Attempted Assassination(29)

He nodded and ran his hand through his hair. "Yeah, I got talking to Ava and completely forgot about that." 

Ruben gave her a wink. "Pretty ladies have a way of doing that to a man."

She furrowed her brow. "What's going on?"

Jordan walked over to the bed and sat back down, taking her hand. "Remember when I first came in, I said that I needed to ask you for a favor?"

"Yes."

"Well, Joe wants to hypnotize me, and I want someone there that I can trust. Can you please come with me and be in the room when he does it?"

Oh, God. First LSD, and now hypnosis? What would Joe make him do?

Her thoughts traveled back to the time she and Jordan had gone to the state fair and seen a hypnotist. Jordan had volunteered for the show and ended up being the star. He'd talked 'Martian,' pretended to be Marilyn Monroe, and became the 'laughing police.' His Marilyn impression had been dead on, and he'd been screaming at the crowd to shut-up when they laughed, which only made everyone laugh more.

"Do you remember the state fair we went to?" she asked.

He shook his head.

"You were hypnotized there, and you did some crazy stuff."

"I don't even want to know," he said as he rolled his eyes. "This isn't anything like that. This is to make sure Group Nine can't get back into my head again."

She had no idea what that meant, but if it would help Jordan stay away from those animals, she was all in.

"Just let me get dressed."





34





"And as you come back to consciousness, you'll begin to feel your limbs and notice your surroundings. Perhaps you can feel the breeze from outside on your face, or the mattress under you."

Joe's voice seemed so far away.

He fought to open his eyelids, but damn, it felt so good to be floating in this wonderful space of peace and tranquility.

"And now, as I count you up, you'll wake feeling refreshed and relaxed, as if you've just finished taking a long nap. Three  …  two  …  one."

He woke fully and glanced around the room. Ava sat in the chair against the far wall. He grinned at her as he sat up, then he glanced over at Joe.

"Did everything go okay?"

"Yes," Joe answered. "You're an excellent subject."

He looked at Ava again, and it felt as if a tidal wave of places, things, and pictures flooded his mind.

Their first kiss. Meeting her outside the Underground Tour in Seattle. Their wedding day. The day he'd left to go to Guatemala. It seemed like so much, he almost felt overwhelmed, and he struggled to hold on to it all, afraid that it would slip away again.

She stood and crossed her arms over her chest. "Do you feel okay?"

He nodded, unable to speak or take his gaze off of her. She preferred white wine, but would drink whatever was available. She liked watching repeat episodes of Friends, and loved to take long hikes in the mountains and to swim in the lakes during the summer. For exercise, she usually ran three miles a day, and she loved chocolate.

The love he felt for her made him gasp and bring his hand to his chest.

"Jordan? What's wrong?"

She knelt in front of him and placed her hand on his knee. He stared at her fingertips, remembering that she always placed them on his knee when they drove.

He lifted his gaze to hers. His voice came out in a harsh whisper. "I remember everything."

Ava's eyes widened. "About us?"

He nodded. "Everything. You like to sleep on the right side of the bed. You hate horror movies, but you'll watch them with me if I beg you. You love steak, but your cholesterol is a bit high, so you can't eat it as often as you'd like. You broke your arm in high school playing flag football when a girl named Tina ran into you and you fell. The worst part was that she was on your team. You hated each other, and to this day, you think she did it on purpose."



       
         
       
        

She placed her hand over her mouth. "Oh my gosh."

He grabbed her wrists and stood, then pulled her against him. Shutting his eyes, he fought back tears as she snaked her arms around his waist.

This was his home. Ava was his everything. And, just as he'd said while under the LSD, she was his life. Now, he had the memories to back it up and solidify the feelings in his mind. He had proof that what he'd felt in his gut had been the truth.

"Jordan," Joe said from his left. "Do you remember anything else?"

As he held Ava, he forced his mind to search for further memories. Once again, they came flooding in. The anger that had built up earlier grew, and a cold feeling began in the pit of his stomach.

He took Ava's hand and pulled her down onto the bed next to him. "Yes."

Even to own ears, his voice sounded hard and cold, just like the sensation in his abdomen.

Joe leaned forward. "What? What do you remember?"

Just then, shots rang out.

Ava gasped and Joe's eyes widened.

As he stood, a strange feeling came over Jordan. He led Ava over to the closet and motioned for her to sit down. He looked at Joe who had wheeled himself over to the table and grabbed the gun, and then pointed at the nightstand.

Jordan opened it to find another piece, and he handed it to Ava. Placing his finger on his lips, he indicated that both of them needed to remain quiet.

He slipped out the bedroom door, seeming to be on autopilot. His limbs were loose, his head focused on his task. The cold in his stomach grew, and he knew what it signified-his supernatural ability. Now that his memories had been uncovered, it all made perfect sense on why Group Nine had kept him so close and worked on suppressing his memories so long, and so frequently.

He supposed the skill should terrify him, but it didn't. As another shot rang out, he felt very comfortable with his newfound gift, and very confident in his ability to use it.





35





Jordan walked into the kitchen to meet Zachary and Ella, both pressed up against the wall with guns in their hands.

"Did you see any of this in the mirror?" he whispered as he sidled up next to Zachary.

He shook his head. "No. This is a surprise to me. Ella and I came in to give Savannah lunch, and then the shooting started."

"Are the rest of the unit still outside?"

"I think it's just Brody and Lucas."

"This has to be Group Nine," Ella hissed. "They are the only bastards who'd show up in the middle of the day and start shooting. They think they're above the law and God himself."

"They are above the law," Zachary said. "But, I haven't talked to God to see what he thinks of them." 

"How did they find us?" Jordan wondered out loud.

Ella narrowed her gaze at him. "I was thinking you alerted them."

Of course she'd think that, and he assumed everyone else did, as well. "Sorry, but no. I'm not responsible for this."

He turned as he heard footsteps on the back deck leading down to the beach, and hoped to get an idea on where the others hid. "Where's everyone else?"

"Scattered. Garrett had come in to call Ruby. Ruben wanted a nap."

He had no idea who Ruby was, but he could get on board with the nap idea. Therefore, he had to assume that on this fine afternoon, Garrett and Ruben were trapped upstairs with Joe and Ava. He didn't consider that a bad thing, as he knew they loved her as one of their own and would do whatever necessary to protect her and Joe.

He hoped Brody and Lucas had somehow dodged the bullets.

Stepping around the corner, he peeked out a window toward the beach, his breath catching in his lungs at the sight.

He immediately recognized Nicholas standing on the deck, but not the other man with him. They stared up in horror at a wall of water standing at least twenty feet high, trapping them. It looked as if a large ocean wave had been frozen in time just before it crashed to the beach. Obviously, Brody was responsible, but if he let go of the water, it would destroy the house and everyone in it. He'd cornered the two, probably expecting someone inside to finish the business.

The frozen pit within him grew until it filtered out to his limbs, making it seem as if ice flowed through his veins.

Nicholas must have sensed him because he turned to the window, his eyes wide with fright. Jordan smiled. After all the fear this man had induced in others' lives, it brought Jordan a bit of happiness to see stark terror in his eyes.

Their gazes locked, and the air suddenly changed, as it did right before he killed someone.

He never could explain it, but he often imagined the Grim Reaper appearing to his target, his black, hooded robe covering his skeletal body, a long scythe at his side. Death was cold, thus modifying the air particles around him, and he shivered now, his bones practically rattling.

Death had arrived, except it wasn't an outside force. Jordan felt it emanating from deep with him.

He stared at Nicholas, imagining his hand wrapped around the man's throat. As Nicholas gasped and grabbed for the invisible vise, he dropped his gun. His co-worker turned to him, horrified as Nicholas' eyes began to bulge and he clawed at his own voice box.

As if in slow motion, he dropped to his knees, the unseen force literally squeezed the life out of him. Jordan could hear his gasps as he fought for breath. Nicholas' friend was now completely panicked as he glanced from the wall of water to his co-worker, most likely wondering what the hell he'd taken on by following Nicholas here.