Locked Out of Love (23 page)

That couldn't be right; Joel was certain they'd never met.

I've only known Melanie a couple of weeks though.

True, but if it was as simple as running into Niella at the supermarket, why did Melanie look so horrified?

Unbidden, Joel's eyes met Felix's. His friend's mouth was set in a grim line, eyes hard.

Sydney took control of the situation. “Maybe we should give Melanie some space.”

Joel shot her a grateful look. She smiled in return and ushered everyone over to a row of unoccupied chairs.

Joel turned Melanie around to face him. “What was that? Have you met Niella before?”

She shook her head. “No.”

Joel released her. She was lying to him. He could see it in her eyes. But why would she lie about meeting Niella? Sure, Niella could be a little … prickly, but if she'd treated Melanie badly, he wasn't going to get mad at Niella or cause a scene at the ER or anything.

“Miss Vyntra?” A nurse came out to the waiting room.

Melanie hopped on the distraction. “Yes,” she practically yelled, then lowered her voice. “Yes, I'm here.”

The nurse gave her a strange look and flipped through her clipboard. “If you would come with me, we have a few more questions.”

Melanie followed without a backward glance.

Joel watched her disappear behind the emergency doors, feeling as if he'd swallowed a brick.

He felt more than saw Felix come up beside him.

“I don't know if I'm in the mood to talk, man,” Joel said.

“I understand that, but what just happened only adds to my suspicions.”

At that Joel whirled on him. “Suspicions?”

Felix steered him away from the others and out of earshot of any other ER patrons.

“Yes, suspicions,” he said once they were tucked away in a corner. “Do you remember that woman we encountered on Saturday who seemed to have numerous powers?”

“Yeeesss.”

“I've been wondering how someone could wield multiple powers at once. And then I met Melanie.”

Joel didn't like where this was going. “What is that supposed to mean?”

 “Remember those documents we stole? The names with different powers associated next to them and some of the people crossed off, like they were taken out? Don't you find it suspicious that the company we stumbled upon happened to have someone like Melanie? A … ” he thought for a moment, “a Siphoner, and that you saw the same men of that company hanging around Melanie? You thought they were after you, but what if they weren't?”

Joel's hands balled into fists. “Are you implying that Melanie is a part of that organization?”

Felix held up his hands, palms out. “I'm only relaying to you my suspicions. You read the documents we took from the mystery group. They were detailed records about supernaturals, more detailed than the records we found in Vander's possession. Whoever this organization is, they researched their targets' backstories, their powers, their weaknesses. What that woman demonstrated fits with the list of powers that were crossed off.”

Joel gritted his teeth. “I fail to see how this involves Melanie.”

Felix straightened his shoulders and took a deep breath. “Melanie has displayed more powers than just her own.”

Joel frowned. “What are you talking about? Of course she did, she took mine and Cali's.”

Felix shook his head, eyes sad. “I'm not talking about those. I'm talking about today on the basketball court. When you and Cali found me on that bench, it wasn't because I lost my footing. When Melanie threw the ball at me, it hit me like a ton of bricks, as if she possessed some insurmountable strength.”

“That's not reasonable proof,” Joel responded instantly. “She could have thrown it with a decent amount of strength and you simply caught it funny, making it seem like she threw it harder than possible.”

Felix opened his mouth as if to argue but gave a small shake of his head. “Fine. What about her reaction to Niella?”

Joel didn't have an answer for that one.

Felix pressed on. “Did you recognize anything funny about her reaction? Like that was how Niella used to respond to people she'd Dreamed about?”

“You think Melanie Dreamed about Niella? That's impossible. She doesn't have access … ” He drifted off because Melanie did have access to a Dreamer. Her brother.

No.

He shook his head.

He would not believe that Melanie would seek out her brother's powers. She barely accepted taking Joel's powers when he offered.

But the doubt was set. Felix's words wormed their way into his thoughts and he couldn't cast them out no matter how much he tried to shake them.

What if she was getting power hungry? What if she was going from one extreme to the other?

He recalled the way she'd hung on to him at the restaurant, how he'd had to break the connection because she was taking so much from him.

“You know I'm right, don't you?” Felix said quietly.

Joel jerked his gaze up to him. “No,” he spat. “You're wrong. She would never do that.”
She'd never do that to me. She'd never betray me like that.

Felix watched him with sad eyes. “I'm sorry, Joel.”

Joel stepped back from him. “Stop it. You're wrong. Stop spreading lies about my Mirror Mate.”

Felix's body stiffened. “I'm not spreading lies. I'm trying to help you, for fuck's sake.”

“Well, you're not.”

Felix jerked as if Joel had physically punched him. “Joel, I know you care for her, but you can't ignore signs—”

“I think you should leave.” Joel cut him off.

Felix blinked. His mouth opened. Closed.

“Fine.” Felix's jaw clenched and he brushed past, sending Joel stumbling as his shoulder knocked into his.

Cali was already on her feet before he reached her.

Had she been listening?

Joel ground his teeth.

What did he care anyway? If she believed as Felix did, he didn't want her here either.

He hung back from the rest and watched as Felix gave a quick goodbye. Niella and Luke ended up leaving with him and Cali. Joel tried not to let their leaving feel like a personal attack. Niella and Luke didn't know what was going on—at least Luke didn't. With Niella, it was anyone's guess.

As one, Sydney and Merrick turned from Felix's exit to stare at Joel.

Great, he was left with the last two people on earth he'd ever want to discuss matters such as this with. Instead he sat and stewed in his own thoughts, trying to console himself. He'd done everything right—no rushing in without looking. He would have seen the signs himself, right? He couldn't be blindsided by a woman again, could he?

He just didn't know anymore.

Melanie came out of the ER to find the waiting room empty.

Where had the rest of the guild gone?

That woman with short hair and glasses was for certain the same person she'd seen in her vision that night she'd accidentally taken Nathan's powers. Anxiety made her stomach queasy. She didn't want to see her, to be honest. She didn't want to see that look in her eyes that said she knew Melanie was lying about not knowing her.

Of course she'd know you were lying. She's a Dreamer
.

Did that mean she knew her time was nearly up?

Melanie doubted it. No one could remain that cool and detached when they knew their death was on the horizon.

If Melanie knew the end was near, she'd be off exploring the world, spending as much money as her credit card would allow.

Niella had no idea what was coming and Melanie was torn with what to do. She couldn't tell her. The last thing she wanted to do was freak her out or scare her off. Melanie didn't think she'd want to know if she only had a few days to live, but at the same time, how could she save Niella if she didn't talk about it?

Make sure she's not home the night of the accident.

And how was she going to do that? Aside from kidnapping, she didn't think Niella would want to go anywhere with her. Especially after Melanie's reaction to her today.

Then get close to her.

She was beginning to sound like Juliet.

Hmmm, would Niella want to be cured of her powers?

I could cure her of her powers.

True, but that was one power she didn't want. Perhaps Melanie could ease the burden for a bit like she had with Nathan that one night. Maybe she could help Niella without taking her powers, and if Niella expressed interest, she could involve Juliet.

It wasn't a perfect plan, but it was better than nothing.

Now she only needed to find her target.

Where had everyone gone?

Did the police come and take Joel away? It would explain why the whole guild seemed to have disappeared.

Melanie was getting ready to call a cab when Joel stomped through the front entrance. His movements were jerky; he was clearly too tense to function properly. He caught sight of Melanie and his fierce expression softened.

 “Hey.” He reached out when he was within arm's reach to tuck her hair behind her ear.

Her heart skipped a beat. “Hey. Where'd everyone go?”

His face darkened for a moment. “They left.”

“Just like that?” That didn't sound like the guild Joel had described. And the little bit she'd got to know of Sydney and Niella didn't warrant that kind of behavior either. Sydney had been so genuine with her concern, sounding as if she'd wait as long as it took until  they were cleared to leave. “Did something happen?”

What if Joel had told them the whole story of how they'd come to be in the ER? The guild probably thought she was a monster.

Her worry must've shown because Joel shook his head and rubbed her arms, effectively causing goose bumps. “Nothing happened. I knew it wasn't the best time for you to meet them so I asked them to leave.”

Her shoulders sagged in relief.

“What did the nurse want to talk to you about? Are we free to leave?”

“Yeah, she wanted a little more information about Alexander. I told her as much as I could; I don't know him well enough to provide allergies to medicines or anything like that. They're notifying his family. He's stable and will be fine in a couple days. I'd like to be gone before his family shows up though. Plus, there is a restraining order against Alexander and I'm pretty sure I violated it enough tonight.”

Joel's lips twitched. “We should probably get out of here then.”

To her relief, he took them back to his place. She didn't feel like being questioned by her parents, or in her case, lectured by her father on choices for male companions.

“I'm going to grab a quick shower. Do you mind waiting?” Joel stared down at his hands where there was a faint smudge of blood on them.

Melanie's stomach lurched at the sight. “Go ahead. I'll be here.” She sat down on his couch. A few minutes later, the soothing sound of running water met her ears and she allowed herself to relax, grateful for the respite away from everyone. Her head fell back on the sofa.

She wanted a shower herself, to scrub away the memories of Alexander's face, the sound of his body hitting the pavement, the scent of blood as they'd loaded him into the ambulance.

“Stop it,” she ordered herself.

But her brain wasn't listening. Like a broken record, the memory continued to play in her mind.

What had she been thinking?

She hadn't. That was the problem. She'd been upset at Joel constantly telling her that powers were a gift, something to be treasured. Then she'd seen Alexander and decided to put Joel's words to the test.

She should have known better.

Juliet and her group were right. Powers did nothing but hurt others. She was no better than any of the people Juliet had shown her. The only problem was that they needed Melanie to stop the others. She was stuck, forced to keep her own powers to better the world.

She sighed and thumped her head repeatedly against the sofa.

“You feeling okay?”

Joel's voice scared the hell out of her. She whirled to find him at the base of his stairs, damp hair, low-riding sweat pants, and no shirt.

Her mind went blank.

She could do nothing but stare. It felt like forever since she'd seen him like this, nothing but skin and sinew and sex. Because that was exactly what she was feeling, what she was pretty sure he was telegraphing to her. And she was more than ready to jump on the bandwagon.

A small smile beckoned her to him. Like a moth to a flame, she got up from her seat and went to him.

His arms slid around her waist. This close, she could smell his shampoo. It smelled of the ocean, sea salt, and something else she couldn't put her finger on. The heat of his body warmed her, and she leaned into him, eager for more contact between them.

His lips descended on hers, hot and hard, desperate for something. She could do nothing but hang on as his mouth plundered hers. When he pulled away she blinked, dizzy.

His dark blue eyes stared down into hers, searching.

“What is it?”

He shook his head. “Nothing, just … do you keep secrets from me?”

Her heart skipped a beat, but she owed it to him to be honest. “Yes, but one day I'd like to not have to. I'd like to tell you everything, if you let me.” Because what they had together could be something worthwhile—could be more than what she first thought was only a strong attraction. But she had to finish with Juliet first. She needed to clean her slate so she could start fresh with Joel.

She cupped his face and brought his lips down to hers.

When her lungs started to burn she pulled away.

Joel had a lopsided grin on his face. “I'll let you do more to me than just tell me secrets. But while we're on the topic, do these secrets you're going to tell me happen to be about your wildest fantasies?”