Broken (Book 1, The Watcher Chronicles, Paranormal Romance), page 24
And yes…anything…
I toss the phone on the bed and go take a shower. I dress casually and comfortably because I want to try meditating with Chandler during the time we’re together that day to start searching for our third member. I put on the clothes I wore when I met Lilly.
The door bell rings and my heart races. I take a deep breath and walk to the door with my coat in my arms. When I open the door, Mason is standing there with one perfect red rose in one of his hands.
“Good morning,” he says, handing me the rose.
“Good morning,” I say back, taking the rose and bringing its soft petals to my nose to breath in its heady aroma.
“Would you be interested,” he says, “in coming to my villa tonight for supper?”
I smile. “Yes, I would. I like it there.”
“Perhaps while we’re there we can discuss what all this ‘anything’ entails.”
“Perhaps…”
Mason holds out his hand for me to take. I instantly find myself standing outside the door to Chandler’s penthouse.
“He’s waiting for you,” Mason tells me, still holding my hand. “I’ll let you two get to work.”
Mason bends and kisses the back of my hand. I attempt to withdraw it from his hold but he gently prevents me by tightening his fingers around it. I watch as he turns my hand over, palm up. He kisses the middle of my palm gently before performing the same action on the inside of my wrist. The gentle pressure of his lips on my sensitive flesh causes me to shiver pleasantly. I see Mason smile, pleased by my reaction to him.
When he stands up straight again, he leans into me drowning me in the scent of him.
“Call me when you’re ready for me to come back,” he whispers in my ear, kissing my neck lightly before phasing away.
I end up standing in the hallway for a good five minutes just trying to get my hormones under control. Was this what they called a slow seduction? I had no way of knowing for sure, but if it was, it was working like a charm. I couldn’t help but wonder what it would feel like to share a real kiss with Mason…and possibly more.
After I feel sure my cheeks are cool once again, I knock on Chandler’s door. He instantly opens it like he was waiting on the other side the entire time.
He smiles at me like he knows something he shouldn’t.
“Were you watching us?” I asked him and his guilty smile widens.
He holds up his hands palm forward. “I swear, Jess, I was just looking through the peephole to see if you had made it here yet or not. I didn’t do it on purpose.”
I swat Chandler on the arm like he is my little brother snooping into my private business.
“Make your presence known next time,” I scold him, trying to be firm but finding it almost impossible to be mad at him.
“But if I’d done that you wouldn’t have had…you know… the moment,” he says popping his eyebrows up and down. “Why were you just standing out there for so long by yourself after he left?”
“None of your business,” I say, feeling my cheeks redden. I walk further into the penthouse and drop my coat in a chair placing the rose Mason gave me gently on top of it.
Chandler closes the door. “He got you that hot and bothered with four little kisses?”
“Chandler,” I say, “drop it.”
Chandler tucks his fingers inside the front pockets of his jeans and leans against the door with one foot propped up against it giving him a rebel without a cause look. “Oh my God,” he says, realization dawning on his face, “Jess, are you a virgin?”
“Why does everyone make that sound like it’s a bad thing?” I ask in exasperation. “And how can you people tell? Do I have a sign on my forehead saying Beware: Virgin Territory?”
Chandler laughs. “No, it’s just a little unbelievable,” he says. “But I guess I know why you still are because of what you told me yesterday.”
I sit down on the arm of the chair my coat is in. “Mason flusters me,” I confess. “I’m scared and excited all at the same time when I’m around him, if that makes sense. I’ve just never felt like this around someone else.”
“It’s called love, Jess,” Chandler says pushing off the door with his foot to walk over to me. “Is this the first time you’ve felt it?”
I nod.
Chandler smile widens. “Then enjoy it. Real love is hard to find, almost impossible for a lot of people, including me.”
“You’ve never been in love?” I ask. “What about all those great love songs you sing? I thought for sure you had been in love at least once.”
“Oh, I’ve loved a few women in my life but not to the point where just an innocent kiss from one of them made me have to stand completely still for five whole minutes just to get over it,” he teases.
“Am I that pathetic?”
He shakes his head. “No, I envy what you’re feeling. Don’t let it go. Keep it for as long as you can. This type of love only comes around once in a lifetime. Fight for it.”
“I am,” I say and tell Chandler what happened the night before after Mason so rudely phased me away after the concert.
“Yeah, I knew he was jealous,” Chandler says. “No man acts that stupid unless he is.”
“Well, I hope we’re through the worst of it. I feel like he’s finally opening up to me even if I had to push him to do it.”
“Sounds like he’s held onto his guilt for a long time. I think you’ve just worked a miracle getting him to tell you what he has so far.”
“All right, enough about my love life. I want to try something with you.”
“Should I be scared?” Chandler laughs lightly.
“No, I want to meditate with you like I did when I had to find you on my own.” I look around Chandler’s penthouse but don’t see a fireplace. “We need something to concentrate on though. The first time I did it I used the sounds from a fire.”
“Hold on, I might have something,” Chandler says running up the metal staircase to the second floor. He comes back down with a little white machine in his hands.
“I use this when I can’t sleep sometimes,” he tells me pressing a button on the machine instantly filling the room with the sounds of ocean waves.
We pick a spot on the floor and sit down in the lotus position with one another but instead of holding our hands palm up on our knees we hold each others hands.
“Ok, when I did this,” I tell him. “I cleared my mind of everything except the crackle of the fire. So let’s concentrate on the wave noises and see what happens.”
I watch Chandler close his eyes before I close mine too.
I’m not sure how long we sit there trying to concentrate on finding the third member of our archangel group but eventually Chandler says, “This isn’t working for me.”
I open my eyes and have to agree.
“Me neither,” I reluctantly admit. “I’m not sure why it isn’t working. Michael said it would be easier once there were two of us.”
I pull my hands away from Chandler’s and we both stand up.
“We’ll figure it out,” Chandler says, not worried in the slightest. “Now what?”
“We need to find a way to activate your power.”
“Any ideas on how to do that?”
I sigh. “Not really. I had to almost be killed by a demon before mine kicked in.”
“Hmm, well, you know any demons who can attack me?”
I laugh. “No. I don’t think that’s the best idea.
“Maybe we’re just thinking too much,” he suggests. “Let’s go do something.”
“Like what?”
“Let’s go do something touristy. I’ve never been to the Empire State Building, have you?”
“No, my visits to see you are the only times I’ve been in New York.”
“What?” Chandler say like it’s completely scandalous. “Well then, let me be your guide to the little known parts of this city. First stop though is the Empire State Building.”
“And just how are we supposed to go to these places without hordes of your adoring fans chasing after us?”
Chandler takes my hand. “Come on, you can help me put on my disguise.”
“Disguise?”
I soon learn what Chandler’s disguise is. He makes me help him put on a blonde wig while he adheres a matching beard and mustache to his face. With a pair of sunglasses and a cowboy hat, he barely looks like himself. He proceeds to dress in a cowboy shirt, faded jeans, and cowboy boots
“Hmm,” I say after his costume is complete, “you look like you belong in a rodeo. Is that at all comfortable?”
“Not really,” he says, scratching at the beard on his face. “But it’s either this or get accosted where ever I go. I’d rather just be a little scratchy. Plus, if you keep that pistol of yours on your leg, I don’t think I will get as much attention as you. You look kinda hot with it slapped to your thigh like that.”
I hit Chandler on the arm. “No talk like that from you. It sounds pervy. You’re like my little brother.”
“Uhh, you wound my male ego,” Chandler says dramatically clutching at his heart but he laughs. “Yeah, I know what you mean. You’re like the abusive big sister I never had.”
I laugh and hold out my hand to him. “Ok little bro, take me to see the city.”
I soon learn that Chandler has a body guard who stays in the background where ever he goes. I’m introduced to him before we leave the hotel. His name is Ben and I’m surprised by how slim and normal looking he is. In my mind, I always imagined a body guard to be bigger than life just to scare off anyone who might be thinking to cause trouble with his sheer size. But Ben is someone who can slip in and out of a crowd unnoticed which seems to be important to Chandler. It seems that he didn’t want a body guard who would attract much attention because it might alert his fans to his presence.
As Chandler and I travel through the city that day, Ben takes separate cabs from us and discretely keeps his distance. I barely know he’s there during my day with Chandler. I suppose that’s why I didn’t notice him missing until it was too late.
Chapter 22All through the day I kept in constant contact with Mason just to let him know where we were and what we were doing. I reason with myself it is work related and not just me wanting to stay close to him even if we were separated by a few thousand miles. We keep the texts simple and short not delving into any innuendos, which I’ll admit was a bit disappointing. But, I was happy to see him reply almost instantly to my texts. It made me think of what Jonathan said on New Year’s Eve about his dad acting like a young man in love by constantly checking his phone to see if I had sent him a message. My heart felt all warm and fuzzy inside just from the thought of him waiting for my texts.
“You know you’re making me feel like a third wheel,” Chandler says to me as we are riding in a horse drawn carriage through Central Park. “Hell, I’m the one your with and I feel left out!”
I giggle, which is something I never do and it almost sounds alien to my own ears. Faison was the giggler in the family, not me. But Faison had been in love with John Austin since she was seven. Was this what love did to you? Make you giggle like an idiot?
“I’m happy,” I say to Chandler. “Leave me alone.” And I stick my tongue out at him.
Yep.
Love makes you act like an idiot, and strangely enough I was all right with that.
It is almost five in the afternoon so I decide I should ask Mason when he wants to have supper at his villa.
What time do you want to pick me up for supper?
As soon as possible…
Give me 30 minutes so I can take Chandler home. I would feel better knowing he is safely returned there.
I will be at his door in exactly 30 minutes
If we get there sooner, I will let you know
I can’t wait to see you…
I was just about to put my phone back in my coat pocket when it buzzes one more time.
I mean it Jess…I want to see you…
I want to see you too…I’ll hurry…
Please do…
“How much longer is this ride?” I ask Chandler.
He sits back in his seat and crosses his arms over his chest. Narrowing his eyes at me he says, “What’s the rush? Don’t you like spending time with me?”
I roll my eyes. “You know I do, but I have a date.”
“Oh with Mister Moody?”
“He is not moody,” I defend. “He just has issues.”
“Why do you girls always fall so hard for guys with problems? You would think someone, like me for example, would be more perfect.”
“Perfection is overrated. And it’s not that we like guys with problems. It’s just that those guys tend to be more serious, unlike you for example. You’ve had it so good all your life you see the world through rose colored glasses.”
“Do you think that’s bad?” Chandler asks, becoming serious.
I shake my head. “No. It’s not bad. It’s good actually. But someone with a life as screwed up as mine tends to look for someone just as screwed up. And I found him.”
Chandler smiles. “Yeah that’s kinda messed up but it makes sense in a way.”
“So, how long is this ride supposed to be?” I ask again. But Chandler doesn’t have to answer because the driver brings the horse to a stop in the exact same spot we started out on the south side of Central Park. When we get out of the carriage, I instantly look for Chandler’s body guard, thinking he should be in the carriage behind us but it doesn’t have a passenger.
“Where is our shadow?” I ask Chandler as he steps down from the carriage to stand beside me.
Chandler looks at the next carriage to roll in and says, “I thought he was behind us.”
Before I know it, a man in a black feathered cape appears at Chandler’s side and grabs his arm before disappearing with him in tow. It happens so quickly I seem to be the only one who sees it.
I frantically dig for my phone in my coat pocket to call Mason but someone grabs my wrist and I find myself not in Central Park anymore.
A cool wind blows through my hair as I’m faced with a vast expanse of rolling hills made of sand. The full moon hanging in the night sky illuminates not only the desert but also the nightmare creatures standing in front of me.
Three men wearing black feathered capes stand ten feet from my position. Chandler is struggling against the firm grip of the Watcher who abducted him in a futile attempt to escape. I can tell he’s mad, not scared by the situation. I feel a sense of pride he is able to command such strength considering the dire straits we find ourselves in.
A few yards to the left of the Watchers are a pack of three nightmarish creatures feasting on what appears to be the remnants of a human corpse. The crack of bones, rending of flesh and suckling sounds as they swallow the meat makes me sick to my stomach. I pity the person who is being devoured whole by the children of the Watchers.
One of the Watchers walks toward me and I instantly recognize him.
“Didn’t Lucifer order you not to harm me?” I ask.
Even in the dim light of the moon I see the Watcher named Baruch smile.
“I know I’m not allowed to harm you,” Baruch says. “But he didn’t say anything about the humans you associate with, like this one.” Baruch tilts his head in Chandler’s direction.
“Don’t worry about me, Jess,” Chandler calls out to me. “Get out of here!”
“I’m not leaving without you,” I promise him. I look to Baruch. “Why are you doing this? I haven’t done anything to you. I barely even know you.”
“Mason loves you,” Baruch spits out. “That’s reason enough. You can thank him for what I’m about to do to your life. Everyone you love, everyone you consider a friend or even an acquaintance, anyone you might remotely have feelings for will suffer the same fate as this boy. I will make your life a living hell because if you’re miserable, Mason’s miserable. Lucifer is the only reason I don’t rip your throat out myself and feed you to my boy over there.”
As if knowing his father is talking about him, I see one of the werewolves lift its head from what remains of the corpse and sniff the air in my direction.
“Who is that?” I ask looking pointedly at the body the werewolves are eating, suddenly frightened to learn the answer.
“That boy’s body guard. We didn’t want him to draw undo attention to us while we brought you here. Plus, our children were hungry. It was as good a meal as any. And after we feed the boy to them, they should be sated for tonight.”
I feel my blood boil not with anger but fierce determination. I vow to myself that Chandler will not suffer such a death. Deep within my soul I know we will survive this transient moment in time because our destinies aren’t supposed to end like this.
I stand a little straighter as I tell Baruch, “I will kill you. Let him go and I might let you live.”
Baruch laughs, almost doubling over he thinks what I’ve said is so funny. When he finally regains control of himself, he turns to the Watcher holding Chandler and says, “Kill him.”
The next few seconds become a blur of motion. I watch as the Watcher holding Chandler sinks his teeth into the base of my friend’s neck, causing Chandler to cry out in excruciating pain. His cry awakens something buried in the well of my soul and I feel the flames of righteousness burn bright. Before I know it, I find myself holding the flaming sword given to me as my talisman on Earth.
The arching flames of the sword blaze across the dark desert sand drawing the attention of the others.
“Let him go,” I demand of the Watcher holding Chandler. Out of sheer fear, the Watcher instantly lets Chandler go. Chandler falls to the sand on his hands and knees gasping for breath.
“How did you get that?” Baruch hisses and I see the terror in his eyes, not scared of the sword itself it seems but scared of me now since I possess the ability to call such a weapon to my side.
