“Where are we going?” Mica sat beside Jasper in the middle row. Amber and Edgar sat in the very back.
Flint glanced at her in the rearview mirror. “The airport.”
“And from there?”
“Not sure.”
Heat grew against my back. It took me a second to realize Flint had turned my seat warmer on. That realization got a moment of disbelief from me. Even after being shot, Flint’s thoughts were still focused on me. A flash of panic again clawed my gut. Flint had been shot. I could have lost him.
I stuffed that emotion down as far as it would go. Feeling that suffocating panic was worse than my guilt over the two men. “Is…uh…Father coming back?” My voice sounded hollow, even to me.
Flint glanced my way before looking back at the road. “He’s meeting us when we land.”
“Do you know where we’re landing?”
He shook his head. “Only Di knows.”
“Well, hopefully the pilot knows too,” Mica muttered.
WE PULLED INTO a small, regional airport an hour later. A private jet was waiting. It wasn’t Father’s plane. Unease again crept into my gut.
Di and Flint parked our vehicles near the hanger. The sound of the jet’s idling engines sounded through the air. Other than our plane, the runway was empty.
The pilot stood on the tarmac, apparently waiting for us. He appeared to be a middle aged, African American man. Di approached him, leaving the rest of us behind.
I couldn’t hear what they said, but I did know he wasn’t our pilot, Greg. My palms dampened with sweat as my stomach again clenched.
We unloaded our bags from the vehicles. Everyone grabbed what was theirs before walking to the jet.
“Can we trust him?” I asked Flint.
“I don’t know. The less he knows, the better. I’m guessing Father rented the plane, which means this pilot was hired last minute. This guy could be anyone.”
“We need to tell everyone that.”
“Di will. Don’t worry.”
Everyone boarded the plane quietly. It seemed the shock of what happened was only just setting in. I eyed Susannah warily. The other time we’d been on a plane, she’d been drugged. I didn’t know how she’d react to the small space.
Once we were all seated and buckled, the pilot secured the door and ducked into the cockpit. The plane was small, only single seats by each window. Flint and I sat across from each other and everyone else either gazed out the windows or stared into space.
Edgar seemed to have similar concerns to me. He had Susannah sit down and buckled her in before sitting across from her. I caught a few words as he chattered. Susannah leaned back in her chair and stared out the window. At least she seemed calm.
Di sat behind me. I turned to face her. “Where are we going?”
“California.” She clicked her seat belt, the noise audible in the quiet. Her short, dark hair bobbed by her chin when she wiggled to adjust her shirt. As always, she wore all black.
“What’s in California?”
“You’ll see.”
Normally, Di’s cryptic reply would have made me groan in frustration, but this time, I merely nodded and turned back around. I bit my lip again. The runway moved slowly by my window as the pilot steered us toward the runway.
“Hey.” Flint’s tone was quiet. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, totally fine. Just tired.”
Once again, he didn’t look convinced.
“We should get some sleep.” I closed my eyes before he could ask another question. It didn’t sit well with me, however, the worry that coated his gaze. I never shut him out. He was who I always turned to, but how could I possibly explain to him that I’d almost killed two men without a moment’s hesitation? And that last week, I’d almost done the same thing to Marcus? Or that tonight, when those two men threatened him, I turned into a person I didn’t recognize?
What kind of person does that make me? If I didn’t have a colored cloud, would my cloud be gray? Even black?
My heart clenched. Maybe I wasn’t as good of a person as I thought I was.
I tried to force those thoughts down as we lifted into the sky.
WE LANDED TWO hours later at San Francisco International Airport. The sun crested the horizon and bathed the sky in red. Planes flew every which way even at this early hour.
Thankfully, Susannah had been fine on the journey. The one time I’d got up to use the bathroom, I passed her seat. She sat serenely, staring out the window, that faraway look in her eyes. It only then struck me that she probably felt safe and at home in the sky.
When we finally disembarked, cool air with patches of fog in the distance greeted us. I spent a second watching the distant ocean. I’d only seen the ocean once before, when I went on my trip with Father to Washington state seven years ago. So much was still so new to me.
A large van and SUV were waiting for us, the doors unlocked and keys in the ignitions. The pilot helped load our bags into the vehicles before wishing us well. He obviously had no idea what our travels entailed, since at the moment, we were on the run from a powerful pharmaceutical company that either wanted us dead or back in their labs. Not exactly your typical vacation.
Regardless, we all waved, smiled and thanked him for his time. To him, we were probably a bunch of rich college kids on a pre-Christmas trip. If only that were true.
We all huddled together and waited for the pilot to climb aboard the plane before we spoke. As I shivered in the morning cold, I realized I’d forgotten my jacket. I grumbled at my usual disorganization and forgetfulness.
Typical.
I inched closer to Flint, absorbing some of his body heat. He shrugged his jacket off and put it around me. When I tried to protest, he just crossed his arms.
Mumbling a thank you, I slipped it on.
I felt his heavy gaze on me. I knew he could tell something was up. The entire flight I’d barely spoken to him, but how could I? What could I say? Hey, guess what. Turns out I may not be such a good person after all. And it just might be that I’m just as bad as Marcus’ men. Apparently, I don’t see anything wrong with hurting people either.
I wasn’t ready to face that reality, and I certainly wasn’t ready to see potential shock on Flint’s face. I’d never been violent growing up. It was a side of me that was as new to me as it would be to him. A side he could very possibly not love.
When the pilot finally left, Mica was the first to speak. “Do you think they could track Luke in the sky?”
Di nodded. “Probably. I’m assuming it’s a GPS.”
“So Marcus knows we’re here,” Jet said.
“Most likely.” Di’s comment got a few uneasy glances among us. Only Susannah didn’t seem worried.
“Look, I don’t want to get anyone else caught.” Luke shuffled his feet, his large bulk towering over Susannah who stood silently beside him. “I’ll take off, lead them in a different direction, and you all go and get out of here.”
Jacinda shook her head. Her honey brown eyes blazed. “Absolutely not!”
Di nodded. “That’s not how we work, Luke. We’re going to take that tracking device out of you, not leave you on your own.”
“But how are you going to do that?” Luke waved at our surroundings. “It’s not like we can do that here.”
“Actually, that’s why we flew here,” Di replied. “I called Father to tell him about the device in you. He suggested we fly here. Father has an outside contact with access to a full medical unit. You’re having surgery this morning.”
“I am?” Luke’s eyes widened. “Who’s my surgeon?”
Di met his gaze. “I am.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Luke balked. “Don’t take this the wrong way, since I know you’re a very capable woman, but how much practice do you have doing surgery?”
I nudged him, glad for the distraction. “She fixed me.”
Luke’s golden eyes narrowed in my direction.
“After I fell off a horse,
I got a bit beat up. Di put me back together, so to speak. It wasn’t surgery, but she knows what she’s doing.”
Di crossed her arms. “Conroy will also be in the operating room, as well as a friend of his who’s a general surgeon. I’ll be predominantly performing the surgery. However, he’ll be there to assist me as needed. You’ll be in good hands.”
Luke still didn’t look convinced. “Aren’t we in a hurry then? If Marcus knows we’re here, and you and I are going to be holed up in surgery, shouldn’t we get moving?”
“At the moment, yes, he knows where we are,” Di replied. “But the other good thing about this lab is that your tracking device won’t work in it. And since we don’t want Marcus to know where the lab is, you’ll be riding in a special box to get there. That should keep everyone safe since once you get in that box, the signal will drop. So Marcus will see that we landed, but he won’t know where we went from here.”
“A special box?” Luke’s eyebrows rose.
Di nodded toward the vehicles. “It’s in the van.”
Luke shook his head. “How the hell do you people think up these things?”
“That’s kind of what she does,” Mica said dryly. “She thinks things up. If Di’s in charge, like she said, you’re in good hands.”
“I hope so,” Luke muttered. “Since those hands will be cutting me open.”
THE BOX LUKE was supposed to climb into was basically a coffin. He hesitated at its edge. “And this came from where?”
“The facility we’re going to.” Di ran her hand along the smooth metal. “It’s normally used to transport radioactive materials. However, it’s also big enough for a person.” She eyed Luke. “Well, most people.”
Everyone studied the box. I shuddered at the thought of being sealed inside.
The werewolf still hesitated at its edge. “So I just…climb in?”
“Yes, and don’t forget your oxygen.” Di handed him a mask and small tank.
Luke’s face paled.
Di turned on the tank. A quiet hiss followed.
“How long until we reach the lab?” Jacinda wrapped her arms around her body. In a turquoise vest, designer jeans and stylish boots, she looked flawless as usual. Only she could pull that look off while running from our home in the early hours of the morning. I briefly glanced at my wrinkled jeans and long-sleeved t-shirt. At least they were clean.
Di put on sunglasses. “It’s about an hour, maybe longer if the traffic’s bad.”
Luke took a deep breath before climbing into the box. It looked to be solid metal with two inch thick sides all around. He lay down, having to wedge his shoulders to fit. The lid sat at the side.
He growled. “Let’s get a move on then.”
Flint bent his knees and lifted the cover. A rip sounded. Flint muttered something and set the lid back down. Rolling his t-shirt sleeve up, he tore off the half ripped bandage.
My eyes widened as nervous energy bubbled up inside me. However, what lay under the bandage immediately put me at ease.
A red, shallow, obviously healing wound flashed before Flint rolled his sleeve back down. His lips tugged up when he caught my expression. “I told you it was fine.”
I let out a sigh of relief.
After getting his body situated, Flint lifted the lid, apparently happier now that the bandage didn’t hinder his movements. The screeching sound the lid made, as it slid across the box’s surface, got a wince out of me. Luke’s widening eyes were the last thing I saw before he disappeared from view.
Di marched to the van’s driver door. “Everyone get in the vehicles and take a seat.”
I glanced one last time at the sealed boxed containing our new friend. Jacinda’s eyes lingered on it even longer.
Di and Flint once again drove. Growing up, we’d learned most of our skills from simulations Father had brought back to our cabin in the Forbidden Hills. I’d only driven an actual car a few times, although I’d driven the simulation car hundreds of times. Still, it wasn’t the same. The computer teaching tool couldn’t recreate everything that went with daily driving. Maybe someday I’d be more competent at handling a car, but that was one more thing I could add to the list of things to do after Marcus was no longer a threat.
In other words, in a distant future life if I ever got that lucky.
The traffic going into San Francisco was busier than any other place we’d been, even Chicago. Di gripped the wheel tightly, her knuckles white. I sat beside my sister since I opted for the van with Di, Jacinda, Luke and Susannah.
Jacinda was a bit of a wreck. She kept looking over her shoulder at the large box holding Luke. We had no way of communicating with him, other than taking the top off, but if we did that, his GPS signal would be picked up. In other words, I hoped he was okay. If his oxygen depleted, we could be opening the box to a dead werewolf. Of course, I didn’t mention that to Jacinda.
“Do you think he’s okay?” she asked for what felt like the hundredth time.
“He’ll be fine.” I patted her hand. “We’re almost there. Now turn around. Looking at that box isn’t helping.”
A few minutes later, Di steered the van off the interstate into a business park. Large warehouses and companies in huge buildings dominated the streets. She followed the directions on her smart phone. The computerized voice told her the destination was on our right three hundred feet ahead. Jacinda, once again, cast an anxious look at the box.
We pulled into an underground parking area. The tires screeched around the sharp turns. My eyes widened when I saw two figures standing by an industrial looking elevator in the lower level.
One of them was Father.
Di maneuvered the van around a turn. She then backed up so we could open the rear doors right in front of the elevator. Flint steered the car he drove into a parking spot. We all stepped out of the vehicles. Scents of exhaust hovered in the air.
Father looked incredibly relieved when he greeted us. He hugged Di first and then everyone else. I loved the feel of his soft shirt and his subtle scent of mint and soap when he pulled me close. Father even hugged Edgar, who blushed. I wondered if Edgar had been hugged before. When Father approached Susannah, however, she took a quick step back and dashed behind the van.
Edgar again kicked into action. He approached her and held out his hand.
Susannah darted to his side.
Father sighed sadly before nodding toward the other man. “This is Dr. Frank Spacey.”
Dr. Spacey looked to be around Father’s age. He still had a full head of hair, and his build was trim. Sharp eyes appraised all of us before he held out his hand for everyone to shake.
“How do they know each other?” Jacinda murmured to me under her breath.
“No idea.” Father’s outside contacts were one of the greatest mysteries to me.
After the introductions were complete, Father waved at an industrial strength cart by the elevator. He didn’t have to ask. We all knew who would lift the box.
Flint pulled the box Luke was still in to the back of the van. Bending down, he awkwardly put his arms around it before lifting it onto the transport cart. He strained, a little, but considering the box probably weighed over a thousand pounds, it was pretty impressive.
Dr. Spacey’s eyes widened considerably when Flint lowered the box. The floor vibrated when he let it fall the last half inch. I had no idea how much Father had told Dr. Spacey about us.
“Let’s get him inside.” There was urgency in Jacinda’s voice.
Di nodded curtly, and Flint pushed the cart into the elevator. We all crammed in beside it. I was surprised by the smell in the confined area. A heavy disinfectant hung in the air, similar to a hospital.
Biting my lip, I wondered what exactly this facility was just as the elevator doors closed.
CHAPTER EIGHT
When the elevator doors finally opened, Jacinda was practically biting her fingernails off.
Di placed a hand on her shoulder. “Relax. He has enough oxygen for si
x hours.”
Jacinda didn’t look convinced. “I can barely hear anything through that box. I can’t pick up his breathing or heart rate.”
“He’s fine,” Di replied.
The elevator opened to a large hallway. I didn’t know what to expect, but a vacant hall was not it. Dim, nighttime lights illuminated the area. Flint pushed the cart forward and stopped once it was completely out of the elevator. The rest of us crowded around it.
Jacinda eyed the box. “You said his tracking device won’t pick up in here?”
Dr. Spacey shook his head. “No, not in these walls. They’re lined with lead.”
Anxiety grew in Jacinda’s voice. “Can we get him out?”
Flint grasped the two inch thick cover. His muscles bunched and strained, making him look sexy as hell, but he still lifted the massive lid easily. It made a loud clang when it hit the floor. It also left a noticeable dent. I wondered if the entire box was made of solid lead.
Inside, Luke lay as still as stone, his eyes closed, the mask still over his face. His wide shoulders were hunched together, his arms crossed over his chest.
My eyes widened. He looked dead.
“Is he okay?” Jacinda practically screeched.
I gave him a rough shove. “Luke!”
Luke’s eyes flashed open, a bewildered look on his face. He slowly sat up. Pulling the mask off, he rubbed his eyes. “I take it we’re here?”
“Were you sleeping?” Jacinda screeched.
Luke nodded his head and scratched his chin. “Not much else to do in there. It helped that I was tired.”
Jacinda crossed her arms and harrumphed. “And all this time I’ve been worrying about you for nothing?”
He gave her a crooked smile. “You were worried about me, beautiful?”
With an annoyed hair flip, she glanced away.
Luke placed his hands on the box and vaulted over the side. He yawned loudly and stretched. His massive frame looked even bigger with his muscular arms reaching overhead.
Dr. Spacey stared, wide eyed.
Reborn: A Contemporary Fantasy Romance (The Lost Children Trilogy Book 3) Page 6
