Forgotten Souls (The Saving Angels 2)

"Nothing," I said, feeling stupid. This was Mark for goodness sake. He wasn’t going to suddenly turn into the demon from my dreams. I reached out and grasped his hand in relief and caught his look of confusion as he picked my thoughts out of my head.

Crap, crap. I forgot to block my thoughts. The stupid dream had left me so disoriented, that my whole plan to keep it from him had obviously gone awry now.

"You had a nightmare I turned into my father?" he asked, emphasizing father like it was a nasty taste in his mouth.

I nodded my head. "It was crazy, but it means nothing. I've just been super stressed trying to get school squared away and helping both you and my mom with your recoveries. Now that you're out and my mom will be released on Monday, I'm sure my stress level will go down majorly."

"I know. I didn't mean for that to come out that way. I just don't want you to start having nightmares that I'm that monster. I know you're running yourself ragged trying to take care of everything. Once your mom's settled at home and you're on a normal schedule, things will mellow out," he said, brushing a reassuring kiss on my forehead.

I felt bad mentioning my mom's recovery. I knew Mark harbored a lot of guilt over her accident. His dad had not been satisfied to just hold us hostage, he also had arranged for my mom to be involved in a hit and run, landing her in the hospital for the last three weeks. I could completely understand why he didn't want an inkling of a connection between him and the mad man.

"Let's forget it and eat lunch," I said, glancing back at the suddenly anxious group behind us.

Great, nothing like everyone knowing something was wrong, I couldn't help thinking as we joined the others.

***

Several hours later, we pulled up to Mark's house, exhausted and ready to veg.

Piling out of the SUV, Sam and I grabbed our dress bags while the guys carried in the rest. There was no reason for me to take my stuff home. I had been staying at Mark's house with my brother Shawn while mom and Mark were in the hospital. It was decided that I would stay until my mom was released. The thought of being at my house alone made my skin crawl, not that the guys would have allowed it anyways. Things would change when my mom was released, which depressed me, but it wasn’t like we could play house forever. Soul Mates or not, she definitely would not tolerate it.

Mark reached over and grabbed my free hand as I walked up the crushed seashell walkway. I still felt guilty that he had found out about my dream. It was one thing for me to worry about it, but it wasn't fair to his recovery to dump it on him. Blocking my thoughts from him had been something I had been working hard on and was now a piece of cake for me. I was disappointed in myself for letting my guard down.

"Hey Krista, more sprints after dinner?" Shawn asked with a grin.

"Are you sure your ego can handle another trouncing?" I asked with a giggle in my voice. My newfound speed had been a constant topic since the guys discovered it. I had assumed it would leave me once I wasn't in mortal danger anymore, but if anything, I seemed even faster now. It was just another part of our mysterious past that we hadn't totally figured out yet.

"Hey, we're gaining on you!" Robert said, giving me a mock punch on my upper arm, but took a hasty step back when Mark stepped toward him.

I giggled again. Ever since the whole kidnapping incident, Mark has been just a wee bit overprotective of me.

"Yep, you guys are getting faster, but that just makes me have to kick it into turbo 'cool chick speed," I mocked.

Lynn and Sam sniggered behind me. "Even with superhero strength, it's funny how guys think they have to be better at everything," Sam said, taking a playful swipe at Shawn while dancing aside as he tried to encircle her wrist.

She darted ahead of us, swiping Mark's keys from his hand on her way up the two shallow steps to the front door.

We all laughed at her antics. Having Sam's positive energy around always helped keep our spirits high. I couldn't help wondering if that was just another part of God's plan for us. All of our personalities seemed to mesh perfectly, like we were created to be a group. Once again, I felt a tug at my heart for the two that were missing from our group. I now wondered for the first time what their personalities were like.

"I know. So do I," Mark said, quietly picking up my thoughts that I didn’t even try to block. We had beaten the subject to death, consumed with trying to come up with a strategy that would help us rescue the missing Protector and Guide pair.

"Sam, don't let Feline out," I said as Sam opened the front door. Feline liked his temporary home a lot, but was itching to try out the beach. I'm pretty sure he assumed the sprawling white sand he spied from the massive windows in the beach house was one great big cat box.

"Sam, stop!" Lynn said in a strained voice, all laughter gone.

Her words were unnecessary though. Sam and I both got the same vibe that Lynn did at exactly the same time.

Someone was in the house and they were working hard to hide their emotions.

Chapter 2

I could only think of one person that would go to the trouble, Mark's dad. Maybe my dream in the dressing room was a warning? I had been worried about this since we escaped his clutches, and voiced my concerns that his dad could come after us anytime he wanted.

Mark had disagreed with my assessment. "Even if you were at your own house, he would be able to find you. He knows where you live. It's not like we can go into hiding with you and Sam still in school," he had said. "Plus, my house is bigger, with room for all of us so we can stick together and have safety in numbers. Besides, I'm sure he needs to re-group before he even thinks about attacking us again."

Glancing at him now, I could see he was thinking the same thing by the tightening of his jaw.

Shawn was in front of Sam in an instant while Robert and Mark flanked Lynn and me.