MEGAN

Chapter 10

Megan

Autumn, 1988

Megan knew she shouldn't be up; it was the middle of the night, and she was supposed to be sleeping, but she had been woken up by the sounds of someone pounding on the door, followed by raised voices of her parents.

It was unusual for anything to happen past 9 o'clock in the evening, so Megan, curious about what could be so important to keep her parents from sleeping, sneaked out of her room and went to find out.

She sneaked through the dark corridor, careful not to step on the creaky floorboard that her mother had been bugging her father about fixing for as long as Megan could remember when she stopped in her tracks when a man dressed in strange black clothes appeared in the corridor.

"I found one." the man yelled over his shoulder before slowly walking toward Megan and then crouching down in front of her.

"Who are you?" Megan asked, suddenly regretting ever getting out of his bed. The man scared her, especially once he stepped closer and Megan saw that he had a big gun hanging from a strap on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, little one, everything is going to be okay now." the man said, and before Megan could do anything like run, she found herself in the man's arms, being carried outside.

She started to scream, calling for her mum to come and rescue her. She must hear her, Megan thought; after all, she had just heard her and father, but as soon as they stepped out of the house, the scream died in her throat at the sight that greeted her.

Flashing lights; that's all she could see wherever she looked. People cursing, children screaming for their parents; it was madness.

Then she saw her parents being led by another man dressed similarly to the guy who was holding her.

"You will burn in Hell! All of you!" her father was screaming, resisting the man who was trying to get him into the back of the big, dark blue van before the man in question punched him and slammed him into the ground, his actions followed by her mother's screams.

"Mama! Mama!" Megan screamed, trying and failing to escape, the man's hold on her too strong. Her mother's eyes snapped up to her from where they were, looking at her father at the sound of her voice.

"Megan! Everything will be alright, child. Just have faith! The Lord is in you! Just have faith!" was the last thing Megan heard before her mother was pushed into the van along with her father, and the doors slammed shut.

Just have faith...

∞

Present

"Mama!" Megan shouted as she shot up, her eyes wide and unblinking as she stared into the grey morning light.

She was breathing rapidly, her heart beating so fast that she thought every moment now it would jump out of her chest. The sweat was rolling down her back, making her t-shirt moist, and she shivered as she hugged herself tightly.

She remembered!

She had finally remembered something. Her parents. And the lights; so many fucking lights.

People screaming as what she now knew was the police led them into vans.

What the fuck happened?

Megan clutched her throbbing head; her eyes squeezed shut as she wracked her brain, trying to remember more.

But it was futile; she could only remember the dream, her mother's and father's faces, and the words.

Just have faith...

And then another word popped up, just one other, but it was enough.

Kubinski. Megan Kubinski.

∞

Niklas prided himself on being a man who could control himself. No matter the situation, no matter the circumstances, he always remained calm, whether he was working for a particularly difficult client or fighting in a war and getting his leg blown up.

So, to find himself foaming at the mouth, ready to tear the woman who was peacefully sleeping upstairs to pieces, was a new experience.

Nik didn't do feelings, at least if he could avoid them, but there was something about Megan Jones that made him act out of character. And when he found himself alone at the Club, left there by the woman in question without even by your leave, he had lost his plot.

How was he supposed to protect the damn idiot if she was unable to stay put?

Unfortunately, or fortunately for Megan, by the time Nik had finally arrived back at the house, the woman was nowhere to be found.

So, Nik had shut himself in his room, fuming and unable to sleep until he finally gave up trying and got up. He went to the kitchen and brewed himself tea in an attempt to calm down, which was where he still was when the person responsible for his dark mood stumbled into the room.

Nik stood up, a harsh reprimand already at the tip of his tongue, but once his eyes fell on her, he stopped in his tracks.

Megan was a mess. Her eyes were wide and crazy looking, her hair in a complete state of disarray, and her face pale. Nik frowned, something like worry rising in his chest at the sorry sight the woman made.

"Ms. Jones, are you alright?" he asked, standing up and coming closer to where she was standing, staring at nothing and looking lost.

Did something happen? Did she receive more threats?

The thoughts flew through Nik's mind, each scenario worse than the one before, making Nik curse himself for allowing the woman out of his sight.

Megan started at the sound of his voice, her still wide eyes jumping to Nik in surprise, as if she hadn't even noticed him until then, making the worry Nik felt grow even more at the action.

"I... I don't know. I don't know." Megan said, her voice quiet, barely a whisper, as she stumbled toward one of the kitchen chairs and sat down, practically falling into it as she did so.

She leaned down, clutching her head between her hands as she rocked back and forth, making Nik kneel down in front of her, seriously considering the woman's mental health.

What in the fuck's sake happened?

"Did something happen? Talk to me, Megan. I can't help if you don't talk to me." he said, and at the sound of her name, Megan finally raised her head and looked at Nik.

"I need a laptop," she said after a minute, making one of Nik's brow furrow since that was the last thing he expected to hear. He nevertheless jumped to his feet and ran to his room, snatching his laptop from his desk and coming back.

Upon his return, he saw that Megan had moved. She was standing by the counter, preparing a coffee, and something in Nik's guts eased at the sight. She hasn't completely lost it, as it seemed before.

"Here you go," he said, setting the laptop on the breakfast table. Megan nodded, taking a sip of her coffee before making her way toward the table and taking a seat.

Nik took his own tea and joined her, grimacing at the cold liquid when he tasted it as he observed Megan's fingers flying over the keyboard as she typed.

They sat like that for a few minutes, Megan typing and Nik watching her before she suddenly froze, her eyes going incredibly wide as she stared at the screen.

"No... No... It can't be." Megan murmured, shaking her head in denial, before jumping from the chair and starting to pace.

"What? What's going on?" Nik asked, his fingers itching to turn the laptop and find out for himself what it was that had the usually collected woman lose her plot so completely, but he resisted. He would never impede on her privacy like that.

Megan turned toward him, staring at him for a long second before she said, "We are going to California."