In Embers (The Ember Series Book 3) (7 page)

~ The Only Exception: Paramore ~

Hours passed and Asia explained everything that had happened since she had been on the road. Finding and enlisting the help of my mother, the search for Sam, and the deadly escape. She only glanced over the young girls she had freed and I wasn’t sure why she was being so protective of them with me, but I didn’t push the subject. She had her reasons, I would respect them.

All her talking had weakened her so much I thought she may fall asleep from exhaustion. With a kiss to her forehead I excused myself from her room. She fought me at first
, but I promised I would be right back with something to eat.

“Don’t be too long,” Asia barely said, with her eyes almost completely closed.

“No worries.” I popped out the hospital door and quickly found the cafeteria. There was a line of people waiting for their food and I figured I’d be a little longer than I first thought. Standing in line I studied the menu patiently.

“Excuse me, sir,” a strange voice asked from behind me. I turned to find a women with a dark ball cap atop her head.

“Yes?” I said, weary.

“You’re Max Valentine, aren’t you?” she asked like it was a fact. Some of the other customers in line shot me curious glares and stares.

“Umm…I might be. Who are you?” I asked, defensively. The woman stepped up to me removing her cap to reveal bright red hair pulled back into a tight ponytail. Her eyes locked onto me as her hands fell on her hips.

“You here to see your girlfriend?”

Officially annoyed, I snapped, “Who the hell are you?”

She said nothing and smiled politely.

“Well?” I pushed.

“Boy, it doesn’t take much to get you all riled up, now does it,” she huffed. Just then, one of the cafeteria attendants asked for my order. Needless to say, I was flustered.

“Your order please,” the impatient man asked again.

Leaning into me, the redheaded interrogator said, “We’ll talk soon. Have a good lunch.” Then, she walked out of the cafeteria with a crooked smile.

“Who are you?” I called out. She said nothing and walked out the door.

“Sir, your order…” the man behind the register demanded. My head whipped back to him and I grimaced.

“Pasta and a salad, no dressing.”

“Large Coke?” he asked, blankly.

“Did I order a drink?”

“Coke, sir?” he stood his ground.

“No Coke.” Now was the time my fires would have made their presence known, but as my temper awoke, my insides stayed cool and normal.

“Diet Coke?” he asked, like an insult.

“Are you friggin’ kidding me?” I snapped. The man shrugged his shoulders and smiled.

“Just checking, sir.”

Slamming my money on the counter, I reached over and grabbed my food. As I started to calm myself, he pushed my buttons once more.

“Do you have anything smaller than a twenty dollar bill?”

“Really?” I growled.

“Really, sir.”

Looking to my side I discovered a small boy waiting patiently with his arms wrapped around a large teddy bear.

“You thirsty, kid?” I asked him, quickly. His big brown eyes stared up at me and he shook his head, yes. “Good. Get this kid the biggest Coke you have and keep the change!”

The kid smiled below me, and I turned to walk out of the cafeteria.

“What about a diet…” the attendant tried to ask me
, but I cut him off.

“And a diet too!” I shouted just before I rounded the corner.

Standing just outside the door of Asia’s hospital room I could tell something was different. My nerves tickled my spine as I reached out for the door handle.

“Come in, Max,” Asia’s voice announced from the back of the room. It startled me for a second, but I quickly walked inside the room and dropped the bag of food to the floor. I wasn’t ready for what, and who, awaited me.

“Aloha,” Sam said, standing next to Asia’s bed. She was in one of her simple
, but beautiful summer dresses and her hair was pulled up over her shoulders. Madi was sitting upright in Asia’s lap with her little hands grabbing at Asia’s long dark hair.

“Sam…” I mumbled. She walked up to me and gave me a polite hug. Madi giggled from the bed and Asia watched me intensely. Asia looked better. Actually, she looked back to normal, strong and stunning.

“What’s going on?” I asked, softly. Thunder pushed against the windows and it felt like old times again. Madi clapped when the storm awoke everywhere. Inside, so did I.

“We came to see Asia,” Sam spoke cautiously. Asia quickly jumped from the bed, carefully holding Madi as she did. Asia’s hospital gown slid open just enough for me to notice that her bandages had been removed and her wounds had been healed.

“I can see that,” I agreed.

“I feel like a million bucks! Thank you, Madi Lee,” Asia said, with a kiss to the cheek of my daughter. Madi cooed wildly when Asia did it. There was a connection there. A connection very much like the one Asia and I shared, or at least, used to share.

“This was the first chance we had to see Asia since returning home. I knew our daughter could help her,” Sam said, nodding Asia’s way. “I owed her this,” Sam finished.

Feeling a bit guilty that I could no longer heal anyone, I shrank a little in my stance. My bangs fell forward, covering most of my eyes. “You did, huh.”

“Yes. She risked everything to bring me back home,” Sam said, as fact.

“For Madi,” Asia added, and the thunder rumbled again. Madi unsteadily ran up to me and I scooped her up in my arms. Her body was still warm from healing Asia. It felt wonderful.

“She’s walking now?” I asked, holding her tighter. Her tiny lips made a messy pucker and pushed up against my cheek.

“Dada!” she squealed.

“And talking?” I gasped. Sam smiled at me before taking Madi into her arms. My hand brushed along Sam’s arm and time stopped for a moment. She glanced back at me to reveal that she felt it too.

“She seems to be advancing a little faster than normal, probably has something to do with your side of the family,” Sam whispered. “She’s a big girl.”

Asia tried to ignore us as she threw her things together swiftly. The rain had engulfed the hospital now and it rattled the windowpane like music.

Asia politely interrupted, “Thank you again, Sam.”

“I guess that makes us even,” Sam stated. A dull tension filled the room and I grew uneasy.

“I guess so,” Asia grumbled, and pushed past all of us. Her eyes locked with mine and it paralyzed me. She continued out the door and was greeted by her little friend with the cold touch. King held out her small hand and Asia scooped it up and continued walking away without even looking back at me. I wanted to say something but couldn’t. Sam prepared herself and leaned into me as she retreated too.

“We need to talk,” she said. Her face looked so amazing, I wanted to slide over and kiss her lips.

“Okay, let’s talk,” I whispered.

“Tomorrow.”

“Why not now?” I asked confused.

“Just come by the house tomorrow. Please,” she whispered back, and her eyes teased me. Softly, I ran my fingers along Madi’s warm cheeks and she laughed. Sam smiled, and said, “See you soon.”

“Aloha,” I mumbled.

Sam and Madi exited the room leaving me standing by myself. I looked around the cold hospital box before picking up the fallen bag of lunch and settled myself into Asia’s bed. It still smelled like her, cherry blossoms and rain. Quietly, I ate the food even though I had lost most of my appetite. The rain along the window glass kept me company until I was done. With my mind racing over the day’s events, I inhaled the last of Asia’s scent and left.

~ Room To Breathe: You Me At Six ~

Hamoa Beach

3:33 p.m.

The waves. The sun. The sand. Over the years I’ve grown to love surfing, even if I wasn’t the best at it. Asia had taught me the basics, and I’ve been addicted to the rush ever since. Our days together on a secluded island in Fiji still pleasantly haunted me. They were some of my happiest days. Paradise.

“Let it ride, Max,” I mumbled, squeezing some of the sea from my hair. Securely, I tucked my surfboard under my arm before running back into the oncoming wave. The water greeted me with cool resistance, painting my exposed skin in goose bumps. I stabbed my board into it and dove on top with my heart racing. I paddled out to the next wave which was much larger, and caught some movement from the corner of my eye. Something was out here with me. Something in the water. It was too late to turn back now so I ignored the torpedo-like shadow inside the rolling wave and paddled harder. The muscles in my arms tightened accordingly. The approaching shadow distracted me more than I wanted to admit. With a splash I jumped on the board with a failing confidence and tried with all my might not to fall off.

The shadow swam closer
, but I continued to ignore it. I had enough troubles going on in my forsaken life, I refused to let the possibility of becoming shark bait rattle me anymore than I already was. So, with teeth clenched and pure ignorance, I pushed forward into the rolling wave. It growled with ferociousness, spitting foam and mist all over me and my board. Another crash of water and I was thrown from my board. With my arms and legs flailing into the deep blue, I panicked. My eyes searched the scene trying to focus on any movement that wasn’t my own. In the distance was a lone sea turtle, swimming along unaware of my terror.

Where was the shark I had seen just moments before? I spun around behind me still searching, still holding my breath. Nothing. Feeling a calmness settle over me, I began to swim to the nearby surface. Just as my head broke through the water, gasping for fresh oxygen, I was struck from behind. My surfboard slammed into my neck and then my head, making me see stars. Blood gushed from the back of my head and the waves washed it all around me. Dizzy and choking on water, I let the power of the sea push me toward the beach. My board had broken in half when it smashed into my skull and both pieces teased me as they slid onto the sand before I did. Holding onto my consciousness as long as I could, I reached out for the beach feeling my eyes fading to black. Something whipped the water behind me as if trying to avoid me at the last second. Quickly, I looked behind me and saw a long blue and gray shark slicing through the incoming waves. It slapped its tail ferociously trying to get away from me. It didn’t make sense. Why attack me one second and then run from me the next?

“Ugh…” I coughed as my chest and arms finally hit the thick, muddy sand. The rushing wave pushed me up another ten-feet onto the sand before falling back away leaving me bloody and winded. Thankfully, I hadn’t passed completely out.

“Wow, that was a sight. You should really think about going pro, Valentine,” a mysteriously familiar voice said from above me. I tried to look up
, but my eyes wouldn’t focus on the shadowy outline standing above me. I reached out and the person stepped back from me and another wave slid along my body, smearing my blood all around me. The saltwater burned inside the slash on the back of my head. I tried to apply pressure to it with one of my hands.

“Damn it!” I cursed, trying to focus my vision. I slowly made it to my knees as the mystery man spoke again.

“I’m very disappointed in you. Very upset.”

“What? Who the hell are you?” I coughed again. I knew that condescending tone.

“Mr. Valentine, do you know who I am?” he asked, in almost a laugh. Suddenly, my sight cleared just enough to see the eyes of my interrogator. It couldn’t be…it had to be a dream. Devon Wahlberg, my old archrival, my enemy for life. Sam’s ex-boyfriend who tried to kill me. Sam’s ex-boyfriend who Asia just so happened to throw off a cliff over a year and a half ago. It couldn’t be him.

“Devon?” I asked in a blur of memories. Is this who scared away the shark? An even scarier predator.

“Close, but no.” Surprisingly, he reached down with a welcoming hand up to my feet, and I finally got my first good look at him. It wasn’t Devon, but close enough. It was his kidnapping scumbag brother, Avery. He looked almost identical to Devon, only with slightly darker blonde hair and a more aged face. The lines at the corner of his steel gray eyes proved he was the older brother. The same man who had taken Sam. The same bastard that had sworn revenge on me and anyone I loved.

“Avery,” I cursed. The blood along my head had slowed to almost nothing, and I wiped the excess red from my neck and shoulders, ready for the worst.

“Max,” he smiled, and crossed his arms. “Finally, we meet face to face. Well, there was that time you tried to catch me on the quad, but that really doesn’t count, does it.”

“Screw you!” I spit. Last year he led me on a chase through the Maui terrain and it ended like every other adventure in my life, with fire and pain. “I know what you’ve done. I know who you are!”

Stepping into me with his eyes studying my body and fresh wound, he frowned. “You know nothing, Valentine, except how to piss me off,” he warned.

“What?” I snapped.

“You never came for Samantha. I waited for you. We both waited for you to come.”

“I was in jail. I was locked up because of you and your greedy company. I couldn’t come for her,” I said, with little hesitation.

“Bu
t
sh
e
came instead
.
Sh
e
almost ruined me.”

Even though I knew he was talking about Asia, I played dumb. “Who?”

“The rainmaker.”

“She has a name…” I corrected.

“I don’t care. I only care about what she took from me!” he yelled in my face.

“Sam never belonged to you,” I said, more than angry.

“I’m not talking about Ms. Summers.” He was talking in riddles, but I think I knew who he was talking about. The young girls Asia and Sam helped escape. They were locked up for a reason. They were like me, like Asia…special. I stepped forward begging my fists to ignite and tried to grab him, but lost my balance instead. I looked at my hands as if they had betrayed me and he started to laugh, condescendingly.

“So, it’s true,” he said, disgusted.

“Huh?” I grimaced, holding the back of my head as the pain returned.

“You’re broken. You don’t work anymore.” Avery stepped into me. “Unless you’re just trying to hide your fire from me.”

Crap, he knew about my powers, or the fact that I didn’t have them anymore. My hands began to shake with nervous fear. Avery was a handful to deal with back when I still had my superhero benefits, but now, he’d be impossible to handle by myself.

“Where is it, Max? Is it still there?” He began to nudge me with his hands as if he wanted to fight. I stumbled backwards, still feeling weak in the knees.

“Don’t push me, Avery. I’m warning you…”

“Ha! You’re warning me? Whatcha gonna do, bleed on me? Pass out on the beach? You’re quite funny,” he taunted with his fists balling up.

Come on
!
I screamed inside my head
.
Fire up, Max! Now! No more hiding
!
I needed the fire back. I needed it now. As I searched my thoughts I found I was still alone, still…normal. I made a fist with my right hand and pushed with every fiber of my body, hoping to will the flames back to my flesh, but nothing happened. I pushed again and this time I almost blacked out. There was nothing there…no heat, no spark, no inferno inside me. He was right. I was broken.

“Crap,” I seethed through dry teeth. Avery studied me for a moment and then removed something from his pocket. A taser gun. “Crap, crap…” I whispered.

“Maybe I can help you a little, Valentine. Maybe you just need the right push.” Avery smiled, wickedly and brought the gun to life with tiny buzzing arcs of light. I looked down at my wet body that was still standing in the rushing waves and the water slid along my feet. If he hit me with that thing right now, I’d probably die
.
Good times.

“Maybe,” I dared back. Why in the hell was I taunting him? I had no idea. Maybe I just didn’t care anymore.

“Where’d Asia take my property? Where’s she hiding the girls?” he asked, coldly. The stun gun roared with lightning, clicking just inches from my chest.

“I don’t know.”

“I don’t believe you. Where are the girls?” Avery tilted his body into me and I held my breath. This was going to hurt. Hopefully I’d survive it long enough to warn Asia and her new stowaways.

“Avery, even if I knew where they were
, I wouldn’t tell you. You’re a monster. You almost killed the woman I love!” I scolded, with a renewed confidence.

“Really? And who woul
d that be? Asia, or Samantha?” He smirked.

I froze, unable to answer the question. Even in immediate danger of death I couldn’t make up my mind between Asia and Sam. This was bad. I was screwed.

Or so I thought.

“All right, boys…that’s enough…” a strange female voice interrupted. Avery spun around to see that we had a new audience. I stood unmoving and in shock. The woman with red hair from the cafeteria stood only yards away from us with her hands wielding a large shotgun and her face wearing a crocodile smile.

“Who the hell are you?” Avery asked, in an urgent surprise.

“Does it matter, bright eyes? I have a friggin’ shotgun. Now, step away from the pretty one,” she demanded, with a nod of her head my way. I didn’t move
, but inside I felt the overwhelming need to lay down.

“You’ll regret this,” Avery tried to intimidate her.

With a huge rolling laugh, she said, “My boom-stick says otherwise!” With a quick snap of her wrists she cocked the weapon to life. Finally taking the hint, Avery took his finger off the button of the taser and slowly tucked it back into his pocket. “Now, bright eyes, get your rich ass off this beach. You have ten-seconds to do so.”

“Do you have any idea who you’re threatening?” he asked, stunned.

She shrugged and stepped in closer to him. “Do you have any idea what this shotgun will do to your smug face at this range? Now, leave or I’ll arrest you,” she said, as fact. She stuck her hip out just enough for her badge to wink at us from under her thin buttoned up top. As soon as Avery realized he was dealing with the authorities, he woke up.

“No problem, copper. I was just saying aloha to an old friend.”

“That’s bullshit, but at least you’re pulling your head out of your overly-pampered ass. Get out of here, Mr. Wahlberg.” She smiled. He flinched at the sound of his last name coming from her lips.

Disgusted with her, he sulked, “I’m leaving.”

“Remember, I’ll be watching you.” She winked. With a grunt and a frown, Avery slowly walked away, making a point to keep eye contact with me. He walked up to a parked SUV as black as night, and slid into the passenger’s side door before it drove off in a rush. With a large gasp of relief, I let my defenses down and studied my female savior.

With a warm smile she lowered her weapon and extended a hand to shake. “Detective Steele.”

“Detective?” I asked, afraid to shake her hand.

“Yes, but you can call me Kris.”

“And why would I do that?” I grumbled.

“Because, Mr. Valentine,
you and I have much to discuss.” She smiled.

“Why is that?” I asked, picking up the broken pieces of my surfboard. Detective Steele slid her shotgun over her shoulder and ran a hand through her curly red hair, and smiled wider.

“Your Uncle Frank made me promise to watch over you.”