Independence (30 page)

"Out!" I yelled. "Sorry, Lynne."

"It's all right," she assured and tugged his arm. "Come on, babe. Just let them get some clothes on."
"So stupid," he complained and pushed through the doors to the sand.

"
Babe," Maggie
complained, "he's just freaked out."
"And you're just naked," I grumbled.

"Yeah," she agreed. She
pushed the covers off and went to the suitcase to pick through and get some clothes.
I stared, even with everything going on, I stared. I saw her grin and shake her head in her peripheral. She threw a t
-shirt at me. "Get dressed, you," s
he laughed
her words
.

So I did, and then we met Lynne and Kyle on the back porch where they were sitting at the umbrella table.
"Nice threads," Kyle sneered, "n
ow can we get
back
to the fact that my significant was in withdrawals this morning even though I was right there beside her?"

"So was mine," I growled.

"OK," Maggie interceded
and took my hand
. "OK. Let's just sit and figure this out. Something happened. It must've just been us. Surely we would have heard from Peter
and the rest
if anyone else had this problem, right?"

I sat in the chair and pulled Maggie to sit in my lap. I didn't want to be away from her touch right now. "Yes." I sighed. "Dad would have called."

"Maybe we should go check on Bish and Jen," Maggie suggested, but we saw them walking up the beach. Maggie could hear the confusion in Bish's mind. "Oh, no
…"

They came up and plopped down on the patio sofa. He leaned for
ward, his elbows on his knees,
and held Jen's hand tightly. "So, I guess it wasn't just us this morning?"
"No," Maggie said sadly. "We're trying to figure out what happened."

"It doesn't make any sense," Kyle said angrily and touched Lynne's arm. "I can feel her right now. It's just like it always is. And we were touching all night, so why are we in withdrawals one minute and just fine the next?"
"We don't know," I said back. "That's what we need to figure out.
Just let me think.
"

"Call Uncle Peter," Kyle barked and glared at me. "When he was Champion, he didn't just sit there with Aunt Rachel on his lap, he got to work to see what needed to be done."

I felt
anger roll through me.

"Kyle!" Maggie scolded and turned sideways to put her hand on my arm. "We'll figure this out. There has to be a clear-cut reason. Something happened. We just need to figure out what."

"You do that," Kyle muttered under his breath.

Maggie rolled her eyes and stared at me.

He's being a jackass because he's scared for Lynne. Don't sweat him.

I breathed deep and let her calm me. And I could feel it seep into me. Kyle was right. It didn't make sense why it only worked half the time.

He's right.

But he's not right ab
out you. You made sure all of your family was safe before we left.

I shrugged. And now I was failing at keeping the most important person to me safe. It felt like everything was coming to a head. That vision\dream I had of Maggie dying… I just felt like this had something to do with it.

"Don’t," she said harshly.

Bish and Jen said they wanted to go back and lie down.
I agreed. I needed to go and make some calls, think, try to see what we could find out. Jen knocked over one of the tea glasses left on the porch. It shattered on the wood deck. She bent over to pick up the pieces
,
even tho
ugh Maggie said she'd get it, and cut her finger on a shard. I
t was like time just stopped. We all stared at her cut, barely breathing, as Bish gulped and took her hand in his trying to heal her.

It wasn't even thinking about
healing. Maggie
breathed out a sigh. "Oh, no,"
she whispered
.

"What?" I
asked and stood. "What, babe?"
"Your calm didn't come to me earlier
yesterday
either
, remember?
Then this morning, and now this.
" She knelt down to Jen and put her hands on her
face.

I wanted to scream
when the vision hit
Maggie and I both. I heard her gasp as we saw Marcus…and he was here.

The vision started off with room service.
They were getting the breakfast carts ready to bring to our rooms. Marcus was off to the side speaking with the concierge. "And the juice, too, for all of them. I want them to have everything they need."

"And would you like to address a card to them, sir? So they'll know who
to
thank?"
"No," Marcus said quickly. "I want it to be a surprise. I don't want them to know I'm here." He smiled. "They've jus
t always been kind to me. I
want to return the favor."
The man smiled. "Very well, sir. I'll get the glasses and then have this delivered."

"Great." Marcus watched as the man went to the cabinet behind him. Then he took a vial from his pocket and poured a little bit into each pitcher of
juice. It was a light
liquid and didn't change the color of the
contents. He stuck the vial back into his pocket as the man turned and put the glasses on the trays.

"Thanks for doing this."

"No problem, sir. I'm sure the newlyweds will be very grateful."
Marcus grinned. "I can't wait to see their faces when they find out it was me."

The man winked. "It'll be our secret."

The vision faded and
I wanted to punch something. Jen's breathing was ragged as Bish pulled her up and to him. He touched her cheek and they stared at each other. We all knew it. This was it. This was Marcus' big move, his plan, the visions we'd seen before all lead up to this. And he was ahead if we were keeping score. He'd managed to scare us into secluding ourselves, then getting us where our abilities and healing touch stopped worki
ng on each other. We were
vulnerable
and he knew it
.
He was just playing with us, waiting for the right time.

I wondered if we should leave. Pack up and head home, but if we did that he'd follow us and we'd be putting the whole clan in jeopardy, not just us.

So I was basically choosing the clan over Maggie, my sister and cousin. I gulped at the ache in my chest at that thought. But what was I supposed to do? I was the Champion.

"You're right," Maggie invaded my thoughts. "We need to deal with this here, once and for all, and be done with that bastard."

I opened my arms for her to come into and she reeled toward me. Everyone's thoughts that I could hear through Maggie were solemn and thoughtful. We all wanted to come up with a plan, but we didn't even know what game we were playing. Was Marcus here alone? When did he plan to attack? Was he just going to watch us for days and then kill us in our sleep? We knew nothing at this point.

Bish's sigh drew all out attention. We watched as Jen's cut on her hand began to heal slowly. So slowly that I wondered if my eyes were playing tricks on me. But eventually, it sealed itself. I shut my mind to them all. I needed to think and be in my own head for a minute.
So I didn't hear their internal conversation, I just heard Jen's whisper.

"Bish…no."

His thumb rubbed over her cheek. "I pushed you. You told me this would happen and I made you feel guilty about not touching me. You'd be safe. The vision Maggie had wouldn't be about to come true."

"It won't," Jen begged, breaths shuddering.
"
Bish, don't say that."

"It's true," he said a bit harshly, getting more worked
up by the second, and shook his head. "This is all my fault. I just wanted you."

Maggie turned, tears on her eyelashes as she remembered us having a similar conversation. And Bish was being an idiot, just like I had been.
I wrapped my hand around Maggie's wrist to calm her and was so happy when it worked. But Bish was a part of my clan now whether he wanted to be or not
,
and I wasn't about to stand here and let him say something he'd regret. And Jen was my sister.

"Bish, come on, man," I told him. He looked over at me.
"Why don't we take a walk
?
"

He laughed without humor. "So now that I'm in your cl
an, Champion, you're my boss
?"

"I am your Champion," I made sure to say, "but you're married to my sister." I looked at her and she pleaded with me not to say anything, but I had to. "And you're making her cry."

His face fell. I saw his throat work through a gulp as he turned back to her. She was trying so hard to hold it together for him. He sighe
d. "How can you even forgive me
for doing this to you? To Maria?"
"It won't come true. It won't. We'll make sure of it."

"We're on the beach," he told her. "This was where it happened."

"No. Stop it!" she shrieked and he yanked her to
him. She cried into his shoulder as he shook from his own emotion.

"God, help me," he whispered, "please.
"

Don’t
let this happen. She's mine to protect. Mine. Please don't
take
her from that little girl because I was selfish. Please.

Maggie had graduated to full-on sobs in my arms as we listened to Bish's plea. Kyle and Lynne stood stupefied on the steps. Kyle's anger at me was long gone. It
was sinking in
to everyone what our honeymoon had become.

A trap.

Maggie was solemn as she made calls to the other clan members later that afternoon. I was on the phone with Dad behind her. We sat on the bed against the headboard and she sat between my legs on her cell. I could hear their enthusiasm when they realized it was Maggie calling them, but soon sobered when she started asking about them seeing or hearing from Marcus or the other Watsons. No one knew anything, but a couple more clans had members that had imprinted. They were waiting for us to get back from our honeymoon before telling us.

Maggie's emotions were all over the place. She was so happy for them and glad. She felt like we had to
be doing something right and were
on the right track or things wouldn't be moving so smoothly for our people. But even though Maggie had seen
the vision of her and me
when we were older, it was hard to put all your faith into a vision when we'd seen with our own eyes how they could change.

In fact
,
we were hoping the one with Marcus would change. So we were
hoping
for one and
damning
the other. It made no logical sense, but it was all we had.

And we were clinging to it.

Maggie

We went to Bish and Jen's room that night for dinner. We had
no luck with the other clans as to any plans they'd heard of. We alerted the staff and concierge of the villas to the presence of a stalker. He apologized, after being shown a picture, that he had seen the man, but he had pretended to be our friend. They set up extra night guards, but we knew it didn't matter. If Marcus was here, he wasn't going to be stopped by a guy with a taser.

So we ate our divine clam chowder, and I didn't even taste it. Bish was just…sick with the knowledge that a madman was out to hurt them. We debated once more about going home, but upon calling
Peter,
Ca
leb learned that the alarms had
been going off on t
he outskirts of the property.

It didn't make any sense. We were just sitting here. What was he waiting for? And we were all starting to feel the withdrawals from our significant. Caleb and I sat with our hands linked and we'd finally start to feel a little seep in, but it couldn't replace what was lost before it was already draining
us
back down. Still, I clung to that hand because he was all I had.