Chapter 20 They Done Took the Wrong Girl! #2
“You tell them everything they need to know,” Raymond spoke over Jackie’s shoulder. “I have some things to take care of. It won’t take long. I’ll be back to get you.”
My heart stuttered as I looked at him, and though my brain said to respond, my lips did nothing. That heavy awkwardness was still there.
Say something!
“Uh, um, o-kay.” I cringed; what the hell was that?
He nodded. Chill covered my arms, and the shadow appeared behind him. A second later, Raymond was gone.
“What was that about?” Jackie let me go. Her eyes darted to the spot where Raymond had vanished then back to me.
“I-I don’t know, but now isn’t the time to try to process it. They took Natalie.” I pointed to my desk where Natalie had been snatched.
“He told me on the phone,” Jackie said. “Where’s the video?”
I pulled up the video on my phone. She watched it then handed the phone to Miguel so he could inspect it.
“You mind if I plug in?” Miguel pulled the laptop from the bag that hung from his shoulder. “I want to see if I can pull anything else from the video.”
“Sure.” I nodded.
“Look, I hate to ask you this but,” I looked at Jackie, “do you think you could stay here and watch the place while I’m gone?”
“I got it here, Jericha.” She scoffed. “I already told you I would do that for you.”
“Are you sure? I mean, you have so much to do. Running your own business and the monster hunter stuff. I hate to lean on you like this.”
“Girl, don’t make me pop you. I got it. And I have that damn manual you put together to make sure I don’t mess anything up.”
“And I’ll be here with her.” Miguel handed my phone back to me. “I’ve moved some things around so I can stay to watch her back, just in case.”
“Thank you,” I said, relieved things would be in good hands without me.
Jackie pulled me to the side while Miguel busied himself looking around the office.
“Girl, what is going on with you?” She lowered her voice.
“And don’t tell me it’s nothing, because I’ve known you long enough to recognize when something’s not right.
You look pale and nervous, which means there is something bothering you.
Now, typically, I would mind my business and wait until you’re ready to talk, but this is different. I can’t let you leave like this.”
“He kissed me,” I blurted out. She was right. I had to talk about it. I just didn’t know how.
“So?” she shook her head. “You two have done a lot more than kiss.”
“No, this was different. It wasn’t just a kiss, you know? There was more behind it.” I nodded slowly until her eyes widened with recognition.
“Oh,” she sighed heavily. “I get it now.”
“Yeah, like the kind of kiss that makes you want to have that ‘what are we’ conversation.” I shook my head. “Jackie, I don’t want to have that conversation with him or anyone else, for that matter.”
“Damn, well, I mean, what are you two?” She knocked the question at me like a volleyball, like I hadn’t just said I didn’t want to have that conversation.
“Jackie! I—” I was going to tell her I didn’t know what Raymond and I were.
We were intense, passionate, hot, and opposing, but we were also magnets, and I felt his pull growing stronger every time I was near him.
I was going to lay it all out because Jackie was a safe space, but that icy chill returned.
It licked the back of my neck, and when I turned around, he was there again, that magnetic force already pulling on my chest. I wanted to run to him, have him wrap his arms around me and kiss me the way he had before.
Instead, I stood there, mouth and eyes wide open like a deer in headlights.
His eyes met mine for a fleeting second in silent acknowledgment before he turned and walked to Jackie.
“This is for you.” He handed her a small leather pouch.
She took it, opening it to peer inside. “What is it?”
“You asked for a way to keep in contact with her.” He walked over to me and lifted another pouch.
I held my hand out, expecting him to give it to me, but he didn’t.
He opened the bag and pulled out a necklace he then placed around my neck.
I stilled. “It wasn’t easy to get these, but you threatened to kill me, so I made it happen. ”
“How does it work?” Jackie held up the matching necklace.
“Hold the pendant in your palm and close your eyes.” His eyes dropped to my face as he spoke. “You do the same.”
I watched as Jackie did what he said. As soon as her eyes closed, her face relaxed, as if she’d immediately fallen into a deep sleep.
After another glance at him, I did the same.
When I closed my eyes, the sound of my own heartbeat transported me to a space made of fuzz.
My skin tingled and my eyes itched, and then, it cleared away.
Jackie appeared right in front of me. It was just her head and shoulders floating there like a weird balloon, slightly distorted.
“Oh, shit!” She swiveled her head, and when she spoke, it sounded like static. It reminded me of old radio recordings, where the audio had strange pops and fizzles. “This is pretty cool.”
“It is.” I smiled, and relief washed over me. I was going away, but I would still be connected to her.
“Do you think they can hear us?” Jackie asked. “How secure is this thing?”
“I don’t know.” I chuckled; she always surprised me.
There I was, my head full of sentimental thoughts, and she was analyzing the connection.
It was what I should have been doing, what I would have been doing before he entered my life.
Raymond. That man had changed me. In just a short while, I was becoming someone else.
Jackie’s face suddenly vanished. I felt something warm on my shoulder and looked down, but there was nothing there. I relaxed my hand, releasing the cool stone, and the fuzzy space pulled back, leaving me looking at Raymond’s hand on my shoulder.
“So you didn’t hear me at all?” Jackie spoke to Miguel.
“No,” Miguel said. “Just looked like you dozed off. Might want to be sitting down the next time you use that thing.”
“Perfect.” She examined the stone again. “I don’t need you eavesdropping.”
“As if I would do something like that.” He frowned. “Wait, do you have something you don’t want me to know?”
While they bickered, I looked at Raymond. Our eyes met, and it was like Miguel’s question belonged to Raymond. Was there something I didn’t want him to know?
“Hey, shadow man,” Jackie snapped, her fingers drawing his attention away from me. “Explain how these work. I need more information. Is it a secure connection? How long do the calls last? Can anyone use them or just us?”
“Um, yeah.” Raymond dropped his hand from my shoulder.
“The connection will last up to ten minutes, but it might be shorter once she gets to the Bane. I haven’t been able to test that out.
It will work, though. The connection is secure.
No one can hear what you say to each other while you’re in there, and it’s coded to both of you, but anyone can use it if they have something of yours, like hair. ”
“Hair?” Jackie touched the short cut on top of her head. “Seriously?”
“It could be anything you own, but a part of your physical being works best,” Raymond said.
“Right.” Jackie glanced at me with frantic eyes as Raymond continued talking.
“Hold it for more than fifteen seconds, and the other will pulse, letting them know you want to talk.”
“That’s pretty cool,” Miguel spoke as Jackie wrapped her stone in her hand. Fifteen seconds later, I felt the pulse against my chest.
“It works.” I looked down at it.
“You also must promise not to share this with anyone.” Raymond looked at Miguel when he spoke. “No picking it apart or trying to study it. The device will disintegrate if you do.”
“That’s some advanced fail-safe.” Miguel frowned. “Would have been cool if I could see the inner workings of it.”
“This world is not ready for the magic of my home.” Raymond warned. “Trust me.”
“Got it,” Jackie blurted out. “I’ll keep this to myself.”
“Are you ready?” Raymond asked me.
“Y-yes,” I said after some hesitation.
He held his hand out, and the darkness appeared behind his head.
I shot one last glance at Jackie and wished like hell I could tell her everything I didn’t get a chance to, but time was up.
“Be careful,” she said in a voice smaller than I’d ever heard from her.
“I will. You be safe while I’m gone. Don’t let this place fall apart.” I crossed the room to hug my friend then returned to Raymond, who still held his hand out to me. I placed my hand in his and followed his lead…into the darkness.