The Space Beyond (The Book of Phoenix) (20 page)

“He’s fine,” Jeric said, but his smile faltered. “Physically anyway. Knocked the other guy out again.”

Bex nodded and beamed, though I recognized the falseness of it. “That’s good.”

“Your sister showed up,” Jeric said as he eyed her.

Bex’s eyebrows shot up. “
Sissy?
She went to Ty’s fight?”

“Yeah. I was almost afraid you’d come with her. That could have been a deadly distraction, so thanks for being here.”

“You’re welcome,” she muttered. “I can’t believe her. She did that instead of coming here to help me pack. This is half her shit, too!”

Jeric cocked his head. “It might be a good thing. For both of them.”

I understood fully what he meant, feeling it from him, but I didn’t know if Bex did. Something seemed to dawn in her eyes, though.

“So I guess all ya’ll will be celebrating together,” she said.

“Actually, Ty and Sissy stayed over in Misty Springs to celebrate with a bunch of their friends. I think they wanted to rub it in to the people over there,” Jeric said.

Bex snorted. “Not surprised. They’ve always been a rival, thinkin’ they’re better than us and everything.” She looked at Jeric and then me, her eyes bright again. “So then ya’ll can have a cookout with Mason and me, right?”

Jeric and I exchanged a look, and I nodded. After the discussion Bex and I had just had, I wanted nothing more at the moment than to meet this Mason, especially with the revelation that Mason Hayes did kind of sound like it could be a version of Nathayden.

Jeric rubbed his hand over his head. “I’d already asked Brock and Asia to come over.”

“Bex,” I said, “why don’t you and Mason come over to our place? Your stuff is already packed up, and there’s no reason to dirty anything.”

She grinned. “Perfect!”

Jeric and I left to make a trip to the grocery store, then clean up and prepare for our guests. He enjoyed the normalcy of planning for our first little dinner party—if you called grilling burgers in the fire pit of our campsite, chips, and beer on the picnic table outside a dinner party. I liked the idea, too, but was even happier that we’d all have the chance to spend time with Bex and Mason.

“Do you still think she’s Rebethannah?” Asia asked as we formed hamburger patties inside while Brock and Jeric started the coals outside. Bex had called to say Mason was still thirty minutes away.

“Have you changed your mind?” I asked.

“Nope,” Asia said matter-of-factly, shaking her head. Her hair, now a deep violet color, swished over her shoulders. “I don’t feel it. But you’re the one who’s supposed to know long before the rest of us. Remember?”

I scooped up a handful of meat and rolled it around between my palms. “I do still think she was Bex in my past life. And I know for a fact that Bex didn’t meet her Twin Flame before she died. She was always searching, though. Just like this one.”

“Yeah, I get it,” Asia said. “You think she’s going Dark. You think the Lakari are here for her. You keep saying that, but we haven’t seen a shred of proof of it. In fact, when I saw her at the bar the other night—her last night there?—she was happy, Leni. She practically glowed. I don’t think that’s how a soul going Dark looks.”

I groaned while pressing a patty into shape. “I know. That’s what keeps throwing me off. But then I wonder if it’s her Darkness that’s getting in our way of knowing for sure. And if she is Rebethannah, I can’t help but wonder if Nathayden’s somewhere else, on a different world, and that’s why she’s Dark. And why she keeps searching, and why he was trying to reach out to us.”

“Or maybe she’s one of those souls who hasn’t found and Bonded with her soul mate yet,” Asia countered. “You have to consider she’s not a half of anything. And Nathayden … we haven’t learned anything about him at all. Did you ever get an answer in the Book?”

I frowned and shook my head. “Nothing at all. And as far as we know, nothing exciting’s happened at the Gate, either.”

“Then he could be anywhere, Leni. He could be on this world alone, or he could be somewhere else completely. He could be with Rebethannah this very minute.”

“Yeah, he could be,” I admitted as I glanced out the window toward the trailer park. “But I had an idea today when Bex and I were talking. There’s a chance we might know tonight when we finally meet this Mason dude.”

I told her about our conversation and suggested the possibility that Mason could be Nathayden.

Asia’s pixie nose crinkled. “Now that’s one option I’m sure is wrong. That makes the least sense of anything. If both of their souls were here, the Guides would have known. The Lakari would be all over them if they’d Bonded. Hell, their Bond would be so strong right now, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. We’d know without a doubt.”

“You’re the one who said everyone’s different.”

“Yeah, but how long did you say they’ve been seeing each other? A couple of months, right?”

“I’m not sure when it actually started, but yeah, at least that long, I think.”

“I don’t think any dyads have gone that long without being attacked or getting soul-sickness.”

I looked out the window again, watching Jeric and Brock play with the fire, and sighed. “You’re probably right. I’m just so frustrated. I
feel
like we’re this close”—I held my finger and thumb within millimeters of each other—“to our answers, yet worlds away from them, too.”

As Asia had said, we had no evidence of anything. We were barely better off than the day we’d come to Lake Haven. We didn’t even know for sure that the Lakari were after Bex, which meant we were failing in all three of our missions: identifying whom the Lakari hunted, finding Rebethannah, and helping Nathayden. Theo had told me repeatedly to follow my intuition, that it was my soul talking to me, but so far, my soul was just as confused as my brain. And the damn Book hadn’t helped us one bit.

“I do think you’re about to learn something,” she said, lifting her chin toward the window. Bex had come through the trees with a tall, dark, and handsome guy by her side. “I think meeting this Mason will give us answers. They may not be the ones you want, but at least you’ll know.”

I nodded and put on my smile, though my insides didn’t feel so confident. After we washed our hands, I grabbed the plate of raw burgers and followed Asia outside.

On closer inspection, Mason wasn’t as handsome as I’d expected or thought he’d been from a distance. At least, not to me, but in my eyes, nobody compared to Jeric. The doctor had more of a pretty-boy face with light-green eyes many might find gorgeous, but I found unnerving. As Bex made introductions, grinning the whole time like a schoolgirl with her first real crush, Mason seemed nice enough. I couldn’t help but notice, though, that he appeared to size up Jeric and Brock, even as he joked with them. When it came time to shake my hand, something passed between us, but so quickly, I couldn’t identify it.

And I felt absolutely nothing from his soul.

Bex, on the other hand, obviously felt everything. She’d seemed happy with Ty at the party in the field, but only now did I see that had been a ruse. Or maybe it had been the alcohol. She definitely had a connection with Ty, but it wasn’t deep and he did nothing for her compared to Mason. She really did glow around him. Her smile appeared genuine, reaching her eyes—no, coming through her eyes and reaching her mouth. She laughed giddily at his jokes, and when she wasn’t close enough to touch him, her hand twitched or her leg bounced, as though she ached to be close enough again.

“He’s definitely not Nathayden,” Brock said after the lovebirds had left. Asia must have told him my lame theory—my hope that had now been squashed. The two of them sat in lawn chairs, and Jeric and I sat backwards on the picnic table bench on the other side of the fire pit. Small flames licked the remainder of the wood in the pit, and the burning coals cast an orange glow on everyone’s faces.

“No, he’s not,” I agreed, my heart sinking with the admission. Jeric slid his arm over my shoulders, trying to relieve the frustration he felt from me.

“He seemed great, though,” Asia said. “You can’t deny how happy he makes her.”

I leaned forward, put my elbow on my knee, and rested my chin in my hand. Was he all that great? Or did he only
seem
great on the outside but had something going on inside? Or was I reading way too much into him? I stared into the fire, as if the flames could provide answers.

“Yeah. If she were in danger of going Dark, I’d say that guy brought her out of it,” Brock said.

“Which means he’d be her soul mate, right?” Jeric asked.

“Could be,” Asia said. “If they were split souls and reBonded, the Lakari would surely be on the attack by now. They’re obviously not. I don’t even feel their presence.”

I did. As we’d expected, the Lakari had returned after the party, and they still maintained a presence. The Dark ones weren’t as close as usual at the moment, but I felt them somewhere nearby. Still, they certainly weren’t riled up and trying to stop a pair of Twin Flames from Bonding.

“So if they’re soul mates, it’s a simple matter that each of their souls were made for the other, and they found each other this time around,” Brock said. “They probably have several cycles to go before they become One. If they ever get there. In other words, not our concern.”

“And she’s definitely not Rebethannah,” Asia added. “No way can a split soul feel the way she obviously does about someone who’s not her Twin Flame.”

This fact disappointed me the most—because it was so spot on. If there was any proof Bex was not Rebethannah, this was it. Which meant my instinct about her had been completely wrong. Even just this afternoon, I’d been fairly sure she was Rebethannah, but I knew better now. I couldn’t trust my intuition after all. And how was I supposed to do my job for Jeric and everyone else if my instinct was broken?

“At least we know that much now so we can focus on who
is
going Dark around here,” Brock said. “My bet’s still on Ty.”

We’d discussed the possibility of Ty being our mission before, but I didn’t feel it. Not then, not now. Ty was heartbroken, yes, but I didn’t think he was at risk of going Dark. Not any more than several other people in this town, including Elizabeth. In fact, my bet would be more on her than Ty. But I didn’t say any of this aloud.

I remained stuck on Bex. And on Mason. I stared at the fire, trying to work through exactly what I felt in my soul. There was
something
. Something about him, maybe. Definitely something about her. She may not have been Rebethannah, but I still felt a connection to her. I needed to figure out why.

And speaking of someone on the verge of going Dark, I could almost believe it to be Mason. Yes, he seemed to make Bex happy, and he appeared to be happy with her. But appearances could be deceiving. Something lay under his surface, and it definitely didn’t feel like Light. If he lived in this town, I’d say with near certainty he was the Lakari’s target.

My soul pricked on this idea, and I thought maybe I was on to something. I needed to find out more, though, before I could suggest this new theory to the others. Especially since my instinct had been so far off already.

“I’m sorry, babe,” Jeric said later, after Brock and Asia had left. “I know you thought there was more to Bex.”

“I still do,” I said quietly. “Something’s off, Jeric. I can’t pinpoint what it is, but I
feel
it.”

Ghost strode up and rubbed against my legs. “Mrow,” he said.

I picked him up and held him against me as I petted him. He purred appreciatively. “Do you know, Ghost?”

“Mrow,” he repeated.

I sighed. “Well, if you do have the answers, you’re no help because I don’t speak Cat.”

I set him in my lap and stroked his back while tilting my head to lean on Jeric’s shoulder.

“What do you think we should do?” he asked. “I’m here for
you
, babe. I’m perfectly fine doing what we’re doing, but I know I’m supposed to trust you and your instincts. And I’m trying. So tell me what you think we should do.”

I snorted. “I’m beginning to wonder if my instincts are worthy of your trust, and I don’t know what to do. But we can’t dismiss Bex so quickly, Jeric. And I don’t think we should blow off Mason, either. As much as it looks like he’s good for her, I …” I lifted my hands, palms up. “I don’t buy it. There’s still something about them that we need to figure out.”

Chapter 18

Bored outta my mind. I’d been in Orlando for over a week and hadn’t done much more than play house. Mason worked a lot more hours than I’d realized, and he was hardly ever home. I cleaned all day to meet his perfectionist standards and fixed him dinner, and he gave me an hour or so of attention before either crashing after a double-shift or returning to the hospital for another. For someone used to working every waking hour, I was close to losin’ my marbles.

Before I’d even unpacked, I’d gone out and applied for jobs at every restaurant and bar in a ten-mile radius. Nobody talked to me, just gave me applications to fill out, so I’d hit them all in three days. I’d thought it would be easy to find something with my experience, especially with the holidays and tourist season coming up, but either everyone else in Orlando was looking for work, too, or these nicer places simply took more time to make decisions. I was sure if I walked into a honkytonk, they’d hire me on the spot if they had an opening, but I wanted the big tips that you don’t get at a hole-in-the-wall beer shack.

“Why don’t you try something different?” Mason had asked over dinner last night. “There’s a ton of hotels in this city, and your work at the RV office would probably count as experience.”

I used my fork to press designs into my mashed potatoes. “I don’t know about that.”

“How different could it be? It’s customer service and assigning rooms to people, just like assigning RV sites, right? And you have tons of customer service experience, too.” He shoved a bite of meatloaf in his mouth and chewed it. “Or, there must be an office job for you somewhere.”

I looked at him with an eyebrow raised. “Who’s going to hire me for an office job? Or for a hotel front desk, for that matter? I have a piercing in my nose and ink in lots of places.”

He frowned. “Take the piercing out. Cover the tats with clothes, like I do. You should have probably thought about those things before you got them. Think ahead next time, Bex.”

My eyes widened, then I blinked.

“I
did
think ahead and knew I’d never want a stuffy-ass job where I couldn’t be myself,” I snapped. I stood up and snatched his plate, not caring if he was done eating or not, stacked it with mine and carried them into the kitchen. I couldn’t help but add, “Or a stuffy-ass boyfriend, for that matter.”

I began rinsing off the dishes until Mason came behind me and took them from my hands. “Let me do them.”

“No. I need something to do.”

He pressed his body against mine and his mouth to my ear. “You’re going to break something, Bex.”

I eased my grip on the glass plate, but didn’t let go. He remained behind me, his arms wrapped around me as we did the dishes together, his erection growing as it rubbed against my ass the whole time.

“I have plenty for you to do now,” he said when we finished cleaning the kitchen.

His gaze slid slowly down my body, clad in a sundress and not much else. In a lightning flash move, he had me backed against the counter and his hand under my dress and in my panties. He stroked me with his finger before sliding it inside me, our eyes locked the whole time, even as I gasped and convulsed. Just as quickly, he removed his hand, making me want for more.

“Take off your dress,” he ordered.

Ah. I smiled. We were doing this again. Pretty much since I’d moved in, he’d taken a dominant role in the bedroom. I didn’t mind. It was kind of fun, actually.

I glanced at the window with the open curtains.

“I said to take off your dress,” he said. “Now what do you say?”

“Um … the neighbors?” I offered, although I knew that wasn’t the answer he was looking for.

He narrowed his eyes. “Fuck them. If they want to watch, let them. Now. Take off your dress, Bex.”

He’d been in a kinky mood. Being on the top floor, however, I doubted too many people could see in anyway.

“As you wish, Mason.” I pulled the straps off each shoulder, then reached behind me to unzip the back. He watched me closely, hunger in his eyes, as my breasts sprang free from the tight top and the dress dropped and pooled at my feet. He licked his lips as his gaze landed at my panties.

“Turn around. Slowly.”

I kicked my dress to the side and did as he said. I may have jutted my ass out a little as I looked over my shoulder at him.

“Damn, Bex, you look good in a thong. Turn back around,” he said while he began unbuttoning his shirt.

When I did, I stepped forward to help him, but he shook his head, already done. He slid his shirt off and then his undershirt. I reached out to touch his chiseled chest, wanting to lick his ink, but he grabbed my wrist and yanked my arm down.

“On your knees,” he said.

I looked at him with a smile playing on my lips.

“On your knees,” he ordered again.

“As you wish, Mason,” I said as I dropped to my knees.

He smiled down at me and brought my hand to the bulge in his pants, making me rub it.

“Release my cock,” he said, and I undid his buckle and the button and pulled down his pants and boxer-briefs together so that he sprang out at my face. His fingers brushed across my lips, then slid inside, and I sucked them for a moment before he used them to open my mouth wider. At the same time, his other hand clasped the back of my head and pulled me closer to him, so I had no choice but to wrap my lips around him and take him in. “Fuck me with your mouth, Bex.”

And hearing him moan, feeling him tremble, knowing I was making him lose control now, that I could bring him to this … it made being a little submissive worth it. His returning of the favor made it worth it, too. When he was satisfied, he lifted me up to the counter, not complaining now about my ass being on it, and played with my tits before dropping to his own knees and spreading my legs wide. I couldn’t help but look at the window, gazing at our reflection and wondering if anyone else was watching, too. Just in case, I did everything to make it a great show, especially when he sprawled me on my stomach across the café table right in front of the window as he entered me from behind and pounded until he collapsed on top of me, both of us trembling.

“I love you exactly as you are,” he whispered in my ear afterward, sending an aftershock down my spine.

My days may have been boring as hell, but sex with Mason made up for it all.

Now, I sat on the couch at Mason’s immaculate condo, the remote in one hand, and my other one rubbing between my legs, teasing myself while I wished he was home. I thought about making a mess just so I could have something to do by cleaning it up. Daytime TV bored me. Arts and crafts were never my thing, and what would have been the point? Mason had thrown a bit of a hissy fit when he saw some of my things out, decorating this place and making it look more like a home. Turned out, it was a silly matter—he said he felt like my angels were staring at him, making him feel guilty for even touching me in an inappropriate way. Even so,
if
I were to bother making something with my own two hands and he threw another fit, I’d probably punch him.

I tossed the remote on the coffee table and glanced at the clock for the sixtieth time in an hour. Yep, I’d caught it at every single minute. And there were still another ninety-eight minutes to go before Mason should be home. I’d already done the prep work for dinner, so I had eighty-eight minutes to spare before I needed to start cooking. Mason didn’t like eating the minute he arrived home, needing time to wash off the ickiness of his day first. Sissy hadn’t answered her phone the last time I called, so I couldn’t even kill time talking to her.

I flopped sideways onto the hard couch, rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling. I could never be a housewife. I’d lose my damn mind.

I thought about letting my mind wander into another daydream, maybe finish rubbing one out, but that didn’t even sound good compared to the real thing. I wanted to be hot and achy for him.
Eighty-seven minutes
, I thought with a sigh, my groin already throbbing. Hmm … I wondered if Mason would freak out if I made and served him dinner wearing nothing but an apron. We’d had sex in the kitchen, after all, although we’d spent an hour afterward bleaching everything. No food had been out, though, and how would he react to my naked hooha so close to his dinner?

My cell phone rang, making me jump.

“Sissy,” I said, a little excitedly when I answered. “I’m so—”

“Bex,” she interrupted with panic in her voice, “you need to get to the hospital immediately.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Mama’s bad, and they’re taking her in the ambulance now. Call Mason, okay?”

She hung up without another word. I shot off the couch, ran for my shoes and purse and then for the door while dialing Mason. His voicemail greeted me.

We lived only a few minutes from the hospital, and I arrived there right before the ambulance pulled into the emergency bay. When I tried to follow them inside, though, they shooed me out, telling me to go around to the front desk and start the paperwork. The middle-aged brunette at the desk handed me a clipboard at the same time Sissy came running through the doors.

“What happened?” I asked her as she threw her arms around me.

Sissy stepped back and wiped at her cheeks. “She had a rough night last night, barfin’ every time she ate or drank anything, and she just kept gettin’ worse today. The last couple of times she ralphed, it was blood.”

“Ohmagosh.” I took her hand and pulled her into the waiting room with its pale blue walls and lines of blue vinyl-covered chairs. The obligatory TV in the upper corner of the room showed the weather. We sat in the first two seats we came to—only one other person sat in the corner, his crossed arms resting on his round belly and his head lolled to the side as he snored. Hopefully the empty waiting room meant the ER wasn’t overly busy inside.

“It’s not the first time there’s been blood,” Sissy said. “It happened a few months ago, when I first started helping her? The doctors said she’d probably irritated her stomach or esophagus linin’. But, Bex … today it was nothin’
but
blood.
Loads
of it, like she was a damn vampire and just sucked someone dry or somethin’. The home nurse Mason hired doesn’t come today, so I was by myself. It was scary as shit.”

I slid my arm over her shoulders and pulled her close to me—as close as we could get with the chair’s arm between us. She tucked her face into my neck and began to shake with sobs. I stuck the clipboard between my hip and the chair and wrapped my other arm around her.

“This is bad, Bex,” she said between sobs. “I feel it in my bones.”

“Shh,” I soothed as my hand stroked up and down her back. “No jumpin’ to conclusions. Let the doctors do their thing. Mason will do whatever it takes.”

She sniffled and drew in a ragged breath. “Is he here?”

“He’s here at the hospital. I got his voicemail, but surely they paged him down to the ER since his patient is here.”

After Sissy calmed down, I filled out the paperwork with her help and gave the clipboard back to the woman at the front desk. She wasn’t able to give me any news. We waited for what could have been minutes but felt like hours … or days. So many times I was tempted to call Mason again, but if he was busy with Mama, I didn’t want to interrupt him. Finally, someone came through the double doors and called our last name. Sissy and I hurried over to the motherly woman dressed in scrubs with cartoon zombies all over them. She had a messed up sense of humor.

“We’ve stabilized your mother,” she said, “and they’re taking her to the ICU now.”

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Is she going to be okay?” Sissy asked at the same time.

“I can’t tell you any more than that. Her doctors will come talk to you when they can. ICU’s on the second floor.”

We had a few more papers to sign, and then we hurried to the elevator and the second floor, only to find ourselves a few minutes later waiting in another room, this one called a family room. The space was much smaller than the one downstairs, pale green instead of blue, and with only a few chairs and a door to close for privacy. I couldn’t help but imagine how many times a day doctors walked through that door to say, “We did everything we could.” Were we the next family to hear those words? How would I react if we were? Mama’s and my relationship was still rocky at best. I didn’t know anymore if more time—whether days or years—would improve it. But that didn’t mean I was ready to say goodbye forever, either.

When an older man with gray hair curling around his paper hat and wearing blue scrubs approached the door, my lungs froze mid-breath. Another man jogged up behind him, this one younger, probably in his late thirties. They exchanged a few words before opening the door. Where was Mason?

A few pleasantries and introductions were made, followed by the older doctor, Dr. Wilcoxson, saying, “Your mother’s in serious condition, but stable. She has some internal bleeding, but we’re not sure where yet. We’re going to keep her in the ICU overnight for close observation. If she remains stabilized, we can discuss options tomorrow. We may have to go in for surgery.”

Sissy had all kinds of questions, most of which I didn’t understand and they didn’t know how to answer. They just kept saying Mama needed rest and time before they’d have more definitive answers.

“Where’s Mason?” I finally blurted out.

The doctors exchanged a look.

“Who?” Dr. Wilcoxson asked.

“She means Dr. Hayes, sir,” Sissy said, giving me a dirty look. Shit. I could get Mason in trouble if I showed too much familiarity. “Mason Hayes?”