The Mind Readers (23 page)

His eyes were open as if he’d
been waiting for me, and that glare was still in place. I swore he could drill
a hole through my skull just by staring. I swallowed hard, my attention jumping
to the handcuffs wrapped around his wrists and attached to an iron bar on the
wall. To say I was relieved would be an understatement.

Olivia stepped closer to me. “I
figure you have about five minutes before Aaron realizes we’re down here. If
you’re caught, you better make sure you don’t rat me out.” With that said, she
stepped back into the hall. I could hear the thump, thump, thump of her feet as
she raced up the steps. She might have let me in, but she sure as hell wasn’t
going to watch my back. Not that I blamed her for hightailing it out of there.
I was about ready to run myself.
  

“I…I wanted to make sure you
were okay,” I managed to get out.

He didn’t respond even though
the gag was gone.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

Slowly, he sat upright, the cot
creaking a protest. I had to resist the urge to step back and slam that door
shut. I could return to bed, pretend like I’d never seen him. So why wasn’t I
leaving? Why weren’t my feet moving?

Because there was something
about his eyes that held me captive. He was big with broad shoulders and dark
hair. That scruff along his jaw was turning into a beard which made him look older
than what he was. Dark and mysterious…dangerous. I suppose I would have thought
he was gorgeous if I wasn’t so afraid he was going to murder me.

I took a big step backwards.
“Well then, guess I’ll…go.”

I waited for him to protest, to
beg me to help him. He didn’t say anything, merely sat there glaring at me. In
fact, he didn’t think anything. I paused, realizing his silence was more
important than I’d realized. “I can’t read your thoughts,” I blurted.

He swallowed hard, his throat
working. “They taught us to block them with meditation.” His voice was deep,
but rich, like honey. “The chip in my brain was for backup.”

I was so surprised by the sound
of his voice that the importance of his response was lost on me for the moment.
I shook my head, trying to regain control. “And…can you read my thoughts?”

He didn’t respond, just glowered
at me. Worried we were running out of time, I glanced back. The basement was
dark, the house still silent. I met his gaze. “Please, I need to know.”

“I can’t read your thoughts,” he
snapped. “Only your kind can.”

“My kind?” I released a harsh
laugh. “You say that like we’re freaks or…inhuman.”

He shrugged, smirking.

I had the feeling he was trying
to hurt me. It worked. I guess he hadn’t forgiven me for breaking into his mind.
Well, screw him. “You know what, I’m not the enemy here.”

He laughed and jerked on the
handcuffs, his muscles bunching under the white dress shirt. “Oh really? You’re
not the one who broke into my thoughts? How’d I bust my brain open then?”

I ignored his harsh words and
the guilt. It wasn’t my fault; he deserved what he got. At least, that’s what I
tried to tell myself. “I had help, if you remember.”

He surged to his feet, tall,
intimidating. He might have only been a few years older, but he was twice my
size. I refused to move back any more than I already had.

“You think they were helping?”
He laughed, a deep chuckle that seemed to vibrate through my very body. “You
were doing the work, Sweetheart.”

Flabbergasted, I wasn’t sure how
to respond. “I wasn’t… they needed my extra ability so they…”

He started laughing again, great
big laughs that would surely wake someone up.

“Shhh!” I hissed.

He merely rolled his shoulders
as if to ease the ache of being tied up. “You were doing the work, believe me.
It was all coming from you.”

I crossed my arms over my chest,
my body trembling. “You’re lying.” So why did I suddenly feel sick? No, Lewis
would have told me. I hadn’t been the only person responsible for making Maddox
bleed. “I don’t believe you.”

He shrugged, looking completely
unconcerned. “I don’t really give a crap. What I care about is the fact that
I’ve had a damn headache ever since you broke into my thoughts, so thanks for
that.”

I shook my head, feeling cold,
close to panicking. “We…I….had to. You’ll kill us.”

He lifted a dark brow and
settled on the edge of the cot. The bed creaked and groaned under his weight.
Even sitting he seemed huge. “Kill? What the hell kind of nonsense has he been
feeding you?”

I frowned, confused when I
shouldn’t be. He was trying to twist the facts. But I knew the truth and the
truth was he was partially responsible for the death of my father. “Your little
group killed my father.”

He was silent for a moment, but
I could read nothing in his hard gaze. “Is that so?”

I didn’t respond. What was the
point? He’d never admit the truth. “I have to go.” I started toward the door
again, intent on leaving. I wouldn’t listen to anymore of his lies. I wouldn’t
let him sway me, even for a minute.

“Ask them about George Miller.”

I froze, my heart slamming
wildly in my chest. “What do you mean?”

“You think the shooting in the
café was a coincidence? Or the murder? You don’t think it odd that the man
shows up in your small town? No one knows him. You don’t think it weird that he
starts dating one of your best friends and because of him, you finally start
using your abilities?”
 

My blood had run cold, fear
giving way to anger. “What I find weird,” I spun around to face him, “Is that
you know the details of my life.”

He just smirked. Was he playing
with my mind? No way George was a fraud, or planted by Aaron merely to get me
to use my powers. No. It was too sick to even think about. I turned and started
for the door. He might not tell me about George, the psycho murderer, but Lewis
would.

“Wait,” he demanded.

There was something to his
voice, an anxiousness that made me pause.

“I want to show you something.”

As my Grandma used to say, too
curious for my own good, I glanced over my shoulder.

He reached for his sleeve and
rolled the dirty material, the handcuff rattling with the movement. His forearm
was just as muscled as the rest of him. But his muscles were suddenly the least
of my worries. He flipped his arm over and I saw it…there on the underside of
his forearm…a tattoo of an animal…a bird with a lion’s body.

Unwillingly, I stepped closer.
It was oddly familiar….so familiar, yet I couldn’t place it. “What is it?”

“The Griffin. A symbol of what
we stand for.”

For some reason I was finding it
hard to breathe. I couldn’t look away from that tattoo. A picture that clawed
at my memory, begging me to understand. “Why does it seem familiar?”

“Because your father had one
just like it.”

I jerked my gaze up to him. He
was completely serious. “No, he…” But even as I thought the words, a memory
flashed to mind, a memory I’d always assumed was some fantastical dream. Dad
had taken me to the ocean, intent on teaching me to swim. We were in Florida,
some ancient stone fort nearby. I think I was four, although not positive. He’d
told me not to be afraid, that he’d keep me safe, he’d always keep me safe. Was
it real? Had he truly visited me?

Tears burned my eyes, I shook my
head. “S.P.I. betrayed him—”

“No, we didn’t.” His hard gaze
flashed with anger and something that looked suspiciously like compassion. Dare
I believe him? But if he was telling the truth, what did this mean?

“I don’t believe you.”

He held his arms as wide as the
handcuffs would allow. “Why would I lie to you? I have no reason.”

“You have every reason,” Aaron
spoke sharply from behind me. “Get away from him, Cameron.”

Maddox’s gaze turned to steel.
Before I could even blink, the agent surged from the cot, latched onto my arm
and jerked me back, directly into his hard chest. A muscled forearm wrapped
around my throat with enough pressure that it brought tears to my eyes.

“Leave her alone,” Aaron said
softly, as if he was in total control.

Maddox chuckled, his breath warm
on the top of my head. “You know I could so easily kill her.”

“And then what?” Aaron asked,
holding his arms wide, a look of bewildered amusement on his face. “I’ll kill you?
What’s the point?”

“At least you won’t have her
ability to add your little collection.”

Even through the pain and
confusion, his words bothered me. Add to his collection? As if we were
priceless dolls. Maddox’s arm tightened. Air couldn’t get down my throat. I
squeezed my eyes closed as blackness taunted.

“She’s just a girl!” Aaron
snapped.

“And I was only eighteen the
first time you and your little friends captured me.”

They knew each other? I barely
had time to consider that comment before Maddox’s arm tightened, crushing my
throat. Light faded, the world spun.
 

“So what?” Aaron hissed. “You’re
going to kill her? Then do it.” His tone was stern. He was totally serious. I
was going to die, here in this dungeon. I’d been worried I’d killed Maddox, instead
he’d kill me. Lewis had been right.

Then, just as suddenly as he’d
grabbed me, Maddox relaxed his hold. My body quivered as glorious air seeped
into my lungs. Maddox shoved me away. Off balance and practically unconscious,
I stumbled. Aaron was there, reaching for me, but I didn’t want him to touch
me. I didn’t want anyone to touch me. I evaded his grasp and spun around,
falling back against the wall.

“Cameron,” Aaron called to me.

I shook my head. I had to get
away. Away from them. Away from this dungeon. Not looking at either man, I
turned and raced through the door. Aaron would have let Maddox kill me. Maddox
wasn’t on my side. I couldn’t trust anyone. I stumbled up the steps, clinging
to the railing for balance. I’d been so stupid to think I could deal with this,
that I could submerge myself into this lifestyle.
 

“Cameron?”

Lewis was there at the top of
the stairs. Olivia had told him, or maybe he’d read my thoughts. It didn’t
matter, all that mattered was he was there. I didn’t pause, but slammed into
his hard body.

He caught me, holding me tight
against his bare chest. Vaguely I was aware that he wore only cargo shorts,
apparently having come from bed. He smelled warm, and wonderful and comforting.

“What’s going on?” he
demanded.
 

 
“Nothing,” I sniffed, cursing the tears that
were forming in my eyes. I didn’t want him to see me cry, but I didn’t want to
leave him either. “Everything.” The numbness in my body was fading fast and my
throat ached.

I felt his body stiffen right
before he cupped my shoulders and stepped back. Instead of compassion, he
looked furious. “Damn it, you went and saw that agent, didn’t you?”

Shock gave way to fury.
Immediately I threw up my mind wall. “Don’t read my thoughts!”

His face flushed. “I can’t help
it!”

There was only a foot between
us, but suddenly it felt like miles. I pushed him aside and rushed into my
room, slamming the door shut. I needed someone to comfort me, not condemn me.

Lewis had apparently never heard
of privacy and opened my door, barging in. “Why, Cam? Why would you go down
there? Why would you put yourself in danger?”

I stomped my foot. “Because I
have a heart! I couldn’t sleep until I knew he was okay.” But we both knew what
I was implying…it was there, hanging in the charged air between us. I hadn’t
trusted Lewis to tell me the truth about Maddox’s well-being.

His jaw clenched. “You have a
lot of compassion for the man who killed our parents.”

I flushed, feeling guilty as
hell and at the same time angry that Lewis would say something so insensitive.
“He didn’t have anything to do with their deaths, he’s too young.”

He shook his head, pacing across
my room. “You know what I mean.”

As much as I wanted to love
Lewis, there was a part of me that realized he was a tiny bit delusional. I
would never be foremost in his mind and heart because his vendetta would always
be first.

“How do we even know it’s the
truth?” I asked softly, trying a different tactic.
 

He froze and looked at me like
we were five and I’d just told him Santa Clause wasn’t real. “What do you
mean?”

I paused for a moment, wondering
if I dared to go on. Why not, I’d already pissed him off. Aaron was probably
angry at me too. What did I have to lose? “I mean, who saw it? How do we know
it happened?”

His face flushed with anger. “Aaron
saw it! He saw the destruction! What was left after they attacked!”

What was left.
My stomach revolted at the image. I pressed my hand
to my gut and settled on the edge of my bed. I’d pushed him too far. Perhaps so
far that we’d never recover.

Lewis snorted, obviously
disgusted with me, and moved toward the door. “This isn’t some game, Cam. This
isn’t some high school drama bullshit. This is real and you need to pick
sides.”

“Or what?” I whispered, feeling
bitterly cold, and not really sure if I wanted the answer.

He paused at the door, but
didn’t look back. “Or maybe…you should leave.”

Chapter 17

I should have let it go. At the
least, I should have been angry with Lewis and avoiding him. Instead, at 3 a.m.
after tossing and turning, I found myself standing outside Lewis’s bedroom
door. I lifted my fist to knock, only to hesitate. I’d never truly had a
boyfriend, therefore never gotten into an argument. I felt unsure about how to
proceed.

Before I could make a decision,
the door opened and Lewis stood there. His eyes were intense, drilling. He wore
only shorts, no shirt, and his hair was mussed. Although he wasn’t a body
builder, he was cut; his muscles obvious.

I knew, standing there, that I
had forgotten to cover my thoughts and I knew he heard me thinking about how
gorgeous he was. But instead of putting up my wall, in some spiteful way, I
found myself leaving it down, wanting to be honest, wanting to force him to be
honest with me.

The house and hall were quiet as
we stood there, not saying a word to each other. But we didn’t need to say
much. I could tell by the stiffness of his body he was still angry with me. I
was confused. I was hurt. I was a little afraid and I wanted him to know…to
understand. I also wanted him to hold me because he looked good, really, really
good and in this mansion, in this world, he was the only person I could turn
to. Damn it all, I wanted him to pull me close; I wanted him to hold me. And he
knew these thoughts and still he didn’t reach out, merely looked away. It broke
my heart.

“Do you really want me to
leave?” I hadn’t meant to say the words, to sound so pathetic and weak…the sort
of girl I hated. But here I was, practically begging him with my sad puppy-dog
face to say that he was still, possibly, in love with me. Frankly, I hated
myself for it.

He sighed and rubbed his hand
over his face as if he were tired. Tired of me? Tired of my questions? Or tired
of the situation?

He reached out, latching onto my
arm and pulled me into the room. Safely inside he closed the door. I fell back
against the wall and he stepped toward me, pressing his body to mine, the side
of his face to mine.

For a moment he just held me
there. Our bodies intimately close, his warm breath tickling my ear. I wrapped
my arms around his waist and soaked in his essence; felt the thump of his heart
against mine. God, I didn’t want it to end. After a few moments, he stepped
back, leaving me alone and cold. I curled my hands against my thighs, resisting
the urge to latch onto him. He didn’t look at me, but stared at some point
across the room.

“Well?” I finally demanded. “You
didn’t answer my question. Do you want me to leave?”

He raked his hands through his
hair and paced toward the large, Queen bed. “Of course not. I want you here,
but I want you on my side.”

“It’s not about sides,” I
insisted. “It’s about right and wrong.”

He spun around to face me.
“Right and wrong?”

He was getting angry. I was just
as frustrated, realizing he was too emotional to have a simple conversation.
This isn’t what I’d wanted to accomplish by coming here. “How can you not
understand?”

He threw his arms in the air.
“Understand what? That if that man was released he’d report immediately to his
supervisors and we’d end up captured or worse, dead like our parents?”

My blood went cold at his words.
“You don’t know that.”

“I do, I’ve dealt with people
like him before.”

Stunned, I found myself
stuttering. “You…you mean to say you’ve captured others and tortured them?”

He stood near his window, framed
by the dark blue curtains that matched his eyes. “How else do you suggest we
get information?”

I felt sick. He hadn’t denied
it. I didn’t know what they could do. I had this slow, horrible feeling I
didn’t know anything. “You’re torturing him! You saw his life, you saw the man
he was and is. He has parents, a sister, a girlfriend, two nieces. He played
soccer. He went to college—”

He slammed his hand against the
wall. His anger frightened me more than I wanted to admit. “Stop! Damn it,
Cameron, I’m protecting you. How do you not understand that?”

Sure, maybe my heart should have
fluttered romantically at his words, but it didn’t. I wanted to shake sense
into him. I felt like I was talking to a brick wall. “And if he dies because of
what we’ve done?”

Determined steps brought him
closer to me, his face set in stern lines of seriousness and intent. “He’s not
going to die.”

“If he does?”

He paused directly in front of
me, his lips parted as if to argue. With a frustrated groan, he latched onto my
upper arms and pulled me into his chest. He was so warm, so lovely and his
scent so wonderful that for a moment I just sank into him.

“What does it matter?” he
whispered.

I froze, horrified. Surely he
didn’t mean he didn’t care if Maddox died. “You don’t mean that.”

He was silent for a moment. “We’d
be safer with him gone.”

I shook my head, staring up at
him, knowing I would ruin everything with my next words. But I couldn’t help
myself and I couldn’t think with him touching me. I shoved my hands against his
shoulders, pushing him out of the way. “How could you say that?”

He latched onto my arm, his
grasp desperate. “You’ll walk out? Run away because it’s gotten complicated?”

I wanted to ignore my feelings,
to pull Lewis close and forget everything that had happened. Instead, I tugged
my arm away from him. “No, because what you’re doing is wrong, Lewis.”

“You know nothing—”

“What about George?”

He shook his head, looking
confused.

“Did you send George to my town
on purpose?”

“Do you even hear yourself? Do
you realize what you’re saying? That’s insane, Cameron! How can you think
that?”

“I don’t know what to think
anymore!” I cried out. “Before you there was hardly any crime in our town. And
Maddox said—”

He laughed, a harsh laugh. “And
here we go again. You’ll believe a murderer over me.”

I didn’t respond, I wasn’t sure
how to. He grew silent and there was something there behind his eyes, a sadness
that tore at my heart. He knew, before I’d realized, what I was going to do.

“You want to leave,” he said
softly.

Hot tears burned my eyes. “I
can’t stay here, Lewis, not knowing what you’re doing. I can’t be a part of
that.”

“And what about us?” his voice
caught.

For one long moment, I couldn’t
respond knowing if I answered him, it would be over; any relationship we had.
But the truth just flowed from my mouth, unheeded. “How can there be an us? We
don’t believe in the same things. You think it’s perfectly fine to torture a
man, to imprison him like he’s an animal.”

He shook his head, obviously
disappointed in me. My throat closed with tears and emotion.

“And you think it’s perfectly
fine to release a person who will kill you without flinching,” he stated.

“You don’t know that.”

He laughed and looked away.
“Then try. Leave, Cameron. Put yourself out there where anything can happen.
Test that theory, but just remember I won’t be around to save you.”

His words annoyed and hurt me,
at the same time they gave me strength. “I don’t need you to save me. I never
did.”
 

Having the last word, I pushed
past him and burst into the hall. Even though my heart was hammering with the
need to escape, I refused to run. I didn’t even flinch when I heard his door
slam shut. I couldn’t turn back now. If I returned to Lewis, I’d give in and
beg him to forgive me. I couldn’t, because I knew deep down I was right.
Sometimes being right sucked.

Halfway to my bedroom, my
emotions got the better of me. I paused in the middle of the hall as tears
stung my eyes and blurred my vision. I had to leave this place. I knew that
now. I no longer felt safe. I no longer felt like I belonged. But go where?
Back to Grandma?

Suddenly, I missed her. Missed
our small kitchen, and the eggs and pancakes she forced me to eat every
morning. I missed the fact that on week nights we’d watch reality T.V. and
argue about who would win that rose. I missed my small bed that creaked every
time I rolled over and the floorboards that were so cold I had to wear two pair
of socks.

I had to leave. I had to leave
Lewis.
 

I fell back against the hallway
wall, my legs weak. Oh God, I had to leave Lewis. The sob that had been stuck
in my throat for the past five minutes came out in a strangled sob.

“Psst,” someone whispered.
 

Startled, I managed to contain
myself. Olivia peeked out of an open door a few feet down the hall. She waved
me toward her. I stood there for a long moment, wondering what to do. What sage
wisdom did she have tonight? I really didn’t have the energy to deal with her.

“I’m tired, I want to go to
bed.” I turned toward my door, intent on ignoring her.

“I have to show you something.”

Damn if I didn’t pause and
glance back. She was pulling at her hair in that way that made me want to
cringe. I wanted to refuse, to leave her standing there, but when I looked in
her eyes and saw the desperation, I found myself making my way toward her.

I’d never been in her bedroom
and I admit I felt weird, like I shouldn’t be there. We weren’t exactly
B.F.F.’s. The room was purple, the curtains white lace. A lamp glowed on a
bedside table, offering a warmth to the area. It was completely girly, yet
almost too young, like for a five year old. There was even a set of porcelain
dolls on the bed. It was kind of creepy, but then I expected nothing less than
to be creeped out by her.

“What is it?” I asked, eager to
leave.

She hesitated, and drawing that
lock of hair between her lips, she nibbled on it like corn on the cob. Just
when I was about to leave, her eyes went wide like an animal cornered. She was
scared. Whatever she was about to tell me, she shouldn’t.

I swallowed hard. “Olivia, what
is it?”

She spun around, and rushed to
her bedside table. The drawer creaked as she pulled it open. This wasn’t the
dour and blunt Olivia I’d come to know. This was a little girl, afraid of her
own shadow. There was a soft rustling, as she searched through the drawer, her
movements jerky and frantic. Curious and more than a little nervous, I stepped
closer.
 

She turned, clutching a silver
frame to her flat chest. “Here.” She shoved the picture at me. With no choice,
I took it. A man, woman and a little girl with dark hair, stared back at me. A
happy family, as photos often portray. Even though the child couldn’t have been
older than five, I could tell she was Olivia.

I looked up at her. “Your
parents?”

She nodded and snatched the
picture from my hands. Of course there were a million questions I wanted to ask
her, but before I could even open my mouth, she shoved the frame back into the
drawer, hidden from prying eyes. When she faced me again, she looked odd, her
eyes shining, her face flushed…almost excited or nervous, like there was something
more she needed to share, something she shouldn’t.

“What happened to your parents?”
I asked, warily. Were they, too, destroyed in the great epic battle? “Did…did
they die when my father and Lewis’s parents died?”

She didn’t respond, merely took
her hair between her lips. For one long moment, I stared at her while she
stared at the floor. Something had happened, and I wasn’t leaving until she got
the courage to tell me the truth. I was tired of the secrets, the lies.

I stepped closer to her, anger propelling
me forward. “Damn it, Olivia, I need—”

“I want to show you something,”
she whispered, looking up at me with anxious eyes. “Will you come with me?”

I hesitated. The last time I’d
gone with Olivia, Aaron had found me in Maddox’s room. And look how well that
had worked out.
 

“He won’t find us,” she said,
her gaze solemn.

Startled, I was silent for a
moment. She’d read my mind when I’d had my wall up.

“Come on.” She raced past me and
was in the hall before I’d even decided to follow. With a sigh, I knew I had no
alternative. I rushed after her just in time to see her disappear around a
corner. “Olivia!” I whispered furiously, trying to follow her dark shadow down
a narrow back set of stairs. “How can you read my mind when I had the wall up?”

“I’ve always been able to,” she
whispered back. “No one can block their thoughts from me.”

I caught up with her on the
first floor. “I don’t understand.”

“What’s there to understand?”
Olivia cracked open a door I’d never been through, peeked inside, and finding the
area empty she darted down a hall.

I made sure no one was there,
and followed after her. I had no idea where we were as I’d never been to this
part of the house before. Just ahead I could see her, a dark shadow, pull open
another door and dart down another set of stairs. We were headed into the
basement, although at the opposite end of where Maddox was being held.

I paused for one moment, my
heart hammering madly. Did I want to start this all over again? Hell, yes. I
rushed down those narrow steps, delving into the darkness.

“I don’t understand.” I reached
out, pressing my hands to the stone walls on each side for balance. Olivia
paused at the bottom, a dark shadow waiting for me. “If you can read anyone’s
thoughts, why didn’t they use you to read Maddox?”