Chapter Twenty-Two
After the meeting Dane had with the leaders of each group, the unsettling feeling in my gut every time I walked into the building had passed. Agents scuttled off like mice whenever I caught them staring, making it clear they didn’t want to cause any trouble. I wondered what Dane used to threaten all the agents to make them comply. It wouldn’t have been pretty. It was nice not having to look over my shoulder. I was safe, hopefully.
Lorenzo helped me control my immortality healing ability. It involved a knife and a lot of cuts to master the ability to shut off my healing to keep my immortal identity safe. The last thing I needed was to be caught. Everyone thought I was human and it had to stay that way. If it didn’t, I’d be dead in a heartbeat. The agency spared no immortal soul. I wouldn’t be an exception, no matter how important I was to Dane.
It had already been a few months since I began working for the agency. Winters’s team took turns pairing up with me throughout missions. Theo was still my shadow. I was afraid to ask Theo how much longer that would be. I didn’t mind too much. He was good company. I just had to remember why he was there. He was there to make sure I wouldn’t betray Dane and remain loyal to the agency. He was also there to make sure I wasn’t killed. Dane needed me alive if he had any hopes of luring the elusive Cyrus out of hiding. That wasn’t going to happen.
Cyrus hadn’t been to my apartment since I had kicked him out. That didn’t stop him from entering my dreams. Lorenzo was right. I didn’t love Cyrus. It was just lust and desire. The only way to stop him from entering my mind when I was asleep was to not sleep. Unfortunately, with my work schedule, being sleep deprived wasn’t an option. The only option I had was to give into my desires. Was I ashamed of that? Just a little. I was allowed to have fun. That’s the only defence I had. It was a poor excuse, I know, but that’s all I had to defend myself with. We all do stupid things. It wasn’t all fun and games. Cyrus helped me build a wall to protect my mind from being read by telepaths. He made sure it was solid. I knew I wasn’t safe from Dream Shufflers. At least my mind was protected from Anthony, the one person who could spill all of my secrets to Dane. If that happened, I would be entirely and utterly screwed. Thankfully I hadn’t come across Anthony again. Cyrus told me Anthony stayed out of agency politics and only ever showed up if Dane personally approached him to use his gift for an interrogation. Cyrus also said I should count myself lucky that I didn’t receive that treatment when Dane brought me in. It was excruciating. Cyrus didn’t elaborate. All he said was that he hoped I would never have to experience that kind of pain. It was worse than being shot.
I didn’t see Dane that often, which was a good thing. I wasn’t surprised that I barely saw him. He was the CEO of the company after all and had a lot of things to do. Theo was his eyes and ears. I wondered if Dane went out on missions or stayed cooped up in his office. Perhaps he did go on missions. He was there when my parents died. He was with a team of six, excluding himself and Maria. I needed to get into the archives to see which team it was. I would find a way to make them pay, even if I had to kill them. I couldn’t get into the archives with Theo shadowing me. I had to wait until I was on my own. I wasn’t sure when that would be.
“You drive like an old lady,” I told Winters. I was riding shotgun. Theo was in the backseat having a snooze. Winters probably put Theo to sleep with how slowly he was driving.
“I’m keeping to the speed limit,” Winters countered, glaring at me with hostile eyes.
“Everyone but you uses the sirens to cut through traffic.”
“They lack subtlety.”
“Yes, sirens are noisy and draw a lot of attention, but we are nowhere near where we need to be. This grandma pace isn’t necessary. It’s not going to alert our next target. Their hearing isn’t that sensitive. They’re a state away, not down the road. Put the sirens on, pick up the pace, and we’ll be there before dinner time. I’m thinking burgers once we’re done. Sound good?”
“Do you think about anything else apart from food?” Winters asked. The brown curly strands of his hair swished when he shook his head.
“Yeah, I do actually. I love thinking about the time I first met you and–”
“Don’t finish that story.”
“Knocked you on your–”
“Joan, I mean it.”
I flashed him an innocent smile. “Then don’t be all judgmental about my food obsession.”
“Boasting doesn’t make friends. It makes you look like a pompous ass.”
“D’aw. Did I hurt Winters’s widdle feelings?”
“I am very close to throwing you out of this car and making you walk back to Chicago.”
“I’d have something to say about that,” Theo interjected. “Joan, stop baiting him.”
“We’re play fighting. Go back to nap land,” I said, glancing over the back of my seat. “You snore like a bear.”
“I don’t snore and I wasn’t asleep,” Theo said, yawning after he spoke.
“You looked asleep to me. Don’t blame you. Winters’s old lady driving is making me drowsy as well.”
“You’ll be thanking me later when we aren’t wrapped around a tree due to speeding unnecessarily. There is no time limit. We will get there when we get there. If you say one more thing about my driving, I’ll–” A van ploughed into us at a high speed, knocking the air out of Winters’s lungs.
The van hit the driver’s side; glass shattered and went everywhere. I didn’t have any time to brace for impact or whiplash. My whole body ached as the car rolled repeatedly. My seatbelt choked me. Crunching metal as the vehicle groaned in protest rattled my eardrums, so did the bangs. Everything before my eyes was nothing but a scattered dash of colour. I couldn’t make heads or tails of anything with the car rolling. I could taste blood in my mouth.
By the time the car stopped rolling, I found myself hanging upside down. I fumbled to unclip my seatbelt. My fingers were slicked with blood. I didn’t know who’s it was; I was sore all over. All I knew was that I wanted to get out of there immediately.
I heard a groan from the backseat. Winters cursed loudly. It was good to know that they were both still alive.
“I’m going to bloody kill them,” Winters declared. “You two alright?”
“What the hell was that?” I gasped.
Smoke started to fill the car. It wasn’t normal smoke. It was coloured, a dark green.
“Knockout gas. Don’t breathe it in. Get out! Get out now!” Winters urged frantically.
My landing wasn’t the most graceful thing in the world when I finally managed to unclip my belt. I was lucky I didn’t snap my neck. I used every ounce of strength I had to kick the door open. It took several attempts. Holding my breath while my lungs screamed in protest didn’t help.
I crawled out of that confined space, reaching for my gun. I got to my unsteady feet, nearly falling over. I couldn’t see past the thick smoke. I didn’t know which way to go to avoid breathing in the knockout gas. I couldn’t hold my breath for much longer. I had to pick a direction before it was too late.
I became very dizzy due to lack of oxygen and a possible concussion as I tried edging my way out of the smoke. It was everywhere. There was no end to it. My legs were the first to give way before my lungs decided I didn’t have a choice anymore. I took in a deep breath to replenish my oxygen levels. Everything went dark after that.
Cold water soaked my face. I came to with a jerk, bound to a chair, my hands and feet tied by ropes. My mouth was gagged so my scream of fright came out muffled. Water dripped down my face in icy rivers. It was freezing. I tried to break free of my binds. It was no use. They were too tight to move and the chair was bolted to the floor. All I did was rub my skin raw.
A light rocked backwards and forwards above my head, casting shadows on the grimy walls. There were no windows. I was the only hostage in the small room. I didn’t know where Winters or Theo were. I was hoping they were still alive.
A hand grasped the bulb
to stop it from swinging, obscuring the light. The man became hidden by darkness.
“Let me tell you how this is going to go down. I’m going to ask you questions. If you refuse to answer them, or lie to me, I’ll do this.”
I cried out when an electric current crackled and surged through my body, a burst of white light. The water made the electrocution worse. It was like being struck by lightning. My muscles grew so tight, that they were going to snap. My heart raced so quickly, it felt like it would burst into a million pieces.
The pain ceased when the man took away the electric rod. I was still experiencing the aftermath. My limbs were twitching. My side burned from where the rod had made contact with my skin. I could still hear it sizzling. I couldn’t see a thing. The room was dark and the sudden burst of bright light ruined my vision. My breathing came out in pants. My heart was still racing vigorously.
“It’s quite simple, really. Tell me what I want to know and I’ll have no need to electrocute you,” he said, removing my gag. It fell to my neck like a collar.
“I’m not telling you anything.”
That earned me another jolt. I clamped my mouth down. I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of my scream. I dug my fingernails into the wood of my chair and eased up when the torture stopped.
“I’ll break you. People always break once I pass their pain threshold. Perhaps I’ll crank it up a notch,” he said.
“Do your worst. You can’t break someone who’s already broken.”
The man coiled my hair around his hand and tilted my head back, craning my neck. “What would you know about being broken, little mouse?”
“Undo these ropes and I’ll show you what it means to be broken.”
He laughed in my face. “All you T.E.A agents are the same. You act fearless and bold, until you break and cry out for your mummies,” he spoke sharply, releasing his hold on me before shocking me again with a higher voltage.
This time I screamed.
“Yes, scream louder so your friends can hear you. There’s nothing they can do to help you. Their hands are tied, quite literally.” He stopped electrocuting me. “Okay, little mouse. Are you ready to answer my questions?”
“No,” I panted.
That earned me another electric shock. I cried out and dug my hands into my chair.
“I’m not telling you anything,” I breathed when the electric current ceased.
I felt the flames of my magic stir inside me as my hatred and rage increased. Heat smothered my skin, spreading like a hot fever. It was then that I knew I could burn the ropes and break free from my binds. I just needed to wait for an opportunity to strike. I had to time it perfectly. I’d only have one shot.
“Give me the list of names on your hit list and I’ll make your death quick.”
“It’s a long list. We’d be here all night,” I replied, voice breathy.
“I have time.”
“Not very much time.”
Surprise surprise, another wave of electric shock therapy. I laughed this time instead of screaming. It got to the point where my body went numb from the pain.
“You don’t realise who it is you’re dealing with. You picked the wrong team to mess with and the wrong person to kidnap. You’re screwed,” I stated, laughing.
“If you haven’t noticed, you’re the one that’s bound to a chair and being electrocuted.”
“You’ll fry the ropes if you keep this up. I’ll snap them first and then I’ll snap your neck.”
“Ooh, I’m so scared,” he replied. He gave me another electric shock for good measure. He was so dead.
Damian had locked my flame magic away but Lorenzo had tampered with the lock. To control my immortal healing ability, some of that magic had to be released, so Lorenzo let a small amount of power out of its cage. I could feel the flames crawl under my skin. I was glad I was covered in ice cold water. It was keeping the fever under control.
“Names, little mouse. The clock is ticking.”
A blinding light struck my face when someone opened the door. I squinted to adjust to the sudden change of atmosphere. All I saw was a silhouette as my eyes slowly adjusted to the light.
“Scarface is willing to talk. You have much luck with her?” a stranger spoke, a man whose voice came out in a rasp. I was betting he was a smoker with clogged up lungs.
“She’s stubborn,” my torturer said with a pause, setting the electric rod to one side. He made his way to the door. “Instead of wasting my time, come back with better information. You disappoint–” his sentence was cut off. I heard him gargle before falling onto the floor with a thud. His throat was slit and there was a dagger embedded in his forehead.
The man who killed my torturer approached me after closing the door, keeping the dead body concealed by the darkness. The ropes binding me to the chair went slack when the stranger sliced them open.
“I can’t stay here for long. Everyone in this building is dead, apart from your team.”
I recognised that honey coated voice. “Cyrus? What the hell are you doing here? How did you find me?”
Cyrus helped me to my feet and steadied me when I stumbled. “We share a psychic connection, Joan. I felt you were in trouble.”
“This could have been a setup to lure you out of hiding.”
“I considered that but this is extreme, even for Dane. Theo is one of his closest friends. He wouldn’t put him in this kind of danger. I saw the car wreckage, the confirmation I needed to know it wasn’t a setup. Theo and Winters are just down the hall. Take this knife and set them loose,” Cyrus said, wrapping my hand around a dagger hilt.
“I don’t know if I can make it down the hall. I can barely stand.”
“Winters sent an SOS before you were all taken. It won’t be long until this entire area is crawling with personnel. I need to be as far away from here as possible. Stay here if you can’t make it down the hall. You’re safe now,” he reassured me, giving my shoulder a gentle squeeze. “If they ask how everyone is dead, tell them the truth. Don’t spin a story. There will be too many holes and the evidence won’t stack up.”
“I still don’t understand how you found me.”
“Take a seat. You look like you’re about to pass out,” he said, easing me back down onto the chair. He shrugged off his jacket and bundled me up in the warm fabric. “I’ll be in contact with you later. I’ll leave the door open on my way out.” He gently kissed my lips, leaving behind the taste of honey. He left before I had the chance to thank him. Why did he always leave me behind?
I sat alone in the dark, with nothing but a dagger and a jacket to keep me warm. I slipped into the jacket sleeves and hugged myself. The bulb above my head was flickering too much to hold a stable source of light. Cyrus did keep the door open but the light from the outside didn’t stretch that far. It left me in the dark. All the light revealed was the dead body on the floor that was still oozing a pool of blood.
I felt too weak to move. The magic pulsing through my veins earlier had vanished, so did the fever. The repeated electric surges drained me of all my energy. I was still sore but the wounds had closed up. I didn’t want to leave them open. Nobody had seen my torture or where the electric rod made contact with my skin. It was safe to heal. My muscles still felt tight. My heartbeat was normal and so was my breathing. That was the only good thing about my current state. I was still in shock and trying very hard not to fall apart. I was more confused than anything. I wasn’t sure if Cyrus had been real. The dead body on the floor was the only proof I had that he saved me.
“Joan?” Winters called out.
“In here!” I yelled back, slipping the dagger into my jacket pocket.
A flashlight glared in my eyes. I raised my hand to shield my face from the beam of light.
“There you are. You alright?” Winters had one arm wrapped around his ribs as he limped towards me; Theo was behind him, holding the flashlight. Something told me Winters had cracked a few ribs from the car accident.
“I need a vacation,” I declared with a shaky laugh.
Theo helped me to my feet. I stumbled. He wrapped his arm around my waist and slung my arm over his shoulder to help me walk.
“I never want to be electrocuted again,” I said as we staggered out of that dreadful room. Theo was still supporting me. I was basically dead on my feet.
Bodies littered the hallway. All their throats had been deeply slit to prevent them from crying out. Their heads contained a single through and through stab wound. Blood painted the walls in splatters. I closed my eyes and let out steady breaths. Death still made me uneasy and I wasn’t feeling the greatest.
“Our captives thought you would be the easiest to crack and left us alone, believing your screams will be enough to make us talk. Something caught their attention outside the room they kept us in and they didn’t come back. I took that time to break Theo and I out. Everyone is dead and I don’t know who did it. The agency isn’t here. You can barely move so I know it wasn’t you but I have a feeling you know who it was,” Winters said.
I opened my eyes to glare at him. There were black spots everywhere and I felt extremely dizzy.
“And why do you think that I know?” I asked breathlessly.
“That jacket doesn’t belong to you and it’s the only part of you that isn’t completely drenched by water. It’s not rocket science, Joan. I know you know.”
“I could have taken the jacket from the body of my deceased torturer.”
“I saw his corpse. He lacked a sense of fashion and I doubt he could afford that exquisite black leather jacket.”
“Didn’t realise you were such a fashion queen.”
“Can the sarcasm, Joan.”
“I don’t can sarcasm. It’s freshly picked from my garden of sass.”
“Enough. Do something useful instead of bickering, Winters. Work out where the hell we are. Find a cell phone from one of these corpses and call for assistance. I’ll be heading outside for some fresh air and hopefully I can locate a landmark,” Theo said, tightening his hold on me when I tripped over a body. “How close are you to passing out?”
“Very,” I replied. Adrenaline was the only thing keeping me conscious.
“Hang in there. This hallway is too narrow to carry you. I don’t want to sling you over my shoulder.”
“If I’m unconscious, I won’t know the difference,” I muttered, closing my eyes so the hall stopped spinning. “Who were those men?”
“Mercenaries. I guess the word is out that no criminal is safe. I take it they wanted names?”
“Yeah. I didn’t give them anything.”
“Figured. We’re lucky we’re still all alive. This could have been a lot worse.”
“Being fried by a million volts is worse. Believe me. Nearly had a damn heart attack.”
Theo kicked the door down. The sweet smell of fresh air was inviting. It chased away the copper scent of blood and the odour of death. I would take anything over those two things.
We weren’t alone. There were squad cars pulling onto the gravel drive. Tires flung stones into the air with speedy sudden stops. A red Lexus led the fleet.
“Winters, don’t worry about making a call. Backup is here,” Theo called down the hall, his voice echoing off the walls.
The first person I noticed in the crowd of armed agents that clambered out of the cars was Dane. Now I was super close to passing out because I temporarily forgot how to breathe. Everyone was geared up like a SWAT invasion. Dane was the only one wearing an expensive suit. Why was I not surprised?
“Area is clear. Someone already killed our captors,” Theo told Dane.
Dane turned his back on Theo to address the agents. “Cordon off the area. I want every piece of evidence you can find. I want to know who’s responsible for this. This is an active crime scene, the freshest one you’ll ever come across. Mess something up and I will make your life a living hell.”
“Sir, none of us are a CSI specialised unit,” a female agent said.
“It’s quite simple. You were all taught the skills required in the academy and have kits in your cars. Wear gloves, grab plastic zip bags to take evidence back to the lab and use your cell phone to take photos. Use a deck of cards to number things for all I care. Just get the job done or be shot. I don’t want to see anyone standing around twiddling their thumbs.”
“Yes, sir,” they all said, disbanding the group huddle. They were all scrambling to find the items required in their squad cars. None of them wanted to be shot.
“Any of you need medical attention?” an agent approached us, carrying a first aid kit.
“Winters is inside with cracked ribs. Joan and I are fine,” Theo replied.
The agent nodded and left immediately when Dane’s cold gaze fell on her. I would run away too if he looked at me like that. I had been on the receiving end of that stare before. My skin crawled just thinking about it.
“Who cleared the playing field?” Dane inquired, his piercing eyes flicking between the both of us.
I was too scared to open my mouth and confess. I knew how Dane felt about Cyrus. He had made his opinions very clear. Cyrus was a wanted man and was at the top of the agency’s hit list. Being associated with him had already gotten me into trouble. It was going to get a lot worse. I didn’t even know where to start. A name would be good but my voice was trapped. I couldn’t part my lips. I was too afraid to speak Cyrus’s name aloud, fearing the consequences.
“Sir, I found this on the door,” an agent said, passing Dane a piece of paper with a gloved hand. She moved away from us the moment the page left her hand to return back to the evidence search. Nobody wanted to be caught doing nothing. The threat of being shot was very real.
I couldn’t see what was on the page from where I was standing. I didn’t really care considering I was very close to passing out. The adrenaline keeping me conscious was beginning to fade away. The only thing I saw was red crosses that had soaked through to the back. Something told me it wasn’t a marker.
“A crossed off bounty list. It seems it was a happy coincidence that Cyrus’s targets happened to be the people who captured you,” Dane spoke coldly, tone sharp. He waved the list under my nose. “Did you know about this?”
I weakly shook my head. Everything was blurry. “No,” my voice came out in a short breath.
“Do you expect me to believe that you were nothing but ignorant bait?”
“Dane, Joan is in no shape for an interrogation. She’s already been through enough today. Give it a rest,” Theo interjected delicately, being careful on how he approached the situation. Telling Dane to back off usually led to that person being shot. “She can barely stand without me supporting her. She was tortured by electrocution. Nobody would willingly go through that. Take a good look at her. Do you really think she had any idea?”
The darkness and rage in Dane’s face slowly crept away with each word that Theo spoke. The calm mask Dane usually wore started to weave itself back together. His grey eyes were still cold.
“We salvaged your belongings from the trunk of the car wreckage. They’re in my vehicle. Take my car and drop Joan home,” Dane said, handing Theo the keys. “Park it back at headquarters when you’re done. I’ll get a lift back with one of the teams.”
“What are you going to do?” Theo asked, adjusting the way he was holding me when I staggered.
“Follow any breadcrumbs left behind, then burn this building to the ground,” Dane replied, pausing. “Take Joan now before I change my mind about letting her go.”
Theo nodded once in response. When he tried to move, he noticed my legs were rooted to the spot. He gave me an encouraging push to get me going and helped me walk to Dane’s car. He opened the door and eased me down onto the seat.
I felt my eyes flutter. “Can you grab my phone from my bag and call Lorenzo. I’d prefer having someone at my apartment... after what happened...”
“Yeah. Have a passcode?”
“My name.”
> “I’ll call him. Get some rest. You don’t need to hang onto consciousness any longer. You’re safe.”
“Thanks,” I mumbled. It was the last thing I said to Theo before everything went dark.
Everlasting Flame Page 22
