The Guardians (MORE Trilogy) (7 page)

Caleb threw his head back, rubbing his hands over his face before he stalked a few steps away from her.
 

Ava watched him warily. “Caleb?”

He looked back over his shoulder, but didn’t meet her eyes.

“What is it?” she asked, her irritation vanishing as concern twisted in her stomach. “What’s wrong?”

He shook his head slightly, as if to clear it, and turned to walk back to her. He reached out to touch her cheek gently. “I’m sorry. I . . . I’m just tired. I didn’t mean to take it out on you.”

Ava took a step closer, sliding her hands under his coat and gripping his shirt as her anger evaporated. “Maybe we should head back? So you can get some rest?” She hoped he’d argue the point, but Caleb only nodded sadly.

“Yeah . . . yeah.” He pulled her close and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I’ll take you home.”

Ava clung to him as he shifted them back to campus, held his hand as he walked her back to her dorm, and tried to ignore the uneasy feeling that something was very, very wrong.

Late that night, the ringing of a phone roused the occupant of a lavish home in New Elysia, the Race city hidden on a mountain about fifty miles from Kalispell, Montana. With a groan, the man disentangled himself from the naked limbs of his bedmate, who rolled over, taking the sheets with her as he fumbled for the phone.

“Yes?”
 

“He’s back at Allenmore,” a familiar voice reported.
 

“Any problems?”

“None. Everything went according to plan.”

“Good, that’s good.” The man swung his legs over the side of the bed, leaned forward onto his knees as he yawned, and scrubbed a hand over his face. “What about the girl?”

“No change.”

The man stood and padded quietly out of the bedroom and down the hall, crossing the darkened living room to pour himself a drink at the bar. “We will have to help that situation along, it appears. What of the Protectors?”

“No indication they were aware of our presence,” the voice said, a hint of smug satisfaction in his tone.
 

“Don’t underestimate the Ross siblings.” The man took a gulp of his whiskey and winced as it burned on the way down. “Tell your men to watch themselves.”

“They always do, sir.” He cleared his throat. “So what’s next?”

The man sighed, years of planning weighing down his shoulders. They’d come so far, their goal finally within reach, but the timing of all of this was crucial. Any mistakes could be devastating.
 

“We proceed according to the timetable,” he said. “I want daily updates on Foster. No one makes a move until all the pieces are in place, understood?”

“What about Elias?”

Elias
. A critical piece of the puzzle.
 

“Protectors are closing in on him as we speak. He should be in Council custody within the week.” He finished his whiskey and sucked on an ice cube before letting it drop back into the glass. “I don’t have to tell you what’s riding on all of this.”

“No, sir.”

“Don’t let me down.” He hung up without another word and crossed to the window, looking out at the darkness.
 

His home sat on a slight rise overlooking New Elysia, and his gaze flitted over the sleeping city, drawn to a light here and there. He wondered if the people below realized that their lives were about to change. That their whole
world
was about to change.

No
.
No, they have no idea.

But one day very soon they would, and they would no doubt thank him for it. He closed the curtain, smiling at the thought, and turned to head back to the bedroom, leaving his empty whiskey glass on the hall table.
 

He still had a few hours to sleep. The sleep of the righteous.

And then, with the morning sun, he’d get back to work.

Ava sat up in bed, unsure of what had awakened her, but unable to shake an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. She’d had an odd dream but couldn’t recall the details of it, only fleeting glimpses of familiar faces—Caleb, Madeleine, Tiernan—and a sensation of running and panic.

She shuddered, drawing the blankets up over her shoulders as she hugged her knees. She hadn’t had such dreams in months—not since the psychic block crumbled at the Rogue lair—and had assumed that the dreams were a result of her Race instincts trying to get her attention. Once she’d connected with them more fully, the dreams had disappeared, but for some reason those instincts seemed to be on high alert recently.

Ava glanced at Lucy’s bed, hoping she hadn’t disturbed her, but her roommate lay huddled under the blankets, breathing evenly. Ava slipped out of bed and made her way to the window to peer through the blinds. It only took a moment for her to spot Katherine standing in the shadow of some trees.
 

Although different Protectors appeared throughout the day, including Tiernan, on occasion, Katherine generally preferred the night shift. It amplified her gift—an unusually strong Veil that could render her nearly invisible to humans, as well as most Race when she wanted—but Ava was always able to see her clearly, something that both irritated and impressed Katherine.

The Protector looked up, obviously feeling Ava’s presence, and waved a hand in greeting. Ava rolled her eyes but waved back before letting the blinds close. She turned to go back to bed and stopped abruptly, that uneasy feeling suddenly growing stronger. She closed her eyes and focused her thoughts, reaching out with her Race gift. She could feel Katherine clearly, but there was also something more.
 

Someone . . . more.

Ava slipped back to the window, parting the blinds enough to peer through. Katherine looked up again and tilted her head in question, obviously wondering what her charge was doing. Ava ignored her, heart pounding as she searched the shadows for whatever—
whoever
—had triggered her instincts. Her power sparked as she narrowed her eyes, looking deeper, farther—into each dim doorway and along each shadowed corner.
 

Just like that, the feeling evaporated, and the only Race presence she felt was Katherine’s.
 

Ava blinked in surprise, reaching out again in a fleeting attempt to recapture the sensation, but it eluded her like water trickling through her fingers. She looked down at Katherine, but the Protector was thumbing through her phone, seemingly unperturbed. Obviously, if there was someone out there, it was someone who didn’t overly worry Katherine.

Ava frowned.
 

She had been on edge lately, nervous, and she couldn’t figure out why. Her encounter with Caleb earlier had left her uneasy, verging on paranoid. He’d seemed
off
somehow, like something was bothering him, but when she had questioned him about it, he’d simply said he was tired and she was reading too much into his foul temper. Combined with the return of her strange dreams and whatever had just happened, Ava felt off-kilter.
 

She sighed and got back into bed, pulling the covers over her head. Perhaps she
was
being paranoid. Sure, the Rogues were out there, and the Council still wasn’t convinced she wasn’t a threat, but she had Caleb watching her back—and Protectors as well. Not to mention that if she’d proven anything lately, it was that she could take care of herself.

She wasn’t writing off her instincts yet, though. Caleb had told her time and time again to trust them, that they had the potential to save her life. But until she could figure out what they were trying to
tell
her, Ava decided she’d keep her concerns to herself. There was no point in panicking until there was something to actually panic about.

One last time, Ava closed her eyes and searched for that unknown presence, just to be sure.
 

Nothing.
 

Well, if there was someone out there, Ava would be on the lookout for him. Until then, she had to get some sleep. She had an English quiz in the morning and a full shift at the diner after. On top of all of that, spring break drew closer with every passing hour and she still hadn’t told her mother she wasn’t coming home.

Tomorrow. Definitely tomorrow. Everything can wait until then.

Chapter 4

Other than a few texts on Friday, Caleb didn’t hear from Ava again until Saturday evening, when he showed up to walk her home after a shift at the diner. She was tired, so he didn’t linger, simply kissing her softly before she turned to walk into her dorm. She flashed him a quick smile as the door shut behind her, and he sighed when he lost sight of her, ignoring Katherine, who stood off in a cluster of trees, playing with her phone. He wasn’t sure he was handling the situation with Ava well at all.
 

He’d tried to warn her about the bond, but it was difficult to explain if you’d never witnessed it in person, never seen both sides, as he had. Not many had because once bonded, it was rare for the two partners to be separated, except by death. Which, of course, dissolved the bond and, in a strange twist of fate, made the separation a bit more tolerable.

But to be torn from your bonded mate while still alive? Well, Caleb was one of the few with intimate knowledge of the pain that could cause. Did cause. Still caused, actually.

He had no doubt that Ava was the one for him, but he was determined that she understand what she was getting into, and that would take some time and unfortunately, a little chat with his mother. He knew it would be uncomfortable for Ava, to say the least, but Madeleine Foster could probably explain things better than anyone. Still, it was not something he was looking forward to bringing up with his mother. She would no doubt have her own opinions about Caleb’s relationship and his plans for the future.
 

That was what happened when your mother was the leader of the Council and your girlfriend was number one on the Council’s watch list. So, yeah. It was complicated.

He heard Ava enter her dorm room and call out a hello to Lucy, and he turned to walk away, shuffling a bit on the gravel path. Before he could think better of it, he angled toward Katherine, who kept her eyes on her phone until he cleared his throat to get her attention.
 

“Oh,” she said with a wide-eyed blink. “Hello, Caleb. Fancy meeting you here.”

“Katherine,” he replied with a nod. “You seem to be pulling Ava duty quite a lot lately.”

She shrugged, not denying it. “Tiernan’s on another assignment.”

“Really?”

“Very hush-hush. He won’t even tell me what it’s about.”

“Interesting.” Caleb leaned against a tree and crossed his arms over his chest. “So the Council’s found something more important that Ava. Strange that I haven’t heard a whisper.” Not that his mother discussed Council business with him, but Caleb had contacts in a lot of places, and he usually knew when something was up.
 

Katherine raised a perfect brow. “Don’t look at me. I’m as in the dark as you are.”

“I’m getting a little tired of being in the dark,” Caleb snapped. “The Council needs to remember that it acts for the Race, not the other way around.”

“Big talk, Protector,” Katherine said with smirk. “Better be careful, or you’ll be labeled a radical. Or worse yet, a revolutionary.”

“Well, maybe it’s time someone stirred the pot a little.” Caleb straightened and kicked a rock. It pinged off a series of trees and disappeared around the corner of a building.