Hold On Tight (Lazarus Rising Book 6)

by Cynthia Eden

  They’d entered the elevator. Savannah could see them on another monitor.

  “Sawyer is her lover. As far as I know, he is the first Lazarus test subject. And there is no way he’d let her out of his sight on a mission like this one.”

  She turned her head and found Jett staring at her. “What?” Why was he looking at her that way?

  “If you don’t want them here, I can stop the elevator. Everything that happens from here on out—we do it as a team. We agree. We work together.”

  But she’d already put the puzzle pieces together. “In case I was pregnant, you asked her to come.” Doctor Elizabeth Parker. “Can she help me? Help the baby, if there are any problems?”

  “If anyone can, it would be her.”

  “Then we are absolutely letting that woman inside.”

  ***

  Bennett McNeely stood in the middle of Savannah Jacobs’s house. The balcony doors were open, and he could hear the rush of the waves outside. His agents had torn the place apart. Just in case she had hidden any information about Jett Bianchi and his associates, just in case the woman had fooled Bennett for all of these months, he’d wanted to be sure.

  But they’d found nothing. Nothing but the listening devices he’d had his team install. Those devices had been the reason he’d rushed in her home, with his gun at the ready. He’d been two blocks away, hunkered down in a black van, and then he’d heard Jett speak.

  I’ve got you.

  And he’d even shot Jett, but the bastard had gotten away.

  The APB had turned up nothing. As far as he knew, Jett and Savannah weren’t even in the city any longer. They could be on their way to Mexico. They could be heading fast for the Caribbean. They could be any damn place.

  And that meant he was screwed.

  He pulled out his phone. Called the guy who’d been the mastermind behind the whole operation. Bennett had wanted to take Savannah in weeks ago. As soon as they’d found out she was pregnant. Why waste time? Why not secure the asset? But his boss had other plans. He hadn’t just wanted Savannah. He’d wanted a real Lazarus soldier, too.

  The phone rang once, twice. On the third ring…

  “Let me guess…Jett appeared. Took Savannah Jacobs. And now you’ve got jackshit.” The voice was smug. Too knowing.

  The guy was such a prick. “I shot him, but he came back fast.”

  “How fast?” Real curiosity was there.

  “A matter of minutes. He took out my guards. Then vanished with her. No freaking trace of them has been found anywhere. For all I know, they’ve left the country.”

  “Relax. They’re still here.”

  “How the hell do you know that?”

  The guy laughed. “She’s my most valuable asset. Did you honestly think I wouldn’t have a way of locating her, twenty-four seven?”

  “You know where she is.” He stared at the wreckage around him. “And you didn’t tell me?” Bennett had wasted all of that time?

  “Well, you just called, didn’t you?”

  He hated the sonofabitch.

  “But, yes, I know where she is. I can always track her. It’s very handy tech, actually. In fact, the jerks at Lazarus stole the tracking technology from me. Used it for their own gains. Then they shut me out.” Frustration hummed in his voice. “I’ll show them, though. My plans for the Lazarus evolution were perfect. They should have recognized that fact.”

  Okay. Sometimes, the fellow seemed straight-up crazy. But he had to follow orders. “Where is she?”

  The guy rattled off an address instantly. Then said, “Looks like the building is supposed to be closed, but I assure you, Savannah is there. And if she’s there, Jett will be there, too. Go in prepared. Armed. Very heavily armed.”

  Like he had to be told. “Jett won’t get away again.”

  “He’d better not.”

  Teeth clenched, Bennett gritted, “Just how the hell do you know where she is?”

  “Because I lojacked her, of course.” Laughter. “Did it ages ago. Wasn’t about to lose someone as special as she is.”

  Bennett frowned. “How long ago?” Just how long had the fellow been watching Savannah Jacobs? Not for the first time, unease slid through him. The boss had been adamant that the Lazarus soldiers were monsters, that they had to be stopped. But now, shit—

  Now we’re dealing with a pregnant civilian. And I don’t like this mess.

  “Savannah was sixteen the first time we met. I knew back then that she’d be able to change the world.”

  Bennett glanced around at the wreckage in Savannah’s home. He stepped forward, and his foot brushed over a blanket.

  A baby blanket. A tiny, yellow baby blanket that Savannah had purchased for her child. He pulled in a breath. Slowly released it. “What are you going to do with her and the baby?”

  “It’s really not your concern. You’re a special agent for the United States government. Your job is to protect this wonderful country of ours. Go out and capture Jett Bianchi. Secure him. And secure her. But remember, Savannah won’t rise from the dead like Jett. Order your men to treat her with care.”

  The line went dead.

  Bennett shoved the phone into his pocket. He bent down and scooped up that little, yellow blanket. It was soft. Delicate.

  Fucking hell.

  Once more, his gaze swept around the home. He’d ordered the place searched. He’d ordered the wreckage.

  His hand closed around the blanket. Was he really about to order his men to hunt Savannah down and bring her in…in for who the fuck knew what?

  Lojacked. Those words whispered through his mind. He shoved the blanket into his pocket even as he pulled out his phone again. He dialed quickly and didn’t identify himself when the caller answered. He simply said, “Tell her we’re closing in. She’s lojacked. Tell her that, exactly.”

  He ended the call. Then he marched outside. The men and women there immediately sprang to attention. They looked to him for leadership. They looked to him in order to do what was right.

  The problem was that he wasn’t sure what was right any longer. What was right. What was wrong.

  He’d seen a dead man rise.

  There were some things that, when you saw them, they could change your whole world.

  What would an army of men like Jett Bianchi do? How would they be stopped? His gaze swept the team. They were waiting. He had orders to give. “I have a location. It’s time to move out.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  “I know this is all pretty overwhelming.” Elizabeth gave Savannah a tentative smile.

  “Overwhelming is probably an understatement. Twelve hours ago, I didn’t even know that Lazarus existed. And now…” Her gaze darted to Jett. He and Sawyer stood near the balcony. With all of their super senses, she had no doubt those guys could overhear every word they spoke. Super vision, super hearing, super speed. Yes, she’d learned all about that. Her head was still spinning.

  “Now you found out your lover is a real-life super soldier.”

  Savannah’s attention flew back to Elizabeth. “Did he tell you…about us?” Her voice was halting.

  Elizabeth shook her head. “Our time together was pretty brief. The guy basically found out that you could be pregnant, and he was off like a rocket. The only thing he wanted was to get close to you.” She bit her lower lip. “You know he truly believed that he couldn’t have kids. When he found out that his handlers had been lying to him…that you could be in jeopardy, he could not get to you fast enough.”

  “But he had no trouble staying away before that.”

  Elizabeth nodded. Understanding filled her warm gaze. “Yes, I’d be pissed as all hell, too.”

  Savannah studied the other woman. “Did you really invent Lazarus?”

  “I did. And I swear, my intentions were good. Or at least, I thought they were.” She twisted her hands in front of her body. “But then the formula was taken. Even though I knew there were problems with it. Increased aggression being the scariest. B
ack then, I didn’t even know about the memory loss. We’re talking about tests that had only been performed on lab rats. This formula was never supposed to be given to humans at that point. Because the testing process was still in the early stages, I didn’t realize that the rats were only maintaining procedural memories—”

  “Okay, wait, just back up. What do you mean, procedural memories?”

  “How to walk. How to tie your shoes. How to drive a car. The things that you do over and over again.” She pointed toward the two men. “For them, for men who’d been trained for most of their adult lives in combat situations, some of their procedural memories were a little more…intense.”

  Killing.

  “Until recently, the test subjects would just get a few random flashes of their pasts. Flashes that seemed to be triggered by emotional connections to others or by high stress events.” Elizabeth’s gaze slid to Sawyer. Softened on her lover. “He didn’t volunteer for the program. Sawyer was killed and put in Lazarus. By the time I got to him, he didn’t remember me.” There was pain in her voice and on her face.

  Sawyer immediately turned toward Elizabeth. Then he crossed the room. Kissed her. A kiss of tenderness and absolute love. Savannah averted her eyes because the display seemed so personal—

  “I remember you now,” Sawyer told Elizabeth tenderly. “You are my world.”

  And Savannah’s eyes darted to Jett. He was staring back at her. Staring at her as if—

  Get the hell out of that place, right now!

  The voice blasted in Savannah’s mind. Hard and dominating, and she shook her head. That…that wasn’t Jett. The voice felt different. Familiar, but—

  The agents are coming. You’ve been lojacked. Get out!

  The voice was so clear. So insistent.

  And then…just gone.

  She put her fingers to her suddenly throbbing temple.

  “Savannah?” Jett was by her side, reaching for her. “You went pale. What happened?” His gaze dropped to her stomach. “Everything okay?”

  “The baby is fine.” She bit her lip. “Lojacked?” That made no sense. She wasn’t a damn car. “Someone was just in my head.” She grabbed Jett’s hand. “Did you hear him?”

  Elizabeth and Sawyer exchanged confused glances.

  Jett just looked straight at Savannah. “No, baby, I didn’t hear a thing.” His eyes were blazing. “Who the fuck was it?”

  “I—” The voice had seemed familiar, but the thunder of words had been so quick. “He said we have to leave. The agents are coming.” Then… “That I was lojacked?”

  Sawyer put his hand on Jett’s shoulder. “Want to tell us what’s happening?”

  “I can hear thoughts,” Savannah answered. For once, she didn’t believe revealing her secret would make others think she was the freak in the room. Super soldiers could hardly judge, could they? “And someone was just in my mind. Someone told me that the agents were coming here. That—”

  “You’d been lojacked,” Elizabeth finished. Her gaze turned accessing. “You’re psychic.”

  Savannah nodded.

  “OhmyGod.” Elizabeth’s eyes squeezed shut. “Jett, you didn’t mention this before.”

  “Because her secrets aren’t mine to share,” he threw back. “Besides, it doesn’t matter. It—”

  Elizabeth’s eyes flew open. “It matters a whole lot. You think I was the only one doing experimental research for Uncle Sam? The government has wanted to tap into psychic powers for years. If they found someone who has some sort of genetic—”

  “It’s not genetic,” Savannah spoke quickly. “It’s from a car accident when I was sixteen. It’s—”

  Jett shook his head. “No.”

  Her heart pounded hard in her chest.

  “You always had it. I told you that before.”

  “This is going to change things. This…” Elizabeth bit her lip, then added, “This means you weren’t random. You were picked, specifically for Jett because those pulling the strings didn’t just want any Lazarus baby. They wanted a baby from a Lazarus soldier and someone like you.”

  Someone like you. “No one could have known that Jett and I would wind up in bed together.” No way. “That’s crazy.”

  Elizabeth shook her head. “It is possible to analyze genetics and to see which individuals have characteristics that would make them good mates for others.”

  Even Sawyer frowned at her.

  “Not my area of expertise,” she muttered. “But others have done it. And maybe there are some who have even gone a step beyond that. I mean, the dead have been brought back to life. You all don’t think it’s possible that someone else figured out a way to determine which would-be lovers would react the strongest to each other?”

  “Adrenaline does some crazy shit,” Sawyer added as he seemed to consider her words. “You throw two people together in dangerous circumstances, you keep them in close quarters, together twenty-four seven, and what the hell outcome do you think will happen?”

  Savannah’s cheeks were burning. She wasn’t even going to touch this stuff. Not yet. Right then, she had another concern. “How could I be lojacked?”

  Jett and Sawyer shared a long look. A look she didn’t like.

  Then Jett said, “Impossible. She isn’t part of Lazarus.”

  “If they were planning to use her, planning to pair her with a soldier all along, then there is no way they’d risk losing her.”

  Oh, Savannah didn’t like this. “She is right here.” She snapped her fingers and all gazes flew to her. “Some jackass was just in my head, telling me to run.” And they weren’t running. They were all just standing there, talking. As if agents weren’t about to storm the building.

  “The psychic message she got could be the trap. Maybe whoever sent it was bluffing.” Sawyer nodded. “Wanting to make her leave her safe hiding spot. Run into the open.”

  “He didn’t sound like he was bluffing.” Savannah rubbed her inner wrist. “He sounded…scared.”

  “Your tracker was cut out, right, Jett?” Sawyer asked abruptly.

  Jett nodded.

  Elizabeth was biting her lower lip again. Looking worried. “We can’t run an X-Ray check on her. Not while she’s pregnant.”

  “Uh, yeah, you’re not doing that.” But Savannah’s gaze was flying around the penthouse. She wanted to run out of there. The voice in her head… “Listen, I get that all of the psychic power stuff is probably totally normal for you all, but I don’t typically get voices blasting messages at me. That’s not the way it works. I can pick up some thoughts here and there, mostly when people are scared or angry, but the only person that I tend to communicate easily with that way—it’s Jett.”

  She could tell by Elizabeth’s expression that the woman had just filed that tidbit away for later analysis.

  “So, um, what I’m saying is…this shit isn’t normal for me. And I think we need to heed that warning and get the hell out of here.”

  Sawyer moved into her path when Savannah would have hurried for the door.

  Jett gave a low, warning growl. “Back up, man. Now.”

  Sawyer backed up, but his expression remained grim. “If she’s got a tracker, there is no safe place for her. Not while it’s in her body.”

  Now Jett stood toe-to-toe with the guy. “No one is cutting her. Do you understand me?”

  Wait. Had he said cutting?

  “There might be a different way. We’ve been working on this. Trying for a more…sanitized solution.” Elizabeth cleared her throat. “But we need to find the tracker first. Make sure it’s there.”

  “No X-Rays,” Jett snapped. “Not with the baby. And if it’s there, you know the tracker is going to be fucking microscopic. I mean, if she isn’t aware it’s it her, odds are that it’s small as hell.”

  They were talking about a tracking device being inside of her. Savannah laughed—and really wanted to run for the door. They were wasting time. We need to get out. “You guys—people aren’t lojacked. I m
ean, I know pets get microchipped. Sure. But not people.”

  They all just looked at her. Then, Sawyer said, voice flat, “You don’t know Lazarus.”

  Elizabeth nodded decisively. “Jay can help us—he’s been working on some experimental tech that should be able to disrupt the tracker’s signal without us having to cut blindly into Savannah.”

  “No one is cutting me.” Just so they were all clear.

  Jett was at her side. “Hell, no, they’re not.”

  Sawyer’s expression hardened. “If she’s got a tracker—”

  “I think I’d know if someone put a tracker under my skin!” Savannah huffed at him. “Look, first I have Jett telling me that I don’t really remember my life before my car accident—”

  “When was your car accident?” Elizabeth demanded at once.

  “When I was sixteen.” They were so off track. “I think we need to—”

  “Any other accidents or injuries since then?” Elizabeth immediately asked. “Things that would have required a hospital stay?”

  “I, um, had a concussion a few months back but—”

  “But I stayed with her every second,” Jett interrupted with a shake of his head. “She never left my sight. The tracker wasn’t put in her then.”

  Why weren’t they rushing out? Didn’t they get that danger was coming? Unless the guy in my head was trying to trick me. To make me give up my location like Sawyer suggested. What was real? What wasn’t?

  Elizabeth gave a low hum. “Then odds are the tracker has been there for a while. Savannah was targeted long before the two of you met, Jett.”

  Now Sawyer looked worried.

  Welcome to the party, buddy.

  “If that’s true.” Sawyer tilted his head as his gaze raked Savannah. “That would mean someone was planning for a very long game with her.” He studied her like she was some kind of bug under his microscope. The same way Dr. Rowe used to look at her.

  Elizabeth circled her, then touched Savannah’s shoulder. “Do you have any scars from the accident?”

  Wasting time. “Look, can’t we cover this after we’re at another location? Another place that’s safe?”

  It was Jett who spoke. Voice gentle, he said, “If they have a tracker in you, baby, there won’t be a safe place for you. They’ll be able to follow you wherever you go. You’ll be in danger as long as it’s activated.”