Page 48 of Dark Flame

Kelly came around the side of the vehicle and stared at Juan, now fully dressed. Her pink flushed cheeks told Kane that she felt the same way about the young man as he suspected he felt about her.

“Are you okay, Juan?” she asked, reaching for his hand.

“I’m sorry I scared you, Kelly,” he said, staring at the young girl. “I…”

“I know. I felt you too. I felt your concern for me, your fear. I’m sorry. I tried to hide it.”

Juan stepped toward her and pulled her in for a gentle, brotherly hug. Kane cursed under his breath. What the fuck was happening?

“Juan? What the fuck, dude?” asked Flip.

Juan looked up at the concerned faces, each one staring at him with awe and suspicion.

“I’ve known since I was a boy. It was why my parents left me. I don’t remember being at the Depot, and I have no way of knowing if I was or not. I only know that I’ve been able to picture where I want to be in my mind and transport there for as long as I can remember. I’ve never gone quite this far before, but I felt Kelly’s fear, and I just had to get here.”

“Naked?” asked Kane.

“Yes,” he smiled, “it’s the only way it works. When I was younger, I would hide clothes all around the place so I could always have a backup, but, well, this was unexpected. In the military, I only did it twice. Once to get out of a situation I would never survive, and once to help someone else get out of a situation they wouldn’t survive.” He looked back down at Kelly tucked beneath his arm.

“She’s just eighteen, brother,” said Kane.

“Don’t you think I know that!” he said through clenched teeth.

Kelly reached out, linking her fingers with Juan’s. She’d felt him, felt his fear, and knew that they were connected somehow. “I’ll speak to her father when I return. I just had to see for myself that she was okay.”

“So, how does this work?” asked Adam. “You teleport wherever?”

“I’m not really sure,” said Juan. “I think about a place, and I’m there. I mean, it takes tremendous concentration and focus, but if I can see it in my mind, I’m there. The gold shimmer to my skin, I think it’s molecular, but you might know that better than me. I feel a tingling sensation all over my body, and it’s as if I’m fading away into nothing. One moment I’m standing in my living room, and the next, I’m, well, wherever. I need to figure out how to do it with clothing, though.”

“Naked?” asked Nat.

“Yes. Can we just establish that I have to be naked to do it, at least for now, until I can figure out another way?” He looked away, embarrassed.

“Does Ben know?” asked Kane.

Juan shook his head, looking down at his feet. Ben saved him from the streets and sure starvation, yet he was always worried if he knew that he would abandon him as well.

“Okay,” said Kane, letting out a long slow breath.

He let his mind clear and sent a communication that Juan was with them in San Diego and he would explain when he returned. Smiles on their faces, everyone loaded up in the SUV with Juan and Kelly in the backseat. Kane pulled on Adam’s sleeve.

“Keep an eye on Romeo and Juliet,” he whispered, “I don’t want her parents pissed off more than they already will be.”

Adam nodded, smiling. Juan seemed to be a good, solid young man with fine morals. He knew that he wouldn’t touch Kelly until it was an appropriate time. Or at least he hoped he wouldn’t.

“It’s going to be a long fucking drive back,” said Adam.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

“Naked!” screamed Uri.

“Yes, Daddy, he was naked,” said Kelly, rolling her eyes. “Dad, I’m eighteen, not eight. I know what a naked man looks like, and it wasn’t sexual. He transported because he was worried about me. This changes nothing. I’m still going off to college, and he’ll be here. We are connected, Daddy, just like Kane and Aislinn, and Flip and Nat. We are connected. He’s not that much older than I am. Seven years is nothing. You’re eight years older than Mom.”

“I know, Kelly, but your mom and I were older, well, sort of.” Hell, if he was honest, he’d fallen in love with Melanie when she was just twenty. He could hardly say anything to Juan.

“I know he’ll be here, but he will be able to transport to you any time he damn well wants to!” yelled Uri.

His wife rubbed small circles on her husband’s back, trying to calm him down.

---