Asleep *FINISHED!/COMPLETE*

*Chapter 10

CHAPTER TEN

In the heartbeat that followed my admission, there was an audible gasp that sounded in unison from around the room, and then everything was so silent you could have heard a pin drop.

I couldn’t see Jase from where I faced the Truth Shade and Callen, but somehow I could feel his eyes burning holes into the back of my head. Normally in chaos like this, I had a hard time pinpointing the emotions of people around me, but with Jase… for some reason, his seemed to be crystal clear, like some sort of beacon calling towards my mind, my senses. It felt as if there was this invisible string that tied me to him, and it slowly pulled at my insides, begging me to draw nearer to him. Right now I could feel the confusion and anger rolling off of him in hot waves.

That invisible tie to him had me aching to run to his side, to ease his anger, comfort him somehow. There had been very few times throughout my life when I’d felt very deeply connected to someone, but this was so much different. So much more terrifying and exhilarating at the same time. Like that feeling you get right before doing something borderline crazy, like jumping off a high dive into a pool. But the potential for excitement and thrill is enough to push past the fears and jump, the rush of the waters rushing over you the reward.

In the next heartbeat, I could have sworn I saw a flicker of recognition pass through my brother’s eyes after I’d spoken my name aloud. But just as quickly as it had appeared, it vanished with a shake of his head, as if he were trying to rid a sudden sense of deja vu or snap out of a daydream, and everything started moving again.

I could hear, could feel, Jases’s heavy footsteps as he started to move towards me. I could feel his presence drawing nearer, as if that invisible string was being tugged and adjusting to our closing proximity. I heard his intake of breath as he approached as if he were going to speak, but whatever he was about to say was swiftly cut off by a wave of my brother’s hand. I heard Jase’s mouth snap shut with the c***k of teeth and I cringed.

Jase’s face was full of utter fury as he made it to my side and faced off with Callen, eyes wide and muscles bulging as his fists clenched at his sides. My brother seemed absolutely unconcerned, his eyes still fixated on me. I felt the tiniest tingle in my skull as Callen literally locked me in place with his eyes, similar to what I imagine a feather lightly brushing across your mind would feel like. It was starting to grow in intensity, in a sort of burning way, when Callen dropped his hand and the sensation stopped instantly, along with Jase’s previously locked jaw.

“Take her,” he said, eyes still locked on mine. “But you had better hurry because my Aunt will be here any moment.”

Jase’s mouth was now open at least, but when he went to speak, still nothing came out and he looked as if he might start throwing punches at any moment.

Callen finally tore his eyes away from me to look at Jase. “You’ll speak when I’m ready.” Jase’s whole body shook with barely controlled rage, and I assumed his restraint was only for my benefit.

“Listen, little Cross,” Callen went on, “I can tell you care for this girl, whoever she may be, but your anger may cloud your judgment. She may confess to have my last name, a mystery I intend to get to the bottom of, but I assure you she means nothing to me and I will not be manipulated by whatever plans the Seven have cooked up in using her. Do your best to remember that.” He gave Jase a pointed stare.

“Now, do yourself a favor and pull your head out of your a*s, grab the girl, and get the hell out of here while you still have a chance,” he said, emanating that thick, dark power I couldn’t quite explain. Callen looked away from him and back towards me as Jase started coughing, finally getting his voice back.

“And one more thing,” he half turned towards Jase, lacing his next words with ice. “If you screw up and let my Aunt get her hands on her before I get to the bottom of this, I’ll be paying you a visit. And it will not end well for you.”

“I know what you’re doing, you self righteous prick,” Jase fumed, “but your mind control bull s**t has no effect on me,” he said, eyes stern and confident.

With an outright laugh, my brother said, “Oh I highly doubt that. But that’s sweet that you think so. Now why don’t you use that little “gift” that you have and tell me…”

Callen paused to look at his watch, seeming a tad bored as if he were losing interest in this whole ordeal. “Exactly how much time do you have until Claudia gets here? 5 minutes? 10? Let’s see how close you get. Or maybe we’ll all finally see how truly ineffective an illumine actually is. I could ask my Sight Shade for you if you’d like?” Callen smirked at Jase, clearly amused with himself.

“Screw you, Callen!” Jase spat at him, moving to get into his face as he finally lost control.

“Jase!” Maven shouted anxiously “How much time?”

Her words seemed to finally shake him out of his fixation on Callen, and he tore his eyes away from my brother. He shook his head as if trying to clear it, and the realization of the current situation dawned on his face.

“s**t,” Jase swore. “4 minutes.”

His eyes turned hard as he made eye contact with Maven and Kai, a silent conversation seeming to pass between them, and he snapped out a pocket knife and cut my hands free in seconds, all while never taking his eyes off of Callen; surely as doubtful as I was that he would just let us all walk out of here after such a display. When Callen made no moves to stop him, he grabbed my arm and started hauling me towards the glass doors.

Without speaking a word to one another, Kai and Mave moved in to flank him as we passed, turning and facing the room full of psychopaths as they backed out of the foyer, protecting our backsides from any potential attacks as we exited the building.

I was in a total stupor by this point, my mind reeling from whatever the hell had just transpired, and I just let Jase drag me out the door and down the street towards a lifted Land Rover that shimmered an olive green in the setting sun. Jase’s hand on me was warm, wrapping around the entire expanse of my middle in a strong and protective way, both holding me up and leading me. It made me feel safer than I’d felt in what seemed like an eternity after the day I’d had. The life I’d had.

I still had no idea who these people really were or if I could even trust them, but sometimes when you’re driven to the brink of insanity with the weight of the world and emotions around you, you just concede to going with your gut, and my gut was telling me Jase and his family were safety. At least more so than whatever alternative waited for me back inside that mob ring. Autopilot must be built into us for some reason, and that’s what was driving me. It was the only way I could justify to myself just going with them, no questions asked, and in that moment, I was totally ok with that.

As soon as we made it to the vehicle, Kai jumped in the driver’s seat, Mave in the passenger’s seat, and Jase started to lift me up into the back as if I weighed nothing. I could still feel anger rolling off of him, but worry was seeping through less and less the farther we made it away from the building.

Just as I made it into the backseat, I heard someone swear. It took me a moment to realize that someone was me, as my three rescuers turned to look out the back window at what had me cursing.

Oren had just pulled up and parked on the curb outside of my brother’s office building, and his blacked out Jaguar idled only 20 feet behind Kai’s jeep. Jase was still half in and half out of the vehicle when Stone stepped out of the backseat, her red kitten heels touching the concrete, the first tell tale sign that it was in fact, Satan herself, in the flesh.

Jase hesitated for a moment, his eyebrows arching inwards as unknown thoughts passed through his mind. I expected him to jump into the car so we could get the hell out of there before they saw me, but instead, he said, “Get her out of here, Kai,” in an eerily calm and calculated way.

Kai’s eyes snapped up to his brother. “Jase what’s wrong? What do you see?”

“Now!” Jase shouted into the car, right before he slammed the door shut and began running towards Stone.