Chapter Nine
His wings faltered with every beat. Liam struggled to maintain any sort of altitude. The wind blowing through the tears in the delicate membranes of his wings felt like ice grating across his skin. The pain shot through his whole body. He couldn’t keep going. His fires were burning lower and lower, his strength failing too quickly to keep him going. How far had he gone? Would the wolves find them again?
Liam cursed as he coasted into a small clearing and awkwardly touched down. He and Utopia both stumbled when they hit the ground. He shifted back to his human form, wrapping his aching arms around himself. Dark spots flashed over his vision.
“Liam?” Utopia bent over him. Was that worry in her eyes for him, or was she concerned about getting caught like this? For the Alpha to punish Aiden for Utopia’s disobedience? “Liam, are you alright?”
“No,” he grumbled as he rolled to his knees. Shrugging out of the lab coat, he ripped it into strips. “I’ve been beaten up, clubbed over the head, experimented on—I’m not alright. Now let me tie you up so I can get some sleep.”
“I won’t run.”
“Forgive me if I don’t believe you.”
Utopia let out an angry sound but didn’t complain or fight as he tied her securely. Or at least, as securely as he could. Then he slumped over and let the darkness have him.
***
“Hey, Captain. Wake up, will you?”
The voice was familiar. Liam groaned, wanting to push them away and get some more sleep. Hands were on his shoulders, though, pulling him into a sitting position. Blinking hard, he looked up to see Adam and Eugene kneeling over him. Relief washed over him so forcefully he almost let himself pass out again.
“Welcome back, Cap,” Eugene grinned at him, the relief plain on his face, too. “Fuck if I didn’t think you were a goner. How’d you manage to get away?”
Liam shook his head as he glanced behind him. Utopia was there. He didn’t bother taking a closer look at her, not right now. She was there, and that was all that mattered. Well, and Adam and Eugene were also here. That had to mean the rest of the Blaze Ops weren’t far. He was safe. He didn’t have to keep running. He didn’t have to fear being taken back.
“How’d you find us?” he rasped.
“Heard about your escape and came out looking.”
Eugene pulled Liam to his feet and steadied him. “And how did you get away?”
“Let’s save that for the debriefing. We already had a bunch of wolves coming after us. I wanna get back to the Academy.”
Eugene nodded, casting a glance at Utopia. “And her?”
“Utopia Tennet.”
Adam whistled low. “Fuck. You really managed to get her. Guess your stupid-ass schemes—sorry, Captain.” He ducked his head. “I, uh, just meant we were worried about you. And Dr. Rizzoli is gonna be happy to have her. So’s the colonel and Dr. Fiona.”
“Yeah. Maybe happy enough not to murder you for getting yourself caught in the first place,” Eugene ribbed.
Liam had to laugh at that. Adam frowned but luckily didn’t say anything. He could be a real stickler, and right now Liam didn’t want a couple of subordinates. He wanted his friends. He wanted to go home, to be reassured that he would have the time to heal and be able to defend himself again. His eyes closed once more as he leaned against Eugene.
“I’m not in any shape for flying just yet,” he warned.
“Figured as much,” Eugene said, worry lacing his voice. “Don’t worry. We’ll get you back to the Academy. Adam, you grab Tennet. We’ll be home in a couple of hours.”
Adam strode to Utopia, who kicked out her feet—the bindings were loose. How long had he been out? She whimpered, but Adam roughly pulled her to her feet.
“Careful,” Liam said automatically.
They didn’t know the details of why she did what she did. A thread of doubt wormed its way into his mind. What would happen to her at the Academy? Would they get Aiden from the Pack? And if she refused to cooperate, for fear of what the Alpha would do to her son?
“You’re telling me to be careful with her?” Adam shook his head. “You musta been hit hard in the head Captain.”
“Never mind that,” Liam snapped. “Just be careful.”
Adam turned her around, so her back was against his chest. Disgust was written all over his face, but Utopia’s expression was peculiarly blank. She met Liam’s eye for a brief moment before she looked away again. Liam hesitated a moment, wondering if he ought to say something.
What was there to say, though? They needed to get out of here, to get back to safety. “Let’s go.”
“Sure thing, Cap.”
Eugene and Adam both spread their wings. They leapt into the sky, leaving the trees far below. Soon, the others joined them; Stephen, Evan, Patrick. Liam wished he could be flying with them, but the pain still lanced through his body and his eyes were just so heavy. So he enjoyed the warmth of his fires, holding tightly to them after having gone so long with them smothered.
He held onto them and hoped that he would be able to help Utopia. Somehow. Because Aiden should not be punished for something he didn’t do… And the fact that she was trying to protect her son, that had to be taken into consideration.
It wasn’t up to him what her punishment would be, though. He could only trust that the Academy would be fair and just in whatever it decided to do with her.
***
Their return to the Academy was met by cheers that had Liam waving his hand and joking about feeling like the queen of England. He still leaned against Eugene, though the pain had stopped by the time they’d landed. Patrick joined Adam and they carried Utopia off to be locked away. Liam watched with worry even as his teammates started telling him they were glad to have him back.
Liam grabbed Eugene’s arm. “Go find out what’s going to happen with her, okay? There’s more to the story than we know—she was being blackmailed to work with the Pack.”
Eugene’s brows rose, but he nodded and slipped out of the crowd, following after.
“It’s good to have you back, Captain Young.” Maura smiled a relieved smile as she hurried over to join them. Behind her were a couple of the paramedics with a stretcher. “Let’s get you to the medical wing. I’m sure this has been trying.”
Liam gratefully sank into the stretcher. “What I could really use is some sleep.”
“And clothes,” Evan laughed as he followed after the paramedics wheeling him toward the building.
Dr. Clementine checked him over before declaring he was fit for a shower and rest, although she didn’t want him to leave the medical wing. Liam was more than grateful to stand in the hot water, washing off the past weeks’ worth of confinement. Then he slept.
When he woke, Clementine stood at the foot of his bed looking over his chart. She smiled when she saw he was awake. “How are you feeling?”
Liam considered. “Still a bit tired, but I’m feeling much better. Stronger. Nothing hurts.”
“You were lucky. All our tests have come back clean.”
“Yeah, I know. They’d just started phase two, and that sounded more like they were putting my genes into others.” Liam slowly sat up. His head was feeling much better, that was for certain. “I think lab rats. I hope lab rats.”
He frowned. He’d been so determined to get himself out—had he left other test subjects in the Pack’s hands? Would the Alpha try to get someone else to pick up where Utopia had left off with them? A shudder ran down his spine as he considered the possibility that whatever was going to happen to those people left behind would be worse than if Utopia was there.
A shake of his head dislodged those thoughts. He’d barely gotten himself out; he couldn’t have tried to get anybody else out. Not to mention now that they had Utopia, they could get more details on her research and figure out how to help the people they rescued.
I’m not irreplaceable.
But she was the best. If the Alpha didn’t want her to be working for him s
o badly, he wouldn’t have kept her around. Not when she was making such obvious delays…
He shook his head again and looked up at Clementine. “You’ll have to ask Utopia exactly what she did, so you know if I’m okay or not.”
Clementine scowled. “I might just have to.”
“Or you could show her my results—”
“Like hell I’m doing that!” Clementine grimaced at her swear word, making Liam smirk, but the moment of brevity was short-lived. “I am never letting that woman anywhere near my patients. It’s bad enough that she’ll probably get off with a slap on the wrist and a deal.”
Liam opened his mouth to tell Clementine that Utopia had been blackmailed and threatened but closed it again. The higher-ups would want to keep that under wraps, most likely. How long had he been sleeping? He looked at the clock—he needed to get out of here and debrief Patrick and Maura.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Clementine pushed him back onto the bed. “You’re not leaving until I say you can go.”
“I have to report in. Tell them what happened.”
“Not until I’m positive you’re not going to collapse.”
Liam sighed in annoyance. “You said my tests came back clean. And about Utopia, it’s vital we act quickly. If we can get her research, we’ll be able to save a lot of lives.”
“Save her victims, you mean.” Clementine’s eyes turned fiery as she scribbled something onto his chart. Her teeth bared and she spat out, “They’re going to offer her a deal. They’re going to say that they need her information too much, and they won’t even put her in jail. But that woman? She deserves to be killed for what she’s done!”
A surge of anger and protectiveness rose up in Liam. His fires flickered between his teeth as he bit back a snarl. Hadn’t he felt the same way? Without the details of what he’d learned while he was a prisoner, he would only convince Clementine that he had succumbed to Stockholm Syndrome.
Measuring his breath evenly, he instead asked, “Would you put the gun to her head and pull the trigger yourself? Look into her eyes as you blow her brains out? Clean the mess up afterward?”
Clementine blanched and withdrew, as though the image was a threat against her.
“Don’t go around condemning others, saying they deserve to die, unless you’re willing to kill them yourself.”
“Sorry.” Clementine touched his shoulder. “I know this all must be very difficult for you. If you need anything…”
She trailed off. Normally at this point, Liam would have started flirting. Would have made some sort of comment about getting a house call. Clementine had all the curves he liked, and he’d flirted with her shamelessly in the past. Today, though… no. Even the thought of flirting made him wince.
I’m still recovering, he told himself firmly. There’s got to be after-effects of my imprisonment. The mind doesn’t recover as quickly as the body.
Eugene came into the room. He stopped when he saw Clementine. The doctor dropped her head and grabbed the chart again, holding her breath and carefully not looking at Eugene. Liam smirked. They just needed to admit that they were mad about each other already. He’d hoped that flirting with Clementine would push one or the other to actually do something… that hadn’t worked out so far, though.
“Colonel Sheen wants to see you, Captain Young,” Eugene said, oddly stiff and formal. “About the prisoner.”
“I haven’t given him clearance yet,” Clementine snapped.
Eugene glared at her. “And that’s why I’m here. To see if Captain Young can go to the debriefing room or if Colonel Sheen needs to come here.”
“It might be best if Patrick comes here,” Liam interrupted. Their command was loose enough that all this talk of captains and colonels was making him nervous.
Clementine opened her mouth as though to protest but shook her head. “Fine. Just as long as he knows this can’t take long.”
“Fine,” Eugene snapped and walked out without another word. Clementine turned red as she angrily muttered to herself, and Liam leaned back into the bed. He hoped Patrick would get here soon—he needed to tell him everything about Utopia. Had to get him to start organizing a rescue mission for Aiden.
Otherwise… whatever happened to that boy was on Liam’s hands.
Chapter Ten
This room was impossibly small. Utopia could feel it pressing in on her from all sides. She didn’t have room to breathe. Her hands twisted in front of her, already having picked the cuticles of her left hand raw. How long were they going to make her wait in this tiny room? That scary colonel had yelled at her until she was in tears and then had left her all alone.
Now? Now she had no idea what was happening, what was going to happen, and if anybody was looking out for Aiden. She wished she could believe that Karey would protect him, but as an Omega, Karey rarely did anything to stand up for herself. Utopia couldn’t put her trust in her.
There was nothing she could do besides wander around, waiting. She could only hope that someone would come to tell her what was going on. That somehow the Academy would be able to reach out to the Pack and arrange for Aiden’s safety… that they would do that.
Utopia sat at the table again and put her head in her hands. What was she going to do if they refused?
Her head spun, and her stomach tried to rebel. There was nothing left to vomit, though, so she was left breathing deeply through her nose as she tried to steady herself.
When the door opened, she sprang to her feet at once, holding her breath. In came Liam, and her heart gave a lurch. She moved toward him, knowing only that he was here, and he could help them understand. As she reached for his hand, though, he pulled away. It was only then that she saw the hard lines of his face. The unyielding expression.
She fell back a step, her heart sinking once more. Her hands grew cold as it became more difficult to breathe again. Had everything he’d said and done been a trick? He said they could get Aiden back—was she a fool for believing him? He had been so determined to bring her in and destroy her research.
“Was it all just to bring me back here?”
“I’m not the one who was trying to make out, remember?” Liam’s voice was hard.
Utopia flinched. Of course. Of course it was all a lie. He didn’t care about Aiden. He said himself—one life wasn’t worth the many. She slumped into the chair again, shaking her head.
“Colonel Sheen told me that you’re refusing to talk.”
Utopia shook her head again. “That’s not true.”
“No?”
“I said that I wasn’t going to tell them anything until I knew that they were going to help Aiden. Your Colonel Sheen won’t even believe that Aiden exists.” Her hands clenched on her knees. “You know. Tell them. Please.”
Liam took the chair opposite the desk and rested his hands on the table. “I have.”
“Then are they contacting the Pack? Are they doing anything to keep him safe?” Her hands clenched tighter, her nails biting into her palms. She struggled to keep herself steady, to stop from spitting at him. Her snow leopard growled and paced. Where was her cub? What was happening to him? “Because if the Alpha has hurt him because you escaped, I’ll—"
“Utopia. Can you please let me talk?”
She fell silent and glowered at him.
“Are you willing to help us? To tell us the procedures you used in your experiments? To give us everything that you can?”
She pressed her lips tighter together. How could he ask her that when he wasn’t telling her if the Magnus Academy was doing anything to get her son out of the Alpha’s hands? She rocked with the intensity of her anger, biting down hard on all the curses she wanted to spit out at him. One thing was certain, she wasn’t going to say anything until she learned more about what they were doing about Aiden.
Liam put a few papers on the table and slid them toward her. Utopia didn’t even look at them, instead staring him in the eye. Over the past two weeks, if he’d learned anything
about her, he’d tell her what she wanted to know.
But then, how could he have gotten to know her? She was so careful when she was working. Liam was one of the few people who knew her name—on purpose, and not from Karey accidentally saying it. She’d had her emotional breakdowns for sure, but he hadn’t seen her with Aiden at all.
And she had been experimenting on him. He had no reason to think she was anything but a psychopathic scientist.
“If you want to help Aiden, you’re going to have to trust us,” Liam said softly. “You’ll have to trust me.”
“How can I trust you when you won’t tell me anything? Is the Academy even trying to get him back?”
Liam sighed heavily. “We have received communication from the Pack. According to it, Aiden is fine.”
The air whooshed from her lungs, and she crumpled inward. Tears pressed against her eyes, and she hid them with her hands. Her whole body was shaking. She wet her lips, wanting to thank him, but nothing came out. She didn’t know what to say. Aiden was fine. As long as Liam was telling her the truth—and as much as that voice whispered at the back of her mind that she couldn’t trust him, she did. He wouldn’t lie to her about this.
Liam pushed the paper closer to her. “The Pack is wanting a trade. You for Aiden. But you know that the Academy will not make that trade.”
Utopia flinched. “If the Academy had Aiden, I would have no reason to help the Pack. The Alpha would kill me, sure, but I wouldn’t continue the research. Did you tell Colonel Sheen that?”
“I did. And we are in agreement. Whether or not that’s true, we can’t give up the valuable source of information that you represent. I’m sorry,” he continued softer when she whimpered in protest. “But you know that we have to think about what we can do to stop the Pack, what we can do to help all the people your research has hurt. We can’t—”
“You can’t put the life of one child over the lives of many people, I know.” Utopia got to her feet and glared at him. “The thing is, I’m not you. If I was, I would have refused to do that research in the first place. If you want anything from me, then Aiden had damn well be your first priority.”
Dragon's Frenemy (Dragon Blaze Ops Book 2) Page 6
