Turbulence (20 page)

Avalon ran over to the keypad and punched in a series of
numbers. The light blinked but stayed red. She tried combination after
combination until a loud alarm began blaring. Great. Just great. In
desperation, Avalon pulled on the door handles and then threw her weight
against the doors. They wouldn’t budge.

What was she going to do now? She passed another set of
stairs on her way there. Maybe they would lead out or at least away from this
mess. Avalon turned back around and ran smack dab into the brick wall that was
Greyson.

He caught and steadied her before she fell. “Where are you
going? You’re supposed to be out of here.”

“I couldn’t unlock the door. I didn’t have the code.”

“Damn. I forgot about that. I was just going to beat the
thing.”

“What about the other staircase?” she asked.

He nodded. “Yeah, that could work.”

They ran to the stairs. The door to them had a lock on it
too, of course. It was a padlock.

“Stand back,” Greyson warned.

Avalon actually saw the air—a swirl of pale blue and
gray—shoot into the padlock. It burst in a spray of metal. He yanked open the
door and pulled her into the dark stairwell. Her breath left her body in shaky
gasps. The adrenaline that carried her this far was fading…quickly.

Still, Avalon kept a tight grip on Greyson’s hand as they
ran up the steps. She tripped a couple times, skinning her knees. He slowed
down enough to help her back to her feet and then kept towing her.

At the top of the stairwell was another door. There was no
lock on it, but when Greyson tried to open it, it wouldn’t budge.

Avalon released his hand and leaned against the railing. Her
head was spinning and she felt faint. As if she’d been out in the cold with no
coat, she began trembling. The stress of the situation and what she’d just put
her body through was taking a toll.

“Hang on, sunshine. We’re almost out.”

Greyson threw all of his weight against the door, leading
with his shoulder. It took three more tries before the door shot open. By that
time, Avalon felt worse. She was hot and cold at the same time. Greyson took
one look at her and scooped her up in his arms.

She must have closed her eyes for a second because the next
thing she knew, she felt fresh, chilled air. They made it out. The air felt
wonderful against her burning hot skin.

Greyson put her down on her feet. “We’re not out of the
clear yet,” he said, voice grim. “But you’re not looking good. I’ll find a
place for us to hide and rest for a little while. Hold on a few more minutes.”

Avalon tried to tell him okay, but as soon as she opened her
mouth, blood spilled from between her lips. Her eyes rolled back into her head.
Her knees gave out.

----

Ross walked through the automatic doors of the human
hospital with Dex, Lily, Veeva, and Miriam the healer trailing closely behind
him.

When he got the call from Greyson, a collective sigh of relief
went through them all. That quickly turned to dread when all his brother told
him was to get to the hospital. They’d gotten there as quickly as they could,
though the hospital was easily forty miles away from the colony.

He found Greyson pacing in the hallway of the Intensive Care
Unit and his heart dropped. The male looked like he’d been through hell and
back. His clothes were ripped and covered in dirt and blood. His face sported
old and fresh bruises. None of that compared to the deep misery in his brown
eyes. Ross had never seen his brother look so dejected and bleak.

And because it was Greyson waiting in the busy hall, Ross’s
heart drop another inch. Something had happened to Avalon. Something bad.

Ross cleared his suddenly clogged throat. “Greyson. Sir.”

His brother glanced at each of them. That solemn gaze stayed
on Veeva the longest, like he was apologizing the only way he knew how at that
moment.

Veeva’s lips trembled. She placed a hand against her chest.
“Where is my baby? What’s wrong with Avalon?”

“I don’t know.” Greyson’s voice was hoarse and thin, like it
had given up. “The doctors don’t know. They’re running tests. I brought her
here so they could help her, but they don’t know what to do.”

“Avalon needs our support right now,” Dex stated solemnly.

“Can we see her?” Lily asked, burying herself against Dex’s
side. She looked so small and fragile.

Greyson nodded. “Three at a time.”

Veeva pushed past them and walked into the room. The sound
of her wail was heartbreaking and Ross hadn’t even seen Avalon yet. Greyson
waved Dex and Lily into the room.

Not being Earth natives, the Jhetans didn’t really have an
age set to the human scale, but if they did, Greyson probably would have been
about thirty or somewhere close to it. Today he looked much older than his
years, with the lines of worry etched into his face.

None of the problems Ross had with his brother mattered.
Greyson was in agony. He’d gone through something that the rest of them
probably couldn’t even imagine. Sibling bickering seemed so insignificant in
comparison.

Greyson focused on Miriam. He stuffed his hands into his
pockets. “I need you to help her. Avalon can’t die.”

Miriam took a deep breath. “I have to see her first to
determine what issues are plaguing her. I don’t mean to sound discouraging, but
it may be something I can’t cure.”

“You healed Dex.”

Dex had blown up a building and was knocked into a coma a
little over a year ago. It was a dark time for them all because not long
afterward, Department X had raided the colony.

“Only partly, sir,” she corrected. “His body was responsible
for the rest. He very well could have died.” Miriam moved toward him. “Let me
heal your wounds. You have a great deal of them.”

Greyson put his hands out and stepped back. “Don’t touch me.
I’m fine. Save yourself for Avalon.”

“At least let me heal that bullet wound on your thigh.”

The glare Greyson gave Miriam could have burned her were it
tangible. The healer promptly shut her mouth.

“What happened, Greyson?” Ross wanted to know everything.
He’d been worried sick.

He shook his head of dirty blonde hair. “This is not the
time or the place to talk about it.”

Ross bit his tongue to keep from spitting out more
questions. Lily and Dex walked out of the room. Tears streaked down Lily’s
face. Dex whispered something in Greyson’s ear then clapped him on the back. He
then walked Lily toward the waiting area.

“I’m going to go in,” Miriam said.

Greyson followed her. There were already three people in the
room, but Ross walked in behind them anyway. What he saw made him want to fall
to his knees and weep.

Avalon lay so still in bed. Her skin, which was already
pale, was ghostly white. The blue of her veins stood out in striking contrast
to the almost translucent quality of her skin. Wires jutted out from her arms.
A clear tube rested beneath her nose, giving her oxygen.

If Lily looked small and fragile, there were no words to
describe Avalon. The only indications that she was even alive were the machines
that beeped all around her. Ross was filled with profound sympathy and sadness.

“She stopped breathing on the way over,” Greyson said
quietly while grabbing Avalon’s hand, rubbing his thumb gently back and forth
over her skin. Ross had never seen this sort of tenderness from his brother.
Had it been anyone but Avalon, he wouldn’t have believed a woman could have
that type of influence on Greyson.

“How’d you get here?” Ross wondered. A couple of police
officers had found Greyson’s vehicle abandoned in a vacant lot in the next town
over from Forest Hills.

Greyson responded, “I ran as far as I could. Then I flagged
a car down. Avalon probably would have died otherwise. We were too far away
from help.”

“Oh, sweetie.” Veeva sniffed. She smoothed Avalon’s black
hair back from her face. “Hang on. Gram’s here. You’re going to be all right.”

“Can you all step back?” Miriam came over to where Avalon
lay in the bed. She’d been standing back and observing.

Everyone gave her room. She held out both hands and let them
hover above Avalon’s still body. She started from the top of her head and moved
down to her feet. The healer’s face scrunched in bafflement. She ran her
outstretched hands back up Avalon’s body.

“This is… I’ve never encountered this before. I sense a
foreign agent working against her body. I can’t tell what it is.” She looked at
Greyson. “I know you don’t want to, but you’re going to have to tell me what
happened, sir.”

Greyson dragged his hands down his haggard face. “It’s a
long story.”

“Just tell us what happened to Avalon,” Ross interjected.
The rest could wait. Avalon’s health took precedence.

“She was injected with a poison. I don’t know what. But I
was told she would die if she didn’t get the antidote. I couldn’t find it. I
looked and then things happened and I left without it.”

Veeva stared at her granddaughter, wiped her eyes. “Did you
tell the doctors?”

“Of course I did,” he replied angrily. “There isn’t much
they can do as I already said. At least not until they figure out what it is
that is affecting her body this way. By then, it could be too late.”

“This is all your fault.” Veeva jabbed her finger at Greyson
in bitter accusation. “She wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you.”

“I know.” Greyson’s head dropped in shame. A very
un-Greyson-like thing to do. He really did blame himself. “If I could take her
place, I would. Believe me.”

 “I should have never allowed her to date you. I knew you
were bad for her.”

“Veeva. Enough. Jumping over my brother isn’t helping
anything. If you’d take a moment to look at him, you’d see he’s hurting too.”
Physically and emotionally.

She sniffled. “He’s not lying in a hospital bed, is he?”

Miriam ignored them all. “My skills aren’t any use to her
right now besides healing the superficial wounds. Like I stated before, I can
sense the toxin in her body. With more time studying her, I can probably
identify it and create the antidote to heal her. I might be able to do it
faster than the doctors, but she is going to have to come back to the colony.”

“No!” Veeva shouted in outrage. “What if she dies on the way
there? I won’t risk it. The human doctors will find a cure. They know how to
prolong life.”

“I understand where you’re coming from, Veeva, but it’s not
your decision. It’s Greyson’s.”

“He may be the leader of our people, but he hasn’t proven
himself to be worthy of deciding on such a grave matter. I’m the only family
Avalon has.”

Miriam glanced uneasily from Veeva to Greyson. “Actually the
reason Greyson makes the final decision is because he’s her mate.”

“What?” Veeva stated loudly.

“When I was checking her over, I sensed it.”

Greyson made no visible reaction to that pronouncement,
which was odd for someone who was so anti-bonding before. Yet underneath the
stench of blood, dirt, and sweat, Ross smelled Avalon’s unique scent all over
his brother. It was a blood-mating scent, the scent that told everyone that you
were taken. It was sort of like the human wedding ring.

Ross grabbed Greyson’s right hand. Right there in the middle
of his palm was a crudely drawn ‘X’. 
Well, I’ll be damned
, he thought.
Never thought he’d see the day Greyson was a blood bonded man.

He certainly didn’t think Greyson would be bonded before him
if the day ever happened. A twinge of jealousy snaked up on him and it
embarrassed Ross to feel that way, especially with what was going on. He
clamped down on it.

“Congrats, brother,” he said.

“There is nothing to celebrate. Not with Avalon lying here
like this. Our bond connection is weakening.” Such anguish in his voice.

“Then what do you want to do with Avalon, sir?” Miriam
inquired impatiently.

“She’s staying here,” Veeva snapped.

“Veeva, we have already established that it’s not your
choice to make.”

Greyson worked his jaw back and forth. For a long while all
that was heard were the sounds of the machines monitoring Avalon’s delicate
life.

“She goes,” he finally said. “I want her home, in our bed.
That’s the final
decision.”

Chapter 20

Greyson couldn’t believe he was singing. He didn’t sing and
definitely not to a woman. But that didn’t stop him from crooning to Avalon’s unconscious
form the lyrics to “You Are My Sunshine,” the song Emmie and the other children
learned at school and taught to him some time ago.

On the way home, he’d somehow been convinced to allow Miriam
to heal him of his injuries. Avalon had safely made the trip to Forest Hills
without incident thanks to the healer. As far as Miriam could tell, she wasn’t
getting worse, but she wasn’t getting better either.

When Greyson pictured Avalon lying in his bed—their bed—he
imagined her thickly lashed eyelids falling enticingly over violet eyes as she gazed
at him after making love. He’d tease her and kiss her then they’d fall asleep
within each other’s arms. Now Greyson wasn’t sure that would ever happen.

Dex and Ross kept pestering him about what happened when he
and Avalon disappeared. All Greyson’s mind could focus on was his mate. He had
locked the door to their room and had forbidden anyone from coming in, except
Miriam since she was still working on identifying the components to whatever
Larsen shot into Avalon. Veeva hadn’t been too happy about being shut out, but
Greyson didn’t give a damn.

“Come on, sunshine. Wake up.”

With a cloth he soaked in a bowl of cool water, he dabbed at
her clammy skin. Greyson wasn’t a praying man. He didn’t believe much in gods.
Avalon did. Like others in the colony, she attended a church in town. But he
was willing to believe for her.

He put the towel back into the bowl, got to his knees, and
pressed his palms together. He’d seen this praying posture on television. Maybe
it would work for him.

“God, I don’t really know much about you. But I hear you
know and see everything. That means you see Avalon. She’s sick. She is dying. I
don’t know how to help. I don’t want her to die. It would destroy me. I love
her so much and I haven’t even told her. Please, help her. Heal her. Do
something. Just don’t let her leave me. She is the sweetest, purest soul I have
ever known. I know I’m far from perfect. I heard that doesn’t matter to you.
But if you still can’t do it for me, do it for her. That’s it. Um, amen.”

A knock came at the door just as he was finishing. Greyson
stood up and crossed the room to answer it. It was Veeva. Though he felt Avalon
was his and his alone, he knew that wasn’t true. She had others who cared about
her as well, including her out of control grandmother. He left the room,
allowing her to spend time with Avalon alone even though it pained him to
leave.

Greyson went down to the kitchen. Ross, Lily, and Dex were
all sitting around. Conversation came to an abrupt halt when he entered.

“What?” Did he have something on his face?

Lily put her hand on her stomach and rubbed. “We just didn’t
expect to see you.” Greyson didn’t come out of his room too often, choosing to spend
his time with his ailing mate.

He shrugged. “I’m hungry.”

And he was ready to discuss the Department X situation with
them now. That praying thing lifted a weight off his shoulders. He didn’t know
whether it would work, but he had hope. At this point, it was all he could ask
for.

“Sit down at the table,” Lily directed. “I’ll make you a
salad. Apple, goat cheese and arugula, right?”

Greyson paused mid-sit. “Yeah. How did you know?”

“I watched Avalon make it for you a dozen times.” There went
every set of eyes on him. It made his neck itch. “Has Miriam made any
progress?” Lily inquired.

“Progress, yes. Does she have an antidote we can use? No.”

“Miriam is the best. She’ll come up with something,” Ross
said.

Greyson caught him watching Lily with longing as he always
did whenever he thought no one was looking. He used to think Ross was a fool
for love, but now that he knew how good it felt to be in love, he just felt
sorry that his brother was pining after a taken woman. Because if Dex was
anything like Greyson, he’d never let Lily go.

“It’s a good thing you called when you did,” Dex stated
after taking a large gulp from a bottle of water. “I had Homeland Security
gearing up to find your ass.”

Lily slid his salad in front of him. Greyson dug in. He
hadn’t eaten all day. “We still may need them. Department X was holding Avalon
and me captive. We got away.”

“Don’t you think that was something you should have
mentioned, I don’t know, days ago?” He didn’t seem surprised. No one did.

“I kind of have a situation. Excuse me if I preferred not to
think about it.”

Dex bit back whatever smart comment he was about to respond
with. “How’d they get you?”

“Ambushed us the night we had dinner at the Italian
restaurant.” Greyson stuffed an apple into his mouth. “Philip O’Day decided the
best way to get me to turn over control of our people to him was to kidnap me
and poison Avalon.”

“Philip O’Day. Never heard of him. Why does he want the
Jhetans?”

“Power. Wants to rule the world. Alien invasion. Super
soldiers. All that jazz. That’s not the worst part. You want bad or worse news
first?”

Ross’s golden brows pinched together. “Not much of a choice.
Give us the bad.”

Greyson swallowed his food before answering. “Nile is one of
O’Day’s super-Jhetan errand boys. He’s not the Nile we remember. It’s like he
beefed up on steroids or something. He got a personality switch to go with it.
He’s not as far gone as others, but he’s bad enough.”

Lily slapped a hand over her mouth. “That’s terrible. How
are you going to tell Barry? Nile’s father would want to know.”

“I’m not telling him anything. Next time we see Nile he’s
probably going to die by one of our hands. No need to get the poor man’s hopes
up about a reunion that will never happen.”

Lily shook her head in disapproval. “That’s cruel.”

“It’s life.”

“Worse news?” Dex prompted. He knew better than anybody that
Lily was probably about to go on a rant. Better to stop it before it even
began.

Greyson stilled himself to tell this next round of news. It
most likely wouldn’t be as much of a shock to Ross as it was to Greyson, but it
was still wicked, crazy findings. He put his fork down in the bowl.

“Philip O’Day is my father.”

You would have thought twenty people were in that kitchen
from how loud it got.

“And you didn’t tell me?”

“You knew?”

“Seriously? I thought he was dead.”

“Are you sure?”

“What does he look like?”

“I don’t believe it.”

Greyson put his thumb and index fingers in his mouth and
whistled to get everyone’s attention. “Okay. Okay. Calm down.”

Ross rubbed his forehead. “You’re joking, right? It can’t be
dad. He died on Jheta.”

“We assumed he died, Ross. I’m positive Philip O’Day is our
father. I only found out after he instructed his cronies to abduct me and
Avalon. He’s a delusional asshole. I plan to kill him. End of story.”

“Not if I kill him first.” Greyson had never heard that icy
tone from Ross before. “You won’t be able to do it, Greyson. If he’s capable of
running an organization like Department X, he won’t be easy to take down. Plus,
you’re too close to him. He’ll get inside your head.”

“Trust me. I have plenty reason to see him dead and I will.”

“Boys, we can argue over who gets to take down daddy later,”
Dex cut in. “First, we need to find out what we’re going to do.”

“Nothing now. I’m not leaving Avalon.” Revenge was important
to Greyson, but not until she was healed would he set out to get it.

“You can’t be for real.”

“I am. You tell me whether either one of you would leave
Lily if she was lying on her deathbed. Exactly my point. Thanks for the salad,
Lily. I need to get back upstairs.”

Dex ran a hand through his dark head of hair. “Man, you’ve
changed.”

Greyson pushed his chair back and stood. “Yes, I have.
Thanks to Avalon, I won’t ever go back to the pathetic man I used to be.”

----

Avalon heard singing. Something about sunshine and gray
skies. She wasn’t sure where it was coming from or why it sounded so bad.

Even though the voice singing it sounded horrible, it gave
her the strength she needed to open her eyes. She blinked. Everything was
blurry, like a film had settled over her eyes. Her pulse raced in her veins.
What was wrong with her?

“Greyson? Greyson, where are you?” That frail wisp of a
voice couldn’t be hers.

She heard an intake of breath. “Thank you, God. I’m right
here, sunshine.”

“Where?”

“Here.” A solid shape appeared above her. Avalon tried to
reach up to touch him, to feel him, but her muscles were too weak to move.

“I can’t see very well, Greyson. I can’t see you.” She
couldn’t make out his strong, handsome features.

His hand stroked her cheek. “Shh. Your body is going through
a lot. I’m sure you’ll be able to see soon.”

“What happened to me?”

The last thing she remembered was breaking out of the place
where she and Greyson were being held then…nothing. Her brain couldn’t pull up
a single thing. She knew for a fact they weren’t still at the Department X
facility because she was resting on a plush mattress. All around her she
smelled the warm, spicy scent of Greyson.

 “You’ve been unconscious,” he answered softly. “Don’t
worry. We’re home in our room. You’re getting the best care imaginable. You’ll
be better in no time.”

“How long was I unconscious?”

“Days. I can’t really say how many. It’s all been one big
haze to me.”

 A haze just like her vision. She wanted to bat at her eyes,
will them to work, but she couldn’t even manage that. She felt exhausted. If
she was just waking up, she should have been energized.

“I’m dying. I’m really dying,” Avalon whispered. It was
happening. She felt the end drawing near. When she’d been poisoned, she knew
death would come eventually. She just never imagined what it would be like.

His lips pressed gently against her forehead. “No, you’re
not. Miriam said she is close to finding the cure. You’re going to live.” She
might not have been able to see him clearly, but she heard the hope in
Greyson’s voice—the false hope. He saw death’s grip on her too.

“It’s okay. I’m not afraid. I’ll go to heaven. I hear it’s a
wonderful place.”

He sniffed once, twice. If it was anyone but Greyson she
would have thought he was crying. Greyson never shed tears. “No. You are going
to live, Lonnie Girl. If you don’t want to live for yourself then live for me.
I can’t lose you when I just found you. We have many journeys we’ve yet to take
together. Don’t forget Australia.”

“We can’t always have what we want.”

“This time we will. I guarantee it.”

No use in getting him more upset than he was. They both knew
the truth. “Are you okay?” He’d been bloodied and bruised the last time she saw
him.

He grunted. “Yeah. I healed right on up.”

“I’m glad.” She went into a fit of coughing. He pressed a
tissue to her lips. The tangy, salty flavor of blood in her mouth wasn’t a good
sign. “Where is my grandmother?”

“Downstairs, I guess. She’s been staying in one of the guest
rooms.”

“Can you get her for me?” Like kids wanted their parents
when they were sick, Avalon needed that comfort from her grandmother. Not that
Greyson wasn’t doing a wonderful job of being soothing.

“Sure,” he responded. “Anything you want.”

“Thank you.”

“You don’t ever have to thank me.”

Due to either the bond or his intuition, he knew that she
couldn’t sit up on her own. Greyson gently lifted her up, propping pillows
behind her. Then he brought a cool glass of water to her lips for her to drink
before he felt comfortable enough to leave her to retrieve her grandmother.

What a bum deal Greyson received, Avalon thought when he
left the room. While she got love, affection, and a man who she knew without a
doubt would care for her until her last day, all Greyson got was a half-blind
mate who couldn’t even move on her own and would probably be dead by the next
week, if not sooner.

If only there was something she could do to make their short
time together worthwhile for him, make him not regret bonding to her. But
seeing as she was all but helpless, there wasn’t.

The sound of the door opening brought her attention back.
Greyson’s deep timbre of voice warned her grandmother to be quiet and calm.
Veeva rushed in squealing. She threw herself onto the bed and wrapped her arms
around Avalon’s neck.

Too feeble to keep the guard over her mind, Avalon found herself
being sucked into a vision. There was nothing wrong with her eyesight there.
She saw her grandmother clear as day in the vision.

Veeva and Leroy sat on a large blue sofa in a living room
Avalon didn’t recognize. They were debating over what color to repaint the
walls.

“It’s been white for the last thirty years.”

“Which is why it needs to be changed,” Veeva argued. “You
have to learn how to bend a little, Leroy.”

Leroy chuckled. “I’m old. Bending ain’t as easy as it used
to be, honey. But if it will make you happy to paint it beige, then go ahead.”

Veeva clapped her hands. “You won’t regret it.”

“I’m just glad you’re here. I didn’t like you living alone
in that cabin.”

The vision dissolved. Avalon might not be there with her
grandmother in the future, but at least she was leaving her in good hands.
Leroy was good for her. He’d be the company Veeva needed. She wouldn’t be
alone.

“My baby,” Veeva cooed, still holding on to Avalon for dear
life. “Oh, my baby. I knew you’d be all right. I would have been here the
second you woke up if that Neanderthal hadn’t kept me away. How are you,
sweetheart?”