Chapter 30 SEVEN: Family Reunion

Landry drove through the large gate into William’s mansion. He stopped in front of a Nissan Terrano II which was parked inside the carport alongside the large apartment. Kevin got out first, then offered to help Natasha.

“Thank you. I can get off on my own.” She turned him down rather impolitely.

He was taken a little aback by her abruptness.

Getting down from the car, she bolted past him, climbing up the mini stair at the facade of the large bungalow. She knocked, and stood with her arms folded while she waited behind the door. Didn’t turn to look at him. Landry noticed the tension between them but kept silent, making a mental note to talk to Kevin about it after.

“Dad! Damien!” Natasha called as she stepped back a few paces after knocking.

A moment passed with no answer. She climbed up the stair to hit the door again, this time a little louder than before. “Is anyone home?”

She shuffled backward and waited, folding her arms and avoiding Kevin’s gaze. When it appeared no one was coming to open up, she raised her hand to knock again, but then the door swung open and her little brother stood at the door, his mouth hanging open.

Damien called out in a loud scream. “Daaaaaaaaad!”

Natasha smiled when she heard her dad answered from inside the room. “Who is at the door, Damien?”

“It’s Natasha, Dad, she’s back home.” he looked past Natasha at Kevin, who was standing behind. Then his gaze fell on Landry, who was waiting in his car. “And she brought some friends along too.”

Natasha heard footsteps from inside the room, then she saw William standing at the doorway.

“Dad!” she exclaimed, racing through the door to hug him, pushing Damien on her way in.

“Hey!” he yelled as he dropped to the carpeted floor.

William wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace. “Natasha, I’ve been so worried about you. Are you okay?”

“I am fine, Dad.” she hugged him again, resting her head on his chest. “I miss you so much.”

“I miss you too, sweetheart.”

“Great. So now she is back.” Damien grumbled under his breath. Stood up from the ground, cleaning himself. “I was beginning to enjoy being the only child.”

“Damien!” William cautioned, his eyes held a fierce glare. “Go to your room, now!”

He grumbled as he walked out of the room.

William’s eyes were drawn to Kevin, who stood at the entrance, watching them. “Who is this?” he turned to face Natasha. “… The guy the doctor said you were with? Did he kidnap you?” he frowned, folding his fingers in a tight fist, ready to pounce on him.

Natasha quickly grabbed him, holding him back. “No, Dad! He saved me. The guy who had attacked at the hospital would have taken me if he hadn’t come in quick to stop him.”

Kevin felt relieved, though surprised. He couldn’t believe Natasha just defended him. Just a moment ago she’d seemed mad at him and was making it obvious. He wouldn’t blame her for being annoyed—who wouldn’t be? He had provoked her lips, triggering the restrained emotions she had for him, and then suddenly told her to stay away. Now he understood she had every right to be upset.

William looked over at Kevin and cracked a smile at him, gesturing with his hands for him to come in. “Please, come in and make yourself comfortable.”

Kevin walked up to where they stood. He suddenly felt himself being so cautious around William—maybe because he’s the father of the girl he was tripping for. No, it’s more than just that. Something else about William had caused him to be this uneasy.

“Dad, this is Kevin.” Natasha introduced, smiling at him. And turning to look at Kevin, her smile slipped. “Kevin, meet my dad.”

She didn’t allow him the chance to say a word soon after the introduction; she turned to look at William and said, “I’d be in my room now if you don’t mind. Please call me if you need anything.” She gave what she hoped was a convincing smile.

“Alright sweetie.” William returned the smile.

She pressed a light kiss on his chin and disappeared into her room, without a backward glance at Kevin—not even a goodbye.

Just then, Kevin was hit with the realization that William works with TCU and froze, cursing himself for forgetting this earlier.

William turned to look at him, his eyes narrowing as if he could see right through him. “Are you ok?”

He nodded, unable to utter a word for fear of giving himself away.

“So tell me, how did you come to be friends with my daughter?”

He knew he had to choose his words with care; any misgiving on his part could easily give him away.

“We attain the same high school. That’s where I first met her.”

He gave him a quick once over. “I hope you aren’t giving my daughter any troubles.”

He cracked a nervous smile. “Not at all, sir.”

A knock sounded on the door. William and Kevin exchanged glances, then turned towards the door.

William raised an eyebrow. “A friend of yours?”

“Maybe it’s Landry. I will get the door.” he walked to the door and opened it. His eyebrows rose in shock when he found Derik standing outside.

“Derik!” he uttered in a hushed voice.

“Kevin?” Derik called, equally surprised. “What are you doing here?”

“Bringing Natasha home.”

“Derik?” William called, walking up to meet him at the door.

“Sir…” Derik had to think fast what he was going to say to him. “How is Natasha doing? Is she ok?”

“My daughter is fine, and she’s down in her room.” William looked over the bandage wrapped around his chest. “How about you, how are you holding up? I see you haven’t fully recovered yet?”

Derik placed a hand on his chest. “It hurts just a little, but I’m fine.”

“That’s good to hear because I need you back at the office tomorrow morning for some paper works.”

An awkward silence fell between them.

“You are giving me back to my job?” Derik gaped, trying to cover the excitement in his voice.

“I wouldn’t put it that way since I did not exactly fire you. You quit the job on your own.” William said, then his phone rang in his pocket.

He took it out and looked over it to see who is calling. “It’s the president of the taskforce.” he announced, moving away from them. “Excuse me for a moment. I’ve got to take this call.”

“The president of the taskforce.” Derik said in a low voice, stepping inside and locking the door behind. What does he mean by that? He made a mental note to ask him once he was through with the call.

Derik took out the drawings Kevin had given him earlier. “I tried to figure out what each of these images symbolises—particularly the one in which I was being stabbed by T-Rex, but the answer didn’t click right away.”

He placed the drawings in Kevin’s hands. “But one thing I know for certain is that these images were visions of a likely future.” Taking few seconds to look at him, he said. “I think you’re are a seer, Kevin.”

His forehead puckered. “A seer?”

“That’s the only logical explanation.”

There was a long silence between them and just then, William returned, fully dressed in his official uniform. “That was Lawrence calling to...”

“Lawrence?” Derik spat, a perplexed look on his face.

“Oh, I see you still haven’t been duly apprised of the changes in the administration of TCU.”

“What changes?”

“Apparently, the mayor has replaced me with someone new to lead the taskforce. Lawrence has taken command. The call earlier was to inform me of an emergency meeting at the city’s conference hall, and Lawrence wants all officials and officers in the taskforce to be present.” he grabbed his suitcase and walked past them.

William stopped at the door, turning to Derik. “That includes you, so don’t be late!” he said before disappearing into the sultry afternoon.

Just then, a phone rang in Kevin’s pocket. A wrinkle creased Derik’s brow when he recognized the ringtone. “Hey, isn’t that Natasha’s phone?”

“Yeah, I forgot to return it to her.” he said, pulling the phone from his pocket.

“I thought that was taken from her after she was raped. How did you…” Derik suddenly stopped talking, blood draining from his face.

“Oh, God…” he muttered, his eyes widening.

“It was you! You killed those guys last night.”

Kevin didn’t know how to react or deny it. He bit his lower lip, not uttering a word. Derik remained rooted to the ground, eyes fixed on him. An awful thought of killing Derik suddenly came to his mind, but he quickly waved it away.

Derik paced the room. “We found their bodies this morning. Three of them had their necks torn open. How did you manage to do that?” he stopped pacing when it finally hit him.

“Of course.” his eyes widened.

Derik quickly removed the shotgun from its case and pointed it straight at him, aiming for his head. “Raise your hands and keep them where I can see.”

Kevin gently raised his hands in quick surrender.

“You are one of them, aren’t you?” he heard Derik bellowed at him.

“You are a shifter!”