Gifted Connections (Gifted Connections #6)

Chapter 1

“Wow, Blake, you’ve really popped,” Ethan said hesitantly, nervously eyeing us. “And you look much happier and healthier.”

Jace placed an arm over my shoulder and said in a clipped tone, “She has, and she is.”

“That’s what happens when you’re carrying twins, and you’re five-foot-nothing,” I said with mild exasperation. “And I’m back with my men.”

I was extremely skeptical about his presence, but there was no denying the dark circles under his eyes. He looked tired, as if he had lost at least fifteen pounds in the weeks since I escaped Horatio. It wouldn’t have been so terrible if he hadn’t already been on the slimmer side.

Jaxson came out of the bathroom and went to the sink. “Now that you’ve been reacquainted, tell us why you’re here.”

Since it was late, Pops decided to book us a few hotel rooms nearby.

Because Pops had the most space in his penthouse suite, we elected to convene there and find out the purpose of Ethan’s visit.

The room was nearly packed with most of their party, my guys, Pops, Megan, Micah, Miranda, Kade, and Greg.

Ethan cleared his throat nervously before sliding to the edge of the sofa he was sitting on.

“I can’t put Arianna in danger, and my judgment has been compromised where Horatio is concerned.

Bridgette is trying to hurt Arianna, and when I told Horatio, he suggested I bring her to the compound so he could help keep an eye on her. ”

Arianna shot Ethan a look. “I never trusted that man, and I refused to be anywhere near that horrid, spoiled brat. I tried, but you can’t fix ugly.”

She smiled gratefully at Megan as she handed her a cup of decaf coffee and a slice of cake.

Unsurprisingly, Pop’s had sent coffee, beverages, and some desserts up to the room.

We had brought in chairs from the other rooms, so no one had to sit on the floor unless they chose to.

They had given me and three of my guys the couch, while the other four took positions either in front of me or directly behind me.

The teens also found spots on the floor, further away from the circle we had naturally formed.

They chose to sit closer to the small hallway leading to the hotel room door.

Our teens seemed to be warily eyeing the newcomers.

Of the ten visitors, three were teenagers ranging from fourteen to sixteen.

Micah and Shiloh couldn’t seem to keep their eyes off each other, but neither of them made a move to talk.

My mind was still trying to wrap around that one.

It totally blew me away that they had been marked seconds after meeting each other.

From everyone else’s expressions, I could tell that none of them had ever seen or heard of anything like this before.

Of the two strange incidents tonight, their instant connection was the least of our concerns. We had to figure out why Ethan had sought us out. I sensed no malice in his countenance. In fact, there was almost an air of desperation.

“After I met Arianna, I tried to convince her to join us,” Ethan held up his hand when Troy began to interrupt.

“This was a little over a year ago, before Horatio began to show his true colors and right after I met Bridgette.

You have to understand, back then, all I knew about Horatio was that he was a generous benefactor to my education.

“I grew up poor. My parents were young when they had me. They grew up poor, but they wanted more for me. They sacrificed a lot and gave me many opportunities to be better than they were one day. They didn’t go to college, but they wanted me to.”

“So, I did my best in school so I could earn a scholarship. I excelled in baseball, hoping to secure more scholarships. I didn’t even realize I was gifted until I was nearly sixteen, when one of Horatio’s friends approached me.

“They told me that I was a void, that I could neutralize gifts.

My mom is such a low-level gifted that she barely registers on the scale, and my dad is a non.

Yet they pulled me into their circle, and I admit I was immediately enamored.

It was such a drastic change from the life I was accustomed to.

“This man was able to determine how strong I was. Then he introduced me to Horatio, and I was charmed, for lack of a better word, from the beginning. He showered me with attention and made me feel special.

“I was marked when I was seventeen, and Horatio took a greater interest in me. With his help, my parents and I moved out of the one-bedroom apartment we shared and into a nice house in the suburbs. My parents were given jobs where they are paid really well.

“Last year I started college, and at Horatio’s annual Christmas party, I met Bridgette and knew immediately who she was. We just seemed to click. The instant connection had been mind blowing. At first, I thought she was smart, beautiful, and funny.”

Jaxson and I snorted simultaneously, and Arianna flashed us with a beaming smile. “He’s not even at the good part yet. It gets better.”

“I’m sure it does,” I muttered, burying further into Jace’s side.

I was glad Micah had been able to take some of us back, so we could retrieve a few of our overnight bags. I had been more than ready to take a shower and slip into comfier clothes, so I could relax for the night.

“Horatio, Bridgette, and Alison had me fooled until the night I was sent to retrieve your son.” Ethan warily eyed Greg and Miranda. “Alison had seduced me, and Bridgette had planted false memories. I thought I was part of a rescue team. They convinced me that you were abusing the boy.”

Miranda made a sound of distress, and Ethan rushed to explain.

“I know it was a lie now. It was after our mission had failed that my mom had a minor spill down the steps. I rushed home to be with her and met Arianna. To say Bridgette was upset would be an understatement. She wanted me to reject my connection, but I couldn’t.

Up until then, she had been sweet and charming.

“Then she did a complete one-eighty and asked to meet Ari. Arianna didn’t like the idea of sharing me, but in her community, they teach their children about connections from a very young age. Plus, her mother had two connections, so she had two fathers.

“Bridgette visited her when Horatio had sent me on a mission. I didn’t know she was visiting. She was supposed to wait until I returned. Then she tried to bully Arianna and even offered her money to leave me. It didn’t work, and Bridgette and I had our first fight.

“I decided I wasn’t going to bring Arianna to live with us until Bridgette could accept my relationship without trying to manipulate the situation.

I spent two months traveling back and forth between them.

When Arianna became pregnant, I begged Bridgette to accept Ari and my connection.

I should have been suspicious when she suddenly seemed eager to blend our family.

“Ari wasn’t as easily fooled. In fact, she asked if she could meet with Bridgette before packing up all her belongings and traveling halfway across the country to be with us.

It was while Bridgette and Alison were waiting for Arianna at the ice cream parlor that they had agreed upon that Arianna discovered what they had planned to do. ”

“I can take the consciousness of animals and, in a way, control them,” Arianna explained. “The ice cream parlor I chose has a tabby cat that likes to hang out in the lobby. It was then that I learned how they had been keeping Ethan in the dark and manipulating him for their cause.”

“I discovered that they planned to control me as well. They were going to make me forget that I had even met my connection and convince me to find someone else. One of my dad’s has the gift of memory manipulation too, and he taught me at a very young age how to block anyone who has mental control as their gift.

“When I finally joined them, I made sure to record them attempting to use their gifts against me. Then I sent it to Ethan. He finally got to see them for who they really were. I think a part of him had hoped Horatio wasn’t in on it, but after a little research, he was able to see how corrupt Horatio really is.

“I was trying to figure out a way to escape them, but after Bridgette’s last attempt to harm Arianna, I couldn’t pretend any longer. She’s using others to try to get at Arianna, and I’ll be damned if she hurts my child or Arianna,” Ethan said.

“And you want us to harbor you guys?” Pops surmised.

“Please,” Ethan unabashedly begged. He pointed at a few of the others in the room. “From my research, I discovered that some of the others Horatio planned to recruit, blackmail, or use for his future endeavors. Most of the people in this room have very unique or powerful gifts he covets.”

Pops looked over at Rachel. Without any words exchanged, she confirmed, “No lies have been told.”

I could see Pops’ indecision. Even though he knew Ethan’s intentions were pure, it was hard knowing how long he had lain in bed with Horatio. He might not have known who Horatio truly was, but there was no doubt he had helped him do bad things, intentionally or otherwise.

I understood his misgivings, but I had seen his heart. He was a good guy. He had intercepted Horatio, Bridgette, and Alison on my behalf. Plus, I was getting good vibes from his other connection and the people they had arrived with.

I finally spoke up. “He helped me the night of my escape. I think we should keep them safe.”

Ethan shot me a grateful glance before laying his final trump card.

“I’ve been planning my escape for weeks.

One of the things I did was make sure we were set up for a successful takedown of Horatio and the people who blindly follow him.

I placed a tracking app on all of Horatio’s top people.

With the right timing and our combined abilities, we can capture them one by one.

We can finally cut off the head of the snake by removing the people he relies on most.”