AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Hey guys, you down there?” Martin called out as he descended the stairs.
Shit. Martin was about to walk into potential gunfire, but there was no way to warn him without giving away their own positions. Caden switched tactics. Martin would have to be the bait. He and Luke would cover him, making sure he didn’t get hurt.
Caden glanced at Luke who gave him an almost imperceptible nod. They were on the same page. Keeping an eye on the staircase, Caden watched Martin come down. “Guys?” Martin called out. “You here?”
As soon as Martin’s boot hit the last step, there was another scuffle then a second gunshot rang out. Caden threw all tactics out the window, his only concern for his unarmed friend. “Martin, retreat!” Caden called out. He still didn’t have a visual on the perp. Not willing to back down now, he advanced toward the sound, knowing Luke had his back. “FBI. Whoever you are, show yourself now! Hands in the air!”
Another gunshot rang out, this time hitting something behind Caden. “Luke!” He yelled, but his voice was muffled by a louder bang just as something hit him in the back of the head.
A scream he didn't recognize ripped through the room, followed by searing pain spreading through his skull, and then… everything went black.
***
Orly left half an hour after the guys when the hospital called and asked if she could come in for an extra shift after one of her co-workers called in sick. That left Hallie alone with Blake. They’d moved everything inside and were now sitting in Garrett’s living room in front of the television.
Blake was in a large recliner, flipping through channels for the last ten minutes, making Hallie nearly dizzy with it. He hadn’t looked at her even once, and she had the distinct feeling he was avoiding eye contact with her since she was sitting on the couch directly across from him.
She’d stayed thinking they might talk, but all she’d done was stare at the vaulted two-story oak ceilings and admire the large faux stone fireplace. The fake antlers mounted around the room kept catching her eye too. They were both interesting and kind of creepy.
Mostly, Hallie was just bored. She thought about calling for an Uber and going to check on Katelyn at The Mystic Cow. The store was probably fine, but it was the best excuse she could think of to tell Blake so she could leave without making it even more awkward between the two of them. She scooted to the edge of the couch to see if Blake would notice, but his eyes stayed glued on the television.
“I should get going,” she hedged.
“No, it’s okay. If there’s something you want to watch, just let me know.” The man was making her uncomfortable with his passive aggressive ignoring of her.
“I need to check on my employee at the store, make sure everything is okay. It’s the weekend, so she could be busy, but she won’t call me if she needs help, no matter how many times I tell her to.” Hallie didn’t know why she’d just divulged that bit of information to Blake. She was mostly talking to herself.
Blake shrugged. “People don’t like asking for help.”
Hallie nodded. “True.” She stood then and went to the closet where she’d left her purse. She retrieved it, and closed the door, but as soon as she turned, Blake was standing right in front of her. “Whoa, I didn’t see you there,” she said with a nervous smile.
“Sorry,” he said. “I wasn’t trying to sneak up on you. I thought maybe we could talk before you leave.”
Hallie inhaled sharply. She really wanted to get out of there, but this was Caden’s friend and co-worker. “Sure. What’s on your mind?” She tried to sound as casual as possible, but she could already feel her heart beating just a little too fast.
Even though Blake was on medical leave, he was technically still FBI. He could arrest her if he wanted to, even badger her with more questions, especially now that he knew about her ability. It didn’t matter that he liked Orly and had kept her gift a secret. She wasn’t Orly, and it was more than obvious he didn’t like or trust her.
He gestured for her to return to the couch, and she did, placing her purse on the floor at her feet. Blake went back and sat in the recliner, but didn’t extend it. He ran a hand through his overgrown blonde curls and it almost seemed like he was more nervous about whatever he was going to say than Hallie was about hearing it.
“I’ve known Orly for a while now,” he started. “I was skeptical of what she could do, but as you saw for yourself, there’s no doubt she’s got an incredible gift.”
“She does.” Hallie braced herself for what was coming. Blake was probably going to call her a fake, or worse, arrest her, even if Caden and Orly vouched for her.
Blake nodded, then added a slight shake of his head. “Tell me something. How did we not see it?” His gaze locked on her, but it was his tone that caught Hallie off guard. “I’m an FBI Agent, trained to notice the small nuances, so is Caden, and yet when it came to you, we never saw it. None of us did. I’m assuming Caden didn’t know until you told him at some point. It doesn’t surprise me that you told Orly. I’m glad you did. And Luke, there are no secrets between those two.” He rubbed at his temple, almost as if trying to explain something without using words. But Hallie knew about Luke and Orly’s special connection. “How could we not see it?” He asked again, more to himself than her.
She shrugged a little, her shoulders barely moving. He wasn’t questioning her ability, but rather how he’d missed it. Well, it wasn’t like there was a plaque on her forehead telling the world she could see glimpses of the future. No one knew about it. Even her parents didn’t know or really understand what she could do. It wasn’t until she’d told Orly, and then Caden, that she’d allowed herself to open up about it. “It’s not a very noticeable or useful thing,” she assured him. “I’m nothing like Orly. She’s beyond amazing at what she can do.”
Blake made eye contact with Hallie for the first time ever, and in that moment all she saw in his pale blue eyes was resolve, and something else she couldn’t quite pinpoint. “And yet, you’re the one who’s about to save a bunch of kids from getting blown up. And you saved my life, not even knowing who I was.”
“It’s a fluke, really. My glimpses are normally too detailed or way too vague to be of any use to anyone.” Though after helping Blake, the conversation she’d had with Caden about his brother, and now this glimpse with the church, those words sounded less and less true to her.
“Can I show you something?” He asked.
Hallie nodded, reminding herself that no matter how nervous this guy made her, he was Caden’s friend, and Caden trusted him.
Blake stood and pulled off his t-shirt, wincing in the process as it cleared his wounded shoulder. The man was well-built, with abs and biceps that could rival any bodybuilder. He pointed to his shoulder and the nasty bullet wound. “See that?”
She nodded.
