Grounded (Grounded #1) (5 page)

I shrugged. “You’ve got my number if you want to use it.”

I wanted to stay near him longer, yet I needed to get away. The burn of the green-eyed monster rose from my stomach again after I’d worked so hard to beat it down with an imaginary club. I absolutely could not see that girl with him again. If I did, I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep my emotions in check. She hadn’t done anything wrong, but I hated her. I’d never hated someone I didn’t know unless he or she was a Gobel.

***

When I pulled back into the little motel, a large, black SUV was in the spot next to where I normally parked. It was too familiar. After I shifted into park and turned my Mini off, I took a deep breath, then dropped my head back against the headrest to close my eyes for a few seconds. Anyone could be inside that black monster, but since there was no way for me to get inside my room without the driver seeing me, I had to face the music.

The SUV’s driver’s door opened the same time mine did. When I came around to the front, one of the guys on Dad’s security team was leaning against the vehicle with an arm on the hood. I sighed in relief. If he were my dad, that would’ve been much worse.

“Flint, what are you doing here?”

Flint wasn’t just on the security team; he was the head of it. He organized everything, made sure our family was safe and trained recruits. He was good and looked the part with bulky muscles, a military cut, black cargo pants, a black t-shirt and black boots. As if that wouldn’t stand out in Putnam Valley.

“Your mother sent me.”

“She told you I’m here?” He nodded and I wondered what else she told him. “I’m not ready to come back yet.”

He could make me if he really wanted to, but I hoped he didn’t really want to. His orders would have come from Mom and she’d been okay with me coming here. Actually, she’d encouraged it.

“It’s been a month, Alyssum. Your dad is about to send the Calvary for you.”

Obviously there was a conversation that needed to take place. I waved my hand to indicate that he should follow me. We went inside the motel room so no one was likely to overhear.

“Does he know where I am?” I asked once he shut the door behind him. If Dad knew where I was, this mission was likely over and I hadn’t even told Jensen about Gremalians yet.

“He doesn’t. Your mother assures him that she knows where you are and that you’re safe, but his patience is wearing thin.”

Flint crossed his arms over his chest. He wasn’t quite old enough to be my father but sometimes, when he was showing his disappointment in me, it felt like he could be.

“She hasn’t told him?” I asked. That was unlike Mom. Usually she told him everything.

“She hasn’t. And let’s just say that isn’t something that goes over well with your father.”

“I can imagine.” I snorted.

“Alyssum, things have been happening. It’s getting dangerous and everyone would feel better if you were where we could protect you. While your mother hasn’t told me much, I do know you’re on this mission to bring home the prodigal son, but again, it’s been almost a month. Time to throw in the towel and come home with me.”

He said it with such authority that I almost agreed out of reflex. Almost.

“What’s happened?”

Flint sighed but didn’t change his stance. “There was a big fire at the copper mines. We didn’t start it, obviously. I’ll give you one guess who did.” Gobel. “The mines are okay, but some people got hurt. We have intel that the Gobel are training for something big and there have been a few skirmishes. There was a pretty big security breach at the house as well.”

The last part got my attention the most. There was always danger lurking, but I couldn’t remember a time when something happened at our house, the place where The Council met.

“What happened, Flint?” I didn’t actually think he’d tell me, but it was worth a try. I wasn’t part of The Council or part of security. Breaches were usually need-to-know and it’d been made clear that I never needed to know.

“Everyone is fine,” he assured me and that was as much information as I was going to get out of him.

“Good,” I said, nodding absently. “I can’t go yet. Can I trust you to keep a secret?” He thought a few seconds, then gave a quick nod. “I don’t know how much my mother told you, but I found him. I found the Sorrels’ son. He’s alive. He made it out of the car the night of the crash. Someone got him out.” I swallowed hard. “But I haven’t told him yet. I will, soon. But I need just a little more time. Please.” I hated begging, but Jensen was worth it. “Is there anything you can do to give me just a little more time? I’ll head home as soon as I can.”

Flint took a deep breath, then blew it out of his nose slowly. It was a habit of his when he was thinking things over. I don’t even think he realized he was doing it.

“I’ll do what I can,” he said. I started to speak, but he put a hand up. “I’ll tell your mother I saw you and that you are fine. I’ll also tell her you’re on your way home soon, but I will leave everything else out because I’m not sure I understand what you’re trying to do here.” He shuffled slightly closer to me. “But Alyssum, I’m warning you, you don’t have much time before an entire security force shows up here for you. Your mother can’t keep Ash in the dark forever.”

“Okay.” I nodded. “Okay, I promise.”

I watched as Flint turned to leave and ran to the window so I could see him leave for myself. One thing I’d learned a long time ago was that Flint was a man of his word. If he said he wouldn’t tell anyone what I told him, he wouldn’t. But I also knew he wouldn’t give me much leeway. He’d put an end to what I was trying to do if I took too long.

Chapter Seven

My room felt even smaller after Flint left. I was wired. Sleep was out of the question. Instead of bothering to try to nod off, I called Aric, hoping he wasn’t busy. He answered on the second ring and sounded genuinely happy to hear from me. We talked for an hour before he asked me to dinner the next night. Even though I really, really liked Aric, even I had to admit it wasn’t my stomach that tingled when I talked to him. It was an entirely different part of my body. Our conversation was easier than any Gremalian would’ve thought it could be with a Gobel. Plus, it was kind of nice not to have to tweak any of my stories to sound normal. His stories would sound just as crazy to the humans as mine.

I felt better after talking to him. I was able to slip into my pajamas and lay down. I felt like I might actually get some rest. Then my cell rang and the ID flashed Jensen’s name. I didn’t know if I should answer it or ignore it. I wanted to because I need him for the whole ‘saving our people’ thing, but part of me wanted to make him sweat after seeing him out on a date. In the end, I answered because he didn’t do anything wrong to begin with. We weren’t dating exclusively, and I couldn’t let my more girly feelings get the better of me.

“What’d you do? Dump the poor girl off as soon as the movie was over?” Harassing him was the byproduct of me wanting to know how the date went.

“Something like that.” His voice sounded husky and fluid, like I could bathe in it.

“Did you at least stop the car or just slow down and push her out?” Though I was trying to sound playful, I kind of hoped he’d just pushed her out and kept driving. Yeah, that wasn’t a side of me I appreciated.

“I came to complete stop,” he joked back.

“How nice of you.” I waited for him to continue and when he didn’t, I said, “Was there a reason for this ‘not-so-late’ night call?”

My fingers strummed against my cotton covered leg. I’ve talked to him a hundred times, yet nervous energy flowed through me.

“Yeah, to see if you’d go out with me tomorrow?”

I let the silence hang in the air before answering to picture him on the other end, not knowing what was going on in my head. “I already have plans for tomorrow.”

“With Aric?” Bam. He put it right out there. I pursed my lips together, not confirming anything. He knew, of course he knew, but I had a strict policy not to say anything to either of them. I was sticking by that rule.

He sighed, sounding a little defeated. “Okay, how about the day after?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Come on, Alyssum. Are you mad at me? I mean, we never said—”

“No. Really, I don’t know. I need to get the oil changed in my car, so I have to find a car place. My dad will kill me if I burn up the motor, especially after the antifreeze issue, and I’ve put it off too long already.”

“Really? An oil change?” The sound of him both wanting to believe my excuse and not really believing it made me smile. The oil change wasn’t an excuse, it was completely true. My car needed the attention. “Just bring it in, I’ll do it.”

“That’s okay.” I giggled, which had to put him at ease a little. “You guys are always busy; that’s why I didn’t ask. And I don’t want it to be weird.”

“Alyssum, seriously. Just bring it in and it’ll get done. Come in late afternoon. I’ll change the oil and then go home and change my clothes so we can go out. Okay?”

“If you’re sure.” I twirled a lock of hair around my finger until it cut off the circulation and the tip started to throb.

“Hey, if it’s the only way I can make sure you’re available to go out, I’ll rebuild the motor if I have to.”

“I don’t think that will be necessary.”

We hung up after that and I felt much better about the situation. Although it was becoming clearer by the day that my feelings for Aric and Jensen were not equal. With all my guy ducks in a row, I was able to drift off pretty quickly.

***

I woke up the next morning rested and refreshed. I hadn’t slept that well in a long time. At some point in my sleep, I came to the realization that I had to choose soon Jensen or Aric. Which relationship did I want? Of course, the ideal answer was both, only that wasn’t exactly realistic or acceptable in most cultures. It wasn’t fair to either of them because I was growing close to both.

I passed the time by watching TV. It’d been forever since I got to just lie around and watch TV. I found I wasn’t really missing much. Reality TV pretty much sucked and that seemed to be the only thing ever on. Who wants reality when they live it every day?

I spent a lot of time forcing my hair into perfectly loose blonde ringlets and applying the right amount of make-up to enhance my features and still look natural. There’s not a lot to do as far north as I live, and with all that time to practice, I knew exactly what I was doing.

Aric picked me up in his truck. We had a great night. He fed me, which was always a plus. Without me having to tell him, he adhered to the no eating after midnight thing. The Gobel had studied us well.

Mostly, we talked more about his family. Three brothers would side with him if it came to them choosing sides. Every time we talked about what could or might happen back home, it sunk even further in just how much he was risking. Not that bringing a Gobel to The Council’s inner sanctum would leave me unscathed, but Aric was clearly risking more. My dad would never allow anything bad to happen to me and would definitely sacrifice Aric to protect me. He kissed me good night, which lasted about ten minutes, then pulled away from the motel.

I repeated the same make-up and hair process the next afternoon and headed over to the shop for my oil change. After getting dressed, I was torn. I wasn’t sure there’d be time for me to come back and get ready for my date with Jensen and I didn’t want to throw anything in Aric’s face, since he’d be in the garage too.

The first person I saw when cool air from the reception area hit me was Jensen’s dad.

“Hey, young lady. Haven’t seen you in a while. How are you?”

He gave me a bear hug, lifting me a good foot of the floor. That was his small town charm, something rarely seen anymore.

“Good. You?” My voice was strained since he was squeezing the air out of my lungs. He put me back on the ground.

“Yup. So,” he went back around and leaned on his elbows on top of the counter, an unabashedly large grin on his face, “been keeping our boy busy?”

The old guy’s face was so bright with hope that it just about killed me, but I was also reminded that Jensen had plenty of people to occupy his time.

“Not just me,” I muttered under my breath. Mr. Burkhardt heard me and his face changed to one of a proud dad. Men.

“Dad!” Jensen came in just then. He must have heard that last bit. His white shirt was smudged with oil stains and a fine sheen of sweat covered his skin just enough that the fabric clung to the well sculpted muscles rippling down his abdomen. I dropped my keys in his hand, lightly grazing his palm. Even that small gesture sent sparks through my body.

Once Jensen brought my car inside and got started, I went through the door into the garage area and found a stool by the tool boxes. Jensen noticed me almost immediately and glanced over his shoulder often to catch my eye.

When he rolled out from underneath, I watched his eyes crawl up my calves until they met my skirt, then jump to my face. That gave me a thrill I wasn’t used to. Every time he looked at me, I became infinitely happier that I didn’t wear any shade of white because I would’ve attracted every piece of dirt in the place.

“Shit, shit, shit,” a voice boomed from my right. A wrench landed not far from my feet. “Alyssum,” Aric ran over, shocked to see how close the tool came to hitting me, “did that hit you?”

“No.” I laughed quietly. “What’s wrong?”

“I can’t fix this damn car. It’s an electrical issue, but…”

“Stand back,” I whispered just to him. He hopped behind the steering wheel and, once Jensen slid back under my car, I casually looked around to make sure no one was watching, then twirled my index finger in the air, picking up some static electricity. A small spark shot out, hitting the car’s engine. Aric turned the key and the engine fired immediately. Aric gave me a small nod of thanks; it felt good to use my power. I hadn’t since before leaving Michigan and man did I miss how dominant, powerful and useful it made me feel.

My attention went back to Jensen, who’d not only finished the oil but also checked everything under the hood to make sure all the fluids were topped off. Apparently, I’d also neglected the windshield wiper fluid because it was bone dry. Oops.

He dropped the hood and turned to me while wiping the grease on his hands onto a rag.

“All set,” Jensen said. He tossed the blue cloth onto a tall silver box and waved his fingers, letting me know to follow him. We went back to the reception area. I think Jensen just wanted to get away from Aric since, once the door closed behind us, he turned to continue the conversation.

“So, I’ll go get cleaned up and we can head out.”

“Do you want a ride?” I scrunched my face because the dude was covered in dirt, oil and sweat and having him in my car was less than appealing.

Luckily, he shook his head. “I rode my bike in. If you want to come to my place to wait, I’ll be quick. I promise.”

“Wow, just what every girl wants to hear.” That got a laugh out of him as every muscle in his body relaxed. “So, I don’t know where you live.”

He hadn’t invited me over yet and I didn’t want him to know that I’d tracked him when I first came to town.

“Just follow me.”