Vengeance Borne by Amanda Bonilla

again. It prickled over his skin like biting, cold rain. Idiot .
    “I have no idea what you mean,” he said. “But…there is something going on here. I—feel things—when I’m around you.” Understatement of the century. Before he’d felt the emotions of others. Twinges of anger or happiness. A shadow of what they truly felt. With Jax, it was completely different. Stronger on so many levels.
    Micah tried to discern what she was thinking—or rather, feeling—as she shifted in her seat, but he sensed that she’d managed to erect some sort of barrier, blocking him out. Interesting. Her gaze roamed around the restaurant and settled on a far corner. The concerned crease returned to her brow. Turning, he followed the path of her eyes to see a guy sitting alone, wearing a crisp, navy blue uniform shirt with fire department patches. From the intense, somewhat bemused expression on his face, he seemed to be pretty interested in her. “Do you know him?”
    “Wes,” she said, peeling her gaze away. “Friend of a friend, sort of. He must be getting an eyeful.”
    She shifted again, turning her shoulder to the fireman and another wave of emotion rolled over Micah, nearly stealing his breath. Apparently she was too preoccupied by her “friend of a friend” to properly mask her emotions. He needed to distract her from whatever had her nerves twisted into tight, unyielding knots. “Jax is an interesting name. How’d you get it?”
    “Jax isn’t my name. It’s short.”
    “For what?”
    “Jacquelyn.”
    The tightness in his chest eased and he drew in a deep breath. That’s better . “Jacquelyn,” he said, accenting the qu sound. “I like it better than Jax.”
    She smiled and a rush of pleasure bloomed out from his stomach, enveloping him in molten comfort. Better than anything any pill could fabricate. He’d sleep a thousand dreamless nights from just one moment of her pleasure.
    “So,” Micah said, ready to get back on track, “are you going to tell me what a Bearer is?” She said he had a gift, nothing he hadn’t heard before from him mom. But Bearer was something entirely new. The word was as foreign to him as his own feelings that he tried so desperately to numb. “And what exactly does it mean to be unrealized? Don’t take this the wrong way, but it sounds like you’re trying to sell me something, Jacquelyn.”
    The look she gave him was pure incredulity. Apparently, no one dared to call her out. She wasn’t the first person to try to force their superstitious propaganda on him. His mother was Romany for Christ’s sake. You didn’t get much more superstitious than that.
    “Don’t take this the wrong way, Micah, but I’m starting to think that here and now is not the place to discuss this.” He couldn’t help but wonder if her change of heart had anything to do with Friend-of-a-Friend. “I’m going to need you to come with me somewhere tomorrow night.” She paused, stabbed her straw into her drink a couple of times, her tone uncertain. “You need help. Since I don’t have time to deal with you myself, I know someone who will. Trust me. You’re going to want to meet this person.”
    Micah thought about it for all of about a half second. Foolish, sure. What he should be doing is getting the hell back into the motor home and putting a few hundred miles between himself and this crazy-ass town. But when he met those wide, sparkling eyes of hers, he knew he’d walk into a burning building if she asked him to, let alone stick around for another day. Besides, he was paid up for a week, no use wasting money. “Sure.”
    “Okay then.” She tossed her napkin down on the table and stood. “Meet me at Grind tomorrow at three. That’s when my shift is over. We can go from there.”
    “You’re leaving?” He didn’t want her anywhere but right here with him. He didn’t even have a damn car to drive her home.
    “Yeah,” she said. “I’m going to go home and go to bed.” She plunked twenty