TRANCE, Inc. 21

I hesitated, then glanced away toward the group. They were following Victoria toward her car, huddled close together. A blonde, two redheads and a brunette. Four stunning beauties, finally safe and sound. "I'm no expert in parenting," I said, turning back, "but I know your daughters. I know they appreciate what you did today more than you understand, and probably more than they'll tell you."

Charles Evans seemed to examine me again, then nodded slowly. "Thank you, young man," he said. "I'm glad that my girls have someone like you to watch their back."

"Always," I said, without thinking, then bit my tongue. I'm not sure that line fit with my 'concerned friend' persona.

But if the twins' father noticed, he didn't say anything. "And I'm glad you had me fly down to help out, this morning."

Help out? I had invited the man down as a "birthday surprise," but it seemed as though he'd seen through that disguise as well. What with that, his treatment of Seth and his revelation that he'd known all along about the twins' occupation, Charles Evans had proven to be quite a different man than I expected.

A genuine good Samaritan, I mused.

I glanced back again. The others had all climbed into my car, with Victoria at the wheel, and suddenly I realized we would be leaving Mr. Evans standing here on the street without a way to get to Starside, where he would apparently be staying.

I shot a look at the man. "Sorry about not giving you a ride... Can you, uh, get an Uber or something?"

He snorted, and even gave me an amused smirk. "I managed to get down here in a couple of hours with about thirty seconds of planning. I think I can make it a couple blocks."

"Fair point," I muttered.

"We'll speak soon," he promised, clapping me on the shoulder and then turning up his collar. "Right now, it's a beautiful morning for a walk."

I nodded, wordless, and watched him go.

He had quite the spring in his step.

* * *

I wasn't sure what to expect when we got back to my apartment.

Had Shrike's hitmen already visited? Would we arrive to find that the door had been smashed in, like it had been at Lassiter's? Would our possessions be scattered and shredded on the floor, like in the movies?

But my fears were for nothing. Not a speck of dust seemed out of place.

So, we trooped inside and gathered in the living room. Carmen and Daisy sat together on the couch, Daisy's fingers running through her sister's hair with a fluid, soothing rhythm. Victoria took one of the reading chairs and I took the other. Amber glanced around, then stood behind me with her hands resting on my shoulders.

There was more space on the couch, but I didn't mind the way her fingers were gently massaging, working at the soreness and kinks in my muscles. When I eased down into the cushions I felt my entire body relax, and a sense of relief radiated out from my side. At some point I'd forgotten about the pain and about my wound, but the entire right side of my torso had actually been tensed up in preparation against it.

No one spoke for some time.

Our body language radiated a sense of exhausted relief, like a team of athletes who had just emerged from a grueling contest. Our faces were drawn, though, and our collective mood seemed dampened by the events of the night.

"So, how did you do it?" It was my voice, and my gaze was directed at Daisy.

The 19-year-old girl paused, then shifted and tucked a veil of crimson hair back from her face. She didn't need to ask what I meant. Daisy had broken free of the TRANCE conditioning all on her own, before I'd even figured out it was possible. What's more, she had been the one to save her sister when all hope seemed lost.

"Soon after we met," the teenager answered, "and you told us about what TRANCE had done to us, I realized that there was a lot of potential danger if just anyone could come up and hypnotize us." Her cheeks flushed a little and a smile tugged at her lips. "I'm fine with you doing it to me. It's actually really hot... And I was okay with it happening at the studio, because that was just business as usual. It made the time pass quicker, and made me enjoy the work more. But if things got out of hand, or the wrong person got their hands on the trigger phrase..."

Carmen shuddered. "Not good," she muttered dully. The girl had been unusually quiet all through the car ride back, and I didn't blame her. Carmen knew first hand what that was like.

Now, Daisy stroked her shoulder and nodded agreement, continuing her explanation. "I didn't bring up my concerns, though, because I didn't want to seem like a worrywart, and I wasn't even sure if it was possible to do anything about it. Only it was."

"But how?" I insisted.

Victoria gave me a fond glance, and Daisy rolled her eyes.

"Patience, baby," she said lightly. "I'm getting there." The girl waited for me to settle back before nodding slowly to herself and going on. "Meditation," she said. "Dozens of hours of meditation, over the course of weeks. Every morning when I did my sit, I would work on traveling deep down inside of my self and testing my boundaries. I would visualize myself disobeying behaviors that I knew I'd been programmed to take, and slowly built up the mental fortitude to do it. Eventually, once I'd broken through in my mind, I knew that I was safe. If I had to, I could break free and resist my triggers."

I furrowed my brow. "But how did you know? It was all just in your head."

The girl smiled, like she was explaining something simple. "Action is just an offshoot of thought," she told me. "Once you've decided on the truth, your actions will follow inevitably."

We all sat with that nugget of wisdom for several, quiet moments.

"Why didn't you say anything once you had your breakthrough?" Victoria asked, leaning forward wearily and running a hand through her long, dark hair. The beautiful brunette looked exhausted, and it made me remember that most of us were pushing twenty-four hours without sleep. "Not that I'm trying to blame you for anything," she hastily added. "Just, curious..."

Daisy shrugged. "There always seemed to be something else going on. Some drama, small or big, which took precedence. Or a celebration, of whatever size, when I didn't want to ruin the mood by talking about how we might need to protect ourselves against having our free will stolen away." She snorted. "If I've learned anything these past few weeks, though, it's that there's never a perfect time for anything."

Truer words have never been spoken... I thought, reflecting back on my own experience. How many times had I been burned because I was waiting for things to turn out, or get better on their own. That's over now, I thought, and knew it was true. Gone was the Chance of the past. After last night, I was someone else. A man of action.

"What will you do about your father?"

It was Victoria again, and I wondered why she'd taken up the interrogator's banner. After a moment, though, I thought I understood. She was asking the hard questions, the ones that should be dealt with right away, and she was taking it on herself to spearhead the discussion.

Because of course she was.

Daisy chewed her bottom lip nervously. "I think we should talk to him," she said, but she sounded uncertain.

Carmen, though, pushed herself upright and blew out a deep breath. "We're going to talk to him," she declared, nodding firmly. "Soon." She glanced around, taking her sister's hand and squeezing firmly. "It's obvious that things are over with Seth and Daisy, and if I've learned anything it's that our dad is smarter than we gave him credit for. I don't quite know where we stand, but I think it's time we gave him and mom another chance."

Daisy was watching her sister in surprise, but I felt a glow inside. It was a warm flame of pride and love. The sentiment seemed to be shared by the others, because Victoria was nodding with approval and when I glanced back I could see the shining encouragement in Amber's face.

It seemed like we would be ending on a positive note, because Carmen yawned abruptly and her slow, sleepy stretch broke any lingering tension. Her yawn infected the others, and I knew it was time to crash. If there was anything else that needed to be dealt with, we could handle it after everyone had taken a couple hours to recharge.

"Who's on the couch?" Victoria muttered, ever the responsible one. "If we want to get any real rest, we'll need to split the available sleeping space."

I offered immediately. "You four can take the bed. I'm going to stay up for a bit, anyway. There's some stuff I need to think about." As much as I wanted to lay down and pass out — on a bed, a couch, or the floor — I knew that there were too many thoughts racing through my mind. At the moment, even this much exhaustion couldn't knock me out.

The brunette looked like she wanted to protest, but Carmen forestalled her by getting to her feet. The teen made her way past the coffee table, eyelids already drooping at the thought of sleep. She leaned in and kissed me, deeply, and I felt the warmth flare hotter in my core.

"Love you, baby," she murmured, pulling away and brushing her hair back. Then, she turned and walked past the couch, touching Daisy's shoulder on the way. She disappeared into the darkened hallway.

Her twin came to her feet as well. She glanced after Carmen, back at us, and then followed. In the other room, I heard the sound of a body flopping down onto the mattress.

Victoria smiled wearily. "To be honest," she said quietly, "I think I'm about to pass out as well."

The brunette and I rose at the same time, and I felt Amber's hands slide off my shoulders. Like Carmen, Victoria stepped around the coffee table and approached me. Her curves felt soft and wonderful against my body, and my palms instinctively stroked down her sides. The fabric of her dress was smooth and alluring under my fingertips.

Later, I promised myself, I'm going to do something about how hot this woman is.

Then, Victoria pulled me even closer. Her breath was hot on my skin. "I love you..." she murmured into my ear. I remembered the promise she made last night, outside of Terra's place, and the warm, satisfied feeling in my chest expanded. She stepped back, brown eyes shining with a smile, and attention shifted to Amber. "Come to bed when you're ready, gorgeous," she said. "I'll make sure the kids don't hog all the space."

Amber's soft laugh was a pleasure to hear. "Alright," she answered. "I'll be along in a minute."

It was quiet when Victoria left. I turned to face my girlfriend, and even though we were standing so close together I could reach out and touch her I felt like there was a vast chasm between us.

"Are you alright?" It felt like the first time in a while that we had been alone together. Really alone, with no one else around and no one in my girlfriend's head but her. The second question bubbled up before she had a chance to answer the first. "Can you forgive me?"

Amber's pretty face creased in consternation. "What do you mean?"

My words came out slowly, fumbling. I had to force myself to say them, because I was so embarrassed and, I now realized, ashamed. "If I had trusted you, none of this would have happened. If I'd just come to you and spoken up when I first learned things were going wrong, we might have been able to prevent all of this. Daisy would have known to share her breakthrough. Shrike and Clayton wouldn't have been able to split us apart, or turn us against each other. Seth wouldn't have gotten two seconds of pleasure from the twins, let alone a whole night..."

"Stop."

Amber's finger was on my lips, hushing me. I shivered at her touch, and vividly remembered Daisy's finger on Carmen's mouth just this same way. I stared into her bright blue eyes, waiting as she gathered herself.

"All this talk of what 'might' have happened, or what 'could' have happened," my girlfriend said. "It's just beating yourself up over things that are already done. The only thing you can do is go forward and do better. That's what we have to do, if we really care about each other. Okay?"

Her question floated in the air between us, but all I heard was 'if we really care about each other'.

She won't even use the word now... I thought, and I knew it was time for that to change.

"I love you," I murmured, feeling her fingertip brush against my lips. I couldn't believe it was the first time I'd told her out loud.

Amber's expression froze, and I wondered abruptly, sickeningly, if I'd somehow ruined everything. Do I even deserve to say that, after what I put her through?

"I've been waiting for you to finally man up and tell me."

I blinked at her in surprise, but her giggle ruined the teasing rebuke.

Her brilliant smile broke through. "I love you, too, silly."

Relief and a rush of affection hit me at the same moment, overwhelming me. The words tumbled out now, a rushing torrent. "I loved you first. I loved you before all the drama with the twins. And I wanted to tell you but I couldn't say it. Then, after it came out that I'd said it to Carmen, I knew I'd hurt you. I didn't know if I could make it right, or if I could still tell you without bringing the wound to the surface. I didn't know how it could possibly work out, and I didn't know how to say it to someone who I thought was sneaking around behind my back." My shoulders sagged. "I'm so sorry I didn't trust you."

My girlfriend brushed the backs of her fingers gently down my cheek. "You'll do better," she said, with a little grin. "I believe in you. Living with four smart, social women, you'll figure out how to address your emotions."

I wanted to smile back, but now that my guilt and worry had been raised it wouldn't be put to rest until the final question forced itself between my lips. I swallowed. I reached up and took Amber's hand gently, holding it in both of mine and staring at it while I asked, "I just don't see... how can you love me." My thumbs made little circles against her skin, and I still didn't look up into her face. "I'm not some Prince Charming. I... I did to you what Seth did to the twins. What Clayton was going to do with you, and Shrike. We only met because I wanted to test the TRANCE trigger. You wouldn't have even spoken to me if I hadn't, and we certainly wouldn't be here where we are today..."

I flicked my eyes up, and was surprised by what I saw.

Amber's eyes were calm, unconcerned, and she was watching me with an indulgent smile.

"What?" I asked, almost indignant. I'm baring my soul here...

But my girlfriend just huffed a soft laugh and leaned in closer. She gently kissed the tip of my nose, and I felt her eyelashes flutter against my skin. When she pulled back, I was having a hard time staying disgruntled. She gave me a candid look. "People meet in all sorts of ways, babe. At a party, in a class, on the subway... We happened to meet through work. And because you thought I was so hot you had to have me." Her blue eyes sparkled, and her full lips made a sultry smirk.

I wanted to argue, but her mouth was so distracting.

"Usually, people don't know right away when they meet that special someone. How could they? And, too often, people judge others by their covers. You judged me by my cover. I judged you by yours. If things had stayed the way they were, we would never have gotten together. And yeah... maybe you were a little extra persuasive when you asked me to go out with you. But you care about me now. You fell in love with me and I fell in love with you. Regardless of anything else, those feelings are real."

I swallowed around the lump in my throat.

"If I hadn't met you, I would have been sold to that businessman as mindless, bimbofied arm candy. The twins would be stuck with that trust fund prick. Victoria would go back to work and spend meetings on her hands and knees under the conference table. Circumstances change, and you've changed all of our circumstances for the better. People change, and you're changing for the better, too. Maybe you're not perfect, but you're good. And you're better than you were. I love that, and I love the you you're becoming."

I'm not usually one for outward displays, but I felt a prickle as tears of exhaustion and tension and profound relief welled up in my eyes. "Thank you."

"Get some rest, baby," Amber said, softly stroking my cheek. "I'm going to do the same. Don't worry about any of that anymore." She kissed my forehead, then walked to the door. Leaning back, she tossed me a pretty smile and a kiss. "Thanks for taking the couch. My hero."

She left me with a little smile on my face.

Nonetheless, I was still awake ten minutes later. I sat on the couch with my elbows on my knees, chin on my fists, staring at the wall. I couldn't seem to quiet my thoughts. Whenever I closed my eyes, something else would rise to the surface.

I wondered if Clayton and his men had yet arrived to take Mia away. I decided I didn't want to know.

You did it for your harem, I thought, clenching my jaw. You did it for the women you love. You would do anything for them. You would kill... My mind might have drifted down that deep, dark rabbit hole but I was interrupted by a sound behind me.

"Chance?"

I turned in surprise.

Daisy had slipped out of the bedroom and across the hallway. She was leaning against the door frame, barefoot and wearing only a pair of comfortable cotton underwear and a lacy, mismatched bra that I thought might be Carmen's. She seemed hesitant to enter.

I shifted to one side of the couch and patted the cushions next to me. "Can't sleep?" I asked, as she came around the sofa on quiet feet.

The girl shook her head, then let herself fall back onto the pillows and copied my posture. She stared at the wall for several seconds, then whispered. "I almost envy her..."

I hesitated, then asked, "Carmen?"

Daisy nodded, slowly. "I know it's wrong..." she murmured. "But I almost wish that Seth had hypnotized us both. She was trapped, but at least the programming made her enjoy it. She didn't even realize anything was wrong. Me though... I had to pretend, for the whole night... I had to act like..."

The teen trailed off, but didn't pull away when I put one arm around her slim shoulders.

I didn't speak for several minutes, just shared the silence.

"There's never a perfect time for anything," I finally said slowly, echoing her words from earlier. My heart pounded against my ribs. "So I'm saying this now, and I'll say it again later. And any time when you might need to hear it. Thank you for saving your sister when I couldn't. Thank you for going through what you did, because if you hadn't been ready then I would never have gotten Carmen out of there. Thank you for being brave enough, strong enough and caring enough to walk through fire for us." I paused. Somehow, it never got easier to say for the first time. "I love you. For all those reasons and more I love you, Day."

The girl was silent for a moment, and I felt a jolt of worry pass through me. Then, the 19-year-old's shoulders shuddered, and I realized that she was crying, gently and silently.

When the teenager finally did fall asleep, it was with my arms wrapped around her on the couch, her back against my chest and our bodies slid together like puzzle pieces. Her last words before she drifted off had been carried on a sigh of exhaustion as she kissed my forearm and settled back against me.

"Good night. I love you..."

Those words were the silent lullaby that played in my mind until I fell asleep.

Chapter Four

Two months later...