The Mind Readers (31 page)

Confused, I watched her warily. I
couldn’t read her thoughts, I’d never been able to no matter how hard I tried.
When thoughts from others flowed freely into the universe, Grandma’s remained
firmly encased in her brain.

Until a few months ago, Grandma had
been able to read mine, much to my ever growing annoyance. But since my illness
Grandma had taught me things I’d always wanted to know, like how to block my
thoughts from being read by others like us. Not that I knew anyone else who
could read minds. Still, it was a handy trick to have and made me feel as if
freedom was within my grasp, instead of some far off dream.

“Who’s the owner?” I asked.

She tossed something toward me.
Instinctively I caught the small, shiny object. A key. I glanced up at her,
shocked. She couldn’t mean…

She grinned. “Happy birthday. The
moped is all yours.”

My mouth dropped open. “Are you
serious? But we can’t afford it!”

She waved her hand through the air,
dismissing my comment. “Don’t you worry about that.”

I threw my arms around her neck.
Before my illness, we’d barely touched. I hugged her often now and much to my
delight, she hugged me back. We’d both changed since moving here, and both for
the better.
 

After a few seconds, she pulled
away, looking like her gruff self once more, but she couldn’t fool me. “Finish
cleaning, then go for a ride, I know you want to. But don’t be out too late.”
She strolled across the road to our small cottage, her gait easy and carefree.

I tossed the trash in the brown
dumpster that sat alongside the dirt road, eager to test out my Vespa. On the
island a scooter was pretty much like having a car. I’d be able to see the
entire place on my own. Meet up with friends, go on dates. And I wanted to
date, so badly it hurt. I was eighteen years old, for God’s sake. It was time
to fall in love…to truly be
kissed.
Even now my gaze strayed to two tourists who strolled the beach hand in hand.
Sure, I’d had boyfriends, but no one had made my hormones flare to life. No one
had made me want to sneak out of the house and make out on sandy beaches.
 

My heart gave a painful squeeze.
For one brief moment I forgot my Vespa, forgot my illness as I sat suspended in
some odd reality where something important lay just out of reach and if only I
could touch it, I’d know….

The couple shifted and there,
further down the beach, I noticed a man walking my way. An odd tingle of
awareness pulled me back to earth. Alone, but he didn’t seem lonely. No, he was
too tall, too gorgeous, and his stroll too confident to be lonely. I tilted my
head, leaning against the bar, feeling oddly confused.

There was something about the way
he walked…the way his dark hair glimmered under the light of the setting
sun…the way, I swore even though I couldn’t see his eyes through his
sunglasses, he stared at me.

Perhaps I was dreaming. Or maybe
this island truly was magical and had sent me the boyfriend I wanted. I grinned
at the thought.

There was nothing unusual in the
cargo shorts and t-shirt that he wore. Not even in the way his body moved
fluidly, all muscle. He was gorgeous, simply put. And I’d seen a lot of hot
guys on the island, natives and tourists. But something about his man gave me
pause; something that made my smile fall and my heart beat a little faster.
Something I couldn’t explain. He didn’t follow the coastline, but headed toward
me. So close I could see the scruff along his chin and cheeks. I shifted,
placing the counter between us.
  

“Sorry,” I said, as he started
toward the café. “We’re closed. I can get you a drink to go if you want.” My
voice came out a little breathless and telling.
 

This close, I realized he was
taller than what I’d expected. He settled on a bar stool near me, the lightest
hint of spicy cologne permeating the air. The breeze ruffled his dark hair, but
it did little to soften his look. Who the heck was he?

 
“Hello, Cameron.”
 

I drew back, startled. For a
moment, I merely looked at him, too shocked to respond. He knew my name, but I
didn’t know him. At least, I didn’t think I knew him. Yet, I couldn’t deny that
there was something familiar in the way he smiled at me.

Bells clamored in my head. A
hundred memories of Grandma warning me to keep quiet about my abilities came
rushing back. Had I slipped and told someone something I shouldn’t have? Is
that why he was here? I rested my hand at my thigh, feeling the weight of my
Swiss Army Knife in my pocket. It might be a pathetic weapon, but it made me
feel better all the same.
   

“How do you know my name?” I
demanded.

He held out his hand, a strong,
tanned hand with long fingers. “We’ve met before, Sweetheart. Although you
won’t remember.”

I didn’t dare touch him, afraid if
I did, something would change, although what, I wasn’t sure. A shiver of
awareness caressed my skin, a warning that something wasn’t quite right. I
glanced around the beach, taking comfort in the fact that the couple was still
nearby, cuddling close enough that if I screamed they’d hear me.

“Sorry, but we’ve never met. And
I’m headed home.” I stepped away from the bar, backing up a couple feet.
 

“I have something to tell you.”

My heart hammered madly in my chest
as indecision held me captive. Instinct told me to run, to dart across that
road to safety. Except, something held me back. Something inexplicable.
Something that said I needed to know,
must
know, what he was going to tell me.

“What?” I asked, in no mood for
guessing games.

He lifted his hand to his face and
slowly removed his sunglasses. Piercing gray eyes met mine. A gaze so
relentless, I felt it all the way to my soul. “My name is Maddox. Your father
sent me, Cameron.”

I laughed, a harsh sound of
disbelief. “That’s impossible, because if you really knew me,
Maddox
, you’d know that my father is
dead.”

“He’s not.” Maddox stood,
towering over me. “Your father is alive and well, and he’s sent me here to
protect you.” He slipped his sunglasses back into place, hiding those steel
eyes behind mirrored lenses. “Whether you believe me or not, Sweetheart, I’m
pretty much the only thing standing between you and death.”

The End

Interested in
more?
The Mind Thieves
, the second
book in The Mind Readers Series, will be available April, 2012!
 

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. She sold her first book,
Wild Heart,
to a New York Publisher and
has since started self-publishing.
 

To find out more about Lori visit her at:
www.LoriBrighton.com