Halflings (20 page)

Mace frowned. “As in Nicolas?”

“No, the full name is Nicole Youngblood.”

B
ack at the house, exhausted and really,
really
ready to call it a night, Mace dragged himself from the car, then slammed the door. Before stepping away, he peered in through the driver’s window. “Nikki, I just need to brief Will on what we learned from Zero. Give me five minutes. Then I’ll get you home.” He’d barely taken three steps toward the front door when he heard a slam. He turned to the car, still pinging and popping from the drive.

Little to his surprise, Nikki stood beside the passenger door. But instead of the defiant posture she’d had earlier, she fidgeted, hands clasped together.

Mace’s heart did a painful little thump. She looked lost, a tiny bird in need of strong wings able to lift her above the storm.

“I’m coming with you. I have a right to know what’s going on.” Her eyes turned to liquid. “Mace, my name was in that computer. They knew me. That scientist,
he
knew me.” She choked on a sob.

He stepped toward her. “But you’re exhausted,” he said, wanting to hold her. Knowing he wouldn’t. The bad dream had just gotten worse. He’d been fooling himself to think Nikki was just a Seer. Admitting the truth meant admitting the possibility of failure. And failure meant death.

“You’re exhausted too,” she said.

He couldn’t argue. Battle made him weary, and trying to protect her with the clouded judgment he fought made him fatigued. Sure, he could lift her from the storm. He could be her shelter if he could keep his mind in the game and stop toying with romantic ideas that were both dangerous and impossible.

Not impossible. Too costly. Eternity wasn’t a gamble he could take, no matter how helpless the bird.

From the moment Raven’s gaze dropped on Nikki, he couldn’t look away from her. She stood just inside the front door, arms interlocked with Mace’s as if she couldn’t stand on her own.

But he saw through the veneer. Her eyes were bright and alert. Her hands were open and relaxed, her shoulders down.
Man, she looks good.
Never mind the messy hair pulled from her face and clustered at the back of her neck with — pencils? Never mind the rumpled clothes. Nikki, skin hot from the battle and face smooth, looked more alive now than in any moment before. Even the moment he revealed the true nature of her painting — a nd in fact, the true nature of Nikki herself — couldn’t compare.

Now, if she’d just let go of Mr. Soft and Sweet
…

“So you’re not just the Seer,” Will said while checking her hands and arms for marks and burns.

“I’m fine,” she assured, though she seemed thrown by all
the attention. Will and Vine had met them at the door when they entered. But Raven had been content to admire her from a distance.

But a wave washed over him, and in a heartbeat he was there too. He stopped at her side and Mace stiffened, arm closing protectively around her. She smelled amazing, like battle and heaven all rolled together. Raven reached behind her head and ever so gently tugged. The pencils fell to the floor while her dark hair cascaded down over her shoulders.

Her eyes closed and opened, too slowly for a blink. She seemed to catch herself and quickly gestured to the mass of boys hovering over her. “This is a bit …” She forced a sweet smile. “Stifling.”

Will shooed them away and everyone found a place to sit while Mace filled them in on what they’d witnessed at the lab and what Zero found on the computer.

Will leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “So, Omega Corporation tests EMP theories? What does that have to do with Nicole Youngblood?” His tight skin pulled into an inquisitive look. “And what is the Genesis Project?”

Raven sighed loudly. “Genesis clearly means the beginning.” But his eyes refused to leave Nikki, who sat on the couch beside Mace. Fidgeting hands, twitch in her cheek, eyes that kept roaming the room and landing on Raven … Oh yeah, she wanted him. She was just trying to act like she didn’t.

“And Omega means the end,” Vine added.

“So what can we gather?” Will asked.

Raven spread his arms and rubbed a hand back and forth against the soft leather of his chair. “That whoever runs Omega Corporation thinks they’re both the beginning and the end?” he said.

Will folded giant arms across his chest. “Possibly,” he said.

Raven threw his hands into the air. “You got something better?”

“No.”

“We aren’t ignorant of how the enemy thinks,” Raven said.

Mace’s eyes narrowed on him. “That’s for sure,” he spat.

Will pointed at him. “Right you are, Raven.” He turned his attention to Nikki. “I’m afraid you may be the target.”

“No. I’m
telling
you
Richmond
is the target. I’ve been saying it all night.” Conviction and agitation threaded his words.

“And what are you basing that on?” Will questioned.

“My gut.”

Will stood and crossed the room to him. “Your gut?”

Raven straightened, jaw set. “That’s right.”

“And we’re supposed to base an entire operation on your gut?”

Vine swallowed and sank into the couch, out of harm’s way.

Mace sat motionless.

“Do whatever you want, but my gut says Richmond’s the target.”

A wide smile spread across Will’s face, while looks of shock and surprise bounced around the room. “Excellent,” he yelled, posture softening.

Raven flashed a confused frown.
Freak.
His caregiver was a freak.

Vine’s body relaxed, but his eyes still flitted from Will to Raven.

Will pulled Raven to his feet and slapped him on the back. “Way to go.” He placed a hand on Raven’s stomach and rubbed in a circular motion.
Watch it, buddy.
“Right here is the seat of your consciousness. You might even say the
heart
of your
gut
.
Follow your instincts. Trust your gut. For now, we shall guard both Richmond and Nikki.” With a smooth, fluid motion, he crossed the room to her. “We don’t have all the pieces of the puzzle, Miss Youngblood. But I can promise you this. My boys will protect you. You’ve no need to fear.” He gestured to Vine. “Bloom, bring me the gift before Mace drives her home.”

Mace and Nikki rose and moved toward the front door.

Vine disappeared and materialized at the door beside them. “Here you go.” He handed a box to Nikki. “It will help you understand.”

She pulled the lid from the case and the smell of leather wafted up. A Bible lay inside. Mace took the lid from her as she admired the gold-leaf book. “It’s beautiful,” she uttered.

Who knew a Bible would make her so mushy?

“There is quite a bit of commentary. I agree with …” Will stared at the ceiling for a few moments. “Most of it. I think the commentary will help you understand the significance of the days in which you live.”

“Thank you. I don’t know what to say.” Her fingers drifted over the cover.

“You’re welcome.”

“Is this sort of like a rule book?” She clutched it to her chest.

“More like a new paradigm.” His eyes narrowed. “Do you know what a paradigm is?”

“You know, I actually do.”

“Be sure and read about Esther,” Will said. “You remind me of her.”

“Okay.” She returned the box’s lid and addressed Raven. “Do you really think Dr. Richmond is in danger?”

Again, Raven saw a warrior looking out from behind her eyes.
Much better.

Will crossed his arms over his chest. “If Omega Corporation is gaining too much momentum, everyone you know could be in danger.”

“EMP isn’t the only thing they do,” Mace inserted.

“What else?” Will asked. The thought visibly troubled him, which only excited Raven. A real battle was coming. The kind of combat he was trained to fight, rather than this, “Go for the good-girl” war he was dealing with.

“We don’t know. Zero is trying to gather information. He doesn’t feel like Genesis Project has anything to do with their EMP program.”

Will’s concentration deepened. “On what is he basing his assumptions?”

Mace smiled. “His gut.”

“Why’d you bring me here?” Mace’s words echoed off the rock ledge above them where they sat on the ground with backs against a cool stone and eyes gazing out at the lake. The sun had disappeared behind the mountain before they reached the area.

This was Nikki’s favorite place. Before them, an old fishing pier spiked into the water, a solitary haven for the spiders that fought for rights to the weathered wood corners. Many evenings she’d sat here while the sun dropped and fish jumped to grab the night bugs landing on the smooth lake.

“Shhh.” Nikki scooted close enough to clamp her hand over his mouth. Against her fingers, she felt him sigh. But his breathing returned to normal as the soft stillness of Lake Taneycomo closed around them. “When the fog rolls in, everything will disappear into it.”

He took her by the wrist and ever so gently removed her hand from his mouth. “Why do you get to talk and I have to stay quiet?”

Her eyes found his just as the first bits of warm wind settled on the dark, cold water. “Because if you talk I might wake up and realize this is just a dream.”

“It’s not a dream, Nikki.”

A blanket of billowy fog rose as the temperature fell. Warm air, cool water, a sea of hazy stillness that crept ever closer to their haven offered a place of security for silly things like admissions. “I brought you here because I wanted to say thank you … for everything. This has always been a special place to me and I guess I wanted to share it with you. One time, I sat right here and told my dad I’d painted one of the antique swords with my mom’s fingernail polish.” The rolling fog moved closer, and with it the air chilled by the water. “I was so ashamed. You know what he said?”

Mace shook his head.

“He said that the fog would take it all away.”

When she shivered, Mace wrapped an arm around her. “Did it work?”

She nodded then dropped her head to his chest. “Yes.”

“Thank you, Nikki.”

“For what?”

He swept a hand in front of them. “For this. I’ll never forget it.” Mace licked his lips and inched closer to her.

Oh.

Oh my. He’s going to kiss me
. Well, what had she expected bringing a guy somewhere romantic like this? But it had never been romantic before. Just quiet and safe and secure. Nikki swallowed.
Okay. If he’s going to kiss me, I’m ready.

And then his lips were there as the white fog surrounded them and closed them in. Soft against her own, his mouth warmed and Nikki was utterly and completely swept away. But only a moment later, his lips left hers in a rush.

He was barely visible through the fog, but his body crackled with tension. She didn’t dare utter a word. Maybe she was really bad at kissing.

Mace rose and pulled her to her feet. “Come on. We better go.”

She let herself be dragged along, really,
really
confused about what had just happened.

So much for safe places and fog that takes the shame away.
She shouldn’t have brought him here. But as they walked up the hill to return to Mace’s car, he slipped his hand into hers, thoroughly confusing and equally thrilling.