I've received two reports from other Arrows noticing differences in his behavior. I also saw their sparring session yesterday. They were fighting afterwards. She actually managed to break through. I've never seen him act like this. He's one of the most controlled Arrows we have.
Good. If confrontation is the only way for him to break away from his past, so be it.
It could prove to be dangerous if he loses control.
He'll stabilize over time. She'll never be at risk; he's too protective of her. He won't listen when I speak with him. Maybe he'll listen if she's yelling at him.
I'm surprised you managed to persuade him in the first place.
Neither of them is forced. And even though they argue, both of them are too stubborn to pull back. He'll never request a transfer and she hasn't asked you for another mentor. I never intended or expected this outcome, but I'm glad it's happening.
You're a dangerous man.
-Telepathic conversation between Zaira Neve and Aden Kai
James thrust his hand through his wet hair after taking a quick, ice-cold shower. He looked at his reflection. Hard, bright blue eyes stared back at him. He closed his eyes and rested his hands on the sink. Immediately his thoughts went to the one person he wouldn't permit himself to think about; not in the way that would require another cold shower.
Looking up at his reflection again, he saw faint signs of fatigue marking his face. Though he could pull shifts lasting up to seventy-two hours straight if necessary, he'd never experienced the same amount of restlessness as he had the past night.
This wasn't the first cold shower he'd taken since his training round with Hailey yesterday morning. No, this was the seventh time he'd tried to shut down his bodily responses. It was as if a feverish heat took hold of him every time he remembered Hailey's soft curves pressed against him, her eyes flashing at him in defiance.
He couldn't forget the way she'd looked at him, the way her skin had flushed and her pulse had risen. Her head turning upward toward him while leaning into his chest, her fingers touching his lower abdomen…
Shuddering, James focused on a mental exercise but he already knew it wouldn't lessen his desire for her. Even though he'd gone entirely cold on her, the sheer magnetism between them hadn't disappeared. After two days of flat responses, Hailey had finally showed her true self again. And he hadn't been able to stop himself from pushing her again.
She still thinks about you.
It wasn't a question; it was a certainty.
He'd lost his cool the moment Hailey had gotten away from him by her little acrobatic performance during their sparring session. He'd held her in a gentle chokehold and she'd accidentally shared her thoughts with him for a second time.
James had been stunned by the content of the images that had rushed through his mind. Her thoughts had taken him by complete surprise, both of them naked, touching.
His hands on her waist, sliding upward towards her bare breasts, molding them, discovering the weight and softness of her.
Her shallow breath tickling against the skin of his shoulder as her fingertips ran over his back.
Her warm mouth on his, his fingers digging into the flesh of her thighs.
Her tongue licking out at the skin of his chest, her hands possessively stroking his sides and down…
He had almost lost control and took what he wanted from her then and there.
James snapped himself out of the tangle of images and glanced up at his mirror image. If the images kept messing with his mind, he wouldn't be able to function and do his job–and that was unacceptable. He had to keep his mind from skidding towards them, because he already knew the flashes of images that came next, and they made the extreme intimacy of the first set literally and figuratively foreplay.
The mere suggestion of Hailey's thoughts made his head spin. He had no idea how to handle everything she'd accidentally shown him. The showers hadn't helped much, but James was utterly clueless what else he could do to stop his body from responding as it had done several times. Like right now. And most of the night.
Inhaling deeply, he quickly put on his standard uniform of black cargo pants, a t-shirt and a jacket of laser proof material. He assessed his mental state on the PsyNet as he sat down on the side of his bed, strapping his boots on while testing the traps and triggers he'd put in place on the psychic plane. They were most useful against intruders and hackers, one of the few good things he learned from former Squad leader Ming LeBon.
Finished with his boots, he placed his hands on his thighs and checked his outer shields. They were strong, dark and gleaming. Good.
But when James looked at his internal shields, his breathing froze for an instant. Jagged cracks marked the shields of his once so Silent mind, like someone had thrown a plascrete brick at a glass wall. He immediately tried anything and everything he could to repair them, but after half an hour of intense focus he realized the damage was too advanced to fix. And he was fully aware why.
Hailey sitting on his lap with a playful smile as he clenched his fingers on her bottom, his teeth sinking in her neck.
Her back arching as she lowered herself on top of–
No.
He just needed distraction from his current mind-set, that was all. James mentally reached out to one of the members of his team. Need any help?
Aaron responded almost immediately. As a matter of fact, yes. We're about to go on a training mission with the younger recruits.
I'll join you in ten, he said.
When James left his room, he decided to grab some breakfast in the common area. Just as he walked past a couple of family units, he heard Hailey's husky laugh. He closed his eyes briefly as the sound washed over him, causing something to spike in his chest. A throbbing sensation in his head made him aware of the dissonance kicking in.
And even though he knew it was unwise to linger after the events that had passed yesterday, he couldn't stop himself. Glancing around the corner of one of the houses, he saw Hailey lying in the grass with two of the youngest Arrows, her guitar in the hands of the small boy.
She was showing them something on her organizer and smiled to a question the little girl asked, answering while touching the tip of her index finger to the little girl's nose. Then she animatedly started moving her hands to the lyrics of what seemed to be a children's rhyme about a shark. The toddler boy started clapping after she was done and inched closer.
Hailey sat up in a cross-legged position and placed each of the children on one of her legs before lifting the guitar. She nuzzled the hair of the little boy briefly and started singing.
Her song was soft and soothing as she helped the children position their hands correctly on the instrument. The husky, enticing melody of her voice made the hairs on James' arms and neck rise.
His hand fisting her hair, her eyes blazing jade with hunger as she bent over and kissed him.
Her deep moan, gasping his name as he moved inside her, faster, harder, deeper.
He caught himself mid-motion as he was moving towards her out of unconscious volition. The blinding spike of dissonance searing through his spinal cord was the only thing that stopped him from closing the distance. He swiftly moved around the corner of the building when Hailey's head snapped up.
Idiot, he chastised himself as he wiped away the trickle of blood coming from his right ear. This was hardly the way to strengthen his shields enough to be able to interact with her on an emotionally distant level. James shook his head and thrust a hand through his still-damp hair. All the years of control, gone at the sound of her voice.
He glanced at his watch and saw he was almost running late.
Yes, you really need the distraction.
He jogged in the direction of the training center for recruits before he made a decision he couldn't turn back from.
Hailey's day had been relatively relaxed. James wasn't in the valley and Hailey had no classes to teach since the youngsters were on a training mission. In the morning she'd done some babysitting, making music and cuddling with two cute Arrow toddlers.
Ravi and Abigail were twins of only three years old, both promising to become powerful telekinetics. Their mother was staying in the valley as well, having requested the Squad permission to stay with her babies after she'd discovered how dangerous her twins were; during a squabble, they'd caused the heating unit of their kitchen to explode.
Being a mid-level Tk herself, their mother had been able to avert most of the blast. Now, two weeks after the incident, she was still healing from the burns, having taken the bulk of the blow to her lower back when she'd physically shielded her children.
Hailey's amount of respect for the twins' mother couldn't be expressed in words. How she'd sacrificed herself for her children was powerful and spoke of deep-rooted love. Ravi and Abigail were unable to do any harm now; they were shielded by an Arrow in a similar fashion as James was shielding Hailey.
Hailey had used her new skills and focus to play with the twins, using water to form bubbles for them to chase, and attempting to slow down the air molecules enough for the water to turn into snow. Surprisingly, her attempt had succeeded at the second try, to the gleeful laughter of the small children when she'd showered them in soft white powder snow. She'd adored them even more for pulling sad faces when it was time for her to go, their baby-soft hands padding her cheeks when she'd cuddled them before leaving.
During the afternoon she went through her martial arts routine, frustrated that she still couldn't get every move right even as she gained more control over her Tk. After running two laps around the facility and surrounding forests, showering and preparing some classes, her eyes flicked to the digital display to see it was almost dinnertime.
Hailey grabbed her organizer and walked over to the common eating area, where she ate dinner with some of the Arrow soldiers she hadn't met before. It was intriguing to her to observe how differently each one of the Squad members responded to the post-Silence regime. Some Arrows had embraced their emotions in such a natural way that Hailey didn't know how they ever could have been Silent. Others reminded her very much of James; tightly in control of their abilities and emotional responses. It couldn't be easy living in the world under its current circumstances after following the Silence Protocol for decades.
"What are you up to tonight?" The question was asked by a tall, blond-haired and blue-eyed woman named Isobel, who was part of the Arrows' communication team.
Earlier, Isobel had told Hailey she was a powerful telepath with minor E-abilities. The latter was probably the reason why Isobel was very much in touch with her emotions; not a trace of Silence was visible in the way the gentle woman interacted with others. It also made Hailey wonder how Isobel had managed to survive her time with the Squad. It was rumored empaths couldn't harm others without feeling a backlash of emotions. Therefore, the brutal Arrow training and missions must have been an excruciating experience.
"I'm not sure," Hailey answered. "I think I'm going to rile up the dishwashing crew a little with this." She gestured towards her organizer. "Maybe some music can make the chore a little more fun and enhance the bonding between the kids."
Isobel's eyes gleamed as she smiled. "I'll help you."
After dinner, Isobel and Hailey walked to the kitchens and greeted the youngsters armed with sponges and dishwashing brushes. Hailey chose a cheerful rock song and pressed play, putting the volume to the maximum.
"Let's do this!" she called out to a smiling Isobel, as she started dancing and grabbed a sponge.
The teenagers looked a little flustered but followed their lead and started doing their assigned chores. Hailey sang along to one of her favorite songs as she half danced, half washed a plate. When she turned around, she saw the teenagers and Isobel staring at her.
Feeling a little uneasy at unintentionally being in the spotlight, Hailey grabbed a handful of foam and threw it at the children.
When someone stopped the foam from hitting Isobel by using Tk, Hailey grabbed another hand full and sneaked over to Han, who was staring intently at the glob floating in the air. She put the foam in her hands on top of his sleek, dark hair and it drizzled over the glossy mass, water dripping down his neck. Han lost his concentration and the floating foam continued its trajectory and hit Isobel on the arm.
Isobel laughed out loud and Hailey grinned.
The next instant, there was water and foam everywhere, while the music kept booming through the kitchen. Some teenagers were throwing sponges around; others used their abilities and fighting skills to throw, block and dodge the soft projectiles. In the meantime, Hailey saw smaller children joining their water-fight, throwing sponges at older children as Isobel picked one of them up to avoid some foam. When someone grabbed a bucket filled with water and threw it over Hailey's head, she squeaked and laughed, meting out retaliation by using her Tk and dousing the offending teenager in foam.
After a while, Hailey noticed that a group of adult Arrows were standing in the double doorway of the kitchen. Yes, they probably had drawn some attention since they were being really loud.
And being loud and playing is so good for these kids.
Grinning as she watched the spectacle around her, Hailey grabbed her organizer and pressed 'pause'. The music instantly stopped, as did the teenagers and children, their heads snapping up.
Hailey pitched her voice low and loud, making the last of the mischievous smaller children look up to her in attention.
"All right everyone, this was a lot of fun, but we still have a chore to finish." She looked around the water-drenched kitchen and grimaced. "Well, actually we have two chores now."
That made some of the teenagers smile slightly as others solemnly nodded.
Together with Isobel, Hailey assigned the children different chores.
All the plates were neatly stacked on the counter as the cutlery was divided into different containers, ready to be used again tomorrow. Using dishcloths, the kids dried off the cupboards and countertops, as one of the teenagers grabbed a mop to clean the floor. Hailey was cleaning some of the windows with one of the toddlers on her hip, letting him hold the rag and helping him reach the higher parts of the window.
Less than an hour later, the kitchen was spotless.
After waving the children goodbye, she said to Isobel, "You told me you have to get up early tomorrow for your meeting with the EmNet people. Go ahead and get some rest, I want to check out some of the appliances here." Hailey waggled her eyebrows. "Maybe I can cook a mean dish that will tempt even the more Silent ones of your brethren."
That got her a full out smile from the gentle, tall woman. "I'll see you tomorrow," Isobel said.
As Isobel walked off, Hailey opened several cupboards and checked out the settings on an oven. When she heard a soft rustling sound behind her, she smiled. "No, I'm not telling you what I'm going to cook."
Hailey turned around and jumped. She had expected to see Isobel, but instead, an unknown male stood in front of her. His copper skin, high cheekbones and dark brown hair made her think of South American influences in his genetic ancestry.
"Hi," she murmured. Her heart still pounded a fast rhythm, her hand splayed on her chest, warming the damp fabric of her shirt. "I thought you were Isobel."
He looked flatly at her and didn't respond to her remark. "What you teach them is wrong."
Brown eyes.
Hailey's spine locked. His toneless voice made it clear this man was one of the Arrows still very much Silent.
Suppressing the shiver that ran up her body, Hailey reminded herself that everyone deserved a chance. After all, James had scared her when they'd first met, and her opinion of him had very much altered since that first meeting.
But this man looks so much like–
Hailey cut off the thought before it could take her over. No. He's gone, she reminded herself.
"I'm sorry you feel that way," Hailey said as she tried to swallow past the lump in her throat. "How about we go for a walk so we can talk about it?"
Hailey felt the need to take a step backward, to create some distance between this man and herself. The problem was, she already felt the countertop press against her back. To her left were several fridges standing neatly in a row. Having no door to her right and this man standing in front of her meant she was effectively blocked in.
Fear started growing inside her, her fingertips tingling, and she tried to fight the urge to show her emotions. Breathing quietly, she attempted to listen to the man talking–which was difficult due to the roaring sound of blood rushing in her ears.
"You shouldn't be here."
Even though he was only a little taller than Hailey was herself, the man in front of her was extremely intimidating. He was every inch the cold, dark assassin the Arrows were thought to be.
Heart slamming against her rib cage, Hailey couldn't think of a way to get out of this situation. About to yell for help, she suddenly felt a searing spike in her brain.
Collapsing to her knees, Hailey saw the man's dark eyes looking intently at her. She burst out a shot of Tk and heard crashing sounds, but before she could direct any object in the man's direction, she froze. A shoving feeling in her head made her blood turn to ice, her breath catching in her throat.
No!
Hailey tried to fight through the nightmare that was choking her, tried remembering this wasn't the night when it all had started. Then another burning spike stabbed through her head. The sides of Hailey's vision started to blur and she heard a shrill sound as lights exploded above them. Only after it was quiet did Hailey realize it was her, that she'd screamed in the way of a trapped animal.
"Please, stop!" Hailey shouted as scratching tendrils clawed through her mind. Black spots appeared in front of her eyes as her teeth chattered. Another excruciating backlash of pain made her head arch backward. Oh God! Please make it stop!
Reaching out with every ounce of her powers, Hailey screamed again.