formation on the other side of the line they were using as a ‘net’, and pointed to spots for the brothers to mirror the girls. Then he served. The sand prevented the best of footing on either side, so the stumbling and bumbling was almost equal, with the exception of Gillian, who slid right back into player-mode. She practically carried the game for the girls and was able to throw herself around to keep a volley going almost as if she had wings.
Gavin could feel gazes all over them, and every now and then, over the sandbank, he knew he saw the mirrored glance of something reflecting the sunlight and the dark, stabbing images surrounding a particular area.
Finally, it was his turn to serve. He packed all of his power into the serve, deflating the ball upon contact. It dropped to the sand, dead. “Oops,” he murmured. “I’m really sorry, Gillian. I will get you another one.”
The entire company--except for Reed and Gavin—deflated, as well. Gavin felt bad, but he wasn’t going to keep risking himself and his brothers. They chatted a bit more, and then Gavin made an excuse about having some work to do so he could bow out. The other brothers followed suit, knowing that it wouldn’t be smart for them to go against Gavin’s unspoken directives, and soon they were walking away from the ladies.
Far enough away, Dallas cautiously asked Gavin if there was more to what they had witnessed.
“Yeah,” he responded. “Pretty sure we were being watched over those dunes. Who knows, maybe even recorded. I can’t tell how many there are, but I do know that those girls aren’t the innocent beauties they claim to be. I don’t even think they know each other well, except for Melissa and Tessa maybe. It’s all a trap. I lost my head. We’ve got to keep ourselves away from them and safe. This is too risky. Those Hatch goons are never going to let us just walk away, free and clear. ‘A’ because they haven’t harnessed enough of our power to be satisfied. ‘B’ because we outsmarted them and escaped. They will want revenge for that, and revenge alone is enough to fuel their search. Consider all that they did to us as kids. KIDS, man! Do you think anything will really stop them from getting to us now?”
“And once they get us, it will be four hundred times worse for us,” Reed said softly. He hated siding with Gavin and tried to avoid it as often as possible, but he was scared. He still had vivid memories of the Hatch and the experiments performed upon his young, adolescent body and mind. The worst pain from the Hatch wasn’t physical, though. No, it was the mental and emotional experiments that left him in the most pain and still visited him nightly.
Gavin stopped abruptly. He whirled around on his brothers, creating a tipping feeling under their feet. They dug in to stabilize themselves.
“No more,” Gavin said. “Cut loose of them. We cannot interact with them anymore.”
He hated the look on his brothers’ faces. He knew there had been connections with all of them unlike any they’d experienced before, and he, too, was lonely for companionship. But he knew he’d to keep them safe and unadulterated by the goons that sought them.
The brothers all nodded and whispered their promises. Then, they walked on, together.
Chapter Four
“Well, that was a bust,” Melissa remarked as she watched the broad, muscular backs of the four mysterious brothers walk away.
“Not to mention I lost a perfectly good volleyball,” Gillian added. “Do you think he did it on purpose?” she asked.
“I feel like it most likely was intentional,” Tessa said. “Remember, they don’t know how to play sports, but they know all about sports—one of those experimentations on harnessing their power and then using it on them. Gavin needed to end the game quickly. He was squirming,” she explained.
“Well, it didn’t help that I kept noticing a reflection a ways off,” Melissa remarked with anger. “I know that
Gavin could feel gazes all over them, and every now and then, over the sandbank, he knew he saw the mirrored glance of something reflecting the sunlight and the dark, stabbing images surrounding a particular area.
Finally, it was his turn to serve. He packed all of his power into the serve, deflating the ball upon contact. It dropped to the sand, dead. “Oops,” he murmured. “I’m really sorry, Gillian. I will get you another one.”
The entire company--except for Reed and Gavin—deflated, as well. Gavin felt bad, but he wasn’t going to keep risking himself and his brothers. They chatted a bit more, and then Gavin made an excuse about having some work to do so he could bow out. The other brothers followed suit, knowing that it wouldn’t be smart for them to go against Gavin’s unspoken directives, and soon they were walking away from the ladies.
Far enough away, Dallas cautiously asked Gavin if there was more to what they had witnessed.
“Yeah,” he responded. “Pretty sure we were being watched over those dunes. Who knows, maybe even recorded. I can’t tell how many there are, but I do know that those girls aren’t the innocent beauties they claim to be. I don’t even think they know each other well, except for Melissa and Tessa maybe. It’s all a trap. I lost my head. We’ve got to keep ourselves away from them and safe. This is too risky. Those Hatch goons are never going to let us just walk away, free and clear. ‘A’ because they haven’t harnessed enough of our power to be satisfied. ‘B’ because we outsmarted them and escaped. They will want revenge for that, and revenge alone is enough to fuel their search. Consider all that they did to us as kids. KIDS, man! Do you think anything will really stop them from getting to us now?”
“And once they get us, it will be four hundred times worse for us,” Reed said softly. He hated siding with Gavin and tried to avoid it as often as possible, but he was scared. He still had vivid memories of the Hatch and the experiments performed upon his young, adolescent body and mind. The worst pain from the Hatch wasn’t physical, though. No, it was the mental and emotional experiments that left him in the most pain and still visited him nightly.
Gavin stopped abruptly. He whirled around on his brothers, creating a tipping feeling under their feet. They dug in to stabilize themselves.
“No more,” Gavin said. “Cut loose of them. We cannot interact with them anymore.”
He hated the look on his brothers’ faces. He knew there had been connections with all of them unlike any they’d experienced before, and he, too, was lonely for companionship. But he knew he’d to keep them safe and unadulterated by the goons that sought them.
The brothers all nodded and whispered their promises. Then, they walked on, together.
Chapter Four
“Well, that was a bust,” Melissa remarked as she watched the broad, muscular backs of the four mysterious brothers walk away.
“Not to mention I lost a perfectly good volleyball,” Gillian added. “Do you think he did it on purpose?” she asked.
“I feel like it most likely was intentional,” Tessa said. “Remember, they don’t know how to play sports, but they know all about sports—one of those experimentations on harnessing their power and then using it on them. Gavin needed to end the game quickly. He was squirming,” she explained.
“Well, it didn’t help that I kept noticing a reflection a ways off,” Melissa remarked with anger. “I know that
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