Open Minds (35 page)

He seemed to be fighting to keep control of his features. I didn’t know what he was holding back, but I didn’t want to link in and find out. He unfolded his arms and strode across the room. I wasn’t sure of his intentions until he hugged me harder than Seamus had.

Tears sprang into my eyes. I told myself it was because he was squeezing me so hard. “Kira, I’m so glad you’re home.” His voice was rough.

We didn’t say anything for a while, just held each other.

Then I linked into his mind and asked the question I didn’t want to say out loud, for everyone to hear.
You’re not mad at me?

Kira, I was never mad at you. Worried sick. But not mad.

I pulled back.
What about the Navy? They have to be upset that you didn’t bring me in. That I went public and embarrassed them, and I thought they might take it out on you and…

“I quit my job, Kira,” he said aloud.

“What?” I asked in horror, finally noticing he was wearing civilian clothes. “They fired you? Because of what I did?”

“No. It wasn’t like that,” he said. “I quit. When I found out what they were doing, in that hospital. I knew it was bad, Kira, but I didn’t know…” He looked pained. “I’m sorry I didn’t quit sooner.”

I linked back into his head.
You weren’t part of Kestrel’s Task Force, Dad. It’s not your fault.

No, but I didn’t stop him either,
he thought.
Not like a certain strong-willed daughter of mine.

My face grew hot. I hadn’t stopped Kestrel. If anything, I had probably just pushed him underground.

My dad smiled. “In any event, no one can hold my position over me anymore. And I needed a new job, anyway. It’s rather difficult to be a spy with a world-famous mindjacker for a daughter.”

“Dad… I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. It’s better this way. The government can’t control jackers like they used to, not with more and more of us coming out all the time.”

My shoulders sagged. “Better? I’m not so sure. What about the jackers in the camp? Do you know what happened to them?”

“No.” His face turned hard. “I tried to find out more before I quit, but the Fed’s aren’t owning up to the camp. They must be holding the changelings somewhere new. And if they released them, it would be admitting that they held them in the first place.” He took my hands in his. “You did everything you could, Kira, and I’m proud of you.”

His words brought a queasiness to my stomach. “I didn’t do everything I could, Dad,” I whispered. His hands still held mine, but I had a hard time meeting his questioning look. “When I escaped…” I stopped. Spilling this secret would make him a lot less proud of me. I sucked in a breath. “When I escaped, I could have let them go. All of them. Everyone in the camp. But I didn’t.”

My dad’s face clouded and water started to pool in my eyes. “So, you see,” I said, “it’s my fault they’re trapped…”

“Kira.” My dad wrapped his arms around me and I wilted into him. “It’s not your fault. It’s Kestrel’s fault.” He pulled back to look into my eyes. “
He
put them there, not you. And… and I did too.”

I blinked. “What? But I thought…”

“I didn’t have anything to do with sending changelings there,” he said quickly. “But there were some bad guys I helped catch. They were jackers and they were dangerous. There was no other place to send them. So I
know
there were a lot of monsters in there, Kira. That’s why I was so desperate to get you out.” He dropped his voice. “Sometime, you’re going to have to tell me exactly how you did that.”

I let out a breath I hadn’t known I was holding.

“I’m just glad you finally came home,” he said.

I swallowed. “Right. Um, about that. I’m not sure I should stay.”

My dad’s face had the same disbelief as my mom. “Kira, it’s safe now. The agents are gone,” he said, gesturing out the broken window, “and the Feds can’t come after you any more, not when you’re the face of their scandal.”

How I wished that were true. “It’s not that simple, Dad.”

His shoulders sagged. He rubbed his chin like he did when he was puzzling something out. Of course, he wouldn’t remember the conversation we had about how I was Kestrel’s genetic link. And he couldn’t know Kestrel woke up with three darts in his chest and me to blame for it. But my dad was right—I was the face of the hidden jackers. Kestrel could make me disappear and have it look like backlash from the hate groups. And if Molloy found me first, well, it probably
would
be a hate crime.

“If you’re in some kind of trouble, sis,” Seamus said quietly from his spot next to Xander, “we’ll help you get out of it.”

I really didn’t want to cry again.

“What Seamus is saying,” said my dad, “is that family sticks together.”

I put on a bright smile to ward off the tears and stepped over to put my arm around Xander. “Which is exactly why I brought Xander here. If it’s okay with you, maybe he can stay here a while? He can have my room, if he can tolerate the pink bed.”

 “Xander’s welcome to stay here as long as he wants,” he said. “But this is your home. It’s where you belong.”

I strode over and threw my arms around him. “I know, Dad.” Then I had to stop because my throat was closing up. I linked my thoughts to him.
I’m afraid Kestrel won’t stop looking for me. And there are some other bad guys you should know about.

“Let me help you, Kira.” I could feel his shoulders tense as he held me tighter. “Bad guys are something I know a little about. And I’m not going to let anyone hurt you anymore.”

My tears burned my eyes. I wished my dad could help me, more than anything. I ached to stay here, in my house, with my family, and believe that everything would work out okay. That Kestrel would forget about me. That Molloy would stay in prison forever. I didn’t know if staying was a good idea, but in that moment, I couldn’t force myself to leave.

I took a shaky breath. “Okay.”

My dad’s smile was almost as strong as the hug he wrapped around me, and I could hardly breathe when Seamus and my mom piled on. Their thoughts rang with happiness.

I just prayed my family wouldn’t pay the price for my wishful thinking.

~*~

Later that afternoon, Raf came by.

I knew he was coming before he reached the door, before my mom or anyone else in all the quiet levels of the house had any idea. All day, I had been keeping a nervous watch, periodically scanning down the street, and even around the corner, to the limits of my reach. Just checking. Making sure that no one was coming.

I linked in to Raf’s thoughts before he reached our house. I heard the jumble in his mind as he tried to decide what to say to me. How he was worried about the hate groups and how strange it had been seeing me on the tru-casts, telling the world secrets I had only just told him. How he was a little afraid he wouldn’t have the right words when he saw me.

He rapped softly on the front door.

Hi, Mrs. Moore. Is Kira home?

She’s upstairs, Rafael.

Raf’s soft footfalls padded up the stairs. Partway up, I pulled out of his head, not wanting him to know I had linked in without asking. I busied myself with rearranging the few items left on my shelves, my hands shaking more than they should just for Raf.

He appeared in my doorway, a hand on each side of the frame. “Hi.”

I swallowed. “Hi.”

Raf gazed past me to the near-bare shelf. “You know,” he said, “I could swear I won more of those for you.”

 I picked up the green monster that he had won for me over the summer, what felt like a zillion years ago. “You did.” I examined the creature for a moment and put it back on the shelf.

He stared at me from across the room. “Where did they go? Did you not want them anymore?”

I gaped. I had thrown them away in a fit of fury of wanting to be grown up. Tough. Not pitied by the world. Now I would give anything to have them back. “I, um…”

He sauntered into the room, flashing his brilliant smile. “Relax, Kira. I’m kidding.”

“Right.” I tried to regain my composure. “I knew that.”

He reached out and touched my hair, like Simon used to. My heart squeezed, not wanting that thought right here, right now.

“Maybe if you do your jacking trick,” Raf said softly, “you’ll know better what I’m thinking.”

I looked into his dark brown eyes, wanting to know if he was thinking the same thing I was. That I wished I had been honest with him from the beginning. That I hoped he would still want to be with me, now that the entire world knew what I was and what I could do. I linked gently inside, and immediately the scent of his mind filled me. Soft linen and sunshine-warmed air.

I like the way your hair feels when I touch it
, he thought. I swallowed as he leaned closer.
I wonder if I try to kiss you if you’ll knock me out again.

It depends. How good a kisser are you?
My heart thudded erratically.

Maybe you can let me know
. He pressed his lips to mine. They were soft like a summer’s breeze, and his kiss reached down to my toes.

Seamus once told me that when readers touched, they shared feelings as if they were joined into one person. He said it was a very intimate experience. I would never be like the normal readers of the world.

But, for the first time, I knew exactly what he meant.

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Open Minds
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Book Two of the Mindjack Trilogy

Kira wonders if telling the truth and outing jackers everywhere was the right choice after all. The world has erupted into protests and violence. A new movement is gaining ground to identify jackers and lock them away. Kira’s family has avoided the worst of the haters by moving, and Kira hopes her famous face won’t give her away at the tiny diner where she works to keep her family afloat. But when former jacker Clan leader Molloy shows up at the diner and Raf slumps lifeless in her arms, Kira realizes with chilling certainty: telling the truth has put everyone she loves in danger.

other works by Susan Kaye Quinn

Acknowledgements

Many people, besides the author, are needed to create a novel, and
Open Minds
is no exception.

The gorgeous cover, which makes me giddy every time I look at it, is due to the artistry of D. Robert Pease. Multiple thanks go to Anne of Victory Editing for catching my typos, fixing my slang, and correcting my hideous comma abuse. Any mistakes that remain are due to things I messed up after she fixed it.