Chapter 18

Jovan and Liberty spent two days holed up in the quarters while Jovan learned the techniques needed to control his gift. Jovan had called Noah and explained what was going on, and Noah agreed to leave them to their work.

“Why the hell didn’t you tell anyone your gift was steamrolling you?”

Jovan shrugged. “What was I supposed to say? Tell everyone to quit feeling anything? Nothing could have been done about it, except me going into total solitude.”

There was silence on the other end, and then Noah said in a hard voice, “You know, that’s my sister, Jovan.”

“I’m aware of that,” Jovan said as he watched Liberty flip through the channels again.

“It’s getting downright incestuous in this place,” Noah grumbled, referring to Abby being Hudson’s daughter, and now Liberty showing up.

Jovan grunted.

“Don’t touch my fucking sister, Jovan, or I will beat you into next Thursday. Do you understand me?”

“Yep. Had no intention of touching anyone, Noah. Just need to get this thing under control.”

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a moment, and then Noah said, “All right. Call when you want something to eat.”

Abby and Beverly had brought down food when requested, and Jovan and Liberty had worked tirelessly. In between learning sessions, they had rested, watched TV, and talked. Jovan had given her the rundown on respecting people’s space, especially when there was a bathroom involved. He also told her about everyone in the house, and who was mated to whom.

“Noah’s mated to Abby, Rayner to Faith, even though they never had a proper ceremony. Hudson and Beverly are an item, and the kid’s name is Killian. From what I understand, Hudson came damn close to losing her during the birth, and some weird shit went down. When you see her and her eyes are glowing a little bit, remember she’s not an SR44 female. She’s human. Well, she's part human. In fact, I'm not really sure what to call her, but for the details, talk to them. And as you know, Cohen and Talin lost their mates on SR44.”

“Do any of them have special gifts?” Liberty asked.

Jovan nodded. “Rayner can see spirits caught between life and death.”

“Oh my word!”

“Yeah, he’d probably say something a little different, but he feels the same way.”

“Does anyone else have a gift?”

“Cohen’s a healer, and a damn good one.”

“What about the others?”

“No, nothing like that. Hudson is a beast with a knife, a gun, or his hands. He’s the assassin. I mean, we all will kill a Colonist without a second thought, but Hudson is a magnificent killer, if there is such a thing. Talin is the computer guy.”

Liberty had told him a little more about her life on SR44. Noah’s father had been a kind male to his servants, but was devastated at the loss of his son and the rest of the Saviors.

“He felt responsible for your disappearance,” she said. “Although the Royal Council had worked as a group to send you here, he took your not returning as a personal blow.”

They also recalled the beauty of the planet with its rich forests, golden buildings, and the time of twilight that never ended.

“Tell me about your trip here,” Jovan said.

Liberty looked around the room. “Mainly I kept to myself,” she said. “Especially when The Platoon spoke of killing Noah. Everyone was told that I was simply another female who was to be used to ensure our species sustained. My sire assigned me one particular loyal trooper named Annis. She stayed with me at all times.”

“A female fighter?” Jovan was surprised. He had never heard such a thing. First the servitude, and now this. Shit had changed quite a bit.

“Yes. As it turned out, we were able to help each other. The human body she was given was defective, and she is blind until the sun goes down. Her SR44 form was a gold color, and when her eyes change she is able to see.”

“Wow. What happened to her?”

Liberty’s eyes glistened with tears. “When we landed, she was injured. I tended to her, but when the pandemonium broke loose, she told me to run. I hated leaving her, Jovan, but she insisted, and I was afraid.”

He had held her hand, trying to comfort her. “We’ll find her, Liberty.”

“Thank you, Jovan. She was a good friend to me.”

And they discussed Liberty’s relationship to Noah.

“I’m afraid he will denounce me as his kin,” she confided in Jovan. “We never would have been considered related on SR44.”

“I know, Liberty, but Noah’s not going to denounce you. He’s probably taking a few days to wrap his mind around it, but I’m sure he’s going to be fine knowing he’s got a sister.”

“I hope you’re right, Jovan. However, I wouldn’t blame him if he held on to the old custom in this situation.”

At present, they were on the final test, and Liberty lifted her “shield” as Jovan had begun to call it.

“I feel the pressure of the emotions, but it’s tolerable.”

Liberty jumped up and down, clapping her hands, then ran across the room, throwing herself at him. He caught her in a bear hug and spun her around, both of them laughing.

“You did it!” she screeched in his ear.

He laughed and hugged her close. Over the past two days, his respect for Liberty had grown tenfold, and he found her to be funny and kind. The best part was that he didn’t feel her emotions or hear her thoughts. When they were silent, there was a true silence, and he was alone with his own inner voices. He couldn’t imagine being trapped in a room with another person for two days straight.

He held on to Liberty a minute longer, then gently set her down. She beamed up at him, and something within him shifted. He realized he wasn’t looking at Liberty as Noah’s half-sister or an SR44 female born into servitude. He was seeing her as she was—sweet, pretty, little Liberty with the laugh of an angel, the one being on Earth who could help him. And he was seeing her for who she was, not some twisted fantasy of her swinging around on a stripper’s pole.

This was not good. He felt his SR44 male begin to grumble, wanting the female in front of him.

Taking a step back, he cleared his throat. “Thank you, Liberty,” he said quietly. “Thanks for helping me get a lasso on this thing.”

“Of course, Jovan,” she said softly. A slight blush crossed her cheeks and she looked away.

The temperature in the room spiked, and Jovan felt a sexual tension between them spark and crackle.

No, this was not good at all.

“I’d better get upstairs and meet with Noah and the others,” he said, stepping around her. Yes, it was time to get the fuck out of here before he did something stupid.

As he waited for the elevator, he heard the door to the quarters shut, and Liberty came to stand next to him.

“You can’t go with me to the meeting, Liberty,” he said, looking down at her.

She met his eyes. “I had no intention of going with you, Jovan. Am I not free to move about this dwelling by myself?”

He heard the challenge and indignation in her voice, and he liked it. Over the past two days, the subservient Liberty was starting to be replaced by this little female who was looking at him like she dared him to tell her to stay, and she would rain down the consequences of the wrong answer.

“Of course. My apologies.”

As they stepped into the elevator together, Jovan felt the small space getting smaller. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched her look up at the numbers lighting up above. Dressed in a pair of jeans he had bought her and a pink t-shirt she had borrowed from Faith, she looked troubled.

“Penny for your thoughts,” Jovan said. Not that he should care, but he did.

“I’m sorry?”

“Penny for your thoughts. It means I want to know what you’re thinking.”

A sly grin played on her lips. “Oh, Jovan, it will cost you much more than a penny. Thoughts are precious and shouldn’t be sold so cheaply.”