I TRIED TO KEEP it on the down low—really, I did. What we had was so personal I didn’t want anyone to know. My emotions were all over the place and I was a sappy love-ridden wreck. I wasn’t ready to share these new feelings with the world, but it was impossible to hide the change. Our friends noticed something was going on as soon as they saw us together. I lit up like a candle when I saw his face, and he gave up trying to fight his attraction to me. He spent his time with me, and everyone knew we weren’t just friends. My friends approved because they knew what I had gone through, and Sean was gentle with me. I glowed with nauseating happiness every time he was around. What friend wouldn’t approve of that?
On the other hand, Dec and Killian did not approve. Dec seemed amused by the whole thing and treated me like a little sister, but gave Sean a hard time when he thought I wasn’t listening. He didn’t approve, but he accepted us. The mythical asshat Killian was clearly angry with both of us. His shitty attitude surrounded him like a black cloud. Earlier this year he’d been gone all the time, but now he seemed to be in town more and more often. I could’ve gone my entire life without ever seeing him again though. For some reason, he spent his time glaring at me and bitching at Sean. I didn’t understand what his problem was. He acted like I wasn’t good enough for Sean, and that really hurt. Tonight we were playing pool downtown, and I was ready to murder Killian. He’d been scowling at me since he got here. Waves of annoyance seemed to float around him.
My voice dripped with exasperation when I finally snapped, “What is your problem?”
Killian’s eyebrows jumped up and he slammed his cue onto the table. “My problem? It’s not my problem you should be worried about. You have no idea what you’re messing with. You’re in way over your head, little girl.”
He stalked out before I could respond. Confused, I turned to Sean and Dec for answers. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Cursing under his breath, Sean grouched, “Ignore him. He’s being a dick. I’ll talk to him later.”
Dec forced a smile and tried to smooth things over. “He’s got issues. Don’t worry about him.”
“Issues? What kind of—” Oh, fabulous. This night keeps getting better and better.
Scott and two of his friends had just sauntered in through the side door. Perfect timing. I’d been dreading this moment for a week now. Officer Halliwell had called us to let us know Scott was released early for good behavior. The state was too broke to hang on to such a model prisoner. Sean spotted Scott and crossed his arms with a dangerous gleam in his eyes. If Scott and his friends were street thugs, Sean and Dec were mercenaries. They stood, backs to the wall, sizing up the three thugs. My money was on them. They looked like they could rip the other guys into little pieces.
Scott spoke first. “So Mica, I see you’re still skanking around town. This your latest fuck-buddy?” He sized up Sean, and added snidely, “She’s good isn’t she, man? I wouldn’t mind taking another crack at that.”
One of Scott’s friends decided to chime in. “Dude, I’m gonna take a piece of that after we kick the shit out of these two pussies here.”
Sean smiled, showing both canines, and suggested in a friendly tone that sent chills down my spine, “Why don’t we go outside? I don’t want to get blood all over the bar.” He was already heading out the door before I could react.
My face went white. This was not good. Dani called for Aric and Kevin. Why couldn’t Scott just leave me alone? He was such a dick. I was tired of being afraid of him; at this point, I would help kick his ass.
Dani and I careened into the alley just in time to see Scott and Sean squaring off. Dec stood guard with arms crossed over his chest, daring the others to jump in. The cocky one made a kissing sound at me. Ricki growled like the good friend she is. I shushed her and patted my purse. I was carrying concealed now . . . My new stun gun would discourage Scott’s friends, and if it didn’t, well, they’d be pissing their pants on the dirty ground. Either way, I win.
Scott threw a punch at Sean’s face that caught him in the cheek. I winced at the sound. Sean didn’t even flinch. I couldn’t bear to watch, but I couldn’t look away either. From the beginning, Sean was in complete control. He moved with the precision and speed of a trained fighter. It was not a fair fight. Scott was strong but clumsy, throwing himself at Sean, hoping to take him down with sheer brutality. After the first blow, he didn’t land another shot. Sean worked him over with cold precision. The other thugs sized up him up and decided against getting involved. Dec’s expression turned mocking as he looked hopefully at the two guys. With wary expressions, they stood back and watched their buddy get the shit kicked out of him.
Scott was a mess. His face was bleeding from his nose, cuts above his eye, and one cheekbone. His gut had to be killing him. I was hoping for a few cracked ribs. He finally staggered to one side and collapsed to his knees. Sean raised his boot to kick him when Killian appeared out of nowhere.
“Sean! He’s down! You’ve made your point.” He glared around the alley, daring anyone to step in. No one said a word.
Ricki dug her nails into my arm with a sharp inhale. “Oh my freakin’ God!”
I couldn’t argue. He was fierce . . .
Grabbing Scott by the shirt and shoving him into his startled friend, Sean snarled in a rough voice, “Get this piece of shit out of my sight before I finish this permanently. And you, dirt bag, you might want to reconsider taking a piece of that if you want to keep your dick attached to your body.” The guy backed away, face white. Sean shot him a feral smile that was anything but happy. “Just some friendly advice.”
The whole fight had taken less than three or four minutes, and the cops hadn’t made it there yet. Aric and Kevin regarded Killian and Sean with a cross between fear and respect. They backed out of the alley as the sound of sirens closing in broke the tension. We scattered and ran to the cars. In the confusion, Sean grabbed my hand and yanked me behind another store’s fence. He swung me around and kissed me hard. My head filled with little flashing lights as the current that was Sean coursed through my blood.
He must have been riding on some wave of testosterone because he was determined to stay in my apartment with me. “Mica, I don’t trust those guys. They’re not going to give up.”
I had no arguments that made sense. The truth was I was a wreck. My emotions were all over the place. I didn’t want to be alone in the dark. I didn’t want to face the nightmares that would surely come. They always did when I ran into him. I would get very little sleep once the dreams started. Sean could protect me, and I needed him tonight. With a light tug of his hand, I led the way through my door.
We lay on the bed with Domino between us, talking until late in the night. We talked about everything and nothing at all. Eventually I dozed off, and the dream came back. I was running through the endless hallways again, but this time I could clearly see Scott’s face behind me. He was carrying the hunting knife. I was screaming as usual. But this time I was screaming at him to come and get me. I stopped to face him with a gun in my hand. I was ready to fight back.
“Baby, wake up. You’re dreaming.” Sean shook me awake.
I snuggled against him, grateful to let the dream fade. “Can I ask you something?”
He trailed his fingers down my arm, tracing the faint greenish veins on the inside of my wrist. “You can ask me anything.”
“Okay, then. What are you doing here?”
“Lying in bed with a gorgeous creature . . . What kind of question is that?”
“No, not here, I mean here, in town. You and your friends . . . you aren’t like the other people around here. They’re all so country. That’s not who you are.”
He pulled away from me and sat up, face closed. “That must’ve been some dream. I’m not anything special, Mica. Don’t make too much out of me.”
“But what about the fight? You’ve had training, I can tell. And your accent? Come on, Killian is like this military commando guy. He probably kills people fo
r fun. Say what you want to, but you aren’t from around here.”
He didn’t respond. I let the silence stretch for as long as I could stand it before throwing my hands up and demanding, “Give me a break! I’m not an idiot.”
He was pacing by the window, but finally sat down beside me. “Fine. But this is the part where I swear you to secrecy and you vow to keep this to yourself until you die.” He grinned into my eyes and I exhaled in relief.
Drawing an X over my heart, I promised, “Cross my heart, hope to die. Now spill your guts, secret agent man.”
He opened his mouth to say something, but then shot me a queer look instead. “Secret agent man? You’ve got a crazy imagination, you know that, right? Nothing that exotic—we’re here because of our parents. A few years ago, they were targeted in a terrorist attack just outside of London. They requested political asylum in the U.S. and moved here right after. Even though we’re old enough to live on our own, they were worried we’d be targeted as a way to get to them so we moved here too. It’s only for a few years. Eventually we’ll probably head back to the U.K.”
“Oh, my God! That’s terrible! What kind of attack? Why would someone target them?”
“It wasn’t just them, but the organization they work for. They do biological research. My father is an engineer—Dec’s mother is a scientist—Killian’s father is another scientist. They’re working on sensitive projects so we keep our identities quiet. That’s really all I can tell you.” He shrugged and ran his fingers over his jaw. “I don’t know much more than that.”
“So what are your parents doing here now? Are they still doing research?”
“I can’t talk about that. Let’s just say they are in and out of the country a lot so the three of us stick together. Dec and I agreed to go to college here until we can move again.”
“Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
“Not biological ones, no. But I think of Dec as my little brother. We’ve hung out since we were pretty young, and I try to keep him on a short leash, but you know him. He’s always doing something.”
Dec was a clown, and I wished he was my brother.
“What about Killian?” I couldn’t imagine him as anyone’s brother. I wasn’t even sure he was human!
A shadow passed over his eyes. “Uh, Killian’s complicated. He’s important—just like you are.” He paused, looking oddly regretful.
I reached over to squeeze his fingers. I didn’t like to see anyone sad, but I was a definite sucker for puppies and black-haired, blue-eyed Irishmen named Sean. We sat for a long time, each lost in our own thoughts. My head was swimming with this new Sean. Some truth at last! He explained the accent and the secrecy, but that didn’t really explain everything . . . I thought back to the video tapes from the night I got home so mysteriously. Then there was the strange energy that surrounded him. There was definitely something more to him than he was telling me. But for now, I would pretend to believe it and see what happens. I would have to hope he didn’t read minds.
As if on cue, Domino thumped her tail against my leg. I glanced over at Sean to find his eyes closed. Was he sleeping? His normal fierceness was gone and in its place was a gentleness that was surprising. A rush of emotion brought a lump to my throat. I stared at his hand in mine—it was heavy with sleep, fingers long and beautifully shaped—a sprinkling of fine, black hair was scattered at the wrist. Hesitant to wake him, I stroked it softly. He hadn’t moved so I traced the muscle in his forearm, marveling at the blood pulsing close to the surface. That was funny. I’d never noticed that before. I considered my own arm; did my skin feel that way?
His fingers twitched against my palm. I held my breath. Oh, please don’t wake up! I’m not done exploring yet! He relaxed again. Unable to resist the urge, I got really bold and ran the back of my hand along his arm. The fine hairs were soft against my hand. Once again, I could almost feel his blood surging like a river beneath his skin. Suddenly my fingertips started tingling. I rubbed them together, enjoying the sensation . . . oddly numb. Puzzled, I dropped my eyes to his arm for clues, and nearly fell off the damn bed in shock. Sean’s entire body was surrounded by a soft golden haze like a halo. I blinked several times, but the faint light was still there—and it was getting brighter by the second. What the hell?
Sean’s eyes snapped open in a startling blaze of blue fire.
Yelping in shock, I launched myself off of the bed. His hand flew out to grab me before I fell. I didn’t see him move. He reeled me in until we were up close and personal.
Nose to nose, he growled, “Oh, no you don’t. You’ve been playing with fire.”
I tried to squirm away, but his grip was like steel. I wasn’t going anywhere. I tried to wrench my wrist away and just managed to hurt myself. He was still tense, but his face was under control again. He didn’t look capable of setting me on fire with his eyes anymore. Surely that was a good sign?
“I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to wake you up, or . . . whatever. You were so warm I couldn’t resist touching you. I’m sorry.” I really, really was. And scared out of my mind. Yep. That too.
Taking a deep breath, he sighed like a man praying for patience. After another second of staring into my eyes, he scrubbed his fingers through his hair, making it stand up in spikes like a porcupine. I stifled a smile. The worst must be over. He didn’t seem mad, and hey, he wasn’t glowing anymore. That was a relief.
His face went through a series of expressions so quickly that I almost burst out laughing in spite of the weirdness I had just witnessed—anger, frustration, guilt—then, finally, resignation and grudging amusement. When he next spoke, his harsh voice was smooth again with his sexy, Irish lilt. “Mica, darlin’, I don’t know what to do with you. You’re making me crazy!”
I wriggled my hand, mumbling, “Yeah, well, if you’re not going to set me on fire, could I have my wrist back? I think I sprained it.”
The faraway growl of thunder woke me out of a heavy sleep. Groggy, I looked at the clock—it was 4:00 in the afternoon—I’d been sleeping for probably twelve hours. When did Sean leave? My stomach growled like a swarm of bees. Yeah, yeah, you’re hungry; stop nagging. I got up to let Domino out, but she wasn’t there. Wandering to the bathroom, I called her. Nope, she’s not in here. Where was she? I threw on some shorts and started for the door when I saw a note from Sean. He didn’t want Domino to wake me up today so he took her with him. He had to work but would bring her back tonight. Perfect! I wasn’t done grilling him just yet. I was in the opening stages of my interrogation when I fell asleep last night. I had more questions for my mystery man.
I was about to go to the house for some food when the rain started coming down in sheets. Lightning flashed through the window, and the thunder was deafening. It sounded like a hurricane. The light flickered but stayed on. I groaned out loud. I’m starving to death in here, and as I’m made of sugar, I can’t risk the rain. I settled for a granola bar and an apple. The mini-fridge was almost empty. I had some fruit and a couple of bottles of water left. I guess I’d survive, but microwaved pizza sounded so much better. It was getting worse outside and I was getting lonely. I missed Domino. I sent a text to Sean and put on some Metallica while I waited, gazing blankly at my manicure, fingers tapping to the music.
What to do about Sean? He’s a fascinating contradiction that I want to figure out. He’s protective, and he’s strong. He’s keeping secrets that I’m not sure I want revealed. Even so, my gut tells me he won’t hurt me. In fact—the opposite’s true—he’s gentle and kind to me. He brings light into my heart. My body’s on fire every time I’m near him. I can’t even imagine what being naked with him would be like. I want to do things with him that I’m pretty sure aren’t even legal. I can’t imagine a future without him in it anymore. In spite of his secrets, I’m falling in love with him more every day. It should scare me . . . but it doesn’t.
A flash lit up the window just as someone pounded on the door. Expecting to see Sean, I yanked it
open. My face fell like a rock. “Oh, yay! What are you doing here?”
Without a word, Killian rudely pushed past me and set Domino down. After shaking herself off, she pranced over to give me some love.
“Where’s Sean? Is he okay?”
He didn’t bother to answer my questions. Instead, he surveyed the room like he was planning to stay. He made a circuit from one end to the other, taking time to look at the pictures on the wall, the flowers in the little pottery cup, and the jewelry box my mother gave me. He actually cracked a smile when he touched the tiny Dalmatian. Domino rubbed against him like a cat, and he gave her a strangely gentle pat on the head.
“Are you going to tell me where Sean is or not? I haven’t heard from him all day.”
With more than a little anger, he snarled, “You have absolutely no sense of self-preservation. Your instincts are right, Mica! Why don’t you trust them? You should be scared. What you’re thinking is dangerous—and to others besides you and Sean!”
What the hell? How did he know that? “You don’t know what you’re talking about!”
Looking down his nose, he barked a cold laugh. His eyes were even colder. “It won’t work, you know. You two will not be allowed to stay together.”
“What? Says who?”
“He has a job to do, and he will eventually have to leave here. We all will. You’re going to get hurt if you keep up these silly fantasies. There is no happily ever after.”
“I’m not going to argue with you. This is between Sean and me. If you don’t like it, stay away from us. Now get out!”
There was another flash of lightning and a crash of thunder rattled the windows. Domino started barking like a crazy dog. I jumped out of my skin, and the lights went out. She was still barking when I finally turned on a flashlight and looked around for Killian. He was gone.
Chapter 7: Lost and Found