Greco (Book 1.5) (The Omega Group) (6 page)

Mirissa walked aimlessly, fists
clenched at her sides.  Although she was surrounded by the beauty of the historic
district of Savannah, she was too consumed by her anger to notice it.
How
could he do this to me?
All this time he’d been lying to her, letting her
believe he was helping her, when the truth was he’d ruined her entire life.

Tears streamed down her face as
she thought about what her life could have been. When her mom left her all
those years ago, she’d closed herself off to everyone. She’d been so afraid of
being abandoned again that she didn’t let anyone into her heart.  Her best
friend for over a decade was a damn turtle.

Not to mention what it did to her
father. His whole life stopped that day.  He gave up everything so he
could focus on Mirissa.  For eleven years, his entire life revolved around
her, with no room left for his own.

Greco’s betrayal took away her
family.  Her chance at a happy upbringing. And it had almost taken more
than that.

Her stride quickened as she
thought back to when she first walked into Daedric’s house and saw her father,
Lincoln, Black Jack, Grainger, and his wife tied up on that stage. That was all
because of Greco’s petty jealousy.  Lincoln, her dad’s old SEAL team
member, was murdered right in front of her. He was a good man who was taken out
of this world because Daedric was trying to get to Mirissa.

A car horn brought her back to
the present.  Taking in her surroundings for the first time since leaving
Alayna’s house, Mirissa found herself in one of the city’s squares—an oasis of
grass and trees in the midst of downtown streets.  She parked herself on
an empty bench that overlooked the memorial to someone she didn’t know. A young
girl, who looked to be about twelve years old, walked along the cobblestone
path with a man who could only be her father. They were holding hands and
laughing, at what Mirissa didn’t know. The sight brought back memories of all
the times she and her father had spent together. Despite her mother’s absence,
he’d given her a good life.

A loud popping sound to her left
drew her gaze away from the young girl and her father. A little boy, no more
than six years old, held a long string in his hand. It trailed down to his feet
and at the end were the remnants of a balloon. The boy started to cry almost
immediately. Instead of consoling him, the woman at his side—presumably his
mother—grabbed the string and tore it from his hand. Mirissa couldn’t hear what
she was saying, but by the expression on her face, and her flailing arms, her
anger was obvious. The boy’s shoulders bounced in time with his sobs as the
scene attracted the attention of passersby.

Mirissa felt her anger rise at
this woman’s horrendous treatment of her son. It was everything she could do to
stop herself from intervening. She’d never been treated like that by either of
her parents and couldn’t imagine what that boy’s life was like.

But she knew someone who could.

Greco hadn’t told her much about
his childhood, but what he had shared was enough to tell her everything she
needed to know.

Mirissa’s heart swelled at her
sudden understanding. The pain he must have felt while growing up was beyond
her comprehension. Could she really blame him for lashing out? He was thirteen
years old at the time. Under those circumstances she might have done exactly
the same thing.

Mirissa jumped off the bench and
ran back the way she’d come. When she crossed the first street she saw the
balloon vendor pushing his cart slowly in her direction. Although she
desperately needed to get back to Greco, she also needed to do this. She
sprinted to the unsuspecting salesman, grabbed every balloon she could, and
threw a wad of cash on his cart. As she ran back to the square she yelled,
“Keep the change,” over her shoulder.

A minute later she was kneeling
in front of the boy. His mother, still in the midst of her rant, fell silent.
Mirissa tied the strings of a dozen balloons loosely around the boy’s wrist and
said, “Enjoy these, sweetheart. You deserve them.” Then she stood and faced the
mother.

She felt the tingle from her ring
as she called upon her powers. She held the woman immobile without laying a
finger on her. When she tried to call out, Mirissa clamped her mouth shut, then
reached into her purse and pulled out her wallet. “Now you listen to me. Your
son is a precious gift and deserves to be treated accordingly.” Mirissa made a
show of opening the stranger’s wallet and looking at her driver’s license. “I
know who you are and where you live. I also know that you can feel exactly what
I’m doing to you right now. Just imagine what else I’m capable of. Your only
job is to be a mother to your son. Do it well—very well—or you’ll see me
again.”

Reining in her power, she gave
the boy a quick wink. She had no way of knowing if her intervention would make
a difference in his young life, but the fear she saw in his mother’s eyes said
that it might. As she turned to leave, she noticed the other people in the
square were looking at her, smiling. Although they didn’t know everything she’d
done, they did know that she’d helped. Mirissa smiled in return, then raced
back to Greco.

By the time she got back to the
house the transfusion had already begun. Greco was lying on the couch, his
parents at his side, with a clear plastic tube running from his arm to
Jeremy’s. Mirissa could see his blood inside it.

As she knelt at his side, Greco
opened his eyes. His voice was low as he spoke. “I’m so sorry Mirissa. I would
do anything to take back what I did to you. It was—”

“Shut up.” Mirissa cut him off.
“You were a scared and angry boy. I understand. I wish you would’ve told me the
truth sooner, though.”

“I should have. I know.” Greco
gave her a cheeky grin. “If it makes you feel any better, at least you know
I’ll never do it again.”

“Not funny.” Mirissa held his
hand in hers, shocked at how cold it felt. His skin was pale and his face was
drawn. “Please stop this, Greco. You’ve done enough.”

He gave her hand a light squeeze
and said, “It’s already done. I knew what would happen and I’m at peace with my
decision. Thank you. I didn’t deserve it, but your friendship has meant more to
me than you’ll ever know.”

With that, Greco’s eyes closed.
She watched the up-and-down movement of his chest slow and turned to Alayna.
“Do you have any idea what he’s giving you?” The puzzled look on the doctor’s
face said she didn’t. “He’s trading his life for your son’s.”

“What? I don’t understand. He’s
just giving some blood. That shouldn’t hurt him.”

“There’s a lot you don’t
understand. Just promise me that you’ll give Jeremy a good life. Earn this.”
Mirissa looked over to the still unconscious boy. She’d never seen his eyes,
but she imagined them to be the same vibrant blue as Greco’s. He would now have
the happy childhood her Guardian never did.

As tears welled in Alayna’s eyes
Mirissa turned her attention back to Greco. She felt so helpless. She possessed
all these powers and yet there was nothing she could do to save him. She leaned
down and laid a gentle kiss on his lips. She’d spent a lot of time over the
last year thinking about what their first kiss would be like, but never had she
imagined this. Resting her head on his chest, she listened to his final heartbeats
and prayed.

A tingle on her finger sparked a
glimmer of hope. Acting on pure instinct, she removed her ring and slid it onto
Greco’s pinky finger. She placed both of her hands around his and willed her
ring to channel all of her power to him. The vibration she felt on his hand
grew in intensity until it was almost unbearable for her to hold on. “I won’t
let go, Greco. Come back to me.”

The feeling was so powerful that
it made Mirissa’s teeth hurt, but she squeezed his hand even tighter. His chest
rose, then fell, then rose, then fell. When it didn’t rise again Mirissa
screamed. “No!” She let go of his hand and shoved him, hard. “You can’t die! I
need you. Please, Greco. You can’t be gone. There’s too much we haven’t said.
Too much we haven’t done.” Mirissa was hysterical, swatting at him as though
she thought she could just wake him up.

Comforting arms engulfed her,
pulling her hands to her chest. “He’s gone.” Mirissa looked up, eyes sodden,
and held Demetri’s tortured gaze. Beyond him, Gayle crumpled in on herself, a
wordless wail escaping her lips. Asteria laid a hand on her shoulder and
whispered, “I’m sorry.”

Alayna joined them and placed her
stethoscope on Greco’s unmoving chest.  With a quizzical look, she moved
it a few inches and listened again. “Um, his heart is still beating. I can’t
explain it. He’s not breathing, but his heartbeat is steady.” She looked at the
occupants of the room as though looking for answers, but none came. Instead,
she was shoved out of the way to make room for Mirissa, Asteria, and Greco’s
parents.

The seconds turned into minutes,
then to an hour. No one moved for fear of breaking whatever spell was keeping
his heart pumping. And then it happened.

Greco’s eyes flew open as he
gasped for air, breathing fast and deep as though trying to make up for lost
time. “What the hell?” He looked confused and Mirissa couldn’t help but laugh,
with Asteria, Demetri, and Gayle following suit.

“Don’t you ever scare me like
that again,” Mirissa punched him in the arm to drive her point home.

“Hey! That
hur
—”
Mirissa cut him off by planting another kiss on his lips.  This time, not
so gently. She was afraid he’d pull back, horrified at her actions, but he
didn’t. Instead, he reached up and held her face in his hands, returning the
kiss with a passion she’d previously only dreamed about.

From behind them she heard a
familiar Scottish voice. “We’re here. Did we miss anything? Oh, uh, I guess we
did.”

The ride back to Jacksonville the
following morning was much more comfortable, and festive, than the one to
Savannah had been. The BMW 7 series high security sedan was the newest addition
to the Omega Group’s fleet. Not only was it luxurious, but its specially
designed steel and security glass would completely protect its passengers from
anything from AK-47 fire to hand grenades.

“This would’ve come in handy when
Mirissa and I were hit by that truck.” Greco had been admiring every inch of
the car since they’d left Savannah.  Except when he was too busy admiring
Mirissa.

“Yeah, sorry about that. It just
came in yesterday. But the good news is, after Myrine found out what happened
to you guys, she ordered more. We’re each gonna be riding in style from now
on.” Myrick smiled, clearly happy about his new car.

Jason, one of the Omega Group’s
new recruits, sat between Mirissa and Asteria in the back seat. He hadn’t said
much during the ride so Greco, understanding what it felt like to be the
outsider, tried to break the ice. Turning in his seat he said, “That’s quite
the power you have there, Jason. Thanks for helping out.”

When Greco called Myrine from the
hospital after seeing Jeremy, he’d specifically requested Jason’s presence. The
new recruit had the power to enter someone’s mind and manipulate their thoughts
or memories. Although Alayna swore on the life of her son that she would never
breathe a word about them to anyone, they had to be sure. Jeremy had been
unconscious the entire time, so Jason focused on Alayna.  He erased every
memory of anything even remotely related to Gayle, including the entirety of
those last three days.

“You’re welcome,” Jason said.
“Does this mean I can get out in the field now?”

“No. You still have more training
to do. And don’t think I don’t know what you did yesterday, because I do.
Implanting a memory of me wearing a dress and high heels in the other recruits’
minds is not helping your case.” Although Myrick sounded stern, Greco could see
the grin on his face. If anyone would appreciate the humor in Jason’s prank, it
was the Scotsman.

The car’s Bluetooth system
indicated an incoming call from Myrine, so Myrick put it on speaker and played
up his Scottish temper. “For the tenth time, woman. Your daughter is safe and
sound.”

“Myrick, I need you to come to
the airport instead of the office. The jet’s waiting. We’ll meet you there.”

All humor left Myrick’s voice
when he asked, “What’s happened?”

“It’s Carter. There’s been some
trouble in Arizona.” The tension in Myrine’s voice was obvious.

Greco said, “We’ll be there in
twenty minutes, Myrine. Ready to go.”

“Not you, Greco. You’ve been
through too much. We’ll handle this one without you.”

Greco turned to hold Mirissa’s
gaze while he spoke. “With all due respect, Myrine. Death couldn’t keep me away
from your daughter’s side. What makes you think you can?”

Dr. Alayna Sessions threw the
Frisbee to her son who laughed when it sailed five feet over his head. 
“You’re not very good at this, Mom.”

“Well, I’m kind of out of
practice, Jeremy. Go easy on me.”

This was one of many things that
Alayna thought she’d never do again. Jeremy had been so sick for so long that
she was sure she was going to lose him. And she should have.

She had no explanation for his sudden
and complete recovery. It was medically impossible. One day he was lying in a
hospital bed, unconscious, close to death. The next, he was shaking her awake
from a nap in their living room.

She had no recollection of how
they’d gotten there, why she’d taken Jeremy out of the hospital, or anything
else that happened in the three days prior. At first that worried her. But
then, after finding her son in perfect health, she decided it didn’t matter.

Whatever Guardian Angel saved
Jeremy from certain death could keep those memories. She now had the rest of
her life to make new ones with her son.

The
End