Laura Jo Phillips (24 page)

Harlan tightened his arms around her and bent his head to kiss her gently and sweetly, his heart filled to overflowing with love and happiness.  This was the woman he wanted to spend his life with.  The one he wanted to have children with.  Which meant it was time to tell her something.

“Tell me a secret,” Harlan said. 

“You first,” she replied.

“Okay.  I’m not really part Alverian.”

Ellicia lifted her head from his chest to look at him, gazing into his amber eyes for a long moment.  “I read your file, Harlan.  It said that even though you’re part Alverian, you have no empathic ability.  Why would it say that if it’s not true?”

“Because nobody ever believed I was human,” he replied.  “My mother said that from the moment I was born I didn’t look completely human with my eyes.  My father evidently had some suspicions, so they ran genetic tests, and I’ve seen them.  I’m one hundred percent human and the natural child of both of my parents.  Mom and Dad both dug around in their family histories for mention of an off-worlder in the genetic pool, but they never found one.  Even if they had, it wouldn’t matter.  My genetic tests show an oddity here and there, but nothing to suggest I’m anything other than human. 

“The problem was that nobody believed my mother when she said I was human, so she decided to make things easier for the both of us and just told everyone I was part Alverian.  My father was dead by then, and there was none of his family around to argue the point, so it didn’t matter.”

“Interesting,” Ellicia said.

“Does it bother you?” 

“No, why would it?” Ellicia asked.

“Just checking,” Harlan replied.  “Your turn.”

Ellicia sat up and gazed into Harlan’s amber eyes for a long moment.  “Okay, this is my deepest, darkest secret,” she said.

“I promise, it will stay that way,” Harlan said solemnly.

“If I didn’t believe that, I would not share it with you,” Ellicia told him.  She cleared her throat, suddenly feeling nervous.  She had never shared this information with anyone.  Not even Lariah.

“I have more than one psychic talent,” she said.  Harlan lifted one brow in curiosity. 

“Go on,” he urged.

“I can talk to people after they’ve died.  I know it sounds crazy, but it’s true.”

“It doesn’t sound crazy, but it does sound horrific,” Harlan said. 

“Well, it’s not like you might think,” Ellicia said.  “I don’t have spirits lining up to talk to me or anything like that.  When I was four years old my father was killed.  He came and talked to me off and on for weeks, giving me messages to pass to my mother, telling me stories sometimes.  He’s the reason I wanted to be in law enforcement.”

“Did your mother believe you when you told her the messages?” Harlan asked.

“Yes, actually, she did,” Ellicia replied.  “Thinking about it now, I guess that was kind of odd.  But she had a bit of psychic talent herself, so maybe that explains her easy acceptance.”

“Was your father the only one who ever came to you?” Harlan asked.

“No.  Years later, when my mother died, she came and talked to me too.  She had a few things she wanted to tell me,
unfinished business
she called it.  After that, she left and never came back.

“Aside from my parents, I’ve had a few others talk to me.  Rolph and Lawry both came after they died and told me that it wasn’t my fault, then left.  Sometimes I see people that I know aren’t really there, but either they don’t see me, or they leave me alone because their business is not with me.”

“So people only come to you when they have unfinished business?” Harlan asked.

“So far,” Ellicia replied.  “That’s the way it seems to me anyway.  Once they say whatever it is they have to say, they leave and don’t come back again.”

“Does it scare you?”

“Not really,” Ellicia replied.  “What scares me is the idea that the Directorate would want me to use that ability to get information.  For some reason, asking people who have passed on for information just seems wrong to me.”

“Ellicia, wake up,” Harlan said in a soft, urgent whisper.  “Come on Angel, I need you to wake up.”

Ellicia released her dream reluctantly and opened her eyes.  “Harlan, what are you doing here?” she asked.

“Listen, Angel,” he said.  “You need to go back to Hope’s apartment.  You missed something.”

“What did I miss?” Ellicia asked, rubbing her eyes in an effort to awaken more quickly.  This was important and she needed to be wide awake and thinking clearly.

“Hope wears a pair of pearl earrings that her mother gave to her when she was twelve, just before she died,” Harlan said, still speaking in the same urgent whisper.  “You have to go back.”

“Harlan, her earrings aren’t going to do me any good unless the box she keeps them in is in her apartment,” Ellicia said.  “Is it?  Do you know?”

“No, she didn’t keep them in a box, Angel,” Harlan said.  “She wears them all the time, never takes them off.  You have to go back, trust me on this.”

“All right Harlan, I’ll go back,” Ellicia agreed.  “Just tell me what I’m looking for.”

“I can’t, Angel,” Harlan said, looking at her with sad eyes.  “I wish I could, more than anything I wish I could, but I can’t because I don’t know.  I just have a feeling that Hope’s earrings are the key to finding her.  Please promise me you will go back to her apartment.”

“I promise, Harlan,” Ellicia said.  She turned to look at the clock on the bedside table,  surprised to see that it was ten in the morning.  She never slept this late. 

“I’ll go back this morning,” she said as she climbed out of bed.  “I need to take a shower, and then I’ll go right over there.”

“No, you have to take the Bearens with you,” Harlan insisted.

“Harlan, I don’t understand any of this,” Ellicia said, starting to feel a little grumpy.  “You keep telling me I have to do things, and then you won’t explain why.  I don’t know why I listen to you at all any more.”

“I’m sorry, Angel,” Harlan said.  “I wish I could explain.  Please, just trust me on this.”

“All right, Harlan,” Ellicia said with a wave of her hand as she walked to the bathroom.  “I promised I’d go, and I’ll take the Bearens with me.  Excuse me a minute,” she added as she stepped into the bathroom and closed the door.  When she came out a few minutes later, Harlan was gone.

“Dammit,” she said softly as she turned around and went back into the bathroom to start the shower.  “That man is getting to be far too mysterious.  If he doesn’t start explaining things, then he needs to just go away and stay away this time.”

Ellicia rushed through her shower and threw on some clothes, stopping in the kitchen just long enough to make herself a cup of hot tea and some toast which she wolfed down hungrily.  What she really wanted was coffee, but her doctor had forbidden that until after the babies were born.

I really need to eat better, she admonished herself as she grabbed her purse and let herself out of her apartment.  She locked up, then crossed the hall and knocked on the door to the Bearens’ apartment.  The door opened almost at once, the aroma of hot food wafting through the doorway causing her stomach to growl. 

“Come on in, Ellicia,” Rob said.  “You’re just in time for breakfast.”

“Thanks, but I just ate something,” Ellicia replied as she stepped inside.  Her stomach rumbled again and Rob grinned. 

“Whatever it was, it wasn’t enough,” he said.  “Come on, we were feeling so badly about not feeding you yesterday, so the least you could do is let us feed you now.”

Ellicia laughed, surprising herself.  She couldn’t remember the last time she’d laughed out loud.  But Rob’s expression was oh-so innocent and his smile far too charming as he tried to guilt her into doing what he wanted.  She rolled her eyes at him, making him laugh as he guided her into the kitchen.

“Good morning, Ellicia,” Jackson and Clark greeted, standing up as the entered. 

“Good morning guys,” Ellicia replied.  “Please sit down and eat your breakfasts.”  She decided that she kind of liked their old-fashioned manners, even if she wasn’t always sure how to respond to them. 

“I’ve invited Ellicia to eat with us,” Rob said as he pulled out a chair for her.  Ellicia took the seat, half expecting her traitorous stomach to announce itself again, but this time it remained silent.

“Excellent,” Clark said as he got up to get her some dishes.  He handed a plate to Jackson who began heaping scrambled eggs with cheese, bacon, potatoes and she wasn’t sure what else onto a plate.  Whatever it was, it smelled wonderful.  Clark put a tall glass of orange juice in front of her and Rob gave her a fork and a knife just as Jackson set a full plate before her. 

“Thanks, guys,” she said.  “This smells wonderful.”

“We are sorry we didn’t feed you yesterday,” Jackson said. 

Ellicia glanced at Rob, realizing that he hadn’t been kidding about that after all.  She smiled.  “It isn’t your job to feed me,” she said.  “But I appreciate your concern.”

She picked up her fork and dug in, realizing at the first bite that she was far hungrier than she’d thought.  They all ate quietly for a few minutes.  When Ellicia put down her fork and reached for her juice, she noticed that the guys were all watching her. 

“What?” she asked.

“We’re just a little worried about you,” Jackson said.  “You look tired.  Did you get enough sleep last night?”

“Yes, actually, I did,” Ellicia replied.  “I went to bed as soon as I got home and only woke up about an hour ago.  Which brings me to why I came over this morning.”

“Yes?” Jackson asked.

Ellicia opened her mouth, then closed it as she realized there were some things she couldn’t say.  She was surprised at herself.  She hadn’t come so close to accidentally revealing a secret since she’d taken an oath of secrecy prior to becoming an Agent.

She sipped her juice, buying time while she thought quickly.  She couldn’t lie, so she was going to have to be careful with the truth.

“I spoke with Hope’s cousin this morning,” she said.  “He told me that Hope wears a pair of pearl earrings that her mother gave her when she was a child.  I want to go back to her apartment this morning and look for them.”

“Ellicia, we are willing to do almost anything to find our Arima,” Jackson said.  “Except cause you harm.  We will not sacrifice you, your children, or your health for any reason.”

“I appreciate that,” Ellicia said, touched that would care so much about her after such a short time. 

“I have no desire to harm myself, and I certainly won’t do anything to harm my babies,” she said.  “But I have to do this for reasons that have nothing to do with you guys.”

“Can you share those reasons with us?” Jackson asked.

Ellicia hesitated.  For some reason, she actually wanted to tell them the truth, which was very unusual for her.  She had never been big on sharing her private thoughts and feelings.  After all, if she shared them, they were no longer private.  And she liked her privacy. 

“Whatever you tell us, Ellicia, stays with us,” Jackson said.  “That’s a promise.”

“All right,” she said, deciding to tell them part of it.  Just part.  “Harlan is my babies’ father,” she said.  “Hope is his cousin, and he is the one that asked me to go and check on her.”

“Why couldn’t he check on her?” Jackson asked, choosing his words carefully.  What he really wanted to ask was why this Harlan didn’t live with, and care for the woman carrying his children.  But he sensed that was a question that would cause Ellicia pain, so he restricted himself to asking about Hope.

“He couldn’t,” Ellicia said.  “I can’t tell you why, so please, don’t ask me.”

“He doesn’t work for the wrong side, does he?” Clark asked.

“No,” Ellicia replied.  “He was an Agent.  Definitely one of the good guys.”

“Was?” Clark asked, trying to keep the suspicion out of his voice.  He didn’t do a very good job of it though as Ellicia had no trouble hearing it.  What surprised her was not the suspicion, but her reaction to it.  Instead of being angry or offended, she understood it.

“A few months ago, there was an attack on a group of Agents.  Many died.  Many were injured so badly that death would have been a blessing.  I spent three months in a healing tank, and nearly lost my leg.  I was lucky.  Harlan was not so lucky.”

“I’m sorry, Ellicia,” Clark said.  “That must have been very difficult for you.”

“It was rough for awhile, but I’m doing better now.  You’re the first people I’ve actually told about this, and I didn’t fall apart at all.  And it’s not like Harlan is really gone.”

“That’s good news,” Jackson said carefully.  There were a dozen questions he would have liked to ask her, but he could see she wasn’t quite ready for that.  He decided to steer the conversation back to Hope, for Ellicia’s sake.  “I still don’t understand why you feel you must find Hope.”