28. CHAPTER 28
CHAPTER 28
L exi sat at her kitchen table across from Margot, a pair of hummus and cucumber sandwiches in front of them. A less than thrilling lunch, but until she found herself a new job, her penny-pinching was in full force. In the three weeks since her disconnect from Gideon, she’d forced herself to move forward with life in her own world. Her newfound control over her visions was actually turning out to be an aid in her job hunting, as she could get a glimpse of her interviewer before setting foot in the office door.
Her precognition still told her nothing about the transition process, however, and she’d finally stopped trying. What was the point? She’d passed the deadline laid down for her decision, and besides, Gideon had cut off their communication for a reason.
More times than she could count, she’d considered begging Matthew to let her secretly cross over so she could talk to him in person. But she’d experienced Gideon’s distress before their connection was lost in that last, horrible conversation, and she loved him far too much to add to his pain when there was really nothing more to be said.
Margot picked at her food, pinching off little pieces of wheat bread but never actually putting them in her mouth. She rarely looked up from her phone, seeming as preoccupied with her own thoughts as Lexi was with hers .
Lexi pushed her plate away. “Problems with the club? You’ve barely stopped texting since you got here.”
Margot blinked at the phone once more before putting it down. “Sorry. I’m being rude. And you’ve got a job interview in an hour, right?” She gestured toward the skirt and blouse Lexi wore. “Let’s catch up before you need to run.”
“Is everything okay? You seem concerned. Is it the club or Matt?”
She shrugged. “A little of both, I guess. Now that the portals are closed, we’re operating a regular after-hours club, but Matthew’s rarely around. He’s busy helping Gideon research the Prometheus Group. He’s pretty much left the running of Taco Shots to me.”
“And that bothers you?” Knowing her best friend as she did, she would have thought she’d be thrilled to have the reins in her own hands. Maybe it was more of a relationship issue after all.
Margot picked up the cell again, her thumb sliding across messages before she set it back down. “I just don’t understand why he insists on spending any time helping Gideon with this thing. I mean, with the portal closed anyway, what’s it to him? It’s a completely separate universe. It’s not exactly our problem anymore, is it?”
Lexi raised her brow, a ripple of defensive tension tightening her gut. “Maybe Matthew cares about his friend. They worked together for years. Maybe he wants to do what he can from this end to help out the man who’d been his partner for so long.”
“I guess. But the club could do with his help. I could do with his help. He’s been offered other high-profile security gigs and turned them down to keep playing detective for Gideon. But for all intents and purposes, that other world doesn’t even exist for us. He should get on with his life. Mind his own business.” Her gaze shot from her phone back to Lexi’s face. “Like you are, Lex. You’re getting on with your life right here, finding a job, moving on.”
Lexi pushed back from the table and stood. “You think it’s that easy? Just because I’m going through the motions of finding work because I have to pay my bills does not mean I’ve even remotely moved on. I’m in love with him. I can’t just turn that shit off. I’m worried about him and his world, even if I can’t do much about it from over here. At least Matthew can try.” She dumped her uneaten lunch in the trash. “I should ask Matt if there’s anything I can do to help, too. Once I’m back in a law firm again, maybe I can use the legal researching sources to find out more about Prometheus.”
Margot pushed away her own plate, leaned forward and crossed her arms on the table, her eyes riveted to Lexi’s. “I’m asking you to forget Gideon and his whole world. I’m not saying you need to go right out and find the next man, but let him go. He doesn’t even exist in our universe. Why put yourself in harm’s way with the Prometheus Group for him? You almost died because of your involvement with him, babe. No man is worth that.”
Grabbing her glass of water from the table, Lexi marched the few steps to her kitchen sink, her limbs nearly shaking. This was not the friend she’d known for so many years. The friend who’d been so full of compassion. Then again, maybe it was. Margot had been full of compassion for Lexi, but when it came to men it was a whole different story. Maybe what happened with the Prometheus Group put the final nail in that coffin for her and she’d hardened to the point of steel. But the cold of that steel was chilling Lexi’s bones.
Margot’s phone blew up with the beeps of messages and the rings of actual calls. Her fingers flew over the screen as curses spewed from her mouth.
“Margot, maybe you need to—”
Her friend jumped from her chair, cutting off Lexi’s words. Though she finally looked up from her cell, her face was a red mask of anger. “Hey, um… sorry, I have to go.” She tossed her purse over her shoulder and made for the door.
“Wait— ”
But the door slammed shut on Lexi’s words. She reached a hand to rub the now ever-present knot of tension at the base of her skull, and looked out the kitchen window. Her friend’s behavior was not just annoying, it was worrisome. She’d never seen her so rattled, even in the face of the physical and emotional abuses Margot had been through in the past. Lexi’s curiosity begged for answers. She might have those answers easily, too, if she just asked for visions.
She turned on the tap and filled her glass. Snooping on her best friend felt ten ways to wrong, but maybe she’d actually be helping her. Probably a rationalization, but she’d take it.
She turned off the tap and shut her eyes, asking for answers.
Margot drove away from Lexi’s apartment, one hand on the steering wheel, the other gripping the phone at her ear as she spoke into it. “Why is he doing that? The plan was only for him to infiltrate their world. We set him up with a home, a job, a backstory. His only task was to keep an eye on things now that Benjamin’s gone. Identify targets, but not capture anyone until things settle down over there and the heat lets up. What the fuck is he doing?”
Lexi swallowed a wave of nausea as Margot swerved through traffic, rolled through stop signs, and trampled Lexi’s heart.
“He was supposed to wait for my go ahead before… Fuck. Never mind. I’m on my way.” She dropped the phone and sped on.
Lexi ripped herself out of the vision, opening her eyes. Her hand went weak, dropping the glass, which shattered on the floor along with her sanity. “Why?” She fell to her knees, glass cutting into her skin. As she sobbed in the puddle of now blood-streaked water, gulping for air, the visions came again, unbidden. Though the vision of the car ride had been taking place in the present moment, this new vision tasted of the imminent future.
Margot standing on shaky legs, both arms stretched in front of her, hands gripping a silver pistol. Lexi could only see Margot herself, not who the gun was pointed at .
Still trapped in the vision, eyes not seeing the real world, Lexi struggled to stand up, the need to take action forcing her limbs to move. She slipped on the wet floor and went back down, banging an elbow.
The vision switched and with it came new horror. Gideon raising his arms, palms forward in surrender, the butt of a silver gun at his temple.
“No!” The vision ended. She pushed up off the floor and pushed down the bile rising in her throat. She didn’t bother brushing the glass shards from her knees, grabbing only her phone as she raced out the door.
Calling Matthew as she ran toward the club, she got his voicemail. She left him an urgent message, but if he wasn’t at Taco Shots when she got there, and with no telepathic connection to Gideon, she’d soon be out of options and out of time.