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SEVEN

Jason

The doctor’s exam was quick and mostly painless, but he made a point to mention—about every two minutes—that I wasn’t ready to leave yet. Boy was he wrong about that; I was ready to leave the minute I woke up, and every minute after was too long. Mason wouldn’t wait forever, and he knew about my abilities. The world had just become a scarier place for me, and I did not feel safe in the hospital.

I was also confused by my reaction to Dan earlier. I had spoken to him before and had him talk to me without it causing a meltdown. There was no reason for it. Dan was not my father. Intellectually, I knew that; emotionally, however, it was taking me longer to accept it. Meanwhile, Dan was caught in the emotional crossfire. I had noticed his dismayed look at Alice as I huddled against Hannah, and was helpless to do anything about it.

“Jason, we can go now if you’re really sure about this.” Hannah broke me out of my thoughts as she handed me my jacket. I had already changed out of the hospital gown and back into my torn jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt, but it was chilly and the too-big windbreaker was necessary to block out the late fall wind.

Hannah was looking at me expectantly. “I’m sure,” I said as I grabbed the jacket. We both held it for a moment as she met my eyes. “I’m sure,” I repeated more gently. “This place doesn’t feel safe. There are too many unknown footsteps and I would be completely unable to tell if someone was coming for me. I can’t handle that.”

“Jason… those scars on your arm…” She spoke hesitantly. I couldn’t recall if she’d seen the scars before, but I thought not. I dropped my eyes from her face and stared at the floor in shame. “You don’t have to tell me now,”—she put her hand on my arm to reassure me—“just know that you can tell me whenever you’re ready.”

I nodded and stared at the floor silently, unwilling to trust my voice. Dan and Alice were waiting outside at the car. Dan was most likely busy setting up the police protection at Alice and Hannah’s house, and I felt awkward about staying there. “You know having me at your house might not be safe.”

“On the contrary, I think I’ll feel safer. You’ll be where I can see you, and you’ll be able to feel if someone approaches the house. Besides,” she said with a teasing grin on her face, “what girl doesn’t want a big strapping man to protect her?”

“Funny. You’re a funny girl now,” I said lightly, accepting—and silently thanking her for—the change of subject. “When did that happen?”

“Oh, you know. I’m in college now. It’s my major,” she said, the smile still stretched across her face.

“Clown school, huh?” I said mock-seriously. “Never would have guessed it. Let’s get out of here, and you can tell me all about it.”

She took my arm as we left the room and followed the signs to the exit. My muscles tensed with every set of footsteps I felt behind us, but she politely ignored my paranoia. We took the elevator to the ground floor, and I tried to hide the dizziness that the motion caused. Based on the look Hannah gave me, I failed miserably.

“Jason, I know you need to get out of here, but are you really okay?” she asked as we left the elevator and walked to the exit. My gait was slightly wobbly, and I held my hand to my head as I walked, ignoring the glances from the nurses and other hospital staff. None of the staff on this floor would really know what had happened, but all would be experienced enough to know that someone in my condition should be walking into, not out of, the hospital.

There was no way. I couldn't stay here lying helpless in a hospital bed just waiting for Mason to come for me again. I decided to be honest about how I was feeling and hope for the best. “I’m not doing the greatest, but give me some time. I’ll be fine. I just need the world to stop spinning.”

Hannah caught my arm. “Hold on to me,” she said. “I’ll help you get out of here without falling on your face, but don’t expect me to be okay with you running around all over the place. Until your wound is healed, you aren’t going anywhere. Understood?”

“Aye, aye, captain,” I said with a slight salute. Hannah frowned, but didn’t comment. She may have thought I was making fun of her, but at the moment I really had no problem with the idea of following her orders. I decided to ease her fears. “Seriously, Han, I won’t be going anywhere; at least not for a little while.”

“Count on it. I’ll lock you in if I have to.” She muttered something under her breath that I couldn’t hear.

“What was that?” I asked as we continued on our way out of the hospital.

“Nothing. Don’t worry about it,” she said quickly. As she turned her face away from me, her blonde hair fell forward, blocking her expression. I frowned as I struggled through my headache to try to figure out what was bothering her.

“You’re scared,” I said finally. “You’re worried that Mason will find me when I’m not up to my normal strength.” What I couldn’t tell her was that I was feeling exactly the same. If I presented a strong mask, maybe she’d feel more confident that I could protect myself and she’d worry less.

She spun to face me and I nearly blacked out at the motion. Her brown eyes were narrowed and her mouth was set in an angry line. “Of course I’m worried! Jason, he nearly killed you! What do you expect? You used your power to tear up that floor and he knows it. You think he’s not going to have people watching for you and asking about you? Eventually he
will
find out where you’re staying.”

“Hannah…” I tried to interrupt but she kept talking, holding my arm and shaking me at points.

“Alice and I care about you, Jason, so don’t you dare make light of this situation. I don’t want to see anything happen to you because you weren’t careful enough, or because you went out before you were at one hundred percent!” She stopped talking, her chest rising and falling quickly as she released her pent-up emotions.

I waited for a moment to make sure she was done. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make light of what happened. I’m not about to go out before I feel that I’m ready. Please, can we just go?” I asked as the edges of my vision once again began to darken.

Hannah’s expression went from furious to worried in about a split second. “Yeah, let’s get you sitting down before you do a face plant. Honestly, I wish you had just requested to be transferred to the ground floor. You need to be in the hospital.”

“I can’t,” I said quietly. “I just… I can’t.” The memories were difficult enough to hold back without having to stay in a hospital room for another minute. I glanced up at the car and saw that Alice and Dan were both watching us. Alice had a look of concern on her face, but Dan’s expression was that of understanding. It was almost enough to stop me in my tracks. What was it he had figured out?

“Jase? Are you okay?” Hannah asked, sounding concerned.

“I’m fine,” I lied. I might need to go against my instincts and try to have a conversation with Dan. As much as that prospect scared me, the idea that he might go behind my back to try to find out about my past was even scarier. If he was going to find out anything, I wanted it to come from me. He had told the kids that I was okay and he seemed genuinely worried about me; there were so many differences between him and my father. Besides, Alice trusted him, and I trust Alice; by extension, that meant I should trust him too—at least in theory. It was going to be hard to fight my natural instincts, but Dan deserved the chance to prove he was trustworthy.

EIGHT

Alice

Dan and I went out to the car while Hannah and Jason finished up in the hospital. I could tell that Dan was deep in thought, so I left him to it and we walked in silence. When we reached the car, he got on the radio and coordinated a patrol to guard my house while Jason was there. Mason would try to get Jason again, that much was clear. He knew about Jason’s abilities, and that made him more of a threat.

“The guard shifts are set up, but we need to go back to the station after we get Jason settled at your house. The chief needs us to fill out the incident reports and do the paperwork for the extra patrols at your place.” His voice revealed his distaste for paperwork. I shared the feeling, but it was a necessary evil in order to keep Jason safe.

I hesitated for a moment. “Will there be a car there while we’re gone? I don’t want to leave Hannah and Jason unguarded. He’s not up to… standing guard.”

I mentally cringed as I realized I’d almost said something about his abilities. He wouldn’t be able to feel for threats as he normally could. His gift wouldn’t be up to par with a head injury, and he would probably end up sleeping deeply enough that he wouldn’t feel any footsteps heading toward the house.

Dan was looking at me with one white eyebrow cocked in confusion. “I wouldn’t expect him to. There will be a patrol car outside the house for sure until we get back. The chief okay-ed it.”

“Good,” I said as I glanced back to the hospital. Hannah and Jason were taking a while to come out. “Where are they?” Despite my best efforts, my anxiety over this situation was still clear for my partner to read, and he was quick to reassure me.

“They’ll be out soon. Jason’s probably moving more slowly than normal right now. Just be patient, partner,” he said calmly. He too was watching the door, but he was more alert for possible dangers outside the hospital, and less concerned they were in some kind of trouble inside.

“There they are,” he said as we both saw Hannah leading Jason out the door. They were talking intently about something. Jason was looking pale and Hannah seemed to be yelling at him for some reason. I had rarely seen my sister looking so angry, and I worried about what was being said. I started toward them, but Dan took a hold of my arm.

“Let them work it out,” he said. “If anything is going on between them, they need to learn to deal with problems as they come up.”

“They also need to realize that they can come to me for help if they need to,” I protested.

Dan nodded his agreement. “But who decides that they need your help?” he asked, gently reprimanding me.

I sighed. “You’re right, but Jason doesn’t need the stress of being yelled at right now. Look at him, he’s pale and shaking and looks like he’s about ready to collapse.”

My partner nodded again. “He is, but Hannah's holding him up. Whatever she’s angry about isn’t keeping her from taking care of him. Maybe now isn’t the best time for yelling, but…”

“But what? They need to figure it out for themselves? When? When Jason falls over onto the cement?”

Dan shook his head and looked at me, a spark of anger in his normally calm blue eyes. “No. I was going to say that maybe the reason she’s angry has to do with his condition and the fact that he obviously needs care. You and I both know that Jason is not the type to accept help without expecting it to come at a price. He needs to hear from her that she wants to help him, and she needs to pound it into his head that her caring for him isn’t conditional.”

I took a small step back, both literally and figuratively, as I glanced at Jason and my sister again. The argument was over and they were headed in our direction. “I’m sorry, Dan. You’re right… again.”

“That’s fine. Just try to remember you can’t fix everything.” Dan squeezed my shoulder before he walked around to the driver’s seat and started the car. Jason and Hannah were almost to us by then, and I stood with the passenger's side door open, waiting for them.

“Everything go okay?” I asked, searching for any signs of the earlier tension. Jason was still pale and shaky, but Hannah’s anger had slipped away.

“Fine,” Jason answered tersely. “Can we get out of here, please?”

I nodded and slid into my seat as Hannah helped Jason into the car. She went around and got in next to him, choosing to sit in the middle seat directly next to Jason rather than behind the driver's seat. Dan’s white eyebrow rose slightly as he watched in the rearview mirror, but he said nothing.

I followed Dan’s lead, trying to ignore the fact that my sister was clearly falling head-over-heels in love with my informant, and he just as clearly returned those feelings. I still had my doubts; how would Hannah react if Mason were able to get to Jason? If he actually killed him, would she’d be able to move on with her life? But the criminal was acting like he’d rather take Jason in order to study him. Would I be able to help Hannah hold it together with the knowledge that the man she loved was being tortured and tormented to figure out his unusual ability? I had no idea, and I didn’t want to have to find out.

We had reached our house by the time I decided that something more needed to be done. Dan and I helped Hannah get Jason settled into our spare room in the basement, then waited in our car for the first patrol to show up. “We can't sit around and wait for this scumbag to find Jason,” I said. “Even with the patrols, Mason will most likely figure out a way to get Jason to leave the house. There are too many variables.”

“Such as?” Dan asked mildly. No doubt he’d already figured out that Mason would be after Jason, but he had no idea why the man was so interested.

“He could use the kids again. They know where Jason is; it would take next to nothing for him to snatch one of them, and he’d make them tell. Jason would give himself up in a heartbeat if it meant saving one of them.”

Dan thought for a moment. “Maybe they should come to stay with you until Jason is better. They would be more comfortable staying where he is, and he would have one less thing to worry about if they were where he could see them.”

I nodded thoughtfully. “Okay. That’s one way to help. But what about his other friends who live on the streets? I can’t house them all, and eventually Mason will find someone who has a connection.”

Dan sighed. “Alice, there’s only so much we can do. If Mason goes into hiding and sends out his thugs to do his dirty work, Jason remains in danger. What do you propose? As you said, we can’t possibly protect every contact and friend that Jason has.”

He was going to think I was crazy, but it was the best thought I could come up with. “We need Jason. He needs to help us hunt down Mason like we hired him to do in the beginning.”

“How does that keep Jason out of the line of fire?” asked
Dan, his brow wrinkled in confusion. “Doesn’t it put him directly back into that psycho’s range?”

“We need him. He’s good at finding people. The best way to keep him and everyone he cares about safe is to have him catch Mason before Mason catches him.”