“Not tonight. No, everything’s on the table. It always was.”
“Then we have nothing more to talk about.” Liege started to turn away, but Flynn stopped him.
“I want Owen Tremaine’s team.”
Say nothing about Selena, Liege warned Bastion. Knowing she’s your light will make him want her to get back at you.
“And we get?” Bastion asked.
“The Ratcliffs.”
“What’s your interest in the fighters?” Liege asked.
“That’s my concern. Do we have a deal?”
“Forget it, Liege. He doesn’t know where the Ratcliffs are,” Bastion said. “He can’t barter with something he doesn’t own.”
“I’ll have them within a month.”
Liege laughed. “No deal.”
“Laughing at my offer is a huge mistake.”
“Offering a trade of no value is a worse one,” Liege said. He and Bastion started walking way.
“I’ve given you warning, Liege.”
Liege looked back at Flynn. “Give me something of substance, then. The factory where you’re creating your ghouls. Tell me where you’re taking the women you’ve been snagging off the streets. Give me something that I value.”
Flynn held firm. “I’ll have the Ratcliffs in a month.”
“Then in a month, we’ll talk again.”
When Bastion and Liege got back to the fort, they went into the kitchen. Merc and Guerre joined them. Acier was at his place in Fort Collins but joined the quick conference via his telepathic link.
I don’t know why Flynn’s so interested in the Red Team, Liege said. Maybe because taking them down would remove a thorn in the OWO’s side. They may be a team of regulars, but they’re a force to be dealt with.
We can expect Flynn to step up his attacks, Bastion said, both here in Colorado and in Wyoming around the Red Team headquarters. He’ll have to save face from his failed negotiations.
Do you think he really does have a bead on the Ratcliffs? Guerre asked.
That’s anyone’s guess, Liege said. He’s full of bullshit and bluster. He’s also sneaky as hell. We can’t let him know Bastion’s light is with Owen Tremaine’s team.
I need to get Selena out of there, Bastion said. I want to bring her here where she’ll be safe while we work with Tremaine’s team to bring in the Ratcliffs.
Liege nodded. Then it’s time to bring them up to speed. Get back up there, Bastion. Let’s get things rolling. We have at most a month before Flynn does something drastic.
Why do you suppose he warned you? Merc asked. What’s he really up to?
If you figure that one out, Liege said, clue us in. Right now, our primary objective is to secure Selena and her team, then find and secure the Ratcliffs.
15
Selena had had many new starts in life. Too many. But none had begun with her blindfolded and rushed under the cover of night to a safe house, hours away from the work she’d been doing and the team of mercenaries she’d begun to think of as family.
She had a bad feeling about this.
Of the two guys who had volunteered to join her in exile, only Jax was still human. Owen’s dad, Nick, was a mutant like Bastion. His modifications had happened much more recently, however. It was still unknown if he would have the same or similar superpowers that Bastion had.
She knew little about either man other than the surface stuff. Jax was Addy’s brother and Owen’s childhood-best-friend-turned enemy-turned bestie again.
And Nick was a piece of work. He’d disappeared into the shadow world of the Omni resistance when Owen was a teenager and had only recently resurfaced. He was a man in his sixties whose age was reversing. Thanks to the modifications he’d taken, he now looked more like Owen’s brother than his father.
The knot in her stomach got tighter. Neither man’s history instilled much confidence in her, but Owen trusted them, so she had to as well. She should have just gone AWOL. Everyone would have been safer then, away from her and the mutant stalking her.
She squeezed her eyes shut behind the blindfold, blocking Bastion from her mind. Instinctively, she understood that any thoughts about the mutant opened some kind of a link from her to him. Beyond that, her team didn’t understand much at all about the changed humans—not their abilities, their objectives, or how to fight them.
The effort of keeping her mind empty was exhausting. No one spoke on the helicopter ride over, but even if they had, she wore sound-deadening headphones, ensuring she wouldn’t hear anything the pilot might have had to say. A blindfold covered her eyes.
She couldn’t hear or see—it was like volunteering to live in a soundproof room with no external stimuli. Her mind was already screaming, yet her exile had only just begun.
Selena breathed through a wave of panic. Strong emotion was another cord that somehow tied her to Bastion. He seemed to feel what she felt when her emotions were high.
No emotion. No thoughts. No visual or audio input.
She should just be dead.
Lives depended on her surviving this period of hell. Her team needed as much time as she could give them to unscramble the mystery she’d somehow gotten wrapped up in. She intended for them to have every minute they needed.
The helicopter landed. Without the ability to see or hear, time had become distorted in the long ride here. Minutes had seemed like hours. Selena wasn’t sure how long they’d been in the air or how far they’d actually traveled. The pilot had made several turns during the flight, perhaps to throw off her sense of direction. That was probably a smart decision. The less she knew about where she was, the better she’d be able to thwart Bastion’s attempts to locate her.
She could feel him with her, pushing in at the edges of her mind, trying to get inside. He was desperate to get to her—she could feel that in him, almost to the point of pain. But was that because of her, or because her leaving had shut off his access to the team? The harder he pushed, the harder she forced her mind to focus only on her own breathing and the mind-numbing rhythms of the music on her playlist.
She and Bastion were practically different species. She had no future with a man like him. He had to know that, which then made her realize that he wanted what he was after—and that wasn’t her. She’d just been his tool.
Fuck. It. All. She was tired of being used by men.
Jax tapped her arm. She removed her headphones. “We’re here,” he said.
She didn’t ask where “here” was. She couldn’t know.
“Hang tight,” Nick said. “We’ll guide you to the house.”
She was about to remove the blindfold, but Jax stopped her. “Leave it on, Sel,” he said as he leaned close to speak over the roar of the helicopter. “The less Bastion can see of where we are, the better.”
“I’m not staying blindfolded the whole time I’m here.”
“No, of course not. Not inside, anyway. But for a few days, let’s limit your exposure to the property. Maybe he’ll give up and quit using you. One week, max.”
Jax and Nick helped her out of the chopper, into brutally cold weather and wind that raked her exposed skin. Someone handed her bag to her. She tossed the strap over her head. The guys each took an arm and quickly led her down a hill. They crossed a long, flat stretch of snow-covered ground.
“Some steps now,” Jax said, then they climbed about a dozen stairs. Selena heard a heavy door creak as it opened.
“Good evening, sir,” a man said as they went inside.
The door closed behind them, making a heavy echo. Selena reached up for her blindfold and removed it.
A middle-aged man she didn’t know greeted her with a slight bow and a warm smile. “I’m Spencer Hudson, butler here and part of Mr. Jacobs’ security staff. I’ll show you to your room, if you’re ready.”
Selena nodded at Jax and Nick, refusing to let them see how unsettled she was. She forced that—and all—emotion from her mind as she went for full-on neutral and followed the butler up a wide set
of marble stairs.
This had to be Addy’s house. She recognized it from the things she’d said about it.
They turned to the right and entered a long wing. Though Selena wanted to explore the house, discovering for herself all the entry points, hiding places, and anything else that would let her take up a defensive position, she had to curtail her curiosity for a few days. A week, maybe, as Jax had requested.
She could do this. It certainly wasn’t the hardest duty she’d ever been assigned. She just hated having to depend on others. She didn’t like being the weakest link.
“There are four bedrooms in this wing,” Spencer said. “You’re free to select the one you like. They all have an en suite bathroom.”
Selena looked down to the other end of the hall. It terminated in another tower. “Where does that door lead?”
“To some stairs,” Spencer said.
Selena walked to the end of the hallway and selected the last bedroom, knowing that a close exit was of strategic importance.
“Very well.” Spencer made a slight nod. “Is there anything else I can do for you this evening? Something from the kitchen—a sandwich, perhaps?”
Selena dropped her bag on the floor and turned to the butler. “Thank you, no.”
“We have a landline here, since cell service is spotty. The numbers you’ll need to reach me, Jax, or Nick are next to the phone. Should you need either of them, Nick’s taking a room on this floor in the other wing, and Jax’s room is downstairs in the tower. The internet has been turned off, for obvious reasons. If there’s something you need to access, the terminal in the library is properly encrypted. As far as I know, you have free rein to explore the house, but Jax has asked that you stay inside for a few days. The solarium between the two wings is lovely and has recently been restored. You might enjoy spending time there.”
“Got it. Thanks, Spencer.”
The butler nodded and left the room. Jax’s crew was a ton more formal than Owen’s. She wondered how many people Jax had on his “security staff,” what their specialties were…and how any of them would manage in a fight with Bastion.
Maybe they’d do better in sheer numbers against the mutant, but maybe not. Bastion had been able to put at least one of her teammates into a trance. Maybe he’d be able to do that to multiple people simultaneously.
Maybe she should still find a way to go off on her own, away from anyone connected to her. Then, in the privacy of full isolation, she could open herself to him, find out who he was and what he was really up to.
It was night when Bastion returned to Selena’s compound. Lights were on all over the house. He’d missed the wedding by several hours, but seeing the house lit up gave him hope that he hadn’t missed all the festivities.
He parked his Jeep on the grassy area next to the driveway in an area that wasn’t likely to get much traffic, then covered it with an illusion that made it invisible to regulars. He wanted to use the front door, as Selena had requested, but it was not yet the time. He needed to first speak to her and make a plan for revealing himself.
It was the least that he could after taking so much from her.
He walked around toward the garage entry. As he neared the house, a bad feeling began to grow in the pit of his stomach. Something was not right here. The house and its residents had nothing of a festive vibe. It was heavy and dark.
What happened? He entered the garage through a locked side door, then went into the house through the garage door, all the while shielding himself.
He passed the den, the kitchen, the wine cellar, the living room, and went down the hall to the billiards room. No one was in any of those rooms. As he walked up the back stairs to Selena’s room, the lights shut off in most of the house, leaving it as dark as if everyone had packed up and left.
Maybe the whole group had gone on Owen and Addy’s honeymoon.
Not something he would let happen on his honeymoon, but this group was weird.
The dark feeling he’d had outside deepened as he got to Selena’s room. Before even opening her door, he knew she was gone.
His body went cold.
He stepped into her room, seeing her open dresser drawers first. Her bed was made but unused. The drawers were empty. He went into her bathroom. Her things were missing from there as well. His heart beat hard as he searched for her toiletry bag. It was gone.
She was gone.
He went back into her room and quieted himself, trying to hear or feel or know or see the last trails of her energy. Had she been afraid? Happy? Did she know where she was going?
Nothing. He got nothing.
He pivoted and slammed out of her room, then stalked down to Owen’s bedroom. He had no idea what time it was. Maybe it was really late and the ops guys were only just shutting down the house. He walked into the southern bedroom wing and went straight into Owen’s room.
The team’s boss was asleep in bed with his woman. His new wife. Merde. Bastion remembered too late what had happened earlier that day.
Where is she? he shouted, but couldn’t remember whether he’d spoken audibly or telepathically.
Owen sat up and looked around his room. Then he rose, nude, and pulled on a pair of jeans. Not in here, he said.
Son of a bitch. The bastard was a mind talker too. Bastion followed him out into the sitting area outside the suite of bedrooms in that wing.
“She’s gone, Bastion. You have to let her go.” Owen clearly didn’t know where Bastion was or even if he was still nearby. He addressed Bastion looking in the wrong direction.
I will not.
You have no choice.
Rage boiled up like a dormant volcano suddenly blowing. Bastion glared at Owen, squeezing his brain until his nose bled.
A quiet reminder slipped through his mind that this was Owen’s wedding night. Fuck it all, he’d been about to crush the man’s brain.
As soon as he released Owen, the man bent over, grasping his knees as he struggled to breathe through the fading pain.
Helpless, hopeless, Bastion let loose a sonic scream that boomed through the entire property like a plane breaking the sound barrier.
Addy and the boys rushed into the sitting room. Owen straightened and told his wife to stay with the boys.
“Owen—you’re bleeding,” Addy said, horrified.
Owen swiped his nose with the back of his hand. “Take the boys into their room. Now, Addy.”
He went into his room. Bastion watched as he retrieved his earpiece from the dresser and issued a warning to his entire team.
“Bastion’s here. Say nothing to him or to each other. Do not speak or think of Selena. Block her from your mind so that he cannot harvest info on her. Do you copy?”
Bastion’s rage flared again, breaking every piece of furniture in the sitting room. He was about to step into Owen’s room and continue his destruction, but he found himself frozen, encapsulated by Liege’s energy.
Calm yourself, Liege ordered him.
Energy, of course, cannot disappear. It can only dissipate. Liege was Bastion’s lightning rod, taking all of his rage and impotent fury, funneling it away from Owen, his home, his family, his fighters.
When it was gone, Bastion was left empty. There was nothing. There was no him, no Selena, no past, and no future.
Only numbness remained. And breathing.
I’m coming for you, Liege said.
Bastion didn’t answer. He couldn’t.
Liege released Bastion. He wandered out of the house to the lawn. He looked back at the sprawling mansion and realized he had a skill he hadn’t known he possessed. He could level a building with a sonic roar.
He’d almost killed everyone inside. Because of his rage. He’d almost killed everything that Selena cared about. Thank God for Liege.
Bastion lost track of time, but then he saw Liege come out of the house straight for him. His team lead and friend stared into his eyes. He set his hand on Bastion’s shoulder and said, “Only two people on Selena’s
team know where she went, and both are somehow blocking me. I don’t know where she was taken, but I do feel that she’s safe.”
“She’s not. Flynn will find her before we do. And when he does, he’ll kill her.”
“He doesn’t even know she left.”
“He will have sensed my explosive energy and will come to investigate,” Bastion said. “He’ll soon know she’s outside the wire and will send ghouls for her. All because I lost it.”
“I would have lost it too if Summer somehow disappeared. Stay here and watch for her.”
“She won’t come back while I’m here.”
“No, but regulars have short attention spans. One of them will falter, sooner or later. I don’t think you’ll have to worry about Flynn. He’s preoccupied with scrounging up the Ratcliffs. He won’t even notice that Selena has slipped away.”
“How are they blocking us, Liege? They’re only regulars.”
“They’re mentally strong. Not surprising, given their backgrounds in special operations. It’s all part of their training.” Liege looked back at the house. “Makes me want to work with them that much more.”
“I need to find out what they did with Selena before we come out to them.”
“Agreed. But the clock is ticking. Remember Flynn’s deadline.”
The darkness was absolute. Selena ignored the knocking on her bedroom door. The closet she was in was the only place she felt she could relax. She still had to fight to keep Bastion from slipping into her conscious mind. She could feel him there, trying to crack her resolve.
How pitiful was it that she wanted to let him in? They’d only spoken a handful of times when she was back at the Red Team headquarters. She’d seen him physically one time. The other times he’d been a mere projection of himself, and her memory of those times was spotty at best.
It was uncanny what he could do. He’d infiltrated her team’s compound, slipping inside their home, unseen, unheard. Whenever she was lonely, he reached out to her, offering Selena her every dream, like a genie. He was as dangerous as any addiction. He pushed himself to the front of her mind. He was the why of every decision, which was how she found herself here, in her boss’s wife’s remote home somewhere in the Rocky Mountains.
Bastion: O-Men: Liege’s Legion Page 14
