EVO Shift: EVO Nation Series: Book Two (7 page)

“Do you think your Dad will ever get his wish? Will we ever have equality? I don’t want to be afraid anymore, but it seems a long shot to me.”

She rests a hand on my shoulder, her face flinching as she does so. “I reckon this moment right here, right now, is the defining factor. I can sense the shift- the shift in you.”

“No pressure, then?” I say, half laughing.

She winks at me and heads back inside.

Adam has positioned himself between Jude and Cooper. Jude looks ready to explode with rage, and Fabian shouts at Cooper to ‘let it go.’

October rolls her eyes at me. “Testosterone,” she says under her breath.

“Both of you wind your necks in,” Adam warns. He can be scarily authoritative when the situation calls for it. “Jude, mate, have a word with yourself. Are you really letting him work you like this?” He restrains Jude with a firm hand to his chest.

Jude spots me and shoves Adam away. “Are you two done with your little powwow?” He snaps. The fight seems to be over in an instant.

I look to Adam. I want him to know my decision first.
“We have to do this,”
I say, privately.

He looks taken aback, but he nods.
“Okay, then we do this.”

“Well?” Jude asks, still raging with anger.

“Give me the number.” I take Silvain’s mobile from the counter and type in the number before I lose my nerve. Adam and Jude linger just inches from me, and I take Adam’s hand as the dial tone is replaced with a ringing. He traces comforting circles on my palm with his thumb.

“Jude, I was hoping you’d call
,”
says
a soft spoken, male voice.

“Not Jude,”
I say, turning on speaker phone.

There is a moment of silence. “Am I talking to Theyda?”

“We’ll meet with you, but we’re not making any promises. And remember, if you try anything, we have high grade EVO ready and waiting.”

“Expect us first thing tomorrow. You won’t regret this, Theyda.”

“I’ll judge that for myself,” I say, and then dial off.

The room is quiet as I hand Silvain his phone.

“You should have let me do the talking,” Jude says, breaking the tension.

“No, this is about me. I don’t know this guy or what he and his people know about me, or want from me, but I’m not letting him think I’m hiding behind anyone.”

“So, you don’t trust him?” Yana asks, her cheeks appear drawn in, and she chews on her nails.

“We have no other option, and he talks a good talk, but as for trusting him- nope. I won’t make that mistake again. If they’re coacher I think it’s our best move. I need to meet Grayson, so I can read him.”

“And what if you read him and don’t like what you see?” asks Wheeler.

“There are enough of us to hold our own. We’ve done it before,” I say.

“And I can sense the emotion as soon as we arrive. Teddie and I won’t let it get out of hand,” says October.

Cooper snorts, but my glare silences him.

I won’t let it get out of hand. I shall be meeting Grayson with my walls up, telepathy on high alert, and willing to use my abilities if necessary. No one will take advantage of me ever again if I can help it.

CHAPTER SEVEN

We sit around a large, glass top table. All of us are grubby, damp from the sea, and exhausted.  Adam sits to my left, holding my knee under the table, and Seth is on my right, tending his swollen jaw with an ice pack.

Silvain brings out piping hot lasagnes with garlic bread and wine. It smells how love feels, but my stomach cramps at the thought of eating. I spoon lasagne into my mouth and force myself to swallow.

Talk doesn’t stray from Syndicate. I wish it would; a little respite while we eat and pretend to be anything other than wanted EVO would be nice.

“I like their ideologies. Perhaps, this Grayson guy has a shot at bringing us together,” says October.

Dom and Fabian both laugh in unison. The sound grates on me and I know what is coming.

“Don’t be so naive, October,” says Fabian, still laughing.

October sits straighter, squaring her shoulders. “Naive? Seriously? After everything that has happened—”

“Don’t call her naive,” Emiko snaps. “Until we meet with Syndicate none of us can know exactly what they can bring to the table. Is it wrong to hope that we have a fighting chance at a normal life?”

Jude massages his neck with his hand. “There nothing wrong with hoping, Emi, but it might be a little presumptuous. Syndicate don’t just have Norms to contend with. There are many EVO who share the supremacist views of the E.N.C. Equality isn’t on their agenda either.”

“But there are more who don’t,” says Emiko. “And there are many Non-EVO who don’t agree with the government. Most EVO have some Non-EVO family members, friends, and neighbours. I bet they’d rally behind Syndicate. Families are losing their children; we can’t allow that. They need protection.” Her voice cracks with emotion, and a lump forms in my own throat.

Wheeler folds his arms around Emiko and looks to Adam with tired eyes. “Let’s hope Syndicate have balls as big as their mouths.”

“I thought we agreed to test the water? We get what we need from them, and if they can keep us under the radar, then so be it. The most important thing is to not draw unwanted attention to ourselves,” says Jude, his frustration apparent.

Silvain rushes into the room and turns on the television. I’ve had enough of television for a lifetime. My face fills the screen; an unflattering, grainy image of me standing face to face with Isaac at the complex. He has his hands on my shoulders, in what looks like an affectionate gesture, but I’m actually about thirty seconds away from using his gun to kill Gabe.

“British Intelligence has released the identity of this individual as nineteen-year-old Theyda Woodman. She could be using the names Leason, Lloyd, or Lovick.” The reporter’s voice sounds warbled through the blood pulsing in my ears. “Woodman is the biological daughter of Isaac Woodman and is said to be a high grade, extremely dangerous EVO. She was present at the E.N.C headquarters on the night of Friday the twentieth of February, however her current whereabouts is unknown. She was last seen in Italy, but has connections to Great Britain. If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of this individual, please call the number on screen.”

A hush falls over the room, and I drop my fork on my plate with a clatter.

“What were you saying about unwanted attention?” I ask Jude.

***

The bed feels like I’m lying on a cloud and the sheets delicate under my bare legs. I wear nothing save one of Silvain’s shirts that hangs off of me like a tent. Emiko took it upon herself to wash everyone’s clothes, and I’m not going to lie about how much I am going to appreciate clean underwear.

Adam and I have one of the top floor bedrooms. The view over the bay is unreal, yet I choose to stare at the ceiling, listening to the hurried chatter from downstairs, and the inaudible rumble of the television.

Adam’s pacing was driving me crazy. He would stare out of the window, then back to me, and out of the window again, all the while wearing a hole in the carpet. I sent him downstairs for a cup of tea, and to give my sanity a fighting chance. That was thirty minutes ago. I know he’s talking with Jude, but I don’t want to know what about.

His head pops around the door. “A cup of tea for my girl,” he says, trying to keep his voice light and breezy.

“Thank you.” I take the tea with a smile. “What’s that?” I ask, pointing to a small box in his hand.

He offers it to me, kissing my shoulder in the process. “Hair dye.”

I inhale deeply. “Okay, I guess that makes sense.”

“It’s a dark brown. If October had her way you’d have been green. Silvain picked it up for you. Apparently, he was stopped and swabbed again. The town is swarming with the police and the army. He drove passed Wheeler’s and it has been gutted. They know the identities of all of us, but for some reason they’re focussing on you.”

“They know I’m Dual- EVO.”

“We don’t know that.”

“They know I’m Dual-EVO, Adam. They know everything.” The thought is a terrifying one, but I can’t deal with it now. “How do I use this stuff?” I ask, brandishing the dye.

He shrugs, looking at the box like it’s something from another planet. “I’ll go get the girls... and Seth,” he says, jogging out of the door.

***

Emiko rinses out the dye; black water runs over my forehead and into Silvain’s pristine bathtub. Yana, Seth, and October sit on the floor rummaging through the contents of Silvain’s toiletry baskets.

Emiko scrunches the last of the water out of my hair and turns the shower off. “It’s going to be dark,” she says, wrapping my hair in a towel.

“As long as it’s not red,” says October. “That hair was like a ‘wanted criminal over here’ beacon.”

“Can I look?”

“No,” Emiko and Yana says in unison.

“Never look at it wet. It’ll be a whole different colour when it’s dry,” Emiko adds.

I don’t protest. She leads me out of the bathroom by the elbow and shoves me on to the bed. 

The hairdryer has the ferocity of a jet engine, so we can’t hear each other over the noise. I take to sitting in silence whilst I await my new look.

Yana gives me a sympathetic smile that does nothing to ease my apprehension. “It suits you,” she says, kindly.

I look in the mirror and shrug. The government have succeeded in taking my bloody hair colour from me. As if it wasn’t enough to take my family- friends- my life. The brown hair makes my brown eyes all the darker, and I look older, more drained.

Emiko continues to fiddle with my hair as we enter the kitchen. All eyes are on me, and I know Adam can sense my distaste.

‘I hate it,
’ I say to him, telepathically.

“You still look beautiful,” he says out loud.

“I look like Morticia Adams.” My pale skin and dark hair contrast noticeably.

Adam smirks. “Actually, you look like—”

“Me,” interrupts Jude.

Adam nods his agreement.

“Holy crap, you really do,” says October.

“Well, then, we should have gone with green,” I say.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Adam throws me onto the bed in a caveman fashion. I giggle as we play fight, and he struggles with the buttons on my shirt. Adam is my best and only form of distraction. He knows that I need this; I need him to be normal with me. I want to do normal couple things. His mouth is warm against mine, and a sudden thought pings in my mind.

“I need to brush my teeth. I have garlic breath.”

He rolls his eyes. “I don’t care about garlic breath.”

“Well, I do. It isn’t sexy and I want you to think I’m irresistible.” Wagging my eyebrows at him, I jump from the bed.

He makes a playful grab for my butt. “You know exactly what I think of you.”

I skirt around him, shut myself in the bathroom, and brush the hell out of my teeth.

With fresh breath, I tuck my hair behind my ears and pinch my cheeks to get a bit of colour into my washed out face. Undoing the shirt buttons to help him out a little, I take a deep breath and make an overly sultry entrance, draping myself from the door frame.

He’s asleep. Fabulous.

I stroke his cheek and pull the sheets over his muscular frame. They cling to him perfectly. I watch his facial expressions change from frowns to smiles. I could tune in and witness his dreams, but I won’t. Dreams are private, and I’m promising myself to not read minds unless I have permission or it’s an absolute necessity. Grayson will be filed under necessity. I can’t control when I inflict my thoughts on Adam, but I can control whether I intrude on his privacy.

There’s a quiet knock on the door and Emiko pops her head in. “I’ve got your clothes,” she whispers. I graciously take them. She leans against the door frame. “Mine’s the same,” she says, nodding to Adam. “No matter how big and macho they are, they always look so vulnerable when they sleep, don’t you think?”

I smile at the sight of my big man sleeping so peacefully. “Yeah. I could watch him all night. Sometimes, when I go to sleep, I worry that I’m going to wake up and he’d have just been a dream. But then, I wake up and he’s still here, smiling at me.”

“Adam loves you very much, Teddie. We all do.”

Wrapping my arms around her neck, I hold on for dear life. “Thank you, Emi. I mean it- really- thank you.”

She plays with a piece of my hair, admiring her handy work. “You have nothing to thank me for.” Giving my hand one final squeeze, she disappears back into the hallway.

It’s only 11pm, yet the house is silent. Although Adam sleeps soundly, I’m wide awake. There’s no point trying to get to sleep. I’m thirsty and restless. I slip into my clean clothes, head out the room, and leave him to his dreams.

There’s a rustling coming from inside the kitchen area. The glow from the refrigerator casts a shadow on the far wall- a shadow with a long ponytail. Jude jumps as I enter, cursing me under his breath. I half expected him to be drunk, but I dare say he’s sober.

He hands me a bottle of water and takes one for himself. “You can keep me company,” he says, leaning against the breakfast bar. “Your Mum and I both suffer from Insomnia... or should I say suffered in her case—”

“I’ll only keep you company if we talk about something else- anything else,” I interrupt.

He takes a gulp of water and raises his eyebrow over the top of the bottle. “You know your mother had nothing to do with your being taken to Facility One or Rob’s death.”

“And that fixes everything? That woman drugged me. She let me think I was a freak,” I scoff into my drink. “I was five years old the first time I realised that she had a drink problem. Dad had been trying to shelter me from it, but Shana took me into town and threw up in the supermarket. The police called Dad to come and collect her and when he arrived she called the cashier a slut and accused her of having an affair with my Dad. That was just one of the many ways Shana Leason ruined my childhood. It only got worse from there. I feel like my whole life has been one big, fat lie. Did you know she lied to Isaac about being EVO?”

Jude sighs. “Yeah, I did. I have no idea how she thought she could pull it off. I know Shana wasn’t perfect, but you have to understand why she was the way she was. She was brought up knowing about EVO, but never fully being welcomed into it. She was always the outsider with Dad and I, not that we meant it to happen that way. She just wasn’t going through what we were. She was jealous. Perhaps, she was jealous of you too? Or perhaps, she truly was trying to protect you, Princess. I wish you wouldn’t be so hard on her.”

“I do not want to talk about that woman anymore. Can we go for a walk? I need to be doing something.”

Jude finishes his water, and then takes me by the elbow. “As long as I can smoke.”

“Nope.”

He rolls his eyes and drops his cigarette packet onto the counter. “You’re a pain in my ass, Princess.

I smile. “So you keep telling me.”

He picks a gun from the counter and tucks it into his pocket.

“Who’s watching Maggie?” I ask. There is more anxiety in my voice than I’d like.

Jude opens the door and leads me out into the cool night air. “I got sick of looking at that woman’s face, so Silvain is on duty for the next few hours. I’ll wake Adam when Silvain wants some kip.”

I nod, but I stopped listening after ‘Silvain is on duty’. As long as someone is watching her I can breathe. “Have you decided what to do with her, yet?”

He takes my wrist. “I’ll sort it. It’ll be my decision, not yours. I’ll take the responsibility for her. It’s my fault she’s gone bat shit crazy.”

“If you didn’t follow through on Gabe’s orders both Isaac and Gabe would have doubted you. You did it for me, and for Tess. I understand why you had to do it.”

“Yeah, but Maggie doesn’t. Would you if it was Adam?” I don’t know how to respond to that one and Jude saves me the awkwardness. “This is weird?” he states. “I’m not used to being outside without a smoke in my hand.”

“They make you smell, give you bad skin, make your fingers and teeth yellow, cause bad breath...and, oh yeah, they cause throat, nose, lung, stomach, mouth, and pancreatic cancers to name a few.”

“Don’t ruin it for me,” he says, smirking.

We walk across the top lawn, stopping to peer into the fish pond. It is empty of fish, but full of coins. Jude takes a coin out of his back pocket and hands it to me. I take it and toss it into the pond. I don’t make a wish.

On the lawn below us, Fabian and Cooper sit on deck chairs, talking quietly amongst themselves. Fabian leans back in his chair, catching sight of us, and waves. Cooper looks put out by the intrusion.

“What is Cooper’s problem?” I ask under my breath. “I don’t have him down as the equality, peace, and harmony type of guy.”

Jude snorts. “But you can see it of me?” He’s got me there. “Cooper’s alright. Yeah, he has some anger issues, but it all stems from Daddy issues. I like him.”

I laugh out loud. “You like him? I’ve been half expecting you to kill each other since we got on that yacht.”

“What is it with women? You can’t appreciate a decent argument for what it is. You’ve always got to turn it into a drama. Men say what they got to, scuffle it out if they have to, and get over it.”

How can I even respond to that sexist nonsense? I choose not to dignify him with a reply, and instead, I greet Fabian and Cooper. They fall into pace beside us as we descend to the bay.

“Big day tomorrow,” Cooper says to me. I study his face, trying to figure out if he is being genuine or making some kind of dig. “Don’t look so defensive. I’m just trying to make conversation,” he says.

“Okay?” I say, warily. “Yeah, I guess it is, but we can handle it.”

He places a cigarette between his lips and nods dismissively. We stop beside a small beach hut, so he can light it with his back to the wind. Jude looks at it longingly.

The wind blowing across the surface of the water is chilly like an English winter breeze and it cuts through me like icicles. We stand in silence, and I don’t mind it. It makes a change from arguing and fighting. Taking in all of Silvain’s estate is quite a reality check. He clearly has a lot of money, so why would he risk everything helping us. I ask Jude.

Jude looks up at the house. “Silvain’s late wife, Vera, was EVO and a friend of Tess. When Tess ran, Gabe had me torture Vera to find out what she knew. Obviously, I didn’t. I bluffed her way out of it with Gabe. I supposed I saved her life, but she died a year later of an aneurism. Silvain thinks he owes me a debt which has proven handy. I bet he rues the day.”

Cooper scoffs. “Yeah, the old man is beat. We passed him on our way out here. He was asleep in his chair, snoring like a pneumatic drill.”

Jude laughs, but I stop dead, my throat constricting on my words. “Asleep? So, who is watching—”

I’m cut off by Silvain’s shouts. He jogs down the lawns, his stomach hindering his speed. “The woman is gone. I fell to sleep. I fell to sleep,” he calls.

He stumbles onto the beach, sprawling like a beached whale at our feet. He looks up, his sweating face is covered in sand, and his mouth hangs open.

Spinning around, I see Maggie stood just fifty yards away- a gun poised in her shaking hands- aimed at Jude. I scream his name, and he lunges aside, but Fabian steps out from behind the beach hut to see the commotion.

“What is going—”

A gunshot screams through the bay, echoing off the cliffs. Fabian’s sentence is cut short, and his neck squirts blood all over my face. He sways for a moment, and then hits the sand dead. Silvain screams as Fabian’s lifeless face falls inches from his own.

Maggie stumbles slightly. “No, no, no. I didn’t mean to - I didn’t know he was—” A strangled cry leaves her throat.

Cooper looks from Fabian to Maggie. “You killed him, you fucking bitch,” he howls.

“Maggie, put the gun down,” I say to her, in the calmest voice I can muster.

“This is all your fault,” she cries, raising the gun again. Another shot screeches in the night air.

There is no time to think, all I can do is react. Pushing Cooper aside, I send my telekinesis soaring away from me. The bullet flies back at Maggie, hitting her in the stomach. She drops to her knees with a sick smile on her face. A red stain seeps through her blouse, yet she isn’t fazed by it- she welcomes it. She fires again and again, and I force every bullet away.

Maggie lets out a god awful scream and races toward us. I charge her as she does me, keeping my telekinesis pumping from my every pore. Those bullets will not hit anyone else if I can help it. Then, a knife buries deep into my right shoulder. Maggie’s hand is outstretched; I didn’t even see her throw it. She’s going to fire again. She will kill Jude.

“No. Not her,” Jude bawls, dropping to his knees beside me.

The world swims in front of my eyes. I don’t remember falling, but I’m on my back with warm, dark blood seeping over my chest.

“Please, Maggie. Please just stop,”
I say, telepathically. The anger and confusion swirling in her mind makes me physically gag. I can sense her intention before she even thinks it. I pull the gun out of Jude’s waistband and shoot her before she can shoot him.

“Oh my God, Teddie,” Jude cries, his hands shaking as he cradles my head. “Please, don’t do this to me, Princess. Help her!” He screams at Cooper, tears in his eyes. “Help her!”

Cooper pushes him aside. “Shit. It’s bad. It’s really bad.” Jude reaches for the handle, but Cooper swats him away. “Do not remove the blade, do you hear me?”

“I’m sorry about Fabian,” I say, through gritted teeth.

“You get all the luck,” Cooper says, forcing a smile in an attempt to calm me.

“Did you just smile?” I ask.

“Maybe. I still don’t like you, though.” Okay, so Cooper can be funny.

A familiar noise fills the air and a chopper hovers over the house, illuminating it with a large spotlight. The sound of speeding cars rumbles down the road, and shouts and orders echo off the cliffs.

“It’s the army,” whispers Silvain. He grabs Jude’s arm and starts to drag him away from me. “We have to hide. Andiamo.”

“Adam,” I mumble.

Cooper lifts me into his arms and I cry out as the knife moves in the wound. “I know it hurts, but you got to shut the hell up, Teddie.” he says, sternly. He takes one last look at Fabian, and then sets off after Silvain.

Shouts erupt from the house and a thunder of feet rush in our direction.

I hear my name shouted over and over. It’s Adam.

“Everybody stay where you are. Get your hands in the air. Any use of abilities will result in extermination,” says a projected voice from the chopper.

I can feel the pull of the link and I allow it to wash over me.
“Teddie, where are you
?” he asks.

“Hiding,”
I say, repeating Silvain’s words.

“Stay there. Do not come up to the house, okay? Maggie must have called us in. I’ll find a way to come for you.”

“
Don’t risk it. Do what they want and keep yourself alive. Keep the others alive.”
Even the voice in my head winces from pain.

“I’m coming for you.”

“No! Don’t you dare.”

“Teddie—”