“I’ll be right back.” I darted in front of Brad, blocking him from his destination two tables away. “Hey, Brad.”
He beamed. “Hey, Tessa. Tired of Hayden already?”
“Actually, I’m doing a favor for a friend and wanted to ask you something. It’s for a paper she’s doing.”
“Sure. Ask.”
I smiled. “Let’s just say you did something unspeakable, something so vile you would never tell a soul.” That was all I needed to say before his mental pictures rushed me and I had the ammunition I’d hoped for. “For instance, if it involved hot oil, duct tape and getting robbed by a prostitute. You wouldn’t want anyone to find out, right?”
He stared at me, mouth open, shaking his head.
I smiled sweetly. “I didn’t think so. So I’ll tell you what — never let me hear of you bullying anyone, and I mean anyone, ever again or that story goes public. Got it?”
He nodded, wide eyes fixed on me.
“I thought you’d see things my way. Have a nice lunch.” I patted him on the cheek.
Hayden was still watching Brad when I reclaimed my seat. “What the hell did you say to him? He looks terrified.”
“I saw him eyeing that boy again. You know the kid he always steals from when you stand by and watch?” I raised my brows, emphasizing the last words to make sure he got how I felt about it.
Hayden blew out a breath. “I’ll say something next time, okay?”
“Too late. I already fixed it. When someone’s in trouble, they shouldn’t have to ask for help. It’s called compassion.”
“You didn’t have to ask for help over the weekend, did you? Damn it, Tessa. I’m trying, okay?” He averted his gaze and brooded.
“Only because you want to sleep with me. That poor boy doesn’t have the same body parts, so no one thinks about him.”
He stared at his tray a moment, then stood. “Forget it.”
Nadia’s eyes followed his retreating figure. “Wow, what was that all about?”
“Damn, you really like him, don’t you? Pity the fool you fall in love with.” Corinne snorted.
“Corinne, really? You were with me for the whole Blane thing. You want me to go through that again? Because Hayden is the perfect guy for that.”
“I don’t know, Tessa,” Corinne said doubtfully. “Hayden’s used to getting his way with girls, but he’s not like Blane. Hayden says it like it is.”
Corinne spoke the truth. So why was I getting so worked up, grumpy and stirring up every other negative emotion? Because he’d been nice to my little sister and I’d imagined Hayden as part of my daily morning routine. God, I’d even fantasized about the three of us doing another day trip.
Time to ’fess up. I glanced from Nadia to Corinne. “I do like Hayden. Too much. He does these things that make me melt, you know? And—” My eyes found Hayden. “But he’ll never be that guy who’ll stay forever. I don’t know if there’s a forever guy out there for me. But if I’m going to invest, I need at least the hope of it. He’ll get tired of me. Don’t you see?”
Nadia covered my hand with hers. “He probably will break your heart,” she said solemnly, “but think of the wild ride getting there.”
I laughed. “You have no idea.”
“Does that mean he kissed you again?” Corinne gasped. “Did you sleep with him?”
“He kissed me twice total. That’s it.”
“Sounds tasty.” Corinne’s eyes twinkled. “I hate to have to remind you of this, but you’re only seventeen. You can date and have fun. It’s okay. No one will judge you.”
“Yeah, Tessa, it’s not life or death. Date him, have a good time. If it gets weird, dump him. It won’t make you a slut or a horrible person.”
“You guys don’t understand. If I do that, I’m going to sleep with him. I won’t be able to resist. It’s like… inevitable.”
“Oh, no.” Nadia’s hand flew to her throat. “That would be awful.” She nudged Corinne. “Can you see yourself sleeping with someone like Hayden?”
“I don’t want to imagine such a thing.” Corinne gave a mock shiver. “Get out now, Tessa, while you still can.”
I snorted in a half laugh. “Okay, I get it. You guys are no help.” I spied the boys’ table. Hayden was watching me. “I should go apologize. Be right back.” As I approached the table, Brad turned away. That was as good as a guarantee he’d never hit on me again. Fine by me.
“You can have my spot.” Skyler gave me a lopsided smile and made room next to Hayden.
“What’s up?” he asked as I sat.
“Sorry about that, you know, a few minutes ago. I was feeling a little bitchy. Stress.”
“Don’t worry about it.” He didn’t crack a smile and I guessed he was still mad. Maybe he’d finally gotten me out of his system? Maybe my crabbiness made him realize how stupid he’d been for pursuing someone socially inferior? I felt a pang of regret and loss in the center of my stomach. But I knew it would be good to end it all before I fell too hard.
Oh, hell. I’d already fallen. But it wasn’t the innocent kind of crush I’d had on Blane. What I felt for Hayden was real and deep and powerful. And so wrong since Hayden and I still wanted different things from life. The agony I’d felt over Blane dumping me would be nothing compared to what I’d suffer when Hayden and I eventually parted ways.
I was completely screwed.
He grinned at me and I smiled back, relief washing over me at his forgiveness.
“I was wondering what you were doing later today after our tutoring session,” I asked.
“Hanging out with you, I hope.”
“Good.” I leaned into Hayden, hoping for a more private conversation. “We have to talk.”
The eavesdroppers at the table snickered. “I hate it when girls want to talk,” Skyler joked.
“It’s not what you think, Skyler. I have to update him on something. Which, by the way, is none of your business.” I glared.
“This one’s a keeper.” Skyler snorted and patted Hayden’s back.
When the bell rang, Hayden walked with me to our next class. “So what did you want to talk about?”
“Sorcerer business. Later though. I have to work tonight, so after we study in the library, I’ll cut my meeting with Phillips and Linton short.” I sighed, dreaming of running steaming hot water, lighting some candles and closing my eyes for about twenty-four hours. “I want to take a bubble bath,” I mumbled.
“What?”
“Nothing. I haven’t had much time to myself lately.” It was getting old. “Anyway, never mind about that. Will you be around to go over some stuff before I leave for work?”
“Yeah, sure. Just let me know what you need.”
Telling him what I needed would get me into more trouble than I already was. I wouldn’t be doing that any time soon.
* * * *
“Here it is.” Mr. Linton handed over an unsealed envelope.
I opened it and quickly scanned the letter. It was perfect. “What about his records? Are they clean?”
He handed me Hayden’s file and pointed to a square contraption at my right. “There’s the shredder. Get rid of anything you don’t like.”
“And his grades? Are they magically better?” I wanted Hayden’s grades to improve but wasn’t sure falsifying them was the way to do it.
“That’s where I ran into a snag since I’m not the only one with those records. His teachers would never go along with it. But I was able to arrange extra credit opportunities in all his classes. Everything’s on the up-and-up. All Hayden has to do is to talk to his teachers.”
I liked that much better.
“Looks like Hayden came through for you on the kidnapping,” Fawn said casually as she looped her thumb in the waistband of her slacks.
“Yeah. Where were you for all that? I thought your people were tailing me.”
“When our man spotted Hayden taking off after you, we realized once he arrived, they’d let you go. All of us, no matte
r whose side we’re on, avoid involving the normal folk.” Fawn handed me a stack of photos. “I was wondering if you’d recognize any of these guys from the kidnapping incident.”
The face of a dark-haired woman stared back at me from the stack. I didn’t recognize her. But what if I recognized others? “I was thinking…” I looked into Fawn’s eyes. “What if I met with them the way I meet with you? And what if, after all this, I choose you? How would you like it if I’d already given them information about you guys? The thing is, I don’t know which side to choose. So I’m not spying for anyone.” I handed Fawn the photos.
“Fair enough.” She studied me and I felt a familiar rush of energy seep into me, soothing.
My eyes narrowed. “And no more trying to work your mojo on me. If I want to calm down, I’ll read a book and make tea or something.”
She held up a hand in surrender. “Okay.”
“What do you know about my family?” Why not go for it, cut to the chase?
Fawn and Linton exchanged looks.
“You have a five-year-old sister,” Linton answered. “Your parents have a marriage of convenience. He’s into real estate and she… well, she’s at the gym a lot and lunches regularly at the Grand Mesa Hotel. And—”
I waved a hand. “I know the rest. What about my other family?”
An almost imperceptible eye twitch made me suspect that maybe Linton knew something else. “What specific family are you referring to?”
Perhaps he wanted to know what I knew so he didn’t accidentally give me new information. I wasn’t playing along. “You and I are both aware of other members of my family. I’d like to know everything you have on them.”
He leaned back in his chair, his eyes maintaining contact with mine. “Your mother had three children — one’s deceased. Grandparents on your father’s side are still alive but grandparents on your mom’s are deceased.”
Disappointment over their lack of new information weighed on me like a sumo wrestler sitting on my chest. But I wondered what specifically they had on Zoe. If they admitted to having knowledge of her being a witch, it would be as good as admitting they should have informed me. But if they had no information, my probing would draw attention to her. The less they knew, the bigger my advantage.
“My shift starts soon and I still have things to do.” I picked up Hayden’s file and dove into it, looking for anything negative. “Is there anything else you want to go over while I shred?”
“No. I guess not,” Fawn replied.
“I meant to double check something. You said our abilities weren’t hereditary, right?”
“Correct.” She paused. “Why?”
“In all the history of sorcerers, there has never been more than one per family?”
“I don’t know. It’s not scientifically impossible. But if there are cases on record, they’re anomalies, not the norm. If it were truly hereditary,” Fawn said, “we’d all be having little wizard babies since we generally pair with our own kind and some of us have children.”
And still, I didn’t know anything more than I knew before. Fawn and Linton excelled at appearing to give information without actually doing so. But if I pressed the issue, they’d get suspicious. I took a different tact. “Is there anything else I should know?”
“What are you fishing for, Tessa?” Mr. Linton asked, intertwining his fingers in front of him.
I continued shredding and peeked at him from under my lashes. “You tell me.”
“Are you accusing us of something?” Fawn stepped forward, an edge to her voice. Or maybe she struggled to be heard over the shredder. I wasn’t sure but I needed to move fast since Hayden still needed his reality adjustment and I didn’t want to be late for work.
“Of course not.” I flashed them my most innocent smile, then fed another sheet into the hungry machine. “I just want to know everything.”
“We haven’t lied to you,” he said.
I didn’t want to antagonize them but I wasn’t going to let them think they could manipulate me either. “You can’t deny that you’ve both kept things from me. The other guys have been more forthcoming with the 4-1-1 but they also kidnapped me. It’s hard to know who to trust. You’ll all just have to tolerate my skepticism for a while.”
Linton groaned. “I guess we don’t have a choice.”
“So what makes you guys better than Chait or David?”
I heard Mr. Linton’s sigh over the shredder. “Let’s talk about that when you’re not rushed.”
“Or shredding,” Fawn added through gritted teeth.
“Okay. I have something that only requires a quick answer. Who’s your boss?”
The principal grimaced at the shredder and leaned forward. “Boris Krostinova. He’s been leading us for over a hundred years now. He believes—”
I froze and the shredder idled while it waited for something to do. “A hundred years? He must be ancient. Does he order people around from his hospital bed? Geez, he’d have to be on machines or something.”
Fawn quirked a brow. “So they didn’t tell you everything either.”
“I’ve learned a hell of a lot more from them.” That wasn’t exactly true, but Fawn and Linton didn’t know that.
“Let’s move on.” The chair creaked under Mr. Linton as he squirmed.
Good, I’d thrown them.
“We live more than ten times longer than non-sorcerers.” Fawn lifted one shoulder. “Unless we get knocked off, of course.”
“Wow. That long?” I blinked. “What else?”
“There’s so much to go over.” She pursed her lips. “We have our mental powers, but we’re also physically stronger. Much stronger, actually. Our perceptions are better too.”
“And I haven’t noticed this because…” I continued flipping through Hayden’s file.
She smiled. “You haven’t tried. Just like with the mind tricks, you couldn’t do it until you knew you could.”
No wonder Chait thought he could take Hayden. He probably could. But once Hayden began using his powers and he combined it with his fighting skills, few would be able to handle him.
I fed more paper into the shredder. “Do we get stronger as we get older or anything like that?”
“That’s only with werewolves and vampires,” Linton answered. “They have no expiration date or any limit on how strong they get.”
My mouth dropped open. Vampires and werewolves? Their existence hadn’t occurred to me. “Are you joking?”
“No,” Linton answered. I believed him since he wasn’t the humorous type.
“Are we in danger from them?”
“All supernatural races are extremely prejudiced. We generally stick to our own kind. Werewolves are an especially grumpy lot. And they hate vampires.”
“Well, everyone knows that.” I snorted, suppressing a giggle.
They both stared, straight faced.
I turned off the shredder and handed Mr. Linton the much thinner file, putting on a professional air. “I appreciate you two being so generous with info. Did you want to meet tomorrow?”
“I have a faculty meeting,” my principal said.
“We’ll be in touch.” Fawn smiled, looking more relaxed than I’d ever seen her. Maybe she was trying a new way to soothe me, since using her powers on me only pissed me off.
“I have to go. Hayden’s waiting for me.”
“Oh.” She glanced at Mr. Linton. “I thought you told him we no longer needed him.”
“I did.” I felt the need to explain why they’d still see us together. “But we’re sort of involved now.”
We were, but not in the way they’d take it. My talent at playing with shades of the truth alarmed me slightly. It didn’t feel like me. Being deceptive wasn’t something I’d ever be comfortable with. But if I wanted to live to see my eighteenth birthday, I’d have to get used to it.
“Then he may have found out about us anyway?” Mr. Linton raised a brow.
“Oh, yeah. That.” Of course th
eir spy would tell them that I’d let Hayden in on our secret. “They involved Hayden when they kidnapped me. I didn’t want Hayden going all Terminator on them. He’d get hurt. So I warned him. Don’t worry. He’ll probably dump me soon anyway. And with his reputation, if he spills, no one will believe him.”
I grinned and threw my purse over my shoulder.
“Tessa?” Mr. Linton said as I got to the door. I looked over my shoulder, wishing I’d moved faster. “We’d like to show you Headquarters, have you meet the rest of us.”
“I don’t know…”
Fawn chuckled softly. “We’re not going to kidnap you. But you’ve spent a good deal of time with them and we think it should be balanced. What do you say? Sunday?”
Oh, how could I get out of this?
“I’m sure your buddies will be right behind us, so it’s not as if we’d hurt you, even if we wanted to,” Linton said.
“I suppose,” I said for lack of an excuse. It’s not like I could reject them so early in the game. That could put me in danger even sooner.
“Tessa,” Fawn began. “Sometimes it’s difficult to tell what’s going on and who to trust. They were smart to have someone young and attractive contact you and make you feel comfortable. My guess is that they set up the kidnapping, so that Chait would look like the good guy when he got mad at them.”
They made a good point.
“If they did a decent job of presenting themselves, that’s all it means. That they’ve shown you exactly what they want you to see.” Linton stood and leaned over his desk, his palms on the surface. “You can’t always judge a book by its cover, right? Don’t let a pretty face sway you into making a huge mistake.”
I nodded and slipped out the door before they pushed me for a time on Sunday. They’d call or text me, but at least I’d have time to think about my answer before then.
Chapter Twenty
Hayden
Tessa spotted me and headed toward my car, her hand outstretched and holding a letter. “Here you go. I read it. Looks good. And I personally shredded most of your file. Too bad I didn’t have time to study it. Looked like fascinating reading.”