Vengeance (22 page)

At the same time Gemma asked, “What’s going on?”

I waved them over. “Come here.”

Aiden and I sat down on the lounge facing Lucas, who sat up and swung his legs onto the ground so he was facing us. Chelsea and Gemma sat down beside him and waited for us to fill them in.

“In short, we’ve come up with a plan to deal with Nathan.”

“Seriously?” Gemma asked.

“Now, what I’m about to tell you, you can’t tell anyone,” I said.

“Yeah, okay,” Chelsea said.

“I’m serious.”

“Yeah, we get it,” Gemma said. “No telling anyone.”

“Nathan had laced the knife he used to stab Aiden with a substance that strips our abilities and makes us normal.”

Gemma’s and Chelsea’s mouths dropped open. My mother was right. The two of them were very much alike.

“So in short, we’re going to put something in him that will slowly release the drug into his system, making him normal and then have him locked away in a psych ward for the rest of his life.”

“Oh, my God,” Chelsea said. She was about to say that was exactly what the bastard deserved when she realised Lucas had been quiet about the whole matter. She wondered if he was really all right with doing that to his father.

“When’s this going to happen?” Gemma asked.

Aiden cocked his head toward the house. “They’re all in there discussing it now.”

“And we’re going to go back to the apartment to catch up on some sleep,” I said when I heard how badly Chelsea wanted a shower and to go to bed.

“Oh, thank God,” Chelsea said. “I thought you were going to tell me we had to stay here for another couple of hours.”

“Nope. We’re leaving it all to the oldies to figure out.”

Gemma sighed. “Well, I guess I’ll see you guys when you come back.”

“Unless you want to come with us?” I asked.

Gemma’s heart lifted. She couldn’t believe I was including her in so much of my life. “Is there enough room?”

Chelsea slung her arm around Gemma’s shoulders. “You can bunk with me if you’d like.”

Gemma smiled. She felt as if she’d inherited another sister besides me. “That would be great.” I was glad Chelsea was making the effort to include Gemma in our family.

“You’re coming, too, right?” I asked Lucas.

“Why not? It’s not like I’ve got anywhere else to go.” Lucas then thought about how true that really was.

Aiden scrunched up his face. “What the hell? You’re sounding like a girl.”

Lucas punched him in the arm. “Is that better?”

“Much,” Aiden said. “Now you may not have a conventional family anymore, but you still have us and one awesome new sister.”

“And you know you’re always welcome to stay with us,” I added.

Lucas smiled. He thought about how much he liked me and how much he hated his twin sister and wished I was the one he’d grown up with. “I suppose I’ve got the couch.”

“Unless you want to share with us?” Gemma asked.

“Don’t even think about it,” I warned.

Gemma laughed. “I was just kidding.”

Chelsea contemplated saying what was on her mind and finally decided to put it out there and see. “Why not? The bed’s big enough.” When Gemma’s eyes widened, Chelsea added, “With me in the middle of course.”

A grin crept onto Lucas’s face. “You mean so I can protect you girls if anything happens?”

Chelsea bit her lip as she tried to hide her smile. “Exactly.”

Wow! I may have been wrong when it came to Lucas feeling something for Chelsea. “You two better not do anything with Gemma in the bed,” I said then instantly regretted it.

Both Chelsea and Lucas were horrified by the idea that I would think they would do anything with Gemma there. But it wasn’t just that part I regretted, but that Chelsea thought Lucas may actually have feelings for her if I felt I had to give them the warning. Lucas tried to hide the smile that played on his lips.

“Okay,” I said, needing to get away from them. “Let’s go back to the hotel.”

“Let me just tell Mum and get some pajamas,” Gemma said, getting up. She hurried into the house and was back within a couple of minutes with a bag slung over her shoulder. “I’m ready.”

I transported us back to the hotel.

“Night guys,” Aiden said, taking my hand and pulling me toward our room.

“Night,” they said.

I waved as I followed Aiden and closed the door behind me, kicking off my shoes at the door. I then plopped down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. “I think Lucas is starting to have a thing for Chelsea.”

Aiden sat down beside me, took off his shoes, and threw them next to mine. “It was only a matter of time.”

I rolled over to face him. “What do you mean?”

Aiden lay back on one elbow and rested his head on his hand. “Well, they have been spending a hell of a lot of time together, and you have to admit Chelsea is pretty cute.”

“And?”

“And he’s a guy.”

I rolled onto my back and smacked my hand against my forehead. “Of course. How could I be so stupid? Guys only think with one thing, don’t they?”

Aiden laughed as he swung his arm over my waist and leaned down, his lips stopping only inches from mine. “That they do.”

Chapter 23

Fear gripped every fibre of my being. Aiden and I were in bed asleep, completely oblivious to the monster standing over us.

I knew right away I was having a vision. But something about it didn’t feel quite right.

Nathan hovered over me with a knife in his hand, watching me sleep. I was in the same bed where I had fallen asleep wrapped in Aiden’s arms. Nathan gripped the knife in both hands and raised it. He drove the knife down toward my body. My eyes shot open.

I wasn’t dreaming!

The next thing I knew, I was once again watching events unfold through Aiden’s eyes. I tried to scream but couldn’t. Aiden flung his arm toward Nathan. I feared Aiden was going to try to take the knife for me again.

Instead, Nathan suddenly flew toward the window. The glass shattered as Nathan sailed through it. I felt him disappear before he hit the ground.

Aiden and I stayed completely frozen as we tried to get our heads around what had just happened. Nathan hadn’t gone through the window on his own. He had been pushed. But Aiden hadn’t touched him.

Aiden sat up and shook his head. He turned to me and patted my chest, probably checking for stab wounds.

“I’m fine,” I said, my voice catching. I sat up next to him. “Thanks to you?”

He stared at me for what seemed five minutes but was probably more like thirty seconds before he said, “I did that, didn’t I?”

“Yeah.” I crossed my legs underneath me. “And here we thought Nathan’s drugs weren’t suppressing anything.”

He breathed out harshly as he tried to wrap his head around what he could do.

“Try it again,” I suggested.

He chuckled. “Try to throw someone through the window again?”

I almost laughed, but then I remembered there were three more people in the hotel who were still asleep and vulnerable to Nathan’s attack.

“The others,” I said before I transported to Chelsea’s room.

Nathan wasn’t there.

Aiden appeared beside me. “Don’t go doing that without me.”

I rested my head against his chest and felt the pounding of his heart. I really had to stop transporting to places without him. It wasn’t fair to make him worry when all I needed to do was take him with me. He didn’t need warning. What he needed was peace of mind, and after everything we’d been through the last few months, giving him that was the least I could do. “I’m sorry.”

Lucas stirred then realised someone was standing in the room. He sat up preparing to get the girls to safety when he saw it was just Aiden and me. “You scared the shit out of me.”

Chelsea and Gemma woke up, wondering what the hell was going on.

Lucas turned on the lamp on the bedside table. “What’s going on?”

“Nathan was just here,” Aiden said.

“What?” the girls asked.

“What happened?” Lucas asked. He knew everything had turned out okay since we were both standing in front of him, but he also knew something had us completely freaked.

“We’ll explain everything when we get out of here.”

“Where are we going?” Chelsea asked.

Aiden shook his head. “I think we need to get this over with.” To me, he added,
“Let’s go to Harry’s.”

“You guys ready?” I asked.

“Just a sec.” Gemma jumped out of bed. She packed up her things in her bag and slung it over her shoulder. “Ready.”

I transported everyone to Harry’s lounge. The oldies were all sleeping but quickly woke to the sudden noise in the house. Mum, Jack and Harry were soon standing in front of us.

Mum rushed toward me. “What happened?” Seeing I was fine, she turned to Gemma. “Are you okay?” She brushed back a lock of Gemma’s hair.

Embarrassed, Gemma swatted Mum’s hand away. “I’m fine. It’s Jade that had the run in.”

Mum’s eyes widened in horror. “What happened? Are you okay?”

I laughed. “You can see I’m fine.”

She sighed. “I know, but it’s a mother’s right to worry.”

A couple of weeks ago, I would have shot her down, telling her she had no right to worry about me because she’d never worried about me. But things had changed. Life wasn’t always what it seemed. Sometimes, there are bigger things at play than I could ever imagine, causing people to do things they’d never thought they’d do. I had to forgive her and move on. “I think you all should sit down,” I said.

As everyone moved over to the sofas, Aiden and I pulled Harry into the hallway.
“Do you have the thingy ready?”
I asked him.

Harry laughed.
“Yes, the thingy is ready.”

“Good. Then you need to go get it now.”

When Harry narrowed his eyes at me, Aiden said,
“Nathan just paid us a visit.”

“We need to end this now,”
I added.

Oh shit
, Harry mouthed. He phased out and was standing back in front of us within seconds.
“Got it.”

I just about passed out when I saw the size of the needle on the applicator in his hand. I had to remind myself it was for Nathan, not me, and as far as Nathan was concerned, the bigger the better. To the side of the applicator was a white matchstick-looking thing, which I guessed was the slow-release device.

“Can you set that thing up so we can use it?”

“Now?”

“Now.”

Harry did as I asked then held the device in his open palm.

“Thanks,”
I said, snatching it from him. I no longer thought Harry was the best choice to face Nathan with me, and deep down, he knew it too. I turned to Aiden and held the device out to him.
“I’m going to bring Nathan to me, and I want you to stab him from behind, okay?”

He took the applicator from my hands.
“Absolutely.”

Aiden and I moved into our places, leaving Harry standing at the end of the hall and freaking out.

“Ready?”
I asked Aiden.

He nodded.
“Ready.”

“On the count of three. One. Two. Three.”
I transported Nathan to me.

The moment he appeared, an invisible hand closed around my throat, cutting off my airway. I was lifted off the ground and thrown against the wall. Suspended in mid-air, I gasped as Nathan squeezed his outstretched hand. The death-grip around my neck tightened in response. Panic rippled through me. Nathan had been holding out on us. He was far more advanced than any of us had given him credit for. But the thing that scared me the most was why Aiden hadn’t stabbed Nathan yet.

I could feel Aiden to the side of me, but there was something different about him. Fighting the invisible grip around my neck, I managed to turn my head enough to see Aiden. He too was suspended with his back against the wall, but his face was void of emotion. His eyes stared blankly in my direction, but there didn’t seem to be anyone home. Aiden wore the same expression a normal human did when he was screwing with their minds.

Beyond Aiden, Harry’s body lay crumpled on the floor. He had been no match for Nathan, and I feared everyone else in the house was also incapacitated.

I desperately tried to calm down as the grip around my neck tightened even further. Pressure began building inside my head as Nathan tried to push his way into my mind. Snippets of what he planned to do to Aiden and me flashed through my brain. Something inside me snapped, and I thought Nathan had broken my mind.

A primal rage burned within me. Nathan’s expression became fiercer, and he squeezed his hand tighter, attempting to break my neck.

I was in control—of him. I relaxed his grip on me and eased both Aiden and myself onto the ground, snapping Nathan out of Aiden’s head in the process.

Nathan dropped to his knees, his brain fighting his actions all the way.

“What’s going on?” Aiden asked. “Why is he kneeling?”

Nathan held out his hand, palm up.

“Give him the applicator,” I said.

“Are you crazy?” Aiden asked.

I looked into his eyes. “Trust me.”

Aiden’s face softened. “I always will.” He put the applicator in Nathan’s hand.

Before I carried through with my plan, I dropped my mind barrier to Aiden and let him see through my mind into Nathan’s. Aiden chuckled, not with glee but with satisfaction.

Nathan grabbed the applicator with two hands and held it in front of his chest, the whole time screaming profanities at me in his mind.

I smirked at him. “Karma’s a bitch.”

Nathan thrust the needle into his chest and injected the very same solution into himself that he had made to destroy me.

Nathan dropped the syringe, and I pulled out of his mind. Almost immediately, the barrier to his mind dropped. Actually, it didn’t drop so much as it ceased to exist.

“What have you done, you stupid bitch?” Nathan yelled. “I made you, and I should’ve killed you—”

Aiden punched Nathan in the face. No longer being able to withstand such a blow, Nathan dropped to the floor, out cold.

“God, that felt good,” Aiden said.