Restless (Element Preservers, #4) (12 page)

"I love your earrings!" I said in a high-pitched voice, waving my hand in front of her nose. If I was lucky, she'd comment on the only jewelry I had on me to return the damn compliment.

"Oh, thank you," Sandra said. "Your bracelet is lovely too."

"Thanks."
Dear God, that was close.
"It's actually a special bracelet. It blocks elements. My security makes me wear it." I raised my voice so Gary and everyone nearby could hear me just in case there were more carriers around. Gary relaxed, but his eyes remained wary.

"What for do you need the bracelet here?" Sandra asked, a frown line creasing her brow. "There are no carriers here."

Ah, poor, delusional people. This was exactly our biggest problem. Some people simply refused to believe those closest to them could be carriers and some carriers were too good at controlling themselves. It was good to know Gary hadn't told her what he truly was, so there were fewer chances he'd try to expose me even if he didn't believe the bracelet was the reason he couldn't feel my element. "My security is very paranoid. They don't want someone to be able to track me by my element. Besides, I really like the bracelet."

"I'd love to have one!" Sandra exclaimed, looking seriously interested in the bracelet. Gary licked his lips, but didn't try to dissuade her.

"Oh, these are a limited edition. Very expensive." I grinned. "And the scientists are still testing them."

"Do they work?" Gary asked, amusement filling his eyes.

"I hope they do." I shrugged, and Gary nodded. He didn't look as threatening as he had when he approached me, so I assumed he believed in my story about the bracelet. Hell, not many people would guess the president of the Element Preservers was a carrier.

"It was nice to meet you." I affectionately touched Sandra's arm. "Now if you'd excuse me. I have to go freshen up."

"The bathroom is over there," Ethan said, pointing across the room.

"Thank you, honey." I batted my eyelashes at him and hurried into the crowd, hoping I could disappear out of his sight. His lack of comments about the bracelet baffled me because I expected him to at least say something about carriers. I bet he didn’t know his friend was a carrier.

I found my guards just outside the main door. "There's a carrier here. His name is Gary and he's a friend of Ethan's. His girlfriend's name is Sandra and she's not a carrier. Inform Lily about this," I said as quickly and quietly as possible, then turned on my heel and hurried back inside.

Trying to find my way back to Ethan, I bumped into Gary. His lips spread into a wide smile. "Do you think there are carriers here?"

"No, I don't think they like to hang out with people. It would drive them crazy to be surrounded by so many elements, wouldn't it?" I kept my voice light and carefree. "I have to go find my boyfriend." It was safer to stop talking to Gary before he started asking too many questions. I'd been certain he didn't see me as a threat, but now I no longer knew what to think. Would carriers attack me because I worked for a governmental organization? I'd never thought about that possibility, so I hoped Lily would deal with the guy, maybe find a way to sway him to her cause without revealing anything about me and my involvement.

Ethan's face cheered up when he saw me, and he reached for my hand. "I thought you ran away from me and my ugly paintings."

"I know nothing about art, but I would never call your paintings ugly before I even saw them." I let him take my hand and lead me to another room with white walls and less light.

"Alright. You can call them ugly after you see them then."

We stopped in front of the first painting, which... well, didn't look like a painting at all. The blond woman in the painting looked as if she would walk out of it any moment, her skin glowing against the darkness of the fantasy scene behind her.

"Do you like it?" Ethan asked eagerly.

"Did you.." I was speechless, getting closer to make sure the painting wasn't a photograph or a poster. "You painted this?"

"Yeah." He grinned.

"You're incredibly talented then." I went on to see other paintings that represented various fantasy scenes or portraits of unknown people. They were all beautiful, even to me. "Why exactly is your family against this?"

"They think art is a waste of time. Well, at least my father thinks that." His smile faded as he looked at his work. It seemed like he was telling me the truth, but I couldn't understand why would anyone be embarrassed or repulsed by these paintings. Unless Ethan had invented the whole story because he wanted something, but what? God, I was going to drive myself crazy.

But wouldn't his family come if they knew about the exposition? The whole city had to know about it because all these people were here, along with the press. Lily hadn't discovered anything about Ethan's father having an illness, which could mean he had magic disease. Why else would he have to stay at home, especially if he didn't have an element? The only problem was that Ethan didn't have the disease, and I didn't know anything about the rest of his family to form any conclusions. Maybe I was being too paranoid and Ethan was only trying to impress me.

"Why are you frowning?" Ethan asked, bringing me back from my thoughts.

"I was just thinking how I'd love to drag your whole family here and show them how to appreciate your work." I waited for his reaction because I knew I couldn't keep bringing up his family in each and every conversation. Ethan only gave me a sad smile, and his eyes darkened for a moment.

"Which one is your favorite?" he asked, once again changing the subject.

I looked around the room and finally pointed my finger at one of them. "That one." It was a painting of a girl with long blond hair who was sitting in the garden and playing a lute in the moonlight.

"It's yours then. I'm giving it to you." He took his phone out of his pocket and swiftly typed something.

"I can't take it. I don't even have where to put it." I really liked the painting, but I wasn't sure what I would do with it.

"It doesn't matter. You can send it home if you don't have space for it at the university."

My thoughts flew to my parents, who no longer wanted anything to do with me. I had no idea where they were or whether they were well. My family had broken into pieces. Pieces I didn't know how to put back together.

"Is something wrong?" Ethan tipped up my chin and looked deep into my eyes.

"Just homesick," I lied. "I'm not sure when I'll go home."

"Don't worry. Holidays are coming soon." Ethan tucked behind my ear a strand of my hair that had escaped from my ponytail.

"I don't really have holidays. I'm the president of the EP, remember?" I stepped away from him.

"Yeah, but they can't hold you in the office forever."

"I'm afraid they can." I started walking toward the exit.

"Why don't you resign? Your mom could be the president... or your brother. You have a brother, right?" Ethan followed me, keeping his eyes glued to my face. Now he was the one who was trying to get some delicate information out of me. Damn it.

"They don't want the job." If Oliver could hear me, he'd strangle me. "I know I could resign and let them choose a new president, but I want to continue my father's work because he believes in me." My father definitely believed I'd mess up.

"Why did your father resign?"

"The job was too stressful for him and it affected his health." And there I was, blaming Ethan for being vague while I was doing the exact same thing.

"I understand," Ethan said pensively. I hoped he'd say more, but he didn't.

"I'm not sure if I told you this already, but you look beautiful tonight," he said, a smile protruding on his lips.

"Thanks." I fought the urge to roll my eyes at yet another change of subject. As soon as we were back in the main room, I went for the nearest table and picked up a glass of champagne. I took a sip and swayed on my feet, spilling half of the cold liquid on Ethan's shirt. He swore, shooting me a deadly glare.

"I'm so sorry," I said, placing the glass on the table.

"It's ok. I'll be right back." Ethan masked the fury in his eyes and strode toward the bathroom. Satisfied that I managed to get rid of him, I lingered near the table, pretending to look bored.

"Do you like Ethan's paintings?" I asked the black-haired woman who was munching on a cupcake.

"Yes, of course," she said, nearly dropping the cupcake.

"Do you know Ethan?" I picked up a cookie from the plate.

"Oh, I knew him since he was little." Her red lips spread into a wide smile, her hazel eyes softening. "His mother and I went to school together. I never knew he was a talented artist. He used to be such a sickly child, always in hospitals."

"Why..." I started to ask.

"I saw the two of you on the news. I usually don't care much about these things, but you're such a lovely couple. I'm glad Ethan found a beautiful girl such as you," she said. "He will make you happy. He's always so nice and polite."

"Yes, he is," I said and gritted my teeth together. Was there a person who didn't know about Ethan and me? Probably not. The media had made sure the news was everywhere, even on every pop up window on the net. Someone put a hand on my lower back and I jumped, surprised to see it was Ethan. His eyes narrowed at me, but I refused to be intimidated by him. Why did he seem upset that I was talking to a woman who knew his mother? He was either very weird or he was hiding something so big that I couldn't even being to imagine what it was.

"I can never tire of saying how lovely you two look together," the woman said, and turned her attention back to her cupcake. I chewed on the insides of my mouth, annoyed that I didn't find out anything and that Ethan was back at my side. I couldn't exactly keep spilling my champagne on him, so I took the glass and gulped down the refreshing liquid, hoping the night would end soon.

Chapter 16

After another long day at work, I dragged myself across the parking lot to my car. One of my guards stepped in front of me, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"You'll have to come with us today," he said, his face serious. "I'll be driving. Please don't ask any questions."

I followed them to the black SUV with tinted windows, suspicious and surprised at the same time. What was wrong now? Did they think my life was in danger? But why didn't they want to tell me anything then? "What about my car? I can't just leave it here," I said when I was sure I could keep my voice steady.

"Don't worry about it. Someone will take it to the university." The guard opened the door for me and I got inside, settling myself in the back seat. One of the guards sat down next to me while the other started the car. "You're scaring me, guys. Can I know what's wrong?"

"You'll know soon enough." The guard next to me gave me a reassuring nod, but that didn't convince me, so I found my phone and started dialing Lily's number.

The guard snatched the phone out of my hand while I was still typing. "I'll be taking this."

"Hey!" I snapped. "Give me back my damn phone! You have no right to do this."

"It will be returned to you later. Please don't make things more difficult."

Unease spread through me and I eyed my guards with mistrust. If the government or Ethan had paid them to betray me, I was in deep trouble. I was contemplating what to do next when the car slowed down in the middle of a tunnel and pulled over next to a silver Audi. The guard reached for something in the inner pocket of his jacket and I jumped, expecting him to pull out a weapon, but the thing in his hand turned out to be a phone. He handed it to me so I could see a video of Lily, who was smiling and waving her hand at me.

"It's alright. Go on," she said, and I got out of the SUV and went to the Audi. The driver winked at me as I settled myself in the passenger seat and fastened my seatbelt. He gunned the engine and the car lurched forward. I glanced at the phone the guard had given me and found a message from Lily telling me that everything would be fine. If we weren't driving at a mind-boggling speed and weaving through cars like in racing games, I'd have asked the driver who he was.

A couple of minutes later, the driver steered into an underground parking lot, pulling over right in front of the door, the tires screeching on the asphalt.

"Thanks for the drive," I said as I got out of the car, and the driver flashed me a smile. Where had Lily found this guy? He didn't have an element, or at least I couldn't feel it, so he was probably a carrier, but I had no idea why Lily trusted him so much to let him drive me to her secret hideout... or wherever I was. Two guards stood in front of the door, one bald and the other blond.

"Welcome. Take the elevator and go to the second floor," the blond guard said, opening the door for me.

"Thank you." I smiled and strode inside. It was impossible to miss the open elevator because it was the only source of light. I could feel various elements in the building, which seemed to have at least ten floors, so I wondered why Lily wanted me to meet her here. Hell, I wasn't even sure if that was what she wanted since everyone was being so secretive. Maybe I was meeting someone whose plan was to put a bullet in my head, and not Lily.