Obsession 2

Chapter 9- Down for You

"So let me get this straight," Sadie says, looking around the table at us in disbelief. "You want to use me as bait to lure Sammy here? To this lake house in the middle of the woods...with no one else around for miles?"

"We'll be here with you," I remind her.

"Sammy is stronger than the three of you combined!" she whines. "I'm sorry, but I don't have a lot of faith in you guys!"

"Leo and I have dealt with this type of thing before. We know what to expect of Sammy, so we're hoping we can use our experience to stop him before he gets any worse," Kai says.

"I still don't understand what you think is going to happen. Sammy isn't...Sammy anymore," Sadie goes on. "He's a monster. His voice is different, his eyes are different, he has lava flowing through his veins!"

"We know that, but like I said, I know what I'm dealing with. I was once in Sammy's place. I know what the curse can do. I also know we can stop it. But it's going to take a lot of things falling in place for us. Most importantly, we have to find Sammy. Every second he's out there, every woman he's even remotely attracted to is at risk. And if the cops catch up to him, he'll be out of our reach. You're the only way we're going to get to him. Once we have him, we have to get him back into the state of mind he was in when he came to Mikey. He has to be vulnerable. He has to be willing to let go. If all that goes as planned, everything will go back to normal and you won't remember anything," Kai explains.

"I won't?" Sadie asks curiously.

"Kai did some pretty terrible things while he was under the curse's influence, but the only people who remember are me and him. I know this sounds unbelievable, but trust me, it can work," Leo says. "You've got to help us though. You're the only chance we have at finding him."

Sadie looks to me sadly, as if she's silently asking me what she should do. It breaks my heart in a way I didn't expect. I don't want to involve her in this at all, but thanks to my stupidity, I've already involved her.

"Sadie, even if you leave, he has your scent," I tell her. "You're not safe. And that's my fault."

"No," she answers quickly. "None of this is your fault! This is your stupid brother's fault!"

"Actually, Sammy didn't know he was being infected by the curse. It's not something he can control," Kai says. "He can have moments of remorse or weakness, but the darkness that possesses him is too powerful for him to overcome. No one is at fault here. Sammy, the real Sammy, is still there, we've just got to bring him back. We can't give up on him."

Sadie looks like she wants to say something, or maybe she wants to cry. She stands up and hurries away, going out the front door and slamming it shut behind her. I quickly follow after her.

"Sadie! Wait! You can't just wander off alone like this!" I call after her.

She stops, turning around to scowl at me. "I didn't sign up for this!"

"Neither did I! And I'm sorry I got you involved!" I say, feeling myself come dangerously close to breaking down. My emotions have been running high for weeks. It's only a matter of time before I completely lose it. "He's my brother, Sadie. I can't just turn my back on him. If you don't want to help, fine. If you don't want to believe any of this, fine. But at least stay with me. Because if nothing else, I need you."

Her face falls as if she never considered that before.

"I have no one but you," I go on, getting choked up. "You don't have to do anything, just please...don't leave me."

It takes her a few seconds, but she finally closes the space between us and wraps her arms around me, hugging me tight. She doesn't say anything, but she doesn't have to. Being close to her again...it brings back so many memories; memories of a time in my life when everything was perfect.

"I won't leave you. I promise," she whispers.

"Thank you," I whisper back.

---

"Okay, if you just play your cards right, we can do this without him laying a finger on you," Kai explains to Sadie after we've come up with a plan to lure Sammy back. "As long as he thinks he's got you, he shouldn't be too persistent at first. Just lead him on and make him think you want him."

Sadie and I share a weary glance. I can tell she's not comfortable with this and I can't blame her. I'm not comfortable with it either. But it's the only way to Sammy we have right now. I've got to get to him before he hurts someone else. And if there's a possibility I can set things right, I'm damn sure going to take it.

"Be a tease, got it," Sadie says, blowing out a nervous breath.

"The plan is to lure Sammy back here, to Michael," Kai goes on. "But try not to be obvious about wanting to come here. Be more...suggestive."

"Suggestive?" Sadie repeats, c*****g a brow.

"You've got to make him want to come here on his own without leading him to believe Michael is here," Leo elaborates. "We need the element of surprise to help sort of...put him in the mood."

"In that case, all we need is a little Luther Vandross, am I right," Sadie smirks, nudging me with her elbow.

Kai and Leo only give her bored look. "Not exactly the direction we're going with that," Leo says. "He won't be up for this unless he's weak. We're expecting he won't be very weak at first if you're around. His powers only increase when he has the desire to mate."

"Mate? Like...a dog?" Sadie asks.

"It's more primal than what humans feel," Kai explains. "It's an animal-like urge, so yeah...I guess like a dog..."

"So Sammy has gone Wild Kingdom on us and you're sure seeing Mikey is just gonna...turn that off?" Sadie asks.

Kai and Leo share a look. "Seeing Leo definitely turned me off," Kai shrugs making Leo scoff.

"That's not exactly what he means," Leo adds.

"It kind of is," Kai shrugs.

"Anyway, what I really mean is seeing Michael will probably make Sammy feel a sense of regret or remorse. It'll make him remember what his life use to be like," Leo says. "Or, at least, that's what we're hoping for."

"Right, and once we get him in that state of mind, the transformation can begin. Although, I have to admit, I have no idea what to do at that point," Kai says, looking to Leo.

"Yeah, we kind of just...ended up there," Leo says.

"Ended up...where?" I ask.

"This is going to sound crazy, but what is happening right now is, well, crazy," Leo chuckles. "During my final encounter with Kai, while he was under the influence of the curse, we were transported to this...place...I couldn't explain it if I wanted to. There was an old stone bridge, it was all dark and misty...I'm certain I'd never been there before, but if felt familiar."

"That's when Leo was able to talk some sense into me," Kai adds. "It was there, in that place, I realized what I was doing, and what I had put Mara and Leo through. The cursed object I had, the one that infected me...I lost it...and once I lost it, I heard this voice in my head. It told me to go with Leo if I wanted Mara to be safe. So I took Leo's hand and I let him help me. I woke up and it was almost like everything was just a dream. Mara's mother, whom I accidentally killed weeks before, was there and she was fine. Mara was happy. She didn't remember anything that happened. I was certain it was all in my head until I ran into Leo again. He remembered everything, which meant it wasn't just a dream. I chose brotherhood over power. That's what set everything back on its original course."

"And that's exactly what we're hoping your brother does. You will both remember everything, but no one else will," Leo says.

"Okay, I'm very much confused," Sadie says, looking around at all of us.

I look down at the floor, trying to process what they're telling me. I want to laugh at them, tell them they're crazy, because what they're saying is definitely crazy. Somehow though, I know it's the only way to save Sammy.

"Can I have a minute alone with Sadie?" I finally ask, looking up at them.

Leo nods and he and Kai leave the room. Once they're gone, I look at Sadie, studying her eyes. "What do you think about all this?"

"You honestly want me to answer that?" she smirks.

I smile and look down. "I know it sounds crazy, but...I feel like we can get to him before it's too late."

"I hope that's the case, but...you do know what they're saying is a bunch of bullshit, right? I mean, it sounds like Kai had some kind of crazy ass dream and Leo sort of just went along with it. Kind of an asshole move if you ask me," Sadie shrugs.

"So...you think this is a waste of time?" I ask, suddenly questioning everything.

She presses her lips together as if she's getting ready to lie to me. But then she shakes her head. "I understand how you must feel. If I were in your shoes, I'd do anything and everything to save my brother too. Even if it seemed crazy. So if you want to give this a try, I'm down."

"Really? You are?" I ask in surprise.

She takes my hands in to hers, looking up at me and smiling. "Whatever you want to do, I'm down for you, Mikey. I'll always be down for you."

I'm not usually an emotional person, but I've been through a lot lately and her words cut me right to the core. "Thank you," I whisper, hugging her tight.

We spring apart when we hear a commotion coming from outside. At first, I think maybe it's Kai or Leo, but when they come rushing back into the room looking about as freaked as we do, I know it has to be Sammy.

Sadie stares at the front door and though it takes me a second, I figure out what she's planning to do. "No, not yet," I whisper to her.

"Then when?" she asks, narrowing her eyes at me. "He's here. Let's do this."

She goes to the door and while I try and stop her, Kai and Leo hold me back. "Don't. He won't hurt her if he wants to mate," Leo says.

"He hurt her last time," I growl.

"She has a small window of time to get him to you before he becomes dangerous," Kai says. "Just give her a chance. We'll watch out of her. If things go south, we'll step in and intervene."

I look back at the door just as Sadie is walking out. My stomach is in knots at the thought of something happening to her- and it being my fault. I shouldn't be letting her do this. I should've never gotten her involved.

But it's too late now.