Locked Out of Love (27 page)

“Do you really think anyone is going to be here this late?” Luke whispered as he checked a door farther ahead.

Joel was about to respond when Merrick came between them, hands up to halt further conversation. He held his index finger up to his lips to signal for quiet and pointed to a door up ahead that had a faint light showing beneath the crack of the door.

Bingo.

Joel nodded and together they crept to the door. There was still no sign of the others, which meant they'd either found something more interesting in the front of the building or they were taking their sweet time.

Joel pulled out his cell and texted Cali a quick message.

She got back to him instantly.

Joel ground his teeth but knew better than to rush into a situation without the appropriate backup. He placed his hand on Merrick's shoulder to stop him. He showed Merrick Cali's text message and together they set up around the door and waited. Joel strained to listen for any sounds of movement but couldn't pick up anything.

A heavy hand came down on his shoulder.

Blue-green eyes stared at him.

Joel stepped back. Felix got into position, turned to Cali She nodded in confirmation. He waved his hand, the doorknob vanished, and the door swung soundlessly open.

The office wasn't very big. A faint desk light was all that illuminated the place. There were two chairs sitting opposite a wooden desk and behind the desk—

Merrick stepped forward. “Juliet?”

Juliet Arden's head snapped up from where she pored over some reading material.

Sapphire-blue eyes widened at the sight of them.

Joel could only stare.

Juliet?

Juliet was working with whoever these people were?

She'd been a part of the group of kids he and Sydney had rescued last fall that had been on the run from Vander together. He'd taken care of them—of her. His gut sank even further—Juliet was most likely the one who had compromised their identities.

“It was you,” he said and stepped forward. “You told this organization about us, that's how they know of our existence.”

Juliet licked her lips and shuffled the papers on her desk into a folder. “It's good to see you all again.” She tried for a smile, but it failed.

“Juliet … ” Luke took a step closer, but Merrick's hand on his shoulder stopped him cold. “Why?”

Juliet flinched under Luke's gaze. “To protect the human race from your kind.” Her chin rose and she stared them down without an ounce of fear.

“We trusted you.” Sydney clutched Merrick's free hand in hers. “We protected you, took you in … ”

“Told me everything I needed to know,” Juliet finished for her with a nod. “It's nothing personal. I appreciate all you did for me back then, but I've been doing this long before you came into my life. Loyalty to my family cannot be overridden by one quick rescue mission.”

Sydney's green eyes shimmered with unshed tears.

Merrick tucked her into his side. Very slowly he looked up at Juliet. “
This
is what you were referring to when you talked about your family?” A beat of silence. “Where's Hazel?” he demanded.

Pain flashed across Juliet's face.

"No," Merrick breathed. Rage flooded his eyes. "What have you done to her?"

Hazel Benedict had been another Joel and Sydney had saved last fall. A nineteen-year-old foster child with electrokinetic powers, she'd easily wormed her way into all of their hearts, Merrick and Luke especially, with her quiet tendencies. The thought that anything horrible had happened to her made Joel sick. It was a cruel fate to have saved her from Vander all those months ago only to hand her off to Juliet, who'd lied about having a family that would take Hazel in.

Well, she hadn't lied about having a family that wanted Hazel—it just wasn't what any of them would have expected.

Luke started to shake. “Juliet, how could you!”

Merrick's hand tightened around Luke's shoulder and Joel winced at the force. Luke didn't even seem to notice.

“She trusted you,” he continued to rant. “We all did! Where is she?”

Juliet's hands shook and she hid them beneath her desk. “She's safe.”

“Yeah?” Cali asked sarcastically. “Safe and sound in her cell somewhere? Wishing to be free? Wishing she'd never trusted your lying ass?”

Juliet's eye twitched; it was the only thing that gave her away.

“So it's true,” Joel said. “She's locked up somewhere and you're to blame. Does she even have her powers anymore? Or did you strip her of those as well as her freedom?”

She swallowed. “I don't have to explain myself to the likes of you.”

Merrick disentangled himself from Sydney and Luke. He stepped forward menacingly. “Oh yes, Juliet, I really think you do. Where's Hazel?”

Juliet shrank farther back in her chair.

Joel knew Merrick would never harm a woman, but the feral look in his ice-blue eyes made Joel second-guess himself. “Easy, Merrick,” he whispered. “We'll find Hazel again, but we need to find out about what's going on right now more.”

Merrick's jaw tensed. Joel waited for the fist to come sailing his way, but it never did. Instead, Merrick gave a curt nod and stepped back to where Sydney hugged one of his arms to her side.

Joel took the lead. He stared down Juliet, sitting in her leather chair, chin raised defiantly. Her so-called bravery was undermined by the way her body shook from time to time. Good. She was scared of them. She should be. It wasn't every day one managed to piss off six super-powered people in the span of five minutes.

“Tell us what we want to know, Juliet,” Joel said, “and you won't find yourself in a cell wishing for freedom.”

Her chin rose higher, jaw trembling. “You wouldn't dare.”

“Oh yes, we would,” Sydney spoke up, emerald eyes blazing. “I usually clean the largest kennel for people we need to lock up, but for you, I'd make an exception.”

“I'd listen to her,” Joel said. “She's also overdue for some more vacation time. The last thing you want is to be forgotten in the back of some vet clinic with only a bowl of water and some Kibble ‘n Bits. It'd be days before you could bathe, and forget about having a toilet. I'm sure some newspaper would do, but the smell—”

Juliet's eyes burned with anger. “What do you want?”

Joel smiled. “Answers. We visited this building once before and came across some interesting paperwork. Detailed reports of people with powers, almost like a dating site profile, if you ask me. Some of the people had ‘stripped' next to their names, others were just crossed out. Did you kill those people?”

Juliet jerked back. “We do not kill people. We're not Vander Donahughe.”

“No, you're
so
much better,” Cali drawled. “Not.”

Juliet's cheeks flushed.

Joel continued. “If you don't kill them, what are you doing to them?”

Juliet glared at him.

“Well?” he pressed.

“They're detained,” she told him. “Until a reasonable method for dealing with them can be found.”

“You mean until you strip them of their powers,” Merrick said.

“If I meant that, I would have said it,” Juliet snapped. “We do not have the resources to strip every supernatural we encounter, so we deal accordingly and figure out best where our resources should go.”

“And the rest, what?” Joel asked. “Get to rot until you brainwash them?”

“We help them!” Juliet hit her desk with one fist. “We keep them from hurting others or themselves. It's not their fault they've been cursed with these powers. We give them back a normal way of life.”

“You cow them,” said Felix.

Juliet shot her nose into the air. “Like I said, I don't have to explain myself to you.”

There were a few more scathing remarks from the guild, but Joel hardly heard them. One word kept going around and around in his head.

Cursed.

His stomach flipped. Juliet sounded just like Melanie.

Or was it Melanie who sounded just like Juliet?

“Why have you been hanging around Melanie Vyntra?” he blurted.

Juliet's attention snapped back to him. “I don't know what you're talking about.”

She's lying.

He fisted his hands. “Are you using her? Trying to brainwash her into joining your little quest for power extinction?”

“Melanie Vyntra is a dead end. She has no control over her powers and is just as much a threat as you and your guild.”

Joel wanted to believe her so badly. Had Melanie told Juliet to fuck off? Rather than waste her time trying to recruit Melanie, had Juliet brushed her off as a lost cause?

He wanted to ask her more, but Luke beat him to it.

“Where's Hazel?” Luke asked.

Juliet pressed her lips firmly together. They'd get no more out of her.

At least they'd gotten what they wanted, clarification on the documents they found. That was enough for a new purpose: they needed to save those Juliet's organization had taken.

“Where are you keeping the others you have detained?” Joel asked.

Juliet smiled. “You can find out for yourselves.” Her gaze landed on something behind him. The guild turned and found Man in the Suit, along with five others, all broad shouldered, filling out their suits with layer upon layer of muscle.

Joel cursed under his breath.

Behind the men in black was the Asian woman from before—the one with multiple powers.

“Guild of Truth,” said Juliet. “I'd like to introduce you to the head of security, Mr. Dallas Richardson. I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to become very close.”

Dallas Richardson bared his teeth at them.

“Was that supposed to be a smile?” Felix mock whispered to Cali.

She shrugged. “I think maybe he's constipated.”

Mr. Richardson's face darkened.

“Oops, I think he heard us,” Cali said.

Joel sidled over to Sydney. "At the first sign of powers, shut us all down," he said to her. “The woman at the back has numerous abilities, some we're not even aware of.”

Felix, clearly having overheard, nodded. "We can fight our way out without powers."

Mr. Richardson laughed. "I'd like to see you try." He cracked his knuckles. The five men behind him got into a fighting stance.

Joel's heart kick-started.

Sydney placed a hand on Cali's arm. Something passed through their gaze, then Cali nodded and Sydney's lips started moving. Cali nodded more, but no sound came from them.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes in concentration.

When she opened them her face looked strained.

"Did it work?” she asked. “Can you all hear me?"

Joel and the others exchanged glances. "Uh, yeah. Why wouldn't we?"

Cali gave him an exasperated look. "Because they can't." She jerked her chin at the men in black.

“Really? Well, that's convenient,” said Joel brightly.

“I'm glad you approve, but in case you haven't noticed, this is a little tough to do for a long period of time with so many people. So can we get on with it? What's the plan?”

“We can't fight our way out of this,” Merrick said. “Felix, Joel, and I are trained and have experience in hand-to-hand fighting, but the rest of you don't. Our attention would be too divided worrying about you guys too.” His gaze touched down on Sydney and Cali.

Cali winced in pain.

Felix's hand darted out to rest on her shoulder. “What is it?”

“We need to hurry. This conversation isn't going to remain private much longer. That woman is trying to push her way in.” She winced again, her jaw clenched shut.

Past the sea of confused men, the Asian woman's face was pinched in concentration. “They're planning an escape,” her cultured voice spoke up.

“No shit, Sherlock,” Joel mumbled. “Plan?” he asked the others.

Mr. Richardson pulled a dart gun from his pocket.

“This is gonna hurt,” Luke said before he charged him.

“Luke!” Sydney cried out, but it was too late.

Luke crashed into Mr. Richardson. The two fell backward, knocking a few other suits with them. The ones who stepped out of the way pulled Tasers. One took a shot at Luke.

“Don't think so.” Felix Erased the Taser before it had a chance to hit Luke.

Felix might've saved Luke from being electrocuted, but Mr. Richardson threw a punch that caught Luke right in the jaw. He flipped onto his back, his hand going to his bleeding mouth.

“Fuck this noise.” Cali shot out a sonic wave that threw the men on the floor onto their backs again. The few remaining in the hallway staggered. Except the woman. She smiled at Cali.

Cali stepped toward her. Challenge accepted.

Despite wanting to watch the showdown, Joel tore his gaze away and shot into action. He threw himself into the hallway, making sure all the men on the floor stayed down. He Locked Mr. Richardson, blew him a kiss, and moved on to the other two. The rest followed him out of the room as Cali kept the multi-powered one occupied.

They all raced for the back door.

A loud, resounding
boom
shook through the hallway, followed by Cali's scream.

Felix sprinted back the way they'd come.

“Felix!” Sydney called in a vain attempt to keep him back.

“I'll go after him,” Joel said. “Get clear.”

Sydney hesitated, but Merrick caught her and led her and Luke out the back.

Joel ran toward Juliet's office. He nearly collided with Felix, who had Cali tucked protectively against his side.

Screams and crashes echoed behind them.

“What the hell did you do?” Joel ushered them past him and risked a glance farther down where the woman and what men remained standing fought off—

Joel blinked.

The demon cat.