Hunted (Talented Saga # 3) (12 page)

“Thank you,” I said, reaching for Erik’s hand in the process. The polite thing would have been to shake her hand, but I wasn’t feeling terribly polite. During our short conversation with Anya, I’d cycled through a rainbow of emotions – red anger, green jealousy, yellow hope, and thanks to Erik, blue calm. Now all the feelings seemed to be swirling together, making a muddy brown mess of my thoughts.

As we walked away, I wondered what color humiliation was because once I’d put some distance between me and Anya, I became mortified by how I’d acted.
I felt Anya’s eyes on my back as Erik and I made our way back through the crowded food court. The urge to apologize to her made me glance back. Even across the room, I could see tears glistening in Anya’s eyes. I offered her a small smile, doubting that she could see me as well as I could see her.

Erik decided we should walk for a while instead of boarding another bus back to the hotel.
He insisted that it was a nice night, but I knew from his mind that he was hoping the walk would restore my emotional equilibrium. My stomach rumbled, reminding me we hadn’t actually eaten dinner. I barely noticed the hunger pains over my reeling head. Anya had provided me with an answer, but it only provoked more questions.

Why was medical giving me a drug to suppress my abilities?
Mac had gone to such great lengths to develop them and he encouraged, even demanded, I use my Talents on several occasions since my return.

“Want to talk about it?” Erik asked, interrupting my thoughts.

I shrugged. “I don’t know what to say. I mean, she did tell me what drug Dr. Thistler is giving me, but that still doesn’t tell me what’s actually wrong with me.”

“I know it’s frustrating,” Erik said, rubbing my uninjured palm with his thumb.
“But maybe we’ll know more after she analyzes your blood.”

“No, Erik, you don’t know!” I exploded, yanking my hand from his.
“You have no idea what it’s like!” I wiped angrily at the tears that splashed my cheeks. I didn’t want to cry - I wanted to be strong - but I felt like a branch that had been bent too far and finally snapped.

I stomped forward, bumping into several pedestrians before people started moving aside to let me pass.
I could feel Erik behind me, rushing to keep up. He grabbed my shoulder and spun me to face him. His face was blank, completely expressionless.

“I’m sorry, Tal.
You’re right. I don’t know what it’s like,” he said with a calmness that irritated me further. I tried to shrug out of his grip, but he held firm. I averted my gaze, staring at the people passing by without truly seeing them. I bit down on the inside of my cheek, letting the physical pain outweigh the emotional.

“I want to help you, Talia.
We are going to find out what is wrong with you.” He sounded so sure of himself, like failure wasn’t an option.

“I hope so,” I whispered, turning my gaze up to meet his.
He sighed and released his grip. He ran the backs of his fingers down my cheek, smearing what remained of my tears.

“What do you think?” I wanted to know.
“Why do you think that Dr. Thistler is giving me a suppressant?”

Erik hesitated before answering.
“I don’t know, Tals. Maybe Crane injected you with some kind of amplification drug, like the Agency is using for the aptitude testing,” Erik suggested finally. The hesitancy in his tone contradicted his words. He laced his fingers with mine and we started walking again.

“Maybe ...,” I let my voice trail off.
We both knew it made no sense for Crane to give me something that would make me stronger.

Neither of us spoke as we passed restaurants and clothing stores.
The other pedestrians were giving us a wide berth now. My impromptu breakdown had drawn attention to us. And people whispered to one another in hushed tones “Agency” as we passed. I didn’t have room in my brain to care.

“Do you really think it’s dangerous for Anya to run my blood?” I asked after we’d walked several blocks. I knew that it was.
But I felt the need to fill the silence.

“Well,
Tals, yeah, it could be pretty dangerous,” Erik admitted. “If the Director finds out and he really is hiding something......Well, I don’t even know what will happen to her and us.”

“I don’t want her to get in trouble on my account,” I said honestly.

“Me either, but she’ll be careful. Just hang in there a couple more days.”

“Thank you,” I said quietly.
“Not just for asking her to help, but for everything. I know that you don’t really need this complication in your life –”

“Stop,” Erik cut me off.
“Don’t thank me. Just let me be here for you.”

I stopped in the middle of the crowded sidewalk and pulled him to me.
He leaned down until our lips met. The urgency of his mouth against mine contrasted with the gentle tone he’d just used to try and reassure me. Pedestrians jostled us as they passed by. Some hooted and hollered. Their jeers prompted me to wrap my arms tightly around his neck and kiss him deeper.

“I love you,”
he sent.

“Say it again.”
As long as I lived, I never would get tired of hearing Erik say those words.

Erik pulled back.
“I love you, Natalia Lyons,” he repeated, aloud this time. The way he emphasized each word made my heart flutter and I thought I might float right off the pavement.

“I love you, too.”

Chapter Eleven

Every bus that passed us was full to capacity with people desperate to be inside their homes before curfew. Most of the cafes had already stopped serving food and had their signs switched from “Open” to “Closed”. Thanks to my persuasive nature, the counterworker at the Presidential Pie agreed to make us a pizza and sodas to go.

The scent of spicy sausage and green peppers swirled around Erik as he carried the pizza through the sparsely populated sidewalks.
My stomach grumbled and my mouth watered, providing a great distraction from dwelling on the meeting with Anya.

Desmond stood guard duty again, waving one large coffee-colored hand in greeting when we approached.
He glanced at the communicator strapped to his belt. “Out past curfew again, eh?” he chuckled.

“Food at this place sucks,” Erik replied, holding up the pizza box.

Desmond looked dubious. I didn’t blame him. As far as lies goes, it wasn’t one of Erik’s best. The kitchen at the Hamilton served better food than we were accustomed to.

“Erik doesn’t have a very refined palate,” I explained.

“I’m a simple guy.” Erik shrugged. It was my turn to look dubious. Of all the adjectives I would use to describe Erik, simple was not among them.

Desmond laughed.
“You guys have a good night.” He moved aside to let us pass.

Once back in my room, we spread our dinner out on my bed and ate in silence.
I kept sneaking glances at my communicator, which was blinking urgently to signal that I had a message. I didn’t have to check to know the message was from Mac.

When I’d all but licked the cheese from the pizza box, Erik stood to leave.
He’d promised Mac he wouldn’t spend the night in my room and breaking that vow could land him a one-way ticket back to Elite Headquarters, but I didn’t want to be alone. The day had been exhausting and meeting Anya had proven to be a disappointment. Not only was she gorgeous, but she also succeeded in confusing me further. I craved Erik’s reassuring presence and selfishly didn’t care about the consequences.

“Please stay,” I said, careful not to let any manipulation creep into my words.

Erik pursed his lips and his eyes flickered with indecision. He wanted to stay with me just as badly I was wanted him to. He also preferred to stay in the Director’s good graces, or at least as close to it as he ever got.

“Tal, I can’t,” he started to say, but I cut him off.

“Just until I fall asleep,” I urged him. “Please,” I added softly when it looked as though he wasn’t going to relent.

“Just until you fall asleep,” he agreed finally.

I retreated to my bathroom to change in to my pajamas and perform my other nighttime rituals. It wasn’t even that late, but I found it hard to keep my eyes from drooping. When I finally came out of the bathroom Erik was already settled under the golden sheets, and he was shirtless.

Suddenly feeling much more awake, I bounded across the small room and jumped into bed next to him.
I curled up against his bare torso, rested my head on the hard planes of his chest, and listened to his steady heartbeat. He wound my curls around the long fingers of one hand while absently stroking my side, underneath my t-shirt, with the other.

His mind was carefully guarded so I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.
His reluctance to let me in irritated me. My own thoughts were not so secure and I was projecting my unpleasantness towards him.

“You need to sleep,” he mumbled into my hair.
“You’ve had a long day.”

“So have you,” I shot back, my temper flaring at what I perceived to be a patronizing tone in his voice.

“Tals,” Erik said calmly. “Just close your eyes. I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere for a while.” His voice sounded weary and his patience with my mood swings was wearing thin.

I tried to relax, letting the rhythmic feel of his hands on my body lull me to sleep.
But my busy mind wouldn’t succumb to slumber. After everything that had happened to me in the past year, I knew worrying about one of Erik’s ex-girlfriends was ridiculous. I knew about Erik’s reputation from the moment we met and it seemed unfair to be upset about Anya when I’d just spent the better part of the past three weeks in the constant company of my own ex. But when I thought about Anya’s perfect hair and large, innocent green eyes, I couldn’t help but be jealous. When I thought about Erik lying with her, touching her the same way he was touching me now, I wanted to throttle her.

Finally, I couldn’t stand it any longer.
“Why didn’t you tell her about me?”
I tried to sound more curious than accusatory. Erik’s muscles went rigid and his hand stilled, resting on my hip.

“I did.
I introduced you as my girlfriend,”
Erik said slowly.

“Yeah, tonight.
But she was clearly caught off guard when you told her who I was. Why didn’t you warn her ahead of time?”

Erik sighed and sat up a little straighter.
“Do we really have to go over this again? I told you about her. Doesn’t that count for anything?”
He folded his hands behind his head. He waited for me to say something, but I didn’t know what I was supposed to say.
“Say you trust me, Tal. Say that even though you don’t like it, you accept I’ve been with other people. Or if it will make you feel better, yell at me. Tell me I’m a pig. Do whatever. Just get it out now so we don’t have to keep talking about it.”

“Stay out of my head,”
I snapped, pushing against his chest and scooting down the bed.

“All is fair in love and war,”
Erik said dryly. He wasn’t mad, not exactly. More disappointed in me, as though he’d thought I could be more mature about the situation. Suddenly, I was disappointed in me, too. I’d acted like a child in front of Anya. So what that she had him first? I had him now. And I would have him last. Erik loved me. Why couldn’t I let this go?

“Tal, come here.”
Erik spoke so quietly, if I didn’t have superior hearing, I might have missed the words.

I stayed where I was.
Not because I was upset with him; more out of mortification. Erik must think I’m a head case. Then I started crying. Softly at first, but the harder I tried to hide my tears, the harder I sobbed. Soon I was hiccupping and desperately trying to catch my breath.

Erik reached for me, but I didn’t want his comfort anymore.
I wanted to be alone with my embarrassment. I didn’t deserve him. Despite my feeble attempts to shove him away, Erik wrapped his arms around me, crushing our bodies together. The harder I struggled, the tighter he squeezed me.

“You’re going to get through this.
We are going to get through this,”
Erik told me.
“I know you are upset about Anya. I get that. But that’s not why you are acting like this. Jealousy isn’t really your thing. After what happened with Donavon, I am surprised you trust me at all. But if you have a flaw, it is that you are too trusting. You want to believe the best of people, and you have trusted too many who have let you down. So let’s talk about what’s really bothering you.”

What was he talking about?
What wasn’t bothering me? My health was failing. My future was uncertain. My best friend was dead, executed by the closest thing I had to a father. And now I learn that same man has been giving me an experimental drug that is supposed to dampen my abilities. What was going right in my life?

Erik said nothing, telepathic or otherwise.
I figured he’d taken my warning to get out of my head seriously.

“I’m sorry, Erik,”
I told him.
“I’m just frustrated. I didn’t mean to take it out on you. I promise, no more getting worked up about other girls.”

Erik knew I wasn’t telling him everything, but he didn’t push me, a fact for which I was grateful.
We settled back under the covers and I fell asleep almost instantly.

Erik was gone when I woke up the next morning.
A slight indent still remained in the soft pillow where his head had laid the night before. I grinned broadly, remembering the feel of Erik’s arms around me. It took me a couple of moments for the knowledge that I had to live through another day of exhausting aptitude testing to sink in. But as bad as I felt for myself, I felt worse for the scared children that would be brought before me and Erik for us to decide their fate and even worse for the parents who would only see their children for several days a year.

I padded my way across the plush carpeting, collecting a clean pair of black dress pants and a tight black dress shirt from the closet as I went.
I had yet to listen to my messages and was a little surprised that Mac wasn’t pounding on my door at that very moment. I was prepared, though. I would feed Mac the same excuse Erik gave Desmond the night before. Mac would be annoyed, but hopefully placated.

After I’d adequately masked the dark circles underneath my eyes with liberal amounts of concealer, I set off for breakfast alone.
I detoured past Erik’s room, but my knock went unanswered. I guess he’s already down there, I thought to myself. His failure to wait for me before leaving his room irritated me slightly, but in light of the previous night’s conversation, I made a valiant effort to keep my emotions neutral. And I was doing a fairly good job until I walked into the crowded room and saw him sitting at a table with Cadence. Her normally pinched face was relaxed and she was actually smiling as they conversed. I gritted my teeth and bee-lined for their table without bothering to fill a plate with the juicy bacon and buttery eggs I could smell on the buffet line.

Like yesterday, Erik felt my presence before I’d made it across the room.
He looked up, searching for me. And when our eyes met, he gave me one of his heart-stopping smiles and I relaxed. Conscious of the frantic way I was winding through the white-clothed tables, I forced my feet to a slower pace.

“Morning,
Tals,” Erik said, standing as I approached. He planted a soft kiss on my cheek before pulling out the chair next to him.

“Hey,” I said quietly taking my seat.
“Good morning, Cadence,” I greeted her with the friendliest voice I could manage.

“Talia.”
She nodded. The smile she’d worn while talking to Erik was gone, but her tone held none of the hostility that was her norm when addressing me.

“Aren’t you hungry?” Erik asked, noticing my lack of food.

“Oh, yeah, I guess,” I replied, embarrassed to admit I’d bypassed the buffet in my eagerness to interrupt him and Cadence.

“What do you want?
I’ll go get it,” he offered, smoothing my curls away from my face.

“Surprise me,” I muttered, further regretting my brief moment of irritation.

Erik nodded and left his own half-finished meal on the table and went to get me breakfast.

Once he was gone, I was acutely aware of the cloud of awkwardness casting a shadow over the table.
For lack of something better to do, I picked at Erik’s half eaten oyster omelet and pile of bright red grapes. Cadence noisily slurped chunky cottage cheese from her spoon, scrutinizing me with her beady eyes.

“I’ve asked Erik to train with me for my Hunters’ tryouts.
They’re after the culmination of the aptitude testing,” she said needlessly. Her eyes remained trained on my face, gauging my reaction. I kept my expression impassive.

“Well, there’s nobody better.
He’s a great fighter,” I said proudly.

“I know,” she said matter-of-factly.
“That’s why I asked him. As much as I’d like to think I don’t need help, I obviously do.” She hesitated before continuing. “He suggested I ask you, as well. He seems to think your unique Talents would be beneficial.” Cadence set her spoon on her plate and swallowed nervously.

“You want my help?” I asked slowly, not believing that this girl, who’d gone out of her way to be difficult with me, was actually asking for a favor.

Cadence bobbed her small head up and down, her black hair bouncing around her heart-shaped face. After being subjected to months of her contrary nature, I wanted to give her a snappy retort, but the distraction the physical exertion would provide me was too tempting.

“Yes.
I trust you of all people know how it feels to be denied something you want so badly. I’m willing to do anything since the placement committee agreed to grant me another tryout,” she replied evenly.

I was still on the fence.
Helping Cadence could be the olive branch that would make the next three weeks bearable. Refusing her would likely increase the hostility and make hell on earth a reality.

“I would be happy to practice with you,” I replied honestly, mustering a small smile for her.
Happy might have been an exaggeration. But saying, “Anything to make you less bitchy,” didn’t seem like the best way to start off our new found friendship.

“Thank you, Talia.
I really appreciate it,” she said.

Before the moment could get any more touchy-feely, Erik reappeared and set cheesy eggs mixed with mushroom, onions, and chives wrapped in a spinach tortilla in front of me.
Then he handed me a huge glass of neon pink watermelon juice.