“Nothing to say in your own defense?” Zane demanded, his tone still mocking, but with a harder edge.
“I’m not a spy, I swear. I’m not trying to sell information about the gate to anyone. It was my own curiosity that led me to try and see the gate in Marah. And yes, when it came to our relationship, I made some bad decisions, but Zane, I never meant to hurt you,” Jenna pleaded beseechingly.
Zane snorted. “That’s rich. Never meant to hurt me by making me fall in love with you just to further your own ends? Never meant to hurt me even though you lied to me over and over?” Jenna flinched. She hadn’t been trying to make him fall for her, exactly, but she had continued dating him under orders from her boss. It wasn’t because she’d felt any burning passion toward Zane. Though she’d never been directly deceitful about it, she still felt like a liar.
And, well, when it came to her secret marriage, she was a liar. To almost everyone in her life.
“I would never have believed you’d turn your aim on Jimmy, though. What could anyone possibly see in him?” Zane said, his tone incredulous. “Though when you failed to get what you wanted in Marah, it must have been your only remaining option. It makes sense, in a twisted way. Seduce Jimmy, and you can get to Jax. Jimmy would have been only too delighted, too stupid to see through your ruse,” Zane sneered. Jenna’s fear was dissipating as her anger swelled. How dare he insult her like that! How dare he insult Jimmy like that!
“I never would have even suspected it if it hadn’t been for my engineers. Some gossiping contractor told them all about your grand love affair with Jimmy, and they brought it to my attention when we found your security breech,” Zane explained, his tone bitter. “I guess I should be grateful you weren’t sleeping with both of us at the same time.”
That was all Jenna could handle. She spun around, ready to launch herself at him, gun or no gun, when another hysterical shriek split the air. She jerked in the direction of the cry, and so did Zane. “Sounds like Jimmy is having trouble persuading his dear brother to cooperate. Let’s go find them, shall we? I’m tired of waiting.” Zane sounded slightly amused, as if he enjoyed Jax’s suffering.
They found them in the far opposite corner of the huge laboratory. Jax had huddled into the corner and was rocking back and forth, smacking his head with a meaty, rhythmic thunk against the wall. Jimmy knelt a short distance away from his brother, not touching him, but murmuring “It’s OK, Jax” over and over in soothing tones.
“I did warn you that you needed to persuade your brother to come along or the consequences would not be pleasant, did I not?” Zane said. “I guess we’ll have to resort to plan B.”
Plan B was an atlatl gun. Zane withdrew it and fired at Jax before anyone had a chance to react at all. One dart hit Jax directly in the shoulder, and he screamed again before jerking violently to the side and lying still. Jimmy threw himself forward at his brother’s prone form, and Jenna whirled on Zane. “You monster!” she exclaimed angrily. “He doesn’t have anything to do with this!”
Zane was now pointing both weapons at her, the gun in his right hand and the atlatl gun in his left. “He’s not braining himself against the wall anymore, so my way was rather more merciful than Jimmy’s, I believe,” said Zane dismissively. “He’ll live, I’m sure.”
Jimmy’s rage-filled eyes raised to Zane’s. Jenna wanted to drop to her knees and throw her arms around the brothers, shielding them both from Zane’s nonsensical violence. But he had the gun pressed to her side again, and she had not the slightest doubt that he would use it. Zane had truly gone insane.
“Grier, we’re ready for you in the lab,” Zane said, using his netband. Jenna perked up. Did Grier know that Zane was under the influence of nanospeed? Could he be persuaded to help them? They’d spent enough time with him during the last months. Surely he would believe them?
But a few minutes later, when the door to the lab automatically unlocked and Grier strode in followed by two other men who were probably bodyguards as well, Jenna knew it was useless. Grier wouldn’t even look at her. He took in Jax’s prone body with clinical detachment and hoisted him up over one shoulder. Then he turned and slowly made his way out of the room. Jimmy protested, scrambling to his feet and starting to follow when Zane barked, “Stop!” The two bodyguards flanked Jimmy and took his arms. Zane yanked Jenna by the arm, the atlatl gun holstered again with the other gun pressed back under her chin.
“Your brother will be fine. Grier can manage him without your help. He’s had to deal with bodies more than once, I assure you,” Zane said coldly. Jenna reached out her hand, desperate for Jimmy’s comfort, but Zane yanked her back again.
“No, none of that,” he cautioned, his manic grin back on his face. “I think Jimmy’s had enough of your poison. He’ll never clear it out of his system if you keep touching him.”
Jimmy frowned. “What in the name of all the gods of Aspen is wrong with you, Zane? Why are you treating us like this? Our fathers will have your head on a pike.”
He turned to the bodyguard at his side. “You work for Mr. Quintan, right? Trust me, he’s not going to be happy when he learns you harassed his partner’s sons on the orders of a man hopped up on nanospeed.” They didn’t respond to his statement at all, looking straight ahead and not relaxing their grip on his arms.
“This is for your own safety, Jimmy,” Zane said, his voice not sympathetic at all as the bodyguards starting moving Jimmy toward the door. “We have to get you out of Jenna’s clutches before she sells you out.”
“You’re making no sense, Zane.” Jimmy was getting exasperated. Jenna could hear it in his voice. “Yes, Jenna and I kept our marriage a secret from you, but why threaten her? Why drag Jax into it? None of this is going to get the gate finished sooner.”
Zane stiffened, his hand clenching so tightly around Jenna’s arm that she whimpered.
“You’re married?” he hissed, swinging her around. “You married him?” he shouted, his eyes bulging now. Jenna tried to pry his fingers from her arm, but it was like the race-day debacle all over again. He was impossibly strong. She dug her fingernails into his wrist, but he didn’t even wince. Instead, he flung her up against the wall, lifting her off the ground by her neck. She choked, unable to get air. She pulled frantically on his arm, trying desperately to free up her windpipe.
“Zane, leave her alone!” Jimmy shouted. Jenna’s head was buzzing and bursts of light were dancing in her eyes when Zane abruptly dropped her to the ground. She collapsed on her knees, coughing desperately.
“Jenna!” Jimmy screamed. She couldn’t see him, couldn’t think clearly, but she heard the scuffling and scraping and the crash of equipment banging to the floor from one of the tables. “Jenna!” he cried again, his voice fainter. The bodyguards must have been dragging him away, but Jenna was still coughing too hard to look up.
When she finally had her breathing under control, she looked up to find the lab door open and Jimmy gone. Zane peered at his security tablet again, not even paying any attention to her. Before she’d decided whether her rubbery legs could handle a dash for the door, Zane hauled her back to her feet. He didn’t say a word this time. Apparently, he’d said all that needed to be said. He’d even holstered his gun. Did he consider her no threat at all? Had the gun been mostly to control Jimmy? She burned with resentment, but his hand was a grip of iron again. She knew that she wouldn’t be able to break free. Her previous attempts had already shown her that. Now that she was thinking straight again, she realized that it must be the nanospeed making him stronger and more resistant to pain. Trying to break away from him would be like trying to defeat an android, without the mechanical weaknesses. A sudden click distracted her. Zane had snapped a wire restraint to a bar on a large piece of some kind of equipment. Then he clicked the other side around Jenna’s wrist. Without another word, he turned and strode out of the lab after his bodyguards. Jenna pulled on the restraint, which automat
ically tightened on her wrist, cutting into her flesh. She stopped yanking on it and shoved the cabinet. Then she started to yell hysterically. Maybe Jax’s housekeeper would show up and get her out of this mess. But after long minutes of calling for help, she grew hoarse without any sign of response from anyone. She wiped at the blood trickling down her wrist from where the wire cut into her skin and sniffled, a few tears leaking from the corners of her eyes and trailing down her cheeks.
What was she going to do?
*
After what felt like an eternity, she heard footsteps coming down the hall to the lab again. She immediately cried out for help, though she was careful not to irritate the scab forming on her injured wrist. Her hopes were dashed as the door slid open and Zane strode into the room. He was alone this time.
“Zane! Where are Jimmy and Jax? What have you done with them?” she demanded. Zane didn’t even acknowledge her. His eyes were still cold and flat, and he didn’t even seem to notice how mangled her wrist was when he keyed open the wire restraint. He merely grabbed her upper arm again with his unbreakable grip of steel. She gasped involuntarily from the pain of it, but he merely held tighter and started to propel her back to the door of the lab.
“Where are we going?” she tried. “What’s going on, Zane?” Nothing got a response, and she finally gave up, fearing his silence did not bode well. What did he want with her anyway, now that he didn’t need her to control Jimmy?
As they moved back into the hallway, then out of Jax’s suite and to the lift, Jenna kept hoping for a glimpse of Jimmy or even Jax. Where had the bodyguards taken them? In the lift, Zane chose the button for the basement floor that housed the tube to the QE. Was he going to hand her over to security? QE security had a nasty reputation for dealing mercilessly with traitors, especially since there were no legal limits to restrain them and Lev Quintan required the most effective security possible. Industrial espionage was not nearly as common as it could be, not after security had made terrible examples of a few spies. Only someone with a strong stomach and nerves of titanium would dare risk getting handed over to security for selling company secrets. Surely security knew about Zane’s issues, and Lev Quintan would never suspect her of espionage . . . but then why had Grier and the other bodyguards gone along with Zane’s madness tonight?
When her stomach settled, announcing the lift had finished its descent, Jenna eagerly stared out of the swiftly sliding doors, hoping that she would see Jimmy at last. But the tube station was completely empty. Still Jenna had a tiny bit of hope she might be able to break away here. If he intended them to take the short tube bounce to the QE, he would have to strap her in—and then strap himself in. He wouldn’t be able to hold onto her the whole time. There would be a window, however small, when she could unstrap herself and bolt before he could get out of his own harness.
To her consternation, Zane bypassed the tube altogether, taking the emergency tunnel that ran alongside it. Jenna of course had never been in it. It was meant to be used only for emergencies, like if the QE lost power to the tube. Maintenance workers probably accessed the tube through the tunnel too. It was lit by eerie red globes that gave Zane’s angry face an even more grotesque cast. Soft light filtered from an opening at the end of the hallway, but she couldn’t see well enough to know if anyone else was in the tunnel. A deep thrumming echoed off the walls, making her ears ring. Zane issued a voice command and the lights switched on, and she saw instantly that Jimmy and Jax weren’t down here. It was just the two of them. Weaponless Jenna and a drugged madman with a grip of iron. It was not looking good for her. However, she forgot all her fears as soon as they rounded the corner and walked through an open set of blast doors.
Awestruck, she stood before the finished gate. Unlike the one upstairs, this one was nearly two stories tall, reaching up toward the ceiling of the cavernous basement. The pearlescent ceramic octagon pulsed with whorls of light and color. The web of filaments streamed out behind it as if fluttering in a stiff breeze, though she couldn’t feel a fan blowing. It was icy cold in the room. Immediately, gooseflesh rose on her bare arms, and she shivered, her bare feet already turning numb on the floor. She wished she were dressed in something besides the silky thin shift she had worn to bed. Along the floor she could see pipes, wires, and conduits disappearing into the ground.
Finally, Zane spoke.
“Jaxon Forrest has been worth his weight in gold. It works, Jenna. I thought, after all your efforts as a spy, you should know,” he gloated.
“Why did you drag him out of his lab then?” said Jenna. “What have you done with them, Zane? Where’s Jimmy?” Zane’s gripped tightened when she mentioned Jimmy, but his words were deceptively casual.
“Well, my father unfortunately restricted my access to my salary while I was in Marah. I had some significant expenses, and I got rather heavily into debt to some unsavory characters. However, they offered me a deal where I could clear my debt by handing over the inventor of the gate. As a bonus, I threw in his twin.” Jenna gasped in horror. “I hadn’t intended to hand Jimmy over to them,” Zane continued conversationally, “but when I learned of his . . . ah . . . fling with you, I couldn’t resist. Besides, it’ll be easier on Jaxon to have his brother to keep him company.”
“You heartless, selfish, cannibal!” Jenna cried hoarsely. “How could you sink so low? Jimmy is your friend, Zane! And Jaxon—he’ll go crazy—how could you do that to him?”
Zane ignored her insults as if she hadn’t even spoken. Instead, he marched closer to the gate, pulling her inexorably with him. She struggled again, trying to dig her heels into the ground, but she might as well have been a toddler squirming to escape from the firm grip of a restraining parent.
“The other night Jaxon had a breakthrough that solved our last bug, and the engineers on both ends made the modifications right away. We tested the gate earlier on supplies, and everything worked just like it’s supposed to. I think tomorrow they are planning to test some plants and animals, but I’m extremely confident that Forrest got all his calculations correct this time. So you will have the honor, Jenna, of being the first human tester of the gate.”
“What?” she cried. “No!”
“Yes,” Zane said, his voice cold and unyielding. “It’s only too merciful, in my opinion. You’re getting a free trip to Marah.” He turned to the side. A man in a lab coat stood near a glowing terminal, frozen stiff. Jenna didn’t know if it was in fear or shock.
“Is everything ready, Evers?” he barked at the tech.
“Yes, sir,” he stammered. “But I don’t think it’s ready for a human transport.” Zane didn’t say anything, but his glare must have been enough. The man didn’t say another word; instead, he turned hurriedly back to the terminal screen. Jenna wouldn’t get any help from that quarter. She tried again with Zane. Surely some part of the old Zane could hear her, could be reached by reason.
“Zane, it hasn’t been tested . . . it could kill me . . . you don’t know what it will do to something living,” she protested frantically. She had never been so terrified in her life. Somehow this gate was going to take her apart, molecule by molecule, and rearrange her on the other side. It could go horribly wrong in so many ways.
Zane was unmoved. “It’s no different than using a deep-space portal, Jenna. Show a little backbone. Haven’t you taken an off-planet trip before?” She had been off-planet once before, but she could barely remember it, and things went wrong even with the deep-space portals. Nobody pregnant or seriously ill was supposed to travel by gate because of the side effects. Jenna was struck with a sudden thought; a possible hope for her salvation. She just needed to somehow convince Zane to go through the gate himself.
He was dragging her right up to the platform where the gate stood, and she quit fighting him and let his momentum carry her right over. The gate began to hum and vibrate, shaking the floor enough for her to feel the floor tremble under her bare feet.
“I’m surprised that you’re willing to let me have all the glory of being the first one to travel through the gate,” Jenna observed, trying to keep her voice casual. “People still sing about Jeb Wang, after all.” Jeb Wang was the now legendary first interstellar traveler by portal. Everyone knew his name.
Zane snorted. “You must think me stupid, Jenna Donnell. I am strong, yes, but this gate has never before been tested on any living matter. I will try it after I confirm your successful arrival. Besides, no one in the future will ever know that you took this trip anyway.”
Jenna sucked in a sharp breath. That sounded like a direct death threat. Who was waiting for her on the other side? How many people did Zane have working with him?
“It’s fortunate that my father left for a board meeting,” Zane mused, as he continued to tap at the screen. “Otherwise it would have been so much more bothersome trying to work around him.”
This was even worse news. Lev Quintan was probably the only man alive who could overrule Zane, but all his board meetings took place aboard a space cruiser.
The lift doors slid open with a snap, and Jenna turned hopefully. Was it Jimmy and Jax? She tried to twist away from Zane again, but she only managed to crane her neck in the direction of the door. It was another one of Zane’s bodyguards.
“Mr. Quintan!” the man yelled. “We are under attack!”
“What?” roared Zane.
“Someone has mounted an attack on the QE!” the guard shouted. “They have explosives. They must be here to destroy the gate!” Jenna swallowed, her mouth drier than parchment from the Zorian desert wastes. “Where are the gate guards?” the guard continued, clearly bewildered.
The Quintan Edge (Roran Curse Book 2) Page 20
