Forgotten Enemy (The Powers of Influence Book 1) Read online

  “It’s going to be okay, trust in us to help you now.” He assured her with a deep voice.

  With those few short words, Cade saw the stiffness melt away. Closing her eyes softly, she wrapped her arms around him, returning his hug. There was a level of desperation in her gesture. It was as if in her heart something hard had just been chipped away.

  Cade stood there watching as Collett’s whole demeanor changed from a tense fear and to a tentative trust. Trust was a fragile thing, and Cade knew it.

  He knew he would do whatever it took to ensure Collett’s trust was not misplaced. Cade understood in that quiet moment he could not fail her.

  ****

  Collett changed her clothes before appearing downstairs. After slipping on the cream camisole and dark maroon sweater, with the black slacks, she felt less awkward and more herself.

  They finished a delicious meal of roast chicken, sweet rolls, and steamed vegetables. Rederrick insisted they wait until after dinner to get down to business. Instead they enjoyed this time eating together in this beautiful room, as if there were no evil outside in the world.

  The conversation was light. They talked of upcoming meetings at the office. Rederrick and Cade easily teased and bantered back and forth, calling each other “boy” and “old man.” Collett knew their friendship was a long and lasting one from just watching them. She kept mostly quiet throughout the meal, only speaking when asked direct questions.

  Even though the atmosphere seemed light, the tension remained. Everyone sat thinking about the events leading to this moment in the back of their minds, and each wondered what would come of their planned discussion.

  After dinner was finished, Collett offered to clear the plates and dishes. She wasn’t, however, fooling anybody. She needed the extra time to collect and organize her thoughts.

  Upon her return, they all sought out comfortable spots to listen calmly, as Collett readied herself to tell her vague version of the events leading to her current problems.

  She stood with her arms wrapped around herself in an apparent effort to protect herself from what was to come. Her gaze was drawn to the enchanting fire in front of her. She watched as flames danced and swayed. Occasionally, she would hear a pop, and a few little sparks would flitter up making an escape up though the chimney.

  Behind Collett, Rederrick sat in the corner of the beautiful mauve sofa, his right arm extended across the back of the couch. He crossed his left leg laying his ankle across his knee. Rederrick looked completely relaxed, as if he was waiting for an enchanting bedtime story instead of Collett’s dark and confusing tale.

  Cynda snuggled in close under Rederrick’s extended arm. She lay upright on her side, her knees tucked in, with her head resting on Rederrick’s chest. Rederrick absently tangled his fingers in Cynda’s soft auburn hair. With her color now returned, it gave her cheeks a warm glow. Her green eyes glittered softly in the firelight.

  They look so perfect together, thought Collett. They melted into one another. Looking at Cynda now, Collett would have never guessed she had a brush with death merely a few short hours ago. It seemed to her that Rederrick’s calm vestige gave Cynda the comfort and support that she needed to overcome the harrowing experience of earlier that day. The sight of them there, loving and supporting each other, brought raw emotion to Collett.

  Cade stood behind the wing back chair closest to the fire, his hands clasped together, his forearms resting on the back of the chair, and his body leaned forward slightly, thus giving the impression he was at ease. Much like Collett, Cade’s gaze was captivated by the beauty before him. It wasn’t the fire that held his attention though. It was Collett.

  As she stood there looking so alone, so vulnerable, Cade wanted to offer her comfort. He felt a protective need to go and shield Collett from her own personal agony. He knew however, right now, his efforts would be rebuffed.

  Everyone was ready to hear Collett’s story, except Collett, he noted. No one said a word though. Instead, they waited for her to start whenever she was ready. The silence should have put them on edge, but for some strange reason it offered comforting solace, a peaceful moment to reflect on all that has happened. So they all patiently waited.

  More than ten minutes passed before Collett began, “The only thing I think I know about all this is my name. I don’t even know my whole name. Collett, that name is the only thing I knew when I awoke on a storm battered coastline, almost two full years ago.

  I remember…the sound of the ocean waves rushing up the coast. The sun warmed my skin and pierced my throbbing headache.”

  Collett huffed out a relieved breath. With just that tiny little bit out she felt as though she started to take an offensive stance for the first time. Releasing that one small piece of a very large puzzle, and knowing it was there waiting for her to connect it with another, felt proactive.

  “I’m not sure how it happened, but I awoke close to a private beach, wearing some sort of lightweight, silk, silvery gown. I had no shoes, no purse, no ID. Yet I knew my name. Strange isn‘t it, how you can forget your entire life, but remember your name?”

  Collett stared off at nothing as her mind drifted back further into the horrible memory, “My head pounded so painfully. I remember it took me a long while of lying completely still before I could fully open my eyes. When I finally did manage to pry them open, and I slowly sat up, the motion made me nauseous because the pain was so intense. I distinctly remember the horrible pain now.” Reaching up, Collett moved to grip her shoulder as clear images slowly came to her.

  “My dress the shoulder strap of my gown was torn. I remember because I had to reach up to hold it in place. Then I saw my hands...

  My hands were stained with dried blood. As I looked down at my hands I saw the dark, rusty-brown blotch covering my dress. The bloodstain seemed so odd to me at the time…” While she spoke, Collett narrowed her eyes, looking at her hands, focusing, as if she could still see the dark crimson stains.

  Cade couldn’t stand it anymore. He stood tall and walked over to Collett. Placing his hand tenderly on her shoulder, he whispered gently, “Go on, we’re all here for you.” He took it as a good sign she didn’t recoil from his touch.

  Collett could feel the warmth of Cade’s touch just then, and she soaked it in so she could continue, “As I gained my bearing, I remember hearing the sea birds cawing around me. When I started looking for them, I saw the chaos, the pure destruction before me. I remember debris, it was everywhere. There was driftwood and seaweed all over, simply pulled out, unwanted by the ocean and left there lying on the beach.

  I even remember seeing dead jellyfish strewn across the sand, all kinds of sea life, for that matter. The stench of lifeless and rotting fish was pungent in comparison to the fresh salty air.

  I made my way across the littered beach for a while, and I clamored over the hot and dry sand dunes. I went looking for help…looking for answers. What I found instead was pure unbiased destruction no matter where I looked.” A small tear escaped one of Collett’s crystal blue eyes, making a path down her cheek.

  Feeling a small encouraging squeeze on her shoulder, Collett was once again reminded Cade was there. He was offering his support, and she needed that support more than she realized. It gave her strength.

  Soaking it in once more, Collett decided to move on to the cause of the devastation she witnessed. “A small Hurricane, that’s what I was told later. How could something small cause so much pain? A simple whim of nature caused the violent destruction of so many people’s lives.”

  No matter how much she wanted to trust the people in this room, Collett could not tell them of the heavy guilt she felt upon seeing the turmoil before her. As if maybe, she was part of the cause.

  She skipped past those thoughts and feelings and continued, “I guess, the people who were there that day had survived the storm, or they were just coming back from evacuations. Their faces held so many emotions. I saw it… I saw their fear. Some were so angry. Most though,
wore the sad, lost expression of confusion and loss. They came back wanting to try and recover something left of their horribly devastated lives.

  I couldn’t help I wanted to. I wanted to help so badly. I felt an urge to ease their burdens. It was so strange, yet difficult to resist. I saw them crying over broken homes, weeping for the loss of shattered dreams. My heart bled for them. The feelings were so intense my throbbing head just ached more.” Collett drew in her hands, fisting them to her stomach as if trying to push back all the pain.

  Quietly listening to the way she told her tale, everyone present noted how she was more than simply remembering. Collett saw it in her mind clearly, as if living it all over again.

  Cade wanted her to stop. He wanted to remove these awful images from Collett’s mind and take away the pain. He knew though, deep down, they needed to hear all of it. Any small piece of missing information could make it more difficult to put things together for her.

  For unknown reasons, she looked directly up at Cade. Her eyes glistening from the tears she held back. She continued her tale, directing the next part to him. “You see, it wasn’t until that moment I realized I could not remember. I saw their sadness, their pain, and their broken homes. Then I thought to myself, what of my home? The question stopped me. With a single thought I realized there was no home in the back of my mind. I couldn’t remember my home. I wracked my brain. I couldn’t remember anything. Nothing was there, no home, no family, nothing.”

  Cynda, who could barely stand the raw emotion on Collett’s face, had been working on a theory. She felt she should share, “I think you’re an empath.” She blurted out.

  Collett turned her head to face Cynda, and noticed her sitting forward intently on the edge of the sofa; her hand still firmly locked with Rederrick’s.

  “You think I’m a what?” Collett asked.

  Cynda smiled at Collett’s confusion, “An empath, Empathic. You feel other people’s emotions. Really strong empaths can even sense thoughts.”

  “It makes sense. That’s how she senses the trouble before it occurs.” Cade injected.

  Collett turned her gaze back to Cade, “Wait, how do you know that?”

  “Honey, it’s written all over your face. You take on this pinched, distasteful look as if there’s a foul smell in the air.” Cade answered.

  Collett looked around to Cynda again and saw her nod in agreement. “Oh. I didn’t realize. I mean, I guess I’ve never exactly seen a mirror when I feel their evil.”

  “Is that what you feel, evil?” Cynda questioned.

  “I can feel a taint of evil or malice when it’s close. I can feel other things, like Jenny’s nurturing nature, or Rederrick’s need to protect. I have always felt it, though I have never really understood how. I usually run whenever I get a hint of any dark feelings. Mostly, I have avoided the evil following me by staying on the move.” Collett looked down at the floor now quiet.

  Because he was a lawyer, and a damn good one, Rederrick recognized her move as a guilty gesture. He asked, “What’s bothering you Collett?”

  Much like a scolded child she could not look up, she quietly answered him, “If I had left here sooner… you would have never been affected by this. I fooled myself into thinking it was over. I brought this to you. Saying I’m sorry isn’t much, but I really am sorry.”

  Rederrick stood, letting go of Cynda’s hand, he approached Collett. He said, “Collett.” He waited until she looked up at him to speak again. When she did, he spoke soft words, “Now why is it, you can’t see the possibilities here? Maybe, just maybe, you were meant to find us. We can help you better than anyone else, and to me that is an encouraging thought. Maybe you stayed here with us, longer than your usual two or three-month stint, because somehow you knew the same thing.”

  “You felt a connection here, not to the place though, it was the people that held you here, wasn’t it?” Cynda added quickly.

  Rederrick heard his wife approach from behind. He stepped to the side to give her access to Collett. Cynda stood there for a moment looking at Collett. She wanted to hug her so badly, but knew all the affection was too much for her right now. “We can help you Collett, all you have to do is let us.” Cynda said with emotion choking her throat. “Let us be here for you. Let us try.”

  As Cynda stood there hoping Collett would accept their help, she saw the first tears escape the tight hold Collett had kept on them, and heard her sniffle slightly. Rederrick offered her a white handkerchief. As Collett grabbed it with her right hand, she realized her left hand was currently held by Cade. She didn’t even know when he had grabbed it, Collett just knew it felt good.

  Praying she was doing the right thing Collett closed her eyes as she quietly spoke, “I don’t know how to put a stop to all this, but for the very first time I feel like, with your help, I might be able to.”

  Cade gave her one of his charming smiles with the slight lift on the right side and said, “So, let’s get started shall we?”

  Cade’s height made it necessary for Collett to tilt her head in order to make eye contact with him. She stared up at his golden eyes for a moment then asked him, “I’m just curious, and I don’t really want to sound ungrateful. Why is it you would want to help me? You don’t even know me.”

  Cade tipped his head curiously, and his smile got even wider. His brow rose. “I told you before. This, Honey, is what I do,” he answered simply.

  Collett continued to stare into Cade’s strange golden gaze until Rederrick cleared his throat, “Ahem.” When they both directed their attention in his direction he said, “Now then, let’s get down to business. In order to work on your memory problem we need to get more specific. What beach did you wash up on?”

  She nodded her head, “I later found out I was in Texas, near Matagorda. That’s where I ended up anyway.

  There was this paramedic. He saw me standing there in the middle of all the chaos. He asked if I was okay. I guess I probably looked like I was horribly injured, being covered with blood and wearing a torn and ruined dress.

  I asked him right then where I was, and what had happened? I felt panicked by this time. I was very afraid and felt extremely alone. The paramedic thought I needed medical attention, so he took me to the hospital, which was a total madhouse by this point. They checked me over and found no injuries. There were simply too many people for them to worry much over someone like me, who was not physically hurt. They told me I would remember. I was in shock or something like that, from the traumatic events.”

  A small sudden laugh escaped her then.

  Cade looked at Collett strangely wondering to himself if she might be having a psychotic break. “What’s so funny?”

  Collett smiled and answered, “I was supposed to go back. ‘Come back in a couple days if you’re still having trouble,’ the doctor told me. I guess I missed the appointment.”

  Cade still didn’t understand her humor. By the looks on Rederrick and Cynda’s faces they didn’t either. “Are you alright?” he inquired.

  “Yeah, I guess I am just a bit tired. I only found it somewhat ironic that I was supposed to see him in two days and now it’s been two years.” She let go of Cade’s hand to move over and plop down on the chair Cade had stood behind earlier.

  Cade felt a small sense of disappointment from the loss of contact, but he didn’t show it on his face.

  Rederrick jumped at Collett’s response. He asked, “You mean you have not been to any doctor since that day?”

  “Well no, it’s not exactly like I had the resources to pay for one. I have been scraping by on what little I earn from each odd job I get. Whatever I’ve had left, I put away for run money. Whatever is hunting me doesn’t generally take long to find me. Going back to a doctor didn’t matter to me. Besides, after today I realized why I haven’t really needed to see a doctor.”

  Cade spoke then, “What do you mean by that?”

  Collett looked up at Cade from her chair and said, “Didn’t you notice my head today Cad
e?”

  He looked at it carefully now, taking only a second to see the gash on her temple was healed. “Huh,” he said. “Why didn’t I notice before? Was it like that all day?”

  “All day,” she confirmed

  “How could I have missed that?” Cade asked more of himself than anyone in the room.

  Cynda answered him anyway, “Maybe because you heal so quickly yourself, you just didn’t think about it.”

  “Yeah, maybe,” Cade mumbled.

  Deep down Cade wondered if it wasn’t something more. He knew that his constant off center feelings when he was around Collett kept him from being focused. He simply didn‘t have his senses in order.

  Cade knew he would have to step it up if he intended to keep Collett alive. Hadn’t she come into the kitchen earlier without him even hearing her footfalls, he thought. He couldn’t go around missing details like this without consequences. If he didn’t find a way to center himself, they would all be in big trouble.

  Gazing upon her then, Cade noticed Collett’s yawn, and the tired, worn expression covering her pretty features. He recognized the signs of her total exhaustion. He looked to Rederrick to adjourn their little meeting; and without words conveyed that they had done enough for one night.

  Understanding the message, and knowing Cynda was worn down as well, Rederrick agreed with a nod. “I think we should all try and get some sleep. Tomorrow we will work on strategy, and figure out what to do next. For now, it’s late. Let’s all sleep on it, shall we?”

  Cynda moved to Rederrick’s side, hooking her arm with his. “I think that is a great idea, tomorrow’s another day. We’ll talk over breakfast about some proactive plans,” she quickly bid Cade and Collett a goodnight.

  After they walked out of the room arm-in-arm, Collett stood slowly. She looked at Cade trying to find the words to thank him and apologize for her earlier behavior. In the end, she opted for a simple, “thank you.”