Beyond The Lens

Possibly An Ambush

A/N:
Released on September 20, 2018

Here's another chapter!

For those of you wondering about the next update for The Magic of Cain, I'm having a hard time figuring out the rest of the plot without all of my notes, so it will take me longer than normal to get chapters for that book done.

It's the last book in that series, so I want everything to go exactly as I planned with no loose ends for the trilogy. (Except for the intentional ones that tie in with any spinoff series, of course)

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and tell me what you think! :)

Word Count: 2750

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Chapter 23: Possibly An Ambush

Holland holds her purse closer as her eyes roam the area, looking pretty paranoid.

"Hey." I say softly to grab her attention.

She must be having trouble controlling her heightened senses along with being worried that someone else will try to mug her.

"I won't let anyone get near you." I promise, reaching for her hand. She allows me to lock our fingers together so that I can reassure her more.

I quicken our pace to get to where we need to be.

Even though getting Holland off the street and into a house will ease her anxiety, the bigger reason for speeding up our travel is because we're late.

The stressful situation starts to get to me, making my skin crawl. My eyes dart around for possible assailants, just as my friend is doing.

I attempt to breathe in deeply to slow my racing heart, noticing my movements are almost exactly mimicking Holland's.

My gaze lands on the explanation, our interlocking fingers linking me to her emotions.

I still don't know how to control the empathy ability. And I realize now that I forgot to tell Holland about it.

But it should take at least a day or two for her to gain the ability, since it started for me when Phil showed it to me. Then it wasn't until much later that I tried using it.

In the meantime, I need to be able to take control of it myself.

We're over halfway to our destination when my phone starts ringing, fifteen minutes past the time we were supposed to be there.

I pull my cell from my pocket with my free hand, answering it grimly when I see that it's Phil calling.

It would be worse to not answer at all than to ignore the call and not have to deal with his demands.

"Where are you?" Is the first thing he says, not surprising me with his impatience.

He probably assumed that I was going against the deal we made, deciding not to bring Holland to meet him after all.

"We're almost there. We got a bit held up. I'll explain when we get there." I reply, tone just as neutral as his had been.

I'm sure that he would've yelled, if not for Holland at my side. He knew I'd be with her, and he wanted to make a good impression, so he's remaining calm on the phone for now.

"So that was the panic I felt from you earlier. I will hear the story soon." He says commandingly, reminding me of the strange pack bond we share.

"I was just making sure you were still coming. For all I knew, the others could've grabbed you." Phil adds through a sigh. "You have to be careful. Remember to make sure you're not followed."