Adam's Pulse

Part 21

Chapter 21

Adam paced the front porch, feeling unease fly through his body.  They should be back by now, should be here, but as his eyes darted towards the driveway, their car still didn’t come into view.  He hadn’t had any contact with them, not since Zeke had left Adam alone of the porch, claiming he had other things to attend to.  By now, the night was beginning to leave and small rays of sun were lighting up the sky.  The last time he had been awake this long was when Adam worked for Zeke.  Back when they were mercenaries, fighting for no cause but their own.  Now, it was different.  Adam had responsibilities, ones that he wanted, and right now, he wanted one of those responsibilities to drive towards the cabin.

“You are driving me insane,” a tired voice said from behind him.

He turned and watched as Ally yawned behind her hand with drowsy eyes.  Adam winced, knowing that his emotions had woken her.  “Sorry, Ally.”

She waved a dismissive hand in his direction while walking towards the stairs that led from the porch.  Even with exhaustion eating at her, her movements were graceful as she eased onto one of the steps.  Patting the stair beside her, she smiled over at him.  “Come on.  We haven’t talked in a while.  Tell me what’s on your mind.”

“Like you don’t already know,” he said with a laugh as he walked towards her.

Smiling up at him, she let out a small laugh of her own.  “It goes both ways, Adam.  The only difference is that I’m better at hiding my thoughts.”

“You’ve had practice,” he accused, plopping down on the stair beside her.  “With Zeke following your every move, you have to be able to block your mind.”

With a small push, one that almost made him fall off the stair, Ally sent him a mock glare.  “You have no excuse.  You were with him before I was.”  The playful expression on her face fell as worry replaced it.  “Tell me what’s going on, Adam.  I try staying out of your mind as much as possible, but something is eating at you.”

“Can you believe that I had a heart-to-heart with Zeke earlier?”

“Which means you don’t want one with me,” she said in understanding.

He nodded at her, knowing that she didn’t take offence at his answer.  It was just that he was tired of talking.  He wanted to do something, but without this bond being broken, there weren’t a lot of things he could do.  With a sigh, he reached out and wrapped an arm around Ally’s shoulders.  Without hesitation, she leaned on him, burrowing her face into his chest.  She could feel his pain, and he had a feeling that she even took it from him when she could.  It made her weak; his bond made her weak.  She pushed into his side, making him smile down at her.  Without words, she was telling him to stop thinking like that.

“She’s almost here,” Ally mumbled, and he could tell by her voice that she was slowly falling back to sleep.

Adam glanced towards her before staring down the road.  While Ally was on the verge of sleep, he was wide-awake.  He had been waiting for their return, anticipating their arrival, and now that they were close, he could feel a sense of trepidation fill him.  What would they tell him?  Would the kidnappers be who they believed?  Was Sloan’s brother part of the plan to overthrow Ally, or was the man to be trusted?  All these questions flew through his mind, but as Drew’s car came into view, they went to the back of his mind.