Blood Debt (Touched Series Book 1) (19 page)

I shook my head at the memory
.  Still chuckling to myself
,
I looked
above the mantle
and
saw a beautifully framed picture of a white Arabian horse cantering up a rolling hill. 
Another memory unfolded
.  T
he terror
from the memory
washed over me.  I was a little girl, maybe five
.  W
e had moved into a
second floor
apartment that had a
high security
garage
at ground level
. 
My mom had
just unloaded the last box
.  The garage
had
one of those heavy steel doors
,
and she said, “Cami, get away from the door
.  I
t’ll squish you like a bug.”

For the first few seconds I did as I was told, but just as the door reached the halfway mark
,
I saw my stuffed white horse
forgotten
inside
,
laying
on a box. 
That white horse had been my constant companion as a child. 
I didn’t want it to be locked inside
,
so I dash
ed under the closing door to save it while her back was turned.  I had tripped on the return trip out of the garage
,
and my legs were in the garage door’s path.  It wasn’t one of the new
doors
that instantly pops back up if something is in the way
;
all five hundred pounds
trapped me and pressed
hard on my legs as I screamed.

I could feel the gears
trying to turn in an effort
to use the door as a guillotine on my legs.  She didn’t come to me, she didn’t scream for help, she
stood several feet away and looked at t
he door
,
willing it to let me free.  As her
concentra
tion increased
,
I felt the pressure
of the heavy door subside
.  Her voice sounded strained when she
yelled
, “Now, Cami, pull your legs free, now.”  I did and a second later the steel door crashed to the cement and locked itself into the eyelets securing it in place.  When I was free, she wiped the hot tears from my cheeks, lifted me into her arms and carried me upstairs. 

As a child, the fear of nearly losing my legs paled in comparison to the shame of disobeying her. 
Once the tears subsided, I confessed, “I
’m
sorry, Momma,
my
horse
is scared of the dark
.”

“It’s okay, Cami.
Sometimes I’m scared of the dark, too.
”

“You made the door let me go.”

“Shhh, don’t tell anyone.  It’s a secret.”

Never once did we talk about it
again. 
I could remember having fuzzy dreams of the incident
,
but this was the first time the whole event replayed in my mind.  S
omething about the
painting of the white horse
and the conversation with Bianca made me remember
.
  I wasn’t sure if my mom’s spirit was still anywhere near me, but I talked to her anyway.

“You moved the door.  When I was little
–
when
we
moved up to
Orange County, you
kept the door from crushing my legs.”  Nothing, I didn’t smell her perfume, I didn’t see her, but I continued anyway, “You have to teach me how. 
I know you didn’t want this life for me, but you have to help me.”  Still nothing
. 
I wanted so badly to see her, or know that she was with me.  The words were out before I could stop them, “I can’t lose you again.  Show me how to talk to you.” 
   

Chapter 15

Sunday Morning

I walked downstairs to find Brent with a bowl of oatmeal, reading the Sunday funnies.
  He asked me,
  “So’d you have fun last night?”

“I guess so
.  T
hat stuff with Kyle Richardson was a little over the top
,
right?”

“Which part
?  T
he part where you told him you’d marry his son if he could
n’t
find anyone better
,
or the part where you threatened to kill him in front of everyone?”

“Yeah, both were a little crazy.”

“Camille, you can’t go around threatening people, especially
H
erd
L
eaders.”

“It looks like I can.  I did.”

Brent rolled his eyes, “Okay, you can’t do it without getting in trouble.”

“Like what, someone’ll take my birthday away?”

“There are worse things than joining the Richardson
Herd
.”
  I remembered Bianca’s warning last night and felt an iciness taking hold toward Brent.

“Al
l
right, I’ll bite
.  W
hat are some of the things they can do to me?”

“Send your mother’s spirit to the pasture for starters.”

“What?
Why?  They can’t do that!
”

Brent placed his hand over mine, all the humor drained from him, “Yes, they can.  Spirits aren’t supposed to stay in our world.  If one starts to create problems for living Centaurs, a
H
erd
L
eader can have them banished.”

“But, I haven’t even talked to her yet!”

“Then don’t threaten
H
erd
L
eaders.  If I were you, I’d call Mr. Richardson and apologize.  New or not, he won’t stand for you threatening him in front of everybody.”

I gritted my teeth, “I told you, it wasn’t a threat - that was my promise to him.”

“Camille, you aren’t back in
‘
the hood.
’
  There are repercussions for your actions here.”

“
The hood
?  I grew up in Oceanside
,
you jackass.”

Brent let go of my hand, “I know this is hard for you.  I’m just trying to help.”

“You want to help me?  Find Gage Richardson a wife so I’m not stuck with him
,
and get it out of your head that I’ll ever be like everyone else.”

“I already know you aren’t like anyone else.  My issue is the more waves you create, the harder this’ll be for everyone.”

“The harder what will be?”

Brent looked over his shoulder, after
verifying
that no prying ears were present, “Women Centaurs are super powerful.  You know why Dad has such a successful business?  Because
Mom
knows what the stock market is going to do.  All five of us work with Dad, but no one recommends anything to our clients unless
M
om says so.”

“How is that powerful?”

“That’s how all Centaur women are
.  T
he matriarch is in charge of everything.”  Brent looked over his shoulder again, still satisfied that we were alone, “There’s no way Dad met your mom the way he said he did. 
Mom
would have
destroyed him.”

“I’m not following you, Brent.”

“Something more went on
,
and we aren’t going to find out what it is until you can figure out how to communicate with your mom.
”

“People have affairs, Brent.”

“Not Centaurs, not ever.
”  His voice had a finality to it
.  T
here was something more that I hadn’t been told.  Brent asked me, “
Can you hear her at all?”
 
I shook my head that I couldn’t.  “Has Dad said anything to you about the
L
ost
H
erd?”

“The what?”

“Never mind. 
I just wondered.
”

“No one’s told me much of anything.  What’s the
L
ost
H
erd?”

“It’s probably nothing
. . .
I’m not sure.”  We heard footsteps coming down the steps and Brent visibly tensed. 

Will came around the corner wearing
plaid
pajama pants, fluffy sheepskin slippers and a white t-shirt.  His face
was unshaven
,
and he went straight for the coffee pot.  “You two
’
re up early today.”

Before I could answer
,
Brent answered for us, “We
’
re just leaving.”

Will looked at his watch, “Where to?”

“On the boat with Bianca and Drake.”

Will looked disappointed,
“A little more notice and I would have tagged along.”

“Sorry Dad
. 
Camille and Bianca hit it off last night.  Thought they’d like to go catch some sun.
  We’ll be back in a few hours.
”

“Sounds good. 
K
eep the radio on.”  

Brent hadn’t mentioned going out on the boat, although it sounded like a great idea.  I felt much more at ease asking Bianca questions than I did Gretchen
, especially after what she told me last night
.  From what Brent started talking about, I wanted to
find out what else he could tell me
, too
. 

Chapter
16

Drake
– Sunday Morning

I heard my phone ringing and groped for my nightstand
,
trying to make the ringing stop.
  We’d stayed out pretty late
,
and I had worked the last thirteen days in a row.  Today was my only day off for a while
,
and I planned to spend it in bed.  When I picked up my phone,
I saw Brent’s smiling face
staring back at me from the
screen
on my Droid,
waiting for me to answer.  I wanted to push
“
ignore.
”
 

It might be important
. 
I could hear the gravel in my own voice,
“This better be good
,
Brent.”

“
Good Morning, Drake.  Sleep well?”

“Why are you calling so early?”

“
Bianca and Camille decided they wanted to make a trip out on the water today
.  Y
ou up for it?”

My blood froze
.  F
or a second it felt like it had turned to ice and my heart forgot how to push it through my veins.  “Uh, I guess so.  When?”

“Camille and I are in the car now.  We can pick you up in five minutes.”

“Stop for coffee
.  M
ake it ten.”  I pushed
“
end
.
”
  My palms were already sweating.  I said to no one but myself –
this is a seriously bad idea
. 

When my dad told me that Bianca had chosen me, I didn’t think I could ever ask for anything more in my life.  She was sma
rt, educated, funny, beautiful
,
and she came from a
n honorable
family
.  She had her pick of every guy out there and had chosen me.  I didn’t even know I was in the running.  My best friend growing up
had been in love with her since he was twelve
, s
o in love that he took risks, chances he wasn’t supposed to
take.  N
either one of them was allowed to date, but he said he didn’t care.  It was Bianca or no one for him.  When she chose me, I didn’t know what to say to him. 
H
e called as soon as he heard
,
to tell me congratulations and wish me the best
– but that was the last time I
talked to
him
.  He hadn’t called in over a month
,
and I assumed our friendship was
now
officially over.

Bianca was the real deal.  I could get a new best friend if it meant that my
blood line
was secure.  My parents were so proud you’d have thought I single-handedly brought peace to the
M
iddle
E
ast.  Last night was one of the first times
Bianca
and I
had been together since her parents
made the announcement
.  When I picked her up for
Bruce and Hannah’s
wedding
,
she was stunning.
  It was the first unsupervised conversation we’d had since the announcement was made.
 
I had expected her father to accompany us, but her parents followed us in their car.  During the car ride to the wedding
,
s
he mentioned that she wanted a longer-than-normal engagement.  I was so star struck at the time
,
I think I would have agreed to wait until my deathbed if she
had
asked me to.