Chapter 3
The moment I was able to escape back to my room, I tried to reach out to my men. The problem was it seemed like they constantly had their barriers up. From our previous conversations, I knew that they had been fending off mental attacks lately. Someone on Horatio’s payroll was strong and seemed to realize their vulnerability. After Jaxson and Noah began behaving strangely, they realized something wasn’t right, determined the cause, and began to work on their mental barriers. The only time they lowered them was when they contacted me.
Waiting to hear from them was the longest eight hours of my life. I was on pins and needles as I got ready for bed, eagerly anticipating my conversation with the guys. They needed to know what was going on.
Finally, a light was at the end of the tunnel. My freedom was within my grasp, but I still stood on a precarious edge of uncertainty. I hadn’t bothered trying to use any of my gifts because I didn’t know if anyone would sense the attempt. Although Horatio had made the decision to remove my halo, he’d also made me well aware that the gifted in the house would be keeping an “eye” on me. The door might have sprung open, in essence, but I knew better than to make a dash for it before I assessed my situation more thoroughly.
I put on my cami top and slid into my sleep shorts. Thanks to the lovely bath I’d had moments earlier, I felt so relaxed. The bathtub was the only thing I would miss when I left this place. Our apartment was too small, so it only had a standard-sized bath. The one in my ensuite here could easily fit two to three people.
I was smoothing on my lotion when my closet door flung open. I nearly squealed in shock. The glow of purple, black, and magenta lights was an immediate giveaway that someone’s gifts were in play.
Seconds later, Max came through the door, holding his fingers up to his lips. Mercedes and Bentley followed closely behind him. The lights illuminating the closet made me assume they had used their gifts to transfer them into my wardrobe. I gaped at them and couldn’t help but shrink back from their presence.
“What? Why? Who are you?” I demanded, leaving the duffel bag he’d thrown over on the ground. “And why are you all in my room?”
“Come on, Ake.” He gave me an earnest look. “You know who I am, and we’re here to plan all of our escapes.”
That breathless feeling hit me once more as hot tears burned the back of my eyes. My gut told me this man had no malicious intent toward me. However, my mind couldn’t believe what he was saying. No matter how much my heart wanted to believe that somehow, someway, this man was Gavin, my brain was more logical. Gavin died; I had watched him die. There was no way this man was my best friend.
“I don’t believe you. This is just another test.” I swallowed my emotions back. “I won’t fall for it. You helped Horatio take me.” I narrowed my gaze on the twins.
I crossed my arms over my chest and tried to don an armor of nonchalance
“We were forced to,” Bentley said as he sat on one of my armchairs.
A part of me wanted to believe them, especially because he was acting so calm and collected, but I couldn’t. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for them.
“No one can force you to do something you don’t want to,” I self-righteously stated.
“What would you do for Ella, Kade, Micah, Alex, or your babies?” Mercedes asked, and there was a tangible sense of exhaustion in her question.
“Anything,” Max immediately answered.
I looked at him and scoffed before my eyes narrowed on him. “If you’re Gavin, tell me something only you would know.”
He smirked. “You love sushi and sub sandwiches with real turkey, cranberry sauce, and stuffing. Preferably with a Dr. Pepper and jalapeno kettle chips.”
I bristled. “Anyone can know that, especially since I know Horatio had spies.”
“Would they know you still make wishes when you notice the clock is at 11:11? Or that you silently sing the ABCs when you wash your hands? Or that you collected Ella’s baby teeth and kept them in a jar.” He shuddered. “By the way, I still think that’s soooo gross.”
The air left my lungs, and I gaped at him. When I was separated from my guys, we’d shared odd facts about ourselves to see who was weirder. I won it hands down when I divulged that last fact to him. I thought it was super odd, too, but I always remembered this bratty little girl bragging to the class in the sixth grade. She claimed her parents loved her because they had her baby teeth, hair from her first haircut, and other odd things.
“Your turn,” I muttered, a ghost of my past request.
He knelt in front of me and grasped my hands in his. “I slept with a night light until I was ten. I pretended to sprain my leg in the fourth grade because my dad really wanted me to play soccer even though I hated it. I still hold my breath on elevators unless there are too many stops,” he wryly added.
He had told me how he had nearly passed out once, testing how long he could hold his breath.
I couldn’t stop the hot burn of tears coursing down my face. “How?” I sobbed.
“I jumped,” he explained, rubbing the back of his neck.
The movement was too much like Gavin, but the man who knelt before me wasn’t him. I felt like I was living an out-of-body experience. There was no way, yet I had already questioned all my preconceived notions about life upon discovering my gifts. Maybe I was wrong again.
“I saw the attack aimed straight for my heart.” He gently reached up to wipe my tears, and I couldn’t even stop this stranger from doing so. “I knew I was going to die. I only had a split second to react, so I mimicked Lincoln and jumped. I didn’t think about it, and I’d never tried it before. The next thing I knew, I was being pulled into a transport van with a few of Horatio’s people,” Gavin explained.
“At first, I was in shock. Then, when I tried to jump back, it was like I had hit a brick wall. My body was gone, and I couldn’t bounce back. After that, some weeks were hazy, and I have no memories of what happened to me. Then, finally, I realized the man, Max, was fighting for his body back. I don’t know how or why, but at some point, he stopped… trying. I don’t black out anymore, and I feel like me… well, mostly.” He sighed deeply.
Logically, I shouldn’t or couldn’t believe him. However, his earnest expression and the glint in his eyes were too reminiscent of Gavin.
“Total upgrade from the last Max for sure,” Bentley dryly remarked.
I startled, unconsciously rubbing my distended belly as a dull ache resonated in my lower back. I had forgotten entirely about Bentley and Mercedes.
“What’s wrong?” Gavin asked with panic in his eyes.
“She’s pregnant with twins and all belly,” Mercedes jokingly answered. “You should probably lean back against your headboard, more support.”
The softness seemed at odds with the abrasive, sarcastic female I’d seen this morning.
“What’s with them?” I huffed as I tried to scoot back. I gave Gavin a grateful look when he helped me. “How can you trust them? They stole me!”
It still felt surreal that my mind and body were at odds with each other. My mind still thought I could move and shift like I did before I got pregnant, but my body was determined to remind me that my center of balance was completely thrown off. If I was this graceless in my second trimester, I could only imagine how clumsy and awkward I would be in my third.
Gavin glanced over at them, and Bentley looked at Mercedes until she sighed deeply.
“I guess you should know our side of the story,” Mercedes said as she sat on the bench at the foot of my bed. “I’m sure you noticed the little girl at the breakfast table. She’s my daughter Lexus. I was fifteen when I got pregnant with her. Her father…” She cleared her throat, and I could feel the discomfort radiating from her. “Her father was one of my dad’s friends. He raped me. When I discovered I was pregnant, it was too late to do anything, not that I’m saying I would have done anything. We knew if they found out, they would have hurt me or worse, so we ran away.
“For years, we made it work until Lexus got hurt at daycare one day. She was rushed to the hospital, and the daycare didn’t even tell us! When Bentley went to pick Lexus up, she wasn’t there. They wouldn’t tell him anything until I got there.
“When I arrived, they finally told me she was at the hospital, and Child Protective Services was already there. Based on my age alone, they determined I was an unfit mother. They placed Lexus in foster care until I proved I could provide a stable home for her.
“We might not have given her anything and everything she wanted, but she had a roof over her head and food in her belly; her clothes might have been hand-me-downs, but they were clean and weather appropriate. Bentley—” she gave him a warm smile, and I could see the sibling love between them—“worked three jobs to support us, while I worked two, but we still made sure to spend time with her and show her the love we never got.”
This insight piqued my curiosity. What had happened to them? Had their adoptive father really pimped them out? However, I knew now was not the time to assuage my nosiness.
“I was in and out of court several times over the year,” Mercedes continued.“Lexus wanted to be with us. She was only four when she was taken from us, but even her foster family said she belonged with us. They saw no signs of neglect or abuse. They heard the stories Lexus told them about our ‘adventures,’ as we called them.
“One therapist even wrote a recommendation letter on our behalf. She realized that we were good parents to her. It seemed like things were heading in a positive direction, but then we started hitting roadblocks. ‘Witnesses’ started coming forward, claiming abuse and negligence with no concrete proof. My lawyer, who I got pro-bono, was confused and surprised by all these allegations. At my last court date, I was told she would never return to me. A more stable family had stepped forward to foster her.” Her lips curled up in disdain. “Horatio and Alison had a couple ‘step up’ to foster Lexus. I was devastated. I thought I would never get her back.
“A few days later, Horatio and Alison contacted me, claiming that they wanted us to be reunited. I should have listened to Bentley and not gone to meet them. He thought it felt wrong, but I ignored the same little voice in my head. When I went to the park where they told me to meet them, it was eerily empty. Only Horatio was there.
“He mind-controlled me, and I woke up at a facility a few days later.” She grimaced. “He lied to you, by the way. We’re not his. One of the good doctors has been forging paperwork for years. He realized Horatio would dispose of anyone on his payroll that he wasn’t happy with.”
My brows rose in confusion. “Why lie? And how do you know?”
“Why not?” Bentley shrugged. “The more time you spend around him, the more you’ll realize he’s a narcissistic sociopath.He feels like a god because he's produced powerfully gifted children. We may not want to admit it, but our sperm donor raised us. There is no doubt we were his children. We ran across the DNA test he had done on us when we were thirteen or so.”
My head began to spin. That was a lot of information being thrown at me at once. I wanted to know why Lincoln’s mom had given them up.
“The woman who raised us always hated us, and once we found the papers, we finally understood why.” Bentley frowned. “We were a product of our father’s mistress. Lincoln’s biological mom. He forced his wife to raise us as her own. She always despised us for the reminder of her husband infidelity.”
I frowned. Every story Lincoln told me about his mom had never led me to believe she would have an affair with a married man. I made a mental note to ask him the next time I talked to him.
“You don’t exactly look like you’re prisoners,” I sarcastically said, remembering my original grievance with them.
“He gave me an ultimatum,” Mercedes informed me. “I could stay with my daughter if Bentley and I worked for him. He offered us a lot of money and a condo. At first, the jobs he gave us weren’t so bad, and we didn’t work nearly as much as we used to. We thought our luck had finally turned, but then we began to see the man behind the curtain. He’s a sick, deranged man. Just as sick as our sperm donor.”
She seemed to struggle with her following words, and Gavin stood behind her and placed a reassuring squeeze on her shoulders. She leaned back into him, and he murmured comforting words to her. At first, I didn’t look into it much. He was physically affectionate with me when I had been separated from my guys. He was a man that stepped up and helped anyone if it was in his power to do so.
My brows knit together when Mercedes brushed a kiss along his jawline. He leaned into it and murmured more comforting words, then, as if he’d just remembered my presence, he froze. Mercedes immediately looked at me with guilt and defiance in her eyes, but Gavin wouldn’t meet my gaze and the anger I felt on behalf of Jemmy and Sierra.
I wanted to ask him why he hadn’t asked about them, but then again, he didn’t know I could talk to my guys, so…
“When we realized Horatio wasn’t who he said he was, we tried to run away,” Bentley continued as Mercedes tried to compose herself. “But, unfortunately, Horatio was able to track us down. He brought us back to the compound and took Lexus away from us. He took the only person that could make us do nearly everything and anything.”
The whole time they talked, I tried to gauge the honesty in their words. Finally, I looked over at Gavin. He met my gaze and nodded. We might not have known each other long, but we’d always seemed to be on the same wavelength. He knew me almost as well as my men did.
I bit my bottom lip and rubbed my arms as if I were cold. Of course, I wasn’t, but I was hormonal and feeling a bit overwhelmed with everything. I was angry. I was curious. I was a whole mixture of conflicting emotions.
“I don’t know if I can trust you,” I admitted bluntly. “How do I know if I can believe anything you say? Did you know Lincoln, my connection, is your brother?”
“I understand your disbelief and distrust, and it wasn’t until quite recently we found out about him.” Bentley gave me a wry smile and a shrug. “I was told by many people that I looked like him. When we looked for information on our birth mother, we never found anything.”
“We need to get out of here before they’re born, or Horatio will only use them against you as they do my daughter,” Mercedes said, changing the subject with a touch of bitterness. “Today was the first time I’ve seen Lexus in months, and that was after Horatio promised me he’d reunite us if I were to retrieve you and your connections.”
I shot a glare at her, feeling my distrust build once more.What was the price of selling your soul? I hadn’t even met my children, and I already knew I would do anything for them, but at whose expense?
“You have to see how we live, then you’ll understand,” Gavin said, speaking up once again. “Most people working for Horatio are no better than prisoners. We?they?don’t really have a choice. Many of them just want to be reunited with their children and families.Their families are used against them. If they don’t fall in line or fail to follow an order…” He swallowed thickly. “They harm their loved ones. Last week, Bridgette erased the memories of an eight-year-old boy. He doesn’t even remember who his parents are. False memories were planted in his head, and now he’s deathly afraid of them. His own parents.”
He linked his hands together and stared down at them, his face a picture of misery.
“Why won’t they fight back?” I cried out in shock.
Bentley’s jaw clenched in anger. “Several have tried. The problem is we don’t know who can be trusted and who can’t. Plus, Horatio can still use his gift to ferret out a rebellion before it actually happens.”
I stood up as emotions flooded me. None of this made sense, yet it did at the same time. I began to pace as I unconsciously rubbed my stomach.
“How can I trust you?” I repeated once more.
“You can trust me ,” Gavin fervently insisted. “Ake, you know me, and I’m vouching for them. We’re trying to figure out a way out of here. Horatio is ‘rewarding’ Mercedes with time to see her daughter the day after tomorrow. Usually, the moment we are no longer of use, they stick the halos on us and take us back to the apartments.”
At my questioning look, he continued. “Horatio has a set of apartment complexes not too far from here that he keeps us in. His loyal followers constantly monitor us. Since he’s needed us more lately, we were given temporary rooms here.”
“Where is here?” I inquired. My heartbeat picked up. I swore I could hear it in my ears as I waited for Gavin’s response.
“Lansing, New York,” Bentley answered.
“Why?” Mercedes looked at me with suspicion as my eyes lit up with joy.
“You can talk to the guys?” Gavin asked with his own excitement, but then he frowned.
Mercedes gave him a look as his hands stilled on her arms. My frown matched his. “Gavin?” I asked tentatively.
It was more than evident that something was going on between the two of them, and I felt anger on behalf of Sierra and Jemmy once more. They were at “home,” devastated; meanwhile, he was shacking up with the enemy. I’d never considered him a cheater, but the evidence was right there.
A sound like chiming bells softly rang in the room, and all three of them stood up with panic in their eyes.
“Room checks,” Bentley quietly explained. “We have another girl helping us. She’s letting us know that they're checking on our rooms. We have to go.”
He opened up his hands, and Mercedes joined him.A portal-like apparition appeared in purples, blues, blacks, and similar colors.
“If you talk to them, please don’t tell them about Merci yet,” Gavin pleaded.
“So you cheated on my best friends?” I scoffed in disbelief.
“It’s not cheating!” Mercedes bristled as she pulled down the top of her v-neck shirt.
I gaped when I saw the trident Gavin, Jemmy, and Sierra shared.“How?” I whispered in shock.
The chimes got louder, then Mercedes grabbed Gavin's arms and pulled him into the portal.
“I would like to tell them,” he implored before disappearing.
I stumbled back to my bed and stared at the empty space in shock. Suddenly, my door was thrown open, and I let out a weird sound of surprise.
“What did you do?” Alison asked as she pulled me up. Her slim fingers dug into me so painfully that I knew she would leave bruises.
“What are you talking about?” I asked in confusion.
“You know what I’m talking about,” she hissed as she wrenched me off the bed.
“Get off of me,” I jeered in return as I tried to shake her off.
She was surprisingly strong despite her rail-thin stature, holding onto me tight. Commotion sounded on the lower level of the house, then shouting and loud booms came from outside.
“What’s going on?” I asked as she proceeded to drag me out of the room.
I tried to fight her off, but I was confused. Finally, she grabbed a fist full of my hair, wrapped it around her hand, and attempted to pull me out of the house.
“We’re almost there, sweetheart,” Jace’s voice resounded.
I gasped in shock, and my fear and anger were replaced with hope and joy.
“Jace, is that you attacking the house?” I inquired hopefully.
“We’re almost there, mon tresor,” Lincoln replied.
“Hurry,” I bade him as Alison pulled me down the other hallway, away from all the commotion.
The house shuddered, and the sound of breaking glass came from the lower levels.
Horatio, Bridgette, and Ethan emerged from the rooms to our left and right.
“What’s going on?” Bridgette asked as she hastily threw her hair into a messy bun.
“I can tell you what happened,” Alison scoffed, pulling my hair hard.
I shrieked in pain, feeling some of my hair being yanked out from the roots.
“We took off her damn halo, and now we’re getting attacked!” Alison screeched.
“I didn’t do anything!” I loudly protested.“Now let me go, you bitch.”
“I’ll show you bitch.” Alison pulled my hair back then shoved me forward.
I stumbled and nearly fell. Suddenly, she released me, and I stifled a scream as I slipped and fell forward once more. Throwing my hands out, I tried to brace myself as the floor came rushing to my face. The only thing on my mind was protecting my babies.
“Dammit, Alison,” Ethan hissed as he rushed forward. He caught me before I even hit the floor. “Even if Blake is responsible, she’s pregnant, or did you forget?”
“Who cares?” Bridgette said, placing her hand on Ethan’s back.“Let the whore go.”
Ethan pulled away from her with a sneer.“Man, you really had me fooled when I first met you. You’re just as evil as that bitch over there.”
Bridgette reeled back as if he had physically hit her, and Alison shrieked in outrage. There was a bright flash of light at the end of the hallway seconds before someone came pounding up the steps.
“Are you going to let him talk to us that way?” Alison demanded as Horatio rushed behind me. Ethan ran a hand over my arms as if he were checking me over.
“Are you okay?” he gently asked as he pushed my curls off my face.
I nodded just as whoever had been on the stairs came running up behind us. When I whirled around, I saw Mercedes, Bentley, Gavin, and Lexus being pulled along by three huge men.
“Get us out of here,” Gavin urged Mercedes and Bentley as a group of people rounded the corner.
I immediately recognized Kade, Micah, and Terrance at the front of the group. My heart leapt with excitement, and I pulled free from Ethan’s hold and ran toward them as best I could in my state.
“Stop her!” Alison screamed.
At the same time Horatio yelled at the twins. “Bentley, Mercedes, now!”
It felt like a massive gust of air suddenly encapsulated and lifted me.
“No!” I cried out in panic.
I looked back and saw one of the men holding up his hands. It had to be his gift commanding the air. I attempted to escape his hold as I saw Mercedes and Bentley create a portal, the grimaces on their faces making it clear this was against their will.
More of Horatio’s men and women joined his side from the far stairwell. A woman assessed the situation and immediately began to shoot something similar to lightning from her fingertips. One of my rescuers leapt forward, sending a water ball around one of Horatio’s people's heads. Marcel jolted and fell to the ground, his mouth open in a silent scream as he turned his attack toward the woman who’d attacked him.
I was getting steadily closer to the portal while fire, lightning, water, ice, and other attacks flew around me. A sense of hopelessness engulfed me when Bridgette reached out to me with glee. In the background, one of Horatio’s men was subduing Ethan.
“Blake, you don’t have your halo anymore,” Gavin said, a reminder I sorely needed in my frantic state. “Break Horatio’s hold and make Alison stop seducing Bentley.”
My eyes widened in surprise and realization. A glance at Gavin found him standing to the side with Lexus. He’d secured the girl in his arms and was quietly soothing her.
“Blake!” The sweetest voice reached my ear as Drake rounded the hallway's corner.Steps behind him were Troy, Remy, and Lincoln.
I sobbed in relief and defeat. My guys!They’re here.They’re so close, yet so far away!
“Blake!” Gavin yelled aloud this time, and Horatio, Alison, and a few of their men froze.
A protective forcefield was erected around Kade as he looked at us with a narrowed gaze, and I realized he had frozen the assailants closest to him. At the same time, the wind carrying me back to the portal was broken, and the ground rushed toward me.
“No!” I screamed as panic hit me.
Once again, I was saved from a fall when a mattress appeared below me. I barely bounced on its soft surface, and a laugh broke from my throat when I realized that Jaxson must be nearby.
“Enough,” Horatio snarled as he pulled me up, and I realized two things. Horatio had broken Kade’s hold and dragged me to the portal.
I saw the madness behind his eyes and realized that if he got me there, I might never have another chance to escape him. Gavin, Lexus, Bentley, and Mercedes were the closest to the portal, while Bridgette, Alison, and Ethan were no longer there. They must have already left for their “bug-out” location.
I assessed the situation and realized Horatio’s people had maneuvered, effectively creating a massive barrier between the rescuers and me. A new idea formed in my head as I watched a man replicate himself enough to count at least twelve of them, and each one held a deadly-looking mace that was swung with wild abandon. Panic wanted to choke me of all logical thought, but an unexpected calm engulfed me. Jace had to be behind it. With his help, I was able to think clearly once more and make a split-second decision.
“Can they divert the portal?” I asked Gavin.
Horatio seemed too busy barking orders to notice us, so he quickly nodded, then leaned into Mercedes and Bentley. Mercedes and Bentley looked at me and nodded.
“When I yell ‘now,’ have them take us home,” I bade Gavin.
He grinned and relayed the message.
I suddenly stopped my flailing, and Horatio stumbled.He seemed surprised by my sudden move, turning his cold blue eyes toward me.
“Retreat!” I projected the yell to my rescuers.To my guys, I said, “I’ll meet you at home.”
The image of fire filled my mind, but it wasn’t just a fireball. Instead, I imagined it radiating from my skin. Seconds later, Horatio hissed and dropped his hands. I gave him a cruel smile as pressure built behind my eyes—a sign he was attempting to use his gifts on me. Thankfully, Gavin slipped up behind me, and I knew he would help keep him out.
“Bye, Daddy!” I chortled as I erected a forcefield around Horatio. “Now!” I called out to Bentley and Mercedes with a grin.
Gavin adjusted Lexus on one shoulder and placed a protective arm around me as we stepped back into the portal. Victoria appeared right beside Horatio and cried out to me.
“I’ll see you at home!” I yelled in reassurance before purple, magenta, and black lights engulfed me.
Suddenly, a woman emerged from the wall to Victoria's left as if she had blended into it, holding ninja stars. In the time of a single breath, she launched one at Victoria and the other at Mercedes.
“No!” I screamed, hastily erecting a forcefield around Victoria and yanking on Mercedes' arm. She stumbled toward me and fell into the portal. A searing pain blazed in my left shoulder. I gasped and closed my eyes against the weird feeling of moving through a portal and the excruciating pain coursing through my body.