by Strauss, Lee
Mary’s voice: “Just tell me what’s going on. You’re blowing hot and cold and it’s driving me crazy.”
Noah’s voice: “I know, I’m sorry.” I could imagine him dragging his hand through his shoulder-length hair. “It’s just… everything is so crazy right now.”
“Because of her?”
I strained to hear his answer, but the wind picked up, scooping their words away. Ugh. I’d die to know what his answer was. It wasn’t that I wanted to see Mary hurt, but Noah and I had a history. And I loved him.
I slunk back to the cave, feeling bad for eavesdropping. I still didn’t know where we were at relationship-wise. Noah did kiss me when he’d saved me from cyborg Mara. That must’ve meant something. I just couldn’t tell what for sure. Like Mary said, Noah was good at blowing hot and cold.
Lebron freaked me out. He sat propped up against the cave wall, his bulky arms folded over a white army T-shirt and cargo shorts, which fully displayed his now defunct cyborg hardware. His ankles were tied tightly with duct tape and I could spot red chafing lines peeking through. He closed his hooded eyes like a mechanical toy that had its battery removed.
He looked benign, but I didn’t believe it. I was afraid to take my eyes off him for fear he’d explode to life like the mythical Hulk, snap the tape around his feet, roar, and then proceed to kill us all.
It was my turn to guard the rogue. My hand trembled as I sat poised on my mat with my gun aimed at his chest.
Noah and Jabez had taken off to hike the ridge to confirm that the convoy had left.
Taylor entered the cave and sat next to me crossing his arms over his knees. Strands of blond hair fell into his eyes as he studied me. “Are you having fun yet?”
I snorted softly. “Not really.”
He reached over to draw a strand of loose hair off my sweaty forehead.
“You shouldn’t do that.” I whispered.
“Do what?”
“You know.” I copied his motion and ran a finger behind my ear. “That.”
The corner of his mouth lifted up. “What? Show you tenderness? A little concern?”
I grinned back at him. “You know what I mean. I appreciate it, but it’s… confusing.”
“You like it, but… it’s not coming from the right guy?”
I felt my face flush. Taylor was no dummy.
“What if who you think is the right guy is actually the wrong guy?” he asked. “What if the right guy is sitting right here?”
I leaned into him. “My head tells me you’re right, but my heart won’t let go. Believe me, I wish it would.”
He leaned back. “It’s okay. I’ll wait for your heart to catch up to your head. It’s not like I’m going anywhere.”
I looked at him and felt like crying. Was he right? Was Noah just a complete distraction and waste of time? Taylor had turned out to be a lot nicer than I’d given him credit for. Smart and charming. I was an idiot for not taking him up on his offer. An idiot for waiting around for a guy who’d made it clear he wanted to move on.
Lebron’s head fell forward and he released a low snore.
“Poor guy’s exhausted,” Taylor said, graciously changing the subject.
I was exhausted, too. Maybe I should hand the gun to Taylor and lay down for a nap myself.
Taylor scratched his head and turned to me. “Can I ask you a question? Nothing to do with me or you-know-who.”
“Sure.”
“How did you know about the control box at the back of the rogue’s neck?”
I tapped my fingers along the base of the gun. Was there a reason I shouldn’t tell him? I couldn’t think of one. Noah didn’t think we could trust Taylor, but I had yet to see a reason why not. Taylor had saved our butts on more than one occasion. “I’ll tell you if you take my turn guarding him.”
“Deal.”
I handed him my gun, careful not to let our fingers graze in the passing. “Noah and I discovered my brother’s lab, an underground one my grandfather had funded in order to develop cyborg technology. Liam was the first human trial. I saw his files.”
“This was when?”
“Just last summer.”
Taylor let out a low whistle. “Wow. Things have moved fast.”
“That was Grandpa’s V’s plan all along. Win the presidency and fast-track the theories and trials into application.”
“What does he hope to gain from all this?”
I lay down on my mat and covered my eyes with my arm. “Power.”
“As in the first American dictator?”
“Yup.”
Taylor lowered his voice. “Why’s he after you?”
“Because I know he funded illegal research, that my brother died as a result, and that he had Liam’s lab partner killed.”
“And how does Noah fit into this?”
“I hired him to help me find out what happened to Liam. We discovered the truth about Grandpa V together. Grandpa’s solution to the problem we’d become was to erase my memories of the two weeks that led up to our discovery of the experiment, which included all my memories of Noah. His plan for Noah was to have him killed.” I peeked out through the crook of my elbow. “That’s still his plan, though he no longer cares if I live, evident by the fact that Mara was set to kill me.”
Taylor’s eyes trained in on me. “That’s quite the story.”
“Yeah,” I muttered. “Too bad it’s true.”
Rebecca and Hannah returned from a water run, just as Noah and Jabez breezed in. Their bodies glistened with sweat and their faces shone with excitement.
“They’re gone,” Noah announced. “Not a trace left in the desert. Can hardly tell they were even there.”
We cheered at the good news, all of us except Lebron. He rested against the wall, bound at hand and foot and wore an emotionless expression.
“I wish there was some food we could celebrate with,” Rebecca stated.
We all looked toward the storage recess, and could easily see how depleted the food stock was. It went without saying that a trip into Tucson would be extremely dangerous. We might not be on anyone’s radar at the moment, but we didn’t want to stretch our luck.
“We could travel at night,” Jabez offered.
“Then what?” countered Mary. “Wait until dark until we return?”
“It’s a workable plan,” Taylor said.
“I don’t like the idea of hanging out in Tucson for twelve or more hours in broad daylight,” Noah said.
“Maybe not you with your mug shot spread everywhere,” Taylor said. “But I could go since I’m the one with buying power. I could go alone for that matter.”
Hannah’s face twisted with worry. “No, Taylor.”
“I’d be fine,” he insisted. “No one is after me.”
“Even so,” I said, not wanting to risk Taylor’s safety, either, “they’ve marked this part of the desert for training activities. There are eyes on this place.”
Rebecca fanned her legs with her skirt. “We should leave.”
“Maybe,” Noah admitted. “But where to?”
“We won’t live long enough to go anywhere without food,” Jabez said.
“We could hunt,” Noah said. “We have guns and knives.”
“You know how many snakes we’d have to kill to feed eight of us?” Jabez countered. “And don’t forget that they bite.”
“Eating coyote is like eating dog,” Mary said. “I’d do it, but I’d probably puke afterward.”
“I have an idea,” Taylor said. He pushed blond hair off his face. “But you have to promise to hear me out before shooting it down.”
“Fine,” Noah said. “What is it?”
“Fred.”
Noah’s jaw dropped. “Fred?”
“Yeah. I can hack into Fred’s hardware, instruct him to bring us food.”
The cave grew silent.
Lebron, who’d been watching this interaction with interest, finally broke it. “Who’s Fred?”
Fr
ed was the humanoid Jabez had rented to train Noah in St. Louis to compete in the virtual fight ring. Jabez had broken his arm in a riot which made it impossible for him to do it, and the money Noah could earn by winning was something we’d all needed. Fred did a good job, and Noah won the fight.
Ignoring Lebron, Noah asked, “How could you get Fred here without him being detected?”
“He can travel in the night. He doesn’t need a vehicle. I can scramble his tracer so his company can’t find him.”
“Really?” I said feeling squirmy about the idea. “It’s that easy?”
Taylor laid his blue-eyed gaze on me. “I didn’t say it was easy. But it’s possible.”
“Let’s take a vote,” Noah said. “All in favor of hijacking Fred for food, raise your hands.”
Taylor’s went up first followed quickly by Jabez. Mary studied Jabez then raised her arm. I slowly raised mine after Noah raised his. Hannah and Rebecca kept their hands down.
Lebron raised his, but we didn’t count him. It wasn’t a leap to guess he was hungry.
“Okay,” Noah said to Taylor. “Do it.”
Chapter 17
Was it just me, or was it even hotter than usual? I used the bottom of my shirt to wipe the grime off my face. I stood with the others, huddling over Taylor as his fingers flew across his keyboard. I worried my lip. Would it really work to just “summon” Fred like this? Something about it made my stomach squirm.
Sweat dripped off Taylor’s chin. He wiped it on his shoulder and paused to take us in.
“Do you guys mind? There must be something else you could do.”
We scattered back into the larger cave, which felt like an oven. I pressed up against the wall and pulled back sharply.
“It’s hot,” I said.
Rebecca shot me a look. “No kidding, Einstein.”
“No, I mean the wall, not the air.” I touched it again. Usually the wall of the cave was cool to the touch, why it was comforting to lean against it, even though the rough surface jabbed into your back.
Noah reached for the wall in front of me, touched it and frowned. “What’s the deal?”
Next thing, everyone except Lebron had a hand pressed against the wall of the cave. He scoffed. “It’s just summer-time, morons.”
I let my hand drop to my side, feeling stupid. Of course it would warm up in here with the change of seasons. A thin string of fear threaded through my chest. If it was this hot at the beginning of the summer season, how could we ever hope to survive full-on summer?
Sweat dripped between my breasts and down my spine. I felt dizzy and slid to the ground with a thump. Thankfully, the others were all busy focused on other things and didn’t notice. I held my chest, willing my heart to slow.
Something was wrong with me.
I didn’t know what, but I should be stronger. I should actually be the healthiest. Well, along with Taylor, though technically I’d been a GAP for longer.
When my heart calmed, I reached into my bag for a “clean” shirt and mentioned to Hannah that I was going to the stream to freshen up. The sun was low on the horizon, and I wanted to make it back before it got dark.
I’d collected the soap and shampoo on my way out of the cave looking forward to the shock of cold water. My hair hung in greasy strands, long enough now to tie back at least. I removed the tie, along with my clothes, and slipped in.
The water was strangely warm. Something was weird, but I wasn’t going to complain just yet. I’d tell Taylor when I got back. I made good use of the soap and was about to reach for the shampoo when I heard movement.
“Knock, knock.”
I startled at the voice. “Noah?”
“Sorry, I didn’t know you were here.”
So, now you do. Why are you just standing there, staring? I was fully aware that, though submerged, I was naked. Noah’s eyes locked onto mine, and I could sense the debate going on in his head. He wanted to stay.
Suddenly, all the oxygen felt like it was sucked out of the cave.
I took a chance. “Would you… like to join me?”
“Yes,” he said, “against my better judgment.”
“If it helps, I want you to.”
“It helps.” Noah removed his shoes and squatted down, reaching for the water. He ran a hand through it, splashing water on his face. He glanced at me with an odd expression.
“I know, it’s warm.”
He was obviously ready to find the answer to that enigma later. I averted my eyes as he removed his clothing.
Noah ducked under the water, pushing his hair off his face as he resurfaced. He stood about six feet away, his chest chiseled and wet. I gasped at his beauty.
I ducked lower, feeling self-conscious. I was ridiculously skinny. The grooves between my ribs sunk deeper, and my breasts were almost non-existent.
I tossed him the soap, then grabbed the shampoo for myself and lathered down. I knew Noah was watching me and it made me nervous. I no longer felt beautiful, and I didn’t know how to be anything less than beautiful. I couldn’t understand why Noah would still find me physically attractive.
Especially when he had curvy Mary.
“I suppose I should ask,” I began. “About you and Mary.”
“There is no Mary and me. Not anymore.”
“I see.”
If the water weren’t already warm, I’d think we were the ones causing it to heat up. My heart raced as Noah moved closer. The water cave sizzled with our chemistry.
He stroked my arm, the one with the scar, and I couldn’t hide the shivers that surged through my body. His thumb circled the nasty bullet wound that had healed without proper sutures. The only physical flaw I possessed as a GAP.
“It’s ugly,” I said. The scar didn’t hurt physically, but it reminded me of what fear felt like. And that I wanted to stay alive. That I wanted to be with Noah for as long as I possibly could on this earth.
“I think it’s beautiful,” Noah whispered. “It reminds me of how precious you are and that I’d do anything to save you. Anything. Zoe, I’ve been working so hard to deny you, but I can’t do it anymore. I’m not strong enough. I need you to tell me to stay away.”
“I don’t want you to stay away.”
He nuzzled my neck, and I nuzzled him back. He smelled good, soapy. His lips brushed against my skin, and despite the warmth of the water, I broke out in goosebumps. I wrapped my arms around him, stroking the taut muscles along his back. I tried to forget about my own skeletal form and my lack of curves, just happy to have him back. He’d come back to me. I found his lips with mine and cupped the back of his head with my hands, pulling him closer. He held my waist, his thumbs moving along my protruding hip bones.
I wished that the world would stop and we could forget our circumstances, that we weren’t trapped in a desert cave and never truly alone.
“I love you, Zoe,” Noah whispered. The words echoed off the walls of the cave and bounced around my heart. “I never stopped.”
He loved me, not because I was beautiful, or a GAP, or a Vanderveen, the reasons other guys had liked me. I’d been stripped of everything, yet Noah Brody still loved me.
A lump swelled in my chest. “I love you, too.” I whispered back. “I really, really love you.”
We pressed up against the ledge, and Noah’s lips traced my collarbone. I waited for him to heave me out and lay me down. The surface would be hard and tiny rocks would press into my skin, but I didn’t care. I kissed him hard, anticipating…
He pulled back and cocked his head.
“What is it?”
“I hear something.”
Annoyance gripped me. “Don’t tell me Rebecca decided to do laundry?”
He put a finger to my lips. I willed my heart to quiet so I could hear. Then I did. Low rumbling. A soft engine noise. It stopped, and we heard male voices that didn’t belong to Taylor or Jabez.
Noah lifted me out of the water. “Quick. Get dressed.”
Chapter 18
I forced my damp body into dry clothes as fast as I could, feeling the burn of rough cotton scraping against my wet skin. My mind was still reeling from the fact that Noah and I were back together after several months of my wishing desperately for it. I was too busy processing what almost happened between us just moments ago for me to properly gauge the new danger currently presenting itself.
At least Noah and I had the advantage of knowing our surroundings. We ducked low and stayed in the cover of the cactus groves. Through the moonlight we could see the silhouette of three men in the distance. They weren’t making an effort to keep their voices down, and they drifted across the desert surface like sound on water.
“You think he’s still alive?”
“Dunno. But the last signal we got from ‘im was from these co-ordinates.”
Pause.
“The mountain?”
Noah took my hand and we crept along the shadows, behind the buried buggy, and back to the cave. He released my hand and gave me a look that said we should keep our new relationship status under wraps until later. I actually agreed.
I entered first.
Rebecca rolled her eyes when she saw me. “Finally. You’re not the only one who’d like to wash up, you know.”
Noah followed a moment later and held a finger to his lips. “We’ve got company.”
“Another cyborg group?” Jabez asked quietly.
Noah dug his rifle out of his bag. “There’s three of them. Can’t tell if they’re cyborg, but my guess is yes.” He pointed at Lebron. “They’re looking for him.”
By the time I had my gun out, everyone except Hannah and Rebecca was armed. Mary had her gun aimed at Lebron’s head. “I thought we disabled him,” she whispered.
Taylor whispered back, “He must’ve gotten a message out before we did.”
“I wouldn’t engage in a shoot-out if I were you,” Lebron offered.
Jabez bristled. “It’s us or them.”
“You think no one will notice? There are eyes on this place, man,” Lebron insisted. “You’ll have bigger problems than those three idiots.”
Noah’s gaze darted to him. “You do know them, then?”
