Brain Storm (A Taylor Morrison Novel Book 1) (13 page)

Watching him as he drove, I still had no idea who he was or what he looked like. Having seen him only in the dark and the shadows, I only had the suggestion of size, and features. Nothing solid. Jonas was giving him the once over too, and the tension between them radiated through the van. Jonas may have played along with our new friend’s suggestions, but he didn’t trust him.
 

I could barely look at Jonas without my heart tearing in two. The implications of what he had done tonight were horrible. There were dead people back there, police work to be done. Jonas had inside knowledge of what had happened and yet he was here with us. He had turned his back on his profession and his oath to uphold the law. Maybe, they didn’t know he was involved, didn’t know he was on site, but I was afraid it really wouldn’t matter in the long run. Jonas knew he had been there. He knew he had left the scene and covered up evidence. Being a man of integrity, I had no idea how Jonas was going to reconcile things, or even if he could. I just knew that when I looked at him, my soul bled, because what he had done, he had done for me. So many lives changed and for what? I turned my head to stare into the darkness outside the window. It was easier than looking at these people, whose lives I had just ruined.

THE VAN SLOWED and we pulled onto a dirt track. As we bounced over the ruts and dips, I looked out the back window to see curtains of tree branches swing back into place, effectively hiding our passage. As we rolled to a stop, the dark outline of a house was just barely visible through the van window.
 

“Take the women inside,” the driver ordered Jonas. “I’ll move the van into the barn.”

The hair stood up on the back of my neck as the tension between them escalated and I held my breath as Jonas weighed his options, ready to move quickly, should he decide to take charge.
 

“Is there a problem?” It wasn’t a question, it was a challenge. I braced myself as I looked to Jonas for some clue as how to proceed. Seconds ticked by as they sized each other up. Finally, Jonas made his decision.

“No problem,” he said, never loosing eye contact with the other man.
 

“I thought you had sorted this out earlier tonight. Before it was too late,” the driver said, as Jonas opened his door and got out.

“Lets get something straight,” Jonas said, as he leaned back into the van. “Should I decide differently, it will never be too late.”

The driver nodded slowly at Jonas. “Understood.”

Jonas softly closed the door and made his way around the van to get Trinity. I reached over and unbuckled her as the side door slid open. I helped him slide her out and then, still moving slowly, managed to get out my own door. We stumbled up the dark rickety steps as the van sped off behind us.

The main door didn’t open directly into the cabin. Instead we found ourselves standing in a small, apparently windowless room, as it went pitch black when I closed the creaky door behind us.

“Huh,” Jonas grunted. “Taylor, feel around and find the other door. I can pretty much guarantee it’s not on the wall opposite the one we just came through.”
 

I groped my way down the wall from the door I had just closed and sure enough, found another door handle on the adjoining wall. It turned easily and opened quietly into the cabin, which was dimly lit. We passed through and Jonas kicked the door shut with one foot while shifting Trinity in his arms. I found a light switch and flicked it on, flooding the main room with bright light.
 

Jonas deposited Trinity on the sofa and she immediately curled into the fetal position still sound asleep. He reached over and took her pulse, nodding to me when he had finished that she was okay.
 

“What was that business with the door?” I asked as he came to his feet. I’d seen a similar entrances at gun ranges, to keep the noise level down, but this was no gun range and the area between the doors much larger than the simple setup at the range.

“Double door, keeps the light from escaping. You always have one door closed before you open the other. Plenty of room to defend from. Windows are blacked out too,” he said, pointing to the nearest wall. “From the outside, this place looks deserted. Someone was either thinking ahead or they’re up to no good.”

Jonas’s word were still echoing in my hear when the door swooshed open behind me and our missing partner in crime sailed into the room.
 

“Okay, now that things have calmed down, I want some answers,” I demanded, advancing on him. “Just who are you?”

My voice had risen with each word and by the time I reached him, I was practically yelling, He never had a chance to answer because Trinity suddenly popped up from the sofa startling us all. There was fear in her eyes, and she was ready to run.

“I’m sorry, Trinity, ” I apologized, realizing I’d scared her out of her sleep. “Everything’s okay. We’re all right. I didn’t mean to yell. I’m just tired and it’s been a rough night. I’m sorry.”

“I know you are. I’m tired too.” She got up and headed toward the table, clutching the blankets around her, the ends dragging on the floor. Jonas watched her totter towards a chair, ready to catch her if she went down, but she made it without incident. Arranging her blankets around her like royal robes, she turned to Jonas.
 

“I want to apologize for my behavior. I would have hoped I could have handled myself better in this type of situation, but apparently I couldn’t,” she sniffed out. “Thank you for taking care of me.”

All three of us just stared at her. There she sat, bloody and battered, one eye turning black and her clothes in shreds. She was lucky to be alive and she was apologizing for not handling it better. Heaven help me, I started to laugh.

Trinity looked horrified and the men worried as my laughter started to sound strange, even to me. Apparently Trinity wasn’t the only one suffering from shock. I got it under control and tried to shake it off.

“I’m okay,” I said, trying to reassure them. I wasn’t successful if their expressions were any indication. Not that I could blame them. I wasn’t all that confident myself. I looked at Trinity and the spots of blood on her face and tried to get my priorities in order

“We could probably use a first aid kit, if you have one,” I said, directing my words to our unknown host. “Some food would probably be good idea too. Then we can talk.”

“I agree,” he replied, earning a raised eyebrow from Jonas, who received one right back in return. “There’s food in the kitchen. I’ll fetch the first aid kit from the storage room.” He paused at the doorway of what I had to assume was the storage room and turned to me. “Taylor, to answer your question? My name is Mac, and I’m your Watcher.”

With that he disappeared into the other room, leaving us staring at the empty space where he had been standing, stunned speechless.

“What’s a Watcher?” Trinity finally asked, giving voice to my exact thoughts. I didn’t know, but before the night was through, I was going to find out.

IT TURNED OUT
the kitchen was very well stocked. After washing off at the sink, I cut myself a large chuck of cheddar to snack on as I rummaged the refrigerator and cabinets, throwing together enough stuff to keep us munching away for a while. Taking out an armful of Diet Coke, Cokes and bottled water, Jonas shook his head in amazement.
 

“All the comforts of home,” he mumbled and I had to agree.

Who ever this guy was, he had seemed to anticipate our arrival, or at the very least, mine, as most of my favorite foods had been stocked. A
Watcher
he’d called himself and not just any
Watcher
at that. He was mine. I wasn’t sure I liked the implications of that and kept a close eye on him when he returned with the medical supplies. Jonas caught my look and went to oversee Trinity’s first aid treatment.
 

I carried the armloads of food to the table, and went back for plates and utensils. By the time I had wrestled everything to the table, Trinity was patched up and knocking down some pain killers. Jonas disappeared and returned with an ice pack, which he dropped onto Trinity’s face with instructions to keep it there. She looked like she’ll been beaten half to death, but the grin on her face as I popped the top on a Diet Coke for her, let me know she was feeling the effects of the codeine.
 

“You need to eat something,” I ordered, shoving a plate of food in front of her. “What’s the extent of her damages?” I asked Mac, who had done most of the patching.

“Except for the black eye from getting smacked around, along with various other bruises, she’s doing pretty well. There’s a lot of tiny glass cuts, but nothing major.”

Relieved, I looked at Jonas, who had also been extremely lucky. The gun I had heard go off, had missed him completely. He’d taken some good hits and would be bruised and sore, but aside from that and the glass cuts he too had suffered, he would be good as new in a few days. I had taken inventory and discovered that apart from a few bruises from being drug around by the leg, I was in pretty good shape, especially considering the events of the past week. At least physically. I had a sinking feeling that mentally and emotionally, I wasn’t doing all that well.

I pushed my plate aside, feeling somewhat revived and ready to get down to business. I might not want to hear it, but I needed to know what was going on, and I was willing to bet that Mac had some answers.

“So, someone tell me what happened tonight,” I started in, looking from Jonas to Mac.

“You can start with what happened at my place. Who were those guys and what did they want.”

“That’s simple,” Mac replied, taking a sip of water, which he had opted for over soda. “They wanted you and they planned on killing Jonas and Trinity and whoever else got in their way to get you.”

“Why? What would they possibly want with me?”
 

“Come on now. You know exactly why they wanted you. We all know why. It’s your power,” he said, sending shivers down my spine. I looked over at Trinity who looked as spooked as I felt. “Good news is, they need you alive. Which is why they used tasers on you. They had hoped to put you down so you couldn’t use your power against them. They underestimated you.”

“I didn’t use my power,” I said, shaking my head in denial. “I was helpless. I couldn’t even move. I knocked the guy away from Trinity and that must have been when they hit me with the taser. I couldn’t do anything after that.”

“They tasered you the minute they came through the door, Taylor,” Jonas said. “You went down so fast, I thought they’d killed you.
 

“That’s impossible. I remember hitting the guy attacking Trinity.”
 

“You did hit him,” Mac said, “but with your mind. You never moved from where they dropped you when they came through the door.”

“Same thing with the guy with the gun. He had me dead in his sights. I was a goner. Then something hit him and the shot went wild,” Jonas added. “Knowing what I know now, I have to assume it was you.”

“What about the explosion?” I asked, fearing the worst.
 

“Explosion?” Jonas looked at me confused. “There’s wasn’t any explosion.”
 

“She means the windows.” Mac looked at me, assessing and I braced myself, knowing I wasn’t going to like what was coming. “The windows didn’t explode. They imploded. The glass flew into the room, not away from it.” He paused, watching me, letting his words sink in. “ You saved two lives tonight. That’s the thing to remember.”

His words struck me to my core. He thought I had broken the windows. No, that was wrong. He didn’t just think it, he knew it. Was convinced of it. But how? How could I do such a thing? My mind flashed back to the keys, the peanut butter, the coffee. There had been no planning, no thought to any of it. It had all just happened. He was right. Somehow, I had done it. I had sent the deadly shards of glass, flying into the room. I may have saved two lives, but how many did I kill? I looked at Mac, the question written in my eyes.

“Yes,” he answered, waving Jonas to be quiet as he moved to stop him. “I will not lie to you. Not now, not ever. So, I’m not lying when I tell you that I wouldn’t have gotten there in time. That if you hadn’t done it, both Jonas and Trinity would be dead now and you would have been taken. What you did was self defense.”

“He’s right, Taylor.” Trinity reached across the table, her icepack falling to the floor. “If you hadn’t stopped them, Jonas and I would both have been killed. You fought for us and protected us. That’s why we’re still here.” The tears were flowing down her face, her voice tight with emotion. “You did what you had to do.”

“I didn’t
do
anything, Trinity. I didn’t think at all,” I whispered, turning away. “I just reacted. I have no control over this thing. I could have killed you both.”
 

“But you didn’t.” Jonas leaned over to pick up the ice pack and put it back on Trinity’s face. “Trinity and I barely have any cuts at all. You stopped them, and that’s the important thing. I’m just sorry I didn’t do it. Which reminds me,” he said, turning on Mac, “where were you? Aren’t you supposed to be her ‘Watcher,' whatever that means?”

“I am her Watcher, and I was busy with the three waiting outside. Who do you think cut the power? I knew you were inside and thought you could take care of things until I could get there. Apparently I was wrong.”