Independence (9 page)

The vision that
Maggie had seen for them. I felt Maggie's gasp all the way from across the room. Then Marcus pulled his hood up
over his dark face
and whistled as he walked down the street like he belonged there.
Like he hadn't just tried to take the life of Maggie's friend. Like he wasn't trying to ruin my girl's life.

I seethed. I fisted my hands against my sides and it was literally a chore to stand there and not go and hunt down that
selfish….

Maggie was trembling as the vision faded away. I pushed from the wall and gripped her arms gently, but quickly moved my hands to her face so she could get the full contact of my skin. I held in my groan, but she sighed a harsh and loud breath against my neck. Her eyes strayed to Beck, who was wide eyed and backing away.

Crap, no, don't do that, Beck.

I let Maggie
go, reluct
antly, but stayed right at
her back as she raised her hands in an
it's OK
motion for Beck. "Beck, it's still
me."

"What. The. H
ell. Have you done. To my best friend!" she bellowed in choppy, emotional spouts. And she was yelling at me. Her eyes blazed her anger at me over Maggie's shoulder. Maggie put her arm out to the side as if to shield me
. It was cute, but this was
not the time to think about that. I figured this was o
ne of those keep-my-mouth-shut—
kinda of moments. Maggie would have to field the questions on this one. Apparently, I was the enemy.

"You…you made me see things…" Beck tried and then stiffened. "And I knew I saw something happening before! I told you I saw the air glowing or whatever."

"Beck, I can explain."

"Please do. Start with
what college boy did to you to make you a freak."

"Hold up," I heard myself say before I could even think. "She is not a freak. Don't call her that. She saved your life with the ability she has and you owe her, if nothing else, to listen to what she has to say."

Maggie leaned back against my ches
t, almost sagged
, while Beck stood stunned. I spared Ralph a glance, but he
was still in shock and did
nothing but staring at Maggie like she'd grown two heads. Dang…this was exactly what I
never
wanted to happen to Maggie; her human life and our new Ace life colliding.

"Well?" Beck demanded and stomped her foot. "Get on with it." She sat on the end of the bed and crossed her arms. "This ought to be good."

Maggie looked back at me helplessly. She didn't know where to begin. So I pulled her to sit on my lap as I sat on the bed opposite Beck. I began at the beginning, the day we met. And I told her everything. I was the Champion of my clan now and I knew the consequences of telling humans about us. The only reason I was the Champion was because my father had told Maggie's father, and now here I was breaking the rules once again. And I'd do it a million times
over if it would take the heart
breaking look off
of
Maggie's face.

I told Beck all about the imprinting and what Marcus had done to Maggie then, about California and what had been going on while they were visiting us and what happened in London. And I told her why Maggie hadn't told her anything was because it was forbidden. We were breaking ancient laws right then and she needed to cut Maggie some slack. She was an amazing leader of our people with an amazing gift that saved people. It had saved Beck and Ralph's life.

She sat there and stared me down until I was done. It was then that she looked at Maggie. Her stubborn lip trembled, but she
stood. And she slipped her shoes
on and nodded her head to Ralph for him to follow her.

Crap.

He eased out of the bed and they both shuffled uneasily to the door. She looked back once and then shut the door behind her without another word. I turned Maggie fully on my lap sideways and prepared to take the brunt of her anger, of her being mad that I caused all this with my touch those short weeks ago.

After everything we'd been through, it seemed like an eternity.

"Maggie, I am so sorry."

She shook her head and I knew then I was probably never going to see
an
enraged Maggie directed at me. She was too sweet to blame me. She smiled and shook her head again, but that morphed into a bunched nose and upturned lips before the tears came. I wrapped my arms around my girl, but before Maggie's
arm
could even make their way around me, the hotel door was banged on with excessive force.

Maggie gasped and leapt from my lap, jerking the door open. Beck flew into Maggie's embrace and they both crie
d and laughed at the same time as they swayed back and forth. "I want to be mad at you," Beck admitted and glared at me over Maggie's shoulder. "
And
I really want to hate you."

"Beck," Maggie protested and leaned back, "don't."

"L
et me finish. I want to hate you
, but I can't because…I've never seen Maggie so freaking giddy before.
But I know you did this to her, whatever
this
is, and I want to hate you so badly for taking my friend from me."

"He didn't take me, Beck. I'm right here."

"You're only here because you have to be. Otherwise, you would have never told me any of this, now would you?"

"No. Of course not. Would you have believed me?"
"No!" Beck shrieked. "I barely believe you now."

"Ok, then. There's reason we've kept our distance these past couple weeks. But I had no idea he'd go after you." Maggie's eyes filled. "Beck, you'll never know how sorry I am."

"I know." Beck sighed
and looked at the floor
. "
Mags, I know, OK? You don't have to feel guilty because some egomaniac with a God complex
cut our fuel line
. What you should feel guilty about is
thinking that you could keep this from me." They both looked up and stared at the other. "The only way you could have ever kept all this from me was to either lie to me every day or let me go. Were you going to slowly let me go and we'd drift apart, not being friends anymore in a few years with me just thinking life had gotten in the way? That it was just how normal friends ended things?"

"No. I just didn't know what to do.
I wanted to keep you, but I have to keep
Caleb."

"If you loving him means losing me, you should've chosen me! I had you first!"

"It's not that simple," Maggie ground out. "I love him, yes, but we have to be
together. We have to touch and…" She shook her head. "You kn
ow what? No. This isn't some ho
s before bros situation, OK? I shouldn't have to choose. I was going to do what I had to do to still be friends, but it
is
normal, Beck. To drift apart, to not be so dependent on each other anymore. When you find the person you're going to marry, they become first. Everyone else is second to that, as they should be. You don't think that if you and Ralph got married that he'd always come before me?"
Rebecca snorted. "We're not talking about me, we're talking about you!"

Maggie just sighed. I decided to take
that opportunity to butt in. "We need to check out soon. You can finish this fight at my place."
"Oh, we're done," Beck said sarcastically. "We'll be waiting in the car."

And they left. I couldn't see Maggie's face, as she was turned away, but I suspected tears. Her mind was as blank as an empty chalkboard. But when she turned, her face was drawn in anger, not sadness. "How dare she?" she asked.

"Maggie-"

"No, how dare she!" She turned to look fully on me. "She's acting like I fed he
r
to the wolves instead of saved
her life. I protected her, I've done everything to keep her, even argue with you over it, and she has the nerve to make out like she's the victim?"
I felt that go straight through my chest. "And you feel like the victim?"

"No," she said quickly and then looked at me.
Really
looked at me. "No, Caleb. I don't think there's a victim at all here. Yes, she's Marcus' victim, but not mine." She practically ran across the room to put her arms around my middle. She squeezed. "Don't be thickheaded here, Jacobson." She smiled with truth. "I always wondered why Beck and I were friends. We were absolutely nothing alike. She's crazy and rash and rude and can be downright snobbish sometimes. But she's always been there for me. If she can't be here for me now? Now wh
en I've found you, my husband, t
hen we're not really friends anyway, are we?" She moved closer, letting her thighs touch mine. "I'll always choose you."

I nodded. She cocked her head to the side."Why didn't you just read my mind? You would have seen the answer there."

"I'm trying to give you space. We can't be in each other's mind all day, every day for the rest of our lives. There needs to be
some
mystery there." She smiled
at that
. "Plus, I thought you might want some privacy while you talked to Beck. Especially since you were fighting about me."

"You mean if I wanted to have thoughts of regret, you were going to let me have them in private?" she said wryly and scowled up at me.

I didn't hesitate."Yes."

"My, my, how the tables have turned," she said playfully, but then frowned. "You're doubting me? Really?"

I got a full dose of the feelings of the very limited times when Maggie had felt inadequate, like she didn't deserve me, like she wasn't what I needed. It hurt like hell in my chest to be on the other end of that. To feel her ache as she sat there and thought that
I
thought
that
I
was ruining her life.
Beck was important to her, I kne
w that, and now she had to choose between her and me. And she was going to choose me, every time.

There wasn't a doubt in my mind about that.

But I hated it to hell and back that she
had
to choose because Beck was human and humans freaked whe
n they realized something hokey
was going on.
Seeing your best friend giv
e you a vision was pretty hokey
.

I sighed as I took her elbow in my hand and pulled
her to me. My body screamed
at me to take away her hurt. And when my fingers touched her skin, she jolted with the hit of calm I gave her. I pushed everything I had into it and pulled her into my arms. She didn't resist and I hoped it was because she wanted me to hold her and not just because her body wanted my comfort.

But when she settled in and started to play with the buttons of my shirt, I got my answer. I had to stop doubting this girl. This amazing girl who loved me even after she lost her friend because of me.

For the first time, I really did feel like a tyrant.

She reached up on her tiptoes and pressed her face to mine. She didn't kiss me, but let our cheeks and noses touch. I smiled
,
realizing she was doing what I had done to her so many times when I waited for her to kiss me. She had to make the first move in the beginning, those few short weeks ago
. Seemed like an eternity ago now.

And now as she turned the tables on me, I gave her a ghost of a kiss. I barely let my top lip touch her bottom one before going back for another soft touch that killed me to do. But I enjoyed her reaction as she pushed forward to take more, which I denied by leaning back a little. "We should go," I whispered. "Still a couple hours away from my place."

She groaned, "You did that on purpose."

"Uhuh," I answered and tightened my grip on her elbow. "I'd rather not have nips and pecks here when I can straddle the line
with you as soon as we get home
."

She sucked in a small breath and let her feet fall flat to the floor. Her eyes were wide as she agreed
with a nod
and scooted quickly to get her purse from the bed. I chuckled huskily in amusement and enjoyment.

This girl was going to be the death of me.

Well, that was fine. They
could write
"Died a happy man"
on my coffin.

Maggie