Heartfelt (8 page)

The surge of adrenaline now felt powerful. He swiped away sweat from his eye without missing a beat. His heavy breathing and his pounding heart cleansed him of clogged emotions and displaced anger. He continued for another fifteen minutes, completely absorbed in his workout.

His mind and body cleared, Conrad stepped away from the bag and scanned the room for Asia. She was sitting on a weight lift bench, breathing heavily. Her eyes met his and she smiled, beckoning him to join her.

“You gave that bag a good go around,” she said, chuckling. “You looked like you needed the workout as much as I did. Feel better?”

“I do. You?”

“I’m getting there. I should get back to work.” She rose and stood in front of him. The curve of her shoulders led down to her muscled biceps. He scratched his head. Why had he not noticed her sculpted arms before?

He brought his gaze up to hers. “Yeah, me, too.” She didn’t seem to notice his rapt attention on her physical attributes.
Thank God
. He felt so comfortable around her and he didn’t want to lose that by turning her into an object of desire. They’d both agreed on that long ago.

“Thanks again for meeting me here. You’re a lifesaver. See you later.”

She gave him one of her cheerful smiles and walked to the women’s locker room, leaving him standing alone in the wake of her unique scent. He got a whiff of sweat, but underneath it were notes of flowers and sunshine.

In the men’s locker room, Conrad stripped and walked to the shower. He plunged his head under the spray, letting the water penetrate the strange thoughts of Asia. If he admitted it, he very much enjoyed the feelings of attraction—tripping pulse, flaring nostrils, and acute need to touch her. The heightened sensations woke in him feelings of manhood and being alive.

Why now? After all the years of platonic friendship, why was Asia inexplicably teasing his senses? It was wrong. And he had to make it stop before he ruined everything he’d had with her since they’d met at the soup kitchen.

He dressed and made a quick call to Kennedy to confirm he could stop by her house now, then headed to his car.

Between the work out and the shower he’d been able to set aside his jumbled thoughts about his parents. He had serious work to do with Kennedy and he resolved to keep his mind and his body free of sensual contemplations of Asia.

At the newspaper office, Asia stared blankly at the computer screen. Her interest at the moment was supposed to be on finding out more about Phoenix Biosciences and how TNG planned to utilize the property it recently purchased. Instead, her thoughts whirled in circles.

The workout at the gym was intended to clear her mind of extraneous thoughts and emotions fired up from Senator Sage’s announcement. It did that. But it also stirred new awareness of Conrad. That blew her mind as effectively as had her expanded telepathy.

From across the room at the gym, she’d tried to focus on lifting weights. But what really grabbed her attention was the way Conrad faced down his demons with the punching bag.

From beneath his muscle tee, his chest muscles popped. With each cut and jab to the punching bag his biceps and triceps bulged. His muscles glistened with sweat. In his shorts his well-defined leg muscles powered through front kicks and roundhouse kicks to the bag. It all had been a concoction of manly beauty that made her squirm on the weight bench.

Then the thoughts had come, penetrating her peace of mind.

He’s gorgeous.

Look at those muscles.

I could do that.

The thoughts from men and women in the gym had reminded her she was just as guilty of gawking at him as the others.

Gawking was not part of her relationship with Conrad. Yes, she’d been aware he was an attractive man in human form, but it was part of the background. They were friends, not prospective lovers.

Asia clamped down on her libido. Not now, not ever would they be lovers. That would mean she’d lose her best friend.

She refocused, pulling her attention back to perusing the wire stories for clues about what Sage and his cronies with TNG were up to. In deep focus she scrolled through the stories. Then she saw a story that chilled her heart. Homeless people in the Laurelwood area were coming up missing. According to the article by one of her coworkers, shelters and soup kitchens had reported that the numbers of participants in their services had decreased steadily over the last few months. Asia ingested the article’s text, knowing with no doubt that this situation was the work of TNG.

Could this be why she hadn’t heard from her mother recently?

She punched in Aegar Investigations’ number and listened to the line ring.

“Hello, Aegar Investigations. This is Michelle. Can I help you?”

Words tumbled out on top of each other from her mouth. “Michelle, this is Asia. I need to talk to Sterling and Lacey.”

“Certainly. They’re both here. Can you come right now to the office?”

“Thank you, Michelle. I’ll be there in a few minutes.” She picked up her purse, grateful Michelle detected her urgency and she didn’t have to waste time explaining.

The Aegar Investigations office was located a few blocks away from the
Laurelwood Gazette
. She left the newspaper office on foot, and in minutes she was walking into the sisters’ office.

“Hi, Michelle.”

Michelle was sitting at her desk, but gave Asia her full attention. “Come on in, Asia. I’ll let the sisters know you’re here.”

“Sorry I was so brusque on the phone. I just found out my missing mother may be in grave danger.”

“Oh, no. I’m so sorry to hear that. Come on in their office.”

Sterling stepped from the private office to Michelle’s area. “What’s up, Asia? Come on in and have a seat.”

Michelle followed with fresh coffee for Asia. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

“No, thank you.” Asia rubbed her forehead. Her mind was quiet except for her own thoughts. She didn’t know if she was getting better at filtering or if the sisters and Michelle were skilled at managing their thoughts, but right now relief sifted through her.

Lacey stood and walked to Michelle. “Why don’t you grab a chair, too, Michelle? If you don’t mind, Asia.”

“No, of course not. I’m sorry to come barging in like this. I just reacted to the news. If I’m right, this news affects the whole colony.”

Sterling sat on the top of her desk and held Asia’s gaze. “What news?”

“Are you three aware that my mother goes missing every now and then? She’s a substance abuser, always has been.” She dipped her gaze and lowered her voice. It was a nearly automatic reaction to anything to do with her mother. Keeping her real situation hidden had been a way of life, even though she was beyond that horrible lifestyle now.

“No, I didn’t know that.” Sterling slanted her head. Her expression went soft. “I’m sorry to learn that, Asia. That must be hard for you.”

“Yes, it always has been. But as an adult I’ve come to grips with my mother’s illness and addictions.” Asia surveyed the three women and saw only caring on their faces. “When she’s better she lives with me. But she’s not stable and when she’s drinking she tends to go away, sometimes for weeks, sometimes for months. Right now it’s been three months.”

Lacey sat upright in her chair. “We wouldn’t presume to know what it’s been like for you. But you may not know that our father was killed when we were young and our mother barely functioned afterward. We took care of ourselves and kept Mom on track as best we could.”

“Then you understand how hard it can be. I love her but sometimes I want to scream at her to stop her destructive behavior.” Tears swelled in her eyes. She brushed them away before they spilled down her cheeks.

Michelle reached over to her and hugged her. It soothed the sorrow in her gut. “It’s okay, Asia. It’s a sad situation.”

She drew in a deep breath and let it out. “I haven’t known where Mom has been, but I just read a wire story that reported missing homeless people. I have to tell Casey and the rest of the colony, but the first thing I need to do is find Mom. So that’s why I’m here. Can you help me?”

Sterling nodded. “Of course. You want us to find her, right?”

Asia nodded. “I used to hunt her down when she went missing, so I have a few ideas about where you could start. But what scares me is that she may be one of the missing homeless people. She may have been kidnapped by TNG.”

“Oh. That is serious.” Michelle’s eyes scanned between Sterling and Lacey and back to Asia. “Why do you think TNG may have your mother?”

“When I saw that article it hit me as a gut instinct. TNG is one of the most malevolent elements in Laurelwood. I don’t know what the group would need humans for other than to experiment on. As experiment subjects, if something goes wrong, homeless people presumably wouldn’t be missed. If they are now experimenting on humans, it could mean they have plans to alter humans as well.”

“Turning humans into ferocious warriors, too?” Sterling stared at Asia. “Nothing the group does would surprise me.”

“The article said two homeless people were found wandering the downtown streets, getting nearly hit by cars. They were dazed and confused.” Urgency pulsed through Asia’s body. All this talk was necessary, but time was passing. “Of course, some homeless are that way anyway, but these two were picked up and taken to a shelter. They talked crazily about aliens sticking them with needles and being trapped. They didn’t know how they’d gotten away.”

“Aliens?” Lacey frowned. “Could that be an interpretation of people in protective gowns, gloves, boots, and face masks?”

Sterling pursed her lips. “It could be. Especially to someone who’s been drugged or suffers from mental disturbances.”

“Good point,” Sterling said.

Michelle’s body went rigid, her eyes unfocused.

Asia clutched her throat. “Are you getting a glimpse, Michelle?” She wanted to know but she was half afraid to learn something terrible about her mother.

Michelle closed her eyes. The room went silent for what seemed like forever to Asia.

Her eyes open, Michelle rubbed her temple. “Remember, nothing I see is complete or for certain to occur.”

“Tell me, please!” Asia could hardly sit still.

“I’m sorry.” Michelle’s focus turned inward. “I saw a room filled with beds and people lying in the beds. A strong sense of fear emanates from the people, but they are not awake. That’s all I’ve got. I’m afraid that isn’t much help.”

“It does help. It kind of confirms what I thought when I read the article. Foul play by TNG.” Asia shook her head. “They won’t stop. They’ll do anything to get what they want.”

Sterling jumped off her desk and stood in front of Asia. “Leave us the locations where you’ve found your mother at other times and we’ll get right on this, Asia.”

Lacey walked up beside her sister and put her hand on Asia’s shoulder. “We’ll keep in touch.”

“I can talk to Casey, if you’d like,” Michelle offered. “You’re right. This does affect the colony. Whenever TNG does something it affects the colony cats.”

Asia hugged Michelle. “Yes, please share this information with Casey. He’ll have ideas about what we should do next.”

Sterling and Lacey took turns wrapping her in a snug hug. Appreciation for their help welled in her heart. “Thank you for being there for me. It helps knowing I’m not in this alone. This is so different from how I grew up. Surviving day by day was up to me and I was just a kid. It made me strong, but having help is so much better than going it alone.”

As she left the Aegar office, Asia checked the time. She walked back to get her car at the newspaper building’s parking lot, but her workday was done.

The plans for her night rolled around in her head. Her heart wasn’t in it, but her date with Gavin was important. If she was going to develop something meaningful with him she had to keep showing up. Physically and emotionally. Sterling and Lacey were at work searching for her mother and Michelle would talk to Casey about the news story and its possible connection to TNG. Asia could relax a bit and focus on her time with Gavin.

Picking out the right dress and shoes could take her mind off the fear trembling inside her over her mother’s whereabouts. No matter what she professed, she’d never reached a place of complacence when her mother disappeared, and this time the added threat of TNG amped up everything inside her to find her mother and bring her home.

• • •

“Come on in, Conrad.” Kennedy gestured him to step inside her house and offered to take his jacket.

“Thanks. Are you hungry? I could order pizza.” He followed her into the kitchen, enjoying the familiarity with the home. “Looks like you kept all Michelle’s furniture? How’s it working out for you here?”

A large yellow and white male cat jumped into Kennedy’s lap. “This is Mallen. He’s a rescue, aren’t you, my sweet?” Kennedy’s eyes sparkled. “I love it here. It’s so great that Michelle rented it to me. The setting is rural enough that I can take runs right outside my back door. I especially love the stream of feral and stray cats who stop here for food and water. Makes me feel good to help them out.”

Conrad peered out the kitchen window. “Yeah, I always thought Michelle had a great backyard, too.” He turned back to face Kennedy. “So yes, no on the pizza?”

“Sure. It sounds good.”

While Kennedy pulled a chair up beside his at the table, Conrad called for delivery pizza. He eyed her, appreciating the comfort she exuded at being with him. Not so long ago it hadn’t been that way. When the colony had rescued her from an illegal drug trial run by TNG, they’d found her skittish, guarded, and terribly wounded by her adoptive parents. Now a member of Casey’s colony and engaged to sports writer Asher Monroe, Kennedy was proving an amazing asset to the group. Her photographic and procedural memory combined with her computer skills came in particularly handy during colony activities regarding TNG.

“Do you want to get started while we’re waiting for the pizza?”

Conrad smiled to himself, again noting the changes in Kennedy. Her lightheartedness probably was a good sign she was thriving in her new life. Soon she would be working as manager at Michelle’s new cat rescue facility, Cats Alive. Probably Asher had something to do with the sparkle in her eyes.