TRANCE, Inc. 21

She had maneuvered around to the far side of the marble-topped kitchen island, abandoning the coffee. I could see the tenseness in her body, and it hurt to know that I was the one making her feel uncertain and afraid.

It's for her own good, I forced myself to remember. She has to know the truth. It's the only way to help her break free.

Then, before I could open my mouth again, I suddenly realized the missing piece. Too late, I remembered that Victoria and Amber had both already been entranced when I'd called up their deepest reserves of willpower. They had already been deep within their minds, close to their subconscious, and just needed a little nudge in the right direction to unlock their wells of resistance. In the moment I'd not given that much weight, because Lassiter hadn't been hypnotized when he resisted Shrike at the board meeting, but the corporate executive must have been a special case. He hadn't been psychologically conditioned the same way my girls had been, so all he had to resist was a surface-level command, not a deep-rooted subconsciously-trained desire to obey.

Despite Seth's influence, Carmen was certainly not entranced. In fact, she was very much awake, and her growing hostility was proof that this wasn't working.

"Well?" the teen demanded. Her hands were poised on the counter, like she was ready to dodge if I came around either side. "What do you have to say for yourself? And why did you invite my dad here, anyway? On my birthday? You really think Day and I wanted to see him? As if!"

I looked away and drew a breath. When I looked back into her face, I knew my eyes were determined. I'm sorry, I thought.

"I don't know when lies he's been telling you," I said, "or what ideas he's planted in your mind, but Seth and your sister aren't meant to be together. And you certainly never wanted to be roped into some bizarre love triangle with that prick. Your dad is here to help us. He's here to distract Seth, so that I could get you alone. And, since you asked, this... this is a trigger phrase." I stared into her eyes, imagining that my own will was diving into her eyes and holding her in place. "Are you my horny little nympho slut?"

Carmen furrowed her brow. Her lashes fluttered and she pulled in a soft gasp.

I held my breath.

Then, her eyes flashed with confusion and irritation. "What are you talking about?"

I actually stepped back in dismay, my mind racing as, for the first time since I'd known her, Carmen was completely unaffected by the TRANCE trigger. "Wait..." I held up a hand, trying to stop the girl, who had straightened abruptly and was flushing with anger.

"What did you just call me?" Carmen's voice was rising, and my nervousness with it. If anyone was still inside, they would hear her and come running.

How...? I started to wonder, but the answer was right in front of me. In my bumbling rush, I had forgotten that Seth could easily have done what I always should have. Daisy's ex had used his master trigger phrase to remove from Carmen's mind any commands that weren't his.

"Carmen," I was holding up my hands, but I knew there was nothing I could do to stop her if she wanted to get away from me. "Please listen, Seth is controlling your mind. You think you know what's going on, but—"

"Be quiet!" The voice that cracked through the air wasn't loud, but there was a firmness and urgency to it that wouldn't be denied.

Two sets of eyes swiveled to take in the person who stood in the doorway.

"Daisy!" I blurted. "Where's Seth?" I glanced past her nervously then rattled on, shaking my head. "Never mind. Listen, I couldn't do it, Day. I tried on Carmen what I did with the others — calling on their core identity to help them break free with their deepest reserves of will — but I can't... She doesn't remember anything that's happened between us. And Seth removed her other triggers, so there's no way for me to get her to stop and listen."

I expected Daisy's face to fall, but she seemed to brush aside my flurry of words like a pesky mosquito. "Chance," she ordered, looking straight past me. "I need you to stop Seth if he tries to interrupt. Other than that, please get out of the way. You and Victoria have said enough to tell me what needs to be done."

"What are you going to do?" I asked as the tousle-haired redhead sashayed into the room and toward her twin. I turned, unable to stop my eyes from devouring her slender, confident figure.

She rounded the kitchen counter, paused, then said without looking back. "I'm going to remind my sister who we are."

"Daisy?" Carmen asked, her eyes wide. She looked frightened, but also suspicious, like she couldn't tell if she wanted to scamper away from us or march up to her twin and demand an explanation. "What's going on? What is Chance talking about? What are you talking about? I don't need to be reminded of anything."

The girl had taken several steps back, and flinched when she bumped into the refrigerator. She started to sidle sideways, but that was when her sister took several swift strides and put out a hand, her arm blocking Carmen's way. Daisy's palm smacked against the fridge, loud enough to startle Carmen back. She froze as Daisy leaned forward with one hand on the appliance, trapping her back against it.

"Carmen..." Daisy murmured, her tone quiet and singsong when it drifted to me across the room. She bent in, so close that the two girls could have kissed, and heat coiled in my belly.

"What's going on, Day?" Carmen sounded hesitant, but no longer angry.

"Hush, babe..." her twin murmured. "Just listen to me for a moment. I need you to do that for me. To trust me. Okay?"

"Of course I trust you," Carmen protested weakly. "But..."

"Hush..." Daisy whispered. She laid one of her fingers across Carmen's lips, and the other girl fell silent, staring into her sister's eyes.

I swallowed down my arousal, then remembered that I was supposed to be standing guard. Hastily, I glanced back through the open doorway into the dining room and across the big, empty hall beyond. Far away, I could see Seth outside on the balcony. He had his back to us and seemed to be explaining something to the rest of the group. There were wide, confident gestures involved. While I watched, though, the teenager glanced around as if he was searching for something.

Behind me, I could hear Daisy's voice twining through the air, weaving a honey-sweet tapestry.

"Just focus on my words and let everything else fall away..."

Seth tensed, then spun around to stare through the glass.

"Don't judge. Don't react. Just let me speak, and you can feel inside of you if what I say is the truth..."

We locked eyes, and I prayed that Seth wouldn't think anything was amiss. I knew he couldn't see past me, so he had no idea that Daisy had joined us. It was simply a matter of whether he trusted me around Carmen without him present.

Apparently not.

The blue-robed teenager had whirled angrily to the rest of the group. He gestured sharply, and then strode away from them and out of my view. He was heading towards the balcony doorway.

I spun back around. Did Daisy have enough time for whatever stunt she was trying to pull? Did she even have the slimmest chance of saving her sister?

Carmen, no longer keyed up and ready to bolt, had relaxed back against the fridge and her expression was almost serene. She stared into her sister's face with unwavering focus, and I suddenly wondered if Daisy had mesmerized her sister with just the intensity of her deep, emerald gaze.

"I love you, Carmen," Daisy said, brushing a fingertip across her sister's cheek and tucking a loose hair back behind her ear. "You're not just my sister. You're the closest person to me in my life. Until we met Chance and Victoria and Amber, you were basically my whole family. Truth?"

Carmen's mouth worked, and then she said quietly, "Truth..."

God damn it why is this so hot...? I was forced, once again, to shove away the rising arousal that jostled for my attention.

Daisy's head bobbed in a tiny nod. "I will always be there for you. No matter if we disagree. No matter if we get catty. No matter if we fight about drugs or about boys. I will always have your back. Truth?"

"Truth..." Carmen copied Daisy's small nod.

"I love you." The words were simple, but they felt both powerful and intimate.

Carmen didn't have to wait to be prompted. "Truth..."

"You love me."

"Yes."

"You trust me."

"Yes..."

"Can I trust you?" Daisy's hands were on her sister's face, holding her in place and staring deep into her eyes. Her slender fingers stroked her sister's temples.

"Yes." Carmen's breath came in quick, shallow gasps.

A primal part of me desperately wanted them to kiss.

"Because you love me, and you're part of me, and you will always tell me the truth."

"Always..."

Daisy paused for a split second, as though to force her sister to truly consider what she was about to say. "Carmen, do I love Seth?"

Silence.

Far away, I could hear the sliding glass door onto the balcony squeal in its tracks like it had been shoved open. Seth was coming.

Carmen's body stirred, and she blinked several times.

"Do I love Seth?" Daisy repeated, her own gaze unwavering.

Carmen shuddered more visibly and then stilled. "No..." she whispered. Her brow creased slightly.

"Do you love Seth?"

A slight shake of Carmen's head. "No..."

"Are you ready to finally be free of him?"

Carmen hesitated, and my breath caught. Daisy had built everything up to this point, and it all hinged on what her sister was about to say. But before the girl could answer, another sound cut through the kitchen.

"What the hell are you doing?" Seth strode in through the open doorway, shouldering his way past me.

I stumbled, actually caught off guard. I'd been so focused on the scene before me it was like I was entranced as well.

The angry teenager came up short. "Carmen, why haven't you finished the coffee already? And Daisy? You said you were going to get dressed and instead I find you in here looking about to rip your sister's clothes off."

Daisy turned, startled, and I saw Carmen's eyes fasten on Seth. They widened.

Did Daisy do it? I thought desperately. Was Carmen's truth strong enough to break Seth's will?

"Well?!" Seth demanded. "Explain yourselves!"

His words slashed through the kitchen but Carmen's answer, though quiet, filled the space far more completely. "No."

Seth's face went pale, and I couldn't tell if it was with surprise or rage. "No?!"

"No, no and no again, you prick!" Carmen's voice was clear and hard. She took a step forward and raised her chin. Her eyes bored into the face of the man who had tried to steal her free will.

Seth scowled, waving his hand angrily. "Shut up," he snarled. "You're making a scene. Do as I say." I could tell from the way he emphasized the last words that they were a trigger phrase, but Carmen simply ignored him.

With several quick strides she pushed off the refrigerator and crossed the kitchen.

Her palm hit Seth's cheek with a ringing smack and the young man stumbled, his head jerking sideways.

My eyes widened and I gasped in surprise, but my heart soared upward in a victorious swoop as Daisy's ex swore and pulled himself back upright, fingers rising to a flaming red cheek.

"You fucking cunt!" Seth's voice was pure venom and his hand lashed out like a twisted claw to drive her away.

But Carmen was already out of reach. Already, she was turning and dashing across the kitchen. In an instant, her arms were around Daisy's neck and she was hugging her sister tight while her words tripped and stumbled out in a quiet, breathless stream.

"Ohmygod Day I'm so sorry I couldn't stop him! I just wanted to give him a piece of my mind but he was waiting for me. Just had this evil smile and he started talking to me and he said something and I couldn't resist..." She ran out of air and simply clung to her sister.

Daisy held her close and ran her hand up and down her twin's back.

"What did you just say?" Charles Evans's voice was brittle and sharp as broken glass.

Seth and I turned back to the doorway. Carmen and Daisy's father filled it, and he was glaring at the young man with a dangerous tightness in his face. Victoria and Amber stood behind him, peering over his shoulders. They had arrived just in time to see Carmen slap Seth across the face and then dash back to her twin's embrace.

Time seemed to come back into motion with the discordant sound of Seth's angry, spluttery voice. "Chuck!" Seth protested, arms waving. "You can't seriously be blaming me for this? Aren't you going to do something about your daughter's behavior?"

I saw Charles Evans actually blink in surprise at Seth's temerity. Then, his eyes hardened. "I will not." he said. "I'm not sure what you've done, young man, but if it's bad enough to upset my daughter then I promise you you deserved that and more." He took a step forward, and for a moment he appeared to loom over the angry teen. "And if you want to avoid the worst thrashing of your young, foolish, party-hardy life, you'll stay away from my girls from now on. You won't even think about them or their behavior, not ever again." His fist was clenched by his side. "No one uses that word on my little angel."

Seth was shaken. I saw it in his eyes as he looked away from the older man's stern glare and into my face. The kid had been beaten, and he didn't know how to handle it. Then, the shock started to turn into something else. Something dark and roiling and ugly that made him grimace with the meanness of it.

Shit, I thought.

Seth wasn't about to go down quietly. If his fantasy got torn to shreds, everyone else would suffer the consequences. Mutually assured destruction. The teenager pushed himself up on the counter, grinning blackly at Daisy's father.

"Your little angel," the teenager declared, "is a pornstar."

Double shit.

I saw Carmen glance back, his voice cutting off her flow of words. Daisy's face, too, registered shock and dismay.

Seth had turned halfway around to watch his words hit the twins, and he smiled wickedly. I could practically see the glee in his eyes, the feeling of power as he tore apart the facade that had kept a fragile family together. It made me sick and angry, but with the kitchen island between us I couldn't just take two steps and clock him across the jaw.

"Both of them are, actually."

Seth's head whipped back around. "What?" His voice was like a gasp of pain.

Charles Evans impaled him with a lethal stare. "Both of my daughter's work in the adult film industry," he said, his tone cold and clinically precise. "They perform for Teragon Regional and National Corporation for Entertainment, Incorporated. A terrible name, but I've heard it's a thriving business. I've been told that Carmen and Daisy work hard and have bright futures if they choose to apply themselves in that direction. While I can't say it's the career I would have picked for either of them, if it makes them happy I stand behind my girls one hundred percent."

Seth looked like he couldn't decide whether to be stunned into silence or grotesquely fascinated. "Chuck," he said finally, and there was a slimy smirk growing on his face. "Are you saying you've watched your own daugh— aghk!"

Carmen and Daisy's father didn't have a kitchen island in the way.

Not long after, when six of us crowded into the elevator, Mr. Evans stood back in the corner, shaking his hand slightly and muttering to himself.

"No one even calls me Chuck, you little shit."

Chapter Three

"Dad?" Daisy's voice was quiet.

"Yeah, sweetheart?"

We were standing on the sidewalk. Seth's building was behind us. By now, the sun had risen completely and was shining down the empty street.

"Could you go back to the apartment without us?" Daisy looked apologetic, but her lips were pressed together in a firm line. Her arm was around her sister, and Carmen's head was resting on her shoulder.

Mr. Evans gave his daughter a long, quiet look. Then he sighed. He looked disappointed, but resigned. "I'm sorry for coming all the way down here without checking in. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I'll go back as soon as my pilot has had a chance to rest." He hesitated, then added. "Just... promise me you'll stay away from that scumbag from now on?"

Daisy's eyebrows shot up and she seemed about to say something, but then she changed her mind. Instead, she just nodded once. "We promise," she agreed.

Her father nodded along.

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence.

"Alright then." Charles Evans rubbed his hands together and took a step away. "It's been a pleasure seeing my girls. It's been too long. Your mother will be jealous of my special visit, but I'll tell her you two are doing well and she'll be tickled."

I got the feeling that the man was being genuine. He would leave the City after flying down in the middle of the night, just to make the twins feel better. In fact, the more time we spent with their father the more glad I was that I'd had my suspicions about their parents. It seemed like he wasn't even going to force his daughters to talk to him about the stunning revelation of a few minutes ago — he knew that his daughters were pornstars, and he didn't seem to care. He wasn't going to bring it up if they didn't.

Mr. Evans was turning away when a quiet voice interrupted.

"Dad?"

He froze, halfway turned around, as Carmen lifted her head. Then, she crossed the distance between them in two quick steps and hugged him, burying her face in his chest.

"Thanks, Dad," she murmured, voice muffled by his body and the thick jacket.

The look on Charles Evans's face was a heartwarming blend of uncertainty, trepidation, and joy. Then, his arms wrapped softly around her body. He looked like he was being supremely gentle, as if he was worried she would melt or crumble if he held her too close. "Happy Birthday, baby girl," he said, kissing the top of her head.

A couple minutes later, the man was staring off down the street as the rest of us moved in the direction of the car. He seemed to be thinking, and I hesitated before hurrying back toward him. I glanced back and saw my companions waiting for me, but I gestured for them to go on.

"What is it, Chance?" the man asked. He was standing with his hands in the pockets of his coat, staring down the street into the golden glow of the sun.

I hesitated, then blurted. "Why do they hate you?" Oops. I hadn't meant to say that out loud, but the question slipped out when I opened my mouth.

I rushed to fix my gaff. "I mean, not hate, maybe. But... You know. Why do they feel so... alienated from their family? You don't seem so bad. In fact, standing up for your daughters back there? You probably deserve a medal."

The older man paused for a moment before answering. He seemed to be examining my face. He glanced away. "My wife and I had four boys before the twins came, so we thought we knew what we were doing. We knew the activities and the sports and the schools. We knew how to groom little boys into responsible and successful young men. Then, when we got two little girls we were thrown for a loop. They weren't always interested in the same things, weren't always suited to the same parenting method."

Charles Evans sighed. "We were already getting a little older, I was coming up on retirement, and we'd always wanted to travel. Our two girls were always so poised and thoughtful, perfect little angels, which meant it was easy to justify. They didn't need us. Not much, anyway. If we provided them with a stable home, a good education, and the resources to succeed, then success was inevitable..." His tight smile was pained. "By the time we realized our mistake, it was too late. They were too independent to fully respect us as parents, too used to doing things their own way to accept our guidance without question. And they were just hitting the teenage years when stubbornness and rebellion really blossom. I can't tell you how much I regret not being there for them, but now... I would do anything for them. I just hope they know that, that I can show them I want to build a better relationship."