Guarding Justice (Fractured Minds Series Book 7)

by Kate Allenton

  Her mother had been addicted to the program drugs like a druggie on the streets might be to heroin. Ross had steadily increased her dosage to eliminate the visions that knocked her unconscious. It was easier that way.

  Stupid woman.

  Ross tried not to use the children often—only when necessary, and now would be one of those times. He needed a location, and he needed it now.

  “He’s nearby, and they’re at a house on the lake,” Myra said.

  “That will cut down my travel time,” Nikko said.

  If only Ross could entice all of the loose ends into one area. Nikko would be happy for days, and he wouldn’t take the easy way out. No, not a bomb for them. He’d make it up close and personal; he’d want them to see the man who held their fate in his hands.

  Ross shook his head. “Not around the children.”

  Nikko jammed his clip back into the gun. “One day, they’re going to figure it out.”

  “Yes, well. Let’s hope they don’t until I perfect the new serum.”

  “Kind of important since the last serum killed Billy,” Nikko snarked quietly.

  “Keep your voice down,” Ross said, pulling Nikko toward the door. “We’ll be right back, Myra. Just keep watching them.”

  He eased the door closed behind them. “Be glad Myra didn’t hear you.”

  “Don’t you think she’s eventually going to notice her friend is missing from the dinner table?” Nikko asked.

  “Yes, well. I’ll just tell the rest of them that he was adopted.”

  “And the serum?” he asked. “Are you sure the Bray baby is handling it?”

  “I’d been giving her headache meds for several months, getting Lucy ready to act as a conduit for the serum. Her turning up pregnant saved us the hassle of having to talk her into the program like I had to with the others.”

  “Something tells me that Lucy Bray wouldn’t have agreed,” Nikko said.

  Ross shrugged. “That’s why this is better. We’re eliminating any additional stress on the mother. We don’t want it affecting the baby. I already sidelined her hunting with the feds. I insinuated if she touches more blood, she could go crazy or die.”

  “Let’s hope she believed you.” Nikko shoved his gun into the arm holster. “I think it’s time we send out the welcome wagon.”

  “Whatever you do, do not hurt Lucy.”

  Nikko’s lips twisted into a smile. “I wouldn’t dream of it, Doc. Relax. I’m just going to sideline some of her helpers.”

  Ross re-entered the room. Myra had one foot out the window with the other still inside. Fear shined in her widened eyes.

  “Myra…”

  Panic laced her face. “I heard you. You killed Billy.”

  Without another word, she jumped out of the window.

  “Nikko,” Ross yelled down the hallway. “Myra ran. Bring her back.”

  “I’m on it.” Nikko ran for the nearest exit.

  Ross hurried down the hall and threw open the common room door. The other children were still in the room. Two playing chess, one meditating, and the eldest was standing by the window looking out.

  All eyes turned on him as Ross stepped inside.

  “Everything okay?” William asked, abandoning his perch at the glass pane. “We heard yelling.”

  “Everything is fine,” Ross said, running his hand over his head. “Everything okay in here?”

  “Rain is coming,” William said, gesturing over his shoulder toward the window. “Should we prepare to hunt?”

  “Not this time,” Ross said.

  The last thing he needed was the rest of the kids getting in the way should Nikko make good on his promise of finding Myra and then getting to Lucy. They’d never understand.

  “But I thought…” William argued.

  “Plans have changed,” Ross said, pulling out a handkerchief and wiping it across his forehead.

  William was the most inquisitive of the bunch. Often challenging but resourceful. Ross wouldn’t be able to stall him for long before he had to come clean about his half-brother, Billy’s death, and now Myra.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Lucy Bray

  Night had fallen, and even with the window open and the AC broken, the moisture-wicking T-shirt still clung to my chest. I lay awake in the darkened room, knowing that I wasn’t the only one awake in the house. Grant had been tasked with the first shift of watching Greymore.

  Something had woken me, something not from the heat, but an out-of-place noise. I slipped out from beneath Ford’s arm and moved to the window, staring out at the lake and surrounding woods. I still hadn’t heard any signs of life nearby.

  I turned to crawl back into bed when I heard it again; the unmistakable cracking of a snapped tree branch. It was loud in the quietness. I spun back toward the window and let my gaze trace the darkness and shadows, knowing without a doubt that, even though I couldn’t see anyone, there was someone nearby.

  I sat on the bed and shoved my feet into my shoes.

  “Ford,” I whispered.

  His eyes shot open and he grabbed my arm. “Yeah.”

  “Someone is sneaking around outside. Help me flush them out,” I said.

  Ford sat up, wiping the sleep from his eyes. “Are you sure?”

  I shot him a well duh look I knew he couldn’t see in the dark. “Yeah, I’m sure. I heard a tree branch break.”

  “We should wake up the others,” he said just as a soft knock sounded at the door.

  Grant eased it open and stuck his head in. “You heard it too?”

  “If it’s an animal, it’s a giant one,” I teased, tying my other shoe. Ford slid into a pair of jeans and put on his shoes. Within minutes we were sneaking down the stairs, trying not to make noise. We bypassed Sam’s bedroom door. Carson was in the living room wiping the sleep from his eyes when he motioned to the entry with a wave of the weapon. He yawned and took up the perch in one of the chairs across from where Greymore’s snores filled the room.

  “You good?” I asked.

  “Don’t get shot,” Carson said, gesturing toward the back door. “I heard it out front, so if you guys go out the back, you should be able to track the origin.”

  Grant was at the back door first with Ford following and me bringing up the rear. Darkness had settled in the already stagnant environment, where not even frogs ventured to croak.

  Grant gestured for us to go left, and he went right. Surrounding the rental house was smart.

  My gaze scanned the eerie forest as I followed Ford. No sound filtered back, nothing seemed amiss. We rounded the house, meeting Grant on the front porch.

  He shook his head and sighed his aggravation.

  My shoulders climbed closer to my ears. Just because we couldn’t see the threat didn’t mean it wasn’t there. We’d been screwed doing that before.

  Grant gestured toward the dirt path we’d driven in on.

  I shook my head and gestured from my chest back to the cabin. I wasn’t leaving Carson to watch Greymore and keep Sam safe by himself.

  Grant took off at a jog.

  I gestured for Ford to follow. His brows dipped as if he were ready to argue. I lifted the gun in my hand and aimed it toward the sky, showing him I wasn’t defenseless.

  After a fast kiss, Ford disappeared up the driveway after Grant, quickly swallowed by the darkness. I slipped around the house again, judging which window was our room. Third on the left. The only one open. I stepped into the woods and ducked behind an old evergreen tree. Every nerve in my body tightened as I scanned the woods and the ground, trying to keep alert to anything that might jump out.

  I squatted next to the broken branch and found a tiny footprint in the dirt.

  I followed the prints to where they disappeared at the base of a tree. I glanced around before lifting my gaze to the leaves and branches above to find the bluest eyes I’d ever seen peering down at me.

  “Well, now, there you are.” I tried for a reassuring smile even though I’m sure it
lacked sincerity. “You can come down. We aren’t going to hurt you.”

  Lips seamed together, the girl shook her head. Fear glimmered in her eyes.

  I slid the gun beneath my shirt and lifted my hands. “Are you stuck or maybe lost? I can call the police or maybe your parents.”

  “No.” The girl's voice was quiet but firm. “Please.”

  I held up my hands. “Okay. I won’t call anyone. What’s your name?”

  “Myra,” a deep male voice said from behind me at the same time I felt the cold steel of metal pressed against my head.

  I’d heard that male voice before. “You must be Nikko, although I’ve already nicknamed you Pyro.”

  “I’m impressed that you know my name. Ross said that you were smart.”

  “Well, it’s hard to forget the names of people who have tried to kill me…twice.”

  “Yes, well, from this vantage point, I won’t miss. Now come down here, Myra, before I kill Lucy, her baby, and you.”

  “Don’t listen to him, Myra. You stay up in the tree. He won’t hurt me.”

  “He killed Billy.” Myra's words were a whisper.

  “They need me alive, Myra. He won’t kill me. If he does, the baby dies too.”

  Nikko leaned in and lowered his voice. His tone wasn’t that of a desperate man, but that of a cold calculated killer. “You are replaceable, you know. We’ll take your blood and use it for a transfusion. You’re just the vessel for this ride.”

  Chills slipped down my spine. He would kill me, and he wouldn’t bat an eye. Movement in the trees caught my eyes. It was quick and just a flash, but I knew Grant was closing in.

  At this angle, I’d never reach the gun beneath my shirt before Nikko put a bullet in my head. I scanned the trees and spotted Ford in the other direction. Both he and Grant were just beyond reach.

  My heart raced as my breathing sped up. This was almost over, one way or another. Grant and Ford wouldn’t let this asshole leave with me or the girl. I was sure of that.

  “Even more of a reason to stay up in that tree, Myra. It’s going to get messy down here when the gun goes off.”

  “You think I’m stupid enough to kill you here, with the others only feet away?”

  “I didn’t say it was going to be your gun,” I said and slammed my head back into his before I leaped out of his hold. Stars bursting in my brain, I hit the ground and pulled my gun, seconds before the first shot rang out. The sound bounced off the canopy of leaves in the trees.

  The shot hit Nikko in the arm as he ran for cover. I was getting slow. I never even got a bullet out of my chamber. Grant took off after him, and I pointed in the direction Grant disappeared for Ford to follow. I could see the worry in his eyes about leaving me behind. I held up my gun. “I’m good. Now go have his back.”

  He nodded and ran.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  I shoved the gun in the back of my jeans again and turned back toward the tree. “Myra. You’re safe now. You can come down. I promise no one will hurt you.”

  “I just wanted to see my dad.” Myra’s voice trembled as she looked toward the cabin. “He’s here, isn’t he? I know he is.”

  I nodded. “You tracked him, didn’t you, honey? That’s how you knew he was here.”

  She started to climb down the tree. She had scratches on her ankles and legs. Her feet were caked in dirt as if she’d been trampling through the woods.

  I stepped closer and held up my arms. My heart stuttered when her foot slipped, but her hold on the branch remained. She slowly climbed down the rest of the way.

  Myra jumped down but kept the distance between us. “He’s in there, right?”

  “I’m right here, daughter,” Greymore called out from the porch.

  Carson was standing next to him, a shotgun gripped between his hands.

  Myra turned her gaze toward the porch. She took two steps and hesitated as if she’d just noticed the handcuffs on his wrists. “I don’t know what I was thinking. I shouldn’t have come here.”

  “He won’t hurt you. I promise,” I said.

  I couldn’t tell if she believed me or not as I led her toward the porch. My focus was on our surroundings and getting her out of the open space.

  We neared the porch, and Greymore took a step in Myra’s direction, but Carson grabbed his elbow and eased him back.

  “Did that man hurt you?” Greymore asked.

  She shook her head. “Not me, but Billy.”

  Greymore’s brows dipped. “Don’t worry. I won’t let anyone hurt you or the others ever again.”

  “Bold promises,” Carson whispered beneath his breath before guiding Greymore back inside the house.

  Myra was skittish, but she followed. I couldn’t blame the girl. Aside from her scratched-up legs and dirty feet, she looked like a healthy girl. Maybe a tad bit on the skinny side. Her natural sun-kissed hair looked windblown but not ragged. Her clothes weren’t holey or frayed. No bruises covered her, at least none that I could see.

  I prayed we found the rest of the kids in similar conditions.

  Sam was no longer asleep, but in the kitchen, pouring a freshly made pot of coffee when Myra and I reached the kitchen. I stepped away from her, looking for crackers to ease my stomach and anything I could feed the kid.

  We hadn’t brought much. We didn’t know we were driving out of town, and it was just three in the morning. The only thing we had were water bottles, my crackers, and leftover pizza with soda.

  The coffee we’d found had been a bonus. The aroma of percolating beans made my mouth water.

  “Was that a gunshot I heard? Carson told me you had it under control.” Sam said before turning to find Myra standing in the entryway. “Glad to see you making new friends, Lucy.”

  “She’s one of the missing,” I answered, pulling out a chair for Myra to take a seat at the table. Carson, Sam, and Greymore were watching and waiting. I raised a brow in challenge. “Can you guys give us a minute?”

  “I should stay. She’s my daughter,” Greymore said.

  “You were a sperm donor,” I corrected him. “Now, leave.”

  Myra watched the exchange and clenched her fingers tighter together. Carson dragged Greymore out of the room. Sam followed.

  Once we were alone, I asked, “Now, you want to tell me what’s going on, sweetie?” I ripped open a package of crackers, took three, and passed them to her.

  She eyed them like she hadn’t eaten in days, waiting several seconds before she took a couple. “They killed Billy.”

  “That’s what you said.”

  She lowered her gaze. “They had me tracking you and my dad.”

  “I understand how you were tracking your dad, you’re related, but how exactly were you tracking me?”

  “Dr. Ross gave us your blood,” she said.

  I paused with the cracker at my lips as I processed what she said. Ross had my blood. Of course, he did. All that damn blood work he insisted on. God damn it. “So, they did know we were coming. That explains how they’ve stayed one step ahead of us.”

  “I overheard them say the new serum killed Billy, so I ran to warn you and to get my dad to help me save the others,” Myra said. “Mr. Nikko must have followed me.”

  “That was very brave of you,” I said, taking a sip of my water bottle.

  “Mr. Nikko never threatened me before,” Myra said.

  She was a puppet, and Nikko and Ross were the masters. “He’s not going to hurt you or anyone else anymore. The men I’m with are with the FBI. We came all this way to find you.” And free you, but I didn’t add that.

  Myra lifted her gaze. “You’ll help the others. My brothers and sisters?”

  “Of course, we will, and we won’t let them give you or any of the others any deadly serum. I promise.”

  Myra shoved out of her chair and stood. “Then we have to go.”

  “We need to get you cleaned up and get you a good night’s sleep. We can wait until morning.” I offered.

  S
he shook her head. “No, we can’t. He’s going to move them. It’s protocol if something were to happen to one of us. He’ll run and take my brothers and sisters and hide them when he finds out Mr. Nikko is hurt. We have to go now.”

  Myra took off in a hurry, only to stop as Carson stepped in the doorway as if he’d been eavesdropping. “Everything okay in here?”

  Myra stepped back. “I have to leave.”

  “Okay,” he said, meeting my gaze over the girl’s head. “Where are we going?”

  “Myra, we have to wait on the others to come back,” I said.

  Her shoulders sagged even as her eyes pleaded with me.

  “Come on, let’s go clean up your feet and see if you did any real damage under that dirt. By then, the others should be back, and we can go get your family.”

  Twenty minutes later, Grant and Ford returned, without Nikko. Both looked winded and angry.

  “He got away?” I asked.

  “He knows the woods as well as I do,” Myra said, drying off her foot. “Your friends are back; can we leave now…please.”

  Grant and Ford stared at me.

  “Carson and I will go. You guys can stay here,” I said.

  I rose from my seat. Sam looked up from his computer as if my words were just registering in his mind. Greymore and Carson were standing behind him, watching whatever he was doing on the computer.

  “That’s a bad move, and you know it. I’m not staying here,” Ford announced.

  “I’m not either,” Greymore said and then pointed to something on the screen. “Those are my kids. I need to save them like I tried to do for their mothers.”

  “You can’t leave him here with me,” Sam said. “I’m going too. You might need me.” Sam flipped the computer screen around to show me a picture of a small hospital-looking facility. “You might need me to hack something.”

  A growing headache prickled behind my eyes, and I rubbed my temples.

  “We need to hurry,” Myra pleaded.

  “How do we know that she wasn’t sent here to bring us back into a trap?” Grant asked.

  “I have to agree,” Sam said. “It’s logical.”