“Aren’t you coming inside?” she asked, knowing the answer.
“Nah, I think I should probably go check in with the family. They may be making some important plans tonight—I should be there to be a part of it.”
Kylie couldn’t look into his eyes. She was too worried he’d see how torn she felt. Something about this boy really got to her, beneath her fa?ade.
Stupid girl, she yelled inside her mind. You didn’t just break his heart; you damn well broke your own, too! Keep it together!
“Tell me your number?” she hated herself for asking.
“Do you need to write it down?” Evan asked, an ember of hope glistened in the night.
Kylie tapped her temple. “Perfect memory,” she said even as she desperately wanted to rub her temples to work against the headache she just gave herself.
Evan nodded and slowly enunciated the ten digits that would be his lifeline to her, if she called.
When he was done, she nodded and stepped back from the curb.
“Will you call?” Evan had to ask.
“I’ll be in touch,” she answered cryptically and offered a sad smile.
“G’night,” he hesitated, but finally forced himself to rev the engine back to life.
He looked up to see Kylie mouth the word, “Bye,” as she waved a delicate hand.
Evan slipped the helmet on himself, latched the strap, turned to the road ahead and slowly pulled away from her curb.
It wasn’t until Kylie was digging into her pocket for the house key that she remembered she was still wearing his leather jacket.
She leaned down to catch Evan’s scent on the inner lining and closed her eyes for a moment, locking his phone number into her long-term memory.
Driving away, Evan knew full well what he was doing leaving a piece of himself with Kylie. He wanted her to remember him—to remember that night. But, he moaned when he remembered the two small vials he’d left in the jacket’s inside pocket—his research. He would have to contact her in the morning to retrieve them. The vials were too important.
He took a slow, deep breath as he made his way through the deserted, late-night streets back to the house where his family stayed.
Once inside her house, Kylie picked up the phone left on the entry way table. She pressed and held button number two until she heard ringing.
She was not looking forward to this phone call, but had no choice. This was, after all, her assignment.
4 For the Greater Good
“Sir, Kylie Monroe, here.”
“Kylie, my dear, what news?” Dr. Kenneth Williams was sitting in a lavish hotel room and had been staring at a picture of his beloved daughter June, feeling the effects of opiates he ingested fifteen minutes before. He forced himself to focus on the conversation through the drugged haze.
“Sir, he’s been cleared to return to the States in two to three days.”
“Well, that changes things, doesn’t it? Hmm.” Williams stood slowly, allowing his equilibrium time to steady before walking back toward the spa-like bathroom. Brackish blood remaining in the sink looked to have stained not just the granite countertops, but the plush cream rugs splayed across the tiled floor.
“Yes sir.” The frown forming in Kylie’s brow was deepening. In her mind’s eye, she kept seeing Evan’s face when she effectively blew him off not more than an hour ago.
“Tell me, have you gotten him to share about his evolved gift?” he asked eagerly. He still hadn’t bothered to look at his image in the ornate mirror above the bloody sink. He already knew what he looked like and how desperately he needed his daughter’s curative blood. The evidence of that desperation lay in shriveled chunks near the drain.
“Yes, sir.” The girl forced herself to focus on delivering the intel with efficiency as she had been trained. “The altercation in Flagstaff happened right during his evolution, shaping his gift around the scars the burns created.”
“How so?” Williams’ voice rose an octave with excitement, a smile beginning at his misshapen lips displaying more signs of decay inside his rancid mouth.
“He is a light and fire manipulator. The scarred hand can trap any source of light, harness its energy and redirect it.”
“Fascinating,” the scientist breathed. He was looking down at the black blood caked under his formerly manicured fingernails.
“That’s not all. He can also absorb fire back into himself.”
“Really? Did you see him do these things?” Williams reached into his pocket for his metallic orbs and began rolling them thoughtfully in his hand.
“I did, sir.”
“How dangerous do you think he is with his gift?”