Page 40 of Dark Flame

“Okay, but how do we make sure that no one is listening in on our private thoughts?” asked Fiona, blushing furiously. She looked up at Adam, and he grinned back at the beautiful redhead.

“I think it will take practice,” said Mary quietly, Ben at her side as always. She stood and patted his hand as she and Regan walked toward Kane.

“You have control over this,” said Regan, staring at Kane.

“ME!? Why and how would I have control over whether or not we all hear or speak to one another telepathically? My gift is sensing evil and lies.” He felt his heartbeat racing, his hands began to perspire, and his head was swimming with thoughts.

“Yes, but remember when we first met? I said you didn’t even know how strong you really are. This is what I meant. You are the conduit for all of this, Kane. You are the key to all of us being able to work together. That’s your power. The sensing evil is definitely an asset, but your ability to help the team come together, to work together, is the true power you possess. You possess the good-evil ability, but your real skill is leadership.”

“Me? I don’t understand. How that is possible?” he asked, looking confused.

Not only was he confused, but deep inside, Kane was suddenly, acutely aware that he was being thrust into a role he might not want. How in hell was he supposed to control this group and still retain his own sanity?

“I don’t know,” said Regan, smiling as he heard Kane’s unspoken thoughts, “but each of us noticed that we are stronger with you around. Your gift may be sensing evil, but I think it’s also that you may contain some sort of alpha control for our pack.”

“Look, I readily admit I’m a macho asshole alpha male. The Army does that to you, but I don’t control any of you.” Kane was looking panicked and confused.

“Kane,” said Mary, stepping forward. She laid her hand on his forearm, and his breathing evened out. “Kane, you are the leader of this pack, like it or not.”

“Now we are a pack of craziness and mess,” she said, hearing the others chuckle behind her, “but we are a pack, a family, and you are our leader. You were designed to be our leader. Like it or not, that’s what you are. That’s what you were intended to be. I’m not sure how they ensured that, but I know that it’s what was supposed to happen. I can feel it, and so can you, which is why you’re scared shitless.”

“She’s right,” said Regan. “Just like you’re the leader, Flip and Spook are your seconds, your right-hand men. Adam was supposed to be the healer with Fiona. I don’t think Moore and Viskoff knew how strong we would all be together. I think it’s why she wants us all dead now. They can’t have us working together. We will be unstoppable. None of us knows our full power unless we stick together. Isn’t that right, Flip?”

Flip’s head snapped up, and he eyed the younger man. What the fuck did he mean by that?

“What I meant by that,” Regan said, grinning, “is that you’re just now figuring out that you don’t just move things. You move the earth.” All eyes focused from Regan to Flip and back again.

“The house,” whispered Flip. “When I read the files, I got so angry the house started to shake. Then I realized it wasn’t just the house. I was moving the earth. It was literally shaking the foundation, and I had to regain control quickly.”

“You can create an earthquake, Flip,” he said calmly. “You are able to make the earth literally move, not just objects and people.”

Flip’s face turned ashen, hearing the words said out loud. His head started to spin, and he sat on one of the makeshift benches, a boulder he himself placed in the circle. This was too much, too much for one person to possess.

“It’s… It’s not too much,” said Kane warily, hearing for the first time the thoughts of his friend. “It’s what you were meant for. We were all meant for greatness, and if not greatness, for doing something great with the hand we were all dealt. I have no idea what that looks like, but I know that we cannot have been given these amazing skills and not be expected to do good with them.”

Flip looked up at his friend and gave a short nod.

Kane thought about the word used to describe them – ‘unstoppable.’ The chill up his spine was filled with fear, foreboding, and concern. Unstoppable. He didn’t want them to be unstoppable. He wanted them to be safe.

“We will be safe,” said Mary, smiling at him. “But like it or not, we are also unstoppable. We just have to figure out how to use that for good. You will help us figure out how to do that, Kane. That’s why you were chosen as the leader. Once we know what we should be doing in this world, we’ll find our place, and we’ll follow. We’ll follow you, Kane.”

Each person in the circle stood, staring directly at Kane. Griffin, Garrett, and Gable nodded at him, grinning. The others smiled, giving a quick nod.

Kane stared at the group and then down at Aislinn. He nodded back to them all and walked off into the cold night air, the first snowflakes brushing his cheeks.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Flip watched as Kane stepped out of their circle and walked off into the evening light. He kissed the top of Nat’s head and followed his friend. The weight of their dilemma was now firmly on Kane’s shoulders, and Flip knew that he, Adam, and Spook would need to help their teammate.

“I can’t do this,” he whispered to no one, anyone, to Flip.

“You can,” he said, standing next to Kane. “You can, and you will, and we will help you.” Flip shuffled back and forth for a minute, searching for the right words.

“Listen, Kane, I don’t know what the future holds for any of us. Hell, no one knows that, but I think that’s the one skill we lack right now,” he said with a sardonic smirk. “What I do know is this group of people are the most amazing fucking people I’ve ever had the privilege to know. We have gifts that no one can even comprehend. We have abilities that no one is able to harness. I think with the right leader, we can help the world. We can help people in all the ways we want. All the ways we’ve always wanted to help the world.”

Kane looked at his friend, searching his face in a questioning manner.

“Kane, do you remember when you first joined the Army? How you felt?” Kane nodded. “I do, too. I wanted to take down every bad guy out there. I wanted to protect the world and be fucking Superman! I wanted to make a difference in the world. To help the little guy, the underdog, and crush the evil forces doing vile things in this world. I wanted that more than anything and then realized that the government wasn’t going to allow me to do that.” He laughed low and shook his head.

---