****Vincent
When we got off the last plane, I thought we would be in Grand Rapids, but to my surprise we were in Las Vegas. "What are we doing here?"
"It was my idea." Myron said. "If we go home, they'll be waiting there for us."
"What do you mean?"
"I didn't tell any of you in case we got caught. I figured I gave you all your tickets, and we'd discuss this when we got here. I didn't want to take a chance of any of them over hearing and getting here first. Damian wanted someone to follow us home, so I booked all the remaining tickets on our flights."
"So we weren't followed?" I asked.
"Not that I can tell."
"What about Alexis? What do we do?" Charlotte asked.
"We go get her. I'm not leaving her with Damian any longer than we have to." I said as calmly as I could.
"We feel the same, uncle Vin. We just don't know how we're going to get to her."
"Well, I have an idea, but I don't think it's a good one." Myron offered. "You said there was windows in her room, right?"
"Yeah." Melanie nodded.
"We just have to figure out which windows are hers."
"She hates heights, and you're right it's a bad idea." I frowned.
"I don't think we'll be able to get in that way, anyway. He's got people roaming the grounds." Garret reminded Myron.
"I know, but it's all I got. Anyone else have an idea?"
"Aunt Lex is trying to get Damian to trust her. I think she can pull it off. Maybe we should give her a little more time." Melanie murmured.
'No. No more time. I can't stand the thought of her being there.' I shook my head and asked "Trying to get him to trust her?"
"That was the last thought I got from her. She's not sure how well it'll work, but she thinks it is working."
"Why don't we get out of here and go somewhere else to talk about this?" Garret said as he glanced around nervously.
"Good idea." Charlotte agreed.
As we made our way to a cab and our hotel, we kept glancing behind us, checking to see if anyone was following us. When we got to our hotel room, we sat down around the table and started to work out a way to get Alexis back. "She can't stay there. The longer she does, the more difficult it'll be to get to her."
"I don't think so, uncle Vin. She knows he trust her, but only to certain extent right now. I can vouch for that. ... He watches her, a lot. He reminds me of you, but it's creepy. I'm pretty sure he's almost as protective of her as you are."
"That's what I mean. She'll be impossible to get to if he won't let her out of his sight."
"I agree," Myron said quietly and added "… but we can't go back there, again. I don't see that ending well for any of us. They'll have the advantage of home turf."
"We can't just leave her there." I pleaded.
"Believe it or not, she's safe. -I know it sounds crazy, but I think he's making sure she's safe. She doesn't feel threatened."
"She doesn't?" Garret asked before I could.
"It's only once in a while that I get the feeling she's afraid, and it's not Damian she’s afraid of. It's not knowing if we're safe. She's ..." A strange, surprised look crossed Melanie's face, and she seemed to freeze in place.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
****Alexis
While I was semi-unconscious, I was surprised that I was able to connect with Mel. I saw her sitting around a table with Vincent, Myron, Charlotte and Garrett and frantically thought 'Mel?! Can you hear me?!'
"Aunt Lex! Oh, my God. Are you okay? What's going on? What happened?" She blurted.
Vincent quickly asked "Is she alright?"
"She's really banged up, but I think she's okay."
'Tell him I'm fine. I just had a rough day.'
"She says she's fine. What happened, Lex?"
'Long story short. Damian took me outside in the rain. Isis found us and tried to kill everyone and take me. We won, but barely.' I quickly thought over everything that happened after Eva came out to meet us.
"Damn." Mel breathed. "You were way outnumbered and still won?"
"What? What happened?" Vincent asked in irritation.
"Give her a minute, Vin." Charlotte and Garret said with exasperation thick in their voices.
Mel quickly explained what I had thought over, and Myron asked "How are you? Are you safe there?"
'Tell them I'm safe. Damian's beginning to trust me. I think some of the others are, too. Whatever you do, DO NOT come here. Any of you. And don't go home, either.' I couldn't stop myself from remembering what Swanson had done and what Damian did to him for it.
"He killed one of his own for hurting her."
"He did what?" Myron asked full of surprise.
"Damian killed one ..."
Cutting her off, I thought 'Two.', and remembered what he did to Nathan Mayfield.
"Damn. He must really have a thing for you." Vincent gave her a glare and made a sound of disgust. "He killed one of his own for hurting her and another for being ... 'rude' to her."
'Rude works better. Thanks, Mel.'
"Does she have a plan to get out of there?" Myron asked, hopefully.
'Not exactly, but tell them I do. I'm working on one. I just need time.'
"She says she's got one but needs a more time."
"No. We're coming to get you." Vincent snapped.
'No! If any of you come here, he'll kill you, and I'm not sure what will happen if you go home, either.'
Mel repeated what I said and added "She knows what she's talking about. She's been through hell and back. We can wait, if she can."
'Thanks, Mel.'
"Are you sure that's what you want? More time THERE?" Garret asked.
'I don't think we have a choice. I don't think he knows where you are, or that you can connect to me. He knows I can connect to you, which is why I've having trouble doing it. I don't want to know to where are, so don't even think about it. Eva can get in my head, and he can MAKE her do it. I can't tell for sure, but I think she'd rather not stop me, and I think she'd be with me if I asked her. I can't be sure, but I think she'd let me talk to you, if Damian would stop making her block me.-'
"Wait. I've been able to get glimpses of you now and then, but it's like I hit a brick wall after a few seconds."
'Same here with the brick wall, but I haven't been able to get even a glimpse of you guys until now. Eva's very talented to say the least. She's been blocking me from connecting to you. She can even hear and see my thoughts if she's close enough. I'm not sure, but I think she has to touch me to do that.'
"I figured someone was, but I thought it was Damian."
"What?" Vincent asked.
"Eva's been blocking her from connecting."
'I don't know how much time I've got, so listen carefully. Don't stay in one place for very long. Move around a lot. Don't go home or come here, either. Make damn sure they listen to you, Mel. Especially, Vincent. He won't let this go on for much longer, but, if he comes here, Damian SAYS he'll do everything he can NOT to fight. We both know better than that. They'll fight, and Damian will have his excuse to kill him. I can't emphasize this enough. Please, make him listen. Tell everyone I miss and love them. I'm working on getting out of here. Stay safe.'
she quickly repeated most of what I said, and Myron asked "Alexis? Are you sure about this? You don't want us to come?"
'Tell them everything I said. I shouldn't be connected with you if Eva's anywhere near me. She'll hear and see everything that I do. You'd better cut me off, Mel. Stay safe. I love and miss you all so much.'
"Hang on a second, aunt Lex." As she glanced around, she added "I'll explain everything to you guys in a minute. If there's anything you want to say, you'd better do it now. Then, I need a minute."
"Keep your chin up." Myron said.
"We'll see you soon." Garret said.
"We miss you." Charlotte said.
"Where do we meet you?" Vincent asked.
'I don't know.'
'I don't think Vincent will come, if I tell him you need him to stay away.' She thought for me and said to them "She's doesn't know, but I'll keep an eye on her."
Vincent shook his head and grumbled "How will we know when you're away from him, if Eva keeps blocking you both?"
'Tell him I'm working on it. Eva can't block me unless she's close enough. She seems to really like me, so I'm hoping she'll stop. ... When I do get away, I won't be able to connect right away, anyways. I'll have to get as far away from them as I can before I do. You know as well as I do that I have to be practically dead before I can. -Don't say that part. Please.'
"She'll let us know as soon as she can."
'Thanks, Mel. I'd better go. ... Cut me off. Okay?'
'He's watching you.'
'Damian?'
'Yeah. Be careful. When you sleep, I can see him hovering over you. It sort of reminds of Vincent, except it's creepy. ... I really need to tell someone this. I - I can't heal anyone except myself.'
'What? Are you sure?'
'I think I've known for awhile. I was afraid to tell anyone.'
'Why?'
'I didn't want to disappoint you.'
'Sweetheart, you could never disappoint any of us. ... Look at what you can do, Melanie. I can't connect for shit unless I'm knocked out, dead or almost dead, but you can do it at will. ... No one else knows?'
'No. I don't want to tell them. At least not, yet.'
'When I get back, we'll tell them together. I should really go. I don't want them knowing I'm talking to you.'
'Okay. I love you, aunt Lex.'
'Love you, too, Mel. Tell them I love them, too.'
'I will.'
