Mesmerized (11 page)

Lily heard shuffling, and then another groan. 

“I’ll let you think about it for a few minutes, maybe it’ll come back to you. Otherwise, that striking girl of yours is going to endure some pain. And you know how I enjoy pain." 

"Leave her out of this. She doesn't know anything." His voice was raw with emotion.

"Jake, you should have learned by now not to wear your feelings on your sleeve." A pause. "Bring the girl out. Jake has lost his chance to think it over." 

The door creaked open and Lily pulled her legs up trying to push herself further against the wall. She was jerked to her feet and shoved forward. 

"My, my, you really are exquisite. Jake, where do you find these beautiful young women? You seem to have a knack."

Lily flinched as touched her face. 

"Such beauty. It will be a shame to damage her. Jake are you ready to talk?" He wrapped his hand around Lily's hair and yanked her head back.  

"Yes, just don't touch her. I'll tell you whatever you want to know."

Lily sucked in a deep breath. The man loosened his grip, and pushed her back towards the other man. "Get her out of here. If Jake disappoints, I'll be back for her."

***

Back in the closet, Lily yanked against her bonds. She struggled with the ropes for a while and rejoiced when she felt them loosen just a bit. 

It was darker; no light was coming from under the door. She strained to hear voices, but it was eerily quiet. After a while longer, she finally freed her hands from the ropes and rubbed her sore wrists. She reached up and turned the knob of the door. It cracked open. The room itself was empty, but one of the men stood guard at the door. She closed it and sat back down. 

Leaning back against the wall, she closed her eyes. What was she going to do? She had no idea where Jake was and no clue how to help him, unless she could get the men alone. And then she’d have to...seduce them somehow. Yuck! She touched her necklace and felt the calm wash over her. Suddenly, she recalled a memory of her mother giving her the necklace. Her mother had told her, “It will dampen your power.” How could she have missed something that was right in front of her the whole time? It restricted her power somehow, especially the dreams. She took the necklace off and threw it in the corner. 

Immediately, she felt the power course through her. It felt strange, as if she were a different person. She felt confident and in charge. She knew she would have those men wrapped around her fingers in no time. 

Now, if she could get to sleep... She was too wired to fall asleep on her own, but she had an idea. She opened the door loudly alerting the guard to her pretend escape. He came running. “What are you trying to do? Get back in there!”

“No! Where is Jake?” she yelled, antagonizing him. 

He grabbed her by the hair. “You’re no match for me, little girl.” He threw her hard into the closet where she banged her head against the wall. 

Before losing consciousness, she smiled to herself. Good thinking...

Her dream was much more vivid than it had ever been. She could control what she was doing. It was the oddest sensation. She wasn’t sure what to do, but she thought about Jake. Soon, Lily could see him, asleep on the floor. His face was banged up and bloody. She quickly went to him. 

“Jake, can you hear me?” She caressed his face. “Jake?”

He moaned and stirred a little bit. “Lily...”

She bent down close and gently kissed his swollen lips. “I’m gonna get us outta here. You just hang on.”

She focused on the men that had taken them. The one that knocked her out materialized in her mind. He was fast asleep with drool coming out the side of his mouth. She felt repulsed. She took a deep breath and told herself,
I have to do this. 

Lily touched the man’s face in her dream. He stirred beneath her touch.  She whispered in his ear. "I need you." 

The man shifted back and forth, but his eyes didn't open. He reached out to touch her and she could feel his hands on her body. Even though her physical body was in another room, she felt violated.
It's just a dream,
she repeated over and over again in her mind. 

"Help me." In the dream, Lily turned and ran; the man followed after her. His body was still in the same spot on the floor. 

"What do you need?" He voice sounded rough and far away.

"I need to go home." She gave a sexy pout as her eyes met his.

"I can take you."

She tilted her head and bit her lip. "No, I need your keys. I promise I'll be back. I’ll repay you for your kindness." She laid her hand on his chest and looked deep in his eyes. She felt like she could see into his soul. "Where are your keys?"

"On the counter in the kitchen on a steel bowl. But you can't get out without the code."

She slowly ran her hand down his chest. "What’s the number?"

"3294#" 

"You have been very helpful." She met his light brown eyes. "You will stay asleep, and not recall this dream when you wake up. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand. I don't want you to leave."

"I will be back." Through her mind, she watched him roll over on his side. 

Her eyes snapped opened. She needed to get the keys and get them out of there before anyone really woke up. 

Lily jumped up and hurried out of the closet. She glanced back and noticed her necklace in the corner. She reached over to grab it, allowing the calmness to wash over her body.  She snuck past the guard who had fallen asleep and hurried to the kitchen. The bowl was sitting on the counter like he had claimed. There were two sets of keys, so she grabbed them both. Shoving them in her pocket, she went back to find Jake. 

He was still laying on the floor just as she had seen in her dream. 

“Jake,” she whispered. “Wake up. We have to get out of here.”

Jake stirred a little.

Lily shook him. “C’mon Jake.”

His eyes fluttered. “Lily?”

“We don’t have much time. We have to go.” She pulled on his hand. 

“What’s going on?” he asked slowly.

“I’ve got the keys. Everybody is asleep. We have to go now.” She yanked harder.

His eyes were open now and he forced himself up. Lily put his arm around her shoulders and tried to keep him upright. “Everything’s blurry.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll drive.” She led him out of the house and into the car. Thankfully, the first set of keys she tried worked. She started it up and very slowly drove out of the driveway. Once they were on the street, she leaned on the gas, and they sped away. 

Lily had no idea where they were. She just kept driving. Jake was slumped over in his seat, his head against the window. She could hear him breathing, which brought a sense of comfort to her. He looked pretty banged up. It was a good thing he couldn’t be killed or else he probably would have been beaten to death. She wondered how long it took his body to heal. 

The sun was just starting to rise. She figured they were still in Florida. Since she had been blindfolded for the drive there, she didn’t know for sure. She’d head home to Texas, which meant she had to go west. Glancing in the rearview mirror, she searched for followers. She was terrified they would catch up to them before she made it home. 

“Hey,” Jake said, his voice hoarse. 

Lily looked over and smiled. “Hey yourself. How do you feel?”

“My head hurts.”

“Yeah. Mine too.” She rubbed the back of her head. It was still tender from hitting the wall.

“How did we get out of there?”

“I convinced one of the guards to give me the keys.”

“Lily, you didn’t have to do anything...” his voice trailed off. He didn’t want to think of what she might have done to get them out of there.

“No. Not like that,” she responded. "I went to him in a dream. It was pretty crazy. I realized that if I take the necklace off, my power is stronger. I can't believe I can enter someone’s mind like that." 

“I'm glad. I hate the thought of those creeps touching you. Where are we going?” He squinted and glanced out the window. 

“Home,” she said, “to Texas. Before you say anything, my parents will help. They’ll know what to do.”

"We should switch cars." Jake was starting to get his bearings. He wondered how long they had been on the road.

"I was waiting for you to wake up. We'll pull into the next store and swap out. Are you hungry?"

"Yeah, starving actually."

"Me too." 

Lily pulled into a Burger King parking lot and waited for a man to come outside. She handed Jake the necklace and got out of the car. 

The guy looked to be in his late twenties. She bit her lip as she walked towards him, then slowly glanced up at him. She was surprised to feel herself getting slightly aroused when she made eye contact with the good-looking man.

Lily touched the side of his arm and he looked down in surprise. "We need to switch cars."

"Okay. Where is your car?" The man looked around frantically as if he couldn't please her quick enough. Lily had to admit she loved the feel of the power running through her veins. She briefly wondered if this is why her mother was the way she was. 

"What is your name?"

"Charles."

"I love the name Charles." She licked her lips and stepped closer, pressing her body against his. "You're a very attractive man." 

"Th-thank you," he stuttered. 

"Take me to your car." 

He obediently turned and led her to the car. It was a dark sedan with heavily tinted windows; good for being invisible. Charles gestured to it, then dropped the keys in Lily’s hand. "Here are the keys. It has a full tank of gas." 

Heat flooded Lily’s body and colored stars burst in her eyes. Mindlessly, Lily shoved him up against the car, pressed her lips to his, and felt his body relax. 

Jake voice came from across the parking lot. "Lily! What are you doing?"

"Oh my God,” she said breathlessly. “I don't know what got into me. I couldn't control myself."  

Jake was at her side. He clasped the necklace around her and she instantly felt better. Normal.

"Oh Jake, what have I done?" Her eyes widened in surprise. "I'm sorry."

Jake shook the man and then slapped him across the face. He wouldn't wake up. "His pulse is steady. I don't think you caused any real harm. Put your arm around him and we'll put him in the other car. I'm sure he'll wake up shortly."

"Are you sure?"

"We need to hurry, and from now on you are keeping the necklace on unless it's an emergency."

Lily nodded her head. She was so embarrassed by her actions. 

They put the man in the car, and went through the drive-thru. 

Chapter Fourteen

Lily pulled into her long, hidden driveway relieved to see the farmhouse was just as she had left it. She took comfort in the large, wrap-around porch, and the wooden swing she had spent countless hours on growing up. So much had changed—home needed to stay the same. 

“We’re here,” she said to Jake. She kissed him lightly on the lips. They were still swollen and looked like they hurt. 

She led Jake through the gate to the backyard and punched in her code. The door unlocked and she walked in. 

“Mom! Dad!” She wondered if they were home from New York yet.

Within a couple of seconds, she got her answer. Her mom appeared at the top of the steps. She was stunning in her black cocktail dress and high heels—as usual. She pressed a hand to her chest as she descended the stairs. “Lily! Are you okay?”

From the living room on their right, her father appeared. He looked tired and disheveled, with his tie hanging crookedly from his neck and his hair sticking up. He wrapped Lily in a hug. “Where have you been?” he said gruffly.

Lily pulled away from her father’s hug and answered her mother’s questions first. “I’m fine.” Then she faced her father and said, “It’s a long story.”

Her father looked over at Jake. "Who is this, Lily?"

Lily laced her arm through Jake’s. "Daddy, this is Jake. We need to help him."

"I’m Gregory Anderson.” Her father eyed him suspiciously.

Her mother smiled at Jake and batted her eyes. “I’m Sandra.”

Lily’s father cleared his throat. “I think we need to sit down and sort this all out. Let’s go to the kitchen.”

While her mother turned on the coffee, Lily filled them in from start to finish explaining about Jake and the curse. How they were kidnapped and the way they escaped. 

At the end of the tale, her mother sat tapping her long nails on the table lost in thought. She finally looked up. "I think I know someone who can help."

A surge of hope raced through Lily. "Who is it, Mom?"

"A powerful witch I've known for a long time. She might even be able to break the curse." Her mother looked over her fingers at Jake. "That is, of course, if you want it broken."

Jake’s mouth hung open. He had dreamed of someday finding a way out of the curse. But, now he had Lily. What would that mean for them? "I'll have to think it over." 

Lily looked back and forth between her mother and Jake—she wasn't getting the full implication of what breaking the curse would mean. 

"Do you think we can take care of the family that has been after Jake?" Lily asked hopefully.

"That's not as easy as it sounds. We would have to destroy all the evidence and I doubt they left it lying around. You're talking generations of research that has been passed down. We also need to find out if he has any children. I'm sure they would be in on it as well."

Lily's shoulders sagged. Her mother was right as usual. This was probably an issue that was bigger than a little compulsion.

"I will get in touch with Camille today, and we'll get a better idea of our options. You should also know that Ben is out of his coma. He doesn't recall a thing, and you have been cleared of any wrongdoing. You can technically go back to school."

Lily clasped her hands together. "That is great news. I really thought I killed him."

"You could have killed him," her father said.

"I know." Lily hung her head, thinking of how dangerous her powers could be.