Indigo Awakening (The Hunted (Teen)) (18 page)

“What’s up?” she said, keeping her voice low.

He wanted to tell her about Lucas, but Benny came first.

“Did Benny give you the money? Did he make it back okay?”

“What are you talking about? I haven’t seen him,” she said.

Rafe couldn’t speak. He replayed his last moments with the kid and second-guessed his decision to leave him alone.

“Oh, shit.” He couldn’t catch his breath.

“Raphael, what happened?” When Kendra put a hand on his arm, he let her read his fear. Allowing her to connect to his pain was faster than talking.

I felt eyes on us. I thought they were after me.

He saw in Kendra’s eyes that she understood his frantic thoughts. Her mind reached out to him, but he couldn’t stop flashing on what happened.

I gave him the cash. Maybe I read it wrong. Maybe they went after him.

To stop him, Kendra pulled him close and hugged him. She whispered in his ear, “We’ll find him. You were only trying to protect him.” She squeezed him tighter, but he felt numb.

After she let him go, Rafe only nodded as his stomach tightened into a fist. He gritted his teeth as Kendra went back to the commons...and Lucas. As she told the others what to do, Rafe couldn’t focus. He stared down at the black leather strap tied around his wrist, the one with the silver infinity on it. If anything happened to Benny, someone would pay—but the first name on the blame list would be his.

I never should’ve left you, Benny.

An Hour Later

Bad enough Rafe had lost Benny, but now he’d exposed all of them. Looking for the kid in the tunnels turned tricky. None of them could do it quietly, using their mind links. They had to call out his name. If the Believers or some pervert had followed the kid belowground, they all risked getting discovered. A chance they had to take. Kendra took one group and Lucas took another. They backtracked the main sections and covered every inch.

Rafe did his own search. He didn’t feel like company, not after what he did. If the Believers found him, he didn’t give a shit.
Bring it.
He deserved it.

He went over the route he told Benny to take and searched every step of it. No sign of the kid, and when he didn’t get a psychic push from Kendra that she’d found him, the darker his thoughts got. Without seeing any trace of the kid, Rafe went crazy with worry. Benny wasn’t like them. He had no chance at hearing their mental shout-outs.

Rafe rummaged through miles of tunnels in the dark, without using his ability. That made every minute agonizing. He hit every spot the kid liked to hang. When he finally reached the old train, Rafe heard soft sobs coming from inside the steel relic.

“Benny?”

Rafe’s heart hammered as he bounded up the steps onto the old locomotive. He searched the engine first. When he didn’t find Benny, he followed the sounds of the crying to another car. The runt had crawled into a storage compartment only he could fit in. It had muffled his voice, but Benny was too choked up to talk. Rafe opened the lid and pulled the kid down and held him in his arms.

Before he said anything to Benny, a familiar mist swept from the gloom. Aged hands and wise eyes took shape from a shadow that undulated like inky ooze—the dead guy in overalls. He had stood watch over Benny, even though the kid never knew it. As Rafe held little man in his arms, he mouthed the words
thank you,
and the dead guy actually smiled back. At least, Rafe thought it was a smile.

“I did everything you told me, Rafe. I couldn’t get rid of them.”

“What are you talking about?”

He put the kid down and knelt in front of him.

“I heard ’em. Some guys followed me. I couldn’t lead ’em to where we are, so I hid.”

“Did you see them? How many were there?”

“It was too dark. I only heard ’em.” Benny’s lips trembled and it broke Rafe’s heart. “I hid and counted to a gazillion, but...”

“But what, little man?” Rafe couldn’t catch his breath. “Did they...do anything to you?”

The kid cried for real now. Terrible thoughts raced through Rafe’s head. Perverts in bathrooms when no one could hear a scream. Fathers with fists that hurt like steel. Nightmares that weren’t nightmares came rushing to his eyes in the dark. Something had happened to Benny because of him.

Something bad.

“What happened? You can tell me.”

He held the kid and covered his own misery with Benny’s sobbing gasps.

“I pissed my new pants,” the kid choked out. “I stayed put. I didn’t want ’em to find me, not even when I had to pee.”

When he heard that, Rafe shut his eyes tight, squeezing the tears from his eyes. He’d been so worried, he never smelled the pee. Now he did.

“You were real brave, Benny. You protected us, for real. I’m proud of you.” He tried to keep his voice calm, but inside he wasn’t.

“But my pants, they stink and everyone will know what I did.”

“No one will know. It’ll be our secret,” he told the kid. “Besides, pants can be washed. I’ll do it for you. They’ll be good as new. You’ll see.”

Benny seemed okay with that. Rafe waited until he stopped crying. He wiped the kid’s face and sent a mental message to Kendra.

Found him. He’s okay.

Thank God,
she replied.
Where are you?

At the dead train, but we’re okay. We got something to do first. See you at the commons. Let everyone know, okay? And thanks...

Even though Benny worried that his pee smell would get on him, Rafe held the kid and carried him all the way back. Benny got real quiet and put his arms around his neck. Rafe never had a little brother, but if he could order one, the kid would be Benny.
One hundred percent.

He took Benny to his corner of the tunnels and gave him clean clothes to wear from his stash. After he fed the kid, he gave him his mattress to sleep on for the night. While he washed Benny’s pants, Kendra found him.

“Missed you two at the commons. Is Benny okay?”

“Yeah, he was just scared.” He stopped washing. “He said some guys followed him, but it didn’t sound like the Believers. He hid and stayed put. Brave little runt.”

He mentally blocked her from seeing what had really happened. She’d know he hid something, but he didn’t care. Sometimes guys had secrets. He fished the money from his pockets.

“Here’s the cash. Benny kept real good care of it. He didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I know he wouldn’t, Raphael,” she said. After he went back to washing Benny’s pants, she touched his shoulder and forced him to look at her.

“Benny is one of us. If he’s in trouble, we’re all in it,” Kendra said. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Raphael. You protected your own. Sounds like Benny did the same. I’m proud of you. Both of you.”

Even with his hands wet with suds, she hugged him. She didn’t have to read his mind to know he could use one. With her holding him, it didn’t take much for a rush of emotion to hit him hard. He’d almost lost Benny. He’d almost lost everything.

Now that he was alone with Kendra, he could’ve told her about Lucas, but almost losing Benny had been enough drama for one night. He kissed Kendra on the cheek and let her go. He had pants to wash and Benny needed looking after.

West Hollywood

Fiona lived in the “Bird Street” area of West Hollywood, exclusive acreage where the rich and famous held or rented prime real estate. Hollywood A-listers. With her income supplemented by the Church of Spiritual Freedom, she had been able to live in the lifestyle she deserved. After a long day at Haven Hills, she sat alone at her dining table, taking in the incredible, glitzy view of the city through ceiling-to-floor windows. She had brought home her pet project. Over a glass of red wine, she pored through the library book and the many copies of drawings that her new target had left her—clues to find him.

This mysterious new Crystal child had not intended to taunt her on purpose by leaving the book and his knapsack, but that was exactly what spurred her on. She pretended that he had challenged her to find him. Despite Alexander Reese expressly asking for her to focus on Lucas Darby only, she had gone against his wishes and pursued the new boy anyway—a surprise she’d present to Alexander when she had something worth telling him.

When she found what she’d been looking for, she smiled and raised her glass to toast her success.

“To us, Alexander.”

It was in one of the drawings, of a boy and a girl sleeping together. She hadn’t paid much attention to it, since she couldn’t see their faces. Something drawn in the corner—a strange historic element—caught her eye, but little else. It wasn’t until she found the exact drawing in the art book taken from the library that she saw what the boy had seen in the book.

“Where are you...exactly?” she whispered.

She read about the tunnels where the historic mural had been originally painted. Fiona got out a map and narrowed her search to the cross streets mentioned in the book. She had no idea that underground tunnels existed in downtown L.A. Next she got on her laptop and queried keywords that brought up more information.

She wanted the new boy. Perhaps he was with the Darby kid by now, but if she got a lead on Lucas and told Alexander first, ahead of O’Dell, she’d shine in the man’s eyes either way. She glanced at her watch to check the time. It was late. Past ten, but she couldn’t wait. She dialed the number to Alexander Reese’s home, a place she’d only visited once. In her mind, she pictured how he might look at this hour. The wine helped her imagine.

When he answered, she said, “I had to call you. I’ve found something.”

“It’s late. Is it important?” he said.

Men.
One minute they had a woman breathless. The next, they were suitable for strangling. Why would she call at this hour if it weren’t important?

“Yes.”

She told him what she had already rehearsed. If she admitted to broadening her search for the new boy, Alexander wouldn’t listen to anything she said over the phone. She had to give him elements of the truth until she could read his reaction and body language when they met face-to-face.

“I commend your diligence. You’re amazing, Fiona.”

She finished her wine, fighting a smile, but what he told her next almost made her choke.

“But O’Dell has already tracked down the Darby boy. In the tunnels you found, too. I’ll fill you in tomorrow morning. If all goes well, we should have Lucas Darby soon. You’ll have a new test subject, worthy of your full attention. Your first Crystal child. One you discovered. Good night, Fiona.”

After the line went dead, she could hardly breathe. Her body shook and she wanted to scream. She threw the wineglass against her dining room wall and watched the shards of glass fly. Alexander hadn’t even kept her informed. O’Dell had an important operation going and she’d been cut from the loop.

Fiona’s mind raced as she stared at the sketches. If O’Dell got the Darby boy, she still had another play. This new boy would be all hers.

Bristol Mountains
After Midnight

Rayne couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened between Gabriel and his uncle that afternoon. They had made her a part of it, but she wasn’t. Not really. Gabe barely talked after that. Uncle Reginald had kept up his end of the conversation at dinner, but she watched Gabe pull away even more. He had a lot on his mind, and after living a condensed version of his life, he looked worn-out.

Seeing him so alone reminded her of Lucas. Before he got sent to Haven Hills, he didn’t talk much, either. It was as if he’d given up. All these things rushed back to her. She’d relived her past, too, and it didn’t feel good.

Why hadn’t she reached out to Lucas more? Why didn’t she fight to get him released from that hospital? Guilt made it hard for her to breathe.

“Gawd.” She wiped her face and pulled the covers over her head, but her mind wouldn’t rest. Forget sleep. That wasn’t going to happen, not when she couldn’t get Gabriel and Lucas out of her head.

If being different like them was wrong, she didn’t want to be on the side that thought they were right and in charge. Lucas had parents who loved him, at least. She couldn’t begin to understand how it must feel for Gabriel to be treated like an outcast, especially when that terrible label of
freak
had first come from his father.

She felt more tears come. They drained down her cheek, and her sobs meant they weren’t going away. When she thought about Gabriel and his uncle, seeing their love, she missed her mom and dad—and the childhood she’d left behind in a major crash and burn.

The crash of a jet.

Rayne couldn’t take it anymore. She tossed off the blankets and sat up in bed. All she wanted to do was talk to Gabriel. Be with him. She jumped off the bed and pulled on her robe. She blocked out all the reasons that warned her not to go to his room in the middle of the night.