Brad cleared his throat and fidgeted with his hands. "Right. Okay. Um. So, if you've been following my blog lately, you know I've made some pretty wild claims about some friends of mine who escaped a secret organization using paranormal powers. I have here Sam and Drake. Sam can read minds, but how do you prove that on air? But Drake here, he can not only control minds, but is ridiculously strong. That's much easier to demonstrate, so here we go."
Drake looked to Brad for the go-ahead, then put his hands out for each of them to step onto. When they had their feet on his palms and their arms on his shoulders, he lifted them from the ground until they had to bend over to keep from hitting their heads on the ceiling.
The professor sucked in his breath. "Astonishing."
Drake didn't break a sweat. He lowered his arms slowly to keep them from toppling off, and reached for Sam to steady her once back on the ground.
Brad stepped forward with wobbly legs. "There you have it, folks. What normal man could do that without so much as a blink? Want to see more? Follow us."
Brad walked around and took the camera off the stand, and ushered Drake outside. Everyone else trailed after the camera.
"Now Drake will do another demonstration of his inhuman strength. Drake, can you please go lift that car?"
Drake's mouth curved into a half smile. Would Brad think of nothing to challenge him?
He reached under the belly of the Ford Taurus and lifted it as anyone else might lift a skateboard. Even Sam stared wide-eyed, mouth agape, as he stood there holding the car over his head.
After the strength demonstration, Brad interviewed Sam and focused on the pregnancy and her escape. Drake sat next to her and held her hand, but had little to contribute to the conversation until the end.
"And Drake, when you and Sam were finally about to escape, what made you decide to use mind control on Sam?"
Drake's blood pressure shot through the roof. Was Brad trying to start a fight?
"I had to protect her and our baby. I had no other choice."
The interview ended.
Drake stood and clenched his fists. "Brad. Kitchen. Now."
They faced each other over the center island where knives and a cutting board lay. Brad eyed them warily, but he must've known Drake didn't need weapons to eviscerate him.
"What the hell, man? Are you trying to drive a wedge between Sam and me? Trying to get us to fight so you can swoop in on another one of my girlfriends?"
Brad took a step back and raised his arms in retreat. "What are you talking about? Of course not. I love you and Sam. No way do I want to cause problems."
Drake's blood surged in his veins. He slammed his fist down on the island, scattering the knives. "You slept with Kylie. She may not have been the love of my life, but what were you thinking?"
Brad's mouth dropped. "How do you even know about that?"
"So, you don't deny it? We ran into her on the beach. My girlfriend reads minds. You do the math."
"Did Kylie happen to think up what happened before I slept with her? Or the circumstances?"
"Does it matter?"
"Yeah, I'd say it does. You had been gone for weeks, no word—I thought you were dead, man. I was out drinking, she bumped into me, and after too many shots, stuff happened that I barely remember. You'd already dumped her. You were gone, and I was miserable." Brad's shoulders slumped forward. "You really getting pissed at me for this?"
Drake paused. Kylie meant nothing to him; she never had. She'd been a temporary escape from his insane life, and he was a status symbol for her. No surprise that she'd seduced Brad.
"Whatever. She's nothing. But Sam means everything to me and it's already tense between us right now. Your questions aren't helping."
Brad walked around the island to stand by Drake. "I'm sorry. It's just, I know what people like to read. This stuff sells, and right now we need major hits. I didn't mean to mess things up for you."
Drake held Brad's stare. They'd been best friends for, well, forever. Brad had risked his life, his job, and walked away from his home to help them.
"We're cool, man. You're right. It doesn't matter. Sorry I'm so messed up right now. I'm just... angry. I hate feeling this powerless. At least you are helping Sam in some way. What am I doing but sitting around making sure she eats? We need to go after the Seeker. I can't afford to wait for something bad to happen."
"So what are you going to do?"
"If Sam won't stay behind while I hunt, then I'll have to go without telling her."
Chapter 40 – Sam
When I woke up from my nap, the house felt almost empty—at least empty of the chatter and movement of four people—and a scent from the kitchen made my stomach rumble and mouth water.
The talons of sleep clung to me as I used the restroom and changed out of my sweats. I'd been sleeping a lot lately, but it seemed to help with the drug withdrawals and pregnancy.
Drake stood in the kitchen with a skillet in hand. He smiled when I entered the room. "I wanted to surprise you with a date night. Things have been... tense... between us. I thought we could use some time alone, so Brad and Bernard left us the house for a while."