“Turn left at the next light,” he ordered, keeping the gun pointed at me.
I followed his directions, turning here, going there, and several minutes later we were turning out onto the highway, this time heading south.
“Where are we going?” I asked nervously.
“Where do you think, Lizzie? To Mexico. I can easily blend in there. I look like the locals.”
Mexico was a day’s drive to the south. I cringed. Oh God. He was just going to disappear into Mexico with me? How would Ryan ever find me?
“Why can’t you just let me go?” I persisted. “Please. I’m nothing special. I’m not even that pretty. Surely you can find more prostitutes like the girls you brought back last night. Surely there’s lots of pretty Mexican girls there who might find you attractive.” I tried not to wince as I said that, but I couldn’t stop from flinching slightly. Mateo might be attractive on the outside, but underneath he was ugly and evil, a monster. I almost choked on the word “attractive”.
His gaze roamed over me in a leering, lascivious way. “I don’t want any Mexican sluts. I want you. And you’re wrong. You’re smart and beautiful. I like the whole nerdy glasses thing you’ve got going on. It’s sexy. I used to be a nerd, too, you know. I used to get teased by mean bullies. You see, me and you, we have a lot in common. Both of us nerds. I like you, Lizzie. We can have lots of fun together. And if you please me, if you learn to obey and do what I want, then I might decide to let you live.”
I turned away, my heart racing in terror. I had to figure out a way to escape from Mateo before we reached Mexico.
Or I might never be free again.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Ryan
The darkness lulled me under, and with it came the memories.
Luke and I locked in our cell at the facility. Bonding, becoming friends, growing closer. Going out on missions. Luke and me in the underground maze, free from The Company at last. Going out to Riley’s and hooking up with chicks.
He’d had my back through good times and bad, thick and thin. Together we’d survived war, carnage, death. We’d survived the unthinkable.
Luke and I had done pretty much everything together.
Until Liz entered the picture.
She changed everything. Now my love for her was stronger even than my bond with Luke. He had to sense that. He had to know how much I cared for her.
And yet, he wasn’t jealous. He didn’t begrudge her.
He’d gone after her for me. He was out there right now, risking his life, for me. To bring back the girl I loved.
Because he was my dreg partner. My brother. My best friend.
And that was what a dreg did for his partner.
I had found my true love. And Luke had gone to find her for me. To bring her safely back to me.
How could I ask for a better friend than that?
Then the dreams took hold. Blood and torture and violence and death. And an evil so terrifying it made me scream and claw at the darkness surrounding me, an evil with nothing but decay in his soul and a malicious urge to maim and destroy everything in his path.
And in that dream was Liz.
Then Mateo emerged from the shadows, grinning evilly.
She was naked, tied to a bed. Mateo climbed over her, a knife in his hand.
I gasped in horror. No!
He stabbed down, carving into her flesh.
Liz screamed.
“No! Don’t let him touch her! Leave her alone! Oh fuck, hurry Luke! Save her!”
Blood spurted everywhere as Mateo lifted the knife and stabbed again and again and again.
Liz’s screams continued on and on and on in my head…
I jerked awake, gasping, the darkness slowly fading away, but the screams now erupting from my own lungs.
“Liz!”
“Whoa! Hey, man. Easy, relax.” A hand pressed against my chest, holding me down when I would have bolted upright.
Breathing heavily, I blinked, my heart racing, my vision slowly clearing. Logan leaned over me, his gaze filled with concern.
Hospital smells and sounds surrounded me. The bleeps of monitors. The stench of disinfectants.
I rubbed a hand over my face. They’d taken me to a hospital. That could only mean my condition had been too critical for Nate to fix on his own.
I slowed my breathing as I tried to relax. The nightmare had seemed so real. Mateo’s evil so close it made my skin crawl even now. I wasn’t afraid of that little fucker. But I was scared shitless of what he might do to Liz. What he might have already done to her.
“Oh, my sweet boy, you’re awake!”
I jerked my head to the side, my heart pinching as Mom stepped forward, tears spilling down her cheeks.
“Mom?” She was alive? Truly?
Mom hugged me, careful to avoid my wounds.
Then she leaned back, wiping at her eyes. “Oh, my beautiful boy. I’m so happy you’re awake.”
I cleared my throat. “Mom. You can stop calling me a boy. I’m a man now.” Couldn’t she see she was embarrassing me in front of Logan?
“You’ll always be my boy, no matter how hold you get,” she stated with a firm nod.
A soft chuckle came from behind her. Nishi stepped forward, wrapping an arm around Logan’s waist. She smiled at me and I smiled back.
“Hey.”
Then Noah and Shannon appeared on the opposite side of the bed.
And finally, Nate and Tony.
They all gathered around me, their expressions full of concern.
The only ones missing were Luke, Tracker and Jacob.
And Liz.
My heart twisted, squeezing tightly.
“What happened?” I asked. “How long have I been in the hospital?”
“You’ve been here for about twelve hours,” Noah spoke up. “Nate and Tony gave you a blood transfusion, which saved your life. But the bullets were imbedded somewhere in your body, so Nate felt it was best to bring you here where the surgeons could remove them safely.”
Only twelve hours and already I was feeling better? Tony’s dreg blood must truly be super-fast healing.
I glanced at Nate, then Tony. “Thanks, guys.”
Nate nodded. “No problem.”
Tony grinned. “Anytime, amigo.”
“We found your mother in her hotel room,” Noah continued. “Mateo had gagged her and tied her up, but she was unharmed.”
Mom squeezed my hand, smiling at me. “It’s true. I’m fine. And your friends here are amazing. I love them all.”
I agreed. My friends were amazing. “They’re not just my friends, Mom. They’re my brothers.”
For a moment, Mom didn’t seem to comprehend, then her eyes widened. “They’re The General’s sons, too?”
“Yes.”
“Then that means we’re all family!” Mom turned away from me, going around the room and hugging each of my dreg brothers. They all grinned and hugged her back, even Tony.
“You’re all welcome to call me Mom,” she stated with a big smile. Then she hugged Shannon and Nishi. “You, too, girls. I’ll be Mom to everyone.”
Nishi and Shannon both hugged her back, wiping at their eyes. They had both recently lost their mothers, so I was pleased that my own mom was here for them now. We were all one big happy family.
Liz.
Where was she? I was afraid to ask, hoping that maybe she’d just gone to the hospital cafeteria for a cup of coffee or something.
“Any sign of Ellington?”
“Negative,” Nate said.
I drew in a deep breath, then puffed it out, deciding it was time to find out where my girl was. “Where’s Liz?” I braced myself for the worst, glancing from one face to the next. “Did Luke find her?”
They all exchanged glances, then Nate cleared his throat, apparently deciding to be the spokesman.
“Tracker got a lead on Liz. He said he got a vision of her at a gas station. Behind her was a sign stating Mexico was so many miles awa
y, which makes him think Mateo may be heading for Mexico.”
I closed my eyes, a wave of fear washing over me. If Mateo disappeared into Mexico, the FBI couldn’t go after him. If Mateo took Liz into Mexico, we might never find her. He would be free unless he made his way back across the border. Or unless someone convinced the Mexican government to hand him over.
Not likely. Why would the Mexican government care about one fugitive when they probably had thousands of fugitives hiding out in their country? Mateo could easily blend in with his Hispanic heritage. He would simply disappear.
If Mateo made it across the border with Liz, I might never see her alive again.
CHAPTER FORTY
Liz
I didn’t want to die.
But it occurred to me as I drove farther away from Ryan that dying might be the sacrifice I had to make in order to rid the world of Mateo. Because if I didn’t kill him, then who would?
I had to do something. Or he might hurt someone else. Mateo was an example of “training gone wrong” in my opinion. He was an example of why The Company executed soldiers instead of allowing them out into society. The dregs were obviously an exception to that rule. They weren’t deranged psychopaths who had no business being out in society like Mateo. Mateo was too dangerous. Too evil. Too unpredictable. More beast than human. He had no qualms about extinguishing another human life.
So it was up to me to prevent him from harming anyone else.
Darkness had fallen over an hour ago. We’d driven south into Texas, passing through Dallas earlier that day, then Austin, and later had passed through San Antonio. We’d stopped twice to fuel up the car. If we made it into Mexico, it would be easy for him to disappear. He’d stolen the wallet of the man he’d hijacked the car from, and he used that man’s credit card to put gas in the car and buy snacks at the gas stations along the way.
I had momentarily entertained the idea of trying to flee while he went in to buy food the first time, but he made me come with him, and he stated that if I tried anything, he would kill all the people in the store. Knowing how sick he was, and that he wouldn’t hesitate to do what he threatened, I went with him and didn’t fight. I would not let him harm another person. I had to protect the world from him.
Now, we were traveling south on a frontage road, heading toward Laredo. I had accidentally turned onto the frontage road rather than back onto the 35 after we’d fueled up in a small town earlier. The border of Mexico was looming closer, I guessed only hours away now. There was nothing but desert flora on the left side of the road and the interstate on the right. I didn’t know when the next interstate access was, but I imagined at some point the frontage road would have access back onto the 35. While traffic over on the 35 was still fairly heavy, the lights of the traffic flow lighting up the right side, the frontage road where we were at was mostly dark and deserted.
It suddenly occurred to me that if I was going to rid the world of Mateo, it was best if I did it someplace like this.
Away from everyone else.
So that no one else would be hurt in the process.
I always wore my seatbelt. My parents had taught me from an early age, “safety first”. Seatbelts save lives. So I was secured in my seat. The safety belt would keep me from flying around or out of the car if we were to crash.
Mateo, on the other hand, obviously had no care about his own safety. He wasn’t wearing his safety belt. He probably thought he was invincible.
I contemplated my options.
A railroad track ran along the left side of the road, in between the frontage road and the desert. But there were no trains in sight, so driving us into a train wasn’t an option right now.
A powerline ran along the right-hand side of the road, in between the interstate and the frontage road. Huge poles that connected the wires high up in the air, running power to the nearby communities.
An idea struck.
I swallowed hard as I eyed a passing power pole.
If I drove the car into a power pole, I could kill Mateo.
I could also kill myself.
My heart hitched. It was a chance I was willing to take.
Take him out now while you still can.
Another power pole passed as I drove the car down the dark road. If I managed to kill Mateo and flee toward the interstate, I might be able to convince one of those cars to stop and give me a ride back to Oklahoma.
I would have to drive off the road and into the weeds for several feet until I hit a power pole. It was a crazy idea. Stupid. But I couldn’t let Mateo reach the border of Mexico.
I swallowed hard. Oh dear God, was I really thinking about doing this?
The next power pole was coming up right now.
Do it, Liz. Take him out.
My heart thundered, the blood roaring in my ears.
It was now or never. If I aimed just right, I could drive Mateo right into the pole.
I was wearing my seatbelt. He wasn’t. I was less likely to die than he was.
This was my only chance to kill him.
I swerved to the right, aiming for the power pole. The car bounced and smashed through the weeds as it ran off the road.
“What the fuck!” Mateo screamed. “What are you doing?”
He reached for the steering wheel at the last second, yanking it toward him right before we reached the pole.
The car flipped and rolled, end over end over end, the left rear corner clipping the power pole as we sailed past. Crash. Bang. Scrape. Roll.
The airbag exploded in my face, the lenses on the left side of my eyeglasses breaking from the impact.
Crash. Bang. Scrape. Roll.
Crash. Bang. Scrape. Roll.
At last, the car came to a rest in the field in between the interstate and the frontage road.
Holy moly. Was I still alive?
I gasped in a breath. I was hanging upside down, secured by my safety belt that held me in my seat.
My airbag slowly deflated.
I cautiously turned my head.
Mateo lay motionless on the inside bonnet of the car, his left arm twisted back at an unnatural angle. He moaned and began to stir.
Shit. Get out of the car, Liz! Get away now! Run toward the interstate!
I reached for the seatbelt release, slamming my hand against it.
The belt clicked free, and I dropped head-first onto the smashed up bonnet of the car.
My window was broken out, so I carefully climbed free, wincing as I cut my palms and knees on several shards of glass.
I was halfway out of the car when Mateo’s hand closed over my ankle.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
I kicked back at him as hard as I could, my foot connecting with his face.
He cursed and released me, and I scrambled the rest of the way out of the car.
Leaping to my feet, I glanced around.
It was dark out here, but the lights of the cars on the interstate shone off to the right. I could run toward the 35 and try to flag someone down.
I glanced back at the wrecked vehicle in time to see Mateo crawling out of the driver’s side window after me. His left arm hung loosely at his side, obviously broken.
Except…it wasn’t Mateo who crawled out of that car.
My eyes bugged out of my head.
My skin crawled.
I stumbled backward.
It might be dark out, but it wasn’t that dark. The lights of the cars on the nearby interstate lit up the landscape enough for me to see that the man wiggling free of the wreck wasn’t Mateo.
He was someone else entirely.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Ryan
“If Mateo makes it across the border with Liz, then I might never see her again,” I voiced my fears aloud. “And we might never catch Mateo.”
The other dregs all exchanged glances, but no one commented on that.
Because they knew I was right.
“Uh…” Noah cleared his throat. “We h
ad a new development while you were unconscious.” He glanced at Shannon, who nodded. “Shannon found a recruit in the files that we believe may be Mateo. Or, posing as Mateo, at least.”
I held Noah’s gaze. “What do you mean?”
“The recruit’s name is Mark. Apparently he experienced—and I quote—rare and amazing interchangeability and chameleon-like abilities after the injection of several different types of animal DNA, including chameleon, pacific tree frog, mimic octopus, and flounder.” He paused a moment, letting that sink in.
“Mark?” I repeated. The recruits were only listed by first names, so that didn’t really help me any. I didn’t know any Marks, did I?
“There’s a note in his file that says he has violent tendencies toward women,” Noah went on. “It said he craves control over females, and that if a prostitute refused him, he was more likely to hurt her than if she willingly gave in to his demands. It said he has unconventional perversions, whatever the hell that means.”
I sucked in a breath. What the fuck? That explained the dead prostitute we’d found at the house the night we’d rescued Liz.
And now this sick bastard had Liz? Fear wrapped around my heart, squeezing tightly. Oh fuck. Liz.
Noah shook his head sadly. “I thought Hughes was bad, but now we’re dealing with a sadist who likes to abuse and even kill women and who can morph into anyone he wants.”
My stomach churned. Who was this sick freak?
Mark…
And then it hit me. Mark.
No. Fuck, no!
“Mark?” I raised my voice. “As in Mark Ellington?”
Silence.
“Yeah,” Noah murmured, exchanging glances with the other dregs. “We think so, though we’re not sure what his whole story is. We know he was one of the early recruits and that for some reason—like Hughes—he wasn’t executed when he was discharged. We know he’s another one of The General’s sons. We know he’s the last remaining shareholder in The Company.” Noah paused a moment, letting me digest all of that.
“Shit,” I whispered, sucking in a breath. Ellington had Liz? All this time, he’d been with us, fooling us, making us think he was Mateo? How had he done that? I closed my eyes and swallowed hard. The nausea returned, a roiling sickness in my stomach.
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