favor for Alexi. I must be going now.”
She shot a look at Alexi, but I couldn’t tell
what it meant. He nodded at her, and after a
moment’s hesitation, she left.
I looked at Max, leaning against the wall with
his arms crossed. He was still glaring stormily at
Kai. He noticed me looking his way, and his face
instantly softened. I smiled at him, and he crossed
the room and planted a kiss on my cheek. I
wrapped my arms around his neck, and he
enclosed me in a gentle embrace.
“I’ve missed you so much,” he whispered into
my ear.
“I’ve missed you, too,” I told him. “I’m so
sorry I haven’t been around much.”
Alexi cleared his throat, and Max loosened his
embrace, but he did not release me entirely.
“We need to get you back to the compound,”
Alexi told me. “It’s safer for you there.”
“But I’ve hardly been able to spend any time
with any of you,” I complained.
“Alice, I clearly can’t keep you safe here,”
Alexi said remorsefully.
“I don’t care!” I shouted. “This is the only
chance I have to spend time with any of you, and
I’m not going back, yet!”
“Alice, please listen to him,” Liam said. “We
can protect you at the compound. My father
wants you to return at once. He is very
concerned.”
“No,” I insisted. “Just give me a little while.”
Alexi whispered something into Liam’s ear,
and Liam looked at him quizzically. Then he
nodded, and quickly left the room.
“I don’t like it when people talk about me
behind my back,” I mumbled.
Alexi crossed the floor and Max instinctively
stepped back to allow Alexi to put his arm
around me.
“Liam is making a call. Just be patient, okay?
We’re trying to figure out the best course of
action,” Alexi said.
“I want to stay here,” I grumbled.
Alexi shook his head. “That cannot happen. I
don’t have the security here to protect you
adequately. But there might be another option.”
“What other option?”
“I don’t want to get your hopes up. Just wait
until Liam returns.”
“Fine,” I said resignedly.
I sat down beside Kai, who was still severely
weakened, and I put my head on his shoulder. He
took my hand gently.
“I love you,” he whispered, kissing the top of
my head, and I squeezed his hand.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Max’s
hands clench into fists, and he disappeared up the
stairs. I sighed. Why was life so complicated?
Last year, my life was so simple. Now, I had
three guys in love with me, the people I loved
had their lives had been turned upside down, and
I’d been kidnapped so many times I couldn’t even
remember how many times it had been.
Liam came back into the room and nodded at
Alexi.
“Let’s go,” Alexi said to me. “Now.”
He reached his hand out, and I took it. He
pulled me to my feet.
“Liam, take her to the car,” Alexi said, and
Liam nodded.
Liam put his arm around me and gently
pushed me toward the door.
“Wait, what about Kai?” I asked.
“Max and I will get him out to the car,” Alexi
promised.
Liam got me into the car quickly, and a few
moments later Alexi and a very moody Max
appeared with Kai’s arms around their shoulders.
Kai could barely stand, but Alexi and Max held
him firmly and helped him get into the Guardian
beside me.
“Where’s the driver?” I asked Alexi.
“I’m not taking any chances right now,” Alexi
said. “I’m not trusting anyone else to be around
you until we get to the compound.”
“We’re still going to the compound?” I
groaned.
“We’re all going, Alice,” Alexi assured me.
“What… Kai and Max are coming, too?” I
gasped. “Are they going to stay there?”
“For now,” Alexi nodded, and we pulled out
of the driveway.
I took Kai’s hand and squeezed it. I was so
happy that I wouldn’t have to leave him again –
at least not right now.
“How’d you pull this off?” I asked Liam.
“I simply explained to my father that there
might be difficulty getting you to stay if he didn’t
allow it. Plus, I told him it would mean more
protection for you, and he agreed,” Liam
explained.
“It was that simple?” I asked.
“Well, not exactly,” Liam admitted.
“What do you mean… not exactly,” I said,
narrowing my eyes skeptically.
“I had to convince him you would be safe,” he
responded.
“How’d you do that?”
“He said we would have to stay with you
twenty-four hours a day.”
“All of you?”
“Yes, all of us. They’re clearing out a room in
the basement of the Elder house. It’s the most
secure location on the premises. We all have to
stay there until further notice.”
“A room? One room?”
“Yes, just one room. My father doesn’t want
you out of our sight.”
“I just don’t understand what’s going on. Why
is all this happening? Why do they want me?”
“Well, my father says he and Dmitri have
some old quarrel, and he wanted to use you as a
bargaining chip. He also said Dmitri probably
would have been happy to use your powers for
his own gain if he’d been unwilling to bargain.”
I shuddered. “You mean he would have kept
me… forever?”
“If my father had been unwilling to make a
deal, I suppose he would have tried.”
“But we would not have let that happen,”
Alexi added quickly.
Max turned around in the front passenger’s
seat and looked at me.
“He’s right, Alice,” Max said. “We wouldn’t
ever let that happen.”
“I know,” I told him, smiling weakly.
Kai squeezed my hand tighter.
A few minutes later, we arrived at the
compound. The gates opened, and we were
greeted by a security detail of six cloaked
Council members. Barnabas was standing in the
doorway of the main building, and he waved his
hands to beckon us inside. He looked around
anxiously.
Max and Alexi helped Kai out of the car.
“Hurry!” Barnabas hissed. “Get her inside!
Quickly!”
Liam took my arm and led me inside very
quickly. I looked back and watched Max and
Alexi helping Kai up the stairs. Barnabas
breathed a sigh of relief once we were all inside,
but as quickly as relief set in, it was taken away.
“Elder Barnabas!” shouted a cloaked figure
from
down the hall. “He’s coming!”
“Who’s coming?” I asked Alexi, looking up at
him with alarm.
“Get her to the bunker!” Barnabas shouted.
“Now!”
Liam quickly ushered me into the Elder
meeting hall, and he pushed against a piece of the
wall in the back corner. A section of the wall
popped open, revealing a staircase, which
descended into the darkness.
“Hurry!” Liam shouted to Alexi.
“Just get her down there!” Alexi snarled at
Liam.
Liam grabbed my arm and led me down the
stairs into a long, dark passageway. I looked
back, and Max and Alexi were slowly helping
Kai down the stairs. I knew Max’s eyes wouldn’t
see well in the darkness, but there was nothing
that could be done.
The door slowly creaked shut behind them,
and the faint light that had been streaming in
ceased to exist.
“Ow!” Kai muttered.
“Sorry!” I heard Max exclaim.
The passageway ended at a very large metal
door. It looked somewhat like a bank vault, but
there was a keypad and some sort of scanner set
into it. The scanner held spots for two
handprints.
Alexi and Liam placed their hands on the
scanner. It whirred, and then beeped. Liam
keypad, and I heard a grating screech and then a
metallic clang. The door slowly creaked open.
“Go, go!” Liam shouted.
I hurried through the door, followed by Alexi
and Max with Kai. Finally, Liam rushed through
and pulled the massive door shut behind us. We
rushed down another dark passageway, and I
noticed a faint light up ahead.
At the end of the tunnel was a single large
room. It was outfitted with bunk beds, shelves
full of food and bottled water, and some other
essential items. It appeared to be a type of bomb
shelter. The walls appeared to be made of thick
concrete, as was the floor and ceiling. The only
light came from a single light bulb hanging from
an electrical cord.
“Well, it’s not much,” Liam said. “But for
now, it’s home.”
“There’s a bathroom over there,” Alexi said,
nodding toward a door with his head as he and
Max lowered Kai onto one of the bunk beds.
I gasped.
“What it is?” Alexi said urgently.
“My mother! Will! Jamie!” I gasped. “Are they
in danger?”
Alexi sighed with relief.
“I’ve already taken care of that,” Liam said.
“A security detail has been dispatched to take
them to a secure location at another facility.”
“Oh, thank you, Liam!” I gushed, throwing
my arms around him and hugging him gratefully.
“Of course,” he said, his cheeks blushing
crimson.
I sat down beside Kai and said, “You should
lie down and rest.”
“I’m fine,” he insisted.
“Please, Kai,” I begged. “Lie down. I know
you’re tired.”
He started to object, but I added, “Please?”
“Fine,” he groaned, and he lowered himself
slowly to the bed.
“We should all get some rest,” Alexi
suggested.
“Should we take security shifts?” Liam asked.
“Good idea,” Alexi said. “I’ll go first.”
“No, you go ahead and rest with Alice,” Liam
offered. “I’ll take first shift.”
“Thanks, brother,” Alexi said.
Liam nodded.
“Alice, you choose a bunk,” Alexi suggested.
“I’ll take the one across from the bathroom,” I
said, pointing to the one right beside Kai’s bed,
and Alexi nodded in acknowledgement.
“Max?” Alexi asked.
“I’ll take the one above Alice,” Max returned.
“Of course,” Alexi said, clearly not surprised.
“I will take the one above Kai,” Alexi
suggested. “And Liam, you can take one of the
remaining two.”
“Doesn’t matter to me,” Liam said. “Guess
I’ll take the bottom one.”
I didn’t want to leave Kai. Once again, he’d
almost been killed trying to save me. I tugged at
the blankets underneath him, and he shifted his
body and helped pull them out from under him. I
helped him take his boots off, and then I took my
own shoes off and placed both pairs underneath
Kai’s bunk.
“There’s a bunch of clothes in the drawers and
lockers over there,” Alexi said. “There should be
some more comfortable clothes if you want to
change.”
“I’m fine,” I said, and I climbed under the
covers with Kai.
Alexi paused for a moment, and then sighed. I
got the feeling that he wasn’t happy seeing me
crawling into bed with someone else. Max shot
Alexi a glance, and I knew he wasn’t happy,
either.
Kai put his arms around me, and I rested my
hands on both sides of his face. I gently kissed his
forehead, then his nose, and finally his lips. He
pulled me more tightly against him, and I
snugged my head underneath his chin.
I heard a loud bang, and my heart jumped.
“Max, cut it out,” Alexi snarled.
I sighed. It must have been Max having a
temper tantrum of some sort. He really wasn’t
handling my relationship with Kai very well. I
felt terrible about the situation, especially since
he’d risked his life to protect me and then been
“You don’t have to stay here with me,” Kai
whispered into my ear.
“I want to be here,” whispered back.
“Wouldn’t it be more comfortable for
everyone if you slept in your own bunk?”
“Maybe, but I want to be right here with you.”
Kai smiled and kissed my forehead.
Liam stood guard beside the entrance to the
tunnel. He’d removed his cloak and was leaning
against the concrete wall with his arms crossed
and his feet shoulder width apart.
“You good?” Alexi asked Liam.
“I’m not tired,” Liam said.
“Alright,” Alexi returned. “Wake me up in six
hours.”
Alexi bent down and placed one hand gently
on my head.
“Good night, Alice,” he said quietly.
“Night,” I said. Then I grabbed his wrist.
“Alexi?”
“Hmm?”
“Thank you.”
He nodded, and still wearing the cloak that hid
his face, he scrambled onto the bunk above me.
Liam walked over to the light and tugged at the
chain that hung down beside it, and the room
darkened. Then he returned to his position beside
the tunnel.
Kai’s embrace was warm and comfortable.
Despite the dire threat which loomed over me, I
felt calm. This
must be what they mean by ‘calm
before the storm’, I thought. Then I fell asleep.
*****
Chapter Fifteen – Storm
“Alexi,” Liam whispered. “It’s your shift.”
“Alright, I’m up,” Alexi said, and I saw his
cloak billow around him as he jumped to the
floor.
Alexi spent a few minutes in the bathroom,
and then he had an energy bar and a bottle of
water. When he was finished, he nodded at Liam,
and Liam took of his boots and went to bed.
Alexi’s cloaked figure went to stand in the
same position Liam had formerly occupied, but I
noticed his head was turned toward me. I slipped
out of bed quietly, trying not to wake Kai, and I
walked over to Alexi.
“Why are you up?” Alexi whispered. “You
should get some more sleep.”
“I’m not tired,” I told him.
“You should still rest some more. You may
need your strength.”
“Alexi, I’m really worried,” I said quietly.
He rested his hand on top of my head and said,
“Please don’t worry. We’ll protect you. Nothing
will harm you.”
“No,” I told him. “That’s not what I’m
worried about.”
“Then what is wrong?”
“I’m afraid of what’s going on out there, but
more importantly, I’m afraid that something will
happen to one of you. Alexi, if one of you gets
hurt trying to protect me… well, I can’t even
stand the thought of that.”
“You are more important than any of us,”
Alexi said.
“No, I’m not,” I insisted. “I mean, I know my
powers are supposedly important, but…”
“Alice, I wasn’t just referring to your powers,
though they are vital. You are more important to
me than… anything…”
I felt my heart flop inside my chest. Alexi was
so kind and gentle. I hated the thought of having
to hurt him. But I knew Kai was the one I wanted
to be with. Would Alexi ever understand?
“Alexi, you know I…”
“Stop,” Alexi pleaded through his teeth,
clenching his jaw. “Don’t say it. As long as you
don’t say it, I can deal with it.”
“Okay…” I said quietly. “I’m sorry.”
“I only want you to be happy,” he told me. “If
that means having to deal with… others… for
now, I will do so.”
His hand stroked my hair gently, and I leaned
my head against his shoulder.
“Do you think they’re alright out there?” I
asked him.
“Yes, I’m sure they’re fine,” he assured me.
“If things were going badly, they would have sent