The Mind Readers (25 page)

“Cameron,” his voice was soft.
“I didn’t mean it.”

I refused to answer, but
continued to shove some sweaters into the suitcase that lay open on the floor.
I still hadn’t found my cell and was beginning to worry. How would I get a hold
of Grandma once I’d reached the mainland? I had only ten bucks.

“Stop,” he insisted, dropping
beside me. He latched onto my wrists and held my arms tight, forcing me to
pause. Only a foot separated the space between us. I couldn’t move as I stared
into those brilliant blue eyes. His face was tense, his lower lip quivering.
And for one brief moment my heart expanded, warming with an emotion I didn’t
dare explore. “I don’t want you to leave.”

“Why?” I asked, dropping my gaze
to his neck, staring at the pulse that beat furiously fast. “Because you can’t
use my powers if I leave?”

“No.” He released my hands and
pulled my packed clothing from the suitcase, tossing it to the bed with frantic
movements. “Because I…” He paused, swallowing hard. “I don’t want you to go.”

I felt the stinging sensation of
tears. How I wanted to be with him. The thought of leaving Lewis left me aching
and cold. And he wanted me. I could see that now. Not because of my powers, but
because he actually cared.

“Come with me,” I whispered,
more like pleaded.
 

He shook his head and looked
away like the coward he was. “What do you mean?”

He knew what I was asking. “When
I leave, come home with me.” I grabbed his hands. His fingers were cold. “You
can live with me and Grandma. Or, you’re eighteen, you can get an apartment.”

He pulled away. “I can’t.”

I wasn’t surprised, but it still
hurt. “Why?”

“Because…” He stood and paced to
the windows. With every step further away from me, my heart broke a little
more. He would come up with any excuse not to leave. “Because we have a job to
do.”

It was just as I’d thought.
Lewis would always pick his supposed mission over me. “What job?” I snapped,
surging to my feet and feeling dizzy with anger and pain.

He spun around to face me.
“Protect us! People like us, people like you.”

“Protect us from what? Because
so far the only threat I’ve seen is some pathetic guy chained up in the
basement.”

“And do you have any idea what
that pathetic guy would be capable of doing if he were released?” His hands
fisted at his sides, his anger palpable. “My God, how can you not understand?
They killed your father! They killed my parents!”

My heart ached. Literally ached
when I looked at his beautiful face full of frustration and pain. When I’d
first met Lewis I’d envied his freedom, but he was no freer than I was. Less
so, maybe. “And so what, you’ll kidnap little children and force them to do
your bidding like some pathetic evil villain in a cartoon movie?”

He stiffened, as if I’d slapped
him. “What are you talking about?”

I threw my arms wide, pointing
toward the door. “I know, Lewis. I know about the kids. I know they all have
special powers. I know Aaron took them from their parents in order to use
them.”

He looked away. “You don’t know
anything.”

If I was wrong, why was he
avoiding eye contact? “Did he take you from your uncle without the man’s
consent? Is that what happened?”

He pressed his palm to his
heart, his face growing tense with emotion. “He saved me. My uncle had no clue
what my mother and father could do. He hadn’t a clue what I was capable of. I
was a freak to him. When Aaron arrived, I was more than willing to go.”

It didn’t make sense. There had
to be more to the story than he was letting on. “And your uncle just let you
go?”

He didn’t respond, but he didn’t
need to. I knew the answer. Olivia had been right all along. Aaron and Lewis
didn’t care about me. Aaron had taken Lewis and Lewis seemed to think it was
fine. His silence was further proof that our morals didn’t mesh.

“What did Aaron do to him?”

Lewis shrugged, his eyes growing
hard. “It was for his own good.”

I stepped closer to the guy I
still loved. “What did he do?” I demanded, my anger and fear mounting.

He was silent for one long
moment, as if weighing whether to admit the truth to me or not. “He erased his
memory.”

“Oh my God.” I stumbled back,
collapsing onto the edge of my bed. I felt sick. Afraid. Confused. “And that’s
what he’s done to these children, isn’t it? To their parents?”

Lewis stood his ground, didn’t
dare step any closer. It was as if a wall had been suddenly built between us.
He knew I wouldn’t understand. “He had to. They weren’t safe with their
parents.”

Tears burned my eyes. I was sad
because I knew Lewis didn’t understand, perhaps he never would. “He stole these
children and erased any memory from their parent’s minds that they’d ever existed?”

Lewis didn’t respond, but he
didn’t need to. How could he not see what he did was wrong?

I swiped angrily at the tears
seeping from my eyes. Lewis might not ever understand my position, but he sure
as hell could explain the facts. “How did he do it?”

Lewis shrugged, strolling across
the room. To anyone else his walk would seem at ease, but I knew his steps were
too controlled. “Everyone has their own special ability, unique to them. His is
the ability to erase memories.”

Just as I’d thought, he’d erased
any memory of these children. “And yours? What is your ability?”

He paused for a moment, his
square jaw clenched as he weighed his next words carefully. “As you know, I…I
can move objects, small objects.” But there was more, I could tell he was
holding something back.

“What else Lewis?” I demanded.

His jaw clenched, those sharp
eyes coming to rest on me. “I can influence people’s emotions.”

For one moment I was confused as
my mind turned his words over and over, attempting to make sense. Emotions. All
the feelings I’d had for Lewis came rushing back in a wave of nausea. The instant
affection. The silly jealousy. “Did you…to me…”

He was silent, but I read the
truth in his beautiful blue eyes.

Panic clawed its way up into my
throat. My heart slammed wildly against my chest. I wanted to hit him. I wanted
to grab him by the shirt and demand he take the words back. “Lewis, did you
make me think I was in love with you?”

He closed his eyes and rubbed
his temples. “Cameron…”

“Tell me!” I demanded, standing.

He opened his eyes and looked
directly at me. “Only at first.”

“Oh my God.” I moved across the
room, the furthest away from him I could get. I felt trapped, an animal in a
cage. Nowhere to go. So much for our love being true and pure.

“I’m not now, Cameron.” Lewis
came toward me. “Only those first couple days. You thought I was the murderer,
I needed you to like me, to trust me.”

He paused in front of me, his
gaze pleading. He started to reach for me, but apparently realized it was too
soon and dropped his arms to his side. “Please, believe me. I haven’t
influenced you in weeks. What you feel…what I feel…it’s real.”

At that moment the only feeling
I had was hate. Pure hatred because he’d made me doubt my love for him. It all
made sense now. Why I’d had barely any misgivings about leaving town with a boy
I’d just met. Grandma had been right, something had been off. I leaned back
against the wall, my hands fisted.

“It’s how you got me to go with
you. I should have known, I did know…something wasn’t normal. That pull you had
over me.”

“Cameron,” he said, reaching out
for me.

“What is my ability? Why does
Aaron want me here?”

“He’s always wanted you here,
partly because he feels responsible for you. You’re like a daughter to him.”

I snorted in disgust.

“It’s true.”

“Why am I here?” I demanded
again.

He sighed and raked back his
hair. “You have more power than any of us, Cameron.” He paced in front of me,
as if he couldn’t stand still, as if he wasn’t sure what to do. “Your ability
to break into people’s thoughts is amazing.”

“Olivia can read thoughts.”

“Only from normal people, like
us. But that chip in that man’s head stopped her cold. You busted through it
like it was nothing. We’re not even sure what you’re capable of. It’s why it’s
so important for you to practice, to learn. I think you’d be amazed at what you
could accomplish.”

“You mean what I could
accomplish for you and your little secret club.”

He glared at me, obviously
frustrated. “We’re only trying to protect—”

“Bull!” I tilted my chin high,
staring directly into his angry eyes. Lewis wouldn’t frighten me. I was sick of
being afraid. “I’m going home.”

He didn’t respond, remaining
stubbornly silent. I wanted to scream, to stomp my foot like a child. I needed
to have my wits about me, but I couldn’t think when he was so close, his scent
so warm and wonderful. And in the back of my mind I realized that this could
very well be the last time we spoke. But my emotions and anger wouldn’t let me
care.

“I’m going home, even if I have
to walk or swim.”

He raked his hair back, his hand
trembling. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

I pushed him aside and grabbed
the pink sweater Grandma had gotten me last year for Christmas. My hands shook
as I tossed the clothing back into my suitcase. “Where’s my cell phone? Aaron
took it, didn’t he?”

“Think long and hard about what
you’re doing Cameron.”

I froze, looking up at Lewis.
“Are you threatening me?”

He looked oddly sad. “No, only
warning you.”

I ignored the tingling fear
working its way up my spine. “Save your warning. I don’t need you. I don’t need
anyone. I’m leaving.”

He strolled to the door, his
steps slow, controlled. At the hall he paused and looked back, a sympathetic
gleam in his eyes. “I’m sorry, Cameron, but there’s only one way you’re
leaving, and that’s if you let Aaron erase your memories.”

Chapter 19

Only an hour until sunrise. Only
an hour and I would be at the docks and on that first ferry across the harbor
and to the mainland. Only an hour and my life would be on its way back to
normalcy. I hoped.

I had no idea how I’d get home
from the harbor, but I didn’t care. One step at a time. I had to keep my mind
centered. Still, I was shaking as I made my way to my bedroom door. I didn’t
dare take my suitcase, but had stuffed anything of importance into my backpack,
leaving behind the rest.
 

I kept my mental wall up, not
daring to let my thoughts seep from my mind and alert others to my presence.
But concentrating was hard under the circumstances. Unwillingly my gaze went to
Lewis’ bedroom door. The urge to try one more time to talk him into reason
overwhelmed me. I forced my feet to keep walking, tore my gaze from that door
and rushed, as quietly as possible, down the dark hall, following the path
Olivia had taken the other night. I’d seen that exit near the children’s ward
and hoped it was the best way out. If I’d gotten my directions right, it would
lead to the back of the house and the beach. I’d follow the shore to town.

Heading down the first set of
steps, I pressed my hands to the narrow walls to keep my balance in the
darkness. Lewis had disappointed me in so many ways. I thought we understood
each other. I thought we believed in the same things. We should have, after all
we’d had similar childhoods, similar pasts.

In reality we were completely
different people. But it didn’t matter. I still loved him and each step further
away from Lewis, broke my heart a little more.
 

I turned left, walked ten feet
down a dark tunnel only to realize I should have turned right. A cold sweat
broke out between my shoulder blades. I didn’t have time for mistakes. One
mistake could mean the difference between me leaving with my memory intact and
me leaving with no recollection of what my life had been.

I had a plan; sneak into town
right at the moment when the first boat was leaving. Jump on the ferry and be
gone. I couldn’t think further than that, and I couldn’t think about the plan
going wrong. Any mistakes would be my downfall. I turned right and made my way
toward the door where the children lay sleeping.

The closer I got, the more my
stomach churned, threatening to bring up the chicken and rice that had been
brought to my room by a nameless servant. At the door, I froze. I could see
them sleeping through the small window, those tiny bundles of power. How could
I leave them here? But what could I do? It would be pretty hard to go incognito
with twenty small children at my side. As much as it pained me to leave them
behind, I knew, for my own sake, I had to.

Turning away from the children’s
dorm, I focused on the door that would lead outside. Metal, bullet proof,
impenetrable, no doubt. A bolt locked the door in place. To the normal person
the door would seem secure, but I couldn’t help but wonder where the rest of it
was. Shouldn’t there be an alarm? A camera? But the hall was surprisingly
empty.

I slid back the deadbolt and
stepped outside into the crisp morning air. Easy enough. Everything was going
exactly as planned. And that worried me. It was all too simple. And then I saw
the fence and realized life was one big joke. That tall fence continued from
the front of the house and apparently wrapped around the back. A fence much too
tall to climb.
 

A cold wind swept from the
ocean, stinging my face. Across the harbor, lights from the mainland twinkled
and glowed, calling me home. Already the seagulls could be heard, crying their
good mornings. It was the right time to leave, but how could I when that huge
iron fence rose up from the earth surrounding the yard? I hadn’t had much of a
plan when I’d decided to leave. I was hoping God or Fate would smile down on
me.