Bloodlust

Bloodlust by Deborah O'Toole (aka Deidre Dalton) is Book #2 in the Bloodline Trilogy.

Noel and Pim's daughter Kate Grady has unusual powers which allow her to bend people to her will. At first she uses her gifts wisely, but then goes astray after falling in love with Kirk Lester. She finds herself honing her special powers to keep her place in Kirk's heart, no matter how evil or depraved life with him becomes.

From Chapter Twenty-Three

KATE WENT TO bed early for the next two nights, her evenings a repeated blur of odd imagery and hazy memory. She decided on that third morning to give herself a change of scenery, to get out of the house for a few hours.

It was a weekday, so both of her parents would be at work. Madge was retired and Chloe wouldn't be back at school yet, giving her two choices.

Kate made a wry face. She wasn't inclined to visit either one of them, not today. She wasn't in the mood for Madge's bubbly inquisitiveness, or awkward lurches of silence with Chloe.

Instead, she opted to walk to one of her old haunts, the Arborway 7-Eleven. She'd get herself a slurpee and a brownie, and take them back to Chestnut Avenue. Before leaving the house, she pre-prepped chicken pieces for dinner. She liberally coated the meat with herbs, including dried ginger, chamomile, lavender and orange rind, placing them in a glass casserole dish covered with foil in the refrigerator. The spice  mixture was designed to calm the nerves of anyone who consumed the food, which she thought would be best for both Ken and Kirk. They both seemed tense lately, so perhaps the baked dinner would settle them, at least for one night.

The Arborway 7-Eleven wasn't busy in mid-afternoon when Kate finally entered the convenience store. A few patrons loitered near the slurpee machine and cold case, so she detoured to the snack aisle. After snagging a wrapped brownie, she went back to the main area of the store.

Chloe Benedict was just making her way from the back, wearing the prerequisite red shirt with a black strip and name tag, holding a dark blue cleaning cloth in one hand. Kate was surprised to see her, having no idea that Chloe worked at 7-Eleven now. Chloe saw Kate, appearing somewhat startled, giving her a half-hearted smile. "Kate," she said off-handedly. "Fancy seeing you here."

"When did you start working for 7-Eleven?" Kate asked as she stepped up to the counter.

"Since mid-May," Chloe replied. "I wanted to earn some extra money over the summer." She began wiping the counter with the cleaning cloth, lowering her eyes.

"Is Miguel still the manager?"

Chloe nodded. "Yep, he's my boss. He's trying to cut back on his hours, looking to retire soon, so he only comes in a few days a week now." She looked to Kate. "How's everything going with you?" She smiled again. "You look well."

Kate shrugged. "Thanks. I usually feel pretty good, but I haven't slept well the last few nights, nagged by bad dreams. So I decided to get out of the house."

Before Chloe could respond, another patron of the store came behind Kate, clearing his throat. Kate glanced over her shoulder, taking in the man's appearance. He was young, perhaps in his mid-twenties, with long, stringy light brown hair, pale skin covered with angry red acne, and light blue eyes. He was wearing a Boston Red Sox baseball cap and a long-sleeved wind breaker. She smiled at him apologetically. "Sorry, you go ahead. I can wait."

In a flash, the man pulled a gun from the pocket of his wind breaker, and pointed it at Kate and Chloe. "Do as I say, and no one will get hurt." His voice was high-pitched and quick, giving Kate the impression this was his first robbery. The young man was terrified out of his mind, but willing to see it through to get what he wanted.

Chloe cried out in alarm, covering her mouth with her hands. Kate's mind shifted at once as she reached for her will. The man was not only threatening her and Chloe, he was endangering the baby she carried. Her response was instantaneous.

Within seconds, the man grew flushed. The hand holding the gun started to shake slightly as he stepped forward again, his voice coming ragged. "Get all the cash from the register and give it to me. Now."

Kate closed her eyes, placing all of her focus on him. Her brain began to solidify, streaming her entire will into the man behind her, all without uttering a word aloud. "Put the gun on the counter, step back and wait for the police."

He didn't move at first, as if struggling with his stance, but then he gave a choking sound. He moved to the counter and set the gun on its surface, quickly falling back four steps. His whole body was shivering, sweat pouring down his face, his eyes wide and unblinking.

"Call the police," Kate instructed Chloe in a monotone. "Hurry. I don't know how long I can hold him like this."

Chloe leapt to the telephone behind the counter, dialing the police in short order. "This is Chloe Benedict at the Arborway 7-Eleven. We just had an attempted robbery, but the suspect has been subdued. He was armed. Please hurry."

After she made the call, Chloe stared at Kate, her mouth slightly open. "How did you do that?"

Kate kept her focus on the young man, but she replied quickly. "I didn't do anything, Chloe. Perhaps he had a change of heart. The surveillance camera likely captured his every move. He has nowhere to run, and he probably just realized it."

Chloe nodded, her face uncertain.

And that was how it played out to the police. They took the young man into their custody minutes after their arrival, confiscating his gun and taking a copy of the security tape.

After the ruckus was over, more than an hour later, Chloe looked at Kate again. "Thank you."

"For what?" Kate responded lightly.

"For saving me, and not for the first time."

Kate shrugged. "I didn't do anything, Chloe. We just got lucky."

"Then what did you mean when you said you didn't know how long you could hold him?" Chloe asked.

"I think you're mistaken," Kate replied calmly. "Maybe you misunderstood me in the stress of the moment."

"I know what I heard," Chloe declared stubbornly. "It was like . . . just like that time you stopped those boys from raping me again under the bleachers. They ran from you, for God's sake, for no apparent reason."

Kate's eyes grew flinty. "Can't you just be grateful that I saved your ass both times?"

"I am grateful," Chloe sputtered. "I just don't understand . . . how you do it." She groped for words. "It's not natural, is it?"

"We simply got lucky," Kate repeated. "In the right place, at the right time."

Chloe paused, taking a deep breath. "Okay, whatever you say."

Kate smiled. "Good." She began walking toward the door, talking over her shoulder. "I have to get going. Let's do lunch sometime real soon, shall we?"

Chloe nodded, her eyes following Kate as she left the store.