Mindsiege (Mindspeak #2)(44)

“Okay.” I shifted on my feet. Why was I so nervous in front of him? “I need a shower.”

“Meet me behind the stables?”

I nodded. The stables were always fairly deserted on Saturdays and a perfect place to relax with Jack. I first started to fall for Jack when he introduced me to his passion for horses and to Cheriana, his cloned quarter horse. I craved alone time with him. Time to tell him how sorry I was. About Addison. About our recent argument. Would he ever look at me like he had the night of the gala? Like I was the only woman left on this earth and made especially for him? Did we even have time for that?

We also needed to discuss everything I’d learned about The Farm and what Jonas had shared. “Give me thirty minutes.”

“I’ll get you something to eat.” He slipped his hand behind my neck and leaned in, kissed my forehead. “Hurry, okay?” He turned and left me staring at the back of his concert tee and admiring the well-sculpted muscles underneath. Wellington really should get rid of uniforms during the school week. I smiled, but it only lasted a moment before someone knocked into my back.

“Oh, sorry,” Briana said, but I knew she wasn’t. “Who is that?” She nodded toward Jonas. Jack spoke to him for a second, then pushed through the door, leaving Jonas alone.

Jonas had been watching me during my entire conversation with Jack, and he continued to stare now.

“That’s no one,” I said, my gaze still directed at him.

Briana moved to stand directly in front of me. “Why is ‘no one’ practically eating you for lunch with his eyes?”

I peeked around Briana. Sure enough, Jonas was smirking. His eyes pointed at me like a missile locked onto its target. He could hear Briana through my mind, and see what I was seeing. “Don’t be ridiculous. And by ‘no one,’ I meant no one you need to concern yourself with.” In other words, none of her business. “I have to shower.”

I moved to get around her, but Briana cut me off. “What are you not telling me? Who is he?”

I sighed. “He’s a friend of Jack’s.”

Briana moved beside me again, not bothering to hide the fact that she was openly staring down Jonas. “Introduce me.”

“What? No.” I lifted my water bottle and took a huge gulp.

Yes, Lexi, introduce us. Jonas’s words filled my head. I had enjoyed an entire morning without him there. I’m thinking this Briana is much prettier than Dia.

They’re identical, you idiot. I took another drink as I glanced sideways at Briana. When I saw her, this time I spit my water all over her.

“What the…” Briana brushed the water off of her chest. “What is wrong with you?” she screamed at me.

“Me? What is wrong with you?” I looked directly at her chest. She had always been well-endowed. Compared to me, any girl was. But looking at her now, I practically burst out laughing.

She followed my gaze. Looked down at her chest, then back at me. She gasped. Her cheeks turned red. “You can see, can’t you?”

Briana had obviously discovered her ability to alter what others saw. Dia had used the same trick when I’d first met her at The Farm. “If you mean the 34DD breasts you suddenly have packed inside that tiny piece of lycra, then yes, I can see.”

Briana didn’t say another word. She spun on her heels and sped away from me.

Jonas no longer contained his laughter. Instead, he bent over holding his stomach. When he lifted his chest again, he thought, Well, that was interesting. I guess we don’t have to wonder anymore whether she knows she has some sort of supernatural ability.

Shit, Jonas! Are you kidding me? Did you see her face? She was scared to death. Briana may have discovered enough of her ability to play around with the power, but confusion and panic were evident in the way she fled.

All traces of laughter left his face. First of all, don’t curse at me. It’s not attractive. And secondly, I know Dia well enough to know that Briana doesn’t have an ounce of DNA lending itself to fear. That was a girl that was well aware of her ability to enhance her looks. She’s just shocked that you saw through the charade.

~~~~~

I raced through my shower, anxious to meet Jack. As I dressed in jeans and a fitted cashmere sweater, I kept an eye out for Briana, but she was nowhere to be seen.

My hand rested on the door handle leading to the hallway when I heard three distinct pops from the hallway. I yanked my hand back. I might’ve had no desire to use guns, but I’d watched enough TV to recognize gunfire. Every muscle in my body tightened, from the back of my neck all the way down to the arches of my feet, cementing me to the floor.

“What was that?” I heard a girl from somewhere in the vicinity of the showers yell.

“Who’s letting off firecrackers?” another girl asked.

I stared at the door handle.

“Were those gunshots?” someone whispered close behind me.

Finally, snapping out of my paralysis, I turned. Briana stood in front of me in her sweats. Her red, curly hair dripped down the front of her chest.

Lexi! Where are you? Jonas was inside my head. I jumped.

“Lexi, answer me. Was that gunfire?” Briana asked again.

I could only nod.

A few girls came around the corner to inquire. When I saw their faces, they appeared concerned, but so far, they remained calm.