Vengeance (9 page)

I picked up a teaspoon, cut off a piece of cake, and put it into my mouth. I forced myself to chew then swallow. “Oh, my God! That’s good.”

“Told you,” Dave said around a mouthful of food.

Nathan stared at me blankly for a second then forced a smile. “Bernie’s a genius in the kitchen.”

I wanted to push inside his mind again, but I needed him not to be watching me when I did it; otherwise, I was sure I would screw it up. I forced myself to shovel down my slice of cake and then helped myself to another.

Bernie entered the room, carrying a tray with cups on top.

“This cake is awesome,” I told him.

“Of course it is. I made it,” he said, putting a cup of coffee in front of me.

I picked up my coffee. “You’re too good to me.” Putting the cup to my nose to inhale the aroma, I froze when I heard Nathan’s thoughts.

He held his breath as he watched me breathe in the coffee, afraid I might have smelled that something was not quite right with the coffee. He mentally encouraged me to drink it up like the naïve little thing I was, so easily controlled.

I wanted to swear every profanity I’d heard in my entire life at the bastard sitting opposite me. He had been drugging me with my one addiction—coffee.

I inched the cup away from my nose. If I didn’t take a sip, he would be suspicious. I brought the mug to my lips and took a gulp.

Relief washed over him, and he sat back in his chair and started up a conversation with Dave, who was obliviously shovelling food into his mouth.

The drugs had barely hit my stomach when I felt the effects. Pretending to eat some more cake, I pushed against Nathan’s mind. At first, the barrier gave a little, then it was like hitting a brick wall. I didn’t know if it was because of the drugs or something else.

Before I lost any more precious time, I concentrated on Dave and slowly entered his mind. Getting in was easy, but I couldn’t stay in there for more than a few seconds. It was too late. The drugs had taken effect.

I pushed my chair back and stood as I rubbed my belly. I was about to play the “I think I’ve had too much to eat and need to go lie down” card when I realised that could never apply to me. I leaned forward and cut another piece of cake. “I’m gonna take a piece to Aiden. He’s so got to try this.”

“Take two,” Dave said. “He’ll want more than just one slice.”

“Right.” I cut another piece and put it onto my plate. I was about to phase out when I remembered I’d actually come downstairs for something other than cake and being drugged. “Oh, I almost forgot.” I turned to Dave. “Aiden and I were wanting to get some sleep before we have to go back to see Mum. We’re going to take off somewhere, so we won’t have to worry about Adam finding us while we’re asleep.”

“Sure thing,” Dave said.

I wished I could’ve heard Nathan’s thoughts on the matter, but I had to rely on good old-fashioned body language. But Nathan was the king of faking nonchalance; he showed no emotion at all.

I nodded. “Okay. Well, we’ll call you when we wake up.”

“No worries,” Dave said.

“Enjoy your sleep.” Nathan smiled.

I couldn’t tell if he was trying to be nice or what. “Thanks,” I said, sounding purposefully naïve, then phased out.

“Get me out of here now,”
I said the moment I appeared in Aiden’s room. I put the plate of cake down on the sofa.

“What’s wrong?”

“He’s a fucking son of a bitch, that’s what. And I don’t know how long I can hold myself together for the cameras. And yes, there are fucking cameras.”

“I’ll go first, then you can bring Chelsea with you.”

“Okay, just go.”

He disappeared.

I was fuming and trying my best not to show it. I went over to Chelsea and sat down beside her, pretending to be concerned for my friend. All the while, a raging war was going on inside me. I wanted to kill the bastard.

A few minutes later, Aiden phased back into the room.
“I forgot my phone, and for some reason, I can’t contact you through here,”
he said, pointing at his head. He put one hand on me and the other on Chelsea then transported us. We appeared in a bedroom with the curtains pulled closed. Soft light filtered in through the half-opened door.

I couldn’t wait to tell Aiden everything I’d learned. “Oh, my Go—”

“Sh,” Aiden said, pointing at Chelsea. He took my hand and led me into an adjoining room, leaving the door slightly ajar.

“The fucking bastard’s been drugging my coffee,” I said, spinning him around to face me. “He’s been watching every second of our lives, trying to find out what I know and why I left that day.” I ran my hands through my hair, wanting to rip it out in frustration.

Aiden wrapped one arm around my waist and put his other at the nape of my neck, drawing me into his chest. Usually, he just let me have my hissy fit and waited for me to calm down, but I guessed that one was different. I wasn’t overreacting.

Waves of calming endorphins flowed my way as he led me over to the bed. He waited for my anger to subside, then he sat on the edge and pulled me onto his lap.

I buried my face in the crook of his neck. “I’m gonna have to get another shot,” I whined.

Aiden laughed softly. “I think a needle is the least of your worries.”

I pulled my head back. “I know. And I knew this was going to be hard, but I didn’t know just how hard it would be to listen to his thoughts. He’s a sick bastard, and he’s just toying with me.”

Aiden wiped his thumb across my cheek. “And he’s going to pay for what he’s done.”

“How?” I asked, almost giving up hope.

He shrugged. “We’ll find a way.”

I jumped to my feet. “The cake.”

“What?”

“I brought you back some cake. If he sees that it’s still there, he might know something’s up.”

Aiden pulled me back to sit on the bed. “I’ll take care of it.” He disappeared.

A minute later, Aiden reappeared with the plate of cake in one hand and an overnight bag in the other. “Now it’ll look like I left the cake there until I came back for our things.” He put the plate on the nightstand and the bag on the floor then sat on the bed with his back against the pillows. “Come here,” he said, patting the empty spot beside him.

I crawled over, flopped my head down on one of the pillows, and stared at the ceiling. I had no idea where we were, and I didn’t care. I only hoped there were at least a million miles between Nathan and us.

I thought about all our private moments captured on display. “What kind of father does that?”

“I don’t—”

“What kind of father watches their daughter like that?” I wondered if he had cameras set up in the bathrooms as well. “The fucking bastard has probably seen me naked.”

Aiden’s body tensed beside me. I didn’t dare look at his face. Even though I couldn’t hear his thoughts, I knew what he was thinking. How far had Nathan gone? And how much had Nathan seen?

Another thought hit me. “I wonder if it’s just me he’s been drugging, or if he’s put it in your water, too.”

“Are you saying that he may have been drugging all of us?”

I rolled onto my side to face him. “Well, think about it. It’s pretty unlikely it was just my coffee he was drugging when it would be easier to put something in your water.”

“Then shouldn’t it have done something to the rest of us?”

“Maybe it has, and you all just don’t know it. That could be how he’s been able to control you so easily. Maybe the drugs have reduced everyone’s abilities to the point where he’s able to make you guys do what he wants. You know, like move to the Gold Coast, run into me that day at the beach, pick my school out of all the schools on the coast, especially when there were others that were much closer to where you lived.”

“Okay, so maybe you have a point.”

“We should ask Harry to run some blood tests on you.”

“Sure thing,” Aiden said, as he lay down beside me. “But first, I think we should get some sleep.”

“As if I could sleep after that.”

He ran his fingers softly over my cheek. “I can make you sleep.”

I was about to get upset with him for suggesting that he could put me to sleep, but then I realised it wasn’t such a bad idea. At least that way I wouldn’t have to think about the arsehole for the next four hours or so, until my mother was awake. “Okay.”

Aiden pulled back slightly. “Are you serious?”

“Why not? I’m tired, I’m shitty, and all I want to do is stop thinking about Nathan.”

He looked at me as if trying to decide if I was being serious or not. “All right then. I’ll set the alarms for seven o’clock U.S. time.”

“Thanks.”

He leaned closer and kissed my forehead. “Night.”

Chapter 10

“Wakey, wakey, sleepy head.”
Aiden’s voice cut through my dream.

I opened my eyes to find his green eyes staring back at me, much as they had in my dream. Except in my dream, there was no Nathan. It was just us.

Chelsea slapped me on the arse from behind. “Up you get, sleepy head.”

I rolled over to face her. “Did I do that to you while you were sleeping?”

“No. And you better not,” she said, pointing her finger at me.

I narrowed my eyes at her. “Next time.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Get that skinny arse of yours out of bed.”

“How come you’re even awake? You’ve only had like five hours of sleep.”

She shrugged. “Just am.”

Aiden wrapped his arm around my chest and snuggled up behind me. “Maybe I should’ve let you sleep for a little longer.”

Chelsea rolled over to the bedside table then rolled back to me holding a takeaway coffee cup. “Truce?”

I smiled and grabbed the coffee. “My one weakness.” Aiden lifted his arm off me so I could sit up.

“And I heard that someone else knows about it, too,” Chelsea said.

I turned to Aiden. “You’ve been talking?”

“What else were we supposed to do while you were asleep?” Aiden asked, sitting up. “Besides, you can just wipe her memories of the conversation before we go back.”

“Just like you always do.” Chelsea sounded upset, but I knew she really wasn’t.

Back when we were staying at Surfers, she’d told me she would rather me tell her everything just like a best friend should, and she didn’t care if I would only have to steal the memories from her. She just wanted to be there for me.

Aiden put his hand on my thigh. “Will you be all right here while I pop back to the UK for a bit?”

“Yeah, but why?”

“I thought it might be a good idea to show my face before we head over to the U.S., in case Nathan has it in his head that we’ve disappeared again.”

I nodded. “Good thinking.”

“Why do you even care what he thinks?” Chelsea asked.

If she knew the truth, she would be thanking us. But I wasn’t going to let her know that
she
was the reason we cared so much about Nathan’s opinions. “I just don’t want him thinking something has changed. I want to know what he’s done and who he has involved—”

“And if it was of their own free will,” Aiden added.

“Yeah that, too,” I said, realising how much it was affecting Aiden to know how easily he had been manipulated. “And how can I expect to do all that if he suspects something and turns on me before I find out anything?”

Chelsea nodded her head. “And then you might not ever be sure who has betrayed you.”

“Exactly.”

Aiden looked uncomfortable with the conversation.

Chelsea noticed and said, “Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he said. Even though I couldn’t hear his thoughts, I knew he really was bothered by it. He leaned over and kissed me. “I won’t be long.”

I smiled as he disappeared.

“So, things are going good between you two?” Chelsea asked.

“I guess.”

“What do you mean, ‘I guess’? It either is, or it isn’t. Which one is it?”

“It’s not that simple.”

“Yes, it is. And if you think it’s not, then that’s only because you’re making it complicated.”

“Please bless me with your wisdom, O Wise One,” I said.

She slapped my arm playfully. “You’re not getting out of it that easily.”

“Fine.” I took a sip of coffee. “It’s just that, every time I look at him, I have in the back of my mind that he’s only with me because of Nathan.”

“Duh! That’s probably the one and only thing you should be thanking Nathan for. He gave you the best boyfriend you could ever dream of.”

“Yeah, but that’s just it. Aiden’s only here because of Nathan.”

“And if it wasn’t for Nathan, you would’ve never met Aiden, and you’d be stuck with some loser on the Coast.”

“They’re not all losers.”

She raised an eyebrow at me.

I looked away.

Chelsea knew by my silence that I realised she had a point. “So the way I see it, you can either give up the best thing that has ever happened to you—”

“I never said I was giving him up.”

“No. But if you keep him at a distance to protect yourself, then all you’re going to do is screw it up without giving it a chance.”

“When did you become such an expert in relationships?”

She shrugged. “Watching Dr. Phil?”

I laughed. “You’re a dork.”

“But I’m right, aren’t I?”

I didn’t say anything.

“Aren’t I?” she asked again.

“Maybe,” I said into my cup then took a sip.

“So what are you going to do about it?”

Chelsea wasn’t planning on letting me out of the conversation until she was fully satisfied that I was going to stop being a chicken and fight to get back the relationship I’d lost. “Fine. I’ll suck it up, put on my big girl panties, and fight for my man. Happy?”

She nodded. “Good.”

I took another sip of coffee and waited for her next question.

“I guess you guys will be needing some space. You know, ‘to get to know each other’ again,” she said, doing air quotes with her fingers.

I decided it was time to turn the tables. “And I guess that suggestion has nothing to do with you wanting to spend some ‘alone time’ with Lucas?” I said, doing the same air-quote thing but almost spilling my coffee in the process.