“So, you have how many boyfriends?” the third guy, Harry, asked. He was considerably older than most of the cooks here and was called Dad by many of them. He was the one the kitchen staff ran to when they wanted advice. He was the one who ‘fathered’ all of them despite the fact he didn’t hold a leadership position in the kitchens.
“Six,” I stated with no hesitation.
“Where’s your Daddy?” Harry asked in concern.
I gave him a crooked smile knowing he thought I was too young and immature to make decisions like having six boyfriends. “The man I thought was my father or my bio? My father was murdered and my bio…isn’t in the picture. Being gifted doesn’t follow social norms. I may be young, but I’ve lived a long life.”
Harry made a loud harrumph noise before he went back to mincing some garlic.
“So, what can you do?” Turtle asked.
I gave him a feigned coy look. “If I show you, I’ll have to kill you.”
“Man,” Turtle sucked his teeth once more. “Someone got jokes. What comic book character are you?”
“Which one am I not?” I joked back.
The beep of the kitchen door warned us the main door had opened. I looked up, curious to see who was coming in.
Paul and Senator Bowen came into the kitchen at that moment. I nearly forgot the man had ever been here. I hadn’t seen him since the night he basically accused me of lying about Bradford. I felt a tightness in my stomach. Flash backs of that night came flooding back to me, and I had to resist the urge to get physically sick. My head started to spin, and I grabbed the edge of the prep table.
Drake looked up, and our eyes met across the room before he quickly made his way by my side.
“Blake, may I have a word?” Senator Bowen asked as he stopped in front of me.
I was overwhelmed with a sense of fear and anger. In my weakened state, I had dropped my empath barrier. My brows knitted in confusion before I realized the feelings weren’t emanating from Paul, Senator Bowen, or Drake. I had been so focused on Senator Bowen, I hadn’t noticed the young girl of around eleven or twelve hiding behind him.
She was slight and wore all black clothing far too large for her small petite frame. She wore black gloves with the fingers cut off. Her dark hair hung in her face as if she was trying to hide herself from everyone. I recognized her tactics well. I just wondered who she was and what she was hiding from. My stomach revolted once more, hoping she was trying to hide because of the same reason I had hid myself.
“Blake?” Paul asked with concern lacing his voice.
What is your name? I asked the girl as I tried in vain to get her to meet my eyes.
They said a person’s eyes were a window into their souls, and I truly believed that.
She looked up at me startled before she stared back down at her black converses. I saw a flash of dark brown eyes before she made an effort to pretend like she hadn’t heard me.
“Blake?” Drake said gently as he placed an arm around my shoulders.
I looked over at Senator Bowen. “I think you’ve already said enough to me,” I said slowly with steel behind my words.
Senator Bowen shifted as he looked around at all the eyes watching us. He was dressed in a three-piece suit. His salt and pepper hair carefully gelled down. I was used to Will wearing his suits often but he looked less smarmy, less…pompous.
“I just want a quick word…please.”
I could tell it took everything in him to murmur the polite phrase. I doubted he had to use the word often.
I looked over at Drake. He nodded slowly. I had a feeling there was a reason why the young girl was accompanying the Senator.
“If Drake can come with me,” I stated firmly.
“Drake can stay here,” Jace said quietly from behind me, Remy by his side.
Who’s the girl? Jace pushed his thoughts to me. I could feel her anger and fear from the training room.
I’m not sure, I responded back.
What is he doing here? Remy could barely conceal his contempt for the Senator as he glowered at him.