Out of This World

Chapter 23

Don’t scream, Rachel, don’t scream. This is what I repeated to myself over and over as I tried to focus.

Kel pulled me behind him, around the side of a tallboy, his hand on my hip, gently squeezing, whether to hold me in place or try to soothe me, I had no idea. Whatever the reason, it caused a lump the size of a regulation football to form in my throat. Of course, it might just have been due to old-fashioned fear, because any second now, we were going to die.

I’d never in my life been on edge so much for so long. If I ever got out of here and back to the real world-was there even a real world?-I was going to embrace my quiet, lovely life.

But the person who pushed open the door wasn’t a pirate with a gun. It was Marilee. At the sight of us, she let out a cry of relief, and slipped inside. “Okay, listen. We can still get you out of here. All you have to do is-”

“Axel is looking for you,” I said. “He’s frantic-”

“I found her.” Axel came in behind Marilee. He had smeared lipstick on his lips. Marilee followed my shocked look and let out a rough laugh as she reached up and gently swiped a thumb over his lips. “My bad.”

Axel smiled down at her. “It’s okay. I like wearing you.”

“Oh, Axel.” She put her head down on his shoulder, and the man pulled her in close, squeezing her tight, closing his eyes, as he sighed her name.

Marilee pulled back and looked into his face. “You meant it, right?”

“Meant what?” I asked.

Marilee smiled dreamily, something that softened her features and made her even more beautiful, if that were possible. “He said he loved me, that he would always love me. That even without my abilities, he wanted to be with me until the end of time.”

I blinked. “Without your abilities?”

Marilee’s glowing smile slowly faded. “Um, did I neglect to tell you about our abilities?”

“Yes,” Kellan said. “You could say you forgot to tell us that. You could also say you forgot to tell us just about every damn thing.”

Axel unstrapped one of the two guns around his chest and handed it to Kel. “This might ease some of the pain.”

Kel took the gun, inspected the chamber, or whatever it was called. I had no idea how he knew to do such a thing, or why he looked so big, bad and tough as he then pulled the strap over his own shoulder. He lifted his head, his eyes sharp and focused, without an ounce of fun, easygoing guy in sight. “So you two are from…”

“An alternate plane, yes,” Marilee admitted quietly, slipping her hand in Axel’s. “Our abilities were stolen a few years back and never recovered. It happened in Gert’s place.” She paused, and brought shaky fingers up to her mouth.

“That’s why she still gets uncomfortable in there,” Axel said, and slipped an arm around her. “It was awful for her.”

“What happened after your powers were gone?” I asked. “You went home?”

“Not without our abilities. Can’t. So we stayed. Gertrude hired us.”

“And the whole pretend-you’re-not-a-couple thing? What’s that about?” Kellan asked.

“Oh, that part was real.” Axel’s eyes locked on Marilee’s. He brought their joined hands up to his mouth and kissed her fingers. “Until today.”

“While this is touching,” Kellan said. “We-”

“Have to go,” Axel answered for him. He glanced at Marilee’s watch. “Gotcha. Let’s get to the woods for the Sunday return.”

The thought of what lay ahead made me quiver. “We need the-”

Marilee held up the laptop. “Found it.”

“What about Serena and William?” Kel asked. “Don’t they have to be there to get their abilities back?”

Marilee and Axel looked at each other.

“Goddamnit,” Kel gritted out. “No more secrets.”

“Once the swap occurs, the pirates will leave you alone,” Axel said. “You’ll be safe.”

“We’ll be safe,” I said. “But Serena and William-won’t they be as good as dead?”

“Are they still in the house?” Kel asked me.

I looked through the floor beneath us. Blinked. “No.”

“Let’s get out of here,” Marilee said. “Please.”

We raced quietly down the stairs, toward the front door, and as we did, I looked behind us. Focused. “Found Serena and William. Curly has them outside Gert’s house.”

Kel looked at me, and I knew what he was going to say. I felt the same way, so I put the words out there. “We can’t leave them.”

Axel and Marilee stopped, and stared at me in shock. “But it’s you two they want. The abilities.”

It was one thing to be armchair brave-that is, while watching a horror movie and willing the stupid people to get out of the stupid haunted house before they got killed.

It was another entirely to be brave for real. To have to consciously make the decision not to walk away from someone you knew, someone whose eyes you’d looked into and whom you’d had conversations with…because if you left, they would die.

I couldn’t walk away.

And looking back at Kellan, looking into his eyes, I was grateful to see the same decision in his, that I wasn’t alone, that he couldn’t walk away either.

“We aren’t leaving them,” he said.

Axel sighed, and also stopped. “No. We’re not.”

“Let’s just get outside,” Marilee begged. “We’ll figure it out from there.” She reached for the front door, just as a bullet slammed into it, splintering the wood right over my head.

Moe.

Damn, almost forgot about him.

With my ears still ringing, Kellan shoved me out of the way, slamming me into the wall, covering my body with his own.

Given the cry I heard from Marilee, she’d gotten the same rough treatment from Axel. Axel, who knew Marilee loved him, and who, if things went bad today, would die knowing it.

I gripped Kel’s shirt in my fists. He had his back pressed to me, and was holding the gun in a terrifyingly fierce way, willing to protect me to the death. God.

With Moe coming down the stairs, covering the front door with his big gun, Kel grabbed me, yanking me under the stairs, then into the large reception room, toward the sliding glass door. Axel and Marilee were right on our heels. We ran out into the dark without meeting any pirates or guns, stopping at the far corner of the inn for protection, looking back at the building.

If I’d learned anything, it was that life had a habit of going the unexpected route. Today was no exception, and I had no guarantee on the outcome, no control, except over myself and my own feelings.

Which meant it was now or never. I looked at Kel’s profile, proud and tense. He was determined to see me safe, and all that I felt for him burst inside of me. No way could my feelings be attributed just to what had happened to us here this weekend. The feelings and emotions were far too deep for that. I had to make him understand before it was too late, before even this last chance was gone. “Kel.”

“Hang on,” he said, staring at the inn, at the open front door, braced for a fight.

“Kel.”

His jaw bunched. “Please, Rach.”

“About that whole me-falling-for-you thing.”

He never took his eyes off the door, but he whispered my name again, just my name, in a low, soft voice filled with regret. “No good-byes, goddamnit. We’re going to live to argue about this another day.”

“I know you think it’s crazy, me just realizing all these feelings for you. I know you think it’s because of the abilities, and your new muscles-”

Marilee let out a sigh of agreement, and I glanced at her. “Sorry,” she said. “Just agreeing with ya. He’s got muscles.”

“Hey,” Axel said.

“Oh, you do too, baby,” she assured him.

I let out a sound of frustration, and looked at Kel. “It’s not about how…how hot you are,” I insisted. “It’s about your insides.”

“Yeah?” He didn’t take his eyes or his gun off the inn’s door. “Then why didn’t you see it before?”

“Fair question,” Axel said, and at my long look, he lifted a shoulder. “Just saying,” he muttered. He went back to watching the inn with Kel.

“I didn’t see it before because I was stupid and selfish, okay?” I said to all of them. Sheesh! “Because I was scared. Kel-”

“You can’t even say the word, Rach. You can’t even say ‘I love you,’ so-”

“I love you.” Oh God. My throat closed up a little, but I didn’t choke. My eyes burned though, and I felt like both laughing and crying as I beamed. “See? I said it. And I meant it.”

“It’s the healing powers of the mountain,” Marilee whispered. “Don’t ever doubt it.”

Kel, stiff and still watching the inn, gave nothing away of his thoughts, the stingy bastard. “Yeah, let’s see if you still feel this way in five minutes, after the swap.”

He still didn’t believe me. Hurt, I fell quiet.

“Kind of harsh, dude,” Axel said to Kel.

“Jesus.” Kellan risked a quick glance at me. “We are not doing this now. Not with lives in danger. Not with an audience.” He shot a meaningful glance back at Axel and Marilee. “I mean it.”

He meant it. Kellan McInty putting his foot down. It gave me a thrill, which told me Moe must have hit me harder than I’d thought.

“Now can you all please shut up?” Kel said.

Whoa. He’d said to shut up. I had to be real hurt, because that got me, too.

“Hey!” shouted Curly from just inside the front door. “We know you’re out there! The two of ya with the abilities, drop any weapons and walk slowly toward the front door!”

“Burn in hell!” Marilee yelled.

“Way to keep quiet,” Kel said on a sigh, sighting the gun in his hands like he knew what he was doing.

“Now,” Curly yelled, and let off a shot that ricocheted far too close for comfort. I heard Kel let out a grunt of surprise, and Axel swore loudly and viciously as he got into a better position.

“Come on out!” Curly called, with what sounded like insane glee.

“Okay, change of plans,” Kel said to us, sounding like he was talking with his teeth gnashed together.

I glanced at him, but he was still giving nothing away. Damn him.

“Hey, listen up!” he said loudly enough for everyone to hear, including the pirates. “You’re going to send out your two hostages. Nice and easy. No more shooting.”

“And why would we agree to that, mate?” Moe called.

“Because then you get to keep your pretty teeth.”

I couldn’t quite wrap my mind around the fact that this tough-talker was Kellan-sweet, kind, gentle, talk-to-dolphins Kellan. Riveted, I stood there and watched him take over, falling even harder for the guy, if that was humanly possible.

“I’ll give you some time to think it over,” he called out.

“How much time?”

“Until the count of three. One!” He lifted his gun and sighted on the front door.

My God. He was serious.

“Two!”

“Wait!” Moe called. “Jesus! Don’t go off half-cocked now. We just want the abilities. Tell us where the laptop is, and we’ll swap, and then you’ll go free. Everyone will go free.”

Sounded good to me.

“Deal?” Curly yelled.

I could feel everyone holding their breath.

“No,” Kellan responded. “No deal.” And he aimed for one of the windows closest to the front door.

“Uh, Kel?”

“Not now, Rach.”

And then he pulled the trigger.