of him and facing our next enemy. The form that stepped from the shadows wasn’t my father or a hulking guard. I narrowed my eyes and tried to feel his energy. No, not a him. A her.

“Use his energy,” the woman said. I knew that sweet southern drawl. Tara. My father’s wife. The stepmother I never thought I’d see again. “Use his energy.”

The same thing Maddox had said.

“Reach out,” she said, coming to stand some ten feet from us. She wasn’t wearing her normal heels and dress clothes, but instead wore a dark sweatshirt and jeans. “Feel his energy, take it and throw it back.”

“I…I can’t.”

She gripped my shoulders and gave me a quick shake. She smelled like roses, roses in this dark forest. “You can. Only you.”

Because I was the source.

I heard the snap of branches coming closer…closer. His energy vibrated around me. A darkness that sent a shudder through my body.

“Take care of your dad, I’ll stop the others.” She disappeared into the darkness and just like Maddox, I knew I’d never see her again.

“Stay back,” I whispered to Lewis.

I had no choice but to try, but I wasn’t so sure I could win again. I shifted my feet and braced myself …waiting…waiting. The moment I saw his shadow, I mentally surged forward, giving him no time to react. He stumbled from the woods.

“You’re weakening,” he said through gritted teeth. “There are more men coming, Cameron. You won’t escape.”

“I have twice now, Dad, so you might not want to bet on that.”

Before he could respond, I tapped into the source. The world around me disappeared. I no longer saw the trees, or the moon, or heard the guards racing toward us. But I felt it all around me… the energy from the forest, from the humans, from the animals. I felt their energy and I sank into it, I pulled it close and used it to my benefit.

And although I couldn’t see him, I felt Lewis; felt him press his hand to my shoulder, felt his energy flow into mine. He was helping me, using what little strength he had left, and vaguely I knew he would die because of it but I couldn’t stop. I couldn’t stop.

My father’s wall burst and his energy poured out. I heard his cry and knew I’d won, but I couldn’t seem to let go, to release the hold of the source that was so powerful, that was slowly taking me over. Lewis’ hand slipped away, but it was the sudden brilliant flash of car lights that jerked me back into reality.

The energy roared backwards, being sucked from my body and leaving me chilled and trembling. The world had returned, and it was dark and ugly. Weak, I stumbled, and then fell to my knees.

“Cameron!” Nora called, but her voice came out muffled… far away. I could hear nothing over the insane beat of my heart and roar of blood through my veins.

Firm fingers bit into my upper arms and someone pulled me to my feet. “Cameron, damn it, look at me.”

I tilted my head back and stared into Nora’s concerned face. She’d come for us. She hadn’t abandoned us. I wanted to laugh with the thrill of it all, but I couldn’t.

“What the hell have you done?” she whispered.

I dropped my attention and found our father lying upon the ground, unmoving. Oh God, was he dead? As much as I hated him, the thought that I’d murdered my own father made me sick.

“Come on.” Nora shoved me toward the back seat of her car. I fell onto the soft leather, sinking into the cushions, so exhausted I couldn’t even pull the seatbelt across my chest.

“Lewis,” I managed to mutter.

“He’s coming.”

I closed my eyes. A few moments later I sensed Nora pulling Lewis into the backseat with me. I reached out, resting my hand on his arm, but he was cold… so cold. Nora jumped into the driver’s seat, the car bouncing slightly, and slammed the door shut.

“Did I kill him?” I asked.

She pressed on the gas and we jerked forward, the car roaring to life. “No, Dad’s still alive.”

I didn’t want to know about Dad. I didn’t care about Dad. I wanted to know about Lewis. But before I could ask her, my mind went black, and I faded into nothingness.

Chapter 15

The soft hum of the car eventually woke me.

My lashes lifted, the daylight brilliant and startling. For a few seconds I just sat there, staring out the dusty window and trying to make sense of the moment. I wasn’t sure how long I’d slept, but as I noticed the brilliant sun peeking over Victorian homes, I knew it must have been hours. The realization that we’d escaped the compound hit me hard.

Tears of relief stung my eyes. We’d done it. We hadn’t died. I shifted my aching body, intending to ask Nora where we were, that’s when I noticed Lewis slumped in the corner of the backseat. Lewis, his face smooth and still, almost like polished marble.

“Lewis?” I whispered, my voice quivering.

“He’s okay,” Nora spoke up from the front seat, glancing at me in the rearview mirror.

I reached out, pressing my palm to his cheek. His skin was cold, but his breath whispered encouragingly against my hand.

He still lived. I still lived. We had escaped.

I pressed my hand to his chest, and buried my face against his shoulder. His heart thumped slowly. Too slowly. The fact that he didn’t even flinch when I touched him added to my worry. I pressed my lips to his cheek. He was completely unresponsive.

Worried, I turned toward Nora. “Lewis…”

She glanced at him in the mirror. “Just needs some sleep… I think.”

The worried look in her blue eyes didn’t exactly make me feel better. I rubbed the crick in my neck and glanced toward the horizon. I think she knew as well as I that it wasn’t just rest that he needed. I could feel the lack of energy coming from his body.

We were in a city, but which? “What time is it?”

She glanced at the dashboard clock. “Nine.”

Then we had to be close to Savannah. My anxiety eased the tiniest bit. “Thank you,” I whispered.

She stared straight ahead. “No problem.”

She acted as if it wasn’t a big deal, but it was. It was a huge deal. I had a family; a family who would risk their lives for me. Loyal, almost to a fault. And it made me feel guilty.

“You stayed longer than we agreed, didn’t you?” I still wasn’t sure how many days I’d been there, but I knew enough to know she should have high-tailed it back to Savannah.

She shrugged.

“I didn’t exactly…” I wasn’t sure how to say what I wanted to without offending her. She glanced at me in the mirror. “I didn’t exactly trust you,” I blurted out.

She grinned. “Think I was leading you to your demise?”

I flushed. “Something like that.” Yeah, it had crossed my mind that she was setting me up, but I supposed I had a reason not to trust her; I hadn’t really known her. I glanced at Lewis. Even our conversation hadn’t stirred him.

“Has mom called?”

She rolled her eyes. “Many times.”

Now that I knew Grandma might be lost to me forever, I realized that Nora and Mom were the only family I had left. Yeah, they were a bit nuts, but maybe, just maybe I could actually trust them.

“And did you tell her?”

“I didn’t answer. But she knows. She always knows.”

I nodded. It was on the tip of my tongue to ask her if Mom would be angry, but I wouldn’t let myself care. I had done what I needed to. And it was worth it… or would be… if Lewis lived. I glanced back at him. He still sat in the corner, still quiet and unmoving. Worry swept through me, renewed and determined. Nora said he just needed rest, but I knew he needed something more. I just wasn’t sure what.

I took his hand in mine. “I don’t know what’s wrong with him. I think…I think his energy’s gone.”

She gave me a kind smile. “Mom will know what to do. She always does.”

“How much longer until we’re home?”

“Five minutes.”

I released a puff of air; relieved would be an understatement. “Good.” The sooner the better. I glanced behind us, but no cars followed. “Will they come after us?”

“I doubt it. Dad looked pretty bad, and Dad’s in charge.”

I nodded, unsure how to feel about the fact that I’d practically destroyed my own father. She turned left, headed down a neighborhood street where kids were already outside playing; unwilling to let a perfect day go by without some fun. I’d never had those carefree days. I was always worried about being attacked by some unknown enemy. No carefree days even now, but I could honestly say that I had friends; trustworthy, loyal friends.

“Nora?”

She glanced back. “Yeah?”

“Maddox helped me escape.”

She shifted her gaze to the horizon and I could read nothing on her face. “Good for him.”

She turned right, a little too sharply. I moved closer to her, scooting to the edge of the backseat. “Nora, he went way beyond what even I had hoped. Shut off electricity, cut a fence—”

“So what,” she snapped.

Okay, so she still held a grudge against him. I moved back, resting next to Lewis. She might not care, but I did. “I never would have escaped without him. He’ll most likely be jailed. Or worse.”

“He picked his side long ago.” She sounded heartless, but I heard the emotion underneath her hard tone. She still had feelings for him. Oddly, I didn’t care. I didn’t care that she loved him, and I didn’t care that he might still love her.

“So you don’t think he’s changed?”

She laughed. “Cameron, people never change.”

But I’d changed so much over the past year. Forgiveness was obviously not her forte. She might be able to dismiss Maddox, but I couldn’t quite so easily. I swore someday we’d help him; if he survived long enough to wait. Thoughts of Maddox fled as we reached Mom’s square.

I’d never been so happy to see Savannah. Even the early morning tourists filled me with joy. I felt as if I was… home. But I knew it wasn’t the city, but the people who made me feel as if I belonged here. Nora parked alongside the sidewalk. As much as I dreaded my mother’s reaction to my return, I was also counting on her to help Lewis.

Nora shoved open the door and stepped outside. “Wait here and I’ll get help…try to explain.”

I nodded, shifting closer to Lewis. “Hurry.”

The dark circles under his eyes seemed almost black against his pale skin. I wouldn’t let Lewis die. I couldn’t be here on my own. I trailed my fingers down the side of his face. As much as we’d gone through, as much as we’d shared, I couldn’t imagine life without him. “Lewis, please.”

His fingers curled. Hope whispered seductively through me.

“Talk to me,” I urged. “Help me out of this mess. Help me decide who to trust. Help me with my powers… everything.”

I was surprised and relieved when those thick lashes lifted and his blue eyes found mine. “Cameron?”

I pressed my trembling hands to his face; his cheeks rough with a scruff that made him look older than he was. “I’m here. We’re safe.” For now, but that was all that mattered. Live in the moment was my new motto.

“I’m tired,” he muttered, his voice rough with exhaustion and pain. His lashes began to drift downward.

“No,” I said a little more harshly than I’d intended. “Stay awake with me, okay?”

He nodded, but his lids were still half-closed, his eyes glazed over. “Where are we?”

I inched closer, as close as I could get, and wrapped my arm around him, resting his head against my shoulder. “We made it back to Savannah. Nora’s getting help right now. Just a few more minutes, okay?”

“Thank you,” he whispered.

I smiled through the sudden sting of tears. “I owed you. You’ve saved me more than a couple times.”

He shook his head, his hair tickling my cheek. “You owe me nothing. I know I betrayed you in some way, didn’t I?”

My smile waned.

He tilted his head back. “I can see it in your eyes sometimes. A weariness. A sadness.”

I swallowed hard and forced my tears to dry. “It was in the past, and it was just a disagreement, that’s all. You made up for it.” I spread my fingers over his shaved hair. “You’ll get better. My mom will help you.”

He smiled a smile that lifted only the left corner of his mouth, as if too tired to smile fully. “Cameron?”

“Yeah?”

“I don’t have any memories of us.”

My heart clenched, the reminder still painful. Live in the moment, I had to remind myself, not the past. I squeezed his hand. How depressed I’d been when he hadn’t remembered me. Now I didn’t care; I only wanted him to live.

“I don’t think I will ever remember.”

I glanced at the house, wondering what was taking them so long. “I know.”

“What I’m trying to say is…” He placed my hand on his chest where I could feel his heart thump painfully weak. Where the hell was my mom? “I don’t remember us, but I remember you here.”

His words broke through the wall I’d been constructing so carefully all these years. A flood of emotions washed over me… feelings I had repressed, feelings that I didn’t dare dwell on too closely.

“I don’t have a past, I don’t have a family, but I have you.”

It was what I needed to hear. It was all he needed to say. “Shhh,” I whispered, leaning into him.

Our lips met and I was startled by how cold he felt. I shifted, half atop him, hoping to warm him with my body, my mouth. When his lips parted, I slid my tongue inside, frantic to be as close to him as possible. It was no sweet kiss, but a kiss born of desperation.

From somewhere in the city a police siren screamed out reminding me of the ridiculousness of our situation. We were being chased by people who wanted us dead. Yet, none of it mattered. In that car, with Lewis, I felt completely safe and alone. For a couple minutes anyway.

The door screeched open, ruining the moment. I pulled back, hiding my flushed face behind the curtain of my hair.

“Seriously?” Nora sighed. “You’re little make-out session is going to have to wait.”

I shifted, moving away and realized Lewis was unconscious again.

“Look at that, he was so overcome by your kiss, he fainted,” Nora said drolly.

“It’s not a joke.” I scrambled from the car, fear gnawing at my insides like a starving mutt with a bone.

“Come on Sleeping Beauty.” Nora slid her arms around Lewis’ chest and tugged him from the back seat.

As I raced around the bumper I noticed Aaron standing next to Nora and Father Myron on the front stoop. Wonderful. Nora wasn’t our only witness. Aaron looked angry, but I knew it wasn’t about the little make-out session. He, of course, couldn’t understand why I would give my life, give up their location, in order to save Lewis. How could he understand when he had no sense of empathy?

As he shifted his gaze to Lewis, that look of anger turned to one of worry. “Hurry,” he said.

If Aaron was worried, it must be bad. Father Myron rushed down the steps, his robes billowing around him. Together he and Aaron managed to juggle Lewis’ lanky body toward the house.

“Where’s mom?” I asked, hurrying after them.

Nora raced up the steps beside me. “Inside.”

“Is she angry?”

“What do you think?” Nora slid her arm around my shoulders and grinned. “Our first sibling punishment.”

I shrugged her off, in no mood to chat and jest, and followed Aaron into the house. They rested Lewis on the sofa, his lifeless body sprawled across the cushions. I had planned a speech, but seeing him, the excuses dried up.

Near the fireplace my mother stood waiting, arms crossed, eyes narrowed into a disapproving glare. “What the hell were you thinking?”

I gritted my teeth, flushing even more. I didn’t care what she thought. “You weren’t in danger. Nora would have warned you—”

She slammed her hands onto the mantel. “And if Nora had been caught? What then?”

“You would have known,” I snapped. “You knew the moment you realized we weren’t in our beds where we’d gone.”

“Watch it,” Aaron hissed, standing up for my mom.

But Mom didn’t respond to my argument, and I knew I was right. I’d been guessing, but heck, maybe she had known even before we’d left.

“Do you realize the jeopardy you’ve put us in?” Aaron continued, crossing his arms over his chest and doing his best imitation of a disapproving parent.

I had this odd feeling the man hated me, although why, I wasn’t sure. Maybe because of my father. Maybe because I had escaped him and regained my memory. Or maybe just because I was more powerful than he. I didn’t care. All that mattered was Lewis. I could only pray they’d set aside their petty argument and help me.

“It was worth it.”

He stepped forward, as if to intimidate me, but I swore I wouldn’t cower. “Worth the rest of our lives?”

My hands balled at my sides as I resisted the urge to give in to my anger. “You were never in danger, and I couldn’t leave him to die.”

His jaw clenched and unclenched as he fought his irritation. It was so obvious by the flash of his eyes that he wanted to blame me for this entire war. Nora shifted, moving toward the fireplace, but not before I noticed the amusement in her gaze. Arguing about pointless situations, finding amusement in my suffering, did none of these people understand the direness of the situation? So much for being a family I could count on.

“Enough.” My mom pushed her way between us. Aaron might act the arrogant ass, but Mom was in charge. “Take Lewis to the guest room.”

Considering I had been using the guest room, I didn’t argue with their decision. I’d have him nearby and I didn’t plan on leaving his side. Aaron and Father Myron lifted Lewis and carried him up the steps. Was it my imagination or did Lewis look paler than before?

“Will you help him?” I immediately asked my mom.

“No.”

I stiffened, startled by her refusal. Nora slumped onto the couch, unconcerned, but watching us as if watching a T.V. show. I ignored my sister, wondering why I had ever thought that I could grow to appreciate her. And trust my mother? Ha! As if that would ever happen. “You’re seriously going to punish him for what I’ve done?”

“If you want to save him, you do it.” She started toward the stairs, her steps unhurried and unconcerned.

“And how the hell do I do that?”

She didn’t respond, but disappeared into the guest room, leaving me alone and confused.

“You’re the carrier of the source,” Nora said, her voice sounding slightly miffed. She stood and moved toward the front door. “Like, use the force, Luke. Duh.”

She tore open the door and disappeared outside.

Use the source? Use the source? Were they joking? But as I stood alone in the living room, I realized I had no time to wait. I started up the steps, taking them two at a time. “An instruction manual would be really great about now!”

My mom waited at the bedroom door, as if expecting me. “You have the source within you; you can use it to heal Lewis.”

I raked my hair back in frustration. “How?”

“Everything in this world is made of energy.” She shifted so I could stand in the doorway with her. Lewis lay upon the bed, Aaron and Father Myron hovering over him like some sort of angels of death. “Our cells, our very beings, are composed of energy.”

I’d heard it all before. What was her point? Lewis wasn’t moving. His face was as white as the pillow case his head rested upon. He wasn’t even sweating anymore. No, his face was a smooth as marble. The only thing that mattered was saving him; screw this mythology lesson. I started to push past her, but she latched onto my arm, stopping me.

“The source flows through you. Redirect the energy and replenish Lewis.” She shook her head. “There’s nothing wrong with him that you can see, it’s a lack of energy.”

Her words gave me hope; she made it seem so easy. But I still wasn’t sure I could actually do what she claimed I could. Heck, I still wasn’t sure I was actually the carrier of the source that everyone believed I was.

“Can he die from a lack of energy?”

“Yes.”

I shouldn’t have asked; I’d already known. It was obvious he was dying just by looking at him. “Help me.” It wasn’t a question but a plea.

“No.” Her voice came out hard, unrelenting.

My fingers curled as heated anger flared through me. How much I hated her in that moment. Why was she being so cruel? But then this was the woman who had abandoned me. I thought about saying those very words, wanting to hurt her as much as she’d hurt me, but Aaron started toward us.

“He needs help now,” he warned. “If you’re going to save him, I suggest getting to work.”

Father Myron leaned over Lewis, muttering some prayer. I could feel my mother watching me… waiting to see what I would do. It was a test, I knew that much. How dare she test me now, when the situation was so urgent. I shoved my way between Aaron and my mom, going to Lewis’ side.

“I’ll take care of him,” I snapped, probably a little too harshly, but I didn’t care. I just wanted them to leave…all of them.

Father Myron walked away, but I was so intent on Lewis, that I barely noticed. They’d undressed him and a sheet covered his lower half, but his chest was bare. Just as I’d assumed, he held no physical injury. I knelt beside him, taking his clammy hand in mine. He lay upon my bed, looking entirely too large for the room. He was still beautiful, kind, honorable, and he would die if I didn’t find a way to save him.

“Everyone out,” my mom snapped. And they listened to my mother, because she was in charge.

She moved toward me as the door shut. “Heal him.”

It was a test she was daring me to take. I glanced back at her. The look in her eyes said it all…it was time for me to take control of my powers. I had no choice but to try. If I failed…

“Put a hand on his chest, over his heart,” she said. “Another on his forehead, low, close to the eyes.”

I did as she told, worried over the chill feel of his skin. He didn’t even flinch as I touched him. His eyes closed, his breath shallow. I had no choice but to do as my mother wanted me to; I had no choice but to take over, to become one with the source…to use it… control it.

“Close your eyes and feel it within you. The energy. The source of all power.”

I closed my eyes and delved within. For a moment I merely floated in oblivion. Nothingness. Panic taunted the edge of my control. I tried to concentrate but in the back of my mind I worried about failing. What if it didn’t work?

“Breathe in, out.”

I took in a deep breath; another, and another concentrating on the air until I felt somewhat relaxed. Then it came… a tingling awareness that traveled through my body. A presence. An energy. That all knowing, all-consuming power that was always there, waiting to be released. I wanted to cry out in relief.

Every time I read someone’s thoughts, when I moved an object, caused someone pain, when I broke through that chip in Maddox’s head, the source had been there. An energy that I could use as I wished; to help or hinder.

Vaguely I was aware of my mom placing her hand on my shoulder. Her touch felt warm, too warm. The heated energy moved down my body, mixing with my own. Lewis stirred, but I didn’t dare open my eyes, didn’t dare move for fear I’d lose control. I knew she was using her own power to help direct mine.

“You’ve done it,” I thought I heard her say.

Suddenly the pressure of her hand was gone, but I still felt the energy flowing through me. It wasn’t coming from her, she merely helped it along. No, it was coming from the universe.

“There, you finish.” My mom stepped back.

Moments later I heard the soft click of the door, but couldn’t seem to pull away. I felt connected to Lewis, a part of him and he a part of me.

The heat remained, pouring into him, expanding his cells. I could practically feel him coming back to life. Lewis’ breath was even. His cheeks were flushed with color. I slid my hands away from him.

As the energy finally faded, leaving me tingling with an aftereffect, I felt weird, no longer part of this world. No longer part of my own body. It was as if I floated over the room.

It was my last thought before I slumped forward, onto his warm body, and sank into darkness.

Chapter 16

I woke when Lewis shifted beside me. I didn’t remember what had happened, how I had ended up in bed cuddled next to him. I should have been embarrassed; instead I wanted to move closer and fall back to sleep. He was warm, so very warm and sleep called softly whispering promises of rest and ease.

“What happened?” I mumbled.

He moved his hand up my back in slow, mesmerizing motions. Through the cotton prison suit I still wore, I could feel his warmth. “You were out; practically falling from the bed. I pulled you up beside me.”

I’d passed out? “How long ago?” I muttered, confused, attempting to recall my last moments.

“Hours.”

Startled, I realized the light in the room wasn’t from a lamp but the moonlight filtering through the curtains. Somehow I’d fallen asleep. Or maybe I’d fainted. More importantly, how long had Lewis been awake? I searched my muddled mind, attempting to come up with a reason for the situation I suddenly found myself in. But I was tired, so very tired.

Giving up, I snuggled closer to his warm body, moving my hand up his flat stomach. I could feel the dips and planes of muscle even through the sheet that covered his bare skin. Constantly running for your life sure made a guy get in shape. Maybe lack of sleep made me bold, or maybe it was my feelings for him, but I found myself wanting to kiss Lewis, and for him to kiss me back.

“You okay?” I whispered.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” his voice came out rough and breathless. “I just wanted water, but didn’t want to wake you.”

“I’ll get it.” I started to push myself up but froze. Suddenly everything came rushing back. Lewis near death. My mom forcing me to use the source. Me… pouring energy into his body. And Lewis, Lewis was back! I jerked my gaze toward him. “You’re… you.”

He grinned, and for the first time in months I saw that dimple flash in his left cheek. “Yeah, were you expecting someone else?”

“No, just…” The relief I felt was immediate, sweeping through my body and consuming me with a heated flush that made me almost giddy. “You’re okay?”

He nodded, but I needed to feel him to know for sure. I reached out tentatively and slid my fingers over the side of his face. Lower my hands traveled, pushing aside the sheet, so I could run my fingers over the scar at his shoulder where the bullet had struck. So close to his heart. God, he was lucky to be here at all.

His smile fell, his eyes growing serious. “I’m good, Cameron. I feel great. Alive.”

“Your memory?” I asked, trying to keep the hope from my voice.

He shook his head and my hope plummeted. “Still gone.”

So there was a limit to what I could do. “I’m sorry.”

“No. It’s okay.” As if to reinforce his statement, he cupped the back of my head and before I could blink, his lips were on mine. A quick kiss, but a sure kiss, as if we belonged together. He pulled back, but his fingers remained, entwined in my hair, holding me captive.

I could hardly draw air that close to him; my lungs seemed to shrink as a heated charge of electricity branched between us. I wanted to breathe in his essence; I wanted to touch him, for him to touch me. I never wanted to lose him again. It was hard to believe he was here, that we’d escaped. A sudden sting of tears blurred my vision. Ugh, but I was tired of crying. I had no room in my life for weakness, not anymore. Embarrassed, I started to turn away.

“Hey,” he whispered, grasping my arm. “What’s wrong?”

I shook my head. “Nothing.” Turning my back to him, I lifted the pitcher of water on the small bedside table and poured a glass. I wouldn’t cry in front of him; I was done crying. “Here.”

He took the cup, our fingers brushing. I felt the touch all the way to my soul. Bemused, I turned on the bedside lamp, the light chasing away shadows. His hands didn’t tremble as he drank. His skin was no longer pale. He had truly healed, his energy had been replenished. Even his wound looked better.

He set the glass down, smiled at me and lay back. With his hair buzzed so short, his eyes seemed even bluer, standing out against the white pillow. The color reminded me of the deepest part of the Caribbean. “You healed me.”

I nodded, a little amazed myself. More amazed that I was here…alone with Lewis.

He reached out, slipping his fingers through mine. With a quick jerk, he pulled me to him. I fell to his chest with a gasp of surprise. His strength had definitely returned. Content, I lay atop him, my legs between his with only the sheet and my clothing separating us. A tingle of awareness tiptoed down my body, a lovely aching need that I couldn’t quite ignore. The attraction was something that had always been. Something I couldn’t explain, but something I knew would always be.

I rested the side of my face against his heart, listening to the soft thump. Although the world was in turmoil, I could have laid there forever. He brushed the hair from my temples, smoothing it back in a way that calmed me, set me at ease for the first time in weeks.

“You shouldn’t have returned for me,” he whispered.

I sighed. “It was what anyone would have done.” I wasn’t a superhero, I was just… me.

He released a wry laugh. “No. Not just anyone would have done what you did. Why can’t you accept the fact that you’re different?”

I twisted the sheet around my fingers, flustered and confused. “Because I don’t need thanks for saving someone I…”

I jerked my gaze to him. Oh God. I’d almost said it. The words every guy dreaded. His smile wavered before falling completely. Nothing like ruining the moment. For a crazy moment I actually wished my dad would attack. Anything was preferable to looking into his shocked eyes.

I lowered my head, pressing my forehead to his chest. I’d taken down men twice my size. I’d even beaten my father at his own game. But this… this relationship with Lewis, whatever it was, remained beyond my abilities.

“I think I hear my mom calling me.” I started to move away but his fingers gripped my upper arm, stopping me. There was a seriousness in his gaze that made me nervous.

“Come here.”

I hesitated, then slowly lowered until our faces were only inches apart. He cupped the back of my head and pulled me toward him. Our lips met and his tongue swept boldly into my mouth. This was no sweet kiss. This was the kind of kiss that could get real heated, real out of control, real fast.

I didn’t care.

He wasn’t horrified by the fact that I’d almost spewed out my girly thoughts; he wasn’t going to push me away, terrified over what I’d almost said. I slid my arms around his bare shoulders, marveling over the feel of his muscle under taunt skin.

In one quick turn, he flipped me over and my back was pressed into the soft mattress. Lewis’ hard body settled atop me. He felt lovely, so very wonderful, and the weight of him only made me feel protected when I’d felt so alone for so long.

His lips left my mouth and pressed to my jawline, lower to my neck. A delicious shiver of warmth spread across my body. I didn’t want to leave this room. I didn’t want to see anyone else. I just wanted to stay here… with him forever. He was back at my lips, pressing his mouth to mine.

“You are amazing,” he whispered.

“Yeah,” I said bitterly, my mood souring. “The source.”

He laughed, a warm breath of air that whispered across my lips. “No.” He shifted so he was laying beside me. “That’s not it.”

I started to move away, but his arm wrapped around my waist, trapping me next to him. “What you’ve done, the crap your parents have put you through, it has nothing to do with who you are.”

His gaze turned so serious that I didn’t dare look away.

“Those are their issues, their egos, their insecurities that they’re shoving onto you. Not yours. You know, deep down, who you are; what you’re capable of. You are strong. You are brave. You are good. You’ve proven it again and again.”

His words sent a tingle of warmth through my body, something that wiggled and whispered temptingly through my soul. It wasn’t about my powers. It wasn’t about what I could do to save my family, or the world. It was about me being a good, decent person and Lewis saw that.

I traced the line of his jaw. “Do you mean it?”

“Yes.”

I swallowed over the thick lump of emotion clogging my throat. No one had ever been so sure of me. My grandmother had worried I would do something wrong and destroy everything. Dad was all about brainwashing me into joining his cult. And at times Mom seemed to want me to be exactly like her. But Lewis accepted me, just me.

“You know,” I said, sliding my fingertips over his short buzz cut. “You’re not so bad yourself.”

He grinned right before he lowered his head and kissed me once more, this time softer, gentler. His tongue like warm silk, slid against my lips, sending a shudder of need through me. My fingers bit into his shoulders; I was desperate to keep him close. How badly I wished the world would fade away and leave us here, alone.

Much too soon he pulled back, settling comfortably next to me. He only wanted to share a bed, but I wanted more. Still, I knew now wasn’t the time. Who knew if there would ever be a right time. But for now I was content to just sleep beside him.

He reached out and turned off the light, throwing the room into darkness. When he lay on his back, I cuddled into his side, warm, happy, for the first time in days…weeks. For a brief moment I could forget the outside world.

“Cameron,” he whispered.

“Yeah?” I closed my eyes, growing suddenly drowsy.

“I love you too.”

My eyes burst open, but I didn’t dare move. The words pierced my heart like an arrow through a bull’s-eye. Had I misheard him? Dreamt the words?

“What?” I whispered, daring him to repeat what he’d said.

“I love you.”

Nope, no imagination. I grinned, my chest expanding with warmth and happiness.

As Lewis wrapped his arms around me, bringing me closer, in the back of my mind wiggled the annoying realization that this could all end at any moment. My father would not give up; he would track us down and when he did, I knew neither of us would surrender.

But for now, here with Lewis, I was just a girl in love for the first time.

****

Although I didn’t want to leave the comfort of Lewis’ arms and the privacy of the bedroom, when Nora came knocking just after the sun had risen I couldn’t deny I was eager to learn more about my abilities. Yes, I was in love for the first time, but let’s face it, war was coming and as wonderful as our feelings were, they weren’t going to save anyone.

I’d been surprised when Nora had stayed behind with Lewis and Aaron, while I found myself in the car with Mom, heading toward Tybee Island. Although I was grateful to be away from the compound, to be clean and wearing a normal T-shirt and shorts, it was still an awkward drive. We didn’t say a word the entire twenty minutes; I had nothing to say and apparently neither did she. I couldn’t tell if she was still angry and frankly I didn’t care. I’d done what I had to and I wouldn’t regret my actions. Not now, and not even when my dad attacked... which he eventually would.

Mom slowed as a family on bikes rode across the road, the mother in front, and a father taking up the back. The children were young, maybe five and eight as they peddled their little hearts out. It was an uncomfortably silence that followed as we watched them disappear around a corner. I knew what she was thinking…time lost. We would never have that happy little family.

I slid mom a glance, but she didn’t bother to look my way as she started down the street once more. What was done was done, I supposed. Time to move on. Forget about the past; we had more important things to worry about, like whether there would be a future.

“We need to be ready.” Mom finally broke the silence as we pulled into Sierra’s driveway. Had she read my mind? I wouldn’t be surprised. I still wasn’t quite sure what she was capable of. But she was right, we did need to be ready and when the time was right, I planned on taking care of my father once and for all.

“When will he attack?”

I knew she had some sort of an idea. As Nora said, Mom always seemed to know things we didn’t. Whether it was from her powers, or the spies they had placed in the compound, I wasn’t sure. Whenever I asked, she found some way to brush off my questions. Maybe she didn’t trust me, or maybe she worried that if caught again, I’d divulge more information.

“John is recuperating. The attack really affected him, although he’s barely told a soul. They think he has the flu.”

I found no satisfaction in the fact that I’d won the battle against my father. How could I rejoice over harming my own dad? If anything, I felt ill because I knew more was to come. Yep, we put the ‘D’ in dysfunctional family. “Are you getting the information from Tara?”

Her jaw clenched as she turned off the car, the area settling into silence. She rarely showed emotion, but I could see the pain in her gaze and it startled me. “No. Tara is off the radar.”

What the heck did that mean?

Before I could ask, Mom opened the door and stepped outside.

Off the radar.

I pushed open my door and followed. She couldn’t mean—but I knew she did—Tara had been caught. Because of me. The guilt I was so sure I would never feel came rushing forward. I couldn’t seem to catch my breath as the weight of shame fell heavily upon my chest.

“No regrets,” my mom demanded. She stood tall and firm on the other side of the car. “In this world we don’t have time for them. You did what you thought was best. It’s time to move on. Time to prepare for their next attack.”

What I thought was best, but I knew none of them agreed with what I had done. How could they not blame me for Tara’s disappearance? I sure as hell blamed myself. I slammed my door shut and moved around the front of the car. Why had I accepted Tara’s help?

Because I’d needed it. I wouldn’t have escaped without Maddox, without Tara, without so many others. “Tara’s children?” I was almost afraid to ask, but I had to know. Yeah, I hadn’t grown up with them, but they were my half-siblings.

Mom started down the boardwalk that ran the length of Sierra’s cottage. “They’re being tested to see if they have the powers.”

Her words left me ill. I’d known the moment I met them that they were mind readers. I had no doubt my dad would uncover the truth. Then who knew what would happen to them. I closed my eyes and leaned against the wooden railing, a wave of failure almost taking me under.

Dad would have no qualms about testing them to the point of torture. If they survived, he would turn them into mini S.P.I. agents. I’d have an entire new generation of family to fight. It would never end.

What kind of life would those children have? I found my mom and watched the way she moved toward the beach, so sure in her abilities and her beliefs. She was strong; she didn’t let the guilt get her down. Yeah, she had sent me away, but by sending me away I could grudgingly admit she might have saved me. Saved me from a childhood of fighting, a childhood of pain.

I curled my hands, my fingernails digging into the weather-worn railing. The worst part was that I knew I’d do it all over again. I had put everyone else, including myself, in danger to save my boyfriend, and I’d do it all again.

I pushed away from the railing and followed my mother. The roar of the waves combined with the cry of gulls and offered a familiar comfort. There was something about the ocean that calmed me, always had. It was in my blood, Grandma used to say. Thoughts of Grandma had my heart clenching, twisting painfully in my chest. I pressed my hand to my breast, as if that could stop the ache. Her family had come from Cornwall, England. Fishermen, she’d said. I wondered where my mother’s family came from. There was so little I truly knew about her.

I moved off the boardwalk and followed the path through the thick beach grass wavering on the early morning breeze. Mom paused at the water’s edge. She was silent and still, and I wondered what she was thinking. I kicked off my flip-flops, my feet sinking into the cool sand. The sun hadn’t risen high enough to warm the particles, but soon the heat would bring the world to life. Everything would go on whether I survived or not.

“When will he be here?” I asked.

“We have time. I’ll let you know when to worry.”

Ha, right. As if I could just set aside my anxiety. “So, how does this work?”

The wind tore her hair from her ponytail, tossing he dark strands around her face. “What?”

“This being the carrier of the source.” Sensing a whisper of energy, I glanced behind us. Sierra was watering the plants on her deck. My powers were growing; I felt the energy more often now… coming as easily as a breeze. She gave me a wide smile, but remained put, obviously knowing my mother and I needed time alone. “Is Nora the carrier of the source as well?”

“No. Just you.”

I wasn’t sure how to feel about that. Should I be honored? I didn’t feel honored.

I glanced at Mom. “Just us.” Her gaze flickered to me. We had something else in common other than our looks; we were both carriers of the source. But why? Why had it chosen me? I was reckless… I was selfish… I didn’t deserve the power.

“Why?” I whispered.

“Why you?”

I nodded.

“I wondered the same thing when I was chosen over my sister.”

Mom had a sister? What else did I not know? I had a feeling there was an awful lot.

She shrugged and gazed out upon the ocean. “The universe chooses. We know little about why, but what’s been mentioned over the centuries. The only thing I do know is that it’s passed down through families. I received my powers when I turned sixteen. My mom was eighteen. But with you… you were five when I felt it … when I knew it had chosen you to be the next carrier.”

Five?So young. It explained why she’d given me to Grandma at that age. I could remember, barely, meeting my grandma for the first time. How scared I’d been.

“It won’t be forever, okay?” Mom’s whispered promise came back to me. It hadn’t been forever, but it had been much longer than I’d expected. When I’d heard that Mom had died, I’d finally given up on the thought of a happily ever after.

“How did you know I was the next carrier?”

“I knew right away you had the ability.” She smiled as we started to walk along the shore. “I could see it in you. John,” Her smile fell. “He didn’t realize and I never told him. It was just a… knowing. A feeling.”

I understood. I’d had the same reaction at times; a shimmering of awareness that whispered through me. “Did you ever love him?”

She paused at the shore, close enough for the water to chill our toes. For a long moment she just stood there, watching a shrimp boat move across the horizon, a swarm of hungry gulls following in its wake, hoping for a snack. I wondered if she would ignore my question, or maybe she hadn’t heard me.

“Yes, I loved him,” she finally admitted. “And when I realized that he’d only married me to produce someone who would carry the source, it broke my heart.”

Her voice held no emotion and her face remained a clean slate void of feeling, but I believed her. He had broken her heart and I hated him even more for it. “He only wanted the power.”

She nodded. “He lied to us all. His father had been working for S.P.I., and even his grandfather.”

A long line of treachery. I shivered, wrapping my arms around myself. “When did you find out?”

“When Nora was a toddler, right after you’d been born.” She took off her sweatshirt and tossed it toward the dry sand, out of reach of the tide. I couldn’t imagine being a mother of a baby and toddler, only to find out everything in your life was a lie. Had she been scared? There was nothing but hard assuredness in her eyes now. Her body was lean; muscles easily visible under her tank top and shorts. But she’d been young once. Young and alone.

“It killed me, Cameron. Almost destroyed me.”

Would I be able to do the same thing… send away someone I loved in order to protect them?

“I could give up on life, or I could survive. And I realized that I had to live, for you and for Nora. It’s why I sent you away.” She lowered herself to the sand, sitting casually, as if we were going to have a picnic or something. “It was the only way to protect you, and as a parent, that is my job… to protect you no matter what. Always.”

I settled in the sand next to her, my body weak with emotion. For the first time in my life, I felt like maybe I truly had a mother; a parent who cared. Overcome, I looked away, staring at the crashing waves. The situation was unsettling; I wasn’t sure what to say or do. Perhaps my life hadn’t been exactly what I’d wanted, but I couldn’t deny that I suddenly had a family and I finally had answers.

“And Grandma?”

“John’s mother?”

I nodded.

“I wouldn’t have sent you with her unless I’d trusted her. She was tired of the life she’d been forced to live. She didn’t want the same for you. I knew she was the last place John would look. And it worked, for a while.”

Grandma had given up her husband, her son, her life, and all for me. The sudden sting of tears burned my eyes. Maybe if I’d listened to Grandma… maybe… maybe none of this would have happened and she’d be safe. But if I had listened to her, would I know Lewis? Would I have been reunited with my mom? It was a no win situation.

“You’re upset,” she said, her voice hesitant, as if she wasn’t quite sure how to proceed with me.

“Yeah.” I laughed, a harsh sound that frightened away a seagull getting close.

“About?”

I dug my fingers into the cool sand, needing to hold onto something. But the sand seeped from my palm, slipping between my fingers and falling to the beach. “It seems like no matter what I do, someone suffers.” I sniffed, angry at myself for caring. Hadn’t I sworn to no longer let my emotions rule my actions? Easier said than done.

My mom reached out, taking my hand in hers and surprising me. “You know what to do, deep down. You know who you are. You just need to believe in yourself.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m special,” I muttered, not really in the mood for a pep talk.

She let go of my hand and reached out, brushing a loose lock of hair from my face. “We are all special, we are all coursing with the energy. It’s just that some of us are better at controlling it. You were chosen, Cameron, to help those around you. The energy is there, it’s always been there. You just have to believe in yourself, and if you do, amazing things will happen.”

A small white butterfly floated by. Mom lifted her hand to the breeze. The tiny insect floated to her fingertips, resting there. “If you trust in yourself, others will trust in you. Even a tiny butterfly. If you are calm within, the world will be calm around you.”

“And how do I do that?” I asked, mesmerized by the way the butterfly trusted her.

“You find that inner peace deep within you. You connect with the world, with life. You learn who you truly are meant to be.”

I took in a deep trembling breath. She’d opened up to me, she’d told me more than I’d ever expected. She’d been honest. But would she tell me everything? The butterfly lifted and floated away.

“Tell me the truth,” I whispered. “Is grandma dead?”

My mom gazed out onto the water. For one long moment, she remained silent. The weight of that pause almost did me in. She didn’t need to say the words. Even if I hadn’t already known deep down, I felt the answer in the energy around us, the subtlest shift.

So why, when she finally replied, “Yes,” did that one word break my heart?

Chapter 17

I felt Lewis’ presence before I saw him. A whisper of awareness that covered me like a warm blanket; an awareness that was uniquely his. My entire being reacted when he was near, as if I no longer had control. He had somehow branded my heart, seeped into my soul, and I had a feeling I would know him forever.

“How’d you find me?” I asked, glancing up at him as he settled upon the sand. He wore jeans and a gray T-shirt that hugged his lean torso. Even though we didn’t touch, I could still feel his heat; smell that scent that was only his.

He was alive and well. I didn’t dare think about what would have happened had he not survived. I didn’t want to need him; I didn’t want to need anyone. But I could admit, to myself, that I was glad he was there. I pressed my toes into the sand as I waited for his response.

“I’m not sure how I found you.”

I glanced up at him, searching for an explanation.

He shook his head, looking bemused. He’d shaved; his face smooth. “I can sense you.” Lowering his gaze, he rubbed his palm, as he usually did when something confused him. “Your mom said it’s because you healed me. We’re connected somehow. It’s why she called me… to find you.”

“Connected forever?” I asked, startled.

He shrugged. “She said it can last a day, or years. Apparently we can sense each other’s emotions, or something. She wasn’t quite sure.”

Connected to Lewis? Maybe it should have creeped me out knowing I could be connected to anyone; knowing that he could find me, sense me. It didn’t. I leaned into him and rested my head on his shoulder, breathing in the scent of his aftershave. “She’s dead because of me.”

“Bull, Cameron,” he said gently. “This started long before you were born. She decided to marry your grandfather. She stayed with him, had a son, even knowing what she knew. Nora told me everything.”

I frowned; slightly annoyed he and Nora were sharing things I didn’t even know. How ridiculous to let something as pathetic as jealousy bother me at a time like this. But I couldn’t deny I was envious of the time he spent with my sister.

“Your grandma’s dead because she trusted her son when she shouldn’t have. You know she actually thought he had changed while you were living on that island? She gave up your location.”

I shook my head, wondering if he just said the words to ease my pain. Or had she really planned to hand me over? I sighed, staring out at the waves, watching the white crests topple toward the shore. More unanswered questions. But it didn’t matter now.

“She’s dead because she decided to get caught up into this craziness.”

“She didn’t really have a choice,” I said, still feeling the need to be loyal to the woman. She had raised me, after all. Yeah, my childhood hadn’t been great, but she’d kept me alive and well.

“You told me we always have a choice, and you were right.” He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me closer.

The air had grown cold and I gladly welcomed the warmth of his body. After Mom had admitted the truth, I’d turned around and walked away without a word. And walked. And walked. At one point I’d come to a small restaurant along the beach, stopped and eaten lunch alone. And then I’d walked some more, by the locals sunbathing, the men fishing, the children playing. I’d walked so much, up and down the beach, that my legs ached.

“I don’t feel like I have a choice now.”

“You do.” He rubbed my back in slow, easy movements. “You can stay here with your family, and learn about your abilities, or we can leave. You and I can stand up and walk away.”

How tempting to walk away with Lewis, but it wasn’t such an easy choice.

The first star of the evening winked from the sky, coming to life. Night would be here soon, no time to sit around waffling about what to do.

“Knowing you,” He glanced down at me and smiled. “You’ll pick the difficult choice.”

I returned his smile. “I can’t leave them. They’re counting on me.”

“I know.”

“But even more…” I frowned, not wanting to admit it. “They’re actually starting to feel like a family, the family I always wanted. I’ve been so alone for so long. And now…now I’m scared I’ll lose it all. I’ll lose you.”

“I’ll always be here, I promise.” He slid his finger under my chin and turned my face toward him. “We stay and fight. Fight for your family, for you, for us.” He pressed his lips to mine, sealing the promise. He hadn’t tried to force his opinion on me. He hadn’t even bothered giving me his thoughts on the subject. No, he had accepted my answer, and he had respected my choice. He would stand by my side, no matter what happened.

When he pulled back, I wasn’t quite ready for the day to end and the real work to start. I stayed pressed to his side and together we watched the sun hover on the horizon. Another day ending and another would soon begin. What would tomorrow bring?

“It will all work out, I know,” he said softly, as if reading my mind.

How different my life was now compared to last year. I’d wanted a change and I’d gotten it. But never, ever had I expected this. And it was worth it… everything… because I had a family. I had a life. I had Lewis. I pressed my face to his neck, kissing that sensitive spot. We would live in the moment, and in that moment I only wanted to be as close to him as possible.

“Will it?” I whispered. “You promise?” The sudden shift in his energy warned me something was coming. I stiffened, pulling back. It felt almost heavy, depressing. Apparently Mom was right; we could feel each other’s emotions. “What is it?”

“They’re planning to attack in seven days.”

His words surprised me and I jumped to my feet. So much for living in the moment. “My father’s coming in seven days?”

Lewis stood, unfolding his body more slowly. “Yeah. That’s what those on the inside are claiming.”

“And what does my mom think?”

He hesitated. “She agrees. Thinks it’s true.”

I felt ill. Seven days. We had seven days before it would end one way or another. I dug my toes into the cool sand, burying my feet. We had seven days together before one of us—either me or my father—would be destroyed.

“Seven days,” I whispered, watching a pelican swoop down low over the waves. And I knew the next week would be spent training, preparing. This could be the last moment I’d have alone with Lewis.

He smoothed his hands over his buzz cut. “Your mother wants to have the battle on the home base. She wants to be here, on your own turf. She thinks there will be an advantage in that.”

Maybe. Or maybe it wouldn’t matter. When it came down to it, the person who was the most powerful would be the one who would win. And my mother… she was the most powerful of all. Maybe if she and I worked together, we could defeat S.P.I. for good.

“You’ll be careful?” I whispered.

He lifted a brow. “Aren’t I always?”

“I’m serious.” I gripped his T-shirt in my hands, the material warm from his body. “No throwing yourself in front of any bullets. Promise me. If you’re injured again, I won’t be able to take it.”

“We will stay,” he said, covering my hands with his. “And we will fight together.”

I frowned. He hadn’t agreed to my promise but then I figured he wouldn’t. He brushed back my hair and pressed his lips to my forehead. A friendly kiss, too friendly. I didn’t want what could be our last alone time together to end on a friendly note.

“We should return. Your mother wants to start preparing.”

“Or…” I tightened my grip on his T-shirt and pulled him down with me to the sand. “We could just stay here and kiss.”

He grinned, that dimple flashing, and settled comfortably beside me. “Forever?”

“Or at least for this evening.”

He rolled atop me and pressed his mouth to mine. While the sun set, the world paused and for a brief moment there was no such thing as mind reading, there was no such thing as fighting. There was no one, nothing, but Lewis and me.

****

“Where the energy comes from, we don’t know,” my mom explained as the night wind sweeping off the ocean played with her hair. “The universe. God. Buddha. Believe whatever you want, but it’s there… around us.”

The moon was a crescent that hung suspended in the dark sky as my mother and I sat on the beach, a fire crackling between us. Lewis had left, back to the city over an hour ago and since then my mother and I had practiced controlling my energy. I’d broken through Sierra’s wall. I’d tried to break through my mom’s with no success. I’d moved a variety of objects, even the water that rolled toward the shore. I’d kept Sierra from breaking into my mind and had tried to keep my mom out.

I was spent. My head throbbed. The world had taken on a dreamy quality that only a person totally exhausted could understand. As my mom spoke, I barely paid attention, more interested in thinking over the moments I’d had with Lewis. I swore my lips still tingled from his kisses, and his scent clung to my T-shirt.

Mom shifted, drawing her knees to her chest, her gaze on the waves that lapped at the shore. “It’s in everything, everywhere. The trees. The water. The pull from the moon. It’s in every living thing, every human. But in most people, the energy is buried so deep it will never awaken.”

I didn’t say a word as she talked. I’d asked her to explain and now I almost wished I hadn’t. The night was too quiet, the world too still and my body too exhausted for deep concentration.

“It comes through in a few chosen ones and spreads from us like electricity, branching to the others, giving them their powers.” The left corner of her mouth lifted into a crooked grin. “Aaron says we’re like lightning rods.”

At the sound of Aaron’s name, my mood automatically soured. “Lucky us,” I muttered. It was obvious my mom thought highly of the guy, although why, I wasn’t sure. I mean seriously, what had he done that had been so great? As far as I could see, there was no benefit to having the guy around.

“We’re lucky. We’re chosen, as Aaron says.”

I rolled my eyes. Did she have to constantly drop his name? And what was with him being at her house all the time? Didn’t he have his own home? They might as well have been…

It hit me suddenly and the words stumbled from my lips before I could pull them back. “You’re dating!” The words came out like an accusation.

When she didn’t respond, didn’t even look at me, my stomach dropped. “Oh God, you’re in love with him.”

She slid me a glance. There was still no response, but it was there in her eyes. I took in a deep, trembling breath, trying to understand. How? How could she love someone who had hurt me? Who had broken into my mind and stolen my memories? I wasn’t sure if I should be stunned, sickened or angry.

“We’ve known each other for a very long time.”

That was her defense? I released the air I hadn’t even realized I held, and focused on the moon. Focused on the energy flowing around me, pulling at the tide, in the bats that swooped above looking for insects.

It would be pointless to be angry about Aaron now. Besides, I was too tired. Tired of the bombardment of emotions that were constantly hitting me. She was in love with him. He was in love with her. I supposed it was none of my business. It’s not like I was planning on staying in her house, living in the guest room for the rest of my life, was I?

I shook off the uneasy question of my future. “So, Nora and I get our powers from you? And your power was passed down from your mother?”

“Exactly.” She seemed relieved to change the subject. “But because the source has chosen you, you have special abilities. In fact, you’re able to tap into any other person’s energy and use their powers.”

“It’s why Maddox told me to use my father’s powers to break out.”

“Exactly.”

She picked up a stick and stoked the flames. Sparks of light burst into the air, whispering away on the ocean breeze. “At some point my powers will transfer to you completely.”

“When you die?” I said, my voice catching with emotion.

“No.” She dropped the stick and brushed her hands off on her shorts. “If I die before they transfer and imprint on you completely, they die with me. Not all your powers, just the powers from the source. It will be reabsorbed into the universe…somewhere.”

She said the words in an unconcerned manner, as if death held no power over her. “And after I absorb the source completely?”

“Then you will transfer them to one of your children.”

Kids? I had never really thought about having kids. The idea frightened me. What sort of life would my child have? “And if I don’t have any kids?”

“Then the source will either reabsorb into the universe or it will choose another.”

I picked up a pebble and tossed it to the waves. It disappeared into the darkness, the splash barely audible over the roar of the ocean. “So this is why everyone says I’m so special.”

“Yes.”

“I don’t feel special.”

She grinned. “You will.” She waved me around the fire. “Come here.”

I moved around the flames and settled on the cool sand in front of her, the fire warm beside us.

“When you are connected, you will feel amazing. The world will be a place of positive energy and flow. You could be fighting in the midst of a battle, and you’ll feel oddly calm because you’ll know that there is much, much more than this. There’s an entire universe beyond the physical realm. You will no longer fear life, and you’ll certainly no longer fear death.”

I’d felt it already…although just an inkling. Those moments at the compound when I’d felt unbelievably strong. Moments when I’d no longer felt on the earth, but more a part of the universe.

She took my hands in hers. Her fingers were long, delicate, like mine. “Some say our ancient ancestors were aliens, which is why we are so connected to the universe. Others say we’re from fallen angels. Some say we were blessed, some say cursed.”

I’d heard it all before from Father Myron. “What do you think?”

“When you are connected, you realize that there is nothing evil to this. Only men make it dark.” She took in a deep breath. “Close your eyes.”

I did.

“Relax. Feel the pulse of energy.”

Almost immediately my hands warmed as energy branched between us… electricity that spread up my arms, and through my chest. My entire body buzzed with heat. I was no longer there; I was no longer on earth. I floated in nothing but peace.

“Perfect, concentrate,” Mom whispered.

Through the darkness that surrounded me, white pinpoints of light burst to life. I felt nothing but life and energy. Although I no longer felt as if I had a body, I was somehow moving… moving through time…through space.

The darkness suddenly gave way and golden light burst around me; the most brilliant sunshine I’d ever experienced. Warm, comforting, like a warm summer day. I don’t remember having a thought, a worry, as I floated there, not wanting to return. It was pure and utter bliss.

But suddenly my mother’s hands pulled away. A coldness washed over me, the light faded and I was jerked back into my hard body. I opened my eyes with a start. Disappointment sucked away all the happiness.

My mother’s face was bathed in the light from the fire as she watched me intensely, as if judging my reaction. “That is just a small picture of the universe. That is the energy. That is the source. And that is the thing John wants more than anything else.”

Yeah, I had powers, but I knew I was not that power. That power came from the universe. A shiver of unease vibrated the very air around us. It didn’t matter what happened, it didn’t matter what side I picked. They claimed it was a matter of life or death, this fight for the source. But they had no idea that, in reality, their world was a pittance of what was out there. Life would go on no matter what we did. The energy would flow even if we all killed each other, leaving the world empty of humans.

“You did well.” She brushed the hair from my face, then took my hand and helped me to my feet. “Let’s go home.”

I glanced once more up at the sky, the flickering stars and the endless universe. I wasn’t sure what I looked for, perhaps answers, a sign. But receiving none, I turned and followed my mom toward Sierra’s cottage.

Chapter 18

Two days had gone by since I’d last seen Lewis, since I’d been at my mother’s home. But it felt like a lifetime. While he had been hiking the tunnels of Savannah with Nora, I’d been forced to train at the beach over and over. I’d been tossed about by Sierra and my mom, pushed to the limit, my head throbbing so I thought it might crack open, and all I could think about was getting back to Lewis.

“Why do I need to be so prepared?” I asked, staring blankly out the dark windows as we drove into Savannah once more. After all she was the source, not me. At least not yet.

Mom flipped on her blinker and we turned down her street. Most of the homes were dark, the people fast asleep. “Because you always have to be prepared. You never know when you might have to fight on your own.”

True. It would be nice not to rely on others, but why did I feel like her answer had another, deeper, darker meaning?

Mom parked the car alongside the curb, and when I noticed the flickering television light coming from the living room windows, I prayed Lewis was awake. I was out of the car before my mom had even turned it off.

My exhaustion vanished at the thought of seeing Lewis. He was the one bright light in the last few days. I bounded up the steps and shoved open the door, only to pull up short, disappointed to see Nora in the living room. She was curled up in a chair, a bowl of chocolate ice cream in her lap.

“Welcome back,” she muttered around a spoonful.

I kicked off my tennis shoes near the couch, attempting to keep the disappointment from my face. “Hey.”

She smiled, but there was something about her expression that left me feeling uneasy. The smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. I could see the flicker of curiosity in her gaze, although she didn’t ask what we’d been up to. I wondered if she could actually be jealous. I’d never thought much about Nora and her feelings, to be honest, and I felt guilty for dwelling on my own issues. After all, she’d been abducted and tortured by our father. She’d saved me, and now she had to sit idly by while I took up Mom’s attention.

“How’s it going?” I asked, tossing my sweatshirt to the couch, leaving behind my t-shirt. I glanced at the stairs wondering how long ago Lewis had gone to bed, and wishing desperately he’d waited up for me.

“You’re still awake, Night Owl?” Mom said, coming in behind me.

I watched with some amusement as she locked the door and set the alarm. We needn’t worry about petty criminals; we’d hear their thoughts coming. And no alarm could keep out the real enemy.

“Yep. Lewis isn’t though. He was tired from our jaunts through the tunnels. I told him he could stay in the guest room since we didn’t know what time you’d be back. Plus, I figured he needed the time to recuperate. He still seems a bit exhausted from his little vacation in prison.”

I wasn’t sure if I should feel disappointed or worried. While I’d had to train, Nora had escorted my boyfriend around the town, doing only God knew what. I should have been grateful that she’d entertained Lewis; instead that jealousy I was so sure she had been feeling suddenly transferred to me.

“Looks like you’ve got the couch,” my mom said quite firmly. In other words, I wasn’t sharing a bed with Lewis again. The urge to argue was overwhelming. I was eighteen, and I’d been on my own for years, really. Yeah, Grandma had been strict about me not discussing or showing my abilities, but as long as I was at home by a certain time she didn’t care much what I did. Wasn’t it a little late for my mom to be playing parent of the year?

“Already have the blankets for her.” Nora nodded toward the stack at the end of the couch.

I threw her a frown, and she grinned back.

“Great. Tomorrow we’ll set up a cot in Nora’s room.”

That made my sister frown and I was suddenly grinning.

“I’m going to bed,” Mom said. “Try not to go on any life-saving missions while I’m sleeping.” She gave us a little wave and headed toward her room located at the back of the house.

I settled on the couch, stretching out and closing my eyes in an attempt to ignore Nora. But I couldn’t rest; instead my thoughts swirled in a whirlwind of confusing emotions. Exhaustion, excitement, eagerness, jealousy and leeriness. I lifted my lids, watching Nora through my lashes. We had never been BFF’s but now the feeling was even more off balance, tilting precariously onto its side. The universe had chosen me over her; I’d become Mom’s little pet project. Even though she’d had a lot of years to deal with the idea of not being the carrier, she hadn’t had years to deal with the idea of me.

“Don’t look at me like that.” She unfolded her legs and stood.

A heated flush rushed to my cheeks. “Like what?”

She moved into the kitchen and I waited, wondering if I should follow. I was so not used to discussing my feelings.

“Like you feel sorry for me,” she said, right before she turned on the water.

I could hear her rinsing out her bowl, and waited for the moment when I could respond.  Sorry for her? Not exactly… okay, maybe. I frowned, leaning back against the cushions and pulling a blanket over my legs. I suppose I did feel a little sorry for her. Moments later she stepped back into the room.

“Look.” She leaned against the door jamb, her arms folded over her chest. “Yeah, you’re going to have more power than me. So what? I got to have an actual life. At least for most of my childhood. My ex-boyfriend works for the enemy; your boyfriend was pacing all day waiting for you to come home. You’ll have to save the world, I won’t. I don’t want the pressure, thank you very much.”

I bit my lip to keep from asking more about Lewis and his pacing. This so wasn’t the time. “He helped me, you know. Maddox helped me escape and they most likely realized he was involved.”

She took in a deep, trembling breath. “My point is we both have had crappy things happen, and we’ve both had good things.” She turned off the light, throwing the room into darkness and moved up the staircase. “No one’s life is perfect.”

She had totally ignored my statement about Maddox, but she was obviously done talking. I sighed and scooped up the T.V. remote, turning off the television and throwing the room into darkness.

“No one’s life is perfect,” I mocked.

They were words Maddox had said to me weeks ago. Nora and Maddox were much, much more alike than I’d realized. Instead of thinking about my dad’s imminent arrival, or even my and Nora’s confusing relationship, when I closed my eyes unwelcome thoughts of Maddox entered my mind. He had been a friend. I never would have made it out without him. None of us would have. Yet, I’d left him to rot in jail.

“Cameron,” Lewis’ warm breath brushed across my face.

I must have fallen asleep because for a moment I thought I dreamed. A gentle touch nudged my shoulder. My lashes lifted. Lewis’ dark form hovered over me.

“What is it?” I pushed myself up, the blanket falling to the couch.

He grinned. “Come on.”

The house lay silent, everyone asleep. It was later than I’d assumed. “Where are we going?”

“Let’s get out of here.”

I didn’t need to ask more. I shoved my feet into my shoes and latched onto his hand. I didn’t know where we were going. I didn’t care. I was a little surprised when he led me toward the bookshelf where the secret passage was located. With his bottom lip between his teeth, he shoved aside Jane Eyre and pressed a code into the panel hidden behind the book.

“Where’d you learn the password?” I whispered.

“Nora showed me today while you were gone.”

There was that darn jealously taunting me again. I pushed aside the annoying feeling as we tiptoed down the steps and the bookshelf closed behind us. The corridor was long and dimly lit, fading into darkness. It was silent, so very quiet.

The moment our feet hit the floor Lewis spun me around, and pressed me to the stone wall. I barely had time to register before his lips met mine. Maybe it was lack of sleep, more likely the feel of Lewis’ body against me, but all I knew was that I was thankful for the wall holding me upright. My knees went weak. Lewis growled low in his throat, tilting his head and deepening the kiss. A heated urge swirled through my body, an aching need to be closer to him. Unfortunately, he pulled away.

“Come on.” He took my hand and led me down the hall. “There are guards, but they change shifts. We have about ten minutes.”

“Where are we going?” I asked, tripping after him.

“You’ll see.”

For almost ten minutes we ran, and for those ten minutes I was sure we’d be caught. We weren’t. The tunnel curved and Lewis pulled me into an alcove, pressing me into the shadows. The dim light only highlighted the angular planes of his face, making him look older than he was, more dangerous.

“Lewis, what are—”

“Shhh. Cover your thoughts and mine.”

“Can I do that?”

He grinned. “Try it.”

I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath, trying to relax my mind. The tunnels fell away, but I was still confused about what to do. As if by instinct, I imagined a bubble around us, the energy contained. I could feel our powers pulse at the mental wall, as if waiting to be freed. The soft fall of footsteps alerted me to another’s presence. I opened my eyes.

“Don’t drop it,” Lewis warned. “Keep concentrating.”

My gaze locked on Lewis; I stared into his blue eyes and kept the wall up, protecting us in the bubble as the guard moved by.

Lewis smiled as the footsteps faded. “You did it!”

“How’d you know I could?”

He shrugged, reaching up, and brushing his fingers across my cheek in a soft caress. “I have to do something while waiting around for you. I’ve been researching. Cameron, do you realize what you’ll be able to do once you fully absorb your powers?”

My mother’s words came back to haunt me. “Yes, I loved him,” she had admitted. “And when I realized that he’d only married me to produce someone who would carry the source, it broke my heart.”

I wasn’t sure I liked where this was going. Annoyed, I pushed away from him and moved out of the alcove. But I had nowhere to go. I didn’t want to return home; I wasn’t sure how to get out of these endless tunnels.

His fingers wrapped around my wrist. “What’s wrong?”

I spun around, facing him. “I don’t care about the powers, Lewis, and if that’s why you’re with me-”

“Wait a minute,” He pulled me close. “Calm down. My research has nothing to do with using you. How could you think that?”

I studied his features, looking for the truth. I felt only sincerity in his response. The realization left me slightly ashamed. It was so damn hard to trust people.

“I’m researching because I can’t sleep at night, worrying about you.” He gripped my waist, pulling me closer. “You said you wouldn’t be able to stand it if something happened to me. Do you not think I feel the same way about you?”

I threw my arms around his neck and stood on tiptoe. “I’m sorry.”

For one long moment, we merely stood there embracing. When the sound of footsteps echoed down the tunnel Lewis pulled back.

“Come on.” He took my hand.

We had only moments before we’d be caught. Eager to be free, we raced down the corridor until it ended at a steel door. Nervous, I stood there gasping for air, waiting as Lewis pressed numbers into another keypad.

“Where are we going? What’s this about?”

He grinned and pushed the door wide. “Privacy.”

We stepped into a small shack cluttered with junk; broken chairs, dusty boxes stacked atop one another, and cobwebs that whispered against the ceiling. The two windows were covered with dingy beige curtains, hiding the shack from prying eyes. There, in the corner, was a sofa.

“Wow, this is romantic… if you’re a serial killer.”

He laughed. “Hey, if I can be alone with you, it’s fine with me. I know the tunnels, every one of them. We can go anywhere. This is only one of many exits, and no one ever comes in here.”

I inched forward, weaving my way around the clutter and brushed aside a curtain. The river glimmered in the distance, gas lamps flickering along the cobbled lane as if we’d been transported back in time. How I wanted to go outside and breathe in the fresh air. To stroll through the town, talking with my boyfriend, holding hands, making out in the shadows. How badly I wanted to be a normal eighteen year old.

I spun around, facing Lewis. “Let’s go outside.”

He rubbed the back of his neck, his gaze flickering uneasily from the door to me. “I’m not sure.”

I laughed, giddy with the idea of freedom. Now that I’d come up with the plan, there was no talking me out of it. “Come on.” Before he could reject the thought, I grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the door. “I’ll sense my father if he arrives in Savannah. Besides, we’ve got a good four days before we need to worry.”

“Cameron—”

“Come on!” I paused at the door, waiting impatiently for him to type in the code.

He hesitated for a brief moment, and just when I thought he’d say no, he lifted his hand toward the keypad. “Your mother will kill me.”

“She’ll never know.”

He typed in a five digit number. “She always knows.”

The soft click of the door unlocking was like angels singing. Outside the night was cool and crisp. From somewhere a buoy clanged like church bells. It sounded like freedom. I stepped hesitantly onto the threshold. The Savannah River glimmered under the lights of the hotels and streetlamps that lined the dark body of water. It was beautiful and romantic.

Lewis closed the door, letting it lock on its own. “Come on,” he whispered, taking my hand.

He led me down an overgrown path. The shack was tucked behind an empty brick factory, hidden by trees and bushes. It looked like a nondescript, abandoned building. No one would realize that it held the secrets to an organization who could rule the world, if they chose.

“Nora used to sneak out this way,” Lewis whispered near my ear. “When she was in high school.”

I nodded, smiling, although I really had no interest in what Nora did or didn’t do during her teenage years. I’d rather talk about Lewis, or rather me and Lewis. We moved down a set of stone stairs and onto River Street. After midnight, few people were actually in the tourist district, which was fine by me. I felt free here, alone with Lewis. The danger and excitement of our escape left me feeling slightly breathless. Moving closer to him, we walked side by side across the street and toward the river.

“This way.” He ushered me toward a low line of shrubbery that shielded a statue of some sort. I didn’t question him; I was just glad to be away from the tunnels, away from my family, and out in the open.

“Here.” He shrugged off his sweatshirt, leaving behind a T-shirt that hugged his torso, and settled the sweatshirt on brick ground. I realized as we settled down that the statue was of a woman waving some sort of cloth.

Noticing my interest, he asked. “Do you know the story of the statue?”

“No.”

He took my hand and pulled me to the ground. Partially hidden by the bushes and statue, it felt like only Lewis and I resided in Savannah. There was no one else in the world.

“She used to wave to the ships that came in.” He looked out onto the water. “She supposedly fell in love with a sailor who promised to marry her when he returned, but the man never came back. It didn’t matter, because for years after she still greeted the ships.”

“He probably shacked up with some waitress in the next town.”

He clicked his tongue. “So unromantic.”

I laughed. “Yeah, I’m not the one who wanted to make out in an abandoned shack.”

“I never said make out, I said spend time.”

I punched him playfully in the bicep. “Which is ‘make out’ in guy talk.”

He grinned, not bothering to argue. This was the old Lewis, whether he remembered or not. The Lewis before he’d had his memory erased. The Lewis who had always been romantic, caring, amusing.

I rested my head on his shoulder. “So what does the story mean? Is it a warning not to fall in love?”

“No.” He slid his finger under my chin and tilted my head back so he could gaze into my eyes. “It’s a story of hope. Of never giving up.”

My humor fled as he leaned down and kissed me. “I will never ever give up,” he whispered against my mouth.

My heart swelled and I wrapped my arms around his shoulders. Boldly, I turned and straddled his lap, sitting on his thighs. For one long moment we merely stared at each other. From somewhere in the distance church bells rang the time. One in the morning.

“I couldn’t sleep,” he said, brushing back my hair. “I had to see you.”

I leaned into him and pressed my mouth to his. I didn’t flinch when his warm hands slid under my t-shirt, pressing to my back. His skin against mine felt deliciously wicked. Our tongues met, moving against each other in a deep and wonderful kiss that had my heart stammering. I swore I could have stayed there forever, until the sun came up, if the tourists hadn’t happened by. I sensed them before I heard them.

With a gasp, I pulled away. “People.”

“What?” He seemed confused.

I bit my lower lip to keep from laughing and pushed him back. I fell atop him, flattening myself to his hard body. There were at least two women walking nearby; I could feel their energy.

“Right,” one woman drawled out, the tap of her high heeled shoes echoing against the cobbled road. “So I’m like, who was she?”

“What did he say?” another woman asked as they moved by not ten feet from us. Lewis’ heart beat slow and steady against my chest. I tilted my head just enough to breathe in the scent that clung to his neck.

“Oh, he claimed she was just a friend. Puhlease. As if I’d believe that.”

They disappeared up the road, but I didn’t move. He rested one arm under his head, cushioning his skull from the bricks beneath us. “I don’t remember our past, our time together,” he whispered. “I don’t know how serious we were. But I do know one thing, even though I didn’t remember you, I missed you.”

I closed my eyes, feeling the sting of tears, and rested the side of my face against his chest. Seriously, Lewis should write poetry, or romance novels. He knew exactly what to say to pull at my heartstrings. The guy was a pro.

“I felt so lost, so alone while I was in Massachusetts,” he whispered. “I don’t feel lost anymore. I feel like…like I’m home.”

Unable to hold back any longer, I pressed my mouth to his. It seemed like we lay there forever, merely kissing. I didn’t want to go anywhere else. I didn’t want to return to the world. I merely wanted to get lost in Lewis.

After all I’d been through; making out with him underneath a statue along the Savannah River was probably the strangest of all. Yeah, typical for most teens, but I wasn’t most teens. But when we heard the sound of another approaching couple, we decided to give up before we were caught.

“As much as I don’t want to, we should probably leave before we’re thrown back in jail,” he said.

I shrugged. “Been there, done that.” With a grin, I pushed myself away from him and moved reluctantly aside.

“Come on.” Lewis stood, picking up his sweatshirt. He didn’t put it on, but pulled it over my head and gave me a quick kiss. The sleeves hung low, but it was warm, his scent surrounding me. I crossed my arms, snuggling deeper into the material.

Lewis wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me close and we followed the sidewalk that ran along the river. Obviously neither of us were eager to return home, and I was content to just be with Lewis.

“Tell me,” he said.

“Tell you what?” I leaned against him, pressing into his side. How could it be that we seemed to fit perfectly together?

“What were you like in school?”

I frowned, staring out at the dark water. The hotels that surrounded the river were aglow with a light that sparkled against the surface. So many families on vacation, with no idea what the world held, no idea of what evil lurked beyond their understanding.

“Lonely,” I replied. “Confused. Angry. Quite the catch.”

He grinned. “Mysterious, smart, adorable. That’s what I would have seen.”

I punched him playfully in his stomach. “Liar.”

“No.” He stopped and forced me to pause beside him. His face had grown serious as his gaze locked with mine.

I felt slightly unsure under his compliments. I’d had so few of them while growing up. “I’m not a superhero. I’m just…me.”

He grinned. “That’s all I want.”

I gave him a hesitant smile. Maybe Lewis only wanted me, but what about the rest of them? My mom. Aaron. Nora. They wanted so much from me. What if I couldn’t live up to their expectations?

“Let’s go.” Lewis tugged me back toward the entrance. “We need to get back before we’re caught.”

As much as I didn’t want to return, I knew he was right. As we started down River Street, I glanced back at the statue one last time. Suddenly I understood. Hope. It was all we had, wasn’t it? The one thing that kept us going. Without hope there was no reason to live.

Chapter 19

“There are five fully used entrances and exits,” my mother explained as we walked through the tunnels the next evening. “And a handful of others that have been blocked off.”

Nora, Mom and Aaron were ahead, while Lewis and I stayed in the back like we were on some sort of tour of the Weird and Crazy of Savannah’s underground. The guard standing next to one such door nodded in greeting.

I’d been practicing controlling the energy all day at the beach and only wanted to sit in front of the television and veg out. Or better yet, head to the love shack and cuddle with Lewis. Unfortunately, the carrier of the source never rested.

According to our spies, we had three days and my dad and his army would be here. They were coming for one thing…me. Yep, nothing like being the special one.

“We don’t have video cameras,” mom said, turning around and walking backwards. “There’s no point as they can disable them. In fact they can destroy almost any electronic device.”

As Lewis could, and as I had done to the security system at the compound only days ago. I shook off the unsettling memory. It seemed like it had been years, so much had happened since then. Yet the memory of fear remained bitter on my tongue. All it took was one little thing going awry and our win could turn to a loss.

“But S.P.I. likes to use electronics because it’s run by the government, people without our abilities. People who don’t trust mind readers.  So they use both electronics and mind readers to guard their compound.”

Not surprising that they didn’t trust anyone. I could still picture their pale faces, those beady eyes like rats, waiting for a meal. They didn’t even trust each other.

“Our keypads aren’t to keep out mind readers, but merely to keep normal people from finding us. Every time someone enters or exits, we know.”

She looked pointedly at me, then Lewis. I flushed, realizing she’d known all along about our trip along the river. When she turned back around Lewis slid me a glance and grinned. We were like children who’d been caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

“So then how do you keep other mind readers out?” I dared to ask, trying to change the subject.

“For years now we were fortunate enough to be protected by secrecy. No one knew where we were located. We didn’t really need much of a security system.”

Not one person glanced my way, but I could feel their attention. Yep, they’d been safe and sound here in the tunnels… until I’d given away our secret days ago. Sheesh, talk about holding onto a grudge.

“Still, we have always had mind readers who are adept at security better than others and they watch the city.”

“In what way?” Lewis asked.

“Their specialty is sensing energy fields.” She turned around and went left down another tunnel.

But even I knew that there were ways to cheat the system; to make people think they were sensing, hearing, seeing things they weren’t. Heck, Nora had tricked me more than once, making me think I’d heard things coming from a certain direction.

“Remember those exits. Especially you, Cameron.” Mom turned left. “If it looks bad, or if Nora, Aaron or I tell you to go, you need to run.”

I bristled at the thought. “Run?”

“Get out of the city. Hide. Your best bet is to go to England where there are more of us than there are S.P.I. agents.”

Yeah, sure plan. I’d just hop aboard a plane, head to jolly old England and start asking where the nearest mind reader compound was located. “Are you joking?”

She turned toward me and crossed her arms over her chest. I might not have spent much time with her, but I knew that look. She wasn’t going to budge on the issue. “We will do our best to protect you, but if it seems like we’re losing, you need to escape. It’s very important, Cameron.”

Stunned, I looked at Nora, Lewis, Aaron. Did they all agree with her nonsense? Apparently so because no one spoke up. “I can protect myself. I’ve done quite well so far, thank you.”

“No, you’ve done well because you’ve had help from others,” Aaron piped in.

I wasn’t sure which annoyed me more, that he had given his opinion, or that he was right. Yeah, okay, so maybe I wouldn’t have been able to escape Aaron’s island without Lewis. And maybe I wouldn’t have escaped my father’s compound the first time without Nora. And maybe I wouldn’t have been able to escape the second time without Maddox… Ugh, what was my point?

“That doesn’t mean I can’t fight.”

“No one is saying you can’t fight,” Mom said. “We know how powerful you are.”

“Then let me help protect you,” I implored.

“You don’t get it,” Nora said, sighing. “It’s not about protecting us, it never has been. It’s about protecting the freaking source. How do you not get it?”

She shouldered her way between us and stomped down the hall back toward Mom’s house. Sure she wasn’t jealous. The girl was seething with contempt. She was more likely to hand me over to dear Dad than protect me from him.

“So, what? You’ll all do your best to protect me, even give your own lives whether you want to or not?” The thought that I was more important than they were, was ridiculous. Did they not see that? Yet, no one responded. Not even Lewis. I turned away, planning to return to the house with Nora. “No. I won’t have it.”

“Cameron,” my mother called out, but I kept walking.

Firm fingers bit into my upper arm, jerking me to a stop. “You,” Aaron hissed, spinning me around. “Are being selfish. It’s not about you, it’s about everyone. It’s about the source. To protect us all, we have to protect you.”

Lewis gripped Aaron’s arm and jerked him away with more strength than I’d thought possible. Aaron stumbled back, hitting the wall and looking as stunned as the rest of us.

“Do not hurt her,” Lewis snapped, seething.

I was touched that he’d felt the need to protect me, even knowing I could protect myself. I reached out, resting my hand on Lewis’ arm. The tenseness of his muscles didn’t put me at ease. I had a feeling Lewis still hadn’t forgiven Aaron for erasing our memories.

“It’s okay,” I said softly.

“Aaron’s right,” Mom said, of course coming to his rescue. “This isn’t just about you, Cameron.”

I released a wry laugh. “Yeah, the greater good.”

Mom glanced at Aaron, then Lewis. “Give us a moment.”

I rolled my eyes, knowing a lecture was sure to come. Seriously, she so wasn’t going to get that Mother of the Year mug I’d been planning on purchasing for Christmas. Aaron immediately walked away, like Mom’s little lapdog. At least Lewis hesitated.

“It’s okay,” I muttered.

Lewis nodded and followed Aaron, heading back toward the house, but I could sense his reluctance and knew he worried about me. I could only hope they wouldn’t kill each other along the way. I sighed, rubbing my throbbing temples. I felt like I was on the cusp of losing control and I didn’t like the feeling.

“Come on.” Mom started down the hall. “This way.”

I followed, my curiosity getting the better of me. We walked for a good five minutes, taking twists and turns I’d never remember, moving by another guard who nodded in greeting, until finally we paused outside a door. Mom typed in yet another code and the door opened. It was a small room with three computers, a table in the middle, and a large book on a pedestal toward the far wall.

A young woman with blonde hair was seated at one of the computers.

“Sam, can you give us some time?” Mom asked.

“Sure, Kat.” She stood and left without a fuss even though she was obviously in the middle of doing something. Once again I was reminded of how much power my mother had. I wondered if when the source transferred, these people would hail me as their new leader. As much as I loved the idea of ordering Aaron about, I didn’t exactly want the role.

“Sit.” Mom nodded toward one of two chairs placed around the table. “This is our research center. There are hidden chat rooms on the web where we discuss our powers and mind reading in general. We use code, of course, in case anyone were to stumble upon them. We keep our records and research on these computers.” She started toward that pedestal.

So this was where Lewis had been researching. I pulled out a chair and sat behind the table. She lifted the large, leather-bound book from the pedestal and turned toward me.

“But we also have this.”

She dropped the book in front of me. “Here. Everyone who has been chosen as the source for the past four hundred years. Take your time.”

Without another word she turned and left. The door clicked closed and silence settled around me. Alone. Completely alone. I hesitated only a moment, then curiosity got the better of me and I opened the leather-bound book. Yellowed pages crackled with age, protesting the movement. It was the very first page that caught my attention.

What we are we do not know. Where we come from remains a mystery. But we will always strive to do what is right.

-Lucy Shire 1825

Shire.My mother’s maiden name.

But we will always strive to do what is right. I wondered if my father had ever seen this book. Wondered if he ever felt guilty about turning on us, or if he was so blinded by his cause that he didn’t see that what he was doing was wrong.

Careful not to rip the brittle paper, I flipped to the next page. Lucy had written in flowing, faded ink the names, dates and powers of families from all around the world. Most of the names I didn’t recognize, but there, at the very front, was Lucy’s family line… Shire.

And there was me. My name in a handwriting that was different from Lucy’s, who had died long ago, but my name was there all the same. Most likely written down by my mom. I followed the tree branches, reading every name in my family back until the early 1700s. So many mind readers. I couldn’t help but wonder what their lives had been like. More importantly, when had it all started? But our tree branch ended. I flipped through a few more pages and skimmed some more family trees of people I didn’t know. The earliest date was 1600. Surely the powers hadn’t just appeared out of thin air. How had we gotten them?

But there was something odd that stood out… names underlined. I flipped back to my family tree and it dawned on me. Mom was underlined, I was underlined, Nora wasn’t. They had marked those who held the source. And there, next to my mother’s name, was her sister… Elizabeth. A woman not chosen. A woman I’d never known existed. A woman who had faded into obscurity. And I wondered, if I hadn’t been chosen as the source, would I have faded too?

I followed the line of the source. Mom had gotten her powers from her mother, and my grandmother had gotten her powers from her mother. Mother to daughter, for centuries. Overcome with emotion, I leaned back in my chair and stared at our family tree. A shiver of something I couldn’t quite identify raced over my body. A weird combination of awe, wonder, excitement.

Bewildering.

I realized with some annoyance that Mom had done exactly what she’d set out to do all along.

She’d made me proud to be part of this family. Proud to be a mind reader.

****

I was about halfway through the family trees when a soft knock interrupted me. Startled, I nearly dropped the book. How long had I been in the small room studying our history? I closed the book and set it on the table. The energy was familiar, although I couldn’t quite place it, and I wondered if the steel door or brick walls were interrupting my concentration.

“Yeah?” I called out, standing and stretching. The door opened and Lewis stepped inside, a silver tray in hand. He smiled that crooked grin that made my heart flutter.

“Hungry?”

“Definitely.” I started toward the door, closing it behind him, hoping we could have some privacy. I’d missed him, as silly as that sounded. “How long have I been down here?”

“Two hours.”

That certainly surprised me. Time flew when you were trying to uncover the source of your superhuman powers.

He set the tray on the table. “Find anything?”

“I did.” I lifted the dome, the scent of fried chicken and green beans heady and delicious. I pushed the book toward him and pulled the food closer. It seemed like an excellent trade. “My family.”

He sat at the table and started to flip through the pages while I ate. The chicken was so good, it practically fell from the bone and melted in my mouth. I knew Mom hadn’t made the meal as I’d never seen her make more than scrambled eggs. Another thing we had in common; I got my lack of cooking skills from her. Good thing I had mind reading to fall back on.

“There are so many mind readers in those pages. So many lives. So much history. It makes me feel…” I searched for the right words.

Lewis’ beautiful blue eyes found me. “Less alone?”

I nodded, wondering how much to divulge. Would my excitement only make him feel worse? As far as we knew, Lewis had no one left. Not one family member. All this time he’d been comforting me, when in reality he was the one who should have needed comfort. I set my fork down, my appetite gone. He didn’t seem to mind my enthusiasm, and that’s what I liked about him; he was always supportive. As he flipped through the pages, I stood and moved around the table needing to be closer.

“Hey,” I whispered.

He glanced up through those thick, black lashes. “Yeah?”

“Thanks.”

He took my hands in his. “For what?”

“For always believing in me.For standing by me.”

He slipped his arm around my waist and pulled me onto his lap. “I understand.” He brushed aside my hair. “I understand what it’s like to be alone. But we aren’t alone anymore.”

There he went with his poetry, once more drawing me into his web of pretty words. And I fell for it like I always did. I pressed my lips to his, savoring the feel of his touch. I knew we didn’t have long before the war would rain down upon us; I planned on selfishly hoarding every moment I could.

I pulled back, rubbing my hand over his short hair. “Is Aaron mad?”

He grinned. “A little.”

I shook my head. “I can’t believe you attacked him. Okay, yeah, it was kind of awesome but you could’ve been hurt.”

He laughed, and pressed his hand to his chest as if wounded. “Wow, what a blow to my ego. So much for saving the damsel in distress.”

I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my mouth to his. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay, but I’m not that invalid anymore.”

I slid my finger around the collar of his T-shirt. “I know. It was just so damn scary seeing you near death.”

“It won’t happen again.” He sounded so positive, I only hoped it was true. “Besides, I’m sure if Aaron would have retaliated, you would have protected me.”

I grinned, he was obviously joking but we also both knew he was right. “You think I can take him?”

“Absolutely, although it’s a bit humiliating. I mean,” he sighed dramatically, “what will the guys in the locker room say when they realize my girlfriend could probably kick my ass?”

“Not at all!” I reached out, gripping his muscled biceps. “You’re very manly.”

“As long as you think so.” He leaned close to me, resting his forehead to mine, his breath warm on my lips. “We’ll be okay, Cameron. I promise we’ll get through this.”

He’d grown all serious on me. I pulled back, our gazes locking. “And then what?”

His dark brows drew together, and he tilted his head to the side in a thoughtful manner, as if he’d never really contemplated the future. “What do you want to do? Not like I’ve got plans, or places to go.”

I shrugged, sliding my hand down the back of his neck. “At one time I’d wanted to go to college.”

“Be a typical teen, huh?” He grinned. “Then we go to college.”

But he hadn’t wanted to go when I’d known him in Maine, before his memory had been erased. That Lewis had seen no reason to go; not when he had powers. “Really? You never wanted to go before.”

He stared unblinkingly at the wall as if lost in the past, trying to see something he couldn’t. “I guess I’ve changed. Why not experience all that life has to offer.”

The relief I felt was overwhelming. I liked this new Lewis. I liked him a lot.

He pressed a quick kiss to my lips. “Now eat so we can take care of this war and move on.”

“Food can wait.” I started to push the book away, intending to kiss him when he latched onto my hand, stopping me.

“Hold on.” He lifted me off his lap and pulled the book closer.

I was about to protest, but one look at his pale face and my stomach dropped to my toes. “What’s wrong?”

“This.” His finger trembled as he pointed to a name in the book, a name underlined, a name I knew only too well.

The room around me spun, my heart denying the possibility. “No. He can’t be chosen. He can’t carry the source.”

“Looks like he does.” Lewis didn’t look anymore happy about it than I did.

I fell back into my chair, my legs suddenly weak. Lewis snapped the book shut as if he couldn’t stand to stare at the name any longer; I didn’t blame him. I felt like I was caught in a freaking nightmare, with no end to the shocking surprises that kept throwing me on my butt every time I seemed to get back to my feet.

The door clicked open and there stood my mom as if she’d sensed the anger pulsing from the room. “How’s everything going?”

I grabbed the book, needing two hands to lift the heavy volume. “Is this a joke?”

Her eyes narrowed in confusion. “What?”

“Aaron.”

Her confusion cleared and she reached out, taking the journal from me. “So you noticed.”

“Did you think I wouldn’t?”

She held the book close to her, as if it was a child that needed protection. “I wasn’t sure. It wasn’t as if I was hiding it from you.”

“Why didn’t you tell me he carried the source as well?”

“Because it’s not my secret to tell. Besides, it would be dangerous if others found out.” She started across the room and set the book carefully back on the pedestal. “I explained that there are many from which the source flows.”

So she had a point. I assumed Dad didn’t know about Aaron and if I’d read it before going to the compound, he might have uncovered the truth. It really wasn’t my business what or who Aaron was, but damn it all if I wasn’t royally pissed. “Yeah, but not him!” He couldn’t be a chosen one, he couldn’t.

“Why not? Did you think erasing someone’s memory was an ability anyone could do? It takes a person of incredible power to do something like that.”

“No, I didn’t think he could possibly be a carrier of the source because he’s an ass.”

Mom frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. “That’s your opinion. Besides, the source does not discriminate. He is a carrier. There’s nothing you can do but accept it.”

She swept past us and pulled open the door, thinking to put an end to the subject. As if I’d just let it drop.

“It’s alright,” Lewis said, resting his hand on my shoulder. “It doesn’t matter.”

“No, it’s not all right.” I moved around him and followed my mom into the corridor. “Do you understand the pain I felt when he erased my memory?”

She didn’t pause, but kept walking. “I do.”

I had to run to keep up with her. “Have you had it happen to you?”

She turned right, not even pausing. “No, I haven’t.”

“Then you don’t understand! It was torture!” I followed her, resisting the urge to grab her arm, shake her, scream… do something. “Yet you continually take his side!”

She paused, obviously angry, but something else lurked within her eyes. Guilt?

“When are you going to understand that this isn’t about sides? That this petty thing you have going with Aaron doesn’t matter in the grand scheme? You felt the energy on that beach. You know it’s so much more than this silliness.” The harshness of her tone hurt. “Aaron did what he had to do in order to protect you.”

I laughed. “Protect me? Yeah, that worked well considering dad found me anyway!”

She schooled her features, the guilt gone, or maybe I’d imagined it. “That was unfortunate.”

“Unfortunate?” Was she joking? I shook my head, feeling almost frantic. “Aaron can’t carry the source.”

Mom raked her hand through her dark hair, obviously flustered with me. “Why?”

“Because…because…” I couldn’t say the words, knowing how annoyed she’d be, but I thought them.

Because that would mean maybe the source hadn’t picked me because it thought I deserved it; it had picked me because it was the luck of the draw. It would mean that we didn’t have the universe on our side, and that good wouldn’t necessarily win against evil.

My mom sighed long and loud. I had a feeling she knew exactly what I was thinking. “Get some rest. You’re exhausted.”

She was right. I’d had so little sleep in the last couple weeks. My mind was muddled, my body humming with an energy I couldn’t quite control. Feeling vulnerable, I crossed my arms over my chest, suddenly so very tired of it all.

“There are things we need to discuss, but tomorrow. Okay?” She rested her hand on my check, then she turned and left me standing there alone with more answers and more questions to keep me company.

Chapter 20

“Cameron.”

Someone called my name, pulling me from slumber. But I didn’t want to wake; my mind was too exhausted, my body spent. I groaned and attempted to sink back into the beautiful unconscious world of sleep.

“Cameron.”

They wouldn’t stop, the whispered word, echoing against my skull, thumping in time to my heartbeat. Yet, when I cracked my eyes, I wasn’t in my bedroom, or the living room. I wasn’t even in my mom’s house. The dimly lit hallway blurred in and out of focus. For one long moment I just stood there, too confused to move.

“Cameron.”

I stumbled forward, trying to follow the voice, only to fall against the cold wall. My body didn’t seem attached to my brain. Unable to continue, I stood there, too dizzy, too confused to continue on. Where was I? The fluorescent lights buzzed from above, barely lighting the sterile, white hall… a familiar hall. I’d been here before, but couldn’t quite place it in my muddled mind. I pressed my palms to my head, attempting to put order to my swirling thoughts.

I still wore my pajamas— a pink T-shirt and gray sweats, my feet bare. How the hell had I gotten here? The sudden sound of murmured voices from down the hall spurred me into action. There… at the end of the corridor a door stood open, light pouring over the threshold, calling to me. I pushed away from the wall and shuffled over the linoleum floor. The fluorescent lights above wavered in and out of focus. I followed those lights like a sailor following stars. The murmured voices grew louder.

Two?Three? No, four people talking.

“Hello?” I called out, my voice echoing down the hall, bouncing back and forth against the walls.

The conversation continued, and no one came to investigate. Frustrated, I tried to quicken my steps and forced myself onward, so close to that open door…so close.

“You knew what was happening,” a familiar voice snapped out. “You knew what Cameron was capable of but you let her get away!”

The realization hit me hard. I froze right outside the door as I recognized that voice, my location…

I’d returned to the compound. I should have panicked; I should have bolted. Instead I remained firmly in place, as if my feet had been glued to the floor. My body stopped working, my muscles stiffened. I wasn’t sure if I was dreaming, having a vision or if by some sick turn of fate I’d been recaptured.

“You can no longer be trusted, Maddox.”

“Maddox.” My damn loyalty sent me toward that open door. “Maddox!”

I froze on the threshold. Not one person looked my way. They were seated around a table; three men and my father staring intimidatingly at Maddox. My father sat closest to me, but he wasn’t the one who caught my attention. Maddox wore a gray jumpsuit. His bound wrists rested on the table. His face was pale, making the dark bruise under his left eye stand out even more. He looked exhausted, beaten down, but not yet destroyed. Maddox would never give up, and his arrogance would get him killed.

“No,” I whispered, sinking against the door jamb. The guilt I’d been trying so hard to ignore came rushing forward. I was stuck in this dream-like hell, with no way to stop them. No way to help.

My father leaned back against his chair in a nonchalant manner that made me want to punch him. He had no empathy for the guy who had been his right-hand man. “What have you to say for yourself?”

Maddox lifted his gaze. “That I’d do it all over again.”

There was a moment of stunned silence. The other men exchanged anxious glances, but my dad didn’t react. He rarely did.

“You know, Maddox.” My father drummed his fingers against the tabletop. “I, too, at one point let my emotions get the better of me. Fortunately, I was able to pull myself out of it before I was completely consumed. I was lucky enough to have a father who showed me the light. No woman is worth selling your soul.”

Was he actually saying he loved my mom at one time?

“I think we both know you sold your soul long ago,” Maddox stated.

Dad sighed. “Although I certainly considered you my son, I realize you never really had that father figure to lead you. Because of that, you will not be sentenced to death.”

My stomach tightened. Death? They had actually been thinking about sentencing him to death? I gripped either side of the door frame for support.

“How kind of you,” Maddox seethed.

I wanted to tell Maddox to shut up, to take whatever they had to offer, but I knew he couldn’t hear me, couldn’t see me. It didn’t stop the panic from sinking into my gut.

Dad stood. “Take him. He’ll stay at the compound for now, until he’s escorted to a regular prison.”

I jumped to the side of the door. Two of the men stood and grabbed Maddox’s upper arms. He was jerked forward, the handcuffs rattling. He didn’t fight them, but lifted his chin high and walked out that door like the soldier he was.

“Maddox?” I reached out but my hand went through him. I was a freaking ghost.

He didn’t hear me, didn’t feel my touch, but disappeared into the shadows, gone before I could figure out a way to help him.

My dad sighed and sank back into his chair. “Another one lost. Is no one loyal anymore?”

His comment disgusted me. He really had no clue that he was the monster here.

“Sir, what should we do with him?” the one remaining man asked.

“Imprisonment, for now.” He slapped his hands onto the tabletop, as if wiping away the memory. “How long before we’re ready to leave?”

“Tomorrow.”

“And you know for sure where they’re located?”

“We have a map of the tunnels.”

Thoughts of Maddox sank into the background. My heart hammered wildly in my chest, blood roaring to my ears, threatening to drown out their conversation.

My father nodded. “Good. I’m ready to be done with this once and for all.”

They were coming; the attack was coming and I was here, unable to warn my mom. “No!”

As the cry left my throat, the world around me vanished, light giving way to darkness. Air rushed around me, those pinpoint stars that had left me feeling exhilarated at the beach now left me breathless, frightened. I hit my body full force. The impact woke me immediately. My eyes burst open, the early morning light coming from Nora’s room was too bright.

I bolted upright from the cot, my blanket falling to the ground. My lungs burned, my heart hammered as if I’d run a marathon. What the hell had just happened? I pressed my fingers to my temples, attempting to make sense of my spinning thoughts.

Had it been a dream?

I glanced at Nora’s bed but she was gone, the room empty. Lewis was in the guest room; I needed to talk to him. He was the only one I could trust. Stumbling across the room, I somehow managed to open the door. The clank of dishes from below gave me pause. I didn’t want to talk to anyone but Lewis. I wasn’t ready, not until I figured out what had just happened.

It had been a dream, hadn’t it? Merely a dream. But…it had felt so real.

“Hey,” Lewis was suddenly standing in front of me, a towel around his waist, his chest beautifully bared and muscled.

No! I didn’t need the distraction, and he was certainly a distraction. Was this another test from Mommy Dearest? I jerked my gaze from his muscled stomach and focused on his face. “I need help.”

Understatement of the year.

“What’s wrong?”

I threw my arms around his neck and pressed my body to his. He was still slightly damp and my clothes clung to his skin, but I didn’t care. I breathed deeply his scent, taking comfort in the familiarity.

“What is it?” His hands moved down my back in long strokes.

I pulled back, giving him room to breathe. “Dream… I think.”

He frowned, obviously worried. “About what?”

It was ridiculous, having a conversation with him while he was half-naked. I shook the thought from my mind. “He’s coming. My father. I think they’re coming.”

His gaze hardened. He hated my dad as much as I did, and he had reason enough. I just hoped that deep down his hatred of my father didn’t affect our relationship. “When?”

“Now. I don’t know.” I shook my head. “I have to see my mom.”

He pressed his lips to mine in a quick kiss. “Go. I’ll follow when I’m dressed.”

We parted, Lewis heading toward the guest room and me heading down the steps. I didn’t know if I’d dreamt Maddox, or if it was a vision, but I wasn’t about to take chances. I stumbled down the steps and straight to the kitchen.

“What’s up?” Nora stood at the sink, already dressed in jeans and a T-shirt. She was alone.

“I need to see Mom.”

“She’s in the tunnels.”

I didn’t wait but spun around and raced to the bookshelf. I felt Nora behind me, could sense her curiosity. “The code!”

“Sheesh,” she huffed. “It’s five, eight, one, three. What the hell’s going on?”

My fingers trembled as I typed in the numbers. I waited impatiently for the shelf to swing wide and when it did, I wasted no time in running down the steps. So much for a week before my dad attacked. Did Mom have any clue, or were we sitting ducks?

I froze at the bottom of the steps, indecision holding me captive. Left or right? The corridor was dark and cool and eerily quiet. I started to yell for Nora’s help, but a sudden whisper of energy stopped me, prompting me left. I could feel them. A buzz of electricity that made the fine hairs on my arm stand on end. When I turned left, it grew stronger. I saw no guards as I moved down the corridor, the energy growing with each step closer I took.

It was a familiar energy…someone I’d felt before… my mom. It was as if we were connected now. We shared the same power; the same source that flowed from her to me. I supposed I’d always felt it, but only just now did I realize who it was; where it came from.

“Do you know where she is?” Nora asked, appearing in the corridor, looking as confused as I felt.

“I do.” I raced down the hall. The stone floor was cold against my feet, the air chill against my bare arms, but I hardly noticed. My father was coming. Even now they were moving. I could feel it…a pulsing energy that burned through my body; that made my stomach roil.

It had been no dream.

“Are you sure you know?” Nora was watching me curiously. “I can call her.”

“I know.” I froze outside a door. They were behind that steel, I knew it as fact. I started raised my fist, intending to knock, when Nora reached out, grasping my arm.

“How do you know?”

I sighed. “I just know. I can sense them.”

She released her hold. “Oh.”

Oh? That’s all she had to say? I couldn’t help but notice that things were growing more strained between us. Nora knew I had power, more than most, but I had a feeling this was another arrow in her target of jealousy. I didn’t have time for petty emotions. Seriously, did these people not realize the direness of the situation? Annoyed, I lifted my fist to knock, but was interrupted again, this time by Lewis.

“When will he arrive?” Lewis asked moving down the hall toward us, unfortunately fully dressed. Still I admit that I felt some relief at seeing him. I knew Nora was my sister and all, but I still wasn’t quite sure I could trust her.

“I don’t…”

The soft murmur of Aaron’s voice interrupted me. I snapped my head toward the door. Solid steel. I shouldn’t be able to hear through it, should I? I inched closer, attempting to decipher the words. His voice came out warbled, in and out of focus like a murmured conversation through the water.

“You hear that?” I asked Nora and Lewis.

Nora frowned. “What?”

They were watching me with confusion and wariness in their eyes, wondering if I’d gone off the deep end.

“Cameron,” Nora started.

I held up my hand in silent command for them not to speak.

Cameron…

Won’t let her go…

It would be best if she didn’t have the powers…

The words wavered in and out of focus like bees buzzing in a hive, a soft drone that vibrated through me. Had I suddenly developed super human hearing, or was I actually reading their thoughts?

“Come on.” Nora punched in a code on the keypad, tired of waiting.

Too freaking bizarre. Who knew what I’d be capable of a week from now, if I was still alive to find out. I frowned, shaking the haziness from my brain. There were things I needed to say to Lewis before it was too late, and I had a feeling once I told my mom about Dad’s plan to attack, Lewis and I would have no more time together. “Give us a minute?”

She shrugged and pulled open the door, disappearing inside. Alone, I waited for the silence to settle; savored this last moment. Lewis still smelled like the shower and his aftershave. He’d dressed in cargo shorts, and a blue T-shirt that matched his eyes.

“What is it?” he asked.

“I think you should leave. There’s no reason for you to stay here.”

His brows snapped together. The hurt and anger that crossed his face made me flush with guilt. I started to turn toward the door, but he pressed his palm to the wall, blocking me. “Why would you say that?”

When I didn’t answer he stepped closer to me. With my back pressed to the wall, I had nowhere to look but at him. The annoyance had faded and his gaze had taken on a softness. “What’s this about?”

His breath was warm upon my lips and worries about my father and the others selfishly took a back seat. “You don’t remember me. You’re in this situation where your life is in danger. You had an uncle once. You might have other family. You could find them. It’s not like me…every family member I know is stuck in this hell.”

“You are my family.”

My heart melted into a bloody puddle. Seriously, the guy knew exactly what to say to get to me. Frustrated, I ducked underneath his arm, needing space. “You don’t remember us, any of us, why are you so loyal?”

“I told you, I remember you in here.” He pressed his hand to his chest. “Now stop expecting me to abandon you.”

Yeah, I suppose one could say that I might have abandonment issues. I looked at the floor, the heated shame of guilt creeping into my cheeks. “I abandoned you.”

He reached out, taking my hand and pulling me close. “That wasn’t your fault. Nora—”

“No. Not just in the field. When we were at Aaron’s I didn’t agree with your beliefs. I was going to leave you there, but Aaron caught me trying to escape. I thought you had betrayed me, but you saved me. You held them off so Maddox could help me escape. I had no idea; I hadn’t trusted you. It’s because of me that your memory is gone.”

His thumb rubbed against the sensitive spot of my wrist. “It wasn’t your fault. None of this is. My memory is gone because of Aaron; because I trusted someone I shouldn’t have. Not because of you.”

But our time in Maine wasn’t the only issue. “Lewis, it’s because of my father that your parents are dead. My father betrayed your parents. They were friends, and he betrayed them. They died because of him.”

He pulled me close and cupped the sides of my face. “I know, but you’re not your father.”

“Maddox…”

He frowned, dropping his hold and stepping back. A sliver of jealousy whispered through my body, a feeling I knew well. But this time it wasn’t coming from me, but from Lewis. Okay, so maybe it was a bad idea to bring up Maddox.

“What about him?” Lewis asked warily.

Before I could come up with some explanation, the door opened and my mom peeked outside. “What’s going on? Nora said you’re worried about something.”

I glanced at Lewis. He was upset, but it would have to wait. “I had a dream… or vision.”

She nodded and stepped aside, holding the door wide. “Come in.”

It was a small room with a couch and two chairs. A flat screen T.V. hung from the wall and a coffee station was set up in the corner. It looked like a lounge of some sort. Aaron, Nora and Mom weren’t the only ones in the lounge. Father Myron, looking quite peeved, stood by the far wall in deep discussion with Aaron.

“We have sent the children to a safe house,” Aaron explained, his movements desperate almost. “Deborah will go with them; they’ll be protected.”

My relief was immediate.

“Your island is hardly safe,” Father Myron stated. “He knows about it.”

“We have nowhere else to take them! Dragging five kids across the U.S. would be a little noticeable.”

“Only five?” I blurted out, drawing their attention toward me. No, that couldn’t be. We’d left Deborah with at least ten kids. “Who? Who is with her?”

“I don’t know,” Father Myron said, shrugging in apology.

I looked at my mom. “Is Caroline?”

“Yes,” Aaron answered for her. “Caroline is headed to the island home.”

I pressed my hand to my racing heart. Thank God for small miracles. At least she would be safe. One debt paid. Some of my guilt actually eased.

Aaron turned back to Father Myron. “If we had a little more time to find a safe haven—”

“We can’t wait any longer,” I blurted out. Everyone turned toward me again. Aaron looked annoyed. Father Myron shocked. Nora and Lewis merely looked curious. My mom was the only one who didn’t look surprised by my outburst.

Maybe she already knew.

“Why?” Aaron asked.

I took in a deep breath. “Because he’s coming here now.”

Chapter 21

The day was cloudy as a storm brewed off the coast, threatening Savannah. Seated on the back stoop, I tucked my knees to my chest, hidden in the tiny lot that claimed to be my mom’s overgrown backyard. She wasn’t a cook, and she sure as heck wasn’t a gardener; the place looked like some unexplored Amazon jungle. But I supposed Mom had more important things to deal with, like saving the world.

Thunder rumbled in the distance, shaking the very earth at my feet. I’d needed to get away and this was the furthest I could go for safety reasons. I wasn’t used to being around so many people, I craved my alone time; time to think. The scary thing wasn’t that I’d had my vision, and that somehow I had seen my dad, heard him, but he hadn’t sensed me.

No, the scary thing was that when I’d told Mom and Aaron about the vision, they’d believed me. Not one person had questioned the authenticity of my dream. Instead they had immediately fled, each one preparing for the attack in their own way. I’d been left to sit and wait, and to realize that my dream hadn’t been a dream as I’d hoped, but had been real.

I picked up a pink azalea blossom that reminded me of the island, warm weather and even warmer water. A place where there was no such thing as time. Where reality was almost an illusion. A place where my life had paused.

But here my life came crashing back; all too real. Reality here meant my dad was coming. Reality meant Maddox had become a prisoner. And reality meant that at any moment the war would begin.

A cool breeze whispered through the maple tree, the only tree in the small backyard. The wind rustled the gardenia bushes and sent their fragrant scent through the warm air. The town was preparing for the storm. Shingles on the house next store flapped in the wind, threatening to tear from the roof. I shivered, drawing my arms around me. The weather matched my mood.

It wasn’t fate, but most likely Dad’s planning. As Mom had explained, the storm would be the perfect opportunity to sneak in undetected. Not to mention we’d be holed up in the tunnels and our homes. Sitting ducks. He wanted to attack when we’d least expected it, like a snake coiled, just waiting to ambush prey. The thought creeped me out.

The door screeched open. I knew it was Lewis before I saw him.

He settled next to me, his body warm, comforting, but I also knew he was upset about something; I could sense his unease. I glanced up at him. Those blue eyes seemed more intense than normal, darker in some way. “What is it? Did they talk to our spies? Did they find out why Dad’s leaving sooner than they’d expected?”

“No. There’s no word from any of them.” He glanced away, staring at the wavering tree. When I was about to ask him what was wrong, he finally spoke. “Do you love Maddox?”

It was such a funny question to ask me in the middle of a war. We were preparing for life or death, and he was worried about another guy? Yet, at the same time I welcomed the normalcy. I was in a relationship that was totally and ridiculously normal.

I wanted to laugh. Instead, I managed to hide my smile. “No.”

I felt his relief like a cool breeze. I admit it was nice being able to read his moods; we’d certainly never have to wonder what the other person was thinking. “I did…do…like him.”

He jerked his gaze toward me.

“Not that way.” I tossed the flower I held into the yard, watching the breeze carry it away. “Although I thought maybe I could at one time, when I believed you had betrayed me.”

He was silent for a long moment, rubbing the palm of his left hand. “You have no feelings for him at all?”

I flipped through the many troubled emotions I had toward Maddox, attempting to decipher the truth. “I care about him. I’m worried about him. He helped us escape, you know. If it wasn’t for him, we’d most likely still be in prison.”

He nodded slowly. “I see.”

I could tell that didn’t sit well with him. Men and their silly pride. “But I don’t love him that way.”

Lewis visibly relaxed.

“In the vision I saw them taking him to prison; they even threatened him with death.” I stared at the house across from the backyard. A woman was bringing in clothing that hung from the upper deck; wet clothes the worst of her worries. “I don’t know what will happen to him. I feel so guilty.”

Lewis wrapped his arm around my waist and drew me close. “He knew what he was doing when he helped you.”

“It doesn’t make me feel any less guilty.”

“I know,” he whispered.

We stared at the yard, not really watching the petals as they tumbled and raced across the grass, chased by the wind.

“I’ve heard more than once that there are always casualties, but it’s not fair. It’s not right.” Lewis slid his hand around mine, his firm grip comforting. “And worse, I wouldn’t change what happened because I know we couldn’t have gotten out without him.”

“It sucks, I know. But you can only keep going on, Cameron. The alternative is to give up.”

“Sometimes I want to give up,” I admitted. “I want to run away. Run back to my island.”

“But you won’t, because that’s not you.”

“No, unfortunately.” The wind picked up, whistling eerily through the trees, the branches bending at an impossibly low angle. It tore the hair from my braid, sending the strands flying around my face in a whirlwind. “I can feel them coming. They’re getting closer.”

I shivered and not because the teperature had dropped. I hadn’t known what it was at first, this strange sensation. An acidic burn that started low in my gut and worked its way into my blood, burning a path through my veins. It was as if the very pounding of my heart echoed the thump of their feet coming closer…closer.

“They’re not here yet, Cameron.” He trailed his knuckles softly against my cheek. “Right now, at this moment, it’s just me and you.” He pressed his lips to mine, a soft and gentle kiss. “And after, it will still be me and you.”

I met his gaze, seeing only sincerity in his blue eyes. I wasn’t so sure we were going to escape unscathed, but I so desperately wanted to believe him. “Promise?”

“Yeah.” Lewis reached up, tucking a loose lock of hair behind my ear. His hand hesitated, cupping the side of my face. When he started to lean toward me, I planned on meeting him halfway. But before he could kiss me again, the door screeched open.

“Guys,” Nora called out.

Lewis sighed, moving back.

“Mom needs to talk to you.”

“That doesn’t sound good,” I muttered.

The fact that she didn’t wait for us but went back inside, worried me even more. Nora was never one to pass up an opportunity to mock our affection and she’d caught us in the midst of a kiss. Lewis took my hand and helped me to my feet.

An hour ago Mom had left with Aaron, disappearing into the tunnels to research or set up guards, something. If she was back and asking for me, I knew she needed something important. Still, I paused. I looked at Lewis and all the emotions we’d been feeling coursed between us. We knew this could be our last moment together. Once I stepped through that door, the war would begin.

“Whatever happens,” Lewis said softly. “We’ll get through it.”

I nodded, although  I wasn’t so sure.

“Ready?” he asked.

“I’m ready.”

Together we entered the kitchen. The room was empty, the coffee pot gurgling on the countertop. I thought it funny that they would think about coffee at a time like this. Maybe they thought to keep things as normal as possible. I could feel their energy pulsing from the front of the house and tugged Lewis toward the living room.

Mom and Aaron stood near the fireplace. Close together, their faces were fierce as they whispered back and forth. Even if I hadn’t been able to read their energy fields, I could tell that they were worried. Father Myron sat in a corner near the front door, head bent, eyes closed as he muttered words of prayer. Sierra sat in the opposite corner, her legs were folded as she took in deep meditative breaths. With all the seriousness and muttering I felt like we were having a freaking séance.

Sensing me, Mom turned toward us. “We haven’t heard from our people.”

I wondered why they continued to call them everything but what they were… spies. I suppose it made them feel better in some way. Only evil people like dad had spies. But in the end, we were all spies, tiptoeing around each other; thieving, lying, killing.

“We aren’t sure why, but I have a bad feeling about it. We don’t know where John is at the moment.” She paced across the living room, the floorboards creaking with her movement. I’d never seen my mom pace; I’d never really seen her nervous. “He could be packing for the trip; he could be on his way.”

I shivered slightly, whether from cold or nerves I wasn’t sure.

“I need something from you, Cameron.”

As soon as she said the words, all attention turned toward me. Father Myron stopped praying. Sierra stopped meditating. The entire world seemed to pause and I had to resist the urge to peek through the curtains to see if the cars had stopped in mid-traffic.

“What do you need?” To say I was cautious would be an understatement. I trusted my mom, didn’t I? My unwillingness to jump right in said otherwise.

“We need you to connect with John.”

The thought freaked me out in more ways than I could count. One, he was psycho. Two, I didn’t know how. Three…did I mention he was psycho? “What? How?”

Mom took my hand and led me to the couch. She was trying to get me to focus on her, only her, because she knew if I noticed Aaron’s dour face, I’d rebel. Or if I noticed Nora, arms crossed, obviously sick of the attention I received, I might falter.

“I can’t delve into John’s mind because he knows my energy. He’d recognize me,” she explained. “You’ve had visions of him. Somehow you’ve been able to break into their minds, their consciousness, their very reality. We need you to get in again and locate where they are.”

I didn’t want to visit my dad, I didn’t want to feel his energy, know his thoughts. But what could I say; no thanks?

“I thought you had security tracking them.” Lewis stood with legs braced apart, arms crossed as he watched my mom suspiciously. I could sense his emotions and knew he was as reluctant for me to go as I was. It certainly helped having at least one person on my side. “I thought you had guards waiting for their attack?”

“We lost contact with our spies days ago.”

I was shocked speechless, apparently Lewis was too as he didn’t respond. Yeah, I’d known they’d lost contact, but I hadn’t realized it had happened days ago. Why hadn’t she said anything sooner?

“We have guards at the exits, but for some reason we aren’t able to sense them. I would try… but like I said, I’m worried John will know I’m there. As I’m sure you’ve noticed we all have our own sort of imprint.”

The room went quiet. I could feel Lewis’ trepidation pulsing around me. He didn’t trust any of them, he worried I’d be injured. But Lewis would trust my opinion, and I had no choice but to do whatever it took to destroy my father.

Determined, I stood. “How do I get in?”

Cameron, Lewis’ voice whispered through my head. Are you sure?

I glanced at him. Yes. He said nothing more, but he didn’t look happy.

“Remember the beach?” Mom asked, standing and drawing my attention back to her. “When we connected our energy?”

I nodded. How could I forget? For that brief moment I’d experienced nirvana. I’d known peace, happiness, safety. And I’d known the power of the source, the reason why my dad so badly wanted to control the energy.

“We’ll do that again, but you’ll lead.” She took my hands in hers. They were warm, smooth, comforting. I vaguely remembered those same hands brushing back my hair when I’d been but a toddler. “Trust me.”

I had no choice but to try.

“Get comfortable,” she said, sitting and pulling me to the ground.

It was a strangely emotional moment sitting across from my mom and staring into her eyes. I wasn’t sure how to feel. I had so many questions, but I knew there wasn’t time for answers. I had to trust her. I had to trust those around me, including Aaron.

“Your palms,” my mom said softly.

We pressed our palms together and I immediately felt the source; a tingling warmth that spread up my arms, and vibrated through my entire body. Just like when I’d healed Lewis, she guided the energy through me. The room started to fade as I focused on that pulsing energy, focused on the warmth, the buzz. Just like that I was gone. I no longer cared who watched me, I only wanted to feel that pure bliss.

“Move around us, offer your energy,” Mom was speaking, but I knew she wasn’t talking to me.

Nora and Lewis moved to the couch, so close I could reach out and touch them. From the corner of my eye I was vaguely aware of Sierra and Father Myron coming closer, while Aaron remained hovering in the background. A shiver of magnetism wavered through the room as everyone released their mental walls. It was an odd experience, as if I was swimming…almost drowning in their energy. Outside thunder rumbled, shaking the house. I wondered if it was from the storm, or from our powers combining.

“Close your eyes, concentrate, just like at the beach.”

I closed my eyes, took in a deep breath and relaxed. My hands warmed as energy branched between us… electricity that spread up my arms, through my blood. My entire body hummed with a heat I didn’t quite understand. I was no longer there; I was no longer on earth. I felt nothing but peace as the darkness surrounded me.

Just as soon as I’d entered this new world, the space around me flashed to life. Although I no longer felt as if I had a body, I was somehow moving… moving through time…through space. White pinpoints of light burst to life as I raced through the universe.

Dad, find my dad, I thought over and over again.

As if by magic, the light faded and a room appeared at the end of a dark tunnel. The closer I got, the more it came into focus. Mom was gone. Lewis was gone. I was alone. It was just like it had been when I’d visited my father and Maddox at the compound the other night. I didn’t feel quite right… disconnected, floating. My body wasn’t with me, but my energy, my consciousness, had somehow found a way to travel.

“Are you there?” My mom’s voice wavered in and out of focus.

I wanted to respond, but couldn’t. Or maybe I just didn’t care. Slowly, I turned, searching the area. It was a nondescript hotel room. A large man stood at the closed door, as if guarding the entrance. I turned away from him, taking comfort in the fact that he couldn’t see me.

Two queen beds made up most of the area, but in the far corner, seated around a small table, were four men. I noticed my father first, relaxed and at ease. Another guard stood at the windows gazing out at some city skyline, obviously keeping watch. We were up high. For what he was keeping watch, I wasn’t sure. It wasn’t as if Spider-Man would come crashing through at any moment.

I glanced back at the table and inched forward, attempting to make sense of their conversation. Although I knew they couldn’t see me, it didn’t make it any less intimidating being next to them. What if my dad could sense my energy as he could with Mom? Then what would happen? No one had mentioned the repercussions of my actions if caught.

“Here.” One man I didn’t recognize pulled a rolled up paper from a briefcase.

“Where are they, Cameron?” my mom’s mental voice whispered through my mind.

I frowned, annoyed, wishing she would leave me alone. It was too hard to concentrate on them and her at the same time. I didn’t answer but watched as they unrolled the paper across the table.

Savannah… a map of Savannah.

“The tunnels run here and here.” The same man pointed to the map. “You get the girl, while we attack their structure. They won’t be expecting it. In and out within twenty minutes.”

A shiver of apprehension whispered through my body. Oh God, they knew exactly where every one of our corridors were located. They even knew where my mom lived. I stared at that map of crisscrossing lines in horror.

“And the river?” my father asked.

“An easy distance. Not far.”

“Cameron, where are they?” My mom asked again.

Frantic, I glanced around the room. The two queen beds were made, almost as if they hadn’t been slept in. The T.V. was on some talk show, and I had a feeling it was on just to make noise; I highly doubted they were interested in who was the baby daddy. All men in the room wore pressed tan trousers and polo shirts that said Pensely Computer Services.

I realized they’d put on a front so they wouldn’t be noticed. They’d probably told hotel staff they were staying for a conference or something. But none of this told me where they were or when they were going to attack.

“Cameron?” my mom called out to me. “She’s not responding, we need to pull her back.”

“No!” I screamed, hoping they would hear, although not even sure how to get my message to her. I could find my father’s location. I would.

I shifted my gaze toward the T.V. once more and that’s when I saw the local weather… “Savannah,” I whispered. “They’re here.”

Just as I said the words, one of the men stood and faced me; those hazel eyes locked on mine. I froze, my worst nightmare coming true. The oddly familiar blond guy I’d seen talking to my dad right before I’d escaped the compound.

He started forward and I stumbled back.  Get out! he demanded through clenched teeth, his face furious. Get out now!

He didn’t touch me; he couldn’t touch me. Yet, suddenly I found myself flying backward, the hotel room gone. It was only as I raced through the darkness that I realized he had spoken to me through his mind. I noticed my mom’s living room right before I hit my body, but the entry was jarring. Too soon, too fast. The pain was all consuming, throwing me back until I hit the floor hard. I felt as if someone had ripped out my skeleton, then shoved the bones back in piece by piece.

“Cameron?” Someone called my name, but the voice wavered, fading.

The metallic taste of blood seeped across my tongue. Why hadn’t she told me this could happen? My stomach churned. I groaned, biting back the urge to puke.

Warm hands cupped the sides of my face, forcing me to stay in the present, to stay awake when all I wanted to do was sink into oblivion. “Cameron?”

Somehow I managed to open my eyes. Although the lamp in the corner of the room provided only a weak glow, it still hurt. Lewis was holding me, his eyes wide and wild, his face pale with worry.

“Are you okay?”

I tried to answer, but my throat felt raw, my tongue almost swollen and the only thing I could manage were a few indecipherably mumbled words.

“What happened?” Lewis demanded.

I hoped to God he didn’t expect me to answer. My teeth chattered as a chilling shudder went through my body, still unused to my awkward landing. It hadn’t been like this before when I’d traveled. Never this bad. What had gone wrong? What had that blond man done to me?

“Cameron.” My mom leaned over me. “Can you talk?”

“Th…they knew I..I was th…there,” I chattered, my raspy voice barely audible.

“They couldn’t have,” Mom replied, shaking her head. Even as she denied the possibility, her gaze found Aaron. “Unless…”

Aaron hovered over me, frowning as if he blamed me for this situation. “Unless they have a source of their own.”

The room erupted, a million comments and questions flying over my head.

“How?”

“It can’t be.”

“Who?”

Only Lewis remained quiet, Lewis who held me and whispered in my ear that I’d be okay as soon as I got some rest. Although I wanted to understand what had happened as badly as everyone else, I didn’t hear a word of explanation because suddenly the world slipped away.

The room faded, and I sank into blissful sleep.

Chapter 22

Thunder shook the house, rattling the window panes and pulling me from a world of blissful nothingness. Either the storm was worsening, or the war had begun. My body felt so buzzed, I could barely find enough energy to open my eyes. Slowly, I opened my eyes. Shadows covered the room with dusky fingers; time seemed to stand still, as if waiting for me to wake.

Late evening, or early morning? Which, I wasn’t sure, and didn’t care much because the moment I opened my eyes my head pounded with a pain that throbbed relentlessly at the back of my skull. Funny enough I welcomed the pain because it meant I still lived.

For a long moment I merely lay there, waiting for my breath to return to normal, waiting for the room to stop spinning. When the second rumble of thunder shook the house, I realized time was wasting. I forced myself to shift on the guest bed, and managed to roll to my side.

I wasn’t surprised to see Lewis asleep on a chair only five feet from me. I sensed his energy nearby, but was growing so accustomed to it, I’d hardly noticed. A warm feeling of gratitude washed over me, and I wondered how long he’d stayed by my side.

Obviously my dad hadn’t attacked yet. I also knew that if he did any time soon, I was in no shape to fight him. Gritting my teeth, I pressed my hands to the soft mattress and managed to somehow sit upright. The room spun, and the throbbing intensified. A groan slipped from my lips.

Lewis was at my side before I had time to stand. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah. I think.” I managed to set my feet on the floor, the wooden boards cold against my toes. “But my head is killing me.”

He reached out, turning on the bedside lamp and adding a soft glow that chased away the shadows. “Your mom said you’d feel like hell. It should go away.”

Should? It better. It would have been nice if she’d have mentioned the pain ahead of time. I was getting really sick of these fainting fits and headaches. “How long was I out? What time is it?”

“Three hours.” He glanced at the clock. “It’s seven.”

I nodded and slipped on the tennis shoes placed neatly near my bed. So it was still the same day, thank God. “I take it my dad hasn’t attacked?”

Lewis shook his head as he sat next to me. I wasn’t the only one who’d suffered. Lewis had dark circles under his eyes, his face paler than normal. He wasn’t getting much sleep, and I worried he’d have some sort of relapse. Neither of us would be helpful in a fight. I wanted to lean into him, to draw comfort in his presence. I couldn’t. We didn’t have time to cuddle. I didn’t have time to be weak.

“Does she think he’ll attack tonight?”

“I hope not.” Lewis shrugged. “The guards haven’t seen or felt any movement, but who knows.”

We both knew the guards weren’t exactly perfect at their jobs, otherwise they would have known my dad and his men were in Savannah.

“They’ll attack at night,” I said, sure of it. “They’ll be less likely to be seen. There will be fewer people around, especially because of the storm.”

But when?Tonight? Tomorrow? A week from now?

“I have to talk to my mom.” I surged to my feet, only to swerve when the room tipped precariously off balance. Or maybe I was the one who had tilted.

“Careful.” Lewis slipped his arm around my waist and helped me to the door. “They’re in the tunnels, plotting.”

“Plotting? Why does that sound like they don’t know what the heck to do?”

He shrugged. “Because I don’t think they do.”

We made it to the hall where the soft murmur of the television floated up from below. Nora was asleep on the couch. Who knew what Mom and Aaron were doing, apparently not much. The air felt stale, as if everyone held their breaths, waiting to see what would happen next.

“This is ridiculous,” I muttered, finding the strength to move away from Lewis. I was angry. Angry that no one seemed to know what to do. Angry that I kept fainting, waking up weak and helpless. “We’re just sitting here doing nothing.”

I moved down the steps and headed directly toward the bookshelf.

“Where are you going?” Nora asked drowsily.

I didn’t bother to respond, but punched in the code. Yeah, we’d uncovered Dad’s location, but really, what good did that do? Now I was weak and in no position to help fight if he did arrive. As the shelf slid open, I started down the steps into the dark corridor of underground Savannah. I could hear Lewis mumble something to Nora but didn’t wait around to find out what.

The tunnels were quiet, almost too quiet. Uneasy, I paused at the bottom of the steps. Was it my imagination, or did it seem colder? Darker? Maybe it was the storm making me feel off balance, but I felt a distinct lurking presence, as if the halls knew more than I did. A shudder went through me.

I dismissed the sensation and focused, desperate to find Mom. Taking in a deep breath, I closed my eyes and tapped into the source. Almost immediately the slightest tingling sensation of power urged me to go left, toward the lounge. My shoes tapped against the stone floor, echoing eerily down the corridor. Where were the guards? Why weren’t people rushing around, trying to secure locations?

“That won’t work,” my mom said from somewhere nearby, her voice echoing through my head.

Lord, it was happening again. How could I hear them when they weren’t anywhere nearby?

“Do you have a better suggestion,” Aaron replied. I’m so tired of her bossy attitude.

I paused outside the lounge door. Not only could I hear their words, but I could read their minds. Stunned, I sank against the cold wall. I suppose it made sense that I could hear what they said, after all every sentence was first a thought. But Mom and Aaron were way too powerful to let their guard down. Was this the source at work?

“If she had the powers fully, she could protect herself,” Mom continued. And I wouldn’t have to constantly worry about her.

I bristled as mom’s thought entered my mind. Please, I had proven that I could protect myself. Why did everyone insist on seeing me as a child?

“She can’t even handle the powers she has now! Why do you think she keeps fainting? There is too much power in her, she can’t take it.”

What the heck did they mean by that? I heard the soft fall of footsteps behind me and pushed away from the wall. Nora and Lewis emerged from the shadows. For some reason I didn’t want them to know about my newfound ability. At least not until I understood them better.

“Apparently one of our spies was found dead on the outskirts of Savannah,” Lewis said, pausing next to me. “Your mom and Aaron are in a near panic.”

My body went cold. “How?”

“No wounds,” Nora said, crossing her arms over her chest as if she, too, had felt the sudden chill. “Which means his energy was sucked dry.”

“You sure you don’t want to just skip town?” Lewis muttered.

“Starting to sound better and better every day,” I replied.

“Come on.” Nora shouldered her way by me and punched in a code. So many numbers I didn’t know how the heck I was supposed to remember them all.

The door opened just in time to hear Aaron say, “There’s nothing we can do but wait for their attack.” He leaned against the far wall, arms crossed and spotted me. Mom was seated at the table, a coffee cup in hand. This was ridiculous. Dad could be here at any moment and we were sitting around twiddling our thumbs and discussing our nonexistent options.

“Let me help,” I said firmly.

The room grew quiet. My mom was the only one who didn’t seem surprised by my offer. Most likely she’d known I’d say it all along. Heck, maybe she could read my mind, since I could occasionally read hers. The thought didn’t sit well.

Aaron narrowed his eyes, looking more than annoyed that I’d interrupted, or maybe annoyed that I’d offered to help, when they couldn’t. I was in no mood to appease his ego.

“How will you do anything? You can barely stand.”

He sounded angry, which annoyed me even more. I was doing what I could. In fact, I was probably doing more than him, which was obviously the problem. “I’ll use the source to go back into the hotel room.”

He pushed away from the wall and strolled to the sofa. “You can’t.”

“You’re already exhausted,” Mom said, trying to be more diplomatic. “If you go under again, it will put you out for a good day. You’ll be in no position to protect yourself.”

They’d both dismissed me so easily, not bothering to hear me out. There had to be something, anything I could do. I knew, as it was, this wasn’t going to end well. Yeah, a week ago we might have had a chance against my dad, but not now that he had his own source. We were pretty much screwed, and I wasn’t the only one to think so. I could see the despair in their eyes, feel it in their energy.

Mom set her mug down and stood. “I think it’s time to talk.”

“About what?” I asked warily.

She took in a deep breath. “It’s time for you to leave. In fact, it’s time for all three of you to leave and find a safer—”

“No!” Nora, Lewis and I shouted together.

Aaron surged to his feet. “You aren’t the parents here, we get to decide what you will and will not do!”

“You?” I sneered. “You’re actually calling yourself a father figure? The man who tortured and erased the memory of at least two people here. The man who kept children locked in a basement on some island, stealing them away from their homes? Don’t you dare think you have any say in what I can and can’t do.”

“Enough!” My mom slapped her palms onto the tabletop, the sound echoing overly loud in the small room.

“He doesn’t deserve a say in my life,” I insisted.

“Cameron, just stop.” My mom held up her hands, as if begging me to shut up. Why? Why was she so insistent I respect a man who had tortured me? A man who cared about nothing, no one, but himself?

“I don’t get it,” I whispered. “Why do you take his side?”

Was she really so pathetically in love with him? But no, I could see by the shielded look in her eyes that there was something more. And apparently I wasn’t the only one who thought so. For one long moment the entire room went silent, everyone holding their breaths as if we all knew there was something very wrong with this story.

“John isn’t your father,” Mom finally said in a rush of words, as if unloading the secret had taken a thousand pound weight from her shoulders.

I blinked, confused by the sudden change in topic. Was this some odd joke meant to lighten the mood? But no, Mom wasn’t laughing. She looked deadly serious. And I was stunned silent. John, the very man coming to destroy us, the very man who so desperately wanted to use me, who had allowed me to live in his home, wasn’t my father.

“I don’t understand.” It was all I could manage to say.

“There’s a reason why you’re the source, Cameron,” Mom explained. “It has nothing to do with luck, it has to do with your real father.”

I sank onto Mom’s empty chair, my legs weak, my body drained. Lewis and Nora just stood there looking as stunned as I felt. So, not even my sister had known? The realization didn’t make me feel any better.

“Why? Why would you lie?” My voice came out rough with emotion. I was desperately trying to hold it together, sinking into the numbness and clinging to it like a toddler with a baby blanket because I knew if I allowed myself to react, I wouldn’t be able to keep hold of what little control was left.

When Mom started toward me the entire world faded. All I could hear was my heart pounding in my ears. All I could see was my mom, the woman who had abandoned me, this woman who had lied. The woman who still lied to me.

“You have to understand Cameron. There are others who hold the source. Others capable of amazing things, just like us.”

What the hell did this have to do with anything? The pulsing energy that flared through my body brought with it anger so heated it nearly burned me from the inside out. I wanted to lash out at her. I wanted to shove her aside and run from the room.

“Who?” I demanded. “Who is my real father?”

“The reason why you were chosen to be the carrier of the source at such an early age, the reason the energy is so strong within you, is because your father carries the source as well.”

“Who!” I demanded, surging to my feet so fast the chair toppled to the ground.

“Me,” Aaron whispered from the other side of the room.

The word hit me like a punch to the gut. I stumbled back a step, then two. Horrified would be an understatement. I wouldn’t have been more stunned if I’d found out Satan was my dad.

“Cameron.” I felt Lewis’ hands on my arms and sank into him, letting my back rest against his chest. I felt like I was in a freaking soap opera. The twists and turns just kept coming and the lies were as thick as the mud along the Savannah River.

“John knows he’s not your father, but he has no idea who is,” Mom explained.

I felt like such an idiot. All that time I’d lived at the compound he’d lied, he’d drawn me in, pretended to care. Revulsion trembled through me. But John wasn’t the only liar. Aaron was just as bad.

“And are you sure you’re my mom or is that the surprise for next week?”

“I swear,” she whispered. “I am your mother and Aaron is your father. There are no more surprises. None. We were going to tell you, but when you insisted on saving Lewis we held back, worried that if you left for North Carolina, if you were captured, John would find out the truth.”

In other words, they’d known I’d try to rescue Lewis, and they’d known John would break into my mind. I pressed my hand to my roiling stomach, and prayed I wouldn’t be so weak as to get sick in front of them all.

“We can’t tell anyone.” She glanced pointedly at all of us in turn. “If John finds out…”

I swallowed hard and nodded, still too overwhelmed to say much of anything.

More secrets. More lies. I glanced at Aaron. My heart grew heavy, my chest tight. We looked similar, I realized. The same lean body, the same shaped eyes. I tore my gaze away. “You had an affair.”

“Hardly,” Aaron snapped. “It wasn’t a real marriage. You father married—”

“It’s okay,” Mom interrupted. She looked tired, but we all did. “She knows he married me just to produce a carrier of the source.”

“Too bad I failed him on that account, “Nora mumbled. “He is my dad, right?”

Too much. It was too much emotion, too much confusion at once. A torrent of feelings bombarded me, leaving me off kilter. I stumbled. Lewis’ warm hands gripped my waist, the only thing keeping me grounded in this insane reality.

“John is Nora’s father.” Mom explained, but I was barely paying attention. “I didn’t tell anyone because it wasn’t safe, and I wanted you to know first.”

“This is ridiculous,” Nora snapped, sounding as angry as I should have felt. Mom went to her, speaking in loving tones as if attempting to calm her when she should have been calming me.

“No,” Nora snapped, stepping back. “I’m so tired of the secrets and bullshit that goes on here.”

She was right, and I wrestled with my emotions, not sure which to cling to. Anger. Shock. Bitterness. In the end, all I wanted to do was run away from it all. My lungs seemed to shrink, I couldn’t draw air.

“I…I need to get out.” I jerked away from Lewis and shoved past Nora who was blocking the doorway.

“Cameron, John could be here soon,” my mom reminded me.

I didn’t pause, but shoved the door wide and rushed into the hall. Thunder rumbled from above, shaking the very tunnels. I pressed my hands to the damp stone walls for support. My anger fed on the energy of the storm, welcomed it. How could they? How could they lie again? Every single time I thought I could trust them, they pulled the rug out from under my feet.

I turned left, heading down the tunnel Lewis and I had taken when we’d escaped that one night. Only days ago, but it seemed like a lifetime. From somewhere the church choir sang, their heavenly voices echoing down the tunnels, adding an eerie feel to the already spooky corridors. I didn’t know where I was going and didn’t care. I welcomed the solitude.

“Cameron.” Lewis grabbed my hand, jerking me to a stop. I wasn’t sure if I was relieved to see him, or if I was annoyed.

“Please,” I said, trying to pull away. “Just leave me alone.”

“No.” He pressed me to the wall, holding me captive. “Talk to me.”

I didn’t want to talk, I was tired of talking. But Lewis wouldn’t release me, and those damn blue eyes held me captive. “John isn’t my father,” I blurted out.

Lewis’ brows drew together. “That’s good, right?”

I shrugged, unsure how to feel. “He’s really no more than a stranger, so why do I hate him so much? Why have I wasted so much energy on him? Why had I ever wanted his approval?”

He gave me a half smile. “You can still hate him. He tortured us. He tortured Nora, his own child. Your sister.”

“My half-sister.”

“Your sister,” Lewis insisted. Leave it to him to be reasonable.

I curled my fingers into the damp stone at my back. “I’m not saying I don’t want him stopped, I’m saying why have I wasted so much emotion on him?”

“You don’t have to anymore.”

Maybe he was right. There was an odd sense of relief in the truth. I hadn’t really ever known John anyway, but just a myth of who I thought he was. “But I still have to stop him.” I glanced up at Lewis. “Or we could run.”

“If I knew you were serious I’d take you away from here right now.” He rested his forehead to mine and for a moment we just savored the time together, the soft singing that filled the air around us.

“I know you don’t really want to leave.”

He was right. And he would stay by my side, because he was honorable. And together we could be destroyed, crushed in the rubble that would tumble down around us. “Do you regret coming here?”

More importantly did he regret getting involved with me? He’d never say so, but I would feel the truth in his energy.

“No.” He pressed his lips to mine in a soft, sweet kiss. “But we can’t continue their lies. They were our parents, yeah, but that doesn’t mean we have to be like them.” He moved back slightly and took my hand in his. “We don’t have to continue their war. When it’s done, can we start over?”

Surprisingly, I managed to smile, feeding on his hopeful promise because I believed him. I had to believe him; it worked for me. I needed that dream of a better future now more than ever. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

He reached up, brushing the side of my face with his fingertips. “We don’t have to have a life like this. A life like our parents. We can change things.”

I’d never wanted this life, and the possibility of having a future of my own doing was a tempting dream indeed. I didn’t have to stay here. I didn’t have to have a relationship with Aaron. I hoped that I could have something more than this…lying…fighting…scheming. I could. I just had to stop John first.

A low rumble of thunder shook the tunnels and the lights along the wall flickered.

Lewis leaned forward and brushed his lips across mine. A soft, gentle kiss. A kiss that held hope, promise. “We’ll get through this.”

“And then?”

A shiver warned me that something wasn’t right. Before he could answer, before I could warn Lewis that something was wrong, he sucked in a sharp breath, his eyes going wide with shock and pain.

“Lewis?” Franticly, I grabbed onto him, but his weight was too much and when he fell to his knees, he pulled me down with him. We hit the hard floor together.

“What is it?” I gasped, scrambling to my knees.

He groaned, pressing his palms to his temples. Realization hit. I knew immediately someone was mentally hurting him. Panic rang through my body, alarm bells warning me to run.

I jerked my head upright, searching the dark corridor. I didn’t have to look far. From the shadows a human form emerged. Tall, sinewy, familiar.

The man who used to be my father.

Chapter 23

John wasn’t alone. Four men stood behind him, two of which I recognized as my mother’s guards. They’d betrayed us, but I shouldn’t have been surprised. Mom had spies in the compound, why shouldn’t John have spies too? The least they could have done was look guilty, but they didn’t, which made me wonder if they’d been working for John since the beginning.

“We’ve been expecting you,” I said, forcing my voice not to quiver. “Should I ring my mother for tea and biscuits?”

I was very much aware of Lewis beside me, slowly regaining his feet. Lewis who was no match for John. We all knew it. There was a reason John had attacked him and not me… to show me that he could hurt the ones I cared about. It worked.

“Very amusing, Cameron.” He paused some ten feet from us, the soft glow of the lamplight hitting his face and highlighting his body with an almost heavenly glow. How could anyone who looked so normal be so evil?

I brushed the thought aside and focused on the situation. I wouldn’t allow myself to panic. As far as I could see, I had three choices: fight John and his four friends, scream for my mother and hope she heard, or surrender.

“It’s too late,” John said. “You see your mother returned to her home; she’s no longer in the tunnels. She wouldn’t hear you if you yelled. And if by some miracle she did, I have men surrounding the house, hidden within the corridors. I have for years. In fact, I’ve known your mother lived in Savannah all along. I’ve known about the tunnels all along.”

I didn’t dare show my surprise. “Aren’t you the cleverest of the bunch? Although considering your cohorts, that’s not much of a compliment.”

So I hadn’t spilled all of her secrets after all. At least my guilt eased on that note; one positive.

“My men have surrounded your mother’s home and are awaiting my command to attack. Either come with me, no resistance, or they fight. And I promise you, your family is greatly outnumbered. Are you willing to chance the life of your mother? Your sister?”

I swallowed down the bitter taste of panic and shrugged. “I’m not all that close to them anyway.”

There was the slightest shift of John’s attention that warned me something was about to happen. His gaze moved from me, to Lewis. Before I had time to warn him, Lewis groaned, falling to his knees.

My bravado fled and I collapsed beside him. “Lewis?”

But he didn’t answer. He couldn’t. His teeth were gritted in pain, his eyes squeezed closed as his body trembled uncontrollably. I took in a deep breath, frantically trying to think of a way to stop John. I snapped my attention toward the man and with a mental roar, I threw my energy at him. He didn’t even flinch; I could practically feel the energy bounce back. A new and improved chip? The source? I hadn’t a clue why he was suddenly invincible, and hadn’t the time to uncover the truth.

Instead, I tried good old fashioned pleading. “Stop, please!”

“I need an answer,” John said. “You’re wasting time.”

I jerked my attention back to Lewis. A thin trail of blood seeped from his mouth, brilliant red against his suddenly pale skin. I’d seen it happen to him before, and the fear of watching him slowly fade before me all over again sent my heart into my throat.

“I’ll go,” I whispered.

Lewis reached out, grasping my hand and squeezing it hard, but I didn’t dare look at him. I knew he wasn’t happy with my response, but it wasn’t his decision to make. I didn’t care if I went back to prison; but I could not watch the guy I loved tortured.

“Very good,” John said, seemingly pleased with my response, like a teacher pleased that a pupil had been paying attention. He stepped back, taking his energy with him.

Lewis slumped into my arms.

The relief I felt was overwhelming. “You okay?” I whispered.

He gave me a jerky nod, then turned his head and spit blood onto the floor. I could feel Lewis’ anger pulse like lava around me. He wanted to kill John, but was in no shape to harm anyone. I had to make sure he wouldn’t attack.

With my arm around his waist, I managed to take the brunt of his weight and help him to his feet. There was no look of amusement or smirk of success upon John’s face, which for some reason made the situation worse. He didn’t hurt people because it made him feel good; he did it because he truly believed in his cause.

“What the hell do you want from me?” I hissed. “Why pretend you care? Why not just force me to go with you like you are now?”

“Your mother told you.” John narrowed his gaze, studying my face, as if attempting to understand my reaction.

I knew what he was speaking about… my daddy issues. “She did, and all I can say is thank God you’re not my father.” Honestly, I meant it. I suddenly realized why having Aaron as my dad was a million times better than the man before me. Although I didn’t agree with Aaron’s practices, at least we were on the same side.

John didn’t react. If anything he seemed mildly interested in my response. But I didn’t want him interested, I wanted him pissed. It annoyed me that I couldn’t get a rise out of him. I so badly wanted to break through that cool façade; for him to show his true colors.

“I guess that explains why you didn’t give a crap about me, but you tortured Nora, your own child, didn’t you?”

His face grew serious, his voice almost gentle. “I didn’t enjoy it.”

As if that was supposed to make me feel better. “That’s doubtful.”

He sighed. “I won’t stand here arguing with you over morality. These are the facts, Cameron. If you do not obey my men will attack your mother and her friends. And I promise you, your mother is greatly outnumbered. If you go with me, they’ll leave.”

Lewis released a harsh laugh. “And you expect us to believe you?”

John spared him a brief glance. “Honestly I don’t care what you think. I only need Cameron. But if you need further reassurance, I’d rather not start a war in such a public place. It will draw unwanted attention, and the government does not like attention.”

Lewis swiped the corner of his mouth, wiping away the remaining blood that still trickled from his mouth. “Yeah, I’m going to need more proof. How do we know you really have men surrounding the house?”

Lewis was obviously biding time. Like me, he hoped my mom would magically appear and save the day.

“Whether you believe me or not, we’ve been spying on your mother for some time now. Your proof, if you keep going straight and turn left at the T, you’ll go past your mother’s home. The door to the tunnels goes through your mother’s bookcase. I’d be happy to give you the code. The spies your mother had implanted into our organization have now been converted.” He glanced back at the men behind him. “As well as a few guards who were stationed here.”

He had me, I knew it. Lewis knew it. My only concern at this point was getting John as far away as possible from those I loved. Once I knew they were no longer in danger, I could think about escape. I’d done it before, I could do it again. “I’ll go.”

Cameron, Lewis’ warning whispered through my mind. I didn’t bother to respond.

John wanted me, me only, and he could have me.

John turned, his back to us as if he’d known all along we would fold. As if he wasn’t the least bit worried about our powers. “Start walking.”

Two of the guards stepped from the shadows and fell into place behind us. It was as they moved by me that I recognized one of the men. I sucked in a sharp breath, startled. The man from the hotel room, the man who had forced me back into my body. Who the hell was he?

Someone shoved me forward and I followed John.

Walking swiftly and silently, we moved through the tunnels. I had to find a way to get rid of Lewis and fast. I couldn’t concentrate while worrying about him. If I knew he was safe, I could focus on destroying John for good.

The sound of singing grew louder as we moved underneath the church, the soft murmur of Latin barely audible over the rumble of thunder. I tried to remember the layout of the tunnels but my education on the subject was sadly lacking. I’d spent too much time at the beach. John, on the other hand, knew underground Savannah well and I wondered how long he’d had a map of the place. I was running out of ideas, and fast.

“So how does it feel?” I taunted. If I couldn’t physically defeat him, perhaps I could get to him mentally. “Destroying your own family. Your child? Is it worth it? Will your belief’s keep you company when you’re dying a slow and lonely death?”

Lewis’ hand brushed against mine. He’d done it deliberately, warning me to be careful.

“I’ve never been one to buy into the ‘blood is thicker than water’ thing,” John said as if we were merely strolling through Savannah, having a chat.

The lights flickered once more and I wondered if the storm was worsening. If I remembered correctly, we were headed toward Bay Street. But in the evening, and during a storm the usually crowded area would be desolate, which would make it more difficult to escape.

“Your own parent, child, spouse can be just as much as an enemy as a stranger,” John continued as we turned left.

The singing faded and from somewhere nearby I could hear the rain pouring down a drainage ditch. Thunder rumbled, shaking the tunnel around us and sending tiny pieces of debris pattering to the floor. Great, just what I needed, to be trapped for eternity in a collapsed tunnel with John.

“In fact your family can be worse, because you don’t expect them. A little tip,” John said, glancing at me, “that’s why you should never trust anyone.”

I had a feeling we were getting closer to the surface. “And I’m assuming you have a lot of enemies, don’t you?”

“We all do, it’s the price that comes with having power.”

I rolled my eyes. This guy seriously needed to be taken down a peg or two. “But that’s the thing, John, isn’t it? You don’t have any power, which is why you need me.”

I felt the subtlest shift in his energy and grinned. Although he didn’t face me, I could tell by the unsettling air around us that he was angry. Lewis’ hand brushed mine once more. I ignored his warning.

“The only enemy,” I continued, “the only person who is preventing me from having a normal life, is you. So how about we shake hands, play nice, and go our separate ways?”

Happen to have a plan? Lewis asked me mentally. Other than taunting him?

Not yet, I replied. We’re headed toward the river.

The river. We were headed toward the river. Suddenly it all made sense, like puzzle pieces falling easily into place.

“And the river?” John had asked in that hotel room.

“An easy distance. Not far.”

I slid Lewis a glance. I think we’re going to leave town by boat.

“And you believe I can trust your people?” John released a harsh laugh. “You think they won’t attack me the moment they get the chance? Once again, Cameron, you think it’s so easy to pick sides, so easy to define who is bad and who is good.”

“And once again, the only person I see set to destroy this world, this life, is you.”

He released a manic laugh that worried me. “They’ve brainwashed you so easily.”

My fingers curled as I resisted the urge to lunge at him. “Don’t feed me some bull about trying to do what’s right. You’re a greedy, power-hungry monster. This is all about you and your ego; what you want. And you want power because you don’t have any.”

He spun around and gripped my upper arms so tight, I knew they’d be bruised. “We’ve done enough talking,” John growled, oozing anger.

There was a perverse part of me that took pleasure in ruffling his carefully constructed façade. The wall he created was slowly crumbling. I felt Lewis’ protective anger surge around me and gave a discreet shake of my head, telling him not to intervene.

“By all means,” I said innocently. “Don’t let me keep you from your destiny.”

One of the guards stepped between me and Lewis, shoving me forward.

I resisted the urge to curse. The river was close. Too close. I wouldn’t have much time to save Lewis and escape. We rounded a tunnel and paused at a steel door. We were in a section of the tunnels where I’d never been. I glanced at Lewis, but he seemed just as lost as I felt. The stone was rougher, crumbly, as if older. Or maybe no one had repaired it. Wherever we were, it was obvious no one came here often. I needed to act now and fast.

Slowly, I reached out with my mind, testing the mental strength of the guards around me. Could I break through and take them all down, without hurting Lewis in the process? I bit my lower lip. Lewis was already weakened, if my energy pierced his mental wall, he’d be gone for sure. I was torn between wanting to escape and wanting to keep Lewis safe.

The guard who had forced me from the hotel room suddenly grabbed my upper arm. “Don’t,” he hissed in my ear.

Startled, I didn’t say a word as he moved around me and punched in the code to unlock the door. Somehow he’d known I was in that hotel room the other night. Somehow he knew the codes. Somehow he knew what I was thinking even before I reacted. Was this man the carrier of the source?

They shoved the door open, revealing a huge warehouse, empty of life, full of history. The immense glass windows looked out over the river, rain slashing against the glass and obscuring our view. We were high up, the second floor. The wooden floorboards were dusty and bare, indicating no one had been here in some time. So they’d entered through a different entrance.

The door shut behind us and I released the air I didn’t realize I held. We were out of the tunnels, away from my family. We moved across the dusty floor and I realized that this was the moment I needed; the only moment I might have to put my plan into place. First things first, get rid of Lewis.

“Owen,” John demanded, nodding toward the rusty door; what I assumed was an entrance at some point in time. “The key.”

The guard who had forced me from the hotel room took out a key and pulled open the door. Interestingly there was no electronic keypad. The scent of musty air swirled into the factory; a rough gust that sent me stumbling back. Rain came down sideways, slashing at us and pouring into the warehouse. I was soaked immediately, the cold air chilling my skin.

“Go,” John shoved me toward a rickety metal staircase that curved down the brick side of the warehouse.

I gripped the slick railing, the stairs trembling under my weight. The rain was cold, but I welcomed the drops. My hesitation would be blamed on the weather and not my plan of attack. I waited… waited until they were all outside the door. As the last guard stepped over the threshold, dragging Lewis with him, I acted. I spun around, and using all the mental energy I had, shoved Lewis back into the warehouse. I saw his look of shock right before I mentally slammed the door shut. I could only hope that in his state it would take him some time to break the lock.

With Lewis safe, I didn’t hesitate but spun around and jumped. It was a long way down and when my feet hit the cobbled stones, my ankles twisted painfully. The pain was worth it. I knew they wouldn’t go after Lewis, they’d come after me.

“Get her!” I heard John scream.

My skin prickled in warning. I scrambled to my feet and raced forward, back toward the city. Every muscle in my body demanded I run; my instincts screamed at me to escape. I’d made it only ten steps when the pain sliced through my brain. I cried out, stumbling, then falling to my knees. They were on me before I could plan a counter attack. Firm fingers bit into my upper arms, jerking me upright. I threw my energy at the man holding me, the same man who had forced me from the hotel room on my mental jaunt.

“Stop,” he whispered. “You’re making things worse.”

“Screw you,” I muttered.

“We’ve improved our chips,” John called out quite casually from the steps. “It’s quite hard to break through them now.”

“Don’t run,” the man holding me hissed.

I was shoved forward, forced toward the river.

“Sir, you want me to go after the boy?”

“No, Owen. Leave him. We don’t have time and besides, he’ll be locked in there for awhile.” He gripped my arm and jerked me down an alley. “Now see, you made a scene for no reason. Your boyfriend will probably rot in that warehouse and you’re still here.”

What he didn’t realize was that Lewis was great with mechanics. He’d be out within a few minutes. I could only pray that he’d be smart and find my mom, instead of coming after me. So I’d been caught. That was okay, I’d find another way to escape. All that mattered was Lewis was safe.

I brushed the clumps of wet hair from my face and concentrated on my surroundings. Sure enough the river lay below, just visible between the buildings. My ankles throbbed as I wobbled over the slick, cobbled street. A road that was probably around when our family tree had been written and would probably still be here long after we kicked the bucket, which might be sooner rather than later. It was dark enough from the storm and late enough in the evening that the gas lamps flickered along the brick and stone buildings lining River Street.

A police officer rounded the corner. “Excuse me.” He shouldered past us and started toward his patrol car, parked behind a restaurant. “Better find shelter,” he called out.

“Will do,” John replied with a wave.

I glanced longingly at the cop, but what could a police officer do? John would only hurt him, or use mind control. I glanced at the cop one last time before John led me around another building and out onto River Street. Lightning branched across the dark clouds, moments later thunder shook the very air around us. Rain hit my face like a thousand tiny needles. The storm was bad, really bad and I wondered how in the heck we were going to take a boat down the river on waves so high they were sloshing over the bank and flooding the sidewalk.

“And after we get on the boat?” I managed to ask as we crossed River Street, sliding and stumbling over the wet road.

“Don’t worry about that.”

A few boats bobbed up and down on the rough waves along the river. Only one vessel had a captain waiting at the wheel. It was a blue, nondescript boat that didn’t exactly look like it would make it down the river let alone out to sea. John wouldn’t have to kill me, I’d drown.

Frantic, I glanced around the riverfront. A few homeless people sat on the benches down the sidewalk, huddled under plastic bags. Too far away to be any good. A few tourists were up the street, near the shop fronts but they were rushing down the sidewalk searching for shelter from the rain. No Aaron. No Lewis. No mom. There was no one but me.

“On the boat,” John demanded.

“Why?” I snapped over the roar of the wind. If I got on that vessel, I knew I’d be as good as captured. I might be able to move water, but I sure as heck couldn’t move an entire river. I’d be truly stuck. “Why go by water during a storm? Are you seriously that crazy?”

“Get in,” he demanded, shoving me toward the water’s edge.

There had to be a reason we were going by river. Yeah, it might be easier to get out of the state via boat, but not like this, not when a storm this fierce was so close to land. I brushed the rain from my face. Why? Why?

Suddenly, it hit me.

“Natural elements,” I said as I spun around to face him. “When we were at the compound you guys said that dirt and rocks can muffle mind reading ability. Water does too, doesn’t it?”

John didn’t answer, but instead turned toward his men. “Go. Split up.” The four men following us divided, two headed down the sidewalk as if keeping watch, two staying with us.

“You think my mother doesn’t already know where we are. You think she won’t be able to find me? Using water as insulation won’t help you.”

I reached out again, using all the energy I had. Nothing happened. It was like hitting a brick wall. Owen, the man from the hotel room, the man who looked so familiar, grabbed my arm as John headed toward the line securing the boat to the dock.

“Go along with it,” Owen whispered in my ear, pulling me toward the vessel.

Startled, for a moment I merely allowed him to push me aboard. Go along with what? Who the heck was he? A wave crashed into the ship, sending me stumbling across the deck. Salt water splashed over the edge, dousing me and taking my momentary attention. My skin had permanent goose bumps. I crossed my arms over my chest, shivering.

John pulled the dock line from the cleat, freeing the boat.

Desperate, I searched the riverfront. “She will find me,” I whispered.

“And we’ll be ready if she does,” John responded, jumping aboard, the other guard following.

I’d barely gotten my sea legs when the boat lurched forward, the engine roaring to life over the sound of crashing waves. Clinging to the railing, I watched helplessly as we followed the river, further and further away from town. Alone, I was completely alone.

We were leaving. I hadn’t escaped. Mom hadn’t come. Exhausted, I sank onto a crate, wrapping my arms around myself and attempting to get warm. This is what I had wanted, wasn’t it? To give myself up, so the others wouldn’t be hurt?

“Here,” John shoved a lifejacket toward me.

“How kind,” I muttered, pulling the bulky vest over my chest and snapping the buckle closed. The vest was one offer I wouldn’t reject; I might need it.

Owen headed into the cabin, standing in the dry warmth with the captain. John was pulling on a brilliant yellow raincoat. He barely paid any attention to me, he knew he’d won. I was just something to be used; not even human. The other guard watched the shoreline.

“When’s it going to happen?” someone asked, the words warbled and murky. I stiffened, realizing my powers were kicking in.

“Soon. They’ll be waiting.”

Owen and the captain were speaking.

I narrowed my eyes, focusing on them. We were meeting another boat soon. Once I was at open sea, any chance of escape would be over. The frantic need to escape clawed at me. I glanced at the churning waves, hitting our boat and splashing over the edge. There was only one option. If I was going to jump, I had to do it now, before we hit open sea where the water would be really rough and the shore too far away to swim.

I stood, my heart in my throat. Dare I try it? John thought he had won, he’d most likely called off his men by now. The water was choppy, the boat bouncing over the waves, but the lifejacket would help and I had no other alternative. I tightened my grip on the railing as the wind whipped at my hair and salt water splashed over the edge of the boat, soaking my tennis shoes.

“Inside the cabin,” John demanded, heading toward me. “Once we hit open seas, you’ll be transferred to another boat.”

Just as I’d assumed. He started to reach for me, but we hit a wave. The boat flew up into the air. John fell back into the cabin door and I knew this was my shot at escape. I took a step back, then surged forward. Gripping the railing, I threw my legs over and closed my eyes…waiting to hit the deadly waves.

Before I touched the water, I was jerked back. I had only a brief second to realize I was flying through the air before I hit the deck hard. John and Owen hovered over me, rain trailing down their faces. I hadn’t been touched, but someone had used their powers to pull me back.

“Stupid!” John screamed over the roar of the wind and waves. “You could have killed yourself!”

I knew he didn’t care about me, but the powers he would lose.

Owen gripped my arms and hauled me to my feet. “Idiot.”

I didn’t care what they thought, no, I was too upset over the fact that I’d lost my one chance to escape. John stepped close to me, his face furious. “I don’t give a damn what your mother and her friends do, but I swear to God, you try something like that again and I will kill them just for the fun of it.”

He spun around and stomped toward the cabin.

“Come on.” Owen led me toward the door.

I’d be out of the rain, but stuck with John. I’d rather take my chances with the storm.

Before I entered the cabin, I glanced toward the fading shore. I could only pray that Lewis had broken out of the warehouse and gotten to my mother in time.

Perhaps I’d escape. Perhaps they’d come to my rescue. Or perhaps I’d be imprisoned for the rest of my life. Whatever happened, it didn’t matter because I had done my job. I had saved them, the people I loved…my family.

Chapter 24

The moment I stepped into the shelter of the cabin, John shoved me onto a bench. “Stupid move, Cameron.”

I shrugged off his touch, ignoring the shudder that went through me. “Not really. I don’t think you get it, I’d rather be at the bottom of the ocean than working for you.”

His lips lifted into a sneer, the anger in his eyes burning. I’d wanted to push him over the edge and I had. Now I wasn’t so sure it had been a good idea. Why was he so nervous? And I could tell by his jerky movements that he was anxious.

“Pull another stunt like that and your mother is dead.”

I crossed my arms over my chest, wishing my body would stop trembling. He’d gloat if I looked weak. “Doubtful. Most likely Lewis has already warned her. You see Lewis has this amazing ability; he can manipulate mechanics, which you should have known when he broke out of his cell at the compound. The lock won’t hold him.” I shook my head as if disappointed. “You really, really should have known that.”

John stared long and hard at me, as if trying to uncover the truth, assuming I’d lied since everyone else did. But I’d obviously cracked that assuredness he carried around like a freaking badge from an all American boy scout. I refused to fidget under his intense gaze, but kept my attention locked on him.

“You think you have it all figured out? You believe your mother’s going to magically appear and save the day? What makes you think my men haven’t attacked her compound already?”

John was focused on me awaiting an answer, while the captain did his best to keep us from sinking. Owen stood in the corner, those eerily familiar hazel eyes taking it all in. It felt entirely too crowded in that cabin. Stuck in the small space with three men made me more than nervous; I hated feeling so helpless.

I tilted my chin high and dared to keep John’s gaze. “Call it instinct, but Lewis will find a way.”

The boat pitched to the left, sending me sliding across the bench and John stumbling into the door that led below deck. A monster wave crashed over the bow, sea water splashing against the window and obscuring our view. Was it my imagination, or did the storm seem to be getting worse?

John stumbled back toward me and I took some satisfaction in realizing that he was no fisherman. Being on a boat obviously didn’t come naturally to him. “Sorry, but your boyfriend was most likely captured by my men. Your mother might have her little crew of rebel mind readers, but I have the U.S. government behind me.”

His words worried me, but I refused to let it show. Even if John disappeared forever, would another crazed government agent merely take his place? Would this war never end? I glanced at Owen who still stood in the corner, just watching. Would he be the next leader?

John turned toward the captain. There was something in his movements that seemed more urgent than just moments ago. Maybe there had been truth to my statement; maybe Lewis would escape.

“How far away is the main boat?”

The captain glanced at John. “Ten minutes, not far.”

Ten minutes and I’d be gone… away from the ones I loved. I took in a deep breath, trying to keep hold of what little self-possession I had left. Who knew if Mom had survived the attack. Who knew if Lewis had escaped. I’d certainly never thought to take sides, but at some point I had. They were my friends. They were my family. And in their own screwed up way, they cared about me. For a brief moment I’d had what I’d been looking for all along.

I could barely see out the window. Lights twinkled in the dark, the only indication of life. Rain and fog obscured most of the view. Through the mist, dark mounds of land rose against a muddied landscape. The site brought with sweet relief. We weren’t in open water yet. I might still have a chance, and if I didn’t make it, I’d try again, and again.

Owen reached into the cabinet underneath the wheel and handed me a wool blanket. I wondered over his weird messages and his kindness. What did he want from me? The blanket was scratchy, but warm, and I gladly accepted it. I didn’t bother to thank him, but wrapped the itchy material around my shoulders.

My fingers had grown numb and I worried I wouldn’t be able to escape when the time was right. I glanced out the back window. Only one guard remained on deck, huddled in his bright yellow raincoat as he watched the landscape for enemies. Four against one. I took my lower lip between my teeth. Dare I try to break into their minds again? I glanced at John. He paced nervously around the cabin, no longer even attempting to look at ease.

“Where are we going?” I demanded. “There’s no reason not to tell me.”

Yeah, I was biding my time, fishing for any information that might help. He was so flustered he just might fall into my trap. If he had the backing of the entire U.S. government, why was he so nervous?

“The Caribbean,” John said. “We’re headed to the Caribbean.”

The irony. Hadn’t I wanted to return to the islands so many times in the past month? So close to where I’d lived with my grandmother. But the woman wasn’t really my grandmother, was she? Is that why she’d been so bitter and angry? Having to traipse about the country, give up her life, for a grandchild who wasn’t hers? The thought left me confused and a little ill. Or maybe my upset stomach had to do with the speed of the vessel taking us out to sea. I glanced out the side window. The riverbank was barely visible. Gone, fading into the dark clouds and fog. With it, my hope faded.

“Sir,” the captain called out.

“What is it?”

The captain, a big burly man, stepped to the side. “Visitors. It might be nothing, but I thought I’d mention it.”

I took some comfort in the worry that flashed across John’s eyes. This anxious man was someone I’d never seen before. He was totally losing it. People who weren’t in control made mistakes.

He snatched up a pair of binoculars that hung from a hook. “A shrimp boat?”

“Not sure,” the captain mumbled.

They both sounded nervous. My hope flourished and I couldn’t help but peer through that window. But all I saw in the lights around the deck were two men in yellow raingear on a shrimp boat that looked like it was about to be tossed upside down by the waves.

“Mayday, mayday, mayday,” came over the speaker. “This is the Miranda. We are taking on water fast. Permission to abandon ship and come aboard.”

“Ignore them,” John snapped.

“Sir,” the captain muttered, looking highly offended. “It’s my duty to help. If the coast guard…”

John grabbed the captain by the collar and jerked him forward even though the man probably outweighed him by fifty pounds. “Ignore them.”

John released his hold and stepped back, combing his fingers through his wet hair. Although John didn’t notice, I saw the brief glance the captain slid Owen. The fine hairs on my body stood on end. Something was wrong. Definitely wrong.

“You are going to ignore them,” John insisted as he paced the small area. “And we are going to meet the yacht on time.”

“I’m sorry,” Owen stated. “I can’t let that happen.” He lunged at John and threw his fist forward, connecting with John’s gut. I jumped to my feet, scrambling out of the way as John stumbled back, hitting the door.

“Seriously?” I snapped, flattening myself to the wall. “You have no issues kidnapping harmless girls, but have to stop for a sinking boat?”

Owen threw me a glance as he reached for a rope hanging on a hook. “We both know you’re far from harmless.”

Confused, I attempted to rack my brain for a familiar memory, something that would explain this man. “Do I know you?”

He flashed me a grin. “Aaron’s brother, Owen. We’re actually twins.”

Twins? Twins! Good God, like the world needed two of them. That’s why he seemed familiar; although not exactly, he looked like Aaron. “You’re my…”

Uncle, but I didn’t dare say the word out loud in case he didn’t know the truth. What other mystery family members did I have?

With the rope in hand, he started toward John. Yep, I’m your uncle.

Okay, so I guess he knew; hopefully John didn’t. John, who was gasping for breath as he huddled on the bench I’d just vacated. The captain pulled the boat up alongside the shrimping vessel; he obviously worked for my uncle.

Right before Owen reached him, John stumbled to his feet, finding strength. Owen threw his fist forward, connecting with John’s chin. The man’s head snapped back with a popping noise that made me cringe.

“I’ll take care of Henry,” the captain muttered. “You take care of John.”

“Well that’s not fair,” Owen muttered as the captain rushed onto the deck to start his own battle with the only guard.

“And the stunt you pulled,” Owen grunted, as he swung his fist forward once more, connecting with the side of John’s face. “Trying to jump over the railing…stupid.”

John slumped to the ground, groaning. He obviously had little experience fighting. He liked to do his dirty work through others. Brilliant red blood trailed from his nose and I couldn’t help but think of all the mind readers he’d tortured over the years.

Owen stepped back, shaking his head. “Very stupid.”

“I thought I had no choice!”

Owen spun around to face me, frowning. “If you would have sat tight…”

John shifted, the slightest movement, but my alarm bells rang in warning.

“Watch out!” I cried.

Too late. With his mental energy John sent Owen flying across the small cabin and out the door. The larger man slid across the deck toward his fellow mind readers, leaving me alone with John. So much for sending in the cavalry. A lot of good my supposed uncle was.

“This ends now.” John reached for me, but I spun around, out of his grasp.

The door flapped on the storm gales, rain pouring into the tiny cabin. I jerked my head toward the shrimp boat next to us. Waves splashed over the sides, the winds wild and fierce. The two fishermen had tossed aside their raincoats and were connecting their vessel to ours.

What the hell was going on?

Men and women poured from the cabin and out onto the deck, jumping over the sides climbing onto our boat. Some I recognized as my mother’s followers, others were new. It was like some pirate attack out of the movies. Instead of swords and cannons they only had their mind reading abilities. The hope inside me grew as I ran toward the door.

“You think this is over?” John hissed, latching onto my arm and jerking me back. I struggled to break away, swinging my elbows wide in an attempt to connect with anything vulnerable. But his hold was too tight. Through the windows I saw Nora and my mom headed toward us. If I could hold on a moment longer… As a last attempt I threw my energy at John. But the powers just bounced back.

John shoved me below deck and slammed the door shut, throwing the area into darkness. I hit the stairs, teetered and fell, rolling down the steps and hitting the floor hard. My skull connected to the edge of the last step, sending pain down my spine. For a brief moment I just laid there, too stunned to move. Above me I could hear the hard thump of feet as the others fought. The boat tipped precariously to the left. I rolled over, groaning as my aching body protested the movement. I sure as hell wasn’t going to die in the cargo hold on what was probably a sinking boat.

Shoving my hands into the floorboards, I managed to stand. The stairs loomed before me, a seemingly impossible climb with the cargo area spinning. I pressed my fingertips to the back of my head and felt the warmth of blood.

“Damn.” Ignoring the injury, I gripped the railing and hauled myself up the steps, determined to escape. The sound of thumping feet suddenly stopped. It was strangely quiet. Anxious, I gripped the handle of the door. It wouldn’t budge. The jerk had locked me inside.

“Open it, damn you!” I screamed, pounding my fists against the door.

Cameron? Lewis’ mental voice pierced my mind.

“Lewis!” I pressed my palms to the door, my body warming with pure joy. “It’s locked!”

“It’s okay, just a minute.”

I stepped back, waiting impatiently. I knew what he was doing; I could hear the soft click of the lock being undone. When the door opened and Lewis stood there looking drenched, but gorgeous, I’d never been so happy. I threw my arms around his neck and pressed my body to his. He hadn’t changed clothing, nor gotten a raincoat and his clothing was soaked, but I didn’t care.

“Don’t you ever trick me like that again,” he muttered, kissing my cheek.

I gave myself one moment to savor the feel of him, then pulled back. “Are they okay?” I glanced toward the windows, but could see little through the rain.

His hands rubbed my back, adding feeling and warmth to my chilled skin. “They’re fine. It wasn’t much of a fight considering John had only one man truly on his side.”

“How’d you find me?”

A wave crashed against the side of the boat and the vessel lurched right. Lewis braced his legs apart, holding me steady. “Your mother was already on her way. She knew John was here.”

Anger propelled me back a step. “Wait a minute, she knew? How much?”

Lewis rubbed the top of his head, and sighed. “I’m not sure. She was waiting at the river, the shrimp boat ready when I escaped and came after you.”

While I was being shoved onto John’s boat, mom had already been at the riverside, knowing my capture would happen. My God, she must have left the tunnels right after we had. Did Nora and Aaron also know I’d be abducted? Had I been the bait all along?

Another wave crashed against the side of the boat. I would have hit the wall if Lewis hadn’t caught me and pulled me close. We had to get to shore fast. The two boats clanged together and I knew if we didn’t separate them soon, they’d be in pieces and we’d be at the bottom of the river.

“The questions will have to wait.” Lewis tugged me toward the deck door. “Come on.”

“And Owen?”

“He’s always been on our side,” he yelled over the crash of the door as the wind threw it forward and back. “Although obviously John didn’t know.” Lewis latched onto the door, holding it wide so I could squeeze through.

“Would have been nice if they would have told us that,” I muttered. Mom had sworn to me there were no more secrets. Mom had lied yet again. I started to head onto the deck, only to pause. “The source.”

Lewis looked at me curiously.

I leaned closer to him, whispering near his ear. “Owen has the source as well, doesn’t he?”

Lewis didn’t answer, he didn’t need to, the look in his eyes answered my question. Had Mom, Aaron and Owen set this up all along? Lewis took my hand as the wind hit us full force, a staggering amount of pressure that had my ears popping in protest.

“She worried the information would come out when you rescued me,” he explained.

I could barely see through the rain that slashed at my face, stinging my skin. But as I lifted my eyes and dared to search the deck, my anger fled. Mom, Aaron and John were spread out across the boat as if they were participating in some sort of Western showdown. The other mind readers had returned to the shrimp boat, awaiting my mother’s command.

The wind howled fiercely, tossing the waves so high that water splashed over the sides and onto the polished floor. I stumbled, one hand gripping the railing, the other gripping Lewis. John’s only ally was unconscious on the deck.

“It’s time to stop, John,” my mom said over the roar of the crashing waves. “She’s not yours and never has been.”

“You think I don’t know that?” John thumped his chest like some angry ape. “It’s not about blood!”

I could only stand there staring as I realized with some horror that they were arguing about me. All of this was about me. I met Nora’s gaze. Even in the darkness I could see the fear in her eyes, but also something else. We both knew that this would end here, now.

Aaron stumbled toward us. “Go!” he demanded. “You need to get to the shrimp boat now.”

“I’m not leaving!” I snapped.

With a frustrated growl, Aaron spun around and started back toward John and my mom. Nora came fumbling toward us, her blue rain jacket whipping around her body.

“Just stay here, no matter what. Don’t get involved.” I’d never seen her so nervous and I realized that her own father made her scared as hell. “It will be okay. Mom said she’d take care of this.”

I wondered how. Mom was powerful. Surely she could destroy him in some way, but I’d tried to get through with not the slightest bit of success. But Mom had the source. Mom had experience. She would win.

“It has to end John.” Mom shook her head. “You’ve let them brainwash you. You’re hurting innocent people. It has to end.”

He reached for her, latching onto her arms and jerking her forward. “I loved you! I loved you and you betrayed me.”

I wondered why my mom was letting him touch her, letting him abuse her that way. He was crazy. He’d gone off the deep end. Tie him up, toss him in prison. As Mom continued to let him hold her, my impatience grew.

“We have to help her,” I said.

John was obviously on his last leg of sanity. It was almost pathetic, watching him crumble before our very eyes. “I loved you, I gave you everything and you cheated. You lied.”

“I never wanted to hurt you,” Mom said. “I’m sorry.”

Disgusted, I shouldered my way through Lewis and Nora. I would stop this nonsense once and for all.

“Cameron, watch out!” Lewis grabbed hold of me just as a huge wave hit the boat sending everyone scattering like bowling pins. I fell into Lewis. Nora hit the cabin door. Aaron slid across the deck. But it was Mom, Mom and John who I watched in horror. They hit the railing hard.

And as John fell over the edge, he took my mom with him.

“Kat!” Aaron called out, stumbling and slipping across the deck.

I jumped to my feet, sliding across the deck after him.

“Kat, thank God!”

I froze next to Aaron and peered over the edge. Mom clung to a buoy that was attached by a flimsy rope to the side of the boat, barely visible in the dark waters. Her hair hung in wet clumps around her pale face, the waves crashing into her body and tossing her repeatedly against the ship’s side. In her other hand, she held onto John. A sick part of me prayed he was dead. He coughed, sputtering, gasping for air.

“Let him go!” Aaron demanded. “Let him go so I can pull you up!”

Mom glanced at me, then Nora, her eyes wide with an emotion that made me uneasy. For one moment, the entire world paused. In that one moment she opened her mind. At first I wasn’t sure if she did it on purpose, or if her wall had crumbled with stress, but her memories flowed from her and into me, becoming mine.

My first birthday; the cake in front of me. My round face beamed with an innocent happiness that made my chest feel tight. A small girl who could only be Nora clapped her hands gleefully beside me. The memory shifted and we were in the backyard. My mother reached out, lifting me high. I felt her emotions…her joy, her worry, her pure love. She pulled me tight and our hearts beat against each other. It shifted again, so fast that I could barely keep track. Nora and Mom were at the beach, building sandcastles. Nora going to prom, a smile upon her face as Mom took pictures.

I love you both.

The words whispered through the space between us. Through the cold air that whipped at my hair. Through the salty ocean that splashed over the boat. Through the roar of the hungry waves.

“Give me your hand!” Aaron shouted, reaching desperately over the railing for her.

A huge wave hit the boat sending it lurching into the air. I fell to the ground beside Lewis. Nora slid across the deck. Aaron clung to the railing, fighting a losing battle to get to my mom. For one stunned moment, I merely lay there staring up at the angry dark sky.

“No!” I heard Nora cry out from across the deck.

I knew why she cried. I knew why the sudden roar of energy fled my cells, as if being sucked out to sea, leaving me bitterly cold and shaking. I knew why, for a brief moment, I no longer felt as if I was inside my body.

Aaron screamed a primitive, gut-wrenching scream as he fell in defeat to his knees. Numb, I watched Nora as she flew across the deck, her blonde hair blowing on the breeze. But I knew she’d never reach Mom, and although she didn’t want to accept the truth, she knew it as well.

They were gone.

Chapter 25

They thought she fell.

They thought her fingers slipped from the cold, wet railing and she fell into the dark, unforgiving sea, taking John with her.

I knew better.

A secret that fell heavily upon me.A heaviness that hung in my mother’s home like the fog on the Savannah River only last night. Nora had collapsed into a chair in the corner of the living room and hadn’t moved in hours. Nora, who had shared this place with our mother. Nora, who now shared the secret with me.

Mom had let go on purpose.

As if sensing the way of my thoughts, her gaze shifted toward where I stood, huddled against the door near the kitchen. The despair, the anger, the raw emotions that swam in her eyes made me dizzy with guilt and anguish.

“Cameron.” Owen paused beside me. He rested his hand on my back and led me toward the sofa. “Rest.”

Mom’s couch. The couch where she’d made me sleep that night Lewis and I had snuck out.

“Looks like you’ve got the couch,” her voice echoed through my mind.

All around me her memory remained. Even her scent hung in the air. How could it still be here when she was gone? It didn’t make sense. Nothing made sense. I sank onto the couch and stared at the cold, empty hearth.

I was barely aware of the murmured conversation going on between Owen and Sierra. Barely aware when Lewis settled next to me, spreading a blanket over my shoulders. In the small living room we all sat there staring unblinkingly at each other like some forgotten ghosts who’d been left behind. We had no idea how to go on, or what to do because we couldn’t deal with the emotions, the gaping wounds in our chests that refused to stop bleeding.

“There are things we need to discuss,” Owen started, breaking the silence.

Whatever he had to say didn’t matter. I looked at Nora, drawn to her. I knew, without reading her mind, she blamed me for our mother’s death. Mom had died for me. Nora blamed me, but that was okay, because I blamed myself as well.

“You girls look so tired,” Sierra said gently, resting her hand on my shoulder. “Perhaps we should wait to talk until they rest.”

As if we could sleep. Father Myron was at the church, praying, for what, I wasn’t sure. Someone had made sandwiches, but they sat uneaten upon the coffee table. The house felt empty without her. Empty, yet I felt her energy still here…waiting, watching. Maybe it was in me, perhaps it lingered like a lost soul, or maybe it was wishful thinking.

“We’ll search for her,” Aaron said, entering from the kitchen, his voice rough and raw. I’d never seen him so pale, almost wild looking. His hair stood on end and his entire body shook like some toddler on a sugar high as he paced the living room. “I’ll insist the Coast Guard search for a few more days.”

I saw the grim look on Owen’s face. He knew as well as I that Mom would never be found. Nora said nothing, merely stared at the empty fireplace. She looked so small, pale and hunched in on herself as if she was slowly collapsing under the weight of our new reality. She had no one left. I had Lewis, and whether I wanted them or not, I had Aaron and Owen. But Nora… Nora just had me, a pathetic excuse for a sister.

“I swear,” Aaron continued. “We will find her, even if—”

“She’s dead,” I interrupted. I couldn’t take it anymore. I couldn’t let it drag on and on like some bad T.V. series that refused to end.

“You don’t know that!” he said almost frantically.

“I do.”

The room fell silent. Even if Aaron wouldn’t admit it, they all knew the truth. No one could survive those rough waters. Although she didn’t react, Nora knew the truth too. I couldn’t explain how or why, but it was as if our mother’s imprint had faded from our souls; her very energy had left our bodies.

“She can’t be gone,” Aaron said, looking like a lost child.

But I knew she was; I’d felt her energy leave and she’d taken the source with her. Only Aaron’s powers remained thrumming through my body. Nora broke down, large tears trailing down her face. I couldn’t even cry. She didn’t sob, or scream, her body didn’t even shake. She just sat there silently as the tears filled her blue eyes and rolled down her pale cheeks, one by one.

My heart had broken into a million pieces. I couldn’t cry. I didn’t deserve it. I hadn’t really known my mom; and I hadn’t really tried to know her. It was my fault. Nora, my sister, thought so. I knew so. My mother had died for me, a child she barely knew. My lungs constricted. I couldn’t seem to breathe. I felt trapped here with these strangers. Trapped by fate.

Owen paced the small room. “I know you girls don’t want to, but I think it would be best if we discuss our options.”

Options? What options did we have? I stood, the blanket falling to the couch.

“Cameron?” Owen called my name hesitantly.

I ignored him and moved woodenly through the kitchen. The thought of sharing my feelings or discussing our future, made me want to puke. I shoved open the door and stepped into the cool comfort of the backyard.

My mom was dead, yet the sun had risen, the light glistening through the tree in my mom’s backyard. Light that sent brilliant morning rays across the overgrown garden. A garden that still thrived without my mom.

I sank onto the back stoop. The storm had dissipated as if it had never happened. Life would go on. The source would keep flowing. I’d been right all along. It didn’t matter what we did. It didn’t matter who we fought or what lives we took, the energy would always be there even after our petty problems were long gone.

The door screeched open and I knew Lewis stood there. He worried; he was frustrated because he didn’t know what to say, or how to help. He didn’t realize that he couldn’t do anything for me now.

With nothing to say, I stared at the raindrops hanging from the gardenia like crystalline tears, wondering how everything could look so alive yet I could feel so empty. Slowly, as if he feared frightening me away, Lewis settled on the damp stoop. His warm body was pressed next to mine but it offered no comfort. His heat didn’t penetrate the ice that had formed around my body, my heart, my soul. He didn’t deserve this coldness from me, but I couldn’t seem to react otherwise.

He’d carried me home. I remembered it now although I remembered little else after getting on the shrimp boat and heading back to shore. Owen had taken charge, the only man who had remained in control. All I could think about was that we’d left her behind. After thirty minutes of futile searching, we’d left my mom to rot in the sea. They’d had to force Nora aboard as she’d screamed and clawed her way toward the side of the boat where we’d last seen mom. But I had been oddly numb, as if I floated above the scenery and watched a foreign movie with no subtitles.

As Nora screamed and Owen had tried to comfort her, Lewis had scooped me up and held me close. I swore the feel of his heart beating against mine was the only thing that kept me breathing, kept me alive when all I wanted to do was step over the edge of the boat and allow the waves to smother me in their embrace. He’d carried me home and I owed him for that. Someday, when I wasn’t completely lost, I’d repay him.

“They want to form a search party,” he said.

I released a wry laugh, hysterical amusement bubbling within me. Aaron prayed that somehow she still lived. Suddenly the situation was entirely ridiculous. We were mind readers. We could sense the energy flowing through the universe; we knew how life and death worked. But it didn’t matter, we were still human and we reacted like humans. Always hopeful. There in the back of our minds…always wishing for more.

“Talk to me,” Lewis whispered.

My amusement faded as quickly as it had arrived. “And say what?” I didn’t look at him, but continued to stare at the damp, glistening garden. If I looked at him, and saw the compassion on his face, I’d fold. “It’s my fault?”

“It’s not.”

“All of this.” I stood and spread my arms wide. “All of this fighting, this dying…it was all to protect me.”

“And if you were gone,” Lewis said, standing. “It would be someone else.” He gripped my upper arms and pulled me closer, forcing me to look at him. “Don’t you get it? It’s not your fault. It has nothing to do with you. It has to do with their issues and their greed.”

At one time I might have believed him, but he didn’t understand the truth. He hadn’t read my mother’s thoughts right before she’d died. “She let go on purpose, Lewis.”

He frowned, confused. “What do you mean?”

Of course he would be confused because who would ever assume such a horrible thing? The tears that had been vacant suddenly stung my eyes. I couldn’t let them fall, I couldn’t. If I cried, that ice wall would crack and a flood of emotions I couldn’t control would come crashing down, drowning me as the water had drowned my mother.

He paled. “You don’t mean…”

When I didn’t respond, but just stood there with watery eyes he shook his head in denial. “You don’t know—”

“I do,” I cried out, my voice echoing through the alleyways and squares of Savannah, briefly interrupting the honking of cars and the chirping of early morning birds. “I heard her thoughts, her feelings. She let go on purpose. She knew if she died, the source would die with her. If the source was gone, S.P.I. would leave me alone. Because they don’t know the identity of my father, they’ll assume I’m a normal mind reader now… no threat. She died for me.”

“No.”

“Yes!”

My breathing was harsh with suppressed emotions as we stood there staring at each other. The look of horror on Lewis’ face nearly did me in. The death of my mother had tainted me. I was someone to be pitied, something almost monstrous. I didn’t want that look, not from him.

“Who else knows?” he asked, his voice rough.

I’d placed a horrible secret upon his shoulders; a secret that he now had to carry along with me whether he wanted to or not. He should have hated me, but I could tell by the softness in his blue eyes that he didn’t. “Only Nora.”

“Christ.” He sank onto the stoop, rubbing his hands over his shaved head. We grew silent once more. I could hear nothing from the house and wondered if they sat there numb, confused, like me.

“I’m so sorry, Cameron.”

His compassion made me weak. My legs gave out and I sat next to him. The longer I talked to him, and the more I let his empathy soothe me, the more that gaping hole in my heart spread, ripping, tearing. I couldn’t take his kindness. I just wanted to be alone, completely and utterly alone. Away from everyone I knew; away from the constant reminder and the memories.

But of course Lewis didn’t leave. “You know this isn’t your fault.”

I rested my elbows on my knees, my head in my hands, trying to hide from the world, from him. How many times in the past six hours had I gone over the events? How many times had I replayed conversations with my mother, looking for clues until I thought I’d go insane? Had she planned this all along? Could I have talked her out of it?

“Maybe she thought she had no choice,” I said, mostly to myself.

“There’s always a choice. We would have fought for her. We all would have fought, and we could have won. It wasn’t right of her to make this decision on her own.”

I knew he was angry for me, and I knew he was right. But instinctively I wanted to protect her, which was ridiculous considering she was dead. Gone. She no longer needed protection. She’d fled this world, and had left Nora and me to deal with the aftereffects.

“That’s the thing,” I said. “We all make decisions every day that we think are right, but don’t really understand how it’s going to affect the other people in our lives.”

Lewis took my hand, but I could barely feel his touch. My skin was cold, so very cold. “She should have known how it would affect you and Nora.” He shook his head. “It’s not right.”

It wasn’t right, but it had happened. I knew he thought about the parents he’d lost, and he didn’t want that emptiness for me. But I hadn’t lost both parents. Not like Lewis and Nora. I still had my father. A man I barely knew. Then again, I had hardly known my mother either.

“Why do I care?” I closed my eyes, the pain too great. In the dark I could deal a little easier. “I didn’t even know she existed until a few weeks ago.”

“Because by showing up when you least expected it, she gave you hope. Hope for a family, a life.”

That elusive happily ever after I so craved. “I should have known better.”

“Don’t,” he whispered, cupping the side of my face, his thumb softly brushing my cheek. “You can still have a life, a family. Owen wants to take you and Nora to Maine.”

I jerked away from him. “No!” The thought of being holed up with Nora, Owen and Aaron made me ill. They blamed me, they all blamed me and I wouldn’t be trapped with the guilt.

He dropped his hand to his side. “He thinks you’ll be better protected. He thinks the change will be good for you.”

“I don’t need to be protected any longer, do I?

He didn’t respond.

I glanced out at the garden of this home that had been here for at least one hundred and fifty years. “And you?”

“I’ll go where you go. Wherever you need to be.”

He was too good to me. Too good and I was a jerk because all I wanted to do was push him away and be alone. Be free of the emotions and attachments. Be free of the pain that loving someone caused.

“You aren’t alone,” he said, obviously sensing my emotions. “You have a sister. You have…me.”

But didn’t he understand? We never truly had anyone. They faded, they all died and in the end we were left by ourselves.

He brushed his knuckles softly down my cheek. “Please, just come inside. Eat something. Sleep.”

“I can’t.”

“Okay, then…then I’ll get you something.”

He didn’t understand my meaning, but I let him believe I was talking about food. When I remained silent, he hesitated only a moment, then stood and moved into the kitchen, eager to help, to do something. The door shut softly behind him. I could hear the clank of dishes, the running of water as Lewis prepared a meal I wouldn’t eat. It made him feel better to do something, and I’d let him feel better, at least for a few brief moments.

A small white butterfly landed on the gardenia. It moved its wings back and forth slowly, then flittered to the next bush further away. Suddenly I was on the beach with my mom.

She lifted her hand to the breeze. A tiny white butterfly floated to her fingertips, resting there. “If you trust in yourself, others will trust in you. Even a tiny butterfly,” my mom’s voice whispered through my memory. “If you are calm within, the world will be calm around you.”

“And how do I do that?” I’d asked, mesmerized by the way the butterfly trusted her.

“You find that inner peace deep within you. You connect with the world, with life. You learn who you truly are meant to be.”

The memory faded, the garden coming sharply into focus. Who was I? Did I really know? Grandma had controlled my life until I was seventeen. Then John and the compound had tried to take over. Once I’d arrived in Savannah my mother and her cause had taken center stage. I realized with some surprise that I’d truly never been alone, truly never relied upon myself, truly never trusted in me.

The butterfly lifted and fluttered down an overgrown path toward the back of the garden. Mesmerized, I slowly stood and followed that butterfly, ignoring the damp underbrush that clung to me. The moment I reached her, she lifted and fluttered to the next neglected plant, always keeping a few steps ahead of me like some elusive dream. I ducked underneath the low branches, heavy with rain and froze. There was a gate that led into an alley. I’d never noticed it before.

The butterfly flew over the gate and disappeared into the city. My heart slammed wildly in my chest. I could leave like that butterfly. The world was out there. A world full of mystery, full answers. I reached out and wrapped my hand around the rusty gate latch. It opened easily under my touch.

On one side of the fence was a life I knew; a life I’d always known and always hated. I glanced at the alley. On the other side was a life of freedom. Freedom from the pain. They all knew who they were. Nora was so sure in her abilities. Lewis had always been steadfast in his beliefs. But I hadn’t a clue what I wanted, who I was.

I glanced back toward the stoop. Lewis stood there watching me. I couldn’t see his expression from where I was, but I could read his emotions. He was frantic to come after me, but he also knew he couldn’t force me to stay.

I’m sorry, I said, letting the mental message float across the yard. But for now, I have to go.

I know, came back to me.

He didn’t move as I lifted the latch and stepped into the alley. The gate swung back into place, cutting me off from the house, from them all.

I tore my gaze from Lewis. The alley went on, and on, weaving between homes as ancient as the dirt at my feet. Freedom cried out to me, promised comfort. I took a step forward, then another, and another, following that butterfly.

I didn’t know where I was going, I didn’t know how I’d get there, but I knew I had to leave and find me… just me.

Chapter 26

4 Months Later

I knew what he would say even before he appeared in the kitchen. It was a conversation I’d known was coming all week, but I hadn’t wanted to dwell on the truth. Even now I kept my focus on the mountain of potatoes before me, chopping and peeling until my hands were numb and my skin almost raw.

It was so easy not to get lost in my own emotions here; there was too much work to do for those in need, too many others to worry about in this soup kitchen. Here, no one expected me to use my powers or sell my soul. No, all they wanted and needed were the basics: food and shelter for the night. And if they were lucky, and we weren’t crowded, for a couple of nights.

But I admit, as I felt Malcolm come closer, my resolve to leave head held high and a smile upon my face waned.

“Cameron.” Malcolm paused in the open area that separated the kitchen from the dining room.

I glanced up. There was only kindness in his dark eyes, but there was also a stiff resolution upon his face that said there would be no arguing with him. Not that I’d planned to argue, I knew this conversation had to happen. Still, the fact that this part of my life would soon be over left me feeling more than unsettled.

I cleared my throat. “Yeah?”

“Can we talk?”

The rest of the volunteer kitchen staff glanced my way, but before I was bombarded with their thoughts, I threw up my mental wall. I needed to be in my right mind when I spoke to Malcolm. Even knowing what he would say ahead of time didn’t make it any easier. I felt like a baby bird being shoved out of the nest.

“Sure.” I set the knife down and rinsed off my hands, taking my time. I savored the scent of soup and sandwiches. Savored the soft murmur of conversation from those in the dining room. They weren’t loud or obnoxious like in a fast food restaurant. Nor were they demanding and entitled like those patrons who frequented the fancy restaurant downtown that we’d driven by only yesterday to pick up donated supplies. They took what we gave them with a murmured thank you and made their way to their table to eat what might be their only meal of the day.

I didn’t bother to remove my apron as I strolled through the dining area, already filled with the hungry and needy. Here it didn’t matter much what you looked like. I’d spent most of my days with no makeup on and my hair in a lopsided ponytail.

“Cameron!” Lizzie raced up to me and threw her arms around my waist. At five and full of life and energy, she was so different from the subdued and quiet Caroline but both had found a place in my heart. Even though Caroline had lived in a mansion and Lizzie lived in a homeless shelter, the child was happier than any child at Aaron’s compound.

I ruffled her dark hair. “How are you?” I worried about the children the most. Worried that they didn’t get enough to eat, that they might not find a safe place to sleep at night.

“Good. My tooth fell out.” She opened her mouth to reveal a huge gaping space where her front tooth used to be.

“Wow, tooth fairy coming?”

She shrugged, looking slightly confused. “Not sure.”

I realized my mistake immediately. Santa hadn’t come last year, so she hadn’t expected the tooth fairy. But I knew for a fact the tooth fairy would visit; I’d make sure of it, even if I had to dip into my meager savings.

“Lizzie, come back and finish your sandwich,” her mother called out, giving me a wave and welcoming smile.

I grinned, watching the girl weave her way around the other homeless diners. As she settled next to her mother and older sister, I couldn’t help but wonder about Caroline. Had she made it safely to Aaron’s compound? Had she finally found the happiness and peace she deserved?

I felt Malcolm pause beside me. “Ready?”

“Yeah.” I followed him out the back door to the docks. The soup kitchen was tucked between two high-rise buildings on the bay. Garbage seemed to be magnetically attracted to this very spot, floating and pooling in our area. No one thought twice about dumping their trash here; after all, everyone was too busy trying to live to complain. I hated that children like Lizzie had to live amongst the mess. If I was staying, I’d be scooping out the garbage as I had every week for the past four months. But as I knew, and Malcolm knew, by tomorrow, I’d be gone and on my way to Maine for the first time in over a year.

“How can they be so happy?” I asked, as we settled onto two plastic chairs we’d recycled from a nearby dumpster. We had a small spot of asphalt where the staff could sit by the bay for breaks. It was our tiny piece of dirty heaven.

“What do you mean?”

“With this depressing scenery?” I nodded toward the factory across the water, a factory releasing pollution so thick, it hung suspended around the building like a dark cloud. “How can those kids still smile with so little?”

“Because it’s not about the scenery.” Malcolm relaxed, resting his entwined fingers on his flat stomach. He was enjoying the warm day, and he was glad he’d moved south ten years ago to get away from the cold weather. “Yeah, being in a forest or lovely garden might provide inspiration, but all those kids really want is love. That’s what we give to them. That’s what you give to them. That’s why this is so hard for me.”

I didn’t bother to act surprised because I’d known he was going to say the words. I’d been preparing for this conversation for the past week. I’d miss him, this man who was only ten years older than me, but who had become more of a father figure than any other man I’d ever had in my life. He and his wife had taken me in with no reservations, when I’d had nowhere to go.

“Cam, it’s time for you to leave.”

I swallowed hard over the lump of emotion clogging my throat. Instinctively, I wanted to deny it. But I kept quiet because he was right. I’d known it for about a month now.

When I’d first left Savannah it had been difficult to know my own mind and thoughts. My sorrow had kept the truth buried. And it didn’t help that even though Lewis was over a thousand miles away in Maine, I could still feel his energy.

“When I found you sitting in that park, Lord.” Malcolm grinned, his white teeth flashing against his dark skin. “You were a lost soul if I’d ever seen one. You’ve brought so much to this place in the past few months. You’ve given these children the attention they so craved. You’ve made them feel special.”

I nodded, tears stinging my eyes. He was right. All they wanted was to feel like someone cared about them. To feel loved. I supposed it was what everyone wanted, whether young or old.

“And we helped you,” Malcolm said. “We gave you something to focus on other than your sorrow. We gave you the family you needed. A family who didn’t know your past and therefore didn’t judge you.”

It was part of the reason why I’d left Savannah… to find a place where I could be the person I needed to be. No expectations. No pressure. Just me.

Even now Malcolm didn’t ask for my story. All he knew were the basics; my mom had died and my dad wasn’t in the picture. It’s why I liked this place so much, no one asked you to give more than was necessary. We worked together as one, without expectation, without judgment, without explanation.

We were silent for a moment, watching the gulls swoop down over the pier, looking for a piece of garbage they might be able to actually eat. How many times in the past month had I sat here between the rush of meals, wondering what Lewis was doing, how Nora was, where Aaron and Owen had ended up?

“It’s time you go. It’s time to accept where you belong. You’ve found you; it’s time to find your family. Your home.”

For the longest time I’d thought I had no family. Yeah, I might not have the ideal father, and I might not have a mother but I had Nora. I had Lewis.

He rested his hand on my shoulder. “Deny it and you can stay. You tell me this is where you belong, that you know that deep down, and I won’t say another word.”

“I can’t.” I took in a deep trembling breath. “Because you’re right. Like always.”

He laughed. “Can you repeat that to my wife?”

I grinned. “She’d never forgive me.”

“Very true.” His laughter faded and together we sat companionably for a few more minutes, wanting the moment to last as long as it could. It was an easy silence. It was a silence born of friendship and of farewells. I wondered if I’d ever see him again. Maybe, maybe not. I knew, and accepted now, that people came into our lives all the time. Some stayed for years, while others were as fleeting yet as special as a butterfly’s fragile life.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

“You don’t have to thank me. We’re family now. We’re connected.”

“Do you feel the energy, coming off the waves?” My mom had asked me those months ago at the beach.“The energy from the moon? The energy that keeps the planets in balance?”

I had nodded even though I hadn’t truly understood the connection until now. That pull. That low hum that pulsed through my blood; that connected me to the world, to the people I’d met.

“Everything is made up of energy. We are made up of energy. It’s what connects us together.”

“Lizzie needs a visit from the tooth fairy,” I said, suddenly eager to go; desperate to see Lewis and the others.

Malcolm winked. “Oh, I think the tooth fairy will find her at the shelter. Don’t worry; it’s time to focus on you.” He rested his hand on my shoulder. “Now come on. Let’s go say goodbye.”

Just as we stood a soft rain began to fall, a clarifying rain, a promising rain. I knew what they were planning even before I entered the kitchen. But when the fifty people inside— people I’d worked with, peopled I’d fed— erupted into applause and cheers, the emotion and energy overwhelmed me. The tears I’d thought were finished sprung to my eyes.

Lizzie jumped excitedly up and down in the middle of the room with a group of other kids. Someone had strung a banner across the far wall that said they’d miss me, and I knew they would. I knew I had affected the people here. I’d made a difference without using any mind reading abilities, without any connections.

Their energy swirled around me, welcomed me in warmth and love. Their very being flowed through me and mine through them. They thought I had selflessly given my time for others. But the truth was that their lives, their happiness, their hope had saved me.

Malcolm was right. It was time to go home. It was time to return to my family.

****

The man seated across the room from me was heartbroken over his wife who had died of cancer. He missed her horribly and wished he could see her again… just once. He felt guilty about moving on and finding happiness, even though those instances were few and far between.

But it wasn’t the guy lost in guilt and confusion who held my attention.

No, it was the guy standing outside the small coffee shop, the guy who paused across the street on the sidewalk while an autumn breeze swept a pile of colorful leaves in a whirlwind around him. The guy who was thinking about the girlfriend who had left him, a girlfriend he still cared about. He was the one I focused on.

A sudden gust of wind rattled the windows.

“Cold outside, but they’re saying the Island’s going to have a mild winter,” the waitress said, refilling the man’s coffee.

He grunted in response, too lost in his sorrows to actually make conversation.

I barely heard her chatter, but kept my gaze locked to that door. Lewis moved across the street with determined strides that sent my pulse racing. The closer he came, the harder my heart beat. I had to resist the urge to jump to my feet and meet him halfway. Nothing like looking desperate. The bell overhead tinkled as he stepped inside, bringing with him the musky scent of fall.

His gaze found me immediately. My entire body came to life just being near him. As if a weight had been lifted from my chest, I could breathe with ease once more.

“Lewis,” the waitress called out, waving. “Be with you in a minute, honey.”

He nodded, but kept his attention on me. He looked different, somehow. His hair was longer, his tan had faded but his blue eyes popped, were brighter. He wore jeans and a slate gray sweater that fit his body perfectly. Amazing would be an understatement. If possible, he’d grown more attractive, or maybe it was just that I’d missed him that much.

With a purpose that made me slightly nervous, he started forward. I’d been waiting for this moment for months, yet it was so much sweeter than I’d imagined. When he reached me, he didn’t pause but in a fluid movement, pulled out a chair and settled at the table. I breathed deeply, missing his scent, savoring the nearness of him. It felt like it had been years. This was no dream, but this was life coming sharply back into focus.

I curled my hands around my warm mug, dampening down the desire to reach out to him. I still wasn’t quite sure how excited he was to see me. I knew he’d missed me, I knew he cared; his energy told me that much. But did he care enough to want to pick up our relationship where it had left off?

He dropped his gaze to my hands, then traveled up my arms, and to my face again, as if taking in every detail, making sure I was real. The wool sweater I wore suddenly felt too hot.

Taking in a deep, trembling breath, I tried to calm my pounding pulse. I didn’t regret leaving, I couldn’t, for it was only by leaving that I’d found the real me. There was no way I could’ve had a meaningful relationship with Lewis as lost and confused as I’d been four months ago.

Yeah, I still felt guilty about my mother’s death. She had died not only so S.P.I. wouldn’t come after me, but knowing my body couldn’t handle having the source from both parents. And with her death, her line of the source had faded. I still missed her and the relationship we could have had. But I now knew that life would go on. The sun would still shine, and good things could still happen. I’d transformed, but I wasn’t the only one. Lewis seemed more at peace as well. Things had definitely changed between us; I could only hope they’d changed for the better.

“When did you know I’d arrived?” I asked my voice breathless. I’d been sitting here for only ten minutes, trying to decide if I should just appear at the house, call…or what. But Lewis had obviously sensed me.

“The moment you stepped on the island.”

We still had that connection then. After all these months it hadn’t faded. “You left for Maine immediately?”

He nodded. “Owen thought it would be best for Nora.”

Although I knew he hadn’t meant anything by it, his words stung. Yeah, I’d needed to leave for my own piece of mind, but I still felt guilty for abandoning Nora. I could only hope that she too had been able to let go, to live, to find happiness once more.

“Is she okay?”

He glanced at the tabletop, hesitating. “Yeah. She is now that she has a purpose.”

He’d certainly caught my interest. “What purpose is that?”

“The children.”

“She’s had children?” I teased. “Wow, things really have changed.”

He smiled briefly, a smile I knew all too well. A smile I’d dreamt about every night for four months. “Deborah and the kids are here.” He clasped his hands together in front of him and I could tell he was as uneasy as I. “We all decided to work together to teach them about their powers.”

I didn’t even try to hide my surprise. “Like a school for mind readers?”

He nodded.

How funny. Nora had become a headmistress of some bizarre school for children who could read minds. “You’re helping her?”

“Yeah.” Of course Lewis was helping because he would never abandon someone in need. “I didn’t have anywhere else to go.”

I felt no anger in his statement, only honesty. He didn’t blame me for leaving. He didn’t blame me because his mind had been erased. He didn’t even blame me that his life was sort of insane, thanks to me and my family.

“That’s amazing.” And I meant it. I was glad they had a purpose in life, and I was glad the children had Lewis and Nora. But was there room for me in this new world they’d created? I hesitated, too nervous to ask. I wasn’t the only one anxious.

He looked somewhat unsure for the first time since arriving. “Would you like to see the place?”

I hadn’t been to Aaron’s since last year when my mind had been erased. Taking my lower lip between my teeth, I glanced outside. It was why I’d come here, right? Of course I wanted to return, but I also hesitated for some reason. Bad memories, I supposed. “Is Aaron there?”

“No. He left. Owen hears from him occasionally, but not often. The loss of your mother destroyed him.”

I nodded, unsure how I should feel. The fact that I actually felt sorry for my father surprised me. I knew only too well that her death could have easily destroyed me. For a while I thought it had.

“So, do you want to see it?”

I smiled. “Yeah.”

He returned my grin and his joy warmed a path all the way to my soul, as if I’d just taken a giant drink of hot chocolate on a bitterly cold winter’s day. I was nervous, but eager. It had taken months, but I now knew that this was where I belonged.

Lewis stood and I followed.

“Anything to go?” The waitress asked.

Lewis glanced her way. “A chai tea refill.”

Startled, I glanced at him, but there was no indication of acknowledgement upon his face. He hadn’t realized the importance of that drink. I glanced at my mug. Certainly he couldn’t tell what I’d been drinking, so then how’d he know?

Just like that I was back in the coffee shop in the town where I’d lived with grandma last year. The coffee shop where Lewis had first told me about the amazing things I could do.

“Chai tea with cinnamon.” He pushed the cup toward me as I settled in the chair across from him.

“How’d you…” But I didn’t need to finish that sentence. Of course he knew. He’d read my mind. “Thanks.”

He gave me a sheepish grin. Outside, rain pelted the windows. It was a cold, gloomy afternoon, but I felt warm. I didn’t have a clue what Lewis had to say, but knowing what I did about him, I prayed it was going to change my life for the better.

It had. Hadn’t it? I handed the waitress my cup and waited while she filled a to-go mug for me. Sure, I’d had to go through a bit of hell to get here, but life had changed, I had changed, and for the better.

But Lewis had also changed. Maybe his memories were gone for good. Or maybe, just maybe, deep down they were still there. Eagerly, I took my to-go cup and followed Lewis outside. Around me hung the scent of decaying leaves, sleeping earth, and saltwater. It was a scent of hope, of promises of rebirth, of new life just waiting to be uncovered.

A few locals strolled the sidewalks, heading into shops and cafés for the afternoon. They nodded in greeting, their welcoming nature comforting. I realized it didn’t have to be us and them; mind readers against non-mind readers. Although Aaron had kept the children locked away from the town, away from life, as if they were freaks, we didn’t have to. We were free.

Free in this picture-perfect New England town where pumpkins and gourds lined the sidewalks, giving the scenery a festive atmosphere. A few trees retained their colorful fall leaves. Others had slipped into their winter’s sleep, mere skeletal branches lining the road. But they would come back to life, they always did.

It was a comfortable silence as we moved across the street, the only sound the soft tap of our shoes and the rustle of the leaves. Amazing how one year could change a person’s life. The seasons would come and fade. Plants would die and regrow. The world would spin. Yet, the energy was there, always there, and there was a comfort in that thought.

Lewis opened the car door for me. It was a small black vehicle that I didn’t remember, but when I settled inside and his familiar scent surrounded me I realized the car belonged to him. I started to turn toward the window to watch him enter when a small butterfly charm hanging from the mirror caught my attention. Startled, I reached for the tiny piece just as Lewis settled in the driver’s seat. I thought of the day on the beach with my mom. I thought about me. I thought about Lewis. He started the car and eased onto the road that would take us to Aaron’s mansion.

“A little girly.” He grinned, noticing where my attention lay. “But Caroline gave it to me. She said it was very important I keep it with me.”

Hope bloomed within my soul, the petals opening, growing. There was still magic in the world. Only a month ago I never would have imagined I could feel this way again. Excited about life. Eager to wake up in the morning. Curious about the future. “Caroline is here?”

“Yeah. She’s been waiting for you.”

I smiled a knowing smile. Of course she had been. She’d told me we’d meet up again, and she had believed it, even if I hadn’t. “She has?”

“She’s drawn a picture for you almost every day you’ve been gone.”

If Caroline and Lewis accepted me, I prayed the others would as well. The homes gave way to Aaron’s rolling land. That long, tall fence that had supposedly protected us from the outside world appeared alongside the road. This time the site brought with it no wariness. No, because this wasn’t an island of evil and pain, it was a lovely emerald off the coast. Just a piece of land, as Malcolm would have said.

No guards stood at the entrance, but the gates were open wide, and Lewis easily drove onto the property. Although the large brick house looked normal, there was something about it that had changed. It seemed…happier, as silly as that sounded.

“You’ve done it,” I whispered.

“What?”

A group of children raced across the lawn, chasing each other while Deborah watched them from the chair where she sat. Even she looked at peace. Their laughter floated through the air like church bells at Christmas time. These were no timid, shy and scared kids, but children flushed and glowing with happiness.

“You’ve changed everything. You said we didn’t have to live like our parents. We didn’t need to continue the war, and in only four months you’ve done it; changed everything for the better.”

He smiled. “I’ve had help. Deborah, Owen, Nora. I don’t remember what their lives were like before, but the children are happy now, so I have to assume it’s a whole hell of a lot better.”

“It is.”

He stopped the car and we sat silently for a few moments, watching the children race across the large yard toward us. I was content to sit there for hours, just me and Lewis in this small space, surrounded by his warmth and scent. It was obvious he welcomed me here with open arms, but how did he feel about me? I glanced at his profile, but could read nothing upon his face.

“It’s almost perfect,” Lewis said. “But it’s been missing an important piece.”

“What’s that?”

He turned to look at me. “You.”

Before I could respond to his lovely statement, the door opened. “Cameron!” Owen grasped my arm and jerked me from the car, pulling me into a bear hug. I was surprised, but charmed by his open affection. Lewis and Caroline weren’t the only ones who welcomed me.

He pulled back, rubbing my head and ruffling my hair like I was five. “It’s so good to see you.”

I smoothed my hair back into place, grinning like an idiot. “Thanks.”

“Cameron!” I had only a moment to brace myself before Caroline threw her arms around my waist and hugged me tight. She’d grown an inch or two since I’d last seen her, and her healthy, glowing face put me at ease.

I pulled back and knelt in front of her. “How are you?”

“Good!” She leaned closer and whispered quite seriously, “Did you find your path?”

Confused by her question, my brows drew together. “My path?”

She nodded. “You know, where you belong?”

I was surprised by her insight, although I shouldn’t have been. She’d always seemed older than her age. “I did and it brought me here.”

She grinned, showing two missing front teeth and reminding me of Lizzie. “Good. I knew you’d return.” She skipped away, back toward the other children who were watching me shyly.

Of course she’d known, and I supposed I’d known as well. From the front door Nora appeared, no doubt called by the commotion. Yeah, she looked thinner than I remembered, but she had a flush to her face and there seemed to be a peaceful energy about her that mollified my guilt. I was actually surprised when she smiled as if happy to see me.

“Hey,” she said, jogging down the steps. “Welcome home.”

Their ready acceptance brought tears to my eyes. They understood why I’d left. They were my family, they were my friends.

“Get settled.” Owen said, resting his hand on my shoulder. “Dinner is at six.”

I nodded, my entire body sinking in relief. I hadn’t realized how tense I’d been, waiting for their approval. Lewis took my hand, his warm fingers wrapping around mine. His touch felt right, so very right. He didn’t wait around for the others, but hurried me up the steps and into the house. I had barely caught my breath when he tugged me into a side room, the very room where he and Aaron had taught me to meditate, to control my energy. The dark and manly décor was gone, the walls painted a light and cheerful blue.

“Do you mean it?” Lewis asked me, softly shutting the door. His face was all hard planes, but I could tell he was struggling, worried he’d say the wrong thing, worried I’d leave again. “Are you here for good?”

He’d missed me. He’d missed me and he wanted me here. The relief I felt made me want to laugh out loud. I curled my fingers, resisting the urge to throw my arms around his neck and press my lips to his. “Yeah.”

He released a breath of air. “Good.”

I wasn’t meant to wander around the world by myself. I was meant to be with the people I loved, the people who loved me. We would go on, and we would survive, and we would thrive. But we couldn’t do it alone. No, the only way to truly enjoy this life was to hold hands, grasp that connection and dive in.

He nodded his head toward the door. “Come on. I’ll show you your room.”

Grinning, I boldly stepped closer to him. “I have a room?”

He took my hand and squeezed. “You’ve had a room since we arrived.”

My chest felt tight with emotions. So many feelings that swirled within, I had the sudden desire to dance and sing at the top of my lungs. “You knew I’d return?”

“Yeah.” He shrugged, giving me that half smile. “I hoped. I guess sometimes if you hope hard enough, it works.” He reached up with his free hand and brushed a lock of my hair behind my ear. “By the way, I’ve got some information on the local college.”

He’d remembered my dream to go to school, but I shouldn’t have been surprised. “Really?”

“Yeah. I thought we could start in the spring.”

I couldn’t stop smiling. “I’d like that.”

We were silent for a long moment. The emotions in his gaze were almost my undoing. He’d missed me. Missed me so much that he’d had to force himself not to search for me. He’d dreamt about me at night. He’d counted down the days, waiting for my return. He’d kept busy, so very busy trying to ignore his aching soul.

“I missed you,” he whispered, his voice catching.

“I know.”

He leaned forward and pressed his mouth to mine… a soft, gentle kiss. I realized in that moment that although we’d changed, nothing between us was different.

Somehow this place where I’d known hell, this place where my mind had been erased, was now the place I considered home. Not because of the building or the location, but because of the people who would reside here with me.

I had found the energy that connected us all.

Life, love, hope.

I had found the family I so desperately craved.

The End

Author’s Note

I hope you’ve enjoyed this last full length book in the Mind Readers Series. I want to thank everyone who has been so very supportive! You have made it a joy to create these characters.

Because so many of you have asked me to continue the series, I have decided to write a short story in Nora’s point of view. I’m sure you’ll agree that the poor girl deserves her own happily ever after! Check my website in the future for further details.

The Mind Readers was my first attempt at publishing a young adult series but it certainly won’t be my last. If you’re interested in my next YA series, make sure to send me an email and sign up for information! And in case you’re curious the next new series will be out in the spring of 2013. Read the short blurb of The Beautiful Ones below!

The Beautiful Ones

Coming Spring 2013

Some say we’re special, and that’s why we’re kept in seclusion. Beyond those walls, evil lurks and innocent prey would be lost in minutes. Gone. Destroyed. Forgotten.

Others say the opposite; we’re locked away because there’s something wrong with us. If we roamed the outside world we might taint The Beautiful Ones. A species so pure that to merely be in their presence is a gift.

As for my beliefs…I’m not sure.

But I do know one thing; neither of those reasons explains why after the age of sixteen, they come for us. Whether we want to go or not, we’re taken through those iron gates. Escorted away from the only home we’ve ever known; escorted to our destiny, whatever that destiny may be, never to be seen again.

A special thanks to Jennifer, Nadia and Fie for helping me along the way.

About Lori Brighton

Lori has a degree in Anthropology and worked as a museum curator. Deciding the people in her imagination were slightly more exciting than the dead things in a museum basement, she set out to become an author. Lori writes Romance for adults, as well as Young Adult books for teens and adults.

To find out more about Lori visit her at: www.LoriBrighton.com

Table of Contents

Copyright

Other Books by the Author

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Author’s Note

Acknowledgement

About The Author