My head spun at the overload of information. I coughed to clear my throat but it wasn’t helping making it feel better. “I feel like…”
“Shit?” Brandon asked. “Yeah. Me, too.”
Things got quiet for a moment. I had my eyes closed. I think I might have passed out for a couple of minutes. When I opened my eyes again, Brandon had moved to sit on my bed. He had his hand on my stomach.
It was uncomfortable, considering I was nauseated, whether from the poison or the cure, I didn’t know. I reached up, intending to grab his hand and move it off of me.
Once I touched him, he gripped my hand and held it. He looked down at me. “Kayli,” he said in a gruff voice.
Awkward. I wasn’t thinking clearly. I sucked in a breath, wanting to tell him he should go to sleep. If needed, I’d go back to sleep and put off talking to him. The job was done. We’d be here for days. He’d want to talk relationships. I wasn’t in the mood.
I pressed a palm to my head, finding it was bandaged. Must have cut it when I hit the floor after tackling Alice. “So everyone’s alive, at least,” I said.
“On our team, yeah,” Brandon said. “Eddie’s group is in jail.”
“Are we going to get questioned?” I asked. I figured if the police had gotten called in, and I was taken to the hospital, there would be a lot of questions. I squirmed. Cops.
“Nope.” Brandon released me and rubbed his face. “No cops. Not for us.”
“How did that happen?”
Brandon shrugged. “They’re not going to ask about us. We weren’t there. Corey stayed behind, as did Axel to testify.”
My eyes widened. “What?” Where are they?”
“Axel’s getting treatment, too. Marc is with him. Raven and Corey are taking care of things at the apartment. Kevin’s running errands for us now.” Brandon stood up, stretching and twisting.
I caught an eyeful of muscled butt cheek, and then forced myself to look up.
“Anyway,” he said. “Corey isn’t in trouble. Ethan turned off his machine once everyone cleared out. We’ve got some people stationed there to watch out for him until Alice and Mr. Murdock have been captured.” He thought some more. “Oh yeah, and Avery. Smart guy, but he seemed to disappear after. We’ll have to thank him somehow for helping out.
That was good. Avery did deserve a big reward or something. Maybe they could fix up his car nice for his job. He deserved more. I sighed, falling back on the bed. I turned on my side, trying to make the nausea subside.
Brandon got in beside me, his stomach to my back. He wrapped his arm around my waist.
I closed my eyes. I wasn’t going to complain; he was warm. “Brandon,” I said. “You were in the bed with me the first night we got captured.”
“Yeah,” he said behind me. His breath fell on my neck.
“But I was in Corey’s bed.”
Brandon fell quiet.
“I thought…you were Corey.”
“Do you snuggle up to Corey?” he asked.
“Were you pretending to be him?”
He made a noise. “I thought you knew it was me.”
I turned onto my other side. I had to be careful with stretching out the IV line.
Brandon’s cerulean eyes were shining as he peered down at my face. His cheeks were tinged with red.
I kept my hand under my cheek, fighting off going to sleep again to get to the bottom of this. I wasn’t sure if I was mad. Maybe because I was tired. I just wanted to know. “You thought I’d know it was you if you crawled into bed next to me?”
“I thought you could tell the difference,” he said. “I figured you’d know it was me if I…If I snuggled into you.”
I was quiet for a long time, considering. “I didn’t know,” I said. “That late at night, Corey sometimes just kind of snuggles up close to be comfortable. I didn’t think anything of it.”
Brandon’s side of his mouth lifted. “I’m not jealous,” he said. “I told you he’s gay.”
“I know,” I said. “So it wasn’t going to go anywhere.”
He nodded.
We fell into silence. I was looking at his chest, and then my eyes closed. I was drifting. I thought about Ethan, wondering if he could get an annulment. I wondered when Alice…Anja, would be caught. I wondered where Marc was so I could get him to make some food. I thought my stomach might settle down if I at least had some bread or crackers. Or a milkshake and fries.
Brandon leaned in closer. His lips brushed my cheek. “You know now I can’t leave you,” he whispered.
I mumbled something, trying to tell him to shut up and let me sleep, but I found it hard to focus long enough to utter a syllable. Whatever was in the IV, it was making me really sleepy.
“I need you near me,” Brandon said. “I’ll never sleep unless you’re there. My luck, I’ll lose you again.”
There was a long pause. I felt his breath on my face, warm.
I couldn’t argue with him, really. I was thinking the same thing. I needed to hold onto him, or he might get zapped and we both end up in a trunk again.
I wanted Marc nearby, too. And Axel. Corey and Raven should be here. It didn’t feel right without them.
My heart dropped at that thought. Like a heavy weight, sinking me down further.
I was in too deep. Blake was right. I needed to leave sometime before it was too late and I destroyed the group.
~ A ~
There was a knock at the door. Brandon turned, sitting back on the bed and scooting over to Kayli’s feet. He smoothed out his hospital gown, covering his privates with the blanket over his waist. Laying next to Kayli had gotten him a little excited. He couldn’t help it. “Come in.”
Dr. Roberts opened the door. Brandon hadn’t seen him in a while. His white hair was combed to one side. His aged face lit up at once. “Good. You’re up. Has she woken yet?”
Brandon nodded. “I talked with her for a bit. She’s still pretty out of it. She was mumbling for a while.”
“That’s a good sign if she’s waking up.” He closed the door behind himself and walked in. “If she wasn’t vomiting or convulsing when she woke up, it means the worst of this poison is out of her system. How are you feeling?”
“Fine,” Brandon said. He swallowed, feeling uncomfortable in his stomach. The only way he got around the nausea was when he was asleep, and he didn’t feel like sleeping right now. He pointed to his own IV fluid bag hanging from a pole. “Does this stuff make you feel sick still, though? My stomach hurts.”
“It’ll be normal to experience some nausea and light-headedness for a few days,” Dr. Roberts said. He adjusted his doctor’s coat, unbuttoning it down the center and then pulled a seat up close to the bed. “Funny enough, the cure for thallium is a component that contains cyanide. Of course, not enough to be lethal, but still might make you feel funny.”
Brandon checked on Kayli. She was pretty passed out. Her face was relaxed, a look that didn’t often appear on her unless she was sleeping. She had scars, cuts and scrapes all over her. She was thinner, too. Running around without eating much for a few days made her look like death was hanging overhead.
Brandon kept a hand on her ankle, but she was dead to the world. That was good; she didn’t need to hear this conversation, one he had been expecting. “So when can we leave?” Brandon asked. “Just a few days, right?”
“Sure,” Dr. Roberts said. He’d carried in a file. He put it in his lap and then propped his chin up in his hand. “But while we’re here, I think it’s time we had a talk.”
Brandon said nothing, simply waiting out Dr. Roberts. He knew what it would be about. Dr. Roberts wanted a few details of the last few days. He’d given a report, but Brandon had been ill, and sometimes when you’re sick, you miss giving important clues that could help an investigation. Luckily it was Dr. Roberts and not a police officer.
Dr. Roberts motioned to Kayli but spoke to Brandon. “She’s been hanging around a lot. Are we making friends?”
His
eyes widened in surprise and instinctively he turned and looked at Kayli again, to see if she was awake. He wasn’t sure if he should talk about her while she was right there. He shrugged. “I know she got involved, but she was with me when I was kidnapped and—”
“The moment she got out,” Dr. Roberts said, “she should have been here at the hospital.”
“Don’t look at me,” Brandon said. “I was kidnapped and in the back of a car. I agree she should have come straight here.”
“And the moment you were un-kidnapped,” Dr. Roberts said, “you were with her.” Dr. Roberts lifted his head and then grabbed the file. He held it up to show Brandon the thickness. “Now I’ve got a lot of people asking me who this girl is and why was she involved.”
“Shouldn’t we talk about this somewhere else?” Brandon asked. He stood, motioning to the door.
Dr. Roberts held up a hand. “Sit,” he said. “I just want to hear from someone who will give me an honest answer.”
“Who hasn’t given you an honest answer?” Brandon asked. He moved, sitting on the other bed, hoping not to disturb Kayli by sitting next to her again.
“All your friends say she’s their girlfriend,” Dr. Roberts said. “I think they feel if they tell me she’s just a friend that I’m going to insist she find another place to live. I’ve sworn that isn’t the case, but they seem insistent.”
This wasn’t the conversation Brandon wanted to have right now. What did it matter to him who she was with? But then, the Academy wanted to be aware of the activities of anyone they associated with. Brandon suspected they didn’t really care who she was with, only that they got a straight answer.
The others claimed her as their girlfriend? He wasn’t sure how to respond. Technically… no. It’s not like he’d asked her for a commitment. He was fond of her, but he couldn’t call her a girlfriend at this point.
Before Brandon could figure out a response, Dr. Roberts continued, “And then I’ve got another young man in my lobby right now, claiming he wants to see Miss Winchester. I told him I couldn’t allow for him to come in until she was awake.”
Brandon nearly jumped to his feet again. Young man? “Who?” he asked, panic taking over. “Is it Wil?” If it was, he was ready to race downstairs and drag that brother of hers up here. She’d be thrilled. They could finally put the whole mess behind them and start new.
Dr. Roberts opened his mouth and then stopped, frowning and looking sympathetic. “Sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to get your hopes up. It’s Blake Coaltar.” He paused, giving Brandon a stern look. “The same man we had targeted months ago, and seems to keep popping up on our radar.”
Disappointment flooded through Brandon. “I didn’t call him,” he said. “Sometime while I was kidnapped, she got in touch with him.”
“And he’s claiming she now works for him,” Dr. Roberts said. “Newly hired.”
Brandon’s head reeled back. “Can’t be,” he said. “When?”
“I don’t know, but he’s demanding to see his employee. Someone has to deal with him.”
“You want me to?”
“No,” Dr. Roberts said. He pointed to Kayli sleeping. “She has to.’
Brandon tilted his head. That didn’t seem likely right now. “What do you mean?”
“Blake keeps getting roped into your assignments, and now this kidnapping. She’s the one calling him.” Dr. Roberts patted the file. “It’s in here that she’s getting involved with him. If you’re going to keep hosting her at your apartment, she needs to either let go of Mr. Coaltar or you need to keep her at distance. We don’t want this new guy getting too much information. We strongly advise against contact.”
Brandon shook his head. “We can’t let her go now. We promised to hang onto her while we searched for her brother. He’s missing.”
“What does it matter where she stays if she’s looking for her brother?” he asked. “Rent her another apartment. On the other side of town.”
Brandon frowned, looking at the floor. This sounded more like an Academy request, one that he might not be able to avoid. “So either she gets rid of Blake or she has to move.”
“You’ve got it,” Dr. Roberts said. “There’s a rumor going around that his friend Doyle has been getting access to Academy intel, and they’re examining our little organization. I have a feeling she might be feeding them information.”
Brandon stood up this time, fists clenched. “That’s not possible.”
“We wish to eliminate the possibility. She’s on our closed adoption list, and she’s learned way too much for someone your team hasn’t yet established trust with.” Dr. Roberts stood, carrying his file, and headed toward the door. “Think about it, Brandon. If she’s leaking information, there’s no way she’ll be invited into the Academy, and there’s a good chance her adoption will come under investigation, and she’ll be redirected to another team that can keep an eye on her better.”
Shit. That wasn’t good. The Academy, if it wanted to and thought it was necessary, would remove a person from any group. Leaking secret information was bad for the Academy. Lives were at stake. Reputations were important to them. Exposure risked them all.
It also meant if their team was exposed in some way as being part of some secret group, the Academy would remove the team. Brandon, Marc and the others would have to forfeit their own positions within the Academy in order to save the entire group from becoming discovered. Limited liabilities. They might be under protection of the Academy forever, but they wouldn’t be able to take up an assignment for a while.
“Won’t happen again,” Brandon said. “I’ll keep an eye on her. I’ll make sure Blake stays out of contact.”
“We may take your team off of accepting assignments for another month. Not just for recovery time, but to allow you to focus on her brother and straighten out your situation before we risk exposing anyone further.”
Brandon’s head lowered and he stared at the ground. He wished Axel was here, or Marc. But they might not be able to do anything about it. The decision had already been made.
He had to get Kayli to understand. Was she really giving up Academy secrets to Blake? He avoided looking at her now. Didn’t she understand what she was doing? They’d told her it was a secret. He wanted to believe she’d only turned to Blake for help.
She needed training, then. She needed to know who was acceptable to turn to for help.
Dr. Roberts opened the door and stepped out. He stopped, popped in his head again and said, “By the way, when you’ve got time, you should really go see Mr. Henry Anderson.”
Brandon lifted his head. He recalled the older man from another team, who’d helped them out at Ethan Murdock’s party. “Henry? Why?”
“I’ve got a feeling you might want some help with Miss Winchester. If you’re going to keep her under a closed adoption, you’ll need to know how to handle her since she’s been so deeply involved.”
Brandon nodded quietly, consenting.
Dr. Roberts closed the door.
Brandon looked over at Kayli. She slept on. He was surprised she managed to stay asleep.
Brandon yawned, and rubbed gently at his severely bruised ribs. Every muscle in him hurt.
But he couldn’t sleep. He needed to talk to Axel and the others. The Academy might remove Kayli from the group, or if the team refused to let her go, they could remove the group from the Academy altogether. They couldn’t risk that. He had to get them to agree to stand together to keep her.
He couldn’t let her go. He’d told her that already and he’d been dead serious. He kept his promises. He’d make sure Kayli was safe, that Wil was safe.
He had his own growing need now, too. He had to keep an eye on Kayli. Alice and Mr. Murdock were still out there somewhere. If they weren’t caught, who knew when they might look for revenge, or try for something else.
Kayli had turned to Blake for help, though. That was a problem. She didn’t understand why that would be dangerous. He didn’t know what s
he saw in him. Sure, Blake had helped them out. Twice.
Didn’t matter. He was dangerous. His very existence right now threatened Kayli and their team with the Academy.
And the last person he’d lose Kayli to would be Blake Coaltar.
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Books by C. L. Stone
The Academy Ghost Bird Series:
Introductions
First Days
Friends vs. Family
Forgiveness and Permission
Drop of Doubt
Push and Shove
House of Korba
The Other Side of Envy (April 2015)
The Academy Scarab Beetle Series
Thief
Liar
Fake
Accessory (Summer 2015)
Other C. L. Stone Books:
Spice God
Smoking Gun
BONUS!
Turn the page for an exclusive sneak peek at ACCESSORY, the next book in The Scarab Beetle Series
The Academy
The Scarab Beetle Series
Accessory
Book Four
Coming Summer 2015
Written by C. L. Stone
Published by
Arcato Publishing
HARD ROAD
After a battle with a poison and taking a couple of days off to recover, I’d spent an entire day with Corey playing video games. Eventually, Corey needed to go with Brandon to some secret Academy meeting, and I was left with Raven for the evening. I told them I didn’t need a babysitter, but as usual, no one listened.