Deceived

by Heather Sunseri

  “No, that’s not at all what I think this is.” Jonas’s expression was hard, almost unreadable.

  “You’ve never been shy about expressing your opinion. Tell me what you’re thinking.”

  “Did you know that your father wanted you to work at his lab?”

  “Of course. That’s why he pretty much forced me to work there last summer. That’s why he cut off my funds after I graduated. Does that surprise you?”

  “No. What surprises me is that he knows so much about our troubles with the IIA, yet he’s made no attempt to protect you. You’re broke, you’ve been shot at by more IIA-like men, and you’re wanted for questioning in a murder. Yet his biggest concern is to get you inside his lab for a job you don’t even act like you want.”

  “Those weren’t IIA,” I said, as if that was the only thing Jonas had mentioned in his lecture. “Vance hired them. Or whoever Vance was working for.” My dad, maybe. But I couldn’t be sure. Because if Vance was working for my dad, why would he have snuck that thing that looked like a miniature tracker out of BioTech?

  Jonas’s eyes widened. “How do you know?”

  “I overheard Vance telling someone he would make me disappear after those two men outside the hotel failed to scare me into leaving town.”

  Jonas ran a hand through his hair. “Why would Vance want you gone? I thought you two… had something going.”

  “Seriously? You actually thought I liked that jerk? I’m insulted.”

  His expression seemed to soften with relief before his jaw hardened again. “Why didn’t you tell me he threatened you? Do you know how this looks?”

  “Yeah, Jonas. I know how it looks. It looks like someone doesn’t want me here.”

  “And it gives you a motive for killing Vance.”

  “Just because someone wanted to kill me doesn’t give me motive for killing him.” Actually, I had plenty of motives for harming Vance. Him slamming me against the lockers or sending a couple of goons after me was only the beginning.

  Jonas stared silently at me. The upside-down V between his eyes deepened.

  “I didn’t kill Vance,” I said, exasperated.

  “I know you didn’t.” His voice climbed above a whisper. He looked over my shoulder—I assumed to make sure we were still alone.

  I closed my eyes and drilled my fingers into my temples. I’d had a faint, constant headache ever since I’d left Palmyra. The added stress since arriving in Portland hadn’t helped. When I opened my eyes again, Jonas was staring at me. I couldn’t tell if he was concerned or irritated.

  “What are you thinking? You look mad.”

  “I’m not mad. I want to help you, but this is getting further out of hand, and…” He paused, like he was debating whether to continue, and decided he had to. “I need to get back to Palmyra.”

  I stepped back. I was being pursued in a murder investigation, and my dad was trying to force me to work in a lab that, for all I knew, was partly responsible for much of the science that had haunted me and my friends for the past year, and here Jonas was still worried about his precious Palmyra. But…

  “You’re right,” I said. Someone needed to protect the child clones on Palmyra. And I needed to find the kids that had been sent from Palmyra to BioTech, while figuring out what Vance had done to get himself killed. “You do need to return to Palmyra.”

  “Don’t do that.”

  “Don’t do what? Don’t tell you that you should go back to Palmyra?”

  “You’re trying to shut me out. That wasn’t what I meant. It’s just—”

  The sound of breaking glass interrupted him. After trading looks, Jonas and I crossed the foyer and stared into the living room. No one was there, but beside a small table on the far side of the room was a picture frame that had been knocked over. I picked it up. Beneath cracked glass was a picture of Boone and me as young kids. We were standing outside the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. Even at a young age, science had always been a part of our lives.

  Don’t let him leave without telling him. Addison was inside my head.

  He needs to get back to Palmyra. He won’t go if he knows, I mindspoke.

  A sudden and excruciating pain burst through my head as if a pipe bomb had exploded. I fell to my knees, crying out in pain.

  “Bree? What’s wrong?” Jonas fell beside me. I barely felt his hands on my shoulders. He slid in and around my mind, but he couldn’t stop the pain. “What’s happening?” he asked, panic in his voice.

  The pain grew. I squeezed my hair into my fists. If I had the strength, I would have pulled it out.

  Tell him, Bree. You won’t be able to do this alone.

  The pain worsened. I cried out again. “Okay!” I cried. “Please stop. I’ll tell him.”

  And just like that, the pain vanished, leaving behind only the mild headache that had been there all night.

  “What the hell was that?” Jonas asked when I lifted my eyes and met his panicked expression.

  “That,” I said through gritted teeth, “was Addison.”

  “She’s here?” Jonas stood and began mindspeaking. Addison, show yourself right now.

  No, Addison mindspoke to us both. Make her show you the picture.

  “What picture? What is she talking about?” Jonas looked down at me.

  I lifted the shattered frame that I had dropped on the floor.

  He studied the photograph, then looked at me. “What is this? Why do you have a picture of yourself with one of the kid clones from Palmyra?”

  “That’s not one of the clones. That’s my brother Boone.” I pushed myself to my feet, terrified that Addison would inflict pain on me again. “Boone and I were twins. Born from in vitro fertilization.”

  “Did you know your brother had been…?”

  “Cloned? No. I didn’t even know I was a clone until last year. And I wouldn’t have known about clones of Boone if I hadn’t taken a walk through the annex building that last morning on Palmyra. That’s when I saw Tane. He was crying in his bed, and… well, you know the rest. That’s why I flew straight to Portland. Until that moment, I really didn’t know where I was going to go. I just knew I had to get off Palmyra.” And then Addison had told me that the missing clones weren’t actually dead.

  Jonas looked back at the picture. “What happened to your brother? Where is he now?”

  “Dead. Car accident when we were eleven. Shortly after that, Mom suffered a nervous breakdown and I was sent off to Wellington.”

  “What does Addison have to do with any of this? Why doesn’t she show herself?” He looked around as if speaking to a ghost.

  I swallowed. Did I tell him Addison had been keeping the truth from him? That I had? I wanted to strangle the little witch for inflicting pain on me. I owed her nothing. “Addison spoke to me on Palmyra.”

  “What?”

  “I’m pretty sure she’d been there the whole time. The young Addison clone said the real Addison read to them every night.”

  Jonas turned and ran a hand through his dark hair. When he turned back to me, he was laughing. “What else did the little coward say?”

  You can insult me all day long, but Sandra’s clones love me. I gave them the attention they desperately needed. Tell him, Bree.

  “She said the clones that fell ill didn’t actually die. She told me she’d come across Vance’s name in Sandra’s papers. Said she was pretty sure that the clones had been sent to Howard BioTech. I was trying to confirm this today before you showed up. I thought…” I wrung my hands between us. “I thought if I could find these clones, prove that they were alive, that you would trust me again. Give me another chance.”

  Jonas’s face softened, and he shook his head. “Dr. Sallee called earlier. She said Tamati and Tane died. She said their tumors returned and grew too rapidly for her to do anything.”

  “She’s lying. I think they’re somewhere inside Howard BioTech.” I reached out and grabbed his hands. “You need to return to Palmyra and get a handle on what
Dr. Sallee is doing to those clones. I’ll find the Palmyra clones here and stop whatever it is that’s going on. I need you to trust me. I promise I’m going to find out what my dad is doing.”

  Dr. Howard is coming down the stairs, Addison mindspoke.

  What the hell, Addison? Either be a part of what’s going on, or get lost, Jonas answered.

  It’s more fun to let you guys do the hard work.

  What sounded like a doorbell sounded from the foyer, but I knew it was actually an alarm alerting my parents to a visitor at the front gate.

  Dad came around the corner. “You have to go,” he said. “The police are back. And by the looks of the three squad cars, they know you’re here.” He rushed toward me and wrapped me in a hug.

  “How did they find out I was here?” I asked when he released me.

  “I don’t know. But you’ll need to go out the back way. I’ll have a driver waiting for you at the service entrance. He’ll take you to Hotel Sterling, where I’ve booked you each a room.”

  I looked to Jonas. He nodded, but couldn’t hide his skeptical look.

  “I’ll send another car for you at eight a.m. tomorrow,” Dad said. “We’ll talk at my office and discuss your new job.” He turned and stuck out a hand to Jonas. “It was nice to have met you, Jonas. Thank you for taking care of my daughter.”

  He was telling Jonas goodbye, like he didn’t plan to ever see Jonas again. I guessed that was fair. I’d have to find a way to say goodbye to Jonas as well.

  There was a rapping against the front door. Dad went to it, and with his hand wrapped around the doorknob, he paused without turning.

  Addison, Jonas mindspoke, make us disappear.

  To my surprise, and while Dad had his back to us, Addison did as she was told. Jonas grabbed my hand, and we went back through the house to the service entrance. When we got to the back door, Addison released us. She was helping us willingly.

  We exited the house and approached Dad’s driver. He opened the back door of a black Town Car and ushered us in. I had no idea how he planned to get us past the police. He got behind the wheel now, pulled around, and started down the drive.

  Sure enough, a uniformed officer blocked our way.

  Make us invisible again please, Addison.

  The officer approached the driver’s window. “We need to check the contents of your car.”

  The driver started to protest, but Jonas stopped him. Let them, he ordered. Tell them you have no passengers. That you’re simply going home for the night.

  The driver did as Jonas ordered. The cop shined his flashlight into the back seat, and then into the trunk, and finally waved us on our way.

  Thirty minutes later, the driver was dropping us at the swanky Hotel Sterling in downtown Portland, and we walked inside. But as soon as the driver had turned the corner at the end of the street, we stepped back out and walked toward our own accommodations—the hotel Lexi had booked for us.

  ~~~~~

  We were heading up in the elevator when I finally spoke. “I’m sorry you felt like you needed to come to Portland.”

  “Why are you apologizing?” Jonas asked. We kept our heads bowed, hoping to keep our faces from being captured by the surveillance camera.

  “I don’t know.” The elevator signaled we had reached our floor. “I think you came here thinking I needed your help…” I let the unspoken “but” of that sentence hang between us. When the doors opened, I stepped outside.

  It was ridiculous, but I was hit by a sudden case of nerves about our room arrangements. I hadn’t gone to the front counter with Jonas downstairs, and I had no idea if Lexi had reserved us one room or two. And how could I be picky, since I had no money?

  Jonas stopped near the end of the hallway and slipped a card key into a door. I made a mental note of the emergency staircase three doors away. With a gesture, Jonas ushered me inside, but paused just inside the doorway after I passed. “I know you didn’t ask for my help,” he said, “but I’m here anyway. You should have told me why you came to Portland.”

  I turned and studied him. There were a lot of things I should have told him. I looked up at the dark hair that lay haphazardly across his forehead. I wanted to run my fingers through it, but stopped myself. Jonas’s gaze drifted from my eyes down to my lips. I could almost hear the crackle of electricity between us.

  “I’d love to know what’s going on inside that head of yours.” He leaned a shoulder against the door to keep it propped open. “But I won’t invade your mind—not unless you’re in serious trouble. The only way I’ll know what you’re thinking is if you tell me.”

  I smiled. And then I did reach up and push his hair off his forehead. “You and I come from two very different backgrounds. Yet here we are, existing in a crazy blend of science and medical research.” I traced my fingers down an imaginary line on his cheek. “I shouldn’t have come to Palmyra. It was desperate, and…” I swallowed against the lump in my throat, trying to hide the emotion—and the disbelief at my own honesty. “… and I put you in an awkward position.”

  Jonas angled his head. As I started to pull my hand away, he was lightning fast in grabbing it. He walked forward, pushing me farther into the room, letting the door close behind him.

  “What are you doing?” My heart raced.

  Jonas held our hands between us. His forehead scrunched up. “I asked Lexi to get us separate rooms. Not because I don’t want to talk out what happened between us on Palmyra, but because—”

  I pressed my fingers against his lips. “Shh. I don’t want to hear this.” I did. But I didn’t. I just couldn’t take the heartache of hearing him tell me we weren’t right for each other again.

  His eyes drilled into mine. But he stayed quiet.

  “I don’t need an explanation,” I said. “I don’t expect one. You made yourself perfectly clear on Palmyra. And I agree with you. We’re going in different directions.” Basically, Jonas was moving in a direction, and I was standing still. I would most likely walk into Howard BioTech tomorrow morning and be trapped for the rest of my life. And that’s only if I could get out of these bogus murder charges. “I’m going to work for my dad. I have no idea what that means, but at the very least, I’m going to find out what my dad is doing with my brother’s clones. And I’ll make damn sure he’s not mistreating any clones.” Basically, I wanted to make sure my dad wasn’t just another Sandra Whitmeyer or John DeWeese. “You need to get back to Palmyra and help the children there.”

  He cupped my cheek, then leaned in and brushed his lips against mine. It was probably the softest kiss he’d ever given me. “Get some sleep.”

  He left without another word, and I just stood there running my fingers along my lips and memorizing the tingle his touch left.

  chapter sixteen

  Jonas

  I tossed and turned for hours, knowing Bree was only feet away in the next room. After the restless night I’d had the night before, I would’ve thought sleep would find me easily. But I couldn’t get Bree’s words out of my mind. She thought I didn’t want her. She agreed that we were going in different directions. Because that was what I’d told her. I didn’t need to read her mind to see that she was confused about her own future, or that I’d only added to that confusion. As had her father, who was trying to dictate her life’s course.

  The question haunting me at three o’clock in the morning was whether or not Dr. Howard had Bree’s best interests at heart. He was a friend to Lexi’s father, Peter Roslin, which hopefully meant he only wanted good things for Bree. And although their relationship was strange, to say the least, it wasn’t the worst I had ever seen. Yet at the same time, he was also tied to Dr. DeWeese and Mommy Dearest…

  I rolled over, trying to squash the contradictory thoughts keeping me up. To almost everyone who knew Bree, she was a strong, passionate, impulsive woman who would fight hard for what was hers. But she’d let me see a different side—a vulnerable and loving young woman who cared deeply for the clones trying t
o find their way on an island in the South Pacific. Maybe I was wrong about her when I said she didn’t belong on Palmyra. I knew I was wrong to push her away, but I thought I was being unselfish in setting her free from a life in isolation on the atoll.

  But none of that mattered now. I needed her to find the clones inside Howard BioTech. And I needed to return to Palmyra. I had a doctor to obliterate.

  Sometime in the hour after I stopped overanalyzing everything, I drifted off.

  ~~~~~

  I woke to the feeling of hands around my neck, and I couldn’t breathe. My eyes sprang open, but no one was there. I clawed at invisible fingers—a strong grasp that I couldn’t shake even as I bucked in the king-size bed.

  Bree, I choked out in mindspeak. Lexi. Someone.

  Knocking sounded at the door. Then yelling. Then Bree’s voice inside my head. Jonas. I can’t get in. Hold on. I’m getting help.

  Finally, I got hold of the invisible figure straddling me and flung it across the room. It hit the dresser and then appeared in the form of a boy curled up in a fetal position on the floor. I stood from the bed just as the hotel room door flew open and in walked Lexi, Jack, and Bree. They looked at me, then we all stared at the lump of boy who rolled over, groaning.

  “Boone?” Bree said.

  The boy twisted his head toward Bree. Then he scrambled to his feet—and disappeared. Before any of us could react, an invisible someone shoved between Lexi and Bree, the door opened and closed behind us, and we knew the boy was gone.

  “What. Was. That?” Lexi asked.

  “That was a clone of my brother.” Bree looked as confused as I felt.

  I brushed my cold fingers along my neck. I turned to the dresser mirror to find my neck covered in red, finger-shaped welts. “Jack, do you mind?”

  I sat down on the bed so that Jack could do whatever he needed to do to heal the contusions. As he worked, Bree filled Jack and Lexi in on everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours, including her decision to work for her dad and to find Palmyra’s missing clones.

  “How did the clone get in here?” I asked. “And what, he not only has the gift of invisibility but also superhuman strength? I can’t believe I couldn’t shake off a ten-year-old kid.”